Regina Po

Food Journal: Kale.

Published on February 14, 2015 by Regina Po2 Comments

Ok, so maybe not only kale. But I bought a big bag of the green goodness and had a bunch this past week. I’ve failed to take note/picture all of my meals (I think that’s just not a possibility), but I did manage to take a few… so if you’re in the market for some fresh healthy (and yummy if I do say so myself) ideas, here ya go.

Browned onions in red chile sesame oil, soy sauce sautéed shitake mushrooms and asparagus with balsamic marinated artichoke hearts mixed with kale. On the side of curried lentils & a brown rice medley.

Pearl couscous medley (with baby garbanzo beans, orzo, and quinoa) mixed kale and raw cashews in a garlic and yellow tomato sauce (browned onions, yellow tomatoes, garlic powder, garlic, and smoke paprika). Topped with 2 semi-runny eggs. (I really wanted these to be more runny…)

Quick breakfast… buckwheat, shredded mozz, and season chick peas. BOOM.

I like to keep chick peas around for snacking and quick meal additions like this. I buy them dried (cheaper) and soak them in water (not the whole bag at once, because that’s like a LOT) over night. I drain them in the morning (you can just try one to make sure they’re soft) and season them with whatever I feel like that day. These were seasoned with sea salt, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and dill weed. I never go ‘easy’ on anything… the more spice the better. Bold is YUM.

Browned onions, raw cashews, and sautéed kale over a bed of roasted parsnips and beets (seasoned with a bit of yellow curry powder).

Kale was definitely the key player this week. I ate ‘out’ 3x this week. 2 times too many $:\$ The fried chicken wings down the street were calling my name!!! I’ll do better next week.

Have some yummy Kale recipes/ideas to share?! I’d love to hear them.

Things I love: Etsy Goodies

Published on February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

These wooden bad boys… what kid wouldn’t want these to play with!? From Goose Grease (best shop name?).

Because I’m a sucker for all things white. And things that hold plants. From Light and Ladder.

Because my best friend is getting married and this adorable. From ReadyGo.

Ok. One more… succulents as wedding favors? yes. From

Brie? Why, yes. Please. From Charlie Chalk Designs.

Cat Cufflinks? So good. From Necklace Club.

I’m a huge fan of socks. Especially these. From Special Yarn Shop.

Also, a big fan of hats. This one is really doing it for me. From TUTU Hand Made Hats.

Funky speakers. From Building Hero Project.

Week 38: Bluegrass, A Hungry Rat, & Christina Bianco.

Published on February 9, 2015February 9, 2015 by Regina Po2 Comments

I was reading through my previous posts and noticed something disappointing. I’ve stopped writing about (and paying attention to) the instances outside of my normal routine. I’m going to try something different for this week’s post.

February 2nd – February 8th

My Week In Thoughts.

I was at work looking out the window and all of the sudden the light rain churned to chunks of white whizzing from the sky. These were no ordinary snow flakes; whirling wildly around, creating a real life Instagram filter on the window.

The comic who thinks he’s god’s gift to women. HA. Your greasy hair is almost as repulsive as your un-deserved arrogance.

The couple next to me… Chatting away “omg, I’m just not ready. Blah blah.” Why come to a small underground space where some 20 musicians are jamming out beautiful bluegrass to spend the entire time blabbing?

I’m not a musician. I can’t easily tell if a song or a performance has technical merit with most instruments. I judge music based on how it makes me feel. A good song will make my nerves dance and my heart leap.

Most times I feel more comfortable alone in public spaces. Is that why I’m single?

I’m so glad I braved the mush, ice, and frozen thighs.

Underneath the sidewalks the lady in all black plays something sorrowful on her accordion while a hungry rat scurries across my over-sized snow boot.

His hair swoops perfectly to the left. My left, not his. There’s a layer of dirt under his fingernails. He’s reading intently, forehead down parallel with the dingy subway floor. He looks like a Jerry. Or Benny. No, probably Larry.

The underground fiddler plays twinkle twinkle little star for the cheerful toddler waiting for the choo choo train to arrive.

The lady who stands at the subway entrance at Canal st. spouting various brand names [“Gucci…. Chanel… “] and I have come to an understanding. What that understandings is, I’m not quite sure.

Sometimes I close my eyes and picture myself on a beach somewhere with the sun pinching my skin.

