Tag you're it

Katie Lake tagged me for a little Q & A. Here it goes.

1.Respond and rework: answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

2. tag other un-tagged people.

The Questions:
What is your current obsession? getting back into shape after law school

Do you like your name? sometimes, but it can get confusing because I'm just Katie, not Katherine

Who was the last person you hugged? If you have to count a person - the BF, but I just gave the dog a big good morning hug!

What’s your favorite dinner? Lamb Chops with mashed potatoes

What was the last thing you bought? A calculator for my Partnership Tax exame

What are you listening to right now? Passport to Europe w/ Samantha Brown

What is your favorite weather? I like snow

What is your least favorite season? Spring (it's pretty but my allergies are insane right now)

What's in your bathroom cabinet? Bathroom cleaner and 4 unopened boxes of Proactive (I just recently figured out how to stop the bi-monthly shipments, now I get it every 4 months)

Say something to the person/s who tagged you. Katie Lake, can't wait to see you tomorrow, will be in route on the way home as soon as the HVAC guy returns to finish fixing the AC

What is your favorite tea flavor? Mint (in the summer my mom adds fresh mint from her herb garden to sweet tea, so refreshing)

What did you want to become as a child? A lawyer (I haven't changed that much)

What do you miss? Having a life outside of school

What's your favorite brand of jeans? Seven for All Mankind or Hudson

What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)? I'd love to have either a LV Speedy (graduation perhaps?) or a Chanel bag (but I don't know which one)

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Prague (I didn't get enough time there when I went)

Who do you want to meet in person? Justice Scalia, I bet he'd be a trip

What is your most challenging goal right now? Passing the bar exam and getting a job

What’s your 5 year plan? Um, getting a job so I won't be living in a cardboard box underneath a bridge.

What is my favourite sport to watch? To play? College football; snow/water skiing or running

What is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own? I have three: my black pearls, the Tiffany earings that the bf got me for Valentine's Day, and my watch (my ultimate favorite piece, I think it's so classic)

What is your favorite charity or cause? any one that has some sort of road race to raise money (because I'll actually get my booty out of bed on a Saturday morning to go run the race)

What color do you feel looks best on you? Green

Favorite pair of shoes? My silver Chanel ballet flats that I got at a used shoe store. I've worn them out

And I tag:

CTB
USCEmily
AmyT
Freck
Angela Darling

Happy Thursday!

Random thoughts

Besides taking my last exam today, the bf (who is also a graduating law student) and I also attended a memorial service for one of our beloved professor's wife who passed away unexpectedly late last week.

This professor was one of our favorite professors and he and his wife (a former dean at the law school) were always so great to open up their home to students like the bf and I. The memorial service was wonderful -- it definitely illustrated what a special person she was.

The bf and I asked our professor when would be a convenient time to stop by and bring some food and he made a really interesting comment that I can definitely identify with because I felt the same way when my dad passed away. He said that his house was full of food and people at the moment but that he'd love to have some company next week when the house is empty. I couldn't agree more, I think that once the wake, and funeral are over and all of the chaos of the death has initially passed, I think that is the time when you need the visitors and food the most. Personally, that is definitely when I felt the most alone after my dad passed away.

That said, I know it is a very southern thing for people to bring food to the family of the deceased which brings me to the point of this post. Call the family and ask if they need food, or wait until that next week and bring food that freezes well with portions already packaged for the freezer. It sounds weird but I can remember throwing away tons of food after my dad passed away but thinking how nice a thoughtful meal would have been in the weeks following.

Taking my own advice, what the bf and I are going to do is go visit our professor next week at his home and I'm going to make mac and cheese and put it in individualized take out containers that can straight from the freezer to the oven (Dollar Tree has these and they even come with lids). I'm also going to make labels identifying the food and attaching reheating instructions.

Anyway, that's about all. I'm going to go enjoy a beer with a friend to celebrate the end of exams!

I'm Done!!!

I'm finished with law school exams, forever (well except for the big one in July!) Now all I have to do is graduate and start my bar exam reivew classes! That said, thanks to Ms. USCEmily at From the land of cotton for the lemonade award!

This award's rules are:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude

3. Link to your nominees within your post

4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award

5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award.

6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude

I have an attitude of gratitude because I realize every day how lucky I am to live the life I live. I have to thank my parents for being able to provide me with everything I ever wanted or needed and for telling me that I could do whatever I put my mind to. I realize that not everyone has had the opportunities I have and because I am so lucky I am extremely thankful.

I am also thankful because I have been blessed with a great family and great friends who always support me in my endeavors. After going through a tough time I think that you really learn what a great gift this is.

