Friday Four

Have patience with all things but chiefly have patience with yourself

Let us have peace.

Whatever you do, you need courage.

Only small things with great love

(All images from Parker Fitzgerald)

The Gentlewoman

Spring/Summer 2011

Have I already shared how much I like The Gentlewoman? It's a UK magazine, and this is how they describe themselves: The Gentlewoman is a new biannual style magazine for a new decade. Featuring inspirational, international women, it pairs ambitious journalism with a sartorial and intelligent perspective on fashion that is focused on personal style – the way women actually look, think and dress.

Sound like a tall order? They totally deliver. They also print the names of each model used, and include personal quotes, facts or reflections from them in any piece that features them. And I love that, because I don't really care that much about looking at perfectly cut dresses (oh okay, yes I do) but I also like seeing the women featured in these editorials as people, not mannequins. The Gentlewoman also covers some pretty incredible woman artists, politicians, designers and performers. The only real criticism I have of it is that there's always some kind of bullshit like "Marta wouldn't know what to do without her mustard yellow feathered capelet", but I just think things like that are hilarious, not really bothersome.

From the recent issue:

The piece on Adele will make you want to be her best friend.

Relevant, inspirational and balanced profile

This whole piece was called "Swoosh"

Models dancing to their favorite songs in suiting pieces

Each issue includes this Reference section, where they include random tidbits about each piece in the magazine

Some days in review

As a warning, this update is kind of on the lean side. I think I'm past the really terrible part of being sick, which is good. But I don't a have a lot to show and tell! So, why update at all? Because, I'm a bit bored, honestly. This isn't surprising, really, to sum it up: I'm bored with being sick, being in the apartment and missing meetings, outings, dates, lady dates, and all the fun. But, soon, it'll be back to photos of alcohol, my dog and odd buildings. Until then, let's talk about some sick day necessities:

Tea

 This just might be the best non-caffeine hot tea ever. It has all of these "warming" herbs, so your entire throat starts to feel nice and toasty. I've gone through a box this week, and I feel like I can attest to the fact that it's bangin'.

Brothy soup (by which I mean veggie broth and some hot water)

Tea kettle

Probably my favorite kitchen item, because it's really simplified my mornings. This is necessary for the tea and for watering down broth so you can...drink it. While your dog sits on your feet and wonders how the hell the human managed to break herself.

Tulips

If you're allergic, clearly, they aren't needed. But it did brighten up my Thursday immensely when A brought these home. Mostly, because he also brought home some wine, some fresh bread and some grapes. The flowers were a nice addition.

Things I didn't take pictures of: Easter. I actually put together a good bit of stuff for Easter, but I forgot the camera because I was busy "not throwing up" and "not falling asleep into my salad". But, rest assured, it was nice, our baby nephew was as sweet and chubby cheeked as ever and June was righteously indignant that she was not included in the seating arrangements. All is as it should be.

It's not goodbye, it's see ya later

Friends, I'm not feeling well, so I'll be back maybe next week with some photos and chatter.

Weekend in Review

Coming out of this fantastic weekend makes Monday feel really do-able. I might feel differently around noon, but right now I feel good! Not shown: copious amounts of time with two very best friends, the project A and I are working on. That's not shown because it got rainy on Friday and Saturday and Sunday I wasn't around to help. I think he finished a lot of it though, so maybe this week I can put some pictures up!

Errands in the rain

Favorite coffee shop

Coffee shop table

Boozy picnic view*

Sparkling Panakam**

Chocolate Pomegranate Power Bars

*That water view isn't really spectacular, but on Saturday afternoon I sat outside with two of my very best friends, drank wine, ate strawberry shortcake and laughed for about three hours. It was exactly what we all needed. Also, prosecco is so very good on a mild spring day.

**The recipe we used for Sparkling Panakam is from this book, which I am wild about. I've had it for less than a week and have made three things from it with much more on the way. Panakam is a South Indian drink, and it's sweet and peppery. I think this may have helped me feel less overwhelmed with seasonal allergies, although I can't really prove that.

Friday Five

New Dress, Arriving Soon

 Super productive week, and I'm feeling good about closing it out with a big, busy Friday. This weekend brings an out of town friend, some much needed girl time, and finishing out a project A and I have been working on for awhile now. Hopefully, you'll see some photos come Monday. I tried to focus on some quiet time this week, and I think it helped me balance out what had been an increasing irritable mood. Amazing what some good tea and a book can do. Oh, and some internet shopping.

Re-reading a high school favorite

Candlelight

Whole Wheat Skillet Cookie*

Bowl of film**

*This was a big, big hit at a little get together recently, and I think I'll make a normal cookie version for this coming weekend. The recipe is from here, it's inspired by a cookie recipe found in Good to the Grain, which I'm thinking about picking up the next time I'm at the bookstore.
**This is a favorite because I once had a lot more film, and it was in a much bigger bowl. But, I've shot a lot of film this year, and I'm learning more with each roll.

