Where In The World Wednesday

I love this idea (an idea I got from Classy in Philadelphia) for two reasons: a) last week I turned 30 (yay!) and I realized that I have only stepped on the soil of 15 countries. That may seem like a high number to most, but to someone who HAS to show up to work every single day because I practically use up all of my vacation and personal days before I earn them, that number is very small; and b) because when I originally started this blog, I wanted to focus on writing about my travels. So far, I only have this one lonely post about my first night in Thailand and I only have myself to blame for that. Where in the World Wednesday is very simple. To partake, all you have to do is post a picture of yourself someplace in the world. It doesn't have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. It just has to be a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling. Sweet. I'm in!

I am going to start this off with 2 photos from my most recent venture in Thailand again for two reasons: a) because you can't tell where my boyfriend and I are in the photo below just by looking at it and, b) because I am insanely excited about this new feature and had a hard enough time narrowing down the country to choose images from much less the photo.

In the photo to the left, my boyfriend and I were on a 2 week trip to Thailand to partake in his best friend's wedding. This photo was taken on the morning of our 1 year anniversary while watching the sunrise on the beach in front of our hotel on Ko Samui, an island in the Gulf of Thailand. We were there for five days following our friend's wedding in Yasothorn. I wouldn't have wanted to be there with anyone else. I love this man with all of my heart and am incredibly grateful everyday to be his girlfriend.

This second photo was also taken on Ko Samui. Later that day, we rented scooters and drove to the other side of the island and rode elephants! Riding an elephant was the #1 "must do" item on my list. I was about as excited as and the 8km ride there seemed like it took an eternity. I thought scooters were faster than that. I guess not. Contrary to what most think, elephants do not stink like barnyard animals. In fact, they were surprisingly clean and didn't smell much like anything. Their skin is extremely soft (I thought it would feel tough and wrinkly) and they are so sweet and massive. It is easy to see how they earned their nickname, gentle giants.

Tomorrow, I head to D.C. to see my little brother accept his Master's Degree. I am excited as I have never seen cherry blossoms and they are in full bloom right now!

Six Months, Six Dresses - Dress #1

I stole this idea from Georgia over at The State That I Am In who got the idea from Kyla Roma who is trying to give her wardrobe a feminine overhaul over the next six months. I, myself, have been caught in a state of limbo between girly girl and tomboy for most of my life. I don't wear make up or do my hair all fancy on a daily basis, and I certainly do not wear things like high heels unless it is absolutely necessary, but I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a tomboy. I think I am pretty girly overall, but I could stand to beef up my wardrobe a bit and give myself a more polished look on a daily basis. I often wear yoga pants, t-shirts, and sneakers to the office which is very comfortable but is not very professional. I know this and yet I can only seem to break away from this for a few days before I fall right back into my comfortable, sporty style. Sporty. That's a much nicer word to substitute for the phrase "somewhat sloppy." So, here begins my stint to girly up my wardrobe.

Dress #1: Layered Commotion Dress
Condition: New
Purchased at: Francesca's Collections
Cost: $34

Last Day As A 20-Something

Today is the last day I will be able to enter 29 as my age on the treadmill at the gym. Happy (almost) birthday to me!

Grilling Out

When I moved to Chicago in 2005 I didn't know that it snowed. Well, that is not entirely accurate. I knew that it snowed, but I figured that snow was romantic and fluffy like it is in the movies. I thought it would cover the city in a soft, white blanket and I would be able to twirl in the park as the snowflakes danced down from the sky and onto my eyelashes. Oops.

Five winters later I am beginning to understand why people from the Midwest get so excited at the prospect of a 60 degree day. 60 degrees was an unimaginable cold in southern California, but I now find myself wishing for 30 degree days in the wintertime. While I can safely say that I will never love winter, I can say that I do love the changing of the seasons because every season comes with something that is indicative to that season that I look forward to. In the fall, I look forward to apple picking and pumpkin flavored food. In the winter, I look forward to snowboarding and baking Christmas cookies. In the spring, I look forward to my first outdoor run of the season and fresh fruits, and in the summer, I look forward to laying out in the sun and grilling.

The thing I love the most about grilling is that the simplest ingredients marry together into explosive flavor combinations. Take, for example, the photo to your left. 5 scallions tossed in extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Grill for about 5 minutes. You can eat them on their own or as an addition to tacos. They tend to be stringy and can be a little hard to manage if you place them whole in a taco so you might want to cut them into pieces if you care about maintaing proper table manners. Simple. Quick. Healthy. Delicious.

The same can be said for the photo on the right. 3 ears of corn still in the husk. Place on grill for about 20-25 minutes. Note: The cooking time may vary depending on the size of your corn and the temperature of your grill. We use a gas grill and set the heat to medium. I don't know how this would translate to a charcoal grill, but we just got one this weekend so I will test that out and update accordingly. Cool. Peel. Enjoy!

Seriously, can it get any simpler than that? I don't think so. I like to squeeze fresh lime juice and sprinkle salt and pepper on my corn, but you can enjoy this plain as well. Grilling them in the husk keeps the kernels brightly colored and crisp and gives them a nice overall earthy flavor. The best part of this is that it keeps very nicely unrefrigerated and can be enjoyed the next day for lunch. I like it room temperature. Microwaves freak me out so I try to avoid them at all costs, but I would assume you could heat these up the next day in the microwave. If you wet the husks and leave them intact, I would imagine they would steam as you heated them up, but I have no idea how successful that would be since I haven't tried it.

Tonight's menu will consist of grilled chicken, grilled pineapple, brown rice, steamed broccoli, and grilled romaine (something I have been wanting to try and that I am hoping resembles roasted brussels sprouts).