4.

this just in: the gin blossoms rule supreme and the combination of blizzard aftermath and lack of money suck. tomorrow i am going to go somewhere, and do something! (i tried to go to the salvation army, but it was closed. i though nyc was all about perseverance, so why is everyone staying in because of some snow?) anyway, here is what i have been doing these past two days...

(first batch of ice cream. success!)

i made a coconut based vanilla ice cream with strawberry chunks for my first attempt. it turned out quite well i think! next time i am going to try 100% straight coconut milk, and less vanilla. i'm also very excited about the flavour i am going to make! surprise!

(yesterday's dinner, today's dinner and snack. tomorrow's dinner as well)

my current work situation is unfortunate, so i have to try and eat cheaply, while still trying to maintain some health, so i bought some brown rice and black beans from work on sunday. thankfully there is some food in the fridge to spruce it up, though it's dwindling and after tomorrow will be non-existent. boo. what you are looking at is brown rice with so little coconut milk you can smell but not taste, black beans with garlic and onion, sauteed "sausage," mushroom, onion, garlic, cherry tomato, and kale, topped off with a dallop of salsa. yummy.

(the before picture...)

despite my sadness at the salvation army being closed, i was delighted to remember that i had bought a dress when i first got to nyc that was much too large for me. although it's not really a winter dress, it gives me something to do during the winter! i don't have all the tools i need, or the necessary skills, but i'll make it a little better at least!

being stuck inside because of the snow and my lack of money is really driving me bonkers, especially because of the added lack of food... so tomorrow i am going to go out and do something! (more than just walk to the store or frolic in the snow) it was nice to read, sleep in, and get a few things done, but now it's getting old and even making me lazy!

and before i go, let me just say that everyone, and i mean EVERYONE, should read "eating animals" by jonathan safran foer... and i'm not even trying to push vegetarianism on anyone (okay, not completely) it's just that necessary!

xo

tara

ps. i really want to move somewhere (portland!?) and open an ice cream/food/something truck/stand/restaurant!!!!

3.

boxing day, nyc 2010: i grew up around a lot of snow, but i have to say that i can't remember a time when i've ever had as much trouble outside as i did tonight. maybe it was because i was a kid and kids don't get phased, or maybe it's because i wasn't pushing a rusty steel bike over snow drifts, or maybe i've just never walked home in a blizzard before. growing up in canada i've also never experienced a "snow day" but tonight my work closed early because of the snow, and for the first time ever, i envisioned my sidewalk death being not the result of a robbery, white-van-kidnapping, or careless driver, but by being engulfed in snow, unable to move. for a minute, i didn't think my bike or i would make it home... but somehow we managed, laughing the whole way.

(this is the view i would have seen, if i could have seen anything)

(this is what i actually "saw")

to celebrate our winter wonderland victory against mother nature, mia and i drank cinnamon spiced hot chocolate with vegan marshmallows and watched "exit through the gift shop" - both very enjoyable in very different ways. i also rambled on about the dreams currently twirling around in my brain... ice cream truck/cart/shop... vegetarian restaurants complete with backyard chickens... doing shit right... taking the fact that i have no experience to offer anybody, so maybe i'll just hire myself. no experience necessary (just some practice).

... we'll see how my first batch turns out tomorrow (coconut milk strawberry)

xo

2.

while xmas 2010 won't go down in the history books, it was not un-enjoyable or miserable (which was really all i could ask for). I slept in, drank orange juice, played clue, got some good presents, ate a good meal that was easy to prepare (leftovers), and watched a mediocre rom-com with dandee. spending the holidays alone is not ideal, but this is the first time in a long time where i didn't feel any disappointment because i didn't have any expectations. that's a pretty fucked up sentence if you think about it, but on the bright side, you can put it on my ever-growing list of realizations of what's important and how to deal with life. high hopes for next year and the years to come though! horrah!

noteworthy presents include:

- an ice cream maker and "the vegan scoop cookbook". tomorrow or the next day i am going to make vanilla, and once i get that tasting right i will move on to bigger and better flavours. ie: thai iced tea!

- a sewing book that includes some patterns (not anything i'd wear really, but i'm sure it will help). i need another trip to the fabric store before i can do much, and an iron, both of which i will check off the list soon. first things first: really simple black dress (since i now own no clothes)

- an apron. always i am complaining of my apron-less body chopping and cooking in the kitchen, and mourn the loss of my much-loved apron that fell victim to the clutches of 816, and then mia went and put an end to all my misery by giving me a beautiful apron for giftmas. lucky!

- i gave mia the book "eating animals" by jonathan safran foer, which thrills me because i am reading it first and enjoying it thoroughly. it's one of those books that i would highly recommend to everyone, and that i would like to pleasantly force on some. read it.

and that's that. tomorrow i'll pack up the tree until next year. 2011 is on the horizon and i can't fucking wait... adios 2010, you sucked!

xo tara

(dandee and the presents. the unwrapped ones are for my mom. i fail at mail)

(easy to prepare. still delicious)

1.

a) it is 3:41 am on the 23rd of december, 2010

b) my name is tara susan anley

c) i am tired

d) i am twenty four (and a half)

e) i have lived in brooklyn, ny for almost four months

f) i took the amtrak for three days to get here from san francisco

g) i work two jobs. one is good, the other, not so much

h) neither pays enough

i) there is a christmas tree in my house for the first time in six years

j) i am currently reading the diving bell and the butterfly

k) i am going to read ulysses in 2011

l) one of my only possessions in brooklyn is a sewing machine

m) i am going to make pretty clothes to replace all the ones i left on the west coast

n) i think nyc is a good place to visit, but not so much for living

o) i am thinking about portland, but these days, nothing is for sure

p) "even though you have a broken heart, both pieces are inside of you"

q) my perfect vacation is to drive around america, stopping for good food and wooden coasters

r) i want this blog to document adventures, crafts, and tasty morsels

s) i am on season five of friends

t) i worry about death a lot, and i often feel like my heart might stop

u) i am working on chilling the funk out

v) my mom is the best ever

w) i am canadian

x) i do not like bell peppers

y) i kicked a girl's tooth out once

z) welcome to my life