Haut Couture, Eggs, and Whimsy

It's a documented and confessed fact that I love reading blogs. When my blog addiction began, it was with blogs focused on environmental awareness. I would read each of these 10 or so blogs every day. And while the messages were inspiring and enlightening, the fact of the matter is that the truth in those messages was heavy, startling, and often depressing.

I went through a burn-out for a month or so when, after realizing that everything I do has an impact on the world around me, I just gave up. I bought useless plastic gadgets, I quit recycling, I ate Mcdonald's, and I couldn't care less if my carrots were organic. I was exhausted. Dan recommended that I take a break from reading all those blogs in an effort to let my brain recuperate, and read something else instead. "What else could be worth reading?" I thought.

So I spent sometime skimming various blogs and eventually started bookmarking some about cooking, photography, fashion, comedy, and even parenting. Of these, the topic that became most absorbing was fashion. I, the t-shirt-and-jeans-girl who asks for the wash-and-wear hair cut, was reading fashion blogs. Over time, I realized that I like fashion because it is expressive, artistic, and dramatic. Very much like Theatre which has always been my first love.

One of the blogs I read covers everything from reality-TV shows about fashion (Like Project Runway) to critiques of celebrity red carpet ensembles, to reviews of the latest collections being debuted by various designers.

Today's post on said blog covered the Fall 2009 collection by Agatha de la Ruiz Prada, who is known for her whimsical and dramatic (though not exactly wearable) designs. This particular collection made me laugh and I knew I had to share it with you.

I would have called this the Bed and Breakfast Collection.

Although, I'm still trying to figure out that last one. The first is a picnic blanket or tablecloth, the second an entire egg, but what is she? An oddly shaped raspberry? A strawberry?

As I said, these dresses are certainly not wearable. But if I did procure one, I'd style it with a charm bracelet. Not just any charm bracelet...

...but this one. Which I actually own.

And now I'm hungry.

With Love,
~Brande N.

Critters in the Garden

I'm sorry these photos aren't better quality! I was having so much fun watching the animals that I decided to take the pictures through the glass rather than opening the door and scaring them away. Unfortunately, I eventually did open the door and did scare both the bunny and the squirrel away. The bunny was nibbling on what appeared to be an ornamental plant, though, so I suppose it's not entirely a bad thing that they haven't been back in that part of the garden since.

It's getting to be the perfect time of year to lounge on our grounds, have a picnic, read a book, and watch the adorable and highly animated critters go about their lives. Though I personally would have a hard time reading much of anything if there was a squirrel nearby. Those bushy, hyperactive little things steal my heart every time I see them.

Hope you're all enjoying the good weather as much as I am!

With Love,
~Brande N.

Regarding the Grandeur of French Toast

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal. On the rare occasions that my family went out to eat, it was well known that if breakfast was available, that's what I was getting. To heck with chicken tenders--I want a waffle! During high school, one of my first jobs was even as a the "Sunday Morning Waffle Girl" at a local restaurant. My younger brother loves breakfast just as much. From the time he was two until seven, it's not an exaggeration to say that about a quarter of his calories came from pancakes and frozen french toast sticks.

"Yolk-Eggs" (what we called eggs over-easy before we knew their name), was a quick, tasty, and easy meal that I'd make about once a week. Scrambles were even easier. Once I learned how to make omelets, they too became central to my diet. Though, the omelets of my youth were very different from those I eat today, as my family didn't exactly partake in "vegetables", which I now love.

One of the "bad" foods that has been the hardest for me to give up as an adult is the joyous, glorious, artery-clogging Pillsbury Toaster Strudel. The strawberry one with the nuclear blue frosting was a dietary staple for about two years... until the trans fat craze swept the nation and I realized that not all foods are created equal. Since then I haven't been able to justify buying a box.

