Reunited and it feels so good...

So, yesterday morning I woke up bright and early to make the two hour drive down to Philadelphia to see Lauren. The drive was pretty easy (minus getting lost in NJ and going on a roundabout approximately 12 times) and I got to her apartment relatively unscathed. After a quick walk to the train station and a not so quick hour long wait, we got into the city. Philadelphia is pretty nice, and comparatively small. We didn't really do that much sight-seeing because we both were low on funds, so instead we walked around the city and looked at cool buildings. I made sure to take a few pictures too. So here you go,

Year in Review

Well, It's hard to believe that 2012 is coming to an end (and possibly the world? jk). I haven't posted in a few months so I thought an end of year recap would be an easy way to catch people up on what I've been up to. I graduated culinary school in May, got an externship and then a job at Amy's Bread, discovered that my Dad is pretty much the best person ever and brought my car out.

In November I decided to come home to vote in the election and to get my car. I gave myself like a total of 16 hours or something at home which made everything pretty stressful. Things didn't go exactly to plan and after about 20 minutes into the trip my car started smoking and overheating. I freaked out a bit and pulled off the interstate and did what anyone would do... called my dad. And after the following story I'm sure that you'll agree that I really lucked out in the dad department. My dad left work and drove 45 minutes to come help me out. After inspecting my car he quickly came to the conclusion that my car was not going to make it to New York safely. At this point I was getting pretty anxious since it was 11 am and I had to be to work at 9 the next morning and the drive takes 11 hours. So my dad decided that he would let me use his car to drive back to New York, get my car fixed for me and then drive all the way out to trade cars back. I don't know what I would have done without him. The drive back was thankfully uneventful, though a little boring. I took a grand total of two pictures haha

I made it back safely to the Bronx and then a week or so later I met my dad in PA and switched cars with him. So now my commute to and from work has become a lot better and less annoying (though don't get me started on NYC drivers, I may soon be blinded by road rage). 

I decided to quit Starbucks after the holidays, the stress of never having a day off is starting to get to me (along with the horrible customers that come in) and so I gave my notice and should be done in early January. The bakery is going well and we have been insanely busy because of the holidays. 

 Things have been going well, but one major disappointment was that I was unable to make it home for Lauren's wedding on December 1. She has always been one of my very closest friends since we were very small (see above picture) and I was really sad to not be able to share in her big day. The good part is that she is now living in PA not so very far from me, so we will hopefully be able to see each other more often.

Well, I think that's it for me. I had an eventful year which included surviving a hurricane and having to parallel park on a regular basis. I hope everyone is well and has a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

One year in...

It's crazy to think that just a little over a year ago, I was being dropped off at some slightly gross place in Queens sobbing and thinking I'd made the worst mistake of my life. What a difference a year can make... (or something like that.) Well, folks I'm here to report that I'm still alive and well. I've not had much time to do anything lately, I've been working a crazy amount and then catching up on laundry and cleaning on my day(s) off. The bakery is going really well and I still love it. I've been getting to make different things and on the days that I work later in the day/evening I get to help the night bakers which means making a bunch of stuff you never see on the day shift. I also have been cooking for myself pretty much every day, which is nice. The other day I made veggie lasagna (Thanks Aunt Kathy!) and even my meat eating roommates loved it. I've also continued reading a bunch, the latest book I read is the new Junot Diaz book called "This is How You Lose Her," he is the author of one of my all time favorite books, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," and his new book was just as good. 

Also, I've been able to listen to NPR at the bakery every day. Now this may not seem that exciting to anyone but me, but there might not be anything better than making carrot cake and listening to Car Talk. Speaking of carrots... I was making carrot cake on Monday and came across quite possibly the biggest carrot ever...

I also made red velvet cake this last weekend and looked like the victim of a violent crime:

Oh, also, I'll be coming home for a day to do my civic duty and also to get my car on November 6th. It might seem crazy that I'll be bringing my car to the city, but it's been taking me around 1.5 hours on the train to get to and from work which is driving me crazy!!!! It will take around 30 minutes via my car and there is free parking at my job and plenty of free parking at my house, not to mention that the route to get from the Bronx to Queens that I'll take doesn't have any tolls. So in order to save my sanity, it seems like the smart thing to do. Now, if only I could figure out a way to steal my dog without my Dad and/or my roommates noticing I'd be golden.

Here's some food that I made recently for myself and some dessert for my roommates:

strawberry shortcake

Thai coconut veggies with brown rice

And lastly, my beloved Tigers have eked into the postseason for the second season in a row, while Miguel Cabrera is about to accomplish something that hasn't been done since 1967, which is to win the triple crown. It's nice to know that even after a year in New York, I haven't been converted into a Yankees fan.

