true north

I'm home for the holidays, and over Christmas eve dinner (spaghetti, Italian sausage, meatballs) my dad was talking about true north. It made me think about what it means to go home (I digress, but at Heights Arts I once saw a print of a bird flying a dotted line from point A to point B, which was home. I went back to buy it and it was GONE. I loved that print.)

If I had Photoshop here, I would just MAKE the print.

Anyway, my dad was talking about finding true north for the purpose of calling in artillery rounds when one is a LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol) in the Vietnam War, which he was. I'm thinking about true north in terms of finding home, orienting oneself, blahblahblah. A friend at work said to me "I think home for you is wherever your parents live." This is one kind of home- a childhood kind of home. But what about an adult home? What does it feel like when you are oriented correctly- at your personal true north?

duck!

gory picture, good duck. I need a carving knife.

I've been friends with Kate since we worked together at House of Blues, when I first moved to Cleveland. She's the first person I cooked for in my (then) new apartment, and she's continued to be a lovely guest ever since. Now she's moving across the country, and coming to dinner for maybe the last time. What's a better way to show someone how much you care than to cook for them? I decided to make duck, mostly because I never have, and I love a challenge- along with bok choy and shiitake mushrooms, basmati rice, and Ciao Bella gelato for dessert. I love roasting things, because you can come home from work, throw it in the oven and then think about other stuff while it cooks, making your house smell delicious in the process.
*full disclosure: duck is harder to make than roast chicken. With roast chicken, you really can forget about it while it's cooking. Duck is much more high maintenance. 

Better pictures of CPA window...

me (and Seth)

special thanks to Martha Stewart Crafts for creating LED magnolias

night-time

day time!

lovely shadows were total serendipity. Thanks to Deanna (at Cleveland Public Art) and her friend Seth for the great photos.

 

Winter window at Cleveland Public Art

Making of- Like a quilting bee only stringing pom poms instead

The project was begun here (all the best ideas are hatched at a bar or in the shower). A friend that works at Cleveland Public Art suggested that I create an installation for CPA's windows on w. 26th St. I thought about how to create a winter scene that made a big statement, for very little money, that wouldn't annoy the people that work in the office. After some test runs in my dining room, some help from Cleveland Institute of Art students, and some friends, the windows are up! There are some things that you (I) think about that don't quite mesh- this was NOT one of those things. So much fun, and something that I'm so proud of.

Besides getting to do something wholly creative, the best part of this project was all the help that was given to me- from the CIA girls, from CPA, from friends. One night, a week or two before I installed the project, 3 friends and myself got together for Thai food, Real Housewives of the OC, and pom pom stringing/tissue paper flower making. This is one of the things I like the best about Cleveland.

Over lunch while we were in Budapest, I tried to explain to Matt why I want to stay in Cleveland so much. I spoke about low cost of living, great food, things to do. But then I realized that the very best part of Cleveland is the sense of community. This was something I felt was missing in New York and Miami-- because the community of like-minded people here isn't large, it is close-knit and special.

a reward: classic cocktail night at my good friends house. I helped invent a new cocktail: the Kentucky Cream (Or dream, since the combination of warm water, honey whiskey, and milk put me right to sleep)

Some crappy pictures accompany this post- I'll have better ones later this week.

Wanderful

I've been inspired by food and retail trucks for awhile, and I've wanted my own boutique for longer...But how to start a boutique without sinking thousands of dollars into it? I've already abandoned the idea of a website- it's just not me. I want a boutique that is like an inspiring friends closet and it's next to impossible to evoke that online. Maybe this is the answer. I wonder if Washington DC needs a mobile boutique? I mean, people are extremely busy there, after all.

lovely sunday

Dim sum! Lovely Sunday indeed. And the last relaxing day for quite awhile. I'm making chana masala while procrastinating on making a T-day shopping list.

Decisions, decisions

Oh lord, the turkey. fried or roasted?

to start with....

This is, I believe, the last issue of Gourmet Magazine. RIP, Gourmet. I cannot believe I'm 30 and have never cooked Thanksgiving before, but it's true and this year that will change. I'm going to host Thanksgiving, along with some friends, and I'm planning to make it using recipes from this issue of Gourmet. Even making the shopping list is daunting, not to mention figuring out how I'm going to utilize 2 ovens in 2 different locations to make everything.

I'm home!

After 2 days in Detroit, 4 days in Tennessee, and 10 days in Europe, I'm home. whew. I came in to work this morning and was told I'm going to California in 2 weeks, which I'm very pleased about...I now have wanderlust and I don't want to loose momentum. Europe was amazing, so relaxing I'm almost in a coma, and the epitome of loveliness. Came home late Saturday, watched Orlando (inspiring), then dinner with good friends. As fantastic as the whole wide world is, it's also good to be home.

Also, a lovely Sunday remembered

I have no pics (the better time I'm having, the fewer pictures I take) but I had a very grown-up (my first EVER not dressing up) Halloween/lovely Sunday. Good friends + Fall + 5 lbs of pork roast = a very good day.

So long Cleveland, HALLO VIENNA!

All packed and organized to go meet Matt (my fiance) in Vienna, where we will stay for five days, then on to Budapest. I've been to Vienna, but neither of us has been to Budapest, so this will be a good adventure for the two of us. I haven't seen Matt in more than 4 months because he's been in Afghanistan-- what WILL I do when we finally see each other?

Things that make life worth living

Watching "Manhattan" for the 78th time tonight. I love the part where Woody Allen talks about things that make life worth living. I have a friend that I am passing the movie along to-- She's never seen it! I envy her- I wish I could watch both Manhattan and Annie Hall for the first time.

Something that makes life worth living: this salad on a rainy Thursday.

ABC's

My friend Lizzy helped design this booklet written by Steven Litt (the architecture critic for the Plain Dealer). I was really inspired by the turnout for the party- so many people supporting the notion of a better Cleveland.

Can better design in a city attract and retain people that are financially and emotionally invested in making it great? And is it putting the cart before the horse to invest in sustainable design when a city like Cleveland is struggling so much? I live down the street from the projects, so my point A is completely different from my neighbors. Is that a positive thing, that will lead to a place that is good on different levels? Or am I being naive to think that better bicycle lanes make a better city?

lovely sunday

vintage shopping +  mod mexican food= a happy birthday for a lovely friend. (I was too busy eating my weight in guac to remember take pictures)

Deers

walk by the lake + great album on headphones= ahhhhh. Hallo deers, squirrels, doggies.

Happy weekend

happy weekend.

lovely sunday

hot dogs + tots + The Social Network= lovely sunday

Hallo, autumn!

Someone told me that if you feel you want to get something off the ground, just start doing it- don't wait until it's perfect, because perfection doesn't exist. So.


Even though it's been a looong (sigh) time since I've been on an academic year, I still think of fall of a time of new beginnings- a bouquet of pencils, a new Trapper Keeper, crispy jeans. It's a perfect time to start a new project. Here's my project. I wanted to start a blog so that I would be pushed to report on the small things that make life sweet. I'm calling it Sweet Heartland because (at the moment) I live in the midwest. But I also think that any place you feel a connection to is a Heartland.