the old west
22 x 30
knitting circle
22 x 30
higher than a georgia pine
18 x 24
pink swamp
18 x 24
my friend wrote a book and i made some soup. same thing.
good morning.
my friend valorie wrote a book.
i am proud of people who do shit for themselves and don't sit around bitching about things.
valorie hart is a cool chick with pink hair and floral pants.
she was one of my first blog supporters.
in fact she was the one who spread the word about mfamb so in a way..
i have lots to thank her for.
she sent me a copy of house proud and asked me to spread the word about it.
i liked her book a lot.
i like how it's totally real life decorating.
there isn't a lot of fancy within the pages, it is all very attainable and charming and homey.
and there is A LOT of color.
here are some of my favorite images..
all homes featured are located in louisiana.
including valorie's own charming abode.
i featured this book on my holiday gift guide and i stand by that decree.
get it for yourself, your mom, your auntie..
your uncle newell.
i give it 5 out of 5 chloes...
next...
it's cold outside and that means you want soup.
i have the perfect soup for you.
this soup is amazing for stuffy noses, sore throats and just generally warming your bones and filling your belly.
thai coconut curry soup.
this is fiona's favorite soup and she asks for it all the time.
i adapted the recipe from here.
adapted because i think the original is slightly flawed.
#1...the recipe doesn't use enough thai curry paste.
#2...it isn't sweet enough.
and #3....i don't use chicken.
but you could.
frankly i don't think it needs it.
the flavors are so strong and beautiful..i think the meat just gets in the way.
plus i was full for hours after i ate it so to me, the meat just isn't necessary.
but i wouldn't balk at a few pieces of shrimp in there.
or even leftover chicken.
here is my adapted version:
ingredients
2 14 ounce cans premium coconut milk
1/4 cup Thai curry paste (basically half the jar. i use this one.)
1 to 2 teaspoons agave nectar (or sugar to taste. i like my coconut curry soup a little sweet but if you don't, you can omit all forms of sweetener. but i don't recommend that.)
1 bunch cilantro roots, rinsed well
2 cups chicken broth
1 carrot, shredded
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
4 or 5 lime leaves ( i used dried but fresh is better)
1 stalk lemon grass, halved lengthwise, woody leaves removed
2 tablespoons fish sauce (i probably used a little more than this amount)
2 limes zest and juice
a small knob fresh ginger
8 ounce package rice noodles, cooked.
a word about rice noodles..
the original recipe says to just heat the noodles in the broth, but i have does this and it doesn't work. trust.
i cooked the noodles according to the package directions.
i used these.
1 bunch cilantro leaves, rinsed well
2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced
avocado
a sprinkle or two salt or soy sauce (i used salt)
instructions
Scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of just one of the cans into a large stockpot set over a medium-high heat. Melt the cream, add the curry paste and stir for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle.
Add the cilantro roots, the coconut juice from the first can and all the contents of the second can along with the chicken broth, carrot, bell pepper, lime leaves, lemon grass, fish sauce, agave nectar or sugar, and lime zest and juice. Grate the ginger into the broth with a Microplane grater or standard box grater. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.
Add the cooked rice noodles.
Stir in most of the cilantro leaves. Remove the lemon grass stalks. Taste and season with a touch more salt (or soy sauce) as needed. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions, sliced avocado and remaining cilantro leaves.
i promise you this is the yummiest coconut soup you'll ever eat.
recaps
thank you all who left me birthday wishes!
it was a great birthday.
very UN-birthday like.
those nails were something else.
it was like i was edward scissorhands.
i couldn't do anything for myself that involved the use of my hands.
pee?
nope.
but they sure looked good.
the commercial was for a thing called decluttr.
which i think is some kind of organizing software.
maybe.
there will be print ads too so you can tear them out of magazines and throw darts at them or create a carrie mathison style abu nazir tack board.
go get those magic markers and prepare for your color-coded meltdown, haters.
now, on to AHS...
i thought this week's episode was pretty good.
campy as hell but enjoyable.
i think i have myrtle's zingers to thank for this.
queenie is murdering for marie.
stealing hearts to make her a better witch.
and i don't care about this story.
fiona wants to live out her days with her boyfriend but not til she finds out who the new supreme is.
cordelia is still angry and hates her mom's stuffing.
gross, who puts raisins in stuffing?!
i find it hard to believe that fiona would ever put raisins in stuffing.
apples, maybe....but raisins?
fiona doesn't strike me as a raisins type of witch.
myrtle is FOR SURE a raisins type of witch.
kyle is playing with a leap pad for toddlers.
he grunts and kisses a lot and manages to figure out how to tell zoe he loves her thanks to dora the explorer.
madison is jealous.
guess she can feel sadness and jealously.
myrtle manages to pull herself out of the dirt in enough time to tell misty that there's a man outside the cabin with a gun.
later the two of them flee to roblahblah's and cordelia has a hot flash while touching misty and offers her protection.
patti lupone gives luke an enema. (so so fucking wrong)
later she gets shot to death by the gunman.
cordelia touches the silver bullet and realizes who it is.
or does she?
i was confused.
i mean we all know it's hank but does she?
nan rushes over because she can sense that luke is in trouble.
and here is where i want to change my mind and declare nan the supreme.
honestly i think it's either nan or cordelia.
nan was at the house when madison caught those curtains on fire...so maybe it was nan and NOT madison.
neither one of them really knew what happened.
they assumed it was madison, right?
also, she opened the door with her mind.
did you catch that shit?
