With the success of the NBC TV show American Ninja Warrior, complexes called indoor adventure/trampoline parks have been popping up across the country. I’m a big fan of things like this, and have been for years. When I was younger we would go to Bonkers, which was kind of like Chuck E. Cheese but for slightly older kids. It had arcade games, rides and a giant maze you could crawl and climb through, which was by far my favorite part. Continue reading
You know those videos on Facebook, the ones that show a recipe being made sped up, so that the entire thing takes under a minute? I’ve watched plenty of these in my day, but had never actually taken the next step of making one, until last week! Yes, I made a recipe from one of Buzzfeed’s Tasty videos, and here is how it went. Continue reading
I adored Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You. When I read it, it was the first time in recent history that I actually went back and reread specific passages after I finished the book—for those of you familiar with the story, it was the “dancing” scene at the wedding. Sure, I understood why certain people thought that the outcome of the story was problematic, but I took it for what it was: an incredibly romantic, incredibly tragic, dynamically written story. Continue reading
Working from home can be a challenge. Being in my apartment all day (on most days), I feel the need to do various household chores throughout the day, at times probably when I should be working. There are also distractions, with no threat of a boss walking by my cube and seeing what I’m doing and forcing me to refocus. However, over the last two months I’ve developed a relatively consistent schedule that works well for me, so I thought I’d share it in case it can be helpful! Continue reading
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Enchiladas can be a pain in the neck to make. For that reason, they tend to fall in the category of food I often order in restaurants, but don’t make too frequently. However, when I came across a recipe for classic chicken enchiladas in my favorite slow cooker cookbook, I thought I’d give it a shot. It seemed like cooking the chicken in the slow cooker would at least make the process feel like less work since it was spread out over more hours. And it did! Continue reading
When it came to reading, I used to be all fiction, all the time. I loved (and still do love) the escapism, the imagination and the different writing styles that are all part of the genre. But a couple years ago I picked up my first memoir, Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone, the first of her three memoirs chronicling her food-influenced childhood up through her years as the NYT Restaurant Critic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. These days, I think what pulls me into memoirs is that there must be an aspect that I can relate to or am interested in, Continue reading
When we first moved to Bethesda, I was contemplating getting my own desk for our apartment, in addition to the desk that we brought from Hoboken. Jeff had always used that one more, especially during grad school, so it felt like “his” desk, and I thought that if I would be working from home it would make sense for me to get my own. But as the apartment came together and we discovered how much space there truly was, we decided instead to finish off the “office” with a bookcase that matched the desk we had. Continue reading
Growing up, one of my favorite restaurants was the Ninety-Nine. I loved the jingle: “The 99 restaurant has 99 reasons you’ll always come back for more!” I loved the chicken broccoli ziti, which is probably all I ate for about four years. I loved the restaurant itself; it was warm and comfortable, and had some of those 99 reasons written on the walls. But here’s the kicker: the Ninety-Nine is a chain, Continue reading
In the United States, when we think about a basic, well-balanced meal, it typically includes a protein, vegetable and starch. However, if you look at other cultures around the world, many feature a staple dish that highlights rice—whether it’s arroz con pollo in Latin America, biryani in India or paella in Spain. Continue reading
I love the zoo. We went to the Bronx Zoo quite a few times while we were living in Hoboken, enough times that I knew where all my favorite animals lived. For anyone who has something against zoos, I urge you to do a little research: the work that they do in conservation, protecting endangered species and researching illnesses and health issues that different animals deal with is quite remarkable. Continue reading
Lyss on Life 