the end of the day

I'm tucked in on the couch under the "ugly" blanket.  The dishes are mostly washed.  As I watch the Idol results show, the bread machine just went into the kneading cycle.  The faint scent of orange is just starting to reach my nose.  In the morning I will be waking up to San Diego Sunshine in my kitchen {not the same recipe, but similar ingredients list}.  On my windowsill sits my new glass bottle with a calla lilly and snap dragon carried home from the farmer's market.  I snuck out during my lunch break to pick up my farmer's market loot.  Besides the beautiful flowers I got rainbow chard, bok choy, strawberries, apples, and some very aromatic basil.  Oh and hickory smoked tofu.  I've been day dreaming about tomorrow's meals.  Warm bread for breakfast?  For lunch I'm thinking tofu with the basil on my fresh bread.  Mmmmm.

Two days till the weekend.  I think a mid week farmers market is the perfect pick-me-up.  Fresh flowers to brighten the house and encourage me to keep it neat.  Fresh veggies in the fridge to inspire more creative cooking.   

I got me a card

A library card that is.  There is a branch of the San Francisco Public Library just across the street.  I walk by it every morning and evening and it's been calling my name.  Libraries are such great places because they're full of... books.  Yeah, I'm a sap for books.  

So today on my lunch break I ran across the street and stepped inside the little library.  I filled out the application only to find out that I'd be only allowed to check ONE book out.  Gosh darn not thinking to bring in something that confirms my local address.  But, by this time tomorrow I'll have fixed that.  

This was a cozy little library with lots of light.  The children's lit section was just as large as the rest of the sections combined.  But, I was able to find a book to check out.  And I learned that I can request books at this location from the other branch locations - super cool!  I've already got my name down for a cookbook.  I'll have to see what else I want to check out. 

I checked out "Water for Elephants", by Sara Gruen.  It sat on my desk until the end of the day when I scooped it up as I ran out the door - not missing my train.  On the ride home I devoured the first chapter.  I'm serious!  Even from the first couple sentences I knew I was going to enjoy this book.  Gruen's writing style is clever and descriptive.  Through the first chapter the protagonist reminded me of my grandfather, who was a writer and had a similarly dry way of writing.  As I read the first chapter I kept thinking, this could have been written by my grandpa.  It put a smile on my face to think of him.  

I'm excited to have a library card, excited to have a new pager turner to read.  

{happy tuesday!}

and another give away!!

(photo credit: honey & jam)

I just had to blog about another give away I found.  Today must be the day of finding great give aways.  

Aren't these little bowls just the cutest?!  I'm already imagining the many uses they will get in my kitchen "when" I win.  When I first saw this beautiful picture of the bowls on Flickr I fell in love.  And then I happened to glance at the title and saw that it was a give away.  Totally made my day!  

P.S. Isn't this picture just lovely as well?  

wow... a give away!

I have stumbled upon another give away and this one is huge!  So many winners and all the different prizes look so amazing.  I just had to up my chances of winning with a blog about the give away.  Go check it out!  I've been enjoying reading the other posts here as well.  Another blog to add to my ever growing list of subscription in my Google Reader.  

Wait, is this counter productive?  Am I sending more competition in?  

another one in the bag

Dinner tonight was a winner.  It's so nice when they come off well.  The last new meal I tried, not so much.  It had sounded so good in my head - chicken in a lime-ginger marinade {just kinda made it up with what I had} over rice with bell pepper.  It was missing something on the flavor side of things.  And I've come to the decision, I don't really think I like lime on chicken.  But lime in popsicles... margaritas - bring it on!

Back to dinner tonight... we had spinach black olive enchiladas and boy were they yummy.  I used this recipe as my inspiration, but really they're super simple.

Here's what I did:

Preheat oven to 375 {I accidently turned it up to 475 but noticed before I put them in}

In a sauce pan: Melt a little butter and heat up a couple cloves of chopped garlic {olive oil would work better here, less burning of the butter}

add a couple big handfuls of fresh spinach {yay, farmer's market!}

remove from heat and add a cup each of ricotta and shredded jack cheese

mix!

into warmed tortillas spoon some of the mix, throw in some sliced olives and roll up

place seem side down in baking dish

cover with enchilada sauce and more jack cheese

bake until bubbly and starting to get crispy

and... ENJOY!  

