Carry On Packing

Well, I'm Europe bound in 2 weeks, and my dream is to travel light. Really light. Now, I have done this before; on my last trip to Italy, I was quite proud of myself for restricting my packing, and being frankly brutal about it. I packed a few T shirts, a frumpy skirt, and a pair of cargo Capri pants that I wore everywhere (even in Capri!). The result of this is that I looked, well, gross. I didn't look the way I imagined myself looking while wandering around some very sophisticated places- I looked like I do when I'm cleaning the tub and taking out the recycling. It didn't take long for me to regret my packing job. Especially considering that my travel buddy managed to get a bunch of skirts, a straightening iron, and what seemed like 50 lbs of coordinating jewelry into her carry-on. I vowed to do better next time.

Well, it's next time. Rather than packing the clothes I took last time, most of which have olive oil stains on them anyway, I am planning to look more put together. This is the plan: I'm packing 5 dresses, a denim skirt, 4 tops, (nice) cargo pants, and a bathing suit.

For the flight, I'll wear jeans, slip on shoes, a t shirt, sweater, and jacket. Easier to wear the bigger things, and I am always freezing on planes, so this works fine for me.

Here are all the clothes laid out; we have a washing machine at the villa in Umbria we're renting for the first week, so I'll be able to clean things before heading off to France (I'm sure this year's olive oil stains will be a challenge, however.)

Everything rolled up looks pretty packable, right?

I'm taking 3 pairs of shoes- all comfortable, and the sandals are cute enough to wear in Rome or Paris. I'm very into comfort, but I wouldn't be caught dead walking around Europe in running shoes.

The espadrilles are toe to toe along the long end of the suitcase. The sandals will be wrapped together and shoved down the right side.

Enter the packing cube, meant to hold things together and to maximize space. I'm addicted to organizing products.

About half of the rolled up dresses, shirts, and skirts fit nicely into the packing cube.

Stick the packing cube into the suitcase, with shoes on 2 sides.

Everything else fits on top, with the bathing suit shoved into some empty space by the shoes.

Yes, I am bringing a hat. As much as I wanted a really nice Panama, this linen hat is super-packable, and that's what it's all about on this journey. (Intimates are rolled and stuck in the inside zippered section of the suitcase top, for those who care).

Toiletries- small sizes, including some Tide for washing clothes, and everything else I should need, for the first week, anyway.

The non-liquid toiletries- makeup includes stick foundation, mascara, and a Nars palette. I'm also bringing floss, bandages, a small sewing kit, in case I have to go full MacGyver for some reason.

Ta da! Everything is in the carry-on, waiting to go. Actually, it's all back in the closet. Rolling supposedly helps avoid wrinkles, but even I'm not anal enough to pack 2 weeks before departure.

Next up- packing my Travel Mate purse. Stay tuned!

Ten Dollar Dinners

I find myself, shockingly, to be a big fan of the Food Network show Ten Dollar Dinners! The reason I'm shocked is this- I am often quite a food snob, especially where cooking shows are concerned. (Also, when it comes to food, I often Spend Too Much! Get it? Ha...) When I first tuned in and saw a perky blonde American woman, I thought, "Oh, here we go, another Sandra Lee, here to tell me to dump cans of soup into everything." I was ready to mock, but instead I was intrigued by Melissa's recipes. Not at all unsophisticated, pretty frugal, and the ones I've made have been just delicious!

Now, some of the recipes aren't at all complicated, but, like many of Nigella Lawson's, gentle reminders that you only need a few things to make a cheap, tasty, and healthy dinner. Garlic Oil Sauteed Pasta with Broccoli was one of those recipes. Sauteed Cannellini Beans was another. Both were really good. This weekend I'll be making Lentil Quinoa salad with Pesto shrimp, (Google it yourself, I'm tired of adding links!) but the recipe I want to rave about today is Garlic Spaghetti.

Just a few simple ingredients, no time at all, and I had 6 portions that got me through the week. Yes, there's butter in it, but what you get is a richness and smooth taste that plain spaghetti sauce often misses. Melissa's recipe is a little rich, so I made some adjustments. Below is my version, and, damn, is it good.

Also, I ate this so fast I didn't get around to taking photos, but, really, it looks like you'd think it would.

I box whole wheat spaghetti

5 tablespoons olive oil

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 jar tomato passatta

3 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper

grated parmesan to taste

fresh basil leaves

1. Cook pasta according to directions on box

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil gently and add the garlic. Cook over low heat 20-30 minutes

3. In another pan, heat the passatta and butter. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted

4. Dump in the olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper, and simmer 10 minutes

5. Toss with the spaghetti, and add torn basil leaves and parmesan when serving.

Supposed to be 4 servings, but make it 6, trust me.

Humanity

Some really shocking news out of Egypt this week. CBS reporter Lara Logan was attacked in Tahrir Square. She was separated from her crew, and according to the statement CBS released, she experienced a "brutal and sustained" sexual assault. That description is chilling to me, but hardly more so than the reactions to this crime that I've been reading since the incident was reported.

