I'm DY(E)ING to tell you about my new shirt...

So a million five years ago, I picked up this light grey shirt at Target.  I LOVED it.  I bought it out of necessity because on one of my early days of grad school when I was still commuting from Benton to Conway, I spent the night at Katie's on a whim and didn't have any clean clothes to wear to school and work the next day.  So I went shopping before class and found this beauty:

It felt a bit hippie and a bit classic, and while the color was kind of a wash, I liked it because I didn't own too much grey.  And it was so comfy and carefree.

(This photo was taken after Zach and I created our first cake together:  Zach envisioned it, and I carried out the vision.  We've been doing that since 2008, folks.  :)

Fast forward a few years to when my beloved shirt somehow got some bleach stains on it.  :(

I tried bleaching all of the color out:

But all that did was make it a mottled peach-pink-grey color.  :*(

I kept trying to bleach it to one shade, but it never worked.  I had almost given up hope...

...until this TWENTY-FIVE CENTS clearance miracle came into my life!

For a long time--basically since I discovered New Dress a Day--I have wanted to try my hand at dyeing.  (Or is it dying?  I just never know; I only teach English.)  But I was so nervous to do it, and even though dye is cheap, I still didn't want to spend money and then have to spend more because I destroyed something else.  Until Zach and I swooped down the clearance aisle last week.  I thought this baby was a buck, so I was pleased as could be when it rang up for 25 cents.  I wanted to go back and buy a few more boxes!

Here is what I did:  I washed my shirt.  Then I dissolved the entire box of dye in water I heated on the stove.  (I used an old Cool Whip container so I could throw it away.)  I set the washer on the regular wash cycle at the hottest temp and let it fill up.  I added about 3/4 cup salt and a Tbsp. detergent while it was running.  When it came time for the agitation to start, I turned it off and poured in the dye.  Next, I rinsed my shirt in hot water in the skin, squeezed the water out, and uncrumpled it.  After adding it to the dye, I let it sit for 30 minutes, stirring it with a plastic knife every 10 or so minutes.  At the end of the 30 minutes, I turned the washer back on and let it run.  I rinsed my shirt in the sink after the washer cut off, and I dried it in the dryer.  During that time, I added detergent and bleach to clean the now speckled washer.  It came right off for the most part!

I've learned a bit about dyeing/dying now.  For example, you use salt if the material is a natural fiber, and you use vinegar if it's not.  And not all fabrics are created equal.  I also need to invest in some color remover, rather than using bleach because it weakens materials.

And now I have this lovely bluish-grey/purple blouse!  Since the temps have started to fall a bit, I decided to put on a scarf for the first time in months, and this one matched perfectly!  You can still notice where the bleach stains were, but the dye definitely improved the mottled look.  I love the shade--it's so unexpected!

Throwback Thursday: My First Kiss(es)

Today, I'm linking up with Bonnie over at The Life of Bon for Throwback Thursday.  And we're going to talk some kissing...

Have you ever thought about how gross kissing is?  And how we, as humans, thought to do it?  Like who thought pressing lips against someone else's would feel good?  The textbook we use in our composition classes at the college has an article on how kissing may have evolved, and it could go back to when mothers chewed their children's food and deposited it in their mouths (like mama birds).  And in times of famine, the feeding motion (kissing) would give the hungry babies and toddlers comfort.

Anyhoo...

I was pretty boy crazy as a very tiny girl.  I was always "marrying" one of the neighborhood kids (Rocky and Scotty mostly, depending on where I was living at the time), and I had a crush on a boy named Andrew in kindergarten, and I used to kiss ALL of his stuff that was stored in our bathroom.  (We had a bathroom in our room that doubled as a closet.)  Yes, I KNOW.  CREEPER.  (Me, not Andrew.)

Here I am in all of my creeper kindergarten glory.  My mama was pretty upset I didn't take my sweater off for my class photo.

Fast forward a few years, and I am best friends with Jess, and we are both fighting over a boy named Tim, who was in Jessica's grade but liked me more.  (I was two years older.)  When you are a teacher, you make a FOOL of yourself every day, and one of the ways I do this is by telling and showing my students my first kiss.  (Not actually showing them--get yer minds outta the gutter, folks.  I don't kiss my students.)

in my fifth grade glory/model phase

I will pull directly from a PowerPoint I used last spring.

In fourth grade, I had my first kiss with Tim ______ during a sleepover with his little sister.  We were playing Truth-or-Dare, and my best friend Jessica dared him to kiss me.  I didn’t want to kiss him, but Tim kissed me anyway with Jessica’s help.  It wasn’t a real kiss because I was able to turn my head away.  But Jessica still got mad at me for it.

