smell the coffee?

I never seem to have the time to make coffee in the morning. If I do, I either can't find my travel mug or end up leaving it filled sitting on the kitchen table. I've decided to give up brewing at home and stop most every day for coffee even though it makes me late to work at...

Civilization in Tremont- Love the ladies (and cute guy) that work there. Love the raspberry cheese croissant. Do not love that their large isn't the gigantic American "LARGE" coffee that I think I need to get through the first 4 hours of a work day. Love that if I can find my travel mug, they'll fill it for only a buck.

or

Cafe Ah-Roma, across from CSU on Euclid - Everyone there is soooo happy - to the point where it is borderline annoying. "Good Morning! How are you today? Can I get you some coffee? How about some breakfast?". Wow dudes, it's a bit early for me but I love the cute CSU guys that kinda look like Jack White and are super cheery. I wonder if they go through a lot of employee training--- Smile. Make eye contact. Smile some more! Love the BIG coffees and the Ah-Roma bagel sandwich with swiss cheese and ham. They also have really great sandwiches and salads for lunch - try the chicken salad.



If I'm really late I go to the "coffee cart" at work (after I make an appearance at my desk). Barista Bernard infuriates me with his constant banter plus his lack of consistency and speediness. After each visit I swear I will NEVER go back!

I went this morning. And waited 10 minutes for a cup of coffee out of a thermos.

Double-Zero

I happened to stuble upon Banana Republic this morning and noticed that their dresses are "Now Available in Size Double-Zero." What? Is that a real size? I was hoping that was a typo or something and what they really meant was "Now Available in Size Double-D".

Birthday Booty!

My birthday was last Sunday (1/22) and my dear family and friends graciously gave me some pretty cool stuff:

An Amazon gift certificate (already spent on The Art of Eating, Superfoods HealthStyle, David Lebovitz's Room for Dessert & The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups) - I should have lots of new recipes to try out!

Some very relaxing Lush and Aveda products.

A gift certificate to get my hair done at Salon Sedona.

One pair of pretty blue glass earrings from Prosperity Studio, located on E. 40th St. in exotic Cleveland, OH.

From my Secret Pal a skein of white wool yarn with kool aid so that I can dye it and a new scarf pattern! Plus truffles! Yum :)

And from my dear husband (insert drum roll here)...
A DIGITAL CAMERA!!!

Why am I not posting millions of digital photographs right now? Well, he didn't know which camera I wanted so he just picked one off the shelf, so I had something to open. His intention being that I can return it and get the one I want. Isn't that sweet? He's a smart guy.

Thanks to everyone for the lovely gifts!

Chicken Tostadas

I made a version of this Martha Stewart recipe for Tostadas Salsa Verde last night. More like I followed the concept of the recipe and used what I had in the cupboard. No cilantro, substituted cheddar cheese for pepper jack and I added some avacado on top. I really missed the salsa verde - that's what peaked my tastebuds in the first place!



Hi Secret Pal 7!!! She sent me a picture postcard from Philadelphia - she took the picture from her friend's rooftop deck. I think it looks quite serene.

Meet the Bloggers Fundraiser

from Brewed Fresh Daily:

"In an effort to raise money to pay for interview transcripts, Northeast Ohio bloggers have organized a fundraiser for Meet The Bloggers, to take place Thursday night, January 26, 2006, from 5.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. at the Pearl of the Orient restaurant, located in Beachcliff Market Square, 19300 Detroit Road, Rocky River, OH.

Please distribute this information widely. We’ve got 4 or 5 outstanding transcripts and at least that many interviews scheduled already.

A tremendous thanks to Scott Bakalar for donating his time and arranging this opportunity for us. "

More sausage

Gloria Ferris posts about The Sausage Shoppe where you can get nitrate, msg, and preservative free, you guessed it, sausage!

I finally went shopping

Yesterday I went shopping and bought tons of groceries, toiletries and household supplies. I feel like a real person again - minus a substantial amount of money. I've also started going to Jazzercize classes. It's not very cool, but at least I am doing something physical.

Last night I cooked! Nothing too extravagant - Tuna Noodle Casserole. I used:

1 bag No Yolk noodles
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 8oz package of fresh mushrooms - sliced and sauted
1 can of peas
2 cans of tuna
sprinkling of cheddar cheese and bread crumbs on the top

What kind of interesting stuff do you put in your tuna casserole???

News...

Food: Not yet fully unpacked or ready to start cooking again. Tonight we had Barilla, for like the 12th time since we moved. bleh.

Music: The Black Keys are playing at the Agora (presented by the Beachland Ballroom) on Feb. 25th. I bought my tickets yesterday and hope you get yours soon. They are truly awesome.

Movies: Went to see Brokeback Mountain (wow!) and The Family Stone (crap).

Knitting: Currently working on the Windy City Scarf from Stitch 'N Bitch.


Swaps: I've received 2 swap packages recently. A snack swap package filled with popcorn, cookies and candy from the crafty Mary of San Diego and a thrift store package from Abby in Irving, TX. A Conway Twitty record bowl, belt buckle, necklace and cowgirl purse. Thanks for swapping!

The official Secret Pal 7 Questionnaire

I signed up for Secret Pal 7...here are my questionnaire answers for my Secret Pal.
Hi there - whoever you are!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? I would like to be a yarn snob!

2. Do you spin? Crochet? Neither

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Been meaning to make a case but right now they're in a tall glass vase.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? About 1 year - beginner.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Amazon

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Nothing too flowery or sweet.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Verrrry sweet. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, licorice, mint, not into hard candies that much.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Paper crafts, printing, cooking, sewing

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like all kinds of music and LOVE my ipod!

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I am a blue, gray, black (darks) kind of person when it comes to clothing but like to get a little more interesting with my accessories.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married and have 4 shubunkin goldfish

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves but oddly enought don't have any gloves, mittens, hats or ponchos - and I live in OHIO!!!

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I really don't have a favorite yet. I have mostly used all natural fibers though.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I don't like those very furry "fun" yarns.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Scarves, scarves and scarves. That's the only thing I've ever made!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Well, scarves I guess!

17. What are you knitting right now? The Stitch 'N Bitch Windy City Scarf

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes!!!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? I like both

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? bamboo

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? no

22. How did you learn to knit? Reading Stitch 'N Bitch and other books

23. How old is your oldest UFO? I've pretty much finished every knitting project I've started - so far!

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

25. What is your favorite holiday? My birthday, St. Patrick's Day and Halloween. And any holiday that gets me out of work!

26. Is there anything that you collect? cookbooks, earrings

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? none

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? not that i can think of

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I'd like to learn how to knit socks

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Not sure but I wear a 9 1/2 size shoe.

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 1/22

Hello 2006!

These past few weeks seem to have flown by and I feel so out of the blog loop. Work is starting back up this week (I'm doing a presentation on Monday about blogs!) and we are getting our cable hooked up on Saturday....I will finally be online again.

We moved December 23rd and we're still unpacking. Over winter break I was able to spend a lot of time with my family - some visiting from Colorado. It's been lots of fun. The apartment and cleaning can wait. Lots of eating and shopping and knitting. Not so much cooking. I really can't make much more than cereal in my kitchen right now.

A recent food highlight was New Year's Eve dinner at Parker's. Unfortunately, my husband had the flu but insisted that we still go. The poor guy wasn't able to finish any course and left with a full beer and glass of wine sitting infront of him. He was REALLY ill :(