"I've discovered that my own little postage stamp of native soil was worth writing about and that I would never live long enough to exhaust it."
- William Faulkner




Friday, February 27, 2009

home is where your style is




This will be fun for all you fans of home decorating out there. Take this quiz I found on How About Orange to find out your decorating style. Turns out, I'm a mix between Modern Elegance and French Eclectic. What are you?

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

are you a balla?


An eyeballa, that is. As for myself? Guilty as charged. Take this quiz and see how good your eye is.

My average was 4.27 out of 25, with my lowest being 0.5. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Monday, February 23, 2009

monday fun

Stolen from yaya’s blog…

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? his name is Jeff
2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? Frankly, I can’t remember who my first love was. I’m sure it was some ridiculous crush that I thought was true love. It obviously was not because I don’t even remember. Plus, Kell is cooler than whoever that guy was.
3. What was your 1st alcoholic drink? Can’t remember for sure – either white zin or an amaretto sour. Again, ridiculous.
4. What was your FIRST job? I worked at Giggleswick Fine Gifts and Interiors for like 2 years in high school. Taught me everything I know about fine china and gift wrap.
5. What was your FIRST car? 1989 BMW 525. I adored that car.
6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? MDOT. I have tried desperately to unsubscribe to their traffic alerts, but alas, I have been unsuccessful.
7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? My doggy, Charlie – not really a person, but he was wedged up next to me in the bed.
8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Mrs. Williams – she was also my kindergarten teacher as well.
9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? I visited Kell in Vail, CO when he worked there one summer.
10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? Yaya my friend. Yes, we talk AND text.
11. Where was your FIRST sleep over? I'm sure this was yaya as well.
12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Kell
13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? I was in Marie Bailey’s wedding when I was a junior in high school.
14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? Turned the heat on in our house. It was 58 degrees in our bedroom. brrrrrr
15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? Garth Brooks, I think.
16. FIRST tattoo? There is none
17. First piercing? Ears. It was a huge deal for us to get our ears pierced – our 12th birthday gift.
18. First foreign country you've been to? England in 2007. I love it there.
19. FIRST movie you remember seeing? Not sure. I remember watching the original Winnie the Pooh cartoon movie quite a bit. I bet it would make me sad to see it now.
20. When was your FIRST detention? Don’t remember. I’m sure it was for something like forgetting to get my assignment pad or stapled papers signed
21. What was the first state you lived in? Mississippi
22. Who was your FIRST roommate? My dear friend Ashley. We were roomies our first year at State in Rice Hall. Such great memories…even though she did not want me to hang up my Beatles poster. However, since I allowed her to put the Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff magnet on our fridge, she obliged. Don’t ask me how I remember that.
23. If you had one wish what would it be? For my family and me to be healthy for the rest of our lives.
24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance? To sing well. And to be a great photographer.
25. Who was your first kiss? My high school boyfriend.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. A few points on the Oscars, even though I’m not finished watching:
1. Hugh Jackman is amazing.
2. Anne Hathaway was a great “Nixon.” Who knew she could sing? And her dress was my fave.
3. I’m really glad for Kate Winslet. She’s deserved an Oscar way before now.
4. I felt sorry for the men nominated for Best Supporting Actor who weren’t Heath Ledger. They had no chance.
5. Did anyone notice Mickey Rourke had his dog’s picture on a necklace he was wearing?
6. Can someone please tell me why the High School Musical kids were there?
7. Did anyone hear Miley Cyrus say she hoped to win an Oscar for the Hannah Montana movie? Seriously, she said that. And with a straight face.
8. Sean Penn? Really?
9. Did people actually think Angelina and Jennifer would get into a cat fight on the red carpet? They are adults, people.
10. I still want to see Slumdog Millionaire.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

i am the walrus

Ooo, this was fun. Borrowed from Claire and Yaya

What to do: Pick one singer/artist and use only one song title to answer each question

The band/artist: The Beatles

1. Are you a male or female: “Girl”

2. Describe yourself: “Everybody’s Trying to be My Baby”

3. How do you feel about yourself: “I’ll Follow the Sun”

4. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend: “Don’t Bother Me”

5. Describe your current boy/girl situation: “Two of Us”

6. Describe your current location: “Penny Lane”

7. Describe where you want to be: “Octopus’s Garden”

8. Your best friend is: “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”

9. Your favorite color is: “Mean Mr. Mustard”

10. You know that: “We Can Work It Out”

11. What’s the weather like: “Good Day Sunshine”

12. If your life was a television show what would it be called? “A Day in the Life”

13. What is life to you: “Free As a Bird”

14. If you could change your name what would you change it to: “Eleanor Rigby”

15. What is the best advice you have to give: “All You Need Is Love”

Your turn.

oh, for the love...

I hate that it’s been so long since my last post. Time to rectify that, eh?

