Admittedly the title of this post is a little misleading. I am not technically unemployed. UCLA Law has a program that compensates me for work at a legal nonprofit, I have another part time job, and I am also applying for jobs. However, the fact still remains that compared to how many hours I was working over the past several years, I have had significantly less work to do the past few months since the bar exam ended. I’m not sure how many hours I worked on average while in law school, but the idea of working only 40 hours a week at a full time job still kinda sounds like a “vacation” to me. I know the grass is always greener on the other side and student schedules have many perks but law school was a huge time commitment especially in the months surrounding exams. The thrill of leaving work and being completely done with nothing to do over the weekend has not worn off yet.

As a result of this additional free time I’ve taken several trips: my big California road trip, Vegas, San Francisco and Boston. In addition I’ve been baking and I would like to give myself a little pat on the back because my skills have improved. I’m not sure why they’ve gotten better. I could be that I’ve been baking longer, perfected my homemade pie crust recipe (thanks Mom) or that I just generally feel less rushed but the product speaks for its self.

For example, do ya’ll remember the Pear and Cranberry Crustata I made for my friend Molly’s fall pot luck 2 years ago? The guests gobbled it up however I was so busy and stressed making it that the final result left something to be desired:

I mean, it was fine but far from the beautiful images in the Flour cookbook.

A few weeks ago I took another stab at it. This time I had all day to create the crustada:

Yep. Pride. It ended up looking more like how it was supposed to look.

Clearly unemployment time had its perks.

I also took a trip to Boston.

While I was in Boston I did what I usually do. Hang out with my besties and do a lot of eating…

Flour.

JP Licks.

My favorite weekend breakfast: Flour’s smoked salmon sandwich. Every part of this sandwich is perfect. The bread is soft yet crusty and the arugula is spicy and crisp.

Breakfast cocktails at Stephi’s on Tremont.

Overall, it was an amazing trip. One of the highlights of my post law life for sure.

Had to share this. It was on the wall in Flour and my mother loved it when I sent it to her.

The end of this week marks the day that I will find out my bar results. I’ve been working out, working, and making plans so that Friday will just be another day. No matter how it turns out I am sad that this mini chapter in my life is ending. Even though being in limbo is getting old I’ve managed to really enjoy this time. I’m just trying to relax and let things unfold as they are supposed to.