lava cake

Kalli, one of my new friends in Boston, introduced Ben and I to lava cakes over the weekend, and I was instantly in love. I've had similar ones, but they involved putting truffles in the middle of each cake. This recipe makes more a fudgy cake batter, which when cooked has a nice and firm crust and then a gooey inside. Chocolate lovers beware!

Lave Cake
4 squares bakers semi-sweet baking chocolate
½ c butter
1 c powdered sugar
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
6 flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, butter 4 custard cups (or 6-8 ramekins), place on baking sheet. Microwave butter and chocolate on high for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted into butter. Stir in sugar and whisk eggs and egg yolks, then stir in flour. Divide batter between cups. Bake 13-15 minutes until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute then run a small knife around edges to loosen then turn over onto dessert dishes. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or fruit.

sense of accomplishment

I often talk with my best friend Jocelyn about how the small things in life really give us a sense of accomplishment. Like doing the laundry or staining the desk. Nothing feels better than working with your hands to get something done and then seeing the fruits of your labors. Even though I used to ask my mother "do I look I was built for manual labor" whenever she asked me to mow the lawn when I was a teenager, I now really appreciate the value of physical labor and the sense of accomplishment it brings.

I admit it; I love doing the laundry, doing the dishes, and cleaning the bathroom because after a few minutes you can see a real result. This morning I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, organized our small apartment, vacuumed, sharpened the knives, filed some important documents, baked bread, and started the laundry. It is also easier to love doing these chores when you live in a small apartment which literally takes 20 minutes to clean and you are only doing the laundry for two people. I know that it will get more time intensive when our family gets bigger, but I am truly grateful for my ability to keep our home clean and organized.

I know that it is in fashion to have a maid or someone to do your housework, but I don't want to ever stop caring for my home or taking care of my belongings. I love how good it feels to do something myself and see a positive result from work.

iso new hair stylist

With all the pains of moving, one of the things that I have felt the hardest (besides being so far from all my dear, dear friends) is realizing that I need to find a new hair stylist. And by find I mean find someone willing to learn how to highlight hair so that I can get free highlights. And someone to cut my hair.

I just can't bring myself to pay money for a haircut or highlights. A) I can't afford it. B) It is overpriced. And C) I hate paying for something that I can do myself. Highlighting and cutting hair isn't that hard. I have taught probably 15 people how to highlight hair. Now I just need to determine which of my new Boston friends has the inclination to highlight my hair and get free highlights in return.

Any takers?

my trophy wife days are over

Starting Monday my carefree days of pretending to be a trophy wife are officially over. My new job will entertain me instead of hulu, sewing, and a few new Boston friends during the day. Although I am incredibly thankful for a fantastic job in this economy, I will dearly miss the life of freedom that I have enjoyed these last few weeks. Here is a little of what I have done:

1. designed and sewed an adorable jacket: while out shopping with some new friends, we saw an adorable jacket at anthropology that we couldn't afford, but I was confident I could reproduce.

2. started weight lifting: even though I have never done this before, I have actually really enjoyed it so far. plus Ben is a great trainer.

3. explored Boston, the North End, and the Back Bay. nuff said.

4. took naps when I wanted, read lots of books, and caught up on some TV shows.

5. explored Cambridge, found the nearest public library, discovered a great discount fabric store, and tried to learn how to drive without getting lost. so far so good.

I will really miss my long days, but I am really looking forward to working in a great location in Boston with one of the best views. I guess working for the man has some advantages.

we moved

Since my husband is blessed enough to get into two Ivy League colleges in his life, we finally made the move to Boston last month. After quitting our jobs in DC, spending two fabulous weeks playing in Bulgaria and Rome, and then packing all our stuff, we made it to Boston. I promise to post more on our amazing vacation in Bulgaria, but for now I will share some highlights of our new city and home. 

After apartment hunting for days, we finally decided to live close to campus, and we are thrilled about our new apartment. It is beautiful, convenient, and I love being in Cambridge. We moved in last Saturday and spent the first few days literally just unpacking boxes and trying to get everything to fit. I am happy to say that everything did fit and our new apartment looks great. We still have a few pictures to hang, but it is really coming together. Ben even let me hang up the disco ball because, and I quote, "I love you, and you love the disco ball." I figure if I am cooking all the meals for two years, then I at least get to have a kitchen that makes me happy. And boy does this kitchen make me happy. For the first time we have a dishwasher and we really lucked out on the granite counter top!!!

After we finally unpacked everything, we decided to explore Boston on Saturday since the weather was perfect. We took the T into Boston and walked along the Freedom Trail to see most of the historic sites. We stopped by Fanueil Hall for lunch at Wagamamas and then walked to the North End for amazing Italian pastries. On our way back we found an open air market and bought a week's worth of veggies for $5.  The prices were incredible!

Ben is off enjoying school, so for the meantime I am pretending that I am a trophy wife (when in reality I am looking for jobs, not spending money and definitely not lounging by any pool). I do love my new neighborhood, especially being so close the the river. Boston is a beautiful city and reminds me a lot of DC.