ObsESSIEd

Last night my friend came over so we could have a girls night and give ourselves manicures.  As I mentioned before in a previous post, I am obsessed with nail polish and always need to have my nails painted.  It was the perfect remedy after a long work-filled week.  I un-zippered my "makeshift" summer nail polish case which contained 6 of my 30+ bottles of my nail polish collection, while my friend emptied out her clear plastic nail polish case as well.  I was so ecstatic to see all of her colors, most of which I recognized from the previous year, but many others that were new, along with glitters and sparkles.  I must say, I really enjoy the popular bright and neon hues of the summer, but I am a huge advocate for dark colors year round.  However, I opted for a baby bluish periwinkle color called "Bikini so Teeny" by Essie.  The color spread easily over my freshly filed nails.  After two coats were applied, I picked up another bottle of nail polish, this time it was full of glitter.  I chose an over-coat called "Shine of the Times" a white-goldish glitter by Essie and applied to the fourth or pArTy nail on both my hands.  The glitter over-coat added an element of shimmer and shine to my already perfectly manicured hand.  I couldn't stop smiling while staring at my nails and am completely ready to add these colors to my collection.

SweetGreens

Today I was psyched to work a 7 hour shift at Whirled Peace frozen yogurt shop, it was a good shift, but a long one indeed.  I was surrounded by frozen yogurt and fruit galore but because I was so busy, I hadn't had a chance to eat during my shift and when it was over I was left absolutely famished!  When I got in the car on the way home, my stomach was growling.  I snacked on a delicious cheese stick and some red juicy grapes, but that was not filling and I was really looking forward to eating a real meal when I got home.  I grabbed a square plastic container and gathered two heaping handfuls of the most tender spring mix lettuce, I made a bed for it on the bottom of the container.  Then I sprinkled toppings of colorful shredded cabbage, tiny chopped red and green peppers, some pieces of a sunset-yellow colored peach, a couple chopped pieces of cucumber, Chinese white bean sprouts, red grapes and paprika-spiced tofu on top.  The mixture of flavors from the sweetness of the grapes, the crunchiness of the peppers, the spice of the tofu and the tartness of peach blended together in harmony. It was so tasty, I ate it naked...with no dressing.  Every forkful subsided the growling in my stomach.  I have to admit it was veggie good.

I Do Like Green Eggs & Ham

I was on my way to another excursion in the city of Philadelphia, meeting up with a friend for brunch.  We were going to this cute-sy eatery called Green Eggs & Ham Cafe, on the corner of 13th and Locust Street of center city Philadelphia.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day so we decided to sit outside, plus, the restaurant was extremely crowded.  By the look of the line out the door, I knew it had to be good.  My friend and I decided to split two dishes.  First, an egg-white omelette with chopped rustic red tomatoes, translucent white onions and dark green peppers, with a layer of bright orange cheddar cheese melted on top.  Plus there was a handful of roasted potatoes on the side.  The second dish was a Tabouleh salad with wedged tomatoes, sliced onions, chopped cucumbers and shaved parsley.  The omelette itself was tasty, the cheese was overpowering.  I dug my fork into the omelette reaching for the egg-whites and the other vegetables, trying to push the cheese to the side.  The Tabouleh salad was made of grains.  I scooped up the salad with a piece of tomato and onion, the vegetables crunched in my mouth.  There was a light lemon vinaigrette on top which provided the dish with a tart flavor.  The two dishes were a perfect combination together, the salad was light, the omelette a bit heavy.  Green Eggs & Ham is a great brunch place, I would definitely go back there again.  I do like Green Eggs & Ham, I do like it there, sam I am.

Bubblicious

Since my summer break has started, I have been spending part of week in the city of Philadelphia, interning at a non-profit agency.  I really love the city of Philadelphia, it's gorgeous, welcoming and full of adventure.  I feel very independent, being able to take the train downtown and using my new friend Siri, who helps me navigate the streets of Philadelphia.  I feel like such a city girl even though I'm from the suburbs.

Today two friends and I decided to walk around Rittenhouse square, a very exclusive neighborhood in the city of Philadelphia with high-rises, brownstones and good shopping.  We took pictures like tourists, frolicked in the streets and shopped till we dropped.  As the clock struck 1, our stomachs grumbled and we decided to take a quick snack break.  My friends were in the mood for frozen yogurt, so we stopped at Sweet Endings, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop on the corner of 18th and Chestnut street.  To be honest, I am fro-yoed out from my job at Whirled Peace but I was extremely thirsty and wanted a cool refreshment.  I decided to try the infamous Bubble Tea, a blended mixture of flavored tea, milk and tapioca balls.  I looooove tea and milk.  I always put a drop of milk in my hot tea every night.  I chose the Thai flavored tea with skim milk and voilà! a masterpiece drink was created, with a fat neon pink straw.  After first taste, my eyes lit up as the bursts of flavors splashed through my mouth.  The second taste was even better, as my straw scooped up the squishy tapioca ball which I bit into.  I was in awe of this amazing drink.  It was the perfect thirst-quencher.  The sweetness of the tea was blended perfectly with the creaminess of the milk and the tapioca balls.  It's official, I am in love with bubble tea.

