it's been a while.

an example of what i've been doing for the last year... BRING IT.

what happened to me?

life did. it's been a long time, i know. but i'll be back soon. in the meantime, look at my jumper and velcro sneaks! and those red faux penny loafers! and my cousin's priceless face! hee!

there's never any time.

the scary queen charlotte at CLT airport | charlotte, nc | august 13, 2009

it's been absolutely nuts in leahland.

i'm currently in charlotte, waiting to jump on a flight that i had to beg to be put on because a certain airline whose hub is in charlotte decided to cancel the 4:30 flight to dca WITHOUT notifying anyone on the flight. [non]checking-in was fun. thanks, usair, thanks.

things are a little busy here, so as a late reference to the rumored saved by the bell reunion and my crazed schedule as of late, here is the BEST. CLIP. EVER.

you've been tagged.

may 2002

spring cleaning has led me to find the old boxes that have been stored in my hall closet since i moved to my condo in april of 2007. and wow, seriously, some of you old friends should be glad that i'm not on facebook. really, really, glad.

i've been tweeting about my revolution for a while now, but for those that don't know, i've been finding addresses and mailing out old pictures to people with nothing but a post-it labeled "you've been tagged". it's backwards, but it's fun. i mean, who really gets fun mail anymore? the added bonus is sometimes i get a random text, email, or phone call (remember that thing) from someone i haven't talked to in forever. better than that stupid wall thing.

watch out people. even those of you who think i wouldn't have photos of you -- oh i do!

april 2009

summer lovin'

high school & college regattas/practice on the potomac

dc hit the 90's this weekend. a friend and i decided to hit up an old haunt to watch the locals as they emerge from the hibernation of winter (dc totally skipped spring this year). we didn't document much since we spent most of the time drinking and wishing we had a boat but it was fun none-the-less.

these people make me want a boat.


yup, that's a wifebeater tan.


no drama kinda day. thanks diddy.

To do: discover Philadelphia

philly's love park (photo from phila.gov)

This weekend, I discovered Philly. Being from DC and a frequenter of NYC, Philly was always one of those stopover towns. It’s where everyone went to college or where everyone grew up but where no one ever stays. I never understood why people love this city so much. At first glance, it’s not the prettiest, it’s crowded, and it’s not known for much besides Rocky, some cray-cray sports fans, a guy that likes to fly kites in the rain and of course, that famous broken bell.

Well, was I pleasantly surprised! For the last couple of years, I’ve been visiting a few friends that have recently moved to Philly from DC (i call them abandoners). It’s always been a quick jaunt out to dinner or to someone’s house for an event. Don’t get me wrong, those things are all fun but there was never any time to really feel the brotherly love.

kayakers on the schuykill river near boathouse row

(photo from the official visitor site of greater philadelphia)

This Saturday, I had a window open, ipod blasting, singing at the top of my lungs, drive up 95 (the weather helped with the good mood). The city was in full swing with routes 76 and 676 being packed like sardines. I had to take a detour to get to my friend’s house and drove though the museum area and down Kelly Drive. For those that don’t know, Kelly Drive is home to boat house row and follows the Schuykill River. It’s pretty much a huge riverfront park. There were tons of bikers, walkers, families, dogs, and rowers out and it was a pretty nice drive despite the traffic. Recommendation: take a walk along Kelly Drive and watch a regatta.

Soon after I arrived in Manayunk, we hopped on the bus to get into Center City to eat near Rittenhouse Square. Rittenhouse Square is a pretty large park area and the surrounding streets are home to some good shopping and some good living. The plaza was buzzing with people with no visible spots to sit by the time we got there. There were people laying out, listening to the street musicians, or just reading a book in the sun.

basilia cocktail at Parc

We decided on getting an outdoor table at Steven Starr’s Parc adjacent to the square. Steven Starr is well known for reviving the foodie scene in Philly. His restaurants are known for great food and a great vibe; Parc happens to be his homage to a French brasserie with great outdoor seating. Spent quite a while here just hanging out. I’ve eaten brunch here before and it’s probably one of the best brunches I’ve had. For a late lunch in the sun at Parc, I recommend: tuna tartare (friend raved about it) and the basilia cocktail (elderflower liquor and vodka with fresh basil and cucumber).

