This blog has no point! No point at all! I just blither on about my day and the food I eat and the things my crappy little/big town has to offer, and I'm sure no one really cares all that much!
I should make this blog into something. Like, a political blog... Or a celebrity gossip blog... Maybe a "Which Bath & Body Works Soap Scent Are You?" blog.
Ugh.
More later.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
This could be long.
Today, I worked all day. In other words, between 8am and 5pm I let my brain turn into fungal rot and sat slack-jawed staring at a computer screen.
The real treasure was knowing that promptly at 5pm, Joe would be there to scoop me up and carry me home (in the passenger seat of his car). Once home I would enjoy a couple hours of quiet while Joe was at his night class, then he would arrive home and we would sit at the dinner table; me in a little black dress and a strand of pearls, him in an expensive and well-tailored black tuxedo with a monocle and pocket square, and we would enjoy a feast under our 14-tier chandelier while being serenaded by a string trio. Right?
Right.
We agreed on dinner yesterday: paprika-rubbed tilapia over vegetable basmati rice. So, that's what I started making roughly an hour before Joe got home. I took my time carefully dicing the vegetables to be just about the same size, I created a paprika rub and let the fish absorb it in the fridge... I really did everything quite well. I'll spare myself the embarrassment of the details of the first round of rice. Suffice it to say that we are now short one cup of (expensive) basmati rice, a saucepan, and a tupperware. That's all you need to know.
In the end, everything came out really nicely, but it missed something. I think it was in the rice. Either the rice needed a little more flavor or more onion or something. The fish was seasoned nicely but with the bland-ish rice, it was a little lax.
Here's the recipe!
Tilaprika (Yes, I came up with that on my own!) and Rice
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp dried oregano (someone should try fresh oregano and let me know how it is! I didn't have any on hand...)
1 tbsp ground pepper or peppercorns (if using peppercorns, crush them in a mortar and pestle first)
-Combine the above to make the rub
2 tilapia filets
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp olive oil
Dry tilapia filets and pat with rub. I found that I had to use the whole rub to get a nice layer on both sides of both filets - and I'm glad I did. Place filets on a plate and saran-wrap or place them in individual zip-top bags and let rest in the fridge while preparing everything else.
Prepare the rice according to package instructions - be careful not to let the bottom of the saucepan become too hot and burn the rice (I mean, what?). Sautee vegetables in olive oil until preferred texture has been reached. I prefer my veggies a little crunchy, so I did not cook them into mush.
When there is about 3-5 minutes left on the rice cook time, combine the vegetables in with the rice and let them finish cooking with the rice. -Here is where you can do a taste trial and add an extra zing of spice... If you try it and love it, let me know what you did!
Cook tilapia filets on a griddle, grill, or in a pan, whichever is your preferred method. I cooked ours on a George Foreman grill and it came out muy delicioso.
Serve tilapia on top of rice mixture and enjoy!
It was seriously super-easy and kind of a kitchen-sink recipe... I just thought of some stuff to put together and it happened to work! Hooray!
Making dinner for Joe is one of my favorite things. I love when something just really works out spectacularly well and he's impressed. Food doesn't typically faze him, he eats when he's hungry and whatever fills the hole will do, regardless of quality.
Our night in our first apartment was not capped off by such a successful meal.
(This is where the harp would arpeggio thoughtfully and white puffy clouds would separate to reveal a flashback sequence.)
Our first night was chaotic and stressful, as we had just spent the whole day schlepping all of our belongings out of a storage unit, into a U-Haul, out of the U-Haul, and into the apartment. At some point around the return of the U-Haul to its home, I lost the keys to my grandmother's van that she had graciously let us borrow for the move. I lost the keys. To a van that isn't even mine. I was mortified beyond words. This was punctuated by the fact that my grandmother and her husband drove up - about an hour and a half - the following morning with her spare keys to retrieve the van. In the world of dogs, I'm sure my tail was tucked so far between my legs that it actually retracted into my spine.
Once that embarrassment was dealt with, Joe and I began to feel hunger pangs shooting through our bodies. That's fine, except... SHIT. We didn't do any grocery shopping. We bought all the necessities (toilet brush, trash bags, dish cloths, a stepladder)... but no food.
We had gone to lunch with his parents, my dad, and my grandma (not the van grandma!) earlier, and fortunately had saved a few nibbles from that. While we heated that up in the oven, we poured some Juicy Juice (Joe's mother always makes sure there is juice! Mmmm!) and set the table. These leftovers were sad. A pittance in the middle of the plate. Unsure of what to do besides starve (mind you, at this point we still had the van, but no keys - it was taunting us with its presence), we snapped into critical-thinking mode quickly. We scavenged the apartment for spare change and went down to the vending machine in our laundry room. We each bought a sticky bun, he bought a Kit-Kat, and I bought a pack of Jolly Ranchers that looked more like Sucrets (but thankfully did not taste like Sucrets). We pretended like I made a fancy meal garnished with expensive cheeses, but I think our story actually has more character without the picture-perfect meal.
We also spent that night sleeping in the living room, for some reason.
As Joe Walsh said, "Life's been good to me."
The real treasure was knowing that promptly at 5pm, Joe would be there to scoop me up and carry me home (in the passenger seat of his car). Once home I would enjoy a couple hours of quiet while Joe was at his night class, then he would arrive home and we would sit at the dinner table; me in a little black dress and a strand of pearls, him in an expensive and well-tailored black tuxedo with a monocle and pocket square, and we would enjoy a feast under our 14-tier chandelier while being serenaded by a string trio. Right?
Right.
We agreed on dinner yesterday: paprika-rubbed tilapia over vegetable basmati rice. So, that's what I started making roughly an hour before Joe got home. I took my time carefully dicing the vegetables to be just about the same size, I created a paprika rub and let the fish absorb it in the fridge... I really did everything quite well. I'll spare myself the embarrassment of the details of the first round of rice. Suffice it to say that we are now short one cup of (expensive) basmati rice, a saucepan, and a tupperware. That's all you need to know.
In the end, everything came out really nicely, but it missed something. I think it was in the rice. Either the rice needed a little more flavor or more onion or something. The fish was seasoned nicely but with the bland-ish rice, it was a little lax.
Here's the recipe!
Tilaprika (Yes, I came up with that on my own!) and Rice
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp dried oregano (someone should try fresh oregano and let me know how it is! I didn't have any on hand...)
