Chili in Wexford

The Texan in me is skipping again. Earlier this week Whole Foods in Wexford contacted me about their inaugural Chili Cook-Off this Saturday {1/12} with an invitation to come and taste the entries. I'm down! Too bad I can't enter the contest! I love making Nigella's Cornbread-Topped Chili or the Yam & Bean Orange-Scented Chili from Everybody Likes Sandwiches. What are your favorite recipes for chili?

Yam & Bean Orange-Scented Chili Via Everybody Likes Sandwiches

Here's the skinny on Saturday's event:

Warm Up From the “Chili”-Weather with Whole Foods Market® Wexford First Annual Chili Cook-Off Competition!  Enjoy assorted chili recipes while listening to local group Broke, Stranded & Ugly

WHAT:           Whole Foods Market Wexford is hosting their FIRST EVER Chili Cook-Off! From slow-roasted crock pot chili to one-pot chili casseroles, Wexford Team Members have begun preparing their best rendition of momma’s homemade chili.  Whether you are accustomed to lamb, lentils, or seafood chili or beef, veggies and tofu, there will be bowls of goodness filled with savory flavors for all palettes at this FREE event. 

For those who prefer the staple made from all organic ingredients to those who swear on canned made chili, the community is invited to vote on which Wexford Team Member’s recipe should hold the bragging rights for “the best chili ever.”  Along with sampling, all taste-testers will receive copies of recipes to try at home as they listen to live music performing in the café from local group Broke, Stranded & Ugly.

WHEN:          Saturday, January 12, 2013

                          12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

WHERE:         Whole Foods Market | Wexford

10576 Perry Highway

Wexford, PA 15090

724.940.6100

I'm ready to indulge in mouthful after mouthful of steamy chili {even if the weather's supposed to warm up this weekend} at the new Whole Foods in Wexford.  However, I'm not sure about this band. With a name like that, what do they sing about?!

If you're going, join the Twitter conversation by following Whole Foods in Wexford @WFMWexford and me {if you haven't already!} @CristinAshley.  Tweet me pictures! 

Have a great weekend!

Birthday Twins

I take pride in my Birthday Twins.
In the same breath as my 'thank you,' I usually tell people {whom I haven't already told} who my BTs are as soon as they finish wishing me a happy birthday.
They're that awesome.
A few of my favorite, inspiring, incredible people born on January 8 are:

Carolina Herrera

Via shopposhboutique.com

David Bowie

Via list.co.uk

Elvis Presley

Via tekstovi-pesama.com

These are {were} all very creative people, with 'the sky's the limit' type attitudes. Perfect inspiration for this girl.

Who are your Birthday Twins?

 - - - 

My birthday was a quiet one this year, with a few cards and presents coming via mail from loved ones. I had to attend my first class of the semester {a finance course} last night, so Husband and I didn't plan anything.  Luckily, class ended very early, so we were able to catch dinner at one of my selected options for my birthday dinner. We came home to a gift from Husband: a glass of red wine and a box of Sarris chocolate cremes. Perfect.

New Year: Birthday and Resolutions

I was born in the most hopeful, transitional month of them all: January. To have a birthday in this month each year adds a freshness to becoming another year older.  A sense of endless possibility.  This month starts off a new year, a time of new goals and second chances. You didn't pay off your credit card last year? Here's another chance. You didn't hit your goal weight? This year is your year. It's uplifting, really.

Goldenrod or some such bursting from a rock in Ohiopyle State Park

After a long, wonderful break over the holidays in Texas, I came back to celebrate the new year with new friends, surrounded by a blanket of beautifully white snow.  There's nothing more dazzling than the site of soft, unblemished snow.  Side note: For those that don't live in Western PA, I'd tell you that driving here after it's just snowed is not a big deal at all, unlike trips on the treacherous icy roadways in Texas. The snow stays snow rather than transitioning into ice, as it remains below 32 degrees usually. Also, the salt helps.

I wasn't always so chipper about my birthday, however.  When I was younger, I used to mentally prepare myself for the possibility of smaller Christmas and birthday gifts, as money is tight directly after the holidays.  To a kid, this is most terrible hand you can be dealt.  I'd be so jealous of my classmates who had pool party birthdays in July, stacking their large present boxes on their patio tables.  Now, in my late twenties, being a 'January Baby' is a delight.

With my birthday comes a chance for new beginnings.

{Currently Reading} Pnin & Wide Sargasso Sea

Hi from Texas! 

I've been spending time with family/friends, eating butter-filled dishes, and chatting my face off.  It's been grand. 

