Don't Waste Your Time, or Time Will Waste You

I recently had the opportunity to see one of my favorite bands...TWICE!

Muse was in the NYC area last week and through some luck I was able to attend to their Madison Square Garden and Izod Center shows.  Since the last time I saw them perform was Coachella 2010, this was extra exciting for me. 

As always, Muse put on an amazing show!  Bright lights, moving panels that made pyramid shapes, and Matthew Bellamy's sparkly jackets did not disappoint.  And I absolutely loved how they featured the bassist, Chris Wolstenholme, for "Liquid State" from their most recent album "The 2nd Law."  His voice has a completly different tone from Bellamy's, but you could still feel the MUSE energy.  So happy that I got to experience this twice.

Some other highlights include:

- They actually played a good mix of their discography, instead of focusing on most of their current album, which makes me very happy.

- During an interlude, there was a nice rendition of The Animals "House of the Rising Sun."

- I always find it funny how the U.S.A. National Anthem is played before "United States of Eurasia."

- Lots of Union Jack flags in the audience!

- Chris threw his harmonica after the "Knights of Cydonia" intro and Dom threw his drum sticks to the audience at the end of the show....I wish I was closer to the stage.

- From my observation, the oldest song Muse performed was "Stockholm Syndrome". I went nuts.

The one disadvantage of larger venues - Everyone looks like ants.

New Year, New Challenges

The year 2013 nearly two months in with some changes and new challenges.  I've been on a freelancing frenzy, traveled to two different states, and started a really awesome new years resolution.

I chose this year to retry some foods that I always avoided, because I "didn't like them."  Flavors that I didn't like as a kid, textures that I didn't want to touch have kept me from enjoying dinner parties and other outings were I was limited with choices.  I've started to order some items at restaurants, or nibble off of a friend's meal, but I figured 'What better way than to cook it myself!'

I tried oysters!!  They were actually delicious.  Can't believe I missed out all these years.

I hate oranges.  I've never liked the pulp, texture, and the flavor in orange juice, yet I somehow always order orange chicken at Chinese restaurants.  I know that the majority of restaurant orange chicken has 100s of added flavors to it, so I never noticed, so I opted for a healthier, striped down version.

Orange Ginger Chicken with Broccoli and White Rice

I stir-fried together a light Orange Chicken with Broccoli with a side of white rice and it was DELICIOUS.  I can totally handle the flavor of the orange juice and it blended well with the other ingredients without overpowering the dish.  Recipe below.

Serves 2

2           Chicken Breasts
1/2        Onion, chopped
1 Cup   Broccoli, in pieces
1 Pkge  Rice
1tsp      Canola oil

Marinade
1           Orange, rind grated and juiced
1Tbsp   Grated Ginger
1tsp      Honey
1/2 tsp  Sriracha Sauce
(or adjust to your liking)

Cut chicken into cubes and season with salt and pepper, set aside.  In a medium bowl add the grated rind and juice of the orange, grated ginger, honey, and sriracha sauce and mix well.  Set aside a small section of the marinade and add the chicken pieces to the remaining sauce and allow it to sit for a half hour to two hours.

Prepare rice according to the box instructions.

Place oil on a frying pan and set to medium heat.  saute the onions until slightly brown and translucent and add the broccoli and chicken and saute until the chicken is cooked through.  Turn to low heat and add the sauce that was set aside for a couple more minutes.

Serve the stir fry with some rice, enjoy!

Mint-spiration

I've been in a very mint-y mood today, probably because it's been hot out, and mint is a very cooling herb.

It started this morning, when I went to my local coffee shop.  I usually get their iced mocha, but I took some time to look at the menu while waiting in line and noticed a "iced vanilla mint latte" under their specials.  I never imagined the combination of vanilla and mint, so I decided to give it a try since it sounded so unique.  IT WAS DELICIOUS!  I even tweeted about it.

Sitting at my local coffee shop with a Iced Vanilla Mint Latte.

 I went grocery shopping afterwards, and saw the bunch of mint while I was grabbing a bag of lettuce.  I thought, "let's make this a mint day!"  I already have dried mint in my pantry, but you can do a lot more with fresh.  I came home and started planning how to fit in mint into the rest of my meals tonight.

I started off with a mint salad dressing.  I looked up recipes online, but there weren't any popular ones that stood out to my liking.  I decided to add it to my normal salad dressing with some alterations:

- drops of lemon juice
- drops of vegetable oil
- pinch of salt
- pinch of garlic powder
- small bunch of chopped mint

I mixed them all in my mini food processor and tossed it into my mixed salad - yum!

Dressing ingredients in my food processor.

I had planned to make one of my favorite Persian dishes, Khoresht Ghemeh, and while it does not require mint in the recipe, I thought I compliment the dish with a yogurt soda drink with mint called doogh.  Doogh is normally served with Persian kabobs, but I don't have a grill and I was in the mood for it.  I'll save the authenticity when I visit my parents, they are much better cooks anyway :)

Anyway, doogh is basically plain yogurt blended with club soda, pinch of salt, and some chopped mint (optional).

Doogh, one of my favorite childhood drinks!

Well, I'm off to finish cooking dinner.  Probably going to add the rest of the mint to my tea before bed tonight!

Hate To Say I Told You So

Friday night was a fun flashback.  A friend of mine mentioned to me that she was going to see The Hives and invited me along.  I haven't heard anything new from the band since high school, but of course I could never turn down a concert.

