Post Thanksgiving Post: Central Park

I hope everyone had a splendid Thanksgiving! I got to spend mine in Pennsylvania with my relatives, which was really nice. I forgot how much I truly miss a real home: one with molding, wood floors, and a sink that's bigger than the one you would find in the bathroom. I got a bake a lot, too, with a real kitchen! I made this delicious Pumpkin Bundt Cake, which I highly recommend. It was perfect for the autumnal feast that Thanksgiving is all about.

As I promised, I come bearing pictures from my excursion to Central Park with my friends last weekend. We had such a lovely time amidst the falling foliage and crisp wind. However, one thing spoiled our fun: a terrible pretzel! We decided it would be a good idea to get some food, so we went up to one of those carts and two of my friends purchased pretzels, and after they tasted them, I decided it would be a better idea to invest in a hot dog. The hot dog wasn't too great either...disappointment!!

Something entertaining did happen, however. While walking around one of the lakes (not the big one), we spotted a bunch of camera men and big light diffusers and all those types of Hollywood toys. And then we saw Natalie Portman, which was exciting, but I am sad that she has long hair again. She looked so cute with that pixie cut. I'm not a stalker or anything, but I did manage to take a totally creepy stalker picture of her from across the lake. I won't post it here, because that's even creepier. Anyways, it's so far away you can barely make her out, haha.

So we had a pretty good time, I reckon. Yeah, it was cold. And yeah, it's 76 degrees back home in California right now, but sometimes I really do like it here!

Until next time...

Union Square Farmer's Market, again!

Walking around the Farmer's Market at Union Square on a cloudy
morning, indulging in a pumpkin scone and a steaming hot cup
of fresh apple cider for breakfast.

Can it get any better than that?

MWMH :: Stuffed Acorn Squash!

Did you know: I love autumn foods? If you read this "blog" at all, the answer should be yes. Also, I love it when I go to the super market and end up having leftover money from last week's allowance and then I can buy things I don't need. Such as Peppermint Hot Cocoa Mix!

Anyways, TANGENT! Here's the deal. This stuffed squash was really delish and very easy and you should make it tonight! I got the recipe from Elana's Pantry via TasteSpotting. I hope she won't mind if I post the recipe here for all my lovely friends and comrades to try.

Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Stuffing

You need:
~2 acorn squash
~boiling water
~2 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
~1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used golden raisins...)
~1 teaspoon cinnamon
~2 tablespoons butter (She says grapeseed oil, but she cooks gluten free, dairy free, etc.)

1. Cut squash in half and with a spoon, remove pulp and seeds
2. In a large pyrex baking dish place squash cut-side down
3. Pour ¼-inch boiling water into pyrex dish (or use 1/4 inch room temperature apple juice for extra sweetness)
4. Place dish in oven and bake squash for 30 minutes at 350°
5. In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries and cinnamon and grapeseed oil to make stuffing
6. Remove squash from the oven after the 30 minutes
7. Turn halves over and stuff center of each squash half with apple mixture
8. Return to oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (or longer) until squash and apples are tender

Serves 4 lucky ladies or gents

Now do it! Make it! Have a lovely mid-week feast. Until next time...

Pumpkin Bread Puddin'

Now, I know you're all thinking that this looks like the most disgusting thing ever, but don't judge quite yet. The pictures that I took of this Pumpkin Bread Pudding are, well, not so great. I admit it. It's true. But the thing is, I've been having some serious trouble photographing food ever since I've come to New York. First off, it's getting closer to winter, so by the time the food I make is finished, it is always nearly dark out already, thus spoiling my chances of shooting the food with a little natural light. Secondly, even if I do finish when it is still light out, I have only 1 window in my whole dorm room! Terrible, no? And only 1 ugly window sill to shoot from. So, I have turned to using flash (in the worst way possible).

Action shot during prep work...

But, I digress. This Pumpkin Bread Pudding was quite tasty, despite its awful, awful portraits. If I make it again, however, I think I am going to add more spice to it. I tried using a general Pumpkin Pie spice instead of each individual spice (ie. nutmeg, cloves, etc.), but I think I didn't add enough and something didn't quite work. I also want to try it with real pumpkin, but that's for another time.

Definitely delicious with whipped cream, no doubt!

In other news, we have a black president! I am most certainly flipping out and I can't even get over it for one second! It is beyond amazing. On election night, at 11 pm when Obama was announced winner, my friends and I ran over to Union Square and it was completely NUTS. I danced for hours. Maybe I'll post pictures some day in the future...I have many.

Until later, lovelies....

Happy 50th!

It's my 50th blog post! Oh, that's so wonderful, isn't it? Anyways, enough celebrating.

I don't really understand this whole "weather" thing that they have here on the east coast. I mean, in California, it's pretty much sun sun sun, partly cloudy, sun...etcetera. In New York, this is not really the case. Take today for example: It was windy, and rainy, and a little muggy, and not very cold. So what do I do (even though I knew in advance that this was the forecast)? I wear a dress! Genius, Lizzie, really smart. I had so much fun grabbing my hem and worrying about flashing the entire population of New York City.

