Monthly Archives: August 2010

New England Clam Chowder; Cabby Shack

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Last night at Cabby Shack, Krista kept asking me about the clam chowder. To be honest, I’ve had it before, but I couldn’t remember a thing about it. I knew I wanted it because I tend to get chowder cravings at the oddest (and every once in a while the most appropriate) of times. I knew it wasn’t terrible or that there wasn’t some part of it that stood out to me that I wasn’t a fan of. Like, for example, I always remember that Panera Bread doesn’t have my favourite clam chowder. I can never remember why. Having eaten it recently I know, at the moment at least, that it’s because it’s completely lacking salt and maybe lacking a little bit of oniony flavour. Also it lacks a good amount of clam flavour.

Finally she explained that Cabby Shack’s clam chowder was featured on Food Network’s “Best Meal I’ve Ever Eaten” and apparently it’s amazing. But her mom said it wasn’t that good.

Even though I planned on ordering the chowder before that moment, I knew I absolutely had to have it then. The chowder comes out in mugs — the usual coffee size for a “cup” or a round I-need-copious-amounts-of-tea size for a “bowl” size. It’s often spilling over the ceramic, possibly down the server’s arms and when our server set it down I knew there was no possible way this chowder “isn’t that good”.

There was a small pool of yellowy butter that needed to be mixed into the creamy chowder. Before then I hadn’t realized that chowder had butter in it. It was chunky and thick, potato-y and clammy and everything a good chowder should be. It wasn’t too bland, wasn’t too, well anything really. It was perfect and I can absolutely see why it would be on “The Best Meal I Ever Ate”. If you ever find yourself in the Plymouth area, I highly recommend stopping by Cabby Shack, taking a picture of yourself as a lobster, then eating an abundance of delicious chowder.

We left wishing we had ordered the chowder in bread bowls and left our meal at that.

It’s posts like these that remind me that I should look into writing reviews for restaurants or being a part time food critic. On the drive back to my house we discussed our pitch ideas for the Travel Network (and maybe possibly the Food Network). If it doesn’t work out for me to be a part time food critic, I absolutely would not protest for a television show to send us to Europe to eat, date, cook or any of the above.

<3. Melanie.Kristy

Bagged Part 2; An Update

Posted in food, goals by

Seriously, guys? I think it was last Monday that I announced my attempt to bring bagged lunches to work. The success rate of said adventure so far is about 34%. Out of the past two weeks I’ve brought my lunch three days. Actually I think I may have only eaten it two of those three days.

What, I ask you, is my problem? Some mornings I just can’t find the energy to think about lunch, other mornings (like this morning, I admit) I forget completely. Sometimes I just can’t see past all of the condiments and cartons of milk in my refridgerator to actually put together some sort of decent meal.

Though I must admit that on the days that I did eat in the back room, book in hand while I fished through a plastic Shaws’ bag, I did feel better during the rest of the day. I may have found myself starving (slight exaggeration) by the time 5:15pm hit but at least I didn’t suffer the last few hours of work sleepy and to full.

Next week is vacation, so I’m hoping to gain some sort of regularity in the way that I eat breakfast and lunch that hopefully I can carry with me into the work week.

<3. Melanie.Kristy

Things I Love Thursday

Posted in lists, love, tilt by
– Jerry, my yoga teacher. He’s nothing short of amazing. How can you not be amazing when you’re 68 years old and teaching yoga?
 
– Urban Decay Eyelid Primer. I seriously thought there was something wrong with my skin, NO eyeshadow would ever stay on my eyes for more than approximately fix and a half minutes, seriously.
 
– Writing poetry in the point of view (and for the purpose of) fictional character
 
– One more shift before vacation!
 
– Planning to get a certificate to teach TESOL starting maybe next fall
 
– The weather has been feeling more like Fall lately!
 
– Looking forward to King Richard’s Faire next weekend
 
– The Little Book of Hindu Deities   I need to invest in this book asap.
 
– Signing up for 20 Something Bloggers. Unfortunately the internet at my house is too slow for me to actually do anything on the site.
What do you l ove this week?
<3 Melanie.Kristy

Italia.

