Home Tour: Part I

You've waited in suspense for 2 months now, so I figured it was finally time to appease all you folks who have been asking to see pictures of our new place here in Memphis. Just to keep you on your toes, I'm going to post the pics little-by-little. I've got to leave my faithful readers wanting more, right? :) (Ok, so its really just because yesterday was laundry day and I couldn't get pics of the bedrooms with bedding actually on them, but this excuse sounds much better).

So...part one...the house, front porch, and hallway.

I'm sure most of you have already seen this one, but you probably haven't seen our cute little pots and our new porch swing!

A close up of the front porch. See that little sign in the bottom left? Yeah, that's right...we're protected by Brinks Home Security...don't even think about it. And you can't really tell in this pic, but those impatiens are planted in a vintage popcorn tin that I found in Kerr! Notice the begginnings of Fall leaves on the porch...

The other side of the porch. This is where we will sip lemonade when you come to visit me. Now, open the front door, give me a hug, and step on in! To your immediate right is our bedroom, to your left is the guest room/study, straight ahead is the bathroom, and the second doorway on the right goes into the living room.

I have had the silver mirror since college and was pumped to find the other two at the Pottery Barn Kids outlet...steal of a deal! Switch out the checkered ribbon for this prettiness, and voila!

I love old, black and white family pictures, so I decided to feature them all in one spot. Unfortunately, the wall currently only contains pics of my relatives, so all you Landes/Poes out there need to hook me up with some cool old photos! So these first two aren't exactly old, but they will be someday...weird.

So...clockwise from the top left: the first two are of my precious paternal grandparents (Gram and Bobby) on the grounds of the Iowa State Capitol building where they met. The next is my maternal grandmother, Joyce, in her senior portrait. Then there's gram and bobby again (I wish you could see the awesome gardenia in Grammy's hair!). The next only looks old; it's of Jonathan and Todd "freestyle walking" (they are in mid-jump in the pic). The biggest picture is a charcoal drawing that Jonathan brought me from Chiang Mai, Thailand. Then there's my grandmother's wedding portrait, and just above that a picture of my mother as a little girl with her parents. I love these treasures.

So there you have it, the first installment of the Poe Family Home Tour. Stay tuned!

Time is on My Side

I have a lot of time on my hands these days, partially due to the fact that I am unemployed, but also because Jonathan is studying just about all night every night. Yesterday he was able to study outside of the house for a bit, so we enjoyed the gorgeous afternoon by strolling through the neighborhood to Cafe Eclectic. Iced mocha for him, Izze for me, and later a cup of tea for each of us. He studied neuroanatomy (yikes!), I worked on my BSF lesson and read a bit from French Lessons. Twas lovely.

Unfortunately, most of Jonathan's study time requires him to be tucked away in his lair (aka, the guest bedroom/study) in total concentration (aka, no noise or conversation from yours truly). I have been trying to lay on the guestroom bed and read or watch episodes of tv shows on the laptop via headphones, just so that we can at least be in the same room.

Then I was thinking, I know that many of my faithful readers have been--or are currently being--the supportive spouse of a student. (Joe, Whitney B., Keely, Erin?...I know you're out there!). I hereby welcome any pointers on how you survived the long, neverending evenings and weekends of study time, or any other words of wisdom you have for playing cheerleader for the future MD/DO/PT/DDS/OD/Pharm., etc. in your life.

What's for Supper?

I've contributed a recipe for one of my favorite fall dinners here.

Little Rock or Bust

Mother...check
Daughter...check
Fun city equidistant from said mother and daughter...check
Hotel room...check
Cute stores...check
Big nice malls...check
Yummy restaurants...check
Cheesy tv movies...check
Kettle Korn...check
Soft new grey scarf...check
New Seda France travel candle...check
Lazy Sunday morning...check
Plans for future mother-daughter weekends...check

On My Mind...