1 tbsp ground pepper or peppercorns (if using peppercorns, crush them in a mortar and pestle first)
-Combine the above to make the rub
2 tilapia filets
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp olive oil
Dry tilapia filets and pat with rub. I found that I had to use the whole rub to get a nice layer on both sides of both filets - and I'm glad I did. Place filets on a plate and saran-wrap or place them in individual zip-top bags and let rest in the fridge while preparing everything else.
Prepare the rice according to package instructions - be careful not to let the bottom of the saucepan become too hot and burn the rice (I mean, what?). Sautee vegetables in olive oil until preferred texture has been reached. I prefer my veggies a little crunchy, so I did not cook them into mush.
When there is about 3-5 minutes left on the rice cook time, combine the vegetables in with the rice and let them finish cooking with the rice. -Here is where you can do a taste trial and add an extra zing of spice... If you try it and love it, let me know what you did!
Cook tilapia filets on a griddle, grill, or in a pan, whichever is your preferred method. I cooked ours on a George Foreman grill and it came out muy delicioso.
Serve tilapia on top of rice mixture and enjoy!
It was seriously super-easy and kind of a kitchen-sink recipe... I just thought of some stuff to put together and it happened to work! Hooray!
Making dinner for Joe is one of my favorite things. I love when something just really works out spectacularly well and he's impressed. Food doesn't typically faze him, he eats when he's hungry and whatever fills the hole will do, regardless of quality.
Our night in our first apartment was not capped off by such a successful meal.
(This is where the harp would arpeggio thoughtfully and white puffy clouds would separate to reveal a flashback sequence.)
Our first night was chaotic and stressful, as we had just spent the whole day schlepping all of our belongings out of a storage unit, into a U-Haul, out of the U-Haul, and into the apartment. At some point around the return of the U-Haul to its home, I lost the keys to my grandmother's van that she had graciously let us borrow for the move. I lost the keys. To a van that isn't even mine. I was mortified beyond words. This was punctuated by the fact that my grandmother and her husband drove up - about an hour and a half - the following morning with her spare keys to retrieve the van. In the world of dogs, I'm sure my tail was tucked so far between my legs that it actually retracted into my spine.
Once that embarrassment was dealt with, Joe and I began to feel hunger pangs shooting through our bodies. That's fine, except... SHIT. We didn't do any grocery shopping. We bought all the necessities (toilet brush, trash bags, dish cloths, a stepladder)... but no food.
We had gone to lunch with his parents, my dad, and my grandma (not the van grandma!) earlier, and fortunately had saved a few nibbles from that. While we heated that up in the oven, we poured some Juicy Juice (Joe's mother always makes sure there is juice! Mmmm!) and set the table. These leftovers were sad. A pittance in the middle of the plate. Unsure of what to do besides starve (mind you, at this point we still had the van, but no keys - it was taunting us with its presence), we snapped into critical-thinking mode quickly. We scavenged the apartment for spare change and went down to the vending machine in our laundry room. We each bought a sticky bun, he bought a Kit-Kat, and I bought a pack of Jolly Ranchers that looked more like Sucrets (but thankfully did not taste like Sucrets). We pretended like I made a fancy meal garnished with expensive cheeses, but I think our story actually has more character without the picture-perfect meal.
We also spent that night sleeping in the living room, for some reason.
As Joe Walsh said, "Life's been good to me."
Oops...
I may have forgotten to update this little thing for... 5 days. Yikes. What happened the past 5 days? I don't remember. It might take me a second. So, while I gather my memories, I'll tell you about a terrible movie I stupidly spent too much money to see.
Actually, I'll let Joe do my talking for me - he wrote an excellent critique of this waste-of-space movie and our feelings on it, and I couldn't write anything that so adequately summarizes our evening. Here it is: Click for Joe's blog.
If you didn't read his post, the movie we saw was "Kick-Ass." I'm sorry if you liked it, I don't mean to offend, but I believe I lost a significant number of neurons by the end.
Lessee here, the last time I wrote was on Thursday? Hmm. That chickpea stew really was delicious. Well, Thursday night is Project Runway night and also the only time that Joe and I really spend watching TV. For as much as it's on during the week, we usually just do other things and not pay attention. However, on Thursday, it's Survivor, then we go pick up Deanna (we used to watch The Office, but... it sucks now) and watch 30 Rock, Project Runway, and Models of the Runway. As we were sitting there enjoying (and yelling at) the shows, we saw this creepy silhouette approach our window. Our cat was going crazy. It took me a second, but I recognized that it was our friend (and Dee's boyfriend) Mike! Happiest surprises! His appearance made for a fun weekend, it always does.
There was Clue playing and consumption of perhaps one too many cocktails (lime vodka and Sprite, right?) There was Mario Party and Chili's and a terrible movie followed by brain-stimulating conversation which made me feel better about everything.
Saturday, for most of the day, I was nursing a monstrous hangover and spent about three hours with Joe telling family stories - it was wonderful. His voice is my favorite sound. I know that is super cheesy, but there is absolutely nothing better than spending time with him. I hope everyone has a person like that in their lives.
There was a lot of wedding talk this weekend, too. We actually ended up changing our date from October 1 of next year to April 30 of next year. So, now we're at just about 1 year from the wedding. Maybe sometime soon I'll do a huge wedding post and talk about plans and dreams and everything. But for now, I'll finish with this: I am excited for the wedding. It will be a beautiful day and I'm excited to have our family celebrate this with us, but more than anything I am excited for the marriage. I believe Joe and I are attached at the heart, and being his and having him is more important to me than all the weddings in the world.
Actually, I'll let Joe do my talking for me - he wrote an excellent critique of this waste-of-space movie and our feelings on it, and I couldn't write anything that so adequately summarizes our evening. Here it is: Click for Joe's blog.
If you didn't read his post, the movie we saw was "Kick-Ass." I'm sorry if you liked it, I don't mean to offend, but I believe I lost a significant number of neurons by the end.
Lessee here, the last time I wrote was on Thursday? Hmm. That chickpea stew really was delicious. Well, Thursday night is Project Runway night and also the only time that Joe and I really spend watching TV. For as much as it's on during the week, we usually just do other things and not pay attention. However, on Thursday, it's Survivor, then we go pick up Deanna (we used to watch The Office, but... it sucks now) and watch 30 Rock, Project Runway, and Models of the Runway. As we were sitting there enjoying (and yelling at) the shows, we saw this creepy silhouette approach our window. Our cat was going crazy. It took me a second, but I recognized that it was our friend (and Dee's boyfriend) Mike! Happiest surprises! His appearance made for a fun weekend, it always does.
There was Clue playing and consumption of perhaps one too many cocktails (lime vodka and Sprite, right?) There was Mario Party and Chili's and a terrible movie followed by brain-stimulating conversation which made me feel better about everything.
