Tasty Tuesday: Stone Soup, a la Michelle's Tiny Kitchen

My favorite easy recipe is adapted from one I found on Michelle's Tiny Kitchen. She calls it "Stone Soup," and I think that's the perfect name.

Did you ever read Stone Soup when you were a kid? Or when you were old? It's a great story about how stingy people can be tricked into sharing. When I was little, I would get SO HUNGRY reading about the special soup. Sometimes, I'd sip water from a bowl and imagine it was the strong, wonderful elixir from the story.

Now, when I want something hot and flavorful, I look at my boyfriend I just make it! Being an adult has its perks.

How about our liquor/olive oil collection?

I'm a kale fanatic, so I put two to three large handfuls of the stuff in every batch. I have tiny hands, but that's still a lot of kale. Basically, whatever greens you have on hand will do - this time, I used celery because why not? And I love lentils, so I like to throw in a cup or so. 

Also, instead of seasoning with salt and pepper, I tried a half teaspoon of miso paste instead. I was pleased with the results - it jives quite well with the greens. Just remember, if you want to add some miso to your life, you shouldn't boil it. That kills all it's wonderful digestive properties.

The best thing about this soup is that the house smells amazing for three days after it's made. Mmm...

Make-it-Monday: A True Eternity Scarf

Happy Monday! Before we get to this week's craft, let me assure you that yes, my birthday was wonderful. I spent the day in rehearsal for Bloody Bloody Andrew 
Jackson, and then came home to a surprise party!

Decorations!

Friends!

Princess balloons!

Sneaky boyfriends!

I made my little sister an eternity scarf for Christmas. Months ago, I bought a maxi dress that I had no intention of ever wearing. I'm 5'2", as for shorties like me, maxi dresses are a problem. But it had this gorgeous woven back, and the fabric was deliciously soft, and I figured that for $5, it was worth the purchase. The sum of its parts didn't catch my fancy, but them's some nice parts.

First, I removed the woven back. I'm still waiting for the right project to use this in.

So pretty, right?

Then, I hacked-off about two and a half feet from the bottom of the dress.

I took the big tubular bottom, and folded it in half onto itself. Then I sewed a seam to keep the ends together. I did it all by hand, which took approximately seven thousand years. Then, I cut through the center of the doughnut to create a long tube. I flipped it inside-out to hide the seams, and sewed-up the doughnut again. Beautiful! 

But there were some visible vertical seams, and I wasn't a fan of that look. 

So I took some embroidery floss and did a whip stitch along each seam. To my amazement, that was MORE time-consuming than creating the long seam! Oh well - it looked nice and hid the seams, so I stuck to it.

Teenager colors.

Note Ben Folds t-shirt.

I'm really proud of how it turned out - it was labor-intensive, but I'd gladly work my fingers to the bone for my sister. I guess it wouldn't really be an eternity scarf if I had finished it quickly.

And the coincidence of the century?

She got me a circle scarf, too.

Fashionable Friday: The Wearhouse

I love clothes. I really do. And there's this stigma against fashion as frivolous pursuit - which it might be - but I really don't care. For me, and for a lot of other people, getting dressed in the morning isn't just about being Not Naked. The clothes I don set my mood for the day - when I'm wearing something great, I feel invincible  So you can try to dismiss personal style, and you can roll your eyes and say that Smart Girls Don't Care About The Way They Look, but I will respectfully disagree. This Smart Girl cares, and she's proud to say so. That's why Fridays around here are Fashionable - this clothes horse wants to share her passion for dress-up.

Yesterday, I tried a LOT of different looks. As I mentioned, my roomie and I went to Little 5 Points and hit up one of the vintage stores, The Clothing Warehouse. While I'm a big thrifter, I usually avoid "vintage" stores. And while I found some good stuff yesterday, I'll have to stick to that policy in the future. 

Their Dress Shop, in all its glory.

