movie night at the orpheum

two weekends in a row, we have gotten to enjoy the movie night at the orpheum. it is so much fun to go an watch old movies in the venue they were originally shown in. there is a big difference in watch these movies on your couch and in the grandeur of a place like the orpheum. 

last week, we met rachel, adam, and rachel's new law school friend + husband for butch cassidy and the sundance kid. i have an eternal crush on paul newman, and paired with robert redford, things only get better. if you haven't seen butch cassidy, definitely put it on your netflix queue. if you have seen it, another paul and robert fav of mine is the sting. my dad introduced me to this movie years ago, and i can't get enough of it. 

last night we double-dated with our roommate and his girlfriend (both fellow classmates of sean's) for gone with the wind. classic and utterly enjoyable. we got a couple beers and a big tub of popcorn, and settled in for the almost 4-hour film. it had been years since i had actually sat through the entire movie at once. it's a test of stamina, for sure, but completely worth it. in a slight digression... last night i became more aware of how completely insane and manic scarlett o'hara actually is. it's quite exhausting. there's no way things would have ever worked out with her and rhett. i'm just sayin'. 

friends+ old venice + muddy's

sean's on call for pediatrics tonight- he left at 5:30 this morning and i won't see him until i get home from work tomorrow night. that's no fun. BUT i have fantastic friends who invited me out for dinner and dessert!! many thanks to paul and suzanne for adopting me tonight- paul even bought my dinner!

along with several other med-students, we went to old venice pizza company. believe it or not, that building used to be my pediatrician's office! when we were eating, i tried to see if i could remember the space how it used to be, with colorful murals everywhere and jars of lollipops. not quite... the food was delicious. suz and paul got some killer spinach dip and the chicken tuscany pizza. i got the eggplant parmesan. not the best i've had, but definitely tasty. (ciao bella is still my fav.)

after dinner we went to muddy's bake shop- a place i've been eyeing for a looong time. i'd heard so many great things, and just recently they won "memphis' best bakery". i got a classic staple- vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing. mmmmmmmm. i'm already looking forward to going back. i mean, place your eyes on THIS....

to all my girl friends who come visit every so often... this is going to be our next must-do activity. coffee and cupcakes at muddy's. i'd better not hear any arguing.

back to blogging

has is actually been 20 days since my last blog?? oh geez.

i don't really have any excuses, just add it to the long list of things i always have on my to-do list... i seem to accomplish most of those things, but i guess blogging is dead last and inevitably gets new to-do items shoved to a higher priority regardless of how much time it spends on the list. poor blog. i got inspired to write today when i was doing some eco-friendly materials research at work. i found a website, that had a "check out our blog" section. the blog had ONE entry. from 2007. i vowed right then and there to (try to) not neglect my blog like that.

i've been good about running lately. yay!! i always fall out of love with running during the summer because it's just too damn hot, which my real runner friend, sarah, can attest to. but the last month has been ridiculously good weather, and has inspired me to get back into it for my fall race season. and yes, i do have a fall race season. i love running in the fall and winter, and that's when most of the races are. so i have 2 races each month from september to december, mostly 5k's with a couple of 4-milers thrown in. i have been having great runs each night after work, and each leaves more more inspired for the next. oh, and sarah (running friend) is doing the chicago marathon in october. that is also VERY inspiring.

seattle/portland vacation cannot come soon enough. i am really looking forward to seeing a completely new part of the country and (hopefully) loving it so much we'll want to live there!! now, to be realistic, sean and i have also sat down with a list of residency programs to figure out all of the places in the u.s. that we'd be willing to go... that match program is crazy and you're only screwing yourself if you limit your options. we have cities all over the country- ca, wa, or, co, ny, ma, il, ct, de, nh... you get the idea. i think we'll get some time to visit denver at some point, and probably new york city and boston. very, very exciting and i can't wait to see where we end up!!

and now i'm watching hgtv show #5 of the night. i know, that's a little extreme, but i LOVE these shows. now showing: house hunters international goes to the caribbean. these people and their vacations homes.... makes me bubble over with jealously. earlier, house hunters went to portland, and sean and i got a small education on the condo market there. not cheap. that's all i'll say.

and i really have to get going on my paintings. i've avoided working on them so far, but with a show coming up in november, i'm probably going to regret not getting started when i originally planned to. i'm going image hunting tomorrow so i should have a good bank of inspiration.

as random as this has been, i hope it hasn't been to terribly boring. i've enjoyed getting some thoughts out and i hope i can be disciplined enough to come back soon. wish me luck, dear readers. whoever you are.

