SEE : on why i love dc

Guess who I saw this weekend?

{beat}
Barack Obama! In jeans! Less than a block away! (My cell phone camera doesn't have a great zoom. Or any zoom, for that matter. So here's an official photo for proof.)

(J. Scott Applewhite, AP Photo/ July 30, 2010) (via)

My friend Ben and I were eating dinner outside when a cavalcade of black SUVs and police cars pulled up at the Spy Museum across the street. Michelle and Sasha arrived first, and Barry (we're on a first name basis, FYI) came with the second round of cars. We cheered and clapped; he waved. It was all pretty exciting.

And did Ben and I wait around for the First Family to come back out? Um... no comment. :)

sugar rush

My parents called a moratorium on my baking efforts last week, after I made biscotti, chocolate cupcakes, and a carrot cake within the span of 24 hours. {Focusing my energy on an activity that has an end result somewhat assuages the frustrations of job hunting.} So what's a girl in need of a sugar fix to do but visit as many cupcakeries and bakeries in a day as possible?

{Black forest & strawberry cupcakes from Brown's Bakery and chai tea cupcake from Babycakes; My favorite cupcake of the day {Chai Tea Cupcake}; Strawberry tart from Le Matin; Chocolate flourless squares, vanilla cupcakes, and a petit four from Tinker's Cake Shop; Guava and cream cheese pastry from Old San Juan; Baked goodies from Mondelli's Bake Shop}

Best sugar coma ever.

an apple a day

A few things I learned yesterday:

1. If you have seasonal allergies, then it's probably not a good idea to go apple picking on a farm in early September without taking your allergy medicine.
   
   1a. At the very least, take lots of Kleenex, so you don't have to steal paper napkins from the Sweet Apple Cafe.
   
   
2. You do not know more than Google Maps.
   
   
3. Buy a whole, not half, gallon of fresh pressed apple cider, because you will finish a half gallon within two days. And it is a bad decision to not buy fresh apple cider donuts; you will regret that later.

Apples, Evans Orchard and Cider Mill, Georgetown, KY. 9/11/09.

I have been super lazy this past week -- seriously, if I were a Harry Potter character, my Animagus would be a sloth (yeah, I just referenced Harry Potter. I am that cool.) -- so it was really nice to be outside, even with my allergies in attack mode and getting lost on the way to the orchard. Plus, picking my own apples gave me a(n artificial) sense of accomplishment, and I like the idea of knowing where my food came from...

Shirt: Forever 21. Scarf: Bakers. Flower bobby pin: H&M.

ETA: My dad has kindly pointed out that we have pear trees in our backyard that I could've picked for free. He's such a Debbie Downer.

(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!

nyc bucket list update: staten island

1. Go to Staten Island. See the new South Ferry Station (is that lame?). Ride the ferry. Eat Ralph's ices.

Staten Island Ferry, NYC. 5/13/09.

I have now been to all five boroughs! Unfortunately, Lucia and I didn't make it to Ralph's, because, apparently, Staten Island is big. Trying to figure out how to get to the closest Ralph's was like trying to figure out how to use the subway map for the first time: a lot of trouble. Instead, we hung around the promenade for a bit, took pictures at the 9/11 Memorial, made fun of the Staten Island Yankees, and then took the next Ferry back to civilization.

Leaving Manhattan, On the SI Ferry, NYC. 5/13/09.

Hair Blowin' in the Wind, On the SI Ferry, NYC. 5/13/09.

Statue of Liberty: View from the SI Ferry, NYC. 5/13/09.

Lucia at the 9/11 Memorial, Staten Island, NYC. 5/13/09.

all the news that's fit for a half hour comedy show

9. Catch a taping of The Daily Show and/or The Colbert Report.

The Daily Show Studio, NYC. 5/12/09.*

So I cheated: I changed #9 on my "NYC bucket list" from eating hot dogs in Coney Island to watching a taping of The Daily Show. In my defense, I've already been to Coney Island, so it didn't make sense to include it on the list as my intention was to do and see things I haven't done before. I also didn't think it would be possible to see a taping of either show before leaving, since it takes a certain amount of foresight and persistence to reserve tickets.

Apparently, I lack foresight and persistence. Lucky for me, I have friends who don't. :)

Holding our golden tickets!

We got to the studio around 3PM -- you have to be there by 4:30PM in order to get the tickets -- and the line was already a hundred people in (no kidding: when we finally got our tickets, we were numbers 93-96 in line). But it was a nice afternoon, and we managed to keep ourselves entertained until we -- or rather, the people at the head of the line -- were finally ushered into the studio at 5:15ish PM. (We had to be screened, so they let people into the studio in stages.)

The studio is much smaller in person, as is the man behind the desk; Jon Stewart is a wee little man (okay, not exactly "wee" but definitely shorter than I expected). Before the taping began, Jon (Mr. Stewart?) took several questions from the audience. His responses were funny, and I would retell them here except I'd totally over-explain the joke and kill the humor. Tom Hanks was the guest (!), and -- I don't know how the interview seemed on TV but -- it seemed like a whirlwind of a discussion on antimatter, symbology, mugs that looked like Prince Charles, and then boom! he was gone. I know the interviews are always that short, but it seemed so much shorter in person. Tom Hanks is such a nerd. :)

At the end of the show, Jon Stewart thanked us for coming, which was nice. Save for that and the Q&A at the beginning, though, there was little interaction between the audience and the show. While it was exciting to see Jon Stewart in person (and in action) and I did have fun, it wasn't too different from watching it on TV. I love Jon Stewart, but I don't think I would wait in line again to watch his show live.

*Photos courtesy Joanna. Thanks, Jojo!

the big potato

"i don't know how people live here, dorothy.
i mean, it's all very interesting and everything in the world is here, but
it's so tall, and so crowded, and so noisy,
and so much!
i've never seen so much of everything in my whole life."

-- rose nylund, on new york city

I've begun to compile a bucket-list-of-sorts of things I want to do before I leave the city. Rose is right: everything in the world is here, and I've not really been able to explore the city as assignments and readings and bad time management got in the way. Graduation is but a mere few weeks away, and I have the apartment until May 31, so here it is:

things i want to see and do in nyc before i go:

1. Go to Staten Island. See the new South Ferry Station (is that lame?). Ride the ferry. Eat Ralph's ices.
2. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge. (How have I not done this already?) Treat myself to Grimaldi's afterward.
   
3. Visit the Brooklyn Flea: White Dove NYC. Kumquat Cupcakery. Liddabet Sweets. etc.
   
4. See 9 to 5!!! I love me some Dolly Parton! Maybe I'll take mom to see this when the parents come for graduation?
5. Eat at Chip Shop. I'm Southern. I like things fried. Like Twinkies. Mmm... Clogged arteries.
6. Sunbathe at Water Taxi Beach.
7. Stalk Liz Lemon at 30 Rock, or take in the view at Top of the Rock.
8. Gamble away the few dollars I have in Atlantic City. Walk the Boardwalk. Eat Taffy.
9. Catch a taping of The Daily Show and/or The Colbert Report.
   
10. Check out the museums at ICP and FIT. Be inspired.
    

... it's a work in progress.