Could It Be Love?

Dear TJ's,

I've always been skeptical of you.  You seemed the flight of a school girl's snack time fancy, not a place for true (albeit ameutur) cooks.  But time and time again you were brought up in conversations.  Friends told me to take you out for a spin.  They told me that if I didn't like you then I never had to see you again.  Oh TJ's what a stubborn girl I was!

"When the 'Wish Big Win Big' game is up," I told myself, "I'll give TJ's a try."  The jig is up and today was your day to shine.  I was distracted the whole way to you, TJ's.  I had just blown a fuse and didn't quite know it yet and was feeling quite childish for asking about it.  It was a common walk, but a somewhat nervous one too.

Arriving at your doorstep, I was unsure how to proceed.  Why was I being immediately thrown into the fruits and veggies?  I longed for the familiarity I'd had with my Jewel before.  I wandered, a bit disoriented through the produce aisle.  Grapefruit, yes.  And something to replace mushrooms in a meat pie.  Cauliflower, okay.  And English Muffins.  Or British Muffins, if you say so.  Why must we rush into these things though?  I turn the corner to finally meet my dairy section with a sigh of relief.  Cheese and milk, but where is my Oberweis?  This made me a sad chicken, but I pressed on through the frustration.

Now, meats always give me pause, so I can't entirely blame you TJ's, but I was again dismayed at the choices. Where was the plain chuck steak I needed?  Or a smaller package for those of us not feeding an entire village? For that matter, where was the deli counter?  Choosing a too-large package of beef cubes, I turned away towards the baking section, another moment of confusion.  Where was my powered sugar?  "Not today," One of your crew told me.

After all this frustration and madness (if $3 vanilla beans aren't madness I don't know what is), I made my way to the checkout.  Another crew member cheerfully helped me check out my groceries.  He even packed the bag for me while I swiped my card for a total of $36.20.  I'm sorry, what was that amount?  And then with my cashback added?

The whole walk home I kept staring at my cart.  $36.20!?!?!?!?!?!?  How is this possible.  I must not have bought as much food.  There's no way this is the price tag for the same amount of groceries I normally buy for a week.  I usually pay twice that.  It's because I didn't buy that much meat this week, isn't it?  That must be it.  Because I can't think of another explanation.  I nearly missed my walk signal because I was wracking my brain for another report.

Now, having come home safe, and checked the recipt again, I can think of none.  I can only determine that I must try again.  Double check to make sure.  Parts of me still don't believe it, but something in my soul is wanting to ask...

Trader Joe's will you be my Valentine?

Skeptically Yours,
Rachel

Technology is Jealous

This is a few days late, but I'm going to post it anyway.  My computer seems to have overheard a conversation my roommate and I were having about future computer purchases.  I was picture these future purchases to be quite a ways in the future, but it appears I may have been mistaken.  I guess we'll have to see how things work out.  But without further ado...

This time lapse video is awesome.

On owning the things you like.

Amy has some Words of Wisdom for the days when you're not feeling so fine.

Some thoughts on Boy Scouts.

So, this article made me think harder about all the times guys tell me to smile.  I think next time I'll hit them with my purse.  Also, I need to get on that self defense class.

This week I like: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (especially David Boreanaz), sleep, walking to work down Michigan Avenue, Once Upon a Time, leftovers, and friends who buy me food.

Picture Unrelated

There was this one time, my sister and I were watching Buffy and we wanted to go upstairs to get a snack.  We paused the DVD and this was the result.  Needless to say that there are multiple pictures.  Sometimes, she or I will make this face (or attempt to anyway) at each other when the other isn't expecting it.  We'll both crack up laughing.  We are awesome.

I spent last night eating far too much food at a gathering of friends.  I am so glad to be spending time with friends already this year and I just hope so much that I'll be able to keep it up this semester.  For now it is wonderful to spend time with people under no pressure of a projects needing doing, or homework to attend to.  I keep feeling like I should have something philosophical to say about school staring again, but I have no tidbits.  Of wisdom or otherwise.  School is school.  It's where I want to be right now and I don't care if that makes me a nerd.  In fact, all the better.

