To Sum Up

I expected that once my internship was over I would fall out of one routine into another. What I didn't realize is that I was going from one routine to no routine. The past three weeks have been full of everything I promised; food, packing, music, photos - but I have omitted to document it all. Rather than giving up all together I decided to write a post to bring things up to speed. 

Seeing as it is a Tuesday, I will stay true to my Tuesday Tracks. Over the past few weeks I came across an artist who I fell in love with. This music epitomizes a unique sound. It strays far from the style that is embraced by radio stations today. It's instrumental, but modern nonetheless. Not something you would hear at a party, but perfect for this time of year as you're holding on to the last days of summer.

In other news - I've discovered a food that could serve as a delicious side to an entrée as well as a scrumptious afternoon snack; sweet potato fries. I tried sweet potato fries for the first time when I worked at the Alchemist & Barrister in the heart of Princeton, New Jersey. This place is known for it's burgers & fries. I wasn't expecting to match those fries, but I figured it never hurt to try...

The fries were a part of a larger dinner that my boyfriend and I prepared for my family. Right above you can check out the before picture. 

To prepare the sweet potato fries, all you need is:

Yams

Olive Oil (lots of it)

Sea Salt

Cut up the yams into the shape you desire. These don't look like your typical french fries, but I found that this shape works best to get them cooked thoroughly. Once they are cut up you can go ahead and heat up the frying pan. After a couple of minutes pour the olive oil into the pan liberally. About quarter of an inch should be sitting in the pan. Gently bring the yams onto the pan so that the entire pan is covered*. Fry until golden brown. Flip around to make sure each side gets about equal attention.

*If you're preparing for several people make sure that you divide the yams in separate batches when frying. Placing it on all at once will leave some pieces burnt and others raw! While you prepare your last batches you can place the first few in the oven for a final crisp.

Once the yams are fried sprinkle them with as much sea salt as you please and voilà!

When we prepared these for the second time we decided to switch it up with a dipping sauce. From the first try we seemed to have hit the jackpot. Try mixing all of these ingredients together as a great accompaniment to the fries:

1/2 cup sour cream 

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1 tablespoon horseradish 

1 tablespoon honey

 1 teaspoon paprika

Food and music being a big part of my last days of summer only goes to show how truly relaxing my time has been. Other activities included: Ocean City, multiple trips to relax at my home away from home at TCNJ, catching the newest movies in theaters, Millionaire Matchmaker marathons, extensive games of Trism on my new iPad2 (which will be acting as my wingman on my upcoming trip with apps including unit converters/maps/etc.). I have had some great times with my incredible family and friends - one of the highlights being a surprise going away get together even in the midst of Hurricane Irene. 

For these past few weeks of sheer relaxation my room has been a whirlwind of clothes, beauty products, documents, and all the things you can possibly imagine a girl might need for a 4 month stay in Paris. 

Now has come the time that I must take my life and neatly arrange it into two suitcases and a carry-on. Only 3 more days.

Wish me luck.


P.S. You may have noticed a layout change. Due to the influx of pictures that is expected in the near future, this blog may become more picture-based and therefore acquired more space for your viewing pleasure! 

Hey You!

TGIF takes on a whole new meaning for me today. It is the last day of my internship. Got another taste of real life working full time since May and I made it through to the end. Where did this summer go? In a mere 2 weeks I will be all packed up and heading to JFK, Paris bound. Now that I'm all done with work I can really focus on total relaxation and full preparation for the trip. In the coming weeks you can expect more posts on recipes for delicious food, stuff I'm packing for France, photos from my last adventures in the US, and much more.

In the meantime, I have found something new to share.

In my very first post I shared a link called The Thought Project where Simon Hoegsberg walked down the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark, and NYC and stopped random people to ask what they were thinking about the very moment before he stopped them.

Recently I found something quite similar which I found very amusing.

Not-so-guilty Pleasure

"Everything I Like Is Illegal, Immoral, Fattening, Addictive, Expensive, or Impossible."

Can you relate to this statement? More or less, chances are you probably can and I have found a loophole.

