Monday, April 30, 2007

Pretty accurate, I have to say

Dear lady in the movie theater bathroom,


Whatever germs you left on your hands by not washing them are much worse than the germs you're protecting yourself from by opening the door with your jacket.

Love,
Sarah

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Another Big Weekend


Goodbye Party
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

The spring has brought out the social butterfly in both me and Nicholas and we have another weekend to prove it.

I had a really crazy Friday. I went to Chander's office to take muffins for my friend Jennifer's last day (she's the cute brunette pictured above). Then I went to Hillaryland in Virginia. Then I went BACK to Capitol Hill for a Chandler/Yarmuth happy hour. THEN I met Nicholas at Buca de Beppo for my moot court banquest. We sat with my competition partner Chris and his girlfriend Alice and had such a good time we basically ignored the whole ceremony.

On Saturday, Nicholas and I spent the majority of the day doing my favorite activity doing "jack shit" (as the Sweet Potatos Queen call it). That night was Jennifer's actual goodbye party, which was really fun. I'm definitely going to miss her but I now have added Boston to the list of major cities that have someone to mooch off! ;)

Today was a beautiful day so of course we went to Target! And can I just say it was a very successful trip - I got everything I was looking for and a little extra as is always the case with Target. I also went on a nice hike with Maggie and Nicholas and I went to see an absolutely wonderful movie called Paris Je T'aime.

Unfortunately, the movie caused us to be late to a condo board meeting, and, when we arrived, everyone seemed decided on an option of which I am extremely skeptical. (We're looking at new heating systems). However, I'm trying to be open-minded.

Anyway, a Sopranoes that confused me more than ever and an Entourage that almost convinced me it's a decent show and I'm off to bed!

Saturday: Artichoke and Mushroom White Pizza


Saturday: Artichoke and Mushroom White Pizza
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Wednesday: Chickpea pattties



Wednesday: Chickpea Patties
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Pitiful


It is harder to know what child I feel sorrier for at this point:
- Dannielynn
- Ireland
- or Jacqueline McGreevey.

Dear girl in front of me at the printer,


You in no way, shape, or form need a 250 page outline for Federal Courts. That is not an outline, that is tabbed class notes. It is also ridiculous.

Love,
Me

Monday, April 23, 2007

Big Weekend


Engagement Party
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Nicholas and I had very exciting and very busy weekend. On Friday night, we went on a double date with our friends Miti and Tim to Circle Bistro. The food was fantastic and, as often is the case when we got out with Miti and Tim, the conversation was even better. Although things got pretty fiesty when they decided to argue The Wire is a better television show than The Sopranos. I mean come on people - that is not even reasonable.

Saturday was huge day because we had thirteen of our nearest and dearest over for a surprise engagement party for our dear friends Laura and Dan. The fabulous Guinevere co-hosted with us, which was a good thing because we defintiely couldn't have done it without her.

The preparation was going along swimmingly until I decided to straighten some pictures over my couch. Nicholas slightly tickled my stomach and I touched one of the two shelves hanging on the wall. Yeah, it fell down. I tried despeartely not to panic, but it wasn't easy. Luckily, we patched and painted the wall pretty easily and the pictures on the shelf hung over the space nicely.

However, this event set the rest of our schedule back a bit and we were frantically cooking and cleaning up till the last second. No one seemed to notice or care. Perhaps they were distracted my Nicholas's amazing menu. :)

He made:
homemade cheese strays (basil and parmasean)
mushroom crostini
swordfish rolls
stuffed tomatos
and we had an antipasto tray.

Even better than the food was Laura and Dan were genuinely surprsied and very touched by the gesture. They thought they were coming over for a quiet dinner party, so needless to say, their faces were priceless. Plus, Laura had never had a surprise party thrown for her so that was an added bonus.

We recovered all day Sunday then went out for another double date with our friend Jennifer and Eric to Rosa Mexicana. I had never been there before and the food was fabulous. It is really difficult to get good Mexican in DC so we really enjoyed it. Again, the conversation was great. I mean we arrived at 8 and left at 11:45!

THEN, of course, our Tivo messed up recording Sopranos (I blame you Geoffrey) so we had to stay up till the midnight showing on HBO West. It was worth it but I am sooo tired today...actually that's true of the entire weekend.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

YIPEEEEEEE!!!!



