The Calm Before the Storm

Hello everyone!

I am almost done with the crazy couple of weeks I've been having, and today is quite blissfully chill.  I only have about 7 hours of things I have to do today, so other than practicing, I decided to catch up on the blog, write some emails that need to be written, etc.  Though I do have an orchestra concert tonight, this week is going to be the calm before the storm that is about to hit next week.... next week is my first recital here at Boston University, and I CAN'T BELIEVE IT IS SO SOON!!!!  Freaking out a little bit here...  but that's ok.. I still have a little bit of time to memorize and polish everything...  But anyway, if you are in Boston, I would love to see you at Boston University College of Fine Arts Concert Hall on November 7th at 8:30 PM for my recital!  =D

Anyway, for the pas couple of weeks, I have been able to do a bit of exploring in between practicing and rehearsing sessions!

A bit of different side of Boston from where Boston University is located  haha 

hanging out with this lovely lady

social dancing at MIT and finding a little bit of Rice  =)

hanging out with an old friend (like.. waay back to our teenage years) and eating some Thai food!

oh, this is Boston Phil, but I had to take a picture of all of the college students huddled around the food during a break  haha

and lastly, MONTAGE!!

It's a dance recital the BU Ballroom hosts every year, and I am so glad I got to catch half of it after the Boston Phil Concert!

It was so fun to see all of the different groups, like this hip hop group!  i kept looking for my baby bro there because he's in a similar dance team at his school as well haha

and of course, cheering on these lovely folks who danced their hearts out  =)  it was so much fun to watch, and I was so proud!!  haha

after the show, we all went to the Sunset Cantina to celebrate! I've been eating really healthy lately, mostly because I simply don't have time to cook and so smoothies and over-night oats are all I can have...  The other day, I had a dream about eating pizza, so I figured a little eating out was in order!

and this plate of nachos was so. freaking. good.  pulled pork nachos all the way!

If you want to watch a little bit of Paso Doble action from Montage, go ahead and click the video box above!  =)

thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!
--Janny

Busy Week Life Saver :: Overnight Oats

Hello everyone!

wow, this week has been..  really crazy.

Don't get me wrong, I am loving every moment of it, and I feel so blessed to be able to play with the Boston Phil, but adding their rehearsals and concerts to my schedule has completely... swamped my schedule.  

I will have to do another post later when I have more time about what I've been doing exactly during the absence from the blog, but today, I just wanted to stop by and let you guys know about something that has been really saving my life during this week.  It has single handedy prevented sooo many fast food runs when I haven't had time to go home to make lunch or dinner.

So the star of the post?  

the Overnight Oats!!

There are many different kinds and variations of overnight oats, but Shawn, my roommate, introduced this particular way of making them to me, and I am forever grateful.

All you need to make this filling and super quick meal-to-go is!!
-a mason jar
-1/2 cup oats
-1 cup almond milk (or any other milk)
-and toppings!
This time, I chose 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, and some fresh dates.

You can make this meal in literally 1 minute.

I'm not kidding.

all you do is, dump in your oats (1/2 cup if you are hungry, 1/3 if you aren't), pour in your milk of choice (double however much you put in for oats), and add your choice of toppings!

and shake it off, shake it off~ shake, shake~

couldn't be easier right?  

I know it doesn't look all that appealing, but I promise it's delicious.

You just have to let it sit for a couple of hours and it will be ready to go!

Pack your cute little mason jar and a spoon, and you will be saved from running to the fast food restaurant for every meal during your hell week!

Have a wonderful weekend, and I will talk to you all soon if I survive this weekend (actually, add monday and tuesday to that...)

thanks for stopping by!

--Janny

New England Fall Activity :: Apple Picking!!

Hello everyone!

I don't know if New Englanders think this as well, but when I think of New England autumn, the first thing I think of is apple picking!  Not really sure why it's so strongly ingrained in my mind, but it is, so Shawn, Jenny, and I drove to Bolton Spring Farm to fulfill this New Englander fall tradition as 3 new New Englanders!

Look how beautiful it is!!  

so many apples!!

showing off the roomy teamwork!

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of apples normally, but something about picking it and eating it right off the tree makes it so much tastier!

Roomies at the orchard  =)

and we met the cutest little apple picker along the way!  She was munching at all of them apples on the ground  haha   oh, except for the Cortland apples.  she spat those out. haha we didn't like them either  ;)

I am absolutely loving the New England Autumn!!  so gorgeous..

As we were leaving, we smelled something amazingly delicious, so naturally we let our noses guide us to... this place!  it was the gift shop/farmer's market area for the farm, so we decided to poke around before we went in search of the deliciousness.

nothing says 'fall' like a table full of pumpkins!

and finally, we caved and got what our noses brought us there for:: the apple cinnamon donuts!!

my word.  We each only got one, but I almost went for another... and if we had gotten more, it would have all disappeared at that spot  haha

It was such a great weekend, and I feel like I am really starting to adjust to my life as a New Englander now that I have this apple picking experience under my belt  ;)

Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading!

--Janny

Harvard Beginners Ballroom Competition!

Hello everyone!

Last weekend was the first ballroom competition for Boston University Ballroom Dance Team!  It was just across the Charles River at Harvard, so I went to help dancers get ready and go cheer the team on during the competition!

I had forgotten just how early the getting ready process started... (after all, my last competition was like... half a year ago...)   but waking up at 5:45 am was definitely necessary since we still couldn't get everyone's makeup finished until we got to the comp.

Photo Cred :: Sarah Wu!

Dancers getting ready!!   

and the lovely Christi doing hair!

and then the dancing began!

stellar form everyone!  =)

I thought all of the dancers danced so well, and I was so proud of everyone!  =)

It was kind of hard not getting to dance since David is still in Houston, but I loved being around so many people who are so excited about dancing!  I can't wait till next year when David will be in Boston and we can dance together again!  =D

Photo Cred :: Sarah Wu!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

--Janny