CHOP CHOP

New haircut! I figure if I am moving and starting a whole new life I might as well have new hair too.

18 days and counting...

Yes, that is me as a Mad Men character. I think I really would have had a ball living in the '60s. Except for the rampant sexism and racism part. August 16, season three, CANNOT WAIT! Below, the real women of Mad Men:

A fun new food community

My favorite blogger ever, The Pioneer Woman, has launched her newest genius idea: Tastykitchen.com. It's an online community where food enthusiasts (like my bacon-obsessed self) can swap recipes, drool over food porn and connect with other like-minded foodies. I love everything Ree does, so I promptly signed up. You should too!

I'll say better than finer..

I went back to Charleston last weekend for a friend's Bachelorette party (I hadn't been since I was ten) and I have to say it's the perfect city. It has everything- history, Southern charm and hospitality, beaches close by, stunning architecture and delicious, delicious food. Take a gander at some of my favorite sights...

A study in souffle.

I made my first souffle for my Mom's birthday today and surprisingly it was a small success. My only mistake was not adjusting the cooking time and temperature from the recipe because I chose to cook the souffles in ramekins instead of muffin tins like the recipe called for. But mmmmmm, were they decadent and oozy and everything a chocolate lava cake should be.

Carmelized Carrots

Simple. Easy. Delicious. Surprisingly decadent.

Take a big package (I'm scientific) of baby carrots and cut them all in half. Throw them in a skillet with a stick of butter. A whole stick. You can add it in slowly, but don't skimp. Your entire life depends on this whole stick of butter. Cook them over medium high heat for twenty minutes or so. When they're soft, brown and starting to carmelize, throw in some this sweet nectar:

Let cook down. Serve and savor.

Strawberry vanilla bean ice cream, oh my!

Two years ago, I gave my parents an ice cream maker. It was used for the first time over this July 4th weekend. What a travesty! Homemade ice cream is so simple and so much fun to make. For our nation's birthday, I went with vanilla bean with a strawberry swirl, what's more All-American than that?

What you'll need:
two eggs
one and 3/4 cup granulated sugar
two cups heavy cream
one cup milk
one vanilla bean
one pound strawberries
one lime

(vanilla ice cream recipe adapted from Ben & Jerry's.)

To make the strawberry sauce:

Take a package of ever-so-ripe strawberries and cut them all up. Try not to eat them all.


Squeeze the juice of a lime over the berries and then toss them with a cup of sugar. Let them sit and get nice and juicy for a while you make the ice cream.


Start by scraping out the inside of a vanilla bean. Make a slit along the bean, then use the tip of the knife to (carefully!) scoop out all the vanilla deliciousness. Put aside. You could just use vanilla extract, but this is SO much better. Trust me.


Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl for a couple of minutes, until light and fluffy.


Add in the sugar, little by little, whisking all together.


Add in the decadent, evil heavy cream, and the sinister, wicked WHOLE milk (yes I used whole). And throw in all that vanilla bean inner goodness. Mix together well.


Now it's time to power up that ice cream maker. I have your standard Cuisinart ice cream maker, which is basic enough for a five year old to use. All you have to remember to do is freeze the bowl a day beforehand, then dump in your ice cream mixture and flip the switch. Let it run for a good 30 to 45 minutes. I let mine run for almost 30 and I found myself wishing I had left it in a bit longer to get a creamer texture.


Now while you let the ice cream do its thing, it's time to finish that delicious stawberry swirl. Take the bowl of stawberries and dump it all in your food processor. Or blender. Or use one of those cool hand stick blenders that are so popular right now. Whatever floats your boat.


Let it run for a few minutes. It should look like this. MMMMMMM, delicious!


When your ice cream looks about done, it's time to swirl in the strawberry goodness. Transfer your ice cream to a freezer safe container. Then take a swizzle stick (or chopstick, like I did) and slowly pour the sauce into the ice cream batch by batch. use the stick to make a cool-looking swirl pattern. When you like what you see, stop, drop and freeze!


Try to have enough patience to let it set for a few hours. Or you could be like me and eat it half soup-y, half frozen. I won't judge you.

Fun with ShopStyle

Soon I'll be moving into a new place and I cannot WAIT to decorate. After living with roommates for, well, all my life (if you count living with my parents), having an entire apartment to myself in which I can furnish and accessorize to my liking sounds like HEAVEN. I'm thinking beach cottage meets understated elegance– on a budget. Take a gander at some of the looks I put together on shopstyle.com. Click on the looks to enlargen or bring up the main shopstyle page, which will link you to the stores' websites.

Living room look #1:

This is a luxe look- about $2,700 for the whole room. Good for inspiration!

Living room look #2:

I would use the white nesting tables, not the pink or green. You can get this entire room for about $1,700 and most of the items are on sale.

Living/dining space look #3:

I could get this look, both dining and living spaces, for about $2,500. Not super cheap, but not unreasonable either.

Dining space look #4:

About $1,400 for the whole look. The high-end place mats and dining plates definitely push this set-up into splurge category.

Bedroom look:

Definitely on the splurge side, this room goes for about $3,000 total. I like to mix heavier, deeper wood tones with crisp white, navy and gold.

Bawlmor, hon.

I took a trip to Baltimore this weekend, my friend Caroline grew up here and she showed us the sights. Such an adorable city!


First up, shopping! We found some great stuff, like this Cynthia Steffe navy trench (with a gingham lining!) that Meredith bought:



Caroline found a pretty fabulous vinyl mini trench. We almost bought the clutch so we could share it a la "sisterhood of the traveling purse."



From there it was off to 'honfest', a summer celebration of all things Baltimore. I guess its named for the way people say 'hon'. Crabcakes, more vintage finds and latkes, oh my!



















I'm loving this city's effortless Americana appeal: