Countdown: (Hope & Jim Joe, Snapshots of Home)

7 days until Vassar

I managed to pack only 20-something pairs of shoes

I call that skills, and restraint

besides missing all the shoes I'm leaving behind,

I'm going to miss Jim Joe, his wisdom

and his knack for always having the perfect message for me

wherever I go, he's like that best friend that gives the greatest advice,

he always reminds me to keep on truckin',

even on the most unbearable days

Beau also keeps me smilin',

I always have my camera

just in case one of my favorite men pay me a visit

IloveyouJimJoe

Inspirational messages might be at their best in Willyb

At Vassar I get all of my hope and inspiration from

the ladies at the Deec (my surrogate moms)

or whoever is making omelets,

I can't complain, I miss those egg white dreams.

Savor it While it Lasts

Vassar is fast approaching

and my days of working an internship and a job will soon be over

so will be the days of restaurant hopping in Hell's Kitchen,

hanging out in Chipotle on those sweltering hundred degree days,

just for the refillable soda with the lemon twist

real ice cream cones will be long gone, and I'll be stuck eating fro-yo from wafer cones

my dog won't wander in to my room late at night

air conditioning will be a thing of the past

so I have to bask in the things I love, for the next three weeks

My devotion to Cafe Bustelo & Pilon will never falter,

Spanish coffee all day everyday, con leche and lots of sugar

just the way my mom makes it every single morning

heating the milk in a separate pot, it becomes my job to make sure it doesn't boil over

and boy, that sure is a lot of responsibility

I appreciate our cabinet shelves, lined with assorted Goya products so much more now

my mom & Goya really make magic together

The best thing is being able to travel to any continent,

from the comfort of the East Village

First Avenue takes me to India, with all the lights

and celebration of a festival

not to mention deliciously addictive cheese naan

(think a match made in grill cheese-Desi fusion heaven)

At work I can revel in both Japanese & Afghan cuisine
Even Ukraine isn't out of reach, I gotta love authentic pierogies

even though I think at Vassar they do them pretty well,

my roommate would always look forward to pierogie night

the one night of the month she would decide to emerge from

the cave that was our room, and when she didn't

I would smuggle ziplock bags and tupperwares of them

so she could freeze them and have real dinner (ie not cereal) for days

she's the one thing that I don't have while I'm at home,

and I miss her & her Midwestern charm

but most of all, I miss her stressed out habit

of making turbans out of scarfs

she'd don them at night, while struggling with chemistry chapters

My (few) days of being a home-cook were awesome

I'll have to give that up in the communal dorm kitchens

which frequently are missing key things, like spatulas

I'll have to trade in the tastes of my childhood

I remember sitting in small Puerto Rican restaurants

waiting on my pernil & tostones, sipping Coco Rico coconut soda,

light and refreshing

Kola Champagne to accompany my rice & beans,

its not the same having Diet Coke out of soda machines

The last thing I must savor in these last 3 weeks

are beautiful mountains of ice cream

my heart breaks at the thought of being without the creamy goodness.

Street Art

I already have a torrid love affair with the city

but now that I'm an intern

I love every single minute I get to spend outside even more

working in an office

is actually quite alienating

maybe it's just the sociology major in me

or maybe its because the light in my nook is out

but this weekend, I got in some much needed QT time with the streets

and encountered some street art that really made me happy

anything might be beautiful after staring at an Excel workbook for 7 hours at a time

but this stuff is actually great.

This sexy man inspires me.

Gotta love some divalicious attitude & a bit of scandal

Gritty High Renaissance in the big city? yes please!

Trifecta=new best word.

I wish there could be a pizza place, Thai restaurant & Cold Stone all in one,

that would be my dream trifecta.

No words needed. This speaks the truth.

This truck couldn't have been in a better place. Love dollar stores, forever.

LES masterpiece.

My fave.

Birthdays & Saturdays [Things I Love]

So I've been MIA from Sleeping Venus

for the past week, because I've been in midtown

full time, everyday working for Paper Magazine

I can sum it up with: rotten flowers,

hunting for the perfect shade of chartreuse taffeta,

Excel, desperately trying to get Marc Jacob's assistant on the phone,

holding real life prison letters from Michael Alig (I die)

and wanting to have Pinkberry for lunch everyday with an empty wallet

oh, the life of an intern

but onto other things

like all the lovely things that happen on Saturdays and birthdays

and all the wonderful noms and sights

the things I love:

Good restaurants!

like Risoterria, where I went on my bday

(I'm 19, I'm nearly a dinosaur, even though 19 is one of those really liminal ages...)

it is on Bleecker Street,

which is easily becoming my new favorite place

not only did I get to have all my favorite foods on my birthday

(a momlet, ice cream, pizza)

but the pizza was brick oven,

mozzarella, asparagus, and white truffle oil

and white truffle oil just makes everything sexy

did I mention this restaurant gives you free one and a half feet long breadsticks,

yes, breadsticks,

I'm totally smitten with any place that gives free bread

anyhow, this pizza was mind blowingly delish

and I want it every single day, desperately

Candy!

not just any candy though, my new obsession is grapefruit gummies

and my not so new obsession is basically anything from Economy Candy on Rivington

it's so authentic, and its one of the only places where I can find

vintage goodies

like Sixlets and Bottle Caps

its also one of the only candy places that doesn't feel gourmet & overpriced

so it makes me feel really nostalgic

I'm dying for a little lunchbox tin from there

so I can tote my peanut butter & jelly sandwich and my apple to work everyday in style

what's better than good restaurants and candy?

getting Thai takeout to eat at Tompkins

so romantic

since it was just impossible to squeeze in pad thai on my birthday

I had it the next day, and it was everything I wanted

a lunch special from Tara Thai on First Ave

a sunny day in the park

bull dogs with chubby paws

and lots of pup watching

why is it that lime tastes so good on pad thai?

it really gives it a depth of flavor

(everyday I consider going to culinary school instead of Vassar)

one day I'm going to own my own food joint

it will happen, even with a Sociology degree

and it will be made possible

by all the hours I spend watching the food networking and food joint hopping

I can't even tell you how many ways I know how to prepare pork loin

my fave recipe is for an herb crusted pork loin

but I'm a vegetarian....

I also love getting free ice water at Starbucks,

and it's even better when it belongs to someone else

sorry William, but this girl was so thirsty

thanks for helping a sista out

And it's totally awesome when streets in the city happen to look like Europe

I could sort of feel like I'm in Delft, or Harrlem

maybe even Tuscany, if I squint...and ignore all the cabs

Lastly, I gotta love Washington Square Park

street performers and the wonderful sounds of doo wop,

fleetingly beautiful sand art by Joe Mangrum (he is amazing),

botanical garden worthy flowers

eccentric couples

frolicking children,

and that refreshing fountain mist

are more than enough to keep me smiling all summer long.