We all turn 30

Within a thirty day period, I'll have celebrated three of my close friends turning 30. Mine is coming up this March, and I have to say that these "trial runs" have made me look forward to mine, rather than feeling like this is an ending.

I was especially impressed with my friend Mali this weekend during her birthday celebration. She usually hates turning older, so much so that I've teased about being like Joey on that episode when all the friends turn 30. Stop bumming me out before mine! (Click here to see the birthday meltdown I'm talking about. Sooo funny!)

This weekend, though, she embraced her age and we partied like it was... uhhh... 1981 by going to see an 80's cover band. Yes, this was my third time checking them out. I can't say no to hair crimping, Madonna, and "Love is a Battlefield", while Mali was the Empress of all things 80's with her Member's Only jacket, beta tape tucked into her denim purse, and Garbage Pal Kids stickers.

I was still in happy birthday mode today while shopping for a good friend whose birthday is next Friday. Thirty wasn't scary anymore! If my friends were happy and calm, mine would be a piece of (bday) cake come March! Yay for embracing a new decade!

But then, I browsed the card aisle...

and I came across the world's most depressing 30th birthday card.

Nope, it didn't contain any tasteless jokes about sagging, or wrinkles, or being a grandma. There was no humor at all. Instead, it read like a card about loss.

Don't believe me? Check out the front:

This was the inside:

Confused, I checked to see if I was under the right heading. I mean, I must be looking at a birthday/sympathy hybrid card, right?

Or perhaps I was in the section for senior citizen birthdays, ages 80 and up??

Nope... as proved by this heading:

"Life doesn't always make sense, and days like this are not always happy ones" is referring to turning 30? Are you effing kidding me?? What a complete Debbie Downer!

Needless to say, I did not purchase this one for my friend.

Anyhoo, since this card rattled me a bit, it got me thinking about my looming birthday. I meant to come up with a "30 before 30" list to work on when I turned 29, but I'm kind of glad I slacked and didn't do that. One of the reasons Mali said she felt pretty content about turning older was that she came up with a "30 things while 30" list, that includes such "grip it and rip it" goals as: "get a tattoo" and "go sky diving". So I'm going to create one too once I hit the bit 3-0. I love the idea of starting an adventure once I hit this new decade, rather than bringing one to a close.

It should be a beginning, not an ending.

So suck it, Hallmark.

Dumpty gets a makeover

Usually, the resolution is to lose weight. My couch, however, needed to gain a few pounds.

I believe you've already been introduced to Slumpty Dumpty, my fugly, wrinkled, pea green couch:

Such a looker, right? He's kind of like an elephant, wearing his skin baggy and wrinkled.
Over winter break, I decided ole Dumpty needed an update. Since I don't have the funds to replace him, I went to a fabric store and bought a huge roll of batting and five bags of stuffing.
Then, I googled stuffing a couch, slit open the bottom of the two back pillows and stuffed them as far as they could go. The actual cushions were a harder project since I had to carefully wrap each with batting and slip them back into their cases.

Then, I sewed up the cushions...

Here's the fattened after:
Still pea green, but a little less wrinkled and saggy! For a project that took about an hour and a half and $30, I was pretty pleased. :)

Ignore the dark quality of the next pictures, but I wanted to show you the lamps and side tables that Dan and I purchased. We decided since Dumpty was a little more in shape, there needed to be more light in the room. (Somehow, even though the room is quite bright now and gets good sunlight, these photos came out dismally dark.)

Anyhoo, these rather modern lamps and criss-cross side tables are from Target:

Lastly, we added the Target slipper chair I received for Christmas:

I think Dumpty is feeling the love!

Just do it #14: 12 new restaurants in 12 months

Dan and I resolved to try 12 new restaurants in 12 months as our New Year's resolution (AKA the most delicious one I've ever made). It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.

