Fun with herbs! The legal kind!

Hey there, bleeps! How have you been? I’ve been wicked busy…well, busy for me, anyway. Weddings, friends, family, work – just stuff. I tend to spend a lot of time in my head, which is why I continue to ignore you beautiful people. I’m trying to get better. I really am.

So! I have a little herb garden now:

Aren’t they cute? They’re all in new pots now, so fingers crossed that they’ll grow bigger. I don’t have the best luck with plants (shhh, don’t tell them!). I’m just hoping I can keep them alive. So far, so good.

Let me tell you, there is nothing like fresh herbs to add flavor to your food. They can make any meal taste homemade, even if what you make is primarily from a box/can/package. Observe:

Packaged pasta, bottled sauce (with ricotta cheese mixed in), some fresh basil, and voila! A meal you would pay $13 for at a restaurant. A little mint in the ice water is refreshing (not pictured with this meal: the two glasses of red wine I consumed. Okay, three).

I’ve been putting herbs on everything: salads (cilantro adds a punch), potatoes (rosemary and parsley – delish!), pasta, more pasta, frozen pizza – you name it. I love having them around, sitting next to a sunny window – it makes me feel, I don’t know, more connected to the earth. Or something.

Also, I’ve been reading a book called I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. It sounds like a scam, I know (and with the neon cover, it looks like a scam – seriously, who were the designers?). But it’s not a scam – it’s actually full of good advice and contains a very sensible, do-able six-week plan for getting your finances under control. If you’re between the ages of 20 and 35, you should check it out, because it’s targeted at us “young” folks who were just never taught the value of a dollar (or compound interest). I’ve always been a saver, and I’m pretty lucky that I don’t carry a huge amount of debt. But being closer to 30 (eek!) than 20, I’m really starting to feel the need to learn more about investing, saving, and spending wisely. I especially recommend this book if you are a female in that demographic – I think that on the whole, women don’t learn about things like finance and managing money. Take control, ladies! Nothing make me feel more powerful than having several savings accounts, socking away money each month, and feeling secure about my future.

Wow, that totally sounded like a paid ad for the book. It wasn’t, I promise. (But Ramit, if you’d like to contribute to my “Live Forever on a Beach Fund” I would not discourage you).

‘Til next time! I’d like to start writing more about food and finances, since those things consume a large percentage of my time. What would you like to read about?