The Market.

Okay so as usual I am a bit behind on my posts and for once I have no excuse whatsoever.  What have I been doing?  Next to nothing since classes haven't started yet.  Today I woke up and went for a 2.25m run since Hal Higdon (bow down to this guy) told me and everyone else following his 5k running plan to do so.  Then I met my 6th grade advisor for lunch, but I should probably mention that she is so much more than that.  She is a friend, mentor, employer and all around amazing person to have in my life.  After finishing a great southwestern salad I proceeded to come "home" to the South Wedge and began watching Grey's Anatomy from the very beginning...Yes, the first episode ever aired (thank you Netflix!)  I will most likely purchase the series at some point in my existence but like many things that fall to the wayside (oh I love corny lines like that), money and sheer forgetfulness will put me back a few months or years.

Hokay so this past weekend I was beyond bored with my life since I currently know only a few people in Rochester and the majority of them were busy this entire weekend so instead of sitting around eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's I ventured over to the Rochester Public Market. While the market is rather big I find that most vendors sell similar or the same thing minus those few flower shops and whatnot.  Don't even get me started on the folks that sell bulk canned goods and fake gucci purses, yuck!  Anyways, I tried to stay a while and snap some photos but the place was so busy I kept getting bumped into.  So enough rambling and here is what I was able to get:

Let's start with some B&W of the Mennonite folk, please don't confuse these men with the Amish since they are very different.

I've been playing around a bit with Iphoto since my Adobe Photoshop Elements slows my computer to molasses and I can't even work with the simple quick select or magic wand tool.

I thought of trying out the Sunflowers in both color and Black and White but can't decide which one is best.  For color I enhanced the saturation and contrast level and then decreased the highlights so that more of the background petals would pop through.  The black and white still has an upped contrast level and all that other fancy stuff.  They're the same exact photograph but so different, ah someone help me decide!

Moving Time.

I am finally posting from my new "house" or apartment, however you wish to see it.  I finally moved everything in this past thursday, and I must say that the two hours flew by.  Last year it seemed to take forever to actually give everything a home and get settled.  I believe I mentioned before that I am living in Rochester's South Wedge.  For those of you who are somewhat unfamiliar with Rochester the area is very up and coming.  While it isn't as developed as Park or Monroe there are some great spots.

I've done some walking (and running) around the past few days and have so far been through Highland Park and have eaten at The Beale Street Cafe.  I decided to go all out at Beale Street and ventured away from my usual entree of anything chicken.  "The Pittsburg" as they call it has pulled pork pilled high beneath cole slaw and french fries which is situated in the middle of a french roll, yum!  I hardly ever do anything adventurous when it comes to food so I was pleasantly surprised and suggest it to anyone who visits the area.  Each entree and sandwich also comes with a piece of homemade corn bread and a side (the salad has a great homemade cajun dressing but it is a bit creamy).  Oh and I should also mention that the atmosphere is casual and fun, so go for a quick bite (and even a few drinks) with friends!

As for the whole moving bit of this post and since I did happen to mention that I am all moved in I figure I might as well post some pictures.  Hey, maybe someone actually reads this blog (ahem Carolyn and Maureen, procrastinators!)

After living in a dorm for two years I decided that it was time to make my bedroom a bit more realistic.  By that I mean not some place that you move in and out of frequently but actually put time and effort into since I am there more than I am at home over the course of the year.  I tried to go with this "travel" eclectic theme and this is what I came up with:

For those of you who are searching and searching for bedding and continually find themselves returning to the coveted Anthropologie, look harder.  I found this gorgeous duvet online at some random homegoods store (though a bit pricey it was marked down!)

The two matted paintings above my bed were found at the amazing TJ MAXX.  I swear you can find just about anything there!

Storage ottomans.  These things are cute, decorative and yes they store A LOT.  I have extra sheets, a blanket and about 5 sweatshirts in this one!

A funny story about the closet: My mom asked when I was going to "sort through" my clothes at home to see which ones I should bring to school because, as she puts it, I always bring too much junk that I never end up wearing anyways.  My response?  Look at the size of this closet, I am bringing every article of clothing I own...so that's exactly what I did.

Carolyn.

This is Cara or as I often call her, Carolyn.  She's a spitfire redhead with big plans ahead of her in the next week.  I am so jealous because she is spending a semester in Florence, Italy.  Now more than ever since I decided to transfer and not go abroad I am wanting to live my life vicariously through this girl, better yet, I can still call her my best friend after admitting this.

