you will feel no rain

so these are the wedding highlights. it was on saturday; prime hurricane time. we got there at 3pm and it was just kind of like a normal, run of the mill thunderstorm. the nepali ceremony was moved inside.

i feel like you know all of these people by now. friends from high school plus spouses and a girlfriend. 

mango lassi! they passed around indian/nepali hors d'oeuvres between ceremonies. 

i put the cape on for 3 seconds before losing my nerve. all of abha's friends from northwestern were in these really avant garde, chic dresses.. and i just felt too weird in it. plus it wasn't the best for trouncing around in the rain. but i felt pretty in just the dress. 

ring pillow! they hooked on with a loop rather than tying on with a bow. 

the ring bearer and flower girl were very cute. nirav was in the room with them while they were teaching the flower girl how to sprinkle the rose petals, so while they were walking, nirav was whispering 'sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle' at the table where we watched from.

abha had a dress picked out, and then it was hemmed too short in alterations, so she ordered 3 more online the week before the wedding. she chose one that was a pippa middleton reproduction. it was very pretty on her.

the reception was outdoors in a big tent, and we lost power a few times. we sang a lionel richie song for their first dance since the DJ had no power. but you could see pretty well thanks to a candle on each table. before the reception, we heard the venue staff talking to abha about candles, and she said to 'buy every candle in the store.' :)

definitely a memorable wedding! they couldn't have handled it with any more grace, and they were so radiant that you didn't even really think about the hurricane outside anyway. 

finally made it

this was such a fun trip! i'm back in austin today, but i'm missing DC. it was so much fun to see so many friends. we really packed quite a bit into a 5 day spread. these are the pictures that aren't the wedding. we'll do wedding tomorrow.

miriam (who came in from NYC) and i met up with one of my friends from the internship for lunch at teaism.. this is miriam eating what i always get, the chicken bento box. so delicious.

bec and i in the park

andy and bec. we were watching people jog by and exercise on the wooden exercise equipment as we lounged. it was beautiful out that day in the mid 80s. 

andy and i in front of the washington monument on the way to see the new MLK memorial. can you spot my birthday purse? it came in so handy. i could fit my camera/umbrella/a book/a sarong/my big wallet in it. 

this is the entrance to the MLK memorial

people were saying it doesn't look like him.. but i think it's pretty close. 

so the MLK statue is on the left, with the mountain on the right, and then there's a wall that runs around the outside with quotes on it.

thursday

wooo, DC! it's really wet and humid here. becca said it rained all morning.. thankfully stopping just in time for me to get from the airport to her apartment, and then it rained all afternoon, which didn't matter a whole lot as we were comfy inside chatting on the couch. we're supposed to get a hurricane this weekend. everyone is really concerned about it. i guess i'll eat my words if something bad happens, but it's just a whole lot of rain and wind. and the metro is underground. how bad could it be?

it's funny to be back here. the odd muffled ding ding the metro reminds me of going to the internship in my gray skirts and black low heels. along with everyone else in their gray, black and navy. that's one thing i definitely don't miss. and the unsmiling strangers. but open city (a cute restaurant/cafe near their house) was a welcome sight. and green grass, and trees.

last night as i was packing, maj and i were talking about how i should make a PDF of a generic packing list, because you always forget silly everyday things. and what's the one thing i didn't pack? a toothbrush. how does that happen.

exciting day tomorrow!

before you go, go

dc tomorrow! my flight is at 8:30 which is before i usually wake up in the morning.. so.. i should go to sleep.

busy week! they just had the earthquake, there's supposed to be a hurricane this weekend. we'll see what happens.

not ready to go

isn't it funny how teeny little things can make your day awesome?

i was in the grocery store shopping for the week, in the international aisle looking for thai red curry paste for this thai coconut curry mussel recipe jill made. this woman in her 30s and i were both staring down the asian section, looking for our stuff.
her: whoever finds their item first wins
me: what are you looking for?
her: peanut sauce
me: what about this one?
her: beggars can't be choosers. thanks. what about you?
me: thai red curry sauce.. it usually comes in a little jar. i can find this green one, but not the red
::she bends down to look way into the back of the shelf beside the green curry and finds it::
her: voila!
me: excellent! thanks!