Posted in travel by

I achieved Italy through student loans and a summer art history class. It had to be done and I needed to get there the fast way. We rode bikes around the city, took the train to Rome where we got lost inside ourselves, and we wandered around speaking broken Italian to interested and disinterested natives alike. I ate the best food I’ve ever had in my entire life and gelato was a daily treat. It’s been three years and I ache tonight just as much as I ached three years ago while we walked away from the city we temporarily called home.

it's no secret that pizza is my favourite food

the mediterranean

oh yes, it is love, Tuscan countryside

some espresso

St. Peter's Basilica

I left part of my heart there in the toes of those sneakers.

<3. Melanie.Kristy

Wanderlust Haikus

Posted in Uncategorized by
suitcases are packed
spontaneous departure
live within the world

homesick for your land
in love before we had met
i long to breathe you

one culture is not
enough for this country girl
please bring me with you

away we go and
promise me we will not stay
for eternity

he said that you should
remember the way fingers
feel against sidewalk

Some days I feel more longing than others to get out of this town and go exploring. Tonight my heart is bursting with homesickness and a feeling that can’t be filled by dreams and pictures.

I long for Italy. I long for other countries I’ve never been to. I long to see other parts of my world, America. I want to learn new languages and see new people and take cheesy tourist photographs.

If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?

Blurry Edges All Over

Posted in introduction, writing by
I’ve always had trouble focusing on anything, goals were hard to achieve, books were hard to finish, forget studying I spent most of my school years on a whim hoping to pass with good grades. After graduating from college sometimes it feels like I’ve lost all sense of direction. It’s like there is nothing to focus on except for getting through day to day things. This is possibly the worst way for me to live, because it makes it so that I am unable to imagine a larger picture. I begin to only focus on the lack of people in my life, the lack of money in my bank account and the lack of success I feel as if I’m achieving. After all, how am I supposed to be successful if I cannot decide what to focus on and where to head?

This blog is going to be a reflection of that, whether I intend for it to be, or not. It’s going to be a reflection of every aspect of me, and not just the positive side that I urged for. When I begin writing for an audience, I start to think: what am I going to say, what message is there to clear? What am I all about? Sometimes it feels like blog writers need to adhere to a specific code. It feels like I should pick one thing to write about and keep it simple. But that isn’t me. And in the long run it is myself who I am writing for.

I am writing to connect. With myself. With friends. With new people. I am writing to forge new paths while I wander along my own. I am writing so that words come out, to keep the thoughts flowing as only I can. I write because I am a writer, it doesn’t matter what for or why or who I want to read my words. It doesn’t matter that this blog brings in no money, or that it’s still in the beginning stages of fine tuning and world seeing. It does not matter that there is no real, hardcore theme to my ramblings. And I like it that way, because it is who I am, and this is me. Melanie Kristy.

What’s your blog about? Who are you writing for?

Wish It Was Sunday 08/23

Posted in lists by

It’s the dreaded Monday morning, a dark and rainy one at that. I’m left feeling like a failure from my one-day weekend (which, in case anyone was wondering, is not enough time to recover from a 50 work week) because I ate chicken with my lunch yesterday and all Saturday night contemplated giving up this Pescetarian business all together.

So all in all, I need a reminder of what is good about today.

* strawberries and berries for a snack
* the temperature is ideal, if albeit a little too wet
* there is a bar of chocolate in my purse
* gchat keeps me sane
* a three minute conversation with a certain guy this morning
* yoga last night (yoga any night seems to make me feel better in the AM)
* the Kitten  Mittons episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia airs tonight on Comedy Central

What is good about your day?

<3. Melanie.Kristy

Reclaim The End of Summer!

Posted in lists, summer by
Summer is coming to an end! Though we still have over a month left of technical summer, back to school commercials are out, cranberries are starting to turn red and we are seeing more and more overcast days in New England. This time of year always makes me long for Autumn. It also reminds me of back to school time, which I haven’t been a part of for three years now. After spending seventeen years of my life going “back to school” it’s still hard to believe I don’t have to do so again this year. (That does not stop me from eyeing pens and notebooks in the office supply of Target, however).

