aimee's day out

Sunshine and a high of 40 degrees (F) has never felt so good.  I rode my bike to Boston to meet up with Marie and Will at the New England Aquarium.  Thank goodness for student vouchers - ticket prices are so exorbitant that you'd think it was Sea World.  (That is an exaggeration - I just googled it and a single day pass a Sea World is $70.)  We looked at all of the exhibits, but of course we were most excited for the adorable PENGUINS!

After the aquarium we headed back (I biked, they took the train) to Cambridge to have dinner at my favorite - The Friendly Toast!  Their menu is so big, and I tried something new this time - New Hampshire scramble: asparagus and goat cheese.  So good!  I swear, everything I try there is my favorite.

I checked on google maps, and my round trip bike ride was today was about 7.5 miles.  I guess the beginning of winter is a bad time to think about becoming a super sweet biker, but I'd really like to become a super sweet biker.  Nothing too intense, but ~40 mile day trips around New England would be nice.

One more note about winter cycling - Will sent me this article about using zip ties to make snow tires.  Unfortunately it won't work on my bike because I have rim brakes, but isn't it a great idea?  My brakes are mostly useless in the winter anyway because my bike has steel rims, but the zip tie isn't able to fit between the rim and the brake.  I'll just bike on sunny days like this, and spend the rest of the winter walking around town.

Chinatown

Today Marena and I went to Chinatown for some seriously good Chinese food.  I'm sure I will never be able to find that restaurant again - and I don't even remember its name!  But the tofu... and the garlic snow pea sprouts... yum.

Boxing Day

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas! I certainly did. I talked to Phil on the phone (he's visiting his family in Portland, and I am still here in Cambridge), and he told me that my Christmas present was hidden in the closet! That man is so sneaky. And he has excellent taste - he gave me a chunky oatmeal colored sweater. Just two days before I had stopped at the goodwill on my walk home from lab and bought myself two more. My collection is becoming quite impressive.

I had Christmas dinner with Marie and Will. We made two dishes from recipes out of her Trader Joe's cookbook.  I made garlic mashed potatoes because I don't think I've had a Christmas without mashed potatoes.  For dessert we had a brie fondue, also from TJs, with baguette and green apples.  And I made mulled wine, which no one liked but me so I had quite a bit of it. :)  After dinner with watched Despicable Me.  It was adorable.

Today I had grand plans of post-Christmas shopping, but then I realized there was a blizzard warning.  Which means the three miles or so between my apartment and the mall become much longer.  I still got bundled up and walked to Mass Ave and Harvard Square for a look around, but I didn't end up buying anything.  I did stop at Whole Foods just before home and bought some more coffee - Marie and Will gave me a french press for Christmas (yea!) and I used up the last of my beans yesterday testing it out.

It is still blizzarding and blustery outside.  The scene outside my window looks sepia toned.  I don't mind a night in if it means a chance to knit, drink chai tea, and watch movies with Rizzo curled up next to me.

Tea Party

This morning Marie informed me that today is the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.  To commemorate the event I am drinking tea and dressed like a native American.  Not really - I'm drinking coffee, but I am wearing my moccasins.

ice skating

 photo of John Belusi ice skating via here

Yesterday a few friends and I went ice skating!  There is a rink in the MIT athletic center that is free for students and just a few dollars to rent skates.  My first go round was super wobbly and I stayed right next to the wall, but after a few go-rounds I was feeling a bit better, looking slightly less stiff and awkward, and having fun!  It was a fun way to see each other before everyone leaves for Christmas break and IAP.

compiling

Super exciting scientific data is being collected on my behalf by a robot.  I think I'll go Christmas shopping!

a gift giving guide

So far this season I've been a bit of a grinch: I don't have any Christmas decorations or a tree, all of the ridiculous products that appear in stores this time of year make me roll my eyes, and I'm not even going home to visit the fam until January!

My school has a program called Giving Tree - you pick up a card with the name and age of needy child in the area, and what she wants to Christmas, and then you buy it for her!  My 13 year old girl K asked for makeup and perfume.  This is what I bought for her:

Nail polish, body spray, and lip smackers from Target.
Sparkly make-up bag, lip gloss, and some serious bling from Forever21.