I have something to share. Right now - at this very second - I am sitting in my last law school class e-v-e-r!

(for those of you in the back who didn't hear me)

LAST! LAW SCHOOL CLASS! EVER!!!!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

History



My ancestry research took a dark turn tonight. My great-aunt emailed me some information I was unable to find on my own, which allowed me to go back several generations on my mother's side. While I was searching for historical records on my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, several entries in the 1860 Federal Census-Slave Schedule appeared. It seems he owned seven slaves, all adults ranging in age from 50 to 21.

For some reason, I had convinced myself that I had escaped this part of my Southern heritage. "They were just poor farmers," I told myself. "Kentucky was a border state." But, apparently, the reason I had not found any other records yet was I just wasn't looking hard enough. More searching of the Slave Schedule revealed several other family members.

I know it was naive to think that my family was not a part of this history. I proudly proclaimed that I felt more fully American after finding out so many of my family members had come here before America was even founded. However, I should have realized that this long history comes with pride and shame.

I also can't help but recognize the irony in discovering this information after a week when race in America filled the news. I guess it gives some helpful perspective. Less than 150 years ago, my family owned human beings, like property. However, that concept was so far out of my realm of reality it was all but completely unfathomable...at least until today.

Tuesday: Migas and black beans
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Recipe linked

Monday: Savoy Cabbage Risotto


Monday: Savoy Cabbage Risotto
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

From A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen

Monday, April 16, 2007

Virginia Tech


Most of you know me well enough to know that when I was sixteen there was a shooting at my high school. A very disturbed young boy walked into our lobby and opened fire, killing three girls. It's not something I think about everyday, but it has, without a doubt, profoundly affected the way I think.

Of course, today was different. Today I thought about it a lot.

I can only begin to imagine what the people at Virginia Tech are feeling. What has happened there is so far beyond the reality of what happened at Heath that I'm having trouble truly comprehending it. Our school had only about 550 students. Virginia Tech has over 23,000. Our shooter lived and we learned that he suffered from severe paranoid schizophrenia. The shooter at Virginia Tech is dead and all that is left is speculation. Then, there is the number killed.

However, as I was reading the coverage, I saw a quote that made me realize how some emotions are the same no matter the scale of the tragedy.

"I'm terrified," she said. "It's gonna be so hard to walk back into class and trust that nothing bad will happen."

I can honestly say I know EXACTLY how that girl feels. I read that and realized that since December 1, 1997, I have never really trusted that nothing bad will happen. I have a profound understanding that in one second your entire life, your total understanding of what is reality and what is not, can change forever.

I would like to say that this means I value life more and I live every moment to the fullest. And, in some ways, I guess I do. If an opportunity presents itself, I take it. I rarely think, "Oh, I can try this another time," or "This won't be my last chance," because the truth is - it could be.

Unfortunately, there are also negative manifestations. I am terrified of losing a loved one in a tragic way and I know I think about it more than is normal. On more occasions then I care to recount, I have called emergency rooms looking for family members who were late coming home. Sometimes I look at Nicholas next to me at night and I start crying. In those moments, the imbalance between how much I love him and how quickly something tragic could happen to him seems too much to bear.

So, in the end, I guess the hardest part about understanding the fear they are feeling in Blacksburg is knowing that a small part of it will never go away.

Sunday: Corn and Clam Chowda
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

The recipe is linked.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Ummmm....


So, how ya been?

Oh, I'm great. Thanks for asking. Weather's been crazy huh?

...Yeah, school's been busy, just trying to hang on till May.

(awkward silence)

**************

I'm sorry ya'll. That's all I got. I mean it's not that things aren't happening but I'm just sort of uninspired when it comes to posting. I blame my friend Leslie who said we jumped the shark when we started posting pictures of our food so I'm feelin all this pressure now! I mean I thought about writing about the whole Imus thing but baby's mama! who wants to hear more about that. Plus, the sort of big happenings in my life recently have been stuff I can't share because they involve other people. (Don't worry nothing important or secret, just not blog appropriate.)

So, anyway I promise not to become one of those bloggers who whine about not posting but I just thought ya'll might want to hear something. I promise to become more interesting within the near future, or at least make something up for your enjoyment.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Sarah a la plage


Sarah a la plage
Originally uploaded by robholland.

