central new york tourism (2 of 2)

Good morning beautifuls, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I dressed up as a Jack O'Lantern last night and drank a tad too much celebratory Ithaca beer. I hope you were able to celebrate and enjoy yourself :). Today shall be a productive work day and tonight, I'm going to be the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree, letters and all. But let's not get carried away with plans, I haven't finished telling you about the weekend with my Mom...

Upon leaving Skaneateles we stopped at a liquor store to buy a bottle of local wine and sample a few whites. There were only two open bottles, both exquisite. Still, we made sure to clean our palate's in between with the most wonderful pieces of toast with a goat cheese and eggplant tapenade.

The sky had become cloudy again by this time so we went on our way to dinner. Problem was, we weren't sure where exactly we were going, and instead ended up looking for halloween costumes.

That didn't last long though, there wasn't much selection and I was worried that if we got to the restaurant too late that they wouldn't be able to seat us. I hadn't made a reservation. Problem is, we were still lost, so my Mom and I stopped in this adorable knick-knack store to see if they knew how to get there.

The storekeeper had no idea, so we thanked him and looked around to kill another half an hour. Little did we know that he had gone to the back, looked up our destination on Google, and printed it out for us. Ah, the kindness of strangers. Both of us were so surprised when he brought it out to us.

Once we hit the corn fields we knew we were getting close :) our dinner destination was Elderberry Pond Farm. You may remember the boy and I going last semester?

My mom and I were the first ones to discover it and since then, have told the world. After having a mono-like virus sophomore year for about two weeks she came up to make sure I was alright, and I had my first real meal here. It was and is, absolutely spectacular, an evolving menu with the freshest ingredients.

To begin I had a bowl of the butternut squash soup with crème fraîche and my mom enjoyed the same in a cup. As you can see, it was beautiful, and please believe me when I tell you it was equally as delicious.

Are you my mother? Lucky me :).

For some odd reason my appetite was off and I just ordered an appetizer. I had their signature crab cakes on a bed of fresh greens and homemade roasted red peppers. 'Twas delightful.

My momma, however, was quite hungry so she ordered a full meal. I'll have you know that when our meal was served, she turned to me and literally said, "ha-ha, I got squash." because I had just finished telling her how much I loved it. Too funny. There were also roasted mashed red potatoes and grilled halibut... don't worry I helped her eat it, she let me ;).

To end our wonderful meal we each ordered a small pot of tea, mint for me, and split dessert. My mom and I had one of the dessert specials of the day, an apple pear crumble a la mode. Mmmm.

I don't like the "all in moderation" phrase. I think that there are certain things one shouldn't eat, and I know that there are particular things I don't eat, but I do think that a well-deserved homemade treat is worth it every once and while. The sweet ending, delightful beginning, and lovely company made for one of my favorite meals to date.

As I've said in the past, I highly recommend this restaurant, it never fails to provide a memorable and tasty experience. Now it is back to that to-do list, wow-e. Whatever you do for the rest of your day and night, have a fun, safe, and happy one. Take care!

central new york tourism (1 of 2)

Hi friends, thank you for your kind words yesterday. These past two weeks have been pretty crazy but I really will be alright. I promise not all of it has been bad! Remember when I mentioned that I'd had a Mommy weekend? Are you ready to hear about it? I know I am :).

It all began on Saturday morning. We awoke bright and early to a hearty morning meal at the bed & breakfast. Soon after we stopped by my school and then headed west to Auburn, New York.

Also the hometown of the Art Nouveau stained glass artist, L.C. Tiffany, son of the founder of Tiffany & Co. The houses and churches we looked at were beautiful, although it appears as though I forgot to take photos.

We didn't stay long though, I wanted to head over to the picturesque town of Skeneatelas, but my mother's growling tummy had something else in mind.

Angelo's apparently ;). For some odd reason there were very few places open, it was either pizza or bar food, which meant that we each had a slice with as much veggies as the establishment could muster (mushrooms), and split a beer at the bar afterwards.

Then we drove over to the quaintness that is Skaneateles, NY. The lake was beautiful and the weather  cleared up. In between our lunch and dinner my mom and I shopped, or window shopped rather. I would have loved to buy a piece from this particular art gallery but I can't yet afford it :).

