Project 365: 117/365

Last month, Amy hosted a bunch of us at her house for a girl's night, where we sampled "Fox-a-ritas" and gorged on guac and salsa. I offered to host a holiday-themed girl's night, complete with spiced cider and a Christmas Cookie decorating contest.

Our reluctant judge, Jamie, with the three finalists.

Caitlin, the big winner with her prize - "A Christmas Story" mug!

Project 365: 116/365

Mom's been wanting me to get a picture of myself in front of the "BU Sign" for her Christmas card. Problem is, BU has such an urban campus, there isn't really a sign per se. There's a big granite monstrosity in the center of Commonwealth Ave., however, so that had to do.

I sprinted across 4 lanes to get to this location, and then Jackie (who was wedged between two parked cars) would snap 3-4 pictures every time there was a break in traffic. At a few points (when I was sitting on top of the sign, mostly) I got some honks as well. What's more, it was about 30 degrees outside - and that granite was cold!

Project 365: 119/365

Frequently we see really ridiculously expensive cars parked outside of SMG - the kind you'd see on Top Gear.

However, for the last two days, we've seen this parked outside:

Meg & Fillbelly's

I can't decide if I want it to actually be a chicken and waffles truck, or if I'd feel better if it was some sort of FBI/CIA surveillance van. Wow, I watch too much TV!

Project 365: 114/365

Today I thought I'd share with you something I see every day.

This is the globe-like statue inside SMG. Not my best effort today, I know, but it's finals after all!

Project 365: 113/365

I have to say that, by far, one of my favorite things right now is the fact that I can stream Netflix though my Wii onto the TV! Especially since it is too cold to walk to the Redbox!

Project 365: 112/365

It was only a matter of time...

...before the coloring book from Mom...

...and the crayons from Karla...

...converged into an awesome procrastination technique.

I wonder if I turn it in with my QM paper... will I get extra points for staying in the lines?

Project 365: 111/365

I'm taking advantage of the fact that Diana and I seem to be the only people in the building this holiday weekend and I'm catching up on my laundry.

Laundry is an extreme sport here on Littell Road. Take one step too far backwards, and you'll fall down the scary stairs.

I don't think this picture conveys just how frightening they are. My foot slipped onto the top step the other day, and I swear I had my first heart attack. I had to sit down and wait for my heart rate to come back down.

If anyone hasn't seen me for a few days, look at the bottom of these stairs. You'll probably find my dead, broken body there, under a pile of socks.

Project 365: 110/365

Dear Orchid -

Is it something that I said? Something I did? I watered you and kept you out of direct sunlight like the directions told me to.

Please let me know if there is anything we can do to salvage this relationship.

xoxo,
Bron

Help a Grad Student Out

We need people to participate in our market research survey for our Integrated Project.

Since I love you all so much... could you take a minute and fill it out? I'd be very grateful!

Cracker Survey!

xoxo,
B

Thanksgiving

If you asked me about Turkey Day about a month ago, I would have told you that Diana and I were planning on getting sushi and/or Indian food and watching stupid movies on the couch. That all changed a couple of weeks ago, when we decided to cook for a few friends. That group grew and grew, and we ended up having a (quite large) group of 7 people for Turkey Day.

This was my first attempt at actually cooking a bird, and a whole meal of this magnitude for that matter. I'd always casually helped make the stuffing, etc. at home, but never actually stuck my hand in the cavity and pulled. It was a little gross, but I found that if you just suck it up and don't think about what you are actually doing, it goes just fine.

I did the turkey in one of those Oven Bags... and I think it definitely stopped the meat from drying out! It was literally falling off of the bone! Other than the sage & onion stuffing I stuffed into poor Tommy's cavity, I also rubbed the outside with olive oil, season salt, sage, thyme and rosemary before laying him in the bag on a bed of onion and celery. It also made for some pretty tasty gravy (which, in the absence of Bisto, actually turned out pretty good).

By far the best part of the evening was having four men do all the dishes. ALL the dishes. Diana and I got to relax and drink wine while they finished things up.

We were then joined by some more friends for dessert, drinks, Apples to Apples, and Wii. Things didn't wrap up until about 2 a.m... in all a successful Thanksgiving, I'd say!

Project 365: 109/365

Can't bring myself to take down the Thanksgiving decorations yet... even though we're currently playing Christmas tunes...

Project 365: 108/365

It's beginning to smell a lot like Thanksgiving here... I got really ambitious this year and decided to make a Pumpkin Cheesecake. Let's hope it tastes as good as it smells!

Project 365: 107/365

Perfect pre-Thanksgiving meal... $1.86 thanks to Groupon!

Project 365: 106/365

The one upside to all this cold weather? Finally getting to wear all of the boots and tights I've accumulated over the years!

Project 365: 105/365

PharmaSim's over! Let's just say that "comfortable" position quickly went awry today... we won't know our final results until tomorrow... but the last ranking my team got was 10/13.

