Friday, July 13, 2012

frenzy, flurry, shim sham, blurry

This is what I've been up to lately:

1) A bachelorette party
From the balcony of the Hustler Club























2) A wedding
























"Bridesmaids 4 Life"






















3) A birthday party
































This weekend, it's Running of the Bulls, biking to the Bywater, flying kites (weather permitting), and making a seafood gumbo. And a little rest too.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

101 in 1001- June update

16) Donate $100 a year to charity.
RAINN- $25

18) Read 10 books from the Bloom Canon.
8) Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Brothers Karamazov
This book has officially been added to my favorite books of all time list. I read the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation (supposedly one of the best out there). I can't speak to the translation's adherence to the original text, but I can vouch for the research that went into this edition. The notes on each chapter were an incredible resource and definitely contributed to a deeper understanding of the book. The entire novel is beautifully written and, while it's steeped in philosophy and religion, it's not what I'd call a "difficult" read, though I'm certainly glad I read it when I was old enough to understand more of the subtleties on the debates about God, free will and reason. It's one of those books that altered the way I think about life and I can't recommend it highly enough.

19) Read 1 unassigned book per month.    
June '12- Julia Reed Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena.
I bought this book on a whim while browsing aimlessly at Blue Cypress. I'm so glad I did. Every Southern lady should read this (I'm on my own personal mission to supply my friends with copies). The book is a collection of essays about the South and it addresses everything from Southern food (one of my favorite parts of the book is when Reed recounts a conversation she had about Triscuits and cream cheese with a friend from New Jersey. She asks what he puts on the cream cheese. When he replies "Nothing," she says, "You would never see a naked block of cream cheese in the South."), to the leniency given to female murderers in the South, to pageant culture, to hurricane parties, to fashion, to hair styles. I read the whole thing over the course of a day and a half, much of it out loud to Richie when he would ask why I was laughing so hard.

24) Learn 1 new word a week.
Pettifog- to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
Pfui- an exclamation indicating disagreement or rejection of an argument; contempt
Fichu- a woman's kerchief or shawl, generally triangular in shape, worn draped over the shoulders or around the neck with the ends drawn together on the breast.
Bain-marie- (in cooking) a receptacle containing hot or boiling water into which other containers are placed to warm or cook the food in them.


57) Make 3 food items I'd normally buy ready-made.
3) Duck Sauce



60) Grow a vegetable.
I have had the worst luck with my vegetable garden. All the plants have grown nice and high and they produce flowers, but for whatever reason, the damn flowers won't pollinate. Thus, all I have to show for 3 months of gardening are two measly bell peppers. But I still grew them! 
 
67) Learn to make 6 different cocktails from memory.
4) The 1st Jewel- 1 shot bourbon (pref. Woodford Reserve), 1 shot aperol, 1 shot St. Germain, orange bitters, Peychaud's bitters, champagne
5) Jasmine- 1 shot Hendrick's, 1 shot Cointreau, 1/2 shot Campari, 3/4 shot lemon juice, simple syrup
Ann and I had a lady date at Bar UnCommon. Ann arrived before I did and had a look over the menu. The bartender asked her what she'd like and when she ordered off the menu, he suggested that she just tell him what she was in the mood for and he'd make it for her. This gave us carte blanche to make all sorts of fun suggestions and we got some great cocktails out of it. The 1st Jewel came from me telling him I'd like a cocktail with bourbon and aperol (I was thinking of my beloved Pinewood Drifter from the Whistler in Chicago). He created the above for me and made a comment that he'd have to add it to the menu. Ann asked him to write the recipe down for us on a cocktail napkin and then pressed him to give it a name. She also got him to sign the napkin. She's very persuasive. The Jasmine was a cocktail he made for her that we also demanded the recipe for.



 Full list here.