VERSUS

His name was Tim ______.  When I was in fourth grade, all of the girls (and boys) in my neighborhood were younger than me, including Tim’s little sister Amber.  So when she asked me to spend the night in her dad’s brown-gray tent in their overgrown backyard, I packed my favorite pillow and a Barbie toothbrush.  She also invited my best friend Jessica, who swore she was going to marry Tim as she doodled his name in a heart on her notebook.  (They were in the same grade.)  Tim suggested we play Truth-or-Dare, a game we took very seriously in elementary school, so Jess dared him to kiss me.  I, of course, being much older and wiser, refused to kiss this baby and pushed him away and squealed.  But Jess held me down while Tim went in for the kill.  His two puckered lips came at my face like an alien spaceship zooming through the sky.  I thanked my stars when I was able to turn my head at the last moment but not fast enough.  Tim’s kiss was . . . slimy.  And salty.  Wet in a woozy kind of way.  We were two kids who had rode our bicycles in the sun all day and were now coated in a fine layer of sticky sweat.  Ugh.  Despite this failed first kiss, Jess was jealous and mad—at me.

The first example tells the story.  The second one shows the story.  And it almost makes my students want to throw up.  So...winning?!  Yes.  Yes, I am.

My first real kiss happened when I was sixteen and dating this guy that I didn't really like--but everyone else thought he was hot--and I used to skip class and go hang out with him and his best friend, who my best friend was dating.  And he kissed me one afternoon in the back of Steph's car, but I kept my mouth shut tight.  And then we broke up.  After he kissed another chick.  No big deal.  I didn't really like him.  But I'm mad at myself to.this.DAY for letting my grades drop over those few months.

my blonde-highlights-show-I'm-a-rebel-and-discovering-myself phase
(Also, the Polaroid I-Zone Instant Camera Phase)

The next guy I kissed kinda ruined kissing for me because he was really good at it, and I tend to count that first kiss with him as my first real-real kiss.  I think I was seventeen.  It wasn't until I kissed Zach that anyone came close to David or close to surpassing him.  Of course, this guy had lots of practice.  (Um, he changed girlfriends as often as he changed his underwear, I think.)  And it's not like I kissed a lot of guys.  (Um, maybe five?  And most of them only once.)  Then I dated another guy named David (David #2), and the first time I kissed him, his teeth knocked against mine so HARD that I thought I might have chipped a tooth.  So I never thought I would find someone who could kiss as well as David #1.

But then I met my husband.  After I dated a really country boy, who dipped (for those not in the know--chewing tobacco), so when I kissed him, I tasted tobacco and sweet tea.  Ewww.  Let's try again.  Ewwwwwwwwww.  See?  Kissing is gross.

(In his defense, he was pretty sweet.  And we had the same birthday.  Just a good ole' country boy.  Just not my type?)

during my country boy phase

(Tasha ended up marrying her country boy, who was friends with mine.)

Oh, and I kissed two three (um, four?) more guys in there somewhere, one that was kind of rocker and angsty and I was crazy about; the second I don't really remember except for the fact that we kissed in the rain because I wanted to get a kiss in the rain, and then another guy who had had lots of practice kissing, too.  I really know how to pick 'em.

my wild kissing days with my pal Katie on her birthday

And then I met my husby.  And on our first date, we were walking around one of the college campuses in Conway, and we sat down on a bench, he put his arm around me, and then he said, "Kiss me."  And so I did.  And it was gooooooood.  :)))

And so we decided to kiss forever!

But I'm not letting you see that because I think kissing photos are awkward.  Just like this post.  ;)

WHAT ABOUT YOUR FIRST KISS(ES)?

A SUMMER OF THROWBACK THURSDAYS

BLOG STYLE

Menu Monday: ICASI REVIEW

On Thursday morning we headed to Cleveland for the weekend, so not much cooking was done, BUT a lot of eating was!

Whenever we have a week of lots of social obligations or if we are going out of town for the weekend, we try to keep it light and easy the days before and after the trip. That way there isn't a lot of clean-up involved or wasted leftovers. For example, last week we had breakfast for dinner at least two times because breakfast foods are always on hand, cheap, easy to make, and very filling.

