mom and dad explore europe - budapest update

the first thing i got asked when i told my friends and family i was spending the year in budapest was "when can i visit?" my parents have both been to europe but at different times. they've been planning a trip to selvacava, italy, where my dad's grandparents immigrated from, for as long as i can remember. they finally got to take that trip, bookended by weekends with me in budapest.

i have to say, budapest - italy - budapest was the right way to do this. they got to visit me and had something to do during the week while i worked. we managed to make it out to a few places i hadn't ventured yet.

european rail trip - part 2 vienna

when last we met we had explored sopron and were on our way to vienna. i have to say, the train ride from sopron to vienna was much more scenic than from budapest to sopron. but moving on.

european rail trip - part 1 sopron

it's been a while since i traveled anywhere, i've been falling into a rthym of life in budapest. we had a long holiday weekend and lucky me, my best friends decided to make the trek from the us all the way to budapest just for little old me! it was the 10 year anniversary of us being friends so we felt it was appropriate to celebrate, we're kind of a big deal.

502pc!

one pot chicken couscous

i had some friends coming to town last week which meant there would be no cooking during the week. to avoid the work commissary, i decided to try a big one pot meal that would take care of me for a few days.

i found this tasty (looking at least) recipe from brit + co (click for original post and recipe)

saturday after pilates i grabbed a water and headed to the central market hall, the largest market in budapest, which i hadn't visited yet.

it goes on forever

28 hours in prague - part 2

since i made it back to the hotel a bit earlier than i had planned saturday night, i was up bright and early sunday to pack in a full day of exploring.

28 hours in prague - part 1

i'm not the least bit embarassed to admit that all of my "europe on a whim" expectations come from the mandy moore movie "chasing liberty." naturally prague, where the movie begins, was at the top of my list.

i've nearly run out of long weekends for work, the next and final one coming while my friends are visiting me, that will be an adventure! but back to prague. since i was only going to be in the city for about 28 hours, i challeneged myself to pack everything in my work backpack.

totally worked, but that's another post

spiralizer: thai chicken zoodles

i finally ordered a spiralizer and spent a good part of the week saving every zoodle recipe i could find to pinterest. for my first attempt i chose a thai chicken with spicey peanut sauce from the blog joyful healthy eats. i also tried out a new market near me that is, shockingly, open on sundays. all the produce for this meal was purchased here. the chicken was from the grocery store, i haven't been brave enough to try the meats stands. maybe this weekend.

lehel market

easter trip to paris - part 2

i know i said "next week" when i first posted but i had some personal requests to update on mallory...she's kind of a big deal.

on to day 2 in paris, also know as: the day i spent with dead stuff.

there are 2 places in paris i've wanted to go for a while but was never able to do to either time or co-travelers not being interested. this trip it was all about me! 

i got up very early on easter sunday, 7:30am is early when you're on vacation ok, and took the train down to the catacombs. i tried to go on saturday but the line was massive and i wouldn't have made the cutoff time. when i arrived at 8:30am for a 10am open, i was the 10th person in line. by the time it opened, there as already a 2 hour wait. that's right, people line up to see a bunch of bones just like they do to purchase a new iphone.

am i actually gonna do this?

easter trip to paris - part 1

when my company landed on budapest for our basis of operation, i was pretty bummed out. we had been looking at london for several months and i was super stoked about that. i had previous co-workers in london, the language barrier is zero and the eurostar is right there. but budapest it was to be.

i quickly jumped on kayak and google maps searching for quick weekend trips. if i was going to be in europe for a year, i was going to make the most of it. the first 3 day weekend we had i decided to stay in town to get my apartment settled. traveling now is a bit more complicated since my kitty requires medication each day, but that's another, longer, post for later.

i'm not a terribly religious person, but i've always enjoyed the easter service at the church i grew up in. i haven't done much besides dinner with friends for easter since i've been in los angeles, i figured with the 3 day weekend, paris was as good a place as any to spend the holiday.

i've been to paris 2 times before, i've hit most of the typical tourist spots, so you won't get much of that here. this trip was all about what i wanted to see.

i had 2 days to get it all in. i landed in paris around 12:30pm and left monday mid-day. somehow, i managed to get everything that was really important to me taken care of.

when i began planning, i discovered that my carry on suitcase, which i've had for 7 years, is technically too large for many of the budget airlines. just to play it safe, i purchased a north face base camp duffle. i'd seen a family navigating the christmas crowds carrying them and thought it seemed like an excellent idea, i was right.

do i look legit?

how to live in budapest and not gain 50 lbs

50 pounds may be an exaggeration, but i don't think it's far off.

weight gain comes from 2 places

1. my metabolism is in constant conflict with the overwhelming availability of pastry
2. my west coast aclimatized body doesn't want to run outside in the cold

seriously, every morning i come into the office and the assistants have got fresh baked goodies for breakfast. it takes everything in my to not eat them all.

the portion sizes here also put american portions to shame. the girls in the caffeteria laugh at me when i say "that's enough" as they're loading up my third pasta dish of the week. pasta and cheese sauce, it's a thing here. a very tasty thing.

packing for a year in europe ...

if you thought the ... would be followed by a "in 1 suitcase," you've come to the wrong blog.

there's no way i was going to budapest with just 1 suitcase. i have mallory with me after all.

i did pack for this trip to north carolina in one suitcse

budapest so far

i've been here a month and am finally feeling like i'm getting the hang of things.

i have a car and can now get from my apartment to work without google maps. obviously, i have an apartment so, no more tiny hotel fridge for me!

now thats a beer!

