Friday Favorites!

My newest and latest article for Ma Vie Francaise has been posted – check it out here.

I took an amazing Macaron making class at Mille Feuille bakery last week for my article on Macaron Day. My two part article on Macaron Day is here and here. If you’re in NYC please visit Mille Feuille bakery and have one of their amazing macarons! Or take the class – you won’t be disappointed! Here are a few pics from the super fun class:

making macarons – vanilla, pistachio, and chocolate

beautiful and ready for the ganache filling!

Beautiful macarons made by MOI! And yes I got to take ALL of those home. Amazing

My latest article for Used York City is also up (see how busy I’ve been) and you can find it here.

It was brought to my attention that you can buy hand crafted furniture made out of whiskey and wine barrels. And now I’m obsessed with something I can’t afford – AGAIN.

In honor of Mad Men coming back I give you this list – Betty is  a crazy bitch but that’s what makes her fun to watch.

So there you have it. Also – whew! I’ve got another article to finish today, one to start on Monday, and a show to see tonight to review for an article I’m writing this weekend. And of course there’s the full time job on top of all this. It’s no wonder my poor blog is suffering.

On the cooking agenda this weekend – my second attempt at the olive oil cake that I somehow messed up last time and a new recipe by Jacques Pepin!

And sleep – glorious, glorious sleep.

Bon week-end!

Friday Favorites!

Monday was President’s Day! Personal favorite because it meant I got the day off work. Also, thank you to ALL the Presidents. Even the ones I couldn’t stand.

CAMUS Cognac – on Tuesday evening I went to an event organized by CAMUS Cognac for an article I’m writing for My French Life and it was pretty amazing. Like five course sit down dinner with wine and cognac pairings amazing. I’ll link the article here when it’s finished but for now all I can say is they are awesome and they fed me and didn’t ask me to pay. FRIENDS FOR LIFE.

I’m starting another writing gig for Used York City, a great online travel magazine focused on New York and all it has to offer locals and travelers alike. I’m very excited to start writing about more great New York finds and branch out of my French focused research. I’ll be linking any new articles I write for Used York City here so keep an eye out! For now, definitely check out the website and if you have any suggestions on what you want to read more about in their content please let me me know!

In the world of news - IMPORTANT 

And in other important news - The worst show ever created is back – but now D list celebrities are participating. If things have gotten this bad in your “career” it’s time to just stop trying to be on TV. No really – STOP.

Bon week-end everyone!

A New Year, A New Beginning, and of course, More Blogging

Happy place

Words cannot convey how happy I am to welcome the start of 2013. As you may have read on this little blog, 2012 pretty much kicked my ass. To be fair, good things came from it – I got an amazing new job which I am grateful for every day, I started cooking (a shock to myself and all who know me), my little shih tzu Rocky came back home and joined our little zoo in Brooklyn, and although it was via fairly traumatic circumstances I got a kick ass 2 bedroom garden apartment in Brooklyn Heights that has now spoiled me for life.

The worst part of 2012 was separating from my husband in August and the trauma that followed for the next five months. But I’m happy to report that the New Year is the start of a new beginning for us and he is back home and we are on a solid road of reconciliation. There’s a lot of work to be done but we’re recommitted to making it work and I couldn’t be happier about it. When we said for better or worse we meant it, and now that we’ve been through the worst it’s time to aim for the best – so 2013 best be listening! It’s time for a year of good and positive changes. No negative people or energy wanted or allowed.

In regards to resolutions, I would say mine are more goal oriented than resolution by definition, and fairly simple all things considered. Here they are:

1. To keep writing for My French Life and look into more writing opportunities about France, travel, etc. I really am happiest when I’m writing about France, cultural relations with America, travel, and what not, so if I can continue to do that and do it more, I think only good things can come from it.

