cheek to cheek

Last week we went to a small blues show at the local public library (please don't judge me for the overt nerdiness of that statement). It was an odd place for a concert. I'm a girl bound by rules, so it was hard for me to adjust to being noisy without fearing the librarian hush, finger to mouth, eyes scowling at me.

The crowd didn't seem to struggle with any of the same challenges. The demographics trended a bit older and funkier than me. We could have easily been mistaken for a convention of awful winter hats and ill-fitting jeans. But they all bopped and swayed to the music, unaware and without precept.

I noticed an awkward pre-teen girl on the other side of the room, her long legs stretching beyond her jeans, trying desperately to fit in her father's lap. Her head nestled against his shoulder while her gangly limbs failed to find a suitable landing. Two much smaller girls, maybe three years old danced at the back of the room with their dad, twirling, screeching, arms flailing. If the music paused, they stopped immediately in their tracks, confused and dismayed.

Suddenly I remember dancing with my dad, cheek-to-cheek in the living room to old blues and country western songs. We could cover any mistake in our steps with a spin to the other side of the room.

In the moment, it is so hard to notice how or when we evolve from these tiny girls, flitting around, to awkward, nervous things, to reserved appropriate adults and back to carefree, ugly hat-wearing fools.

peach cobbler

Just finished a second bowl of peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream that I made for a family cookout this afternoon. I have a hard time showing up to chow down on other people's food without bringing something. I've got a double whammy combo of good old fashioned Irish Catholic guilt and Southern Tradition spurring me on to do more and to make it look perfect.

The lure of summer in Georgia was too much to overlook so I decided on an easy to impress peach cobbler. I am certainly not above going by the recipe, so I headed straight to my favorite recipe site. I was pretty surprised at how complicated folks wanted to make a peach cobbler. Leave it to my friend Paula to leave it simple enough to bake even after sipping on mint juleps on the side porch all afternoon. After a late brunch we wandered over to the grocery store for ingredients and I found a huge stack of local peaches from Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley, GA.

The cobbler was super easy to make, very simple ingredients and a very simple process. It is important to note that the only complication with this recipe is the type of flour you use. You must use self-rising flour or you'll get a goopy, flat mess. I wasn't sure what I had in my pantry so I added a tsp of baking powder for safety's sake. If you're not sure adding baking powder will only make your dough a bit more fluffy. Fluffy = good, so no loss there. With the rising flour keeping down the amount of stirring/mixing is super important to make it all fluff together the right way.

Overall the cobbler worked out very well. The dough was a little much - maybe I had self-rising flour after all! I think next time I would either cut down on the amount of dough or increase the amount of fruit. This said, I still ate two bowls of the stuff, so it wasn't that much of an issue. I'm glad to have put some local, seasonal fruit to use the way god intended (i.e. mixed together with sugar and butter).

menus

Every week I simultaneously dread and look forward to making a grocery list. I love planning meals and even love making meals once I get started. But the reality of most days is tired and drab and tasteless and forces me into jammie pants way before bed time so that dinner doesn't get made but purchased and that keeps me in jammie pants instead of getting me into a bikini where I belong.

So I thought I might try posting my menus here not because they are exciting or remarkable, but as a way to monitor and discipline myself. I'll make a few interesting things this week, so I will do my best to blog about them and take pictures.

• Monday - Shrimp tacos with avocado and Green Bean, Corn and Tomato Salad
• Tuesday - standing night out at trivia
• Wednesday - Tofu Lo Mein
• Thursday - Pasta (I'm working late, so it has to be a boy-friendly recipe)
• Friday - Veggie Burgers and Roasted Cauliflower
• Saturday - Black Beans and Rice (my favorite slowcooker recipe)
• Sunday - I might be passed out from all the cooking, so I'm not making any promises

oooh pretty!

We are very slowly, let me emphasize slowly, putting our little house together. Between both of us working all the time and very inconvenient break-ins, we don't feel like we've had a lot of time to devote to putting our stamp on 1049. But today, a light breaks in the clouds... We just ordered the best print from Bold and Noble to hang in our bedroom. Between this and getting our mattress off the floor and onto an actual bed frame, we're starting to feel like we actually live in this place.

For me, art always makes a room feel more complete. Growing up and in college, I had some posters on the wall, but never many and those I did have were of paintings or photographs I liked. I hated the impermanency of the brittle paper, held up with thumbtacks or tape. Buying actual, grown up art, even inexpensive prints, makes the house feel more cultivated. We deliberately chose this house over lots and lots of others so my philosophy in decorating the house is equally deliberate. This is the first home we've ever owned and there will never be another one like it, good or bad. 

snow!

Portfolio!

I've created a portfolio of some of the work I've done over the past few years including examples of writing, photography, logo and collateral design. Check it out! Hopefully I'll be adding more to it soon.



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Home Sweet Home

Home ownership has been so different than what I imagined it to be and not in a really anecdotal way. We moved into a small post-war cottage in July. We moved into an intown neighborhood not because we wanted to yuppify or gentrify our southeast Atlanta neighborhood but because we believe in supporting sustainable urban growth and development.

That hope and aspiration has been shattered. In the last three months, our house has been broken into twice. The first time was the Saturday before Thanksgiving and the most recent the first week of February. Both times the burglars were able to kick in our front door despite taking extra security measures after the first break-in.

They have taken two TVs, two laptops, two Wiis, an Xbox, many hours of sleep, more money than we can afford and our sense of autonomy and security. What is most disconcerting is knowing that someone is watching you and waiting for the right time to invade your home and disrupt your life for trivial material items.

I don't think enough voices can say how terrorizing it is to know that you, your way of life, your peace of mind is being pursued by an unknown force, individuals and groups that are seemingly unstoppable. On top of that fear, to be told that you are hysterical or exaggerating, makes you feel frustrated and hopeless. The overarching feeling is a lack of control over my life, my safety and the safety of the ones I care about.