Today begins my travels to the other end of the world. Dulles to Schiphol, a 10-hour layover in Amsterdam whereupon I will ride into the city and gallivant around the cobbled streets and explore the canals and brown cafes, no maps, no itinerary, just me intentionally getting lost in yet another European town--my favorite kind of travel. Then Amsterdam to Beijing, and Beijing to Changchun. I will meet up with my family around 1pm on Wednesday the 11th. A total of 31 hours of t

Ah, mid-May. The perfect time of year: when work things have [almost] wrapped up, and summer things haven't yet started, and the days are bright and perpetually mid-60s-low-70s. (But the night is dark and full of terrors.) Friday night, five of us piled into Pat's Mom-mobile and drove to Arundel Mills, filling up on margaritas and guac before seeing the new Godzilla flick: a little meandering and slow at times but overall a perfectly serviceable contribution to Hollywood's fe

Ah, the holidays, a glorious time of hibernation, carb binges, Netflix binges, traipsing around in bathrobes and loungewear for days and days, and - this year - coveting Olivia Pope's wardrobe and apartment, and trying to find ways to incorporate white pantsuits into my work attire. #food #Scandal #OliviaPope #whitepantsuits

There is something about Thanksgiving food (not even turkey specifically, but all Thanksgiving food, in its cheesy, carby, buttery splendor) that sinks me into an unproductive lumpen funk for a lot longer than it has any right to. I don't regret a thing. This year was one of the best Thanksgivings yet; I spent the whole week leading up to it preparing various do-ahead dishes, then woke up at 8am Thursday morning and cooked for seven more hours. The guys were absolute saints f

Mom's in town! Amazing food, getting fat, the dichotomy of love and feeling like you never measure up to her expectations. Did I mention the food is amazing? #Mom #food

After a sluggish workday due to my only having had time to scarf down a pear for breakfast and a handful of stale trail mix for lunch*, I jumped into the car at 2:30 with a pep in my step despite the grumbles emanating from behind my naval. I had the rest of the day to myself. The sun and the cold were inviting. On my way home I picked up the CSA share which was particularly good this week: beets, arugula, spinach, delicata squash, lettuce, kale, bell peppers, potatoes, sweet

Here's a little word problem for you guys. (Remember those things from math class? They were always infuriatingly worded and posed nonsensical situations that would only improbably occur in everyday life.) Q: How many times can Choo Choo play the Dies Irae movement of the Verdi Requiem before she stumbles home cross-eyed and knock-kneed and proceeds to stare slack-jawed at the Cardinals-Dodgers game for a full hour before she realizes that she is famished and should probably