Rachel N.: Marzia! I saw your photos of you in the blue dress, you looked so beautiful!
Marzia: Ah, thank you, I went to a gala on Friday.
Rachel N.: And your husband is so cute!
Marzia: I KNOW! It's too bad he doesn't look good in photos! Ahahahah!

Best. Halloween. Video. Ever.

via Stephanie

O'Neil Before Me!

aww yeah, I designed this.

Shoot, as long as there is a guacamole layer...

Russian Rachel: I'm making poor man's seven layer dip. Which equals four layer dip.

McGuins don't come from money.

me: Are there two n's or just one in your last name?
Josh: Just one. My family couldn't afford the extra n.

Happy Halloween!

This video still scares me.

Wontons, Wario, and Woodchuck

 

  

Full Flickr set

Amusing the Tumblr bros

Mmhmm. Mmmmmmhmmm.

America's Son

me: How was Houlihan's? (groomsmen went out after the wedding)
Rob: Long story short, we ended up at an "alternative lifestyle" party.
me: No, no. I think I require the long story.
Rob: I'll save that for later. I was, however, looking at a black man dressed in drag for half the night.

Yathrib and Jojo are getting married today!

I am so very excited about the wedding fun. I wanted to live tweet while I walked down the aisle (hey, my bridesmaid dress has pockets!) but cell phones were banned.

I wasn't really going to live tweet, guys. Come on.

Filling the void

Full House humor humors me

Stephanie: I told Mariam that I bought tanner to cover my strap line
Stephanie: and she said, "STEPHANIE TANNER!"
Stephanie: hahahahahah win. so win.
Stephanie: and I told her, "GET OUT"
Stephanie: and she said, "CUT IT OUT"

Brindo

a. Such a pleasant song for a such a cloudy day
b. Just a warning: this video is NSFW
c. Devendra Banhart, your pointy soul patch. I can not stress the Magical Mystery Tour/Captain Jack Sparrow thing enough.

Columbus Day

You boys don't like olives? Shoot. More for me. 

Roasted elephant garlic, bruschetta, pizza margherita, and lamb panino

Water. I like water. 

"Sit on this bench because I need to take a vain vina photo. DO IT."

The weather was exceptionally pretty that day so Justin and I went gallivanting in Old Town Alexandria. We stopped by Book Bank where I convinced him to purchase a three volume set about the history of the Dutch Republic (total evil laugh) so I can scan the amazing 1916 typography and illustrations. Eric met up with us and we continued along King Street, eventually having lunch at Pizzeria Paradiso and spending an hour in a paper store (so many cute letterpress cards!). Justin and I tried to find Mount Vernon in the dark (also known as "what's the point?") and went to Georgetown for more books, trying to find Domo things for Newdorf's birthday, and light painting in the slightly creepy park. I came home to a surprise pre-birthday red velvet cake from my sister and her friends. It was a most enjoyable day. 

Hahah. Design jokes.

me: Who is this Lucida? I wonder if it's an actual person. I'm going to google.
Stephanie: If it is, I feel sorry for them. I hate the whole family.

The Book of The Dead

[on her choice of book to animate for motion design]
Joseph: What book did you choose?
Rachel N.: OH! My mom...got me hooked...on these supernatural crime solving books.
Mitch/me: (bursts into laughter)

I think I have a new go-to appetizer for autumn

[via text]

me: I just made the filling for tonight's wontons: acorn squash, carrot, parmigiano reggiano cheese, toasted walnuts, sage, shallots, and roasted garlic. 

Russian Rachel: oh...oh dear lord.....vina, there are a lot of awesome reasons to be friends with you that don't involve me being selfish, but this is not one of those reasons. 

“happy without you, oh” sounds like “be without you, ho.”

As promised, Jessica: What I ate on my 28th birthday

Tomato and cheese omelette with whole grain toast. Coffee.

Fish stick tower because I'm an adult and make wise food decisions like that.

Epoisses cheese, sliced baguette, pistachios, lemon curd and strawberries

Crème brûlée (with chocolate on the bottom!)

[on connecting friends through my blogs]
Meekus: Yeah but you don't post about me as much as possible.
Meekus: wait
Meekus: what
me: as much as possible, what?
Meekus: Sorry, I'm watching Breaking Bad and I just mirrored what they said. You don't blog about me that much.
me: I might now since you just parroted Breaking Bad.

Where do I get a barrel? It's 2011 now.

Thanks to Meeks for the morning hilarity

Betsy knows me so well.

Betsy: (watching me scroll through Tumblr) Who's that?
me: Oh, I follow this Hawaiian girl. I like some of her photos.
Betsy: Why are you following her? Does she cook?

Puma

Reece: My friend just named her baby Puma. It's Japanese for bear.
me: It's also American for “yo child gon' get beat up on the playground.”

Oh, it's on now.

me: Why are they arguing?
Sohe: It's so freaking annoying. He had some pent up issues with her, and was drunk, and blah blah. He smacked a pizza out of her hand and she's mad. It's all really stupid.
me: Yeah...though he brought food into the mix. I don't know, man. You knock food out of my hand - we gon' throw down.

(insert evil laugh)

I had to edit this post at least nine times with each new amusing comment.

Meekus: Hhhhhhhhhhhaappy beerrrfffffffday :D
me: Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnkkkkkk youuuuuuuuuu
Meekus: Pretty soon you'll be over the hill and I can buy you a corny shirt :D
me: I will wear it with pride in the comfort of my own home.
Meekus: lol <3

(Hmm. Maybe the gym.)