Despite my almost genetic love for breakfast foods, it wasn't until recently that I made the acquaintance of French Toast. I attribute this delayed fondness to the fact that my mother only ever bought Wonder bread. How many ways can you jazz up Wonder bread? Fake syrup today, maple tomorrow! Cinnamon today, plain the next! The options are rather limited.

As I grew older (and found my inner foodie) I discovered that Pepperidge Farm Whole Wheat, SunMaid Cinnamon Swirl, and WonderBread are not the only choices available in the bread world. Suddenly, French Toast had the credentials to become a part of my life. Ciabatta, challah, brioche, baguette, croissant! Apple-Cardamom Swirl, Honey-Almond, Spiced Pumpkin, Blueberry Strudel, Ginger-Molasses! Oh, the possibilities! And beyond the bread you can even jazz up the egg batter: a dash of vanilla, a splash of buttermilk, a bit of nutmeg, a shot of espresso, the zest of an orange... Factor in toppings (simmered raspberries and fresh ginger... shaved chocolate and caramel sauce... fresh apples and maple-sweetened yogurt...) and you've got an endless world of options.

Sadly, a pancake will always be a pancake, whether you add a sweet, a nut, or a fruit to the batter. But French toast is like people. Every recipe, every variety is an individual. Unique.

With that in mind, I'd like to share with you a recipe that Dan and I concocted in San Francisco. The town we stayed in had a beautiful market just brimming with locally made and grown goodies and our cottage had a full kitchen. We saw it as a calling to make breakfast.




Espresso-Cinnamon French Toast (a.k.a. Mill Valley French Toast)
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/4 cup cream, half and half, or whole milk
1 shot of espresso (or scant 1/4 cup very strong black coffee, or 1 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 6 tbs water)
2 tbs butter
4 slices soft cinnamon swirl bread, cut about 3/4" thick*

Crack eggs into shallow dish, and whisk until uniform in color. Add coffee first to the milk (to cool it) and then add the milk and espresso (if you can resist drinking it) to the eggs . Whisk to combine. Set aside.

Heat a frying pan or griddle on medium heat and add the butter. When butter starts to froth slightly, the pan is hot enough.

Dip bread in batter, pressing gently with fingertips to help it absorb the goodness and be optimally delicious. Place egg soaked bread on hot pan and cook until surface is a bit darker than "golden"


NOTES:
-It is better to cook a thick-cut french toast at a lower heat for longer period than it is to flash fry it. This is because the mixture of egg and cream in the bread needs time to "set" very much like a custard. If the temperature is too high the egg cooks too quickly and will impart a very strong "egg" taste instead of the delicate "custardy" flavor we're looking for.
-It's better to slightly overcook french toast than to slightly undercook it, as undercooking can result in a mouthful of soggy, raw, eggy mush. Bleh.
-Lastly, The bread Dan and I bought at Mill Valley Market had a slight glaze on it, so we served it with nothing more than a bit of whipped cream. If yours need a bit of sweetness, I recommend maple syrup.

Enjoy!
~Brande N.


*Brownie points (and better flavor) if you use a locally baked variety!

(photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/asstrogirl/3013387404/)

Ashes to Ashes, Eggshells to Dust

How serendipitous and grand that we should start composting on Earth Day! A local woman recently responded to our Craigslist ad advertising free compost, and let us know that she'll be picking her first batch up during the first week of May. That makes today the perfect day to start separating our eggshells and coffee grounds from saran wrap and burnt bacon bits. Even the ashes from our fireplaces can be composted.

It's so encouraging to see what a difference these changes are making! When Dan and I started only 6 months ago every bit of waste went to the dumpster. All of our food scraps; every can, bottle, carton, box, and wrapper; all of these ash and soot from the fireplaces; everything. Now it's ALL getting a second life through either recycling or composting. Really, I wouldn't feel I was exaggerating if I said we've reduced our waste by 60% or more.

I love, too, that these changes we're so easy to make. To begin recycling we just gave our waste management company a call, found out which days are recycling days, and signed up (at a slight extra cost). To compost, I spent about 5 minutes making a Craigslist ad and then waited for a call. Add a few separating bins to the mix and that's it!