For the curious

To find the best veggie burger (and probably the best burger, period) in Mississippi, you just travel a few short miles off I-55, and end up at what seems to be a deserted row of stores. But, what's this? There are about a million people inside one of these shops. It's Cool Al's burger joint, and when you step in you immediately realize: this is where my burger and fry dreams become reality.

Cool Al's Garden Burger

My burger dreams are of the non-meat variety, and I typically pass on veggie burgers because they never taste very good to me. And have weird chunks of brown mess in them, or crunching pieces of carrot, bell pepper and broccoli messing up the whole experience.

But. Then there's this garden burger. Made of a combo of brown rice, several varieties of mushroom, some whole wheat, oats, garlic and seasoning secrets (pretty sure we're talking at least a bit of soy sauce, onion and cayenne pepper), this little burger is a delight! I always order it with grilled onions and the tomato ginger sauce on the side. Perfection.

Their fries are a dream also, as is their Black Bean Jamaican Burger. A gets the Sinbad, which is named after a high school friend of his and features a small pond of perfect BBQ sauce. As a side note: I can think of seven places in Jackson with some feature (a drink, a dish, a sundae or a haircut) named after A or a person he knows. Yes, a haircut.

Buses Are A-Comin'

I've been meaning to post this video for awhile, it's an advertisement of sorts for the Mississippi Freedom 50th Celebration, which will be May 22-26.
 
The Mississippi Museum of Art is showing the Breach of Peace exhibit until June 12th. If you're in Jackson, or nearby, check it out. It's an exhibit of the mugshots of the 1961 Freedom Riders. Breach of Peace began as a photography and journalism project by Eric Etheridge, and his work was aimed at catching up with the freedom riders. His book, also called Breach of Peace, is definitely worth looking through. For many of the riders, the summer of 1961 was the start of a lifetime of activism.

"In '61, we were greeted by policemen, billy clubs and the jails. In 2011, we'll go back to parades, songs and memorials. That's really something."

Power it up!

Flaxseeds

I really love granola bars and power bars for a quick breakfast or a post-run snack. I was used to just buying Cliff bars for this purpose and then I ran across about a million recipes online for homemade power bars and granola bars, so I decided to riff off of my favorite of the bunch (seen here, in on an old post from 101 Cookbooks, a fantastic resource for healthy, lively vegetarian fare). I changed it up a good bit, and it was delicious. Heidi's original recipe is delicious as well, and the whole thing is endlessly adaptable.

Cranberry Chocolate Power Bar (adapted from Heidi Swanson's Big Sur Power Bars)

There are lots of possible substitutions and additions that you can make here, and as long as the foundation of the bars (the cereal mix and the sugar mix) stays close to the same it'll work out just fine.

1 tbl. Coconut oil (or regular butter)
1 c. pecan pieces (you could use whole pecans you roughly chop, I like smaller pieces)
1 c. walnut pieces (same as above)
2/3 c. dried cranberries (any favorite dried fruit would be good, or a mix)
1 1/4 c. quinoa flakes (or rolled oats)
1 1/2 c unsweetened crisp brown cereal (or any crisp rice cereal like Rice Crispies)
2/3 c. flax seeds (or sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, whatever appeals to you)
1 c. brown rice syrup (you could probably use corn syrup here, but I think you'll miss out on some seriously rich flavor)
1/4 c. agave nectar (you can use sugar if you like a crunchier bar, I love really chewy and sticky power bars)
1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt
2 tbl. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cranberry Chocolate Power Bar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and use the oil or butter to grease a baking pan (8x8 for thick bars, 9x13 for thinner).

Toast the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet until fragrant (for pieces this might be 4 minutes, for whole try closer to 7). Mix the quinoa flakes, toasted nuts, dried fruit, flax and cereal all in a large mixing bowl.

Combine the rice syrup, agave nectar, salt, cocoa and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir as it comes to a boil (bump up your heat if you need to). Let it thicken to your liking (I let mine get fairly thick to get my consitency). This will take between 4 and 10 minutes, so stay with it. Pour the syrup over the cereal mix and stir until it's all incorporated.

Spread into your prepared pan and let cool completely before turning upside down and cutting into desired sizes. Wrap in waxed paper and store in air tight container.

Weekend in Review

Just coming out of a really great weekend! Not shown: Thai food, an exhausting and hilarious party with 2-year olds, several new-to-me and delicious beers.

Campbell's Treats: Cannoli and Tea Cookies

Sunday night fun

Laundry dog*

We also saw this movie! I thought it was really well done, lots of excitement and excellent acting. It also has some really moving scenes.