But despite this minor poor choice, I had a lovely day today. First I wandered around Soho shopping and I got some good stuff for winter. Have I mentioned that I love Old Navy? Well I do. One of the purchases I specifically love is this cute vest that is super uber soft fleece on the inside. Sporty, but warm and perfect over a dress with my new green rain boots!

Following my little shopping excursion, I ran home amidst the howling wind (wasn't really howling but it's better for my story), and changed into a di fferent skirt, because I still wanted to wear tights with my rain boots. But I did choose a skirt that was more pencil-y so it wouldn't blow around---I'm ridiculous I think. Anyways, I went to the Union Square Farmer's Market and went hog wild!

Bought: Apples (because they are in season and soooo delicious right now), pear cider, purple potatoes (my favorite kind), an acorn squash, organic pumpkin bread, and some organic made-in-upstate-NY yarn! I am so excited about the yarn! It's a gorgeous slate blue and it was really pricey, but I have saved up, and I feel good about supporting real artisan yarn-makers. More on this yarn to come once I start knitting something with it.

What should I knit with it, by the way? Little arm/wrist warmers? Or a neck cowl? Perhaps a hat?

That's all for now, friends!

(P.S. Although I definitely hate polaroids, this little instant polaroid maker is really fun and addictive!!)

A Visit to Sarah Lawrence

Hey Team! How are you? I'm doing swell--it's my fall break, so I've had no school from last Friday to this Tuesday, and I've been able to do lots of fun stuff. Which I shall now tell you about...

So, Thursday afternoon I hopped on the Metro to Grand Central Station and then wandered around trying to find the correct track for my train to Bronxville/Sarah Lawrence College. I got to go into the main room in Grand Central with the big tall blue constellation-covered ceiling and the big clock and all that stuff and I had to ask (twice, don't ask me why) which track I had to go to. After finding the correct train, and arriving in Bronxville, I met up with this lovely lady:

We enjoyed the weather and saw Burn After Reading, which I really enjoyed. It was nice getting out of the city and being at a "real" college campus, one with a green quad and old buildings and all that. Also, she has the greatest dorm room, complete with hardwood floors, molding, and pretty windows.

Good stuff. So, yesterday (Sunday), I spent the first half of the day in Central Park with my good friend Emily and we walked and talked and enjoyed the lovely foliage and beautiful weather. Then, we knew what we had to do: get some real good New York City bagels. Not knowing where to go, we asked a random lady in the park, and she directed us to H and H Bagels on Broadway and 81st. Yes, the bagels were really really good! We spent the rest of the day walking around the Upper West Side and going to street fairs and flea markets. I got this at a street fair:

It's made in Morocco and was only $5! Excellent!

Anyways, after kickin' it with Emily, I met up with another pal, Ayden, and we...USED THE LARGE FORMAT CAMERA! Yes. It happened. Whether the photos came out or not, who knows. We took the field camera (it's like a light-weight version of a standard 4x5 view camera) and subwayed over to the Brooklyn Bridge. We each only shot 4 pictures, but it still took us like 20 minutes each. Then we spent about 1.5 hours walking around the financial district trying to find Grimaldi's Pizza (supposedly the best pizza in the entire city) until we found out that it was across the bridge in Brooklyn. We contemplated taking a cab, but instead hiked across the bridge, arms laden with 2 cameras and the heaviest tripod in existence. Then we found the place, and had to wait in line for OVER AN HOUR. It was ridiculous. Scratch that. It was our own Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle experience. Ayden and Lizzie go to Grimaldi's Pizza. Intense.

Such a New York weekend! Fantastic! Anyways, I hope I haven't bored you too much. To conclude, I would like to propose a similar question to what Kristina asked on her blog: What should I put in my cute ceramic Moroccan pot?

Post Wedding Post

Hello everyone, and Anne, who I think deserves a special shout-out because she checks out my blog like I check out cute boys walking down the streets of NYC. That was a hideously awful joke that should neve have been uttered, and I want to kill myself for thinking/writing/posting it to the world. You must excuse me, it's been a weird night; basically I've been fighting with my computer because its acting out in all sorts of strange ways. I don't want to talk about it, it depresses me.

So, I went to a wedding this past weekend. It was my cousin's and it was really beautiful, especially because there was gorgeous fall foliage in the Massachusetts trees, and you know how much I love autumn. This is my first real autumn since I was about 6, and I don't remember those early ones, so as you can tell, I'm quite excited. I'm really getting into it! The next thing I need is a pumpkin for the dorm.

Anyways, my cousin's daughter (see above) and I played with my camera during the rehearsal dinner, and took lots of flattering pictures of each other:

Endless entertainment. These were pretty much the only digital pictures I took during the trip, but as soon as I figure out how to use the scanners at school, I will be uploading lots of my color film prints and contact sheets! Get excited!

Sorry, this was a little bit of a lame post, but there is this girl who reads my blog, her name's Anne--I mentioned her earlier, remember?--yeah, and she's sorta been getting on my case. So I had to give her SOMETHING to procrastinate with. Okay, until Wednesday my friends.