Now, I'm not at all a fan of Ms. Logan's reporting. Scroll down a few posts and you'll see why. That being said, I am still amazed at the vitriol I'm reading about this woman and this crime. The nastiness tends to fall into one of three categories:

1. "Whatever- she sucks and is a terrible reporter"

Like I said, I can't stand Lara Logan's reporting, but aside from sociopaths and this douche, who can't see that this doesn't matter now? Is the world so shockingly Black and White, Us and Them, that average people don't mind when their ideological opposites are tortured? Wow.

2. "What did she expect? That's what happens to pretty blondes in dangerous places."

This one has many angles, and they're all vile. First is the implication that CBS should have sent either a man or an ugly girl to get the story. Never mind the fact that most TV reporters are hired in part because they're "telegenic", we end up confirming the old nonsense that women can be divided into 2 categories- Ugly/Serious and Pretty/Vapid. Shockingly, there are unattractive idiots and beauties with brains, but who am I to take issue with a stereotype that makes judging women easier? Secondly, since attractiveness is something that women often enhance with makeup or nice clothes, yes, pretty lady, you brought this on yourself. Wash off that lip gloss and put on some overalls, because if you don't, well, you're just asking for trouble.

3. "Just shows you what a bunch of animals Muslim men are."

How lucky we are in the Western world, to live in a culture where rape never happens... oh wait, unless you count these women, and these women, and what this Mormon dad just confessed to doing to his own fucking daughters... But still, it's so much easier to blame this on the lack of respect for women in the Middle East. It's entirely true that there is systematic oppression of women all over the world, and Arab nations are some of the worst. Still, it takes a true simpleton to lump all Arab men together as rapists because of this crime, while naturally not applying the same standard to Western men. Our men are individuals, but Foreigners are all the same. Citizens of the Idiocracy are losing the ability so see shades of grey and to appreciate complexity. And the gall required for right-wing assholes who are doing their best to roll back reproductive rights in the US to get all Feminist when bashing Muslim men is off the charts.

Blame and justification are fear-based reactions. This is the time to reject these emotions. A terrible thing has happened to a fellow human being. She deserves compassion, respect, and privacy. Let's be better people, and give them to her.

Goodbye, Cupcake!

Ok, like a drunk after a lost weekend, I have returned from a vacation in the American South (well, Virginia and Washington DC). Anyone think I stuck to a diet of "rabbit food", as a colleague calls it? I did-- if rabbits eat pulled pork and potato salad, and wash it down with plenty of booze and a cupcake chaser. Like the aforementioned drunk, I now need to get with the program. No Twelve Steps for me, just two: eat healthy and exercise. I'm cutting back, and as I do, let me share some fond memories of delicious southern meals before I am forced to erase these thoughts from my mind, and replace them with visions of carrots and treadmills.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries. We don't seem to have them in Canada yet, but there are a ton in the US. They started in Virginia, so it seemed appropriate to check it out. (Note- during the 2008 election, the Obamas mentioned liking Five Guys, but I had already had it and loved it. So there.) As befits American-sized portions these days, if you order a regular burger, it comes with 2 patties. To get just one, you have to order the mini. The mini is like 800 calories. Not so mini, don't you think? Anyway, the burgers are really yummy, and the french fries are fantastic. There is a sign in the restaurant that is updated daily to tell you the name of the farm in Idaho that grew the potatoes. One order of fries is enough for 3 to 4 people, so if you're alone, watch yourself! They also have refillable fountain Diet Coke, which is the greatest beverage on earth aside from Champagne. All in all, I love my annual Five Guys visit, but I really don't think anyone should be eating there on a regular basis.

One night, we went to a CFA event on the grounds of a "farm" called Seven Oaks. The place was spectacular, as was the food. There were buffet stations with food from around the world. I had a plate of hummus, asparagus, and salad. But before that, I had this: Buttermilk fried chicken, truffle mac and cheese, potato salad, and pulled pork with barbecue sauce. Kind of a wonder they don't keep a defibrillator on that buffet table.

And now, cupcakes. I returned to 2 of my favourites, Georgetown Cupcake in DC and Capellino's Crazy Cakes in Charlottesville. Georgetown Cupcake makes the best cake of any cupcake bakery I've tried. These are from Capellino's- the New Yorker, and the Red Velvet. Very good, but not the best.

That award this year goes to a place in Dupont Circle (DC) called Hello Cupcake. The dulce de leche cupcake was sublime. The icing had a wonderful caramel taste, and the cake itself echoed that flavour really well. If it hadn't been so hot, I would have tried to bring home a half dozen, so I guess I should be grateful for the heat. It's time for me to get back to eating well, so instead of Hello Cupcake, for now, it's goodbye :(

Let's Do This!!

I am a Liberal, and a liberal. I vote Liberal here in Canada, and if I were American, I am quite sure I'd be voting Democratic. I believe the government should stay out of people's private lives, church and state should be distinctly separate, and we need to regulate business. That all seems like basic common sense to me, but my views are apparently the polar opposite of a lot of Americans, particularly.