Please remember to think about those less fortunate than you this Christmas.  It gives you a seriously good feeling inside. :)

Dawn Treader

Yesterday I went to a free screening of the new Narnia movie "Voyage of the Dawn Treader."  (I am not as cool as Krys, who goes to Hollywood premiers and stands five feet away from Halle Berry.)

Watching the film I was a bit obsessed with Lucy's hair and wardrobe.  You can't quite see it in this frame, but her off center ponytail is held in place by a little leather braid.  It's so chic.  (If I ever grow my hair out, I'd love to try this style.)  And wouldn't you love to wear her boots and white puffy shirt without feeling ridiculous?

North Korea

Korea has been in the news (a bit more than usual) since yesterday's attack on Yeonpyeong, which killed two South Korean soldiers.  I learned a bit out North Korea in college, and have kept up with the goings on since then.  If you are interested in learning more, I have a few suggestions:

The Guardian's coverage of North Korea  - (Andy's sister-in-law, Tania Branigan, does much of the reporting.)
National Geographic: Inside North Korea  - This documentary brought me to tears.
A State of Mind - A documentary about the mass games.  A spectacular look at Korean society.

(Both documentaries are streaming on netflix.)

cold!

Today's 15mph winds and freezing temperatures removed any doubt that I had about purchasing a long down coat.  I can't wait for my new Moosejaw jacket!  (And they were having a sweet promo where you get $100 of free mystery merch - score!)

 

This evening after work my lab group went out to dinner at Dante to say goodbye to two visitors who are leaving soon - Xiaolei and Ben.  My office is going to feel so empty without these guys.  I will miss them.

hp

My friend Stephen and I, who share a birthday, decided a Harry Potter themed birthday party would be super sweet.  Here's me and Phil, as Hedwig and Harry. (Other guests include Stephen as Fred (or George?), Snape, Bellatrix Lastrange, Dobby(!), a few rival Harrys, and students from Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff.)

birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday! Although I was still in the midst of proofreading my essays before I submitted them to NSF, Phil insisted that we do something fun together.

After classes, we went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History.  We picked up our Marauder's Map of the Museum and did the Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt.  We learned the science between HP phenomena such as the Invisibility Cloak (camouflage), thestrals (giant Cretaceous horses), the rubies in Gryffindor's sword, saw a bird with a big tail that looks like Fawkes, and saw the stuffed version of Hedwig.

After the museum we went to the new clover restaurant in Harvard Square.  The original food truck parks right outside my building, and now they have a real live restaurant!  (I would link to their website, but I got spyware last time I opened their website.  Who would hack clover??)

confirmed

I just submitted my application for an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!

foxy lady

I had thought about posting about my love of foxes (prompted by Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox [with a link to netflix so you can put it in your queue right now if you haven't seen it yet!]).  And then I saw a girl in line for lunch with these gloves poking out of her coat pocket.  I can take a hint.

The film:



Anthropologie Stole might be a little too zany... what do you think?

However, this Fox on a Bike tee is perfect.

Uggh, my blog is turning into a style blog instead of my AWESOME MEMOIRS. But I like style blogs, alright? And my real life (pipetting) doesn't translate well into blog-space. Gimme a break.

boots

I've been coveting these Madewell riding boots after seeing them at the Newbury Street store ($298):

Until I found these boots, in my size, at the Buffalo Exchange ($20.50):

Fall fashion success!

Mr. Phil

Although it's been a few months, I'd like to post about how we celebrated Phil's birthday.

In an effort to spend less money on *things* and more money on *awesome experiences and adventures,* my gift to Phil was tickets to see Louis CK at the Wilbur Theater in Boston.

 

The theater itself was so great - right on the subway line, and it had an old, (dusty) charming feel to it.  Our seats were in the very last row of the balcony of the theater.  This was our view of the stage:

 

 And this is us.  Phil is frightened because the balcony was steep!  And didn't have a hand rail.  So we had a great view but felt like we could tumble down and over the edge if we weren't careful.

Louis is amazing. One of his jokes was him imagining the casting of the "Goodbye, Jews!" girl in Schindler's List. So good! I hope Word ends up on Netflix soon so that you'll know what I'm talking about.