A Successful MWMH!

Okay, I think this is the first legit Mid-Week Magic Hour! I beginning to think this is just an incredibly dorky idea, but I'm going to go through with it until someone tells me so to my face. (Please, I won't be offended.)

Anyways, I just need to express my love of autumn once again. Right now, the weather is just perfect, more or less, here in the city. It's breezy, 70 degrees, perfect. I can wear a coat or a scarf or a sweater or a t-shirt or a dress (although the latter might blow up due to the gusty winds) and I'll feel great. And in the evening it gets cool and perhaps, dare I say it, cold. So, what better way to celebrate devastatingly perfect evening weather than by curling up in the perfect P.J.s and tea and everything like that? I will choose a coziness over mayhem any day:

What's up there::
~Tregaron Blanket by Toast [£95.00]
~Wool Felt Slippers by Toast [£49.00]
~Dhuggie by Toast [£45.00]
~Cashmere Bedsocks by Toast [£39.00]
~Betty Teapot by Toast [£25.00]
~Lavender and Peppermint Body Lotion by C.O. Bigelow Chemists [$4.00]
~Marvis Classic Mint Toothpaste by C.O. Bigelow Chemists [$10.50]

Yeah, so you can definitely see that I'm on a little Toast kick, to say the least. Seriously, if I had lots of money, that would be one of the stores very high on my list to shop at. But in case you hadn't noticed, there is not a way in the world that I could afford that stuff. Because the prices are in British pounds mind you. Ugh, oh woe.

Yep, that's that! Go MWMH! I don't know if I will be able to post on Saturday exactly because I am going to my cousin's wedding, but I will probably be able to on the bus ride back, because the bus has WiFi and I have a surprisingly small amount of work to do. Oh, I am quite excited to go to this wedding because not only will I get to see a lot of extended family, but I will get to see my mom and dad and brothers too, whom I miss lots! I've only been away for a month, which at some points seems like not very long at all, but at other points seems like an age.

I hope that at the wedding I will get to take some really great pictures because I am renting out a large format 4x5 field camera! I am so excited, I can't even tell you, but I'm pretty sure that my first round will not turn out because the camera is quite cumbersome and difficult to use. And the film costs $2 per frame, so it's not like this is going to be a common thing. But I have high hopes and am feeling quite inspired. More to come, to be sure!!

Until next time...

First Day O' Fall!!

Hello!! I know I just posted yesterday, and here I am today, and it's not Wednesday, and so it's not Mid-Week Magic Hour, and yes I know this. But I just discovered Polyvore and I can't get over how cool it is! So instead of writing my essay, which needs to be 6-8 pages (the first draft of which is due Wednesday), I'm shopping and oogling and oggling all the pretty things.

So let's play a game. A game called, what outfit would Lizzie compose if she had an infinite amount of money and it needed to be under an autumnal theme. Well, this is it:

Oh ho ho how cute and fun! Go to Polyvore, and you can make one of these neat little magazine-like spreads and look very professional and cool.

Here's what's up there::
-Oscar de la Renta Cable Knit Sweater
-Burberry Kentisbury Coat
-Donna Karan Moleskin Riding Pants
-Marc by Marc Jacobs Crazy Bow Hairband
-J. Crew Ombre Washed-wool Scarf
-FredFlare Pine Cone Candle
-Hunter Wellington Boots
-Target Bubble Umbrella

Total Cost: $3,600 even

I know you want to buy me all of that. See you Wednesday...

Deer Illustration!

Greetings!

I wish it was fall. Really badly. It was 90 degrees today and so humid! I don't know what to do with myself, and mainly, my hair. All I want is for it to be 65 degrees, cloudy, and beautiful. I want to buy excellent apples at the Farmers Market in Union Square, and make apple cider, and use cinnamon, and make these Maple Walnut Cupcakes with Candied Walnuts! And yes, I know I'm going to completely eat my words when October rolls around and I realize that my poor California-skin can't handle the real cold. Hopefully by then I will own a warm coat, but so far I have been unsuccessful in buying one of those.

Anyways, for my drawing class we had to make a drawing of...anything. Which I thought was a pretty lame project, but whatever. I did a little gouache painting of some deer in a cemetery, taken from a photograph that I snapped a few years ago when I was in Monterey for a wedding.

One of the several photographs that I combined together
to form my illustration:

Et voila! The photo doesn't really do the colors justice, but I'm still working on trying to photograph my artwork properly. I am happy with the result, but I wish I had done something better with the background. I feel it just ends rather abruptly, and I didn't do a very good job at incorporating the fogginess of the cemetery that day. Oh well! Maybe I'll put in in the Etsy shop, if I feel so inclined...

So, yeah, that's what's been up. I'm trying very hard to post every Sunday and every Wednesday, because that's usually when I have the most free time. Because Wednesday classes don't meet again until the following Monday, so I don't have that much homework on those days! Or on Thursdays. I really love this whole 3 day weekend thing. It's quite excellent.

Well, until next time...(which should be Wednesday!)