2010 August | Somewhere in Middle America

When my sister was in Omaha a couple of weekends ago, we went on a shopping spree at Whole Foods. She loves to cook but finds it challenging to do in her New  York City apartment; her kitchen is literally the size of my coffee table. She was excited to roam the aisles of Whole Foods, picking up ingredients to create culinary masterpieces in my “huge” kitchen.

Unfortunately, my sister had to leave before she had the chance to teach me how to make homemade hummus. But this weekend, I was craving hummus and pita chips, and, knowing I already had all of the ingredients, I decided to attempt it myself. One caveat: my sister was going to use plain yogurt instead of tahini for a low fat hummus.

Using Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything (thanks, Alice!) as a guide, I quickly and easily whipped up hummus in my blender. I simply replaced the required amount of tahini with the same amount of yogurt. I’m not sure if that was the “right” thing to do… my hummus, while tasty, was a bit runny.

Later, while browsing the web, I came across this recipe for hummus with yogurt, which is very similar to the recipe I invented, except I did not add peanut butter (weird!) but did include cumin.

Would I make it again? Probably, but first I would test it out with tahini.

Do you have a favorite hummus recipe?

Meh…

January Jones’s dress looks too much like a mullet.

(Same with Anna Paquin’s)

Kyra Sedgwick’s hair is too undone.

Keri Russell looks too much like an extra from “Dirty Dancing.”

Likey…

A lovely combination of navy and gold on Jayma Mays.

A lovely hairstyle on Tina Fey… finally!

A lovely dress on Claire Danes… but her overall look is just too shiny.
Her face and body are glowing.

(images via)

A camp friend of mine started a new blog called Eating With A to document her culinary adventures. Last week, she tested a recipe she found right here for chocolate pancakes, and she had the sweetest words to say about me and my lil’ blog:

My old camp buddy has a website called Somewhere In Middle America where she mainly talks about things that inspire her in life… things going on in her life… and a lot of style! (Check her out, she’s fun to read, plus at her website you will also find a link to her own stationary company and another website she writes for, EAD Living).

Thanks for the shout out, Adrienne! And I hope you will all bookmark her blog to check out what Adrienne’s cooking… and eating!

(image source)

While studying abroad in Sydney, Australia in 2001, I traveled to Alice Springs, where I purchased an original piece of Aboriginal art by Marlene Coombes. I even have a photo of the artist holding her artwork tucked away in my scrapbook. At the time, the warm, muted colors spoke to me, and I felt a connection to its meaning, which, on a basic level, has to do with women sitting around campfires. The indigenous people of Australia tell the most mystical stories through their artwork.

Over the past nine years, my Aboriginal dot painting has hung in various apartments in Boston, DC, NYC and Omaha. But when we moved into our house two years ago, I wasn’t sure where to display it, so it’s been sitting in box in a closet, and I haven’t given it much thought. That is, until I came across these posts by Viv from Ish & Chi and Jen from Made by Girl.

Long story short, Viv was contemplating buying a gorgeous pink-hued canvas by Aboriginal artist Jeannie Mills Pwerl for her living room. When she took the plunge (I imagine her purchase was quite costly, as I believe she was debating between the canvas and a new bicycle), she inspired Jen to track down a Jeannie Mills Pwerl original of her own.

I don’t know how J feels about Aboriginal art, but I would love to own a similar piece by Jeannie Mills Pwerl and would proudly display it in the living room. I can’t get these two pieces off my mind. I’m totally obsessed with their large scale and bright, airy colors.

How do you feel about Aboriginal art?

1. my photo 2. my photo 3. image via Ish & Chi 4. image via Made by Girl

The end of August is finally here! Yippee! Woot Woot!!

Can you tell I’m excited about the September? Why wouldn’t I be? So many exciting things are happening: a visit to NJ, the birth of my friend’s baby, J’s homecoming.

Plus, I’m dying to get a jump start on Fall trends, from menswear for women and military-inspired fashion (Did anybody catch last night’s “Project Runway?” Isn’t Gretchen just awful?) to purple makeup and “greige” nails. What are you looking forward to next season?

Here are some of my favorite finds from around the web this week. If you like them too, please comment below!

I need an intervention: I am addicted to paper planners.

Must have this green apple box for the kitchen. (via Design*Sponge)

Kimberly Ayers‘s style is so me.

Just say no to receipts: There’s BPA on heat-activated paper. (via Design Scouting)

Did Cynthia Rowley sell out?

Bookshelf Porn. Enough said. (via Paper Tastebuds)

Brilliant use of a chalkboard door.

Lox Papers creates amazing collages for each blog post. (via Creature Comforts)

And speaking of “Project Runway”… I already have Tim Gunn’s book; now I need Nina Garcia’s Look Book.

Hope you have a blissful weekend!

(image source)

In honor of National Dog Day, I’d like to share a photograph of my friend’s dog Lola, who graciously allowed me to take her portrait the other day. She’s part beagle, part dachshund and part diva.

Isn’t she a beaut?

Yesterday, several of my Twitter friends were conversing using strange hashtags like #marcellattheclub and #marcelleatplay. It took me a few minutes to realize they were talking about Marcel, the protagonist from the stop motion video “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” by Dean Fleischer-Camp and SNL’s Jenny Slate.

Check it out (and make sure your speakers are on):

How can you not love a shell that wears pink sneakers, serves salad to guests from upstate, has a pet dog made of lint and truly likes himself.

Lately I’ve been spending hours at a time in front of the computer, and my eyes have been paying the price.  Eyestrain, headaches…

It literally just dawned on me that I have prescription glasses to wear when I’m working at the screen… if only I could find them. I honestly don’t think I’ve worn them since the start of 2009, and I have absolutely no idea where they could be. In fact, I only remembered I had them about 3 days ago.

Have you seen my glasses?

(image source)

After I get my Brazilian Blowout today, I’m making a hair cut appointment and am going to ask for bangs. I love bangs! I’m particularly fond of Eva Mendes’s thick side-swept fringe.

“Project Runway” contestant Gretchen also has great bangs. They start at the top of her head and hang straight to her eyebrows. The look may be a bit too hippie for me… or not. (PS – I have a love/hate relationship with Gretchen. I think she’s a fantastic designer with great style, but her ego is totally off-putting.)

Are you all about bangs, too?

1. source 2. source

Readers, I received a lovely email from Rebecca at Living Social letting me know about today’s amazing deal – 50% off a Shellac manicure at Kathryn’s Nails. Rebecca discovered Shellac after reading about it right here on Somewhere in Middle America! I’m honored that my blog influenced her to suggest the long-lasting manicure as a Living Social “destination.”

If you haven’t tried a Shellac manicure yet, I encourage you to head over to Living Social and take part in today’s deal… then come back here and let me know what you think!

The fine print: I am not getting compensated in any way by Living Social for writing about them or the Shellac manicure deal at Kathryn’s nails.

(image source)