Stalked the interwebs until one came in (basically) my size.

Black Suede Dolce Vita Jemma Boots, a la Fall 2011.

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1. Boots and Boots
2. Las Fortalezas
3. A Very Tropical Christmas to You, Too!

Welcome packet from UIBE

Spent a somewhat cold spring break in Beijing, China this year. It was a short week, and I got to see China’s capital stronghold city through some fresh eyes. Unfortunately, its my last real college group trip with these folks. Basically what follows is a list, in 28 pictures, of places we went, things we saw, ate, and more or less experienced throughout the trip [where I brought my camera].

My favorite dish at Little Yunnan, and possibly my favorite meal of the trip.

Forbidden City

Great Wall

View from the Drum Tower in Hou Hai

Hyundai

Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan)

San Li Tun: bars, shopping, live music, and pole dancing

Closing Dinner at a Shanghai-style restaurant

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1. A Very Tropical Christmas to You, Too!
2. Las Fortalezas

Shirt, Jersey Dress, and Shoes - Urban Outfitters

Welcome to my dorm room; if you can’t tell, the bed is usually where I shove everything that doesn’t fit in my half of the room. I knew the day was gloomy when I got up, but somehow I didn’t think that the rain came with the gloom; I was dead wrong. Nevertheless, this is what I wore in anticipation of a presentation that I didn’t present.

Below is also what I mean when I said previously that the x100 doesn’t deal well with single light sources. Then again, these were shot in a relatively dark room without flash and a twitchy subject.

Buffalo wings and sautéed veggies, yum!

I love vegetables, but sometimes I find it difficult to find a recipe that yields a flavorful but easy way to combine a variety of veggies to pair with a more meaty/less-healthy main dish, such as buffalo wings. I have no grill, so I can’t grill them. I’m too lazy to try to stir-fry them and do a proper flavor mix with a meat and sauce. Plus, this is college, so minimal effort and time also needs to be considered.

Personally, boiling and canned vegetables do nothing for me. I love the soft crunch that vegetables have, so I needed to find a happy medium between soggy and raw. Steaming lightly in a frying pan worked perfectly:

Ingredients

• 2 carrots
• 1 small zuchinni
• 1 broccoli bunch
• 1/2 small red onion
• salt
• pepper
• canola oil

1. Peel carrots and zucchini; cut vegetables into into small cross-sectioned slices.
2. Heat frying pan on medium heat with 1/4 cup of water. Throw carrots in and cover; let simmer until water boils.
3. Add zucchini and broccoli, turn heat down (med low) and cover to let steam until broccoli darkens to a true green. Stir occasionally.
4. Remove vegetables from fry pan to separate dish, draining most of the water.
5. Spray pan with layer of canola oil, and caramelize sliced/diced onions on med-high heat. Add a dash of pepper.
6. Return vegetables to fry pan, spray on a thin layer of oil and stir fry. Add salt and pepper as desired and cook until vegetables seem tender.

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1. Stir Fry Brocoli & Beef Salad
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3. Modified Thai Green Curry

This led to a lot of online shopping.

Below is a photo dump of the two boots I got in the mail today. Pretty sure the school post workers are going to think I’m crazy in the next two days, since I picked up two packages today, have one more from Nordstroms, and plan on getting more of these sweet things below.

I ordered these Timberland EarthKeepers Bethel Tall Riding Boots as an afterthought, but they arrived first from Amazon/Endless. They are surprisingly perfect. The color I have is Burgundy (Bitter Chocolate) and I ordered them in a C/D width, even though my feet are narrower. I will live with it because they were the last in my size and I can double them up as winter boots by wearing thick socks.

Slouchy harness boots [in no way meant to be construed out of context] are definitely my thing.

Next up is the Born Crown Sosie Tall Riding Boots in Grigio/Grey. These looked great online but ultimately they weren’t the type of boot I absolutely had in mind. They’re a more streamlined shape, though I’m not quite sold on how the top adjustable harness forms points or the cowboy-like extended toe. The uppers are also more suede-like, which I wasn’t expecting. I may hold on to them and wait till the black version arrives to see how I like them to keep only one pair, if any.

Still, in retrospect, getting your wisdom teeth yanked out under local anesthesia wasn’t horrible. I didn’t realize at the time that Novocain increases nervousness, and since I didn’t find out that I wouldn’t be sleeping beauty until 3 hours before the appointment (when the receptionist, cringing, informed us that the oral surgeon was stuck in “traffic” and thus would delay my 3:45pm appointment by 2.5+ hours–not exactly rush hour, but hey, even dentists have their vices), I was very, very reluctant indeed. Eventually this led to a slight breakdown 15minutes before the actual procedure. But that’s alright, because puffy eyes and puffy cheek(s) aside, I could still dress up and play princess in the comfort of my own room. And this, darlings, is why you make sure you’ll suffer no roommate when you get your wisest of teeth removed.

I opted for an over-the-bed "Occasional Table" instead of real nightstands. TV/movie marathons, here I come...

Not that I live in this room all that often, but it’s been re-furnished. (Though not really decorated yet. But there’s something nice about clean wall space, no?)

My obsession with Thai began my freshman year of college; one of the cheapest eats are definitely Thai specials at lunch time. Appetizer, entree, and a drink all for ~$10 in Manhattan? Count me in! So of course, when I was finally able to have a kitchenette dorm this year, I immediately shopped Chinatown and scoured the internet for recipes and ingredients to make some of my favorite dishes.

This is my variant of a Green Curry I can actually get behind. That is to say, I don’t die too much when eating it, and add and subtract a few vegetables from the authentic recipe.

Ingredients

• Cooking Oil
• 1 tbsp Green Curry Paste*
• 1 cup Canned Coconut Milk
• 1/2 cup Water
• Chicken, Beef, or Seafood of your choice
• Sliced Canned Bamboo (or whatever way you can find it)
• Palm Sugar (optional)
• Vegetables of your choice; I like green beans and mushrooms. If you want to go authentic, use Thai eggplants, which are usually small, green, and can be described as grape-size when compared to other eggplant variants
• Kaffir Leaves (optional garnish) – this would actually be important if you were making a paste from scratch. But then you’d need lemongrass too and then you’d be on a trip.

Directions

Pour in a dollop of cooking oil in pan. Heat oil, then add curry paste. Let warm in pan before adding in coconut milk and water. Place in the meat of your choice (if you choose to have a meat). Cover pan and let simmer until meat has turned the appropriate color for having been cooked. Add in vegetables and let simmer with cover on some more. After it has boiled, try your curry for spiciness-level. If it’s too spicy, add in some grated palm sugar. Serve hot with rice.

* I use curry paste I buy from small Thai grocers; they’re $3-$5 of dense paste that will last you for years, considering that I use about 1 tbsp per 2 servings. The recipe tastes better with canned coconut milk, but the powdered stuff is cheaper and lighter to carry back, a big concern when you walk your groceries back to campus. The most recent brands I’ve been using: