Autumn Anniversaries

This week is an important one to me. My church wedding anniversary is on October 6th and my Canadian wedding anniversary is today on the 12th.

Most years I remember our anniversaries on the blog by celebrating some aspect of my relationship or memories but this year it feels as if over half of the country is helping us celebrate.

In fact the article I linked to above is not up to date, Idaho and North Carolina started marriages yesterday. In total ten states. Ten! Ten more states where same sex couples can get married and it all happened this week

When my wife asked me if I wanted anything for our anniversary this year I told her not to bother. It's been a wonderful week and I feel so blessed. I hope the joy keeps going out in ever-widening circles.


Specifics of Winter 2014 - 333

A few people asked me for the specifics of my list and I realized how much I enjoy the lists of others so it seems good to put mine out here.

What is not on this list
Tights, long underwear or undergarments of any kind, snow boots [though you bet I have them], outdoor exercise clothing. Light weight tops for dancing. These are utilitarian items that get me through the winter but I don't count them as my wardrobe. I don't track accessories.

What is on this list
Trousers for single digit [and below] days, trousers and skirts for when it is double digits, dressy evening separates. Footwear I use indoors and not for dancing.

Trousers: [8]
Wool pinstripe lined
Brown wool lined
Olive wool
Cream lined
Spruce cords
Aubergine cords
Brown cords
Brown velvet

Skirts: [2] =10
Green corduroy
Brown velvet

Sweaters:
[6] =16
Wine silk scoop neck
Red cashmere cardigan
Black silk V neck
Brown cardigan
Rust merino V neck
Olive V neck


Tops: [7] = 23 [all long or 3/4 sleeves]
Black lace button down
Blue/purple Paisley shirt
Brown/cream striped button down
Olive lace T shirt
Merlot velvet tank
Brown V neck T
Plum V neck T

Jackets/Blazers: [5] =28

Olive boucle
Grey jersey

Wine velvet
Brown/black tweed
Teal/bronze brocade

Boots/Shoes: [5] = 33
Green boots
Brown boots
Chestnut loafers
Black slip-ons

Herringbone shoes

This is the way I do project 333 right now January through March. Your list will be entirely different. We all have such specific needs in our lives it makes sense to me that lists would vary widely. 

If the weather changes a lot by the end of February I will start a new cycle at the beginning of March. For me the seasonal aspect is what regulates everything. When I travel to Palm Springs this winter I may need to go to a different seasonal capsule in order to pack.

One of these days I will count all of my out of season items as well. I would like to know my totals. It may be that I have a skewed vision of my wardrobe since I have such strict seasonal capsules and never view it as a whole. But that's a project for another day.

Shepherd's Pie?

There is no lamb in this dish, so is it cottage pie?  But there is venison in it....so maybe Hunter's Pie?  Hunter's Pie sounds like it is already a thing. A thing I am too tired to google right now.

In the past I never really liked Shepherd/cottage pie as I never really liked mashed potatoes. It wasn't until I started mashing cauliflower with butter and cream that shepherd's pie became a cozy favorite for me. I keep the peas on the side so they don't get mushy. 

This dish could be made in many different ways and still be yummy but here is the way I made it this week.

Hunter's Pie

Filling:

ingredients
2 lbs ground meat [mix of venison and grass-fed beef]
1/2 onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 jar, about 9 oz, of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1 T coconut flour
pinch of thyme and rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

method
Brown meat in large skillet.
When meat is almost done and fat has been released, add onion, celery and herbs to center of pan.
Cook all together until celery and onions are soft, stir occasionally.
Sprinkle coconut flour on top and stir.
Add wine and tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add salt and pepper as needed.

Topping:

ingredients
Topping:
1 head of cauliflower, cored and chopped
2T butter
2-3T cream
pinch of nutmeg and paprika
salt and pepper to taste
handful of shredded hard cheese [such as Parmesan]

method
Steam cauliflower until tender.
Process cauliflower in food processor with butter, cream and spices until smooth and spreadable.

Create and Bake Pie:

Spoon filling into 13x9 pan
Spread layer of mashed cauliflower on top and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Good served with peas and squash on the side along with a glass of the wine you used.

Winter '14 and project 333

A huge project has been completed and I have the inclination for blogging on an overwhelming number of topics. It hard to choose one so I grabbed the one on top.

I always enjoy doing "project 333" but when the weather is mutable I can find it very difficult. This past autumn was hard as the weather was quite unpredictable. This is not a problem now thanks to the current wintery weather which puts clear limits on what can be worn or not.  Also it practically urges one to wear velvet and I love that urge.

So I have my list of clothing, it's being tweaked a bit but I am at 30 pieces right now. As usual [for me] I am not counting outerwear or boots or exercise clothing or accessories.

Making my 333 list is routine but I did notice something new. Only six pieces [20%] on my list were bought new, the other 25 pieces were purchased at thrift or consignment stores.  I'm a bit stunned by that. I knew my thrifting over the years had been honed but wow - I am good at it. This is inspiring me to learn more new things about my buying habits in 2014.

So I have decided to track my personal purchases this year. I hope to tease out why I buy things, when I buy them and maybe how I make room for them. I'll also be noting if I bought something new or second-hand. We'll see how it goes.