food | Pomelo girl thoughts

Sniffapalooza Fall Ball 2015!

Posted on October 30, 2015 by elemonated

Finally getting to this post!

I’ve been indulging my fragrance hobby for more than a year now, but only fairly quietly in the safety of my own home and in the awkward embrace of the internet. However. This changed last Friday when I attended my first Sniffapalooza event; the free kick-off at Twisted Lily, my own local niche fragrance Mecca that I’ve purchased from before, but ever only online. The website’s treated me well though, some of my old posts like 6 Scents 6 Selves, my UNUM review, my Twisted Lily favorites review, and my Ineke A-H reviews were sourced from Twisted Lily (click on each word for a different Ineke review!)

Business, Food

The Definition of Hospitality

Gallery | Posted on October 10, 2015 by elemonated

Food history is hands down my favorite subject. It’s amazing how a meal can shape a culture, and that’s what we’re faced with when the people of Charleston sit down for the recreated Fuller Dinner. The delicious and historical dishes against the rich and conflicted backdrop absolutely make this event worth writing about, definitely beyond the dime-a-dozen new restaurant openings in NYC. I wish I could find something as cool as things happening near me, but I think I might have to drive down to Philadelphia to get anywhere close.

We Are Chefs

“Yes.” That was Kevin Mitchell’s answer when he was approached by food historian Dr. David Shields to take on the part of 19^th century African-American chef Nat Fuller and reenact an 1865 iconic biracial banquet that took place in Charleston, South Carolina. A year later, along with key Charleston community members, Mitchell and Shields pulled off one of the most significant post-Civil War events to happen in the South—again.

Chef Nat Fuller
Nat Fuller was born in 1812 on a plantation on the Ashley River in Charleston. He was sold several times before he was bought by William Gatewood, a 20-year-old lottery agent from Virginia. At age 15, Fuller began his training as a butler and a gourmet cook, because Gatewood was interested in increasing his social standing in Charleston. Fuller apprenticed under some of the best cooks in the area. He had a talent for cooking and became…

View original post 1,547 more words

Rudimental in the states, and other updates

Posted on October 1, 2015 by elemonated

On Tuesday night, I got to see my favorite music group and Ed Sheeran on stage together (for like $35!) the other night which was all kinds of amazing.

300th Post: Can’t be bothered

Posted on August 26, 2015 by elemonated

Things that starved me of life today:

Driving to Princeton.
Forgetting the fragrance I was going to wear.
Driving to Trenton.
Going to the DMV.
Driving from Trenton to Edison.
All of the edible spots in Edison being on the other side of the road.
Driving around Edison during rush hour.
Driving around Edison and having to convince every cop blocking a road that you belong on that road because you’re working the event they’re blocking.
Driving home from Edison when there’s construction going on and the local roads are dark as hell.
Being really hungry but knowing that 11:40PM is not a good time to be eating anything.

Fortunately, Mr. Chokkattu bought me naeng myeon and Chow Chow puppies exist and I love them. Life restored.

Cocoapuffs

Posted on August 19, 2015 by elemonated

I said I wouldn’t make a directly Iceland related post, so this post is not about Iceland (though I am absolutely going to use a ton of the same tags.) Instead I wanted to make a little tribute to my level-headed and adorable travel mate, Mr. Chokkattu.

In the kayak, Seyðisfjörður

Not only was it his idea to go to Iceland despite my original hesitation and ignorance, he helped make the trip worthwhile by being his kind, patient, sweet, wonderful self.

However. That’s not quite all he did…

Things I adored about Iceland

Posted on August 18, 2015 by elemonated

11894812_10152912534585356_834481783_o

A picture Mr. Chokkattu took of me while we were on a kayak.

This will be my last post explicitly about Iceland!

So we all know now that I adored the country of Iceland, and I want to go back some day really, really badly, with maybe a job long enough to support me for a few months or just some more cash in my pocket. And that the scenery is beautiful and the landscape breathtaking, etc. But I have to share some of the specifics I jotted down. Some of them are important, some of them are surprising, some are less about Iceland and more about trips in general, and some are pretty stupid but whatever they seemed important enough to write down at the time. This list is a little long, so let’s get started:

Iceland Day 5

Posted on August 15, 2015 by elemonated

After the mild debacle the other night, we woke up bright and early and headed to Myvatn under the advisement of the two young women we had met the day before even though we had planned to skip it because of the time we lost. Also as a result of the night before and how lovely and helpful everyone was, we decided to pick up two hitchhikers heading to Dettifoss as we were going to drive in that general direction to Myvatn anyway.

They were a couple that met in Sweden at a landscaping and architectural school, a young man from France, and a young woman from the Czech Republic and beyond comparing our experiences in school (it costs too much, and you learn way more working) and discussing summer employment in Iceland (they both worked at Jokulsarlon, him a boat guide, and her a waitress at the cafe), they recommended us head to the Nature Baths in Myvatn, which is similar to the famed Blue Lagoon except much less expensive.

Iceland Day 3

Posted on August 13, 2015 by elemonated

Obviously, I didn’t really go through with the updating every day thing because of the lack of strong WiFi and time, but I have finally finished editing day 3 pictures, so here you go! It was a little chillier on day 3 than the previous two days, and we saw a little less civilization and a few more sheep, which Mr. Chokkattu and I enjoyed. Day 3 consisted mostly of water and ice, but there were lots of rocks and mountains as well, and I’ll include a bonus gallery about mountain flowers too!

Iceland Day 1: Reykjavik

Posted on August 5, 2015 by elemonated

Iceland is so far beautiful, and glorious, and confusing at times. Reykjavik is lovely and eccentric and proud of its uniqueness, as it should be. Perhaps the business transactions we made today didn’t go down quite smooth (why exactly do we have to retrieve our wireless hotspot from above a post box underneath some stairs near a furniture store, and why do people think this is totally normal?!) but the people were welcoming, kind, and generous, and that’s all Mr. Chokkattu and I could ask.

Today, I saw all of these things!

Shenanigans

Posted on June 22, 2015 by elemonated

The boys have been getting into more and more hi-jinks since I last posted about them. Bloo tried to make copies of himself. (With the aid of Mr. Chokkattu of course.)

Fortunately, Bloo, being a stuffed representation of a dog, doesn’t copy well so there is not evidence beyond these pictures of this particular incident.