Ear Worms

I'm still mulling over a super-introspective running post, so for the time being, I thought I'd let you listen to some of the songs I've been loving recently.

First up: Old Enough, by The Raconteurs, featuring Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe:




Continuing the Ashley Monroe theme (don't you just love her old-timey voice?) here's the Pistol Annies singing Hell on Heels.




Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons:




And last, but God knows, not least: Alison Krauss & Union Station's Lie Awake, which is a track on their newest album. Which, P.S. you should listen to RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND.

Ferrous Wheel

Image via ThinkGeek.com

How is it possible that I *don't* own this tshirt? ThinkGeek.com, I think I love you.

Sunshine

This weekend Chicago was, in a word, succulent. Sunday was everything you'd want September to be: it was in the 60s and low 70s, sunny, breezy, virtually no humidity. Like I said, perfect.

My friend was visiting from St. Louis so we wound up downtown, walking along the water and visiting the Bean. Since this is not exactly shaping up to the most exciting blog post in the history of blogging, I figured I'd cut my losses now. And rather than continue gushing about how gorgeous it was, I'll just show you some photos.

Chicago's Burnham Harbor. Snapped on my cell phone.

The Bean.

Can you see us? Hint: I'm in black. She's in white.

More Bean, reflecting the area north of Millennium Park.

Aon Building, BCBS, and other bits of downtown Chicago.

Julie's photo of a bike.

Guest Post: Why I Run

Today I'm super honored (and a wee bit nervous) to contribute a post to Jennifer Luitweiler's series Why I Run.

Jennifer is one of my biggest runner cheerleaders on The Twitter. For that I am both forever grateful and forever bummed that we aren't friends in real life.

If you like to run, or think you MIGHT like to run, you should check out her forthcoming book, Run With Me: An Accidental Runner and the Power of the Poo. 


So please, click over to her blog and read my contribution. And know that I'll be over here sweating bullets while you do.

Liquid Awesome

My wonderful friend Margaret surprised me at church today with a present. It's a lavender running shirt from One More Mile, which means it comes with a hearty side of fab.

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!

I've been meaning to do a post on running gear (because isn't that exciting!? No? Oh.), but I thought I'd post pictures of my super-sassy awesome shirt and show you a few more of my favorites by One More Mile. (The first time I encountered this company, I saw a woman wearing one of their tanks that said: "This IS my race pace." After that, it was love at first sight. Seriously, check out their website and show them some love. This is not a paid endorsement, I just dig awesome.)

Dear God: Please let there be someone behind me to read this.

Who moved the finish line?

I know, I know. I'm almost there.

I'm not slow; I'm just getting my money's worth from the entry fee.

I thought they said "rum."

You can thank me now for making you look faster.

WTF! Where's the finish?

So tell me, is there anything sporty like this that entertains you? Any great slogans you love?

Speaking of....

Speaking of books, the super-awesome Nicole over at Nicole is Better just posted about her experience plowing through the entire Harry Potter series (for the first time) in the last two weeks.

An excerpt from her post:

The upside of this is that Harry Potter makes your heart feel good. The downside is that you’ll quickly realize how boring your stupid ordinary life is, and you’ll be very sad when the books are over and no one around you is making cars fly or spontaneously morphing into a dog. See also: cooking dinner by bewitching knives to chop the ingredients, disappearing from one place and immediately appearing in another, regrowing broken bones, and fighting dragons. Nothing gives you street cred like fighting a fucking dragon.

Damn, I have a girl-crush on her. Anyway. Read it. Remember the books. Peace out.

Turning pages

A brief selection of my summer reading.

Last week, I found myself splayed on the sofa one afternoon after work, windows open, dog barking, house a mess, and run sidelined for the afternoon. Why? I was finishing a book. And I refused to put it down until I was done.

Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you I'm a year-round book geek. But there's just something about summer and endless reading that goes together like peanut butter and jelly. (Milk and chocolate? My credit card and a shoe store?)

I've made heavy use of the Chicago Public Library's book request service this summer, plowing my way through more than a dozen books since the end of May. I won't pretend I'm reading super-intellectual books, But after a semester at seminary, I decided to sideline the deep stuff and bury my nose in Jodi Picoult, Anne Brashares, Jennifer Weiner and Sara Gruen. I've also tried to knock off a fair share of YA books (word to Maureen Johnson!), Tina Fey's autobiography, and some nonfiction thrown in, too.

So that's what I've been reading. What about you? Do you dive into a certain type of books in the summer? Or is it a 12-months-a-year affair? Anything you're dying to recommend?