AND!!
in the beginning it was fiona who told all the girls that nan was "smarter than all of us".
but then when luke got shot up nan was begging for supreme powers so i guess if she was the supreme she would have been able to find them to save her boo.
or it's cordelia and i'm not sure why i feel this but i think she is a viable option.
or it's stupid zoe.
downstairs the witches in la isla bonita costumes, are doing some kind of sacred ceremony to hasten fiona's death.
they trick her into suicide.
fiona is ready to go to sleep forever because she foreshadowed her future and she looks like gollum.
but then spalding comes in and is like...no! you can't die.
you've been lied to!
so he shoves some ipecac syrup down her throat and she voms.
FOR THE 400TH TIME THIS EPISODE!
while they wait for the sleeping pills to work myrtle plays the piano.
they talk about how they will know when the supreme powers come on..
myrt says, "i hear it starts as a tingle in the cooch".
best line ever.
fiona wearing a grey garden's turban marches in and lights a cig with her powers.
and basically says..sorry bitches you're gonna have to do better than that.
and over at marie's queenie is feeding delphine still in a cage.
marie comes in and shuts that shit down.
delphine remarks that she isn't afraid of marie anymore bc there's nothing she can do to her.
she begs to be locked back in the box and marie chops off her hand.
a while later fiona and cordelia are bonding over coffee when a doorbell rings.
there's a big box on the stoop and fiona brings it inside, opens it to find delphine's head.
perfectly alive and hissing..."HEELLLP!!".
it would appear in next week's episode that the witches come together..
both within the coven and with the voodoo bitches.
thoughts?
so help me god if kyle gets zoe pregnant and in some kind of twilight renesme type of speeded up pregnancy zoe gives birth to the supreme i will personally gather up some silver bullets and shoot ryan murphy in the butthole.
right after i give him a clorox enema.
birthday
barfdays are so dumb when you are over 35.
honestly the dumbest of all the days.
this looks like a fun room to spend a borthday in.
i have the good fortune to be spending my beerthday doing this..
essentially playing dress up.
i am shooting a commercial today and i get to play the part of an 80's rocker chick.
think poison groupie.
yesterday i had a fitting and hair meeting where i got to try on shiny things and LOTS of bracelets.
it's actually the best berthday present ever.
AHS was good this week, agreed?
let's talk about it tomorrow.
be sure to follow me on instagram for pics of my tragic 80's look.
i even get fake nails!!
happy byrthday to me!
kitchen things
i look at a lot of images of interiors.
a lot.
the images i stare at the longest are the ones of kitchens filled with personal effects.
it feels the most like stalking.
like i am looking through a window rather than through a photographer's lens.
maybe it's because kitchens are so costly to renovate that we are often times forced to make do with what's there.
shitty cabinets, outdated tile, weird angles.
i love seeing cabinets repurposed with a bright coat of paint or hiding the backsplash with propped oil paintings.
beyond that i just like looking at other people's stuff.
especially...utensils in some sort of crock near the stove (probably because i spend half my life in this spot)..
or open shelves filled with stacks of dishes.
lou doillon's kitchen via the selby.
mind bending.
talk about elevating a space with paint.
just this one little snippet of someone's kitchen and life will set me off on an organizing bender.
ok, sorry to say but there will be no AHS recap this week, at least not a typical one.
i am shooting a commercial tomorrow all day so i will do my best to recap it briefly on saturday.
alright then, a few new jellies in the shop and that's it for me today.
personal indulgences
all i want for christmas is this stuff right here..
this krups coffee maker.
it's shiny and neutral.
would look great in any kitchen.
and if you saw the coffee maker situation i am currently living with you would probably cry a little it's so sad.
think college dorm room circa 1985.
sweat pants?! you ask.
not just "sweat pants"
ALL the sweat pants.
as in i will take 5 pair of those.
and 5 pair of these.
and 1 pair of these and these.
and 100 pair of these.
bring on the sweat pants.
sweat pants are winter's denim cut-offs.
i hate all other forms of pant.
the 5.5 qt le creuset round dutch oven in flame.
i have the smaller one in marseille
and i love it.
it is totally non stick at all times and you can cook everything in it..
eggs to brisket.
i just need a bigger one BECAUSE I DO!
uggs.
you lie if you say you don't want them.
and if you STILL say you don't want them that is because you've never had them on your feet.
i completely wore my last pair out.
i had them for about 10 years.
they saw the grand canyon and disney world and everywhere in between.
my only ugg rule is that they not be any other color than the one above.
classic ugg.
like clooney if he were a clown.
i have been wanting a high dollar, supreme camera for a long time.
just look at my blog images and you'll agree.
many of you probably think i am the shittiest photographer on the internet.
i think i just haven't given it much focus (nailed it).
i believe i could be a great photographer if i had a decent camera and a better understanding of the basics.
that's it.
not too crazy of a list right?
what's on your list?
