First outfit post... Oh my! You want to know what makes these pictures even greater? My 14-year-old brother took him while sitting on his four-wheeler. That explains the tilt in some of them and why my feet are cut off... he did his best, though. I totally could not locate my tripod anywhere, so I conned him into going on a stroll with me. "Oh, I am just going for a walk with my camera... why don't you go with me? It will be fun!"
I lied. It was not fun... for him, anyways. I had a friggin' blast being in front of the camera for once. We also saw a fox which was pretty awesome. I love foxes!
Fun fact: Those scars on my knees? I tripped and slid down a gravel driveway while racing my cousin at my grandma's house. I was wearing shorts and had just had a bike wreck the week before (I am ever so slightly clumsy) and my knees were so bad I almost passed out when I saw them. I have had doctors offer to do plastic surgery. They are much more scarred up than this picture lets on. However, my imperfections are what makes me who I am and I am keeping my "ugly" knees. This is also why I opted out of the surgery that would fix me being pigeon-toed.
I am slowly but surely recovering! I know, I know... stop posting about how sick I am, but I have been a hermit due to all this crud and there is not much else to report on... not that I wasn't a hermit anyways...
In other news, I LOVE FALL. I have said that already, I know. I can't help it. I feel like this time of year is when I look my best. Summers in Tennessee are too humid and sticky for much more than shorts and a tank top. My hair and skin tend to be better behaved this time of year as well. I have been really considering doing some weekly outfit posts and I wanted some inspiration, so I headed over to polyvore and found a ton of really cute ideas!
Welp, it was strep throat. Apparently it was bad enough to for the doctor to go, "EWWW!" I am still not better. Strep throat has cleared up, but it has been replaced with a sinus infection. I missed school all last week and I don't think I have worn anything but sweatpants in a few days. Luckily, my sweet sweet boyfriend came down Friday night and by 10:30 he was out in the rain at Walgreens getting me Vick's nose spray and Nyquil.
Our weekend was spent mainly on the couch. We attempted to go to the movies last night, but decided against it because Zach believed my coughing would get us thrown out of the movie... didn't I just say how sweet he was? I take it back. We ended up going out to eat and to Hastings and by the time we got home I was knocked out in ten minutes.
How sick are you of hearing me complain about being sick? Too bad! Mwahahaha.
In other news, Tennessee is beautiful this time of year. The leaves are finally changing and I am so very excited about it. I can't wait to get all this junk cleared up so that Zach and I can go for walks and enjoy this weather. Another thing I love to do is to drive during this time of year. I love cracking my window and taking some back country roads. One thing that is a must for these autumn drives is good music, so I have composed a playlist.
1. Iron and Wine "Naked As We Came"
I love Iron and Wine... every time I listen to Mr. Beam I think of Zach. When we first started dating he introduced me to them and gave me two CDs to listen to... I wore those things out. This song was not on them, but later on it became one of my favorite songs.
2. Elton John "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
Another favorite thanks to the mister. I love Elton John. I love this song. I love this album. On a somewhat unrelated note, I had no idea he wore a hair piece until recently. I always thought he had great hair for his age... Oops!
3. Regina Spektor "Raindrops"
I have been listening to Regina Spektor since I was probably 14. She is beautiful and so very talented!
4. Bon Iver "Skinny Love"
I looooooove this song. There was a time when I listened to it every morning on my way to work at the old folk's home. I love pretty much all Bon Iver songs, though! Definitely my type of music.
5. Sucre "When We Were Young"
I am a HUGE Eisley fan, so when I found out one of the sisters (the band is composed of siblings and a cousin, I believe) was branching out with another band I was really excited. This is the first song I heard and I probably listened to it five times that day. Such a great song!
6. Ryan Adams "Oh My Sweet Carolina"
Suuuuuch a pretty song on such a wonderful album. I love Ryan Adams. He reminds me of my older brother for some strange reason.
7. Eisley "The Valley"
The band I mentioned before! This is a talented family. I love the video for this song, too!
8. Bright Eyes "Coat Check Dream Song"
Though I am more of a fan of his older stuff, the Cassadaga album was great and this song was one of my favorites.
9. Angus and Julia Stone "Big Jet Plane"
I loooooove this song. Such a dreamy melody. I love Julia Stone's unique voice (though she can be a bit Lisa Simpson-y sometimes. Hahaha.)
