Eating Fresh: Fun and Full of Flavor

Hey guys!!

Thanks so much for being loyal readers over the past four years (three years of law school and one year of being MIA in NYC). I wanted to let ya’ll know that I’ve decided to start a new blog with a new focus. Its entitled Eating Fresh: Fun and Full of Flavor. I hope you’ll follow me over to this blog and enjoy my entries. Its a new idea of mine that will get started in just a few days…once finals are over. I’ll be writing about my experiences living in NYC while focusing on cooking and eating fresh foods! I’m talking farmers market, less processed, but great tasting food. I’ll be hosting a few of my friends from school as guest bloggers who will also write about their experiences eating fresh around the country.

Until I see ya over on Eating Fresh, so long, fair well, and many happy returns!

xoxo
Finally Glamorous…to Some Extent!

p.s. to those still struggling through law school, there is light at the end of the tunnel, I promise. Just stay focused and persevere! And remember, everything happens for a reason!

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

I know it has been a while since I have written but I’ve just been so busy with school and having great adventures in NYC. I’ve made a great group of friends and we have found a lot of really great things to do!! I’ve also had friends visit from out of town, with more to come! Overall it has been an amazing semester so far! We’ve even had our first snow already- before Halloween!!

 

Central Park

Anyway, I don’t know how many of you have discovered a slightly addicting (ok thats a lie, majorly addicting) website called Pinterest! I just love it! Its the perfect thing for my creative alter-ego, especially my love of interior design! One great thing I’ve been able to do on the site is to find great recipes I want to try. While grad school is no walk in the park, it is a great deal less stressful than law school. As a result, I have more time to do things that I’ve let go over the past three years (or that I’ve always wanted to do). So what I thought I would do is write about a recipe that I just tried that I found on pinterest: Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells.

So first you start with the ingredients. I made a couple of modifications on the original list:

• 12-16 jumbo pasta shells
• water for boiling pasta
• 2oz cream cheese, softened
• 2oz ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup frozen spinach
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese + 1/4 cup for topping
• 3 tablespoons prepared pesto (homemade or store bought)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, minced – depending on whether your pesto already has this in it, you might want to leave out the extra garlic.
• salt and pepper to taste

The first thing I did was to mix the chicken (I used chicken cutlets) with a little bit of the pesto in a bag before cooking it. This way, the chicken had a little flavor cooked into it. After I sautéed the chicken in olive oil, I use a mini food processor to shred the chicken. This was a lot easier than trying to cut the pieces up into small bits.

Next, I put the shells on to boil as the packages indicated and left the spinach in a pot with a little olive oil to cook down (approx. 10 mins). I then mixed the cream cheese and ricotta cheese together in the food processor to ensure it was creamy and smooth. Then I mixed all of the ingredients except the spinach together in a  bowl while waiting for the shells to finish.

When the spinach was done cooking, I mixed that into the chicken, cheese, and pesto mix to finish of the filling. I tried a little bit and added salt and a little more pesto until the favor was what I liked. I then drained the shells and let them cook with a little olive oil so they wouldn’t stick to each other.

When they cooled enough to pick them up, I used a spoon to stuff each one with a bit of the filling before placing them in a baking dish. I topped the shells with the last 1/4 of a cup of cheese, covering each stuff shell.

Finally, I put the dish in the oven for about 20-30 minutes.

I hope you enjoyed reading this little recipe and that you try it to see what you think. You could really do a lot of things with this in terms of mixing in different ingredients you have around.

xoxo
Not So Glamorous…Yet!

“10 Rules for Brilliant Women”

A great friend of mine posted this on twitter and I thought it made a great entry for my blog…since I haven’t written in a long time! Hope you enjoy!

1. Make a pact.
2. Imagine it.
3. Grasp.
4. Get a thick skin.
5. Be an arrogant idiot.
6. Question the voice that says “I’m not ready.”
7. Don’t wait for your Oscar.
8. Filter Advise
9. Recover and Restore
10. Let other women know they are brilliant

As taken from MSNBC’s Today Show. Click on this link to read the expanded version of each rule. Its a fun read 🙂 Have a fabulous night!

xoxo
Not So Glamorous…Yet!

