Portable Pizzeria

I stumbled across a really neat blog today called Joe's Daily and found this amazing fella with his own customized food truck:

Yep, I'm not kidding; Jon Darsky, owner and creator of Del Popolo, worked with designers to custom make his mobile pizzeria work on a heavy-duty delivery truck!

He just wanted to bring all of San Francisco a little of this:

YUM! Makes my mouth water. Very fresh, veryyy italian pizza made in a minute. Literally, his oven is so hot, it cooks the pizza in one minute!! Check it out {http://www.delpopolosf.com/}

Blackened Chicken

It's been much too long since my friends and I have been able to have our weekly dinner – so sad! I even had a scrumptious must-try to make for us last week... I ended up cooking it for just me and my roommate. It was anything but sad though- super delicious in fact! I found the recipe for a blackened chicken with lime-cilantro quinoa (here) and had been saving it to try cooking quinoa for the first time! 

Things I did different :

I wasn't able to find quinoa at the grocery store that day, so I resorted to simple brown rice

I added some chopped, sauteed onions to the rice (cause I love the flavor of onions)

I completely forgot the ingredients for the avocado spread - so we used Greek yogurt (I think it's a decent substitute for sour cream)

 ...and voila – I call it fiesta chicken!!

Gobble gobble gobble

Thanksgiving at home was simply divine! I love spending time with my family... especially over a delicious meal!

My baby Nikki!

THE BEST: Christmas Ale before dinner

salad, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and corn bread= perfect turkey day meal!

finish it off with peanut butter pie YUMMY

Love that I am near the lake at home... its beautiful no matter the weather!

Decorating before heading back to Columbus!

Dad, Michael, and Mom

Did you have a fulfilling Thanksgiving!? What were you thankful for?

 First, I am so incredibly thankful for my family and friends :) 

Second, I am thankful for my college experience that led me to an amazing job right after graduation!

Busy Weekend

Move in weekend was a success! Well, minus a few dirty blinds, and an unfinished bathroom. Other than that, I am so glad to be at the new place and aside from moving, it was an eventful weekend all around! My good friend Catie came up from Cinci to be my mom/boyfriend and help me move! I am so grateful for my friends... and this weekend I was especially grateful for her :) I also did a lot of things I wouldn't have done with out her there... like hanging a rod in my closet for extra clothes, thrifting some cheap frames and a table to spray paint, and eating at Bodega and Marcella's! Oh yeah — and I can't forget to mention the fall flea!! My first time at a flea market like that, with vintage clothes, little plants, and antiques. 
It was the perfect sunday afternoon.

Catie bought this awesome red scarf from my co-worker, Keli's booth! Super cute!

First time at Marcella's was delightful! We even got a seat next to the window... which I hear is very hard to come by there!

Inspirational

This video was upload about 2 months ago, so feel free to skip over if you've already heard of it and/or seen it, but if you have not seen the series one after the other — you must!!! It's inspiring, beautiful, and absolutely amazing! It makes me want to travel, experience cultures, learn new things, and eat things I wouldn't ordinarily eat! Check out Rick Mereki's fantastic work on Vimeo.

Fancy Friends #2

I can't believe I didn't blog about my two fancy friends from UD making moves, designing, cooking, etc! Adam and Ed collaborated towards the end of senior year to make a fun, easy cookbook directed towards college kids! Ed, an amazing cook, prepared all the meals according to what he would normally cook for his 5 roommates, with 10 ingredients, and made the meals in under 30 minutes — hence the name! He also provided the recipes and copy for the book, while Adam photographed the dishes for the book and designed the lay-out! 

Good work guys! I'm super proud of you — it looks amazing!!!! 

So, you all need to check it out and by yourself one :)

Click here to purchase one and click here to check it out on facebook!

Just another day...

I honestly can say I work at the most amazing office ever!!! Today we had a fun associate appreciation day filled with fancy hours' devours, classy drinks, casino fun, and my favorite... Dualing pianos!! What a way to turn a rainy Columbus day into a fun afternoon with coworkers! Check out some iPhone pics I snapped today :)

Columbus Wine Festival

Well, weekend wise, I am a week behind on keeping up with my blog, but hopefully this week I can straighten that out! The Columbus Wine Festival hosted by Giant Eagle was last weekend (August 27th) at the Conservatory! It was a warm and beautiful day, and I was lucky enough to have some wonderful visitors!! Three of my college roommates, and Erin's boyfriend, Mike! We all had so much fun, a little too much wine, but many memorable laughs! These are some of my favorite photos/memories from that weekend!

The Conservatory- Must go back and go inside!

Me, Alyssa, Catie, and Samantha

YUM

Reggae Wine tattoos

A little something in our tummies

He was quite the connoisseur 

Erin and Mike

Note to self: BUY!

Sunset

And it's evening!

Lucky Duck

I love making home-made pizza for friends and family! I recently made some delicious pizza for my roommate Erin and I. Using just a sandwich wrap for the crust, I whipped up a white sauce (olive oil, garlic, and italian seasoning) and topped it off with mozerella, goat cheese, and tomatoes! The other is regular red sauce (prego traditional pasta sauce) with three or four cheeses I found in the fridge (use what you like!). With our pizza, we had a glass of Lucky Duck Sauvignon Blanc (wonderfully smooth white wine!).

We topped the pizza off with parmigniano, and it was perfection!

Good Coffee, Better Company

Eggs Benedict (minus the hollandaise sauce) @SideBar in Dayton
ps. Side Bar will be coming to Columbus to soon ((can't wait!!))

There is only one thing better than iced coffee on a summer sunday... Great conversation with a side of iced coffee! That is exactly what I needed when I visited my friend Kelsey in Dayton (@SideBar)! We always have a thousand things to talk about and her being in Dayton makes it more convenient for us to meet and catch-up as opposed to talking on the phone. She's got a million and one things going on in her life so I love listening about all of her projects, ideas, and inspirations! She was in the graphic design program with me and is also a recent graduate of the University of Dayton. She is currently working at Crown Partners (http://www.crownpartners.com/) doing some awesome design work!
Cheers to lattes and macbooks :)

All things small

Simple joys of living on the lake

City of Cleveland in the distance

Meet my beautiful cousin Michelle! We celebrated that belly she is proudly showing off recently! I was able to go home for the baby shower and see some family, which is always lovely!

I believe she is due sometime in September and I cannot wait to meet the little guy! I'm lucky she's in Columbus with me, so I will be able to help out and babysit!

Beth, Michelle, Aunt Cindy, Mom, and Mrs. Buckley

I adore these earrings Beth! I love most feather jewelry! I recently bought an awesome feather necklace that I will post soon :)

The perfect ending to a perfect baby shower includes some delicious sweets— these cookies were hand made  by the hostess, and were a very nice touch considering Michelle is going with an animal theme for her baby boy's room!