Soul of a Lion: food

Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

I am finally getting to this South Africa post! I was based mostly in Johannesburg during my time ,so therefore all of my exploits were in that city. SA was unlike anything I had previously experienced.. In terms of Africa, I had only gotten the chance to explore the more, western countries, so everything in SA was a breath of fresh air. It was beautiful to see so many people of different ethnicities and backgrounds. SA is a place that I could definitely myself coming back to for the long-term.

As you can probably assume from the title, I don't want to insult your intelligence here, but my Labor Day weekend was spent in Virginia Beach, Norfolkish Virginia. Let me just tell you, the fact that I am paying a hefty out-of-state tuition is ridiculous compared to the fact that it took us about 4+ hours to get to another side of Virginia and I live about an hour and a half from my school. I don't understand why I'm paying so much money and I live closer! What a topic for another day, onto the adventure of Norfolk. We stayed at this really modern hotel we actually stayed in last weekend, we liked it so much we continued the chain down south. The ride there was partially stressful because of my mother's navigational skills, or lack thereof haha but that's why these things are called adventures. In any case, we finally got there and were trying to decide where to get dinner; I miraculously remembered this amazing place everybody in my school's always talking about, raving about their quality food and cheap prices. The thing about Cookout is it's only a southern chain, like Waffle House, and us Marylanders don't get that shit. So I completely hopped on that horse, ironically it was only 10 minutes from our hotel, it was fate I'll tell you. It was cool food, I don't know if I'd kill someone for it, but it wasn't disappointing, plus the dirt prices can't be complained about! The next day we spent at the beach all day, my kid brother and I being the only ones actually venturing in the water, my mother did set aside her anxieties for a little bit though, it was a proud moment for us.

xxoo missusmonroe

I think I love birthdays more than the celebrant does, I mean really get into it. One of my close friends' birthday was today and we surprised her at dinner, her reaction was pretty magnificently priceless. I've experienced many variations of foods and have dabbled in the foods of different ethnicities but I have never had Lebanese food! That is until tonight, it was Lebanese/Mediterranean and y'know technically it wasn't even that ethnic because it wasn't apart of their original dishes but it was still an experience. As you can see from the photos, the food is so very photogenic and tastes as great as it looks.

xxoo missusmonroe

Missguided crop, DIY jeans, Juju maxi Jellies

I planned a mini vacation in Brooklyn for the past weekend. I stayed with some family. It was freeing and comfortable to take a break from my continuous summer work. When I arrived in BK, it no longer contained a sense of alienation and foreign land. I felt at peace. I wouldn't say that I felt as comfortable as I do when I'm in DC but it was close. I had the greatest time visiting friends and of course catching up with family.

While I was there, I felt myself thinking about "adulthood" and what it means to really be do things by yourself in the world. I understand that when you are in college, there is a certain level of adulthood. However, I refer to that experience as "supervisory adulthood" because even in that experience, there is a sort of "bubble" setting. It's a setting that plays a proxy of the real world but doesn't quite make the mark. The real world is very different and very big compared that of a sheltered setting. I would like to think that I am ready for what that entails but I think that in life there is a certain level of unexpectedness that you can't study, prepare or train towards. And I think that it is in those moments that you have to grab life by the horns and hang tight. Hopefully, I'll learn how to enjoy the ride.

Best,

Sade

Yesterday I celebrated one of my dear friends' birthday at an Italian family restaurant Carmine's. I will never be going there again because of their dinner style, large portions that have to be split between people but only a maximum of like five but you can't split the check and exception exception exception. The chicken Parmesan was literally just chicken, pay extra if you would like pasta but oh yeah, the price of the four chicken breasts alone was $30... I didn't even take a picture of my food for goodness sake. Needless to say, they won't be seeing me again.

xxoo missusmonroe

I went out with a friend to grab sushi! We were each other's "dates," since our other friends all had valentines. This title is kind of a joke because I am 102% sure that I have never recognized Valentine's day in my past years except for eating the heart-shaped candies that my little siblings brought home from school. I so vividly remember those Valentine's Day cards that our third-grade teachers made us make for our fellow classmates. I remember my first puppy love "crush." I made sure I gave him a card with a hand-made heart and my oh-so-cool signature. I would give him the occasional eye when he wasn't looking in my direction. Fast forward to now, I still find myself sneaking looks at attractive men for the eye candy and nothing else. These are just a few snapshots of how I spent my valentine's Day.

