Monday Meals, aka Drinks Can Be Meals Too.

When the weather cools down and people remember that their fireplaces function, I find nothing more comforting that curling up next to said fireplace and sipping a hot toddy. My drink of choice is usually a lovely cabernet or merlot, but sometimes it's nice to spice things up a bit. This season, I am looking forward to fun drinks like this one, especially since Fireball whiskey is 2014's most popular liquor (I'm assuming this based on Saturday nights at Bar 14/The Zone...).

Last year at Thanksgiving, I made this Cranberry Old Fashioned for our guests, and though it was about as subtle as a punch to the face, it was very festive and fun to try something different. Thanks C&C.


Ingredients:

- 10 fresh cranberries

- 2 sugar cubes (or 3/4 tsp of sugar)

- 1/8 tsp of cinnamon (optional)

- 2 dashes of bitters (I used Angostura)

- 2" strip of orange peel

- 2 oz rye whiskey or bourbon

- ice

Place cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, orange peel and bitters into a tumbler glass, add a touch of water. Muddle the ingredients until the sugar is broken up and mixed well. Add whiskey and ice, stir to mix, then serve.

PS. Thanksgiving happenings. 

Two Movies You Will Probably Love, and One You May Not.

There are two movies that I saw recently that were fantastic and fun. The Fault in Our Stars was not one of them...I don't think that's going to be a very fun one. Anyway:

The first was the new Wes Anderson film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. True to form, it is a dark comedy about a lobby boy in a hotel. He becomes the sidekick of the concierge, Monsieur Gustave, and they find themselves in some trouble when a former lover of the concierge dies. Ralph Fiennes plays Gustave, and he is brilliant. It's the usual cast of characters for an Anderson film, and everyone is wonderful. Great writing, engrossing scenes, and entertaining every step of the way.

***

Last week, I saw "Chef" with my mother and brother. I thought popcorn was going to get me through, since it's a movie entirely about food, but my stomach still growled. My mouth is watering just thinking about it now. Check it out:

It's funny and heart-warming at times, and a great film to go to on a Sunday night (like the trailer says, eat before you go!). It also shows the impact that social media can have on a business, and the success that it brings if it's done correctly and well. It becomes a father-son story as the movie progresses, but there's still lots and lots of food in it, and now I want to take food trips to Miami, New Orleans, and Austin.

***

The one that you may not love is the new Coen Brother movie, Inside Llewyn Davis. It's about a struggling folk singer and guitar player trying to make it big in Greenwich Village in the 1960s. I say you might not love it because it is kind of sad. You want to root for this guy, who actually is kind of a dick, but you feel like he has a good heart. And he's so seriously talented but just can't catch a break. It stars Oscar Isaac (whom I had never heard of but am a little bit in love with now), Carey Mulligan, John Goodman and Justin Timberlake. The song in the preview was reason enough for me to start it on Apple TV Sunday night, and I proceeded to download the song immediately after and listen to it 19 times in a row.

I'd definitely recommend seeing it, although I don't feel I need to see it again. But I do need to listen to that song one more time..

Have you seen any good movies lately?

This weekend.

Sitting at a table at Monk's Coffee Shop in downtown Abilene, I take another sip of my just refilled coffee mug. I know I have to go to work in about an hour, but I feel inspired this Monday morning. Not only did I begin writing about my Kilimanjaro adventure last week, but I had a wonderful weekend of family, friends and golf. 

First wonderful thing: my brother did his solo flight on Friday. So proud of him! 

2nd wonderful thing: I discovered a new yummy recipe. This is also serving as this week's edition of Monday Meals: Mexican lettuce wraps. I got the idea from (where else?) Pinterest, but decided to add taco seasoning to the ground turkey, so it tasted like real tacos, only with romaine lettuce instead of taco shells. I also had no shredded cheese or onions, but I would have added those and I'm sure it would have been even better.

3rd wonderful thing: My cousin's engagement party on Saturday night was gorgeous. The food was delicious, the wine was divine, and I loved getting to dress up, wear heels, sit outside in the warm evening air and see family and friends. 

No one had this fear Saturday night...

