Back from Boston

I'm back from Beantown! It was a quick trip, mainly for the Justin Timberlake and Jay Z concert (which was, quite simply, the best), but I got to do some new things I didn't during spring break, and it's almost like a whole other city in the summer. I'll write more about it in the next few days; here are a few photos! 

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Birthday Boy

It's this handsome guy's 25th today, he's three weeks younger than I am. :) As Kyle wrote to me in my birthday letter, this is going to be the last birthday that we're apart. Kyle, I love you the most.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Summer Lately

Some shots of summer life lately. Despite the circumstances, and once I got used to having a more laid-back schedule and figured out how to appreciate free time, I've been enjoying the summer. I've been working, hanging out with friends, making a few trips to IKEA, eating froyo, watching Netflix, and spending mornings at the park with Luna. School (internship and work) starts back up in a couple of weeks, and while I'm not looking forward to 4:30 wake ups, I will be ready for everything to get started up again, and hope the cool, fall weather comes shortly after. :) Spring semester is primarily internship, so this is my last real semester of classes, hooray!

Oh, I dropped off Luna to stay at a friend's house during my Boston trip; she has an english bulldog and a chihuahua, Lola and Chloe. Luna was shaking she was so nervous at first, but soon they were all playing and running around in the backyard. They were quite a sight to see, three very different dogs all together. She's going to have a great time with them. :)

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Stovetop Popcorn Recipe

 Popcorn is definitely one of my favorite and most consumed snacks, so I thought I'd share how I make and season mine! Typically I would just season with olive oil and salt, but my favorite now is with rosemary (subtle; it mostly flavors the olive oil a little bit) and a bit of hot sauce as well.

1. In a pot with a lid, put 1-2 TBS olive oil, rosemary, and 3 kernels on high heat (I put it at the second highest dial). The 3 kernels will tell you when it's hot enough to pop your corn.
2. Once the three kernels pop, add however much popcorn you want! I don't measure, so that's the best I can tell you.
3. Pop pop!
4. Pour popped popcorn into a bowl, season with more olive oil and salt. Finish with hot sauce and mix! Adjust seasonings accordingly.
5. Munch away.
Note: I think this goes without saying, but make sure you put the lid on the pot, unless your intent is to create a New Years confetti shower effect in your kitchen.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Washington, DC: Hunger in America Day 8

Day 8: Saturday, May 25. For the last weekend we were participating in a "retreat" through the church we were staying at. On Saturday morning we started with a relaxed pancake breakfast, followed by a silent hour long walk through the downtown area, in which we were to observe, reflect, and just have some quiet time in the city. We were then sent to take a short walk up to a park where there are often homeless people, but we came upon a Monsanto protest right at one end of the park, so there was a lot going on. The rest of the day we had free until dinner. I took my friend Jem to explore around Eastern Market for a bit, where we talked to some strangers and I got yelled at for taking a picture (and unfortunately I didn't notice my camera was on a weird setting so the photos aren't great, but you still get an idea of the colors and character of Eastern Market). We had a chill evening back at the church, going to bed early (technically, not actually) as we had an early morning for our last day in the city!

^^creative cooking^^

^^my second ever Pitango (first was in Baltimore)^^

^^Tracey made frito pie for dinner, which is apparently a Texas thing. It was tasty!^^

Day 7
Day 6
Day 5
Day 4
Day 3
Days 1 and 2

- From the desk of Mrs. M