 

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Turning 25 doesn't mean you're suddenly mature

I could start this by saying how sorry I am that I haven't blogged in so long and how busy I am and blah blah blah; but the truth is I kind of forget about this blog 98% of the time. Anyhow, I went back to Michigan for my birthday to try and spend a couple of relaxing days at the beach. Dad, Sam, and Zach all took a couple of days off to accompany me to Grand Haven, and it was a blast. I even managed to get some pictures:

No Time for Rest, Feeling at home, and Figuring Stuff out

The house from my favorite movie The Royal Tenenbaums, it's about 5 blocks from where I live

I've lived in New York for about nine months now... That's crazy. On the one hand I cannot believe that I've been away from Michigan for that long and on the other hand I can't believe that I've only been here for that long - it feels like I've been here for way longer (in a good way). Life has gotten really crazy in these last few weeks; I'm working seven days a week and around 60 hours and you know what? I'm happy. Like really happy. The bakery is amazing and every weekend even though I have a hard time dragging myself out of bed because I'm exhausted from closing at Starbucks the night before; I get there and realize that there is nowhere else I would rather be. The people who work there are awesome and so kind that it's kind of unbelievable. They make me feel so welcome and like I'm an important part of the team and not just some lowly intern. I feel so incredibly lucky/blessed that I ended up where I did, because I have to assume that it would be much tougher to be working so much if I hated the place I was going. So not only have I been working like crazy, but I'm also moving... that will mean that I will have lived in three of the five boroughs in my short time here. Maybe I can go for some sort of record? I've also managed to be filling my not so spare time with reading, and have been reading about a book a day. Nothing super Earth shattering or important but it feels good to read none the less. I also managed to find some time to go see the new Wes Anderson movie (he directed the film mentioned in the above picture) and it was so cute and wonderful! I loved it and was glad that I got to see it early (it's in limited release). Also, the wonderful customer at my work is going to have me make a cake for her parents' wedding anniversary in September and has been telling her friends about me, so I think that I'll be doing some "free-lance" cake work. I like doing it and it will be a nice way to make some extra cash. Anyhow, I hope you're all well. Also, once I'm moved into my new place I expect all of you to come and visit and crash on my bedroom floor (not all at once though, it'd be pretty crowded).

Talk to you soon!

Kayla

Sore feet, no free time, and being content

Well, you are looking at the newest graduate of ICE (sort of - I don't officially get my diploma until I've finished my externship.) My dad, brother, and sister got to come in for the occasion and it was fun showing them around the city and finally making it to the museum of natural history. The cake that I made turned out pretty much the way I pictured it in my head when I sketched it, and despite a couple of flaws I was happy with the end result. Here's a picture my dad took:

It's still kind of weird to me that I made that. I am not the least bit creative but somehow I managed to do that... weird. Anyhow, I started my externship this morning and was really surprised when I awoke that I was really sad to not be going to school today. I guess it's not that much of a surprise since I've kind of always been a nerd... oh well. The externship went well, I made cookie dough, made a couple types of frosting, prepared cake pans, wrapped cakes, cleaned, more stuff I can't think of. I think that I was underestimating how tough this would be in addition to Starbucks, but I'm not complaining, it's fun. I went to the bakery which is in a part of Manhattan called Hell's Kitchen and there was a street fair going on today; so for the whole day whenever I looked outside I felt like I was back in Rochester, because it looked just like downtown Rochester when they have something going on outside. 

Here's another picture from graduation a very (un)flattering close-up (thanks dad!) It should also be noted that I had eight hours of class before the graduation ceremony and the air conditioning was not working.

My eyes look nice and wonky...

On a different note, I'm considering moving again. A girl I work with needs a new roommate (she lives with two other girls but the third just moved out.) It's in the Bronx but in a house that is really nice. I am going to look at it on Tuesday, I haven't decided for sure, but it seems like it would be a really great fit. I'll keep you updated. Hope you're all having a good weekend.

-Kayla

Life questions, being vegetarian, neglecting blogs

I was just thinking that it hasn't been that long since I last updated my blog and then I looked and noticed that I never even posted about the chocolate stuff I made. (Spoiler alert, I hated it...) I also feel like not much has happened but I guess it has. So, I will try to briefly catch everyone up with my life since my last update. (I posted a cute picture of Margot because how can you be mad about a lack of updates when you see that face?) Before I get into the school stuff, I actually have something that I need a little advice on. So, I got promoted to shift supervisor at Starbucks a few weeks ago and about a week ago my manager asked me about becoming an assistant manager. I had never really given it any thought and had not been very interested before, but I gave it some thought and told him that I would definitely consider it. I figure that even if I get a job right out of school it's not going to pay that great and it might not have the great benefits that Starbucks does. Plus an assistant starts at around $40k a year which it quite a lot more than what I currently make (plus you get stocks and 401k and all that great stuff). So after thinking about it I told my manager that I would like to pursue it. I was thinking that it would take several months if it even happened at all. There is also the fact that when you're promoted 99% of the time you have to transfer to a different store. However, today when I came in my manager told me that he talked to our district manager and I can do an interview in two weeks... He also told our dm that he would delay getting an assistant for a couple months so that I can stay at our store and do it. This seems to be happening really fast and I'm a little bit worried if it's the right thing to do. I need the money and I really like working at Starbucks and there's a definite safety net there; I just don't want to get distracted from my goal of baking. So, am I making a huge mistake by possibly taking this promotion? Or is it a good decision? I need some outside perspective please! Alright onto school. I cannot remember everything that we did, so here are some pictures: