Where would you end up if you went on a roadtrip?!

So we’re a bit into day two of the roadtrip; We’re in southern Virginia [boonies!].. Here are some pictures from yesterday

They aren’t in order but if you goto my Instagram page [link on left/ zoek] you can see all the pictures, where they were taken [on the photo map] and my little tidbits of wisdom/what’s going on or check in on #dallasherewecome on Instagram.

PS blogging on phones in a car is no fun.

Until tomorrow lovahhhhhhs.

Here’s the most recent. I’m so very sore, I played for the second time in a local fundraising tournament, technically The 3rd Annual Bikini and Speedo Dodgeball Tournament sponsored by Good Morning Gloucester . It was cold, very cold, around 37 degrees cold. Now, 37 degrees F may not seem bad if your from the northeast but when you’re rocking a bikini and there’s a nice breeze it gets a bit chilly. If you’ve been a follower your may remember this tidbit from last year, I got a bit banged up.

Well this year went a bit differently. I was the last man standing.

I’m beyond a bit proud of this considering last year I literally had to be carried off the field due to an injury.

[Nothing like a little pregame stretching]

The original face book caption for this photo read something like:

“If I have to play dodgeball in a bikini in under 40 degree weather you damn well better believe I’ll be drinking at half past ten in the morning”

My magnificent team!

Everyone needs a little attitude. [BTW I got those dudes out on a double elimination. It hit one and it bounced off him and hit the other. I wish I had seen it but I was too busy whippin dodgeballs around the court.]

Needless to say, bikini dodgeball can get weird:

Action shots don’t always provide a great angle, as proven again:

The last three photos were taken by the magnificent Jason Ouellet Photography! You can check out more pictures of the event on his FB.

And more awkward angles ensue:

let’s just call this a bikini bottom “adjustment”

[although we all know it means I had to stop my butt from being exposed to 100+ people, and yes, this occurred while I was the only team player left on the court, so all 200+ eyeballs were on me; don't you just love the video camera pointed directly at me. Yup it was caught on film, I'll now be known as the notorious adjuster...new superhero anyone?]

What’s the fun if you can’t laugh at yourself? And seeing as I’m constantly and inadvertently putting myself in awkward laughable situations why should strangers be the only ones who get a good chuckle out of it?

Regardless of the dodgeball debauchery I had a fabulous time and can’t wait until next year; Until then, I’ll go on a roadtrip!

Yup, you heard it here. I’ll be taking a roadtrip from MA to TX. I’m going to Dallas ladies and gents! I leave on Tuesday and will be posting probably just a few pictures here and there but I’m sure I’ll be blowing up my instagram, so check the link at the left and get your follow on!

Me and my lady friend, one Miss. E, shall be braving the open roads together to get her and her belongings to new job in DALLAS TEXAS. Holy cannoli that’s a hike. I’m still a bit in shock that I’m actually leaving the state of good Ole’ MA [please ignore any VH1 sponsored shows when thinking of my beautiful home state, wicked single my ass]. I’m very excited and a bit nervous but I’m leaving and not even I will get in my own way this time!

So glad to be back with all of you!

This is Chili Corn Chowdah [sorry, that's the Boston girl coming out] is not a chowdah at all but it’s thick and creamy and deliciously goodness all vegan and gluten free. It was a rainy day [very unlike today, it's even too sweltering to do yoga] and really hit that warm homey goodness spot. It’s got a bit of a kick but is balanced out by the accompanying Sweet Basil Cream Sauce.

First you have to start with a Corn Stock. A vegetable stock is, well, a vegetable stock. For this chowdah you really want to get that corn flavor.

Corn Stock

3 Large Fresh Ears of Corn with husks

¾ Cup Chopped Scallion

2 Tsp Sea Salt

1. Shuck corn and place ears in large pot and cover with water placing husks aside for later.
2. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Using tongs remove corn ears from pot and place aside.
4. Chop Scallion and add to pot along with the salt and corn husks.
5. Add about 4 cups of water/ enough to cover husks.
6. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer, covered for 25 minutes
7. Let cool, strain stock into large bowl, discarding all solids.

