Many things have happened in the past two months. Memos happened (which are, essentially, the law school version of papers), as well as lots of reading, outlining, and many hours spent in the library or taking up space in Boulder’s many coffeeshops with my sprawling books. However, more interestingly:

Halloween happened (I love Halloween, and love that it is still acceptable to enthusiastically celebrate this glorious holiday in law school!)

(In honor of my hopeful career in environmental law, I chose to dress up as the Fern Gully fairy, Krysta)

Snow happened, at first in October, on and off until I left Colorado a week and a half ago. Despite my tropical roots, I like the snow quite a bit. I'm not so sure about the frigid darkness that typically accompanies it.

Thanksgiving happened, though it was not the “break” it was in undergrad, but a week primarily spent studying on my Michael’s porch in California, and then my family’s porch in Florida.

One more week of class happened — an intense week of attempting to outline previous material and solidify it into my brain, on top of learning new material — and then, for two weeks,

exams happened.

(Also, my 23rd birthday happened... right in the middle of the second finals week, unfortunately, and practically on the eve of our Contracts exam. However, my friends were so sweet to throw me a mini-birthday party in the law school cafe.. one is never too old for dinosaur and butterfly cookies.)

I’ll sum up the overall 1L exam experience (briefly, as I’m finally adjusting to east coast time and getting quite sleepy) through my own answers to the most common questions I asked law student friends this time last year, and am now on the receiving end of:

So, is law school really as hard as everyone makes it out to be? No, not really; my grades are not posted (which of course could drastically alter my outlook on the matter), but in the classes I took this semester (Legal Writing, Contracts, Torts, Civil Procedure, and Legislation & Regulation/Intro. to Administrative law, essentially) the material itself was not excruciatingly hard. There was just a lot of it, and not a lot of time to master how to use it. More than anything, the academic portion of law school is an endurance race.

What were finals like? At my school, most law school finals consist of reading a long, detailed fact pattern, and analyzing which parties can sue, how they would do so, and how the case would likely come out in court. This results in three hours of frantic typing. The one exception to this was my contracts final, which was two thirds (tricky) multiple choice, and one third frantic typing. I left almost every one with no idea how I did (that’s the pain of being graded on a curve).

Were they as horribly stressful as people make them out to be? This question is trickier, at least in my case, and again – my answers to these questions will be more useful once my grades are out and I have some idea whether my study strategies were effective or not. The preparation period for exams was intense on its own, amounting to entire days spent outlining and revising, but adding to my undercurrent of anxiety was the fact that I largely neglected to allow myself to do the things that help me to manage stress – this was easy to do since, by December, nightfall happened at 4:30 in the afternoon and it was so cold I had no desire to be outside running, or even walking (which is a big part of my sanity-maintenance). As a sunshine-dweller I was not prepared for just how dark and how cold the winter would be, and how tired and down I would sometimes feel as a result. Yoga got put on the back-burner, time chatting with Michael and my other close friends got cut down, and I cooked perhaps two dinners throughout the two weeks of finals, when I usually do so nearly every night. There is simply an enormous amount of pressure to do well, and the uncertainty of our performance makes it all the more intense. There were moments where I felt alarmingly calm, and there were moments of pre-exam stress where I wanted to quit and go work at Disney World (I’m glad I didn’t).

In short, my last month of the semester was very stressful, but 0Ls take note: perhaps with better time-management, stress-management and foresight than what I exercised, it doesn’t have to be so. Hopefully, next semester won’t be so.

How does it feel to be done with 1L, part 1? Well…

...it feels awesome. Champagne-morning awesome. I am so proud of us for pushing through -- we did it!

Happy wintertime to all, and check back throughout the break! Hopefully I’ll conjure up another post or two before I return to the grind.

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

Business, sickness, and the fact that the internet in my apartment has been excruciatingly slow lately (one of those things I just can’t find time to look into), were all contributing factors to the recent lack of posting… however, because I miss blogging dearly and have some yummy recipes and sincere 1L reflections to share, I am currently giving this blog a much-needed update from the basement of the law library!

Though my body is not reacting well to this "seasonal" business that it is not used to, autumn in Boulder is absolutely gorgeous

Before I came to law school, I was amply warned by many people – mostly other law students – that there would be days where everything we are learning in this first year would seem impossibly useless and abstract. I am lucky to have made it this far in before I felt this way for even a second; however, these days do happen.. blissfully rarely, but they do.

Though I did come to law school straight out of my undergraduate studies, I worked two immensely rewarding internships throughout my senior year, both of which primarily consisted of researching and writing articles about environmental and animal-related issues — my two areas of passion which, incidentally, brought me to law school. It is a major adjustment to go from receiving instant gratification for my efforts in my areas of passion (by being able to see how many people were reading/commenting on my articles), to the abstraction that is daily, intensive study.

Intellectually, I know that the effort I put forth now will pay off, and I will be able to help the Earth and its animals on a macro level… some nights, though, when my head has been bent over my Civil Procedure and Contracts textbooks for hours, just as it was the night before, and the night before that, I forget and feel frustrated that my time is so consumed by my studies that I cannot put forth the same effort toward activism, digital and otherwise, that I did just a year ago.

The fact that this year needs to be all about my schoolwork has taken time to get used to.

Even in the realm of academics, the multiple grades we received throughout the semester in undergrad lent a concrete sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that I was doing things right. Here, it is harder to tell; I’m on top of things during class nearly every day, but as all of my courses (except for legal writing – my first memo should be coming back soon) base their grades on a single final exam, there is no way to be positive.

Like I said, as a whole, my first year of law school has been wonderful; I’m actually happier here (both in law school and in Colorado) than I was in undergrad. However, if I am not honest about the realities — the rain as well as the rainbows — then I have failed in providing even a scrap of usefulness to any prospective law students who may wind up on this blog.

No rain, no rainbow; nothing worth having or doing in this world comes easily.

CU has actually done an amazing job of combatting the first-year-abstraction-frustration by providing a plethora of career-related events, especially in specialized fields (like environmental law). For example, a couple of weeks ago, attorneys who work for the government agencies that work to protect people, animals and the environment, such as the Department of Justice and EPA, came and spoke to us about their (AWESOME) jobs. Beyond that, we were able to go up and chat with them personally, after! Someday, I hope my career will bring hands-on opportunities such as the cases that these lawyers get to work on every day… I just need to maintain faith that, through just a few years of studious diligence, I will get there eventually.

Also, though the reading can feel like a lot sometimes, my professors are wonderfully skilled at keeping classes interesting and engaging. I still don’t know which course is my “favorite;” unexpectedly, I’m really enjoying Contracts, though, and feel it comes the most naturally to me.

If you’re one of my regular readers (well, as regular as you can be for a really busy person’s blog…), you have probably noticed that I maintain my Bliss (and my sanity) primarily through exercise, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. Being sick forced me to all but vanquish two of those. Illness and stress go hand-in-hand, and I think my slow recovery has been pretty circular; my immune system crashed from internalizing stress, and not being able to work out or go out has heightened my stress, making it harder for me to get well. I am happily much better now, though, and on the bright side, feeling ill for so many days incentivized some really delicious soup-making. Here are my Top Three concoctions from the past few weeks!

Three Easy Soups for Vegans Under the Weather:

#1 - "Fire Soup," an Original Creation

I came up with Fire Soup sometime during college as the ultimate sinus-clearer. It looks innocent, but if made properly, should require a box of Kleenex as you eat it. (Needless to say, I would not call this a “date food” unless your love interest enjoys sweat and congestion-exodus).

Ingredients: vegetable broth, rice noodles, a serrano chile (dice and include as many seeds as you can stand), about a tablespoon of grated ginger, bok choy, and shoyu to taste.

Directions: Prepare rice noodles as directed, and set aside. In about two teaspoons of sesame oil, sauté the chile and ginger at the bottom of the pot over medium heat for about one minute. Add 2-3 cups of broth, bring to a boil, add bok choy, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat, add rice noodles, and serve immediately, seasoning with shoyu to taste.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a fresh chile on hand, Sriracha or another chili sauce works well. I sometimes make this with broccoli instead of bok choy, too.