That was Friday. On Saturday, I threw Phil a surprise party (a fiesta, really - there was a pinata) at our apartment. I forgot to take any pictures, but it was a lot of fun! I am still a little surprised at how well everything went, haha.

it gets better

I love what Dan Savage is doing to reassure gay kids that it gets better. Yes, being a teenager sucks. Bullies suck. Homophobes suck. These cats are awesome.

questions about cheese

Some friends and I tried out the pub trivia at Atwood's Tavern in Inman Square.  The theme for the night was cheese.  Needless to say, we did pretty well [2nd place!].  Topics included

• Cheese in other languages - I knew French, Italian, and Spanish, but forgot German, and didn't know Portuguese or Greek [it's not 'feta,' which is what we guessed]
• The country of origin of various cheeses including Havarti, Cheddar, Sakura, and Humboldt Fog [which is American!  I didn't know that] 
• Songs from the cover artist Richard Cheese including Insane in the Brain and Down with the Sickness.
• The genus of the fungus which makes blue cheese blue [it's penicillium! which comes from the word 'paintbrush' in Latin]

 And Atwood's is a really great bar - they even carry Sin Cider, my favorite.  I think I'll be back sometime soon.

Sadie Sue

I am sad to say that we had to say goodbye to the beautiful, lovable, tremendously sweet Sadie.  In my mind you will be chasing ducks and splashing in streams forever.

high fidelity

I love you, Rizzo, but seriously?  Must you snack on ear buds?

I've lost count...

of the number of times lab tape has saved my booty (or heel, in this instance).  Yea for being able to wear ridiculous shoes!

snapshots

I wish I had a camera in my brain to capture and share Yesterday I saw a couple walking together, holding hands. He had his upper arms wrapped like he had just given blood. She had an over-sized American Red Cross volunteer t-shirt.

 

A note attached to a bike - it said if you are ever interested in selling this bike, contact me.  I had the same bike in 1983 and I miss it dearly.

 

a five-high Nutter Butter sandwich

Free hamster / mouse stuff.  Enjoy.  But this made me sad.

contra

not just the only album I've purchased in the last year - I went contra dancing on Tuesday. I am oh so sore on Thursday.

cool like that and the trouble with thrifting

Thrift shopping is great because every once in a while you find something that is unique, awesome, cheap, and just your size. But since these finds are few and far between I have a bad habit of deluding myself into thinking that something is my size when it's not. Case in point - these teal cowboy boots I bought at the Pasadena flea market:



a hair too small means I've worn them once in the past year. In a fall cleaning of my closet, they are on their way to the thrift store, but I wanted to document, to my future self, that I am the cool type of person who owns teal cowboy boots (even if they don't really fit all that well).

fall is...

a new school year.
harvest pumpkin soup.
fleece and a scarf.



hello blurry aimee!

tiny pasta

Lately, I've had an obsession with orzo.


Phil, Fireman, and I were perusing the Whole Foods salad bar to get food for our picnic, and we tried to orzo salad. Sooo tasty, I had to try and make it. I think I approximated Whole Foods' version pretty well.

Orzo Salad
Boil a pot of water and add the orzo. While it's cooking, chop up a big handful of spinach and put it in a bowl. Chop or crumble some tasty feta, too. Crush a couple of cloves of garlic into the bowl, and add a glug of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Drain and rinse the orzo and add it to the bowl and mix everything well. Add black pepper and squeeze half a lemon over everything before serving. Phil had his with pitted kalamata olives, and the Trader Joes version had bits of chicken. Eat warm or eat the leftovers right out of the fridge. Play around with it and let me know what you think.

just like old times

I am so incredibly happy that Peter and Marissa were able to visit at the same time. Peter is the first friend I made in college, and now he is getting is MD and PhD from Mount Sinai. Marissa is the cool chica who became my roommate (and stayed that way all four years), and she is now a science journalist. I love them both.


It rained like crazy the entire time they were in town, which meant dinner at my house turned into pajama party while we eat big bowls of soup at my house.

Our very serious family portrait.

what twitter's good for

minor celebrities eavesdropping on hilarious people on first dates and then relaying that information to me:

This guy at the table next to me is a mixture of Dwight Schrute and Babycakes, AND he's on a first date. #basicallyamazing

"Do you want pepper?" "I will taste the meal and inform you at the appropriate time". Five seconds later he gets his pasta coated in it

"That particular dog was amazing because he ate food off the floor." "Did your dog do that?" "Never! ANIMALS. BELONG. OUTDOORS."

