The best of both worlds

Cookie cake is incredibly underrated. And I think it’s entirely unfortunate because it’s basically the best of both worlds. The other night, on a whim, we baked a cookie cake to go along with our Thai food and Cold Stone cupcakes, and it was probably the best thing we ate. Granted, after a couple of hours of doing nothing but eating and watching chick flicks on television (thank you, ABC Family), appreciating the cookie cake was probably the furthest thing from our minds (much more immediate was the idea that we should probably never eat again). Still, though, they’re pretty fantastic. And it’s not the cookie cake’s fault that we have no self control. It just happens to be an enabler – a delicious one, at that. And for every once in a while, that’s just fine. I’d definitely choose it over the ice cream cupcakes we got from Cold Stone (which were not as exciting as I’d hoped), and probably over many other desserts. Except for bread pudding, but that’s an entirely different situation.

The wonderful cookie cake we made the other night.

Cheese.

I’m really trying to like cheese. It’s a goal of mine, mostly because I feel like I should like it. Everyone else does. Maybe that line of thinking is sheep-like, but I don’t think being a sheep is always the end of the world. Right now, for instance, it’s driving my desire to like cheese. It could push me to try something else new later, who knows?

But cheese. I’m trying, really. I started out slow with the sharp cheddar, and it’s been working quite nicely. Last night, while out for a friend’s birthday, I decided to make the leap to goat cheese. Success! It was a little overwhelming, but I actually enjoyed it. It was some kind of goat cheese and eggplant mix that was really quite enjoyable. It left me feeling satisfied and empowered – think of all the new cheeses I can try – brie, gouda, Swiss, mozzarella, provolone… we’ll see how adventurous I’m feeling next time around. Not to say that I’m not an adventurous eater (although I guess I’m probably not), but I have a strange habit of not liking what are generally considered staples: ketchup, coffee, pickles, cheese (a work in progress), and most other condiments. I guess I just have strange taste. I really wanted to like them all, I tried… and failed. But cheese and I are starting a nice new relationship, so maybe there’s hope for the others? Probably not, but it’s a nice thought.

Friday, I'm in love

Things I love today:

- The sunshine
- Finally getting a job
- Remembering I have all weekend to do work, why stress now?
- OPI nail polish, especially in Got the Blues for Red
- Wearing dress pants and feeling like a grown up
- Checking things off of my to-do list
- My roommate's black scarf
- The Mongolian Grill that I had for lunch in Warren Towers
- This article that recently resurfaced while I was looking for examples of good writing
- Board games
- Seeing everyone I know in one spot on campus
- Finding lots of good vegetarian/Thai restaurants around Boston
- Surprising songs that come up on my iTunes shuffle

It's a metaphor, fool

Today was like a montage of all the things I actually like in Minneapolis: food, friends, family and shopping. I started off with lunch at Crossroads with my mom, grandma, aunt and great aunt, which was basically like eating with a giant ego boost. Never at one meal have I been told so many times about my good skin, my great hair and how pretty I am. It was great, really. Especially because (as my mom pointed out), most of them are old - so they compliment me, forget they've done so, and do it again. Phenomenal!

I followed lunch with an afternoon with Krista, a friend from high school. I had my first experience at the Hopkins Antique Mall - my new favorite place ever, basically. They definitely don't have anything like it in Boston. They have literally everything - mannequins, telephones, postcards, shotglasses, furniture and (my favorite) jewelry. I left with three rings, a shotglass (with a bird on it - says "Just a Swallow," haha) and a necklace. For $10. Again, phenomenal. We went downtown and wandered the skyway for awhile. Tragically, everything in downtown Minneapolis closes around 5 or 6 because that's when all the businesspeople leave, but Target was still open! An hour of playing in Target (my other favorite place, also not in Boston) and then off to Pizza Luce - my favorite pizza place in Minneapolis, with good food and atmosphere. It's been a long time since I've been there and I forgot how close it is to what used to be the Quest - the venue of my high school years... lots of good memories in that area. We had a guy stop by our table to invite us to his show later - we would have gone if it weren't for the fact that it was 21+. Tragedy. He was very intent on letting us know that even though he was from Tennessee his music was definitely not country. I checked out his music though - it seems worthy of a listen. Because we couldn't go to his show, we drove around for awhile musically reminiscing with Say Anything, an awesome band whose old music I love fully and whose newest album was just unfortunate. We ended up at the Tea Garden - really good tea and a place I wouldn't mind being a regular, if it didn't mean living in Minnesota.

So maybe this place isn't so bad. It has its ups - my family, some good friends and some good times - but I think it's just a place to visit from now on. Being here for more than a month would probably drive me crazy.