#2 - Curried Hubbard Squash Soup

Inspired by Alicia Silverstone’s kabocha squash soup in The Kind Diet (which I have made many times before and love dearly), I set off to market in search of a kabocha squash. However, at the beginning of autumn, there were none to be found… instead, the farmer with the best-looking squashes insisted that pretty, orange Hubbard squash tastes basically the same. He was right, though this was much more difficult to peel!

While Miss Silverstone’s recipe is quite mellow and simple, I frequently elect to spice things up. This soup is no exception.

Ingredients: one Hubbard squash, peeled and cut into 2″ cubes; 1 onion, coarsely chopped; four cups of water, Indian yellow curry to taste (about 1-2 tbsp), 1 tbsp grated ginger, sea salt to taste

Directions: In about a tablespoon of olive oil, sauté the onion at the bottom of the pot until it goes clear. Add the curry and ginger, and sauté for another minute. Add squash chunks and water, and bring to a boil; cover with the lid just barely tilted to let out steam and let simmer for 15 minutes. Once the squash is very soft, using an immersion blender or potato-smasher, smooth out the squash until silky. Add sea salt and extra curry to taste.

Soup #3 - "Southern Comfort Soup," inspired by a recipe in the "Healing Foods" edition of "Vegetarian Times"

Vegetarian Times, my favorite foodie-mag, released a really excellent “Healing Foods” issue last month. Kale, my second favorite vegetable (under my dear broccoli), was a featured “healing food,” and they used it in a yummy-looking “New Year’s Day” soup (made in the Southern tradition of eating black eyed peas and greens on January 1st). Inspired by their concoction, I crafted my own simple-and-spicy version.

Ingredients: 1 box Dr. McDougall’s chunky tomato soup (any broth-based tomato soup will probably do), three cups water, three cups chopped kale, 1 cup whole-wheat fusili, 1.5 cups black eyed peas, Tony Chachere’s to season

Directions: Prepare fusili according to box directions and set aside. In a nice, big pot, pour in the tomato soup as well as three cups water (don’t worry, with the seasoning, this doesn’t kill the flavor)! Bring to a boil, and add the kale, cooking until still dark green but chewy-tender in texture (don’t overcook —  it kills the superfood qualities!). Season generously with Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, and add the black eyed peas, letting boil for about a minute. Turn off the heat, add the fusili, and serve.

—

Besides those yummy soups, a much-needed visit from my family this past weekend restored me back to feeling good; Mom and Dad, if you’re reading, thank you so much for flying out to see me!

They're so sweet and fabulous I miss them a lot

It wouldn't be a classic weekend with my family if there wasn't lots of awesome nomming involved... This is probably one of my favorite dishes in Boulder: the Szechuan Tofu Scramble from the Dushanbe teahouse. Delicious.

As this is a Monday night, I’m afraid that’s all I have time for at the moment… Thank you for reading!

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

I simultaneously can’t believe I’ve been in law school for a month now, yet it feels like I’ve been here forever, too.

I’m going to forgive myself for the blogging flakiness and ask that you do the same… but I will try to do better to keep up with the optimistic “Sunday” posting.

Now, for a proper catch-up!

The blog-derailing really began the weekend before last. It was a holiday weekend, so I took a little holiday from blogging, since I didn’t want to sacrifice any of my time with Michael in lovely Newport Beach!

bahh... I miss this kid so much!

It such a happy weekend, and a genuine rest from the intensity of the first law school weeks. I felt it was the perfect balance between playing (massive pool party and salsa dancing) and relaxing (movies, cloudy-day beach, and many yummy happy hours). I am so happy that a couple of Pepperdine friends came down to play, too!

Shelby (Pepperdine bestie) with her Mike, David, and Audrey... taking a break from SALSA DANCING!

By the way, when I say that we “salsa danced,” I mean that we went to this awesome hole in the wall in Newport, partook in an hour-long “salsa tutorial,” mastered the very (very) basic steps, and felt pretty good about ourselves…

But then, the real music started, Salsa gods and goddesses appeared out of thin air and started flying around, and we felt pretty much like this! (I am so over these “embedding disabled” videos!) However, despite the volumes we have to learn about Salsa, (“When in doubt, just twirl me!”) Michael and I had a blast We always have a blast, whatever we do.

Of course, it would not be a Michael-E trip without lots and lots of delicious noms…

From the reasonably healthy (HUGE and DELICIOUS acai bowl from Nektar in Corona Del Mar)...

...to the straight-up sinful.

OH BOY DONUTS

You definitely can't complain about the view

Michael and I share a passion for animals, which is pretty awesome

As for the weekdays, my life has fallen into a fairly consistent routine. Generally, my days go something like this:

-5:45am — Wake up, go to yoga at 6:15

OR if that’s not happening, snooze until 7-7:30

–Nom on some yummy breakfast:

Breakfast usually consists of a steaming mug of Green (if I'm rested) or Earl Grey (if I need a little extra kick in my system) tea, Barbara's "high fiber" cereal (haha), topped with some sort of fruit and local honey. Here, we have blueberries!

–Catch the bus to the law school (class begins either at 9 or 9:30, depending on the day)

–Classes: First, either Contracts or Legal Writing.

–Then, almost always, Civil Procedure (M, T, W, Th)

–Lunchtime! The first week, my friends and I took pretty solid advantage of the numerous dining spots located near the law building (Noodle & Co, Whole Foods!, etc.) but lately there have been a lot of really neat club meetings and speakers coming at lunch time and frequently, free lunches are provided there. Last week, for example, we had a fascinating professor from Notre Dame come and talk about the role of evangelical rhetoric with environmental law — something that I’m so interested in, I actually wrote a good bit of my undergrad thesis about it.

Despite the warnings I received to not get involved with on-campus organizations as a 1L, I volunteered for a position with the Environmental Law Society, and a few days ago, stepped up to be Vice President of our Student Animal Legal Defense Fund. I figure they wouldn’t specifically request 1L officers if there was so much work as to be unmanageable. Both seem to be incredible organizations full of people who share many of my same passions — I am really thrilled to be involved, and cannot wait to see what the year brings.

When lunches aren’t provided at these meetings, though, I usually throw together a combination of leftovers/whatever is in my kitchen like this:

Ok, this doesn't look appetizing, but it was awesome. You know how people love to say things like, "When I was in grad school, I was so broke I ate nothing but ramen noodles?" This is my "I just got into town and have no time to go to the store" version of that dish. It is made entirely of things from the pantry and freezer! INGREDIENTS: One packet vegetarian ramen (I used the kind from Whole Foods here but Oriental Flavor Nissin works too), frozen edamame, and Gardein faux-beef tips. DIRECTIONS: Cook the ramen, but once noodles are tender, drain the water. Mix the seasoning packet in with the dry noodles (use less if you're not a sodium fanatic like I am). Cook edamame in the microwave, and gardein on a separate pan. Combine in a tupperware. Nom.

–Afternoon class (either Torts or a fascinating CU-specific class called “Legislation and Regulation” that focuses on statutory interpretation.)

–2:30pm thru somewhere between 5-8pm- study in the library. I try to get everything done, but after six hours or so, I usually have to get myself out of the (beautiful) building

-Get home; if it’s not dark out (and especially if I didn’t make it to yoga in the morning), throw on some running clothes and hit the trail:

I am SO happy there are pretty running trails so close to my home!

-Come home, shower

-Cook myself some dinner noms:

My meals are pretty formulaic, and usually go something like this: I make a big bowl of grain either Sunday or Monday night to last most of the week (here's it's couscous), and supplement with veggies and protein (nuts, beans or faux-meat, depending on how much I feel my body needs). Here, I made a couscous melange with broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and daikon radish. The rest of my week's meals were couscous-based, too. Eating healthy is easy and yummy

If I don't have any fresh veggies in the apartment (rare) or don't feel like cooking (rarer), I live near some excellent, affordable take-out spots... this take-n-bake pizza from Nick & Willy's was absurdly delicious! It baked (and smelled delicious) in fifteen minutes and they definitely did not skimp on the toppings (broccoli, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and better-than-daiya vegan cheese!)

Or, if I still have work to do into the wee hours (which, it’s law school, so does happen) I set up camp and study at a precious 24-hour coffee shop/deli near my apartment.

Once the work is all done, at some point, Michael and I FaceTime… then, next thing I know, it’s time to hop into bed and begin all over again.

Though my weekdays can feel a bit long and intense, the Boulder weekends never feel long enough. All have been happy, so far. They usually begin on Friday with time out and about with friends:

Brittany, Jacqui, and I at the St. Julien lounge this past Friday What a fun evening!

As for my Saturdays, many of them will quite likely consist of football and related antics… which is where the title of this post comes in.

Last weekend was the first home football game of the season. I adore football (was raised a Auburn fan) but the undergrad school I chose did not have a football team, or significant school spirit, really. As such, I bought CU season tickets months ago and was more than stoked to tailgate and cheer.

I purchased a sparkly Buff top for the day and came totally decked out... face tattoo and all!

The law students put on an awesome tailgate! Here are some of my fellow 1Ls, Megan, Brittany and Arielle (and the photo bomber in the back is Ascher)

Of course, I brought Tofurkey Kielbasas for the herbivores to grill... they were delicious!

Folsom field is absolutely gorgeous, and the stands were teeming with spirit.

After the first half of the game, my friend, Megan, who went here for undergrad, escorted us to a lovely rooftop spot on “The Hill” (the undergrad-centric part of Boulder adjacent to the campus) for some mid-game refreshment. Not all of my friends have season tickets, though, and some were watching the game from a bar on The Hill. On our way back to the stadium, we thought we would stop by and say hello.

However, as it has many times before, my (legitimate) Virgin Islands driver’s license presented a problem… Admittedly, they do look a little dodgy:

Total strangers' VI licenses from Google Images... they do look a bit like Pokemon cards.

It does seem a bit odd to me that a sports bar (that serves food!) would card people for entry at three in the afternoon, but apparently Boulder has a big fake ID problem among its undergrads. As my friends walked right into the bar, one by one, I was stuck outside trying to explain to the bouncers, “yes, that is my real driver’s license, no it doesn’t scan (the VI are not that organized), I am 22 years old but I realize that I do look 16 (especially with this buffalo on my face), no I did not bring my passport out to a football game with me… okay, if you really don’t believe me, go ahead and call the cops.”

(I wasn’t even planning to drink any alcohol! I just wanted to say hi to my friends!)

In short, despite my awesome friends’ attempts at convincing the bouncers to just give me my drivers license back and let me go home (they were solid attempts, especially given that we’d only been in law school for three weeks!), next thing I knew, I was trying to explain myself to the nicest police officer I have ever met.

Due to the fact that the Virgin Islands are not in “The System” which holds the records from DMVs across the country (big heads up to my VI friends — get a stateside license if you can!), the police officer was unable to find any record of me existing on her computer. The only way I could prove myself as a legitimate 22-year-old was to produce an alternate form of identification.

My passport was at home, so the nice cop gave me a ride… in the back of her car.

A real friend is one who will voluntarily get in the back of a police car with you... Thank you so much, Laura!

Luckily, my friend Laura was so sweet as to not make me go alone!

Long story short, all is well. I got my license back. We missed the second half of the game, which was a bummer (oh well, we lost anyway), but at least we, two of the most law-abiding citizens around, can say that we’ve had the adventure of a cop car ride!

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

Happy Sunday (well, what’s left of it)!

First off, executive decision time; rather than a daily (or pseudo-daily) blog like I had hoped, I’m afraid that this is going to have to be a weekly blog, specifically a Sunday blog. After feeling out the first week of 1L, I must accept the reality that my hours in the day are intensely packed, and the very little spare time I have day-to-day just isn’t enough to contribute even a moderately thoughtful post. I hope this isn’t a disappointment, but I think a somewhat-thought-out post once a week will be more enjoyable to read (and more helpful to any prospective law students who may land here) than would be a blurry iPhone photo of whatever I had for dinner and a worn-out blather over the volume of my Civil Procedure reading.

It's a very good book on a vital subject, but quite voluminous. Size it up next to this bottle of wine, and now imagine me, a moderately petite female, lugging this around in my tired little arms every day.. pretty hilarious/brutal.

It feels so surreal that I’ve finished a week of law school; so much of my energy over the past few years has been spent to deliver me here. For ages I have known, though I did fight it for some time, that there is no profession more interesting or potentially worthwhile (to me) than the legal profession. Now, I have arrived, yet am simultaneously, properly on my way.

Jacqui's family dog, Buck, a.k.a. "The Buck-a-lo." He and Mason (the little rock star standing behind him) are completely precious and sweet!

Just to give a little “dear diary” sort of re-cap: my “last weekend of freedom” was half-carefree, half-hermitesque. Friday, my 1L friend Jacqui invited me to join her (awesome) family at the Sugarland concert in Denver. I didn’t really know Sugarland’s music, but am never one to pass up a free show with good people!

The stage next to the skyscraper made for a pretty, all-lit-up effect.

Sugarland put on a really fun live show, but more importantly, Jacqui and her family were an absolute blast to be around. I’m still in awe of their generosity for welcoming me into their home and really taking care of me. If y’all are reading this, thank you so much!

After spending the rest of the evening on Jacqui’s porch, drinking wine with her and her family and brainstorming solutions to all of the world’s problems, I snuggled down to sleep on a comfy fold-out couch, and woke up to the savory smell of these…

Homemade breakfast burritos!

Her dad was so sweet to fix them for all of us! Mine was delicious, and I was so thankful to eat something so yummy and hearty before my errand-filled day in Boulder.

The one big bummer about Boulder is that the downtown gets slammed on weekends... for the first time, I was forced to park on the roof of a parking garage. My car got roasted, but at least the view was pretty.

First, I went to the gorgeous Farmer’s Market downtown (and am still kind of sad I forgot my phone and camera; the spinach tamales I ate, as well as the mom-and-daughter English bulldogs I saw — guh! — were just begging to be photographed). As you will see in the photos to follow, I massively stocked up on veggies, notably two-for-one bunches of kale that took over my fridge in a mass of curly green tastiness. Somehow, I managed to cook and eat every last bit of vegetation by the end of the week. Yay veggies!

All hail kale!

After the lovely, sunny market afternoon, reality kicked in; I spent the rest of the day running necessary, long-put-off errands (buying school supplies, mending my broken purse, replacing smashed sunglasses, etc.), and by the time I got home, I didn’t have time or energy to do much except plop onto the couch in an exhausted heap, eventually recollect myself to cook a restorative dinner, and organize my academic life.

Admittedly, part of the reason it took me so long to get home is that I took a wrong turn, ended up on the highway, and had to find a creative way to meander home. Sometimes, getting lost is good, though; here, I found this peaceful place, covered in deer and sunflowers.

Dinner with my farmer's market bounty: Kale Provençal. It's delicious and so easy! All you have to do is: toast pine nuts in a dry pan and set aside. While your whole wheat spaghetti cooks according to the instructions on the box, sauté a big bunch-and-a-half of kale (ripped up, rinse, stems removed) in olive oil, garlic, and a little salt. When it first starts to flush green, drizzle in 1/4 cup of water, and cover with the lid to a pot, until tender (taste as you go). Add herbs de Provence, and cook a couple of minutes more. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and serve!

My academic life: organized. I get really excited about school supplies.

 The rest of the weekend was spent reading before my first day!

Homework doesn't feel like such a chore when you have a pretty coffee shop to do it in One of the many things I love about Boulder: Bhakti Chai (local) almond milk lattes (which almost everyone -- even the coffee shop in the law school building -- carries) with a shot of vanilla. Hot or iced, this is spicy perfection.

Then, the day I have been simultaneously excited for and terrified of for the past three years arrived: the first day of law school.

"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas any more," in Latin. This hangs in our library. There is a historical significance regarding how the state of Colorado was essentially carved out of the Nebraska and Kansas territories (and the law school is basically right on the former state line), but I feel it applies to my state of mind, as well as that of most of the other 1Ls.

The most important impression I took gathered from this first week: I can do this. To elaborate: It is a privilege that I can do this.

This course of career will not be one that I can idly breeze through, but do I dare say that I think it will be… fun?

This week, I realized that, for the next three years, I get to unravel the backbone of our country’s society, guided by brilliant minds (truly, all of my professors are interesting and wonderful, each in his or her own way) and surrounded by kind comrades. The law is fascinating! I elected to attend law school as a means to an end, originally; I wanted a career that would help the environment, and this seemed the most compatible path with my natural strengths. As such, I did not anticipate developing an infatuation with the simultaneous rawness and elegance of our legal system. Learning about our unique DIY pursuit of justice makes me feel patriotic; though it doesn’t always seem so with the systemized organization of daily stateside life, in the courtrooms, cowboys and pioneers still exist. I will write more about this later.

Yes, it is a lot of work, and I now have to unfailingly display adult discipline regarding what is expected. In law school, being “on top of things” is the bare minimum. Time management savvy — something I have not always been great with — is not an option here.

I have managed, though not in the bounty that I experienced in any other phase of life, to sneak in a non-law-related “pleasure activity” or two every day. I try to begin every day with Sunrise Yoga…

Wise words from the back of the studio.

…allow myself a little bit of time in the kitchen to indulge my favorite pastime and cook a homemade dinner (usually enjoyed with Michael via FaceTime — well, I’m usually stuffing my face while he chats composedly, c’est la vie)…

Mother Earth Salad: truffled kale, farro, roasted beets and walnuts. Gorgeous both hot and cold.

Aren't beets beautiful? Lovely thing to have slowly roasting in the oven while I read about Contracts..

Pattypan Squash Soup with lemon, garlic and basil.

…and make time to see friends, old and new:

Remember Paige from my DC posts? She and her boyfriend were in town, and I was so thrilled to spend a happy hour with them! I love this girl so much!

Thursday evening, my fellow 1L friends Laura and Brittany joined me for a hike on the Chautauqua trails. It's such a good release to chat with girlfriends and play in nature I have a feeling these will be two elements that help me remain a human being as I embark on this all-consuming career path.

This week hasn’t been all kittens and rainbows and a healthy work-life balance, though; it has also served as a major wake-up call regarding my typical study habits. Simply put, the study method that helped me do well in undergrad (handwrite reading and lecture notes, compile into a Word document before exams, study) just isn’t going to cut it here. I have always studied this way to try and avoid the distractions of the internet but I’m realizing that, for immediate recall, I need to have my case briefs typed up, in front of me, at all times. It’s time to suck it up and be an adult about the distractibility so prevalent in my generation. I realized this on Friday morning; my contracts professor conducts class by calling on people randomly from the attendance list, and grilling them about the reading, all throughout the lecture.

Though I was caught quite off guard when my name was called, I actually like this method a lot because, rather than hearing from the same over-enthusiastic people over and over (admittedly, I historically am one of those, but I have a sneaking suspicion that many of us in law school are!), everyone contributes. When everyone gets grilled, there’s less room to judge, and a less-competitive, more even playing field. While I won’t be dramatic and say that my Friday-grilling was a “disaster,” it was quite stressful to shuffle through my chicken scratch notes, attempting to decipher specific details of a case we had read days ago.

The purpose of this tangent about my note taking methods is to communicate that: it was a wake-up call. Toto, I have a feeling we are not in Kansas any more. Frankly I don’t think I should even look at law school as “school.” On Monday, my student life ended and professional life began. While it is certainly a huge time of learning, I think I will be more successful if I respect my day-to-day as a job.

On that note, my young-professional wake-up call is in just six hours, so I should get myself to bed. Have a beautiful week, everyone.

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

Orientation was held here, in the beautiful building where I will be spending most of my life for the next three years:

Michael took this last weekend, on the way to our rainy-day hike (hence the athletic apparel). Even in grey weather, it really is a lovely building; being completely honest, this facility was a huge draw of CU law to me, and I don't think there is any shame in that. I figure if I have to spend most of the next three years in one building, it might as well be one that I find aesthetically pleasing and comfortable!

“Damned if I know what business casual means,” wrote a former boss of mine in an email many months ago. Despite the vague nature of this categorization, that is how the law school requested we dress on Monday. After lots of pondering and frantic mind-changing, here is what I ended up wearing:

I've yet to develop the mad skills in biz caz-photography that Sarah possesses, but here's the basic idea. I also wore my silver Tory Burch sandals, putting the "casual" in the outfit, in a stubborn refusal to torture my feet with high heels.

Hullo! I'm so excited to be a law student! My momma gave me that necklace for college graduation It's a strength-talisman of sorts for me.

It’s vital to start an important day with a good breakfast; I had an avocado that was about to turn, so I decided to make toast with avocado, Tony Chachere’s and Smart Bacon! This may not be a typical breakfast for many people, but avocado is actually one of my very favorite toast toppings. However, I didn’t have any bread (oops!) so I improvised with some woven wheats:

I guess I do tend to lean towards unusual breakfasts, but the wisest nutritional advice I've ever received actually came from my friend Rachel's mom, who is a holistic veterinarian (and by default, an expert in wellness). She told me that when you crave a certain food, it is because your body is in need of something in that food; thus, I do not fight my cravings for savory, avocado-covered breakfasts!

Given the sensory-overload of a day I was about to embark upon, I was reasonably Buddha-calm as I walked out the door, and got into my (rental) car.

However, my inner tranquility was ruffled once I turned into the CU campus. I’m sure the administration had a reasonable explanation for planning law school orientation on the same day that the undergrad freshmen moved into their dorms (one of which is virtually next to the law building), but it made for absurd traffic and a general feeling of chaos. I rolled toward the law school parking lot at a snail’s pace, grateful that I left early, and then,

Hoooooonk!

WHAM.

The SUV in front of me, stuffed so full with dorm luggage that the driver could not see out the back window, presumably missed its turn, slammed on the reverse (in the middle of the road!) and backed into my car! There was a line of people behind me, so I had no way to escape — all I could do was honk.

It harshed my mellow but at least nobody was hurt and as you can see, the damage to the bumper wasn't horrible.

As fender benders go, this one wasn’t bad at all, but it was a huge bummer that it happened when it did. Right as that SUV smacked into me, my excited-nervousness returned. It took many yoga-breaths to tame my chihuahua-nerves and regain reasonable composure.

Once inside, though, things were surprisingly pleasant. The Colorado Supreme Court Justice gave the opening speech, and had us take the Colorado Bar oath:

I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR by the Everliving God (OR AFFIRM) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Colorado; I will maintain the respect due to Courts and judicial officers; I will employ only such means as are consistent with truth and honor;  I will treat all persons whom I encounter through my practice of law with fairness, courtesy, respect and honesty; I will use my knowledge of the law for the betterment of society and the improvement of the legal system; I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed; I will at all times faithfully and diligently adhere to the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct.

Saying these words stirred up a sense of the sheer magnitude of this journey. I am a law student, and someday, will be a lawyer. This is one of the most interesting and potentially fulfilling professions one can enter, in my opinion, and I feel so blessed to have this opportunity.

There’s a classic law school orientation scare-tactic where the new 1Ls are told,

“Look to your right, look to your left. By the time you’re done here, at least one of those people will be gone.”

However, at CU, which I have decided is the friendliest little law school in the world, we were advised to connect with and befriend the people next to us, rather than getting caught up in the competitiveness that this experience invites. To me, this makes far more sense; the legal community is small, and just that — a community. We may have to oppose one another someday, but it’s equally (perhaps more) likely that we’ll need to work together, sharing clients and expertise.

When I looked to my left, I realized that Brittany, a friend I made during the Open House was sitting right next to me! To my right sat Megan, who I’ve had a great time chatting with over the past few days.

