That Holiday Feeling

I'm sick. Not sick mentally. Or emotionally. Just physically. A head cold has attached itself to me, parasite-esqe. I hate being sick, as I'm sure most people do. Those without munchausen syndrome, that is. It sucks, no way around it. I hate the laying around, the constant temperature battle, the crappy stuff on tv, and the general achiness. But it happens to me every year around this time. At least I haven't lost my voice yet this year.

It's also hard to be sick when you live in a little town that goes crazy over the holidays. I can hear the people walking around town, enjoying the Christmas lights. Smell the yummy smells of all the local restaurants. Mount Dora even pipes music around town and horse drawn carriages carry visitors around to enjoy the festivities. My friends are down the street, enjoying cocktails on this slightly chilly night. And I'm like Rapunzel in the tower, looking down and not being able to join in. That girl had it hard. All I can hope for is to be better soon.

But I do have something to look forward to, besides feeling better. The next installment of "Hipster in a Small Town" will be the moving edition. That's right, hipsters, this chick is moving! But no worries, just headed to another small town. The next small town over, to be exact. This hipster will now be posting from Tavares. So look for some new adventures, and a whole home improvement series. Until then, stay hip, my friends. And send soup!

Is that a magic eraser in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Hello, hipsters! It's been a few days since my last post. Lots of work and all that holiday shenanigans. A few bits of excitement in my little world. I have officially gone back to being a vegetarian. For health reasons, I have decided that I need to quit the meat. But no worries, my dears! I will still be posting fab recipes and yummy stuff. And I will probably eat some meat every once in a while.

Anyways, I got to spend a great day with some friends at my theme park the other day. It's so great to visit the park with someone that's never been. It's like seeing it anew. We had a blast, acting like goofy kids. So, while planning my wardrobe for a fun-filled day, I came up with a super easy solution to a true hipster problem. Dirty sneakers. I have lots of pairs of chucks, and anyone who has chucks knows that you can throw them in the wash a million times, but the plastic on the toes and around the edges never comes clean. I found the solution to this problem. Magic erasers! I took out my handy dandy magic eraser (honestly, I buy the generic Target ones), started wiping, and voila, super white shoes! I was so excited, I kept looking at them all day. It even cleaned the textured sides. It is magic!

Orange you glad its November?

Sorry guys, I know it's been a while. I don't really have any excuse as to why I haven't posted. Guess I just didn't have a lot to say. But we are well into November and I am enjoying this month greatly. Chilly weather, great specialty food and drink out on the market, and lots of thankfulness and family time. I'm not sure if I will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family (the give and take of working at a theme park that's open 365 days a year), but I am fortunate to be able to spend time with my family on a regular basis. But I will miss the food. Not the turkey, so much. Not really a turkey fan, but all the other yummy stuff that comes with a big family thanksgiving. Corn casserole, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with those little marshmallows on the top, pickle trays, deviled eggs, and of course, dessert! So to indulge myself in a little of the holiday spirit, I have created a side dish that is simple and tasty and very fitting for the holiday.

Orange Potatoes
I call these orange potatoes because of the beautiful color. Orange potatoes are simply sweet potatoes and some white potato (I prefer petite red potatoes) boiled and mashed together. Peel your sweet potatoes and cut into cubes. I like to leave a little skin in my mashed, for texture and nutrients. And because I'm lazy! So I don't peel the red potatoes, just throw them in the pot.Boil up your sweet potatoes and red skinned potatoes until they are fully cooked (i.e. mushy). Mash them up with a potato masher and add butter to your liking. I like a ton. Salt and pepper to taste and you will have creamy, nutritious and pretty potatoes to accompany any seasonal dish.

Oh, Happy Day!

So, after four months of driving my mother's truck (thanks mom!), I finally purchased a car today! That's a big weight off my shoulders. No more stress about borrowing someone else's vehicle, or worrying about it getting damaged, or scheduling problems, or just the uncomfortable feeling of not driving one's own car. Now my only worry is making that car payment.

Speaking of that car payment, that brings up another topic. Thriftiness. For the first time in a while, I will be watching my pennies closely. But that only makes me more crafty. Tonight, for example, is a foodie delight dinner with ingredients I had in the apartment. Bourbon marinated salmon with bacon in a roasted onion maple glaze. Yummy and cheap!

Perspective

So, I had a rough day today. Didn't sleep well, got yelled at by the boss, and hit a traffic jam on the way home, after I was thoroughly exhausted. So I was pretty aggravated. Then I realized, it wasn't these little, inconsequential things that were really bothering me. Instead, it was the big things. The fact that I've been driving my mother's car for three months because I can't afford a new one of my own, or the friendship that may or may not be over, I just don't know, or the fact that my grandfather has stage three lung cancer. Those were the things really bothering me. But I let the stupid stuff drive me over the edge.