10. The White Stripes "Hotel Yorba"
I am still not over them not being a band anymore! Gah! I love their music, and I love this song especially. I hope they reunite someday! P.S.- Are they brother and sister or what? I have been wondering that for years.
I am still sick... I think at this point it is probably strep throat. I am dragging myself to the doctor tomorrow. I am hoping and praying that Zach does not get sick... although, if he does it is probably karma. The last time I heard "I think I have a fever... rub my head?" I ended up with a stomach virus that knocked me on my ass for two days. Pretty sure when Zach tried to come to my rescue at 3 a.m. with ginger tea I knew we were meant to be together.
So, yes, my throat is on fire. I haven't even touched my makeup in days (I actually brushed my hair today, though!). By last night I was wanting something warm and comforting. I decided to whip up a favorite of mine....
Chicken and wild rice soup with bacon! This stuff makes me hungry just thinking about it. Now, a few things you need to know about cooking in the South...
We do not cook so that our meals look pretty. Have you ever seen egg gravy? It looks like something your cat threw up, but it is delicious.
We enjoy our sodium.
We enjoy butter.
We do not measure anything.
To back up my first point there, I am going to go ahead and say I am not a food photographer. I tried standing on a kitchen chair and getting an "artsy" view of my bowl... it just wasn't happening. I don't have any fancy bowls to present my food in that compliment the colors in my culinary creations. I can just say this... This soup is darn good. So, I am going to try to break this down into a recipe. I got the original recipe a long, long time ago on Pinterest... but I have changed it to suit me.
Ingredients: 3 cans of chicken broth 2 cups water 1 cup uncooked wild rice (I was sick and forgot to measure/care how much rice I put in and put in an entire small bag of it.It was still great, but much too thick as you can see in the picture.) 1/2 cup chopped green onions 1/2 small can of mushrooms, drained (clearly fresh would work too...) 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 cups half and half 1/2 cup butter 2 cups shredded or cubed cooked chicken 9 or so slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
In a large saucepan combine rice, water, and chicken broth. Add your onions and mushrooms to the mixtures. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and keep covered for 30 or so minutes, or until rice is tender. It will absorb a lot of the water and broth, but some will be left over. Do not drain. Begin to preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil and carefully place bacon onto the foil. Put in oven while still cold. Bake for 20 or so minutes, or until the outsides turn a crispy gold color. Baked bacon looks almost the same as fried bacon, so you'll know when it is done. You can also fry it if you desire. While bacon is in the oven melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in flour and then slowly add half and half. Cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add this mixture to the rice along with bacon and chicken. Add salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning as desired. Heat on low for 15 to 20 minutes. If soup seems to thick add water until you get the desired consistency.
This soup is one of those "day two" soups... meaning it tastes better the next day. That is just my opinion, anyways. I serve this soup with toasted french bread.
I am so ready for fall I can't stand it. Tennessee is beautiful once the leaves change. With the hot, muggy summer we had this year you can't blame me for wishing for cool weather.
Scarves... bonfires... corn mazes...
PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES.
Autumn was my inspiration for my FOTD. The one down side about this time a year? Ridiculously swollen allergy eyes. No amount of cold tea bags is helping me. I think it is time I got over myself and went to get an allergy shot, because my eyes look so tired. And wrinkly. Am I the only one who gets weird under eye bags/wrinkle things when my allergies get terrible? They are really itchy, too!
Please ignore how chapped my lips look. I currently only own one red lipstick and it was too pink toned for this look, so I put a bit of red eyeshadow on top of it. Dried my lips out like crazy.
Also check out my birthmark under my armpit. I think birthmarks are awesome. I am weird, I know.
Today was my first day taking pictures outside and I was kinda nervous about it... The thought of the neighbors watching me freaks me out. Also, taking pictures is hard when dogs are tackling you trying to get you to cuddle them. I had to let them get in a picture with me! The pug I am holding is named Big (my little brother named him) and Pocky is the pretty girl watching us. Not pictured are Mookie, Alice, and Kota.... we have too many animals.
P.S.- Yes, I am pigeon-toed. I wish I were just doing the cutesy pose girls are always doing where their feet turn in, but mine just naturally do that.
P.S.S.- Sorry about my bra strap! I just now noticed it. ;p