I think the biggest challenge that hindered me from composting was the fact that I have no idea how to make compost. There's turning and mulching and carbon and nitrogen and this-is-good and this-is-bad--it's overwhelming! Collecting it is easy. Once I realized that I could find someone else to take it and use their expertise to turn it into rich fertilizer, there were no more hindrances.

So If you're thinking about composting but are too scared, or your yard is too small, or your green thumb turns things black; try Craigslist or even Freecycle. You know what they say: "One person's trash is another's treasure!"

Good luck and Happy Earth Day!
~Brande N.

Celebrating Earth Day

Did you know that Earth Day is coming up? Yeah, I didn't either. Unlike Easter, Christmas, or even Columbus Day, Earth Day isn't a holiday that's etched into our culture in such a way that our lives revolve around it. Thus, it's easy to forget. Honestly, I've never even celebrated it. I'm a bad tree hugger.

This year, I decided to change that. I won't be throwing an Earth Day Extravaganza, organizing a protest, or even just turning off the lights; but I will be going outside.

Gasp!

I'll admit it, I spend about 85% of my life indoors. Growing up in Upstate NY, you learn rapidly that "spring" is synonymous with "punkie season" and "summer" is synonymous with "deerfly and mosquito season". (the other seasons are "everything dies" and "it's too cold to move") Now, I'm all for holding ladybugs, watching butterflies, and even feeding ants, but I am not so fond of the bugs that bite, thankyouverymuch. I'll just stay inside and read a book. Or read blogs. Or bake. Or scrub the toilet. Anything but be chased and bothered and bitten by an insect. Yuckola, man.

As I've gotten older though, I've become a bit more tolerant of the parts of nature that, well, aren't exactly ideal in my book. The truth is, everything in nature is ideal. I might see a blood-sucking malaria machine, but the daisy next to me sees a pollinator. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

I don't think I'll ever see a punkie with eyes that deem it beautiful, but I do see it's place in the world, and I've come to appreciate it.

So, to celebrate the spirit of appreciating nature I'll be spending Wednesday outside. All day hopefully. Maybe I'll be reading, maybe having a little picnic, who knows. It's true that the buggies will probably find me*, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. I feel like the most profound thing I can do on the day that we honor the Earth is spend some time enjoying it. Even if I end up all itchy because of it.

With Love,
~Brande N.


*DISCLAIMER: This personal goal was made significantly easier by the fact that the biting insect population in The Berkshires is practically nonexistent compared to that of Upstate. Seriously, if you were to walk outside in my hometown right now, you'd be swarmed in minutes. I have yet to see any biting-bugs this year. (knock on wood!)

WHOA! Not even kidding, I just typed "knock on wood" and a mosquito flew into the computer screen and then flew away. Maybe I should have actually knocked on a piece of wood?

Because It Was Built in 1780

Recently I've been having some fun poking around the web, doing research on the Inn's history. My most recent focus has been on Miss Caroline Katherine Carey, who purchased the Inn (then called The Butternut Cottage) in 1905.

While I wouldn't go so far as to call Ms. Carey famous, she certainly wasn't obscure. In fact, if you search the New York Times Archives she is mentioned several times, often in conjunction with horse shows or social events. Kate Carey was very well known for her passion for horses expertise in all things equestrian. After reading through a few articles, it's easy to see that there was even a bit of equestrian rivalry between Ms. Carey and Mr. William Sloane (I'm proud to say that it looks like Ms. Carey had the upper hand).

Interestingly, Kate Carey never married. In fact, one NYT article mentions how (aside from her brother) she had never even had a man on the leading seat of her four-in-hand. She and her mother were in the real estate business together and the two earned their fortune that way.