I've also been reading a ton since classes have finished for the semester {made the grade!}, and I'm on holiday. Along with the books I mentioned earlier, I'll share my thoughts on two of the best and the boring.

Pnin

by Vladimir Nabokov

Somehow, the subtle humor of this short novel was lost on me, and I only found myself chuckling at the most obvious of Pnin's blunders. I had a great deal of sympathy for him {that ex-wife was terrible!}, and I would have liked Nabokov to explore his relationship with his son in greater detail. 

I can see how this story would work well broken into smaller pieces and published in a magazine, as it was initially in The New Yorker; however, the multitude of somewhat pointless breaks in the plot {rests, maybe?} caused me to lose interest and set the book down many times.
I have Lolita just waiting for me on my bookshelf, but I'm not sure Pnin built up Nabokov's case to dedicate more time to his novels. One day, maybe.

Wide Sargasso Sea

    by Jean Rhys

"The house was burning, the yellow-red sky was like the sunset...Nothing would be left, the golden ferns and the silver ferns, the orchids, the ginger lilies and the roses...When they had finished, there would be nothing left but blackened walls and the mounting stone. That was always left. That could not be stolen or burned."
In the first section of three in Rhys' response to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Rhys explores the same dark, uncontrollable trauma that Eyre experiences in her lifetime. The quote above is plucked from the end of part one, and struck me as one of the best descriptions in the novel, as it helped me connect to the main character, known by the name of Bertha in Jane Eyre, or the 'madwoman in the attic'.  A Creole in the West Indies, Antoinette {or Bertha} grew up hated by both black and white people, as she and her family where somewhere in between. Her home is vandalized, her mother is/becomes crazy, and she's driven to marriage as she's told it's her only option. Part two of the novel if from Rochester's perspective, and details why he detests the unknown land he's sent to to find his wife. The hatred is from the same vein we see his character erupt from in Jane Eyre. It's interesting that I was sympathetic to his character in both Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre. I remember reading Jane Eyre in high school and every girl in the class despised Rochester, but somehow I still liked him. The same was true for this novel. Then, in the last section, we meet the mad woman in the attic of Rochester's huge house. It's tragic, dark and beautiful.

If you've read Jane Eyre and loved it, look into Rhys' response.  On the other hand, too, if you didn't care for Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea can perhaps help you to connect or identify with the characters of Bronte's classic novel.

What are you {Currently Reading}?  Just curious, but who is your favorite Bronte and why?

Decembear, Again

Hi guys.
With finals, major family events, preparing to travel and work deadlines, this week has been filled to the brim with emotion.
In an effort to avoid recounting every detail of my week, I'll give an update on Decembear instead.  Where has he been over the past few days?  All over the house!

December 12: He looked in the toy chest.

He might be a little old for those toy blocks. Decembear doesn't care.

{Never heard of this adorable bear?  Read up on his history.}

{PGH Dining} Alexander's Italian Bistro

This might sound odd {or alcoholic to some}, but every once in a while I get a craving for red wine and pasta covered in red sauce. 

Each time I get that craving, I know the place I'll be having my dinner - Alexander's Italian Bistro on Liberty Ave. in Bloomfield. Again, I wax nostalgic about this place because it was out first 'real Italian' experience when we rolled into Pittsburgh last December. And, was it a good one.

Finals & Chifforobes

It's finals week, y'all.  Graduate school finals, at that.  Twenty-five-percent-of-your-grade finals.  

Are ya with me?

To top it off, this is deadline week at work, too.

Time to go cry a little.

{PGH Dining} Arsenal Cider House & Wine Cellar

Early Saturday afternoon, we stopped into Arsenal Cider House & Wine Cellar in central Lawrenceville.  We'd been hearing about the cidery {It's a real word, people.} for awhile. It was one of the last stops on our personal Cookie Tour, and I was ready to taste a few of their artisan-crafted hard ciders.

Over the Weekend: Tacos, Target {+ Neiman Marcus} & Tours

After a long week of getting back into the swing of things after a fantastic 4+ day holiday break, I was ready for a cocktail.  A coworker and I planned a happy hour for Friday evening at a favorite of mine in Lawrenceville.  It was a merry group!

Festive wall paper/ceiling.

Decembear

Each year, my Mom had my Dad bring down the Christmas decorations from the attic, and began putting things up the day after Thanksgiving.  The sparkling lights, the bright colors - we were able to enjoy all of these things even before the month began.

I am my mother's daughter, so I decked our halls on November 18.  Looking around afterwards, I thought something might be missing. Recalling my memories of my Mom's decorations, I thought about the holiday calendar my Granny hand-made: Decembear: A Beary Merry Christmas.