Someday I'll be Saturday Night

Sometimes I have to remind Sophie that she's not a cat.

Sometimes, the best thing for a Saturday night in is Indian.

Especially when you find a new place to try. A new place that gets rave reviews. And, most importantly, a new place that will ACTUALLY DELIVER TO YOU. (Unlike our current favorite place, which is freaking delicious but which just will NOT expand their delivery area to our neighborhood.)

Since we were trying a new place, we ordered a bunch of stuff to test out. A sampler, if you will.

My entree choices were bainghan bharta and saag paneer.

Ho-leeeee crap. The saag paneer in particular just blew our other Indian place out of the water. Thick and creamy and big, fat chunks of paneer.

The eggplant was excellent also - chunks of tomato, much less like the eggplant puree I generally grab from our other place.

Also delicious is the onion bhaji that PhillyGuy ordered. I dipped mine in mango chutney.

And, of course, naan. Big, fat, thick, pillowy naan.

The verdict? OMGOMGOMGOMG. We will be ordering from Tiffin again.

The rest of our night is going to be spent on the couch in an Indian food coma, watching Mad Men.

Kind of like these guys.

Unphotogenic

In a word, that's me - unphotogenic. That picture I use as an avatar? It's now more than three years old. I took it (arm's length self portrait represent!) the Friday after the bar exam, at my friend's apartment during our "holy crap that was unspeakably awful but we DID IT" celebration.

In the three years-and-one-month that have passed since then, I have not taken ONE. SINGLE. PICTURE. that I think is avatar-worthy. For a long time, I used a pic from my wedding as my default facebook picture...but I feel like that's only socially acceptable for a certain amount of time. Like, a year, maybe? So now it's back to ol' Miller-Lite-hat.

But - despite not taking good pictures, I am a truly lovely person. Inside and out! The camera...well, she just doesn't see it. Maybe one day.

Know what I have a lot in common with? Indian food.



Baighan bhartha is similarly unphotogenic but beautiful.



Naan? It never looks impressive. (Particularly so when I'm just snapping a pic of it without even pretending to move the foil out of the way enough to avoid the shadow.) BUT IT IS SO SO SO SO SO DELICIOUS. I ate that entire piece.



Cosmo (he's hiding in the shadows at the bottom there) and Sophie also love Indian food - they knows beauty when they see it. (That bitch Sophie, however, is SUPER photogenic. Too cute for words.)

And in the I-don't-care-what-the-pictures-look-like category? This fabulous discovery.



So much tastier than that cupcake-that-wanted-to-be-good. I love you, DiBruno's, and your overpriced "artisan" chocolate that I can get for about $2 cheaper at any number of corner stores. Like Food & Friends at 20th & Spruce.

Despite my rumblings on twitter last night, I ended up having a short but very enjoyable run. I covered about 3.2 miles in 30 minutes, with no rhyme or reason - just doing what I felt like as it came along. That meant starting with a 9:05 mile, followed by four repeats of 90 seconds each at 8.0mph (about a 7:30 pace) interspersed with 60 seconds of walking, followed by an easy job at 6.5 for the balance of my 30 minutes. Music helped - lots and lots.

Go download "Horchata" by Vampire Weekend. My friend called them "the Talking Heads of our generation," and the more I listen the more I agree. Clearly not for everyone, but "Horchata" is catchy and has fascinating, quirky lyrics. I vote appropriate-for-workout.

Tonight, PhillyGuy and I have reservations at 10 Arts by Eric Ripert. I admit, this place is only on my radar because of Jennifer Carroll and her Top Chef fame. Normally, I'm kind of "meh" at the idea of a chef including his name in the name of the restaurant, because...well, really dude? But I've heard a lot of stuff, running the gamut between straight hype and "overhyped," and the menu...she is intriguing. So I made us a reservation.

Hoping to get out of work early today to get my nails done before tonight's dining extravaganza. I'm thinking tomorrow I'll head to King of Prussia to do a little retail therapy and perhaps find a bag that I can obsess over as much as this one:



(Dear Carlos Falchi: I love you and your overpriced $4,000 exotic, out-of-stock and out-of-reach bags.)

Happy weekend! Anyone want a 9 mile running buddy on Sunday morning?

Happiness is...

