Project Jenny

This year on V-Day Jeremy and I joined forces with Kate (my co-worker and good friend) and her roommate Kevin at their place to concoct a delicious dinner. I stumbled upon the most adorable heart shaped pasta and insisted on finding a recipe to put the pasta to good use. As fate would have it, the Tasting Table email of the day on V-Day was the most perfect pesto recipe a girl could ask for. Check it out, it was easy and delicious - and I ate leftovers for lunch and dinner for two days straight! Yum.

Nutty Love, Pistachio Pesto via TastingTable

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INGREDIENTS

1 cup shelled pistachios

1 tablespoon kosher salt plus extra for pasta water

1½ pounds medium shaped pasta (we combined shells/hearts, but can use whatever you prefer)

1 large head broccoli, stems trimmed

2 garlic cloves

Juice and zest of 1 Meyer lemon (or zest of 1 regular lemon with 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon orange juice)

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

½ cup mint leaves

1½ cups extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup finely grated Pepato or Pecorino Romano cheese

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

Sea salt

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DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. On a rimmed baking sheet, toast the pistachios until fragrant and lightly toasted, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a large plate and cool, then coarsely grind in a food processor. Transfer the ground pistachios to a bowl and set aside

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add some kosher salt and the pasta and cook until almost al dente, about 8 minutes. When the pasta is almost finished, add the broccoli to the pot and cook for 2 minutes more or until the pasta is al dente and the broccoli is tender. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta and broccoli through a large colander.

3. In the same food processor, combine the garlic, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and kosher salt and grind into a fine paste. Add the parsley and mint and pulse to make a rough paste. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Transfer to a medium saucepan and stir in the ground pistachios.

4. Add the pasta water to the pesto; bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.

5. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, broccoli and pesto. Stir in the lemon juice and set aside for 5 minutes. To serve, divide the pasta among plates or bowls and garnish with the grated cheese, chives, sea salt.

If I knew how to properly put into words what I wanted to say I would’ve written this post 4 weeks ago. Lots has happened in the ex-boyfriend department since my recent move out to San Francisco.

Long story short - had not talked to Jeremy since right after the night we had dinner back in May. I mentioned here that we were both moving to SF and the rest was, well, unwritten. Well, the next chapter has certainly begun - We were in touch because we were both attending our mutual friends, Tracy & Fred’s wedding at the end of August and well, it was at the wedding that JF told me he wrote me a hand-wrtitten letter and wanted to give it to me when we got back to SF. The next day I had him read me the letter aloud, in person because I wanted to actually hear what he had to say and see his face while he said it all.

Let’s just say this letter was pretty much everything you’d ever want to hear from your ex-boyfriend. I want to respect his privacy so I don’t want to share too many of the details, but to give you an idea - he said he loves me and he’s learned a lot about love and life in the past 9 months, he wants to drink the best wine we have ever drank together, eat the best food we have ever eaten together, and travel to the most amazing places we’ve ever been together, he wants to wake up next to me every single day and promises he will never again take me for granted again - there is no doubt that he wants to be with me and only me and he is committed to being the best partner he can be - and he only hopes I want to be with him. He said he knows this was all just words on a page and he will have to prove himself but he wants that chance…

To say I am still processing all of this would be an understatement. I prayed this day would come and when it did I felt such a mix of emotions - relief, confusion, sadness, happiness, and most of all disbelief. I am absolutely open to it and will give him a chance to be present in my life, but after over coming so much, being so independent and literally not speaking to the man for the past 9 months I have a lot to think about. I plan to take it slow, spend some time together, and just see how it feels - and for right now that is all I can really say.

So now when you start seeing JF back in these parts, you will know why. Ah life - you certainly know how to keep things interesting.

