It's Time to Break Up...I've been seeing another blog

I'm breaking up with this blog and moving on to this one. I've been tinkering with the new blog for a while now but haven't been willing to fully commit. But I guess it's time to stop playing games and break things off with the old blog -- 'cause it's really not fair to be involved with both at the same time (I don't want to be a two-timing hussy).

It's probably obvious that the theme of my writing has been slowly heading in the food direction and so I'm going to concentrate on that for most part in my new blog. But I also don't want to limit myself to just that (since I'm a moody person and often change my mind), so I didn't change my blog title to something foodie related (and goodness, I still don't like the word "foodie"). And besides, I like La Kelly Kelly Kelly. So that will remain.

I originally chose the title "La Kelly Kelly Kelly" for two reasons. The "La" does not stand for Los Angeles - I've never even been there. "La" is included in the title because of my first experience in South America staying with a host family. The whole family referred to me as "La Kelly" or "The Kelly" -- which is apparently pretty typical. New to the Spanish language at the time, I thought it was cute and a sort of ego boost. I am THE KELLY, I am the original, I am important. Heh.

The repetition of Kelly comes from the sitcom "Cheers" when Woody writes a birthday song for his girlfriend, Kelly. The lyrics are ridiculous and the bulk of them as just "Kelly Kelly Kelly Kelly Kelly....." Check it out:

Silly. But it puts a smile on my face.

So yeah. I'm keeping my title because I love it. Bam. (Come on, you know you keep souvenirs from previous relationships.... right? don't people do that?)

I'm nervous about this new blog, I think it could be *the one* .... but ya know, I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet. Only time will tell if this is true blog-love.

Come visit me at the new blog! Leave comments, advice, suggestions, recipes!

It's Go Time

Waiting is over.

Stress is down.

Positivity is up.

Excitement is awesome.

Nervousness... is included.

It's go time.

The Waiting Game

The first week was a much needed vacation. Time to relax, time to de-stress, time to cook, time to clean (ha! yeah right!), time with Z, time to be happy. Lovely.

The second week was for getting down to business AKA finding a job. The day before operation "get job," a promising job ad popped up during an internet search. Wait no, it was more than promising - it was ideal. Applying and interviewing ended with a positive feeling (on both sides, I believe).

So I put off searching further because I didn't want to run the risk of settling for something less ideal. (This might seem crazy, but if I could tell you the details of what this opportunity has to offer then you would understand)

And now I'm waiting. And waiting. And hoping it's worth this awful exercise in patience.

I don't like being unemployed. Besides the lack of money, I'm unbearably bored! I'm restless and sick of the inside of my apartment. But I'm trying to stop myself from spending unnecessary money. I'm even sick of watching re-runs of Law & Order!

I also miss people. Going from bartending to hanging out at home alone all the time is shocking. I need some social interaction! I'm afraid I'm going to turn into that crazy woman who talks to everyone at the grocery store about which melon is the ripest.

Help! I need advice about how to not go insane!

TKP Month 2: Two weeks

I didn't forget about the month two of TKP. I just had a delicate situation that I had to get out of the way in order to progress and I didn't want to blog about it.

But now I can.

I put in my two weeks. Those two weeks passed. I'm now blissfully unemployed.

My job was a good-energy sucking, motivation smashing, soul killing pile of negativity. Obviously, I had to get out.

Now to clarify: I don't hate the restaurant business. I still love it as much as always. I also love bartending. The problem comes when the specific place you're working is slowly killing your love for what you do.

My goals for this month don't include finding my "dream job" because that is unrealistic (and I honestly don't even know what my dream job would be). But I do want to find a job with good energy, where I'm excited to come to work, and where I feel like I'm inspired and learning.

I wish I could post a reverse job ad: Got buena onda? Believe that positivity and encouragement create the best working environment? You could be my future boss!

Maybe I'm incredibly naive. I hope not.

What's on my Mind?

Something has been bothering me about the food business (slash MY business): Fancy-ness.

You know, the whole super famous chef and his a billion star restaurant with penguin dressed servers silently anticipating your every want. The entrees that are 15 word descriptions of the dish (with words that I have never even heard) and the desserts look like mini sculptures.

Why is this the top? Why is this desirable? Is this where I'm supposed to want to be?

I'm sure there is a place for these fancy-shmancy restaurants in the world. But I refuse to let define and set the standard for food in the world.

I want my world of food to be a simple, beautiful, social experience.

And so, I'm starting a children's books about food collection. My list, so far, includes the classics like Green Eggs and Ham, Strega Nona, Stone Soup, and Chicken Soup with Rice.

