Gator Tailgate

Saturday 10/6 was a big day at the Traxler Gator tailgate. Walt and Ryan Traxler have been hosting a tailgate at a particular grassy corner of campus at the University of Florida for the past few years. We are fortunate to have a guest room at their house for Gator game weekends and have called the Traxler tailgate home since graduating. 

Two weeks ago, Walt and Ryan adopted a baby girl. They had finally submitted their paperwork for adoption two weeks prior, when they got a call that a baby girl had been born in Jacksonville that needed parents. I can picture God's joyful laugh watching them hold their baby that they had been trying for on their own for three years. Olivia Laurelyn Traxler was introduced to her first Gator tailgate less than two weeks after coming home to Gainesville. And what better way to welcome the Traxler princess to her tailgate than with a chandelier. 

I've been obsessing over having a tailgate chandelier since last football season. I have always heard about tailgating at Ole Miss at the Grove, but I read an article last year describing the lengths to which these Ole Miss fans decorate. Apparently some tailgates are complete with a chandelier, china and candelabras. This was right up my alley. 

I researched buying tailgate chandeliers online and found one website that sells them for $120. It looked like something I could make myself so I decided at the start of this season to start looking for old chandeliers at thrift stores. This is where my good friend Lindsey came in. Her parents had recently moved  to Orlando and were outfitting their new place mainly with furniture found at Good Wills and garage sales that they rehabbed themselves. I asked Lindsey to ask her parents to keep an eye out for an old cheap chandelier because I wanted to make a Gator chandelier. 

Next thing I know Lindsey is bringing to my house a completely finished Gator tailgate chandelier done by the three of them. It was so incredibly sweet and I LOVED it. It made it's debut on the day we played LSU ... and beat them, of course. This will be the first of many tailgates to come. 

Look at that beauty!!! Thank you so much, Gergely's!

Princess Olivia. She slept through most of it:)

Go Gators!!!

Fifteen Pound Head

***There we were... being placed for our annual formal picture with my entire family at Olan Mills on Sunday... my Mom beaming with pride. Mom's one request is that we get a family picture every year for them to use on their Christmas card and to keep an accurate picture of the family to hang in their house. And at the rate our family grows, it's not unfounded. My sister Amy just had twins in July to make 7 grand-children! 
So, Phil and I being the only ones without children, are always placed last. And somehow the size of certain in-laws' heads always determines where we are placed so as not to give the impression some people's heads are too large. The conversation went something like this:
"Don't put her by me... her head is too small to be next to mine"
Phil-"I can go next to you... I have a fifteen pound head" ***

It's true - Phil and I weighed our heads early on in our marriage. We would be laying on our couch in our 1,050 sq. ft. bungalow in Charlotte, NC watching TV and he would always put his head in my lap or lay it on me somehow. After a few minutes I would always have to move him because it was too heavy. "I swear your head weighs like 15 pounds!", I would say. This always annoyed him. So one night, he decided to get the scale out to see what it really weighed. 

So how does one weigh a head? Accurately? Of course you have to be laying down. But do you lay on your back with your head on the scale or on your stomach? Does one way make you subconsciously press your head down more, ending in a higher weight? We decided to weigh three different ways and average the number. Once on your back with your head (only head-not your neck!) on the scale, once on your stomach, and once on your side. I don't know if the laying-on-your-side method is needed, but it sure is fun to watch. 

Phil's final average was a definitive moment in our marriage. His head was really 15 pounds. This means that I could lift his head for exercise. It is also equivalent to two gallons of water. There must be a lot swimming around in there. 

So, naturally we had to weigh my head too. I averaged somewhere between 6 and 7 pounds. How does one marry someone with double the head size of them? (I don't know but it sure made him easier to pick out in a crowd.) The question also arises-is head size hereditary? Well, on a trip home visiting his family we weighed his mom's head and it too was 14-15 pounds. Now I wonder if I'm missing out on something. Does the size of your brain matter or just it's components? Hmmm...

How much does your head weigh? 

Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup

Love Love Love this soup! It's important to note that you can use either a butternut squash OR an acorn squash. I almost always use the butternut though:)

Ingredients:

1 medium size pie pumpkin (3.5lbs)
1 medium size butternut squash (2 lb)
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 Tbsp honey, divided
1 tsp salt, divided
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
4 tsp chopped fresh thyme
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half-n-half
3 tsp cider vinegar
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
ground pepper to taste
(Optional toppings - roasted nuts, goat cheese, thyme, etc)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400. Cut pumpkin and squash in half lengthwise, cutting through stem and bottom ends. (I use a pretty long knife -- put some muscle into it!) Scoop out seeds and goo. Place cut sides up on foil-lined baking sheet. 
2. Microwave 2 Tbsp butter and stir in 1 Tbsp honey and 1/2 tsp salt. Brush cut sides with this mixture. 
3. Bake at 400 until tender. (Probably 1 hr 15 min).
4. Let cool completely then scoop out the pulp.

5. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped onion, saute 5 min. Add thyme; saute 1 min or until fragrant. 

6. Sir in chicken broth and pulp from pumpkin and squash. Bring to a boil on med-high heat. Reduce heat to low, simmer 10 min. 

7. If you have a hand-held blender, use it directly in the Dutch oven to process the pulp. If not, process the soup in batches in a food processor.

 8. Stir in half-n-half, cider vinegar, ginger, nutmeg and remaining 1 Tbsp honey. Salt to taste.
9. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until thoroughly heated. 
10. Serve. Garnish with thyme, goat cheese, roasted nuts, etc.

The soup made last October. Burlap and garland look familiar!

It's Gourd To See You

Walking in Publix the other day I passed an employee setting up their fall display of gourds. After a small panic attack of excitement I made a bee-line to it and hovered awkwardly while he set them out. I love getting gourds and using them for decoration. Mainly because they are the one decoration you can eat at the end of the season! Recycling at its finest.

I always get a pie pumpkin, an acorn squash and butternut squash. These will eventually be made into soup, which I point out to Phil when he gets home and asks why I bought all the gourds. Then I buy a white pumpkin and package of smaller gourds. You can use these seasonal pieces to add a fall flare to any existing decor or just create something simple from them by themselves. I wish I had a fireplace mantel but I can always find a place for them somewhere!

The Centerpiece: 

I use this center piece on the island in our kitchen but you could use it on a table as well. I use a cake stand for height and pick out something to lay as a base to hang off the cake stand. Stack the gourds putting the smaller ones on top. Here is my version: 

Tomorrow I will post the Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup recipe I use. I also plan to make an extensive fall scene on our front porch soon! Happy gourd-ing!

P.S. Blog Title via Phil Hooks

Cask & Larder Winter Park, FL

Two Fridays ago, 9/7, Phil and I tried a new restaurant in Winter Park with his sister and our brother-in-law, Becca and Earl. (Winter Park is an adorable, small, historic city in the greater Orlando area) Cask & Larder was opened on September 5 by another amazing restaurant, Ravenous Pig, just down the road. Ravenous is our go-to spot, so I knew Cask & Larder had to be good! For more info about the restaurant and their menus, go to www.caskandlarder.com . I've never written a restaurant review so this might be awkward. 

It was a stormy evening when we arrived at Cask & Larder 30 min early for our reservation. End luminous mystery novel talk here. But it was super rainy. We wanted to grab a drink before sitting down to eat, so we made our way to the bar which was packed to the brim with people. There is quite a bit of seating in the bar that is first come-first served if you ever want to go without reservations. Every table and bar stool was full but we happened upon someone leaving so we snagged one stool. We ordered a Seelbach, a Gin Fizz and a New Pal. As usual, we observed the bartender making our cocktails (some call it awkward staring) which usually take a few minutes per drink with craft cocktails. He was very efficient, although he was still noticeably looking down at a recipe/ingredient list. Totally understandable since this was the third night they were open and he had tons of orders. 

New Pal and Seelbach

The Seelbach (bourbon, cointreau, sparkling wine, peychaud's and angostura bitters) was absolutely delicious. It had a great bourbon flavor that was refreshed by the sparkling wine and made complex by the two different bitters. The New Pal (rye, campari, carpano antica, absinthe rinse) was also enjoyable. I don't care for campari but Phil does and he said it was perfectly bitter and delicious as well. The Gin Fizz (gin, lemon juice, egg white, orange blossom water, cream) was a disappointment. The best word to describe it was "watery". Overall, we were impressed with the bartenders' ability to execute these drinks under pressure. The bar was a few people deep and these cocktails are very involved. Kudos to the man in the pic above. 

My Seelbach - best drink of the night

Like clockwork, at 7:30 I checked with the hostess stand and our table was available. The ambiance is modern Southern- clean but rustic - with empty jars and bottles that reminded me of a Pinterest vintage pin. We ordered small plates to share; smoked oysters with bacon jam & serrano hot sauce, potted pimento cheese and the country ham tasting. 

Smoked Oysters

The smoked oysters were ridiculous! They had a really tasty not-too-smoky flavor and the jam and hot sauce complimented them perfectly. 

Country Ham Tasting

The Country Ham tasting came with pepper jelly, farmers cheese and biscuits. The three hams were arranged in intensity of flavor and firmness. The pepper jelly had a subtle pepper taste. The farmer's cheese was interesting -- kind of like extra thick sour cream. I didn't care for it but the others did. 

