Cheers!

Last week I did something that I haven't done in 14 years. I painted. The last art class I took was in the 8th grade, since I peaked that year after painting a passable seahorse. I knew there was no future in high school Art for me - I had other elective fish to fry, like Yearbook and Choir, and also my temperament just isn't suited to the patience and risk-taking associated with painting and drawing, etc.

But last week I smocked up with Leah and Beth at Cheers to Art, a fun little studio that has a bar and holds classes in which everyone learns the same painting and no experience is necessary. You might think "yeah right," but truly, I enjoyed myself (when I remembered to breathe) and I came out with a painting I'm proud of. The vibe is very chill and no pressure, so that helps.

All the supplies are provided in the cost ($35), and on our particular night, $10 of everyone's fees went to the Downs Syndrome Society.

The finished product!

If you have a chance to do a class like this I highly recommend it, especially if art doesn't stress you out like it does me. :) It was fun to stretch myself, though, and really see what I could do. So even if you haven't picked up a paint brush in 10+ years and have never had any discernible artistic tendencies, you'll still have a good time!

Stay Sharp: How to Care for Your Knives So They Last

Anyone else out there drawn to only the most expensive, luxurious kitchen items? But because you don’t have it in the budget to drop $390 on a cast iron pot, you’re left to just dream of outfitting your kitchen in Aqua-enameled cookware?

And who hasn't been seduced by the knife wall in the specialty kitchen store? All those shiny, straight knives make my hands tingle with anticipation of all the fabulous chopping, slicing and mincing we could do together. If only they weren't $100+ a pop. Bottom line – I’m not going to have a block full of Wusthofs any time soon.

But that doesn't mean that I can’t have just as much fun chopping with my knives from IKEA or even freebies from Walmart.

Your knives are your most important and useful kitchen tools, so it’s a good idea to reevaluate how you’re caring for them in order to get a long life from each one, whether it was $5 or $95.

Some knife-care tips:

1) Hone your knife with a honing steel before every use. You've probably seen one of these before – one may have come with your knife set. This super awesome tool helps keep your knives at their peak condition, and using it will mean sharpening your knives less frequently. You see, the sharp part of a knife blade is, on a microscopic level, a lot like jagged teeth. When you use your knife, these tiny “teeth” are bent out and the knife becomes duller. A honing steel re-aligns the “teeth” into a straight, super-sharp edge.

2) Use a wooden or bamboo cutting board. These boards are easier on your knife, which means that the blade stays sharper longer.

3) Hand-wash your knives right after you use them. So that they stay their sharpest, knives should never be put in the dishwasher and shouldn't spend too much time in the sink getting jostled around by other dishes, which will dull or scratch the blade and possibly bend them or break their points. Plus, it’s pretty dangerous to reach into a sudsy sink with a knife somewhere in it. Hand-washing your knife might sound like a chore – but really, it should take you about 10 seconds to wash a knife, right? Better than losing a finger! :)

4) Put your knife away safely – this means out of reach of children and not in a drawer. Storing your knives in drawers is one of the worst things to do. The blade can get scratched, dulled and dented every time you open it. Plus, if it’s a crowded drawer, you run the risk of cutting yourself trying to dislodge a utensil. Use a knife block, or better yet, a magnetic knife strip on the wall. This gets your knives off the counter (counter space is super important to me living in an apartment), plus if you have kids, you can hang it high enough so that they can’t reach. These strips have super strong magnets and come in a variety of lengths. I have a 12 inch one that holds my four IKEA knives, my free paring knife that I got from a Walmart presentation randomly, and my one Wusthof knife that I used a whole birthday gift card to purchase.

You don’t have to have German precision-engineered knives with professional-grade steel – you can have a fantastic time in the kitchen with any knives as long as you take care of them, keep them sharp and of course, be careful!

The Sunday Review: The Excellent Wife

A few months ago I read and discussed The Excellent Wife with a small group of women. I was the only non-wife there...go figure. But I was told that despite my not being married, I'd take away a lot of good things from the book applicable to my life now and in the future should I ever get married. I definitely did, but it's a challenging book, and the reasons are twofold.

1) Martha is not a natural writer. And neither is her editor if she has one. The book is not a heartstring-tugging, engaging read. If you are anything like me you'll be annoyed with her writing, layout, font choices and lack of proper punctuation. And repetitiveness. She also sometimes seems a little condescending or patronizing, but I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt that what she's trying to communicate she's doing so in love. I'm guessing that as a counselor, she's used to dialoguing with women, but her thoughts translate differently in writing.