Saturday, for most of the day, I was nursing a monstrous hangover and spent about three hours with Joe telling family stories - it was wonderful. His voice is my favorite sound. I know that is super cheesy, but there is absolutely nothing better than spending time with him. I hope everyone has a person like that in their lives.
There was a lot of wedding talk this weekend, too. We actually ended up changing our date from October 1 of next year to April 30 of next year. So, now we're at just about 1 year from the wedding. Maybe sometime soon I'll do a huge wedding post and talk about plans and dreams and everything. But for now, I'll finish with this: I am excited for the wedding. It will be a beautiful day and I'm excited to have our family celebrate this with us, but more than anything I am excited for the marriage. I believe Joe and I are attached at the heart, and being his and having him is more important to me than all the weddings in the world.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Chickpeas and couscous
I was right - that recipe rocked socks. It was hearty and delicious and we had strawberries on the side. Here's the recipe for anyone inclined to try it:
Crock-Pot Chickpea Stew Over Couscous
1 lb. dried chickpeas
1 medium onion
2 tbsp. dried oregano
3 small zucchini squash
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or dice your own, whichever you prefer or have time for)
1/2 tbsp. cumin
1/2 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 can vegetable broth
1 box whole wheat couscous
Crumbled feta, optional
Soak chickpeas overnight
Dice onion and place in slow cooker with chickpeas and 1 tbsp oregano - cook on high 3 hours or low 5 hours.
Drain chickpea/onion mixture and return to slow cooker.
Cube zucchini into roughly 3/4 inch pieces, dice tomatoes or use canned tomatoes, stir into slow cooker with chickpea mixture and 1 can vegetable broth. Add cumin and paprika. Cook 2 hours.
Prepare couscous in accordance with package instructions.
Add 1 tbsp oregano to stew just before serving, and salt/pepper to taste. Spoon over couscous, top with crumbled feta.
Addendum 4-15-10: It's even wonderful the next day!!! I'm glad it made so much... I'm going to be all over it for the next few days.
So at first, I started engorging myself on this rather tasty dish, before I realized I'd forgotten the feta. The dish was wonderful on its own, but when I added the feta it just took a leap up. So great! It was a little bland before I added the cumin and paprika, the oregano faded into the background quickly. I did numerous taste trials throughout the cooking period to make sure it was coming along well, and I really had my doubts until it made it to the bowl. I thought it was going to be very dry (I might try using an extra can of broth next time) but it ended up being quite pleasantly not. It wasn't soupy, but it wasn't as dry as I thought it would be. I wolfed down my portion and headed to the couch.
On said couch, I watched ANTM Cycle 9 (see also: guilty pleasure) and Joe worked on some audio projects he is in the middle of. Have I yet mentioned how proud I am of him? Allow me to do so in the least-verbose manner I can manage. He started at Grand Valley as a History/Education major, hoping to teach high school history. In his second year, something else clicked and he thought he would like to try being on the radio. Grand Valley has a student-run radio station that anyone can volunteer for, so he did while also taking Communications 101. It wasn't long before he decided to change to the Broadcasting major. Since then, he's done numerous audio projects that are -wonderful- (and that's not just simple insouciance, he's REALLY talented!) and worked at GVSU's student-run radio and also WRHC, Harbor Country's local low-power station. This summer he got into an internship with WGVU, the public radio of greater Grand Rapids (and surrounding areas). I am EXTREMELY proud of him. He is a talented, hard-working person and I think it's really awesome that he chose the path less traveled by.
Crock-Pot Chickpea Stew Over Couscous
1 lb. dried chickpeas
1 medium onion
2 tbsp. dried oregano
3 small zucchini squash
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or dice your own, whichever you prefer or have time for)
1/2 tbsp. cumin
1/2 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 can vegetable broth
1 box whole wheat couscous
Crumbled feta, optional
Soak chickpeas overnight
Dice onion and place in slow cooker with chickpeas and 1 tbsp oregano - cook on high 3 hours or low 5 hours.
Drain chickpea/onion mixture and return to slow cooker.
Cube zucchini into roughly 3/4 inch pieces, dice tomatoes or use canned tomatoes, stir into slow cooker with chickpea mixture and 1 can vegetable broth. Add cumin and paprika. Cook 2 hours.
Prepare couscous in accordance with package instructions.
Add 1 tbsp oregano to stew just before serving, and salt/pepper to taste. Spoon over couscous, top with crumbled feta.
Addendum 4-15-10: It's even wonderful the next day!!! I'm glad it made so much... I'm going to be all over it for the next few days.
So at first, I started engorging myself on this rather tasty dish, before I realized I'd forgotten the feta. The dish was wonderful on its own, but when I added the feta it just took a leap up. So great! It was a little bland before I added the cumin and paprika, the oregano faded into the background quickly. I did numerous taste trials throughout the cooking period to make sure it was coming along well, and I really had my doubts until it made it to the bowl. I thought it was going to be very dry (I might try using an extra can of broth next time) but it ended up being quite pleasantly not. It wasn't soupy, but it wasn't as dry as I thought it would be. I wolfed down my portion and headed to the couch.
On said couch, I watched ANTM Cycle 9 (see also: guilty pleasure) and Joe worked on some audio projects he is in the middle of. Have I yet mentioned how proud I am of him? Allow me to do so in the least-verbose manner I can manage. He started at Grand Valley as a History/Education major, hoping to teach high school history. In his second year, something else clicked and he thought he would like to try being on the radio. Grand Valley has a student-run radio station that anyone can volunteer for, so he did while also taking Communications 101. It wasn't long before he decided to change to the Broadcasting major. Since then, he's done numerous audio projects that are -wonderful- (and that's not just simple insouciance, he's REALLY talented!) and worked at GVSU's student-run radio and also WRHC, Harbor Country's local low-power station. This summer he got into an internship with WGVU, the public radio of greater Grand Rapids (and surrounding areas). I am EXTREMELY proud of him. He is a talented, hard-working person and I think it's really awesome that he chose the path less traveled by.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Wending this day
What happened yesterday? What happened... Hmm... Oh, nothing. That's right. I worked from 8-5 at Grand Valley where I did approximately... Nothing. It was a very long and boring day. I watched almost a full cycle of America's Next Top Model (everyone has a guilty pleasure, right?). My job is to sit in front of a computer all day and twittle (my word) around on the internet waiting for the phone to ring. Very few people call our department, and most of those who do are either wrong numbers or just need to be transferred to one of our directors. Easy peasy.
