Blanketed by blossoms

Loving the May flowers.


Photos taken at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Celebrate the during

It's been just over a month at my new job - just over a month of mistake after mistake and question after question, and Liz so patiently responded to my every crinkled eyebrow and every sigh of stress.

My first month also marked Liz's last, so we all went out to celebrate her over seafood and cucumber cocktails at Willow Road.

It hit me then, how we always celebrate the end. We let too many days go by in between without recognition.

I think I'll start making more toasts for the during...

...it, too, deserves a celebration.

The girl who brought spring

The sun was bright but not hot, the air was crisp but not cold, and the Union Square farmers market was full of flowers.

She searched for the right ones - they weren't so hard to find. The bulbs were perfect and pink.

She carried them in her arms and danced down the sidewalks... spreading smiles, collecting smiles.

She was the girl carrying tulips, the girl who brought spring to the city.

Waking up

They welcome me to this place with long faces and sighs as though too much time in what they call the "real world" has stripped their happiness... as though this place is not the place they truly want to be.

Welcome to the real world.

Welcome to the real world.

          Welcome to the real world, they tell me.

As if Moroccan lanterns and Sri Lankan saris were nothing more than a dream. As if I've finally woken up to the lifestyle that society views as acceptable and expected but also views as painfully unstimulating.

How can it be that I am there, in this "real world?" Are we not seeing and experiencing the same thing?

...horse-like figures prancing through train stations...

peculiar humans waiting for subways...

Italian picnics happening in parks...

soulful pianists playing on sidewalks...

gold light reflecting from 20-story buildings...

I'm in a city that overwhelms the senses in such a way, that it's possible to have no thoughts, and I have a job that exposes me every day to the inspiration of strong women taking risks as small business owners.

                               Mika Brzezinski, Tory Burch, Malene Barnett, Arianna Huffington, and Gary Cohn                             speaking at a Tory Burch Foundation event about women entrepreneurs

The real world, they say?

Please, define real, because I believe I have just found myself in a fantasy.

One thing --> the next

Here's a story about how one thing leads to the next with some added splashes of self-created opportunities...

Three years ago, I landed an internship at a marketing firm in New York City. New Balance was one of their clients, and New Balance was about to launch a new line of walking shoes. My job was to find bloggers to wear this new set of kicks and blog about their daily experiences.

So I went through blog after blog after blog after blog after blog.

And then I found this one, and it was not at all what New Balance was looking for, yet it was so fascinating that I bookmarked it for myself.

This blog was one of a writer, a photographer, a human rights worker, a hotelier, a designer named Maryam... living on an olive grove in Marrakech, Morocco. She had such a wonderfully interesting perspective of the world. Every time I read her blog, I found eagerness to learn from her, to watch her connect all of her seemingly random passions into a single image- a brand she had created of herself.

I would do anything, I thought, as I envisioned myself merely folding towels at her boutique hotel, anything to see how she does it.

I emailed her with explosive enthusiasm, masked partially by professionalism. It's worth a shot, is it not? And a few months later I was on a plane to a place where I knew no one and nothing. People tried to discourage me, they tried to scare me, because they were scared for me. But what they didn't realize is that I find curiosity in what I don't know, not fear. They didn't realize that what they gave me in their worried words was fuel to go see what Morocco was for myself.

 

My relationship with Maryam became something more than a one-way blog post. She became my teacher and my friend. Every day she would come to me with "exciting news" ...Martha Stewart wanted to meet her, the travel channel wanted to film her, or Tory Burch wanted to shop with her.

For Tory Burch and a few of her friends, Maryam and I planned an afternoon cocktail party on the terrace to follow their day of shopping.

Is it as cheesy to wear a Tory Burch shirt when you meet Tory as it is to wear a band shirt to their concert? ...I wore my Tory Burch shirt.

It was at this party, on this terrace, in Morocco, that I met Terri, the director of the Tory Burch Foundation empowering low-income woman by providing them with education in entrepreneurship and micro-loans.

I kept her business card as I trekked through Europe and Sri Lanka.

I applied for a job with the foundation.

I had 4 interviews.

And I will now put a pause on my San Francisco job search (I will most certainly be back) to take an unbeatable opportunity in the city that shares my pulse.

That's how things happen when you combine the theories of "one thing leads to the next" and "it's worth a shot."

A New York City internship --> a blog --> an email --> Morocco --> the Tory Burch foundation, with lots of living in between.

Feeling nomadic

I have found myself in San Francisco, unsure of what will come next. I talk and talk and talk and interview and network over cup after cup after cup of coffee on my quest for the answer.