I assume it was because of her love and devotion to her mother (and perhaps a bit of a feminist streak) that she helped establish the Old Ladies' Home in Lenox and the Berkshire County Home for Aged Women in Pittsfield. During her lifetime, Ms. Carey donated $500,000 to the Berkshire County Home for Aged Women. Adjusted for inflation, that's over 10 million dollars! Talk about philanthropy! Amazingly, the Berkshire County Home for Aged Women is still in operation today and is one of the longest-running nursing homes in American history.

As a nerdy history buff (who considered careers in dramaturge and history education), I absolutely love how saturated this house is with history. The next step in my nerdy quest for information is to visit the Lenox Public Library where I hope to find something incredible like a record of Ms. Carey's building permits (were they needed back then?), or maybe even some newspaper clippings from the time. So, [unless you're terribly bored by this sort of thing] stick around for updates!

With Love,
~Brande N.

Lessons Learned

1) When visiting a new city (especially a large one) get to know the different "neighborhoods" and their reputations. Heaven knows you don't want to be lost in The Tenderloin after dark.

1a) On that note, when you find a street that has a good reputation: walk it! Some of the cutest shops and best dining don't come up on any Google search.

2) If you are renting a car, be sure to coincide the drop-off time with the time of your flight. Dan and I overlooked this fact and had over 5 hours between drop off and take off. Because we didn't want to spend most of our last day at the airport, we ended up paying an unspeakable cost for two cabs to take us back into San Fran after we dropped off the car and then to the airport later on.

3) When using a cellular navigation program like VZ Navigator (which I highly recommend) be sure to take it off "Pedestrian" mode when you begin driving again. Pedestrian mode does not honor one way roads which San Francisco has A LOT of.

4) Don't feed a pigeon just to see it up close.* In reality there is no such thing as "a pigeon" and once you feed "a pigeon" you will be swarmed by dozens of his buddies that were hiding on a nearby statue, waiting for a careless country girl to toss a piece of bread. Because pigeons know there is no such thing as "a piece" of bread.

5) Never pass up a bakery. Even if it's on the wrong side of the road. While on vacation, an indefinite number of cupcakes, cookies, and miscellaneous pastries are permitted. Did you know that calories become irrelevant once you cross times zones?

Other than these few minor mishaps, our trip was great! We had loads of fun, ate far too many cupcakes, and made some great memories. But I must say, its good to be back at the Inn and back to my blog. Pictures and more Berkshire-related posts coming soon!

With Love,
~Brande N.

*I know this one might be dead obvious to some of you, but I grew up in the country. Pigeons are still a novelty to me. Well, they were until we got attacked by a dozen hungry ones in Union Square.

Note Self: Flowers in Hair

We're off to San Francisco! How exciting!

Our flight leaves at about 5am, but we have to get there early because we're first-time fliers (eek!) which means we'll arrive at about 3am. BUT to get all the way to Albany in time we have to leave Lenox at about 2am. To remedy this freakishly bizarre schedule, Dan and I slept most of the day Sunday and woke up around 9 or 10pm to finish packing.

I'm anticipating some serious jet lag.

Unfortunately, I'll only have sporadic internet access while I'm out there so I won't be posting again until Tuesday the 14th.

Thanks for sticking around while I'm gone, I'll be back soon!

With Love,
~Brande N.

Discovery!

Have you ever had a photo that is years and years old? Maybe it hangs on the wall or is in a frame on your desk. You look at it almost everyday and after a time you almost don't see it anymore, it just fades into the background.

That's kind of how I feel about our website. I've used it so much that I practically have most of it memorized. There have been times when Dan and I have been out to lunch and a guest will call (we forward the calls to our cell) and without having a computer in front of me I'm able to navigate them to almost any page.

Going back to the photo analogy: Have you ever one day glanced at one of those photos and suddenly noticed something you had never seen before? An untied shoelace, a lizard on a tree, a hilariously posed person in the background? Sometimes finding that new something reminds you of a moment you had forgotten. Maybe your shoelaces were untied because you had just tripped in the middle of Times Square (so much for repressing that memory!).