My point, however, is that we still have a month of summer left to enjoy! It’s not to late to get that tan (or acquire a few more freckles and burns as it goes with my skin). Take a day off and go to the beach and plan a last minute camping trip. Here’s a list of things you can do to make the best of the remaining days of summer so that by the time fall comes you know that you lived your summer to the fullest.

* Catch fireflies in a jar (but don’t forget to let them go soon after!)
* Plan a beach day
* Go clam digging
* Call up a friend and spend a day at her pool (or invite one over to yours)
* Take a vacation day and just enjoy the sun
* Make homemade popsicles
* Lay outside at night and look at the stars
* Blow bubbles
* Use sidewalk chalk to express your inner artist
* Look up concerts playing in your area
* Make lemonade or sun tea
* Wear sunglasses everywhere
* Buy new bright colours for your bedroom
* Go on some sort of harbour cruise
* Take advantage of sales to go clothes shopping for next summer

What are your plans to reclaim summer?

<3. Melanie.Kristy

Ganesha

Posted in faith, love by

(credit)

“When I was in Mexico I started praying to Ganesha and all these good things began happening to me.” – Olga Montenegro

Last Wednesday at yoga Olga asked they hold a charm of a peculiar looking elephant for her to pick up on Saturday. I was fascinated by this charm, as I believe elephants are beautiful creatures, but I did not know any more about it than that. Friday night, while watching Eat Pray Love (review comng soon) Elizabeth was in a sort of market in one scene in India where a small Ganesha statue was presented to her. My mouth dropped open as I realized that this statue was the same beautiful elephant that Olga wanted to purchase, and it stayed open even longer as the movie explained that Ganesha is a “remover of obstacles”.

“I need one of those,” I whispered to no one in particular. And I still believe I do. I’m still fascinated and ready to search out more information on this Hindu god. I already know which place in Plymouth I plan on looking, maybe once I have another paycheck (Incantations , if anyone is wondering) I’ll pick one up. I plan on using Ganesha in some sort of spiritual practice. As a once Athiest, I’ve come a long way. But I’m so incredibly agnostic that I’m open to believing in (almost) anything.

Have you heard of Ganesha before? So you pray to any “unconventional” gods?

<3. Melanie. Kristy

Eat. Pray. Love. Movie Edition

Posted in movies, reviews by

Let me start here: I absolutely ADORED Elizabeth Gilbert’s book. I’ve read it more than once, gushed about it to multiple people and cooed over it when I see it in stores. I loved reading about those three countries, she mentions Lucca (“my city” in Italy where I stayed three years ago), and I feel like I can identify a lot with Elizabeth — not so much in the sense that I am married and do not wish to be married, but more like I feel like maybe I don’t want to marry, and I don’t ever want to be stuck in t hat position, also that I am a writer and I want to go everywhere and see places and write about them.

Movie Edition: First off, the previews made it look like Gilbert was rich, that she just up and WENT to Italy. The movie takes no time in explaining where her funds for the trip come from. This turned my friend off while she was still debating on whether or not to watch it. I had to explain to her; Elizabeth Gilbert lost everything she had in her divorce. The only way she could fund her trip was to propose it as a book deal and get an advance. Though this sounds like an easy thing to do, think about it: she had to have done a whole lot of good writing and publishing before this to have any sort of credit enough to request an advance.

Moving on to the movie itself, Eat Pray Love was cute, had amazing scenery and a few scenes really hit home for me. I’ll watch it again, and probably even purchase it because it’s definitely a good movie for background sound or simply a movie of comfort. It’s a reminder of things that are possible, and adventures left to come. I left the theater with a huge sense of wanderlust, an urge to go someplace right THEN and wanting ice cream because that was our real plan. I also left wishing that Elizabeth Gilbert played herself in the movie. She was much nicer to look at and I feel like her personality would have fit very well (though this is something one would hope seeing as she was being portrayed…)

 Unfortunately I felt there were many scenes that did not convey the real feeling that the book had. Parts of the book were glossed over or ignored in ways that I guess make sense, because this is a movie and not all things are “important” to the movie, but that didn’t make me feel any less disappointed with the outcome. Overall I would suggest the movie, but if you’ve read the book it’s one of those that will never live up. I guess that’s to be expected though, right?

<3. Melanie.Kristy