Northampton, MASS

On June 7, I flew from OKC to Chicago, connected to a flight to take me to Hartford, Connecticut. My brother picked me up, we drove straight to his softball game where I was greeted with a burger and a Woodchuck cider.

After the game (they won by the way), we drove to my brother's apartment in downtown Northampton, MASS where he told me how getting his great new place came about. We then went to a restaurant downstairs and a couple spaces down called Local Burger where a certain type of chicken strips were highly recommended. These chicken strips were breaded with a mix of Captain Crunch. I initially wanted to go for the garden black bean burger but decided to follow the recommendation. The chicken was pretty good, however I filled up pretty fast due to the pistachio milkshake I took down within 3 minutes. Since this trip to Local Burger, I have had their garden burger with sauteed mushrooms and bleu cheese which I finished entirely.

I was actually telling my friend that I feel like Northampton does vegetarian the way Oklahoma does BBQ. It is actually very difficult to find a place with any sort of bbq related dish. I have to say, YES, if there were fantastic options as far as veggie-friendly goes available to me in Norman (which there are a decent amount), I would easily make that lifestyle change. Not that I can't prepare meals myself... It just makes it a little more motivating to have these healthier options on a menu when I've decided to take the lazier route and not prepare something myself.

Here are some photos, on that note:

Inside the Roost, an awesome coffee/beverage/food place a couple blocks from my bro's place.

Cranberry Spice scone and latte from a coffee/juice bar called Haymarket Cafe.

Inside the Roost.

Did I tell you about my friend Meredith?

She's moving to Chicago this fall (2011) to pursue her Masters in Writing and Publishing at Depaul University. I've already started looking at train fares to visit her within the month of her move. She is pretty great.

I was actually right outside of her house the other night, going to get her to walk with me to Pita Pit (which turned into the best evening walk this spring, seriously we saw the coolest pink and blue sunset) and just before getting to her door I stopped, smiled and felt overwhelmed by how happy I was to have gotten so close to her. Sometimes it's difficult to really connect with someone naturally and I feel I've found a lifelong friend in Meredrift...(Meredith).

Brent - Senior Portraits

Previews of my Senior Portrait Session with Brent, graduating from El Reno High School. Brent made my job very easy with all of his great locations and ideas.