Wandering Wednesday: Aly's New Orleans Bachelorette Weekend!

The rain didn't stop us! Although touring the French Quarter while it's pouring out gives off a very European vibe...crowded streets, too many people rushing around, dirt, grime, but there is something that keeps you there. I was indeed a tourist in this city. A first-timer in awe of it all. The city itself seems to stand on its own. Familiar, yet unfamiliar in so many ways. Its heritage is as rich as its food and the locals are proud to share that with you. We made so many friends in the 4 days we were there -- genuine people who were brought up to know what hospitality means. There is music coming out of every nook and cranny-- soul, motown and jazz. I like this city. A lot. 

Mainly, we did two things: ate and wandered. We also stayed in the most amazing, eclectic home that served as the best possible place to come back to after a long day of exploring. As I've done in the past with other trips...I will share our travel details in terms of lodging, eating, and partying (from what I can remember, wink, wink) because that is the best way for me to paint a picture of our short stay in this beautiful city. The three women I traveled with are some of my favorite women of all time. They have also quickly become my most favorite travel companions. And that is a bold statement. I feel like finding a good travel buddy is almost as rare as finding a good roommate. Some of the highlights of the trip include: live jazz at Vaughan's, po-boys at Parkway, our cab driver blasting Sam Cooke at 3am while we danced outside with strangers until a woman in her bath robe came and stopped us, swimming at The Country Club, and wearing crazy wigs on Bourbon Street (follow me on instagram if you wanna check that out). But really it's all a blur ;)

STAY: 

Our Airbnb City Park Bungalow

PLAY:

Vaughan's Lounge

The Country Club

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop

and for the crazier nights...

Saints and Sinners

Husler Club

EAT:

Parkway Bakery and Tavern

Green Goddess

Viex Carre Pizza

Elizabeth's

Three Muses

The Ruby Slipper

Hello again + Yes, I will be your co-Maid of Honor!

HI FRIENDS! So sorry for disappearing. Life has been hectic as ever lately and keeping up with this ol' blog of mine has been challenging…especially since our main home computer decided to quit on us several weeks ago. Arg! BUT I love documenting life happenings here and have missed having a place for all my photos to land. So be prepared for a picture/post dump folks! I'm determined to get back on track!

This day happened a few months ago and was so unexpected and special. Aly, Kelsey and I had casually planned to go on a lady brunch date, no time or place in mind, and ended up at Luciles, an amazing creole-style eatery here in Denver. There is always a wait, so we ordered bloody marys, sat outside, and chatted in the sun. It was one of those perfect Colorado spring days in late April. I know, so long ago…I'm the worst. Anyways, we were finally sat, food and drinks were ordered, and our waitress quickly showed up with our second round of bloodys. We started to toast, cause duh, lady dates always need a toast, and as I raised my glass I noticed the prettiest little coaster hiding underneath! I immediately just started hugging Aly and saying how sweet she was and she was like…"So...what's your answer??" Hahaha. I guess I hadn't really felt like I needed to say it because I was so flattered and surprised, but of course YES, I accepted! So there it is. I am Aly's very proud co-Maid of Honor with my girl Kelsey as co-maid #2. I'm pretty sure Aly is the most low maintenance bride-to-be of all time, because, of all the things taking up my time this summer, this one has been the most fun and least stressful. We spent the rest of the day together drinking champagne and having a photo shoot ;) Wedding countdown as of today is 39! Crazy business!

MAKE: Mint Ginger Lemongrass Syrup

Simple syrup is one of those things that you make once and wonder why you've never done it before. It is soooo easy, and I guarantee you always have the ingredients on hand. It's a 1:1 measurement. Water to sugar. That's it. And once you've nailed that, the variations are endless....which is how I found myself making this recipe.

Is the sight of neglected, browned herbs in your fridge a familiar one? For me, I would say most definitely yes. I'll keep half a bunch of basil thinking "I'll do something with it". Nope. I come to find it weeks later looking very sad at the back of the fridge. Good news guys, this recipe can do wonders for that problem!

In this particular case, I had leftover lemongrass and ginger from various dinners I cooked last week, and a huge bunch of mint that I grabbed randomly from the asian market once again thinking, "I'll do something with it". And you know what?...I DID! Obviously you can omit any of these flavors to make an even simpler syrup but I thought these would go nicely together as a threesome. I didn't really measure my herbs so this is kind of a guesstimate recipe….

Ingredients: Makes 4.5-5 cups 
(this is a large batch recipe, I recommend cutting the sugar, water ratio down if you are only using it for one purpose)

3 cups water

3 cups sugar (I used one cup of turbinado sugar, two cup granulated)

bunch of mint

1 inch piece of ginger, chopped

1 stalk of lemon grass, chopped thin

MAKE:

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, water and herbs and bring to a boil over medium heat. 

Stir until sugar is completely dissolved.

Allow mixture to cool.

Strain the mixture and discard herbs. 

Pour into a sealed container, glass jar or bottle.

* If you are new to the world of simple syrup and would like a few suggestions on how to use it, here are a few of my favorites:

- add sweetness to iced or hot tea

- Make a fancy cocktail, a Mojito or Mint Julep would be perfect for this recipe

- Popsicles! Mix fresh fruit, syrup and some water or juice, blend, and you have your next popsicle creation 

Wandering Wednesday: Witch & Bitch at DRAM Apothecary

This is a language we used to know-- reading and communicating with the land, using and celebrating what it has to offer...hunting and gathering. Foraging for food in the wild is a forgotten skill that is so natural and beautiful. Last Sunday I attended Witch & Bitch, a class self-described as a badass Girl Scouts for grown women...From foraging and tea blending to beer making and ax throwing, these classes are based on the five senses while learning a new skill in the community. Shae Whitney of DRAM Apothecary has teamed up with the ladies of R.L. Linden, Lynn Till and Robin King, to continue "the time honored tradition of folk wisdom being passed down by wise women, mothers, grannies, midwives, healers, gardeners, cooks, medicine women and all those who are labeled as witches that came before them." 

