On Finding Extracurricular Activities...

I recently realized that I need a project in life outside of work.

It's not that work isn't taking up enough of my time (it takes up the majority of my waking hours), or that I don't enjoy being a lazy jerk once I get home. It's that secretly I love staying busy because that's how my life has been since I was five years old.

So I feel like a project is in order. Yes, I'm a runner, that's kind of a project, but it's not quite what I'm looking for. Running is more therapy than anything else for me. Most of my thinking is done during that time, and let's be real - the main reason I run is so I can eat more food.

If you remember back to why I created THIS blog, it was to keep my personal anecdotes separate from what was to become my food blog. Yeah, that's still in progress. To be honest, I'm a little intimidated by the food blogging world. There's just so many of them! How do you stand out in that world? How can I learn more about food (without paying tons of money to do so) and sound like I know what I'm talking about and not say things like, "This was great!" "It tasted amazing!" "I love bacon!"? Most importantly, what will the theme of my food blog be?

TL;DR: Still working on the food blog.

So here are some thoughts on various projects that perhaps I can get myself into.....

Creating an Etsy store
I was a super creative child. I give most of the credit to my mom for this. She was and still is fantastic at sewing. She made lots of dresses for me and my sisters among other things. She also did cross-stitching and taught me how to do it. That was my first creative endeavor. I then got into the bead lizard business in elementary school until the market got saturated.

[photo courtesy of etsy.com]

Friendship bracelets, embossed greeting cards, metal charms from my charm making kit, paintings, beaded bobby pins...you name it, I made it. There was even a brief period in high school where I learned how to knit scarves (and gave them to EVERYONE for Christmas). So I know I have some bit a crafty creativity in me.

I'm also an avid pinner on Pinterest and am constantly trying to figure out how to make the things I see on there.

So I have the ability to make things, what I lack is the funding and the ideas. Not to mention, have you been on Etsy lately? There's SO MUCH stuff on there! Everyone and their mother/father/sibling/relative has an Etsy store, and some of it is really, really good. And then you visit some pages that don't sell anything.

Etsy, you might be a little risky for me. This is a project that would take some investment without a guarantee on its return.

Become a Better Gamer
If you know me, you know my boyfriend is a gamer. And he's been pretty successful at getting me into games. I went to Indiecade East a couple months ago and was able to impress people with the fact that I play Borderlands 2 and actually know a thing or two about games other than Mario or Tetris.

[photo courtesy of gearboxsoftware.com]

So now I have a bit of a reputation as a girl that plays games (please don't act surprised. There are soooo many girl gamers these days. It's not like you just caught a Mew in Pokemon), but I'm not particularly great at playing games. I mean, I'm better than when I started, but I still get my ass kicked regularly or have to look things up.

Couple of issues with this project. First, how does one become better at games? Isn't it just natural talent? As far as I know, there aren't coaches out there for it. Second, summer is approaching. Should I be spending this much time indoors?

Make My Own Coffee/Beer
I love coffee and drink it every day. I don't know everything about beer, but I love drinking it and trying new kinds. I don't drink it everyday because, you know, I shouldn't.

[photo courtesy of divinebrew.com]

This sounds like the most exciting of the projects in my mind so far. But it also seems like the one with the most obstacles. For one, I don't know the first thing about brewing my own beer or roasting my own coffee. This issue is easily remedied by the Internet, which is responsible for me knowing anything at all. Equipment is probably the biggest deterrent. I really don't have the money or space to obtain the necessary equipment (though admittedly, I haven't researched this at all. Only assuming). There's also the issue of supplies/ingredients.

But you know, these are all pretty easily fixed if I can find what I need at a decent price. So I'm thinking this might be the most viable project so far. What do you think?

Ok so it wasn't an extensive list of projects.....but now I'm thinking at least. This is good, right? This is productive? When people ask what I like to do I could say something other than "running" or "hangout out with my cat." Even though I love doing both of those things. More updates to come...

On Partying Like a Rock Star...

I just got back from the most tiring, but fun, week ever. I got less than six hours of sleep each night, probably had one drink too many more than once (sorry Mom and Dad) and met some really awesome people. It was one of those trips where the beginning of it - last Monday - feels like it took place a week ago. That's a good thing, right?

So of course I want to talk about some food that I ate, because it was pretty top-notch. My first night in Los Angeles I went to a little place called Wood & Vine. We sat out on the patio and got lots of plates to share, one being pork bruschetta. I only had half of one piece of it, and it was probably the richest thing I've ever eaten, but incredibly delicious. Ever have whipped lardo? I have. It's fattening and awesome. The other pieces that came with it had garlic and ricotta, and then pork liver butter. I passed on the liver one, and apparently that was a good choice.

