Sweet Blog o' Mine

Rant of the Day

I don't know why these little things at the gym piss me off so much, but in addition to my issue with people who don't put locks on their lockers, I have a huge problem with people who use the bathroom stalls to change. Seriously, people -- it's a GYM. Change in the locker room like the rest of us. Nobody cares what you look like and nobody is looking at you because we're all too busy dealing with our own body issues. Get over it and stop hogging up the stalls because some of us have to pee.

Where I'd Rather Be on a Rainy Tuesday

Snuggling on the couch with this girl:

Reinvention

Pushing Limits

On Sunday I went running outside. "So what, Laren?" you might say. "You're a triathlete and all, don't you do that all the time?" The answer is yes, I do, but generally not in 30ish degree weather. I hate running in the cold, and I probably haven't done it in about a decade, but I made myself do it. "Why?" you might ask. "Don't you belong to a gym where they have a perfectly good treadmill?" Why yes, I do, but I wanted to make myself a bit uncomfortable -- to push my limits, even if it was ever so slightly. I'm at a point in my life where I have to push my limits in so many ways -- I might as well start with something easy. Plus, there are only 129 days left until this year's NYC Triathlon. . .

Booze You Can Use: Have a Negroni Sbagliato

Photo: La Cucina Italiana

Sometimes one little tweak can make all the difference. Given my love for the Negroni and my recent fascination with champagne cocktails, it's no surprise that I enjoy the Negroni Sbagliato. Roughly translated, it means a bungled negroni -- a mistake -- but don't let that fool you. It's a perfect starter to an evening, no mistake about it.

Negroni Sbagliato
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet Vermouth
1 ounce prosecco
Fill a rocks glass with ice. Add Campari, vermouth and prosecco, in that order. Stir and garnish with orange slice or twist.

Reboot

As many of you know, I'm in the midst of a bit of a career reboot right now (if you want details, email me!).  A colleague who recently left my firm to start her own consulting business recommended a wonderful book to me called Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break. I highly recommend it and frankly, wish I had read it a few years ago. The idea is that taking a sabbatical, whether planned or unplanned, can be a good way to take a look at what you really want in your life. It can be eye-opening.

Last night, I got to see a reboot close up. A former associate at my firm left to start her own catering company, TomCookery, which specializes in Southern and Carribean-inspired comfort food. Talking to Tomika about the process of getting her business up and running and getting to taste her delicious food -- jerk chicken wings, macaroni pie, banana pudding and more -- inspired me so much. I'm so proud of her for following her dreams, and I'm looking forward to doing the same.

Squishy Thought for the Day

 

courtesy of Gaping Void

 

Feeling particularly grateful for the love that surrounds me, whether it's Valentine's Day or not.

Only in New York

I'm out walking Moxie late last night. We approach a tree, where Moxie starts sniffing and a guy walks towards us with his larger dog.

Him: "A rat!"

Me (thinking that he is insulting my tiny dog): "Hey!"

Him: "No, there's a dead rat right there!"

Me: "BWAH HA HA!"

Booze You Can Use: Have a Seelbach Cocktail

Photo from Drinking Made Easy

Bubbles. They instantly lift the spirit. Sometimes, however, you want bubbles, but you want something a tad more complex than a glass of champagne. Enter the Seelbach. On New Year's Eve, and on a subsequent visit to Pouring Ribbons in the East Village, I kept asking for champagne-based cocktails. There are many, but I was specific -- no citrus. At one point I received the Seelbach cocktail, a lovely concoction that carries the name of the hotel in Lexington, Kentucky where it was created.

Seelbach Cocktail
1 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. Cointreau
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Champagne

Stir ingredients over ice, then then strain into a chilled flute and top with champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Happy 40th, Schoolhouse Rock!

Gotta get my nephew on board with these as soon as he's old enough!