review: ilili.

ilili. allylic. a milli a milli.

ilili is the restaurant my aunt & I went to for NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2012. It's turned into a tradition, ever since the first time we went two years ago, for my aunt to take me out for my birthday dinner during Restaurant Week. Two years ago we went to Spice Kitchen, which was absolutely amazing. I loved every single thing I ate there .. and it was a good seven or eight course meal.

We went to ilili this past Friday night for dinner. Say that name out loud .. doesn't it sound like allylic? Writing it reminds me of A Milli, too.

Speaking of Lil Tune, I would recommend against looking up the meaning of rap lyrics. They might simultaneously surprise and disgust you.

Calandra's Bakery German White Cake.

It's kinda hard to type when you just do your nails. Mine are dark burgundy with red flecks. It's perfect for my role as Cleopatra, tonight. Have you ever heard of an any race but your own themed party? Probably not, because my suite can sometimes surpass the boundaries of ridiculous and offensiveness.

And it will definitely be more successful than last night's venture. At around 10pm yesterday, I decided to go to bed, and then one of my dear floormates entered our room, ready to go out. When she asked if we wanted to come, I hesitated. Bad move. She pounced on it, and my two options of the night no longer fluctuated between whether I should sleep at 10 or 11, but between whether I should sleep immediately or go out.

I went out. And what a random night.

toasted coconut butterscotch bars.

Watch out for these. They are dangerously addictive, with the contrast of the crisp edges and top crust with the soft, chewy interior. If you haven't gotten by now, I love when there's a crisp/chewy contrast. The coconut is chewy, but also slightly crunchy and nutty from being toasted. The butterscotch chips are very sweet, and mesh well with the brown sugar dough.

I made them for my brothers, but after tasting them, I am tempted to make another batch to bring back to school with me. If I have time. I need to collect my things & wash my hair & do my nails first. 

I'm excited to work out at Sonny Werbs once I get back, so I can eat more of these .. I want to see you work out for me, work out for me. I don't know if I like the words/idea behind that song, but I definitely like the beat of it.

"lighter" brownie pie.

Inspiration is a funny thing. It hits you when you least expect it, and when you are totally unprepared. But it gives you the motivation to do what you know you need to do.

It's even funnier in that it's difficult to describe. What exactly is inspiration? And how does it affect you? Interesting questions. But yet, you are aware when you are inspired. You realize just what you want to do,  and everything just seems to fall into place. It's a complex feeling that brings such clarity. Personally, I am able to think about things in their simplest form.

Each creature has a place in life. I have a friend who believes that maturity is the realization of one's place in the cycle of life. Inspiration may lead to maturity. Regardless, each creature also has one thing to offer to the world - themselves. I just watched the most recent JennaMarbles video, and weird as it sounds, that, along with a couple of other things, happened close enough in proximity to inspire me. To do what? Not sure. But I definitely feel a heightened sense of responsibility, maturity, and direction.

It all hit me after I ate a piece of this brownie pie with some warm milk while chatting with my little brother.

almond cardamom quick bread.

This bread is wonderful. I made it yesterday, and ate two slices within 15 minutes of taking it out of the oven. Two generously sized pieces. Right after a filling lunch of whole wheat penne with steamed veggies & some Thai sauce.

I was so full, but it was worth it! No shame. No regrets.

^Good life motto, actually. That's the motto ** YOLO and we bout it errday errday errday like we sittin on the bench ** we don really play, errday errday ** what anybody say. Huh, I guess it kind of loses its effect when you need to bleep out the expletives so many times.

Yesterday was really good, actually. So was today. I ate oatmeal like I've vowed, and had super healthy lunches and dinners. My workouts are also really satisfying.. the amount of bread I ate motivated me to go for both a hike and run/walk four miles, although the bread is really healthy. I am excited to see progress!

Of course, today my mom would say that from now on, she's making all foods that I like. Tomorrow's dinner is falafel, next day's is chole. Handwo is coming at some point. I love my mom. And her cooking is without a doubt too superior to not eat, so .. I'll try to eat in moderation, still? I'll workout more? ... If nothing else, I'm definitely going to enjoy my last few days at home. Because ain't no shrikhand, date rolls, or aloo papri chaat gun end up in da busch dh.

pumpkin oatmeal + veggie burger.

I want to have an overall healthier lifestyle, from exercise, to food, to life decisions, to focusing on schoolwork.

I opened my organic chemistry book this morning, ignored my burning desire to burn it, vom on it, or just haphazardly rip pages out of it, and I read four sections of a chapter. I plan on finishing the remaining 9 sections before I go to a friend's house for dinner with my family tonight. And I plan on beasting next semester, even if that means having less of a social life than last semester, in which I kept in regular contact with maybe 2 or 3 people. Who woulda thought less than that was possible! We'll see how that turns out.

Life-wise ... I already made one decision recently that made me happy to have finally come to a decision about, but now I am thinking about it too much. So I'll stop doing that. And then I'll just follow my resolution. Which I stated in this post, but I will say again: Enjoy every moment of life and see the positive side of every situation.

Food-wise ... huh, can't do much on this front. Although I do have a story about something food-related! Obviously ..

whole wheat pumpkin cinnamon rolls.

What is the difference between cinnamon buns and rolls? I feel like the icing is different for both. Otherwise, they seem to be pretty interchangeable, from what research I've conducted on the good old world wide web. Which is kinda annoying, I feel like there should be a difference but whatever, who am I to start an occupy Cinnabon movement .. speaking of which, I guess they're also called cinnabons at Cinnabon. What the hell man! It's so important it needs three different names?!

There are definitely more important things in the world. Like the new health care reform. If the reform were accepted, states would have increased responsibility and freedom in specifying the benefits that insurers would be required to provide. The plan is also meant to extend insurance coverage; ideally, this will bring the uninsured population percentage down from the current 17% to 5%. However, for this to be done, the reform also requires those who are uninsured to purchase health reform, or be fined. Initially, the fee would be $95 or 1% of income in 2014, whichever is higher. The fee will eventually be increased to about $700, or 2.5% of income in 2016. American Indians (not my type, alas) don't have to pay, and there are a couple other qualifications that would exempt one from being forced to buy health insurance. This site is super helpful in understanding aspects of reform & seeing where you fit in. It's a kind of an old article, but I feel like it holds true for the most part. I could be wrong.

Yeah, I read the newspaper today. And did a little research, no big deal. No, but I really do wanna hear other people's opinions about this issue. Perhaps over a warm cinnamon roll, oozing with a heavenly glaze, and a mug of steaming green tea?

avocado hair mask.

Oh lookie here, a beauty post! I made and used this mask this past Friday, December 30, 2011. Last year, to be specific. teehee I made a funny.

New Year's Weekend was busy, in a good way! Started Friday with a party at my house, for my birthday!  I'd say by the birth of a new phrase ("yeah man, loved your party, it was 'so college' " .. I wasn't there for the creation of this ..), the guy who could constantly be seen carrying around a cup of my mom's salsa (can't blame him whatsoever, it was amazing), and the only casualty being my lost slipper, I decided it was a good time.