Pinterest

Sorry I haven't posted in days, I actually forgot I didn't have anything lined up until a friend brought it to my attention. Being sick mixed with family crisis has equaled little to no time to breathe. I'm hoping to come up for air this weekend. In the meantime, I just joined a site called Pinterest, and I kind of love it.

Here's my pin board. I think the site is still invite only, but if you think you'd like to use it, let me know. I have a few invitations left.I like having a small place to put things I find online.

Friday Tunes

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals released a new album this summer, and it's pretty great (don't listen to people who've followed the band "for years" and think they sold out...the album is bangin'). This song was released on their first album and it has soft spot in my heart because it's attached to a few lovely memories from college. I'm a sap, y'all.


This weekend brings "Friend Fun Friday" (I'm the only one that calls it that) and a day trip with a best friend to visit with another best friend. On Sunday I have some meetings and a boring project to finish up. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Black Bean Soup

My photo woes continue, so I thought I'd just share a black bean soup recipe. It's not very photogenic anyway. I love this soup because it's spicy, freezes well and is a great way to use up sturdy vegetables. If you don't like spicy food, be sure to dial back the chili. Chili tends to intensify as it's cooked, and you can always add more.

*1 lb. black beans (rinsed and soaked in 4 qt. water overnight)--reserve 2 cups of this water
2 bay leaves

1.5 large onion, minced (try out different varieties)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken stock
1.5 tbsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder (adjust down if preferred)
1 tbsp molasses (or dark agave nectar)
4-5 tbsp lime juice

1 cup of any sturdy veggies, cut into bite size (I like sweet potatoes, carrots, acorn squash, or butternut squash)

Cook the beans in reserved water and bay leaves, 1.5 hour, covered. Add additional fresh water as needed. Beans should be fully cooked, but not falling apart. Remove bay leaves.

In large pot, sauté onion and garlic. I actually like to get mine pretty brown, but do what you like. Add in chicken stock and any veggies you're using. Simmer until veggies are softened. Add in beans, spices, molasses and lime juice. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Adjust the spices, add more lime juice if it's too sweet.

At this point, you can purée 1/2, you can add more stock to make it thinner, you can serve it up as is.

I like to dollop Greek yogurt and Tapatio on mine. (Sour cream isn't tart enough and Greek yogurt is packed with tons of good stuff). Sometimes we stir in some brown rice. A puts shredded chicken or pork in his. It also makes good leftovers, so we make it on Sunday and eat it for a few weeknight dinners.

*You can, of course, use canned beans. We just buy dry beans in bulk but to use canned beans try 2 cans. Be sure to check that they are unseasoned. You'd want to just play around with liquid amounts to get the texture you want.

Technical Interruption

A slight technical issue means no photos today. I tried fixing it, which mostly means 5 minutes of me repeating an action and being stunned when it doesn't work. A should be able to remedy the hiccup, I didn't marry a tech nerd for nothing!

I'll tell you what freedom means to me, no fear

 

There are so many beautiful messages being brought to people today. Hopefully, those messages continue beyond the remembrance celebrations. I think this day means something different to every community and to every person. For me, it's about being aware of the miles left to go towards equality for every person, while also celebrating the miles walked by others. For my community, today seems to be about remembering the lives lost in this community, celebrating our victories and being transparently honest about the ways we still fall so very short. 

"And let the remembering be only the first step, for in remembering let us act." - Aeschylus

 

 

 

Friday Tunes

Seu Jorge-Life on Mars. Seu covers David Bowie's classic in Portuguese, and gives it a whole new life. I'm a Bowie fan, and especially a 1970's Bowie fan. This cover is on a mixed CD a friend made me in college, and I bought the whole album on iTunes shortly after.

Bowie has this to say: "Had Seu Jorge not recorded my songs acoustically in Portuguese I would never had heard this new level of beauty which he has imbued them with." And what's good enough for The Duke is good enough for me.

Freezing

Fireplace. Roaring.