2) The Bible says that wives are to submit to their husbands. But what does the Bible mean by that? How does it look in a marriage today? Martha takes a more-or-less traditional view (but not uber-traditional, she affirms that wives should not be doormats) and that's sometimes a hard pill to swallow. While she uses scripture to back up her views on the aspects of being a submissive wife, this is still a book of her thoughts and not God-breathed Truth. So, it's important to read with an open mind and a discerning heart. This book made me uncomfortable, and it opened my eyes to a lot of what the world considers acceptable that God perhaps did not intend. I still don't know how I feel about some things she says, and feel I disagree with some things, too.

That being said, I really liked this book for its practical guidance on how to be a better communicator, conflict resolver and overall a God-honoring, loving and selfless person - whether married or unmarried. She offers helpful, Biblical advice like, "when your husband is acting like this, you do this." Or "when you are feeling like this, this is why and this is how you should change your thoughts." Martha doesn't give an inch - it's up to you to be The Excellent Wife because you want to be obedient to God, it's not up to your husband or circumstances to make you feel like being so. But she constantly reiterates that you need God's grace and help to do this and that He is faithful to provide it.

I was certainly blessed by reading and discussing this book, by being inspired to become more Christ-like, and by having my eyes opened to a lot of lies the world wants me to believe about marriage and love. And I've been convicted of how selfish I am, how much more quickly I need to forgive and how much I need the Lord's grace to do it all.

Four stars - because all the great discussion and the examination of my heart outweighed my personal preferences for beautifully written prose. (This time.)

Birchbox Throwback: January (WHAT)

Boom. There it is...the much anticipated put-off January Birchbox.

Let's get down to business, shall we? Since I failed to do so four months ago...

First, No. 4 Lumiere d'hiver Clarifying Shampoo.

This smells delightful. It removes product build-up while gently cleansing without stripping moisture or color, which is nice, because most things I've read about clarifying shampoo say to not use it if you color your hair. I don't know about how much product build up it's removed; I can't really tell a difference. But it doesn't suds up too much, which means it doesn't have damaging sulfates and parabens, etc. at least. And did I mention it smells delightful? It does.

Also smelling delightful: 

Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré. Also know as the 24-Hour Miracle Cream. This moisturizer leaves my face super, super soft. Silky almost. And it's so light! I love light moisturizers that get the job done and keep doing it for hours.

And now Deborah Lippmann's The Stripper To Go, which is a packet with a little "mitt" soaked in award-winning nail polish remover.

I haven't used it yet, but apparently, you slip the mitt over each finger and swipe to remove the polish. It supposedly smells great, too. I'd like to try it on some glitter polish, because that stuff is the. hardest. to take off!

What's inside this little pouch?

Makeup and perfume!

First, theBalm Cosmetics Hot Mama Shadow/Blush.

Since I don't think this would look very good on my eyes, I've only used this as a blush - it's a nice warm shade that has some glow to it because of a golden shimmer. The thing I don't like about it is that stains my blush brush, probably because it's a pressed powder and not loose, so it doesn't shake off. Maybe I should expect this and just deal, but the next time I use it, I'm going to try a tissue or a makeup sponge. Oh, and it's also difficult to get off the brush and onto my skin. I end up having to hold the brush fibers together to make them stiffer so I can get a good swipe of color and then blend. In that way it's more like an eye shadow. Of course, it's completely possible that I'm doing everything wrong, but if a product is a blush, than it should work like a blush.

This little sample of Aerie Shimmer was a let down. 

The packaging is cute, don't get me wrong - but to me, the Aerie brand isn't a luxury beauty brand. It's a mall brand. This is like getting a sample of American Eagle body spray, or Gap perfume - the stuff that I wore in junior high (Gap Grass, anyone?). Plus, I don't like the way it smells.

So that was January. Hope you enjoyed this little trip back in time :)

What to Eat This Weekend

Need some inspiration for what to eat this weekend? Here are a few recipes I've tried that will give you a truly excellent food weekend. Take a look, get inspired and get to the store!

Friday Night

Pizza night. Before you go to bed tonight (Thursday), throw this pizza crust together. It is my very favorite and is pretty simple to make. It's best when it can rise for several hours in the fridge, so making it a night ahead of when you'll need it is ideal.

Top your pizza with minced garlic and olive oil, with spinach, bacon and an egg (put the pizza in the oven without it, but leave a little space for it in the middle, then, when there's about 10 or so minutes left to cook, take the pizza out, crack the egg and put it back in until it's done!). Or pizza sauce, Italian sausage, shredded mozzarella.

For dessert? Peanut blossoms!

Saturday

Breakfast: If you're like me, you'd do anything for a runny egg yolk. Check out these super easy deconstructed egg sandwiches. They take four ingredients - and one of them is a garnish!

Lunch: Chances are, you're running errands, cleaning and keeping busy on your Saturday afternoon. Maybe you don't even stop for lunch. If you do, try this super quick meal - a throw-back from college made all grown up with shrimp, mushrooms and scallions. Just prepare the ramen as directed (I used the Oriental flavor) but instead of draining the liquid, keep it for a soup, add thawed cooked shrimp, mushrooms and sliced scallions. The shrimp will warm up in the soup!

Dinner: Fire up the grill, invite some friends and have steak night! Prepare these super easy oven fries and a spinach salad with strawberries, cucumber, green onions and a balsamic poppy-seed dressing to go with it. For the fries, cut up two russet potatoes, pour 1/4 vegetable oil into a 9-inch baking pan, toss potatoes in the oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes at 425, then stir, salt and pepper again, and cook 15 more. Take them out, pour off any liquid, and put back in the oven for 10 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Dessert? Banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!













Sunday

Brunch: Everyone's different when it comes to the big Sunday meal, but if you do brunch, why not try cinnamon streusel baked French toast (prepare everything ahead of time on Saturday night, refrigerate and bake it out in the morning), deconstructed egg sandwiches (or just regular eggs), bacon and fruit? I highly, highly recommend the Wellshire Farms dry rubbed bacon that you get at the meat counter at Whole Foods. It is a total splurge, but it is the very best bacon I have ever had. And don't forget plenty of coffee and OJ!

Lunch: If you don't do a big brunch or have some hungry little ones running around begging for an actual lunch, why not do chicken nuggets? They don't take much time and are so tasty and juicy. I changed the recipe a little and added some other herbs to the breadcrumb mix, and I fried mine for a few minutes on each side in a small amount of oil in a skillet.

Dinner: Maybe you do a big afternoon or evening meal on Sunday? If that's the case, then this Italian pot roast is a fantastic idea. It takes a little forethought, since you have to cook the meat for four hours, refrigerate for a few more and then warm everything up and assemble, but it's a great meal to dig into with the ones you love. So flavorful, tender and worth the effort!

FENNOfashion: Making My Jewelry Dreams Come True

Back in November, I posted about how my co-worker/jewelry designer Megan Fenno was going to make me a custom bracelet based off one I was obsessed with on Pinterest. She did, and I love it! (Full disclosure: she made it for me a long time ago; I've just been putting off writing this post.)

Megan's really talented and loves creating custom pieces for people. Plus, she doesn't mind making adjustments to the piece so that it's exactly what you want.

For example, I'm possibly a little less sparkly than Megan's typical customer when it comes to jewelry. When I asked for a few changes to the studs on the original bracelet she made, she had it back to me right away with the perfect little brass studs!

I get compliments on the bracelet all the time. It's like an edgy antique leather cuff (which is my fave bracelet style), but I love that it wraps and the clasp is heavy-duty and industrial cool. When I saw it online, I was bummed because I had no idea where to find it. But I came to Megan, and she made it happen! Thanks again, Megan!

Porch Makeover

Last summer, my friends and I spent a ton of time hanging out on my porch. It was great, but I couldn't help wishing that I had more ambiance. The two faux-wicker chairs, tea table and broken window box of herbs just weren't cutting it. So this summer – I’m planning a makeover.

I’m going to try to keep things as low-cost as possible through coupons and shopping sales. But here’s what I have in mind:

Curtains! My porch gets some pretty extreme late afternoon sun, which isn't so awesome when I’m trying to enjoy the fresh air. Solution - these porch curtains, which are on sale right now! They’re so breezy and tropical-feeling. I think, done right, I can make them work. I’m planning on stringing them along a rope (possibly found at Lowes?). Doesn't the patio with the lights and curtains look so inviting?

These lights from Lowes. I’d like to line my whole porch ceiling with them in a zig-zag pattern, so I’m anticipating I’ll need three or four strings. I may just end up outlining the ceiling. This coupon could come in handy.

Two chairs from World Market, both with this chair cover. World Market often has discount codes available – right now they have one for 15 percent off regular-priced items or free shipping on orders $150+. Which is nice, because there’s no World Market close by…sniff.

Weather-safe nesting tables like these. I have a wooden tea table out there right now that’s probably not meant to take the brunt of the weather that gets into my porch. I’d like to replace it with some all-weather metal nesting tables. I’ll be watching Pier 1 for these babies to go on sale because I love them. Anyone have a coupon code??