Since I last chronicled my happenings, a lot has gone on. Well not a LOT, per se, but a lot for me. I know some of you hate Valentine’s Day, so for those that do, this is not really dedicated to love, just the love of food.


Kell and I haven’t gone out to eat on Valentine’s Day in probably 5 years. Restaurants are crowded, the service is usually not that hot, and the price tag is typically staggering. Instead, we cook at home, and Kell brings flowers that are NOT roses (yippee). And this year, I got crazy – if you call eating on fine china and sterling that has never been used crazy. It was a perfect opportunity to try out recipes for the Delicious Dish:

Seared Ahi Tuna
2 ahi tuna steaks
2 Tbsp dark sesame oil (I could not find dark, so I just used regular sesame oil)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp of grated fresh ginger (this was fun – I got to use my Microplane!)
1 clove garlic, minced (I recommend mincing it yourself; I don’t think the stuff in the jar is as good)
1 green onion (scallion) thinly sliced (a few slices reserved for garnish)
1 teaspoon lime juice (ends up being about half a lime, squeezed)

DIRECTIONS
Mix the marinade ingredients together and coat the tuna steaks with the marinade, cover tightly, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Ours sat in the fridge for about 4 hours, but I will try it overnight next time.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high to high heat. When the pan is hot, remove the tuna steaks from the marinade and sear them for a minute to a minute and a half on each side. Tuna is best super-rare!

Remove from pan and enjoy. Sprinkle with a few green onion slices for garnish if you like.

Kell and I doubled the marinade recipe since our steaks were so big. I poured half the marinade in the container before I added the tuna. This allows the bottom to get some of the flavor. Flip half way if you want. This recipe would probably be great with chicken, too!

Sauteed Garlic Asparagus

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 bunch fresh asparagus
3 cloves garlic, chopped

DIRECTIONS
Melt the butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and asparagus spears; cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until asparagus is tender. If you like your asparagus well done, reduce heat and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Chocolate-dipped Rice Krispy Treats (I got this recipe from an adorable website I stumbled upon. GREAT stuff and lovely pictures)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 bag mini marshmallows
6 cups Crisped Rice cereal
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (I used white chocolate because Kell loves it)

DIRECTIONS
Butter a 9×13-inch pan well.

In a large sauce pan melt butter. Add pinch of salt and stir. Add mini marshmallows and stir until completely melted (don’t let them burn. We are going for krispy treats, not s’mores). Add cereal and stir so that all of the cereal is coated in marshmallow buttery goodness. While still hot, scoop into greased pan. Press the rice krispies batter into the pan. Helpful hint – wet your hands a little with water and then press the batter in. the water keeps the batter from getting all over your paws.

Place in the fridge to cool - about 30 minutes.

Once cool, use a good spatula to remove the entire slab of rice krispies from the pan. Place on a clean table. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out whatever shape you like (be sure you have a good cookie cutter – mine bent. The kind with the rubber grip is the best). Place on waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate in 30-second intervals in the microwave. After each interval, stir, stir, stir. You don’t want this to burn, either.

Dip one side of the hearts in the melted chocolate and place then chocolate side up on the waxed paper. Let sit for several hours to harden or place in the fridge to hurry along the process. I put some sprinkles on mine to be festive, but frankly, they were cuter naked (ooh, I’m sassy!).

Hope everyone has had a great week so far. 4 days until the Oscars!!

Friday, February 13, 2009

love 2 paint

Happy (late) birthday, Jessica! Last night, after some delectable Mexican food and a beer or two, our giggling group of girls went to Easely Amused to celebrate. You may recall I gave EA a shout-out earlier and expressed my desire to take part. Well, I got the chance, and we had a blast.

Here are some shots from our evening:

Wine and art? How European of us.


A work in progress.


My finished product - "Harry's Chapel of Love"


Hooray for friends and painting!


MK posted some cute Valentine one-liners on her blog and inspired me to do the same. These are super-cute, and you can find them found it at upup’s etsy shop – great print-your-own stuff!





Happy Heart Day to my Valentine…


…and to each of you!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

clean

What do you think of the new white background? I was growing a little tired of the Shrek green.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

let's color

As a child, I loved to draw, or “color” as I called it. Anything that stood still and could take a crayon was fair game (though it was NOT me who drew pumpkins on the wall for Halloween – that was Harris). We had coloring books covering the floors as children and no doubt a crayon or 10 ground into the carpet. I have such fond memories of coloring on the reverse side of computer paper. The pages were so big, and when you were finished with one, you just tore it off and started clean with the next.

The best part of coloring no doubt was a brand-new box of crayons. I can still remember what a fresh box smells like. All those colors in that familiar yellow box with the green stripes – for a while I could even identify every color in a 64 pack just by looking at it. So imagine my excitement when I stumbled across this familiar video from Sesame Street about how crayons are made. It’s still fascinating to me to this day.

