Dusting off my Passport!

Other big things are happening, too!  It's been 2 years since I was last out of the country (I cannot believe it's been that long!  Seems like just yesterday.), and now my severe wanderlust is being satisfied this summer - I'm leaving for China in a week!  My university's orchestra is going on tour, and we're headed to Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin.  We just received our itinerary, and besides performances, it includes visits to gardens, museums, temples, a boat ride, an acrobatic show, riding on the bullet train, and seeing the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square...the list goes on.  It sounds like it will be a very packed trip.  I'm pretty excited because I don't think I would have thought to put China at the top of my list of travel destinations anytime soon, and I don't know if I'd feel comfortable just heading over on my own for a visit, so this will be a great way to get a first taste.  I was talking to my dad, and he said that's how he felt about going behind the Iron Curtain when it was still the Iron Curtain; he went on tour with his school choir, and that was the best way to do it.  And then he said that there was one slightly sketchy part of the trip where he and his friend went off to Budapest for the day on their own and exchanged currency on the black market, "but everything worked out well."  Whaaattt??  Crazy.  You learn something new every day.  Anyway I can't wait!  Also, more travel news coming up soon...

~xomo

ps:  photo from the window of my friend's flat in Paris, where he graciously took me in for a week when I visited a couple years ago :)

Weddings and Babies

Big things are happening people, BIG things.  Big plans, Big changes, Big bellies.  First of all, Carolyn (also known as my best friend in the entire world) is getting married in two months!  I guess I never mentioned anything about her engagement, but that's obviously old news now.  Her husband-to-be is in those pictures above.  His name is Brandon, and he is a very intelligent, quirky, funny, and faithful companion to Carolyn.  I don't think I would have let her go to anyone else :)  I am super excited for their wedding!  I get to be at home for about a month before it, too, to spend time with Carolyn during her last single days, which I'm really glad about.  Time flies - It seems like Trish and Justin's wedding was just the other week.  It was actually about 7 months ago, however, which you can see by the size of Trish's belly (she calls it an aspiring little mountain).  I can't believe they will have a baby soon!  Those are a couple photos of her in Egypt, where she and Justin are currently living.  She recommends these books, and also check out this article that another mom-to-be wrote, about having a satisfying pregnancy experience, which is interesting.  I am totally in awe of the changes that Carolyn and Trish are undertaking right now.  Love those ladies to the ends of the Earth!

~xomo

ps:  I feel like I see a decent amount of people marrying someone that they slightly resemble.  Don't you think Carolyn and Brandon share some physical characteristics?  I wonder if we unconsciously gravitate towards a face that feels a little familiar and comforting, or if we start to look more like our partners as time goes by because we pick up on facial expressions and style?  I guess some people looking nothing alike, so...whatever.

Spring Cleaning and Perfect Potatoes

It seems spring has officially arrived in Kentucky, although who really knows, because the weather here is pretty whack - it changes all the time.  Things have really started warming up and blooming though, and I think it might be here to stay.  Apparently it was unseasonably chilly this year, and the first weekend where I could comfortably open the windows, I decided to do a real spring cleaning, which I don't think I've ever done in any of my other apartments.  It is such an amazing ritual!  Every item of clothing, sheets, towels, was freshly washed, all surfaces dusted and scrubbed, every dish clean, the refrigerator wiped down and organized, sinks gleamed, fresh air blew through...ahhh.  It felt so nice and I'm already thinking about it a little wistfully, as since that weekend there have been multiple mouse sightings, a couple ant attacks, the dust is returning, and I desperately need to do laundry.  Oh well, everything in life is cyclical.

That weekend also happened to be Easter weekend, and I celebrated by sharing a meal with some friends, where I roasted a whole, little chicken a la Julia Child (which I've always wanted to try) and we ate springy vegetables like asparagus and peas.  I also unexpectedly made the best roast potatoes of my life by accident.  I cut them into bite-sized pieces about 1/4 inch thick, and marinated them in olive oil, lemon, and salt and pepper, and then forgot about them for awhile.  So they were sitting in a bowl on the counter for about 30 minutes, and when I finally returned to them, a ton of liquid from the potatoes had drained out.  I put them in to oven and roasted them for awhile at 350, and bumped them up to 400 for a quick blast at the end, and they were perfectly cooked and had a nice crisp skin, which I've always had trouble getting.  Perfection!!  Try it!

I hope you're having weather you can enjoy, wherever you are :)
xomo

The Most Awesome Birthday Gift Ever

This is long overdue, but I want to brag about (and say thank you) for the amazing birthday gift that Tara gave me back in February (when I turned the big 2-5).  It's a chocolate subscription!  She stumbled across the company Standard Cocoa, which delivers three bars of specialty chocolate to you, or someone of your choice, once a month, for as long as you like.  The last bar I tried was Hawaiian chocolate with coconut milk and caramelized ginger, and it was out of this world.  The couple who runs the company say their mission is to "connect chocolate lovers with people who love to make chocolate."  So now, amazing chocolate is regularly delivered to my doorstep.  It's literally the gift that keeps on giving!  Actually the chocolate is delivered to my landlord's doorstep, and then he resists the temptation to eat it and hands it over to me.  When I explained the subscription to him he said, "That is the most awesome birthday gift ever!"  I totally agree :)  Sisters are so great; thank you Tara!  Actually, I was given a few really cool and surprising gifts this year, so maybe I will share the others as well...

Cheers!
xomo