4th wonderful thing: We had a blowout party with even more friends to say goodbye to the house I've been living in since October. It was fun to have a party in a house without any furniture. I don't think I've done that since college... Did I mention I'm moving back into my parents' house? I'm feeling okay about it, since I'll be gone the month of July and going...only God knows where after that.

5th wonderful thing: Playing golf with my family on Sunday morning. It was early, the course was empty, the sun wasn't scorching yet, and I played okay for someone who only plays once every few weeks.

My favorite part of playing golf? Being outside and catching glimpses of duckies.

Bonus wonderful thing: A mere 29 days until I'm off to Paris!!

A Wink and a Nod: The Liebster Award

Last week, my friend and former roommate, Lanie, passed the Liebster Award along to me! My first blogger award!! Although it's just a series of questions that I answer and I don't get a cupcake or a hug or anything, I'm thrilled just the same. It's wonderful to see bloggers passing on the love and enthusiasm for these things, and it encourages me to keep on writing and posting.

So without further ado, below is the q&a that has been passed down all the way to me here at Of a Long Book: 

 1. What’s up?  Seriously, what’s happening right when you type this?

I'm actually in my bed right now...it's my day off and I like to drink coffee in bed for most of the morning while I brainstorm about topics for my blog, plan my next trip, or surf the latest articles on Buzzfeed. 

2. How did you come up with your blog name?

I was moving from Washington, DC back home to Texas about two years ago. My mom was in town helping me pack up everything, and we were driving through Capitol Hill to grab lunch after a long morning full of boxes and packing tape. My dad was on speaker phone, and he was asking how it was going. Feeling sad and emotional about leaving, I said, "it's the end of a chapter, " to which he replied, "of a long book."

3. What is your favorite part about blogging?

Sharing my experiences with my family and friends, and having an outlet where I can express my undying love for Downton Abbey...

4. Least favorite?

Probably a common thing for most bloggers, but coming up with content. I often feel like unless I'm traveling, most of my daily life is pretty boring. So thinking of new ideas can be a challenge.

5. What’s the very first outfit you can remember wearing?

A St. John's Episcopal School uniform. My elementary school had uniforms, and I remember hating the jumper and polo shirt we had to wear for chapel day on Wednesdays. Although now I don't think uniforms are the worst idea, as a seven year old they're not that fun. 

6.  What’s the last makeup product you bought?

I'm really trying to jump on the lipstick bandwagon. Since it just hasn't caught up to me yet, I'm starting with lip gloss and working my way up. I bought this L'Oreal leGloss the other day, and I'm loving it.

7.  Did you have an ‘awkward’ phase growing up?  Describe it!

Ugh, didn't we all? I'm pretty sure mine was middle school, 6th grade in particular. Like I said, I wore uniforms all the way through 5th grade, so when I got to Lincoln Middle School, I had no idea how to dress, what my style was, or how things were supposed to fit me. Luckily, there are very few photos from that era..

8.  What’s your all-time favorite movie?

If you know anything about me, you know that movies are some of my absolute favorite things. When we were little, we didn't play I Spy in the car, we played Movie Quotes. That being said, I have about 4, 973 favorite movies. My top ones, however, are Braveheart, Love Actually, Titanic (yeah, yeah...), Bridget Jones' Diary and Father of the Bride, 1 and 2.

Who could resist his flowing locks? She certainly won't.

9.  What’re you wearing as you type this? (how creepy does that sound, hah) 

Super creepy, but my nighty and a robe. Hey, I said it was my day off! 

10. It’s the weekend, do you go out, or prefer to stay in?  Why?

I'm a big proponent of a mixture of the two. I love it when my weekends involve any or all of the following: grabbing drinks or dinner with friends, catching a movie with my mom, cooking a few meals and reading a book. 

11. What’s your all-time favorite song?

I am loving Fires by David Ramirez. And if you handed me a Mumford and Sons playlist, I'd never not play it. 

Now I'm continuing to spread the love!! I'm passing the Liebster Award on to these amazing women and bloggers: 

Katie at What's Crackalacken

Lindsay at My Greatest Adventure

Answer these questions on your blog, then pass the award along to your favorite bloggers! 