In case you're not familiar with how used clothing is usually marketed, there are three kinds of stores where you can find pre-owned clothing: Thrift, Consignment, and Vintage. Thrift stores (like Salvation Army and Goodwill) feature clothing of all styles and levels of use; you can find things that are threadbare, alongside items that still have the tags. Consignment shops (Plato's Closet or Rag-o-Rama) have gently-used clothes, but the price is a little higher. Since these items are handpicked for their trendiness and good condition, there's a markup. Vintage stores (like Clothing Warehouse) are generally the most expensive. Vintage stores feature clothing that is at least 20 years old, and the items are generally priced regardless of wear or damage. This...can be problematic. I often find that the clothing at vintage stores isn't in much better shape than the stuff I find at thrift stores, but the prices are MUCH higher. For comparison, every dress at every Goodwill is $5.95; most of the items at Clothing Warehouse are around $40. But the great thing about a vintage store is that you won't have to wade through racks of mumus, nightgowns, and High School Musical footie pajamas. 

Though, why would you want to avoid this madness?

I am a cheapskate, so normally I can't convince myself that Vintage stores are worth the premium, but Clothing Warehouse is running a sale that lets you get 2-for-1 dresses. When I heard that, my little ears perked-up. Before I knew what was happening, Roomie and I were screaming toward Moreland. 

First, I tried some potential Gatsby Dresses:

In response to this picture, my friend Jeremy said, "If you wore that dress, I'd be so upset that you had a boyfriend."

Not a sheath.

So cute! But also not a sheath. And a LOT of sequins were missing.

20s style, 80s execution

Roomie is an excellent photographer.

And then, it was time to play:

Believe it or not, this is from Saks Fifth Avenue

Just...just the best.

Mmmmm...

Closer...

This is cute, but I've never been a fan of 80s wear, so it's a pass

Now THIS is what I'm talking about!

Playing with the hemline

Okay...

Amazing!

In all, I walked away with three dresses - the third will be revealed another day. 

The pain to my wallet was decreased by the sale, and one of the dresses was damaged, so I got it for half-price. Still, I paid $60 for my troubles. I was happy with all of my choices, but I just can't shake the feeling that I would have paid a LOT less at Salvation Army. I like Clothing Warehouse, but this Poor Kid will have to avoid shopping there until another sale arrives.

One last thing: TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY! For most people, the holidays officially ended four days ago - but not for me! 

Thrifty Thursdays: The Goodwill is my BFF

The first time my mom took me to a consignment store, I was in the sixth grade. It was in a Winn-Dixie shopping center, next to our family's favorite Chinese restaurant. Up til that point, I had only really shopped at Old Navy- I owned a lot of polos and girly graphic tees. But on this day, at this first thrift store, I discovered the magic of Clothes Someone Has Already Owned. My big find was a thin, pink and blue, 3/4 length sleeve top with Chinese letters and a peacock emblazoned on the front. It was so unlike anything I'd ever seen at Old Navy. 

From this first shirt, my personal style took off like a rocket. Before long, I was showing-up at school with chopsticks in my hair - not hairsticks, actual chopsticks. Ones I painted with glittery nail polish. Not surprisingly, I was teased. But I didn't care; I watched Charmed, and I knew that the things I wore, while strange at Crews middle, were hip and cool in the Real World. 

Here are some of my all-time favorite thrift store finds:

Plaid pants

Faux fur coat

Chartreuse coat

Bows tunic (As Topanga from "Boy Meets World")

G-Unit one-piece

Glittery Jessica McClintock

Blue rhinestone and pearl dress

Vintage Lord & Taylor

Old Hollywood cape/dress thing

Indian national costume

High school prom dress

Suzi Bass awards dress, 2011

Purple mumu

Appropriately enough, my roomie and I are going vintage shopping today in Little 5 Points. I'll let you know how it goes.

Wordy Wednesday: The Great Gatsby Dress

First of all, I've heard that there might be a problem with e-mail subscriptions - apparently, the posts aren't showing-up in people's inboxes. If you'e signed-up for an e-mail subscription, could you comment and let me know if you received today's post via your inbox? Thanks!

Now: Wednesdays are for Words.

