Sparkle, and dresses, and shoes....oh my!

I realized, quite quickly, that I need a wardrobe overhaul. I receive email updates from all these extremely fabulous clothing stored and design houses, however, a graduate student budget could never allow me to afford such fabulosities. So, what do I do to increase the fashion quotient in my closet? Well, it's nothing a trip to the fabric store can't fix...

I need to find some more fabric options for this dress, but I am thinking I might make the top royal blue and the skirt black, then I can add a belt for some flair.

Any ideas on where I can find some good online fabric shops? I am thinking about leaning more towards a silk shantung/dupioni fabric, but I am open to your input.

xo-K

Chicken and Heart

I quite enjoy challenging myself in the kitchen. I had yet to really open up the wings on my new kitchen in Albuquerque, but when I found out a certain loving man friend from Tucson was coming to visit me, I thought, I gotta get this kitchen flying!! I feel very fortunate to have been blessed with good friends. Lue is one of them. He is one of the few real men I have ever met in this world. So, I thought I would make a home cooked meal for the evening of his arrival. What would he like?...well, he loves bacon....and bacon...and more bacon....

I watch the Food Network as much as my busy academic life allows. I caught Tyler Florence's show about roasting a chicken with bacon on top and crimini mushrooms.

I have never stuffed a chicken before...it was not too pleasant. I felt like I was violating the poor thing. I used lemons, red onions, garlic, thyme, and olive oil for the stuffing. Then covered it with slices of bacon.

The recipe called for 3-pounds of crimini mushrooms. I took everything the grocery store had!!

I couldn't just have the chicken with nothing to dress up the plate, so I thought about healthy sides. I made roasted cherry tomatoes, crunchy rosemary potatoes, and green beans with bacon.

I am pretty sure the dinner was a success. I even learned the importance of basting. We cleaned our plates and had leftovers to last all weekend.


I get a lot of pleasure out of cooking, especially when I get to cook for people who hold special places in my heart.

xo-K

A month later...

I realized it's been a month since my last post! So much has happened that I decided I would share the photos from this last hectic month!

I have been in Albuquerque for over 2 months and I am trying to see as much as I can. As a new Lobo, I had to take part in the Homecoming festivities. This included burning University of New Mexico's rival mascot, the NMSU Aggie.

The thing went up in flames real fast.

I had to take a picture of Louie the Lobo, UNM's mascot, he was too goofy looking not to.


UNM's President has a partnership with Mexico's former President Vicente Fox. The former President founded El Centro Fox, a presidential library and museum. He came to UNM to give a lecture about immigration. Let's just say that this man was and is not thinking that immigration is a problem. I was able to watch his presentation and I wasn't too impressed. He is a capitalist and all that the word implies.


I am enrolled in a Critical Regionalism class that focuses on discussions of the Southwest. My professor took us out the Salinas Mission National Monument just outside of Albuquerque. We visited the Abó and Quarai Ruins. These are the remnants of the churches and missions that were built in the 1600's when Spanish Franciscan Friars came through the area.

Here is Abó.

This is Quarai.




Everyday I fall in love with Albuquerque more and more. The air smells like roasted chiles from the stand a short walk away from my house. The sky is always gorgeous looking.

Green Chile Harvesting

It was the beginning of a pretty calm and quiet Friday night, when I received a phone call from my friend, Elisa. I answered the phone and she said, "I am on my way to pick you up, we're going to a chili cook-off." She was at my house faster than I could slip my feet into my flip flops. As we rode to the location, I had so many questions. Who is cooking? What kind of chili? Are we going to a farm? Do we get to help judge? She just smiled, turned up the stereo and drove.

In Albuquerque, local community organization, SWOP (SouthWest Organizing Project), had a chili cook-off to celebrate the beginning of the chile harvesting season.

We were able to taste all sorts of vegetarian and meat chilis. I even tried chili with buffalo meat! It was pretty good.

What I thought would be a boring night at home, turned out to be a fun Friday night!

xoxo-K