And I tag:

Amy at Let's Talk Thompsonisms

Angela Darling at 20-Something Dreams

CTB at Well Bless Your Heart

Preppy101 at All Things Southern and Preppy

Christina at This Girls' Life

The Little Pink Magnolia

Katie Lake at A Southern Girl in the City

Needs Help at Trying to Make it All Work

Have a great Wednesday!

Food for thought

Still studying. Have and exam and a paper due tomorrow, then have to start studying for exam on Wednesday. I need to take a study break so I thought I'd do a quick post to show how my eating habits have deteriorated over the past 3 days. I don't have time/care to cook right now so the extent of my kitchen appliance use is my microwave and George Foreman grill. As the picture below shows, I'm a little obsessed with making paninis with my Foreman. It's like getting food at a restaurant but I don't have to spend the money, plus I use Pam instead of olive oil or butter so I feel like its a healthier option as well.
I have a ton of guacamole leftover from my birthday party so I served my sandwich with chips an guacamole and also used it as a spread on my sandwich. I'm not a mayo eater (unless it's in something) but I have read that guacamole is a good substitute for mayo because its creamy and full of the good fats. Just some food for thought. Back to studying!

I'm so excited (and wasting time)

I'm supposed to be studying for my criminal procedure exam right now, but I've decided to take a break to watch the NFL draft and do a quick post about the previously mentioned LV bag that I still need a dust bag for (any suggestions about where I can get one? Let me know.)

So here it is, I don't remember the name of it but I do know that its cute. Does anyone know anything else about this bag? I know some of you are LV collectors.

So that's about all for today, I need to get back to studying. I realize this post is short but all I really wanted to do was dedicate a post to my new bag.

Have a happy Saturday and think of me stuck at the library studying in spite of the beautiful and finally warm weather!

Finally -- a food post!

I realize that a lot of my, posts this week (or lately) have been about things other than food. This is mostly because I haven't really cooked, I've just been too busy. This does not mean that I have been eating out three meals a day (too expensive plus unhealthy) it just means that I've made a lot of sandwiches. I also made a huge pot of chicken noodle soup on Sunday to eat all week! Plus, as an experienced law school exam taker, I have a freezer full of premade dishes, more on that later (it's a great thing to do that I learned from my mom!).

The first part of this post is dedicated to the things in the kitchen that I couldn't live without! They are what I call my kitchen powerhouses!

This is the most used pot in my kitchen. Of course, it is my dutch oven. Mine is Le Creuset and I've had it since I started law school. It is actually a thrifty find since my mom bought me an entire set at an antique auction for what one pot would have cost at Williams Sonoma. It may sound weird to buy used cookware, but this was gently used and Le Creuset lasts forever so it had many cooking years left in it (even with my cooking). As I have said before, everyone needs a good dutch oven and this is something that you need to buy the best you can afford. A lot of the time, high quality dutch ovens will occasionally show up at your local thrift store, and Home Goods and Tuesday Morning usually will have a good selection of top of the line cookware, so check out these places before you purchase. But again, a good dutch oven is like a nice handbag, piece of furniture, or pair of shoes, meaning that you need to buy the best you can afford, it will be worth it in the long run!

This is the cookbook that taught me how to cook! And I would describe it as the original Rachael Ray since most of the dishes are ready in about an hour. My mom has had it since I can remember and a lot of my favorite dishes that she makes are recipes from this book. I think it may be out of print at this time, I actually found mine at a charity book sale. However, amazon.com or your local used bookstore may have a copy of it. While the title may not be exciting and it may seem little old fashioned and not gourmet, I promise that the title is deceiving. The first dish I ever made was corn and bacon chowder out of this cookbook and I love it as much today as I did in 7th grade when I first made that dish. Word of warning - don't expect tons of lovely pictures of the food because there are none, but there are plenty of easy to follow, fast, and inexpensive recipes that are just waiting for you to personalize!

I know that I mentioned earlier in this post that I was going to talk about my freezer full of premade dishes. This is a great idea because it gives you several entrees that you can just defrost and add a little something extra too and dinner is finished. I do this with chili, pasta sauce, and soup. I find these foods freeze the best and they are most often the dishes that I create a ton of leftovers. I started taking those leftovers and putting them in plastic containers and freezing them for exams (or a particularly stressful day). I highly recommend doing this, it's a great way to keep leftovers from being wasted and it definitely stops me from eating fast food 3 times a day during exams! Just add either some extra tomato sauce and parsley to the frozen sauce and add pasta (if reheating pasta sauce); add some extra cilantro and top with cheese, sour cream, and salsa to reheated chili and you've got dinner that doesn't taste frozen!

Happy Friday!

An exciting day

So I'm sitting in my last law school class.. EVER.. Part of me wants to jump for joy and the other part of me really wants to cry..