I Passed!!!!

It is really hard to believe, honestly it is for me, but I passed the NC Bar Exam! I am a licensed attorney in the state of North Carolina! I was one of the individuals who had the pleasure of looking up my results along with the rest of the world – online. I have to admit, I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous in my life! I was shaking, and I was in the middle of my grad school orientation [shuuu don’t tell the professor ;)].

I could not have done it without everyone’s support and help!! Thank you so much to those of you who encouraged and supported me this past summer and the past three years.  I’m sending prayers of peace and encouragement to those still on the journey! I know nothing I can say will come close to how you are feeling right now, but take heart in the fact that you have many people supporting you in this journey and you can do it!

Well, its late and I have to get up early for another math review session tomorrow. Today we reviewed the order of operations [remember: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally???] and a couple of other things, and I registered for my MPH classes: Biostats, Epidemiology, Health Econ, Health Policy, and Issues and Approaches to Health Policy and Management. It should be a wild ride to say the least! I’m looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish but mostly, I’m just looking forward to a fabulous year and a half ahead in NYC before moving back to NC!!!

xoxo
Not So Glamorous…Yet!

Life in the Big City…So Far!

Well I think I have finally settled into my new home turf! I’m really enjoying being here and getting to know everyone. I thought I post a couple of pictures of my new place so far. I’m still waiting on my bar exam results, which is…..extremely difficult to say the least. Most of my friends have already had word and I’m just glad I’ve got this big city to keep me more distracted than I would be otherwise! If I don’t get my letter tomorrow, I’ll hopefully be able to view the list of passing individuals online on Wednesday. Wish me luck folks!

So here’s my apartment- before and after! Let me know what you think!

Before- Hoping it all fits!

Crazy big closet for NYC 🙂

My street!

Sunset from my apartment window!

All I can say is that I am an extremely lucky girl to be able to live in this fabulous city with a great apartment and what I am sure will be great friends! I’ve already met a group of people from our program and they seem like great people! Its going to be a wild year and a half!

Orientation for the MPH program starts tomorrow morning and I’ve gotta get back to my pre-orientation reading. Back to school for me- hard to believe! Until later…

xoxo
Not So Glamorous…Yet!

On moving to NYC

Well I can finally say that I have officially become a resident of New York City, if only for a short time. I have to say moving into the city is exciting amd very stressful all at the same time. Driving up from NC took a lot longer than expected- we had the pleasure of sitting in the famous New Jersey Turnpike traffic and finally made it to our hotel after 14 hours of driving!

I’m living on the upper west side of the city so we used the GW bridge to drive from NJ to NYC. Luckily we neat rush-hour traffic and made it on time to sign my lease and move in! Finding parking for a budget rental truck…now that was an adventure! It was just about as awful as it sounds. Luckily we were able to back into a loading area and get everything up to the 16th floor. Thats right…I’ve gone from living on the third floor to living on the 16th! Yikes!

So far we’ve got the bed and couch set up and are in tie process of putting things away. The apartment is a lot bigger than I expected so thays is very nice. My roommate arrives tomorrow amd I’m looking forward to meeting her!

More updates and pictures to follow! Until then….

Xoxo
Not So Glamorous…Yet!

Post-Bar Exam!!!

Well hello there! I thought I would finally sign back on and write you all a little about the past two and half months of my life. Let me just say, no words can describe the amount of time, effort, emotion, heart, soul, support, etc that it takes to study for the bar exam! It is grueling to say the least and not for the faint of heart! I won’t find out for another 5 weeks whether I passed so please no questions. Only time will tell as to how I performed!

On to more exciting things [although I’m not sure I could be more excited about the fact that I don’t have to studying right now!]! I am moving to New York City in less than a month to start my MPH at Columbia!! I am really excited about this and cannot wait for the experience of living in the Big Apple. It is definitely going to be a shock to the system and a new environment, but I think I’m ready for a change, at least for a little bit.

Here’s where I need your help! Obviously, now that I have graduated from law school and finally have the bar exam in my rearview mirror [at least until results come out], I’m thinking the title of my blog is no longer really applicable. So I’m on the hunt for a new name for my blog. However, I don’t want to start a new blog – anyone have any suggestions for how to change the name and url of my blog without getting rid of everything I’ve already set up?? Let me know! Thanks!

Now, I’m off to unpack from living the last two months of my life in a dorm room and the library. I might even blow-dry and straighten my hair before going to dinner with the new Alumna Advisor that I’m training tonight! :0 Yes, you read that correctly, I haven’t done anything with my hair other than pull it into a ponytail or french braid for almost the entire summer! Ekk! Anyway – hope you have had a fabulous summer! I’d love to hear about what you all did!

xoxo
Not So Glamorous…Yet!

The Bar Exam

Hey readers! Just wanted to give you a heads up that blogging is on hold until August. I’m currently studying for the NC Bar Exam so wish me luck!

Also, feel free to suggest a new blog title as I am no longer a law student and will be moving to NYC in the fall!! I need your help/suggestions 🙂

Xoxo
Not So Glamorous…Yet!

“I was Here” by Lady A

On the way back from the beach today, I was listening to Lady Antebellum (one of my favorite country groups) and this song really caught my attention. I really like the lyrics so I thought I would share them with you all. Enjoy!

I Was Here by Lady Antebellum

I’ll be leaving my mark like initials carved
In an old oak tree, you wait and see

Maybe I’ll write like Twain wrote
Maybe I’ll paint like Van Gogh
Cure the common cold, I don’t know
But I’m ready start ’cause I know in my heart

I wanna do something that matters, say something different
Something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better with the time I’ve been given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
Leave nothing less than something that says “I was here”

I will prove you wrong
If you think I’m all talk, you’re in for a shock
‘Cause this dream’s too strong and before too long

Maybe I’ll compose symphonies
Maybe I’ll fight for world peace
‘Cause I know it’s my destiny
To leave more than a trace of myself in this place!

I wanna do something that matters, say something different
Something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better with the time I’ve been given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
And leave nothing less than something that says “I was here”

And I know that I, I will do more than just pass through this life
I’ll leave nothing less than something that says “I was here”
I was here

“One Week”

It is that time of year again…it comes twice a year and it is a time that law students dread…finals! However, I am glad to report that this time, as compared to other times, I only have two exams (one of which is pass/fail) and one paper. As a result, I have been much less stressed this time around (probably some sort of denial about the next three months to come studying for the bar). Definitely not stress-free, but less stressed!

So instead of studying and working on my paper, I’ve caught up on a couple of movies (something I love doing when I’m stressed). The first was the new movie The Conspirator. I saw it in the movie theater and it was really a better movie than I expected. I’m a huge American history buff and so a movie about the conspiracy behind Lincoln’s assassination was irresistible! It was a great movie with some law and order attributes about it and it reminded me why I went to law school on a certain level. The movie made me think about our Constitutional rights as Americans and the constant battle we have to fight to protect those rights. Little sappy, I know, but I love that kind of stuff sometimes.

The other movie I caught was “One Week” with Joshua Jackson. This one was definitely an interesting movie- its about a guy who takes a road trip across Canada after finding out he has terminal cancer. Definitely kind of a downer on some level, but I enjoyed seeing all the sights he visited along the way, having never visited Canada myself. I also want to take a road trip across the US someday so it reminded me of that. I’m not sure if I recommend the movie or not (gets a little esoteric for me at some points) but its an interesting one for sure. It ends with this quote that I really like: “To Strive, To Seek, To Find. And Not To Yield.” Interesting thought….

Anyway, off for some fun with friends before back to studying/writing tomorrow!
xoxo
No So Glamorous…Yet!

p.s. Graduation is in one month! Where did the time go?!