Playing Pioneers

What was life like before the advent of smartphones? I completely admit, I am addicted to mine. I am that sicko millennial who checks Facebook 20 times a day, texts more than is humanly possible, has every email forwarded to my phone from both my work and personal inboxes, and... I confess... who sleeps with her phone under her pillow so as NOT TO MISS ANYTHING!

Things were bad enough when my Internet shorted out this weekend. So, imagine the creep of cold dread that happened as I scooted across my couch, reaching for a book, landed on my purse, and heard a faint, sad crackle.

Yep. Goodbye LED screen! And goodbye phone! And goodbye remaining connection to the Internet! Thankfully I know that I'm prone to klutz moves like this one, so I have insurance. I will get a new phone in "3-5 business days," but until then I figure I will just have to use my oven timer to wake up in the morning (no, I don't even own an alarm clock), check emails at work, and take this new-found freedom to update my blog from the public Internet in my building lounge!

It's actually been a very creative few weeks so there's lots of fun to tell about! Even though my phone is busted, the memory card is OK, and I was able to salvage a few pictures from my recent adventures.

Following in my Dad's weird hobby footsteps, my friend Kate and I decided to take a random pickling class. I actually thought it was one of the most useful of the cooking classes I have taken so far in DC. You can pickle pretty much anything and I felt like I learned so much about not just pickles, but preserves and food safety in general. In the class, we made pickled oysters, pickled vegetables, and even pickle cocktails! (I'll pass on the cocktails from here on out, but I have to say that the pickle juice does cut the alcohol flavor entirely, a lot like a martini.)

Pickles on the left, pickle cocktail on the right. 

Continuing the creative trend, my coworker Rachel came over to my house and taught me some cake decorating basics! I know how to do a basket weave now, everyone! And stars! And bows and leaves! This is something I've wanted to learn since high school so I'm glad I finally took a stab at it. Roses are still a mystery to me and I can't even picture how my mother had the patience to create all the amazing cakes she did throughout our childhood, but I will say this: homemade birthday cake frosting RULES. I forgot how good that awful stuff is. Check out my handiwork below!

Finally, it was a great party weekend and I've been so lucky to be extremely well entertained and well fed for the last five days. The gluttony peaked this weekend at one of Jason's colleagues' weddings. The bride and groom's families are both from India, so this was a humongous traditional Indian wedding, and it was a blast! No expense was spared, and it was so cool to see a traditional Indian wedding ceremony. The outfits are stunningly beautiful, and the traditions are at once meaningful and playful between the bride and the groom. And of course, the authentic Indian food literally made my nose run, but it didn't stop me from eating platefuls. Delicious!

So, that's all for now. Looking forward to reconnecting with the universe in just a few days. Until then, off to read the paperback book I picked up from my apartment building's club room.

Peace and Love,
Tori