An Untraditional Thanksgiving
Posted by Mandi Coleman
(11.27.07, 2:11 PM)
Luckily, I had the usual Thanksgiving meal, comprised of too much of everything. Too much turkey, dressing (the southern version), and sweet potato casserole that got passed around the table at least twice. After we were too full to breath, dessert was served. A friend of mine came back from out of town with a different story altogether. There was no Turkey at her table; not even a casserole in the entire house. After traveling 10+ hours in the car, they arrived at her in-laws to be told that they had opted for an "Untraditional Thanksgiving" this year. Everyone brought an appetizer and nibbled throughout the day instead of having the big sit-down meal. After a breakfast and lunch of McDonalds, I'm almost sure she cried as she ate her raw veggies and ranch dip.
I'll be Home for Turkey
Posted by Mandi Coleman
(11.21.07, 1:21 PM)
Tomorrow is Turkey Day, and for the life of me I can't come up with an item to cook. Horrible, isn't it? I go to my parents' house in Alabama every year for the holidays. My mom and grandmother do the majority of the cooking, and I'm left cleaning dishes and feeling a little guilty for eating everything and contributing nothing. Last night I even wandered around Kroger with a cooking magazine, determined to find a recipe that jumped out at me (and that screamed, "This is super easy to make!"). Needless to say, all I left with was a movie from the attached Blockbuster video. A breakfast item would be great to make, since everyone's focus is the dinner. Afterall, I wouldn't want to step on anyone's toes by making a duplicate dessert, or having (God forbid) something that tasted BETTER...hahahaha. So, today's focus is the Food Network website. Surely Paul Dean has something that everyone will love gobbling up while the bird is in the oven.
Time for a New Theme?
Posted by Mandi Coleman
(11.19.07, 03:51 PM)
I am one of the biggest supporters of Sex and the City that I know. Right now I happen to be teetering on the edge of my seat waiting for the movie to come out. I love those girls! Yesterday I read in Marie Claire that both ABC and NBC are coming out with two "different" shows about professional adult women in New York. There are a few differences between the two, but for the most part they are attempting to replicate the original show we know and love. One titled Cashmere Mafia, the other Lipstick Jungle, the two will try to get us all hooked like we were the first time. I'm interested to see how they both turn out.
Hot stuff
Posted by Anne Clayton
(11.19.07, 03:00 PM)
It's a miracle for all of us who love to feed the birds but hate those theiving squirrels and racoons. Don't get me wrong. I love animals—but when there is an easy source of food, squirrels can and will move in to your house and do incredible damage. I have suffered the ravages of a family of raccoons who have broken flower pots, destroyed plants and both emptied and stolen seed feeders and entire suet cakes. Every night, I had to remember to bring all feeders inside. Enter Whole Foods in Green Hills. Everyone is so excited about the wonderful people foods they have brought to Nashville, but to me the real find is the line of wild bird foods they carry. The most notable are "HOT MEATS" which are hulled sunflower kernels that are coated with habanero pepper liquid and then dried. Birds cannot taste hot foods. My parrot Baby, loves to eat dried red pepper pods, which are full of vitamin A and C. You and I would by retching in the sink if we ate what she merrily munches on as a treat! Squirrels, raccoons, possums and chipmunks can and do feel the effects of hot foods.
Indulgence on Ice
Posted by Mandi Coleman
(11.16.07, 01:26 PM)
Last night I attended a Nashville Predators game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The game was great, with the Preds winning during overtime (just one overtime though, so it wasn't the long, drawn out kind!) I went with a large group of people, and since we were in one of the suites, we had tons of food to nibble on while we watched the excitement and skull-crushing good time that was going on below us. The entrees seemed to never end, and were good quality to top it off...unlimited amounts of hot dogs with gourmet buns, quesadillas with not-so-average fillings, tenderloin and gratin potatoes. But the grand finale came after the second period. The Dessert Cart. Those who have attended a game know the exact one I'm talking about. It sashays to your room and sits just outside, tantalizing everyone to venture out and smell the goodies.
Roman Holiday...or Maui...or Paris!
Posted by Mandi Coleman
(11.14.07, 2:07 PM)
Sometimes weddings happen just for the mere event of it all. And I know everyone understands what I mean by that. The focus is the dress, the ring, the CAKE. Don't get me wrong, I am so ecstatic about those things I'm going cross-eyed. But I can't wait to have a home with someone that loves me! I can't wait to BE married. Right now I live in an apartment. It will be so nice to come home together to a house that's exactly what we wanted; to decorate our Christmas tree and watch movies together. That all being said, I think I've decided on a destination wedding. I want to purchase most everything in the Nashville area to keep it local...especially the dress! But I love the solitude and romance of running off somewhere and the focus being on the bride and groom. (God, I'm about to make myself puke at how mushy that sounds.) But the planning part of going to a distant local has been great, and I'm just getting started! For my birthday last weekend my mom bought me a wedding planning book. She did the best job; the OCD side of me was in tears just over the tabs each section has. I've started ripping out pages of Travel and Leisure to add to my collection. Bon Voyage!
