Guess who's back? Back again. By Violet

How is it possible that it’s been so long since I’ve written? There have been a few things going on – mostly JP and I were planning a wedding. There will be plenty more on that once the pictures come in. 

One of the advantages of working for the company that I do is that after seven years  you get a six week paid sabbatical. Mine just so happened to line up our wedding.  I still have more about week and a half left to go. And I’m beginning to wonder just what I’ve been doing with my time. 

So in order to catch you up and make myself feel better here’s a little look at what’s been going on over the last few weeks….

So much reality TV. Team Jef with One F

An awesome bachelorette party with wine, chips and guacamole 

Did I say there was wine? Because there was. So. Much. Wine.

Made some excellent meatballs

Which JP and I made short work of

A couple runs on Alki

With varying weather

A whole lot of reading thanks to my Aunt Susan

Joseph went out of town so I made a giant batch of mashed potatoes. Really giant. 

I discovered the best Mac and Cheese recipe ever.
 

The margarita machine from my bridal shower (thanks, Liz!)

Sangria from the honeymoon in Maui

With a little side of Yogurtland

Some wedding DIY because I did get married 

Violet in Reef flip flops

Roasted Chickpeas

A few weeks ago I was in Portland for a friend’s bachelorette party.  Besides the astonishing feeling that this would be me soon enough, we had a wonderful time dancing and drinking champagne. But a funny thing happened on the way to the party.  We enjoyed and amazing dinner at Davis Street Tavern which included spicy fried chickpeas.

Now, I’m a fan of the chickpea, or garbanzo bean if you want to get all fancy with it (Speaking of which didn’t it blow your mind a little bit when you realized they were the same thing?). These little guys are great in salad and who doesn’t love some hummus.   But these spicy friend chickpeas were to die for. And I suddenly thought, I bet I could make these. 

Since the flavor was in my brain I quickly attempted a Food Network recipe. I was so excited but you know what I got?  Mushy chickpeas.  The flavor was good but I felt like the oven need to be hotter and the little guys needed to be on for longer. 

So I did what any self-respecting cook would do, I took to Facebook.  My future mother-in-law came to the rescue with these simple instructions:  Be sure to rinse canned beans and make sure they are DRY. Then mix with a little evoo (2T per 1. 15oz can) add 6-10 garlic cloves minced, and any seasoning chili power s&p cumin, red pepper whatever you want. Bake  at 450 for 35-45 min. They also need to be single layer. Stir occasionally. Good luck.

The chickpeas were great. They had a nice crunch to them, mimicking the fried ones I’d had before.  The problem came with the fresh garlic. Because it was in there for so long it just got burnt to a crisp and didn’t really stick to the chickpeas (maybe it wasn’t minced fine enough).

So I bought more chickpeas and gave the same basic recipe a whirl with granulated garlic a good bit more salt and I added cumin, paprika and red pepper flakes to bump up the spice.  I put t hem in for 45 minutes shaking them up every 15. 

The resulting batch is nothing short of delicious.  I can’t stop eating them. Thanks Dee Dee!

Violet in UGG Cozy Knit slippers 

Irish Car Bomb Jell-o Shots by Violet

You read that right. Clearly this is what Saint Patrick’s Day has been missing. JP found this recipe on Endlesss Simmer and we knew that we needed to bring it to the party.

This is doubled from the original and it made a full 9 x 12 pan of them.

Ingredients

• 32 oz. Guinness Stout beer, divided use
• 10 envelopes of Knox gelatin, divided use
• 6 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 6 oz. Jameson Irish Whiskey

Instructions

Lightly mold with non-stick spray and then gently wipe away any excess. Only a very small amount is needed.

Pour 24 oz. of Guinness into a shallow dish, making sure to pour gently to cause as little head as possible, then sprinkle 8 envelopes of gelatin on top. Set aside and allow gelatin to bloom for two minutes.

 Transfer mixture to the saucepan and heat over lowest setting until gelatin bloom melts and no lumps are visible, mixture will resemble syrup. Transfer mixture to a heat proof bowl and combine with remaining Guinness . To layer the Jell-o shot, split Guinness mixture in half. Using one half pour mixture into form a quarter of the way up.

Chill for 5-10 minutes until solidified.

In the meantime, pour Baileys and whiskey into a bowl and sprinkle remaining envelope of gelatin on top. Set aside for gelatin to bloom for two minutes.
Transfer Bailey’s-whiskey mixture to a saucepan and heat over lowest setting. Drop one to two ice cubes into mixture to cool. Pour mixture on top of Guinness layer and chill for 5-10 minutes.

Pour remaining half of Guinness mixture on top of Bailey’s and whiskey layer.

To remove, press finger into center of Jell-o shot and using an offset spatula or butter knife gently pop out Jell-o shot.

Notes
To prevent the mixtures from solidifying while waiting for layers, gently stir mixture every now and again.

Shots can be made 1 day in advance.

That first note turns out to be very important because I missed it and my second layer of Guinness totally solidified and when I went to pour it on top, it ended up looking like grape jelly.

If I were going to do it again, I would double the already doubled amount of the Bailey’s/Jameson layer and cut back on the Guinness layer. I might also think about adding some sugar or whipped cream topping to the shots.

While I know goes against what the car bomb shot is all about however, the color, size and shape suggested to everyone (me included) that this was a sweet dessert like concoction. And I think something about the gelatin gave the Guinness a more bitter taste. Making me think the next time I try these I’ll will just tip the scales in that direction. Or maybe I’ll just make Guinness cupcakes with Bailey’s frosting and shut up about it.

Violet in Born Waverly Sauor Full Grain

Deep in the Heart of Texas by Violet

I’m back from Austin and South by Southwest Interactive. After an action packed few days I thought I would come back and give an update on how I did with my goals. 