I'm feeling nomadic. Despite my history of uncertainty and spontaneous travels, this is truly the first time I've felt this way. And I've found that the key to being a nomad is having friends that make you feel right at home.

They're the red in a sea of gray.

A heart of summer

I arrived in New York the day before a blizzard. A blizzard so intimidatingly named Nemo.

It is good, I thought, to experience the worst of winter before choosing to live in a place with the harshness of such a season.

My nose was cold, my pants damp, my toes nearly frostbitten...

Yet I went sledding and made snow angels in a silly hat

with a heart that only saw summer.

Birthdays

As I look back through my year being 22, nostalgia sets in. It was so good... too good. The people, the places, the stories I share with everyone and the ones no one will never know. Each of those moments has been left behind in a ticket stub, a map, or a photo, but it doesn't seem like enough. I remember what it tasted like, but I can't quite feel it on my tongue anymore. It's interesting how time rolls past us... or how we roll past time.

As I collect the tokens spread out all over the floor of my room, my eyes tear with sadness that such memories are, well, memories. And my eyes tear with gratitude for all the friendship, love, and knowledge that I received from people all over the world throughout the last year. I only hope I left behind something for them as well.

Today I turn 23, and I have no idea what will happen next. In fact, I'm not even sure where I will be next week. All I know is that 23 will be just as good as 22, and that next year's scrapbook composition will fill my heart just the same.

And now for some friends and a slice of cake...

Home

I'm back in one of my favorite cities in the world, New York City. The first thing I thought when I got off of the plane was, "it's good to be home." But 3 weeks ago I was in Gainesville and I felt like that town gave me a warm, weekend-long hug... as if it were home. And while I was living in Morocco, I would feel anxious to return home to Marrakech after a weekend of traveling. And when I went back to Sri Lanka for the second time, I ran through the airport with the excitement and energy of being back in a place that felt like, well, home.

How awesome it is to be able to make the entire world feel as though it's home. Comfort is found in the unfamiliar and every new face is one of family. I guess it's about seeing the good in where you are and allowing yourself to trust.

When I walk up to this fluffy fella and these doors seeping with the smell of homemade cookies next week, I'll again say the same... It's good to be home.

Valentine's Day cake & craft

Sometimes my girliness gets the best of me and I call my girly friend, Aly, to bake polka dot cakes with streams of pink hearts. We had talked about having a crafting and baking day for far too long, and with Valentine's Day just around the corner, we had ourselves the perfect excuse.

Make cake garlands for any occasion. Replace the hearts with triangles for a birthday or with footballs for the next big game. All you need are:

Chopsticks
Colored paper and/or felt cut into hearts
String
Glue
Ribbon (to make bows if you so desire)

-Tie the strings tightly to the chopsticks
-Glue the hearts to the strings
-Glue the bows to the chopsticks

As for the cake... well, here it is... the BEST red velvet cake recipe EVER. Moist. Rich. Perfect. Yum.
Replace the 1 cup of buttermilk with 1 cup of Greek yogurt and add a splash of vanilla extract to the frosting. (We left out the chocolate ganache.)

Use cake stencils for fun designs...

Share with friends...

The greenest gifts are always edible and homemade.

Pear and kale grilled cheese

Once we all left for college, my mom was looking to get a new car.

How about just a normal, small, 5-seater car? I suggested. 

Aha! she laughed, Then where will I put all of my groceries?

Right... all of those groceries necessary for 2 whole people. Surely, she needed an SUV.

And this is what people commonly refer to as "empty nest syndrome."

Well, now I'm home in my transitional phase of life, so the nest isn't quite so empty after all. But I just can't eat enough smoothies a day to keep up with the costco crates of fruit rotting in the fridge because there will never be less than enough to feed a family of 5 and the SUV is seldom only partially full on the way home from the grocery store.

Enough of the smoothies! I'm taking a break. A break filled with seasonal foods and creamy cheese... pears and kale just love February.


Pear and kale grilled cheese

serves 1

Ingredients:
2 stems of kale
2 slices of whole grain bread
A couple thin slices of pear
Sliced brie cheese or some other creamy cheese
Olive oil

-Destem and chop the kale
-Saute in 1 1/2 tsp olive oil for about 7 minutes over medium heat or until deep in color and tender
-Put kale to the side and add a touch of olive oil to the pan, reduce the heat to low
-Create the sandwich with kale, cheese, and pear in the pan and flip when bread is toasted

Reconnected

Some get funkier...

Some get cutsier...

Some get artsier...

Some get more adventurous...

But lucky me... they've all stayed just as wonderful.

Stephanie Salsa

 This girl’s looking for a job. Take a look at my resume... in recipe form...