Today has been kind of hustly and a little bustly. We had an incredible amount of dirty dishes that needed to be taken care of so I worked on those for what ended up being quite a while. I also assembled this beautiful chickpea stew in the slow-cooker, and I'm hoping it turns out as well as it smells. If it rocks, I'll be back later with the recipe and a review. I pumped up the original recipe with some garlic, smoked paprika, and cumin - because who doesn't love those things?
Other things on my mind include my family and Joe. I'll start with my family. I grew up in the new typical American family with divorced parents (mama remarried, however) and until I was 16, I saw my dad every other weekend. That's an awful way to raise your child, every other weekend, and it's very unfortunate because my dad and I love each other immensely but have never been particularly close. I am missing him a lot tonight. He's an hour's drive away but he is also a truck driver, so he's on the road more often than not - another reason we weren't super-close through my formative years. He's just never around. His current days off are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... Not conducive for a weekend visit. I probably won't get to see him again until Memorial Day weekend, and after that maybe not until Labor Day. I try to spend those two holidays with him each year and I try very hard to spend at least Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve there too, so I can see the rest of that side of the family. As I said, I'm missing my dad a lot tonight.
I'm also missing my mom and Tim (my stepdad). I see them rather frequently, we go home once or twice a month to visit them and all the friends we have there, but I have a really deep connection with my mom - and I'm just like her - and sometimes I really, really miss her. There are jokes I can make with her that no one else would get, and she's invested in helping plan my wedding - I can't have that kind of conversation with anyone else. Right now I am thinking about our upcoming move, and I really want to sit down with my mom and talk it out with her. I can't tell her feelings on the subject, but I'd like to think she's happy that we're taking the initiative to move ourselves to a place where there are more opportunities. I'd like to talk to her about how very terrified I am to leave the comfort zone of West Michigan, but I won't see her until May.
Finally Joe is on my mind. But he's always on my mind, so I suppose he doesn't really count. He's on his way home from a night class right now... When we gets here we are going to chomp some chickpea stew. More on that later.
Today has been kind of hustly and a little bustly. We had an incredible amount of dirty dishes that needed to be taken care of so I worked on those for what ended up being quite a while. I also assembled this beautiful chickpea stew in the slow-cooker, and I'm hoping it turns out as well as it smells. If it rocks, I'll be back later with the recipe and a review. I pumped up the original recipe with some garlic, smoked paprika, and cumin - because who doesn't love those things?
Other things on my mind include my family and Joe. I'll start with my family. I grew up in the new typical American family with divorced parents (mama remarried, however) and until I was 16, I saw my dad every other weekend. That's an awful way to raise your child, every other weekend, and it's very unfortunate because my dad and I love each other immensely but have never been particularly close. I am missing him a lot tonight. He's an hour's drive away but he is also a truck driver, so he's on the road more often than not - another reason we weren't super-close through my formative years. He's just never around. His current days off are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... Not conducive for a weekend visit. I probably won't get to see him again until Memorial Day weekend, and after that maybe not until Labor Day. I try to spend those two holidays with him each year and I try very hard to spend at least Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve there too, so I can see the rest of that side of the family. As I said, I'm missing my dad a lot tonight.
I'm also missing my mom and Tim (my stepdad). I see them rather frequently, we go home once or twice a month to visit them and all the friends we have there, but I have a really deep connection with my mom - and I'm just like her - and sometimes I really, really miss her. There are jokes I can make with her that no one else would get, and she's invested in helping plan my wedding - I can't have that kind of conversation with anyone else. Right now I am thinking about our upcoming move, and I really want to sit down with my mom and talk it out with her. I can't tell her feelings on the subject, but I'd like to think she's happy that we're taking the initiative to move ourselves to a place where there are more opportunities. I'd like to talk to her about how very terrified I am to leave the comfort zone of West Michigan, but I won't see her until May.
Finally Joe is on my mind. But he's always on my mind, so I suppose he doesn't really count. He's on his way home from a night class right now... When we gets here we are going to chomp some chickpea stew. More on that later.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Smunday (Malcolm in the Middle Reference!)
Hokay, so. Today is Monday. Everyone hates Mondays, except me. I don't hate Mondays all that much. I hated them a lot more in high school because Monday morning always cut my weekends short. Years later, I have found that Mondays aren't all that unbearable. In fact, I think I might even like them a little.
On Mondays, I drive Joe to school at 11AM, and afterward is my errands/groceries/cooking/cleaning/wife time in which I run errands, do the grocery shopping for the week, cook whatever treats/long-cook meals need to be prepared for the week, and clean the house.
Well, let me tell you that I am no chef. I am the first to admit it. I am not a bad cook, I make decent meals very often, but I am not a practiced cook. I have no knife skills other than 'the sharp edge makes things go apart' and I can't come up with awesome recipes on the fly. So I usually rely on a website or cookbook to tell me what to make. Today's adventure was a flaky pastry treat that Joe loves, but I have never had.
It may not look the part and it may not even taste the part, but I'll be damned if my Monday concoction isn't some form of baklava. YUM! I may have had too heavy of a hand when it came to the butter and the phyllo may have split itself in half when I unrolled it, but the final product is chock full of nuts, honey, sugar, pastry, gooey and crisp goodness. I thought of a couple tricks to implement next time I want to create this delight that would help with the butter and sog factor (I tells ya, a little too much butter makes a good baklava look like a pecan pond), but overall the flavor is spot on - I assume. I'll have Joe try it and hopefully he won't think it's terrible. And even if he does... More for me!
On Mondays, I drive Joe to school at 11AM, and afterward is my errands/groceries/cooking/cleaning/wife time in which I run errands, do the grocery shopping for the week, cook whatever treats/long-cook meals need to be prepared for the week, and clean the house.
Well, let me tell you that I am no chef. I am the first to admit it. I am not a bad cook, I make decent meals very often, but I am not a practiced cook. I have no knife skills other than 'the sharp edge makes things go apart' and I can't come up with awesome recipes on the fly. So I usually rely on a website or cookbook to tell me what to make. Today's adventure was a flaky pastry treat that Joe loves, but I have never had.
It may not look the part and it may not even taste the part, but I'll be damned if my Monday concoction isn't some form of baklava. YUM! I may have had too heavy of a hand when it came to the butter and the phyllo may have split itself in half when I unrolled it, but the final product is chock full of nuts, honey, sugar, pastry, gooey and crisp goodness. I thought of a couple tricks to implement next time I want to create this delight that would help with the butter and sog factor (I tells ya, a little too much butter makes a good baklava look like a pecan pond), but overall the flavor is spot on - I assume. I'll have Joe try it and hopefully he won't think it's terrible. And even if he does... More for me!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sundae
I woke up with a start this morning - it was 11:00 and we had to be at the studio at noon so Joe could start recording. I underestimated how long it would take to set everything up, so I took my time getting around while Joe frantically fluttered around the door waiting for me. We got to our friends' house and loaded all the drums and guitar into cars and took off, arriving at the school about 10 minutes before Joe had the studio. I didn't think anything of it.