I have found something that is legal, moral, helps you lose weight, inexpensive, quite possible, and okay - maybe it's addictive, but this is an imperfect world we live in so we can't have it all...

Yoga.

If everyone was required to practice yoga the same way everyone is required to pay taxes this is how I would imagine the world to be:

We would all be comfortable with our bodies. When we practice yoga we learn a lot about ourselves physically. We tune into muscles and parts of your body that we never paid attention to before. It's pretty wild to think that you have this body as a sole means of self expression (whether you're dancing or just moving your hands around as you tell a story), and you're probably not even familiar with it. You should get acquainted with every inch. It's all yours and nobody else's.

As we would become stronger physically we would grow mentally and this would be one big step to a radical change in the world. There would be no such thing as Anger Management. Even though most of us experience stress in our daily lives, we would rest assured that at least a small portion of our day would be dedicated to putting our minds at ease. We would go to sleep relaxed and wake up with a smile.

The anti-depressant business would flounder. People would simply begin healing themselves.

Everyone would be flexible - both mentally and physically.

Most people think that in order to start practicing yoga they need to acquire a gym membership or find a yoga studio, but that's not the case at all. In my experience it will only benefit you to learn from an instructor but don't let that hinder you from starting today. If I'm not too tired - I'll do an 8 minute workout right before bed. This way when my head hits the pillow I'm out for the count.

Anyone can do this. Seriously.

 Minutes: 0:00-2:00

• Sit facing a wall with your butt about 6 inches away from it.
• Lie back and extend your legs up the wall.
• Let your arms rest by your sides, palms facing up, and breathe gently, feeling the stretch in the backs of your legs.

                       Minutes: 2:00-3:00

Sit cross-legged on the bed and exhale as you place your right hand on your left knee and left hand on the bed behind your tailbone.

Gently twist your torso to the left.

Allow your gaze to follow, looking over your left shoulder. Breathe deeply, then return to center and repeat on opposite side.

                                

                                          Minutes: 3:00-5:00

• Lie on your back with knees bent.
• Place the soles of your feet together, then let your knees fall open, forming a diamond shape with your legs.
• Rest your arms on the bed.

                                Minutes: 5:00-7:00

Sit up comfortably on your heels.

Roll your torso forward, bringing your forehead to rest on the bed in front of you.

Lower your chest as close to your knees as you comfortably can, extending your arms in front of you.

Hold the pose and breathe.

                                      

                                  Minutes: 7:00-8:00 

• Lying on your back, hug knees in to chest.
• Cross your ankles and wrap both arms around your shins with clasped hands.
• Inhale and rock your body up to sit; exhale as you roll back.
• Continue for 1 minute, then roll back, extend arms and legs, and drift off to sleep.

                                     

pictures & instructions via fitnessmagazine

Please Select Your Zodiac Sign

Even if you don't believe in horoscopes, you've read yours at least once in your life. They're everywhere! Whether you catch up on the news online or via newspaper (yes, they still make those) - there's a hosocope section. Maybe you don't read the news... they're in the back of your magazine. Every technological platform has at least one app offering to update you on your horoscope every single day.

Once you've fallen into the trap (I know - you don't believe in it. Just checking it out for shits & giggles) the first thing you are prompted is your birthday because obviously your zodiac sign makes a HUGE difference in what your little fortune for the day/week/month/year will be. Right...

The truth is - people look at horoscopes to read something that they want to hear. Everyone is hoping for something and people find comfort in reading a blurb that they can relate to and will guide their way.

Whether you swear by these little anecdotes or make fun of those who do, I've got something for you. I was feeling a bit inspired and decided to write my own horoscope. I decided that if any other person can tell me what to expect or how to act today - then so can I. What do you think qualifies a person to write a horoscope? Psychic abilities? An extraterrestrial connection to the universe? Debatable.

So here we go. Without further adieu, please select your zodiac sign:

Aquarius

 Pisces

 Aries

 Taurus

Gemini
Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Capricorn



 

Attention!!

Regular advertisements just aren't cutting it anymore. Gone are the days that you can put a picture of a product on a paper, list the benefits, and reap in the profits. Today it's all about the wow factor. Attention first - benefits later. In fact, benefits don't even have to be so great. If the consumer remembers your brand you've accomplished a lot more than most can even dream.