• Eat at a taco truck. Check

• Drink a margarita. Check (bonus because it has a glowing ice cube)

   

   

• Buy some cowboy boots. This didn’t happen. As badly as I wanted to I didn’t get myself to a boot shop. 
• Walk around the UT campus. I drove by it a couple times but I didn’t manage to get out of the car.
• Friday Night Lights Tour. The only thing I saw was the Landing Strip which is awesomely near the airport. 
• Go for a couple runs. Nope. I brought my running shoes and everything. 

So what exactly does this say about me? I prioritize food and booze. I think we know that before.

More than anything it means that I have unfinished business. I’m going to have to go back. Here are a couple other highlights from my trip

 

My badge, so official

 

 

 

 

 Cake pops made by our Austin office

 

 

 

 

Getting my learning on with Amber Case

 

 

 

Walking down 6^th Street

 

 

 

And discovering a horse

 

 

 

Austin Convention Center craziness

 

 

 

The view while we went on an Austin adventure

 

 

 

A Shiner

 

 

 

Dinner at The Salt Lick

 

 

 

 

Primm's Cocktail on the patio at Perla's 

 

 

 

Ice cream from Amy's 

 

 

 

 

Violet in Frye Campus 14L boots in Saddle Montana 

Don't mess with...

Not be a braggart but I’m going to Austin next week to SXSW for work. Like I said sometimes my job does not suck.

Now just to be clear, I’m not going to the music part of the festival, I’m going to Interactive which is the nerdy part. And this is considered work since I will be supporting my agency’s efforts there as well as attend talks and report back to my team. It ain’t all fun and games.

However, I’ve wanted to go to Austin for some time now and I’m pretty excited about the prospect of spending time there. While business travel rarely affords you the luxury of exploring your surroundings there are a few items on my to-do list.

• Eat at a taco truck. It’s not like we don’t have these here in Seattle or even where I grew up in California. I’m just going to go ahead and assume that Austin knows what they are doing in this respect.
• Drink a margarita. See above.
• Buy some cowboy boots. I’ve never been especially a country girl but cowboy boots seem like something every girl should have in her wardrobe.
• Walk around the UT campus. For reasons unexplained I have a soft spot in my heart of the University of Texas. Maybe it’s the longhorns, maybe it’s the burnt orange, I really just don’t know. I won’t be too far from campus and it would be great to walk around and see the place.
• Friday Night Lights Tour. Since this is my second all-time favorite TV show, I’d love to see a few of the spots where they filmed. Apparently, it’s not heard to do.
• Go for a couple runs. We are getting down to it in terms of the wedding and after I took a week off, it’s really time to get back in the exercise groove. My friend and coworker told me she would pack her running shoes too so we can hold each other accountable. If we get in two over the five days I will be a happy camper.  

This might be more than is humanly possible, especially since I’m in sessions all day every day but it’s good to have goals right?

Violet in Frye Campus 14L boots in Saddle Montana (my fake cowboy boots)

True Confessions of a Sorority Girl

It’s true. I was in a sorority. I’ve never been ashamed of that fact. I wore my letters proudly around the campus of the University of Oregon where the largest social group was hippie. 

And, sure, when you step back and look at the whole thing objectively it sounds a bit odd. You join a group whom overnight you are supposed to refer to as your sisters? They give you a bunch of rules and codes to live by many of which are secret? You have to attend a whole slew of events, including but not limited to chapter meetings, social events, service projects and many more meetings? Oh and you are supposed to pay for this pleasure? 

But you know what? Worth it. So totally and utterly worth it. Many of the people I’m friends with today are my sorority sisters (two of whom will be in my upcoming wedding) and we just have the best time when we are together. We did in college and we do now. Just as then, we get dressed up, sing songs and laugh until our sides hurt. We tell the same stories over and over again and they never get old.

This past weekend a big group of us went down to Eugene for our chapter’s alumni weekend. Right before we left I found a CD that contained a bunch of photos from our years in college (yes, I am so old I went to college before digital cameras). And a fit of excitement I posted them to Facebook. The ensuing comments were so funny I was sitting at my kitchen table with tears streaming down my face. 

The weekend was full of good times and heart-warming memories – we went through stacks of photos, toured the house, went wine tasting, met current members and hit the college bars for old time’s sake.

While it was a little bittersweet because come Monday morning, I had to go back to work as a soon-to-be 30 year old instead of back to class as a 20 year old. But the sweet, was that I did get to do all this once and that so many of these wonderful and amazing women are still in my life. 

To the alumnae of Kappa Delta, thank you for making my college years so incredibly special. I will carry the memories and tell the stories until the day I die. 

To the current women of Kappa Delta, thank you for welcoming us back with open arms. I’m already looking forward to next year. 

Love in AOT,

Violet 

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Violet

I am feeling the Christmas spirit this year. Christmas isn’t necessarily my favorite holiday, some people, like Orange who used to grace these pages, spend all year looking forward to it and will play carols in July. Me, personally, my favorite holidays are the Fourth of July, Halloween and, of course, Thanksgiving.

But this year, I’m feeling the joy. I’m singing carols, baking and shopping all with a spring in my step. Maybe it’s because I helped Save Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s because JP and I are hosting Christmas at our place in Seattle this year. Whatever the case, I have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head and I don’t even know what those are. 

Building on the festive feeling, JP and I hosted a holiday get-together. As friends from all parts of our lives arrived to eat, drink and be merry, I was struck by a familiar feeling. It was a feeling of thanksgiving. I was once again reminded at how good life can be. That in the darkest time of the year so many other things can shine bright.  

Here are just a sample of the wonderfully hilarious photos from the photobooth JP set up at the party.  

I hope that you and yours are enjoying the season as much as I am. 

Violet in Steve Madden Traisie black pumps