The Hunger Games... Done, done and done!

Yes I am one of "those" people that have read The Hunger Games trilogy...

But I couldn't avoid it really, and if you have somehow been able to side step the latest uproar over yet another love triangle let me know how you have been able to do so... (even my Dad has read The Hunger Games...) 

Over winter break, a few of my friends were reading the first Hunger Games book (by Suzanne Collins) and every time we got together their discussion always seemed to be revolving around some district and some people named Peeta, Katniss and Gale...

Consequently I was pulled in instantly... and immediately went to the book store and bought the first Hunger Games book...

I finished the first book in about three days... I was actually surprised at how completely absorbing the plot was.  The creative and tension-thrilling plot line kept me interested, and I was unable to put the book down.  A bit harsh and intense at times there is a large amount of violence in the book.  However the love story and desire for Katniss to win the hunger games kept me reading. 

The second book, Catching Fire, was by far my favorite in the trilogy... more is revealed about Katniss and how the country of Panem actually works and with surprises around every corner I found myself completely absorbed in this book.  Reading Catching Fire you feel as if you are in Katniss' shoes, shocked at every challenge Katniss is forced to overcome, feeling the emotions that she feels.  The reader is really able to connect and get inside of Katniss' character.  All of these things make Catching Fire a fantastic continuation in the trilogy. 

After a great read with Catching Fire, I was a bit disappointed when I began reading the third and final book of Collins trilogy, Mockingjay.  There were a few parts of the book that I thought were brushed over and not given enough attention, while other portions were over done and too long for my liking.  While I speed through the first two books, the third took me longer to get through.  Although Mockingjay was my least favorite, the ending was certainly not a let-down.  

Despite the short-comings in the final book, The Hunger Games trilogy was fantastic and exciting and yes I will be there on March 23 to witness it all unfold on the big screen... 

Blogs to Follow...

Here are a few links to some blogs that I write for...

http://comallaboutit.wordpress.com/

http://blogs.bu.edu/dining/

http://www.hercampus.com/BU

and a few others that I enjoy...

http://theburninghouse.com/

http://thefauxmartha.com/

http://www.20somethingcupcakes.com/


http://www.foodiecrush.com/

http://365daysofphotosbyclare.wordpress.com/

...as you can probably tell from some of the sites that I follow, I love food blogs... I am hoping to eventually start my own, but I think I've gotten off to a good start here and through following these sites above I'm getting a feel for how real foodies and bloggers go about their blogging... hope you enjoy these sites as much as I do, and check back soon... 

Scones

Blueberry (on left) and Cinnamon and Raisin (on right) Scones

This weekend I was home for President's day and was so glad to have a kitchen to make whatever I wanted.  So I looked through my shelf of cookbooks and decided to make scones for breakfast this morning.  I modified the recipe a bit and added fresh blueberries to one scone mixture and then added cinnamon and raisins to the second scone mixture.  

Both scones were flaky and delicious, the blueberries popped in my mouth when I took a bite and the cinnamon added great flavor to the second mixture.

Here is the recipe:

Scones

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 cup butter, or 1 stick of unsalted butter

1/3 cup light brown sugar 

1/2 grated lemon 

1 egg

2-4 teaspoons milk

add blueberries or a teaspoon of cinnamon and raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Sift flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.

3. Mix butter into flour mixture until it resembles bread crumbs. 

4. Add light brown sugar and grated lemon to flour and butter mixture.  

5. In a separate bowl beat egg and add 1 teaspoon of milk to egg.

6. Create a well in the center of the mixture and add egg mixture. 

7. Mix with fork until the dough comes together. Add more milk if needed. Knead dough until incorporated.

8. Add blueberries or a teaspoon of cinnamon and raisins.

9. Form scones and place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. 

10. Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending in size of scones) or until golden brown. Serve warm. 

Lets all go to the Movies!

First of all, I love movies... and about a month back when the award season began I made my list of must see movies so I could be up to date on all things Hollywood.

Subsequently, in the past three weekends I have gone to the movie theater to see a few of the latest releases before the Academy Awards on Sunday, February 26th.  Having generated a great deal of Oscar buzz, I decided that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Iron Lady, and The Artist were my top must sees!  I was excited to get a chance to watch them for myself and see if they really stood up to all the hype.  