it's like when you're at a party and you chat with 5 random people, and you can immediately pick out the 3 you would be friends with in real life because you just hit it off. (which happened this weekend, incidentally. i went to a fundraiser and mingled a bunch. one guy and i had chatted maybe 3 minutes and we both looked at each other, stood there for a minute, and he just said 'well,..' and walked away. and i was thinking 'yep. that was not working at all.') anyway it seemed too random to ask for her contact info, but i think she's my kind of friend.

speaking of friends! i'll be in DC thursday-tuesday and a whole bunch of my friends are there! becca and nirav, abha and pedro, john, dave, jamil, jim.. and then miriam is coming in from NYC, will and morgan from TX, andy from london. it's going to be 5 busy days of friends and fun. so excited.

found objects

..i often find cool things around the internet, and i post a lot of it to facebook. but more of it should go on my blog. so that's what we're doing today.

favorites from the week..
1. this article is about finland's school system and how they value equal education for every single kid in the country. they start preschool at age 6 and there's no standardized testing. “We prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test,” said Pasi Sahlberg, a former math and physics teacher who is now in Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture.

2. good.is is a news site that sort of focuses on good news. it's supposed to.. it mostly does. it's pretty liberal. i like it because you can always find a bunch of interesting articles that aren't the standard NYT beats. and they have amaaazing charts and graphs like this one.

3. this is more of a PSA than anything, but the white house spring 2012 internship deadline is coming up on sept. 11th. if you know any current or recent college grads, you should encourage them to apply. it's unpaid, but it would be hard to overstate how amazing/life changing the experience is.

4. right now i'm reading why boys fail which is about how boys are being left behind in not only the US educational system, but globally. it is veeerrry interesting.
here's the synopsis from amazon.. Boys are falling behind in school. The world has become more verbal; boys haven't. Even in their traditionally strong subjects of science and math, boys are hit at a young age with new educational approaches, stressing high-level reading and writing goals that they are developmentally unable to achieve. The gap between male and female achievement has reached the college level, where only 40 per cent of graduates next year will be male. This doesn't just mean fewer male doctors and lawyers, it also means fewer men in the careers that previously did not require post-high school degrees but do now. "Why Boys Fail" examines the roots and repercussions of this problem and spells out the educational, political, social and economic challenges we face as we work to end it.


5. woahmygoodness beers and beans has the most beautiful pictures from all over the place. this is a photo essay of iceland. it is amazing.

summer nights

finky might not be the original hipster, but he's catching up pretty quickly. 

check out his new glasses from spexclub.com.. he meant to order sunnies but he got regular glasses. whoops. so far, they haven't answered his emails. double whoops. 

blackbird singin

i keep adding and adding to this post, but! today is minky and finky's 27th anniversary. happy anniversary to them. 

here are 4 random things from today and this weekend. 

1. ripley looooves the cat, while kitty only tolerates her. this afternoon the cat came in and laid down on the floor right by the door, and ripley just came over and laid down almost on top of him, and then proceeded to lick his ears. the funniest part is that they'll spend a while together, but when you get the camera out to document it, the cat always gets up like he doesn't want anyone to know. 

2. a BLT is the perfect summer dinner.

3. me and my new highlights and glasses. i left the salon this afternoon with my hair dripping wet, and it dried in 10 minutes in my 1,000 degree car. i had to sit on top of my library books to keep from burning the back of my thighs on the leather seats. 

it adds an extra bit of excitement to driving when you kind of slide back and forth across your seat on sharp turns..

4. jeff and i made a song the other day when it rained. apparently if you love it, you can also download it.

Upload MP3s using free MP3 hosting from Tindeck.

all of the lights

rachel requested a picture of my new warby parker glasses. i keep forgetting to get someone to take a picture of them on me.. and by the time i actually have them on (at night, before bed), i've taken all of my makeup off and i'm in mismatched jammies. so we'll save that for another day. 

i do love them though. i can see better with them than with my new contacts. it's also really nice to have the clear on the bottom because it isn't distracting when you're reading, especially when you aren't used to having glasses on your face if you wear contacts all day.

speaking of newww things.. we got a new couch! majjy ordered it from buildasofa.com with a groupon, and we love it. it's bigger than the old one, but somehow it feels smaller because it's a lighter color and doesn't have a 'dust ruffle' on the bottom, which maj is very excited about.

jeff and i like it because you can lie down flat without your feet jamming into the arm rest.

tuesday

i'm not totally sure abha won't come peeking over here before her wedding, so i'm just going to post hints of the ring pillow. 

