all new

Guys, I really really love North Carolina. Really, to be simultaneously more specific and vastly more melodramatic, I love my new life. I just finished up my workday by doing some child development training at a totally cool cafe, which I can walk to. I strolled home listening to crickets, and was pleasantly surprised when a stag ran across my path. I’d experienced the cool urban style cafe, with the free city of Carrboro Wifi (lovvve), then walked home under a tapestry of stars with nature all around me.

Outdoors, if slightly less scenic, is my cute little balcony. Since I left most of my garden at home, I tried to recreate the effect of my awesome deck with a basil plant. I enjoyed looking at it (and, er, my air-drying bikini top that apparently fell into my shot) with my leftovers from the wonderful Mediterranean deli.

Which I supplemented with a salad made of farmer’s market yellow tomatoes and the deck basil.

Despite my awkward and introverted tendencies, I’ve made friends here largely effortlessly, mostly because everyone here is so damn friendly!

Anecdote 1: I had a friend visiting from out of town (he and his preggo wife are thinking bout moving here). We took them to the farmer’s market. Whilst there, over the course of about ten minutes we ran into six people we knew. My friend goes, “Wait, I thought you’d only lived here for two weeks…” It is a small town in the best possible way.

Anecdote 2: Yesterday I was headed out to the grocery store (which is NEXT DOOR to my complex; so walkable!) and ended up chatting with my neighbor and her cute little boy, and then my other neighbor’s cute little boy showed up too and we ran around chasing their kids for an hour and never bought groceries and now we’re having a cookout on Saturday. There are countless adorable little places to eat. There are neighborhood cats who I visit regularly and pet intensely. Anecdote 3: Somebody I met at a party sold me a bike for $40.

The aforementioned farmer’s market is magnificent and ENORMOUS. I’m already buddies with one lady who sells amaaaaazing samosas and told me all about Krishna’s birthday, which was last week. FYI. The aforementioned farmers market is also where my boyfriend was kind enough to buy me THIS AWESOMENESS HOLY SHIZZ GUYS.

The company:

Awesome:

But let’s be real, am I even thinking about the local and wholesome street cred? FALSE. I am thinking about THIS IS THE BEST PEANUT BUTTER EVER EVER EVER.

Another great lunch: more tomato-basil salad, scads of watermelon (which had to do with me being DYING OF THIRST as I prepared this lunch) quickly pan sizzled tempeh, and tortilla with OH MY GOD THAT PEANUT BUTTER.

 

I’ve been trying to eat in, and successfully putting together proper healthy meals for myself for the first time in quite awhile, but don’t worry. I’ve still been spending too much money going out to eat and exploring my new area. Neal’s Deli, an awesome place:

Pimiento cheese for lunch? OH YES. Truth: I ate most of the celery (which is delicious with pimiento cheese) and carrots; and I DEMOLISHED those MAGNIFICENT pickled green tomatoes. And the homemade pretzel chips, well, I didn’t hate those. But, in my defense, I could only make a dent in the pimiento cheese, so I took it home, and accidentally left it in Steve’s fridge, and he ate it, and I was sad.

Another home meal, enjoyed on the coffee table while sitting on the fuuf.

I was going out of town imminently for work training (more on that in a future post!) so this was a “use up all the vegetables in the fridge’ stir fry. Corn, peppers, tomatoes, basil, yadda yadda.

Think I was also thirsty planning this one. More scads of watermelon and some yogurt ‘n cinnamon.

  

If you think that meal looks insubstantial, you are correct! So I ate a thousand roasted almonds afterwards. It’s all good.

I brought my chickpea flour with me in the move, so I could make socca. Everyone knows that socca, when made correctly, is really a delivery vehicle for olive oil and salt and pepper. Was delighted to bring my AWESOME bunny shaped, magnetic, utterly delightful salt and pepper grinders out of storage.

And fact: socca is even MORE delicious when topped with melty cheese and served with salsa. Like bar food and yet really quite respectably healthy.