What could make signing a book contract even better?
A real live DESK!!!! 
Kelly gave me her old desk and I couldn’t be more thankful. I feel almost official now, blogging from an actual desk instead of sitting on the floor. It’s sort of weird actually! I like having a little “station” now though….next up—a futon! This afternoon I snacked on whatever was leftover in the yogurt container (~1/2 cup?) mixed with a chopped apple and a drizzle of AB: 
And then for dinner, I rediscovered my love for kabocha squash! 
I roasted a sliced up kabocha squash at about 400 for 30 minutes or so. At the same time, I also had 1/3rd block of extra firm “sprouted” tofu and a handful of chickpeas marinating in 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp rice wine vinegar, a pinch of sea salt, pinch of ginger, cumin, cayenne and a drizzle of agave. Threw the ‘peas and tofu in the oven and let ‘em bake for about 20 minutes at the same temperature then served the whole hot mess together. IT WAS SO GOOD! 
Is it normal that my favorite part of the squash is the PEEL?! I just love it for some reason…it gets all crunchy and chewy when you bake it and is oh so good. Guess I met my daily dose of fiber, huh?! 
I plated myself up about half of the squash for tonight’s meal but it was SO much (it was a huge kabocha) so I didn’t finish it all. Saved room for dessert though, of course: 
Yes! The return of the coconut milk ice cream. I adore this stuff. And wasn’t isn’t amazing when served in a wine glass?
I’m REALLY really tired tonight because last night’s sleep was a bust. Going to take a bath, rewind and read for the rest of the night. Sweet dreams!
{ 62 comments… read them below or add one }
Congratz on the desk! It’s beautiful
I loooove coconut milk icecream…especially served in a wine glass! Yummm!
Yay for a desk to blog at!
That ice cream flavor sounds really good! I’ll have to try it!
Looooove the new desk! I have been dying to have one in my room for the longest time. I blog from the floor most of the time =)
Nighty, night. Sleep tight. =)
Cute desk! A real writer needs a real desk : )
You’re super classy—blogging at a desk and eating ice cream out of wine glasses!
I really love kabocha peel, too, for the “crispiness,” haha. It’s so filling, too! Have a wonderful evening!
I never worked at a desk really, usually in bed or on the couch after having a laptop. Now, I would LOVE an office space and a desk. Congrats on yours!
I had that same desk in college! Oh memories! Hopefully you’ll get some great work done on there too!
I LOOOOOOOOVE kabocha squash skin!! It gets so crispy yet it’s chewy!! I thought I was the only one
I’ve really wanted to try that ice cream. I’ve almost bought it twice. I can’t eat dairy so I really need to try this. Thanks for making me take the dip into the tub
I still need to try the kabocha…It looks delicious!
Hooray for signing a book contract aaaand a new desk!!!
Love squash! I need to go pick some up! And that ice cream looks delicious!
Congrats on getting a desk!
It sure makes things easier in my life.
And that squash looks so good…the skin is my favorite part too!
You’re official now
That dinner looks fantastic! It’s been too long (about 2 weeks hah) since I’ve had me some Kabocha! Off to the grocery store I go.
have you tried mama pea’s pumpkin spice roasted chickpeas yet? the recipe is pretty close to what you had tonight, but i wanted to recommend them anyway. have a relaxing night, jenna!
xo
So glad you finally have a desk!
Love the map over the desk — I have the same thing for inspiration.
I also discovered kabocha squash a couple weeks ago, I’m a fan!
i had squash and tofu for dinner too! haha but i had butternut:)
Hey Jenna, I had to spread the word about this huge Bumble Bar sale I just got an e-mail about from the owner: “For the next 24 hours only,” (this was sent Mon. at 12:30p.m.), “we are offering all our flavors for $20 per box and a free wrapsack! We have never offered such a steep discount on our entire line. Please feel free to tell all the BumbleBar fans you know.” http://www.bumblebar.com — I love this product so I had to pass it on! Have a great night.
Dinner looks lovely, as does the coconuttty dessert! Congrats on the new desk.
Neat re the desk!! Very cozy and also spartan [my new favorite word].
Reminded me that Laura Hillenbrand wrote what became her huge bestseller ‘Seabiscuit’ in a tiny WDC apartment with a small fridge next to her desk as she has a very debilitating case of chronic fatigue syndrome. Because she need to marshall her energies she kept milk/cereal in a small fridge under desk so didn’t have to stop work or move around much. And she described being across from the Chinese Embassy–so that much of her writing was accompanied by loud protest chants that she couldn’t decipher except for one word: #$6&^&: &*#@!: Fight! Fight! Fight! %$^#&: *@#$%: Fight! Fight! Fight! Nearly drove her insane.
She was a big inspiration to me in getting through writing my book with one particular piece of advice. When invariably got tired of writing, she’d switch to another task to keep moving: research, editing, refining outline of next chapters, etc. Seems obvious, but really wasn’t till read that.
