Around Here

I've been neglecting this little blog the last few weeks and I have been trying to come up with a good reason why. Part of it is that I have been spending some of my time lately doing oh-so-fun things like job searching and revamping my resume. Ugh. I haven't applied for very many positions yet since neither of us is quite ready to leave Memphis...

-I've been seeing this mural frequently on my cross-training day bike rides on the green line. I think it's funny that everyone only has one leg - not sure how they're riding those bikes... lol.
-I did a 16 mile run-walk for marathon training in the rain on Saturday! That was the farthest distance I have ever "run". The next two weekends it just gets longer...
-Sometimes I feel like all I do with my spare time is go running. (See above.)
-I am working on putting together a blog for the local dietetic association - MDDA. It's a work in progress... www.eatrightmemphisblog.blogspot.com
-After our Elvis-ventures the other weekend, Will and I have had a few quieter ones. This last weekend we spent a couple fun nights hanging out with friends. It's going to be tough starting all over!
-I leave for Ireland in less than two weeks! I am kind of freaking out a little. There is so much I need to do before then!
-The other day I picked up the next book we are reading for book club - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Let's just say I spent a lot of quality time on the couch with this one!!! I just couldn't put. it. down.
-I totally made soup the other week even though it is still summer... and it's all Joy the Baker's fault. She posted a roasted tomato and zucchini soup that just sounded delish! Plus, both of those things are so abundant at the farmer's market right now. :-)
-The fire alarm for my apartment building went off this morning - exactly as I stepped out of the shower! Worst nightmare. Luckily it's not as bad as in college where you do have time to put something other than a towel on without your RA trying to corral you out the door. Haha.
-I can't stop listening to Two Door Cinema Club lately. Check this out...

Only in Memphis...

It's true that "the King" didn't die. You can walk out onto the street at any point during Elvis week in Memphis and see him alive and well... and his twin? Oh wait, there he is again! Oh yeah... it's Elvis week in Memphis! Our friend Josh invited Will and I to join him on a whim to check out the Elvis Tribute Artist Contest at the Cannon Center. We're not really Elvis fans by any means, but this was actually a lot of fun! I can't believe how serious people are about keeping the spirit and music of Elvis alive and well! The show we went to was one round of perhaps 4 to decide who will be this year's best Elvis Tribute Artist.We moved seats at intermission to get a little closer to the action and ended up beside some die-hard fans. This older couple were prepared with binoculars and score sheets! They were happy to pass their binoculars and point out little flaws in each performance- one guy had the wrong kind of scarf on... for shame! Hehe.

That white suit outfit was a popular one!

Red pantsuit Elvis...

Picture with an Australian Elvis Tribute!

Glad we can finally say we did at least one Elvis-themed activity here in Memphis. :-)

Let's Talk Books

So, I have been updating my "25 Books While 25 Page" but I haven't spent any time talking about some of my latest reads!

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson. This book was absolutely hilarious! I think it just might be my favorite book on my 25 books list so far. Jenny spins great stories about growing up in the country with such a comedic spin - almost like a female David Sedaris. :-) One of my favorite stories in the novel is this one where her family's chickens follow Jenny all the way into school one day and the hilarity that ensues when the librarian finds them. Ha! To give you an idea what you are in for with this book, here's a great quote from a chapter about dating her husband, Victor.

"It wasn’t really that [Victor's parents] disliked me. They just seemed uncomfortable around me. They were polite and kind, but baffled. It was as if their son had unexpectedly shown up with a neck tattoo that read 'MAKE ME SOME BASKETTI.'" (Lawson, Penguin Group Inc. 2012)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.  My friend Emily kept telling me how great this book was, so when I happened upon it at the library the other week, I snatched it up. It's a touching tale about young, forbidden love between a Chinese boy, Henry, and a Japanese girl, Keiko, growing up in Seattle during World War II. You'll have to read this one to see if their love can survive long-distance when Keiko's family is placed in an internment camp until the war is over.

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. We had talked about reading this one for book club at one point but then decided on something else. I was curious to see if it was good since it won the National Book Award for 2011. Definitely worth it. A superb story about a rural Southern family prepping for Katrina. The story is told through the eyes of Esch, a teen girl learning what it is like to be rejected by someone you love and coming to grips with the secret that she will be a mother soon.
Ward is such an excellent writer. I loved some of her descriptions of life in Bois Sauvage and what it is like to be a teenager in love. Here's a passage that I just love:

"Manny begins flipping the silver and red lighter again when he mentions Rico. The image, which looks like a tattoo, reads Hearts on Fire, and pictures two hearts diagonal to one another going up in flames. His lips kiss the cigarillo and he pulls... There is a movement behind my breast that feels like someone has turned a hose on full blast, and the water that has been baking in the pump in the summer heat floods out, scalding. This is love, and it hurts. Manny never looks at me."  (Ward, Bloomsbury USA, Copyright 2011, pg 94)

Promise

Thank God there are rainbows at the end of even the worst of days. :-) Yeah, that's right. Mondays can be the dumps sometimes. Here's to the promise of Tuesday! Yipee!