*Photo by A. That's his laundry also. He dumps it on June if she's on the couch, and usually she immediately gets up and is offended. This time, she just snuggled in.

Friday Five

Campbell's Bakery, re-opened and so lovely

The week flew by, and it was kind of a mixed bag. But, now it's Friday and our weekend will be busy but lots of fun. We stopped by Campbell's bakery the other day, an old bakery in the Fondren area. It has a new owner and they shut down for a while to give the whole place a makeover. It looks great. I didn't try anything because I'm in sugar detox after overdoing it this past weekend. But, soon! A reports that their tea cookies are as good as ever. Some other Friday favorites:

 

 

Tree time

I got a free 40 minutes after a meeting this week, and since I was already near by I drove down the Natchez Trace a little bit and sat at the overlook. I was only there for a few minutes, but I felt refreshed!

Roomba

Our apartment is a total wreck, we've hardly been home at all this week. It's so nice to know that at least our carpets are totally clean, because Roomba is way more committed to cleanliness than we are.

Garlic stuffed olives

I love olives in almost any fashion, and sometimes I get embarrassingly excited when I see them on an appetizer spread.

Postcards, from A

Pictogram Movie Posters

Things are super busy over this way, so I'll just re-direct you to these pictogram movie posters.

I think The Exorcist is my favorite:

TV Time!

I don't watch a lot of TV, both because I don't have a lot of time and because I tend to have a stack of good books I want to get through. But, I do have a few shows I DVR to watch whenever I want to. The United States of Tara is one that I catch as it airs, and it is so, so good. I'd DVR'd The Borgias premiere and decided to watch it last night. Have you heard about this miniseries? I think I actually saw Parts 1 and 2 (The Poisoned Chalice and The Assassin).

It was really good. I'll watch anything that includes Jeremy Irons speaking, but beyond that, it's perfectly paced, the sets and costumes are lovely and the acting is very impressive. I think the series is being pitched as an origins tale for crime families, which is interesting, I like to think of is as The Tutors go to the Vatican, this time with great actors instead of just loud actors.

History buffs--it's definitely more in the realm of historical fiction, it actually seemed from the first part that the writers took the worst accusations and rumors about the Borgias and wrote them into a script. So, no reason to depend on Showtime for your weekly dose of Vatican history. (Shocking, right?)

Just for fun, here's a United States of Tara trailer. Why, yes, that is Eddie Izzard guest starring.

Weekend in Review

I took very few photos this weekend, because at around 5 Saturday I started to feel a little off. By Sunday morning I was full blown under the weather. So, I spent Sunday in bed with magazines sleeping and trying to keep peppermint tea down. I assumed none of you would need any photos of my bed covered in magazines or the peppermint tea. You know what that all looks like, you've been under the weather before. As a little side note: I've decided I'm not sick. Just under the weather or feeling a little off. See the difference? One says "I'm just not leaving this house" the other says "Hey, I might not feel great, but I'm going to get up, attend my scheduled meeting and then bravely drive to The Orange Peel and Campbell's Bakery. It's all because I'm brave, everyone. I'm brave."

Farmer's Market Haul (List below)

June, who needs 16 hours of nap time everyday

We have some great farmer's markets here in Jackson and the surrounding areas, this Saturday morning I went to the market at the fairgrounds and picked up: Raisin Cinnamon bread (for a friend), potatoes, tomatoes, Cheddar cheese, wheat bread, Cajun spiced goat cheese and carrots. The carrots are already destined to become carrot-ginger muffins.

Friday Five

Vanity Fairs

It's been a busy week, but I'm so excited to have a slower weekend ahead of me. As I was digging through a box in our apartment, I came across 10 old Vanity Fairs. I've had a subscription for almost three years, and I tend to read a few stories when the magazine comes, then pick through a stack of them months later. This is how I'll be spending part of my Sunday. Also, Liz. You always looked so lovely. Here are some more favorites of the week!

Numi Emperor's Pu-erh tea

 I have no idea if any of the health hype on the box of this tea is true, but it's super strong, smooth and it smells so good. I've been drinking it first thing in the morning instead of coffee and it perks me up just as well.

Beer braised onions

 Too good. I made a huge batch and just keep adding them to everything. A hummus gyro, black lentils, spinach. That's Shiner's Bohemian Black Lager in the photo, a current favorite around our home.

Bold Lips

 I know, a bathroom shelf photo. And it's really just because these lipsticks and the perfume live in my bathroom and I'm just too lazy to try and photograph them elsewhere. But, I did move them and take the tops off the lipsticks! I know. You're welcome. Yes, you may send me a thank you note.

Beautiful perfume bottle and scent (gift from A)