Things that are making me happy today:

- Listening to Lewis Black on my way to work. I think I've heard the word "fuck" about 47 times today already...and I haven't even been in to talk to bosslady yet (rimshot). Angry Jewish men make my commute seem a ton faster, but I do try to stifle my laughs. It's generally not OK to walk around by yourself, laughing, headphones or no headphones.

- I was going through my desk looking for something, and I found this:



dark chocolate covered pretzel! It was a freebie from a lunch I went to about a month ago. Hopefully it's not stale. I'm looking forward to this after lunch today.

- I've proposed to PhillyGuy that we spend tonight eating Indian takeout on the couch. I have not yet received a response, but how can you say no to that proposal?? This week is DRAGGING, and a little palak paneer with my Glee tonight will make it that much better.

What's making you happy this week?

Farmers' Market

Delayed post number one, here we go:

So, last Friday night was one of those nights where PhillyGuy and I were both just total wastes of space.

It's hard to remember exactly why. I know I had an insane morning trying to wrap stuff up before bosslady left for vacation, followed by dashing downstairs to catch a train out to Norristown for a hearing...only to discover WHEN I GOT THERE that it was cancelled, without notice. Booooooo. Double BOOOOOO for having to wait 40 minutes for a train back to the city. Triple BOOOOOO for having to pretend to do important work on my blackberry to ignore the woman in the train station talking to herself (and intensely!) about vegetables. BOOOOOO again for having to go back up to the office and deal with more shenanigans for a few hours, instead of going straight home from court like I'd hoped.

Hmm. Maybe I do remember exactly why. Oh, well.

Regardless -- PhillyGuy also had a long day. So, we did what any normal people would do after a long day -- headed straight to New Delhi up in University City, where we stuffed ourselves with Indian food, before coming home, collapsing on the couch, and watching Food Network until we couldn't keep our eyes open. Which was, um, like 8:30pm.

After our ridiculously early bedtime, PhillyGuy and I were both wide awake around 6:30 or 7 the next morning. After a nice leisurely dog walk, we hit the gym for shoulders, biceps and triceps. After a nice hour's worth of arm-destroying, we headed out, happy and sweaty, to run by the farmer's market.

First stop: Cafe Lutecia at 23rd and Lombard for an iced coffee.



I LOVE this place. It's very simple, very French, and everything is delicious. In our pre-P90X days (i.e. before our diets shifted to 70% protein), this was on our regular weekend breakfast rotation. Usually, we'd "split" a scone (that means I had three or four bites while PhillyGuy took care of the rest, pretending he ordered it just for himself), and order a couple slices of whatever their daily rotation of quiches was.

On to Fitler Square:



Every Saturday, a small farmer's market sets up right in front of the park from about 8am to 2pm.



It's only a few tables, but they always have plenty of local, seasonal produce, fresh dairy and eggs, and other treats -- delicious baked goods, local honey, jams, etc.

It was very crowded in such a small place, so I couldn't take pictures without causing a traffic jam...but we ended up with fresh portobella mushrooms, some asparagus, fruit and a dozen fresh eggs.

The puppies enjoyed the sunshine:



I love the "couples' leash," as our dogwalker puts it. Without it, I end up getting tied up when they try to run in opposite directions. Or in the same direction -- running in circles around my ankles. That's always a favorite.

So, okay, that was a six-day delay on that post. Ooops. Oh well. Coming soon: my recap of the Philly Foodie meetup at Garces Trading Co.!

(By the way -- good lord, did those eight miles kick my butt. I am creeeeeaky today. Still on the fence about Broad Street -- I need to make a decision, and FAST!)

What are your favorite farmers markets in the city?

you know...

...maybe I really do keep having crazy weeks...or maybe I'm just a lousy blogger?

Blech. This week was kind of weird. Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I had events after work. Tuesday's event (judging moot court at my old law school!) went until about 10pm -- that is seriously my bedtime. By the time I got home, walked Sophie and ate a yogurt (starving, but wtf do you eat at 10:45??) it was after 11. I was draaaaaaggin' the next day.

Friday was a little rough -- had to deal with some work-related issues in the afternoon that left me pretty drained. It wasn't anything particularly bad, just drama I didn't really need, especially on a Friday afternoon. So, I came home, got Indian takeout (palak paneer and chicken makhni), and ate a whole bunch of chocolate chunk cookies for dessert while watching Arrested Development. Not exactly blogworthy (though, um, I'm blogging about it now...so, who knows).