Anyway, we had some fabulous meals on our mini Spring-ish Break, including the one I'm going to discuss today. Our friend Holly works in admissions at the International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute in Cleveland. ICASI has this fabulous student-ran cafe for which senior students prepare luncheons for the public every Saturday. It. was. amazing. AMAZING! Each student has the opportunity to be head chef (designing the menu, heading the staff, etc.) and to work at each station in the kitchen through the course of a semester. There are two head chefs--one in savory and one in pastry. I wish I knew of a place like this in Arkansas because I would be eating there all the time. We had a five-course meal for just $25, and, upon consideration regarding the quality and quantity of the dishes we were served, I have to say that it was much better than the $200 meal we had on our honeymoon in Chicago. :)

We had lunch Saturday at 11 a.m. and I have never been so glad to have skipped breakfast because we were stuffed by the time we left! Fresh bread was already on the table when we were seated. We each got to try a cheese scone, a mini buttermilk cornbread muffin, and a slice of onion ciabatta bread. I didn't take a picture of my bread plate, but I think you can probably imagine them. *lol* I had the cornbread muffin first. It was very light and reminded me of the muffins they had at Joey's Seafood/Mickey's Seafood in Conway minus the beer flavor. I don't think these were as good as Joey's (maybe because it wasn't made with the beer), but I didn't miss the heavy, grainy texture and taste of traditional Southern cornbread. The ciabatta was my favorite! I quickly dribbled on olive oil and herbs and ate it up. :) The crust wasn't too chewy (a plus for me--I don't like chewy bread), and the inside was light and heavenly. It was the perfect white bread--indescribable otherwise. I didn't pick up on a strong onion flavor, which was fine either way. I love onion, but a hint is great, too. (I just read on Wikipedia that ciabatta was first brought to the states by a Cleveland bakery. Hmmm....) I had the scone last. I liked it alright; Jenni LOVED it. I think I was filling up on bread by this point, and the cheese flavor was a little too strong for me after the plain flavor of the ciabatta. I would eat it again, but it wasn't my favorite.

For appetizers, we had the choice of either Smoked Salmon Bruschetta or Roasted Polenta Cakes. I chose the bruschetta:

I love bruschetta, and I never pass up a chance to have smoked salmon since it is so expensive to buy it here. (In England, I LOVED smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches. *ahhh*) The bruschetta here was made using an herb and sea salt focaccia, which I honestly didn't notice. I don't think that is unusual, however, because typically the toppings soak into the bread anyway. I did like how the focaccia was thinly sliced and not too crisp so it neither filled your mouth or hurt it. Lately I've toasted our bread too long, so that it hurt our mouths whilst eating. *lol* The artichoke-spinach cream cheese was very tasty; you couldn't actually taste the cheese in it, which I missed a little since it was paired with the salmon. No complaints about the salmon, of course! The sauce in the picture is a roasted red pepper coulis, and it was rather tasty and just spicy enough. I also liked the texture of it--thick, but creamy. I liked just a bit on my bruschetta. The dill--at least, I think it was dill--was a nice touch. :)

In regards to soup, we could have either Hearty Peasant Soup or Potato-Leek Soup. I went with the second soup because I have been dying to try it. Zach got me a Julia Child tips and techniques book for Christmas that includes a potato-leek soup recipe as one of its base recipes. However, I've never had leeks before, and despite having heard they were very much like onions, I was afraid to buy and use them in case we didn't like them and had to throw them out.

However, I can now say that I LOVE leeks. This soup was wonderful! It was a pureed soup of potatoes and leeks, but there were enough chunks added back in that it wasn't boring to eat like other pureed soups. It would be a fine meal with bread. Also, the crispy leeks on top were a big plus! They tasted a lot like French fried onions. I could have done without the goat cheese because it's too pungent for me, but it blended well into the soup. I cannot wait to make Julia Child's recipe now! I just wish Zach had tried a bigger bite of one of ours so I know for sure he likes it. *lol*

I had the hardest time picking a salad, which doesn't surprise me because I am a little picky when it comes to raw vegetables. Growing up I tended to refuse vegetables unless they were potatoes or corn or raw carrots and celery. So I never ate salad really until high school, and I didn't start eating other veggies until I was diagnosed with Crohn's and my taste buds readjusted after not consuming anything for months. Our choices were Mesclun Salad or Romaine Salad. As much as I love romaine lettuce, I went with the Mesclun because the toppings sounded so much better.

Does this not remind you of a sea creature or alien? I'm fairly certain I wrote that in my comments. (We reviewed the meal anonymously for the students' benefit.) Now I'm a little embarrassed I wrote that. *lol* Anyway, the salad course was the weakest. First of all, I'm sure you are wondering what that hay-looking stuff is. That is a kataifi phyllo cup. We tried to figure out what "kataifi" meant, and I assumed it was shredded. According to the interweb, I am correct! Typically kataifi phyllo is used in sweets. Here, it added a nice crunch, but there was way too much; additionally it was messy when you attempted to incorporate it into the salad, sending pieces flying through the air. It would have been much better had the salad been inside/on the kataifi and if there had been less. The roasted garlic vinaigrette was tasty, but there wasn't enough salad to suit me. I'm not saying that the salad was swimming in vinaigrette; rather the vinaigrette's flavor overpowered everything else because there was so little of it. Mesclun green mix originated in Provence and should be more bitter and peppery than other salads, but I didn't pick up on this. Maybe my palate isn't refined enough? *haha* The salad included marinated red onions, radishes, and red peppers. (I like the alliteration!) There were more radishes than anything, but they were all tasty and complimented one another well.