running in the rain

... is something i am not yet prepared to do. we have had a plethora of storms lately, and one came again last night. 3am. room-filling lightning and constant thunder. i was planning on running this morning, but as i lay in bed listening to the storm and trying to go back to sleep, i realized it was unlikely i would have the motivation to get out of bed when the time came.

many times i use the rain as an excuse not to exercise, which is probably fine if you're living in memphis. BUT if sean and i end up in seattle, which i am hoping for, decisions will have to be made. either 1. i buy a treadmill, but i hate treadmills so i hate that idea 2. i join a gym, but that seems like kind of a waste when you're in the midst of such beautiful, natural, active surroundings or 3. suck it up and become one of those hard core people who runs rain or shine, and maybe even barefoot in the snow just for fun. yeah, that sounds good.

seattle

sean and i are planning our first "find out if we want to live here post-med school" trip to seattle!! we're looking at going just before thanksgiving, since sean has that entire week off. we would, of course, be back in time for turkey :)

we got a travel book yesterday, to get the process started, and have also done mucho research on flights, trains and car rentals for a side trip to portland, and a little work on the cost of apartments... just to get an idea of the big city prices. (actually wasn't nearly as shocking as i thought it would be. yay!) so i don't really have any details for you, but we are getting excited about this opportunity to live somewhere else... here are some of our favorite pictures we found while perusing the internet yesterday.

breakfast at tiffany's

i cannot believe that i have only just NOW seen this movie. i don't know how i survived before... this was a $7 purchase at target with sean on friday, and last night we curled up on the couch with some pizza and drinks and my life was changed forever. i love how modern it is- at some points i had to remind myself that it's almost 50 years old. i'm sure you've seen it, but in case you haven't, RUN to your nearest store or get on netflix right now and push it to the top of your queue. happy viewing.

ps- i want EVERY SINGLE THING that audrey hepburn wore in this movie. now, please.

meet lola!

sean and i finally got the chance to go get another kitty!!

we'd been talking about it for a few months, but knew it would be better to wait until after he was back from chattanooga, and things were settled again. we had already decided we wanted to get a little boy kitten and name him oscar, after the fabulous waiter we had in venice last summer.

yesterday morning we went to humane society. right when we walked in there was a kind of towered kennel that had four kittens, three black-and-white and one grey... all female. the woman who was getting ready to clean their cage saw us oooogling and suggested we take all four into the visiting room and play with them while she took care of the kennel.

we left with lola, or rather "kuna" (sean came up with "lola" in the car on the way home). she's a bundle of fun for sure. very energetic and happy. also excited to play with zoe. now, zoe only returns those feelings about half the time, but eventually i think she'll come around. for now she's a little timid but that's to be expected. we're just going to try and give her as much love as we did before, since she will always be our number one baby :) plus, you don't want zoe to be pissed at you. you'll wake up to find a turd in your bed. it's true.

lola was... how shall we say it... interactive last night. she loves to talk. and apparently she's a vampire because she doesn't need to sleep. so i'm a little fatigued (sean is still asleep) but i'm sure i'll manage... we will need to formulate a kind of game plan today, though. being awoke multiple times between 2am and 5am is not something i'm willing to get used to.

regardless, we LOVE our new addition!! here are a couple of pics... the ones i could get of her where she wasn't a bluuuuur. ENJOY!

wardrobe woes

i wish it was fall so that i could wear my pashminas.

they're calling to me.

new recipe!!

after our racquetball game last night, sean and i coupled this delightful dish with some spanish rice. it's quick and delicious and you should make it!!

SPANISH-STYLE SHRIMP WITH GARLIC

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or more if you like spicy)

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

pinch of kosher salt

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

4 lemon wedges

heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

add crushed red pepper, garlic, and bay leaf and cook 2 minutes stirring constantly.

bump the heat up to medium-high and add shrimp

saute about 4-5 minutes until the shrimp are fully cooked.

remove from heat, sprinkle with salt and discard bay leaf.

sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

TA-DA!!

yeah, i'm still here

my sincerest apologies for the lack of posting lately. there's lots going on. including, but not limited to, painting for the show, boyfriend back in town, holiday celebrations, ribs at the parent's house, cleaning the house... and it has all swallowed me whole. but i will do my best to get back on track.

tonight, sean and i resume our pre-chattanooga workout regimen with a few games of racquetball. looking forward to that. then i'll probably make this new shrimp dish i've been eyeing for about a month.