Celebrating in true MBA fashion...

Project 365: 104/365

For anyone who has tried to contact me in the last few days, I thought I'd show you why I haven't been very responsive...

PharmaSim is an intense marketing simulation that a lot of business schools subject their MBA students to. In a nutshell, you are the brand manager for a cold medicine for 9 "periods" that happen over the course of 2-3 days. You're responsible for everything - sales force, marketing, promotion - for that brand and whatever other products you launch during the simulation. After you submit each decision, you get back instant feedback on how you did - in the form of an income statement, stock price, etc. And then you have 90 mins to make the decision for the next period. For this next one, we have the whole weekend.

We ended day #1 in a pretty good position... so here's hoping we finish strong! Our class ranking figures into our grade after all...

Project 365: 103/365

With all of the leaves dying and falling off of the trees, we actually have a few city views from our apartment.

Trying to enjoy the last of these blue skies... before they give way to snow! Apparently it is "unseasonably warm" this year -- about 50 degrees F. Heh.

Project 365: 102/365

Happy Harry Potter Day!

I'm not going to lie... I cried a little bit. JK Rowling wasn't afraid to kill people off in the last book, and one of the saddest deaths happened towards the end of this movie. I'd forgotten that that particular character died until right before it happened... so sad!

But in all, a great HP movie! If you haven't read the books... you might be a little lost. Do yourself a favor at at least read the Wikipedia synopsis before you go.

Project 365: 101/365

Good Morning, America - how are ya?

Just thought I'd run you all through my typical morning as of late. Just to set the scene - I go to bed anywhere between 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. in a freezing cold room, wrapped up in my blankets and duvet.

4:45 a.m. - Heat goes on
5:00 a.m. - Wake up in cold sweat, throw duvet off
6:15 a.m. - Heat goes off
6:45 a.m. - First alarm goes off. Throw duvet back on because it's freezing. Hit snooze.
6:49 a.m. - Hit snooze.
6:53 a.m. - Check body temperature. If warm, get up and locate slippers. Make bed. If cold, hit snooze.

At that point, I generally shuffle down to the kitchen and make coffee (it's half caff, I'm not completely off the wagon), whereupon I return to my room and start checking e-mail and the various online tools that my MBA program uses to get information to the students. I'm also trying to blog at this point as well. At some point, I also eat, shower, do my hair, get dressed, pack my lunch and get out the door by 9 a.m. to be at school by about 9:30 a.m.

And then the fun REALLY begins!

Project 365: 100/365

Ok, maybe I wasn't entirely truthful yesterday.

Not ALL of the leaves are brown.

Sky's still gray though.

Project 365: 99/365

It's really hard to love Boston when it's so icky out...

Those of you who are my friends on Facebook saw my post the other day... and it's true. All the leaves ARE brown, and the sky IS gray. The stress of this semester and the gloomy weather have me doing some SERIOUS California dreaming... only a month and a day till I fly back for break!

Yeah, yeah, I know I've missed about a week. Sometimes you just need a little break.

Stay tuned...

Project 365: 98/365

It's the most wonderful time of the yearrr.... Starbucks' holiday cups are here!

They make me feel so cozy and festive! Especially when they're filled with a Peppermint Mocha. 'Tis also the season for Peppermint Mocha Coffeemate, which is equally as exciting, if not more.

By the way, Bronwen's Foundation for Exhausted Graduate Students is now accepting donations in the form of Starbucks Gift Cards... email me for more details! :)

Project 365: 97/365

Everyone keeps asking me how the weather is here. It's cold.

Right now? 41, feels like 34.

Here's another number for ya - 39. As in the number of days till I am back in Long Beach, where right now it is a balmy 60.

Oh, and it's going to get worse. I have to keep reminding myself of that!

Project 365: 96/365

It seemed fitting to eat the last piece of Halloween candy (Thanks, Aunt Christena!) while doing the last Stats homework assignment of the semester.

Yeah, you heard that right - LAST of the semester! 40 days and counting...

Project 365: 95/365

Tonight we had the girls downstairs up for pizza, wine and games. 

Only two of the three happened... Can you guess which? 

In other news, The Upper Crust might be one of the best pizzas I've ever had in my life. Their deliverymen ride bicycles with pizza boxes drilled to the back. The one thing I have noticed about Boston pizza is that it is all super thin crust... which is good (and admittedly healthier) but I'm starting to crave some really greasy New York style pizza... 

Project 365: 94/365

Back to just posting pictures - apparently I'm getting "too wordy." Thanks, Dad.

If it's Thursday in business school... it means it's Thirsty Thursday! Every week a different club hosts the event. This week, it was the Latin Business Student Association, who hosted TT at Mojito's Latin Lounge.