Also loved this NPR interview she did where she said one common aspect of the Seabiscuit story that involved the three main male characters and Seabiscuit—was that they all emerged to greatness from loss. Loved that.
Here’s the interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.phpstoryId=1360044
It’s so apt to have a map over your ‘donated’ desk…never know how far or where you’ll go…and so nice that it was given to you by a friend…because your book, by it’s nature, will have
that aspect of sharing, too.
Hoooray! Glad you got your desk to work on!! And congrats on signing the book contract. I am looking forward to your book!
I love the map over the desk!
Yay for desks! They really are conducive to productivity. When my desk is organized, my work seems to follow as well.
That ice cream looks delicious. I love pretty much anything that involved coconut. I like the wine glass touch, I served some peppermint ice cream up in a martini glass the other night. It makes it classy! Ha.
The desk is very cute!
Lovin’ the desk!!!! So chic.
Now that you have a desk, you’re ready to roll!
I love the peel too! My husband always looks at me like I’m a freak when I eat it, but it’s GOOD!
I was going to get that icecream the other day ….until i saw it was $6 bux! I’ll save money for that treat next time.
Congrats on the desk – very official looking
Woo hoo for a desk! It’s very cute, too
Your dinner looks amazing, and that marinade for everything sounds delicious!
Hmmm ice cream made with almond milk sounds yummy. I love the wine glass you served it in too.
Congrats on the book contract! I actually published a book of poetry about a year and a half ago, but I went with a free publisher, and haven’t really done very much with promoting my book. What kind of writing do you do?
Kabocha and sprouted tofu:!?! YES please
Congrats on the desk….saweet!
Enjoy!
That’s awesome you got a desk!! I had no idea you were blogging from the floor on a regular basis!!
Working at a desk makes everything feel so official and productive. Yay!
You eat the skin off your squash?? Interesting… I’ll have to try that sometime…
Congratulations on your desk girl!
And yog messes are amazzzzing, no?
Ah, I still haven’t tried the coconut milk ice cream but I keep hearing so many great things about it. I will have to get some soon (although the weather is getting mighty cold here now, ha ha).
Hooray for a desk!
You’ve probably forgotten what comfortable feels like… congrats on the desk! That was so nice of your friend.
I love the ice cream in a wine glass- even better than ice cream in a mug!
wow all your food looks so good! Ill have to try that squash one day!
love the desk — so cozy!
You’re officially a professional writer now that you have your own desk, hehe. Congrats!
I hope your night was joyful and peaceful, dear.
Sending tons of love your way
bec xo
Eat the whole pint Jenna
You need to celebrate a contract and a desk.
I wish you weren’t so busy, I would like to get to know u or have u drop by my blog sometime to say Hi. You are too popular
Congrats on the desk! I am seriously so excited for your book. As for that ice cream, I think I am going to have to go buy some ASAP.
Have you tried looking on Craigslist for a futon? They have great deals!
My boyfriend and I just bought a desk AND a futon for our office/yoga/meditation/guest room. We feel so grown up. ha.
That dinner looks soooo good. I have to make more of those roasted chick peas asap.
Hi! Congrats on signing your book deal. Have you ever been to Ikea? They have a store in Berkeley/Emeryville, I bet you’ll find a desk chair and a couch that you can afford. We bought desk chairs there a long time ago – they’re still working like a charm.
I was going to say WINE makes signing a book contract even better, but yes, a desk is a fabulous thing!
The peel is my favorite part too! And a desk makes it all official, congrats!
I love having a desk and getting all of my stuff organized.. and you’re right- not much is better than when placed in a wine glass.
Congratulations on your new desk! That’s awesome. I love squash peels.
Okay I’ve never had kabocha squash, let alone thinking about eating the skin!!!! That sounds wierd, but I may have to try it out sometime!!!
Congrats on the desk! I’ve got a desk but no chair, so I’m still either blogging at work or on the couch 
That almond mocha fudge is my FAVORITE flavor of the coconut ice creme!!!
you’re now ready to become an official author! congrats again!
Ice cream out of a wine glass. I love it!!
You go, girl — way to get a desk! You should be so proud of yourself; what an accomplishment!
You and all the other blog divas out there have inspired me to start my own blog. Hopefully I can hang with the big girls — Happy December!
Wonderful looking dinner!
wow! that ice cream looks delish!
jenna
I totally have that desk…Ikea?? It’s pretty baller, I’m not going to lie. Hope it treats you well! Congrats on your big beginning!
What a cute desk! And what better way to treat yourself than to eat Purely Decadent out of a wine glass? Now that’s class!
Wow your thrown together dinners are so ridiculously delicious looking. I want to make that combo!
Cute desk! It’s so helpful to actually have a space to write. It helps the creative juices flow.
For your furniture situation…you really need to go to Ikea! It’s in Emeryville so it’s a little over an hour away from you but SO worth it because it’s CHEAP and cute. I went there a few days ago and picked up an “entertainment center/book case” set which was under $500 (for 5 bookcases and a few extra pieces that’s REALLY good.
Just a thought.