Monday, February 9, 2009

groovy mix and grammys

Hello, readers, and happy Monday.

I went to Indianola on Friday for work to hang out with some European journalists at the BB King Museum. I wasn’t in my car, which means I was away from my XM radio – it’s pathetic how attached to those things you can get. Anywho, whenever I have a long drive in the car, XM or not, I love to make a mix CD to enjoy on the road. Claire and I have called these compilations “groovy mix” for as long as I can remember. And since I always like to hear what other people listen to, I thought you might enjoy seeing what appeared on my latest groovy mix – in the actual order in which they appeared.

anyone else but you - the moldy peaches
This is that weird, hilarious song on Juno. The lyrics are completely random, but are actually pretty sweet.

blackbird - the beatles
I absolutely love this song. So much in fact, that I replaced my missing White Album just to get it.

colorblind - counting crows
This song will forever remind me of Cruel Intentions. Weird movie, great soundtrack.

come on get higher - matt nathanson
Even though it’s a little pop rock-y for me, I really like this song. Not sure why, I just do.

elenore - the turtles
I’m sure this one looks familiar to most of you.

a falling through - ray lamontagne
OK, if you aren’t listening to ray lamontagne, you are missing out. I can’t think of another way to describe his voice other than “smoky.” He sounds like a guy you’d hear in an obscure piano bar.

farewell - rosie thomas
Another song that I’m not sure why I like it. And it’s not really the words that I like, but the actual melody and the voice of the singer. It’s kind of sad and mournful.

God only knows - the beach boys
Every time Big Love starts a new season, I am reminded of how much I love this song. I love to watch that show start.

honey pie - the beatles
Another song off the White Album. It’s so fun to hear musicians do something outside their normal style. I can imagine Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby dancing to it.

i'm the man who loves you – wilco
Thanks to iTunes Genius for recommending Wilco and to MK for suggesting which album to download first. This one is my favorite of their songs I’ve listened to.

let it be me - ray lamontagne
another appearance by the smoky piano man.

listen to the darkside - charlie mars
Who doesn’t love a hometown (or home state) musician? This song is off Charlie’s new album Like a Bird, Like a Plane. How sad that I had to ask what the Darkside was, but it was just MK and she knows I’m not cool. But let the record show that when I was told, I knew exactly what it was.

love, save the empty - erin mccarley
I just mentioned this song in an earlier post, and I still love it. Thanks, Kendy, for encouraging me to get more Erin.

lovebug - jonas brothers
OK, if you can get past that it is a jonas brothers song, you’d really like it. I think it’s fun. And Joe Jonas is hot. I’m just saying.

moon river - peter mayer
Another oldie but goodie.

new york state of mind - billy joel
I’ve sort of had NYC on the brain lately, so this song was a natural choice.

sympathy for the devil - the rolling stones
Even though Mick Jagger grosses me out, I still love The Stones. And this is my absolute fave of their songs.

until i fall away - gin blossoms
Who doesn’t love a little 90’s rock? The Gin Blossoms remind me of high school.

you found me - the fray
The lyrics of this song were so intriguing, I made Harris find the meaning for me while I was in the car. Fascinating. And a good song, too.

You might also notice that the above songs are in alphabetical order by title. I like to arrange my groovy mixes this way so it assures a haphazard layout of songs (though not really haphazard at all) and most of the time prevents any singer from being right next to himself or herself. Weird? Perhaps.

In other music news, the Grammy Awards were on last night. Who knew Alison Krauss was such a critic’s darling? I don’t know that I’ve ever listened to a second of her music, but maybe I should. And let me just say Flo Rida and T-Pain got ROBBED. “Low” so should have won.

Have a good week, friends.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

write it right

How fun does this look? Get your handwriting as a computer font! And it’s free!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

big lovin'

She’s from Memphis, plays the endearing Margene in HBO's Big Love and is also in He’s Just Not That Into You. I love that Ginnifer Goodwin. I’ve never really been one to be excited over a chick flick, but I can’t wait to see this one (also starring girl crush Scarlett Johannson!). I saw the preview the other day, and I loved the theme song “Love, Save the Empty” so much, I immediately went home and downloaded it. And how much do we love that necklace?

(photo courtesy of foxnews.com)

Monday, February 2, 2009

color me excited!

I mentioned at the beginning of this year that I want to paint more, but sometimes it’s hard to get in that frame of mind. Here’s something that I think will do just the trick…


If you’re in the Jackson area, check out Easely Amused. It’s a painting class that’s more like a party – no artistic ability required. You just show up with your $25 (great price, by the way), and an instructor paints a work of art while you watch and paint along. And when class is over, you’ve had fun with friends and have a lovely parting gift!

Can’t wait to attend my first class!
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