Thanks to Cara I was able to meet Maureen.  Now this girl can bake.  Look at this amazing Chocolate Brownie Coffee Mousse Torte. Yum!   I am trying desperately to retrieve the recipe for this dessert and am hoping a blog post such as this will do the trick.  Think of it as a mixture of rich savory brownie with fluffy expresso/coffee flavor...I am in love! Combining my two favorite things all in one.  Perfection.

Summer BBQ.

There are a few things that I look forward to each and every summer...I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, your favorite popsicle or ice cream, lazy rainy days (which were lacking this summer until the past week), tan lines and of course chicken bbq.

I typically prefer a classic chicken bar-b-que that is located on the side of the road usually in a parking lot of your local American Legion.  These BBQ's usually donate proceeds to some cancer research center or a local kid who is down on his luck.  However, luck is never lacking in such a bbq since the sauce is always perfect along with the sides of salt potatoes and either mac salad or cole slaw. Ah Summer!

This summer has been rather ridiculous when it comes to BBQ's since the first one i came across ALL summer happened to be yesterday.  Really? It is mid august and I just passed my first road-side stand.  The best part? I have eaten out almost every day this week (at least once) and all I could bare to each for lunch yesterday was an apple.

Lets get on to the actual story: A homemade bbq put on by the best mother.  My mom uses the old classic NYS fair recipe for BBQ sauce and to be honest I have no idea where she keeps it but man is it amazing!  While the day was rainy and muggy, a nice chicken BBQ really made the sun come out.  Try your own chicken BBQ with some salt potatoes or even corn?  My new favorite combination is actually Heirloom tomatoes with some balsamic vinegar drizzled on top.

 We used free-range half chickens from the local farmers market.  Going organic is not only helpful to your body but also local community!

 Try grilling corn instead of boiling.  By boiling corn and other vegetables nutrients are lost.  Grilling gives great flavor also.

 My dad, Big Jer excited for the meal

 Salt potatoes, a staple of summer.

Two photographs that are a big more artistic than "food blogger":

 "Fresh Squeezed"

"Don't Forget Me"

Bubbles.

Getting back into blogging is more difficult that I thought, though I do tend to over think things a bit too much.  Should I update on my summer and the few adventures I went on or start with the right now?  Either way I wanted to share a bit of my photography that I worked on the past few months.

These hippie bubble photographs were taken at the Park Ave Festival this summer.  I went with my three friends Cara, Mo (Maureen) and Mandy.  While they trolled ahead of me I tended to casually stop and snap a few pictures along the way.

The man with the bubble contraption intrigues me in the strangest way.  I swear he must have been a hippie back in the Woodstock days or something and just never grew out of the "phase" which evidently turned into a lifestyle.  Look at those red sunglasses, beard and tie-die t-shirt!

The image on top is by far my favorite out of the two because the bubble dynamics are what really catch your eye.  They're translucent but also dimensional and a bit carefree if I say so myself.  I would have loved to work with these in Photoshop, which I did actually purchase, but my computer does not have a big enough hard drive to actually work smoothly with it.  Bummer!

A Leave of Absence.

I was planning to return to blogging once I went to school, however, I have been told by multiple people that I should start up again a bit sooner.  So lets start by discussing a slight change of plans to my life.  Slight might actually be the understatement of the year but whose really judging?  

Leaving HWS last May I had the intention of studying abroad this fall in Maastricht Netherlands, if you recall any of the previous posts.  However, I also had little to no desire in returning to HWS after my abroad term so instead I chose to apply to University of Rochester.  UR has the program that I was hoping to "create" at HWS but was unable to do so, Public Health.  The specific major is dubbed Health, Behavior and Society which combines my interest in Philosophy (specifically ethics), Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology...not to mention some natural science courses that I am dreading!

I found out that I was accepted to UR at the end of June and after racing to my mailbox day after day I finally received a large "Welcome to University of Rochester" envelope.  The day was perfect.  Brendan took me out to dinner to celebrate and then the rest is history...kind of.  I wasn't given housing so I will actually be living in an off-campus house with housemates I found on Craig's List...I still love to tell this story just because I never thought Craig's List could be so reliable and useful!

So I will officially be a Yellowjacket as of next Wednesday. Horray! I am beyond excited to start my new journey in Rochester, not only studying at UR but also being able to learn more about the city itself, starting with the South Wedge (Which is where my house is located).

Wish me luck!