I don't have a pic of the potted pimento cheese but it was disappointing especially since I had been looking forward to ordering it all day. It is a very creamy rendition of pimento cheese with a very light flavor topped with a red dry layer that added spice (like pimentos). To me it seemed mayonnaise-y - and this girl is not a fan of mayonnaise anyway - so that kinda ruined it for me. 

We also ordered another round of drinks. We ordered a Gin & Jarred, Watermelon Beer that was on tap for the night, Olde Southern Wit, and Raven's Head. If you do not love pickle juice -- do NOT order the Gin & Jarred. I knew it included pickling liquid (gin, dolin blanc vermouth, pickling liquid, bettermens habanero shrub) but I thought "I like pickles, I like gin and I like spicy peppers! What could go wrong?" I knew it was a risk but I just wasn't prepared. The Watermelon beer was available until the one keg made ran out. We all really enjoyed the flavor -- smelled like watermelon juice, but not too fruity or overwhelming! The Olde Southern Wit is their Belgian-style wheat beer and was spot on. I would be elated to sit in the front porch-area outside the restaurant and sip on this house brew any afternoon. Phil's Raven's Head was aged in Grenache wine barrels. It was like a stout with dark roasted malt flavors and a slight fruity wine taste at the finish - he wishes that had been more prominent. 

For the main course we ordered three meat entrees: Heritage fried chicken, grilled lamb heart and beef brisket. For sides we ordered the mac & cheese and wheatberry risotto. 

Grilled Lamb Heart with popcorn grits, peaches, sorghum  & roasted peanuts

Let's start with the grilled lamb heart. Phil loves eating organs so we were not surprised when he ordered this. It actually reminded us of flank steak in texture and flavor in the first bite. A few bites in you got the irony heart flavor that I hate and he loves. The peaches and sorghum added a subtle sweetness to cut this.

Mac & Cheese with pickled mustard seeds and ham-cheddar crumble

I loved the mac & cheese and the rest of the table liked it. I think mac & cheese is a personal thing and I don't know that you are ever going to get a whole table to like one version. I really liked the extra chedar-ham crumble on the top and took it upon myself to finish the entire thing.

Beef Brisket with giardiniera, mustard and yeast rolls

The beef brisket was awesome! You were able to make your own sandwich with the yeast rolls, mustard and pickles on the plate. I will absolutely order this again. 

Heritage fried chicken with smoked tupelo honey

The Heritage fried chicken was super delicious. I usually NEED a sauce for everything but they had a perfect amount of honey on them and the skin kind of melted in your mouth.

Wheatberry Risotto with Georgia Gouda and Royal trumpet  mushrooms

The Wheatberry Risotto was another disappointment. We were expecting risotto but this was a play on risotto with grains and it was crunchy. Also, the gouda (which I love) did not come through as much as I was expecting it to. 

All in all, we had a great experience at Cask and Larder. I am super excited to go back and see what they've come up with and how they have improved/worked out the kinks. I know if I went back I would get the following no doubt: 

Cocktails: Seelbach or New Pal

Beer: Old Southern Wit 

Starters: Smoked oysters and Country Ham tasting

Main dishes: Brisket and Fried Chicken 

Sides: Mac & Cheese

Obvi i haven't tried everything on the menu so I'm sure there is more to be had. I am possibly trying brunch there on Sunday so I may have more to report:) 

My Husband

I would like to introduce you to my husband. This is imperative to understand most of what I do in life. He is my own living cartoon character and my favorite traveling partner. He gets along best with those 10 and under, but is extremely intelligent and a successful Bond Analyst. I thought I could come up with some snippets of stories to describe him but I thought the best way to introduce him would be through a series of photos.

Phil Hooks

 

                   Just skipping around!                         Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

This last picture was taken by our friend Walt. He said "This is my friend Phillip Hooks, All other photos of Phil from here forward, will forever be measured against this one "

I am laughing out loud as I post these and this is just a selection of my favorites.  I have the most hilarious husband in life who loves me so much and so unconditionally. He is my entertainer 24/7 and gives my life so much joy. He loves to entertain like I do and we live for hosting dinner parties, happy hours and themed costume parties. A few years ago we instituted a Hooks Fiesta Night that is usually just the two of us with blaring Mexican music, sombreros, Margaritas and tacos. I feel like every couple needs a weekly night like this.