And it occurred to me that everyone is like that. The rude customer at work may be dealing with the death of a loved one, and the guy that cuts you off in traffic might be rushing to pick up his sick kid. It's all perspective. So I'm sorry to anyone I might have pushed over the edge today with my stupid, silly actions. And I hope that things get better for you. We all need a little more good karma.

Punk-in

One day off after days of work. October is a hard month. Trying to decide what to do on this only day off and all I really want to do is lay in bed and listen to Ryan Adams. But should get motivated. I believe my motivation today will come from pumpkin. After years of being a pumpkin hater, I have recently become a pumpkin lover. Pumpkin donuts, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin roll and pumpkin scones. I have partaken of all of them in the last two weeks. But there are a few more pumpkin treats on my list. A pumpkin spice latte, a pumpkin pie blizzard, and of course, a pumpkin beer. I love pumpkin beers, but one of my favorite things to do is make pumpkin bombs.

Pumpkin Bombs
For this one, you need a shot glass and a pint glass. Similar to a car bomb, you are just going to change a few ingredients. Fill your pint glass about halfway up with your favorite pumpkin brew. In the shot glass, you need half Goldschlager and half Baileys. Drop the shot glass in the pint glass and voila, pumpkin pie in a glass!

Only happy when it rains...

Early Saturday rainy morning. All the windows are open, because of the beautiful weather, so we have that fresh rain smell and that touch of damp cool in the apartment. The little town is quiet this time of day. A few cars on the main drag and I can hear the coffee shop downstairs getting started for the day. Makes me want a latte. Watching the rain make puddles on the roof of the downstairs porch, just outside of my window. Wish the old fashioned street lights that line my cobblestone alley were still on, they make the best reflections in the puddles. Reflection is good.

Walking the dog

Fantastic day in my little town! The beautiful weather encouraged me to take a nice long stroll with my puppy. So many great things to explore! There was a little farmers market where I picked up some vegetables and honey. At the specialty market I picked up some kalamata olive cheese, which I'm really excited to use. And then for bloody mary's at the outside deck bar that my roommate bartends at. Thought about hitting the wine/beer shop or having a cheese plate at the French restaurant, but ended up back home to take a much needed nap. There's something pretty special about living in this "quaint" little town.

Fall-ing in love

Ahhhh, this is true hipster weather! The first cool weekend in months. Here in FL, anything under 72 is considered cool. Windows are open, and I am thinking about all my cool weather clothes. Sweaters, hats, and of course, my scarves! Oh, my beautiful scarves! They've been hanging in the closet, abandoned, sad and depressed, patiently waiting for the day when they can return to society. The day they can flaunt their beauty for all to see, like some aging southern belle. My scarves are the best accessory and the easiest way to dress up an outfit. Just a pair of jeans and a white tshirt can be transformed by a single scrap of material. I feel so finished in them. And very cool. And isn't it always about being cool?

Getting pickled

Is it wrong how excited I am that Pop up Video is returning? Anyways, I was very busy this weekend working on various projects. It was a big time in the kitchen. Had been thinking about my favorite brunch at my favorite restaurant in the world, The Publican in Chicago. They make their own Bloody Mary mix, of course, as well as their own pickles. The last time I was there the garnish for the Bloody Mary was pickled cauliflower. It was crisp and sweet and salty and beautiful against that rich red. So I decided some pickled vegetables were in order. So here's what I did.

Pickled vegetables

1 clean gallon jar
Assorted vegetables. (I used cauliflower, green tomatoes, red onions, carrots, and cucumbers, but you could use just about anything you find fresh at the farmer's market.)
4-5 cups of white vinegar (You want enough to fill your jar)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
Spices such as cloves, mustard seed, celery seed, red pepper flakes, whole peppercorns. (I eyeballed the spices, but basically a small palmful of each, around two tablespoons.)

Chop the veggies into bite size pieces. Load them into your jar tightly. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, making sure the sugar and salt dissolve. Pour in the jar. Put a date on the jar somewhere. Load the jar into the fridge. These pickles should sit in the fridge for a least seven days. The longer they sit, the better they will be. Make sure you give the jar a good shake everyday so all the veg can pickle.

Day One

So this is Day One of my blog.  I guess I should give a bit of background info so this thing makes sense.  I am a self proclaimed hipster living in a small town in Central Florida.  Since most of the world knows what Central Florida is known for, you can understand how difficult it might be for those interested in something other than giant mice and flying elephants.  The funny thing is, I actually work at one of those places of imagination, and, even funnier, I actually enjoy it.  But I do have other interests.  I'm probably better suited to live in Brooklyn, but I can't take the cold and I hate to be away from my family.  So, instead, I create my lifestyle here.  It's not always easy, but I enjoy a challenge.  So this blog will be about my life.  It will be my adventures, my recipes, my ideas, my observations, my questions, and basically anything else that I think is interesting.  And I think I'm pretty interesting.  And maybe some of you will think so too.