Be You, Be Loved.

via BHLDN

I thought it was a good time for me to give an update as it has been over 7 months since this post recreated quite a stir – a stir of supportive fans and stir of emotions on my end. I can not believe it’s the end of July. I can not say enough how far I’ve come since Jan 1st and how blessed I feel about all that has been created. This year has been full of what I like to call small miracles. For one – right when I got back from Florida after New Years my friend Andrea (best friend from high school) moved into my studio apartment with me for the month of January. She too had broken up with her boyfriend in late December who she was living with and she needed somewhere to call home while she figured out how to stand on her own two feet again. We both felt absolutely blessed to have each other that month – that month that I knew was going to be a very hard, emotional, and lonely month. Instead, it turned into both Andrea and I supporting each other and keeping each others spirits lifted. We spent 4 weeks side by side and it was an incredible transition out of our relationships and back into ourselves. Fate indeed.

Shortly after Feb rolled around my travels began – I headed out to San Francisco for work, down to Florida to visit my family, out to Chicago to visit friends, to Philly, to Rhode Island, out to San Diego, and then back to San Francisco. It’s been a whirlwind. My first trip out to SF was pretty special – As fate would have it, a very good friend of mine (we dated many moons ago when we were abroad on Semester at Sea) who you’ve all seen on PJ a number of times now – Kendrick – broke up with his very serious live in girlfriend early in the year. Kendrick lives in San Diego and is from outside of SF. What I’m getting at is we planned a fantastic weekend together in San Francisco back in Feb – it was amazing to re-connect with him and just the distraction we both needed. Long story short, he ended up visiting me in NYC for 5 days in April, and then as fate would have it once again I was out in San Diego for work in early May and was able to spend the weekend with him there. This is someone who I hadn’t seen in 5 years – 5 years! And we’ve now spent 3 amazing trips together in 3 short months. All I can say is God gives you what you need when you need it most. I am so blessed to have a friend like him and so excited for our upcoming trip to Yosemite over Labor Day weekend!

Let’s back up for a minute - During my trip to Florida back in Feb – the trip that Lauren (one of my besties from High School) accompanied me on – her and I devised a plan to move to CA. We were both at points in our lives where the sky was the limit and we had no strings attached to the cities we were living in (she was in Chicago) so we pretty much had one serious conversation about it while sunning ourselves by the pool at my parents condo and moved full stream ahead. The pieces of the puzzle all started aligning. I always wanted to make the move, but knew it would motivate me more to do it with a friend – welp here was that friend, ready and willing. My friends and family gave me their blessings and the rest is history. From coordinating with our jobs and current leases, going out to visit the city, and going apartment hunting out in SF, it all came together so fast. So excited to say we just made the move out to SF this weekend and could not be more excited to embark on this journey together.

You might be wondering if my ex, Jeremy who used to grace this blog many times knows about my move or if I’ve talked to him or seen him or if he had anything to do with it – considering did I mention he’s from SF and him and I had talked about moving back here together? Welp, the honest truth is Jeremy and I didn’t communicate in any way for 3 full months. We even detached from our social media relationships – no more following each other on Twitter, Tumblr, no more FB friends, nada. I made the conscience decision back in January that I didn’t want to do the “small talk” thing. We had dinner one last time to talk things through and went our separate ways. It was the healthiest (and maybe even the hardest) decision we could have made, but it made it so much easier to move on with our current lives. I was happily surprised to hear from him on my birthday in April which was soon after he found out I was making the move and he wanted to catch up, so we had dinner in mid-may. It was great to see him and for now I’m going to leave it at that. Are we friends? Are we more? I’m not really sure how I feel about it all, but what I do know is he has moved back to SF as well and so, the rest for now, is unwritten.

And then there’s Boston – and I don’t mean the city. Boston is a nickname for a great guy who has graced my life since mid-March. It’s funny how things work – just months before I move out west I meet a great guy from the east coast, a great guy that I had a lot in common with – he is Irish, French- Canadian, Catholic, from New England, Boston sports fan, smart, athletic, generous, funny, adorable, (we had amazing you know what), his parents even had a place in FLA near my parents, and he treated very well - pretty much the whole package. We’ve had a lot of fun and spent a lot of time together over the past few months and I will miss him so so much. Again, all I can say is I feel very blessed to have had the experience and the rest will have to remain unwritten.

And then there’s miss Heather who moved to Philly last year, who is moving back to NYC exactly two weeks after I move out west! Ah life. So happy for her though, she just signed on a place in the west village, will be working for Madwell, and she will be so happy to be back in the big apple - I can’t wait to visit her back home AND to top it off she already booked her flight out to SF to stay with yours truly for 5 days next month!