Some healthy-looking edible plants! I really want to be a container gardener, but I think I should probably start small, since I try to grow herbs every year and it’s hit or miss whether I keep them alive. This is how I imagine my herbs will look this year on my beautiful new porch. I’m also contemplating planting some lettuce or arugula. It’s apparently easy to grow, plus, I like it and will enjoy not having to buy lettuce for salads this summer. This lemon tree in a container is rather ambitious, but it’s beautiful and I never seem to have fresh lemon juice on hand when I’m cooking and a recipe calls for it. Problem solved.

I’d also like to do at least one pot of annuals. Growing up, I loved planting flowers with my mom and we always had tons of pots on the porch and picnic table and everywhere! I haven’t done it since I've lived on my own, probably because I couldn't justify the cost of flowers, pots and soil. But I've decided it’s time to plant something beautiful just because I want to (and to try desperately to keep it alive!).

I’ll keep you updated on how it goes, but what about you? Any big plans for your outdoor living space this summer? Any tips for keeping container herbs and edibles alive?

Creamy Zucchini Tarragon Soup

Ah, spring. We’re so glad you’re here when the weather’s sunny and warm, but as soon as you get chilly and cloud up, we’re complaining. Good thing there’s this yummy soup to help warm up a chilly day and get us excited about the spring goodness that’s filling the markets – fresh veggies!

And so, let’s make creamy zucchini tarragon soup, adapted slightly from Daphne Oz’s new cookbook, Relish. Start by gathering the ingredients: four small or medium zucchinis, 2 Tbs fresh tarragon leaves, two cloves of garlic, a small or medium onion, 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, 1/4 cup cooking sherry (white wine will also work), 1/4 cup half & half or cream, 2 Tbs olive oil, truffle oil (optional), sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Chop up the onion and garlic and then start on the zucchinis – halve them length-wise, then quarter them and chop, chop, chop. Tear off 2 Tbs of tarragon leaves and, if you’re like me, prepare your chicken broth.

When you've got all your chopping done, heat 2 Tbs of olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until it’s translucent, then add the garlic and saute for a minute more. You don’t want the garlic to burn, so it gets added after the onions have mostly cooked through.

Add the zucchini, 1Tbs of the tarragon leaves, 1 cup of the stock and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the zucchini is soft.

Now it’s time to blend! Transfer the soup to a blender or use an immersion blender like this:

Keep blending until everything’s all smoothed out. Return the soup to the pot, add the remaining 1 cup of stock, as well as 1/4 cup of sherry and stir to combine.

Bring to a simmer and then cook, uncovered, for five minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. You can also add the 1/4 cup of half & half here or wait until you've ladled it into bowls and add as a garnish.

Ladle into four bowls and garnish with the remaining tarragon leaves and a swirl or two of truffle oil (and cream). Serve it hot or cold with some crusty bread! This soup is so springy and good – try it soon!

What spring fruit or vegetable are you most excited about buying this season? It's rhubarb and sweet onions for me :)

Dear readers,

Hi there. Hello.

So, in an effort to try to not gloss over my blogging absence and make it seem like nothing happened and things are golden, I’m just going to come out and say it – I burned out. On like everything.

Things pretty much came to a halt when I broke my leg on February 8, although they were slowly skidding that way since before Christmas.

I was drowning in busyness, over-committed yet spiritually underfed. I decided that the New Year would bring about a change – I’d go on hiatus and spend time doing things that fed my soul. Getting lost in a recipe, cleaning my apartment, writing, reading books, catching up on back issues of Southern Living and Cooks Illustrated and Martha Stewart. I’d take time to study the Word on my own – something I've never been very good at because I rate self-discipline right up there with walking over hot coals.

I’d like to say that I was successful. But when a skiing accident left me with a complete fibular fracture (that sounds so dramatic!), I pretty much stopped everything all together, including feeding my soul.

Instead, others cared for me, fed my soul with midnight trips to the ER, stayed up all night and helped me into bed, got me groceries, painted my toenails, assembled transfer benches, carried things for me, cooked for me, kept me company, drove me around and more and more and more.

I learned how allowing myself to be served in that way was a difficult surrender. I learned how tightly I hang on to my self-sufficiency, in conventional ways like being able to leave the house on my own, and also in the way I view my Savior. My failure to rely fully on him for acceptance and worth and my habit of strategizing my way to contentment became crystal clear when my plans were thrown completely off and I was suddenly left out of fun times with my friends.

