DIY Interlude: Cookie Dough

 

There's not much left in this batch... I wonder who's been eating it all...

As my life has been taken over by theorizing how the body works in society and reading Nabokov, you can imagine that I've been caught up in the cerebral a lot these days.
Yet, whenever I spend too much time reading or working on an essay or doing something academically stimulating, my hands start itching to be used in some other way.
And that's where cookie dough comes in.
Courtesy of this wonderful recipe blog post by Joy the Baker, I have an outlet for my 1. constant need to do something domestic, and 2. leftover Greek yogurt.
Mine is pictured above, but you should definitely try making this recipe for yourself - it's eggless so there's no fear of salmonella and if you use peanut butter instead of yogurt, it becomes a dairy free treat! Enjoy!

CocoaV & Trailer Park Lounge

Again, two reviews for the price of one! Today, I had the distinct pleasure to go to two different locations once more - these two were the complete and total opposite of one another. They were near to the area of 23rd Street (CocoaV was on 21st and 9th Ave, Trailer Park Lounge on 23rd Street and 7th Ave).

CocoaV
This place was bigger than I thought! There was a restaurant in the other half of it, but we went to the charming little chocolate bar that we saw first. When I first gazed at their artisan vegan chocolates, I was titillated by the colored designs on them in fanciful green, purple, yellow, red... all of them were mesmerizing. And when we finally bought some, it was a chocolate experience! Delicate and tasty and every one different - I highly recommend the Vanilla Caramel, that was my favorite. They were definitely expensive, but I believe that was because of the restaurant starting up about three months ago (as I overheard the cashier saying). The register people were charming and we were able to sit there and sip hot chocolate at our leisure.
As a writing location, this place was calm and pleasurable. I felt that we could sit there forever and get drunk on the chocolate fantasy - it had an artsy feel also because of the nice painted chocolates and the sweet atmosphere. Beautiful.

Trailer Park Lounge
In total contrast, the Trailer Park Lounge was a loud, rampant bar/restaurant that had reasonably priced diner food (tater tots!). It was low-lit and had many kitschy items (there was a poodle-shaped blue lamp, many different tin soda advertisements, and a bunch of tiki lights, to name a few). It was definitely a place of inspiration with all the strange things everywhere.
As a writing place, as is most pertinent, it is a great place if you can focus while other people are drinking and talking around you. It is also low lit, but you can definitely see. I found it a charming location, mostly because of the quirky fashion of the place - it was reminiscent of Big Nick's, which is dear to my heart.

Anyway, decadent chocolate or diner fare, these two places are quite amazing.

Read more of my writing in strange places reviews.
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I Hate to Say It But...

...I am procrastinating again. Seriously, I have 1 essay left out of 3, and I'm a quarter finished with it, but the motivation just fell out beneath my feet right now. So... blog post!
I am proud to say that the muse has returned to me - I am able now to write spontaneously without the uphill battle of finding something to talk about. I have been writing poetry and memories down in class, trying to reestablish that great old writer personality. I don't know who I envision my writer self as... I prefer to think of her as a figurehead far away that I can see nothing but the outline of in gold against blackness.
Anyway, after the week of liberation, I still feel the social disconnect that comes with going back to school - though I still want to hang out randomly, people actually have work and assignments to complete. I am just a little ball of energy trying to bottle herself up, so, for now, I am making many plans to do stuff for/with myself but completely ignoring the logical limitations of time and my own tasks. Hence the procrastination! Isn't it joyous?
Well... I am starting to feel that the attempt to write more words than my essay itself is pulling at me, so I will leave you with this sad/happiness:
Yesterday, I went on a whim to See's Candies (Warren Buffett owns it!) and bought a 12 piece chocolate box. But then... as I was walking out... I dropped it all over the sidewalk! I was almost crying because I hate to waste money on something that can't be replaced... luckily, my dad wasn't mad and decided that he would eat the chocolates that fell. We went back to get another box, thankfully, but I was just thinking about how easily I am influenced. Period. I was about to cry over chocolates spilling on the ground - seriously? I guess it just goes to show you the emotional sensitivity I carry around with me. Something old and new. It's a strange prospect, but I kind of got the feeling that my dad has been humoring these little eccentricities of mine for a large portion of my life (eating the spilled chocolates, giving me a little bit of extra cash, telling me to stay home when I'm sick...). He's always given me the option of being just a little off, and I thank him.

Check out some more posts featuring my photography.