Skyline.

{Sweet & Spicy Sorta' Soupy Heaven}

I am proud to say I was born in and grew up in the grand Queen City: Cincinnati Ohio. It's a wonderful place.

I grew up with a lot of wonderies in Cincinnati. Indian Mounds, the Cincinnati Zoo, the field of Daffodils at the Krohn Conservatory, Kings Island... well those are the major players in my memory. There's actually a lot of really wonderful history in Cincinnati. But kids don't pay much attention to that stuff.

One thing the kid me did pay attention to was food. Enter: Skyline Chili. Skyline is the name of the restaurant which made Cincinnati-style Chili famous. (There's also Gold Star, but this cousin of the chili world doesn't get as much love. I don't know who came first, do you?) Named for the beautiful Skyline that befalls the city, it's a staple of Cincinnati culture. One of my first dates with Mark was eating ice cream across the Ohio River in Kentucky, admiring the lights, bridges, and architecture.

We love and miss Skyline.

Being across the country and being vegetarian poses two obstacles for us.  I've concurred them.

Originally our family would bring or send packets of "Cincinnati-Style Chili Mix". It tasted good but the corn syrup solids and BHT ended up leaving a salty coating in our mouths.

I decided to tackle it. Make it From Scratch. I'm not a big From Scratch cook. I mean, I cook a lot, and love to, but the term From Scratch conjures up images of long-simmered beefy stews, or croissants, or other things that require a lot of time, measuring, and planning. But this seemed do-able to me. I found a recipe and dove in.

Look at all the spice jars I had open! Allspice! Cinnamon! Paprika! Chili Powder!

It was so good. We used veggie-dogs to make a Coney.

It wasn't quite the same - at Skyline the hot dogs are miniature, as are the buns. But still great. Something about that finely shredded mild cheddar cheese + spicy sweet chili soaked into white spongy bread. Oh yum! My favorite is still the classic 3-Way. Spaghetti with chili and lots of cheese. And a side of oyster crackers.

And then... there's the Dip. This is how we usually introduce newbies to Skyline. It's portable, sits in your tummy like a flat tire, and is addictive.

Cream Cheese + Chili + Cheese

I'm not going to post the recipe I used, because It's not quite right. I need to experiment. There are lots out there, though. Here is one that looks reputable.

For the meat-eaters who want to try it in it's original glory, you can get it on Amazon.














Also, it should be noted, the last meat I did ever eat was a Chili Sandwich with my friend Brittany sometime in 1991. It was my last cheat. And totally worth it.

Mellow-Yellow.

{This yellow ain't so mellow.}

Okay, awhile ago, I lamented my situation with fashion. I used to have at least one foot in. I used to be on decent terms. We were friendly. And then.... I guess we had a falling out. It all started with that 55 pounds of "baby weight" (I like to tell myself it was baby weight, although my baby weighed in under 8 pounds.) Then the fluctuation thereafter. Two more babies. And then the budget. Strict budgets don't run in the same circle as fashion. At least, my Budget and my Fashion didn't seem to be getting along.

A few months ago I decided: Enough! This is nonsense. Of course my Budget and my Fashion can be friends. I know Budget well, we really like each other. But Fashion, on the other hand... we're just not seeing eye-to-eye. But, I knew eventually we'd all be getting along better.

My dear husband casually gave me a gift of cash he'd been hoarding for months, so that after Esmé was born and I was starting to feel like myself again (ha! Little did we know I have no idea who that is) I'd have some extra shopping money. Swoon.

So, I got some new digs. I do my hair 3.5 days a week. I am starting to look okay again, I start to think. I may be figuring this out.

And then. This.

I was walking the kids to school, glowing with my new confidence, day-dreaming about what I'd wear to the next Book Club or Girl's Night or Date Night (as that's the extent of my social life) when I just happened to look down.

Look at this. Look at how I left the house.

I took this myself with my phone, so I know you can't see exactly HOW AWFUL it is, so I'll expand. That neon striped shirt... yeah, it's a flowey, handkerchief hemmed tunic thing. And that cardigan, yep, I really did button it like that. Left the bottom all haggard just like that. I did. I left the house like that.