This summer class focused on tea blending and herb foraging. We hiked the hills of Silver Plume, Colorado and were taught how to identify locally growing herbs in nature-- smelling, tasting, collecting. The women taught us that foraging is also about responsibility to the land, taking only what you need and harvesting in a way that ensures the future survival of the species. We returned to the Bread Bar where we got even further into the natural benefits of these herbs, and how can be used in everyday life as remedies and soothers of specific ailments. Using the knowledge we had just learned, it was time to make our own, personal tea blend! I made a Sleep/Calm tea blend of Skullcap, Lemon Balm, Linden, Lavender and Rose :). I've been having some restless nights lately. The day was topped off with delicious food, a tasty cocktail, and lovely conversation. Although it was unseasonably cold and drizzly, we couldn't have asked for a better day, in the most magical location (seriously, how wonderful is this place?!). I sipped my Grey Gardens adult beverage concoction by the fire and thought about how nice it felt to be learning something new again. Thank you women of Witch & Bitch for sharing your expertise, I can't wait for the next one!

MAKE: Rose Pound Cake.

Anything rose-- I'll buy it, taste it, smell it…spritz it on my face. I'm going through a total rose phase right now. If flowery is not something you want to associate with consumption then I recommend skipping this recipe or omitting the rose. Of course then you are just left with pound cake, which I think is what Rob would have preferred me to make. His comment was, "it's a good, moist cake." Smart man. I, on the other hand, loved the floral, sweet flavor and thought it went best with a cup of coffee in the morning.  

I found this recipe on Pinterest and couldn't get it out of my mind. It kept calling me back to it. And oddly enough I was picking up the ingredients graduly without even realizing it. I bought a bottle of DRAM apothecary's Juniper Rose Syrup and then the rose water thinking I'd like to figure out ways of incorporating them into recipes-- and then I remembered this cake. Perfect.

A note on the ingredients: rose water can be purchased online or a smaller boutique grocery may carry it (if you are local I found mine at Marczyk's). The same goes for rose tea and again if you are local to Denver I bought mine at Apothecary Tinctura. Also, you can find the DRAM syrup here or here in town. 

Ingredients: Serves 7

For the cake:

1.5 sticks of butter 

1/2 cup of cream cheese or half of 8 ounce package

1.5 cups of granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1.5 cups of all purpose sifted flour

1 teaspoons of rosewater

For the glaze:

1 tbsp. of cooled rosebud tea

2 tbsp. of DRAM Juniper Rose Syrup 

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1   cup sifted powdered sugar 

1/2 tbsp.  of buttermilk

MAKE:

Preheat oven to three hundred and twenty five degrees. Butter and flour a 6 inch bunt pan*. Set aside.

Make tea according to instructions.  Combine cooled tea, sugar and buttermilk. Set aside.

Using a stand or hand mixer, cream butter and cream cheese.

Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy.

Slowly add eggs; one at a time.

In stages, incorporate sifted flour in but do not overbeat.

Add rosewater to mixture (the batter will be thick). Transfer into pan.   

Cooking time is around one hour and 30 minutes. Use the toothpick method to test doneness.

Let cool in pan and then convert to cooling rack.

To make the icing, mix all ingredients together until smooth. 

Pour glaze over cake and garnish with rose petals, if desired.

* if you only have a 9 in. bunt pan, double the recipe

Original Recipe found here.

Wandering Wednesday: Lately.

I feel like this batch of photos really sums up what I've been doing the past few months. I realize my postings have been sparse and I'd like to say that things have been too crazy to sit and write it all down, but that's not exactly true. So what's happening? I've been really enjoying my downtime. Life so far in 2014 has looked a lot like this...kitten, snow, friends, 60 degree weather, more snow, movies, cooking, beers, mountains, cocktails, friends, kitten....you get it. Work falls somewhere in there too of course, and stress, and the occasional break down. But the older I get, the more I realize that doing things for yourself feels so good, and saying 'no' because you just don't feel like it is totally allowed. So that's sort of been my mantra for this year thus far. I read this article the other day and thought the advice was spot on. I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes (although there are many) : 

 1. If you worry less about what people think of you, you can pick up an astonishing amount of information about them. You no longer leave conversations wondering what just happened. Other people’s minds and motives are finally revealed.

2. There are no grown-ups. Everyone is winging it, some just do it more confidently.

3. There are no soul mates. In fact, “soul mate” isn’t a pre-existing condition. It’s an earned title. They’re made over time.

4. Emotional scenes are tiring and pointless. 

5. Forgive your exes, even the awful ones. They were just winging it, too.

6. Just say “no.” Never suggest lunch with people you don’t want to have lunch with. They will be much less disappointed than you think.

7. By your 40s, you don’t want to be with the cool people; you want to be with your people.

8. When you’re wondering whether she’s his daughter or his girlfriend, she’s his girlfriend.

Really though, you should make yourself a cup of coffee...sit down and read the whole thing. Trust me, it will make you feel pretty great ;)