The Perfect Summer Salad

This morning I picked up the lone mango in our fruit bowl and cupped it in my hands, it was soft, smushy, ripe and ready to be eaten.  Mango is the ultimate summer fruit.  I decided that I would use it for lunch.  As 12 PM rolled around, I jumped up from my big comfy couch in my den to make lunch.  I decided to make a chicken mango salad, first I peeled the mango with a thin knife (a skill that I picked up at my summer job at Whirled Peace) and sliced up some small pieces, then I filled a medium size bowl with some romaine lettuce, arugula, cut-up bright orange baby carrots, white onions and multi-colored cabbage.  Then I chopped up a piece of char-grilled chicken, left-over from our Mother's Day BBQ and put the chicken and mango into the bowl of lettuce.  For more flavor, I peeled a cheese-stick and ripped the long strands into little pieces.  To finish off the colorful bowl, I scooped a couple spoonfuls of dark red tomato salsa on top of the salad.  My first bite was a combination of romaine, a couple strands of arugula, a bite-size piece of a carrot, a sliver of white onion, cabbage, mango, cheese, chicken and salsa.  The ingredients mixed together perfectly, the sweetness of the mango, the saltiness of the cheese and salsa, the crunch of the chicken and carrots and the sting of the white onion.  I tried to pace myself and eat slowly, but before I knew it, the bowl was empty.  It was a bittersweet feeling that tempted my taste-buds.  Bitter from the fact that I had finished it so quickly, but sweet from the fact that it was a delicious creation.

Pistachio Green...Nail Polish?

Welcome to eatmytailgate....summer edition!  For the next three and a half months I will be spending it where? About 12 hours from Bloomington, Indiana - as the TV show's title says, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".  For the past 12 summers of my life, I have been going to overnight camp, so this will be my first summer in my hometown since 2001.  I feel like my summer will be sort of like a Chinese restaurant menu.  One from column A, one from column B.  Because, this summer I will be preoccupied with an internship in the city of Philadelphia, a job at Whirled Peace, a frozen yogurt shop on Restaurant Row located in a trendy part of Philadelphia called Manayunk, as well as taking the dreadful course of Finite Math.  Coming home from IU last week was definitely weird.  I mean, now I don't have a roommate or share my bathroom with a whole floor of dorm-mates.  To readjust to being home, I have been spending a lot of time with my family.  This Thursday my brother is graduating from college.  So today, my mom, brother (feel free to giggle) and I went for the full excursion of a spa day, manis, pedis, massages, the whole shaaaabang.  Now, I am seriously obsessed, like an unhealthy obsession with nail polish, my two favorite brands are Essie and OPI.  Today, I decided on two Essie colors.  For my nails, a pistachio pale green called Da Bush and for my toes a purplish-gray called Master Plan.  I like funky colors, like purples, greens, blues, aquas, oranges, I am known for defying the norm of pinks and reds...when it comes to nail polish.  I plunked my feet in the pedicure tub and had my feet washed, scrubbed with that tickly sponge (you all know what I am talking about), as I squirmed in the chair and had a hot stone massage.  After the polish was on my toes, they were glowing.  I was anxious to see the pistachio color on my nails.  My nails were filed in a round shape and then the polish was applied, the color is absolutely gawgeous.  I am so excited to rock my new colors in my new outfit for my brother's graduation tomorrow.

Getting Back to My Roots

So I have this minor obsession with Roots on the Square in Bloomington.  I mean, who can blame me?  It's just so good, like for real...soooo good.  If you are reading my blog and you haven't been, please finish your read, get up, and go to Roots, it's just on the square a little past Kirkwood.  I was anxious for dinner because my Dad is here to move me out and I wanted to take him somewhere good; I'm a health freak and he's obsessed with the environment, so Roots seemed like the best choice.  He chose a tempeh coconut curry and I chose a sweet and sour tofu dish.  Both plates came out sizzling hot with a large scoop of brown rice on the side.  My dad's was full of earthy-tones, the light green broccoli, burnt-orange carrots, brown mushrooms in a light tan creamy coconut broth.  My platter embodied a rainbow of colors.  The bright colors of the vegetables, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, red peppers and broccoli.  My mouth was watering as I bit into my first forkful.  The spiciness of the curry stung my taste-buds as the mix of baked tofu with jagged edge slices of zucchini and carrots erupted in a burst of flavor in my mouth.  To make my meal even better, I grabbed a handful of the spinach leaves, that were meant as a garnish and placed them in my spicy broth.  The added vegetable mixed well with the mushrooms and red peppers.  I sipped on the remaining red broth as the flaming flavor heated up my mouth.  The spice was well worth it as I left the restaurant content with a good feeling of full, not to the point of over-fullness.  I am sad to say goodbye to Roots for the summer, but will be so excited to return to it in the fall.