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Cooking with Bourbon
Last summer, I discovered that I like small-batch bourbon. But I also don’t have the tolerance to sit around sipping it, which I suppose is probably a good thing. The solution? To cook with it, of course. This is a super simple flank steak recipe that my husband and I made on a weeknight. It took less than 5 minutes to throw the marinade together, then just a few minutes on the grill after we’d given the marinade some time to soak in. Flank Steak with Bourbon Marinade (adapted from a recipe from Fountain Prairie Inn and Farm) 1 flank steak (1 ½ pounds) 4-6 cloves crushed garlic 1/2…
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Craft Beer Week: Drink it in
It’s craft beer week here in Madison, which means that there are tastings, dinners, and “meet the brewmaster” events all over town. It’s an embarrassment of riches, really, and I’d need a whole team of bloggers–and a string of babysitters–to be able to do justice to even a fraction of the flavors on tap throughout the week. Despite having neither, I’ve managed to sample a few things, and I’m noticing a theme emerge– I’ve been enjoying some things that I normally wouldn’t order. I tend to be an ale kind of girl, particularly IPAs. So it’s been good to sample some things out of my comfort zone. The best of…
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Vintage Obsession: 80s Power Pumps
My latest obsession is 80s pumps. I just love the shape of them, from the pointy (but not too pointy) toe, the fat-to-skinny heel, and the ladylike curve of the side of the shoe. They’ve got a sassy, fun feel to them. Here are a few favorites I’ve found recently. [topcollage] Clockwise from top left: 80s heels from Etsy sellers SkinnyandBernie, TigerlillyFrocks, CleverlyCurated, StarletsVintage, OldSchoolSwank.
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Is there a place for poetry?
April, what T.S. Eliot called “the cruelest month,” is National Poetry Month. And, in our modern world of clamor and clutter, I have to wonder: is there a place for poetry? I’d like to think the answer is yes. I have dozens of poetry books on my shelves that have not been opened in years. But it does not matter. I can go about my days, and the verses still sit there, poised inside those pages, ready to spring goosebumps to my skin if I only take time to remember, and read. Today, April 26, is “Poem in Your Pocket Day,” first created by the City of New York in 2002…
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Pin This: A Revisionist Recipe
The succulent vegetables and fluffy rice in the photos seem about as attainable as your pre-pregnancy pants.
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Are You Ready for the Madness?
I’m not talking about basketball. It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with Mad Men. My thirty-first birthday fell on the premiere night of the fourth season, and I somehow convinced my husband and friends to come dressed in costume. The start of the fifth season on Sunday doesn’t fall on my birthday, but that’s okay. I’m not sure I could wait any longer, anyhow. It’s already been a year and a half! In the meantime, I’ve been feeding my addiction for all things mod on Etsy and Pinterest. A peek at some of my favorite Mad Men-inspired items: Each row, left to right (all images from Etsy): 60s rocks glasses…
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On Style and Smarts
[Image from theberry.com] Oscar Wilde had a lot of great, pithy quotes, like this one. Do you agree? I agree with the overeducated part. Just ask my grandmother, who is working her way through the Great Books in her eighties. As for being overdressed, I have to say that it is possible, and I’ve been guilty of it once or twice. Being overdressed isn’t so much a question of what you’re wearing, though. It’s a question of whether you can pull it off.
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Red Vintage on the Red Carpet
For most of us, life calls for few occasions where we can’t show up in jeans or at least some shade of business casual. That’s what makes the Oscars so intriguing. The annual fashion frenzy that surrounds the awards show is one of our society’s last bastions of true glamour. I peruse the red carpet pictures like any other fashion blogger, and I always like to figure out who wore vintage gowns. This year, there were two red vintage stunners that stood out on the red carpet: a 1954 Dior gown worn by Natalie Portman and a fringed Versace dress worn by Kate Hudson. I can’t find details anywhere about…
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A hearty one-pot meal
Despite the fact that Glossing Over It is subtitled “a blog on fiction, fashion, food & wine,” there hasn’t been a whole lot of food blogging going on here lately. It’s probably because, even though I love to cook, I haven’t been doing much of it since a certain little bundle of joy arrived last July. These days, most of my dinners come from the frozen section at Trader Joe’s. Mmm… pot stickers. On the weekends, though, my husband and I usually try to make at least one big meal that we can eat as leftovers during the week. Actually, to say that “we” make the meal is kind of misleading.…
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Coast to Coast Couture
This week delivers a double whammy for style junkies. In LA, the Grammys provided their usual spectacle of cleavage (Rihanna) and craziness (Sasha Gradiva and her “gun dress“). And on the other coast, New York Fashion Week is in full swing. Say what you will about bad wardrobe choices on the red carpet and too-skinny models on the runway. There’s plenty to criticize about the fashion industry if you take it too seriously. But I subscribe to the school that thinks fashion is fun, both to wear and to watch. Kate Spade said it best: “Playing dress up begins at age five and never truly ends.” Some favorite looks from…
a blog on fiction, fashion, food + family