all i have left to do is find ribbon to tie the rings on with, and sew the back on so i can stuff it. fun project!

graciela

i guess cats don't know that flowers aren't the same as grass. if you can lie down on top of grass, why not flowers? especially half-dead ones? 

the earrings i ordered for abha's wedding arrived today. they aren't any of the options i listed.. but they are the combination of the 2 favorites. love them.

hard to tell, but they're a little less than an inch tall. i think they're big enough on their own that i don't need a necklace. although maybe if i could find just a pendant to match.. 

last night i woke up in the middle of the night because i was so thirsty. then i had 2 glasses of water and a cup of chai in the morning. when i went to HEB late this morning, i came out with pine-orange-banana juice, raspberry lemonade, sparkling lemon water, sparkling lime water, peach snapple and milk. that takes care of that! 

i was less successful with weekday lunch food. ended up with a few cold cuts in spite of the healthy living blog talking about how bad nitrates are for you. becca often makes simple pizza using naan as the crust and then puts fresh mozzarella and prepared pesto on top. what do normal people do for easy lunches?

prayin' for tidal waves

1. it RAINED at our house. after what seems like an eternity. hopefully the grass and trees will be happy.
2. it is hard to get something started where nothing is happening. especially when disillusionment is high and people are feeling like nothing makes a difference. but! it will be fine.
3. i am finally comfortable enough with who i am that i can just be myself upon first meeting someone. i've done it with recent political events. i've done it with other generic strangers. this is big.
4. went on a date tonight. no details. :)
5. DC in a week and a half

switzerland

"So appealing is the image of Switzerland as an affluent, clean, and well-run society that other countries fancy themselves the Switzerland of their particular region. Singapore is the Switzerland of Asia, Costa Rica the Switzerland of Central America. But here I am in what can rightfully be called the Switzerland of Europe. The real deal." The Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner

i've just begun a book about one NPR correspondent's search for the happiest place on earth. so far, we've gone through the netherlands, switzerland and bhutan. his writing style is very similar to bill bryson.. who for some reason i really don't care for, even though he's kind of a cult classic for travel nonfiction. but this author is very dry and entertaining.

i kind of forget what he said about the netherlands. there's an institute there that puts a number on happiness. switzerland has lots and lots of rules, and people go out of their way not to flaunt their wealth or rock the boat. and in bhutan, no one sits around thinking or talking about how happy they are, but they are very happy. (funny how you think you have an understanding of something you read, and then when you try to explain it, you realize you haven't actually retained any details at all).

looking forward to the thailand and great britain chapters.

a dollar

let me preface this by saying: this is the dumbest post i have ever written. but! i promised, so. 

jeff lets me use astringent on his face like once every couple months. i think it's magic. you see sooo much yucky stuff come off your face. but jeff's theory is that no matter how many times you do it, stuff always comes off your face. so you must not actually be seeing real dirt coming off. it's a chemical reaction. or something. 

so tonight we did an experiment. if the cotton balls looked the same each time, i owed him a dollar. if the amount of dirt decreased, i won. 

but i lost, friends. we had maj guess the order of the cotton pads, and she guessed the opposite order.

on a related note, do not buy dickinson's brand toner. it gets good reviews on how well it actually works, but it smells hoooorrrible. hard to describe, but it's like alcohol + decomposing matter + something sweet. and the smell sticks in your throat so you don't forget about it quickly. not to mention, the clean and clear brand works better anyway.

sweet baby squeeel

i didn't realize i've been gone since wednesday. whoops. on friday, i hung out with zach, jill and cate for the afternoon at her family's lake house. they're living there for the summer before the move to houston in september. i am so bummed. jillian is soo much fun, and we can talk about anything. not to mention, cate fulfills my baby-holding quota. 

they're housesitting for a family whose house is right on the lake. it's 3 stories and faaancy. the woman owned a monogramming shop in town, so everything is monogrammed. we did a little house tour before spending a while in their lakeside pool. it was lovely.

cate'll be 6 months tomorrow. time is flying. 

spent alllll weekend at the lake. it's nice outside before 10am. i think we're in the 90's by 10. it is hooorrrible. on the drive home, i was noticing that the trees look like they're turning colors for fall, but it's because they're drying out and dying. a lot of them have turned orange or red when you're driving through the hill country. 