Which is another thing I learned – I've made an idol out of not missing out. If everyone is out doing something without me – even if I’m invited, but can’t go – I feel empty, low, separate. So I say yes. I double-book. I plan things. A full schedule is a full life, because it means I’m wanted and included.

Obviously, once I broke my leg, I was out for skiing for the rest of the winter. But everyone else still went, of course, and had lots of fun! My irrational thoughts and feelings while I was left at home revealed an open pit that I should have been filling with the Lord, but had been choosing the approval of and acceptance from others instead.

It’s been 12 weeks now, since that fateful night on the slopes. My leg’s fully healed, and I’m back into the groove of life. I’m taking it slow – adding commitments back in while being mindful of the time I need for myself to recharge, to create, to be filled up. And though I’d like to think that identifying my sin means I've dealt with it, I’m confident that He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion.

What I Ate in Chicago

I went to Chicago over a month ago. And apparently all I did was take pictures of my food. So, I now present to you a visual feast!

Every time I visit my favorite city, Kelly and Liz have a giant spread waiting to refresh me after my long drive. And wine. This time, we had veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, a flatbread, an assortment of cookies and chocolates, nuts, some other things that I can't remember but I know I loved, and the homemade spiked hot chocolate pictured above, garnished with a Whole Foods marshmallow on a cinnamon stick.  

The next day, after a leisurely morning, Kelly and I went out and about running errands and shopping around Clark and Diversey. We stopped for a late brunch at The Peasantry, a new restaurant on Clark that serves "elevated street food." It was all very chic and cool and had an extensive brunch menu. Wow. 

I was so flustered by all the choices that I decided to go with my mainstay, French Toast:

"honey vanilla soaked brioche, smothered in walnut almond cream, white chocolate mascarpone mousse and bourbon syrup."

Kelly had the Pork Belly Breakfast Sandwich: "rosemary rubbed pork belly, shaved Brussels sprouts slaw, fried egg, kimchi aioli, brioche bun."

And we split an order of truffle fries.

Everything tasted really, really good. Except my French Toast was not smothered in walnut almond cream and instead had cold berries piled on top. It was tasty, but not what I was expecting. And the berries made the whole thing cold. I was disappointed, but I'd like to try it again - the savory menu items looked amazing!

Actually, the whole reason I went to Chicago that weekend was to eat. You may remember Liz and I making a wager about blogging 52 times in 2012. And whoever reached that number first would buy the other's dinner at Yoshi's Cafe, our favorite restaurant in Chi. (Well, it's mine at least...I don't want to speak for Liz. But I'd guess it's up there.) Since we both reached 52 posts on the same day (Liz beat me by a couple hours, though), I wound up buying her dinner and she bought mine. Kelly came along as moral support. And to choose the wine. :)

We all started by sharing two Japanese Kabocha Pumpkin Raviolis with goat cheese cream sauce garnished with a crispy Parmesan cheese domes and microgreens. That up there is just one.

Kelly continued the trend with a bowl of pumpkin soup as her entree. I can't remember what all was in it, and since Yoshi changes his menu so often, I can't find it online. But I remember her loving it. She might have also had a salad...she does that sometimes.

I do remember that Liz had a Beef Tenderloin Steak with red wine sauce with honey and dates topped with baby arugula, truffle oil and dark chocolate-covered crispy bacon served with rosemary French fries.

And I had a sampler of (clockwise from the top left) Oven Roasted Beet Salad with red beets, golden beets and watercress, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar gastrique; Oven Baked Kuro-Buta loin (Japanese black pork) marinated in milk, breaded with Japanese panko, herbs and Parmesan cheese, and served with wasabi mashed potatoes with apricot Tonkatsu sauce; Braised Wagyu Beef Short Ribs with red sauce served with creamy polenta, hon-shimeji mushrooms and roasted zebra beets with micro greens.

Oh yes.

We shared dessert. I don't remember exactly, but it was something with Japanese red beans, chestnut gelee and espresso cream sauce. Berries and whipped cream on the side, Christmas tree and mint sprig garnish. Exotic, interesting and not too heavy - the perfect way to end the amazing meal!

The weekend eating concluded at Rocks, a favorite pub in Lakeview. It was a rainy, cold Sunday, so I fortified myself for the drive home with a bowl of their homemade French Onion Soup, and my share of a mimosa pitcher:

It was a wonderful weekend, as it always is when I go back to Chicago. Kelly and Liz and I fall right back into our groove with each other and it feels like I never left. That's the best kind of visit there is!