Really quick, let me point out something that could potentially be confusing. My fiance is Joe H. The band he recorded, The Long Gone, contains our friends Dusty and Joe D. Two Joes, things might get twisted up for those who don't know them. My apologies.
We carried all of the band equipment into the studio and started setting up while Joe went to the School of Communications Resource Room and the guy who had the studio until noon finished up. I went into the control room to see what the guy (I never caught his name) was up to. He had just finished editing songs by his band, The Woodtones. Holy amazing folk music! He played a couple of their songs for me - I think I've found a new favorite band. He told me they were hoping to put together an EP, and I really hope they do.
After Joe got everything mic'ed (there's no good way to spell that) and checked all the sound, we got to recording. The boys started out by playing a tune they called "Back Porch Blues," an instrumental track with a good lilt which we found ourselves bopping to while the boys jammed outside. They also recorded "Burnin' Down Blues" (they're a blues band, if you didn't catch that), which was another really great tune. Joe and Dusty are really talented guys and intelligent musicians with great taste. 'My' Joe edited the last song they recorded, "This is True," and did some really great panning on a jam section in the song and I'm really excited to hear how he works these new songs out. We had a really great and fun day with two talented musicians who produced two awesome new songs that the world needs to hear.
By this point it was almost 5 PM, and Joe and I hadn't eaten all day. We had discussed making matzo ball soup but as we were driving home, making dinner sounded like effort. I know that's a terrible excuse to run to fast food, but man did tacos sound good. So, we enjoyed some Taco Bell and shortly thereafter sank into half-naps. What a glorious day!
There's been a lot of blithering in this post. I'm sure most of it is just garble that can be ignored, but let me leave you with this: new Ben and Jerry's flavors. Intrigued? Yeah, you are. I don't remember how the topic came about (other than an insatiable taste for ice cream), but Joe told me that there were some new Ben and Jerry's flavors. Yum! So I looked up their website to pick out a couple potential favorites and made a top three list. I decided to try the Maple Blondie, and Joe got the Milk & Cookies. Mine was really delectable - I was expecting overly saccharine sweetness but I found that I could enjoy it quite well. I would have paired it with a glass of water, but I didn't want to stand up. Joe's flavor was super wonderful. I'll definitely be getting that one next time. I'd recommend it to anyone. The other night Joe brought home a pint of the Boston Creme Pie flavor and, BCP being one of my favorite flavors of everything else, I was expecting greatness. However, it was that overtly cloying sweetness I feared from the Maple Blondie. It tastes great, and is wonderful in small quantities but not good for eating a whole pint. That's probably a good thing, though. I really shouldn't be eating pints of ice cream. Fortunately I don't eat a pint of ice cream very often.
Really quick, let me point out something that could potentially be confusing. My fiance is Joe H. The band he recorded, The Long Gone, contains our friends Dusty and Joe D. Two Joes, things might get twisted up for those who don't know them. My apologies.
We carried all of the band equipment into the studio and started setting up while Joe went to the School of Communications Resource Room and the guy who had the studio until noon finished up. I went into the control room to see what the guy (I never caught his name) was up to. He had just finished editing songs by his band, The Woodtones. Holy amazing folk music! He played a couple of their songs for me - I think I've found a new favorite band. He told me they were hoping to put together an EP, and I really hope they do.
After Joe got everything mic'ed (there's no good way to spell that) and checked all the sound, we got to recording. The boys started out by playing a tune they called "Back Porch Blues," an instrumental track with a good lilt which we found ourselves bopping to while the boys jammed outside. They also recorded "Burnin' Down Blues" (they're a blues band, if you didn't catch that), which was another really great tune. Joe and Dusty are really talented guys and intelligent musicians with great taste. 'My' Joe edited the last song they recorded, "This is True," and did some really great panning on a jam section in the song and I'm really excited to hear how he works these new songs out. We had a really great and fun day with two talented musicians who produced two awesome new songs that the world needs to hear.
By this point it was almost 5 PM, and Joe and I hadn't eaten all day. We had discussed making matzo ball soup but as we were driving home, making dinner sounded like effort. I know that's a terrible excuse to run to fast food, but man did tacos sound good. So, we enjoyed some Taco Bell and shortly thereafter sank into half-naps. What a glorious day!
There's been a lot of blithering in this post. I'm sure most of it is just garble that can be ignored, but let me leave you with this: new Ben and Jerry's flavors. Intrigued? Yeah, you are. I don't remember how the topic came about (other than an insatiable taste for ice cream), but Joe told me that there were some new Ben and Jerry's flavors. Yum! So I looked up their website to pick out a couple potential favorites and made a top three list. I decided to try the Maple Blondie, and Joe got the Milk & Cookies. Mine was really delectable - I was expecting overly saccharine sweetness but I found that I could enjoy it quite well. I would have paired it with a glass of water, but I didn't want to stand up. Joe's flavor was super wonderful. I'll definitely be getting that one next time. I'd recommend it to anyone. The other night Joe brought home a pint of the Boston Creme Pie flavor and, BCP being one of my favorite flavors of everything else, I was expecting greatness. However, it was that overtly cloying sweetness I feared from the Maple Blondie. It tastes great, and is wonderful in small quantities but not good for eating a whole pint. That's probably a good thing, though. I really shouldn't be eating pints of ice cream. Fortunately I don't eat a pint of ice cream very often.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Public Museum, Bull's Head
Today was the day Joe and I decided to embrace our fair city. Little did we know that museums have extremely lame business hours that end at 5. Reading their websites misled me greatly, and I really should have called beforehand to make sure we would have enough time to fulfill our entire day (spoiler alert: we didn't).
First we had the leftovers from our Mr. Pizza adventure last night. YUM. Then we got cleaned up and headed out to the Grand Rapids Public Library to get our library cards and maybe some books. I read The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list and wrote down a notebook page-long list of books that I'd like to have read by the end of the summer. I'll let you know how that goes. Today I picked up The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner and The Fountainhead (not on my list) and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I'm not convinced that I'll enjoy the Rand books, but as I feel with most things I have to experience them before I can have any sort of discussion about them.
