This India trip was a whirlwind. Not only was it a short visit — we were in Bangalore for just six days — but we also had two weddings to attend. Sleep deprivation aside, it was awesome to see my grandmother and other relatives, eat authentic South Indian food and really just travel again. It had been a while by my standards.
It was also so refreshing to not shop for myself. Each India visit typically comes with days of me selecting saris and other outfits to bring back to the U.S. because the quality and prices are just so much better there. But I did all that last year. This year was all about gifts for people. And I realized, it can actually be so much more satisfying to shop for other people. I love that hunt of finding just the right thing for the right person. And I love to bargain. The U.S. really needs more haggling options beyond flea markets.
Here’s a photo diary from the trip. Post on Singapore coming at you on Wednesday.
Looking back at Teddy’s first bike ride, the San Diego Bay Food and Wine Festival, San Diego Magazine‘s 65th anniversary party and a glimpse of my India and Singapore trip. I got back late last night and once I get past my bleary-eyed, jet lag-induced haze, I’ll go through all my pictures and share them next week.
You may remember that I got a ridiculously amazing copper bundt pan (and copper colander) from the thrift store recently. Since then, I’ve been trying to find the perfect bundt recipe to christen the beautiful piece. As much as I love Pinterest and food blogs, I’m a firm believer that while not an expert on savory cooking, Martha is the queen of baked goods. Every one of her dessert recipes I’ve made have been huge hits.
There are also about a zillion types of bundt cake, but for my first, I went for a simple chocolate cake dotted with walnuts and drizzled with chocolate sauce. A lot of people in the comments section said the cake was dry, but I baked it for 55 minutes and it was moist to perfection. What wasn’t perfect? My drizzle. I really just don’t know how to glaze properly. I think it had to do with letting my glaze sit too long and thus harden before pouring it. But we’re splitting hairs here; there’s nothing ever wrong with chocolate sauce on chocolate cake.
I wasn’t ballsy enough to see if the cake lasts longer than the one day Martha warns, so I doled out quite a bit to my friends. Also, vanilla ice cream. This cake necessitates vanilla ice cream.
I never used to need to write things down. I had a sick memory that was able to retain everything in my head. But as I get older, juggle freelance work and feel altogether a little more scatter-brained, I feel the need to write every single task down, even if it’s “dog park.”
When you have a lot of things running through your mind, your task list can seem endless, but I also know that once I write everything down, the list seems a lot less daunting. And of course there are those feelings of sheer joy when I cross a finished task off my list. Some people may be wed to their Google calendar, but I’m wed to my pen and paper.
I made the mistake of buying a too-big weekly planner from Target at the start of the year, so this year I’m looking for one that doesn’t take up a third of my desk. Here are six I’m eying:
– 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.