Starting with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, this film was my least favorite of the three listed above.  Staring Thomas Horn, playing Oskar Schell, the young boy who looses his father in the 9/11 attacks, was fairly good in his role, and being his first film I applaud him for his efforts.  For me personally it was an emotional roller coaster, and at times difficult to watch.  The real star of this film was Max Von Sydow playing The Renter.  Although he did not speak a word throughout the entire film, the fact that he is nominated for Actor in a Supporting Role proves that his work was incredible.  

Moving on, the next film I saw wasThe Iron Lady...  I love Meryl Streep, and admire all of the work that she does, and this film was another fantastic one to add to her repertoire.  The transformation that she makes to become Margaret Thatcher was unbelievable.  The plot was a bit all over the place and spent a great deal of time on Thatcher's mental problems, although this can be seen as a positive or a negative, I'll leave that up to you.  Overall I appreciated Streep's portrayal, and learned a great deal about an important political figure that I didn't know much about.  

Finally, The Artist.  After the movie ended all I could say was wow... honestly, this was a fantastic film and was my favorite of the three.  I enjoyed every unspoken minute of this silent film as it chronicled Jean Dujardin and his co-star Bérénice Bejo on their journey in the black and white silent film era of Hollywood.  I completely forgot that I was watching a silent film.  The acting was fantastic, the story was entertaining and the dog in the film, Uggie, captured the audience's heart.  The Artist was a wonderful film that I could watch ten times in a row and never get tired of.  One of the best films I have seen in a while The Artist is a must see for everyone! 

I have just a few more movies to see to complete the list of films nominated for best picture... we'll see if I can get them all in before time runs out... 

Scenes from the Weekend

Here are some pictures from this weekend... I did quite a bit of exploring around Boston, so check it out...

Boston Public Library

Boston Public Library Courtyard

Hunger Games Countdown!

Early b-day present! 3rd of the series!!

Fenway Park from the Green Monster!

Doggies

Lamp made out of Zip-ties at Anthropologie

Birthday Cupcake from Sweets!

Cafe 472

This past Saturday a few friends and I were in the mood to get off campus and try a new restaurant.  After some searching and finding a @BostonTweet post, we decided to give Cafe 472 in Kenmore Square a try.
Only knowing that Cafe 472 has a wide variety of frozen yogurt choices, I went into this excursion pretty open-minded...
Upon entering Cafe 472 you are struck with over 100 menu options!!!  Not kidding here... from pizzas, to salads, to wraps, to paninis and sandwiches, the menu was full of sooo many choices!  And in my opinion maybe too many.  After taking a while to contemplate what I was in the mood for I ordered the minestrone soup and prosciutto panini.  Including a bottled water (and tax) my bill came to $14.39.
Overall I enjoyed the minestrone soup, it was full with yummy vegetables, but was a bit watery and lacked heartiness that could have been accomplished with the addition of pasta.
Moving on to the prosciutto panini, when I first got the plate I was a bit overwhelmed. The panini was pretty large in size, but I was still hungry and dug in right any way.  On the panini was prosciutto, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.  After one bite I was not pleased, there was too much prosciutto on the panini and the basil was not very fresh.  I was disappointed, but was full from the minestrone soup, so just took out some of the prosciutto from the panini and ate half of it.

Here is the minestrone soup... I forgot to take a picture of my panini, sorry 

Having heard about Cafe 472's extensive frozen yogurt selection I knew that despite a disappointing meal I had to try their frozen yogurt.  Deciding on vanilla frozen yogurt with m&ms and Oreos mixed in I was certainly pleased.  For only $4.76 (including tax) I was served a huge portion of frozen yogurt and enjoyed every bite that I could take.  Unfortunately I was only able to eat half of the portion size that I was given so in the future I would possibly split the frozen yogurt with someone or get it to-go and keep for another time.

Frozen Yogurt! Yum!

Overall I enjoyed my experience at Cafe 472, the small atmosphere was great, the people were friendly, the prices were reasonable and the frozen yogurt was fantastic.  Although my meal selections were not my favorite, I would like to give Cafe 472 another try and order something different next time I take a trip over to Kenmore... or just order the frozen yogurt again. :)