for now, though, i'm just tryin to give myself a pep-talk for the week ahead. i love 3 day weekends. not 5 day work-weeks. and now it's time to leave... meeting the boss and the client for a site visit. i know you're jealous.

happy monday!!

penny pinching

in an effort to not spend a fortune on AC this summer, we've been keeping the 3rd floor air off during the day. every night when i go up there to paint, i turn the air on and after about an hour and a half it's only 80 degrees :) ha. still not great, but better than what i see when i go up there at first:

who knows how hot it actually is up there... the poor little needle has no where else to go.

welcome to memphis summers.

the time has come

i'm so tired of having a clothes crisis every single morning. i'll be shopping this weekend, thank you very much.

the run-down

my boss brought his dog to work today and she sat in my lap while i worked. finally finished getting the house clean over lunch. it's been a weeklong endeavor. kept getting distracted at work by the fun that shall inevitably ensue this weekend- sarah is in town and our usual routine includes lots of delicious food and wine, sandwiched by fantastic conversation. the bldg super came in to warn of the massive and violent storm headed our way. "might be good to get outta here" so we did. spent 45 minutes sitting in a friend's basement waiting for the tornado sirens to STOP. stayed on the phone with susan and we weathered the storm together. trees down on the way home. crap alllll over the streets. luckily no lights were out so the drive was easy. zoe sleeping next to me. her little leg draped over my arm. i wish ppl could see this side of her. not the side where she attacks your face at full force. waiting for sarah to arrive at mi casa. starving... constantly thinking "what will we have to eat"... looking forward to a girly night with my bestie, wine, and sex and the city.

s t r e s s

i have so much to do this week i can't even fathom it. last night i made a task list for the next 4-5 days, and it's quite daunting. painting, cleaning, housesitting, exercising, grocery shopping, working, laundry.... i'm starting to become overwhelmed. and it's even more overwhelming to me that it's taken THIS long to get overwhelmed. i should have been more prepared.

i wish i had one of those remote controls like zack morris in saved by the bell. i'd love to pause the world around me and keep on working. or offer a genius commentary on life and the people around me without anyone noticing. that kid had it MADE.

i want it all. now.

just spending a lovely summer's evening painting, reading mags, online window shopping... found these on the new arrivals page at JCrew.com.

must. have. e v e r ything.

but here are my favs:

now all i need to do is win the lottery. that should be eeeeeasy.

home again

we had a wonderful family vacation to seagrove beach. sb has been our go-to-destination for the past 15 years or so. it is such a wonderful area and the beaches are beautiful. all of the little beach towns are fairly close together, so it is really easy to town-hop for shopping, beaching, eating, etc. on our way down there, we heard the weekly forecast and it looked very very dim. rain. every day. for the next week. but somebody else had different plans in store for us... it rained ONE morning. that's it. the rest of the time was sweet, sweet sunshine.

on the one morning that it did rain, mom and i went out for a walk and got caught in the downpour on the way back. we finally got back to the condo and looked like we had entered the most intense wet t-shirt contest ever. we felt pretty hardcore.

highlights:

1. reading beachside. finished twilight and started the fountainhead. talk about opposites :) i've been telling myself i'll read the fountainhead for some time now. and despite the fact that i was semi-intimidated by it, so far i really like it. i'm about 250 pages in and going strong.

2. "the blue giraffe". a fabulous art and jewelry shop in neighboring watercolor, fl, which singlehandedly inspired me to PAINT PAINT PAINT!! by far my most favorite shop in that area. www.thebluegiraffeon30a.com if you're interested.

3. angelina's pizza. this little pizza place stole our hearts on our very first trip to seagrove. they make the best pizzas around, and have such a cozy atmosphere. nothing fancy, just good food. we ate there twice this time :) on our first night... and our last.

4. man vs ocean. on our last day, the ocean waves were especially sizable. nothing compared to hawaii or anything, but big enough to toss you around and knock the girls loose from the swimsuit top... at one point, our entire family was out there, trying to bodysurf the waves and/or just survive getting hit by one. SO MUCH FUN. and then... we spotted another family riding the waves nearby... a family of s t i n g r a y s. so we "calmly" made our way back to our safe, comfy towels and continued our sun-soaking regimen.