It's been bitterly cold here so far this week. Like 35-23 degrees. I know that in some places that's called "winter" but I like to call it "bitterly cold." That's because it makes me so bitter. I'm only kidding (sort of). So, between work, errands and meetings I spend my time sitting directly in front of our fireplace, watching tasteless television and drinking gallons of hot tea.

Cold survival.

The tea kettle might be my favorite new item. We have a Keurig, which I got in grad school because it meant I could sleep an extra five minutes. But, I don't use it much anymore because I hate the weird pump sound it makes. Yes, I prefer a whistling tea kettle to five seconds of water pumping. I'm pretty sure hearing the kettle go off six times in a two hour period last night made Andy wish he didn't have ears.

Time

New planner and vintage watch

One of my hopes for the new year is to be more aware of time: how I spend it, who I spend it with and how much of it I really have. I never feel like I lack productivity or time management, but I do sometimes look back on my week and find that it was such a blur I can't remember much of the actual living I did. So, I bought a pretty simple daily planner, with plenty of room to jot down a few notes or phrases from each day. I'm hoping it will become a little habit.

Butterfly calendar, Anthropologie

Trenchy Smiles

I stumbled across this photo as a part of the A.P.C. ad campaign for their Winter collection while flipping through The Gentlewoman for the millionth time since I picked up this issue. Amazing magazine, more on that later. Back to this photo. Look how happy the model is, a little smile even. Unfortunately, their site suffers what I like to call "J. Crew syndrome". That is to say, slouchy models with frowns. Note to retailers: Yes, I will buy that cardigan. But first, I want to see a happy woman wearing it while standing with good, solid posture. It's so nice to see such a soft, happy take on fashion.

This trench can be found here, where it is on sale but out of stock. Isn't that always the way? But, I think it's nice inspiration for an adorable and useful trench!

Weekend in Review

 

 

Our balcony lights (All credit goes to A)

A weekend filled with catching up with friends, great music, kitchen experiments and beautiful winter light. Tomorrow might bring snow, sleet and canceled work. Luckily, we've stocked up on beer and dog treats.

Winter light and June

Carne asada tacos for Friday date

Beer and fried pickles with two brilliant friends

 I met up with a best friend and a former professor for beers and fried pickles at a favorite bar. The perfect Saturday afternoon should always include drinking while making fun of local politicians.

Applesauce spice cake in progress

Cheese and spinach quesadilla with Tapatio and Greek yogurt

Sunday brought lots of couch time, rewatching Firefox and a million episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I love Lisa too much to even explain.

Sunday night

Friday Tunes

 

I've been listening to Sigh No More from Mumford and Sons on repeat lately. If A decided he needed to leave for a few months just to escape my obsession, I'm not sure I'd fault him. This is my current favorite song, Winter Winds.

This weekend I'll be watching lots of movies with A, reuniting with some brilliant college friends and one brilliant former professor, attempting my first skirt on the new sewing machine and trying my best to pretend like it's actually spring time already.

Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows

I'd been feeling some serious winter blues over the past few weeks. This is beside the fact that I 1) live in Mississippi, where it rarely falls below 40 and 2) Live with a man who believes winter is made of roaring fires and hearty lasagnas. What's to feel blue about, right? I know, I know.

Over the New Year's weekend, we spent time with my brother and his lovely girlfriend. We made homemade marshmallows and added mint extract and swirled in red food dye. They were quite possibly the greatest pick-me-up ever. They were so great that the photo above is the only photo taken of them. The making process is really too messy to whip out the Canon, and they were eaten pretty quickly there after.

Hi, Howdy, How ya doin and Hello

I decided I'd like to have a little nook here on the world wide web to leave some favorite pictures, stories and whatever else might come along. I won't make any lofty promises like: Oh it will be thrilling. Or You will frantically visit everyday to see if I've updated or even I will update regularly.

I love blogs that stick to a sector of life, but I can barely focus in on breakfast let alone a blog theme, so I'm sure this little space will be quite the mish-mash. I wouldn't have it any other way.