2.  To recommit to the relationships in my life. Obviously this applies to my marriage but also some very dear friendships that I have not given enough attention to. Distance is a difficult thing but it’s no excuse to not check in with people beyond liking their status on Facebook. I need to make more of an effort to call people and catch up. More importantly I need to make more of an effort to see the people who live here in New York that I somehow never see. There’s really no excuse, and I need to recommit to being a better friend here and with those far away. For those nearby, the goal is to make my huge apartment a place to convene for drinks, dinner, general hanging out and random parties. We finally have a big enough apartment to have people over, so let the socializing and dinner parties begin. No more hermit bull shit. The time is now.

3. To keep cooking! My amazing sister and brother in law got me Jacques Pepin’s Essential cookbook (SO EXCITED) for Christmas and Erik got me a great cookbook as well so it seems I have plenty of new things to try. I just have to stay motivated! Which I’m very confident I can do – I just need to keep trying new things so I don’t get bored. Also buy new kitchen tools. Shiny new toys always help.

4. To get healthy – blah blah blah. Same old same old goal every year. But this year, it’s time to combine forces. Healthy cooking which I have already mastered (yay!) and working out regularly. I never seem to be able to make these two things happen at the same time. I’m either working out non stop and eating with no limits (for shame) or I’m eating super healthy and avoiding the gym. Viscous and completely useless cycle. It’s time to refocus in this area and get back into tip top shape. I’ve always been a girl who loves my curves in all their glory – but the fitter the better – so time to get some muscle tone back.

5.  To start gardening – now that I’m cooking, and I have a backyard, it only makes sense to start planting some herbs. And learning a new skill is always good. First on my list – basil. My favorite herb EVER. Sadly this will have to wait until Spring so I’m hoping I don’t lose my motivation…

6. To start biking and hiking. Part of my problem with hitting the gym is that it bores me to fucking tears. I hate it. I loathe it. I would rather be doing ANYTHING else. But I do love being active in general, especially if it involves being outside and, more importantly, away from the city. So my goal is to get a bike and start venturing past my comfort zone and eventually venturing past my gym to the point where I’m getting enough exercise with outside activity that I simply don’t have to go to the gym anymore. FOR REAL. I’d also like to start hiking. Upstate New York is so gorgeous, and a simple train ride away, for a nice day’s hike in the woods. This goal will definitely be the hardest in terms of getting off my lazy ass and making it happen but hopefully I can stay focused and get this ball rolling after the winter weather wears off.

7. To manage and get out of credit card debt – this is NOT happening in the span of a year (ha! wouldn’t that be nice?) but little steps can make a big difference. We’ve already consolidated a good chunk of our debt and with a little financial planning we should be able to make a big difference in the next few years. I’m hoping by this time next year to feel a lot less weighed down by all the bills.

8. To read more – seriously – I gotta get down with library town. Ever since I finished my masters I have avoided all things resembling literature. It’s quite pathetic and quite frankly, inexcusable. Amazon is gonna see some serious book purchases from me soon. Please feel free to send any recommendations!

So there you have it. A pretty solid list of realistic goals I should be able to achieve with a little will power and the love and support of my amazing friends and family. I’m not quite sure how I would have gotten through this year without all of my loved ones near and far. There really are no words to do justice to how grateful I am.

And then of course there’s this little blog, which hopefully will remain interesting. There will be recipes so I stay on the cooking track and hopefully – eventually – there will be traveling again. I’m going to commit to getting back to my lyrics of the day because I love them, and perhaps I can come up with some other weekly/daily blog rituals that will keep things interesting around here.

Thanks for sticking with me! Here’s to a wonderful and memorable 2013!

Kitchen Confessions and an Update

Long time no blog. For this girl at least.

It’s been strangely busy at work with all kinds of lovely goings on I can’t discuss (God bless the confidentiality agreement) so I simply haven’t had time to write a sentence on here. The other main factor of lack of blogging this week has been that every new recipe I’ve tried this week has been quite disastrous. Crab cakes – disaster. Various pasta dishes with too many steps – disasters. Roast pork sandwich – disaster. I have no idea what is going on with me but I am completely off my game for some reason. No fires were set, nothing was burned, but still disastrous all around in the kitchen lately. Even the dog didn’t want what I was making. Turned his nose up and walked away.

