Recycle-mania

Earlier this week, Brandi and I went to a Symphony subscribers happy hour appreciation event. We had drinks and appetizers while hearing about the upcoming season. On the way out we received gift bags (!) with a t-shirt, a conductor's baton, a CD, lip balm, coupons, and more! Otherwise, this past week has been pretty much business as usual, so I have decided to respond to my mom's recycling post at last. Whenever the stack of recyclables balloons into the kitchen entryway, I load up the Camry and head to the West U RecyclExpress drive thru. It's always fun and a bit invigorating to see others doing their part to be environmentally-conscious.

In Good Company

This last week has been a fun balancing act of catching up with friends and returning to the med school grind. I caught up with Rice friend Annalise for lunch on Wednesday at Ruggles. On Thursday I burned some calories at the Midtown 24-Hour Fitness with Amy. I've never been to such a lively and enormous gym... nearly overwhelming! We maximized the visit with an intense sampler of group abs, spinning class, body sculpt, and individual strength training on the many sophisticated machines. I'm tired just thinking back on it- whew!I picked up newlywed Jenn from the airport on Friday. We connected with her sister-in-law Angie and started making an elaborate dinner at Robert's place. By the end of the preparations, our plates were filled with mouth-watering lamb (from New Zealand!!) topped with sweet potato chutney alongside spaghetti squash. For dessert, I tried my hand at creme brulee. In celebration of my birthday, Jenn and Robert surprised me with my very own blow torch and four ramekins to go with the ones my sister gave me for Christmas.Though we took a few shortcuts in the recipe, I think the dessert was largely successful- even delicious if I do say so myself. Speaking of trying new things in the kitchen, I made some baked brie for Amy, Aaron, and their friend Kelly on Sunday night. We snacked on cheese, crackers, and apples while sipping wine and watching a bit of the Golden Globes.For dinner we explored the exciting side of a Taiwanese restaurant in Chinatown and tried some tongue, pig intestine, and chicken nuggets (oooo- daring!). Once we had our fill, we sang off the calories at KTV Karaoke! Yes, "I Will Survive" was on the play list. I was especially impressed by Kelly, who kept her karaoke game face on until 1:30am even though she had started her Sunday morning off with a marathon at 4:30am! Hardcore!Another Sunday activity involved visiting St. Paul's Methodist Church in the Museum District. The ELCA Lutherans and United Methodists joined forces to celebrate the recent agreement to share in full communion between denominations. The church was absolutely gorgeous; the choir sounded fabulous; the sermon was poignant; and the camaraderie between congregations was uplifting. As you might expect, many goosebump-inducing moments were sprinkled throughout the Festival Eucharist. Very cool.

A Quarter Century

On January 8, Elvis and I both had silver birthdays. I turned 25, and Elvis would have been a silver-haired 75. The day started off without electricity. I woke up just after 6am to the sound of the alarm siren indicating a power outage. Though the power company said I'd have heat, hot water, internet, and use of the microwave in less than three hours, the power was still not on by 10am. Thankfully, I was able to warm up at Brandi's place while she played a medley of Beatles' hits on the piano.Our first stop for the day was at the cinema to see Up in the Air starring George Clooney, which I really enjoyed. The movie theater was so cold, we got passes to see a free movie at a later date! Houston's temperatures hovered around freezing all day with a high of 33 (30 degrees below average) and a low of 26- BRRRR. We decided to keep warm by shopping, so we headed to the Galleria and had a delicious lunch at the Neiman Marcus cafe.After shopping Brandi and I parted ways briefly for a costume change and then met up again at Chuy's, a popular Evlis-themed Mexican restaurant. In order to secure free meals for the evening, we both tried our best to look like Priscilla, and Brandi's husband Peter was a pretty killer Elvis. Amy, Aaron, and Sarah also joined us for the festivities.As the enchiladas, chips & queso, and sopapillas digested, we finished the evening at the intimate wine bar 13 Celsius. Javier, Amy, Aaron, and I sipped on mulled wine, champagne, and even a little port. It was a great way to wind down a very wonderful birthday. As I curled up under many covers at home afterward, I had a chance to reflect on all of the thoughtful phone calls I received from family and friends, near and far. It's so nice to be remembered!

Bon Appetit!

After watching Julie & Julia and receiving a French cookbook and ramekins for Christmas, I have decided to master the art of French cooking. By "master," I mean "attempt...poorly." Though I will never rise to the level of expertise my mother and sister have achieved, here are my first few concoctions:

Potatoes Savoyarde

Two-Onion Soup Gratinée

Potage Crécy

Will '10 be a 10?

For New Year's Eve I went party hopping with Rice friend Sarah. In an effort to start the year off in a fashionable way, I was happy to be rocking out in my new Badgley Mischka dress, a $400 dress that I bought for $70 online. We started the night off at a Rice alumni house party in the Heights. Once the power hour began, we ducked out and headed to our second soiree downtown.At Hearsay we met up with some of Sarah's coworkers and mingled our way into 2010. I was a bit surprised that there wasn't much of a countdown at this particular shindig. On New Year's day I went to Aaron's 30th birthday party at the place he shares with his fiance Amy. We ate steak, drank mojitos, and played a rousing game of Taboo. Gosh, I love board games!