Oh silly me, I wrote about finals week descending upon us as if they were vultures fighting and scavenging over juicy pieces of meat. ;3 Finals week is also pretty fun for me (this semester anyways!), since I had most of my tests before finals week even began!~ ^^
So while I'm in the chipper mood (just finished my Nutrition final and now listening to Christmas music-- channeling my inner Texan and bouncing along to country rock style, yeehaw!), I'll share you my happy last few days of classes last week :D
This is a cheeseburger.
I bought a burger patty from Schnuck's meat section (who knew that you could buy individual patties? O_O) for my photography project, and dividing the half pound patty gave me two good-sized patty for future consumption. What do do when I have no food? Pull out a frozen patty, toast frozen hamburger buns, heat the patty up, and slap on a piece of processed Velveeta goodness. OH YUM. Haha, not going to lie-- it's a very plain flavor, but it definitely satisfied my desire for meat for the next two days. :P
And remember how I was obsessed with Bobo's? Well, I went there for lunch again last week!~ Daniel and I met up for lunch, and while I tried something new, he opted for the derrrrrricious spicy salmon noodles.
Mmm, sooo goood, sluuuuurp!
For me? Coconut curry seafood noodles!
I could definitely taste the coconut curry, and the amount of seafood surprised me :o At first, I was just pulling out a bunch of empty mussel and clam shells and placing them in the extra dish they provided me. But as I ate, large (although a bit on the thin side) pieces of scallops and the mussel/clam meat started springing up! There was also a bunch of shrimp too :) Mmm, good! The flavor was coconut curry, but I'm definitely starting to think they base all their noodles on the same chili oil. XD I can taste it in everything!
And yeeeeeesh, I eat a lot! For those who think it's strange that I don't weight 2938923892 lbs by now, I can somewhat assuage those feelings, because I swim! I've been either swimming 3 times a week or swimming twice and running once. But swimming is so much easier for me than pounding it on a stationary treadmill, so the past two weeks, I haven't put on my running shoes at all ^^''
Sebastian has been my swimming buddy this semester, so last week, I woke up, called him, and received a, "Ughhhhh... It's so freaking early." I tried opening my eyes while I yawned and nodded at the same time. It was 6:40am, and we were planning to take a splash at 7am. Whew!
Thank goodness for swimming buddies, I don't think I would be motivated to go at all. But once I tell someone I'll go, then I *will* go. That's something that Sebastian learned the hard way; he was hoping that I wouldn't wake up! XD Also, I stick to the sets better with someone there. By myself, I can just say I'm tired and rest at the wall for a while or just float around the pool on my back to catch me breath. But it's when I'm out of breath, kicking as hard as I can, and really pushing myself to slam my hand into the wall while my heart is pounding that I feel like swim practice has been awesome. That reminds me... It's my turn to write up the set for tomorrow... *goes and writes one up*
OKAY! Wonder what he's going to say when he sees it :) Anyhow, so after our early swim last week, Sebastian had Biochemistry, so I went to the Village to forage for morning victuals.
Walked out of the Athletic Complex entrance
The trees must be cold without their blanket of leaves...
Always wondered why our tennis courts are called "TAO tennis courts" :P
Lots of little birdies up in the morning! I guess early birds do get the worm :)
Look beyond to the courts! I've only played on the courts once (or twice?)!
Ooh the trees by the frats have red berry thingies :O
I pass by the frats to get to the parking garage, where I take the stairs down to the Village
Cardinals! First time I've seen the male (red) and the female (brown) together ^^
Walking past a WeCar, which is a car rented and shared by a lot of different WashU students.
I've driven this Civic quite a few times! :D
The Village house :3 I haven't been up to the dorm area before :O
But I'm a frequent visitor of the dining area XD
Post-workout breakfast. Yummmm ^^ (I'm not lactose-intolerant; I just looove vanilla-flavored milk!)
First time trying the school's bagel sandwich: egg whites, spinach, tomato, provolone on a whole wheat.
It was really interesting @_@ Imagine powdered eggs that you get at McDonald's (omgah, I love their breakfast deluxe platter!) or at continental breakfasts in hotels. Those eggs have no form, right? Well, this was like powdered EGG WHITES. Or maybe they just used "Egg beaters..." It was like a mush of egg whites instead of the patty I expected. I actually wanted the *whole* egg: whites and yolk! But that wasn't offered, phooey~ But this was pretty good with BBQ sauce added!
After breakfast and preparing for my Chinese oral report snoozing away, it was time for Chinese class. So back out into the cold, I go! And to get to campus, I always take the stairs near the Knight Center. But I'm telling you, these stairs... they're SO intimidating after a workout O_O
Oh gawd. I need an escalator.
