FYI: New Fashion Find

Just to let you know...I found this at Target.  Yes, Target! 

Doesn't it remind you of this top from J. Crew from last year?

And (for those of you who are vertically challenged like me) they carry petite sizes on-line :)

Puffs of Color

If you haven't seen Anthropologie's new pics on the website take a look.  They use one of my favorite party/decorating projects to liven up the photos!

To see how I've made and used them in the past read this posts!  or this one :)

And I just might have to get that fun gray and white top!

If you can't say something nice...

Well, I've finally found something nice to say about someone in the White House and I think she deserves the recognition. 

I recently read this article about our First Lady and her vegetable garden (it really is a great and informative article - you should check it out).   When the current First Family moved into the White House one of the First Lady's projects became planting, maintaining and using a vegetable garden on the White House grounds. 

She, along with the help of the White House's assistant chef and other White House staffers, tends to the garden.  In it's first year the garden has yielded over 1,000 lbs. of vegetables and herbs.  The article states the the White House chef's have used the produce in meals served to the First Family and White House guests.

The First Lady has been able to use this as an aid in her platform against childhood obesity.  She has appeared on Sesame Street talking about the need for healthy eating and has had numerous groups of school children to the White House Garden to teach them about gardening and healthy eating.  Not only do I appreciate her concern for the health of our nation, but I love the economic and social benefits that are promoted by growing your own food!  I grew up with a vegetable garden in the back yard and our freezer was always packed with vegetables that my grandmother had put up for the winter.  Not only does it save you  money, but there is something so satisfying about eating what you've grown yourself.  It proves the value of hard work and wise spending. 

I haven't planted vegetables in a few years, but I have kept an herb garden for the past four and have more than gotten my money's worth!   You can buy a pack of fresh basil leaves at the grocery store for $3 or you can buy a small basil plant for $3.  If you care for the plant it will grow into a small shrub and you will have more than you know what to do with - I currently have so much frozen pesto that I made from the basil that I don't know when I'll use it all up!

I could also go off on seasonal eating, but that is another post for another day...

The article also states that this is the first large-scale vegetable garden to be on the White House Lawn since Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden in the 1940's.  In those days gardens were a necessity to feed your family and helped supplement war rations.  Here are some of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's advertisements I found from the campaign. 

 

Wouldn't a copy of one look cute on a kitchen wall...maybe along with these?

By the way, the White House also has beehives that produced 134lbs. of honey...maybe it could be bottled and sold to help pay off the national debt?  I'm just sayin' :)

Too Many Cookbooks?

I love to collect books, pretty books (yes, I want my shelves to look well-stocked and pretty).  However, a few years ago I was afraid of having stacks of pretty cookbooks that were full of not-so-pretty recipes.  To prevent that problem I asked three of my favorite cooks what cookbooks they couldn't live without.  Here are their answers:

#1: Down Home In High Style

This was the first one my mother listed.  It is a cookbook published by Jack Deloney in Dothan, AL.  It has, hands down, the best and easiest biscuit recipe ever! It also has great, classic "old-fashioned Southern" recipes for just about everything.  I know my grandmother and aunts have always used it as well, so many of the recipes are very familiar to me.

#2: The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook

This cookbook has a recipe for everything and we know Southern Living doesn't print it unless its great.  It's also a very helpful book to have around as it lists ingredient conversion charts (i.e. how to make a recipe with baking powder when you don't have any) and step by step instructions for cooking techniques. I've never made anything from this wasn't great and consider it a kitchen staple!

#3: The Williamsburg Cookbook

 The Williamsburg Cookbook - Another suggestion from my mother.  She bought this cookbook when she visited colonial Williamsburg in high school and still loves it.  She gave me copy for Christmas a few years ago.

#4: Southern Sideboards

 Southern Sideboards: This is a cookbook printed by the Junior League of Jackson, MS.  I had heard about it before moving here and it is now a part of my everyday vocabulary.  Around here you can refer to is as the "old testament." I recieved a copy for Christmas this year (which wasn't totally necessary because two of my roommates have it, but I wanted one of my own).  I've heard it is about to go out of print so grab a copy while you can.

#5: Come On In

 "The New Testament" a.k.a Come On In: This is the newer cookbook from the Jackson Junior League.  My mother received this as a gift when I was growing up and I now use it frequently.  The Crunchy Romaine Salad recipe is made frequently in our kitchen (as in every other week).

Here are a few others, in no particular order, that I enjoy!

The Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics: my favorite of Ina's.