I had chicken and waffles for the first time, and certainly not for the last time. I've always been a salty and sweet lover, but this was like, sweet AND savory, which kind of blew my mind? The waffle was pretty standard, the chicken was the best I've ever had (amazing crisp on the outside, moist on the inside) and then they put maple syrup on it and some herbed butter? I'm sorry, but this dish can do no wrong. I only ate a quarter of it (because I was actually sharing food for once) but easily could've had the entire plate.

So then I also had this tomato and avocado salad, which in my mind was a California version of a caprese salad. It had these tomatoes that were deep red and super juicy, with avocado slices and burrata cheese (seriously, where has this been all 24 years of my life?) and what I think was some sort of reduced balsamic. Another thing I could've had all of, but I decided to be a good co-worker and share.

And then dessert happened. Butterscoth pot de creme with salted caramel ice cream. I'll just let that sink in...

The next night we went to a place that was total "old Hollywood," called Musso and Frank Grill. I had no idea what to expect going into here, but I was really, really pleasantly surprised. I was also starving by the time we got there and ate far too much bread before my meal. I started with French onion soup and it was easily the best I ever had. Like, there was some taste in there that was so good that I can't describe it or begin to figure out what caused it. I then continued on my journey of having cheese in every part of my meal and went for the Macaroni Gratin. Ever been to Chef's in Buffalo? It was essentially spaghetti parm but instead of red sauce, it used a bechemal. Pretty sure my arteries were crying by the end of this meal. I also didn't finish the plate because of my bread indulgence from the moment I sat down.

I think that covers the most important parts. The rest was hotel food that was free so I can't really complain about it.

If you can't tell, this was a work trip. And it was a really successful one at that. I made way more connections than the previous two times I worked these events, one being a songwriter who created part of the soundtrack to my high school years. I also met some up and coming songwriters that I'm looking forward to staying in touch with. All this being said, networking is TIRING. Very little sleep was had this week. Very. Little.

THAT being said, I think it's time to cut this short and get back on New York time. Los Angeles, it was fun, but I am so happy to be back home living my perfectly ordinary stay-in-every-night life.

On Days Without Caffeine...

Ugh.

Guys, this was not intentional. A day without caffeine is never intentional when it comes to me. I. need. coffee.

This day started beautifully. I woke up around 11 am after a particularly stressful week, much to my cat's dismay. He wants me to wake up at 7 everyday even though doing so means I'm gone for about 10 hours. So I got out of bed like Snow White with birds chirping and smiling animals surrounding me (false), and slowly got ready for my Saturday long run.

I never drink coffee before my run, so the thought of making it never crossed my mind. I did make some toast with Peanut Butter & Co,'s Dark Chocolate Dreams though. That is not something I regret.

Next I went for a rather hilly run that was supposed to be 7 miles, but I made it 6 instead. I also saw an even nicer part of my neighborhood, just when I thought it couldn't get nicer.

After a shower, I put on sweatpants and pretty much sealed the deal that I would not be leaving the apartment for the rest of the day. I did laundry, cleaned the place a bit, watched the movie Friends with Kids and then Pulp Fiction was on, and I never remembered to make coffee or tea.

So about half an hour ago, I thought, "Wow, I"m super tired! Maybe I should call it a night!" I then looked at the clock and saw that it was 10 pm. That's not incredibly early, but I'm 24 and it's Saturday and I just can't do that. When I started typing this, I was laying on the couch with my laptop trying to keep my eyes open. I fought the urge to nap because napping that close to when I want to go to bed would be detrimental.

Let's talk about some other things, like the movies I watched.

Friends with Kids. I wanted to see this movie from the first preview that I saw. Kristen Wiig? Jon Hamm? Adam Scott? Sign me up. I didn't realize this wasn't a straight-up comedy though. It was a little depressing until the last half hour where they actually explained the message. SPOILER ALERT(ish): The message is to find someone who you want to be with even at their lowest. Thank god I got me one of those.

Pulp Fiction. I love this movie. I've seen it more times than I can remember. However, I watched it today on VH1, which decided not to go the HD route today? And had very poor editing/censoring. I mean, come on, if you can't handle the task of making this regular-cable-friendly, then don't even try. Don't ruin one of my favorites.

Tomorrow will be filled with a shopping trip for my upcoming business trip to LA. I'm looking forward to finding new shoes, and not looking forward to finding clothes that a) flatter this shape and b) make me look like an adult that works in the music industry.

Do you ever feel like you never look as old as those around you when they were your age? It happened to me a lot throughout high school and college. And it happens a lot now. I look in the mirror and see a teenager when really I'm staring at a 24 year old that lives on their own and is expected to be responsible. No matter what I wear, this always happens. Do I just accept that I'm perpetually 16?

Maybe I'll post an update tomorrow with my finds...if there are any.

This has been Brianne's day without caffeine. Good riddance.