We met for a nice fondue dinner and headed over to Terminal 5, one of my favorite venues.  There were two opening bands, Flesh Lights and Fidlar, which were not bad.  Flesh Lights were a upbeat, fun trio.  They looked very young, I would guess high school?  Maybe even early college?  It was pretty obvious that they are just starting out, because of their short set, but it looks like they have a growing fan base.

Fidlar was more of a chill skater-rock kind of group.  Most of their songs' lyrics were based on getting high which is nothing I could ever relate to, but musically they were alright.  I think I was more distracted by the lead singer's guitar.

"Burritos"? really?

Finally, The Hives came out, with a crazy entrance of ninjas, lights, and "magician" uniforms.  My only real memory of the group before the show was their first album back when I was in high school.  They had a hit back then called "Hate To Say I Told You So."  I just love how fun, catchy, yet simple their music is.

Myself and my friends started off in the front and center of the audience.  As the band was getting into their second song, the people around me were going crazy, moshing and pushing everyone around them.  After being pushed around and losing my friends, I couldn't take it anymore and moved over to the left side of the venue.  I'm so glad I did, because seconds later, the kids in that area started crowd surfing, and there's no way I would have been able to hold someone up.

I was able to enjoy the concert more being a little further away.  I can't believe I've missed out on a couple of their albums over the years and their new material was great too.  Definitely a fun night, despite all the bruises I have now.

By the way, I just realized that in a previous post that mentioned Terminal 5, I mentioned that I was going to try the balcony the next time I went there...oops!   

How awesome is this stage!!

The Hives are out with fun costumes.

So much energy in the room.

A rare still moment.

So, the lead singer, Pelle Almqvist asked the entire audience to sit on the floor.

Make It Work

I've been on an artsy rampage this week.  I've been playing my clarinet a lot more, I really miss playing in a group.  I'm slowly getting my skills back up to where I was in college, although my higher range is just horrifying, sorry neighbors!

I've been updating my design portfolio too.  I finished the certificate program at Pratt last month, so I haven't had any new projects to create outside of work assignments.  I have been focusing on variations of my logo, which I'm excited about.  It's hard to come up with something that represents who I am without going a little too overboard with color.  Since it will most likely turn into a business card, I don't want to come off as overbearing.


This was actually done a few months ago as a birthday card for a friend, who is a big fan of The Office.  I recently added this one to my portfolio, to brighten up any "Office" fans day!

Dwight K. Schrute

Last night, I had the opportunity to knock off a fun item on my bucket list.  Yesterday morning, I found out on Twitter that Project Runway planned to hold a public fashion show in Times Square for their season 10 premiere.  Naturally, I HAD to go.  I arrived last night about a half hour before the show, and it got packed quickly.  My spot was ok, but not the best considering there were towers of cameras everywhere.  It was such a nice treat to see Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Michael Kors, and Nina Garcia from a slight distance.  Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) and Patrica Field were also there as guest judges.

Now, on to the fashion show!  Filming just started with 16 designers and each had to create 2 looks, so we got a nice long show with 32 models.  There were some outfits that I really loved, some that were too simple or overdone, and some that were just plain weird.  Because it is television, they ran the runway part twice to get better shots, so I got a good glimpse of the first episode.  Can't wait til it airs in July, I wonder if I'll be able to spot myself on TV! :)

Watching the stage getting set up, with the judges chairs on the side.

The hosts/judges of the show greeting us.  Heidi looked absolutely gorgeous, Tim Gunn and Michael Kors were adorable, and I am obsessed with Nina Garcia's dress (who later tweeted that it is by Dolce and Gabbana)

It's Time For Some Change

A lot has happened in the past few weeks.  So much that I can't even remember what I should post.  I've added a "Favorites" list on the side of the page, to share things that I like/care about at the moment.  I'm planning on updating it monthly, but it might turn seasonal.

Now that the weather is a little warmer, I've been making frequent trips to the outdoor Union Square Greenmarket.  They're open 4 days a week, but Saturday is my best day to go, and it is much more peaceful in the mornings.  I went in last week to grab a couple things I love that are in season right now (RHUBARB!!). 

Lots of colorful radishes.  I tried them once when I was a kid and didn't like it, maybe I'll try it again someday, cause these look so pretty!

Lots and lots of strawberries!!  Bought a bunch for my strawberry-rhubarb crumble.

Cute sign!

Afternoon at a Hells Kitchen rooftop, watching the Disney cruise ship leave the dock.

A Weekend of Music, Food, Sun, and More Music, Part 2

My weekend post is in two parts, because I felt that this next section deserved it's own post.

Sunday was the spring concert for Daniel's Music Foundation.  Through New York Cares, this organization has been my favorite to volunteer for this past month.  DMF is a music program for children and adults with disabilities.  If you have some time, look over the story behind how it all got started....amazing! 

Over the past few weeks, I have been able to meet so many great people, and students who have touched my heart.  My job during the courses was to sit with a student and engage them to participate in the class.  Sometimes there were challenges, especially with the younger ones, but in four weeks I did notice a lot of improvements within each individual.  In the adult/high school keyboard class, I just so happened to work with the same student each week, so the instructor asked me to aid him on stage during the performance.  Fortunately, I didn't have to do much, as long as I got him on the right note at the start of a phrase, he was able to figure out the rest on his own. 

I sat with the students in the auditorium during the first recital of the day.  There was a "Rock 'n Roll" theme, which really produced some great acts, that I didn't even get to see during the classes.  Even when the kids were not performing and just watching the others, I saw so much excitement in their eyes, and they were clearly vocal about it at the end of each song.  Made me really miss performing back when I was a kid.

Music really does heal!!!