And then it got worse.

I looked down:

Uh-huh, another shade of yellow. Dirty running-shoe yellow. With sporty socks. And short old leggings.
Ugh. This is not the look I'm hoping for.

This is the look I'm going for. Late 1960's Parisian Librarian. Is that so hard??

Chris Benz

Chris Benz - now that's a yellow much more mellow!

Chanel

Chris Benz

Budget is bitching at me right now, I have to go soothe her.

P.S. Chris Benz is my current Fashion Dreamboat, can you tell?

5.

Happy 5th Birthday, my darling Elliette Rose.

A sweet song for my sweet rose, by Matt Costa. (Thanks, Miss Me.)

Lyrical.

{my life to music vol II}

I always wanted to be the face in front of me.

I really love Mates of State. This song is from the album Re-arrange Us.

I'm not a musician. I wish I could be. The way certain songs make me feel, I wish I could bang out those feelings on a piano or at least a lavender Casio. Where did my Casio go, anyway....

My kids end up loving these songs, too, and I think they're just picking up my vibes. I get so happy and feel so energized, they are receiving all that electric boogy-woogy I'm throwing around, and we're all in for a good day.

Brother.

I always wanted a brother. Here is why:

Stitch.

{Attempts at embroidery. Not so bad!}

I had to sew a lot in college. I mean, a lot. Thense, I do not enjoy it now. Kind of like how my big jobs as a kid were folding socks and emptying the dishwasher - now I just ignore that they're there and wait for Mark to do it, or convince the kids it's a very exciting game. Just like Mom did, the clever creature.

I have so much appreciation for hand-stitched soft-goods. I see them at craft fairs and on etsy and am almost sick with adoration. When I had the shop I stocked it with some beautiful hand-embroidered bibs, and I thought I might give embroidery a try. A friend who masters everything she ever thinks about trying and therefore is very very good at embroidery (and made some beautiful bibs that inspired me) gave me a very simple beginner's kit for Christmas a few years back. I kept it on the bookshelf, waiting to get up the gusto to try it out. Welp, I finally cracked it open.

It wasn't so bad!

 I did okay! I made Esmé some bibs.

 If you haven't tried embroidery but are interested, I highly recommend the kit linked above. It's simple to use and a complete kit. So you don't have to worry about buying all the bits and pieces. Also, the designs are super-cute and there is something for everyone. You can make the mister a tie, your  mom a tea towel, or a hand-towel for yourself.

The only thing I cannot seem to do is a french knot. This is not surprising. Usually, with everything I try to attempt to have as a hobby, there is that one thing I just cannot do. But this time I won't give up! I'm going to keep trying! (this is new to me... persistence.)

Postscript:

It should be noted that I started these bibs when I was about 4 months pregnant with Esmé, and she is now 7 months old.... so..... there's the ugly truth about my persistence.

Bee-loved.

{I Know I Am, But What Are You? by Samantha Bee}

Have you read this book yet?    I Know I Am, But What Are You?

Buy it. Now. And read it, you'll laugh your ass off.

Here is an excerpt, as posted online: 

looking a gift horse in the mouth

Now, my father knows how to accept a gift. He knows how to accept one mainly because he wrote his wish list in blood on the dining room wall and has been practicing his acceptance speech ever since. It doesn’t really bother me, except that every year the gifts keep getting more and more expensive. It makes me feel weird that my own father asks me for stuff he would never have contemplated getting for me while I was growing up. The man who once gave me a budget of $13 a week for groceries in college—that’s $52 a month for food—is now asking me for things like laptop computers and Gucci loafers. One year, I got him an iPod, which he loved and was moved by. I wasn’t making so much money that it was an inconsequential expense, but I could afford it with a little stretching. I knew it would mean a lot to him. Two months later, the whole transaction was forgotten. It was all, “This iPod stinks. It only has six hours of battery life! I hate it.”