Our library is really lovely inside. The centuries-old buildings in Grand Rapids have been maintained very well, and the library is no exception. There are five staggered floors chock full of books and we made sure to visit each floor to see what was offered within. After searching for way too long for the Fiction section, we found it on the first floor right inside the entrance in its own separate area. I love libraries. I regret that I've never taken advantage of them, instead getting books on Amazon or eBay for a buck apiece. That's great, but now I have zillions of books that have been read once and probably never will be again, at least by me. Today's library excursion was a very positive experience, and I'm looking forward to eating these books up and finding new ones to enjoy.
Moving forth, we parked our car at Grand Valley's downtown campus and walked approximately 6 steps to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Upon entry, we went to get tickets and were informed that they were closing in 45 minutes. What?! We'd planned all day to spend an hour or two there followed by an hour or so at the Gerald R Ford Museum (yet another 6 steps away). I had no idea they both closed at 5. They advertised planetarium showings until 8, so I figured the museum would be open that long too. False. Either way we got a pretty good deal on our tickets and enjoyed the museum very much. The current traveling exhibit is "Big, Big Bugs!" so we made sure to stop by that room and see all the bugs we could. Fortunately, save crickets, all the bugs were dried and from collectors' stores. There were big tables with drawers containing facts about bugs, things created from bugs, examples of damage by bugs, etc. It was actually very interesting. We stopped at a couple other attractions, including the Numismatics station where we learned some pretty cool facts about our currency. Did you know that inside the numbers on the lower-left corner of the bills (at least the 10 and 20), the printed number "ten" or "twenty" repeats? On the first floor, there was a really great Grand Rapids exhibit that showed a couple of major intersections of the city as they existed when the city was young. It was really cool to walk down the "streets" of our city as they would have been almost two hundred years ago.
Finally before we left, on the third floor, we saw a window seat area that jutted out from the building toward the river. There were placards that gave tidbits of information about the city as it was when it was young as well as about the river itself. It was a fun and educational experience, and it was even romantic even though we were surrounded by moms and dads with their elementary-aged kids. It made my baby-craziness jump into overdrive for a while.
We didn't get to visit the Gerry today, but hopefully we will get to visit soon. There is an "America in the Cold War" exhibit I'd really like to see. We came home after the Public Museum for lack of anything else to do before our dinner reservations at the Bull's Head Tavern, and I was excited to jump into the books I'd checked out from the library (I started the Faulkner book, more on that after I finish it).
At 8:30 we got to the Bull's Head and were taken to their upstairs non-smoking area for dinner. It was intimate and the lighting was dim enough to be tavern-y without needing flashlights for the menu. Unfortunately we were seated next to a bachelorette party that had no concern for anyone around them. Point 1: I don't mind that it's your bachelorette party, I'm glad you're having a good time, but that doesn't give you and your raucous friends the right to impede on the evenings of those around you. Point 2: Everyone upstairs complained about their volume repeatedly, but fortunately they left shortly after our arrival.
On to other things: Dinner. We started with crab cakes, and while they weren't the absolute pinnacle of crab cakeyness, they were very good. I would eat them again anytime. They were served with the typical spiced mayonnaise, but they weren't typical in that they actually contained large quantities of crab, which is always better. I ordered a whiskey sour to go with the appetizer and I was pleased with the balance the bartender struck between sour and whiskey - the last couple times I have ordered the same drink it has been off-balance in one direction or the other.
For entrees, Joe ordered a chicken and pasta dish in a smoked Gouda sauce. Holy cow! It was very tasty - smoky, cheesy and cooked beautifully. I ordered the Caribbean Jerk Salmon with mango salsa. Joe's dinner was great but mine was... indescribable. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the rub and salsa were an incredible combination. I only wish there had been more. I enjoyed a Cosmo on the side - also mixed very nicely. The drink was a little strong, but I prefer them that way. I am no lightweight, and I like to enjoy the fruits of my liquor. The flavor was spot-on and its tartness actually went quite well with the savory and fruity flavors of the dish itself. The service was a bit curt, but I tipped her well anyway seeing that she had to deal with the bachelorette party. We went on to order dessert - the Chocolate Pudding Cake. Mmm, be still my beating taste buds. It was not super-sweet, made with more dark chocolate than lighter chocolates. There was a pleasantly sized lump of vanilla ice cream served with it, and Joe and I may have fought over more than one bite.
All in all, I give our day an A+. It was really great bouncing around the city with Joe, seeing things we hadn't yet seen after living here for 3 years. Evenings with someone you love are always well-spent.
Now it is time to tuck into bed and watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We've got to get up early tomorrow - Joe is recording our friends' band demo at the school. I'll probably end up telling all about that as well.
Stay tuned (:
First we had the leftovers from our Mr. Pizza adventure last night. YUM. Then we got cleaned up and headed out to the Grand Rapids Public Library to get our library cards and maybe some books. I read The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list and wrote down a notebook page-long list of books that I'd like to have read by the end of the summer. I'll let you know how that goes. Today I picked up The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner and The Fountainhead (not on my list) and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I'm not convinced that I'll enjoy the Rand books, but as I feel with most things I have to experience them before I can have any sort of discussion about them.
Our library is really lovely inside. The centuries-old buildings in Grand Rapids have been maintained very well, and the library is no exception. There are five staggered floors chock full of books and we made sure to visit each floor to see what was offered within. After searching for way too long for the Fiction section, we found it on the first floor right inside the entrance in its own separate area. I love libraries. I regret that I've never taken advantage of them, instead getting books on Amazon or eBay for a buck apiece. That's great, but now I have zillions of books that have been read once and probably never will be again, at least by me. Today's library excursion was a very positive experience, and I'm looking forward to eating these books up and finding new ones to enjoy.
Moving forth, we parked our car at Grand Valley's downtown campus and walked approximately 6 steps to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Upon entry, we went to get tickets and were informed that they were closing in 45 minutes. What?! We'd planned all day to spend an hour or two there followed by an hour or so at the Gerald R Ford Museum (yet another 6 steps away). I had no idea they both closed at 5. They advertised planetarium showings until 8, so I figured the museum would be open that long too. False. Either way we got a pretty good deal on our tickets and enjoyed the museum very much. The current traveling exhibit is "Big, Big Bugs!" so we made sure to stop by that room and see all the bugs we could. Fortunately, save crickets, all the bugs were dried and from collectors' stores. There were big tables with drawers containing facts about bugs, things created from bugs, examples of damage by bugs, etc. It was actually very interesting. We stopped at a couple other attractions, including the Numismatics station where we learned some pretty cool facts about our currency. Did you know that inside the numbers on the lower-left corner of the bills (at least the 10 and 20), the printed number "ten" or "twenty" repeats? On the first floor, there was a really great Grand Rapids exhibit that showed a couple of major intersections of the city as they existed when the city was young. It was really cool to walk down the "streets" of our city as they would have been almost two hundred years ago.