Happy birthda

<3

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY, Y'ALL!

(Thanks for Semenov and Trinidad for the ALL CAPS and Community posts!)

One of my best friends is getting married today!

Yeah. I should definitely pick up some waterproof mascara.

enjoyable eggplant

eggplant
sea salt
cracked black pepper
dried parmesan cheese
red pepper flakes
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

- Cube eggplant (slice, dice, whichever you prefer). Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for about forty minutes. 

- Toss with parmesan cheese, pepper flakes, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve warm. 

Chris. If you give me a kitchen and some ingredients, I will cook you ALL THE FOOD.

Libby: My friend Chris just gchatted me asking if you could cook for him full time. I asked if he was on your blog and he said yes. "Actually have it open in two windows so I can continue listening to Bright Lights."
me: Oh snap, he took it to a higher level.
Libby: He's a fan.

Beignets and butt swords!

Travis and Rachel

Beignets! 

Appalachian Trails and French presses

Rach, stand here and hold this chocolate! Ok, move over here! No, here!

Beignet night with two of the three Semenov Sisters (A. Lydia, we missed you. B. That is totally your indie band name. You're welcome.) and the Hammill Brothers. Travis made the beignets, I made the chocolate/coffee sauce, and Carson and Rachel supervised. Ahna picked all the trashy movies. We watched RoboGeisha. Yes, that is a real movie. Don't believe me? Watch these:

On a lighter note (or not, considering all the butter and sugar), here is the recipe for the chocolate/coffee sauce. It was amazing and this is coming from someone who only truly craves chocolate during the hormonal rampage of ladytimes. What? Oh calm down, I just showed you acidic breast milk fighting. The time for tact has passed. Ladies, you know. 

Chocolate coffee sauce (adapted from Lara Ferroni)

ingredients
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup brewed (and strong) coffee
4 or 5 oz. dark chocolate (I used two bars of Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie 86% cacao), chopped or broken into chunks

- Heat cream, sugar, butter, and coffee on medium-low heat until butter and sugar have melted completely.
- Add chocolate and remove from heat. Wait a minute or two until chocolate has melted. Whisk until smooth.
- Drizzle over everything. Run of out of beignets? Use your fingers. Shoot, I did. No shame. 

Look out for dreams that keep returning 'cause magic ain't no hand-me-down yearning

Devendra Banhart, you look as if:
1. You should be commandeering The Black Pearl from Captain Jack Sparrow.
2. You are about to go on your own Magical Mystery Tour.
3. Athos, Aramis, and Porthos are waiting for you at the castle.

So long, Steve. Thank you for all the cool things.

poster by Jonathan Mak

roasted radishes (and other veg but they don't fit in the alliterative scheme)

ingredients
radishes (I used a small bag. I don't remember what the weight of a small bag of radishes is)
fennel bulb, 1/4 inch slices
four large carrots, 2 inch slices
1-2 Tbsp. butter
sea salt
cracked black pepper
(optional: fresh thyme or rosemary)

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.
- Throw in vegetables, shake skillet to coat vegetables with butter. Season with s&p (and herbs, if you have them).
- Transfer vegetables to pan. Roast vegetables until tender and look suitably roasted (you know, that toasty, roasty, charred, food porn look), about forty to fifty minutes.
- Serve warm.

Pasty poison

[via text]

me: I need my book at one and you don't come in until four. WHA WE GON' DO?

Justin: Watch me laugh from a distance? 

me: That's what I'm going to do when I bake you all the cookies and cakes and you eat them all. And cry. 

Justin: No. I will remember this conversation and realize they are full of poison. You are the wicked witch to my Snow White. 

me: You just called yourself Snow White. I was already going to blog the conversation but this is gold. 

Justin: Yes. I am already pasty. I might as well be pretty as well. 

You send me this kind of message = I post more food photos.

Oooh! I should be bacon.

[via text]
Stephanie: Hey, if I end up dressing up as a stack of pancakes, want to go to some IHOPs on Halloween night and take pics?
me: Uh, YEAH.

Look at these Tumblr bros

"hey Fábio, I'm going to like some things on vina's blog now, k?"
"ok, TJ. Me too."
"hey Fábio?"
"yeah?"
"<3"

Ten hours later,

They call each other, I know it.

Toasted spaghetti with garlic, slow-roasted tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and baby spinach

Ingredients
extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. spaghetti, broken into 2 inch bits
1-2 cloves of garlic (you can mince them but I just threw them in whole)
3 cups of the broth of your choosing (I used chicken. Clam would be good.)
1 cup water
crushed red pepper
fresh baby spinach
slow-roasted plum tomatoes
artichoke hearts (I had a jar the fridge).
fresh oregano
s&p

- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add spaghetti and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown.

- Add garlic and crushed red pepper. Cook until fragrant, about a minute.

- Add broth and water, bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat until pasta is al dente, about eight minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water if spaghetti is too dry. 

- Stir in baby spinach, tomatoes, oregano, and artichoke hearts. Season to taste and serve. 

She's your queen to be!

 

 

 

 

Yathrib and Jojo's Sudanese wedding (which was way back in July but hey, better late than never)

Full Flickr set

Sometimes there are no words.

Ok, maybe some words.
This video is adorable and I love her voice.

My luggage in Charleston.

I love that canvas bag.
I forgot to post this photo earlier.

Rachel Semenov is my hero.

Artists, designers, non-crazies: Read this.
Spread the word. Be nice to people. Being an ass solves nothing.