It was pretty comical, because I stopped 3/4 of the way to rest and yell out "Oh gawd-- my legs!" XD Too embarrassed to see if anyone was behind me or not :P
Chinese was really interesting ^^ I enjoyed listening to the topics my classmates presented. For example, when I have kids, I want to teach them to respect and be nice to other people online. It's not something I would have thought of. Yep, teaching them to be nice to people is a no brainer, but I know a lot of friends who make fun, cuss out, or make not-so-encouraging comments to people online. It's pretty easy to do that when they can't see you and even more so when you don't know what happens when they read your comments. That can lead to some sad consequences. I don't want any of my kids to accidentally lead to some other kid's suicide :( Aww, my kids will be so nice... and why in the heck am I thinking of kids? =________= Too far! *pushes thoughts aside*
After Chinese, it was time to head to the art school to take down our photography projects :D Our professor told us to take it down by noon, so I hurried my way to the gallery.
On my way, I passed by yet another tour group! Wow, can't believe I'm 4 years older than some of them @_@
4 years... I've really enjoyed looking upwards while I'm walking around campus. Beautiful architecture!
Gothic-esque ribbed vaulting~ *happy sigh* Don't have much time left here!
Wonder when the last time I walk past the Brookings entrance to our school will be?
"Strength through truth." Have I become stronger?
I've definitely experienced more of life at WashU. :)
While I leave campus, still many more will enter after me.
Such a flurry of thoughts!~ I continued downhill towards the art school and found the TA already beginning to help students take down photos.
These are my classmates' projects! Pretty cool, eh? :)
I think some of the students really have some skill *o*
This project was a little creepy... maybe it's because I was one of the subjects? XD
Kevin had some neat splash photos!
So beautiful... too bad you can't see them up-close ^^''
In the little gallery area, more of our projects! Mine is on the right side :) ... it was about food, HAHAHA~
But so was Sarah's project! Aren't they pretty?
Junqi's was one of my favorites. He's so good at taking pictures... really lovely!
And Daniel's was pretty cool-- he froze dancers in place! :D I like the 3rd picture a lot :)
It was almost noon, and all the projects were still up O_O I took down Daniel's and mine. And then while the clock towards noon, I helped the TA and professor take down the other students' projects. I think I was the only kiddo there before noon =_='' Even when the professor stressed for us to take them down before noon because another class had a critique... That's pretty... Hmm.. okay, moving on!~
Speaking of Daniel...
Lunch again! Where? Cafe Napoli! For some reason, I always had this idea that Cafe Napoli was French... but when I thought of it a bit more, I face-palmed. NAPOLI. That's Italy, you dolt! Hahahaha XD
The parking lot in front is usually filled with super nice cars- Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, and of course, the Lamborghini. No one parked in front that day, but maybe it was because they were setting up for something special. There was a white tent that connected to Cafe Napoli being set up. Wonder if it was for an evening reception or something! But when Daniel and I walked through the little tunnel tent, I felt like we were taking a little walk to Neverland or something :P
When we entered, we awkwardly stood there for maybe 3 minutes, unsure of what to do. There was no one standing behind the podium, and there was a waiter talking on the phone. After he finished talking, he wiped up and attended to something behind the bar. Finally, he grabbed two menus, and asked, "Two?"
Durr.. XD Haha, we sat near the windows (YAYYYY!). Okay, I forgive you waiter. Oh my... I think I'm becoming meaner / more critical of restaurants. Usually, I'd be like Durr, okay whatever. But maybe this has something to do with my beginning to write reviews on Yelp @_@''
Well lit! There were two other tables beside the windows with us :)
Ahhhh, window light really does make everything prettier~
The interior surprised me. There were still life paintings...
and a bunch of tables further in. Christmas decor! :D
Our waiter was super nice! It was funny, because during the whole time we were there and the many thank you's we said (I drink a lot of water = lots of refills, har har), I think he only said "your welcome" twice and "my pleasure" all of the other times. Super cool!?
Anyhow, Daniel and I ordered appetizers (as usual, oh dear. Bad habit, but SOUP IS SO GOOD *new found love*). He ordered bruschetta. They had two versions, I think the first was traditional, and the second had anchovies and mushrooms! Anchovies... those thingies I hear about being gross when put on pizza??? Well, that makes me want to see it on bruschetta! XD Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I couldn't see the anchovies on the bread. They must have been cut up. And I couldn't tell the difference between pieces of mushroom and pieces of what Daniel told me was anchovy. I was like "Ooh, okay!" and in my head I was like, "What? I'm pretty darn sure that's a mushroom, silly." :P
And here is the Bruschetta di pomodori!
