it's been a while.

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

back to our regularly scheduled program...

um. so i get it. i disappeared.

what can i say? life happens. nothing bad. just busy.

i know i promised this in my last post, but i plan on getting back on the horse soon. just gotta get my ducks in a row. and by ducks, i mean joining the 21st century and getting internet at home.

i know. lame.

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.

eat. eat. eat.

picture from the children's harbor tent | waterfront festival 2007

it's gorgeous out.

i'm headed to oronoco bay park to help set-up for the waterfront festival. you're coming right?

since i'll be out of pocket volunteering (and drinking beer and watching fireworks) all weekend, i wanted to leave you a link to one of the best foodie blogs of dc, metrocurean.

she's featured liveleah on five bites friday. yay and yum!

in the land of roses (and tevas)

shadows on the columbia river | portland, or | june 8, 2009

the northwest always has a way of grabbing my semi-bohemian-granola side and pulling its heart strings. i love it here. who wants to move with me?

the columbia river at sunrise | portland, or | june 8, 2009

multonomah falls | portland, or | june 8, 2009


perch: the columbia river at sunset| portland, or | june 8, 2009

*i'm not judging about the tevas. promise. but there are a lot of them here. i don't blame them. the columbia river is absolutely gorgeous and i can see why folks are all about being outside here.

vegas baby

this is caleb thomas. his mommy has been one of my oldest friends (like 1987 old - whoa). he was born and still lives in north las vegas. he's been to the strip way more many times than i have.

isn't he cute?

vegas, baby

the fountain at the bellagio | elton john's "your song" playing

this is the only "vegas" picture i took this past weekend. the trip was a blur of this and that and really, what do you really need to know about vegas that you haven't already heard from someone else? in case you were wondering, i won $40 and didn't get married.

i did, however, get a kobe burger from hubert keller's burger bar. you should definitely try it.


more posting about the g-rated part of my vegas trip in a few days. work is just too nuts right now. nuts enough that i came to work yesterday after my red-eye flight. it was not pretty. later internet!

to do: movies in the park - 80's style

most cities have a "screen on the green" or movies in the park. we used to do this in college and it was always a great time seeing people carry couches onto the lawn in front of the national shrine. and predictably, the rugby boys would streak. and then campus security would run after them with their batons.

it was fun at the catholic university of america.

yeah, i went there.

anyway, the theme for rosslyn's series this summer is i love the 80's. yeah, i know, exciting right? i'll be on the way to vegas tonight but if i were in town, i'd definitely watch one of my favorites: sixteen candles. i can't promise streakers, but you'll get a good dose of long duck dong.


jake ryan, i <3 you!



(thompson twins, i <3 you too!)

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

to do: sunday afternoon at the park

tightroper + girl | meridien hill | april 26 2009

more photos from a hot weekend in dc. i've posted and photographed about meridien hill park before, but it's the quintessential dc sunday funday event. drums, picnics, sun and good people.

the expert | meridien hill | april 26 2009

expert in training | meridien hill | april 26 2009

the crazy yoga | meridien hill | april 26 2009

more crazy yoga | meridien hill | april 26 2009

good blessings | meridien hill | april 26 2009

the usual suspects | meridien hill | april 26 2009

sunset and whistles | meridien hill | april 26 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.

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.

in like a lion... out like a lamb

march has been pretty hectic in my world. i have lots of fun plans in the works but mostly, i've been on a spring cleaning blitz - in more ways than one.

for lent, i gave up almost any kind of junk food besides coffee and alcohol (must not be completely insufferable). it's not a completely crazy catholic thing (as you people roll your eyes)... it's partly because it was healthy improvement -- i like dessert too much. that and i'm going to st thomas in 1 month. need i say more? healthy is still pretty though...

my recent "dessert" (still miss chocolate)

before the humidity sets in... spring in dc.

the jefferson momument at sunrise

true to my neurosis, i attempted to take some cherry blossom photos at 6:30am on today to avoid the crowds at the tidal basin.

the washington monument at sunrise

there were a ton of people there. it was cold. my point and shoot died. and since it was sunrise, the slr's exposure was going nuts. that and in my infinite knowledge, i took a whole bunch of RAW images that i'll need to edit and convert so others can view them.

sprout | tidal basin in washington, dc | march 31, 2009

i'll be taking more when i brave the crowds at the festival. but after inauguration, what's crowd in dc, right?

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!

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?

recipe: adobo

chicken adobo a la leah

inspired by mike's post, i got a craving for a good downhome filipino meal of adobo chicken tonight. and while he challenged his readers to an adobo throwdown, the reality is, there will be no winner because each family's adobo is slightly different, per the different regions of the philippines and quirks of each cook - in my case, my lola [grandmother].

my grandmother, mama, made the BEST adobo ever. however, there was no formal recipe passed down. all i remember is that it was heavy on the garlic, and i remember it was drier than most adobos -- most have a sauce -- an "au jus" if you will. after talking about it to my mom a long time ago, she mentioned that mama maybe used a cooking method of 'pinapasa' which literally means, 'to be squeezed'. i have yet to find a recipe to use this method but from what i understand, mama would take the chicken out after simmering and re-sear it with more garlic. needless to say, it was yummy.

i'm kinda 'a throw things in a pot and edit to taste' kinda cook. so here's my semi-just-now-made-up "recipe" for adobo (sans the extra pinapasa step). my recipe is for a smaller portion for 2-3 servings.

• 1.5 lbs of chicken wings, drumsticks or thighs (you can use breast, but it will probably be drier)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic depending on size
  
• 1/6 cup of soy sauce
  
• 1/6 cup of distilled vinegar
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1 teaspoon-ish of whole peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon-ish of sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
  

1. salt and pepper the chicken - don't be too generous - you'll be adding soy and peppercorn later.
   
2. sear chicken in a hot pan with just a drizzle of oil. once the fat from the chicken renders, you'll have more than enough fat to keep the chicken from sticking. in fact, you'll have to drain the pain later on.
   
3. drain pan but leave about 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan.
   
4. lower heat to medium and add garlic. saute garlic for 1 minute.
   
5. splash a little of the soy sauce and vinegar in pan and scrape with a wooden spoon to de-glaze.
   
6. add soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns, and bay leaf. simmer, add sugar, mix, then add chicken.
   
7. simmer on low for 40 minutes, turning chicken periodically to ensure chicken cooks on all sides.
   
8. taste the sauce. add salt and pepper to taste.
   
9. serve over rice. if you're not down with eating whole peppercorns, make sure to pick them out!
   

enjoy!

belated inauguration stuff

for the millionth time, inauguration was amazing. i'll spare you the details -- i know almost a week later people have been oversaturated but i don't want my pictures to fall into the black hole of memory cards. this blog is, afterall, for posterity.

here are my some of my favs from the weekend. the others are up on the flickr site (with details).

WE ARE ONE: INAUGURAL CONCERT

wesley was at the mall at 5am. what an amazing day for such a great kid!


after waiting 4+ hours for the concert, people started climbing trees...

and finding seats on the port o' pottys (yuck!)...


and just being fun.

mood of the weekend: hopeful for CHANGE


INAUGURATION DAY

7:00am vs 10:00am

watching the sun rise with 1.9million of my best friends

a sea of people

"office of president of the united states..."