10.22.2012

bergamot & bailey's


Brandon invented a new drink today. Just take a cup of Earl Grey tea and add a dash of Bailey's Irish Cream. Done. YUM.


10.18.2012

culinary quest: mini caramel apples

As an autumnally appropriate culinary quest, I made mini caramel apples for a friend's baby shower.



I had entertained the idea of making them "the cheater way" by just buying and melting caramels, but our grocery store didn't have any good caramels and I would've had to buy about 30 bags of the ones they did have. So, I bought a bottle of corn syrup (gasp!) and made the caramel from scratch.

I don't have a candy thermometer but we do have a nice digital thermometer that worked like a charm.

After making these, I will never be able to eat as much caramel again. It is just SO MUCH SUGAR. But they were delicious. Delicious and too difficult to eat in front of your friends at a baby shower. :)

recipe.


Carnival Caramel Apples Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, cubed
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • Dash salt
  • 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 10 to 12 Popsicle sticks
  • 10 to 12 medium tart apples, washed and dried
  • 1 cup salted peanuts, chopped

Directions

  • In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter; add the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248° (firm-ball stage). Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.
  • Insert Popsicle sticks into apples. Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat. Dip bottom of apples into peanuts. Place on greased waxed paper until set. Yield: 10-12 apples.

10.17.2012

wool week


This week is WOOL WEEK in the UK. The Campaign for Wool is hosting events &c. to promote natural living and the use of wool.




Live Naturally + Choose Wool: it’s warm, safe and gentle on the planet. 


I'm not a wool activist or anything (didn't know those existed) but I do love it, so I just thought I'd share. They had a "jumper" (aka sweater) design competition among British students and the winners are being sold at local retailers.





(source)

YEAH, WOOL!

10.12.2012

this is my first rodeo











We went to the rodeo for the first time last night! I think it was a significant step toward becoming Texan (not that that is my goal, but I do want to be accepted 'round these here parts). It was quite exciting! I even wore my cowboy boots fer the occasion.



The funniest part had to be the mutton bustin,' which is where tiny little kids come out of the stocks holding-on-for-dear-life to a sprinting sheep. So entertaining! We also saw calf-lassoing, steer wresting, bareback buckin-horse-riding, and bull-riding. Those cowboys are crazy. It was really intense and interesting to watch. After the hilarious mutton' bustin' my favorite event was the bucking-horse-riding. The horses just leaped and bucked so beautifully, exactly as you'd picture it.

However, I made the mistake of asking "how do they get the horses and bulls to buck?" If you don't already know the answer, then I'm certainly not going to be the one to tell you!











Now, I just need to go back so that I can say, "This ain't my first rodeo!"

10.11.2012

baylor-hogwarts

Baylor has a few "residential colleges," in the manner of Oxbridge. My friend DeAnn invited me to dine with her at the Brooks College dining hall, which was modeled after the Hogwarts dining hall, which was modeled after the Christ Church dining hall at Oxford. It is a modernized version, to be sure, but it's quite lovely and I had a fun time pretending to be at Cambridge or Hogwarts.




The occasion and the recently cooler weather really made me feel like dressing for a collegiate autumn afternoon. Today it's back to 85 but it was nice while it lasted.

10.09.2012

:type travel tuesday: {aberlour distillery, scotland}



Aberlour Distillery. In the heart of Speyside, Scotland

"Situated at the junction of the Rivers Lour and Spey, the distillery lies in a beautiful glen, surrounded by glorious scenery dominated by the rugged peaks of Ben Rinnes a short distance away.

Pure spring water for making the whisky is drawn from underground springs, and the maturing spirit in the warehouse beneficially inhales the moist Speyside air.

Here, the abundance of nature and the centuries-old passion for making single malt whisky conspire to make the generous and multi-layered whisky of Aberlour.

‘Aberlour’ is a gaelic word meaning ‘mouth of the chattering burn [stream]’"






10.05.2012

mini, midi, maxi

I am loving how skirts and pants of all lengths are in style these days. You can wear them any way you like. Thanks for all the choices and design-freedom, fashion of 2012.


Skirts by Anthropologie. Design by me.
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