Tables of Content :  From the Birmingham, AL Junior League
Frank Stitt's Southern Table: Try the recipe for Jack Daniel's Chocolate Ice Cream :)

What are the cookbooks and recipes you can't live without?  I'd love to hear more!

2 Weeks

Well, today is the two week mark of my surgery.  So far, so good.  (I think) my vision is improving bit by bit and the only thing that really bothers me is sunlight.  I won't know what my permanent vision will be for at least three months, so patience is something I'm trying to embrace...easier said than done.  

I made it back to Mississippi without any trouble (although I had to take back roads out of town because the overpasses on the interstate were icy) and am back at work.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll finished settling back in and show a picture or two of my room with the new piece of furniture and some fun new additions we found for the kitchen on a  surprise trip to Target... 

In other news, the city of Jackson, MS has no water.  Well, that's not completely true.  We have water, but not enough pressure to take a shower and it is contaminated so we're brushing our teeth with bottled water.  The weather is so much colder than usual that over 100 miles of city pipes burst.  Schools are out, restaurants are closed and I've been told that the state legislature brought in a nice set of port-o-johns  to set up outside of the state capitol.  
 

That's all for now.  Until next time I'm just trying to stay hydrated, warm and not hit my head :)

Great Soup for the Winter!

Since we've been  experiencing actual winter weather here I've been wanting to stay bundled up by the fire place with a mug of hot chocolate.  Last night my mother made one of my favorite soups for dinner.   It's great for two, great for a crowd and always good when it's cold outside.

Mexican Chicken Soup

• 1 lb. chicken breast
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 can creamed corn
• 2 Tablespoons garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• salt and cayenne pepper to taste
• 1/4-1/2 bunch cilantro *I usually leave this out and just put it on the side for people to add if they want*
• 1 cup Montery Jack cheese, shredded
• 2-3 cups Half & Half
• 2 cans Mexican tomatoes (you can use Rotel)
• 2 cans black beans, drained
• sour cream
• tortilla chips
• one lime sliced in wedges

1. Boil chicken until cooked.  
2. Allow chicken to cool enough to touch and then shred and sprinkle with taco seasoning while still warm.   
3. Make sure to reserve 2 cups chicken broth!
   
4. Combine chicken with broth, then add all ingredients except butter, cheese, and Half & Half.  *Make sure to drain the black beans or else the soup will turn purple!*
   
5. Heat on low for 10 min. 
6. Add butter and cheese and stir until melted. 
7. Turn off of heat and add Half & Half.  

8. Top each bowl with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, and extra cheese and squeeze a lime slice in each bowl.

Yum.

Ocular Update, Culinary Musings and Football.

Well, I can look up now.  This is day #2 of not having to stare at the ground.  And what better way to celebrate that than watching Julie & Julia with my momma and then watching the BCS Championship game.

All I have to say is WAR EAGLE!  A loss for Alabama that other team is a win for EVERYONE else.  And let's be honest - if you are a quarterback from Texas and your actual God-given name is Colt McCoy you deserve to win. 

I am also now dying to make a batch of the bruschetta that is shown in the opening scenes of Julie & Julia.  You know, the one with the heirloom tomatoes on top.  I just found the recipe here.  That probably isn't going to happen until I get back to Jackson. 

*Picture from the movie Julie & Julia*

Until then I'll keep myself happy with my mother's Mexican Chicken Soup (I'll post the recipe tomorrow.  No time tonight - the game is about to start!).

By the way: it's snowing here and has been all day! 

The Loot!

Well since I never blogged about what I received from Santa for Christmas I'll tell you about it now!

Three serving pieces of my sterling: a cake server, the sugar shell and the butter knife.

*Old Master by Towle

A cute vintage tablecloth that an elf (my mom) found at an estate sale.

I also got a set of stainless flatware from my grandmother...

and a new bedside table from my  grandfather.

*Hopefully, I'll have a picture of it in my room to show you soon!

Here are some of the other goodies Santa brought to our house:

The preppy brother got clothes...who would have thought.

Momma was given three antique olive jars from her three kiddos!

And for my birthday?  Let's just say the a trip to Anthropologie and J. Crack is in order :)

New Specs!

Oh!  Another happy - after 5 years I finally got a pair of new glasses!  I never wear glasses except at night right before I go to bed.  For this reason I haven't felt the need to buy a new pair in five years.  Well thanks to wonderful insurance I had a few hundred dollars that had to be spent by December 31st and it could be spent on glasses!  I went to the shop and spent about an hour trying on every pair available.  I finally settled on these!  I love them.