See that knife sneaking in from the back?
Well, the fork is its accomplice.
Now for some nice pulling action!~ MMMMMMmm, cheese :3
The appetizer was really flavorful, nice amounts of mushroom on each crispy grilled bread, and it was nicely salted from the anchovies and fragrant from the olive oil. :D
Suppa del Giorno (soup of the day): Zucchini and potato soup!
The texture of this was slightly reminiscent to potato chowder-- that every so slight grittiness :) And definitely could taste the zucchini. Both of us liked this a lot!
Oy! I forgot that Cafe Napoli also serves white bread with Land of Lakes salted butter! Mmmm.. salted butter... so much better than unsalted on bread ;)
Daniel's entree came with a salad. He said it was very light but yummy ^^
His special-of-the-day entree: Rainbow trout with pepper sauce!
Looks beautiful right? Thank the semi-overcast but bright day for that ;)
Daniel sure was happy with his hugemongous fish entree :3
The filet was huge! It was a simple pan-fried fish dish, but really yummy ^^ He liked it but couldn't finish, because he said the pepper sauce was too overpowering near the end. I didn't think the creamy red was too strong, but that's just me :P Also... that was a day to commemorate... because it was the first time he's tried cauliflower!! O_O What in the world? Yeah! Crazy, but he liked that too, so the world didn't end or anything~
I ordered the veal piccata :D
Veal again?? Yep, I had to try making up for the veal I had at Scape. I mean, the veal parmesan wasn't bad at Scape, but it definitely wasn't that great / my favorite :( Here was my chance to redeem veal!
How was it? Mmm, pretty good :) But in the future, I'll stick to regular beef instead of baby calves (yes, I know, I'm evil by eating this meat D:). The meat is soft and tender, but I can get that with any other nicely cooked meat! And also, it was super funny, because I told Daniel I was satisfying my craving for Chinese food. The white wine and lemon butter sauce made my meal taste strangely just like Chinese takeout. XD Hahahaha! The red peppers and green herbs (can't remember if it was parsley or cilantro) really made it look like it too! It was a good meal, and a great thing to make up for my last experience with veal, but I think Daniel made the better order this time (oh so rare!). Hehe, I usually stalk the menu online beforehand, so I usually know what I want to order. This time, it was a spontaneous visit to Cafe Napoli!
Really colorful and pretty though ^^
Cafe Napoli is a nice place to drop in for lunch. It wasn't busy at all for lunch (3 tables, including us), but I guess it made sense since it was... 3pm. Haha! I think Cafe Napoli is a good place to try, especially since I live so close and always wondered why the place was so packed at night. Their dinner prices soar upwards by quite a lot, so lunch is a good bet to sample their menu. The presentation of each dish is well done and pretty, and our waiter was so nice ^^ A table beside us ordered dessert, and from the quick glance I took, their cheesecake was really enticing. They're on the fancier side, but they don't try to make their food too complicated. :)
Cafe Napoli
7754 Forsyth Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63105
And how to celebrate the last day of classes? Josh, Debra, Daniel, and I went to Miso on Meramec for dinner! Yet another Clayton restaurant. Elaine was sick, so she couldn't come :(
We were waiting for something (I forgot what XD), so Debra took the time to play dress-up with me! Yayy! I'm so happy that I finally got to wear the white vest thingie that Josh got me for my birthday ^^ So excited that I didn't even realized that I didn't take off the tag until I got back home later that night =o=''
When we entered, the hostess asked us if we wanted to sit on the lower lounge level or the current floor. We were all like, "Durrr.. Uhhhhmmm.. huuhhhhh?" so I chose the current floor. Haha!
I rarely notice this restaurant when we pass by. Such a small area!
There were only a few tables taken.
I like these simple chairs... GOOD FOR POSTURE! >:D
The sushi bar was empty too (and I think it's way too low, haha)
Our table had an electronic tealight candle bordered by chopsticks and napkins :D
Enjoying edamame beans~ I saw that a lot of people ordered miso soup too!
I went to the restroom to wash my hands, and then I slipped and fell on my knee. OHHHH! Okay, that totally makes sense, because I have this really big purple bruise on my left knee that I couldn't figure out how I got. See? This is why people should blog-- so they can realize how their mysterious bruises came to be :)
Anyways, I slipped and immediately hopped back up. But ya knoooow, obviously I'm a bit embarrassed, so when the staff asked me if I was okay, I laughed and said yes, and then shut myself into the restroom with a big sigh of relief. XD
On my way out, one of the waiters jokingly offered his arm for me as I passed by the slippery area. I laughed and said I would tiptoe. Hehe, funny waiters :D Whew, for some reason, I wasn't that embarrassed walking out. It was pure embarrassment for 1 second, and then Pow! Away it went. Pretty cool ^^ I need to find out how to do that more often!