should be a fun week coming up. my glasses will be here tomorrow! waiting on/tracking packages is the best.

find my forever a home

this evening i went to a meeting of [what i assumed was] my local chapter of obama for america supporters to make phone calls in honor of the president's 50th birthday. the event said '485 NW seniors' POTUS birthday celebration' .. i asked my friend dave what we thought that meant. but it said it was sponsored by seniors for obama and veterans for obama, so that made sense. it wasn't necessarily all seniors, right?

so i'm driving there.. i get to the address, and it turns out to be a retirement community. i call majjy, we laugh, and i decide to just go in, fruit plate in hand.

i knock on the door and this tiny black woman named faye answers. when i walk in, the crowd is made up of elderly black women, two men over 60 and one white-haired lady in the corner. i sign in and put on a name tag. as i go around the room introducing myself, i find out that the lady in the corner is bernice, the elderly hostess with the mostess i used to work with at a restaurant in college. it was saloon themed, so the hostesses all wore these dresses with feather boas around the shoulders. 
(she's the one in red)
ms. bernice worked there for 35 years. every day in a long black dress with a big sweeping black boa with silver tinsel hanging out of it. anyway she remembered me. she lives in the retirement community now.

we had a lot of fun though. at one point there was a live webcast from the president to thank everyone who was at these house parties around the nation for his birthday.. but everyone (mostly bernice) kept talking through it. she asked faye what the president was saying and she just looked at her and said 'well I would KNOW if you WEREN'T TALKING.' faye is a spitfire.

anyway i'm relatively sure i was a party crasher. at one point, one nice woman said 'so, megan... how exactly did you hear about this meeting?'

anchor me

..today i made this succotash (pretty yum in spite of our cobbed 'sherry vinegar' that was sherry + red wine vinegar), but the bacon was supposed to be used by june 23.. it looked fine. and it's cured meat, right?

then tonight i made 'dericious chai' as we call it, and you're supposed to use it within 7 days of opening the box. i think i opened it in april. but there was nothing in it that could really go bad.

me: if i'm throwing up tonight, it was either the bacon or this chai
mom: well, i ate the bacon, so if i'm throwing up too, we'll know it was the bacon. don't tell jeff about the bacon.

today was weird. the old bacon. then in the afternoon i made this chickpea salad, and i guess after tending  to the chickpeas so lovingly as i changed their soaking water a few times today, i forgot i hadn't actually cooked them before adding the peppers, capers and dressing. so i had to pick all of them back out, cook them and add them back in.

then i almost killed myself in yoga. ok not really, but it was farrrr more difficult than i had anticipated after 2 and a half months off. holding a lunge for 10 breaths 4 times was toooo difficult. my legs were shaky and burning. so i stood up.

then i went to the restroom to change after class for happy hour with stacy and i thought 'i should lock the bathroom door, even though i don't need to because everyone knows that when the door is closed, someone is in there' ..so then 20 seconds later as i'm standing there in my unmentionables, dress in hand, this woman walks in! i apparently hadn't actually locked it, even though i had that thought.

i was too chicken to close my B of A account. but i will tomorrow. ...

mademoiselle

it's a wonder that i don't weigh 300 lbs based on how much i love chopping, cooking and eating. on my first day home from camp (after a lovely lunch with the staff for the last time), i made alex's mom's green smoothie. 

when i was on the phone with gram walking through the grocery store, i was telling her how green smoothies are all the rage in blog world and how it's like a regular smoothie but with added kale or spinach to make it a little healthier. she said 'whenever they add vegetables to smoothies, i think it tastes like mud.' (or something). i triedd to tell her that everyone says they're delicious and you can't taste the hidden stuff.

anyway it turns out that you don't taste it at all. i used curly kale so it didn't want to completely blend.. (and i have limited patience to wait for the blender to completely liquify..) but it was really tasty. majjy made a smoothie of strawberries, frozen pineapple, blueberries and yogurt tonight. it was delicious. i couldn't talk her into adding kale though.

and thenn for dinner, i made smitten kitchen's ratatouille for the first time, with a mandolin bought expressly for that purpose.

it was fun to slice everything and layer it. she created the recipe based on the ratatouille in the movie. really yummy on top of cous cous. i used cotija cheese instead of goat cheese (not in the picture), and it was delicious. 

yoga tomorrow! and i'm closing my bank of america account. they're charging me a monthly fee now that i'm not a student. good riddance.