So all of that brings me to this conclusion – with a positive attitude anything is possible. If you pursue your dreams they can and will come true. As I stated back in January – positive thoughts and a positive mind create amazing outcomes. We have the power to create what ever we want in life and no matter how hard the hard times are, we can still come out of it, happy – happy and better off to have learned from the experience. I’ve leaned such an incredible amount about myself the past 6 months. Would I have thought 6 months ago I would be moving to San Francisco and I’d be as happy and fulfilled as I am right now? There is a plan for all of us – we just need to follow our hearts and have faith that the right doors will open when the time is right. My friends, remember to keep smiling because I can promise you, everything’s gonna be allright. And on that note….here’s to Bob Marley, summer nights, friends (new & old), family, love, and life - here’s to life - and my next chapter in life - San Francisco!

Xx Jenny

Pretty much obsessed with Tiffany & Co’s newest campaign “what makes true love”. Call me a sap, but this is well played and beautiful. Love Ed Burns personal stories of love from NYC couples and the 40 tips - things everyone in love should know.

A bunch of my favs below:

^No.1

Know Someone’s Favorites.

Favorite flowers. Favorite authors.

Favorite designers. How she takes her coffee.

Shaken, not stirred. Get the drift?

^No.3

My Friends, Your Friends.

Respect for each other means respect for each other’s friends.

If this is a problem, it’s a real problem. Attend to it.

^No.4

Jealousy Hurts.

On the surface jealousy is simply a lack of trust.

And that is not a good sign.

But if it is justified, this train is going nowhere.

^No.6

Music Is Magic.

Especially romantic music.

Especially live music.

Especially an original song

written just for someone.

^No.7

Timing Is Everything.

When moods turn south, blossoms do wonders.

When nights get cold, firesides are cozy.

When work grinds down, champagne bubbles up.

^No.8

Light the Candles.

Use the good china. And crystal.

When you are together put style in your life.

This is part of living well, together.

This is romance.

^No.9

Ask The Father Of The Bride.

Once upon a time,the ritual of asking a father’s permission

for the hand of his daughter was

an essential tradition fraught with danger. It still is today.

The modern young man who ignores this wonderful piece of etiquette displays an

alarming lack of civility.

^No.10

Be True To Yourself.

In the heady rush of true love, it’s easy

to compromise your real opinions in the name of romantic tranquility.

This is a mistake. Be yourself. In the end it’s better.

“Thanks ever so, darling, but I don’t much care for calf brains.”

^No.14

Families Are Different.

Suddenly families start to matter

the closer you get to an engagement and wedding.

Fortunately, families don’t get married.

Only two people in love can marry.

In dealing with another’s family

a little accommodation, humor and affection

goes a long way.

^No.15

Say Au Revoir To Old Flames.

Period.

^No.20

Surprises are Essential.

An unscheduled night of dancing.

Suddenly, tickets to Paris. A hidden gift.

Surprises lift romance to stratospheric heights.

^No.34

Compromise Is An Art.

Managed gracefully without resentment,

it is the magic behind true love.

^No.36

Cook Together.

And clean up together.

^No.37

Every Now And Then.

Dress to the nines. Send a note of mad love.

Do a headstand. Go off the grid.

Why not?

You all remember this emo New Years post, right?

Well there have been some developments recently and I’d like to ask you all this…

What do you do after you haven’t seen or spoken to your ex in any way, shape, of form in almost 5 months - and he asked you to get together to catch up - you agreed - and then you have a really really great night? What do you do when you’ve done all you can to move on - you’re happy and seeing other people and THEN to add to the confusion and mixed emotions he tells you he’s been having feelings that he might want to “try again” but still needs more time to know for sure if he’s ready and if his feelings are legit. What do you do when you want to hate him and tell him to F off, but he’s such a great guy you could never get yourself to do it and when the real problem is that well, frankly, you still love the guy?

 I am in full “processing mode” so will report back if I have any revelations.

On another note, stay tuned for a nice full update on life since Jan 2011 and all the happenings since my big reflection on 2010…life is good :)