town hall with ben penn (inside joke)

After drinking and noshing at Parc, we decided to move onto Market East to hit up the Apothecary Bar + Lounge roof deck. Apothecary is kind of a trendy, themed restaurant with strange medical sounding ingredients in their cocktails. I spent a lot of time looking up terms on Wikipedia to decipher what I was imbibing. For some fun, adventurous drinks, go to Apothecary and try: a Booty Collins - a spicy drink with green tea infused gin, passionfruit, yohimbe, valerian root, and cayenne. It’s noted as not being for the faint of heart so I only had one.

An hour or so into a long conversation about Crank (the movie, not the drug after much confusion), we actually got kicked off the APO rooftop because of a private function but decided we weren’t done enjoying the weather.

sunset from jeff's bainbridge street roof deck

We walked to a friend’s house (passing the Broad street and its neighborhood block parties in full effect on the way) to see his rooftop deck before moving on to a late dinner. After literally climbing a ladder through his sky light/sunroof-esque “door” --a challenge with a beer in one hand, a camera in another and a while wearing a dress -- we end up upstairs staring at Philly’s skyline at sunset. Recommendation: find a friend with a roofdeck.

With the sun set, and more than a few drinks under our belt, we hit the road again to get a real meal at the Pub and Kitchen. We grabbed more drinks, discussed their logo (a pabbit!), and had a wonderful dinner. Friends raved about the pulled pork sandwiches and frites with truffle dijonnaise. I had the pub salad (you can never go wrong with apples, goat cheese, walnuts and homemade dressing) and the perfect - so perfect - scallops w/ morels. Also, this is great place to hit up for late night drinks -- nice setting, not overly crowded or pretentious, and they play 80’s music (hee!). My recommendation: just go to the Pub and Kitchen. You can’t go wrong.

All-in-all, it was a perfect Saturday in a gorgeous, totally underrated city. I recommend a visit soon!

the princess and the pea. soup.

pea soup w/ sour cream and pancetta

so i've been the doing the healthy living thing. and i plan to keep it up after easter (with a few cheat days here and there - natch). and by healthy living i've been - buying less, cleaning like a crazy woman, trying to work out more, eating more nutritiously, and generally, just living simply.

to an extent, most of these things i've been doing already. however, the biggest change has been the healthy eating coupled with cutting down on spending -- which is a challenge since healthier (and organic) food is definitely more expensive. i've not just cut out bad food (high fructose corn syrup - begone!) i've also tried to eat more nutritious foods including eating more whole grains, fruits and vegetables. fruit and veggies have always been part of my diet, but probably not in the recommended quantities. so squeezing another few servings of vegetables and fruit in my usual routine has been an exercise of creativity.

for lunch this week, i've had sandwiches of smoked turkey on whole grain bread with lettuce. and since it's been so unseasonably cold, i've been craving soup. the other day, i opted for a pre-made creamy tomato (which i ended up ditching after i realized it had 24 grams of sugar in it. tomato soup + h.f.c.syrup = gag). so, i decided for the next day, i'd make a healthy, cheap soup. somehow.

i realized that i had frozen peas leftover from a foray into indo-pakastani cuisine the other day. pea soup is nutritious, simple to make, and not going to put me into the red after buying a whole produce section just for simmering. as an added bonus, it can be made in smaller batches (someone really needs to create a singles recipe and food line- but that’s another post).

in the past, you couldn’t pay me to eat pea soup. so i was naturally hesitant that i might waste my time and money on this. as a compromise, i decided that if i'm going to eat the equivalent of what is essentially one cup of peas as part of a meal, that i would nudge the taste with some sprinklings of pancetta and a dollop of fat free sour cream. ends up just the tiniest add-on makes a world of difference to the taste. and since they were added in such small quantities, it’s a pretty insignificant add-on to the calorie intake (and cost).