Hooks loves to travel and he has continued to spoil me as my parents did and take me on many adventures. We took a Europe trip back in 2010 and last year we did a New England vaca starting in Bangor, Maine and ending in Newport, Rhode Island. We drove the coast in a rented car and over 6 days we never turned on the radio. We just talked and laughed the entire trip. I dream that we still do this at 80 years old:)

Hooks is definitely our cook in the house (see massive piece of beef above), and is currently obsessed with cocktails. He goes through cycles of obsessions...but we'll get to that later. While the obsession with wine is ongoing (see our 600 bottle wine fridge behind him as a Mexican), his current major obsession is Prohibition Era cocktails. He has every shaker, strainer, stirrer, bitters, vermouth, syrup and coupe glass needed for the entire process. Through his experimentation, I'm now obsessed with cocktails. A lot of our trips this year centered around some great bars that made original recipe cocktails from the 1920's. My next post will be about our experience at a new restaurant in town called Cask & Larder that includes some great cocktails at their bar.

So now you can somewhat understand where I'm coming from when I mention Phil. Love him forever:)

Fall Table On A Budget

Living in Orlando, you can't wait to decorate when you feel fall weather because it's not going to come until November. So I just ignored that it's 86 degrees today, lit my new Bath and Body Works "Autumn Leaves" candle and got started. The only item I needed to buy for my Fall dining room table was a new white tablecloth and some apples. Somehow, I have lost my white tablecloth and haven't been able to find it for a few months. Luckily, I have many other colors so I've gotten by without having to buy one for a while. I found this one at Target for $16.99... (my old one was from my wedding registry and was from Crate and Barrel)... but this one is just a good! Of course while I was buying the white tablecloth, I saw some napkins on sale for $6.99/set of 4. I clearly had to buy them too. 

The staple piece for my table is a garland I found at Home Goods 3 years ago. It is a 5 ft. garland (for lack of a better word) with fall berries and some leaves. It has held up really well and looks good on its own or winding around other items. Here is a picture of what the finished product looked like: 

The runner is burlap. You can buy burlap at any fabric store and it is usually cheap. I got this super cheap a few years ago from JoAnn Fabric's. When cut, 3 yards of burlap gave me this runner, a smaller runner for a square table, and 3 shorter pieces I use around the house as decoration.  

The apples are in vases from the Dollar Store.

The vase in the middle is filled with old corks. We have a habit of writing on corks to document a great night! 

The chargers are Crate and Barrel circa 2008 when we got married. And the napkins are my steal from Target last night:)

I added the orange ribbon that I also got from the Dollar store to add some more orange in the mix. 

A closer view...

Even without the garland, you could easily use the burlap, dollar store vases, apples and candles to make a different fall table on a budget. My calculation for this (not including the white tablecloth or the chargers because those are staples) is: 

Bag of apples: $4

Dollar Store vase: 3 @ $1 = $3 (I'm so good at math, did I tell you?)

Burlap runner: est. $4

Dollar store ribbon: $1

Target napkins: $7

Garland: est. $15

Grand total: $35 although it could be done for much less. I hope you have as much fun decorating for Fall as I did! Now for the rest of the house....

September and the Costume Party Prep

I feel that it is very appropriate to have my first blog post as we enter the month of September. This is the time every year that gets me the most excited about all things that make me excited. There, I've just begun my first post with atrocious English. September to me means, (in no preferred order), college football, decorating the house and table for fall, crafting holiday wreaths, making the first grapevine trees of the year, making butternut squash soup, Bath and Body Works pumpkin-ish soap, and picking the letter for our annual Halloween costume party. It's around this time that Phil (husband soon to be introduced) and I pick out 5 or 6 letters, write them on pieces of junk mail, put them into a hat and pick the most important letter that will consume our minds for the next 6-8 weeks. From now until our party, we will intersperse a little bit of regular conversation with constant brainstorming about the best costume that starts with said letter.This past week the letter was picked...(2012 drum roll please)... and it is the letter C. 

The reason this is a good time for the blog to begin is because everything I am passionate about happens this time of the year --- decorating, entertaining, crafting, travel and food --- which in bulk is what this blog is about. Throw in some shopping, cocktails and boring updates on my life and there you have it. I hope to provide helpful and fun advice on all things listed above. I am blessed to live a very fun life and thought I should share it with the masses:)

Now back to the Hooks' Crazy "C" Halloween Costume Party.

The general set up will be the same; decorate house all haunted-y, procure scary music mix to play from my outdated boombox on the front porch, buy prizes for the costume winners and help Phil pick out a recipe for this year's Witch's Brew. This is an alcoholic mixture put into a punch bowl with dry ice and floating eyes and jelly legs and arms. It's a hit every year. 

As for our costumes, I usually pick mine weeks in advance and spend countless hours creating it. Phil will inevitably decide among two options the morning of the party, and expect me to create it in a matter of hours. If you haven't gotten the gist...we don't buy costumes. 

So, to introduce you to the Hooks at our best, here are our costumes from the last two years. 

"H" Halloween party - Hammerhead Shark and Hermoine

"F" Halloween Party - Facebook and Flight Attendant

-Til next time:)