Dear Friends...

'dear friends, let me tell you how i feel. you have given me such pleasure. i love you so.'

i'm so happy and excited to announce that i will be moving to my favorite little town of fells point as of jan 1.  so until then i must save every penny (almost) to give to the lovely smiley landlord on that day.  because it's already december this saddens me that i can not give monetary gifts this year.  i love my friends so much that this year for christmas, my friends that are closest to my heart will get a love letter from me.  (most of you will also get some homemade fudge because i'm obsessed with giving people sugar rushes)

i'm sorry i can't buy anyone anything expensive, but this will be from my heart to yours.  this year has been quite a self realizing journey and all of you helped me find pieces of myself.  you deserve to know how amazing you are.  and since i feel like love letters are fading to the technology of today (sexting...really?), i hope you all appreciate a piece of me as well.  <3

Decorating Fun!

I saw this idea on a design blog (and I'd put in a link here, but I have no clue which one) and I decided that when I got bored I'd do it.  So I had this $20 white lacquer table from Ikea.  (The rest of my furniture is painted or vintage looking except for this boring table.)  I had left over lace from my Halloween costume and some lavender spray paint I had used to redecorate my tack board.  First I had to "bandaide" the imperfections with hot glue and then wash the table down.  I covered the table in the lace pretty tight and took it out back for a little makeover and wa-la!  Below are the pics!  So fun and easy to do :)

10 things...

10 things that make me HAPPY (right now):

1- Watching my cats react to catnip
2- I've really been on a tea kick lately yum!!
3- Fall weather creeping in
4- Honesty and Reassurance (what a lovely, new feeling)
5- The women of Eden (without you I'd go insane)
6- Fresh apples (an apple a day, apple cider, apple pie, apple crisp... ugh)
7- The scheduling stages of getting a tattoo!! (i'm sure there will be a photo shoot for this one)
8- Unexpected compliments that make me feel amazing about myself (thank you!)
9- This is a bit embarrassing to admit, but cracking up by myself over LOLcats (seriously)
10- The new Maroon 5 song 'Moves Like Jagger' (so catchy!)

What are you happy about?

Happiness is viral

Oops!  Has it really been almost 2 months since I've posted.. slacker, I know.  So, I had off of work today and decided to try to focus my brain on my writing.  I wrote 2 paragraphs for each of my stories.  Now that's accomplishment!  (For me)

I was looking through some of my journals and realized that last year and the better part of winter of this year, I wrote some really crappy stuff.  And by crap, i really mean doodie.  I was in a dark lonely hole of depression mainly due to a spurt of bad luck and it left me really tired of myself.  I realized this year is completely different.  I don't know how I got myself out of it, but I turned my frown upside down! 

Recently, I'm learning a lot about myself and finally feeling I'm where I'm supposed to be in this moment right now.  I've learned so much about patience the last few weeks, a lot about focus and relaxation (which are both very hard for me), and how to appreciate the things that most people take for granted.  I feel like all of my relationships are better, except a few that I've realized are bad for me so I keep my distance now. 

I'm really happy with myself and my life right now.  Regardless of what happens or what's to come, it's all in the way I accept it.  Just breathe.  And happiness is viral too!  If you are happy, you can make others happy.  If you have a negative bitching attitude, you'll make others mad at you and bitch too.  So turn around and thank yourself for the amazing things you can do :)

I'm going to start a new photo project.  30 days of photography.  Hopefully I'll head it up soon, just have to buy more instax film and gather thoughts.  It'll be fun, I promise!  New shit coming soon...

Keep Calm and...

To boost the moral of the British residents during World War deuce, there were 3 posters created in the event of an invasion.  The last of them read "Keep Calm and Carry On."  When I was in a shop and came across an adorable little plaque with this saying, I knew I had to get it tattooed on my body (after I did proper research of course).  Not only do I love the whole story behind it, but I find myself using it as a personal mantra in my own times of anxiety and frustration.  Much like Monsieur Bob Marley and his "Don't Worry, Be Happy," I think we can all take an example from great people who set the way and understand how we can 'learn' to be happy or carry on. 