Here are some of my favorites that I've found on the web:

Tuesday Tracks

Before I enlighten your day with the tunes that have predomionantly been taking over my iPod, there are a couple of matters I'd like to touch base on.

1. Thanks to everyone who has been returning to read my ramblings. Mere Мир has reached over 1,000 hits today! For those of you who have been returning manually, remember that you have the option to follow through google, bloglovin', or even your own personal e-mail.

2. As this blog has been unveiling in its first few months of life there have been a few changes. One being the layout, another being the URL. In an attempt to make it easier to access I switched it to meremir.blogspot.com, but this turned out to be more of a setback than a convenience. Mere Мир has returned home for good as:

http://www.mere-mir.blogspot.com/

so feel free to bookmark that one ;)

And now for the main event...

My love for Maroon 5 has been strong since the days of This Love in 2002. I'm a big fan of the collaborations that they have come out with this summer.

Stereo Hearts ft. Gym Class Heroes & (more recently) Moves Like Jagger ft. Christina Aguilera

Neither of these singles have official videos, but these clips will do in the meantime.

Recipe (No. 1)

It's really easy to get caught up in a mundane routine of food. You find something you like, you become good at preparing it, and before you know it you've been eating chicken cutlets every day for the past year.

While there is nothing wrong with having a signature meal - it is equally important to explore and discover the delicious combinations of flavors that our world beholds. Today I'll share two recent dishes & give a little insight on how they're prepared.

Salmon & Cucumber Salad

This is an original recipe inspired solely by cravings. One Sunday night I had a big appetite, but knew that I didn't want to end my meal feeling absolutely stuffed. The first food that came to mind was cucumber. This vegetable is the epitome of fresh, crunchy, and cool. Keep in mind I said I was hungry so a cucumber alone wouldn't do the trick. My boyfriend had some salmon in the freezer and so the rest of the meal unraveled. 

Here's what you'll need for one serving:

Filet of Salmon

Grape Tomatoes

Mini Cucumbers

Red Peppers

Sliced Almonds

Mandarin Orange Ginger Dressing 

(could be found at your local Shop Rite in the dressing aisle)

1. First thing's first - defrost your salmon.
2. Slice your mini cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and red peppers. Throw them onto a plate and mix around.
3. Heat up the frying pan and cover the bottom with some olive oil for the salmon. Sauté the salmon until it's cooked just the way you like!
4. Once the salmon has cooled down for a little bit, cut it up into the size you like and put it on top of your fresh veggie medley.
5. At this point you can sprinkle your salad with almonds. This is a nice alternative to croutons because it's so much lighter, but still adds to the variety of the salad since there aren't too many ingredients to begin with.  
6. Finally you can douse the salad with the mandarin orange ginger dressing. Add as little or as much as you would like. I found that the more the better. The dressing in itself is very thin. Even if you pour too much it will only drown to the bottom because the ingredients of this salad won't necessarily soak it up (as croutons would, for example).
7. Mix it up and enjoy!

In the future when making this salad I would consider using orange or yellow peppers - simply for the aesthetic appeal of the end result. This salad is already so rich in color, but the red peppers blend in with the tomatoes making it harder to tell what's on the plate. One of my favorite parts of this creation is that every bite is really full of flavor. By the end of this meal you will not be left hungry.

Strawberry Sesame Salad

This is always the first salad to go at my family parties. Definitely a summer combo. The secret in this salad is the home made dressing. The salad itself consists of fresh strawberries, spinach (or mixed greens), & almonds. 

Here's the secret in the dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white champagne vinegar with pomegranate 

(could be found at your local Shop Rite in the dressing aisle)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/4 teaspoon paprika

I can sit here and give you tedious instructions about which to put in first and at what speed you should stir with which utensil, but I'm not going to do that. Go ahead and make sure that you have all of that in one bowl and mix. Pour generously over the strawberries and mixed greens sprinkled with almonds. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what a difference the pomegranate infused white vinegar makes. 

Enjoy!