Belle Meade Bank Robber
Posted by Reed Harrison
(11.13.07, 8:55 AM)
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071113/NEWS03/71113003 Blue blazer, check. Rolex, check. I know it's not funny...except that it sort of is. This guy looks like he belongs on "The Bachelor".
Spreading the Love
Posted by Mandi Coleman
(11.12.07, 4:10 PM)
I'm joining friends and co-workers in the coming months to have a little fun while really helping a few non-profit organizations. Over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays we will be aiding the Nashville Rescue Mission, cooking for the Ronald McDonald House, and preparing and serving meals for the Nashville Hope Lodge. Planning for this has really helped put the season into perspective for me...making me think less about shopping for gifts, and more about giving my time to organizations that really need it! Another good cause to help out with is the Salvation Army. They have a program that allows you to select a certain amount of Angels to hang on your Christmas tree, allowing co-workers to pick one out and buy the gifts that person needs. I would really like to put one of these up, but I would almost worry that not enough people would volunteer for it, and some of the angels would be forgotten. Nashville's a very philanthropic town...what are some other ways I could get my company in true holiday spirit, instead of watching them dump a fruitcake in the office kitchen and be a humbug?
Journalism Program
Posted by Heather Burchfield
(11.09.07, 5:12 PM)
I was sitting in the Freedom Forum Center on Vanderbilt's campus Thursday morning for a seminar on global warming, and I started thinking about going back to school to get my masters. I was a print journalism and studio art major at Ole Miss. Journalism is my profession, and art is my hobby. So, naturally if I got my masters I would want to get it in journalism. My first thought was to check the Vanderbilt's graduate programs, and when I did, there wasn't any kind of journalism or mass communication program for grads or undergrads. Why does one of the leading universities in the country not have some type of journalism major?
Heating Things Up
Posted by Mandi Coleman
(11.08.07, 5:13 PM)
What is it about cold weather that just makes me want to put on a heavy sweater and eat soup all day? Except for the obvious reasons, I think it just makes me feel better about the frigid weather! (And yes, to me frigid is 50 degrees. I'll just pour the soup over me when it reaches 30, I guess!) Today I have on a big, fuzzy turtleneck and searched high and low for a good soup and salad for lunch. Working in the area I do though, it didn't pan out so well. Comfort food of any kind would have suited me, whether it be some kind of casserole or just a loaf of warm bread. I spent the earlier part of this week in Chicago on business. Needless to say, any form of healthy eating went right out the door since the wind chill was 20 degrees. Pizza and a pound of sauce were consumed for about every meal. You can't beat Chicago pizza though, so i'll take my extra pound and be proud of it!
Starbucks: Not worth the whiplash, folks.
Posted by Reed Harrison
(11.06.07, 4:41 PM)
I am not a morning person and so I can empathize with a degree of lack of clarity regarding certain matters in the wee moments of the morning. One needs coffee! And this I understand as well. HOWEVER, let's be clear about some basic propriety and SAFETY rules that should be adhered to in the effort to obtain said coffee. Namely, to those individuals who go from 30 MPH to a complete stop in the middle of West End Avenue in the middle of morning rush hour in order to wait in the Starbucks drive-thru line, I say to thee: You are an excellent candidate for a Darwin award ( "Honoring those who improve the species...by accidentally removing themselves from it!"). While your unwillingness to hoist yourself out of your SUV in the quest for your Venti Caramel Frappuccino is impressive-yes- it is your disregard for your own safety and the safety of others in choosing to come to an abrupt stop in the middle of ongoing traffic flow that is truly remarkable. College students who abandon their vehicles in the far right lane of downtown bound traffic are a nuisance and a surprise and test of the reflexes for the morning commuter- who must deftly cut left to avoid smashing into the back of every Phish-stickered Explorer left overnight. That being said, honestly I can understand forgetting to move your car from a designated parking space that magically transforms into a traffic lane during those blissful hours of repose between "playing hard" and "working hard". I have more trouble accepting that competent, presumably sober, employable adults deem it necessary to moo their way into Starbucks at all costs and without regard to those driving behind them at full speed. Ridiculous! http://www.darwinawards.com/
I Feel Pretty...Festive
Posted by Mandi Coleman
(11.05.07, 5:01 PM)
Walking around looking at all the Christmas decorations in the stores, then coming home to a bare house was getting to be a little depressing! So I've started putting out little Christmas touches in certain places. A little ornament here, a little sparkle there. My fiance thinks I'm crazy, I know. He keeps asking what in the world I'm doing as I struggle to get the massive boxes out of storage and out onto the dining room floor. But, as I plug in the lights and admire the glittery mess on the table I feel better. Really, if I could just keep this up each week until I'm actually allowed to start the decorating process I think I'll be kept occupied. By the time Thanksgiving gets here my house will look like that one particular house in every neighborhood that goes a just a little too far. You know the one. Think a Griswold Christmas, only in an apartment complex. Mandi Griswold. Nice.
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