Well, today I found something new and nifty and useful on our website. It takes a few clicks to get to, but check this out:

(Location, Click to Enlarge)

How neat is that! If you're planning in coming to visit us, this is a great way to determine what attractions, events, and restaurants are within a reasonable driving distance. It's certainly faster than Mapquest!

Other than that today has been delightfully uneventful. I just though I'd share that little tidbit with the world. Now go look at your favorite photos and try to find something silly!

With Love,
~Brande N.

Flying Greener

I've never flown before. Never ever. And I'll admit that our upcoming flight to San Francisco might terrify me a bit. Alright, I'm lying. It terrifies me a lot.

Because of my fear of flying I really wanted to take a train or drive or hang-glide or be transported by UFO to California. However, for entirely logical reasons (takes too long, don't know how to hang-glide, the aliens didn't return our phone calls) Dan shot down all of those ideas. So we booked the flight.

As soon as the confirmation arrived in our inbox I felt a stab of terror in my gut and a jab of guilt in my heart. Flying is not good for the environment. Oftentimes it's inevitable (as in this case) but shouldn't we still do something to offset our impact?

Yes! We found the following resources:

TerraPass

Carbonfund

Sustainable Travel International

All of these offer a small "quiz" of sorts that details either your personal or your business's carbon footprint [Carbon Footprint: a measure of the amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is produced by a person, organization, or location at a given time].

Once you know your footprint, you pay a monetary "offset" that is donated to various green organizations and environmental projects that work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from other sources.

For example (via TerraPass):

(Click to enlarge)

You can see here that our flight emits almost 5,000lbs of CO2. Bleh.

That's equivalent to driving a 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid 10,000 miles. In other words, in the 12 or so hours we spend on a plane, we'll create as much atmosphere warming gas as a hybrid car might in a year.

The good news is that this is very easy to remedy. Just click the "skip to results" button and you'll see something like this:

For only $30 we can feel better about flying and know that our offset is going towards helpful projects like these.

It's that easy! And it's such an affordable thing that Dan and I are even considering adding the miles we put on our rental car to the tally.

For now, though, I'm off to do some more trip research. I just found out from my handy-dandy Time Out*** guide that parking is something of an art in San Francisco. I guess on-street parking is quite rare, so it looks like we'll be relying on parking garages on most days. I'd hate to be without one when we're running late for a show, so my next project is to plot them all on a map. Believe it or not, I'm excited to do this. I am weird.

With Love,
~Brande N.

***Side Note: I am slowly but surely falling in love with my Time Out guide. Maps, events, attractions, prices, address, phone numbers, hours, and some very frank reviews make for fun an informative reading. I'd absolutely recommend it if you're looking for a great pocket-sized guide to any city!

So, about that new post...

Dan and I have spent the last two days visiting family and friends back in NY (where we still are). I had every intention of blogging, I promise!

But here's a little mathemtical formula that explains why I haven't.

1) Dan x the square root of (zeal to get to NY as early as possible) plus Brande's [insomnia] = going to bed at 1:30am and waking up at 5:15am.

2) Brande finishing her packing at 5:20am x brain fog (+ fatigue) = this conversation with self:

"Hmm... should I bring my laptop?
Nah, it's really heavy.
But I might need it.
You won't need it.
Are you sure?
Yeah! Afterall, this trip is about spending time with family. If you bring that you'll just end up sitting at the kitchen table surfing the web and ignoring your family. You don't want to do that, do you?
No.
Exactly. Besides, it's really heavy."

So I left the laptop at home. Not a good decision. All of my photos and settings and bookmarks and everything useful for life is on it. Ugh! I even brought my camera with me thinking I might take a few pictures to share. Then I realized that I left the uploading cable at home. And it's been nothing but rainy and dreary since we got here.

So I hope you'll forgive me for neglecting you! I'll be back to posting very soon and I believe it's about time that I give you another edition of Traveler's Resources, no?

With (neglectful) Love,
~Brande N.