from raleighwood to hollywood

comfort.

comfort can come in a lot of forms. for me, it's usually food. of course we all have our beloved food memories--certain dishes or smells that bring us back to a memory or to childhood. although i recreate my favorite meals often, this past week i had two particular dinners that stood out in my mind. last sunday, i agreed to help stella run lines each night for a showcase presentation she was doing in her acting class. the night before the performance, we were both exhausted and hungry. stella offered to bring down some pasta and i told her i'd throw together a salad. although the idea of cooking isn't extremely appealing when you're tired and would settle for cereal, but once i got started--the rachael ray in me took over.

because my mom has a sensitivity to wheat, pasta at our house is always brown rice noodles. i was a little skeptical the first time i ever saw my dad pull the discolored spirals out of the bag, but the flavor and texture is actually really great. stella and my mom happen to share the anti-wheat diet, so i knew that these brown rice noodles would be making an appearance in my belly.
another common dinner theme at the slater house is a big salad. no matter what the main dish is, you can always count on there being a big bowl of leafy greens to go along with it. if my parents were having a big salad for dinner, they would have a small salad on the side. because i'm only cooking for myself, i tend to have meals that are somewhat incomplete. instead of having pizza and a salad, i'll have pizza one night and a salad the other. as i looked down at my plate of those familiar brown noodles and big pile of salad, my heart felt like it was 2,500 miles away.

as for nostalgic meal #2, it was breakfast for dinner. i know what you're thinking. who doesn't love breakfast for dinner. this is true. but the reason this plate of food felt special to me was because it had all the elements of a meal my dad used to make me. i've told and re-told the story of the silver foil surprise, but that was always a to-go breakfast. this particular breakfast is something that was always enjoyed during a lazy morning in front of the tv or while sitting at the kitchen table. scrambled eggs and some form of toast is probably the most common, most un-extraordinary breakfast that you could imagine. for me, there are three very distinct ingredients that always made this meal special: cheddar cheese, sage, and peanut butter. sounds like an odd combination, but the sharp cheese and woodsy fresh herbs bring me right back to that kitchen table--swinging my legs in my chair and searching for the comics sections of my dad's paper. as for the peanut butter, we all know that this item falls onto my list of things i'd take on a deserted island; however, a toasted english muffin with peanut butter just happens to be the final addition to what makes this meal touch my heart. the food itself may be simple, but it's the smells, the tastes, and the memories it brings back that make this such a comfort dish for me.

as for the new job...

occasionally the traffic can be a little...

well...

but for the most part, i have no problem getting back and forth. i don't technically have my own office, but i do have a space heater and a desk in a room full of sofas and love seats. so far my tasks have ranged from taking fabric inventory, to learning about the company, to being in charge of the store's live chat. my title is somewhere between office assistant, warehouse clerk, and customer service rep--but for now, you can just call me futon fanny (credit goes to sara mclamb for that fantastic nickname).

in other exciting news, the off broadway shoe warehouse let me return my ridiculous all black sketchers shape-ups (moon shoes) and exchange them for something else! it's not that they were completely hideous to look at, but i'm not really an all black sneaker kind of girl and they were bulkier than a hippopotamus.

and nobody wants a hippo on their feet.

not only did i find a much more lightweight version of these that supposedly also tone your lower body and help you burn more calories, but i found them in carolina blue! ladies and gentleman, i give you...sketchers tone-ups.

also known as the shape-up's more attractive cousin.