Honduras for the week

Amigos, vacation time has come at last. I'm on my way to the airport, quick stop in Miami, then on to Roatan for a week of unplugged bliss.

Unplugged bliss...plus instagram. Just kidding. But really.

Something cool I saw this week: install this free browser plug-in (Google Chrome, not sure who else it works for) that changes every instance of "literally" on a website into "figuratively". Probably most useful for social media.

I hope you have a good week while I am literally dying from how incredible the snorkling is.

link it up

what can I say? still digging pink. 

I am off to Lake George in upstate NY for the wedding of one of D's oldest friends (I quite like her as well, so it works out nicely). Hope it's a great one for you.

I don't know about you, but D and I are SO TIRED of the national geographic pictures the Apple TV rotates through when in sleep mode...which it usually is, since we use it to airplay Pandora or Spotify from our devices. Looks like it's time to download this app, fo' free. This would be AWESOME if you have a TV in a visible area and wish it would just blend into your gallery wall...

Corporate time equivalents. True and funny.

The NY Times has a  new series, Verbatim, where they'll translate literal legal documents into short skits. The text and length have to be real, but the actors have creative license with their tone, delivery, and accompanying acting. This first one is giggle-inducing (don't miss the last 10 seconds).

I'm on a bit of an Iris Apfel kick lately. I can't say her home is my taste, but at the same time it is, in that my taste is whatever represents you. Totally does it her way.

pinned [think pink]

whether it's just a wink of pink or a full-blown pink room, I'm really liking this faint, peachy, palest of pink shade in interiors, and LOVE it paired with similarly muted tans and mauves, with deep rust and oxblood to bring out the heat, or with navy and teal for punch. I haven't been into pink since I was a little girl, but what goes around comes back around, no?

Just a hint:

with teal:

via

via

via

with navy/black:

via

with rust:

cheap eats [ginger carrot soup]

I'm being uber healthy this week, since I'll be eating/dancing my face off at a wedding this weekend, then heading to Honduras for a week-long vacation (gotta save room for the banana donut guy...who walks up and down the beach selling them...and is listed as "attraction #7 of 19" on Trip Advisor for Honduras. Awesome).

With that, I'm eating all fruits, veggies, and nuts/seeds this week. If I can, I love to do all smoothies, but 1. that's a LOT of cold for one day and 2. it's hard to bring a Vitamix to work, and I only like 'em fresh. I'm spoiled. Soup is a wonderful solution to my two issues, and it isn't tough to find vegan  recipes. I followed this one from Vitamix almost exactly for a gingery, carroty, orangey delight. Really it's delicious, and we had a pound of baby carrots and three sad looking oranges that needed to be eaten, so it was also an opportunity to clean out the fridge. Win-win.

In my searching, I found that a basic ratio is 1 lb (4 cups) of a starchy vegetable, one large or two small onions (or replace entirely with cucumbers), 2-4 cups liquid, and spices of your choice will yield a great vegetable puree. Having an outline lets you play with flavors you like. I wanted to batch cook, so I tried a sweet potato, onion, coconut water and curry puree too, which was delicious (kinda followed this recipe, but used less curry powder). I'm thinking watermelon, cucumber, coconut water, and mint soup sounds good for summer. Broccoli makes a good soup base, as does butternut squash. So many possibilities!

link it up

One of the many hats my dad chooses to don is that of the brewer. he isn't sure if this is real, but I'll report back after he gives it a try: how to drink all night and not get drunk.

One of my resolutions for this year was to get back into letter writing. All through college I dutifully enjoyed sending post to family and friends, but haven't been so diligent these last few years. This subscription service would keep me honest, and it looks beautiful. G, I think you'd like this too!

Literal rock band icons. My favorite is Blind Melon. Can you guess them all?

I've shared Humans of New York before, a blog I adore that pairs portraits with profound, funny, ironic, or interesting quotes from the subject. The founder shares a bit about his process, and I really liked this message: your philosophies and opinions are not unique, they are shared among many, but your stories are your own.

Eater does an "essential 38" list for restaurants in a city, pizza places in NYC, etc that I reference quite a bit when I'm on the road. This Wednesday they released their 38 Essential Coffee Shops IN THE COUNTRY, and I felt pretty smug about how many I've been to and/or how many I can GET to relatively soon: I've been to #4, 5 (MY FAVORITE), 7, 18 dozens of times, 23 a few weeks ago, 24, 35 (but only in NYC) and will do 28 when I move D to Atlanta in May, 8 when I visit K in Chitown in June, 30 when I'm in Miami next month and tried 12 on Thursday. I love lists, especially crossing things off them. Preferably with a cup of coffee in hand.

A hilarious take on smart phone shaming in public interactions. Do we think the author writes in jest or seriousness?