I've always tried to be the positive person, the helpful friend, the compassionate soul.  We can't always fill these shoes, so when I accepted that I couldn't change other people, let alone help them if that was not what they wanted, I looked inside myself.  I am now at my happiest despite the little things I'm currently working on to change in my own life.  There's no need to hold a grudge, to hate, to worry.  If something's going to happen, then so be it.  You have the power to change yourself, your clothes, maybe the toilet paper roll, but you can not change much else.  I've seen it happen all around me. 

So, whatever your mantra is, whatever your situation in life/love/pursuit of anything is, say it and do it with happiness.  Not everyone can be happy all the time, but if everyone forgot about their worries and kept on truckin towards their goals I think the world would be a much happier place at the very least.

So keep calm...and have a cupcake.  (Those always make me happy!)

Speaking of which, I stumbled across a lovely cupcake truck called Iced Gems parked outside the Bagby building on Fleet St. at noon every single Friday.  Last Friday, I splurged and got a half dozeen of a mix that included turtle, chocolate lava, elizabeth (a must try), and some others.  I know what you're thinking and NO, I DID NOT EAT ALL 6.  At least not in the same day.  The sweetheart of a server assists with a smile that makes you want to visit her every time (or maybe it's the quality and display of those cupcakes).  Either way, go check them out!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/icedgemsbaking/112386495452321

Fells Point Farmers Market

Hey guess what?!  Fells Point finally has their own Farmers Market!  Yippeeee!!  My amazingly talented marketing friend Merritt (who you probably already know) runs the market every Saturday until November 12th in the Broadway Square from 7:30am (if you're an early bird) until noon (if you're lazy like me and want to sleep in). 

Not only do they have fresh produce from local farms in Maryland (and

their adorable workers who help you decifer the difference between kelp and nori), but they also have tons of handmade /homemade crafts, jewelry, baked goods (featuring some tasty vegan goodies too!), healthy doggie treats, and more.  The apples today were bigger than my fist and so juicy, it sort of took me back to when I was a little girl and my grandparents took me to an orchard.  I got to climb a tree and pick an apple.  I ate it right there and even then I remembered how sweet and fresh it was.  Yum! 

Please wake up at a reasonable time next Saturday, skip your cartoons and your breakfast, and stop by Richard's tent for his amazing baked goods that are, as he puts it, little pieces of heaven in your mouth.  And he's sooo right!  There's coffee too.  Oh, and pickles.  Yes, pickles.  Some of the local business like Javaroo and Bonaparte even get out there to sell and advertise.  Go meet them!

It's a real treat for Fells Pointers to finally have a market in their own neighborhood instead of trucking it through the busy city streets for the one underneath the 83 overpass...ugh!  What an awesome Saturday!

http://www.fellspointmainstreet.org/

like them on facebook!  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fells-Point-Farmers-Market/177166742337662?ref=ts&sk=wall

"May I Have Some More?"

So, In June a new restaurant opened up in the Eden building on Aliceanna St. in Harbor East.  My friends and I were so darn overly excited that we couldn't wait to try the food, let alone the lemoncello!  Chazz: A Bronx Original is owned by the sons Sergio and Alessandro Vitale of Aldo's in Little Italy.  The backer/inspiration?  Yea, that'd be their godfather (hehe), Chazz Palminteri who sometimes decides to rear his famous Bronx behind in the restaurant and around town. 

The decor is really something.  Stone and brick everywhere; it's really amazing to watch things being built up from a cement room to an actual functioning restaurant.  The menu; however, is still not complete.  The service is pretty lacking too, unfortunately, but the food was excellent.  I started with not one, but two glasses of an apricot bubbly.  We had the fried cheese (seriously) to start and I never ever wanted to stop.  It was the best thing since sliced bread, for real.  Actually, even the bread was delicious and I forced them to bring out another basket so I could continue to scarf some with my main dish.  I ordered the caprese pasta, which is basically a fancy way of saying yummy glorified spaghetti though I knew I needed it in my belly.  After dinner, we were so spent I thought if I ate anything else, I would have to run home and change into sweat pants and an extra large t-shirt instead of my cute little summer dress.  It wouldn't be pretty.