Now, thanks to all your tedious prep work, on to the deliciousness of

Chili Corn Chowder

4 C of Corn Stock

3 Ears of Corn [from corn stock recipe]

2 C. Frozen/Fresh Corn

1 ½ TBSP Chili Powder

2 Tbsp Corn Starch

1. In a large soup pan, combine corn stock, 2 C. of  frozen corn, chili powder, and corn starch and set to simmer.
2. In a separate pan toast remaining corn with olive oil, salt and pepper. About 10 minutes. Place aside.
3. Remove soup from heat and blend until thick with some chunks remaining, return to heat and add toasted corn. Simmer for 10 more minutes, remove from heat.

Sweet Basil Cream Sauce

½ Cup Whole Raw Cashews

2/3 Cup Soy Milk

½ C Fresh Basil

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth with no chunks are remaining.

Now that the you’ve been taught the ways of my vegan gluten free chowdah I can tell you about plans!

Oh how I love plans, and by love I mean I adore the idea and principle of the matter. I love that plans tell you what your doing, they give you direction. So I’ve got plans, they include this little ditty that I grabbed at Marshalls for a WHOPPING $12. Steal, right?!

So I blocked off a border with my trusty blue painters tape. And I got to it.

I got some Chalk Board Spray Paint, a pack of chalk, and 5ft of sticky velcro. All together this project cost me about $27 and well worth every 2,700 pennies. After a leisurely day of sitting and applying coats of toxic spray paint, I let it dry for 24 hours and “primed” the surface by going nutters with the flat side of a piece of chalk all over this mother.

B got all nutso and magivered a hanging system with velcro strips after I refused to let him drill through the tray. [ Uhh, duh, It's so pretty I don't want to put any holes through it!]

B relaxing after hanging the new chalk board and installing our flag pole on the deck

See that fabulous seagull print hanging so nicely above the couch? $5 at the flea market!! WHAT!? I know I’m a total freakshow when it comes to bargains.

Our new flag pole [and a fabulous momma hand-down flag] on the deck:

Live Music Tonight, yeah, I’ll be sitting out with a sauce pan and wooden spoon serenading the squirrel who peek over the edge of the deck to my smooth voice doing a rendition of B.Spear’s “Lucky”, free admission.

Oh and B and I are starting the Insanity workout tomorrow, get ready for those updates…

]]> http://misszoe.org/2012/08/26/kitchen-bliss/feed/ 6 DSC_0027 the scrawny little minx DSC_0028 DSC_0027 DSC_0033 DSC_0035 IMG_20120824_094642 DSC_0036 DSC_0037 DSC_0039 DSC_0041 http://misszoe.org/2012/07/06/amazeballs/ http://misszoe.org/2012/07/06/amazeballs/#comments Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:09:05 +0000 Miss. Zoe http://misszoe.org/?p=719 ]]> Oh how crazy and wonderful this life is. That’s if you make a conscious decision that it is, and I have. The past few weeks have been a crazy whirlwind of amazeballs, here let us discuss.

I ran my first 5k a week ago [Thursday June 28th 2012, just making a mental note]. WAHOO. I’m SO not proud of my time [36:08], but I crossed the finish line and I wasn’t in a stretcher so I’d say goal accomplished. A friend from work ran it with me and was very kind and slowed her pace to stay with me. I ran the [very hilly] race in my Vibrams not having even crossed my mind that I wouldn’t be running on dirt [always running in the woods], I’d be running on pavement [I never run on pavement] and might need a little more cushion [um, obvious to everyone except me?!] so my left foot was in serious cramping mode when I came up on the last half mile of the race.

[Not a great quality photo, eyes closed and all, but theres the proof from the end of the race.. Notice the lack of stretcher]

That was last Thursday. Friday I worked a 12 hour shift and totally avoided Fiesta. I was really hoping to show you guys what it’s all about but Saturday morning we started moving.