The rest of the first day was fairly standard (in a good-natured way) for an orientation; speakers and mingling, and we eventually split up into our classes for Legal Writing, the only course that met (and assigned homework) during orientation week. Both Megan and Brittany are in my section, which will make the year very enjoyable.

However, remember that one scene in “Legally Blonde” where Elle meets her classmates for the first time, and they’re all incredibly interesting, experienced, and brilliant?

"Hi! I'm Elle Woods, and this is Bruiser Woods! We're both Gemini vegetarians..."

That was, essentially, the introductory meeting of my Legal Writing class. We were encouraged to go around and introduce ourselves, but also to share a dreaded “interesting fact.” “Interesting” is definitely a varied qualifier. Most law students (at least at CU) don’t come into law school straight from undergrad; rather, in the case of my classmates, they take time off to work and do some absolutely fascinating things! I have classmates that have biked across America to fight climate change, ran with the CU buffalo, been babysat by Sarah Palin, and lived in remote villages in Tanzania. One guy is finishing up a PhD in developmental neurobiology (I think), and another (Brittany, actually) is flying out to Kentucky this weekend to compete in a prestigious horse show.

As for me? I totally panicked. “Hi, I’m E, I’m from the Virgin Islands but did my undergrad in Southern California! Interesting facts? Umm… I really like to cook, I’ve been to Iceland four times and I met Margaret Thatcher once!”

Durr. It felt just like the time where, while being interviewed for our sorority rush video, I was asked about my non-Greek interests and said that, “I really like food… cooking it… eating it… reading menus…” Of course, that snippet of film was used. Of course, guffaws ensued every time we played it (but hey, I think it helped to ease the chaos of the rush room).

The rest of the first day was spent taking care of some “housekeeping” matters, including getting my BuffCard. The great thing about my CU student ID is that with it, I can ride all of the buses (even the ones that go into Denver) fo free!

Identifying information blocked out for security purposes.

Later on, I met up with some fellow 1Ls for happy hour at a place called Half Fast on The Hill (the mostly undergrad-populated area right by the CU campus). Half Fast is famous for cheap pitchers of Long Island Iced Tea (which I did not get), and an encyclopedic sandwich menu — I can’t wait to try the vegetarian sloppy joe.

Not a particularly glamorous photo of me, but to my left are Ascher and Jacqui, two of my most awesome classmates! I had such a blast chatting and laughing with them!

Nearly two hours flew by when I realized that I needed to get home, complete my Legal Writing homework, FaceTime with Michael, and get in bed early enough to make Sunrise Yoga in the morning. For dinner, I threw one of these together:

The "Goddess Salad" -- baby spinach, chopped up vegan "chicken" patty, the rest of my avocado from breakfast, Goddess Dressing (applied with a little too much enthusiasm) and sunflower seeds! Assuming I have one (and I'm feeling less lazy), I think I'll add some chopped red bell pepper next time I make this.

The salad gets its name from this dressing which, not going to lie, I chose purely because I thought the bottle was pretty. It's tasty, though; nice and peppery! I highly recommend this to anyone who, like me, may be stuck in a ginger dressing/balsamic rut.

The next morning, I awoke at 5:55am, feeling refreshed and ready to ohm. I was the only one who came in for the Sunrise class, so I was treated to an accidental private lesson — what a perfect way to start the day. I tend to have a lot of nervous energy, and yoga helps me smooth it out into a more positive, productive force.

I came home, showered, and threw together another one of my weird breakfasts: this time, farro (cooked the night before while I did my reading) with toasted pumpkin seeds, ground flax seeds, and a drizzle of truffle oil.

I used my BuffCard to take the bus, which was actually faster than driving. However, once I got off the bus, one of the straps on my new book bag broke, thanks to the absurd weight of my many law school books…

"No, Ralph, those are for reading, not building a fort!" Seriously, though, I have fifteen books total for my classes and they cost more than I am willing to admit. Law school is not for any kind of sissy.

Luckily, though, WestLaw (a legal research company) was giving away free buttons so I used a couple to temporarily fix it:

I figure if I must haul around massive, dense books, I might as well do it in a really happy bag

After more fun mingling, more “discussion groups,” and another Legal Writing class, I remained in the library as my classmates dispersed to write my very first Case Brief. It may sound odd, but I actually enjoyed it, largely because my professor chose a rather entertaining case for us to review (Webster vs. Blue Ship Tea Room), in which the Plaintiff attempted to recover damages after she had gotten a fish bone stuck in her throat… after eating fish chowder. It probably goes without saying, but she did not win.

Once I made it back home, I had just enough time to straighten up the apartment a bit before… LOGAN CAME OVER!!! I know it’s bad form to use all caps and multiple punctuation, but here, it is absolutely necessary! Logan has been one of my very best friends since the 9th grade (I met up with his parents at John Butler Trio, remember?), but we haven’t lived in the same place since then. Now, he works in Denver, which is just a quick 30-40 minute drive from my place in Boulder. I am so thrilled that life finally brought us back to the same place. I anticipate drinking many bottles of Honig and watching lots of Auburn football with him throughout the coming months!

For dinner, we decided to try a new restaurant that I’d heard great things about, The Med!

Here's Logan with our artichoke!

For dinner, I had a dish that I love but don’t get to have frequently (since it’s usually not made vegetarian)… Paella!

It had great flavor but uhh, way too much feta. I don't dislike feta, and it's gentler on my tummy than most other cheeses, but definitely taking a mental note to request that it be left off next time. Despite the feta-excess, though, this was a yummy, extremely fun dinner and made for some excellent leftovers!

It truly was a lovely evening; after dinner, we got ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s (raspberry-blueberry sorbet for me) and walked Pearl Street. I was so happy I knocked out my case brief early; full and wine-happy, I would not have been in any mood to do it later.

Yesterday, the final day of orientation, I elected to snooze through Sunrise Yoga since we had a much longer day ahead. We sat through more speakers (subject matter- professionalism. It was actually somewhat interesting, but by then I was beginning to tire of sitting in the courtroom and listening to speeches), held more “discussion groups,” and ate some catered Mexican food (suh-weet!) as we mingled some more. In the afternoon, the administration chose a somewhat unexpected film to show us: “Big Fish.” I hadn’t seen it since it first came out (in 2003!), and didn’t really remember it. Personally, I found the connections between the film and law school to be more subtle than overt (mostly relating to work/life balance and the complications of choosing an interesting career path), but I still enjoyed it.

After spending 10 hours in the Wolf Law building, I finally headed home, only to throw on something less biz-cazzy to meet up with some 1L friends for margaritas and more Mexican food at Rio Grande! The final orientation event happened to be law student karaoke, so a high-quality pregame was definitely necessary.

Jacqui, me, Stephanie, and Brittany!

Delicious veggie fajitas -- come to mama!

Once we had sufficiently stuffed our faces and slurped down tangy tequila goodness, we headed over to The Dark Horse, a super-divey bar near the law school that is, apparently, a traditional watering hole for CU law students. To me, karaoke seemed like a risky ice-breaking event (I’ve just started talking to these people, let alone singing in front of them!), but it was actually perfect. Dark Horse was a fun, funky little spot, jam-packed with law students from all levels; everyone just seemed really down to have a great time, and speaking for myself, I totally did! I have mad respect for anyone with enough swagger to get up in front of a full bar and sing karaoke by themselves (usually really well, too!), and lots of my fellow law students did just that! I personally did not sing, except in a group rendition of “Sweet Caroline” (I led the ‘bum bum bums’ and ‘so goods!’).

The front of the Dark Horse -- yay, buffalo! I could not, for the life of me, fix my demon eyes in this photo.

To sum things up, orientation week left me with a very, very good feeling about embarking upon my law school journey here. As an institution, CU law seems to truly care about its students; every professor I have spoken to so far has been both interesting and passionate about the law. Additionally, I am so thrilled and relieved that many of the brilliant, talented people in my class are also very social, and seem to have some grip on reality outside of work. Whether this lasts deep into the year is to be seen, but at least for now, I feel so blessed that I’ll be surrounded with such fun, intellectual classmates.