Finally before we left, on the third floor, we saw a window seat area that jutted out from the building toward the river. There were placards that gave tidbits of information about the city as it was when it was young as well as about the river itself. It was a fun and educational experience, and it was even romantic even though we were surrounded by moms and dads with their elementary-aged kids. It made my baby-craziness jump into overdrive for a while.
We didn't get to visit the Gerry today, but hopefully we will get to visit soon. There is an "America in the Cold War" exhibit I'd really like to see. We came home after the Public Museum for lack of anything else to do before our dinner reservations at the Bull's Head Tavern, and I was excited to jump into the books I'd checked out from the library (I started the Faulkner book, more on that after I finish it).
At 8:30 we got to the Bull's Head and were taken to their upstairs non-smoking area for dinner. It was intimate and the lighting was dim enough to be tavern-y without needing flashlights for the menu. Unfortunately we were seated next to a bachelorette party that had no concern for anyone around them. Point 1: I don't mind that it's your bachelorette party, I'm glad you're having a good time, but that doesn't give you and your raucous friends the right to impede on the evenings of those around you. Point 2: Everyone upstairs complained about their volume repeatedly, but fortunately they left shortly after our arrival.
On to other things: Dinner. We started with crab cakes, and while they weren't the absolute pinnacle of crab cakeyness, they were very good. I would eat them again anytime. They were served with the typical spiced mayonnaise, but they weren't typical in that they actually contained large quantities of crab, which is always better. I ordered a whiskey sour to go with the appetizer and I was pleased with the balance the bartender struck between sour and whiskey - the last couple times I have ordered the same drink it has been off-balance in one direction or the other.
For entrees, Joe ordered a chicken and pasta dish in a smoked Gouda sauce. Holy cow! It was very tasty - smoky, cheesy and cooked beautifully. I ordered the Caribbean Jerk Salmon with mango salsa. Joe's dinner was great but mine was... indescribable. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the rub and salsa were an incredible combination. I only wish there had been more. I enjoyed a Cosmo on the side - also mixed very nicely. The drink was a little strong, but I prefer them that way. I am no lightweight, and I like to enjoy the fruits of my liquor. The flavor was spot-on and its tartness actually went quite well with the savory and fruity flavors of the dish itself. The service was a bit curt, but I tipped her well anyway seeing that she had to deal with the bachelorette party. We went on to order dessert - the Chocolate Pudding Cake. Mmm, be still my beating taste buds. It was not super-sweet, made with more dark chocolate than lighter chocolates. There was a pleasantly sized lump of vanilla ice cream served with it, and Joe and I may have fought over more than one bite.
All in all, I give our day an A+. It was really great bouncing around the city with Joe, seeing things we hadn't yet seen after living here for 3 years. Evenings with someone you love are always well-spent.
Now it is time to tuck into bed and watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We've got to get up early tomorrow - Joe is recording our friends' band demo at the school. I'll probably end up telling all about that as well.
Stay tuned (:
Hair Health/Growth Regimen Day 1
I decided recently that I'd like to grow about 14 feet of hair before my wedding. This sounds absolutely reasonable (and possible) to me. OK, hyperbole aside, a friend of mine at work started taking iron supplements and saw a nice increase in the health and length of her hair, so I thought I'd copy her. I picked up some iron-focused multivitamins, Mane 'n Tail shampoo, and "Care Free Curl" curl activator. I'd read and seen nice results of Mane 'n Tail helping with body and shine, and my lifeless locks could certainly use the help. I also love my curly hair and am hoping the Care Free Curl (which I will probably refer to as CFC from here on) will help spring it up a bit.
One of my favorite things is to wear my hair curly for several weeks - I'm pretty sure there wasn't a day this past summer that it was straight - and then one day, straighten it out. It looks so much shorter when it's curled that when it is straight I get the feeling of it being so much longer than it really is.
In August '09, I hacked off all my hair. Again, hyperbole, but I made a dramatic cut from armpit-length to chin-length. I always do these stupid things. I'm a highly impulsive person and I just kind of "felt like doing it" until about 3 days later when I was clamoring to have it all back. I've made the same mistake (cutting ridiculous amounts of length off in one fell snip) several times in my life, and I apparently have never learned my lesson.
Well, in October of next year, I'm getting married to Joe and I would ideally have 6 more inches of length by then. If hair typically grows at half and inch per month, and I've got about 18 months to go, hair law says I should be able to get 9 inches. Factoring in regular trimmings (which I should actually start doing) a more realistic goal would be about 6 inches. I'm going to straighten out my hair today and take a picture and compare it to my hair in six months given the iron supplements and hair care products.
I'm also hoping to consume as much water as possible and I'm really hoping to get my diet back in control to not only promote the hair growth but also perhaps shed some weight. That wouldn't be a bad side effect.
One of my favorite things is to wear my hair curly for several weeks - I'm pretty sure there wasn't a day this past summer that it was straight - and then one day, straighten it out. It looks so much shorter when it's curled that when it is straight I get the feeling of it being so much longer than it really is.
In August '09, I hacked off all my hair. Again, hyperbole, but I made a dramatic cut from armpit-length to chin-length. I always do these stupid things. I'm a highly impulsive person and I just kind of "felt like doing it" until about 3 days later when I was clamoring to have it all back. I've made the same mistake (cutting ridiculous amounts of length off in one fell snip) several times in my life, and I apparently have never learned my lesson.
Well, in October of next year, I'm getting married to Joe and I would ideally have 6 more inches of length by then. If hair typically grows at half and inch per month, and I've got about 18 months to go, hair law says I should be able to get 9 inches. Factoring in regular trimmings (which I should actually start doing) a more realistic goal would be about 6 inches. I'm going to straighten out my hair today and take a picture and compare it to my hair in six months given the iron supplements and hair care products.
I'm also hoping to consume as much water as possible and I'm really hoping to get my diet back in control to not only promote the hair growth but also perhaps shed some weight. That wouldn't be a bad side effect.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Staying In
Tonight was a great night to stay in and have a little mini-date with Joe. This afternoon I took him to the doctor to get a bump checked out, and thankfully it turned out to be no big deal. Huge relief. Then while we were waiting to pick up an antibiotic for him, we decided to stay in for the night, play an extra-long round of Mario Party, and have some pizza delivered. There are millions of things to do on a Friday night, but we made the right decision. At around 8, we ordered our half cheese/half pineapple pizza with cheesy breadsticks, and tucked in while we started our nightlong Mario escapade.