Two weeks ago B and I stumbled upon an apartment that fit out needs perfectly, and planned to move in this past weekend. It just so happens that my father owns the apartment building, I grew up in the house, and my sister lives in another unit the floor below me. I love this house and as I mentioned here it is the apartment I always imagined as my “grown up” apartment. It’s a small one bedroom apartment with a decent sized kitchen [with a DISHWASHER, cue hallelujahs] and a large living room, oh and a killer deck. Well moving sucks to say the least. B and I had been crashing on the third floor of Momma’s house, so we moved down three flights of stairs just to move back up three flights of stairs, lucky us it was 90+ degrees out all weekend. Boo,oh and and the couches didn’t fit up the stairs. Here is how it went:

[ positioning couch]

[already about 30 feet up]

side note: the deck’s integrity is a little iffy so we had to lean out over the railing and lift hand over hand.

[almost there... keep going!]

[pretty much a success. oh and this was the SECOND couch, there was also a box spring which B behemothed by himself]

Our weekend was dominated by moving. Wake until sleep, we were lifting boxes and putting them down in a different place. Needless to say I didn’t make it to St. Peter’s Fiesta this year [other than the 5k] and missed all three Greasy poles. It really stunk but I knew if I went I would have been stressing out about what I could have been doing at home, and what’s the fun if your not in the moment, right?! So I didn’t get any great photos or stories for you, HOWEVER, If you goto the Miss.Zoe Facebook page there is a video posted from the viewpoint of the winner. It’s a pretty awesome video and you can hear the infamous chant. VIVA SAN PEDRO! The entire week of fiesta this chant can be heard echoing through the streets, in bars, pretty much everywhere, it’s aweeeesome [I like to say awesome and a super high pitched voice... it just makes it sound cooler.]

Early this week I went a little nutso and unpacked almost everything in one day. B left for work from an apartment filled with boxes and came home to an almost finished apartment. I was pretty damn proud of myself… There’s still a lot to do, but it already feels like home so I’ve started spending time in the kitchen again. Wednesday was the Fourth of July, my absolute favorite day of holiday celebrations [sans the annual Christmas Caroling, yes we go Christmas Caroling and it's AWESOME! {extra high-pitched this time}]. I’m the only picky eater [vegan/gluten free] on this side of the family so I bring my own food. I bought pre-packaged veggie burgers and rolls [Udi's Gluten Free Burger Rolls are amazing by the way] and made a Black Bean Salsa.

Black Bean Salsa

1 ½ cans of Black Beans drained and rinsed

1 Large Hierloom Tomato [I call them Ugly Tomatos]

½ Large White Onion

1 Avocado

Juice of 1 Lime

Handful of Cilantro + some

2 TSP Cayenne Pepper

1 TSP Smoked Paprika

Salt and Pepper

1. Chop Tomato [I like large chunks] and cilantro mix in a bowl and mix in beans.
2. Hand Squeeze the lime juice over Tomato mixture [any other way only use half of lime.]
3. Add paprika, cayenne and salt and pepper, mix thoroughly. [I like to mix after each step to really get it marinating]
4. Dice Onion and chop avocado and fold into mixture. Voila , quick and easy crowd pleaser.

[God Bless America, and corn chips]

It was a huge hit at the cookout and when I went back for more it was gone! I’d say a summer recipe success.

[trying to find the shade]

[chit chattin it up]

[oh, I'm sorry, you wanted that rare?]

After the cookout we walked down the street to the parade which kind of sucked.

[our first 4th together, jeez my neck is long]

None of the highlights this year [Guys dressed in Gorilla suits pulling you out of the crowd to dance, Steel drum band rocking a float] but there were two sets of bagpipers [SCORE!] which brightened things a bit.

After the parade my hometown does a Bonfire on the water.

[once again, sorry for the cellphone pictures]

After the bonfire we headed back for the long hike home [around 2 minutes]

And once home were greeted with an impromptu gathering on our wonderful deck

All in all our 4th festivities may have kicked your down a peg or two. Don’t be jealous, join us!

I’m off to make strawberry rhubarb pie with Momma, I’m sure you’ll hear about it soon!