Stephanie Salsa

This is someone you can bring to any kind of party, ranging from office lunches to late night shenanigans. She always brings that extra flair and funk by combining the eclectic tastes of her travels and creativity.

Pairs best with guacamole and craft beer.

Ingredients:

1 Marketing degree from the University of Florida

1 minor in Mass Communications

1 minor in Entrepreneurship

2 ½ years of blogging on, well, this blog

3 months as a Sustainability Strategist and volunteer teacher at Beacon Hill Academy in Sri Lanka

3 months as an Administrative Assistant/Assistant Hotel Manager of Peacock Pavilions in Marrakech, Morocco

4 months as a blogger and media strategist intern at Fracture

3 months as a social networking intern at Dan Klores Communications in NYC

2 months as a marketing intern at Citrix Systems, Inc.

1 semester as a marketing TA at UF

4 years of work with the UF chapter of Invisible Children (1 year as President)

2 semesters as part of the Warrington College of Business’s Florida Leadership Academy

6 years of yoga

10 years of designing and creating jewelry (gets better the longer it’s marinated)

A pinch of wanderlust

A dash of curiosity

-Set up a blog with a clever title, suitable for any stage of life. Expose readers to international travel, volunteer work, green living, and healthy lifestyles by sharing stories and photos of personal experiences

-While blogging, work in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, designing finance and management plans for Beacon Hill Academy’s self-sustainable future. Mix in the role of a full-time volunteer teacher to give young adults knowledge in English and professional skills.

-Take a break! You’ve been working hard! How about 7 weeks trekking through Europe? A plan designed to be undesigned, full of spontaneity and possibility.

-Mix in some Moroccan magic at Peacock Pavilions Boutique Hotel in Marrakech. While mixing, coordinate the guest experience from booking through departure and create unique quest experiences by researching and executing leisurely and culturally enriching activities. Manage the menu, kitchen, and cleaning staff to ensure top-notch luxury travel standards are exceeded. Add in work on the hotel’s social media accounts and be the personal assistant to Peacock Pavilions owner,  Maryam Montague.

-Finely chop time at the University of Florida with time interning at the photo printing startup, Fracture, initiating digital marketing projects by creating blog content targeted to amateur photographers and researching trends in photo-based social media.

-While on summer break, spend 3 months as a social networking intern at DKC Public Relations & Integrated Marketing firm in NYC. Research new digital marketing platforms to uncover relevant and targeted opportunities for high profile, consumer-facing clients such as New Balance. Manage Twitter and Facebook accounts for clients such as Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City properties

-Sprinkle in more experience as a marketing intern at Citrix Systems, brainstorming with the VP of Demand Marketing on the company-wide rebranding initiative and conducting product performance tests to ensure the brand quality of new software programs before their launch. 

-Combine the mixture with a semester as a TA for the Intro to Marketing class at UF, tutoring and assisting students on course material and creating test questions.

-Add in 4 years of work with Invisible Children, become the president, and lead 65 active members in raising funds, collecting books, and creating awareness of the Lord’s Resistance Army’s presence in northern Uganda.

-Stir in some of the professional skills acquired by being a part of the Warrington College of Business’s Florida Leadership Academy.

-Mix in some pretty bracelets and tons of yoga (be generous, more is better!)

-Garnish with the wanderlust and curiosity… it adds lots of flavor!

Enjoy!

Sweet potato & kale baked eggs

What am I doing now? Relishing unemployment. When else in my life am I going to be able to go to 9:00am yoga every day? I justify my leisurely life of beach and lunch dates with the painstaking hours I spend staring at my computer screen, trying to find a job. I'm searching for someone who will accept me into the "real world." But really, what's "real" anyway?


Seasonal, organic sweet potato & kale with baked eggs for breakfast. That's what's real. Really real.




Sweet potato & kale baked eggs

serves 2

Ingredients:
1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/4" cubes
5 stems of kale, destemmed and chopped
4 eggs
Fresh parmesan cheese (optional garnish)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

-Preheat oven to 400F
-Mix diced sweet potato with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper
-Roast sweet potato in 2 oven-safe ramekins/ceramic dishes for about 20 minutes or until almost completely cooked and almost completely penetrable with a fork. Stir after 10 minutes (of course, it can all be baked/served in 1 larger dish)

-While roasting the potato, saute the chopped kale over medium-low heat with 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper for about 7 minutes or until wilted, tender, and deep in color
-Take the roasted potato out of the oven and evenly cover with the kale
-Crack 2 eggs over each ramekin
-Bake for about 15 minutes or until egg whites are set and yolk is still runny
-Garnish with long shreds of parmesan cheese

Happy Monday!