It doesn’t take long for me to realize the pinching I’m feeling is from this bitter fucking cold. I’ve about had enough. #onemoremonth

The guy discreetly (only not discreetly) practicing his latest latin dance moves. His feet and hips are shifting in rhythm. His left hand comes up for air, makes a slight shake, and back it goes into the pocket.

Living in NYC means you’re in a constant state of some level of un-comfort. Nowhere else in the world would I put up with being so fucking sweaty and cold at the same time. I didn’t even think that was possible.

Here I am, sitting on a bench at the NYC 8th street stop. My fingers so numb they hurt. My nose a broken water fountain. And this girl walks off the N in stilettos, thin panty hose, and a coat that barely makes it past her torso. I hope her legs fall off.

I think I’ll try doing stand up.

Holy Mother of England! I reach for my double soy latte in Park Slope’s cutest neighborhood coffee shop when I hear “Blimey! What’s that bloke done now?”. Two of the world’s most adorable English men sit by the tiny window drinking their coffee, reading their paper, and gossiping harder than middle schoolers. Both are rocking a unique set of spectacles. Happy Friday to me.

The warmth (and by warmth I mean upper 30s) of the weekend was worth the freezing hell that lead up to it. I didn’t even need a scarf at one point.

Saturday I learned the difference between a chamber orchestra and a symphony while in attendance of a chamber orchestra concert. My goodness, the sound of instruments well played is magic. True real-life magic. Musicians = Magicians.

I sat next to a concert cellist who is from Ekaterinburg. The city in Russia where I am from. BOOM.

Dance cabaret at Alvin Ailey, chamber orchestra concert at Lincoln Center, & an off-broadway play. All for $15. #doingitright

I started using hashtags?

Application Pending (starring Christina Bianco) was excellent. You in NY? Go see it.

The group of 6 ladies in their early 40s with fabulous New York accents sitting directly in front of me were the perfect pre-show.

Have a great week!

Food Journal: My Week in Food I Haven’t Made in a While

Published on February 7, 2015February 7, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

Saturday is my grocery day… I bought things this week that I didn’t last week. This is pretty much my grocery shopping mantra. I don’t do lists unless I ‘need’ something thats a staple… e.g. olive oil or onions. I like walking through the produce section and seeing what looks good that I didn’t get last week, this way I’m know I’m getting a variety of foods all the time.

Saturday 01.31

Breakfast: A Fuji apple + Coffee.

Lunch: My famous MUSH to finish up the leftover veggies with a side of a couple blood oranges.

Left: Israeli pearl couscous medley with baby garbanzo beans and orzo cooked with smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.

Right: Simple veg. medley – browned onions, baby bellas, cherry tomatoes, beans, and green onions sautéd in soy sauce.

dinner: Yum.

Roasted truffle, garlic & dill fingerling potatoes with hot (red chili peppers) & cheesy buckwheat lentils (just cook buckwheat and lentils separately, combine and add shredded mozz).

Late night snack with friends: Flax seed chips with TJ’s Spinach dip… this was probably a little extra.

Sunday

Breakfast: Leftovers.

Same as Saturday’s lunch.

Turns out I forgot all about this post. I’ll try again next week (I’m not giving up on this yet!). Here are a couple other dishes I had managed to take a pic of this week:

This is my version of broccoli fried rice… only I make it Broccoli fried pearl couscous (a kind of pasta made with whole wheat). [browned onions in a red chili sesame oil, broccoli sautéed in soy sauce, pearl couscous, baby garbanzo beans, orzo, and raw pumpkin seeds] I made a giant portion of this and had leftovers for days.

My current breakfast go-to. Cheesy (mozz) scrambled eggs and edamame. Dill weed for flavor.

All in all I succeeded in not going out this week. Just Monday dinner at La Esquina where I met up with some old friends. I had a chicken milanese sandwich. It was alright. Not bad… I should know better than to order sandwiches seeing as how I’m not a big fan. The large layer of melted fresh mozz was the best part.

Next week I’ll do better. I promise. Do you have any fun easy meals that you want to share? Please do!

10 Links to Gander: Because I Like the Internet

Published on February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

I don’t take advantage of having all the information at the palm of my hands very often. Here are my top 10 links from this week (some may have been from earlier) that tickled my fancy in one way or another.