We heard booming noises outside and saw fireworks! Why? I have no idea... but Debra said it was for Pearl Harbor, while some others said Clayton did it to celebrate the holiday season. @_@? Debra and I went outside to enjoy the loud booms and flashes of colors together while the boys stayed inside ^^
Pow, pow! Crackle, pop! ... Rice Krispies?
I liked monochromatic fireworks more than multi-colored ones. How about you? :O
Ooh, shooting stars!
My favorites are the ones that explode and then their ends stream downwards. It's like the weeping willow tree or something~ Super pwetty ^w^
When we went back into the warmth, I wanted to go see what the lounge area was like, so Debra and I tiptoed downstairs together.
Super dark!
And everything bathed in changing colored lights
And poofy white chairs?
So bar-y... I guess, haha!
We told the guys to go take a look, and Josh said he liked the downstairs lounge and would definitely had liked to eat there. I actually disliked the lounge area @_@ I'm quite happy I chose to sit up there instead XD I don't want my food to be changing colors on me! Why is my rice blue?!!
Okay, let's begin dinner!
Small plate- Miso glazed salmon
Debra ordered this one. She said the salmon was really delicious! I thought it was pretty good, couldn't taste the miso, nor was it "glazed" (but that's a good thing! I wouldn't want salmon to end up looking like eel drenched in unagi sauce :P), but the meat wasn't dry at all. :) She also said the asparagus was "amazing." I thought it was also pretty good~
Small plate- Tokyo nachos
I asked the waiter about this beforehand, and the nacho chips are actually fried shiso leaves. Then there's a happy jumble of daikon sprouts, cucumber, spicy tuna tartare, and tobiko (flying fish roe). I didn't try it, but everyone else liked it a lot ^^b
Sushi- Rice paper roll (bottom) and Godzilla roll (top)
The others shared this one. They enjoyed both, saying both tasted really good. I commend Miso for not drenching their sushi in sauce. In Houston, Hokkaido's sushi is definitely delicious, but it's trying to keep afloat in a pool of sauce. The rolls at Miso were also quite plump-- Josh said there was a lot of rice. Oh yeah, they also said the fish was really fresh too :)
Small plate- Asian marinated pork tenderloin
Josh ordered this one, and he ended up trying to give it all away XD Haha, so funny! I wonder why he didn't like it; I thought that it was nicely flavored. Strong broad bean flavor, and the pork wasn't as dry as he said it was. But maybe my taste buds were all giddy that I was done with classes, so they just thought everything tasted good ;) Daniel and Debra also didn't like it that much either. But Debra raved about the bokchoy :P
The star of the table was definitely my dinner portion. It was a bowl of rice surrounded by a moat of chicken!
Bowl- Vietnamese caramel chicken
The flavors were bold and delish~ What's not to like with red and green peppers and onion stirfried with chicken thigh meat? The meat was super tender too. I can't tell that it is Vietnamese in origin, but I can tell you that we enjoyed this dish! Debra even complimented that "all the veggies here are amazing. Even the green stuff on your rice is good!" ... and that was the green onion garnish, hehehe! It was a little greasy, with a pool of sauce on the bottom that made eating the remaining rice similar to a game of fishing. Debra and Josh liked it so much that they ordered another bowl to share :P I thought the dish was pretty filling, but not oh-my-gosh, I'm-going-to-explode filling, and was satisfied with dinner ^^
Dinner superstar-- very yummeh :3
Debra really liked Miso, for the veggies and the other food! I agreed with her when she said for the location, quality, and portions, the price isn't bad at all. Miso has an extensive list of sushi to choose from, but they don't have any of the traditional Japanese entrees. (And no bento to boot!) It was a nice place to have a group dinner. If you're feeling more classy, the downstairs lounge would be a fair bet, but I saw a few families and a lone diner enjoying their meals upstairs. I also think if we had our conversation about LoL downstairs, it would have clashed with the atmosphere, tee hee!~
Miso on Meramec
16 North Meramec Avenue
Clayton, MO 63105
After dinner, we went to Tutti Frutti for some (duhhhh) froyo!! Oh my gosh!! They now have Gingerbread and Cinnamon bun flavors! @____@ *droolz* I added that with Taro flavored froyo and a cookie dough chunk, and it was like bliss in my mouth! Oh my! That was definitely my favorite flavor combination-- the awesome trio! We talked more about LoL; Debra has now finished her first few games of LoL! We actually spent twenty or so minutes today discussing which female champions had the prettiest abilities, haha! XD
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