#autumnlife

October has flown by! I don't know where the days have gone honestly. I cant believe next week we will start November, then December and another year will be done. Not too many super exciting things happening lately, but I have been doing a few things to keep busy/amused. Lets start out with a few recipes I have made in the last few weeks which I loved so much I want to share:

Butternut Sqush Risotto: This was a great fall dish! I really really enjoyed it and so did my friend Allie when she made it last week by my recommendation. If you cant find pancetta, use prosciutto and cut the amount of salt used in the recipe because prosciutto is saltier then pancetta. I also did not use a dutch over, just did everything on the stove and it came out fine.

Broiled Salmon with Peppercorn Lime Rub: This was quick, easy, and really healthy. I didn't have cracked peppercorns, so i put some whole peppercorns in a little zip lock baggie and crushed them with a rolling pin. The peppercorn/lime combination really cut down on the fishy taste of the salmon.

Butternut Squash Lasagna: Another great fall dish and a modern twist on a classic recipe. Joe and I really enjoyed this one over and over because it made so much! It would be great for a dinner party, or if you have a busy week ahead and do not want to think about cooking a bunch of different meals.

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan: This was a recipe I found when I was googling easy tilapia recipes. Don't be fooled by the weird combinations that make up the sauce, once you put it in the broiler it turns into a delicious cheesy cream sauce that is light and flavorful!

The past few weekends have been fun. The second weekend in October we went to the Phillies Divisional playoff game. It was a fun night, but a disappointing loss for the Phils that ended baseball season.

The following weekend, Joe and I were hanging out in NJ at his place and he decided to take me out to Union Trust Steakhouse for a nice dinner. Union Trust was a restaurant I had tried during restaurant week in September with Brendan and had told Joe it was one of the best steaks I had ever eaten. So, when he received an applause award bonus from his job, he was excited to try Union Trust completely on their dime. We had a great dinner and a nice night out. On Saturday my old roommate, Laura, came into town for a conference, and to visit. We had a nice night out to dinner and met Sara out for a drink at the bar. It was nice to have the old roommates back together once again!

This weekend Joe and I went to his parents house at the shore. It was a beautiful fall weekend and we had a nice time hanging out with them. We arrived late Friday night and just hung out and relaxed. On Saturday, we went out for sushi with his parents and then to Atlantic City to gamble/people watch. I ended up winning $275 bucks which made me super happy! I decided to be super un-fun, and put that money towards some bills.. wooohoo free electric this month! On Sunday, we went to Ocean City, NJ and walked the boardwalk. It was a beautiful fall day and great to be outside. Here are some pictures I took of the ocean.

  

Wishing you a joyous fall season & Happy Halloween! xoxo

Connecting the Dots

Until yesterday, to me the founder of Apple was merely the name behind anything starting with 'i', from ipod, to ipad, to iphone. However, upon his death I started reading about him, and his life story. The truth is, he was a brilliant man who was years ahead of his time, obviously we all know this. But what I wasn't aware of was the unique path he took to become successful and the many inspirational words he said as he navigated personal struggles such as being fired from Apple and having cancer.  At a Stamford commencement speech he said the following:
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path; and that will make all the difference.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

These two quotes especially hit home for me because I spend a lot of time trying to rationalise with myself that the path I've chosen is the 'right' one. I often doubt myself based on what others have chose... the choices that are painfully obvious thanks to social media. Jobs was right though, I think the key is that you do have to follow your inner voice and don't let it be muddied by what is around you. Follow your path and hope that some day the dots end up connecting you to the place that you wanted to be. Although it is sometimes hard to see how life will end up in the future, amidst the everyday struggle, when you look back you can see the obvious path that led you to where you are today.

As for me, my hate for the end of high school led me to choose a school far away. Looking at a map, I happened upon UDEL because it was exactly 6 hours from my front door and a comfortable days drive. Choosing to be an Accounting major at UD, a very good business school, got me the internship at Deloitte in Philadelphia, which ultimately landed me a permanent position upon graduation. My move to Philadelphia brought Sara into my life and made Philly my permanent home. Without Steve meeting Sara, I wouldn't have met Joe. Without meeting Joe, I would have never bought a house. When I was looking for a new place to live in Philly during the recession, I was going to rent again, but Joe convinced me to buy so I  can thank him for Chez Terrace. And so, my life is firmly planted in Philly, a place I never really planned to be, but ended up through a connection of dots.  

I dont know what will happen in the future, but I know that so far listening to my gut has never failed me. Now that I've accomplished all that, I sit here waiting to see what the next major dot is that will shape my life.... in 86 days, I will let you know...

Fall Crafts & Such

This weekend was full of fun activities. I decided to go down to Baltimore and visit Michele since I had not seen her new place. I arrived on Friday night, late since the weather was awful, and she took me out to dinner with a few of her friends. I had some awesome quesadillas that were toasted on the outside and filled with Jerk Chicken on the inside.. so yummy. After dinner I was pretty tired from the drive that took double the time, and so we went to bed on the early side.

Fall Wreathe

On Saturday we woke up and went to breakfast and then went shopping around Fells point. I stopped and got some Oysters from a street cart that were very yummy. The guy, who was also very cute, showed me how to properly shuck an Oyster so I could do it at home by myself. I am an Oyster feign. Since I had been shopping the past few weekends, there wasn't really any clothing that I needed so I asked Michele if she would like to do some fall crafts. We ended up going to AC Moore and getting some things to make some decorations for her house and some decorations for mine. I had seen this on the Better Homes & Gardens website and thought it was a really cute idea. I really like how my fall crafts came out! Do you like my rendition of the BHG centerpiece? (ps. when did I get so old that I go look at the BHG website?!)