1. This snail mail project is so unbelievably powerful.

2. Here’s a stream of weird videos with Russian folks rocking out.

3. The title for this one describes this list of GIFs as ‘magnificent’ I’d say they’re way trippy.

4. These ladies took FANTASTIC photos.

5. A view of 1849 Union Sq NYC.

6. And you’re going to tell me nature isn’t cool?!

7. The subway is gross. But so awesome.

8. If you don’t already have enough alcohol in your life… here’s more.

9. This lady also went to UCF and is killing it in NYC.

10. I’ve shared this beauty before on Facebook, but it’s totally worth the double dip.

Because Etsy

Published on February 4, 2015February 1, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

Etsy is the greatest thing known to consumerism. Or something like that. I LOVE it. Besides opening my own shop last April, I’ve been obsessed with the awesome-ness that it produces. To add to my new weekly posts… here is my weekly favorites from Etsy.com.

*These are just my online favorites, I don’t necessarily own any of these… yet 🙂

1. This Camera Planter from Brooklyn Global

Succulents are the greatest thing since I discovered my complete ineptness for keeping anything green alive. They don’t need much maintenance and look even better than non-succulents. HashtagClubSucculents. This planter is kind of perfect for keeping said succulents looking pretty and alive.

2. These Tushiez from Earth Sea Warrior

These babies are the cutest and most giggle-worthy items I’ve come across Etsy so far. I got one with the air plant (from the same shop) for my mom’s birthday last year. Needless to say, it’s been the cause of many giggles ever since.

3. This Cactus Pouch from Amelie Mancini

I didn’t even intend for this to have a plant theme. I love the neutral tones with the fun sketch.

4. This Mid Century Plate from Frankie Steinz

I don’t know if this is my mom’s influence (she has plates hanging on almost every inch of her house), but I really enjoy plates with fun graphics/artwork on them. This one in particular though… whoa.

5. This Brothers Marseille Print Tshirt from James Anthony Apparel

Uber cool graphic. I don’t know who Marseille is, but I’m digging this shirt. It’d look groovy on a dude, but I’d be more than down to rock it myself.

6. This Squid Decal from South Shore Graphics

I love squids. Why? Because they’re cool. Duh.

7. This Forensics in the Flora Scene from Twig Terrariums NYC

Oh so freaking cool!

8. This Driver’s Cap from Rock and Salt

#awesomehatclub

9. This Woven Kilim Style Rug from Ocean Swept

Beautiful! I love rugs on walls, especially this one.

10. This Borsch Recipe Tee from Kurochka Clothing

Um. Borsch on a T-shirt. Do I even need to comment?

[Not to be selfish or anything, but I loved Etsy so much I started my own shop. ReginaPoPostcards.]

Week 37: Homework, the Home, & Becoming a Turtle.

Published on January 31, 2015February 1, 2015 by Regina Po2 Comments

01.26: It’s snowing. A lot. The mayor was on the news yesterday telling people that the snow Armageddon is preparing to hit NYC. Maybe he didn’t say that exactly, but something like it. We were planning on working from home today anyway, so that worked out. The blizzard started mid-day today and will go until late Tuesday so I’ll be working from home tomorrow as well.

I’ve been working in the living room all day with the view of the falling snow right next to me… so beautiful (unless you’re outside). One of my neighbors has been plowing the sidewalk all day. Literally. I’ve been up since about 9:30am working and can still hear him plowing away (its 5:49pm). I think I heard him stop for like 30 minutes at some point. I’m not sure I understand this. Why would you plow the sidewalk if you KNOW the snow is just going to keep on coming?

What I wore today… hehe (yes, it’s been 5 months and we still haven’t hung that shelf)

01.27: The storm wasn’t much of a storm at all… I’m not exactly sure the inches on the ground, but it looks fun more so than scary outside. Working at home today (seriously, the best) I could hear the cheering of children as they walked up my block towards the park with their sleds and parents dragging along by their side. Many sang songs. Talk about cheerful workday.

My dearest friend Chelsea had sent me several awesome photos from her snow day at the park.

1.31: I can’t believe the first month of 2015 is over. Only 11 months left until 2016 and only 3.5 months left until I’ve made it a year in NYC. WHOA.