The latest entry in Rob Holland's, my personal photographer, Sarah portfolio. Aren't you sad he's not your father-in-law?

Monday, April 09, 2007

Easter Weekend in Florida


Easter 2007
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

We flew to Florida this weekend for the exciting Holland double christening of Elizabeth Theodora Holland and William Maxwell Holland. We got in on Friday afternoon and hung out for a while before going to dinner with the whole crew. It was my sister-in-law Jennifer's birthday so we had our first cake of the weekend.

The next day was the big event. We all did our own thing throughout the day except for a group lunch at Ted Peter's, which is worth the trip to St. Pete alone. The christening went very smoothly with everyone renouncing Satan when it was their turn. William did not seem concerned in the least that there was a strange man pouring water over his head and pressing the sign of the cross into his forehead. Elizabeth, on the other hand, wanted everyone to know that she thought this guy was a total and complete jerk. She definitely wasn't alone, as this seemed to be the opinion of most of the babies. We had a fun pizza party afterwards, although
the cold put a bit of a damper on the fun.

On Easter Sunday, we had an early Easter dinner before some of our travelers left early to return home. Throughout the afternoon, I made a point of showing Stephen that the plastic eggs contained fruit loops (the genius idea of my mother-in-law), so when it came time for the hunt he knew what was at stake. ;) I was amazed at how quickly he picked up the concept of an Easter egg hunt and it was ridiculously cute and entertaining...and VERY well-photographed.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying friends and family, with a beach trip thrown in the late afternoon. We had a really wonderful weekend and didn't want it to end. I tried to sneak a baby in my suitcase for the trip home, so I could extend the fun. Unfortunately, his mom caught me and I had to give him back. :(

Easter 2007


Easter 2007
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

I promise to post all about this weekend as soon as I can.

Here's a little baby to hold you over to then.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

What are you people trying to tell me?


Both my mother AND father called today to make sure I was not one of the protesters at American University last night. A group of students laid down in front of Karl Rove's car as he was leaving the campus in an anti-war protest.

So, before anyone else can call, no I was not there!

Jeez, people. Sure, I protested at an Old Navy or two in college but that hasn't been my style for a long time! ;)

Tuesday: Shrimp, Pasta Roni, and Broccoli


Tuesday: Shrimp, Pasta Roni, and Broccoli
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Cherry Blossom Festival


Cherry Blossom Festival
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Today before work I went down to the Tidal Basin to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms at their peak. It was a perfect Spring morning and the crowds were at a managable size. I was able to walk all the way around the Bain and enjoy the blossoms and monuments in all their glory. I also ran into Yoko Ono along the way. Go figure.

Monday: Pasta with White Beans


Monday: Pasta with White Beans
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Sunday: Tortilla Soup


Sunday: Tortilla Soup
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Prom 2007



Prom 2007
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

We have had a really fun weekend. Last night, we went to the last Law School Prom ever! Barrister's Ball, as it's more popularly know, is pretty much just like real prom only with lots of legal drinking. My group of friends has really embraced Prom for all its worth.

Every year we've rented a party bus that takes us from our friends' house (our headquarters, as it's popularly known) to Prom. Then it parks out front and basically acts as our own personal VIP lounge. Pretty awesome. Our first year we were the only ones with a party bus, but of course imitators quickly followed.

We usually meet at headquarters for snacks and lots of pictures. Leslie and Laura really took it to the next level for our last prom by setting up an actual prom backdrop (as seen above). We also decided to order tacky prom garters , which were also widely photographed (see Flickr).

Then, we headed over to Mellon Auditorium and danced our butts off. We really had a blast and time just flew by. Soon, they were playing the last song and we all got back on the party bus. We had grand plans to go out to bars afterwards. However, our aging status really became clear, because as we all got off, everyone started saying goodbye and heading home for the night. So, we just decided to all get back on the bus and have the party bus drop us all at our houses! I think it was an appropriate end for our party bus run honestly.

We also had a really fun time Friday night. We went out to a nice dinner then to an improv tournament at a local gallery. If you remember, we are trying to branch out and do more than just go to the movies every weekend. So, this was a fun and unique thing to try. It was actually pretty funny and we might try an improv club again some time.