"Our greatest weakness is giving up."

Oh yeah, Thomas Edison?


Well something tells me that you didn't spend two and half hours of your life taking an online midterm for MacroEconomics, only to have the whole thing lost when you clicked "submit".


Okay, so maybe I'm not giving up exactly, but I sure am indulging in the fantasy. I did manage to retake the whole test, thanks to notepad full of scribbled calculations from the first round. Seriously, though...what kind of system administers a timed exam without an autosave feature, while logging you out due to inactivity? Not cool.


Okay, I'm done whining, I promise. I've just been letting the stress of school and work get to me. This blog is supposed to be my escape!


I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween! Mine was rather quiet, but nice. Boyfriend got out of work early, so we took a nice walk around Ditmars Blvd and saw some great costumes. Apparently all the trick-or-treaters were skipping houses and heading right to the businesses. That's where the REAL loot is!


We ended up hitting Watawa (3310 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, at 34th Street) for dinner, which never fails to impress me. There are probably about 4 or 5 sushi places within three block radius, but Watawa definitely surpasses them. They always have the freshest ingredients and their menu has a pretty wide selection. Their prices are about mid-range as far as sushi places go, but atleast I know I won't get food poisoning! If you live in the Astoria/LIC area, I would definitely recommend stopping by. They have a nice atmosphere for dining in, and they also do take-out and delivery.


Sunday was a bit more hectic, but I decided it would be the perfect time to finally use my crockpot. I've had it for a few years now and I'm pretty sure Boyfriend has used it once or twice, but I tend to shy away from anything that combines technology and cooking. Bad things are bound to follow.


So, I pulled the evil-looking contraption down, washed off the cake of dust, and proceeded to check the internet for crockpot recipes. I found this great, simple one for Chicken Marsala and figured I could do it with no problem. So, I journied out to Key Foods and picked up all the ingredients. When I got home, I threw everything together, browned the chicken...maybe a little too much...and tossed it in the crockpot. Finally, it was time to add the Marsala wine. I eyed the enormous jug I picked up at my local WIne & Spirits store and retrieved my old friend, the corkscrew. I figured I wouldn't bother with the crazy wrapping covering the bottle, instead deciding the just stick the screw in the top and go to town. Yeah...no one told me that Marsala wine bottles don't have corks. I was a bit surprised when the corkscrew went through so easily, but when it came right out (sans cork) during retraction, I began to grow suspicious. It was then that I made the brilliant decision to unwrap the bottle.


Oh boy. Well, the bottle was open...in a manner of speaking. It was then that I realized I would have to make the enormous sacrifice to drink bottle of wine with a screw cap to replace the damaged cap on the Marsala. It was a tough job, but someone would have to do it. Luckily I had picked up a bottle of Pacific Rim Dry Riesling! Mmmmm...


All the ingredients were finally combined, but it was already nearing 3:30pm. The recipe called for six hours of slow cooking on Low, which would NOT work for me since Boyfriend was due home at 8pm and I wanted to appear all domestic in my apron with dinner waiting on the table. I decided, in a moment of pure genius, to cook the chicken on High for three hours. Who needs directions from more experienced people? Not I! Live dangerously!















Except that living dangerously means your sauce never quite attains the right consistency and your chicken breast dries out ever so slightly. It was still edible, but definitely not what I wanted to present on my first try. I guess you live and learn, but I definitely won't be making any executive decisions in the kitchen for a while.


Yeesh.


On a lighter note, I just bought the greatest vintage 1960's suitcase from the Harlow Monroe Vintage Boutique on Etsy. Kudos to NodToModVintage for alerting me via Twitter! I owe you one! It reminds me of the one my grandmother had in the 1960's and I can't wait to receive it. I'll share pics when it arrives. It has definitely set the mood to daydream about classy, cruise outfits. ;) Maybe in April...


Well, Blogosphere, it's time for me to go crash and burn. Sweet dreams to all!