]]> http://misszoe.org/2012/07/06/amazeballs/feed/ 3 DSC_0349 the scrawny little minx first 5k carrying couch couch w.rope couch w.rope3 couch w.rope 4 DSC_0342 DSC_0349 DSC_0354 DSC_0327 DSC_0315 DSC_0332 IMG_20120704_184458 IMG_20120704_184939 IMG_20120704_210841 IMG_20120704_210915 IMG_20120704_211526 DSC_0338 http://misszoe.org/2012/07/02/just-a-little-preview/ http://misszoe.org/2012/07/02/just-a-little-preview/#comments Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:29:08 +0000 Miss. Zoe http://misszoe.org/?p=715 ]]>

Well you may be a bit confused… I am, because I still can’t believe B and I did this. This is B and I hauling a couch up over a deck from the ground to the third floor with only a piece of rope….. YES THE THIRD FLOOR. Holy hot balls, you can believe I had a nice drink after this…. well not directly after but this just the preview, you’ll get the nasty tidbits if you check back next week [recommended if you like first time 5ks, moving and fiesta/ fourth of July festivities] For now I’m back to unpacking!

There’s a lot of it, and with communication being a bad game of telephone these days I thought you might like to hear it straight out of the horse’s mouth [just call me Mr.Ed]

Bad news first, good news second[ because who wants to dwell on the bad news right?] and then the other news.

BAD NEWS: I am highly allergic to gluten. [hear this: ridiculously allergic] so ONCE again we are going to make a huge change in the diet and learn to eat ALL over again [like how I said 'we', yeah that's right your coming along for the ride buddy, you think I'd do this alone?]. Get ready for a lot of new recipes and a lot of old recipes revisited and tweaked. These new recipes should be starting in about two weeks, I’ll be working out of my kitchen that has a dishwasher [dishwasher = the heavens opening and angels singing praises of happiness] because:

GOOD NEWS: This coming weekend [Starting Friday] me and B will be moving into our FIRST place together! Wahoo, the search is over. It’s a great top floor one bedroom with a decent sized deck out back that you can see downtown from. My sister lives in the apartment below me, my father has his law office out back and Momma lives down the street. This apartment building has some serious history in my life to say the least and I’ll be sharing it with you later when I can get into the nitty gritty. For now lets just say that it the apartment I always thought I’d live in when I “grew up”. Things are just getting good.

OTHER NEWS: The last weekend in June is a big deal here on the island where I live [ aside from the fact that the entire town will be cheering me on while I help carry a sectional couch up three flights of stairs]  it’s what I like to call “Fiasco”, most just call it St. Peter’s Fiesta. It a whole lot of Italian shenanigans… [ if you just CAN'T wait until my post, Google: Greasy Pole, Gloucester MA for a sneak peak] I promise I’ll have some good stories next week, including the recap of my first race [the Fiesta 5k] taking place Thursday!

Also 1500 followers?!? I’m so stinkin’ flabbergasted and humbled! How would you guys feel about another giveaway? I’m thinking if we can get 30 comments I’ll have a nice little prize pack worked up for next week. What do you think? What I really think is that I’m going to do a giveaway regardless but really like chatting with all of you!

Q: What did you imagine as your “grown up” living space? AND I know there are a lot of gluten free recipes out there but does anyone have an ABSOLUTE favorite vegan/G.F recipe?

Well yesterday was the first day of my Hometown Tourist adventure. Me and B made our way to downtown of my hometown. The downtown area of my town is called Bearskin Neck. Bearskin Neck is a long road [ almost like a wharf]  jutting out into the Atlantic. To one side is Rockport Harbor filled with lobstering boats and watched over by our notorious Motif #1 [more on that later] It sounds a little strange but as the limerick goes, “Babson, Babson, killed a bear, with his knife, I do declare.”

This is my old roommate Z’s family business. It’s been around forever and she knows her pewter. She’s a classy lady… sometimes. Me and B stopped in to say hi however she was surrounded by customers, so we continued on. If you’re ever here I highly suggest stopping in and buying some souvenir made right here in Rockport [I totally wanted a cheezy tourist tshirt, B said no]

Here is the awkwardly taken photo of the entrance plaque at the head of Bearskin Neck:

Highly informational, obviously, I mean 1743? That was a long ass time ago. We continued along bearskin neck, avoiding most shops [I'm here for the experience, not the swag] until we came across:

The Country Store… This place is awesome. They have ‘penny’ candy [a.k.a. $7.95/lbs] that you take out of jars and put in a bag

 a ridiculous array of hot sauces which B pondered for a bit

B ended up going with what he deemed to be the spiciest hot sauce:

I’ll be avoiding this sauce at all costs. I don’t do extreme heat well. We kept walking and came to the “top of the neck.” The top is just a loop, returning traffic to whence it came, but the views are ridiculous.