so here's my take on pea soup (i didn't follow a formal recipe per se, so this is my best guess after skimming some recipes on the internet)

• 1 bag frozen peas
• 1 small yellow onion, cut into thin half rings
• 2 -2.5ish cups of reduced sodium chicken broth
• ¼ inchish slice of pancetta, cut into a mini dice(optional)
• 1 dollop of fat free sour cream (optional)

1) heat up just a little extra virgin olive oil (1 teaspoonish, the pancetta will add the rest) in soup pot.

2) sautee pancetta until golden and crispy. scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside.

3) sautee onions until clear.

4) add chicken broth. bring to a rolling simmer.

5) add peas. heat through until the peas are defrosted and it comes to a rolling boil. turn off the heat! stop while you’re ahead, you want a pretty lime green pea soup, not a dull puke green color.

6) carefully use an immersion blender to blend into a puree. (or dump in batches into a regular blender. don’t forget to open the blow hole for the steam to escape or else you will burn yourself and make a mess in the kitchen!)

7) plate into a bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of pancetta (just a pinch).

8) enjoy!

this tasted awesome and is surprisingly filling!

insert cyndi lyric here.

"i am riding the mexican train!" - leah, after lots of bourbon slushies

a few girls and i have started a monthly or so domino night. but before you point and laugh at the lameness, it's actually a lot of fun and results in some pretty & yummy food, bourbon slushies and some good old fashion trash talking.

girls + bourbon = trash talking. how could that not be fun?

i lose most of the time but that's probably because i really like bourbon slushies. alot.

my contribution | endives with almonds, cranberries & goat cheese topped w/ champagne vinaigrette

this last get together, miss m was gracious enough to make dessert on the spot.

apple+ cinnamon + sugar + beer batter + frying + powdered sugar = yum

i did taste just the tiniest piece of this to be polite for the hard work of standing in front of the hot fryer while i sat on my bum and drank more bourbon slushie. after STT, i'll feel more inclined to try another piece.

the making of a good dutch appleflappen

i want one right now.

St. Paddrick says: go forth with the gift of eloquence

liveleah kissing the blarney stone | september 2007

SnugPeep - the Blanket with Sleeves

Last year, I posted about my cousin's and friend's semi-finalist entry to the Washington Post Peep Diorama Contest.

This year, I finally got in on the action and created a diorama with my friend Chris. A few weeks ago, I sewed a Snuggie and made a couch and laptop with modeling foam.

In true fashion, I waited until the last possible minute to work with Chris on the rest (the deadline is before midnight tonight). But coincidentally, we're both very detail-oriented and were able to pull this together in just a few hours this afternoon/evening.


Here's a close-up:



some fun facts that you may not see in this non-professional photo.

• i actually hand-sewed the snuggie
  
• the couch isn't [p]leather but it matches the color of the couch on the commercial.
• that window is double-paned (backyard image, plastic film, wood then more plastic film)
• the photos of the peeps on the walls include the grand canyon and niagara falls.
  
• i framed all the photos with wood and plastic film.
  
• chris made molding for the top and bottom of our walls; she even pulled out a saw today.
  
• chris created the peep bunny inspired wall paper and painted the peep screensaver on the laptop.
  
• yes, that's coaster. but you can choose your ending: beer vs soda.
  