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

At The Kitchen! Love you all.

However, now that the members of my tribe have flittered back to their respective homes, I should be back to pseudo-daily posting (though once law school begins, the quality will probably be “minimalistic” to put it diplomatically). I’ve missed my little WordPress community and cannot wait to stalk everyone’s past week of posts.

This morning, I got up at 5:55am so that I could stumble over to Sunrise Yoga at 6:15. (I’m incredibly stoked that there happens to be a yoga studio within stumbling distance of my new place.) Technically this mission was a fail, as the class turned out to be canceled (a rare occurrence, I hope), but to me it was a success since I now know I am capable of rising at the bum-crack of dawn. Despite being a habitual night owl, I really do love mornings; it’s so blissful to wake up slowly and reflect on the past week as I nom on some oatmeal (instant, uber-fibrous sort with flaxseeds from Whole Foods + Tony Chachere’s) and sip on my cup of tea (Snow Blossom – green tea with rose, lavender and chamomile – from Dushanbe Teahouse).

Life is so good right now. I adore my comfy little apartment, am completely in love with my new town, and just had one of the best weeks of my life with the people I love the most. I’ll share it with you in photographs:

The Apartment:

Let me tell y’all now, I feel so incredibly blessed to live where I do. Dream location aside, this little apartment is pretty sweet; to find anything furnished for a decent price is pretty sweet, especially furnished with decor that I find comfortable, plus skylights in the kitchen and bathroom, a fireplace, and a pantry I can walk into! (The only thing that was an initial annoyance is the fact that my room gets super bright at approximately 6am, but now that I’m making the shift from Night Owl to Early Bird, I’m going to embrace it.)

My daddy in the living room on move-in day. I love the exposed brick in here! It feels a bit like a sitcom apartment from the Friends/Seinfeld era.

My little breakfast nook, where I am sitting right now

And of course, my favorite room in the house!

This kitchen is awesome, and awesomely stocked up thanks to my generous parents who gave me the gift of a huge, staple grocery run and help transporting it, in the hopes that I can simply supplement the often-heavy basics with easier-to-carry produce from the market.

The pantry of my dreams, stocked to the brim with staples like pancake mix, whole grains, nuts, pasta, tea and snacks! Thanks, Mum and Dad!

La Frigo -- Definitely went for the biggest tub of Earth Balance in the store. That locally-made hummus is gorgeously garlicky.

My freezer is ginormous, and I love it! I tend to cook things in giant batches, so this will definitely come in handy.

My spice cabinet -- I'm so happy I bothered to lug these from home! I have not regretted it.

The Food:

Bon Appetit magazine voted Boulder the “Foodiest Town in America” in 2010. After embarking upon a fairly thorough culinary exploration of the town (considering that I’ve been here for less than a week, anyway), I can definitely see how little Boulder earned such a delicious honor.

The first thing I ate in Boulder: the vegetarian crepe at Brasserie Ten Ten. They do an incredible happy hour (this crepe was only $3!) and I anticipate going back frequently.

Mon frère avec leurs frites! (Please don't judge me if that isn't français chouette. It's been a while.)

The dangerous part of Brasserie happy hour... the happy part!

The ultimate me-dish from The Kitchen -- quinoa with broccoli, chickpeas, olives and other deliciousness. This is probably my favorite Boulder meal so far!

Sports bar lunch at The Lazy Dog -- hooray vegetarian chili! I'm a nerd, but I guess so is Michael for photographing me with my lunch.

Tasty pre-hike lunch at the Chautauqua Dining Hall: beet salad with orange segments, sunflower seeds and champagne vinaigrette. Add in a guacamole starter and a side of grits for some carb-power, and I was good to run up the flatirons!

My wonderful date on the Chautauqua porch with his classic lunch of choice... the turkey club. (Haha -- I love the chick behind him.)

Extra-hearty, post-hike dinner and the first real meal I cooked here: homemade lasagna. I actually do make a pretty lean, mean vegan lasagna, but Michael prefers the real deal, so I made it classic-vegetarian-style just for him (with ricotta, mozzarella, spinach, broccoli, carrots, onion, Mario Batali sauce and lots of Tuscan seasoning). Add some red wine and Tangled (so cute!), and we had a pretty epic date-night-in My apartment now smells like an Italian restaurant. I'm definitely okay with it.

The Concerts:

To me, good, live music is one of life’s purest pleasures. Judging by this week alone, Boulder and Denver have an incredible music scene, and I feel as though I satisfied my summer concert-craving in just a few days! I feel so lucky to have seen:

Bright Eyes, at the Boulder Theater (which I can walk to from my apartment)! This was on the day we arrived; Mum was an awesome concert buddy!

Andrew Bird (with Hayley Bonar) at the Chautauqua Auditorium... probably the lowest-quality photo I have shamelessly posted on here. Awesome thing though -- we ran into him having dinner at The Kitchen the following night, and said hello.

And then, the best concert of my life…

John Butler Trio at the beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheater!

Even if the music had been terrible (which obviously, it wasn't) it still would have been an amazing night. Unexpectedly, Pam and Scott (my best friend Logan's parents) were there too! It was so fun running into them!

I loved watching the sun set over this unique venue.

There was a full moon, too.. What an experience, and I am so blessed to have shared it with my favorite concert (well, any activity) buddy.

Nature:

Though I’m a true sunshine child and know not the ways of the snow-sports (I am determined to learn to ski or snowboard!), the numerous ways to play outside were a huge Colorado draw for me. Michael and I made a point of taking advantage of the numerous Chautauqua hiking trails this weekend; hiking is probably my favorite way to work out, because, to me at least, it is very spiritual as well as physical. We saw some sweet wildlife, too

Exploring, conquering.

A little chipmunk having a snack... how head-explodingly adorable is he?

When I spotted this beautiful doe yesterday, I felt like I was back on my (deer-covered) undergraduate campus.

Pearl Street wildlife. This little guy was so friendly.. and pretty big for a squirrel!

for size reference

We're just two little tree huggers...

...loving life, rain or shine...

...and looking forward to the many adventures to come!

Tomorrow begins a very different, very exciting sort of adventure: Law School Orientation! I cannot believe it’s finally here! After a blissful week of nonstop play, my to-do list is about a mile long, so it’s time for me to flutter off and take care of some things. Thank you so much for reading, despite my lengthy blog silence.

Questions for you!

1. What is the best concert you have ever been to? Or, are you not a fan of live music?

2. What is your preferred mode of exercise? Outdoor or indoor? As you can see, I love hiking and running outside, but also adore biking and yoga (both outside, if possible!). I hands-down prefer the outdoors to a gym, being on a machine and seeing how many calories I’ve burned takes a lot of the fun out of it for me, but sometimes weather (and time) necessitate indoor workouts.

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

I’m sorry I’ve been a little neglectful of the blog for the past few days. I make the big move to Colorado TOMORROW, so my time and energy have been focused on finishing preparations as well as fully savoring my last few days with family and friends. There’s still a good bit to do, so I’m going to keep this to a brief recap of my final, blissful Florida weekend.

On Saturday, I met up Dawson and some of his fantastic friends to do what we do best -- brunch! The restaurant we are standing in front of is called the Briar Patch, a pretty famous, solid Park Avenue standard. I had such a blast with these wonderful boys, that I forgot to photograph my veggie frittata and grits. They were tasty, but more importantly, I loved spending some time with Dawson I'll miss you, best friend!

guhhhh! On the way back to the car, I made friends with this little corgi pup, Loki! He was so cute and friendly, and his owners were beyond accommodating to me and the other small crowd of people whose heads were exploding over his absurd cuteness... someday, I want to have a whole flock of corgis and name them after hobbits. Guhh I just love their little fat legs!

A yummy on-the-porch afternoon snack, broccoli slaw with ginger dressing.

I really am going to miss my upstairs porch here; it’s one of my favorite places in the entire world.