They were ordered the Monday before Christmas.  I knew I wouldn't be back in town until after the new year to pick them up, but though, "Hey whats two weeks when I've waited five years?"  Of course the next week I found out that I would be sequesterd in Alabama and half blind in one eye for at least two more weeks.  Thankfully, the shop in Mississippi shipped them to me in less than 24 hours and I have been enjoying them ever since. 

Birthday Happenings!

To quote a friend,
"I guess I'll turn 26 professionally, but I'm staying 25 socially."

Well said SJ!

My 26th Birthday began with several  'Happy Birthday" texts that arrived  while I was still in bed.  I skipped church (since I can't lift my head up) and had breakfast on the couch with my momma.  Breakfast-in-bed-on-your-birthday is a family tradition in our house, but since I've been spending so much time in the bed we moved it to the couch.

*This is where the picture of breakfast would be if I hadn't forgotten to take it.  Instead, here is a picture of the bracelet that I get to wear for at least two more days*

Shortly after that I received a phone call from two dear friends who were somewhere up in  Tennessee for a wedding.  Then informed me that they would be dropping by to say hello on their way beck to Mississippi!!!  Yay!  Best birthday surprise of the day!  They came by and stayed for about an hour and a half before it was time to head back home.

Just before my Mississippi friends had to leave I got another surprise visit from my favorite little friends.  Three adorably cute little ones, ages 6, 4, and 1.5,  (whose parents are also dear friends of mine) showed up on my parents doorstep with a birthday sign, birthday plates, napkins, candles and ice cream cookie sandwiches!  They also brought a basket of goodies (picked out by the girls, the oldest two) and a Snuggie!  I finally have one of my very own and it is pink! 

*A basket filled with a Barbie coloring book, cupcake oven mitts, heart-shaped measuring cups and spoons, and a bag full of glittered pink nail polish!  What sweet girls and what a sweet Mama they have!*

The oldest also brought me her Nintendo DS to borrow.   She thought I would enjoy it since I could  look down while I played it!  I've been figuring out how to play Cooking Mama for the past few minutes. 

Mom is now making my favorite cake for my birthday cake, a lemon cheese cake.  It's not a cheese cake and we have no idea why it has that name, but it's delicious and you can find recipes for it in most older southern cookbooks!  We are picking up take-out from P.F. Chang's for dinner and I imagine I'll have my nightly dose of Lortab before I hit the sack.  Then only 24 hours until my doctor's appointment!

I am cautiously hopeful that my 26th year will be one with a lot of hope and not as much change.  I'm a sucker for stability and all this excitement over the past few days has given me my fill of change. 

January 3

So today is my birthday...I am spending most of it looking at the floor, the sofa, the sheets on my bed, the pages of a book and the computer.  The recovery for a detached retina is not something I would like to experience again (do you hear that, eye?).  In two days I will go back to the doctor and, hopefully, will then be able to keep my head up all the time.  In the meantime, let me tell you what I've been doing to keep busy keep myself from falling asleep (you tend to do that a lot when you are lying face down).

Reading:

• I finished My Life In France on day two of recovery.  I loved it!  For those of you who are not familiar with the book it is Julia Child's autobiography of her time in France.  It will make you want to cook, eat, and travel to Paris to wander through the markets.

• I listened to The Firm on my iPod.  I liked it, but I have to say that John Grisham's books that center around small towns in Mississippi are my favorite - none of this mob and escaping to the Cayman Islands stuff.

• I started reading The Reason for God last night.  I'm only four chapters in to it, but so far, so good!  Tim Keller's writing is easy to read - you almost feel like you are in conversation with him.    

• I'm also listening to The Brothers Karamazov on the iPod.  I know, I know.  I may never finish it, but I at least have to give it a shot.  

Watching:

I've caught up on The Office, Scrubs and Parks & Recreation.  I've also listened to every football game (and I mean every football game) that has been on over the weekend. 

I can't forget to mention the manicure and pedicure I got yesterday.  If you are going to look at your feet they should look good!  I would definitely recommend this to anyone in my position.  I walked out of there with OPI's "Your Royal Shyness" on my fingers and "I'm Not Really a Waitress" on my toes!

Of course I can check my email and repeatedly check the Anthropologie website to see if a certain skirt is on sale...

Any other entertainment ideas out there? 

...And A Happy New Year!

Things will be a bit slow here during the beginning of 2010 as I just had emergency surgery on my left eye for a detached retina.  I can only lift my head for 10 minutes of each hour so typing is not the most convenient activity.  

Hope your 2010 is off to a great start and hopefully this will be the year of "hope and change" of all the right kind :)