– my family for always supporting me and being patient with my choice to take a very circuitous route in life
– my boyfriend for providing a sense of security, supporting me whenever I pick and choose jobs even if we could use the cash and always being up for pizza
– friends who’ve kept in touch even though we’re all busy and live so far apart
– finally getting a dog after 20+ years (having a dog is way harder than I thought, but it’s also a million times better, too)
– moving to San Diego and somehow, making it work
– my health, truly
– living in a place that’s 70 degrees and sunny almost every day with the beach just a 10-minute drive away
– cool, smart, engaging readers who follow this blog
Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone! See you back here on Monday.
Four words: puppy on a slide. OK, 12 more words: a peaceful bike ride around Coronado Island on a rare gloomy day. I had an expiring deal for a bike rental, and considering how much I love bike riding (for pleasure, not necessarily endurance), it’s crazy that I let it go this long before making good on the coupon.
We decided to take Teddy along because I’m making an effort to socialize him beyond the dog park. He gets too excited in the off chance we take him to a cafe or store, so he’s my shadow these days. For the ride, it was decided early on that Eaman would handle the dog because even though I love biking, I’m not actually coordinated and knew I’d fall if the pup made a dash for it. Eaman was ever so dexterous and after an initial shaky start during which Teddy realized that he could pick up anything off the ground because we were on bikes, Teddy got the hang of it, too. A steep learning curve, it was.
Coronado is a beautiful, if not a strangely Pleasantville-like, island south of San Diego. Residents there live in their own bubble of well-manicured lawns and multimillion-dollar homes, but for visitors like us, it’s home to a great dog beach and the perfect bike route.
We rode around the whole island…and yes, put Mr. T on a slide. Check it out:
I’m obsessed with reading anyone’s rituals, but I’m particularly intrigued by the routines and habits of freelancers. I’ve been working for myself for nearly a year, and with it has come so much more flexibility. I have time to run errands during the week, take care of a dog the way I always dreamed of (with time) and go out for breakfast if I feel like it. Yeah, it’s pretty great (sometimes).
So today I’m sharing the rituals of fellow freelancer Julia Wheeler, a digital media strategist and freelance stylist, who not only juggles multiple projects, but also owns a dog and is expecting her first baby! Today she talks 6am dog walks, Scrabble Mondays and breakfast burritos.
Some call it an open-faced sandwich. Others (like myself) call it stuff on toast. Don’t get me wrong, I love sandwiches, especially hoagies seeing as how I’m from New Jersey. But there’s something a lot more gourmet — not to mention photo-worthy — about stuff on toast. Divvying up the ingredients onto two separate slices forces me to eat slower, and I get to appreciate each component without mushing it all between bread.
The name of the game today is a ricotta, arugula and fried egg open-faced sandwich from Cooking Light. It sounds so fancy, no? It’s very simple, an easy way to get your greens, especially if you don’t like salads (me! me!), and works for any meal of the day.
In place of my weekly rituals feature — which, full disclosure, I completely failed to get together in time — I’m here with a list of 8 great links to check out as we head into the weekend. I will be spending mine poring over the many magazines on my coffee table — thank you, expiring airline miles! — so I thought it was only fitting to offer you some reading material as well.
18 Things You’d Be Surprised Happened on The Simpsons If You Stopped Watching in 2003. (This is a few weeks old, but it still blows my mind as a diehard fan of The Simpsons seasons 3-8.)
Lucky editor in chief Eva Chen shows us her office — and it’s redunkulous.
This is the best, funniest, most adorable gift for a mother.
I’m outraged by the crazy-high cost of rugs, which is why we still don’t have any (minus a very precious Persian rug we’ve tucked away until Teddy earns our trust). I plan to scoop one up during my upcoming India trip for cheap, but if I wasn’t and if this fit with our color scheme, I would totally go for the reasonably priced Asta Rug by Grandiflora, a new home decor site launched by House of Earnest blogger Erin Souder.
There’s a new iOS app that’s being called the “Yelp for men,” as in women can dish anonymous reviews about specific males. Oh, and no guys, you can’t join; the app uses Facebook to detect your sex. And it will know if you all of a sudden change sexes.
Been blasting this song quite a bit lately. To be honest, I mostly like Hollis’ portions and the part from 1:05-2:00. But still.
Sometimes I get so Pin crazy during a Pinterest spree that nothing seems cohesive. Hot pink chairs? Yes! Muted Scandinavian-style rug? Sure! Mid-century dresser? OK! I wonder how these ideas will ever come together in my future home.
But recently I was looking at my Future Home board, where I pour all my hopes and dreams and Thonet chair wishes, and started to see patterns. Even though there were months between bookmarked images, I’ve been gravitating towards very specific ideas. I just don’t know about them yet. A pink sofa? Apparently I want one.
Here are four decor schemes my subconscious has been (apparently) contemplating:
I’ll be honest: I’ve been a bit underwhelmed by San Diego restaurants. Yes, I’m a total New York snob when it comes to food and yes, I’ve been lucky enough to travel internationally and eat my heart out for a whole year, but I did expect more out of the restaurants here. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found gems like Mama’s Bakery for Lebanese and Buona Forchetta for pizza, and of course the produce and Mexican eats here are way better than anything New York could dream up, but it’s taken work and a lot of trial and error to find my favorites.
That said, when I find something I like, you know that I really dig it. And that’s how I feel about Sab-e-lee a homestyle Thai restaurant low on frills and high on spice. (They offer a spice range of 1 to 10 and, to give you some perspective, when we ordered a 4, I woke up in the middle of the night with heartburn and a stomach ache — and I can handle my spice!)
The setting isn’t anything fancy and the location is completely random (tucked away in Linda Vista), but it feels like a Thai momma’s working in the kitchen. There are a lot of items we love — fried rice, green curry and Thai iced tea to name a few — but last night we shared a trio of tofu pad thai, chicken larb (our favorite dish from our time in Thailand) and beef salad. If you want the best mix of flavors, go for the beef salad, made with lemongrass, Thai eggplant, fresh chili, green onion and spicy lime juice.