The Least Amish Amish Craft Fair In History

I found myself in Indiana's Amish country this past weekend and on my way back to Chicago I took a side trip to Napanee, Ind. That's how I wound up at Amish Acres, a sort of Colonial Williamsburg knockoff of the Amish variety. Except, you know, without any actual Amish on site.

They happened to be having an arts and craft festival that featured some truly hideous things. (One guy was selling carved wooden signs that said "Tequila makes my clothes fall off." Like I said, TOTALLY. NOT. AMISH.) But amidst the calico and spice dips and rag quilts (side bar: rag quilts? No. Just no.) there were some cool pieces of folk art.

And thus, I present to you, a selection of the non-heinous items at The World's least Amish Amish Arts & Craft Festival.

Spoon art.

Carved wood gnomes. GNOMES, PEOPLE!

There were lots of letter pictures.

I'm bummed I lost this artist's card, but her mixed-media work was cool

A dala horse.

Reclaimed metal turkey! Gobble.

Reclaimed metal flowers. I ALMOST bought one.

This was the most Amish thing there.

A pageland eulogy.

Thanks to my editing gig, I don't write much for work these days. So when I was asked to write an essay about the end of the 200-year-old U.S. House of Representatives Page Program, I jumped at the chance. (I also almost yakked before the thing got posted, but that's another story.)

Here's my short piece on the year I spent as a high school junior living and working on Capitol Hill and how it changed my life.

Enjoy.

- Noodles, whose cover is officially blown by posting a link to something with my name on it. But that's OK.

Overexposed.

I've been braving the fully manual setting on my camera this summer. It's been an adventure. In not all awesome ways. But sometimes, your dumb mistakes turn out to look sorta cool. Witness: my peony.  Mayhaps there's a metaphor in there somewhere.

So tell me, what are you working on this summer?

Unitedish States of ... Something

As viewed by hipsters:

Created by HaleyForEtsy

As viewed by New Yorkers:

Via Funny or Die

Click to enlarge. (That's what she said.)

AmazingAwesomeTasticFabuRificness

The Popster is whiz in the kitchen, so I know that when I get an e-mail from him about a new and easy recipe he's whipped up, there's an above-average chance it'll be awesome. And, true to form, his latest concoction didn't disappoint. In fact, it was so good that I made it twice in one weekend. (You know, for research. And because it takes about 10 minutes to make.)

I offered to let him name the recipe before I blogged about it. He demurred. So as punishment, I'm calling this Dad's Speedy Summer Corn Niblets and he'll have to deal with the fact that his internet infamy comes with a stupid name. (You're welcome, pops. Next time, come up with a title.)

Depending on whether you're making this as a main item or a side, this recipe serves about 1 as a large-sized main dish and 2 as a generous side. It's super easy and delicious. Do not expect left overs. If you want to make a larger batch, figure you'll want about two ears of corn per person.

And please, for the love of God and all that is holy, do not buy bland grocery store corn for this recipe. (Do not even think about buying, shudder, frozen corn. No. Just no.) This dish is ALL about highlighting the super sweetness of fresh summer corn. Run, do not walk, to your local farmer's market or farm stand to buy your corn. (And while you're there, pick up some bell peppers and shallots. Your tummy and your local farmer will thank you.)

Ingredient list:
3 ears of local, farm-fresh corn
1 fresh bell pepper, any color (or, hell, mix and match. Go wild.)
1-2 shallots (I used two, but I like shallots.)
1 clove garlic, the bigger the better. (This is optional. If you are a vampire, do not add garlic.)
Tabasco sauce (several shakes)
Worcestershire sauce (several shakes)
Olive oil (I used grape seed because it was all I had.)

First things first, get everything out. Look at that pretty produce I picked up fresh from Chicago's Green City Market.

The ingredients.

 Next, you're going to shuck the corn and cut off the kernels from the cob with a chef's knife and put them in a bowl. Do not cut your finger. Trust me.

Corn, removed from the cob.

While you're cutting things, dice up a sweet pepper and your shallots. Put the pepper in with the corn. Throw your shallots and your garlic in a saute pan with some oil and saute.

Shallots and garlic, sweating in oil.

Once your shallots are getting clearish, dump in your corn and peppers. Stir on medium-high heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Inhale the sweet smell.

The corn mix.

Next, it's time for spice. Add a few splashes of Tabasco (or in this case, my generic awesome Louisiana hot sauce.)  Then two or three shakes of Worchestershire. Mix together and then continue to saute until corn and peppers are cooked, but still crispish. (Another minute or so.)

Mmmmm. Spicy.

Serve, and voila!I ate the whole damn thing for dinner and was one happy camper.

Voila! Bon Appetite.