See how mini some of the pieces were? (we nixed this piece in our entry)

Definitely fun. I'm already thinking of my entry for next year!

it was feckin' great craic!

so in the fall of 2007, i decided - on a whim - to go to ireland to visit my cousin, maye. while planning, i recruited my cousins and a friend to join in. cousin maye is my second cousin from sablayan (in mindoro, philippines) and she and her husband immigrated to ireland instead of the US. they live in the suburb of clondalkin, just a few minutes from dublin proper.

our trip was an 8 day sprint. we made the best of the short trip, visiting all major parts of the country by taking 3 hour train rides everywhere - including a day visit to belfast in the UK.

i've posted a few of the photos from that trip here and there, but have never really gone into depth on this page. choosing instead, to just [hastily] update the flickr.

luckily for you, our friend farrah managed to finish [finally!] her online scrapbook of our trip today. it's pretty detailed so i guess 18 months is better than never.

if you ever get a chance, i highly encourage a visit to ireland. guinness tastes better there. slainte!

things i won't do: mystery can

i've jumped off a perfectly good bridge but i won't do this.

first, read this: the plug issue #36 mystery can II

now, being that i grew up with a different palate than some that read this blog this is really funny to me. because I KNOW the strange things you can get in a can and i would NEVER take on this challenge. because i hate throwing up.

it's pretty funny though, i think jay walked into a filipino store as evidenced by the quail eggs (i gag just thinking about this), ginitaang munggo, ligo, and mangosteens that tracy had to eat. the challenge wouldn't have been that bad, but since they had no idea what they were eating (labels were taken off as part of the rules), it was more a mental thing.

hilarious.


would you do this?

wanted: personal doc tor (preferably older than me).

my immune system is shot. for the last two months, i've been fighting no less than 982 colds. this one is by far the worst and if i haven't said it before, it sucks to be single and sick. need delivery of orange juice. now.

but instead of boring you about how my body keeps going from hot to cold in less than .02 seconds (is this what personal summers feel like? if so, i'll well prepared to the blanket and sweatshirt shuffle in about 30 years), i'll share a cute thing that someone sent me to make me feel better.




would it be losery to get this ringtone?

just think: family circus

liveleah and kitas' adventures at inauguration 2009
getting there, getting out, and getting fed: a 13 hour journey.


click to see commentary, time estimations, and restaurant fails and wins along the way.

View Larger Map

photos coming soon!

inauguration pics - coming soon!

so many pictures (and emotions) to filter through! there are a few entries in the hopper but need some time to edit. will try to buckle down tonight.

twit happens

in one word - what happened to my blog? twitter.

it's quick. and you avoid my needless ramblings since there's 140 character limit. genius!

i've been lagging on the posts and unfortunately have not updated on the many things that have been going on. not-so liveleah of me huh? so bear with me, i think there will be a blitz of stuff coming up soon - some kinda old; some new. with the inauguration coming up and a pretty aggressive plan to get into the city (i'm going to end up walking over the memorial bridge - bet!), the SLR will be getting some play. that, and i've got "the bug" so i'm hoping that i'll be taking a few trips in 2009. that is, if my uber practical "we're in a recession" conscience doesn't get me first.

anyway, who wants to teach me how to get my tweets up on this? preferably on the side bar -->

you will be paid in food. [UPDATE: blogger has a search function. sweet! tweets are below!]

speaking of, check out my dinner tonight (i love my SLR!):

pancetta, peas, pasta, pepper & parmesan (+garlic, but that wasn't pretty to write)

p.s. it was yum.

barack wins again.

who says being a big office nerd doesn't pay off?

our holiday office door decoration contest had a secret prize which ended up being a $100 gift card.

yay for me! woohoo!

EVEN. better.

best macy's thanksgiving parade. ever.

j'aime capucine

who wants to teach me french?

i spent a few hours on this week helping with a client related spanish translation. although the document was on whistleblower's rights - not quite a beautiful literary piece - it was nice to remember that i have the ability to understand and write another language.

last week, cousin cher introduced me to a juliette binoche and olivier martinez french film. it was a perfect rainy evening to get my subtitles on last night. it was beautiful movie -- olivier wasn't bad to look at either. (though i'm slightly afraid of ever getting cholera).

and randomly, i have been coming across this little girl everywhere in the blog world. she's makes me want to speak french!


kisses and giggles. so sweet.

Love(ly) words from Capucha on Vimeo.

do you remember your stories?



it's ok capucine, i hate carrots also.

Eat your carrots ! from Capucha on Vimeo.