 

Fall Centerpiece

On Saturday night we went out to dinner at a very nice restaurant with a few of Michele's friends. I had mussels and a caprese salad and it was delicious. Then we headed out to the bar for a bit. On Sunday we went to brunch and I had bacon infused french toast! Again, delicious. After brunch I headed back to Philly to get some things done before the week started all over again. It was nice to see Michele and I wish we all lived closer like the old days.

Its Tuesday, its dreary, I am tired... more tired then normal. Something about when the seasons first change makes me exhausted! I feel like I am in the clouds this week and like every task takes monumental effort. Anyone else get the post summer slumber feeling?

Happy Friday!

This week has felt long and exhausting. I am looking forward to the weekend and am itching to get out of work. Although I don't know whats worse, having to sit in this cubicle or the thought that at any minute this weekend I could be crushed to death by falling space debris.  Just when you thought you could relax and enjoy the weekend you have to worry that a six ton object is going to fall from the sky and crush you! Life is hard..

Kitchen: The heart of the home

The kitchen is one of my favorite places in my house and where I spend a lot of time. I love to cook, and every good cook needs an accessible kitchen. As you know, I have done a lot of different things to my kitchen from painting to decorating. It was pretty bland as you  can see when I moved in. This week I thought it needed one final touch. I added handles on the cabinets..it makes it so much easier when you are cooking to open them! I absolutely love the large handles I chose from Lowes, and they look great on the cabinets. Cabinet handles are a great way to dress up the kitchen without breaking the budget. I think each handles was around $5 - $6.

Last night I made this Salmon, Asparagus, and Orzo Salad from Cooking Light. It came out delicious. Orzo is great because it give you the "pasta" feeling but mixing it into other more healthy things is much better for you then eating straight up spaghetti and sauce. Everyone knows I am a sucker for a good bowl of carbs.

This salad however fulfilled my carbo-loving needs and didn't leave me feeling bloated and hungry an hour later. 1 1/4 cups of this salad was 310 calories vs. Barilla Pasta which is 210 calories for 2 oz... not including the sauce.! I felt full for the rest of the night and there was lots of left-overs for the rest of the week. If you havent checked out Cooking Light, you definitely should, its a great website for healthy, easy meals to make right at home.

Fall Favorites

Even though the first day of Fall isnt until September 23rd, it is really starting to feel like fall out there already! I'd thought I'd share some of my favorite things about fall in a quick post!

The return of fall means the return of the Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte -- one of my favorites!

I love slouchy boots. They are warm, comfortable, and they go great with leggings, jeggings, or skirts!

 Nothing is better then hanging out on a cool fall saturday afternoon in a cute cotton outfit adorned with a scarf.

Another one of my favorite things about fall is that life slows down and the craziness of having the weekends jam packed with things comes to a hault. Fall is my favorite time to enjoy my house, plan dinner parties for my friends and catch up on a good book.

My last favorite thing about fall is cooking great fall meals. One of my favorite meals to make in the fall is squash soup. Its easy, its healthy, and its orange goodness just screams fall.

A Lopsided Friendship

Over hurricane weekend I forced Joe into watching the movie "Something Borrowed". I had read the book, and had been wanting to see the movie they made, but had never gotten around to it. Incase you haven't read the book, here is a plot synopsis.
"Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy's fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself."

I often feel that my friendships are lopsided with the short end of the stick pointing towards me. I put in more work, more effort, I care more.  This got me thinking: am I the 'Rachel' in my friendships?

We are so quick in society to tell the waitress if our order is wrong, or question a bill if we think we've paid the wrong amount, we question our parents if we disagree with them.. but we rarely call out our girlfriends on their faults. Why is this? Is it our overwhelming needs for acceptance at all cost?

Most friendships are uneven at some point.. there is always a giver and a taker. In the best friendships, that roll will flip-flop depending on circumstances at a point in time... its being there for each other when the other is in need. I'd like to think that this is how MOST of my friendships are... But what happens if the roll never flips and we end up in a lopsided friendship much akin to Rachel's? You know the kind of person I am talking about: one who only calls you when SHE has nothing to do, but doesn't know your number if shes made fun plans with other people, heaven forbid you tag along. The person that always makes plans with you and then breaks them last minute when something better arises and then makes some lame excuse. The people who take, take, take and give little regard to your feelings in return. There is also some friendships that have fallen into the trap of time, where the rolls are so ingrained in us, we don't know any different. One person always does the calling, and the communications, and the chasing, and that's just the way it has been for such a long time that we are used to it. What happens if the 'Rachel' in the relationship just stopped trying? Would the friendship die?

The truth is I deserve in return what  I give to others and then some. I am a good friend and will go to the ends of the world for the people I care about. However, I deserve to be heard. I deserve to be texted. I deserve to be invited.  I deserve to be met on time. Its time to redefine my friendships. I am going to build my own container and pour them into it instead of being liquid in theirs and making them feel fulfilled. If people don't reciprocate my invites, or invite me to their events, and make me feel as loved as I make them feel then they can go find  someone else to take from because I am not an ATM.