happiness studies; great articles

I'm currently temping at the Atlantic magazine -- it's great -- I get to read so many fascinating things! Check out the amazing article on "What Makes Us Happy" by Joshua Wolf Shenk. It is long but definitely worth the read. I think the Grant Study is truly fascinating and I can't wait to learn more about it.

I like the cover a lot too -- and scientists say that orange is one of the happiest colors!

delicious treats

Yesterday I decided to bake my roommate, Mike, a special cupcake treat in honor of his birthday. I am definitely not a baker or cook by any means, but I am trying to be more domestic. I wanted to do something fun, but also simple, so I made red-velvet cupcakes with white chocolate-cream cheese frosting. After encountering the Pie of the Tiger blog, I decided to add a raspberry to the middle of each cupcake that had been stuffed with two white chocolate morsels. (They used ganache and scooped out the middle of the cupcakes, I just dropped a stuffed raspberry in while baking... [read: they actually know what they're doing]) The melted chocolate and raspberry are actually a nice surprise when you bite into the middle.

I have craved delicious frosting ever since visiting Magnolia bakery with my best friend so I wanted to make the icing from scratch. (I dislike the store-bought tubs.) I used Kraft's "White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting" recipe and it turned out fluffy and delicious! Looks like my profile image, ta da:

meeting influential people and good restaurants

It's always exciting to meet celebrities or important people. I've been very fortunate to meet so many significant leaders through my parents and friends. Last Wednesday, while out to dinner with my father at Agraria on the Georgetown Waterfront, my dad introduced me to the Ambassador from Mali who was eating with Congressman Pomeroy from North Dakota. Both the Ambassador and the Congressman were very interesting, and Congressman Pomeroy loved telling me all about how Agraria was a farmer-friendly restaurant focused on sustainability.

I am a big advocate for the environment and recycling, so any restaurant that promotes sustainable farming, conservation and preserving biodiversity ranks very high on my list. The food was also unique and delicious -- plus the manager gave us two complimentary glasses of wine. Though we didn't get to sit outside, the weather was beautiful and the breeze blowing off of the water made for a great evening.

summer baseball games

I love going to baseball games. So far this summer I've been to two Nationals games - one against the Atlanta Braves (my fave team!) and the other against the Cubs. Unfortunately both times the teams I rooted for (1st time Braves, 2nd time Nats) lost, but the weather was so fantastic that I didn't complain. The Nationals Stadium is absolutely great; it's easy to get to on the metro, beer is plentiful and of course the hot dogs are delicious. I actually love sitting higher up or in the outfield when I go, not only because I'm broke ($20 seats baby), but also the breeze is perfect and there is always so much to see.


Hands down, best part of a Nats game: THE PRESIDENTS RACE. (Apparently Teddy never wins - check out the blog.) I'm posting a video from an older race when Teddy get's tackled by the B'more Oriole -- soo funny!

Presidents Race: Orioles Bird tackles Teddy Roosevelt from Presidents Race on Vimeo.

Here is a fun photo of my lovely friend Courtney at the Nats v. Braves game enjoying my favorite beer, Bud Light Lime! (I'm honestly not lying, I love love love it... and no I'm not crazy)