on turning 30....

For my 30th birthday D. and I visited St. Augustine... a place we've both mythologized, but had failed to visit. My 30th birthday which arrived on December 28th seemed the quintessential moment.

D. could not resist fresh oranges....

the historic fort was a nice place to showcase my most favorite

 "Maggie O'Connell" sweater of the winter season.... 

staying at a b&b was a real treat for us

D. enjoys his coffee best on a front porch

Turning thirty was much less scary than I had imagined it in my mind when I was in my twenties... for the first year in a long time I'm really embracing my age. For me, aging has been a wonderful process. I've enjoyed the gaining of wisdom, maturity and insight that only can come with each new year. Not to mention the feeling that while I've enjoyed the last decades, there are some moments that you don't want to relive. I kind of like some of the perks that come with my new age... like more respect from young & old, greater camaraderie with women over shared experience, and the general feeling that things are coming together. 

new year, new resolutions

I think I've put it off long enough... the new year post! Admittedly, I am cautious about putting my resolutions down on "paper" (for fear that I may not follow through).  2011 brought some serious challenges for me. We lost our beloved Henry, I had my first hospital surgery (awesome!), and I still have not submitted a final draft of my dissertation (although there is a complete draft-- woot!). With all of the bad from 2011, came a whole lot of good and growth. I learned a lot about myself and what it most important to me. So, it is with great confidence in the year to come that I commit to: 

1. play with my niece + nephew more

2. graduate! 

3. consume less, make more

4. keep in better touch with friends

5. get a haircut

One down, four to work on. 

Happy New Year/New Beginnings everyone!

outfit posts

(dress: oldie but goodie, shoes- new, back/blazer- thrifted)

I wore stuff over the break, but only shot a few of them.

Here are two favorites.

(jeans- thrifted, blouse & cardi-exchanged, boots & scarf- oldies but goodies)

handmade holiday

Over the recent holiday D. and I spent a lot of time pruning grapes, visiting family and eating way too much delicious food! For this reason, I spent little time online, and as a result did not get a chance to share some of my handmade gifts and decorations I worked on this year... here are a few of my success stories :)

a grapevine wreath... complete with our own vines + locally foraged pine cones & Brazilian pepper

some of my first projects using "real" patterns

my nephew loved his stegosaurus hat!

eat what you can!

It all started with my first batch of muscadine grape jelly...

There were also olives, but that was probably the most complicated thing I canned and I failed to take any pictures. Sorry :( 

More recently I went "escabeche" crazy... at first you might not recognize escabeche by name, but if you've ever eaten at a taco truck you've probably taken some home with you. Escabeche really comes from Spain, and literally means "marinade," but for us Americans its pickling.  In Spain, you will find all sorts of things preserved in this fashion and most mediterreanean countries do some form of delicious pickling that is served on sandwiches. 

In Mexico, "escabeche" usually refers to a common combination of pickled hot peppers with carrots and onions. It's truly delicious, trust me. I decided it would be fun to try a tutorial to teach anyone interested the art of making this. It's so easy and well worth it. 

 First, you want to chop your veggies. For one recipe you'll need 2 large onions, 6-10 carrots (I like more), & 10-15 jalapeno peppers. Carrots & onions are usually sliced thick.

To prepare the jalapenos, you must "cruzar" them at the tips. This will ensure that the nice heat from the jalapenos will marinade into the mixture. 

 Saute the onions in 1 cup of olive oil for about 2-3 minutes over medium heat. 

Add the carrots & jalapenos as well as 8 cloves of garlic. Cook for five minutes. 

You will then add 3 cups of apple cider vinegar, 10 peppercorns, 4 bay leaves, 1 T oregano and 1-2 T of celtic sea salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes. 

Put in cans, make sure you cover sufficiently with liquid. If you find that you have more veggies than liquid, its okay to add a little water to fill up the jars. Boil bath for 10 minutes or pressure can. This recipe will make 5-6 one pint jars.