Hope you all had a great one!

Je vous Embrasse,
Sade

Mushroom ravioli with Vodka Blush sauce

Grilled salmon with vegetables

Carrying on with this "to live" series, I figured the above picture would compliment it quite nicely. Please visit my last post, if slightly confused. I think that another definition of living is breathing. What do I mean by that? Living is to breathe in all the experiences and sights and sounds that come with all the events of life. To breathe is to immerse yourselves in the experiences that you take part in like you are a foreigner in a new country with little language proficiency. To live is to breathe it all in..

On a technical note (aside from my philosophical theories), A few friends and I went out to eat earlier this week. My semester just started on the 27th, so it was a nice way to go into the semester. It was a good break from the mediocre college food that I was eating when living with my older brother. Socially, I find myself more willing to go out and participate in social activities than before. It seems to be more of a balancing act between academic, psychological and social life. When I say psychological, I mean that I've learned to take time out for myself and get some "me time." I've learned over time that at the end of the day, it is you who runs your life and makes the major decisions. Therefore, it is essential to have some time to yourself to either debrief, breakdown, relax and so on. That part to me is so important. Although, I am a self-proclaimed extrovert; I don't mind retreating to a hermit shell for a few days if it means a sound mind. Overall, I have been holding up. I feel a bit behind in my academic work (I know it is the first week), so I'll have to spend some time catching up. In order news, I feel good about this upcoming semester! I hope all is well on your end.

****In better news, I got to see my dear Lola the other day at a social function****

xoxo Je vous Embrasse,

Sade

Coincidentally, the title above had a significant role in the festivities of today. NO, don't get ahead of yourself, I am not involved in illegal substances as such and I can certainly say the same for Sade. Haha, maybe if I expand you'll get the grand picture. What feels like forever ago, but was in actuality just a few weeks ago, I was able to play catch-up with one of my favorite teachers from High School. If you remember the alumni day post, I briefly had a heart-to-heart and we agreed lunch one day would be glorious. After relaying everything to Sade she also agreed literally nothing would be more entertaining~ you'd have to know our French teacher to truly understand. After an eye-straining, carpal tunnel forming week of planning this thing it actually came together.

It was great for me *sade speaking* because I wasn't quite able to visit my former teachers over the break.

You may be wondering why I'm making such a big deal out of this ~so wut getting together for lunch? And? That's where knowing my teacher comes into play. Our French teacher is the most quirky, disoriented, funny, wild, strict, spatially-challenged woman on this planet. She's the type of woman to retell a story about a druggie student dying of laughter at "well, if you stopped smoking dope you'd know Tuesday comes after Monday!" part of the story claiming she could never say that. The type of woman to push you to the abilities you didn't even know you possessed, academically and simply in life. She's also the type of woman who has almost no spatial reasoning and is so unaware of her surroundings that she must memorize random things like a Taco Bell near a turn to be able to navigate or else she will get lost on her way home, like last week.

All this frothing at the mouth just to say for today to have come together as wonderfully as it did was a miracle. It was so fun to drive with her all the way to COLLI PARK (College Park for those of you out of a loop) to meet Sade for lunch. *I interrupt your regular reading to inform you Sade forced me into eating at a Vegan restaurant today people of the world. You guys know I love my Parmesan crusted chicken! I swear, only for this child.*

We talked about any and everything today and I think I can speak for both of us that we re-realized how wise this woman is. Truly special.

xxoo missusmonroe and Sade