Today is the first day of classes for me.  I packed myself a lunch and got my backpack ready last night.  I also start work in a more official capacity this week which is exciting.  Not sure how much I'll be in this space in the coming days, but hopefully I'll be able to stop by and say hello.  In the meantime, I hope there are some people enjoying the snow as much as I am.

How Have I Never Known?

Lots going on this week.  in my world and in internet world.  Some of my favorites...

My roommate gets back from winter break this weekend and I can't wait to show her this time lapse video of travels.  She'll also love this video about a solo trek across Iceland that seems to have been making bloggy round this week.

Some tips on blogging from Cam of Campfire Chic.

Four things to love about winter.

Five ways to fuel your dreams, and forty-eight things to be grateful about, both from The Freedom Experiment.

I may be a bit of a nerd, but I think this map that tells you what food is in season in your state is pretty awesome.

You guys.  Chai cookies.  How have I never known these existed until now?

Of Wool, Flannel, and Downton

This week I moved back to Chicago for school.  My roommate and I don't like to turn the heat on in our apartment to save money.  When the roommate is home this leads to long chats in the living room where we wind up eating ice cream because we've forgotten that it's cold.  When I'm home alone?  Not so much.  My mom's advice would be to "Put a sweater on", but sometimes that doesn't do much.  Once the seasons change and the temperature heats up, that will be all that's necessary.  In the meantime, here are some of the things I've been doing to keep from shivering.

1. Make Tea.  This is one of the more obvious ones, but certainly not wrong.  For me this is two-fold.  I get warm tea that is delicious and awesome AND when I'm really cold I'll stand over the kettle as I wait for the water to boil, soaking in the heat from the stove.  After which I'll go right back to the internet surfing, blanket wearing mode that I was in before tea was made.

2.  Cook or Bake.  Again, not the more original, but effective.  Along with the warm things eating, and the using of the stove, this one also gets you moving.  Movement means blood flow, means warmth.  That, and being holed up somewhere endlessly is much more enjoyable with a batch of brownies or a bowl of soup.  Or both.  And tea.

3.  Fold Warm Laundry.  Tell me I'm not the only one who will run the dryer again for five minutes to heat up the clothes/sheets/whatever that's in there so you can get the awesomeness of folding warm laundry.

4.  Curl Up and Watch TV.  I've found that what I really need when I'm cold is to be able to focus on something else.  Grab a blanket and the remote and cozy up for that NCIS marathon.  Or Friends if that's more your speed.  Whatever you watch, the more engaging the better, and you'll simply forget the cold.

5.  Get Some Exercise.  Pretty much the opposite of the last one, but once again with the movement, blood flow, and warmth thing.  Weather you play DDR on you Xbox or go run the treadmill in the shifty-looking exercise room in your apartment building, working up a sweat will make the cold less so.

6.  Wool.

7.  Leave the House.  Chances are that if it's cold in your apartment, it's colder outside.  That means that if you go outside and come back in, then the inside will feel warm by comparison.  Right?  This may work best if you walk to your destination as it offers you the most time spent outside in the cold.

8.  Invite a Friend Over.  Having someone else around doubles the body heat in the space, and also gives you something else to other than think about how cold it is.

9.  Go to Bed.  When all else fails, I've definitely gone to bed very early and/or stayed in bed very late.  What can I say?  Sometimes layers of flannel sound a lot better than a fifth cup of tea within an hour.  And not that I'm especially proud of this, but there was one time last week that I by the time I got out of bed the street lights were on.

This week a friend of mine is coming over for dinner.  We're going to be making lasagna and watching Downton Abbey (anyone else excited for the US premiere?  Bueller?).

Better Late Than Never* (Links Post)

This weekend has been spent hanging out with my friends from high school, going to the farmers market with the fam, and taking lots of pictures.  There's something wonky with my my sister's camera that I am in need of fixing, so hopefully I will have some of the pictures up later this week.

In case of any last minute office holiday parties, let this chart be your guide.

I just found out that I will be going on a trip to Germany this summer.  Cheers!  If you're planning any big trips for the near or somewhat distant future, this guide may come in handy.  I know I'll be using it.