For our entree, we could choose between Tilapia Milanese and Braised Short Ribs. I went with the ribs because its sides sounded better AND I have been craving some ribs since I tried one at Fred's Hickory Inn at our Valentine's Day dinner.

I was almost full by this point, but I ate as much as I could. The meat was so tender. I honestly cannot think how I could describe the sauce, although I do remember we discussed its vinegar undertones. I know it was a red wine sauce that was smooth and thickened--not like a steak sauce at all. The mashed potatoes were nothing special; I would have liked to have some cracked black pepper on them. *lol* But I always like pepper on my potatoes! (Salt and pepper were not provided.) Also, after having potato-leek soup, I guess they seemed redundant. I ate every bite with a bit of ribs or vegetables, so I suppose they acted as a pedestal for the dish. The caramelized root vegetables (carrots, squash, ?) were underdone and did not taste exactly caramelized. Holly and I decided they could have done without them. My favorite part? THE PARSNIP CHIPS! This were awesome! (I definitely asked if I could marry them in my review!) I had parsnips for the first time last fall; a parsnip is basically a pale carrot with a much headier carrot flavor. I wish I knew how to make these because I could eat them as a snack. I have found a recipe for kale chips on a blog I follow, so I imagine I can find one out there.

Thank heavens for the separate dessert stomach! There is always room for dessert, right? We could choose one of three: Raspberry Nouvelle Entremet, Poached Bartlett Pears, and Classic Baked Alaska. Zach and I went with the raspberry chiffon cake while Holly had the pears and Jenni the baked Alaska. For every course, we let each other try the others' dishes. The only things I didn't try were the Chopped Romaine Salad and the Tilapia Milanese. I am so glad I got to try all three desserts because it was a HARD decision to choose just one!

The Raspberry Nouvelle Entremet was truly a work of art. An entremet traditionally was something served between courses to cleanse the palate (from what I can tell). Now it seems to be a layered mousse dessert...this entremet was so sweet. :) I loved the raspberry Bavarian cream--it was an exact blend of tart fruit and sweet cream. The chiffon was light and fluffy. On top was a raspberry mirror glace, which has the taste of raspberry jam with the texture of a homemade marshmallow (with the grain of the jam). It was pretty to view, but I found it hard to break through to get a bite of everything on my fork. I liked it though. I didn't really taste the mango coulis on the plate. By that, I mean I didn't really pick up on the mango flavor. The chocolate, however, was a perfect addition, although it had hardened and had to be scraped off the plate. I loved how they decorated the plate...and the raspberries on top (and inside)!

I'm not sure what was going on with the tie-dyed side of the cake. It was pretty, but didn't exactly match the mirror glace, so it sorta bothered my aesthetic sense. *lol* It also didn't match the texture--it was crunchier or chewier than the chiffon and firmer, like a meringue cookie.

I've made poached pears before, so I wasn't surprised by the anchor of this dish. However, I definitely prefer to have sliced pears over whole pears because this one was hard to cut with my fork. The ginger ice cream was DIVINE. I also liked the twist the Romanoff cream provided. I could have eaten an entire bowl of these two creams. I also liked the tuille leaf, which was like a wafer cookie. The dots are raspberry cream, which I didn't taste. This dish was also very pretty to see.

Finally, the Baked Alaska. I've never had baked Alaska before, so I was excited to try this. I swear this is probably the best meringue I've ever had, and it reminded me of the cover of one of those cupcake books with the puppy cupcakes. :) The homemade vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream were just delish. I didn't get to taste the strawberry coulis, but I bet it was sweet!

Well, it seems we have reached the end of my luncheon at ICASI.

But this wasn't the end!

They gave us crescent almond cookies dipped in chocolate to take home! (I definitely devoured mine during Holly's Hellbombers Roller Derby game that night because I worked off this big meal cheering!) It was a scrumptious cookie.

Hopefully we will be back in Cleveland soon to visit Holly, ICASI, and the West Side Market (where vendors sell freshly baked breads, meats, cheeses, desserts, produces, and specialty items) again. Holly, thanks for having us and taking us on the gastronomic tour of Cleveland! :) Cleveland does, indeed, rock.