When I'm here, I spend a lot of time in that chair on the right, reading and drinking tea with incense going. I love it best when it's raining out, which is nearly every afternoon here... heavenly.

The view going the other way; the hammock is a nice touch, I think.

For dinner, Saturday night, we made a family visit to our precious local Irish pub, Fiddler’s Green. We all have a massive affection for pubs; really, for anything that allows us to pretend we’re back in London. Everyone enjoyed their food and the ultra-pubby atmosphere (I can’t think of any other way to describe it), me especially:

My bomb-tasty pub dinner: potato pancakes and mushy peas! The potato pancakes were hearty and delicious (I mean, what's not to like about such dense, savory goodness, especially after I'd put barbecue sauce on them?), and, I've evoked many strange reactions for this... I adore mushy peas. I really do! I don't know why, but I can polish off two solid servings like it's nothing. In London pubs, I order them with everything. The ones at Fiddler's weren't totally right, "proper" mushy peas are made from re-hydrated dried peas with a bit of starch added in, and these tasted fresh, but I like fresh peas too... so all was well!

Yesterday was an extraordinarily beautiful Florida summer day; yes, it was hot (this is August, this is Florida) but a balmy, golden breeze kept the day feeling good.

My family took the perfect day as a cue to pop over to Islands of Adventure! (We have passes!)

However, I left my phone in the car, so I don’t have any photos from the day… it was really fun and carefree, incredible time with my family, just the sort of day I feel incredibly blessed to enjoy, and know I should soak up before the 1L chaos descends.

When we headed back home, we were so exhausted from running around the park in the heat that Outback take-out was just the ticket. I mentioned in my last post that I love steakhouses, despite being veg, and Outback is no exception. All it took was two sides (broccoli and their awesome ‘shrooms), 90 second brown rice and some toasted walnuts to create this satisfying dinner bowl:

For seasoning, I drizzled on a little truffle oil, and sprinkled on some pink sea salt and Tony Chachere's. That kicked it up a notch.

It is never easy for me to leave Winter Park. I love my family and friends so much, and it’s such a comfortable, cheerful pace of life here. However, despite its wintry reputation, Colorado gets more days of sunshine per year than any other state… even the Sunshine State! I do appreciate a good sunbeam.

I’ve received more than a few panicky warnings about how intense law school will be, but instinctively, I know that the next adventure ahead will be wonderful. I already love Colorado, and have never felt so immediately at home in a new town as I did when I visited Boulder.

Besides, relocating periodically is healthy; it helps me feel alive.

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

I love steakhouses.

No, I’m serious! Michael’s mom (a fellow vegetarian, for the most part) and I have bonded over this — as herbivores romantically involved with omnivores, a classy steakhouse is an ideal date place. Usually, steakhouses have lovely, calming ambience, awesome martinis and wine lists, live jazz sometimes, and best of all, out-of-this world side dishes.

This makes us herbivores fabulously cheap dates and combined with all the other factors (as long as no whole lobsters — really pitiful, especially when the eyeballs are intact — or super rare steak is ordered), everyone is happy!

Tonight, I went to Ruth’s Chris with my family. My mum just got back home from co-throwing my grandmother’s 75th birthday party (happy birthday, Nana!), so it was a celebratory occasion of sorts.

I started with:

Hello, Gazpacho! This is the quintessential summer soup, and Ruth's does a full-on chunky, flavor-bursting job of it. Typically, it comes with a gnarly island of crabmeat in the middle, but they're really nice about leaving it off.

Comme boisson, j’ai bu:

Kim Crawford sounds more like one of my mum's nice friends from Alabama than a New Zealand winemaker, but hey, she makes a delicious sauvignon blanc! This is one of my favorite wines to order in a stateside restaurant; it's light, crisp and simultaneously smooth, with a lovely lingering flavor unlike the B.O. aftertaste that a lot of whites (especially "oaky" California whites) can have. I thoroughly appreciated my glasses of Kim, tonight.

And, for my main, Ruth’s has a sweet deal where the hungry vegetarian can choose three items off of their extensive list of potatoes and veggies in lieu of an entree. Tonight, I chose my usual favorites.

Christmas-style sweet potatoes, baby spinach and perfectly prepared crispy-tender broccoli. So good, and even though the first item was holiday-caliber decadent, I feel great after eating it.

Really, though; let’s take a closer look at these absurdly delicious sweet potatoes.

I'm guessing the secret ingredient is brown sugar... LOTS of it!

After this beautiful dinner, we returned home where I spotted some sweet, familiar animal friends as the sun set over the lake.

Hard to tell? Let’s look closer…

There’s no way to be sure, but those just might have been the Monet ducklings.

Last night was wonderful, too! My brother and I went to the Enzian, a beautiful little local theater with a penchant for independent films, for the first time to see “Submarine,” which was directed by one of my favorite UK actors. (If you’ve never watched his show, “The IT Crowd,” I highly recommend it — it’s hilarious!)

This was one of the loveliest little movie theaters I have ever been to! It was comfortable and clean, and they had a menu full of gourmet food that they would bring you while you watched your movie! William and I had already eaten, but I indulged in a delicious cup of "Hibiscus Heaven" tea (ordered purely based on the name, I confess). Even if it hadn't been enjoyed in such a cush little atmosphere, I think I would have loved "Submarine," regardless; it was hilarious, in that subtly British way that I've grown to really love.

This time with my family has been such a beautiful blessing. I’m so ready and thrilled to move to Boulder, but I am going to miss them, more than anything else.

Questions for you!

1. What’s your favorite steakhouse side dish? Those up there are probably my three favorites, though I also adore the sautéed shrooms that Outback Steakhouse serves.

2. Do you enjoy wine? If so, what preferences do you tend to have, if any? New Zealand isn’t necessarily a “traditional” wine region, but I love New Zealand sauvignon blancs. They’re probably my favorite.

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

Yesterday, I color-coded my bookshelf. Yeah... I think it's time for some structure/purposeful activity in my life. Law school will provide plenty of that, I'm sure.

I would, as usual, love to share some of the deliciousness I have enjoyed over the past couple of days. However, I currently feel like poop. Thanks to a tasty Cheesecake Factory bar food dinner, my body feels like a full-fledged puu puu platter. Pins and needles in the tummy are no fun at all. Thanks to some Tums and several cups of chamomile tea, I at least now feel human enough to write about food, though eating it is still a difficult notion.

Yesterday, my family and I went on a little lunch adventure to a classic Orlando spot that we’d sort of forgotten about, The White Wolf Cafe. 

The inside is very cute, in a sort of cluttered, quirky way. Personally, I tend to enjoy places that are covered in weird antiques (my favorite restaurant as a child was The Bubble Room, a place that my mum said the other day, “Smelled odd and looked like a crazy old Hollywood lady’s living room.” I thought it was the coolest place on earth; there was Wizard of Oz stuff everywhere, real bubbles floating around, and they served pickled beets instead of bread. What’s not to love! Sadly, the Maitland location has long since been closed and replaced with a Buca di Beppo).

They have a very eclectic, diverse menu; I was thrilled to see they had a specific “vegetarian sandwich” section. Off of that, I sort of panicked (I’m options-challenged) and ordered the standard veggie wrap, which turned out to be awesome:

Greens, tomato, lots of chunky hummus, avocado and chili sauce wrapped in a tomato-basil tortilla! Such good stuff.

The non-herbivores in the family loved their food, too; here, William is about to dive into a plate of buffalo chicken sliders. Mum ordered the jerk chicken wrap, which she described as "delicious" and that she would happily order it again. (I definitely snagged a good bit of yummy pasta salad off her plate, too!)

Today had many flashes of culinary happiness, too. My noms started out healthily enough…

A Farmer's Market Breakfast: crack granola with sliced peach on top. So yummy and tummy-happy!

