Hello, hello! Long time, no blog. Well, the bar exam is over and done with, and I couldn’t be more pleased about that.
Here I am, with my trusty and understanding fiance, at Fenway Park the night after the bar ended. Can’t you tell how pleased I am?
Now I get to wait three months to find out whether or not I passed, during which time I plan to act as if the whole thing never happened.
Without wasting any time in working towards that lofty goal, I have spent the first two weeks of my summer (which began July 29th) doing little besides wedding planning and submitting the occasional job application. Oh, and last night I went to my first boxing class and it was awesome! I can barely move today from muscle soreness but it was totally worth it. The best part is that I have an unlimited month of classes ahead of me (thanks, Groupon!). I’m hoping that it’ll help me shake the last couple of pounds before my dress fitting on September 24th. Wish me luck!!
Also, I know I promised a post about the random crap I ate during the bar exam, and I even took the initiative to sort my pictures into a special Photobucket album for that very purpose, but…I can’t do it. it’s just too soon. The trauma of that dark period of my life is still too fresh and so I’m afraid I won’t get any joy out of sharing those pictures yet.
Instead, today I wanted to post about a couple of fun and joyful things, while the endorphins that follow an hour of punching things are still coursing through me.
Last week, I traveled down to good old NJ to see my family, with whom I had had little to no contact during the months of June and July, and to have some wedding-planning time with my mama and little sis/Maid of Honor. And I got to see these cuties!
At the end of the week, H drove down to join us. Once he arrived on Friday night, he told me he’d had an idea; why didn’t we go down to Asbury Park and eat at Twisted Tree Cafe the next day? We hadn’t been there in ages. I of course responded with a responding “HELL YES.” I love Twisted Tree Cafe. It is not a vegan restaurant but they have a phenomenal vegan selection and amazingly fresh food, plus all of their desserts are vegan, and their ginger cookies in particular are to die for.
Anyway, on Saturday morning, Dad came over to me and was all, “Hey, let’s go to brunch at your most favoritest veggie cafe in the worlddd!” (Okay, he doesn’t talk like that and if he did I’d have some strong words for him.) I thought it was such a fun and awesome coincidence that Dad and H both wanted to go to Twisted Tree! I invited Mom and M to come along, but as M was getting ready to move back to college the next day, they were too busy and declined.
Over at Twisted Tree, Dad and H and I had a grand time. I ordered their soup and half sandwich combo, with Tuscan White Bean Soup and the Focaccia Melt with vegan cheese.
Heaven. The soup came in a giant mug, and was thick and filling and flavorful. It was also super-garlicky, which is fine by me! I gobbled the sandwich, too; the focaccia was buttery and chewy and just so good. I also ate every last leaf of the salad. Their ginger miso dressing is truly special. I friggin love Twisted Tree.
Dad and H both ordered entrees with fish, but H had the vegan Thai coconut soup with his, so we snapped a picture.
Apparently he is alot better at holding a spoonful of yummy ingredients than I am. Oh well.
Before leaving Twisted Tree, I picked up a container of their soy chicken salad to go. The chicken salad was the first thing from Twisted Tree I ever had, about four years ago when they used to have a booth at the Sunday Farmers Market in Red Bank. The best thing about the chicken salad is that Mom, who really isn’t into soy, loves it. I figured I’d bring some to her at home so she could enjoy it for lunch. I also got a ginger cookie to go.
I definitely ate a piece before taking this picture. Yup.
After lunch, Dad, H, and I did a mini-tour of the historic Asbury Park boardwalk and casino area.
Then, we headed home. Holding a brown bag of vegan chicken salad, I marched up to the front door, opened it, and was confronted by a room FILLED with women. Mom and M had planned a surprise bridal shower for me, and I’d had NO IDEA.
It was a really fantastic afternoon. I won’t bore with details or too many pictures, as this is not a wedding blog, but needless to say, I felt extremely touched that they had gone through so much trouble to put this on for me, as well as impressed that they managed to hide it from me for a whole week while I was in the same house with them!
Mom never did get to eat the chicken salad, alas, and as she and Dad were departing for England within a few days, she insisted I take it back to Boston with me. She didn’t need to twist (pun intended) my arm too much…
Lunch!!!
On toast, with a slice of tomato and a pickle. Friggin’ perfection.
And that, my dears, is a surprisingly long recap (sorry!) of the things that have made me happy since the misery of the bar exam was lifted. I shall be back to blogging regularly from here on out, and am very excited about doing so!!
Have you ever been the recipient of a surprise party? Were you actually surprised?
A.Cook in the Making 