Today was unreasonably cold. 17F with a punch in your face ‘feels like’ 3F. It’s no Siberia, but it sure as hell felt like it. I went grocery shopping anyway. Trooper award (totally worthy). The day is flying, as with most Saturdays, but after making food and doing a few chores I’ve started a couple new courses online with Lynda.com and I’m kind of in love. I know there are a bunch of free tutorials online (and this doesn’t include coding), but a lot of it is shit. Seeing as how I’m looking for solid information, it’s difficult to wade through all the bs online. This way I have everything I need (not really EVERYTHING, but a lot) in one place with legit information (and materials).

Last night I ventured out to Williamsburg for a launch party for a new app. It was really cold and windy out – I was still half de-thawed in this picture.

2.01: It’s really chilly out, but you’d never know it by looking out the window. It’s so cozy inside. I haven’t really shot the apartment in a while so I took a few photos.

Our plant home base.

The frame with the green mat and red head has a quote from Lenin (in Russian) printed on it translating to something along the lines: “If I know, that which I know little, I will achieve so that I know more.” Or something like that. It’s one side of my mom’s school report card from the 70’s.

Our reading nook is really coming along… now for more pillows.

That’s my dad playing soccer in Russia.

Don’t you love my manly wool white socks? Also, that’s not dirt on my mirror… it’s a covering that vintage mirrors have on them (idk what it’s called. Anyone?)

I spent my entire weekend at home (with the exception of going to the gym and buying groceries). I always thought living in NYC meant I’d be out living the fabulous life I’d seen on tv, but to be honest that life isn’t really my style. I like being home and reading or binge watching Friends on Netflix (although I think that’s finally getting boring). It’s also pretty expensive to always be going out. There are a ton of free events in the city, but somehow I always manage to spend money if I’m out and about… if there’s a free show, there’s often a 1 drink minimum. Or I gotta eat dinner at some point… going home and then going out just isn’t feasible so I end up buying food.

I’m not saying I want to be a human turtle that never leaves the house. Not at all… I’m just saying going out all the time (which I did pretty frequently when first moving here) quickly results in a trimmed down wallet and a not-so-trimmed down waist. I seem to get into waves of habits… with either too much or too little on-goings.

It’s all about finding a good balance… which I’m well on my way to figuring out, but I’m thinking chilling at home for an entire weekend isn’t it.

Have a great week!

[January 26th – February 1st]

My Week in Food.

Published on January 31, 2015January 31, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

The point of these posts (as with all of my posts) is to keep a food journal. I’ve been getting completely off track with my eating habits and it’s starting to affect my health, mood, and wallet. So, I’m going to keep a food journal of sorts that will hopefully keep me accountable.

I’ve had some friends come to me with questions on how to make easy, yummy, and HEALTHY food. I don’t have any real recipes, in the traditional sense. I don’t use anything to measure or proportion anything. That’s where the fun comes in anyway! This may help. It may not.

I haven’t had a salad week in a while so I went with that idea for this week. Salads won’t be the -only- thing I eat, but they will be the majority and highlight.

My week will start with today (Saturday 01.24).

Breakfast:

I had some leftover brussels sprout hash with wild rice combo I made earlier last week and I made some quick scrambled eggs with scallions, shredded mexican blend cheese, and hot sauce to top it off and snazz it up a bit.

Lunch:

Love this one! I had just come home from a trip to Brighton Beach where I bought some tongue (it was already boiled and ready to eat) so I decided to make a Roasted Carrot & Tongue Salad (remember, this is Salad Week). I had everything ready to go so I had myself an amazing (if I may toot my own horn here) salad in about 10 minutes.

Ingredients: Roasted carrots (leftover from a couple days ago), fresh parsley, boiled tongue, fresh baby bella mushrooms, chickpeas, browned onion (leftover from a couple days ago), and green onions. Dressed with a teeny bit of olive oil, course sea salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and my favorite ‘everything’ seasoning from TJs.

*What isn’t pictured here is the German strawberry preserves (I got from a European Gourmet food store at Brighton) I indulged in post-meal… I promise I didn’t eat the whole jar.

Snack: Not-so-healthy veggie root chips.

Dinner: I wasn’t really hungry after my snack. I did end up finishing up the tongue salad really late at night so maybe you can consider that my dinner.

Sunday (1.25)

Brunch: My roomies and I went out to brunch. I forgot to take a picture so I took this from the yelp page.

Bass fishcake, poached eggs, & a cauliflower salad.

The cauliflower salad was disappointing, but everything else was delicious.

Dinner: Russian Film Club… Pelmeni & Chebooreki from my trip to Brighton Beach.

Monday

Breakfast: A banana and coffee.

Lunch: I was working from home for the next two days on account of the ‘blizzard’. I used my leftover bass fishcake as a salad topper.

Salad: Lots of fresh parsley, orange pepper, green onions, and baby bella mushrooms topped with a part of the Bass fishcake I had for brunch the day before (it also had some chipotle aoili sauce on it). Coarse salt, smoked paprika, and my beloved ‘everything’ seasoning.

Also, a side of TJ’s root chips.

Dinner: With a glass of red wine. yum.Salad: fresh parsley, Persian cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, orange peppers, and red onions – dressed with a bit of balsamic + olive oil + garlic powder + cayenne pepper.

I made some buckwheat and roasted carrots and sliced up some smoked salmon on the side.

Dessert: Not pictured (I was too busy eating it).

Sliced Granny Smith Apple with TJ’s cookie butter. YUM.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Normally, I stick with fruit for breakfast on week days, but today I was working from home again and thought I would treat myself.

No salad. Eggs scrambled with cheese and buckwheat (that I made last night) with a side of smoked salmon and a few pieces of leftover sliced apples and the rest of my raw walnuts.

Lunch: Remodeled leftovers. To the right salad: same as Monday’s dinner. To the left salad (cold): Cut up roasted carrots (from the other night), buckwheat, green onions, olive oil, smoked paprika, and ‘everything’ seasoning.

Snack: A banana.

Dinner: A cold brown rice medley salad.

Salad: Brown rice, black barley, Daikon radish seeds, cherry tomatoes, red onion, Persian cucumber, orange pepper, green onion, black beans, and blackened onions in a red chili sesame oil and soy sauce blend. Dressed with garlic infused olive oil, garlic powder, more soy sauce, cayenne pepper, dried dill weed, and coarse sea salt.

Dessert: A small bowl (without milk) of chocolate rice krispi cereal. Healthy. I know. I still have some left over from a sugar binge a while ago so I thought I’d better eat that than go buy a new pint of ice cream.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Back to the office I went… not pictured, but I had a couple slices of Old Amsterdam cheese (yum), a Fuji apple, and a coffee. [I’ve finally kicked my red bean for breakfast addiction!]

Lunch: A cold buckwheat and smoked salmon salad.

More roasted carrots (leftover), buckwheat, the rest of my orange pepper, cherry tomatoes, green onion, Persian cucumber, smoked salmon, and blackened onions in a red chili sesame oil and soy sauce blend. Dressed in more soy sauce, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, a shit ton of garlic powder.

Snack: Dried cranberries and raw almonds.

Dinner: Vietnamese inspired warm salad… (kind of).

Brown rice, daikon radish seeds, black barley, black beans, Persian cucumbers, 2 sunny side eggs (I like em’ runny), topped with a bunch of ‘everything’ seasoning and hot sauce.

I also ended up eating more smoked salmon on the side.

**Here is where I dropped the ball completely. I forgot to take pictures.**

Thursday

Breakfast: Cold Pressed Beet Juice. TJs has them for $5 a pop… not bad.

Lunch: Something similar to my brown rice medley salad I had for dinner on Tuesday.

Dinner: 2 slices of Joe’s Pizza & a Whiskey Ginger. A lady can’t -always- be on her H-game (healthy).

Friday

Breakfast: 1 boiled egg, a handful of raw pumpkin seeds, and half a cucumber (half way through I realized it was going bad so I decided it was best I didn’t finish). Oh, and coffee.

Lunch: We had a long meeting planned for the day so we ordered Chinese take out. Shrimp fried rice & shrimp dumplings… it wasn’t the healthiest decision I’ve made as of late.

Dinner: I was still epically full from lunch (sleepy food coma was written ALL over me), but I had plans to go out so off I went to eat some Chicken meat balls in a pesto sauce and a glass of a Malbec blend that was quite tasty. The meat balls were delicious, but I could only eat 2. I wasted money and food. Bummer. It was at the Meat Ball shop in Williburg — pretty hoppin’ spot.

