Taste #1: Easy Gourmet

Greatest round bread ever!
{Image from here}

Things with cheese generally make my mouth very happy.

Regardless of if you are a football fan, it's hard to miss the fact that tomorrow is the Super Bowl. However you plan to spend your Sunday, perhaps it will involve some yummy munchies? I thought perhaps I could start off my first taste post with a really simple (truly), yet ridiculously delicious appetizer that can be made for just about any occasion. Depending on how you present it, you can dress it up or down (kind of like a little black dress)--either way, it generally always tastes wonderful and fancy (even though it's not).

My mom (the alchemist from whom I learned this), always gets compliments on it and people often ask her what her secret is. Seeing as there are only three ingredients, we always giggle about the fuss. So here it is, it takes about five minutes to prep:

-1 round baguette (it really doesn't matter what kind)
-bruschetta sauce (Trader Joe's has this, but many other grocery stores carry similar products)
-1 wedge of brie

a) Cut the top 1/4th off of the round baguette
b) Digg/scoop out the inside of the baguette (so it looks like a "soup in a bread bowl" bowl)
c) Alternate layers of hunks of brie and the bruschetta sauce until the bread "bowl" is filled
(at this point, you are essentially done, so you can bake it immediately, or save it for later)
d) Put the "top" of the bread bowl back on and wrap the loveliness in tin-foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees! Voilá!

Pac man brie?! Excellent.
{Image from here}

Admittedly, this is quite cheeeeesy (hah), but kind of cute.

{Image from here}

My friends and I are having a sort of girly "we are going to pretend to be watching the game" event, thinly disguised as just an excuse to hang out together. I think I might just have to bring this along...

Pain (nociception) #1: To the class of '09

{The Poster List}

{Reform School Rules}

Perhaps posting this under "pain" is a bit over-dramatic, but as second semester has gotten underway, I have noticed an increase in the underlying feelings of uncertainty, self-doubt and panic in many of the 2009 senior class. Soon we will be released from the comforts of a pre-destined road through academia into the real world, and for the first time in our lives there is no one really telling us where to go next (theoretically).

Personally, I waiver somewhere between pure excitement at the opportunity to do anything I want, and being completely overwhelmed and terrified at choosing directions and making decisions. Regardless of which end of the spectrum I am pulled toward in any particular moment, I realize that I just need to keep moving forward so that I don't succumb to the fear inside that tells me to curl up in fetal position and close my eyes. To remind myself of this, I have found these charming posters and prints. The "Carry On" one is actually a WWII era vintage reproduction, and the "Rock On" is a cool revamp of the wise phrase. I printed one out and taped it above my door. Feel free to follow along, there is plenty of uncertainty in the world, not just for 2009 graduates. In the mean time, try your best to carry on and especially, rock on!

Time #1: When looking at lovely things...my sense of time diminishes

Sometimes my friends walk into my room only to find me staring intently at my computer screen and ask inquisitively, "whatcha doing?"... Seeing as I rarely have actual work to do right now, I generally tell them the truth, that I am reading. Not of the book kind, but blog reading. Over the past year the list of blogs that I follow has gotten close to embarrassingly long. My bookmark page presents me with a surplus of all the glorious sites that I like to check up on when I have time. I've stopped feeling guilty or dorky about it because I only read/look at ones that truly bring me joy.
The worst (and best) part about these things is that lovely blogs have links to other lovely blogs...and while I try to stay loyal to only a handful of ones that I really enjoy, there are just so many people out there creating wonderful sites that I tend of fall in love with many of them. Maybe I need to put a daily time limit on my viewing and that way things will not get out of hand.

Today, I found yet another interesting blog that posted the video above. I watched it multiple times, because it was really nice to look at, but also because the music with it made my ears happy. The music is by Oren Lavie, definitely check out his myspace if you like what you hear...or just keep replaying the video like me!

Sight #1: Pretty White Things

Kiera Knightly and Mr. Lagerfeld in Paris
(I wonder what they like to talk about)

Although I cannot say I will necessarily have the opportunity (right now at least) to feel what the clothes of Chanel are like, I certainly can enjoy looking at them. The sense of sight will have to suffice for now. Here are some of my favorites from this season’s collection. It might be a bit cliche, but I just like appreciating the chic beauty of Chanel. Perhaps Karl Lagerfeld is attempting to evoke feelings of spring and summer with the all white pieces (he said his inspiration was a white page), but all I can think about is the massive amount of the white snow outside my window right now…spring, please come soon!

{images from WWD}

What is this?

I have come to realize that I have a certain affinity for things that appear beautiful, feel luxurious, smell delicious, sound soulful, and taste delectable. I find when I push away all of the noise that fills everyday life, the details of what stimulate the human senses are what truly bring me joy. Allowing myself to genuinely appreciate these things help to remind me what it is like to live in the present moment and why attempting this is so precious. Without our senses, we are merely floating beings through a universe of time that is devoid of richness and depth.

The smell of the first summer gardenias, the cozy warmth felt from your favorite comforter, the taste of warm chocolate molten cake, the sound of your best friend's familiar laugh, the vibrant colors of a beautiful photograph...all of these subtleties are what make a life full. Inevitably we all appreciate vastly different sensations and are inclined towards varying stimuli, and this is what makes all of us such complex and interesting individuals. In an attempt to become a bit more in tune with my own senses and hopefully allow myself to live more genuinely in the moment, I am going to share some of the divine things that I come across that I feel are worth savoring and writing about. Perhaps this will inspire others to appreciate the details that light up their own senses.

Long ago, Aristotle put the idea of the five senses into our awareness, but there are actually at least eleven senses--hence the name of this blog. My goal is to focus on a different sense per post. You might like what I like, you might not at all, but hopefully you will at least stop for a minute and allow yourself to feel something, for that is all we really have.