August 2016 - Anali's Next Amendment

Recently Watched: From Baghdad to Brooklyn

July 30, 2020August 28, 2016 by Lisa Johnson 2 Comments

This weekend I’ve been derailed by a bad summer cold. I recently watched an interesting documentary on Netflix called From Baghdad to Brooklyn.

I’m so behind on blog posts that I’ve planned to write, so I wasn’t even sure that I was going to blog this film. But then I learned this morning that this week the United States will reach the target goal of taking in 10,000 Syrian war refugees.

From Baghdad to Brooklyn is about one of those Syrian war refugees. When we hear the term “refugee” it removes the humanity from each individual. The term puts each person, who has their own life story, into a mass of others trying to get into another country. They are seeking refuge, safety and some showing of kindness.

The film humanizes this crisis by bringing us the true story of Mohamad, a 23-year-old who fled from Baghdad to Syria. Mohamad’s striking good looks and charismatic personality brings the filmmaker, Jennifer Utz into his story. Both of their lives change as a result.

While watching the film, you wonder what you would do if you could help someone in this situation. Would you help? It makes you think about having to flee your homeland. How would you cope? Could you cope? What would you do to survive?

It’s a very good film. But because it’s real life, it’s messy. The ending is not tied up nicely.

In some ways I was surprised. In other ways I was disappointed. It made me think about all the fears of immigration and the idea of refugees in this especially harsh political climate.

There are no perfect people, so there are no perfect immigrants either. How do we become okay with this as a nation? I think compassion. Because it could be any of us. But how do you teach compassion? That’s a question for which I don’t have any answers.

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A Virgo Season Photo Project: Noticing The Details

July 30, 2020August 22, 2016 by Lisa Johnson

Happy Virgo Season! As a proud Virgo, this is my favorite time of the year.

While it’s not yet my birthday month, today is the start of the season, which goes through September 22nd. Although some things I read say September 21st and that Libra season starts on the 22nd. So my last post for the project will be September 21st.

For the season, I’ve decided to try something new — a photography project on Instagram using the hashtag #virgophotoproject.

Photography has always been a hobby and Instagram has brought me back to a purer form of it than blogging. While blogging, I always have pictures, but they are not the main thing. The main thing is the story and the pictures help tell the story.

I just read the book, Humans of New York, which is based on the blog. The blog started as a photography project and grew from there. I love how starting something small as an experiment can end up turning into much more than originally expected.

Reading the book made me think that it would be nice to try a photo project of my own. But I wasn’t sure about a topic. I read a blog post on Everyday Eyecandy about 16 different types of photography projects. They are all wonderful ideas, but none of them appealed to me.

After thinking about things that interest me and that were coming up, Virgo Season immediately came to mind. Virgos are all about the details among many other wonderful things, so I thought it made sense to focus in on that for a theme to start.

It will be interesting to see what types of things I have photographed. I’m also hoping that some others will join in and contribute some pictures by using the #virgophotoproject hashtag. I’d love to see what everyone comes up with. What are traits that you associate with being a Virgo?

My first Instagram post for the #virgophotoproject was this picture from the side of the building at 160 Federal Street in Boston. I have always noticed the shoe and wondered what it was about. Turns out the building used to house the United Shoe Machinery Company.

The shoe is just a small detail, but turns out it has a big significance! I hope you’ll follow the project and let me know what you think.

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A Boston Night: Dorothy Parker, Mood + Memory

July 30, 2020August 20, 2016 by Lisa Johnson

It always surprises me when I hear about people not knowing what they like. The older I get, the more I see that this life journey is about self-discovery.

If you’re looking to become better acquainted with yourself, blogging is one way. Looking back on over ten years of writing and taking pictures, I’ve noticed themes.

I see what topics interest me based on what I’ve blogged about. Food is a huge one. Yoga, full moons, birthdays, Boston and astrology are some more.

From using Instagram, the themes are even more pronounced because it’s mostly only pictures. I’ve noticed that I’m interested in all phases of the moon — flowers, trees, the sky and clouds. Based on these themes, I’m surprised I haven’t gone full Wiccca!

Anyway, one thing I have always been fascinated by since childhood is nightfall. That transition from day to night. When the sun is setting and the moon is rising. It’s so beautiful and feels magical to me. Maybe because I was born at night? I don’t know.

This morning, as I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs, I found this picture on Instagram by Yolanda Edwards. Based on the comments, it appears to be a Citroen parked by a storefront — a quiet evening in Paris and could not be more lovely.

Her picture immediately reminded me of the picture above. Probably one of my favorite pictures. I took it in Boston back in 2007 and wrote a post about it. Below is a quote from the post.

When I thought of Dorothy Parker’s poetry and life, it reminded me of those films, so I thought that I would adapt the film noir genre to a new genre of blog post. The post noir. Noir is black in French and I couldn’t help but think of my prior post about the color black. It all seemed to fit.

I took some night pictures around the city and converted them to black and white to try and get that same noir feeling. I was hoping for something special. Out of the blue, these two old cars appeared the two nights in a row that I was taking pictures, so I was able to take a bunch of shots of them. It was almost surreal. Like the cars just appeared from a different time. I’m sure there is a very rational explanation to it, but I like the mystery.