This morning, I woke up pretty early for a Saturday -- I was out of bed and outside with Sophie by 6:45. I knew right away I wanted to go for a run, but it was still pretty chilly (25!) and windy, so I crawled back in bed until about 8 to give it a chance to warm up a little.

And I'm so glad I did. By the time I left, it was 33 and sunny -- pretty much what I consider ideal running weather. It's not too cold, but it's cold enough that I never feel overheated or even notice myself sweating. I wanted to be conservative given my injury issues, but still wanted a little alone time to recharge and leave this week behind.

I took it slow and just ran without any specific goal or route in mind. I ended up doing a total of 4.65 miles in about 46 minutes, including two stretching breaks and a few strides at the end in a (futile) effort to shake out my cramping glutes and tight hips. My route took me down 24th Street, up Sansom and then down Market to Logan Square, up the Parkway, looping around the Art Museum and then taking the Schuylhill train back to my 'hood. My splits:

Mile 1: 9:26
Mile 2: 9:38
"Lap" 3 (.16mi): 1:39 (?? must have accidentally hit the lap button when pulling my sleeve back over my Garmin)
Lap 4 (miles 2.16-3.16): 9:57 (includes a stop to stretch my hips)
Lap 5: (miles 3.16-4.16): 10:23 (includes a stop to stretch)
Lap 6 (.48mi): 5:31 (mostly strides)

I felt so much better when I got back. The run was very easy aerobically, with minimal physical issues -- my hips were tight after the first two miles, but stopping to stretch really helped. My knees never hurt during the run. Afterwards, PhillyGuy and I went to breakfast and then walked into Center City, where he camped out to do work and I wandered around doing some shopping (Anthro, your Plaza cardigan is finally mine!). After standing/walking for about 4 hours, I was really starting to feel the impact of my run, with my hips starting to tighten and my knees feeling stiff and achy.

I soaked in the tub for a while tonight, and the heat seems to have helped. I keep stretching periodically (I'm actually typing this while sitting in a butterfly stretch on my bed!) and I'm hoping things are OK in the morning -- we'll see.

Tuesday morning I see the sports medicine guy. I can make it, I swear!

Any fun weekend plans? PhillyGuy and I are going car shopping tomorrow (I know, I'm sure you can all barely contain your excitement).

Legs Kick My Ass...

...yup. Every time.

Thursday night was legs night. For something that only takes 30 minutes, MAN, it gets me.

I wore my knee sleeve on my more troublesome right knee. That thing (much like its cousin, the knee strap) does absolutely nothing for me when I'm running, but I hoped that it would give me a little extra stabilization to tackle these oh-so-elusive lunges.

I don't know if it was the sleeve or just the fact that I concentrated a whole lot more on my form, but I was able to actually complete some decent lunges -- and not with those goofy three pound weights, either. (NO! I went up to EIGHT pounds -- that's a total of SIXTEEN, for those of you counting.)

Legs:

- Squats, 3x8 with two 20-lb dumbbells (one on each shoulder)
- Lunges, 3x8 on each side, with two 8-lb dumbbells
- Stiff-leg deadlifts, 3x8 with two 45-lb dumbbells
- Calf raises on a platform, 3x15 holding a 20-lb dumbbell
- Calf raises on the floor, 3x15 at 90lbs using the preacher curl machine (what can I say -- I have to be creative here!)

Tonight was supposed to be a rest night, with yesterday designated for 20-minute cardio intervals followed by pull. However...eeesh. Yeah, my legs night was more successful than the last one...which meant that I had trouble walking up stairs. And putting on my pants, for that matter. I was planning to just postpone the cardio and only lift, but alas, even that was not in the cards. Around 7pm, after I got back from walking Sophie, I got socked with a NASTY headache -- I couldn't even tolerate light, and when poor PhillyGuy called to let me know he was on his way home and would pick up Indian takeout for us, I cut him off after about four seconds of talk time.

So, instead of the gym, I horsed down some Tylenol, grabbed my dog, and spent the next hour laying on my bed in total darkness with a puppy curled up next to me.

Blech. Thankfully, by the time PhillyGuy got home (complete with chicken makhni, some kind of spinach/paneer deliciousness, and a giant pillowy naan), I was better...but blech. Not my kind of way to spend a Friday.