DIVA.

And then (this is very important news) I broke my last beautiful martini glass. And I almost cried. It was my favorite cocktail glass, once a set of six, and was the last man standing after two years of drunken gatherings with friends and family. And now she’s gone. Broken, shattered, never to be sipped from again. And I am in mourning.

In Christmas news, my Mom will be arriving Christmas day and I think the general plan is to be completely lazy together. Homeland marathon, Dexter marathon, Christmas movies and not much else. I’m hoping to take her to my favorite little Cuban place in Brooklyn and perhaps to Tertulia for Spanish tapas if we can muster the energy to go into Manhattan at some point, but overall, the plan is catch up on sleep, spend some quality time together and hang at home. Sounds oh so lovely. There will also be cooking, hopefully a new recipe here and there so I can post them here and confirm that my newfound cooking curse is over. Please let it be over.

In other news, I published two articles for My French LIfe/Ma Vie Francaise this month. The first is a short round up of Francophile favorites for Christmas and New Years. To see it, click here. The second focuses on Mon Petit Cafe, one of my favorite little French bistros tucked away in Manhattan. To see that article, click here.

So there you have it. I may or may not be blogging until after the New Year. We’ll see if motivation strikes me while I’m at home in my sweats watching TV and drinking a cocktail at two in the afternoon…I doubt it.

Cooking in a Hurricane -Tales from NYC

So…there was a hurricane. And now the city is in shambles and I’m stranded in Brooklyn with nothing but my email, the cable (thank God), and some recipes.

The hurricane itself was pretty intense. Nothing but winds and sirens all night long. The damage in my neighborhood was a lot of broken branches, uprooted trees and broken windows, but Manhattan took a bigger hit and I can’t even imagine the level of stress some New Yorkers are feeling right now. Going on day four without power, some without water or fresh food. The fact that I can’t even get to work, because lower Manhattan is that shut down and in the dark is a testament to how bad it really is. I got lucky. And I am extremely grateful.

Because of the storm I am now stuck in my apartment unable to go to the office. Working from home as best I can, which essentially means I check my email and ask my coworkers to actually deal with things that are important since I have no printer, no fax, and my cell phone won’t make calls and 75% of the time won’t receive them either. Fun times.

So in between checking emails and cleaning up the mess that was caused in my backyard by the crazy weather, I’ve done a little cooking. Surprise, surprise!

First, and most importantly, I made pepper steak. Classic French and classically delicious. I used the recipe from my new cookbook but couldn’t find the fancy pepper they suggested, so instead just went with regular old black peppercorn and it was impecable all the same. Look how pretty:

Yummmmmmmmmmmmm. FYI – I nailed it.

Seriously, so good. I still can’t believe how simple French home cooking can be. All that flavor with such limited ingredients. Swoon.

Given the limited groceries available over the past few days I made a lot of repeat meals so the only other new thing I made before today (when I was able to go grocery shopping) was a gnocchi dish with caramelized tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella.

So fresh and tasty

This dish is really good but ultimately a more spring/summer dish. Not the most ideal dish for a Fall evening but it was good all the same.

Tonight I experimented with baked ziti (OMG) which I will post about later and tomorrow I have plans to make a goat cheese and strawberry tartine for lunch and steak with potatoes savoyarde for dinner. Gotta keep busy or I’ll go crazy!

More to come tomorrow, assuming I still have power and internet. You never know…

And I’m Back…For Now at Least

I am finally back in NYC after a much needed trip home to see my Mom and my amazing friends in California. More posts to come with actual details, but here’s a small summary of the past week or so – the first one my friends is a fucking doozy…

1. In which my life is like a fucking movie – I got arrested at the airport on my way to California for a “weapon” in my bag, that was of course not mine. It belonged to my husband, and was in my bag from the move, and I just didn’t see it before I started packing (I KNOW – lesson fucking learned). Obviously, this is a long story…the short of it. I got arrested and I now have a court date to prove I’m just an innocent little girl and very much NOT a terrorist.  I wish I was kidding, but this is in fact my life right now. Just when I thought I couldn’t be any more stressed out…fun times.