After dutifully cooking at home all week and saving my tutoring money, we kicked off our resolution with Pescados, a Carribean restaurant known for their hipster atmosphere, killer mojitos, and creative food. Richmond Magazine recently voted this seeming hole-in-the-wall as one of the best restaurants of the year, and consequently, it was packed with the hot and trendy when we arrived. We, being neither hot nor trendy, wondered... were we cool enough to hang out here?

Maybe not. But with this food, who cares.

The outside:

We arrived to this dark corner that Dan almost drove by without noticing. Guess you can't judge a restaurant from the exterier.

The atmosphere:

Inside, there were cheeky decorations like huge letters that spell EAT and colorful murals, like this Rastafarian octupus:

And this rockstar King Triton. We couldn't figure out who this was supposed to be. Can you? :)

The food:

Ahhh.. so delicious. We shared a plate of conch fritters (kind of like hush puppies). Then, I downed a mango mojito and the best fish tacos I've ever tried. Dan had a scallop and pureed sweet potato dish.

The dessert:

I've told you about my love for avacado. Well, they have an avacado tart available for dessert. We ordered one to share even though it sounded a bit scary, like guacamole in a pastry crust. Luckily, it tasted like incredibly creamy key lime pie, and we were fighting over the last bits.


I could have done without the attitudey waitress (yes, I'm making that into an adj.), who barely spoke a word all night, except to occasionally snarl out a question. Honestly, we might have caught her on a bad night. I don't think the restaurant was prepared for the influx of eager Richmonders ready to try their latin-caribbean fusion food, so their servers seemed overworked. Maybe she misses the place catering only to low-key musicians and artists and is annoyed with all the hoopla... and the nerdy couple that sneaked a photo of the rastapus on the wall.

In short, the hoopla was warranted. I mean, that avacado tart?! Wow.

Verdict: 1 down, 11 to go. I'll fill you in on the more memorable ones!

The La Vida Lista Encyclopedia

Remember when I wrote about The Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life?

Basically, it's about one everyday woman's life.

Simple joys * daily annoyances * hilariously dead-on observations about mundane events

That's it.

Sure beats the hell out of the dusty Brittanicas in our school library...

Anyhoo, I recently went on one of my favorite blogs Shannanigans, who, after being inspired by this book, invited bloggers to link up with their own version of a "me" encyclopedia. Cute idea! That's 26 letters worth of likes, info, observations of an ordinary life. Not sure if I'll last that long, but I at least have a few ideas for the first few letters of the alphabet. It was an idea for 26 lists, people! How could I say no?

I give you... Volume A

ANNOYING, THINGS THAT ARE

* Only one glove... or sock.

* e-mails written in ALL CAPS (simulating SCREAMING!)

* Facebook's quizzes ("What type of animal are you??)

* Broken suitcases

* "Just to play devil's advocate..."

* "No offense, but..."
* Essays that begin with, "According to Webster's Dictionary..."
* Compulsive list making

See also: critters that try to invade our home

AUTUMN

Ummmm... not to beat a dead horse since I've mentioned this in every post about Halloween decorations, and Halloween costumes, and fall wine tasting, and pumpkin food, and general October lists, but I love autumn. It's my favorite season. And that's saying something given the fact that I'm off all summer...

See also: Any post written during October

THE AVETT BROTHERS



The Avett Brothers, a funk band rock band, have that undeniable "you-are-a-cooler-person-for-listening-to us"quotient. They're moody. They have smart lyrics. They're soulful. And Dan and I felt like we "discovered" an indie band when we first heard them (even though that's total bullsh*t since they are apparently immensely popular). Anyhoo, I hit the play button at least twice whenever I listen to "I and love and you". I want to surprise Dan by taking him to a concert if they are playing nearby anytime soon.

See Also: nerdy couple trying to be artsy

AVOCADOS

This was mentioned on Shannanigans encyclopedia, and I just had to concur. I just found this unbelievable recipe for tortilla soup, which I made the other night and loved. Add chunks of creamy avacado! You won't regret it.

* Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 T oil
½ onion, minced
1/3 green pepper, minced
1 clove garlic, minced

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
3 cans chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can sweet corn OR 1 ear of corn, cut from cob
1 T Cumin
1 t Chili powder
Salt, to taste
Dash of hot sauce, optional

Toppings:
Tortilla chips (white or blue corn) Chopped avocado Sour cream
Shredded cheese Cilantro

Directions:
Combine oil, onion, green pepper, and garlic in a saucepan until tender. Add remaining ingredients (except toppings) and bring to a slight boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve hot and top with tortillas, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, and cilantro.

This post was brought to you by the letter "A".

"B" is for "bad movies that are actually good", "Bethany", "blogging", and "babies on the brain".

Coming soon!

My favorite resolution ever!

Happy 2011! Hope everyone had a great NYE!

Our last days of freedom before returning for the longest Monday ever today was wonderful! Also, we came up with the best resolution for this year, so I just wanted to share.

The weekend started on Thursday when I celebrated my friend Kate's 30th on the 30th (notice the oh-so-classy tiara her hubby made her sport for the picture.) The next night, Dan and I used a gift card for a decadent meal out and stopped by one of his friend's NYE party.

Determined to follow through on new New Year's traditions, we made waffles, eggs, and sausage for brinner on New Year's Day. I freakin' love brinner. This idea developed from a wedding I went to once (holla, Laura!) where the bride and groom served brinner because "you have breakfast at the start of something new." Since they were starting their married life together, it fit perfectly. Such a sweet sentiment. And waffles. Love it. Thus, a new year's day tradition is born for this family of two.

We also started the new tradition of buying a scratcher lotto ticket since we were feeling lucky.

Before scratching:
The million dollar ticket:


After scratching:

Wah Wah Waaaahhh. Not sure if this tradition will stick.

Dan and I went to our neighborhood coffee shop on the 1st and got around to the subject of New Year's resolutions. As mentioned a year ago today, I'm wary about making them. You see, January is one of the longest months in middle school land, filled with cranky students, 18 week tests, and bleary-eyed teachers. It just goes on and on and on. And that resolution to, say, give up eating the occasional resource room doughnut goes to hell in the first week. I've learned from past experience that trying to overhaul my life in January would be a total fail.

Basically, I don't want to feel like this next January:

(Hmmm... Maybe my resolution should be to stop using Someecards as a lazy attempt to add wit to every blogpost. Just a thought.)

Instead, I usually come up with one small, fun resolution, like "take more photos" or "dress up more often". This year, I was out of ideas. Then, Dan told me about his two:

* Lose some weight.

and...

* Try a new Richmond restaurant each month

My first thought: Ummm... those two resolutions are completely contrary to one another.

My second thought: Sign me up for the second one!

Dan then casually mentioned, "You should turn this into a 'just do it' challenge for your blog. You know, we can gorge ourselves, and then you can write about it. " Love this man.

So, my Just do it challenge #14 is... Try 12 new restaurants in 12 months!

This challenge fits us for three reasons:

1. Dan and I can get into a rut when it comes to restaurants. Case in point: my favorite Vietnamese place actually knows me by name... even when I'm simply calling in my order. It goes like this:
Me: "Hi! I'd like to order the sesame chicken with brown rice and broccoli."
Restaurant owner: "Hi, Christen! How are you?"

2. I figure this will be a fun way to prove that Richmond can hold its own when it comes to restaurants. Take that, big cities. :)

3. I actually think this may help us save more money. On tighter months, we can be creative and do breakfast or tapas somewhere in lieu of dinner. Also, Dan and I want to cut back on picking up $20 take-out dinners constantly when we're too tired to cook, and instead save up our pennies for a nicer monthly meal.

We already have done our homework by buying a Richmond Magazine and checking out the new restaurants in town, like:

Fancy pants places, like Amuse:

Realllly low budget places, like Nate's Taco Truck (famous for his spicy hot chocolate):
Restaurants known for their masterpiece desserts, like The Empress:

This is one resolution I may actually keep.
I'll keep you posted!

Amuse picture from here, image of Nate from here, and dessert image from Empress website