Thinking Out Loud

• Can I confess something? I have not watched any of this year's Olympics. Is that bad?! Does that make me terribly un-patriotic? Well, maybe I did watch 2 minutes at the dealership when I was getting my oil changed, but then I got bored and went back to my book. I've been major failing at contributing to conversation lately since almost everyone has been talking about the games!
• Now that I have been running a lot more in the morning before work, I have been soo tired! Whoever tells you that you will feel so energized when you start your day by exercising... they are lying! Sure, I may feel more energetic for about the first hour or two afterwards but I am exhaused the rest of the day. If only we could have afternoon naps at work!
• If you are a fan of Downton Abbey, you'd definitely enjoy this parody by Jimmy Fallon. Hilarious!

• In exactly one month from now, I'll be flying to Ireland to see Charis, Tony, and little Cillian! Yippee!! I'm am so stoked. :-)
• I am in love with this blog A Beautiful Mess. It makes me wish I had a sister with whom I could be crafty and thrifty!
• Will went to Chicago for work for a few days this week so I get to take care of this cutie. 

• I'm looking forward to getting started on our newest book club pick - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
• This article about why it's so hard to make friends over 30 was so good! I feel like it's already applicable at 25. :-/ It is much harder to make great friends when you aren't in school anymore. Not that it is impossible. It took over a year for Will and I to start finding some great people to hang out with in Memphis!
• I can't wait for The Mindy Project the premiere this Fall! I love Mindy Kaling. 
• So happy tomorrow is Friday!!! YAY!!!!!

A Different Kind of Cobbler

Howdy!!!
 It's been awhile since I've posted about any cooking ventures. Boo. So here's a remedy to that! Last week I saw Joy the Baker post this recipe --> Tomato Cobbler with Blue Cheese Biscuits. At first I thought it would probably be totally weird. A savory casserole?! What?! I was so curious though, I knew I had to try it! Plus, I had a few extra cherry tomatoes to use up anyway! (By the way, I'm a little sheepish by how amateur my pictures look in comparison to Joy's! Ha!).

Playing with biscuit dough is so much fun!

Toasty biscuits atop bubbling tomato goodness!

Dig in!

The result? Deliciousness! Of course - it's from Joy the Baker. :-) The caramelized onions and uber fresh cherry tomatoes (which can be almost like candy this time of year) made this dish rather sweet after it was baked. Yum. Plus, the blue cheese in the biscuits was hardly noticeable. I was afraid it would be a little overwhelming - but fear not! It's really very subtle. Now, get thee to a market and buy up some sunny cherry tomatoes so you can make this cobbler too!!

Make New Friends but Keep the Old

Happy Wednesday!!!
 Goodness. Time has seriously been flying away from me! Probably because I have been having so much fun. :-) Seriously. This was one of the best weekends ever!!!
  For lunch on Saturday, I met up with a few friends at the Beauty Shop and then headed to a blind wine tasting at Great Wines Memphis! Yay! Since it was blind, you were supposed to guess what each wine was based on the flavor. I'll confess, out of the 15 wines we sipped, I only guessed 2 right. Haha! Goes to show how little I know about wines! We had a lot of fun pretending we knew what were talking about though.

  Saturday evening we celebrated Will's 30th in a big way with Amanda and Josh at their combined Treasure Isle July Birthday bash! What couldn't be fun about festive drinks and food, colorful leis, a slip-n-slide, an outdoor movie, viscious mosquitos, and fireworks! Totally one of the best parties I have ever been to! The other great thing about this party?! My friends from Bluffton arrived to join in on the fun that night! I was terrible about taking photos at the party, but our friend Joseph took lots of pics! For all the photos, click this link! I did get this one of Will on the slip-n-slide though... Trust me, it was just as hilarious to watch as you might think. Lol.

Sunday, I spent the day adventuring with Ben, Bird, Lydia, Amy, and Will! Here's a few pics from our day!

Toes in the Mississippi River Model

Modeling at the Mississippi River Model...

Fish taco from the food truck rally at Shelby Farms.

Our little geocaching find! I never knew how much fun geocaching was!!!

Umm... so maybe I was terrible about taking pictures the whole weekend. Shucks. It was fun though, you'll have to believe me! Haha. Let me just say, I was so glad I took the day off on Monday to catch up on sleep! At the party on Saturday I realized how many great people I have been able to meet here in Memphis. It's going to be tough to leave and have to make new friends all over again in Chicago. :-( At least I know I'll always have Bird, Ben, Lydia, Amy (and Erica, of course)! We have stuck together through the years after our BU days - and hopefully many years to come!