Lil' Seester

So I just read a post on The Pioneer Woman website (I can't get enough of her recipes) that talked about her sister and the special bond that sisters have. It got me to thinking about my sister, Rachel.

You see, Rachel is pregnant and due to have her first child and the first grandchild of the family on or around November 13th.

Rachel is about 2 years younger than me. We grew up in the country (along with my younger brother, Kellen) so we were left with only each other to play with. And let me tell you, my siblings made great playmates. We played house, Barbies (even Kellen, who always wanted the red-headed Barbie), we put on plays, created haunted houses in the barn, went exploring down at the creek, and did weird stuff like spin around and around in the living room until we were too dizzy to walk.

This portrait of our childhood may have you picturing us skipping into the sunset holding hands. Oh, no. We fought constantly. We used to pull Rachel's hair incessantly, and she jumped on me once nearly breaking my collar bone (my poor mother!)

Once I got to junior high and then high school, I did my own thing. We shared friends, but still fought all the time. And then something happened....we grew up. Suddenly, my sister was cool and so much fun to be around. We would get dressed up and go out together, go to the movies together, or just sit around an watch Lifetime movies (all day long!) She has seen me through some of the toughest times of my life, with a kindness and honesty that only a sister could show.

Rachel and I lived together one last time for about a year and a half when I moved back to Manhattan to go to school. While we still had a few fights, I feel like we became closer than ever, and when she moved to Kansas City, it broke my heart.

In the last few years, Rachel has seen a lot of change in her life. She got married and moved back to Manhattan (while I'm thrilled about this, she kind of misses her big city life). And, as I mentioned, probably the biggest change of all, she is going to have a baby.

I can't even begin to express the kind of happiness this brings to me. Not only to have a beautiful new niece, but to get to see my sister (one of the smartest, funniest, most gorgeous women I know) become a mother. It's not going to be easy, especially when her husband is sent back to Afghanistan next year, but if anyone can do it, she can. Through all the changes in her life, I have seen a strength in her I couldn't have imagined.

Those of you who have a sister (or a brother) and share the kind of bond I share with Rachel, understand that there is nothing in the world like it. It is a bond that will carry us through the rest of our lives.

I'm so proud of you sissy!

PS I love you too Kelbell!

I heart Bill Cunningham

I just finished this documentary about Bill Cunningham, one of the first (if not THE first) street fashion photographers.

I can't say I've seen very many people live their lives with as much passion and truth as Bill Cunningham seems to. He finds so much beauty in the world around him that he very rarely is seen without a smile on his face (or a camera in his hand).

It seems he lives his life with the purpose of showing the rest of us the beauty that can be found in so many different types of fashion without a hint of pretension. He has little time for the importance the fashion industry often puts on celebrities or the fanfare surrounding fashion shows or collections. He is there for one purpose and one purpose only. He loves fashion. He loves clothes. He found a way to live his life doing exactly what makes him the happiest. Photographing beautiful clothing.

I am extremely inspired by Bill. He has a spirit that is infectious even through the computer screen. I can hardly imagine how in awe people must be who get to work closely with him. Especially because he seems hardly (actually not at all) to recognize his own greatness.

If you get a chance, I would really encourage you to watch this documentary. Even if you aren't interested in fashion, watch it to be inspired by someone who is truly living his life to the fullest.

Beware the Pear

I have a sweet tooth. As anyone who knows me can tell you, I have a sweet tooth that borders on obsession. If I see something with sugar in it (lots of sugar!) I have to eat it (or drink it). Even my favorite beer is sweet and full, full, full of sugar (Ace Pear Cider. But that's a whole other post).

So, you can imagine my delight when I got this little baby for my birthday (my whole family had to chip in, and I mean my WHOLE family...mom, dad, brother and sister.)

I originally got it in silver, but as soon as I saw how many colors this mixer comes in, I knew I had to have something with a little more flare. I narrowed it down to Pistachio, Pear and Persimmon. But as you can see, Pear won in the end.

Well, my birthday was about a month and a half ago, and tonight, I finally used this sweet little mixer. And boy, oh boy was it fun! Just look how cute it is!

But do you know what was even more fun? Eating what my lil' pear colored friend helped me make. This pumpkin pie with ginger snap cookie crust.

Okay, okay. I promise my next post won't be about food or anything related to food. But, the one after that is fair game!

Lovely Leftovers

I really love when what you make with your leftovers is better than the original dish.

I grew up on comfort food and lots of leftovers. The closest grocery store was about 20 minutes away from our house, so we had to use up what we had and just make due. This way of living lead to my dad's famous (or infamous) Egg Surprise. Scrambled eggs and whatever we had leftover in the fridge. Not separate. Oh no. Mixed in with the eggs. Yes, we had chili mixed into our scrambled eggs! Better than you would think.

So, a few days ago I made pot roast (I seared the roast on all sides and then added chopped up new potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, onions, and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. I added water and wine [cabernet sauvignon] about 3/4 of the way up the roast. I cooked the roast at 300 degrees for about 4 1/2 hours). It was good, but nothing great. Usually when I make roast it is just so I can use the roast and veggies to make other things. And that is what we (or Ike) did for dinner tonight.

He made what he calls Pinwheels. Very simple. He made homemade biscuit dough and rolled it out, took the cold roast beef and spread it across the dough and then rolled it up, just like you would cinnamon rolls. He cut the dough roll into little discs like so.

He baked them at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes.

While baking these little discs of deliciousness, he took the beef broth we saved from the roast and made a simple brown gravy. About the time the gravy was ready, Voila! The pinwheels were ready.

We drizzled a little gravy over the pinwheels and a new delicious favorite leftover creation was born (at least to me, Ike's mom used to make them for their family).

Not quite as ground breaking as scrambled eggs and chili, but scrumptious none the less.

A Rose By Any Other Name....

I've never really cared for roses, at least not in bouquet form. They seem so....predictable. I much prefer wildflowers. Yesterday, all of that changed (at least me not caring for roses, I still kind of prefer wildflowers.)

Ike and I took Belle for a walk in City Park, taking time to stop in the rose garden next to the fountain. I took one sniff and I stopped. The smell. It brought up a very vivid memory of my Granny Bales (my dad's grandmother on his mom's side) and I standing next to her neighbors rose bushes eating gumdrops when I used to stay with her in Iuka, Kansas (I had to have been like 3 or 4. I have a freakishly good long term memory.)

It was a very happy memory (and also reminds me of the swing that use to hang from her tree in the front yard. I wonder if it's still there.) But, I digress.

And oh, the roses were beautiful. They were all so different, but still so alike in so many ways. Red ones, white ones, small ones, full ones, baby ones...you get the picture. I really think, at least for me, roses have to be seen in their natural habitat to be fully appreciated.

So, please, if you are in the neighborhood swing by City Park, and stop and smell the roses. You won't be sorry you did (especially if you go at dusk).

For those of you who can't make it down, here is a sampling of the roses I had the pleasure of viewing and smelling! (Sorry there are so many pictures, but I couldn't narrow it down. And I thought...It's my blog and my photos, I can do what I want!)

Enjoy! (Click on each photo to get an even better view.)

Awesome Nerd Shirts

And when I say nerd, I mean it in the best, most loving way!

These are two of my customers at the restaurant I work at. As soon as they walked in in these t-shirts I had to take a photo. They made me laugh. A lot. Especially the one with all of the computer short cuts. I absolutely love it. Probably because I'm a huge nerd, too. I also love the Pi/Pie shirt, because it's funny....but mostly because it has to do with pie. I love pie.

Anyway, I just had to share this and hopefully these shirts will get a little giggle out of ya!