"I'm a stay-at-home son. You'll be a stay-at-home daughter." Now I am confused about their relationship - among other things

"The problem with today's society is that God is not at the forefront. My grandfather left school when he was 12." #what

"Don't ever, ever, EVER, ever [unintelligible]". Really disappointed I didn't catch the end of that, I feel like I let everyone down

Now his arms are crossed

"Here's your bill, and here's some mints." Him: "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" totally sincere. Then: "I've got no room for mints", arms crossed again

And he's gone. His parting words: "I think she burned it. That way she wouldn't ever have to clean it up." #wordstoliveby

If you don't know who Ryan Q North is, click here.
That is all. Have a good day!

torrents

Those are my clothes - drying in my office. This is not ok.

It is been raining up a storm for two days straight now. And I haven't yet discovered a way to get to and from work without ending up a wet beaver (referring to the MIT mascot, obviously).

Thank you Marie, for saving my soaking wet booty by bringing me some sweats to change into. Now I'm at work in pajamas, but at least I'm dry!

Rosie

Have you seen this article with color photographs taken in the US leading up to and during World War II? They are so captivating - definitely worth a few minutes of your time. A couple of my favorite are the ones of Rosies. (They remind me of my mom, who used to prep F-16s.)



I especially love the second one - you can tell this woman is strong, hardworking, and tough, but with her blushed cheeks and painted nails, still beautiful and feminine.

sunday brunch

Priya and Rahul came by for the weekend, and we made a Sunday brunch.

Priya and Rahul brought us Prosecco and that funky coconut candle. We chilled the wine in that wine bucket I found on the side of the road. We made mimosas with Trader Joe's orange and mango juice.

The spread - toppings for our egg sandwiches including cheddar, mozzarella, Italian meat for the boys, and an heirloom tomato I bought at the farmers' market. We also ate some peaches with cinnamon.


Toasting to what turned out to be a stellar brunch. This seems to happen a lot when I hang out with Priya. (We're eating on napkins because we don't yet own any plates!)

a post about my cat

I promise this blog won't turn into a shrine to my adorable kitty...

Sonia's wedding

We got kinda lost on the way to Boston... (thank goodness for Phil's iphone navigation skills!). We were almost late - but I had a chance to get a picture of Sonia right as she began walking down the aisle.

A bunch of us at the reception - Sonia looked absolutely amazing in both her Western dress and her Indian outfit!

Sonia and Chris had such a beautiful wedding, and it was great to have so many friends together for a fun evening.

(For their wedding gift, Phil and I brought two chocolate mice from Burdick, along with a gift card to the cafe.)

The Bachelorette

I love an excuse to dress up and hang out with girlies, and celebrating Sonia's last Friday as a sexy, single lady was just that. She had an entire day of indulgent girly activities like a picnic at Revere beach, manicures at the mall, and Cirque de Soiel in the evening, but I joined for dinner and drinks at Cuchi Cuchi.

Cuchi Cuchi is a theatrical restaurant with the servers wearing feathers, pearls, and satin in an old Hollywood costume-y style. I dressed up in my black banana republic dress (from goodwill!), shiny black heals, and peacock feather headband. (I wish I had shot a self-portrait in the bathroom!)

The food was great, of course, but I will go back to try some more of their creative cocktails! I had the blood orange cocktail, which was outrageously tasty.

Congratulations to Sonia and Chris!

the little things...

like the first meal I made in my new kitchen: a big bowl of gazpacho with croutons made from roasted garlic bread.

And I put all my dirty dishes in my new dishwasher. Ok, this is kind of a big thing.

besties and babies

I am so glad that I was able to attend Ashli's baby shower! She has been one of my very best friends for ... (counts on fingers) ... twelve years now!

And Kayli (the bun) is due on Ashli's birthday. How sweet is that?

Note: My contribution to Kayli's wardrobe are two onesies from Threadless.

Utizzle

I had such a great time visiting Utah. I wish that I had taken more pictures (but isn't that always the case?). I've listed some of the highlights below.

[x] Lunch with Ashli, then perusing the mall (for old time's sake).
[x] Bunco and baby horses with my mom and her friends. (I won $10!)
[x] Red Butte Garden concert and picnic with mom and Krys.
[x] Boating on Pineview Reservoir and a campfire at the Sherman's cabin.
[x] Clubbing in Salt Lake City with Brittney and Toni.

cherry pickin'

On our last day in Minnesota, we picked cherries from the neighbor's tree.