high end on a budget

while this post may seem unrelated to my move, it came about because of it. i've spent a great deal of time moving around various bank accounts, comparing fees and rewards, as well as holding off on some purchases to make them more cost effective so, here we go.

i'm a frugal shopaholic. i grew up pretty poor and while i learned the value of a good deal and coupon/sale shopping, i didn't get the talk on credit card debt. while i got in a little deep in college, i managed to climb my way out. i'm not going to go into all the hows, that's a little too personal for me, but i will share some personal insight i've learned along the way.*

rewards credit cards: check out points guy, he's got the most comprehensive run down and tips, especially with travel rewards. i haven't been traveling much the last few years but i'm about to start. i also love any rewards points. amex allows points to be turned in for cash, flights or (most bang) gift cards. i've purchased many a nike gear, william sonoma cookware, clothes from nieman marcus and shoes from zappos. the available store has gone down but there's still good value. about a year ago i cashed in all my points for my garmin.

my "slight" youtube addiction

it began innocently enough, i wanted to check out a video game before i committed to buying it. it devolved into me spending a saturday selecting "next" in playlists on youtube. the same thing happened with beauty.

one minute i'm watching grace helbig do a "sweater weather" tag, whatever the hell that is, and the next thing i know i'm on ingrid nilsens' channel who tagged her learning how to tightline my eyes. wow, i've always wondered about that. looks a little painful. oh look, there's a video about how to use the concealer, i knew i was doing it wrong.

several videos and "vlog" playlists later, i discovered fleur de force. the english accent, the english countryside, the dogs, that hair, i was hooked. there's something about having a person talk at you about a product that isn't going to make a commission off of it so much less annoying than a customer service rep.* and what's best, the person on youtube can't interact. if i decide i'm not feeling the product, fast forward, skip. no awkward "um, maybe something else" conversation while they desperately try and convince me that i really need this brand new $100 foundation.

it's been a while...

do i title a post like this every 6-8 months? it feels like it. i've been extremely absent and also extremely busy. the thing about life in freelance film is that the work can go from manic busy to snail slow from day to day. since march i've done the same job on 2 different shows and the work flow/pace are completely different.

in the spring i had a steadier, slower paced workflow that allowed for earlier nights and more time to write and plan. since mid-summer i've been on a higher concept show for a smaller production company that requires longer days and leaves little time for writing.

weekends are no longer just meeting up with friends, running, butt school or shopping. they're for getting all the chores done that fell to the way side during the week: dishes in the sink, mountains of laundry, crap i'm out of quarters, how did the milk go bad, why didn't i buy toilet paper last time and how am i going to make the random dreggs of food left in my fridge into a meal.... it can be a bit overwhelming. but i'm trying to make yet another come back. i'm like barbara, endless farewell tours.

i'm getting back into a groove. i've gone to butt school once a week and since my office is now 4 miles from home (the dream in la) i'm better at dragging myself out of bed for a morning run. i also managed to fit in a few fun activities with my friends. here's a brief update, more (hopefully) to follow.

used the force to get the psl a little early

week 2 of (f)unemployment

week 2 started off strong: went for a run on sunday, yoga on monday, run on tuesday and paid for it all on wednesday. it's time to accept that i am no longer as naturally fit as i used to be. i decided to take thursday as a rest day and return to yoga next monday.

monday and tuesday i did a lot of admin around the house. i repacked my work kit and cleared out all the non-office items. i had 5 bags of comic books from when i was walking distance from my favorite shop at disney, getting caught up on those trade paperbacks is on my to do for today. i also worked on a few post drafts from my make shift floor/coffee table "office".

mal likes to be involved

smoothie madness - karlie kloss breakfast smoothie

true story: about a year ago i fell asleep watching a doctor who marathon and woke up mid-nutribullet infomercial. 30 mins later i was in the check out line of the bed, bath & beyond with one of the hundred 20% off fliers and a 15 piece nutribullet set. best impulse buy ever.

i've tried a lot of smoothie combos, the karlie kloss breakfast smoothie is my favorite made with protein powder, originally posted at popsugar. i've changed it up a little, using mixed berries rather than just blackberries. while i'm (f)unemployed this has been my go to post yoga smoothie.

karlie kloss breakfast smoothie

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 banana

1 cup black berries (i used mixed frozen)

lately i've been

i was able to prep this post while on the plane from nyc so, here we go!

lately i’ve been…

since i’ve recently started posting again i decided to on this survey i saw on peanut butter fingers blog so we could all get better acquainted.

cooking: my own lunch for work. it’s mostly some lazy variations of chicken breast and rotating bases and toppings, ie. rice, salad, pasta. i’m going to get into that in next tuesdays post.

sorry i've been away...

the last 2 weeks have been a little crazed. what was supposed to be wrapping up my work on one show before i went on to the next ended up having a quick trip to new york thrown smack in the middle of it.

my dad called monday night (june 28) and said that the family was headed to new york b/c my grandapa was in the hospital, so much for 2 posts that week. i arrived back in los angeles at 2am the following monday and had to start the new job that week, no time to prep posts for that week. i'm a little more settled now so, until the regular content begins on friday, here's some fun from new york. 

said farewell to the gnomes at marvel

just charge it honey!

there are many activities my mom and i enjoy together: watching college basketball, watching college football, netflix binges on crime dramas and shopping. it's our cardio. more specifically, bargain shopping.

when she came to visit me on her first solo trip to los angeles we decided to check out the outlets at camarillo. we figured a nice chat on the drive there, 2 hours of shopping, some lunch, and be back in time for dinner and some tv shows. 9 hours later the back of my jeep was filled and we were trying to find a restaurant to feed our hangry selves.

i swear we left stuff for other shoppers