For Harry Potter fans.

25 clever tricks including wrapping paper storage, cord labeling, and ice cream cone cakes.  Awesome.

Because biking is cool.  Especially if you're a girl in India.

This week I love: the 6-year-old camera I'm borrowing from my sister (she says I can take it back to Chicago with me), Nancy Drew Games, warm socks, being done with finals, being home in San Francisco, my church, and having all my Christmas shopping done already.

What will you guys be up to this week?

*I am going to try to have a regular link post, I was hoping to get it out Sunday, but it wound up being Monday instead.  Next time.

Right Now...

excited beyond belief to go home to San Francisco in two weeks.  Is that all?  It seems like so much longer.

slightly embarassed that I wound up writing a paper a whole week early fo my Monday class.  Whoops.  Oh well, now I don't have to worry about it.

ecstatic that I can go the weekend with minimal studying.  I have three exams, but all papers are done.

looking forward to this weekend's plan.  I'm going ice skating and then visiting the Chicago Christmas Market.

amazed at how positive this post is turning.

a little anxious about buying Christmas presents for family.  Thankfully I have a few checked off already.

cold.  We generally keep the heat off in our apartment to keep costs down, so if I get cold the best way to warm up is to cook something warm.  Unfortunately, that's not quite an option when you're knee deep into a research paper.  At 1am.

I'm in Love with the Idea of: Drinking Beer in Foreign Countries

I'm a 20-year-old college student, so admittedly I have only drunk when in foreign countries.  No really.  Okay, not quite, but almost really.  Anyway, ever since a conversation that I remember overhearing about how real people drink beer straight from the bottle / can, and reading Gossip Girl after which I associated fruity cocktails with bratty, stuck up, rich kids; I thought that real people drink beer.  Straight from the can.  These "real people" may have a glass of wine at a dinner party or a specialty drink for different occasions (a mint julep while watching a horse race of example), but for the most part real people drank beer.

My problem is: I kind of hate beer.

Beer is light or dark.  It's thick.  It froths over the edges of the glass and makes strange patters on the glass.  Beer makes my teeth feel funny.  Funny in an icky, I-haven't-brushed-my-teeth-all-day sort of way.  Beer is sticky and smells weird.  I just don't really like it.

Cocktails on the other hand... brilliant.  Sugary, liquored up wonders that taste great and make me a little bit happy.  I can drink a few of those, but then again, that's not always the greatest idea in the world...

Discoveries: September 2011

I want to start a series I'm going to call Discoveries.  On the last Friday of each month I will post a short list of things that I have discovered (or perhaps re-discovered) throughout the month that have made me smile.  To some of you, these will be old news, but perhaps you will discover something along the way.

Peanut-butter honey sandwiches.  Pretty simple -- bread, peanut butter, honey, done -- but so amazingly wonderful.

Reading.  This one is a re-discovery.  I feel like I rediscover reading every few months and it's better every time.  Right now I'm about a quarter way through a collection of travel essays.  Awesome.

New TV Shows to watch.  I'm loving the premieres these past few weeks.  My new favorites are New Girl, Up All Night, and Pan Am.  I just want new episodes of these to be on at all times even though I know that would result in me getting absolutely no work done.

In Which I Prove I am My Father's Daughter

During my last few days in Chicago I decided that I wanted a cheese plate. This is significant mostly in that I would constantly make fun of my Dad for always having a cheese plate as an appatizer. But I had some cheese left over from what I call a "Farmer's Market Lunch" a while back (more on that in a future post) and I didn't want it to go bad.

On the way home from church my last weekend in town I stopped by Pastoral, a Bread, Cheese and Wine Shop in my neighborhood. I was imediately overwhelmed by the options. I just kind of stood next to the cheese counter with my baguette and looked needy. The man behind the counter asked if I would like to try the wine and cheese pairing of the day. Why yes thank you, I would.

A bit of confusion at the register, a girl asking me where I got the dress I made, and a short walk later I was in my kitchen slicing bread. Resulting in this picture which proves, in a roundabout way, that I am my Father's daughter. Funny that it takes cheese to prove that.

Happy Father's Day Dad!