• I am searching for a job in one of the worst economic crises in modern American history. Awesome.
• Jonathan told me last night that its probably about time: time to get a random job just for the sake of making money. I'm a bit embarassed to admit this, but since graduating from college I have never had to do this. I have always known what I wanted to do and been able to do it. In some way I feel like going out and getting some random job shows failure in my confidence that God will provide a meaningful job for me. But I also know that part of faith is practicality, which means that if hubster says we need a little extra to pay the bills, you get a job. I'm in a bit of a minor depression about this, but I'll put on my big girl pants and get over it.
• My husband has poison ivy. My husband is terribly allergic to poison ivy. My husband is miserable. My husband has to go to school with ice packs strapped to his side under his shirt. My husband will not let me touch him. Poor husband.
• My puppy likes to steal my underwear. She even puts her arms (paws?) through the bra straps before running around the house to make it more difficult for us to get it back. This morning I woke up to her little face, paws and chin resting on the edge of the bed, panties wrapped under her chin and on top of her head. If I could have snapped I picture it would be titled "Weber's Secret."
• Tomorrow night we are having dinner with the two couples we met at the white coat party. Yay for new friends.
• On Saturday I am driving to Little Rock to meet my mom for a little overnight trip. Anyone have any shopping or dining recommendations for Little Rock? Please comment!
• I hate hanging pictures on my walls. I can never get the nail in the right spot the first time and the wall looks like swiss cheese by the time I'm finished.
• There was a lady who hung out in our neighbor's backyard all day yesterday. She even shaved her legs with the hose while sitting in a lawn chair. (With shaving cream!). These are the same neighbors who play the bongos around a firepit in their back yard, so I'm not sure why I'm surprised. (Other than the fact that the lady doesn't live there...that is weird).
• Tonight is the premier of The Office. That's what she said.
• I am really ready for my new couch to get here.
• I kind of miss OBU today. Something about cool, crisp Fall weather just makes you want to stroll a college campus or grab a chai latte with a friend in the GC.
• I just found out that some of my students from OBU are coming to visit next month! Shout out to Howard 7...can't wait to see you girls!!!
• Today I need to: finish laundry, walk the dog, go to Target and buy new lamps for the guest room with my birthday money (Thanks Ashley, Ramsey, and Anna!), hang a few more pictures in the hallway, and make beans and rice for dinner. It's a charmed (and slightly boring) life I lead.

Meat and Potatoes

Has anyone else noticed the increasingly high prices of meat these days? Obviously grocery prices are increasing across the board, but meat and dairy seem to have taken a hard hit. Over the past several grocery trips, I have seriously scrapped entire recipes from my meal plan simply because I cannot bring myself to pay $7 for the smallest package of chicken breasts. Now, I would pay $7 for free-range, organic chicken breasts from a local farmer at the farmer's market, but not for the hormone-injected, antibiotic laden stuff at Super Target.

So the Poe family has become somewhat vegetarian these days. We are only eating meat a couple of times a week, and the rest of the week we are enjoying meatless meals. Eggplant, beans, soups, and eggs are our new best friends, and our grocery bill is lower for it. I've also been trying to find recipes for cheaper cuts of meat, like round steak, and for canned fish (crab and salmon cakes, tuna pasta salads, etc.). I can't imagine how families with multiple children are handling this change in our economic situation!

I'll try to post a few of my favorite budget meals and ideas over the next few weeks, but let me start with my favorite: a basic roasted chicken. You can purchase a whole chicken for under $4 and really get your money's worth. I'll share my basic recipe and then give you a few suggestions for how to make it last:

BASIC ROAST CHICKEN
1 whole chicken (it's easy to do 2 at a time if you want to have even more meat)
butter or olive oil
1 bulb of garlic
1 lemon
kosher salt and pepper
sprigs of thyme, if you have it (optional)

Remove the chicken from its wrapping and feel inside the cavity to make sure that it is free of the little plastic bag that contains the neck and giblets (not many companies include this these days, but better to check than have melted plastic inside your dinner!).

Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat it dry with paper towels. This is what gives the skin that good crispy texture.

Place the chicken (breast side up, which means that the legs will be sticking up at you) in a roasting pan on a rack, or in a shallow baking dish. You could even do it on a cookie sheet with a high edge. Rub the outside of the chicken with olive oil or softened butter (a couple of tablespoons). Sprinkle the outside and inside of the chicken with salt and pepper (at least 2 t. salt and 1 t. pepper). Cut the lemon in half and the garlic bulb in half horizontally. Stuff them inside the cavity of the chicken. Add herbs if you have them (rosemary, thyme, and sage are great...you can also rub these dried herbs on the skin and inside for more flavor).

Bake the chicken in a 425 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until the skin is golden brown, the inside measures 160 degrees with a meat thermometer, or until juices run clear. You don't want to overcook it and dry it out. I find that 1 1/2 hours is perfect for most grocery store chickens. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for about 30 minutes in order for the juices to soak back into the chicken. If you cut it immediately, the juices will all run out and the meat won't be as moist.

IDEAS FOR USE:

• Jonathan and I like to split one of the chicken breasts for dinner, then I can pick the rest of the meat off of the chicken (be ruthless...there is tons of meat on there if you really get in there!) and use it for other things, such as...
• Chicken salad, enchilada filling, chicken soup, casseroles, sandwiches, etc.
• Save the bones and any meat clinging to them to make chicken stock/broth. If you make broth and save it in your freezer in baggies, you will save a good chunk of money by not having to buy canned/boxed chicken broth for recipes. I usually just stick the bones in a big baggie and leave it in the freezer until I am ready to make stock, usually on Sunday afternoons.

CHICKEN STOCK:

In the largest pot you have, combine the chicken bones, 2 carrots (roughly chopped), 2 celery stalks (roughly chopped), one onion (roughly chopped), a handful of parsley and/or thyme (optional), and some salt and pepper. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 4 hours. While it is cooking, you can do whatever the heck you want! Those are my favorite kind of recipes.

Allow to cool and strain through a colander into a big bowl. Use a measuring cup to measure small amounts (I like to do 2, 4, and 6 cup increments) into freezer bags. Label bags with the cup amount. I like to lay the baggies flat in the freezer so that once their frozen you can fit them in little nooks and crannies in your freezer without taking up much room. Then, when you are ready to make soup or you need some broth for a recipe, just thaw out a baggie under warm water and its ready to use!

Three Cheers for 26 Years!

Excuse my rhyming title...I couldn't resist. Do I look older to you? Hey, I'm just glad that I can still wear horizontal stripes without looking chubby. That calls for a celebration! I enjoyed a wonderful 26th birthday on Saturday. We started the day at the farmer's market. I stocked up on tomatoes, chard, herb plants, ground beef, goat cheese, pizza crust, and pears and can hardly wait to make a yummy pizza for dinner tonight. If you're lucky I'll take a picture.

After the market we had a scrumptious breakfast at Cafe Eclectic, the neighborhood hangout that is just a short walk from our house. Their coffee is scrumptious, and Jonathan had a bowl of oatmeal that was out of this world. Who knew oatmeal could make you swoon?

After breakfast, I took Weber to obedience school class #2. She worked on her sit-stay and down-stay commands, as well as heeling and resisting temptations. That didn't go so well, since Weber is a sucker for a good squeakie toy. Poor little girl. Here's the latest pic of our little bandana bandit sitting on her new L.L. Bean bed. She hates the bandana, so this was a one-time occurance!

That afternoon we opened some presents and did some shopping with birthday money. Jonathan bought me these:

I have had my eye on them for some time and they were well worth the wait. I can hardly bear to remove them from my feet! I've always been a barefoot girl, but these hardwood floors are tough on the tootsies. Now I've got these cuties to keep me warm and comfy. Thanks for taking notes, Jonathan! My other major birthday score was found that afternoon. I have been hunting for a mirror to put on our mantel, so when I spotted this puppy a few weeks ago, I made a mental note. When I went back on Saturday, it was half off! Which left me a little extra for some fall decorations. Thanks, Tom and Anne!

We rounded out our celebration with a little dinner at Dino's, another neighborhood joint that is also just a short walk from the Poe casa. Dino's does not have a corking fee, so we even got to take a bottle of wine that we brought back from our trip to New Zealand last January; this was finally a worthy occasion for busting it out! It was just as good as we remembered. When we told our waitress that we just moved in up the block, she grabbed the owner and the other waitresses to introduce us. Between Dino's and Cafe Eclectic, we've got our own little Friends Central Perk or Seinfeld diner! After dinner we met up with some new friends to watch the LSU game. We had so much fun that we ended up skipping the toga party! Maybe next year!

Here's to another great year!