Brief Blog Hiatus

It's been a little while since I've written here, because life has been very, very busy.  That can be good and bad at the same time.  I've actually slowed down on freelance work, mostly in favor of sanity and sleep.  That means unless something super-awesome comes along, I'm probably going to say "Thank you very much, but I really can't", and then if I think it'd work, I have a friend in San Francisco who is trying to build up a portfolio.  

So this blog is officially on hold, until I get an idea for a post or make a decision about the direction I want to go with it.  I'm actually thinking about refocusing it a bit, being that I've finally come to a slight narrowing of goals in my own life.  And that's all I'm going to say for now.  

Mario and Princess Peach get married!

Dear Friends:

This is only a test.  I am not getting married or anything.  However, I spent Sunday relaxing, giving myself a spa day at home, and all that good stuff.  This means my brain relaxed and was able to be creative, and all the ideas that percolate coalesced themselves into the above image.

If you are not a 20- or 30-something girl, you may not be aware that we are currently in the Wedding Season.  That means that not only do you probably know someone getting married, but EVERY GIRL MAGAZINE EVER is running a bridal issue.  It's inescapable.  Everyone is talking about all things wedding related, even if it's in the negative, i.e. "I'm not getting married/I'm not having a wedding/I'm not...".  GeekSugar, one of my favorite blogs, even has a Wedding Season section.   

I am not immune to it (esp. given my love for magazines) either, so after spending a chunk of Saturday afternoon discussing weddings with a girl friend, and being a graphic designer who only ever really played Super Mario Brothers because her mother never bought video games under the idea that then the children won't read books...  I came up with this.  Hope you like it, and it tweaks something in your nostalgic, geeky hearts.  

Eating in the Czech Republic, A Review

I have too many thoughts, so I'm going to start with the most important one: food.  Prague has one of my new favorite restaurants: Cerny Kohout, or the Black Rooster.  It was also briefly reviewed here by the NYTimes, but I don't think they did it justice.  

This is a family restaurant, and you feel that the minute you walk through the door.  We were welcomed with warmth, music ranging from Strauss to Elvis, and freshly baked rolls served with garlic-and-herb butter that even I ate (I, who have not eaten bread with butter in about 3 years).  The meal could have ended there; I cannot begin to describe the goodness that was that butter.  Incidentally, the menu comes in Czech, English, and German, so travelers from almost anywhere will be just fine.

I also discovered a new wine: Austrian and Czech Gruner Veltiner, a white wine I liked en pareleil to riesling, the only other white wine I enjoy, not being a fan of dry, chardonnay or pinot types.  I'm going to have to find this one in New York (which, despite the waiter's info that it's not sold in the US, I am confident did not include NYC).  

Now for the main courses: it is indeed a blend of Czech and French cuisine, taking very familiar (to me) Central European dishes and lightening them up considerably.  We sampled duck, lamb, and two types of fish, and I would be hard-pressed to choose a favorite.  Given that there were three of us, we were able to try that variety because we actually went back to it again -- how's that for a recommendation!  We ate there twice in the 4 days we were in Prague.  

Mrs. Petrikova, in case you find this review, this is my mom enjoying her cup of tea:

Off to Prague

Immigrantka is going traveling for a little while. Notes from Prague to come -- pilsner, castles, and crystal.

Immigrantka Party Throwing

I'm not old enough to lie about my age, so here goes: my 23rd and 25th birthdays were a lot more fun than my 24th.  The difference was that for Numbers 23 and 25, I did it the old fashioned way -- at home.  I gathered all my favorite people who could make it (even those who live far away), and cooked for about 4 days straight.  

I love parties, of course, but I also love comfort.  At home, I don't have to worry about strange men harassing my girl friends, catching the train late at night, or who has had too much to drink.  In a pinch, I can sleep two or three people who desperately need it (and more on the floor.  I have lots of floor).  I can throw a fancy party or a casual one, anything from high heels and wine to rolling around playing board games on the floor.  For that matter, if I start an evening in high heels, there is nothing to prevent me from slipping into my fuzzy slippers later on.  I don't invite anyone I have to put on airs for, so fuzzy slippers are also provided for my guests.

Speaking of guests, if you have polite friends, chances are your party will not be a tremendous expense.  Sure, you have to provide some amount of food and drink, but they will probably bring a bottle of wine or a dessert each.  Unless they were raised by wolves ...  You don't have to cook for four days -- make up a few snacks, order a mildly fancy pizza, and few bottles of cheap wine, and you're good to go.  In fact, your friends may end up arm wrestling on the floor for the last bit of chocolate...  as you see here...  It's a guaranteed good time.  

Immigrantka advice for recession eating: "Buy Two Chickens"

Advice truly from the Old Country, my great-great-grandmother Hannah: Buy two chickens.  Mind, this advice is for feeding a family of several people, not a single girl living alone.  There is more value to be gotten from two chickens rather than one. 

1. One chicken you may take apart or roast whole.  Depending on size of family and size of chicken (and number of hungry boys), this might last you anywhere from 1 dinner, to 1 dinner and 1 lunch, to 2 dinners and 1 lunch...  If you do a whole roast, consider adding vegetables in and around the bird a la Thanksgiving turkey.  

2. The second chicken you use to make chicken soup, which in and of itself has any number of health and comfort uses.  You can use the chicken stock to then either make a heartier soup that will become a meal (like minestrone), or leave it as is.  The meat you just boiled you remove, chop, and then make either fried up patties or wontons.  

So there you go.  That's at a bare minimum 4 meals and at a maximum 8.  Of course, it does assume you have the time to be doing all this cooking, but if you're reading this, you probably have more time than money anyway.     

Immigrantka and Time Magazine are in sync

Looks like I am not the only person to go back to old-time wisdom in times like this.  Time.com ran "Fix-It Nation: In Tough Times, Tailors and Cobblers Thrive".  Just remember, you heard it here first.  Fix your shoes, people.  Although I don't understand the shame described in the article.  I do not feel remotely embarrassed about keeping the shoes and clothes I love for years, whether or not it has to do with finances.  I've had my sunglasses since high school because I take excellent care of them, and they make me look like a movie star.  And if you do feel some sort of weird stigma about it, just remember -- if you don't tell anyone, how will they know?