As I was looking at these old posts, I wondered if I could post this in time for Dorothy Parker‘s birthday. Her birthday is August 22nd, and she would be 123, so the timing is just right.

Also, stay tuned for an Instagram photography project that I will be announcing soon. If you look at themes in this post, there are some bread crumbs. Any guesses?

Until then, an early Happy Birthday Dorothy Parker!

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Amplify: Innovative Food Businesses in Boston

July 30, 2020August 15, 2016 by Lisa Johnson

Amplify, was a food event put on by Branchfood to showcase innovative food businesses in Boston. This post has been a long time coming, since it took place back in early May. Time flies!

At Amplify, I met Helen Rennie, founder of Helen’s Kitchen Cooking School and later learned about New Grounds Food co-founder Johnny Fayad. For some fun reading, take a look at the You Pick Six interviews with both of them when you get a chance.

Other ideas (recipe creations) I had for a post never came together the way that I intended. But I really like several of the companies and want to make sure that I share some of my favorites. They are all local companies, so supporting them is a great way to buy local! I’ll go in order that they are displayed in the picture above.

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Veggie Fries are the result of a family trying to find a healthy, but similarly tasty and crispy alternative to frozen French fries. Along with potatoes, they mix in vegetables with herbs, spices and sea salt. Veggie Fries are “vegan, Non-GMO certified and free of the top 8 allergens including gluten, soy, dairy, and wheat.” I think they succeeded and very much enjoyed eating them.

Curio Spice Co. was founded by Claire Cheney. She travels the world sourcing directly “from farmers and producers, using the highest standards in organic and fair trade agriculture.” She has several unique blends, including one made with flowers. All the blends are made of freshly ground whole spices that are packaged in beautiful vintage style tins.

Minus the Moo makes lactose-free ice cream. It’s delicious! Even though it’s made with dairy, it’s safe for those who are lactose intolerant. It’s made with the lactase enzyme. Co-founder Katy Flannery is lactose intolerant herself and missed sharing ice cream with family and friends. She’s also a pediatric intensive care nurse, so she used her health science background to experiment with different recipes and formulations. The rest is ice cream history!

EHChocolatier makes handcrafted artisan chocolates. Elaine Hsieh and Catherine Sweeney met in 1999 when a mutual friend brought them together to make her wedding cake. They remained friends and opened their business in 2010. Their small batch chocolates are pretty little works of art that you can eat. A very special chocolate that you could put on your own pillow as a treat before you drift off to sleep.

Gutsey bars were created by Carrie Forbes with the traveler and commuter in mind who is looking for a nutritious snack. The bars “contain only good fats and organic ingredients. No GMO’s, no grains, no gluten and no added sugars.” The packaging is fun with state themed names — Maine The Way Bahs Should Be, New Hampshire Eat Clean Live Free and Boston Wicked Strong Bah. What New Englander can resist?

Fancy Pants Baking Co. make peanut and tree nut free cookies that are also Non-GMO Project Verified, 100% natural and certified kosher. They build their own cookie cutters by hand and their Instagram Feed will have you drooling over the many varieties of cookies with colorful frostings and shapes.

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Picture Credits: Collage created with images found on websites and/or social media accounts of companies mentioned.

Disclosure: As an event attendee, I tasted samples and was given free products to take home.

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Al Fresco Dining at Novara Restaurant in Milton

July 30, 2020August 9, 2016 by Lisa Johnson

Didn’t make it to Italy this summer? Neither did I. But while dining at Novara Restaurant recently, it felt like I was transported to Italy for a mini-vacation.

I took another mini-vacation in July when I was in Connecticut for a couple of days to see Maxwell in concert. The concert ticket price included Maxwell’s new CD blackSUMMERS’night, but you had to get it later via mail.

My friend received our CDs and asked if she should send mine or if we should get together. Get together of course! I suggested dinner at Novara and we enjoyed a wonderful summer night dining al fresco.

Starting off, the service was great. Full disclosure*, I was invited to visit Novara. However, I have been invited to visit other restaurants over the years and been shocked by less than stellar service and disorganization. Thankfully Novara’s staff was friendly, professional and organized.

My friend and I were both pleased with the delicious bread. Our cocktails were tasty, refreshing and strong.

Novara is the sister restaurant of Abby Park, which I wrote about on Craving Boston. It was a very warm evening, but we did get a quick rain storm out of the blue.

Because the tables have umbrellas over them, it wasn’t even a problem. A perfect summer night.

For my meal, I had the Special, which was lobster gnocci. So good! My friend had zucchini parmesan. She loved hers too!

Like its sister restaurant, Novara has a wonderful menu. I love Italian food, so I basically wanted to eat everything. I noticed people picking up food to go, so the take-out menu is a great option as well. Of course I had dessert. The chocolate mousse was the perfect ending to my meal.

I definitely recommend Novara and will return. Having a good restaurant so close to home makes eating out easier. Parking was not a problem and it’s often an issue in Boston.

Restaurant Week, now called Dine Out Boston, is coming up in just a few days. Even though Novara is located in Milton, they have joined in as well.

You have two opportunities (August 14 -19 & August 21 – 26) to participate. If you want to start adding restaurants to your list, start with Novara!

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Disclosure* Thank you to Novara for the complimentary dinner for two!

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