I was like, “Six hours? Who can listen to that much Bruce Hornsby in a single day anyway? I mean, maybe if the Range was still in the picture . . . but a solo effort? Don’t you need to give your ears time to stop bleeding before you firethat bad boy up again?” “Bite me. It’s a lot better than the Smiths, so get over yourself.” He always liked to remind me that I went through a very serious love affair with the music of the Smiths and that he thought it was terrible and depressing. I liked to remind him that Billy Joel was a much more interesting songwriter when he was suffering from depression and doing things like drinking furniture polish, not making songs like “Uptown Girl,” which was, coincidentally, my father’s favorite.

I laughed out loud in a melodious honk on a number of occasions, surely looking ultra-attractive to dear Mark. Almost as good as when I was ogling John Stamos on Glee the other night. Have Mercy!

But that's neither here nor there.

Read this and come back here and let me know what you think!

Imbue.

{happily reporting full success with a slow cooker.}

Remember how I was gushing about the Farmer's Market? We had such beautiful vegetables in our company, we were excited to put them to use.

We found a yummy recipe in our Vegetarian Slow Cooker Cookbook for Lentil Shepards Pie. It was a softly misty day and ooooh it sounded so good. That was on a Sunday.

The reason these recipes are uncontrollably delicious is because there's a bit of prep work. Mostly just some simple sauteing. It's well worth it.

Once these fresh from the farmers market veggies were tender and scrumptious, you just combine them with uncooked lentils, a can of tomatoes and the juice, some herbs, some spices, some love of course, and then top with mashed potatoes mixed with bread crumbs. Cook on High for 5 hours, give or take.  Shredded cheddar cheese is optional.

But I can't say no to a place of cheese.


When a recipe indicates a dish is ready to enjoy by being hot and bubbly, that's usually an indication you will experience tremendous joy upon eating said dish.

This was no exception!

We had some rice and grains along-side the Shepard's Pie.

This was cooked and devoured on a Tuesday. The irony is, it turned out to be 75 degrees and sunny that day. The one down-fall of planning the menu for the entire week.

Esmé, however, was not impressed by the mashed potatoes.

Do you have any favorite slow cooker recipes? Any vegetarian ones, perhaps? Please share!

Yielding.

{story in pictures: The Farmers Market.}

One of my goals is to learn about eating in season. And to actually do it. I figured a sure-fire way to learn about what is in season is to go to a Farmer's Market. We are lucky enough to have quite a few great Famer's Markets in Long Beach, but I decided to take the troops up to Redondo Beach for a fun day out.

And what a fun day out it was!  The kids had so much fun tasting fruits and veggies, helping me choose our "harvest".

we were mesmerized by the colors in this fresh broccoli. So different than the shrink-wrapped shrunken head at the mega-mart, no?

 admiring some exotic blooms,

photo courtesy Elliette, age 4 1/2.

and then a trip to the play-ground to round out the excursion.

I gave Emmett the camera for awhile. These were the first results.

Then after some coaching from his big sister, he cranked out some good images. Kind of artsy-fartsy, but that fits in around here.

we don't know this guy.

 Then we had a real treat. Whales! There was water spouting up from the sea and it was from real-life Humpback Whales migrating!!! And then to top it off, I saw a whale come out of the water, I'm not even kidding. I was elated. So excited. I'm still pretty happy about it. The kids, however, didn't get to see, because it's really hard to spot the small spout of water rising out of the sea that is just standing before you, endless, with no referance point. 

 

The best we got was Emmett's photo of my shadow, pointing to where the whales were. 

 

At least it's documented.

Well, we also got a good bounty of fresh fruit, honey and vegetables. Which included the very sweetest and most adorable strawberries I have ever experienced, short of my back yard in Ohio at the age of 7. I love being at the open-air market, and I love involving the kids. When we shop at the Super Market they just chatter their teeth through the frigid produce section. This really is a much better way to go.

Also, have you tried the Honey Crisp apple? Have you tried one from a local grower, freshly picked and warm from the sun? Delightful.