B did a nice pause for me in the middle of his stroll back so I could get the shot. He’s so good to me. Now onto the artsy stuff. The Motif#1 is commonly said to be the most often painted building in America. I think its quaint, and technically is Motif #2 since the first one was destroyed in the blizzard of 78′ but that’s just it, a technicality. It’s a fishing shack on a pier, literally, but people come from all over to see it:

Probably should have gotten a shot with the Motif #1 in focus, but its artsy remember, I totally meant to do that.

knick knack paddy whack.

B finished up our touristy day with a ginormous Black Raspberry Ice Cream cone [jerk, he knows it's my favorite] and I with a watermelon slush. Slurping and people watching from Momma’s front porch [conveniently located 100 yards from Bearskin Neck]

All in all it was a kick ass, now I’m ready for bed, sorta day. Rockport is amazing and I’m happy to call it home.

and just my favorite picture of the day… [ it didn't fit anywhere else]

If you were to be a tourist in your hometown, what would you spend your day doing?

Since then:

I finally got my GPS running watch and have been putting it to good use. I decided on the Nike+ Powered by TomTom and I absolutely LOVE it, even though it took me an entire morning at the mall [worst fear ever] to track one down. It’s extremely accurate [even under tree cover] and I can’t say enough good things [hint hint Nike: need a new spokesperson?]. The online features are great. You can check out other runners favorite routes and set goals for yourself and the Nike+ website keeps track of it all! It also lets you plan runs and map out the distance in advance!!! So super cool, and it’s comfortable around my scrawny wrist:

[ignore my awesome cell phone pictures]

I also got all my SWEAT PINK gear. Wahoo. I love this group of girls [sweat pink ambassadors =  inspiring], and I’m proud to say I am wearing my sweat pink shirt constantly. Now, I don’t technically have shoe laces on my workout shoes and I’m going to have to find a way to incorporate pink shoelaces in, but I DO have pink running shoes. I’ve also just decided on June and July’s 5K runs. The Fiesta 5k in Gloucester at the end of the month and the Color me Rad Run in Brighton on July 15.

[Awesome boob shot, right? God I love sports bras!]

[See the pink theme here?]

Aside from working my little butt off , B and I having been staying social and attended our first Sox game this year. We happened to run into friends so they joined us! Yeah for impromptu meetups! I forced [and by forced I mean I literally forced] B into taking what I like to call an obligatory cheeze fest photo [cheese must be spelled with a 'z' for full effect], you know, the one where we stand all lovey dovey with the field in the background. Now it was our first time at Fenway together so we HAD to take a photo [ he didn't think so... he stands corrected]

[that kind sir photo bombing behind B and I is a gentleman named D.Rowe, he is an anomaly, making this obligatory cheeze fest photo that much more awesome, his better half, Berto, is kindly taking the photo]

B and I also attended his cousin’s wedding. OOH, how I love weddings. A beautiful bride, an enamored groom. Here are a few highlights:

[the bouquet toss, notice I hid inconspicuously in the back left hand corner]

[near decapitation by rogue bouquet, that's B's sister in all her elation]

[yes, that is B, the good man caught the garter]

Now for the future. This summer my plan is to be a “tourist in my own town.” This may seem strange but I haven’t done a lot of things that are AWESOME here in the North East because I live here. So I’m taking the time. There are a lot of things on the list and hopefully I can check them all off and have an amazing summer, not hopefully, I am going to have an amazing summer. I’m starting to gather info and hopefully plan a few trips out west, I’m thinking Portland, OR and Boulder, CO but we shall see. Good things are to come. But for now Momma just had knee surgery yesterday [lucky us moment of the year: the car broke down on the way home from surgery] so I’m busy playing nursemaid.

Q: Do you have any big summer plans? [other than being totally stinkin awesome?]

]]> http://misszoe.org/2012/06/07/obligatory-cheeze-fest/feed/ 2 the scrawny little minx IMG_20120531_121342 IMG_20120531_121258 IMG_20120531_121336 479200_10151709408995637_1298456109_o wedding catch wedding catch