2. After my traumatic travel experience I went straight to wine country in California and thanks to my Mom and amazing friends managed to have a fabulous time. There was brunch, farmer’s markets, a harvest party, wine tastings, and a wedding. Couldn’t have asked for a better welcome home.

3. The wine country festivities and my entire trip back to California with my amazing Mom was so emotionally restorative that I think I might be moving back there soon. No firm plans yet, but NYC is no longer on an indefinite timeline. Quality of life is better in California and it’s time to go home. There’s also free rent in California (God bless my Mom) which would be extremely helpful right now. But if you know of free rent in France, I could also be persuaded to live there instead…just sayin’.

4. After much time reflecting about my life while in California, I now want to get a PhD…I KNOW. I thought I was done with school too. But I had a lot of time in CA thinking about what makes me happy and the reality is studying culture makes me happy. Specifically studying French vs. American culture, and even more specifically food culture. So if I can build a career where it is literally my job to discuss and write about French and American food and chef cultures, I’m all over it. Now I just need to develop the topic and get someone to let me into their program. Time shall tell…

5. Speaking of chefs and French food, my Mom taught me how to make my dad’s classic French mustard chicken from his old school recipe. I’m going to try it by myself this week…here’s hoping I can carry on the family tradition.

6. I am officially looking for a roommate. If I can’t find a sane person I am actually willing to live with I’m just going to move home now. If I can find a roommate, I’ll be in NYC until August when my lease is up. Once my lease is up, California is calling my name – officially.

7. All this being said, who knows what will happen in the next year and I am open to anything. But I’m a planner. So those are my plans, subject to change if the universe intervenes…or if I get arrested again.

More detailed posts later with pics from sunny California!

Lyrics of the Day

“Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawnin’, stretchin’, try to come to life

Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumpin’
Out on the streets, the traffic starts jumpin’
With folks like me on the job from 9 to 5

Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it

9 to 5, for service and devotion
You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion
Want to move ahead but the boss won’t seem to let me
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me

They let your dream, just watch ‘em shatter
You’re just a step on the boss man’s ladder
But you got dreams he’ll never take away

In the same boat with a lot of your friends
Waitin’ for the day your ship ‘ll come in
And the tide’s gonna turn an’ it’s all gonna roll you away

Workin’ 9 to 5 what a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’
They just use your mind and you never get the credit
It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it

9 to 5, they got you where they want you
There’s a better life and you think about it, don’t you?
It’s a rich man’s game, no matter what they call it
And you spend your life putting money in his wallet”

9 to 5, Dolly Parton

Broke on Madison Avenue

I have $15 in my checking account. I have my very own office on Madison Avenue and a total of $15 (for two people) in my checking account.

And before you ask, no I don’t have savings to dip into. In fact, the mere suggestion of having savings is extremely laughable at this point in my life. In five years, I’m hoping it will be a logical question that I will have a very adult answer to (as opposed to the current “HA! Fuck, no”, but right now, having savings is as impossible as me piloting a spaceship to the moon.

So yes, $15 to my name while I gaze over Madison Avenue from my desk. It is the most ridiculous reality and something that can only ever happen in a city like New York. I’m not sure if it’s the universe trying to make sure I don’t forget hard times or the city of New York playing a dirty trick on my psyche but, either way, well played Universe. Well played New York. I will never again doubt your ultimate power or your sadistic sense of humor.

Thankfully, the husband gets paid tomorrow morning and my very late (thanks a lot Human Resources) first official check should arrive at some point next week. So at this point the lack of funds is almost comical. Still stressful, but ultimately comical all things considered. I’m hoping once things normalize with my pay schedule I will officially be able to say that we’ve seen the last of our $15 “let’s see how far we can stretch it till the check finally shows up” moments. But one never knows and, considering today, one should never ever forget.

Busy Worker Bee

It seems I have not blogged about anything non lyric related in quite some time. And even then, I seem to be failing in my efforts to make my daily lyrics appear on this page in any kind of consistent manner.