Let's look at each point briefly. The government has no business, as Pierre Trudeau once famously said, in the nation's bedrooms. I just don't see how that can be argued with. Actually, the only way to argue it is to oppose my second point about separating church and state. The people who want to tell you what to do in your bedroom want to make sure you're not doing anything that their religion doesn't want you to do. Again, common sense tells me that my life is my own business, and that someone else's religion shouldn't affect my personal life.

Ronald Reagan tried to make regulation a dirty word, and the people who oppose it confuse me. I mean, do you want your kid's toys covered in lead paint? Do you want your credit card interest rate to change every month? Do you want the plane you're flying in to have the proper parts? Anti-regulationists say that the market will take care of itself, but only after a few kids die from lead poisoning and a few planes plummet from the sky. If that's worth it to you, I am scared.

I get really wrapped up in American politics. I want the Democrats to do the right thing, but lately it seems that they're too afraid to make the changes they promised. The opposition is uglier than it's ever been before. No one is talking about ideas, and how to do the best thing for the average American; it's all name-calling and absurd rumours. A real hatred has been exposed. Tea Party members throw around terms like Socialist, Death Panel, and Re-education Camps. What I don't understand is this- the Republicans controlled the White House From 1980 to 1992, and from 2000 to 2008. They controlled both houses of Congress in the 90s. Wasn't that enough time to "fix" everything that they say Democrats ruined? For God's sake, Democrats have been in power for 16 months, and the opposition acts like the world is going to end. Seems hopeless, but I've found the solution!

Palin/Bachmann 2012! Let's get Sarah Palin the job she feels eminently qualified for, and back her up with Representative Michelle Bachmann, a woman who sees socialist conspiracies around every corner. Let's get Rand Paul and a host of other Tea Partiers in congress. Give 'em everything they want. All the power. Let's just see what they'd get done. Would they end Social Security and Medicaid? Of course not. Make Christianity the law of the land? I doubt it. Eradicate all business regulations? Nope. But maybe they'd shut up about it if they were in charge. You know, like they were for 20 of the past 30 years.

The Original Spends2Much!

Last week, the Boy Friend's Aunt Peggy died. She was 93. In the 40s she had been a researcher and reporter for the Chicago Daily News Washington bureau. Later in life she married some big shot at the World Bank, and ended up a widow living in Delaware, not too far from the ocean. I never met her, but she sounded like a cool old broad.

The BF drove his mom to Delaware for the funeral, so he got to spend about 16 hours, round trip, in a car with a woman who talks more than I do. He got some good stories out of her, though. Apparently his mom, let's call her Bunny, back when she was a single gal in the 50s, would travel from Cornwall, Ontario to New York City to buy her clothes. And that's not the best part- her biggest purchase was a coat, for $500, when she was earning $20 a week. WOW. The lady spent 6 months wages on a coat! To wear around a hick town in Canada! I have barely managed to spend $500 on a coat, and it was 55 years after Bunny did it. I am impressed.

I have seen old home movies of Bunny, from the 50s and 60s, and she was a Mad Men dream. Red hair, slender, perfectly tailored. She'd wear a cinched-waisted suit and pearls to run errands, where now, we wear yoga pants and a t-shirt. Bunny's style hasn't changed much. This is not an old lady who buys stretchy pants from Wal-Mart. Still looks impeccable when she hangs out at the golf club drinking gin and tonics. No wonder she thinks I'm a peasant- to her, I must look like I've dropped by to clean the gutters.

Well, Eff Me!

Went to Holt Renfrew Last Call in Vaughan Mills a while ago, on a hunt for shoes. A specific pair of shoes. Brown suede Manolo Blahniks that I had seen months earlier. They had been marked down drastically, but for some strange reason, I didn't buy them. Didn't think about them again until recently, when I was overcome by a desire for brown suede shoes. I held out hope that they'd still be there on the shelf, which was of course ridiculous.

What the hell is with the height of heels these days? Are women supposed to be able to walk in their shoes? Almost every pair in the store were 4, 5, even 6 inch heels. Some platform, some not. It was like I was in the Rich Hooker section of Holt's. Who wears these? Where does one wear these?

I'm not one for high heels. Well, not anymore. In my 20s, I refused to wear my glasses out at night. Put a nearsighted, klutzy girl in a pair of F*ck Me shoes, stick her in a dark club, and you'll see some spectacular spills. Luckily for me, I did all my falling in the Pre Camera Phone era. I can still pull off the standard 3-inch heel, but even they are not great for work. In the mornings, before I have been suitably caffeinated, I would be in constant danger of tripping and landing on my face.

I rummaged around Holt's for a bit and managed to find a lovely pair of Manolo flats- black, pointy, and quite elegant. Somehow, out of the hundreds of pairs of shoes on the rack, I seemed to have found the most expensive pair. They had started out as $850, and were now $359 ... still too freaking expensive for flats. Well, flats that aren't Chanel. Thank God for Tory Burch and Michael Kors.

I came away shoeless, but managed to find some great skirts for work. Super cheap Tory Burch and Teenflo. Could have thrown a YSL and Valentino onto the pile, but I restrained myself, which is not something I do very often :)