Lunch: Ginger Walnut Broccoli. So simple, yet so completely flavorful. All I did was -- give broccoli and some minced garlic a quick sauté in a little olive oil; add 1/4-1/3 cup Makado ginger dressing (my favorite!) and 1/4 cup water. Stir about, adding a handful of walnut halves halfway through cooking, until the liquid evaporates and the broccoli is crispy-tender. Not pictured: the leftover brown rice from Chinese takeout that I ate cold out of the fridge while cooking.

And, dinner; this is where things got a little silly.

My family loves The Cheesecake Factory. No joke, when we’re in Florida, we’ll go at least twice a week. Thus, Evelyn’s Favorite Pasta is one of my ultimate comfort foods (immediately after the LSAT, I hit up the nearest Factory with two other aspiring lawyer-friends and ordered EFP, mashed potatoes, and a mojito… comfy carbs at their finest).

However, because we went during happy hour tonight, most of the appetizers were $5. Thus, I ordered neither EFP or the Chopped Veggie Salad, and made a meal out of these bad boys:

Avocado Egg Rolls. Very delicious, but very deep-fat-fried. I've ordered these to share with friends before, but never tackled a plate on my own... I only ate three, but these are so huge and rich that they became Mistake #1.

Edamame -- this is actually a pretty standard Cheesecake Factory order for William and me. So, not a mistake.

If you’re a new reader, I should preface this mistake by mentioning that while I’m 100% morally on-board with veganism, when I’m out eating with my family, I sometimes revert to ovo-lacto. My family has been incredibly supportive of my vegetarianism, especially since they all love their meat (my parents are from Alabama), and my mum is an amazingly talented chef who loves to cook classic, decadent food. She has gone out of her way to accommodate me for the past 12 years. To find satisfying vegan options can be hard in a lot of the restaurants that we love to frequent; as such, it’s just a lot less stress if I deal with a little butter on my mushrooms for the few weeks per year that I’m home. It won’t kill me, and I find myself special-ordering a lot, regardless.

With that said, enter Mistake #2… Fried mac n cheese balls.

These didn’t get photographed, because really, I was just going to have a bite. Moral issues aside, another topic for another day, dairy and my body are not on good terms. I’ll try not to over-share on this subject (I’ve learned that I don’t have as much of a filter when it comes to body-talk as many do, and I think it can make people uncomfortable), but I’m, um, a little lactose intolerant. At least, I think I might be, and after consuming an entire deep fried cheese ball and some change, I would not be surprised if a doctor told me I am. Good grief.

And then, Mistake #3: Yogurtland. It seemed healthier and more appealing than cheesecake, and by normal dessert standards, it was; pretty tart yogurt with fruit and mocha, but still more lactose. Yay. I felt fine when I first walked out, but once I got home, I rushed upstairs and watched the sun set from my bed while in the fetal position.

This dinner was delicious, and I had a wonderful time with my family. For these blessings, I am not complaining. However, this time spent in tummy-agony had me thinking the usual in-pain thoughts, like, “I’ll never eat fried food again,” (yeah, right), and “I hate the Cheesecake Factory!” (so not true, and nobody shoved those egg rolls down my throat but me).

On the positive side, feeling unwell got me to think about some goals for the upcoming school year. Evidenced by my current state, I really hate feeling unwell. When my body is sad, the rest of me has a very hard time being Blissful; I just can’t be the best student, friend, or girlfriend when my energy is shot or I am in pain. I’ve been blessed with good base health, so as of now, my wellness is largely in my own hands.

In one way or another, each of these goals is connected to the idea of wellness, a word which to me, means succeeding academically, maintaining happy relationships, and feeling good while I do it:

1L Wellness Goals

*Sleep. This is such a huge one for me; I know sleep is the most important thing I can do for my body, and that I am such a higher-functioning, more pleasant person when I’ve snagged at least seven hours. Despite this, I have a really unfortunate tendency to think, “Oh yeah, I’m Wonder Woman, I’ll just stay up until 5am working on x or y or playing World of Warcraft (yeah, you heard me) or something else I’ve totally overcommitted to! Red bull is as good as sleep, right?”

After a shameless undergrad sprinkled with jittery all-nighters and torturous next-days (Red Bull is SO not as good as sleep), I realize that I am not going to get away with a lot of my old habits in 1L; there is just too much work to be done, and I don’t want to wreck my health over feast-or-famine work tendencies. Thus, in order to get enough sleep, I will, as mentioned before, do my best to approach law school like a 9-to-5 job, and most importantly, get off the procrastination plantation. I hope that if I can get myself on a normal person’s sleep schedule, I’ll be better able to actually be punctual, too. I have a very prominent tendency to be late, and in a professional environment, this is just not acceptable.

*Renew my Yoga Practice. It makes me feel amazing inside and out, whether in a studio… 

...on a beach...

...or in front of the Washington Monument!

Boulder is full of yoga studios, one of which is directly across the street from my apartment, so I’m optimistic that I can find an affordable new Happy Place. I’ll be so busy, but I’ve found that practicing yoga even just twice a week lavishes such Bliss on my body and spirit.

*Return to and Maintain “Full” Veganism. Obviously, this one was inspired by tonight. As a “proper” vegan, my body and soul feel their best; no tummy aches or skin nasties, and my energy is through the roof. I’m “basically” vegan now and feel pretty great most days, but nights like tonight do happen.

“Veganism is simply the acknowledgment that a replaceable and fleeting pleasure isn’t more valuable than someone’s life and liberty.” -Unknown

Last summer and for much of this past school year, I stayed pretty purely vegan, and it really wasn’t very hard for me. Personally, when I make choices motivated by my greatest passion — to create a kinder world for animals and consequently, for humans — I find them very easy to stick to. This is why I’m going to law school in the first place! 

To encourage myself to eat only “kind” foods, I’m going to try and cook most of my meals at home (it’s my favorite thing to do, anyway!). However, a lot of the reason why I eat out so often is that meals are one of my favorite ways to connect with people, and restaurant-ing can be so fun — to me, restaurants feel like little kingdoms devoted to food. Thus, my primary execution-strategy for this goal will be to invite friends over for dinner frequently. I will want to take full advantage of the Pearl Street Mall, amazingly located spitting distance from my apartment, so I will explore restaurants there — just not every time I want to share a meal and conversation. I anticipate lots of happy hours, too . (Maybe it sounds strange that this “wellness” goal allows for alcohol, but hey, every body is different, and mine handles wine much more happily than it does dairy!)

*Make time to volunteer. In high school, I volunteered at the local animal shelter a couple of days per week, and it was one of the most rewarding (though most painful) endeavors I have pursued. Unfortunately, I was not consistent with volunteering in college; I served a few internships with different environmental and animal-protecting nonprofits, and while those do Good in their own way, they aren’t the same as hands-on, showing an abused or abandoned dog the only love they might get in a day. Realistically, I’ll probably only have a couple of hours per week to spare, but if a shelter is willing to take me on, I look forward to giving back. 

—
Well, my tummy is feeling much better, thanks to the chamomile tea that I drank out of… Neckbeard Fairy! She has come home, at last!

The neckbeard is still there, but not nearly as prominent as it was in the sketching process!

The back, though clearly not exactly a Botticelli, turned out cute too. I will not be embarrassed to drink tea out of this in front of people! Yay happy mug!

Questions for you:

1. What was your favorite restaurant as a kid? Was it motivated by anything besides the food? After the Bubble Room, my second favorite was probably Rainforest Cafe, because there are animals everywhere! (Shoot, even though I’m a “grown up” now and perfectly aware how overpriced and generally cruddy the food is, I still enjoy dining in the Rainforest — Michael and I have definitely gone on a date there before.)

2. Are you currently pursuing any goals, related to wellness or otherwise? All of those aforementioned wellness-goals are aimed at succeeding academically — ideally, all A’s in my first semester of law school — without losing touch with my Bliss.

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

Today, Sarah, my lovely friend from college, invited me to write a guest post for her blog, Food and Love Diaries! I chose to write about some of the reasons why I love our favorite city in the world, since that is where we became friends. I encourage you to give it a read!

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." -Samuel Johnson

Kindness and Gratitude,

E

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.