One thing that I will truly miss about Grand Rapids is the delectable Mr. Pizza on Michigan St. There is something absolutely perfect about their sauce, and I'm really not one for pizza sauce, and they are liberal with the cheese which suits me very nicely. They were running some special I didn't fully understand on their 16" pizzas, so that's what we got. Absolutely wonderful. It will be great to snack on the leftovers tomorrow.
In between bites we were fiercely competing in 50 rounds of Mario Party. If you've ever played a 50, you know that it is quite an undertaking. It only took us 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is actually the shortest amount of time I've ever completed that many turns in. I ended up winning with an incredible 9 stars (Joe was 2nd place with 5), and we had a totally fun time. It was the most pleasant Friday night possible.
Tomorrow, we're heading out into the city for once. We never really take advantage of going out here, which is pretty shameful. It's not fair to live in a relatively sizable city and never go out and take in the night life. We recently went to Hopcat, a beer bar downtown with our friends Mike and Deanna and had a magnificent time. Mike and I may have enjoyed one too many alcohols, but we didn't make total fools of ourselves. Tomorrow we are planning to visit a couple museums (I had no idea Grand Rapids even had an Art Museum...) and then go to the Bull's Head Tavern for dinner and a couple libations. More on that tomorrow.
Moral of the story is this: if you ever have a business conference at the Amway Grand or someplace in Grand Rapids and you're staying overnight, I recommend you go grab a couple of brews at Hopcat (third best beer bar in the world as rated on BeerAdvocate!), go back to your hotel room, and have Mr. Pizza deliver you a wonderful pie. You'll never want to leave the riverside.
One thing that I will truly miss about Grand Rapids is the delectable Mr. Pizza on Michigan St. There is something absolutely perfect about their sauce, and I'm really not one for pizza sauce, and they are liberal with the cheese which suits me very nicely. They were running some special I didn't fully understand on their 16" pizzas, so that's what we got. Absolutely wonderful. It will be great to snack on the leftovers tomorrow.
In between bites we were fiercely competing in 50 rounds of Mario Party. If you've ever played a 50, you know that it is quite an undertaking. It only took us 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is actually the shortest amount of time I've ever completed that many turns in. I ended up winning with an incredible 9 stars (Joe was 2nd place with 5), and we had a totally fun time. It was the most pleasant Friday night possible.
Tomorrow, we're heading out into the city for once. We never really take advantage of going out here, which is pretty shameful. It's not fair to live in a relatively sizable city and never go out and take in the night life. We recently went to Hopcat, a beer bar downtown with our friends Mike and Deanna and had a magnificent time. Mike and I may have enjoyed one too many alcohols, but we didn't make total fools of ourselves. Tomorrow we are planning to visit a couple museums (I had no idea Grand Rapids even had an Art Museum...) and then go to the Bull's Head Tavern for dinner and a couple libations. More on that tomorrow.
Moral of the story is this: if you ever have a business conference at the Amway Grand or someplace in Grand Rapids and you're staying overnight, I recommend you go grab a couple of brews at Hopcat (third best beer bar in the world as rated on BeerAdvocate!), go back to your hotel room, and have Mr. Pizza deliver you a wonderful pie. You'll never want to leave the riverside.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Welcome!
Hello! This is the Little Yellow Blog, and it shall be the catchall for my leftover thoughts. My fiance, Joe, and I currently live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For those who don't know (...who does?) it is the second-largest city in Michigan, based around the furniture and now the medical industries and located smack dab on top of the Grand River. We both attend college in nearby Allendale, Michigan (probably #341679865 on the Michigan's big cities list). Grand Rapids is about 200 times the size of our home area, and 1/14 the size of our next hometown: Chicago. You heard it here first. Come January, we're packing up and hitting the road on out to the Windy City. I laugh at a lot of people who think Chicago is some big deal. I grew up within its reaches - my hometown is about an hour's drive into the heart of the city (I call my home area the armpit of Michigan because it's right up tight to the Indiana border and also pressed up against Lake Michigan). The rich Chicagoans who own second homes in our small town invade every summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I am very familiar with the city and its people and I often forget it's the third largest city in the country. I guess that makes it pretty cool.
Grand Rapids is a pretty city, with lots of big buildings and of course the signature concrete Flemish knot of highway that tells drivers, "Hey, you're in a bigger city than you were before." The traffic is terrible, the residents are questionable, there are awesome foodie hotspots around town, but there aren't a lot of opportunities left in Grand Rapids (or Michigan) for budding college-grads. So, we go to Chicago. In a long debate over where to go after graduation, Chicago won out over Los Angeles. There are millions of reasons, but the best is that Chicago is almost home to us, and we can get the benefit of a big city (we're ditching our cars in January - woo!) and also have our wee hometown be accessible (an hour-and-a-half long train ride, and we're home).
A friend of ours recently lost his job (see: Michigan economy = terrible) and when I pitched him the idea of Joe and me going to Chicago after graduation, I could see his eyes light up... I knew I'd just found us a roommate. We've been planning extensively and in January, it's so long for now Michigan.
This blog is basically going to capture the thoughts and activities that take us over for the next while. I'll report back with interesting happenings, great bars, new music, favorite cocktails, the hassles of packing and moving, and all sorts of other whatnot. I hope you stay tuned!
-Jayme
Grand Rapids is a pretty city, with lots of big buildings and of course the signature concrete Flemish knot of highway that tells drivers, "Hey, you're in a bigger city than you were before." The traffic is terrible, the residents are questionable, there are awesome foodie hotspots around town, but there aren't a lot of opportunities left in Grand Rapids (or Michigan) for budding college-grads. So, we go to Chicago. In a long debate over where to go after graduation, Chicago won out over Los Angeles. There are millions of reasons, but the best is that Chicago is almost home to us, and we can get the benefit of a big city (we're ditching our cars in January - woo!) and also have our wee hometown be accessible (an hour-and-a-half long train ride, and we're home).
A friend of ours recently lost his job (see: Michigan economy = terrible) and when I pitched him the idea of Joe and me going to Chicago after graduation, I could see his eyes light up... I knew I'd just found us a roommate. We've been planning extensively and in January, it's so long for now Michigan.
This blog is basically going to capture the thoughts and activities that take us over for the next while. I'll report back with interesting happenings, great bars, new music, favorite cocktails, the hassles of packing and moving, and all sorts of other whatnot. I hope you stay tuned!
-Jayme
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