Yes, I like to eat with chopsticks. Only while at home… who wouldn’t want to get to play with their food?

A few tips:

* make a batch of grains to use in daily cooking (brown rice medley or buckwheat for ex)

* Browned onions will make -everything- taste better. Except for your dessert.

*Use your leftovers in new ways so you don’t get bored.

10 Worthy Links

Published on January 30, 2015January 31, 2015 by Regina PoLeave a comment

1. This creepy-licious photography book from the 1800s that I found on Boing Boing.

2. Speaking of old stuff… New York’s first motorized snowplow?

3. A lady with a funky style… I can only read her hello and ‘See U’, but the pictures are fun to look at.

4. I want to have a Glam Day Dinner Party!!! So cute!

5. I know I stopped following the news (not exactly a proud moment, but a necessary one)… but are people REALLY still saying stupid shit like this? I truly don’t understand. We moved on from this back in the 70s, get with the times.

6. OoO Dolphins!!

7. Personally, I like to curate my own gift baskets and combos, but this is a pretty cool idea for manly gifts!

8. Um. Siracho Mayo. WHAT?!

9. In LOVE with these old NYC subway photos.

10. I’d hate to end on a negative note, but this just sucks. What monster would want to get rid of this amazing Cheese store!!??

Week 36: Postablog, Ms. Lopez & Little Russia.

Published on January 26, 2015January 26, 2015 by Regina Po2 Comments

[January 19th – 25th]

My week in food was a complete failure… I certainly didn’t eat out as much (just a couple times), but still more than I intended to. I had some plans that pretty much required I eat unhealthy (when lobster Mac n’ Cheese is on the menu, you don’t say no). Next week (I say this all too often) I’ll make a separate ‘My week in Food’ post and will hopefully make time to take pretty photos.

01.19: So I’ve mentioned how happy I am with my new job at Postable, right? Well, among many other things I get to write the blog… so go check it out blog.postable.com or just click HERE.

My gym update is pretty sad, but I guess I shouldn’t keep it to myself. I went yesterday. Today I am extremely sore. With plans to go tonight having been cancelled post a dinner that’s left me immobile, I’ve got my eye on Wednesday for my next workout sesh.

Tuesday night trivia… but first, there was Happy Hour Oysters!

01.21: I’m having a really hard time leaving the house after making it indoors at night. The daylight is always so enticing that leaving the house is never an issue, but when the moon is shining there’s a whole new obstacle. When I’m on my way home from the subway, I feel like I’m escaping an evil force that’s trying to kill me… Making it inside is an epic achievement. Why would I ever want to go back outside after such an ordeal?! With this said, I’m pushing myself out of the door as we speak (sort of) so I can go workout.

We worked from Williamsburg this Tuesday… not a terrible view.

1.22: I’ve been thinking about my New Year’s resolution for a couple weeks now. I know, I’m kind of late. I went through the usual… stop eating like shit, go to the gym, blah blah. I want to change something in my life for the better this year instead of just plowing away at the usual personal hurdles. I was doing a facebook crawl (something I’ve successfully reduced from my daily life) today and came across a HONY post (Humans of New York). It was about Mott Hall Bridges Academy – a middle school located in a Brooklyn neighborhood with the highest crime rate in NYC. They are raising money on Indiegogo to help get these kids on a field trip to Harvard (showing them a world outside of theirs). I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever donated to a cause. Maybe once or twice for something environmental related, but I really can’t put my finger on any one time. I could not have felt more supportive and on board with what they’re trying to achieve and decided I’d donate next week’s brunch $. It’s not much, but it’s something.

That’s when I realized what one of my new year’s resolutions should be… donate to a cause once a month. Let’s be clear, I don’t have fountains of dough lounging around my apartment. I have to budget like a mad woman to be able to live this life in NYC. But if I can skip one of my brunches so that I can help [just a teeny tiny bit], that sounds way more appealing than a nasty afternoon hangover post an unlimited mimosa escapade. The principal at Mott Hall Bridges Academy sounds like Superwoman, I’m so glad HONY found her.

Their fundraising goal that started today was $100,000 (enough to send 3 years worth of 6th grade students on a trip to Harvard). When I just checked the site, the total is up to $311,091. That is remarkable. If you look on the side of the page, you can see what the amounts donated look like… most would just barely cover a bottomless Saturday Brunch, but together they’re helping change the lives of children.

