Poco-Cocoa – Page 52 – Things & Stuff

Things and Things
Sometimes I get caught up in little icky things, and so I forget about big awesome things.

Things I Get Caught Up In
1. Ugh, I can’t believe I have to work (write) ALL weekend.
2. Omigosh I have so many photo shoots and chef interviews this week.
3. I weigh more than I did in college.
4. I don’t have a job with a salary, benefits, retirement, and colleagues.
5. My hair won’t grow.
6. I have too many books and magazines to catch up on.
7. Yuck, it’s going to get SOOO hot this summer.
Things I Forget About
1. Wow, I get to work at home, with my love, and enjoy a break for a spot of tea! (Also, I’m writing A BOOK!)
2. Hooray, I get to hang out with awesome chefs and the lovely Aimee this week!
3. Yay, I finally have curves!
4. I get to make my own hours, work with awesome people, and do what I love!
5. Short hair rocks!
6. I have tons of books and magazines to read!
7. Right now it’s spring, and it’s beautiful!
Thank you for participating in my little exercise. I now return you to your regularly scheduled day.
April 15, 2012

Everyday Life
It’s true love.

It’s true love because he makes my favorite kind of fresh juices in the mornings and leaves them in the refrigerator for me.

It reminds me of one of my favorite poems, True Love by Judith Viorst.♥

April 11, 2012

Everyday Life
Randoms

I saw a bumper sticker that said:

If you think you feel good, wait until you feel me.
I laughed so hard.

Last night I was looking through my Menu Design in America book (I LOVE this book), and I saw a menu with a drawing of a zeppelin on it (like this one). It described how zeppelin images were popular in the early 20th century when zeppelins were in use. I nearly dropped my book – do you know that I had NO IDEA that a zeppelin was a REAL thing? I always assumed they were some fantastical fictional things that showed up in storybooks. I felt slightly dumb but also completely dumbfounded, and I reminded myself of Félix Lerbier at the end of Amelie when he learns there are more links possible in his brain than atoms in the universe:

I have had this song stuck in my head for days, after watching Young Adult. And, much like Mavis Gary, I replay it in my car over and over. But not on a cassette.

Today for dinner I made curried chickpeas, quinoa, salad with homemade vinaigrette, and kale with tahini-mustard sauce. Even better, Justin asked if he could eat the last of the kale. Victory!!

This morning, I heard from some long lost chefs, received last-minute recipes, cleared out most of my inbox, and in general had a good start to my day. I caught myself actually say out loud, “Everything’s coming up Milhouse!”

This is released tomorrow. Squeeee!

I’m totally going to BookPeople tomorrow to buy a Moleskine address book. For this. I love it!

I hope you’re all having a good start to the week.♥

April 9, 2012

Everyday Life
Happy things

This is Cowgirl (and my friend N., who has the most awesome rabbit ring). I’ve been seeing a lot of this cute puppy lately with my new F&D gig, and I’m completely smitten with her. She’s so sweet, so gentle, so soft, so well-behaved… she follows me around and harumphs when I don’t leave her enough space, and in general just makes me smile.

Which is good, because at the moment, STRESS is my middle name. It’s down to the last few weeks before my book deadline, and I’m still wrangling chefs and measuring recipe amounts and writing, writing, writing. I’ve been consistent in working on it daily, but along with working at F&D and a possible (probable) new gig starting soon, my brain is stretched like taffy!

I know now that the last month of book writing is always like this – even though I know I will finish on time, it’s stressful and I worry a lot, and I want to do things right and I want to like my writing and my work (which is often the hardest part), and I still want to have a life, and some days writing feels like drilling holes in my skull. But the knowledge of this doesn’t make it any easier.

Thankfully, I have a great editor who motivates me and takes care of me, and a great photographer who is battling right there along with me. Come May 1st, you’ll probably find the two of us celebrating ALL DAY with multiple adult beverages and maybe a cake.

So! I may not be here as much as I’d like to this month, but just know that it will all be over soon and I’ll have written another book! It’s worth it, in the end.♥

April 5, 2012

Everyday Life
Happy birthday to me!

I celebrated my 34th birthday this weekend… all weekend long. On Friday we started with lunch at Home Slice, then dinner with Chad and Linds at Fabi + Rosi. Chef Wolfgang brought out glasses of bubbly to toast, and coincidentally, his birthday was just a few days later. I ate charcuterie and cheese and white bean soup and mushroom risotto with duck confit and crack pie with a candle stuck in it. It was wonderful. Afterward, we headed home for Manhattans and watched Young Adult.

Justin made sure the rest of the weekend was an outdoor adventure. On Saturday, we met up with our friends Erin and Nat and had lunch at Casa de Luz on the patio. We stopped for snow cones, parked somewhere near South Congress, and perused the shops that lined the street. We bought candy and tried on vintage dresses and stopped for coffee at Jo’s. We sat on the patio at Perla’s all night long, slurping oysters and drinking bubbly and enjoying the cool breeze. We had ice cream at Lick, my new favorite place (coconut-peanut-butter-chocolate ZOMG), then poked in at Henri’s for cheese and wine. Afterward, we headed home to drink sazeracs and watch The Muppets.

Sunday was blueberry muffins and naps and outdoors and patios. We spent the evening at Contigo, just the two of us, sipping rosé and old fashioneds and sharing a bacon cheeseburger. It was a fantastic weekend of patios and friends and most importantly, my lovely husband who made sure it all happened, and that I had a relaxing, delicious weekend. Can it be my birthday every weekend?♥

April 3, 2012

Everyday Life

Things and Things

Things I Get Caught Up In

Things I Forget About

It’s true love.

Randoms

Happy things

Happy birthday to me!