Enjoy! Escabeche can be eaten with pretty much everything. Typically it is used on top of tacos, but they are also eaten on eggs, sandwiches, or any meat/fish dish.

fruits of our labor

A post long overdue... 

My job at most holiday parties is to make the dessert. Baking is a very dear passion of mine. Whenever I thought I'd quick grad school (as one usually does at least 100 times during the process, usually when writing term papers or studying for comp exams) I always said I'd become a "natural" baker. I think my interest comes from my desire to eat all things sweet. When you want to eat it, I think you're more motivated to make it well. 

These goodies were made with love and locally foraged pecans and rough lemons. Just another bonus of living under the Florida sun :)

Lemon Curd Bars
1 c organic sugar
2 T unbleached all purpose flour
3 T cornstarch
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c water
2 lemons, juiced & zested
2 T butter
4 egg yolks, beaten 
2 packages graham crackers
1/4 c melted butter


1. For the lemon curd, whisk together sugar , flour, cornstarch & salt. Stir in water, lemon juice & zest. Cook over medium heat in pot, stirring frequently until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Add 1/2 c hot sugar mixture to beaten eggs and then whisk the egg mixture back into the pan. Bring to a boil until thickened. Remove from heat. 
2. Whiz crackers in a blender until a fine flour. Pour melted butter over crackers. Press into a 9x9 brownie pan (or any similar size dish). 
3. Pour curd mixture on top and refrigerate until cold! 



Pecan Pie  (with Sucanat)
1 c sucanat
1/4 c organic sugar
1/2 c melted butter
2 eggs
1 T unbleached all purpose flour
1 T milk 
1 t vanilla
1 c chopped pecans
Recipe for 1 pie crust (9 inch)


1. Beat eggs until frothy. Stir in butter, sucanat, sugar & flour. Mix well. Add milk & vanilla. 
2. Pour mixture into pie shell. Top with pecans (or hickory nuts). 
3. Bake 350 for 40 minutes, or until center is not liquidy.

paring down, and the lady-like quality of the bow blouse

My, has it been a long time since I've posted, let alone an outfit post! In part, I've been extremely busy teaching a new course, and that has caused me to lose some of the interest I once had in being creative with my clothing . Don't get me wrong, I've worn clothes (i promise-- sometimes even cute ones) all semester, i just haven't spent much time thinking about what I wear. Lately, i tend to fall back on favored blouses and my trusty pair of blue jeans (hemmed to the shortest length humanly possible for an adult female).

I've also always wanted to be the kind of person who has a few treasured articles of clothing. The kind of girl with an uncluttered closet, so that clothing choices are easy and more creative out of necessity.  

As I get older (and my apartments get smaller) I'm beginning to work on that goal. I have found myself getting out of the habit of thrifting (at least as much as I used to). I've pared down my closet significantly since we moved back South. In place of thrifting I began "swapping/recycling" at a local place which accepts vintage and cutesy items (sort of a Plato's Closet for older women and people who like vintage). They also trade household items and books, which makes it all that much more awesome.

Whether I will ever be the kind of person who can own only three pairs of shoes I do not yet know, but I am working on it :)  I secretly still want to hoard some goodies for my daughter in a box somewhere in the closet that will read "cool clothes"... for all the times I saw pictures of my Mom and thought, "man, I really wish she still had that!"

This outfit post tonight sort of got me thinking and browsing the old "flickr" vault. I used to wear bow blouses a lot, and I truly did wear some of my favorites over and over again. I've always loved their lady-like quality. So when I recently saw this cute gray one at said local swap store, I scooped it up real fast. 

This was my first ever bow blouse.. it had little psychedelic florals on it and I distinctly remember a friend trying to talk me out of it

Then ofcourse, my little white one which I wore with pretty much everything...

 

The awesome purple one, which sadly did not get as much action as it should have...

these ones still get pretty frequent usage... 

(little man Henry sure did enjoy himself and outfit post :)