And what make this dinner extra special, I got to use my "new" baking dish - a $3 find at goodwill.  

6 years

Yep, hard to believe but today's the day that marks SIX years.  I typed out 6 there just so you wouldn't think that it was a typo or something.  

It all started six years ago at Cal Poly.  Lukas was the cute boy that lived 2 floors above me in the dorms.  I had the hugest crush on him.  I mean HUGE.  And he didn't notice me {at least not yet}.   Proof of this... at a birthday dinner for a mutual friend I made a point to "accidently" sit next time.  We ordered the same exact thing and yet, he didn't even look twice in my direction.  But he eventually woke up and I claimed him as mine.  

Through our years at Cal Poly we made dinners together, went to Another Type of Groove, had fun falling in love.  {sweet and sappy, I know}

To celebrate, we're taking the train into the city.  Do a little exploring, watch a little baseball... fun stuff.  

Happy 6 years handsome man!

settling in

And just like that... it has been a month since I started my new job.  I was actually quite surprised when I realized this the other day.  Days at work have fallen into a good routine.  Mornings I try to go jogging - mostly not talk myself out of going when the alarm goes off.  And when I do go, although I find it dreadfully boring, I feel much better.  I miss my little run by Lukas's house in the mountains.  City running just isn't the same.  

I like getting ready in the quite mornings.  Watering my little vegetable garden and eating my breakfast in the semi dark.  Then I walk to the train station.  Some mornings I pick up the free San Mateo paper, but most times I just enjoy the ride into the city with my thoughts and a little people watching.  

At work, I settle in while drinking my tea getting ready for the day.  And each day is a little different.  All my time is spent in front of the computer and each day I am learning.  The best days are when I learn the most and am challenged to think critically.  I must admit 8 hour days, 5 days a week is a lot of work and I am happy to head home at the end of each.  

I'm learning how to cook on my wonky electric stove.  Most of the burners don't sit flat, they heat up so slow and then don't cool off very fast either.  I've boiled over a couple pots - big mess!  But, I also have been building my "repertoire".  Or as Lukas would say, when the dinner's not a flop, "That's one in the bag!"  

Things I'm loving so far...

commuting on the train - yay for no driving

fresh framer's market veggies

having a place of my own

my little vegetable garden - the peas have just started to come up

sweet spring

flowers

asparagus

snap peas

artichokes

strawberries ...

a sweet spring, farmer's market loot.  

More creativeness in the kitchen and apartment pictures

I am beginning to settle into my new place. {pictures at the bottom of this post}  I having been finding my routine - up at 7, out the door by 8:15, on the train at 8:35 and to work by 9.  For the first week I didn't do much in the morning pre-work, just took my time getting ready and waking up.  Then, this week I decided I'd been lazy long enough.  Really, I'd let my exercising go by the wayside.  And I think my energy level was suffering for it.  So, Tuesday-Thursday I fit a 20min jog into my morning routine.  It was great and refreshing.  

Friday morning I skipped on the jog to get a challa started.  I pulled out my ingredients, reread my cryptic directions I'd copied before from my mom over the phone.  And then I came to a hitch.  No microwave yet!  {But I've got one coming.  It's for my bday (yesterday), but I'll get it in May.}  How was I going to melt the butter?  First I tried a plate on top of a pot of boiling water, but it didn't really get hot and would have been a pain to deal with melted butter on top.  My brilliant idea came next... Pyrex measuring cup hung of the side of the pot of boiling water into the water.  And it worked!  

I was afraid that the apartment would be too cold for the bread to rise.  So, I turned the heat up and left it in the bedroom with the door closed.  But since it got so toasty in the kitchen, before I left I moved it back to the counter.  I came home to find it had risen nicely.  This was my best challa yet!

Now... on to a few pictures of the apartment.  Not the most exciting and the walls could use something on them, but for now they'll do.

living room - Ikea couch w/"ugly" blanket, $10 solid-wood "tv stand"

kitchen