5. quote of the trip. "i had no idea i was so cool!" -dad

so here i am. back in memphis. happy to see my cat, zoe, but wishing i was still on the beach. one thing i have to comfort me is a LOT of reading choices that i collected today. of course i still have the fountainhead, which i plan on diving into after this post. at borders this afternoon, i bought 2 magazines, metropolis and vogue. architecture & design and fashion. fabulous!! i picked up the memphis flyer at lunch with the fam at the bagel company, and i have a new women's health that rachel so graciously housed for me while i was out of town. my goal is to stay motivated for a bikini body even though my beach vacations are over for this year. i am also going to make an effort to actually READ the magazines i get, instead of flipping through and only looking at the pictures. there's interesting stuff to be learned and i intend on doing so.

it is good to be home. there's something comforting about your own house, your own spaces, that even vacations can't compete with. yet without the existence of both, each would lose its meaning. i am so thankful for a wonderful family to share that vacation with, and a wonderful place to come home to.

another vacation!! so soon!!

so on friday, i'm leaving work early to head south with the fam... seagrove beach, here we come!! this has been our beach vacation spot for many years now, and we thought it was about time to revisit and reconnect. we'll be spending friday night in birmingham and then driving the rest of the way on saturday morning. we'll be there for ONE WHOLE WEEK!!! YAY!!!! here are just a few of the things i am looking forward to:

pool-side afternoons

shell gazing

walks along the beach

swimming in the gulf

the red bar

fried shrimp and hush puppies

not good at all

yesterday, sean's tv fell off of the wall in our bedroom. the little gadget that held the tv to the arm on the wall just snapped. it crushed a lamp, sent glass all over the room, and scratched the tv screen pretty badly. zoe is completely freaked out by the tv now, and won't go anywhere near it. judging from the chaos that i found on my nightstand- lamp, picture, remotes strewn everywhere- i'm guessing she was lounging on the bed when it happened. i checked her little feet for any glass but she's ok. i called sean last night to tell him and he was asleep in the on-call room. i'm sure that's exactly the wake up call he wanted...

a whole bunch of things

a lot went on today, and i'm here to give you the exclusive scoop!! i bet you feel lucky...

work went well- we're staying busy and i'm learning lots. i get to do a larger variety of stuff at this new office. and it's refreshing to have something different to do everyday. after work i went down to mud island for an evening run with rachel. things have been busy lately and we haven't had much hang out time, so it was fun to get together for a bit. the run was nice, too. the weather has been perfect for the past couple of days and that helped a lot with my endurance since i haven't been training as methodically as i should have been. the zoom through the zoo race is on thursday. it's a 4-miler. i know i can do it, i just hope it's not so hot that it's unenjoyable.

zoe has been grooming herself for the past 45 minutes. after talking with sean on the phone tonight, i noticed zoe has a bit of a stench to her... just a little accident... ew. so i had to give her a bath. yes, i gave my cat a bath.

BEFORE

AFTER

she didn't really want anything to do with me since then, although she made sure to stay within my line of sight so i could see what i'd done to her. i think she has finally forgiven me and is laying with me in bed. cuddles.

but before all this craziness, i had a fabulous dinner. SIMPLE, SUMMERY AND SAVORY. i shall share :)

BLACK BEAN, CORN, AND AVOCADO SALAD

serves 6

1 (30-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups corn kernels

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 avocado, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tsp grated lime zest

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

combine all ingredients in a bowl. serve at once.

i put the mixture on a bed of lettuce, along with some baked tortilla chips.

another fabulous weight watcher's recipe: 283 cal per serving

you can also make your own tortilla chips... cut reduced fat flour tortillas into strips or triangles and arrange on a sheet of foil. bake on the middle of a pre-heated oven at 375, until toasted. about 5 minutes.

that's a good note to end on. so i will.

quickest, most delicious dinner ever

PAN-SEARED SALMON with FRESH TOMATO-BASIL RELISH

this dinner for two takes only fifteen minutes!!! since i am missing my other half, i ate most of this dinner myself. but in my defense i did buy a slightly smaller piece of salmon than the recipe called for.

2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 (6-oz) salmon fillets, skin on

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp olive oil

combine the tomatoes, basil, garlic, vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp in a small bowl.

sprinkle the salmon with the cumin and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. add the salmon, skin-side up, and cook for 4 minutes. turn the salmon and cook 1 minute longer. cover the pan, reduce heat to medium, and cook until the salmon is just opaque in the center and flakes easily, 2-3 minutes.

transfer the salmon to serving plates and add the tomato mixture to the skillet. increase the heat to high and cook until the mixture is warmed through, 1-2 minutes. spoon the relish over the salmon.

it's a weight watchers recipe, too :) 350 cal per serving. enjoy!!