I say this a lot, and it's embarrassingly true: I'm a writer who doesn't write. Every now and then I'll be struck by inspiration, and I'll jot out a quick story or something, but most of the time I'm just really, really lazy. You may remember the well-intentioned-but-short-lived experiment that was Galen Writes a Play a Day? (Why did I remind you?)

Well no mas! I'm gonna write stuff down if it kills me! And that's an unlikely outcome! 

Today, I'm introducing you to a Quest: 

'Tis the season to search high and low for a Great Gatsby Premiere Dress. I don't normally dress-up for movie premiers (even Harry Potter, which I am passionate about) but for Gatsby, I must. Have you seen the trailer? It is an optical feast. First of all, the dresses. Secondly, the sparkle. Thirdly, the Tobey Maguire.

I cannot express how much I loved Tobey Maguire when I was a young teenager. I saw Spider-man and was hooked. From the eighth to the 11th grades, the door to my room was plastered in Tobey pictures. 

At any rate, I am very excited for the movie (Baz!) and I am searching all over creation for the perfect dress to don for the occasion. Rest assured, though - no midnight showing for me. I can't do that kind of stuff anymore. At least, not without a lot of hemming and hawing and Red Bull. I'll go to a classy 8 PMer, thankyouverymuch.

The second trailer is below - I saw it when we went to Les Mis on Christmas Day (so many mixed feelings). Hopefully, Gatsby won't leave me so lukewarm. 

Sidebar: I think it's adorable that Tobey Maguire and Leo are in this film together - they're best friends! They'e known each other since they were kids!

Oh no, I've said too much. My inner middle-schooler is showing.

Tasty Tuesday: A New Year, and a Cold Remedy

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had tons of fun last night. I've been fighting a cold for a few days, so I kept it low-key at my parents' house. We went out to dinner beforehand with some family friends, and I pulled-out one of my Christmas dresses for the occasion.

Christmas shoes, too.

My boyfriend is in St. Louis with his family, but we had our midnight kiss, thanks to Skype.

Actually, we had two, thanks to time zones.

Now, let's talk about Tuesdays. The theme is "Tasty," and each week I'll be highlighting a recipe, restaurant, indulgence, or whathaveyou. I love to eat, and I have a LOT of opinions about food. Hopefully, you do, too.

The number-one item on my Christmas list was an apron from Anthropologie, and I was thrilled to find it under the tree. I love cooking, and (shh, don't tell!) I actually love cleaning the kitchen. I'm a slob in every other room, but an immaculate kitchen is an absolute must. Normally, I get covered in cooking oil and water when I spend time in there (our faucet is, um, enthusiastic), but with this darling garment, my clothes stay nice and clean! Who ever would have guessed?

But would you believe I forgot to wear it for today's kitchen adventure? Ridiculous.

What's that, you ask? What was this adventure? Let me explain...

There's a great juice shop nearby called Nectar, and they offer a drink they call "The Flu Shot." It's 2 ounces of lemon, ginger, and cayenne pepper, and it - supposedly - kicks congestion right in the hindquarters. Since I could definitely use some sinus relief, I broke out my own juicer and whipped-up a flu shot of my own. 

If you have a juicer, this is ridiculously easy. If you don't, I highly recommend you head to Nectar the next time you feel sick. It may not completely reverse your cold, but it will definitely give you some relief. Remember: fresh juice is nature's medicine. (*musical trill*)

Ingredients:

• 1 Lemon
• Fresh Ginger root
• Cayenne Pepper

Now make it!:

1. Juice that lemon! The whole thing! Yeah, it's not a TON of juice, but that's the point - it's a shot, remember?
2. Shake some cayenne pepper over the top of the lemon juice. Not too much! Your tastebuds are about to touch it.
3. Juice a piece of ginger root. A section roughly 1 - 1.5 sq. inches will do.

See, so simple! Now, Shoot it! That's right - one big gulp! Just like college! If your eyes burn and your nose runs then, congrats! You win!

Now, I have to wash my juicer. And I'll put on my apron to do it!