Besides arts, crafts, and jewelery, many of the shops sold holiday items as well. Some items were cute, others a bit scary, where do you think this table of singing doll figures falls? Ha.

In between we also stopped for coffee. My mom and I hadn't slept well the night before so we certainly needed it. We could have gotten a cookie or two as well, but neither of us were hungry enough :).

The weekend was technically supposed to be a family weekend but I was happy for it to be just my mom and I. Since I'm the oldest of three, there was a time when I had her all to myself, and I'm not gonna lie, I still miss it. I feel so lucky to be so close with her.

Nonetheless, I would've also liked to share such a day with every one else. Oh well, things happen. We ended our day with a antiquing and then drove to the middle of nowhere for dinner.

Ha, I'm only half kidding. It was very much the pleasant evening, I'll be sure to tell you more about it tomorrow. In the mean time, I'm off to call my roommate and meet a graduated Syracuse-area friend of mine for lunch at a Greek restaurant. I must also make sure I make the Mix it Up (an international conversation group) meeting at five this evening. Hope you have a fantastic Friday!

vino & queso

Good morning sweet peas. Please excuse my absence yesterday, I just really couldn't bring myself to blog. There's just a lot of things going on outside of school that are dragging me down: I have health and family stuff that I'd rather not discuss on the blog, and then, to top it off, someone towed my car about 10 minutes before I left class yesterday. The reason that I drove this time? I didn't want to give myself another excuse not to do laundry. So yeah, my car is currently in some yard while my laundry is taking over the back seat :(.

Rather than be upset about it all though, I decided to drink away my sorrows. Haha, just kidding, promise :) I was excited for wine & cheese night simply because I love my wine and my cheese. My roommate and I were the first ones at the bar that night. Pathetic? No. Dedicated? You betcha.

I have never been able to go out on a Tuesday night, never, except maybe freshman year which doesn't count, so this was exciting. And I was quite impressed with our little spread! The bar had offered us this complimentary fiesta, if you will, so nobody knew quite what to expect. Of course I took food pictures even if I hardly touched it :).

I didn't do much as far as dressing up, just added some heels to my previous outfit that day,  obviously going for a classy look ;). It was really fun regardless, though. There were about 10 people there, a few my age, and half two years younger than me, the new girls in the house, and I enjoyed having the opportunity to get to know them better.

So that was that, it was a worthwhile good time and I definitely enjoyed myself. It's actually quite ironic, however, that I decided to go out during this week because halloween is huge and I'm sure my weekend will be packed with social plans. Oh well, I'll deal :). I'm an uninventive jack-o-lantern, by the way. it's cute, just not creative, but I may just steal one of my friend's green diamonds for the next night. She is going as a SIM...genius, I know. Dressing up can always get so fun--do you have any idea who or what you are going to be?

picture day

Hope you enjoyed that lovelies ;) but if you'd like to actually read something by or about me...

1. Find out why and how I'm semi-anti-Twitter; and still happily use it anyway. (http://twitter.com/Danielle052988)
2. 
   
3. Check out my first contributor's post to GoBackpacking.com

Now, about that blog award I was talking about from my soul mate, Leslie. Thanks again girl!

I would like to pass this on to two three very dear bloggers and friends of mine...

VeggieGirl, my first commenter, and one of the coolest people I know :). She is both sweet and sarcastic, honest and encouraging, intelligent and talented, and I love her for all of it. Every time we hang out, I have just about the best time ever. A few weeks ago, she was featured on Plates from Around the World, and like I said then, I cannot wait to see her again soon!

Another generous contributor who I adore is K from KsGoodEats. Not only has she been a very active and supportive blog reader throughout my travels but her writing about her own adventures completely entertain me every day. Plus she always eats the most simple and yummy vegetarian things, especially when in Italy.


Finally, since I just realized that I was technically supposed to send this to only one person, I've decided to pass it along to yet one more :) Gliding Calm. She is such an amazingly beautiful and understanding doll. Fact is, her texts and comments never fail to brighten my day! And, I seriously cannot wait to hear all about her upcoming trip India. 