The Questions

1. What’s up?  Seriously, what’s happening right when you type this?

2. How did you come up with your blog name?

3. What is your favorite part about blogging?

4. Least favorite?

5. What’s the very first outfit you can remember wearing?

6.  What’s the last makeup product you bought?

7.  Did you have an ‘awkward’ phase growing up?  Describe it!

8.  What’s your all-time favorite movie?

9.  What’re you wearing as you type this? (how creepy does that sound, hah)

10. It’s the weekend, do you go out, or prefer to stay in?  Why?

11. What’s your all-time favorite song?

Goodbye, Part 2

It's a tough thing to say goodbye, especially to someone who I've literally known all my life. I called this post "Part 2" because this feels like an actual extension of my last "Goodbye" post, where I said goodbye to my grandfather about 13 months ago. My grandmother passed away on Saturday morning, but I don't think she ever really learned to live without him. Her heart was broken, and it never mended until she was in Heaven, when she saw him again.

The way I like to remember her: In a huge hat at Pebble Beach, surrounded by us. (And yes, that's me on the right.) 

So I've been watching family come and go, food and flowers being brought over by friends, and wondering how Abilene is going to go on without Patty Taliaferro. Everyone has been so sweet and kind, remembering stories of my grandmother and her antics -- of which she had plenty -- and I will miss her. She was always looking for her next adventure, and besides wearing huge hats, her favorite thing was to travel. I think I get that from her, and I thank her for teaching me to appreciate the value that travel and learning about other cultures can bring to a life.

Hoping to continue her legacy, I am still training for my next adventure. With less than 2 weeks to go until we leave for Kili, it's crunch time. My plan is to be at the gym every spare moment I have.

Life just keeps moving, doesn't it? And I must be sure not to miss one single moment.

Backstory on the Story

Lately, I've been neglecting what I think of as "serious" writing in favor of more journaling, making notes on my phone, and just generally observing people and situations. I mean, this is my first blog post of the new year, for heaven's sake! When this type of writers' block (perhaps it's just laziness...) happens, it's nice to be reminded of the things I have written in the recent past that I am extremely proud of. Below is an excerpt from my second article published in the Abilene Scene Magazine, and I'm thrilled it's finally here and up on the website!

I'm pretty ecstatic about all this. Mad props to Sandi Haynes for this photo.

When I started writing this article, my intention was to simply write about the incredible month I had in Paris last summer. But somehow, it turned into an homage to my hometown, with a few snipits of my semester in London. I wanted to add my stint in Spain too, but by that point, it was as long as War and Peace, basically. On the same note, I wish I could have added in all the lovely people I've met in all my travels and my amazing family and friends at home, but we writers sometimes have to "kill our darlings" to make the story stronger. (I learned that little piece of advice last summer, too.)

The craft of writing amazes me. In this project, I saw the story come alive, and take its own form. I thought it was going to be about one thing, but it turned into something incredibly different.

Here is an excerpt from the article, and please read the whole thing over at the Abilene Scene website!

As my feet dangled below me, 25 feet above the Seine River, I peeked over my knees at the murky surface. Across the river, a guitar player strummed an American song that I had heard before, but I couldn’t remember the name or the lyrics. His audience was a group of 20 people on the steps that climbed to the top of the quai to Rue Saint Jacques. Hovering above us, the bells of Notre Dame struck the late hour and reminded me of my limited time left in the City of Light.

“Please don’t Bogart that wine, Jennabeth,” Andrew called out in his Australian accent. Relinquishing the bottle of Rosé, I tore off another piece of bread and smothered it with the almost-foul smelling Camembert cheese. I chewed the warm bread and thought of an early autumn night years before in Abilene, the air still hot from summer’s lingering breath, when I picnicked on Chick-Fil-A and iced tea in the parking lot of Shotwell Stadium before Friday night’s game. Texas’ obsession with high school football is practiced with the same vigor with which French people practice their cuisine and people watching.

I had been in Paris for a month-long writing workshop with the Paris American Academy, a school I found through none other than Google. I had come to the decision to spend the summer in Paris when, after quitting my job of almost three years, I began to look for an adventurous interlude. Paris seemed like a perfect place to explore while avoiding real life responsibilities and my hometown, which I felt had become increasingly dull over the past year. After reading reviews of the program online, I was convinced that this was the adventure I was looking for, that I would make friends, and that my suitcase was (hopefully) big enough. I set off on a hot afternoon in July to discover what France’s capital city had to offer.