The fundraiser is going until February 5th. If you’d like to trade today’s cappuccino bucks I’m sure every dollar is appreciated. You can click the link HERE.

Also, if you’d like to share any great causes down below please feel free!

On another note, today at WeWork (the building I work in)… we got free dumplings for downloading their app. Could I be any more in love with this place? [Did anyone get that Friends reference? 🙂 ]

This was the other view from my workday in Williamsburg.

01.23: My Friday night = a giant bowl of roasted dill carrots and hours on hours of Friends. I’ve got to get out more.

01:24: It’s so quiet this morning. Usually I hear random screaming and the occasional slue of conversational honking horns. I say ‘conversational’ because it’s usually two or three (or many times more) people involved in a jammed situation outside my window and instead of talking to one another, they choose to honk back and forth in what some might call a conversational manner.

I woke up early and journeyed out to the grocery store. It snowed a bunch last night and the snow left on the tree branches is really pretty to look at from my window. The minute I walked outside, however, what was beautiful from inside looking out turned into nasty slush below my feet. It’s not very cold today (well above freezing) so the snow is melting quickly… instead of crunchy white snow there were brown mushy puddles. Lovely. I kind of felt like I was walking through a silent battlefield. I had to choose where I stepped very carefully, making sure to avoid large puddles and potential ice pockets, keeping my hood up and my head down to avoid getting hit by the giant snow chunks falling from the branches above. My short walk to the bus was a success, minus the giant snow ball that landed on my forehead as I all-too-bravely decided to look up and admire what was left of the snow up above. Rookie mistake.

I went to Brighton Beach today. I loved it! Instead of bringing my camera, I was able to pack my backpack with what felt like a ton of goodies. I forget how entertaining it is for me to visit there… it’s like a little island of it’s own. Nobody speaks any English, everything is written in Russian (even the Verizon store front), and there is no shortage of European and Russian food stores. Mmmmm.

I’ve never seen snow and sand intermingled.

The highlights:

* There were a couple of kids sledding on the beach. Literally. They were giggling with each other and speaking half Russian (with their moms) and half English (with each other).

* The tiny black Honda blasting Russian pop songs parked by the side of the street.

* The little old lady with the baked goodies stand, who refused to smile even though I said hello in the most cheerful Russian I could muster.

* Fur. SO much fur. You don’t see too many people wearing fur around the city, but now I know why. The Russians are hoarding it.

* Speaking of fur… I was on my way back to the train when I walked by one of the many fur stores. The most brilliantly blonde (more like yellow) older lady wearing a turquoise leopard velvet track suit and Gucci rimmed glasses was standing just inside a fur boutique looking around, presumably judging each passerby based on their fury attire. The most gaudy-licious display of their coats was right next to her. It was all too much. I wish I took a picture, but I’d hate for her to think I was judging her. Instead I jotted down what I saw and walked away, giggling the entire way to the train.

All the goodies I got.

Chebooreki, a bunch of pelmeni, buckwheat, cow tongue, german strawberry preserves, and a bunch of Russian candy.

I had so much fun reading all the labels and talking with the ladies who worked at the grocery stores. It still kills me (in the best way possible) how they just assume you speak Russian… I was standing in one line and paying all of my attention on reading whatever tag was nearest me (I’m not very good and the cursive handwriting on the sign was throwing me for a loop) when one of the ladies who worked there started trying to tell me to get in her line. It took her like 3 tries to finally get my attention, but not one time did she speak English.

01.25: My goodness today’s weather is beautiful. Too bad tomorrow there’s supposed to be a terrible blizzard. That should be fun.

Sunday night Russian Film Club was a success, as always. Film choice of the evening: Ivan Vasilievich Switches Professions (a Soviet comic science fiction comedy). This one had a lot of fun songs.

I made sure there was no shortage of Russian dumplings (Pelmeni) and Chebooreki (not Russian, but Ukrainian or Turkic- according to Wikipedia. I’m still not exactly sure what nationality this dish is related to exactly). There was also a small assortment of Russian candy that happily got devoured.

The Pelmeni were pretty darn delicious, but still not quite as yummy as I remember them from Russia.

Have a great week!

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