P.S. If you haven't already picked up your Nov/Dec issue of Fitness magazine, please make sure to do so! You can find another one of my articles on page 106. Yes, I do still find that thrilling :).

no day but today

I love RENT. Um, yeah, anyway :) hi everyone! I hope your Monday has started off the week well. As I mentioned ever so slightly in the last post, as much as it is nice to look back at all the places I've been, all of the food I've eaten, and the things I've done, I must make a conscious effort every day not to dwell. This past year and a half has contained some of the most exciting and life-changing experiences ever, but life certainly hasn't ended, haha. I should still enjoy every day as it comes, I can still make the most of now.

This week for instance. Why I'm loving it: 

1. It's completely stress-free, or practically. My midterms are finally over! Plus, I'm on top of all of my current and upcoming assignments. Looking forward to a regular sleep schedule and daily yoga classes.
2. My beloved graduate roommate is coming up to visit this Halloween weekend! And I finally have a costume! C, if you're reading this, I'll call you tonight with details.
3. On Tuesday my house is having a Wine & Cheese party. Paired with my extra free time, carefree attitude, and holiday enthusiasm I couldn't ask for a better occasion to celebrate ;)

What make this week and today extra special to you? Comon' I'm sure you can think of something!

It could even be something as simple as breakfast. This morning I had an amazing bowl of oats, almond milk, strawberries, banana, and almond butter. According to my wonderful raw guru, this is not the most energizing combo, nor is it ideal to digest, but it certainly kept me full all morning, even through an hour and 15 minutes of grueling vinyasa yoga  :).

By the way, if you haven't already noticed, these photos are from around my room :) the desk area that I didn't have a chance to show you before. This decorative inspiration, for example, was a gift from my Mom since she dedicated the "I hope you dance" song to me many years ago. Oh and she came to visit this weekend too! But more on that tomorrow, I promise it's worth the wait.

To make up for my rule-breaking morning meal ;) I stuck with the basics for lunch. A huge-jass spinach salad with a hard-boiled egg and tuna made for the perfect protein-veggie combo. You see, I may be eating differently than I have been, but real food is real food, and luckily, it's available in almost any part of the world.

Speaking of travel (whether we were or not, haha) I'm contributing to another blog! I will be featured on GoBackpacking.com and my introductory post is scheduled to go up tomorrow. Check it out :) And if you're following me on Twitter, I'll let you know exactly when and where. So excited!

Back to the food: a starch-based meal to end the day. Carol didn't make any veg-friendly options for dinner tonight but she did make brown rice with vegetables. So, I heated up mushrooms and chickpeas, added it to the mix, and then continued to add more and more broccoli as I cleared spots for it on the plate :). And there you have it! A day in the life of Danielle as a U.S. college student.

"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra."

fresh & clean

Just had one of the best showers ever. Only preceded by the best yoga class today. It was hot, it was invigorating, and it was just what I needed. This past weekend and week has been both horrible and wonderful. Now, I honestly feel renewed in every way, and it's not just because I'm kicking off another 340 posts ;). But, before we completely move forward, I'd like to look at the breakfast, lunch, and dinner from my yesterdays.

Breakfast in Cuenca, Ecuador, unique from the instant coffee and bread morning meal of mi familia.

Lunch, the main meal, consisted of the fresh juice, the occasional soup, a main plate, and salad.

Dinner was virtually non-existent, unless there was a family get-together. This could mean a full plate or just coffee and dessert.

Breakfast in Santiago, Chile was green tea/coffee and stove-top avena with walnuts, banana and flax.

Lunch was a frittata with salad on the side or a gorgeous salad in and of itself.

Dinner was a hearty meal of legume-based soup and various ensaladas, as per usual. When it got warmer, however, my host-mom and I also had our fair share of salmon.

Breakfast in Strasbourg, France often was made up of coffee/tea, yogurt with mix-ins and French bread spread with some type of seasonal jam.

Lunches were simple since I usually ate them between classes with ingredients from the market.

Dinner, on the other hand, was anything but, and included multiple plats which my host-mom always so beautifully presented on my place mat.

YUM, that was fun! Any questions? Haha. From now on we're going to look towards the future and the foreign adventures that lie in that unknown sphere of time, although I can't promise I won't bring up international memories from time to time :) Have a great night and I'll see you tomorrow!