Know any others? Please send me titles! I want to inspire my inner child to be excited about food again... To see the magic and wonder in cooking and cuisine.

The Great Coffee Storage Debate

Mmmm coffee. There is absolutely no better way to start a day. And it is the greatest drink to share with a friend in the afternoon (unless you're getting the party started early with some mid-afternoon brewskies).

Coffee is a part of my morning meditation. Even the smell of coffee makes me smile and wakes my brain from a dreamy haze.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm a coffee snob. But I'm definitely picky about what coffee I drink.

In general, Starbucks coffee doesn't impress me. It's not bad but it's also not amazing. So not worth the price for me. This opinion was only further solidified after living in Guatemala. Guatemala has GREAT coffee and numerous different coffee shops on every corner. None of them are Starbucks. Yup, Starbucks does not exist in Guatemala. I would also venture to say that Starbucks would FAIL in Guatemala because the coffee chains that already exist in the country are so much better.

When I buy coffee for making at home I usually go with one of two options: (1) Mayorga coffee - a local company (DC area) that is all about socially conscious coffee production. Oh and their coffee is excellent. Their tagline Good Coffee. Good Karma makes perfect sense. (2) Trader Joe's coffee - weird psuedo-hippie grocery store with a free trade angle as well. Not only do they have a wide variety of types of coffee from different regions of the world, all their coffees are extremely reasonably priced. Oh and I can use their coffee grinder for the appropriate courseness/fineness for my drip coffee maker or espresso maker.

Once I get the coffee home, the real question becomes: How do I store coffee? My roommate in college put hers in the refridgerator. Another friend hides his in the freezer (I must mention that he drink Folgers .... I'll leave it at that). My mom keeps hers on the counter next to the coffee maker.

Who is right? I've heard some wild tales about how refrigerating your coffee sucks out all the flavorful goodness. And I've hear that putting coffee in the freezer makes the grounds take on the taste of the frozen shrimp piled next to it (or whatever you keep in your freezer). Oh the horror!

I try to keep my coffee in a cool dark place in my kitchen (and easily accessible so I'm not Angry-Kelly in the mornings). This seems reasonable enough for me. But since I LOVE coffee beyond description, I figure I need to know the right way to do things...

How do you store your coffee? And can you point me towards a coffee expert?

(I think I know my next book genre obsession)

Light Bulb! aka Realizing the Obvious

Ugh I'm so stupid sometimes. I've been looking for something to write about (not just on this blog but as a topic to focus on in order to improve my writing) and also for an area of interest to explore in terms of career potential. I've been super distressed about not being able to figure something out.

Ding! Hello, Kelly. You work in a restaurant, you're dating a culinary manager, you love grocery shopping, the highlight of your days off is cooking, you watch food related TV shows, you search the internet for recipes for fun, and you (semi-recently) read a book about food and history that left you giddy.

Write about food, silly girl.

Now I just need to tell myself that all it takes is passion. Because I'm far from the expert on food. I'm definitely a cook-in-training who ends up eating some botched recipes (ideas for cooking always sound better in my head....). And I'm definitely not rich enough to eat at super fancy restaurants all the time to do research on foods. I've thought about culinary school, but decided it wasn't for me (as much as I enjoy the restaurant business, I don't want to cook all day for streams of anonymous customers. I want to cook for ME damnit!).

On top of it all, I dislike the word foodie. First of all, no one seems to have the same definition of the word. Secondly, it just sounds obnoxious.

I like food. I like smelling food. I like eating food. I like cooking food. I like the feeling of peace I get when chopping vegetables for soup. I like the way flour feels when you stick your hand completely into a fresh bag. I like watching Anthony Bourdain travel around the world eating and talking about nonsense. I like Top Chef as well as Worst Cooks in America. I like to read about food on blogs. I like to read about food in books (the book that made me giddy is this one). I like to look at pictures of food. Z and I go out to restaurants on our days off together - not because we're a boring couple, but because we LOVE food (oh and we cook together on occasion as well). I like the fact that Hamburger Stroganoff brings me back to my childhood, the thought of French Onion Soup brings me immediately to a tiny condo dining room with deep red walls belonging to one of the best cooks I know, the smell of corn tortillas takes me to Guatemala, and the taste of an empanada transports me back to Chile (provided awesomely in the DC area by Julia's Empanadas).

All this leads to the question: How am I not supremely fat?

Just kidding. The real question is: How can I learn more about food (other than experimenting in my closet-sized apartment kitchen) and discover my food destiny?

Oh great, something else to stress about now!