Yea...eat these.  Do it.



But no, we couldn't stop there.  There was dessert.  Comped dessert (which believe me, it tasted even better free).  A huge cannoli and tiramisu, traditional yes, but absolutely heavenly!  To end our Chazz experience, we received a complimentary toast of lemoncello which was pretty darn dangerous and I would've had another and another and another.  All in all, we had great food, but wasn't completely impressed by the entire package.  What's cool about Chazz is they have an anitpasti station and an awesome pizza bar, so instead of paying a mortgage for spaghetti, I think I'll relax and watch the muscle man flip me some pizzas or sugary fried dough.  YES PLEASE!!  ;)

lemoncello!  deliciosity at it's finest!

~ginger~







To-do: Find Inspiration in the Little Things

I was thinking the other day about how much I love making lists.  Usually they sum up to the work to-dos, or which restaurants I'd like to try next, but recently I made a list of things I absolutely can not without a doubt live without.  My somewhat inspiration if you will.

  

- coffee, a given
- a few pieces of chocolate each and every day

- photography (the good stuff)
- a well-balanced meal (and by balanced, i mean any kind of deliciousness i can shove in my mouth paired with a hearty beverage)
- craft time (as in, yes, i'm still in pre-k)
- nap time (reference above)
- in-depth conversations preferrably over something good to eat, i.e. gelato, or sitting on the corner of Aliceanna and Broadway drinking natty bohs at Todd Connor's trying to figure out the puzzle on the cap
- life changing, mood making music
- rory cat, the spaz

 - very good friends
- fried food (bad i know, but who cares, it's all so tasty!)
- hand-written notes <3 <3 

These things and more help make my life complete.  What inspires you?

~ginger~

So let's dish...

Shall we?  Well, I don't have much of an adventurous palette, but when I'm out and about in Baltimore, you better believe I have my mouth full of some kind of (probably fried) goodness.  It is honestly one of my favorite past times to just wander around and sample the food at the local bars and restaurants (albeit gourmet or divey).  Some of the most wonderful finds are around Fells Point, Canton, Mount Vernon, and Federal Hill, all Baltimore hot spots if you ask me.  Although I am willing to venture to the county from time to time.  :)

Fells Point is my absolute favorite place to be.  My friend calls me a "lifer", and he says it like it's a bad thing!  It's home of some of the diamonds in the rough, and you can find some great reviews on Yelp if you don't believe me!  (samio.yelp.com)---> shameless plug?

My first victim has to be, drum roll please.... Sticky Rice (and no pun intended).  I just ate here for the first time (can you believe that?) the other day and I have to admit that I was skeptical.  I mean, right down the street from great sushi like RA and Nanami, do we really need another sushi restaurant in Fells Point?  I guess I had bad feelings towards the bar it used to be, but the bar it is now is AWESOME!  Since my taste buds literally go into combat if I even tongue a spicy flavor, I opted for the shrimp avocado roll which was on their specials menu.  Yes, how boring can I be, right?  But it had this sweet flavor to it with shrimp in the roll and out!  My favorite thing, and this will keep me coming in, was their sweet potato tots with homemade honey ranch dipping sauce.  I was simply a happy camper!  TOTS!

Their menu has a ton to choose from including noodle dishes, sushi, sandwiches and salads, tempura dishes, etc.  To add tots to the menu, I really think they knew I was coming.  Also, Sticky Rice has karaoke on Tuesday nights!  Not that I'd be the one to belt out any kind of melody, but there are some natives who tend to take things a bit seriously.  Not only did we turn it into an awesome dance party, but there are at least 6 mics so you don't feel obligated to master 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' all by your lonesome.  Definitely something NOT to miss!

~ginger~