(500) days of summer

The weather this weekend was lovely - sunny and warm enough for a t-shirt, with a cool breeze and a hint of fall in the air. (This is what winter in Bangladesh feels like, my parents said.) Can I tell you how much I love autumn? Apple picking and warm spiced apple cider. Layering clothes. The colors of fall foliage. A new season of must see TV. The crunch of leaves underfoot. Little kids (not pets, Megan :)) in costumes. The smell of baked goods, cinnamon, damp leaves, toasted marshmallows.

As the last days of summer wind down (fingers crossed that the temperature doesn't hit 90 any time soon), I thought I'd have one last go at summer and enjoy the blessings it has to offer:

Lexington Legends v. Hickory Crawdads, Applebee's Park, Lexington, KY. 8/28/09.

Yes, that is Big Boy holding my ticket to the Lexington Legends game. The great thing about single-A baseball is that you get teams with names like Hickory CRAWDADS. Amazing. Also great: you can see a game for about $5 and sit practically on the field and the players are so accessible.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes. 8/29/09.

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen on Saturday, which is a little bit ironic since it is also the month of Ramadan. I love a cold glass of lemonade on a hot summer day, so when I found this recipe for pink lemonade cupcakes, I knew I had to make them. I used the cream cheese frosting that was leftover from a carrot cake I had made (you didn't know I made a carrot cake, did you?) instead of the lemonade buttercream the recipe calls for, but they were still very good. Mine didn't turn out as fluffy as I like cupcakes to be, but they were moist and I liked the slight tartness of the lemonade.

Gazpacho. 8/29/09.

To me, it's not summer unless I've had a good bowl of gazpacho. My mom and I used to go to this lovely little local tearoom at the beginning of every summer, but it was sadly sold to an overpriced bland Mediterranean restaurant a few years back. Early this summer (summer meaning after classes had ended), when I still lived in New York City, I had had some gazpacho with my friend Brando. But it was still too cold to really enjoy the soup, which was too vinegar-y besides. Mine was better. :) I'm not tootin' my own horn; I'm tootin' Ina's (this recipe came from her The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook). I used tomatoes and bell peppers fresh from the garden and added a bit of jalapeno for a kick. It was simply divine. Loved!

Ah, summer, I shall miss you, but I am so ready for fall!

kindred spirits

Last Day of 5th Grade, Elkhorn Elementary, Frankfort, KY. 1995?

My friend Megan, whose 25th birthday is today, and I met and became friends under the strangest of circumstances-- although, technically, it was me who was strange (and not the circumstances). Yet, despite my weirdness, or maybe because of it (and hers, too), Megan and I became fast friends and stayed friends through our many middle school fights ("It's your turn to get the band stand!"), going to different colleges, the general growing pains of life, etc.

I think this Brian Andreas print perfectly sums up our friendship, which is why a certain someone might be getting it as a birthday present :) (don't worry, she already knows):

From the StoryPeople's website

(I love the honest simplicity and childlike wisdom of Brian Andreas' work, and I highly recommend browsing through his prints.)

Happy birthday, Mega Coin!

what i wore: sexy back

Saris, in general, are somewhat of a pain for me to wear: standing still long enough to be pinned here-there-and-everywhere to keep the sari firmly in place, the too-tight petticoat cutting off circulation to my lower body, the yards of fabric weighing me down and constricting my movement... This one, a gift from one of my favorite aunts, in particular gave me quite a bit of trouble; the detailed embroidery made this sari heavier than any of the other ones I've worn. But it was simply too lovely -- much lovelier in person than in these photographs -- not to wear to the wedding reception yesterday.

I chose to forgo wearing a necklace because I didn't want anything to compete with the designs on the achol and kept it "simple" with oversized beaded gold earrings (not pictured) and these glittering bangles. I should never be entrusted with nice things, though, because I lost one of the bangles (the first one) by the end of the night. :(

c is for cookie

And what a cookie!

My boss brought in these for my last day of work today. Peanut butter cookies + melted chocolate + M&Ms = Yum-O! My pictures do not do them justice.

Peanut Butter Pizza Cookies. 8/13/09.

And what did I say about edible surprises being an instant mood brightener? :)

m.i.a.

Okay, so I've been MIA. Everyday I think, "I will update my blog today," and then everyday I do a million other things instead of blogging. (Although, I did retroactively update my blog here, here, and here.) I am a blogging failure.

In my defense, I've been a little mopey, since the job search isn't going as well as I had hoped. And it's a weird place to be, to be "in transition." Since I'm looking for (development, grant writing, program management) jobs in NYC and DC, should I move back to NYC (or to DC) and stay with friends, or should I wait to move until I have something lined up? How long can I stay with friends before becoming a bad house guest, especially when I don't have any prospects? Even little things like, should I open a gym membership here at home while I look for jobs elsewhere?

More and more I don't feel like I'm "transitioning"; I just feel like I'm stagnating.

Normally when I feel this way -- when I feel "magenta" (at the 5:00 mark) -- I engage in a little retail therapy to lift my spirits. (Okay, full disclosure, I did buy some new shoes (they're very cute!).) But perhaps, instead, I should focus on the (mostly) non-material things that brighten my mood:

a short list of things that never fail to make me smile

1. waking up to sunshine flooding my room, and (conversely, strangely) waking up to an early sunday morning thunderstorm
   
2. flipping through old photos, even if i don't remember what was happening when they were taken, like this one: ... look at all that pink i'm wearing!
   
3. finding the perfect gift... and trying (unsuccessfully) not to spoil it
4. rolling down the window, turning up the radio, and driving down long stretches of empty road
   
5. a good conversation
6. freshly baked goods
7. laughing until you pee... and then laughing at that
8. the golden girls
9. fresh cut flowers
10. planning a trip, even if i never make it to my destination
    
11. great children's picture books, like cornelia funke's the princess knight, doreen cronin's diary of a worm, kate mcmullan's i'm bad, and anything mo willems
12. unexpectedly getting free food at the office (or anywhere, really)
13. looking up at the night sky and being able to see the stars
14. spontaneous dance parties
    

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but I think this is a good start. Next time, instead of spending money I don't have on things I don't need, maybe I'll just flip on the Golden Girls? ...We'll see. :)