And, boy, do they know how to throw a party! :)

Me, Jenn and Jess

Blog Love

I recently received a blog award from one of my favorite reads out there - T at Desperately Seeking Seersucker!  If you're looking for new reads, you should check her out. She's a Southern Gal with a darling little Westie, Louis, who gives all of her friends amazingly fun "blog names" to protect their identities (me? I'm not that nice!). T and I bonded back during our match(dot)com days, and I'm glad to know her now that we're both on the other side.

Anyway, it's a combo Food Tag/Beautiful Blog award, and we had the choice of picking which one we wanted to participate in. I'm going with the Food Tag, because I just got back from the grocery store and it seems appropriate (and I seem to have a fondness for photographing things I cook).

1. What is your favorite dessert? Anything with bananas in it! Probably Bananas Foster if it's a fancy place... or low sugar banana jello pudding if I'm on the cheap.


2. Ever tried to cook something and fail miserably? My dad would REALLY get a kick out of answering this question. Actually, he'd probably be laughing too hard to type anything coherent. I am REALLY GOOD AT COOKING I swear, I just seem to screw up when he's eating it. So much so, that even when I get it right he swears there is something wrong with it. A recent example? I added salt twice to my favorite non-mayo Barefoot Contessa potato salad this summer... making it almost inedible. Sorry!


3. Is there a dish you haven't made yet but really want to? I'm going to copy T on this one and go with "Thanksgiving Turkey." While I might try it this Thanksgiving with my roommate... I want to "really" do it one day with my grandma's made-from-scratch stuffing, which involves a meat grinder and other accessories that I don't have here. It sounds totally disgusting - onions, celery, apples and raisins - but trust me it is so good! It's the perfect mix of sweet and savory. Coincidentally, this is another food that I love and my father hates. Go figure!


4. What is your favorite food? This is like asking someone to pick their favorite child. I'm going to go with Pizza. I could seriously eat Pizza every day and not get tired of it. I like it so much, I'm going to capitalize it every time I type it from now on. 


5. What is your least favorite food? That's easy - EGGS! My poor grandfather is spinning in his grave right now... but yes I hate HATE eggs. While I did train myself to like omelettes this summer while trying to do South Beach... still don't like 'em. Even the smell makes me want to vom.


6. Do you have any seasonal meals you like? Pumpkin Bread, Christmas Fudge and Brazelis. Yum!


7. What is your comfort food?  Home made chili with lots of sharp cheddar cheese and oven fries. And it has to be the Carroll Selby's mix in the brown paper bag, made "extra tomatoey."


8. Chocolate: milk, dark or white?  I'd have to rank them 1) milk, 2) white and then 3) dark. 

This was fun! I'm tagging all of my lovely followers on this one... Happy Eating!

Project 365: 93/365

It was 40 degrees out today when I was walking to school. My ears were very cold. So after class I went to H&M and bought a hat. Duh. That's what any normal person would do.

I have issues with hats, for many reasons including that I have a large head. I think I can probably pull this one off... what do you think?

Project 365: 92/365

There's a pattern developing here: take ridiculous finance exam, head directly to BU Pub!

Tuesday was trivia night! We entered on a whim... and came in second! And I will say - mea culpa - it's my fault that we didn't come in FIRST.

But, first, an informal poll - on Facebook do you unfriend or defriend someone to remove them from your friends list? I said defriend, but apparently the word entered into the dictionary was unfriend.

Lame. 

Jess and Molly, very proud of our progress so far!

Project 365: 91/365

This year I got two Halloween care packages! The first from Aunt Christena was quickly devoured -slash- handed out to some trick-or-treaters who caught us unawares.

The second, from my favorite Ohioan officemate ever, was a dream come true.

Twix, and crayons to go with the My Little Pony coloring book mom sent me earlier this year!

Everyone can expect some really stellar artwork from me for Christmas...

Project 365: 90/365

Decided to break in the new oven today with some baked manicotti...

Yes, the very dish that is responsible for Mary's and my entire friendship. True story. She wasn't sure about me until I started cooking her dinner in London, including "stuffed shells." :) Later this phenomenon would lead to her work colleagues referring to me as her "wife."

Project 365: 89/365

Guess what's in the correct position in the kitchen... AND all hooked up?

Project 365: 88/365

So 10 points for Megan for being the only person to try and help me find a costume! 

We ended up leaving our Stats exam for this amazing costume store in Cambridge called the Garment District. My goal was to utilize as many existing pieces of clothing as possible to make a costume. Between the rock star and pirate aisles, I was able to fashion a biker girl ensemble. 

Here are some of the pictures fit for public consumption...

Jess, the farm girl, swats Jenn the pesky fly.

 Jenn, Molly, Me, Jess

Bikers don't hate flies!

Rock Star Carl

Humberto had an awesome Lucha Libre costume on... and some borrowed glasses

 Why so sad, hipster?

 Roger Sterling and Don Draper dropped in from Mad Men...

This is Tchad from my cohort. His Mad Hatter costume was so scary, I had to kill him with a borrowed knife. 

So the moral of the story? Halloween is great - because it only comes once a year!