I blame the fancy new job.

Things here are in a word busy. The job is great, and I seem to be adjusting as normally as one would expect. The perfectionist in me wants to know how to do everything perfectly right away without ever having to mutter a word that resembles “help” but even I know that’s unrealistic. The job for the most part is fairly simple, I can’t quite say if I have more or less work than I did at my previous job, but I can say for sure that the work is more important and fulfilling.

The biggest perk of the new job is that I am surrounded by books all day. There are over 10,000 books in our entire office and my office alone is wall to wall books. It’s like being in a library all day and I am in absolute heaven. Other perks of the job include charming French businessmen coming by all day, some of whom bring me chocolates, the sweetest boss on the planet, and an actual end to my day at 5pm on the nose. The not so fabulous part of the job includes asking very important people that I’ve never heard of to spell their names. Then I google them and realize who I was speaking with and am amazed they were patient with me at all. Eventually, I will know the global elite and they will forgive me for my first few weeks on the job…fingers crossed, at least.

So there you have it. There’s not much I can actually say on the blog as a confidentiality clause forbids it, but overall things are going well and it is beyond clear that I have made the right choice for me personally and professionally. So I can check this off the list – fulfilling and amazing job found. Now on to finding a new apartment and moving – again. Le sigh…

What can I say, the stress never quite ends in this beautiful but torturous city. But in light of all that, here is a picture I took while walking my dog on the Brooklyn Promenade the other night. I have to say, on evenings like the one in this picture, it’s hard not to be in love with this city and believe it loves you back.

Perfect New York evening

Just a Working Girl

Today is day three of the new job and my head is still sort of exploding over various things that I am sure, in time, will be no big thing. But for now, it’s all a bit strange and I seem to be floating between understanding and fully embracing my new reality and thinking I’ve somehow ended up in a movie about someone else’s life.

First of all, this is my new office:

Just mine. No one else’s. It’s bigger than the entirety of the last office I worked in, with four other people. And it’s on Madison Avenue. I feel like I’m in Working Girl and Harrison Ford is gonna pop by and see if I’m free for lunch, or that I might accidentally bump into Don Draper in the elevator.

Seriously, I have my own office, on Madison Avenue. When I say it out loud, it sounds like I’m lying. I feel like someone is gonna come in and tell me that so and so needs their desk back and to go find space elsewhere. It just boggles the mind. So in an attempt to accept that this is in fact my office I have placed my first picture on my desk:

My mom, me (in the glasses) and my sister - first official desk photo

Now it’s official. Soon there will be a picture of me and the husband to make it super official, and I also might be one of those people with pictures of their pets on a shelf somewhere as well. They ARE my babies. With time, it will become more and more my space. But for now I still feel like I’m a squatter and I’m gonna get called out at any second.

Besides, learning how to have my own office, I am also learning how to use a Mac computer. I’m not thrilled about this as I am a PC girl through and through and have zero interest in Macs and all their bells and whistles. I completely admit it’s a great computer, it’s just too fancy for me. I’m also learning how to use a fax machine again as my new employers like to kick it old school. Why email when you can fax?

This week has also been the start of me dressing like a human again. No more wearing yoga pants to work because no one ever comes by. Now I have to actually look in my closet and make an effort in the morning. This is the most welcome change for me as it keeps me from becoming completely useless on a social level. It’s amazing how much more willing one becomes to meet after work for drinks when you’re actually dressed well enough to show your face outside your apartment.

Most importantly, this week has also made it abundantly clear that I now need to watch at least one French movie per weekend and the French news every day. Officially. Today I’ve already had to speak in French to the French Ministry office in Paris and with my boss. I’m not sure which is more intimidating but either way, game is officially ON. It’s time to attack my French vocabulary full force and make sure I am ready for any and all conversations over the phone or in person.

No pressure…

So all in all, things are going well, and I’m hoping in the next month or so it all just feels oh so normal to speak to the French elite and Washington D.C.’s best and brightest. For now, on day three, I think I’m adjusting pretty well.

Tess McGill would be proud.