Say it with me, people: Thanks, Dad!

These things made me giggle.

 

Random selection of my nerd humor, courtesy of one of my pinterest boards. You're welcome.

This is a post about an ironing board.

Do not let the title of this post fool you. This is not a euphemism. This post really is about an ironing board. Specifically, this ironing board. Perhaps you'll agree with me that it has seen better days. (Note: All photos shot and edited on my iPhone because I was too lazy to do anything else.)

It's not just that this ironing board is The Ugliest Ironing Board in the History of Ironing Boards. It's that this particular ironing board has also lost a chunk of its padding, making it a shitty ironing board to try to use for its intended ironing purpose. (It's still great at holding groceries, fabric, books and laundry.) Adding insult to ironing injury: my condo is roughly the size of a shoe box. Add that to the fact that I keep my ironing board out a lot because, as anyone who has a sewing habit can tell you, you use your iron a damn lot when your sewing machine is going. Also: I am too lazy to put it back.

All this is to say that the World's Ugliest Ironing Board has been spending a lot of time front and center in my living room. Say it with me: BARF.

I keep thinking I'll sew a new cover. I don't. I keep looking at covers when I see the in the store and almost buy them. But they're too old-lady/paisley/vomit-colored. So I don't.

But on Friday, I found myself clicking through Etsy. Ten minutes and $33 later, I had a new ironing board pad and cover winging their way to me from this super-fabulous store.

For the curious, I disassembled my old cover/pad and discovered this disturbing-looking, totally flattened, and sorta crumbling bit o' foam underneath. It was sad.

Yes. Totally time for an upgrade. Here's the new pad in its bag. For the curious (com'n, nerd out with me), the pad is quilted and teflon-coated. This means it reflects heat, which is kick-ass when you're ironing.

Here's the cover. It's Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow Sunflower.

Here's an extremely phallic-looking shot of the ironing board with its new pad. Sorta like a quilted space-like uber Trojan, no?

And finally, voila: here 'tis. The finished product. (Try to ignore the shit storm of clutter around it. If I was too lazy to use my real camera, you've GOT to believe I was too lazy to tidy up.)

So there you have it: Six photos and 400 words on my new ironing board cover. And one dick joke thrown in for good measure. (You're welcome.) (That's what she said.)

In which I make a to-do list

My I-Want-To-Make-This-Awesome-Thing-Right-Now list is getting bitch-ass long. (Yes, I used bitch-ass. Your point?)

Anywho, since I am spending more time thinking of things I want to make instead of finishing the projects I have to do (I'm looking at your quilt back, Modern Gal.) I thought I'd show you some things on my crafty to-do list.

I want to make this super-awesome quilt using Anna Maria Horner's latest fabric line, Loulouthi. I like that the big blocks show off the big patterns, and mean that the quilt wouldn't take very long to put together. (I like to plow through projects, not spend years on them. I am all about crafty instant gratification.)

(Photo by Pins & Bobbins; Pattern by Stitched in Color.)


This awesome needlepoint pattern. Keep in mind, I don't needlepoint. But I grew up watching my mom do it and I've been dying to learn and this kit by Modern Needleworks has me drooling, in large part because nothing about it says grandma. And because it's a full kit that has the pattern painted on the canvas. I may be a math nerd at the office, but I refuse to stitch things that require me to count to recreate a pattern. (I'm looking at you Counted Cross Stitch.)


A version of this pillow by The Rebel Homemaker, with warmer colors in the panels.



Anything that could even come, maybe, possibly, sorta close to look as awesome as this stitching by Prints Charming.


And, last but certainly not least, this kick-ass crewel sampler made by Alicia Paulson. The practical among you will point out that I don't know how to do crewel. I will grit my teeth and stomp my feet and say, so?!? And then figure out how to learn.


So that's some of what I've been drooling over. What are you and your fingers itching to get into?

Foodgasms and farmers' markets

You would think that after five years in Chicago, I would have -- at some point -- made my way to the Green City Market. Well, er, oopsies. Better late than never, no?

For those non-Chicagoans, GCM is a farmers' market that sells all local, sustainably grown food from farms in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Everything is delicious and in season. And is like foodgasm central. Also, they sell a lot of kale.

$35 in organic produce later (including, for the curious, at least two varieties of kale and one bag of quickly consumed cheese curds.), I had to stop buying things and start taking pictures of them to at least keep my budget from full-on imploding.

But serious, y'all. Look at this food porn! If you're trapped in the city, this is just about heaven.









The last two shots were taken in my living room while I was cooking up a great sweet corn side dish. If you play nice, I'll pass along the recipe.

Over and out. I gotta go eat.