On Holiday

Still in vacation mode–or as the international crew I’ve just spent the past week with–still on holiday.

I promise to return next week loaded with stories.

Until We Meet Again

I’m off this week for my dear friend’s wedding in Krakow, Poland. I’ll be joined by my love and my twin sister, for what I imagine to be a quick trip loaded with belly laughs, fantastic food and drink, plenty of catching up with old friends, and a much needed change of scenery.

Aż spotkamy się znów … until we meet again.

Postcards from Paris

It’s been said that Paris is a city you can discover over and over again. A place to relearn and return to.

It reminds me of that famous Ernest Hemingway quote:

If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.

I dream of Paris’s feast.

Until then, we get a glimpse of its charm through my friend Emily’s eyes. She’s made the return, after going in college some years ago. This time though, while in the midst of some life changes, she and a girlfriend bought the tickets on a whim with the hope that the Parisian art, food, and culture would refresh their perspectives—and so they took the ride.

This week’s travel piece is a postcard from the City of Light.

Écouter!

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Outstanding in the Field

I’ve wanted to interview Jim Denevan, the creative genius behind Outstanding in the Field for ages now. His culinary troupe goes beyond just farm to table by literally bringing the table to the farm. With food events criss-crossing America, stops in Europe slated for 2011, and tickets selling out in hours, this is one dining experience that’s a must when in a town near you.

I’m thrilled to finally be able to post my interview with Jim, in which we chat about charming venues, adventurous eaters, and geographical salts.

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Familiar Footing

We know what this road looks like, you see. In 2004, we walked it. I was a month shy of my one-year wedding anniversary when I was back in Kansas for my ten-year high school reunion. My mom had a mass on her neck. Just in the vicinity of her collarbone.

She actually discovered it while we were on talking on the phone one night a few weeks prior. Those days, I used to get off work late since my show was on the air from 10-11 p.m., and my routine was to call her after my show. She’d generally already be in bed, and was lying with the phone nestled in the crook of her neck. It was then that she felt something.

And now, she felt it again–this time in her armpit.

Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. That’s what she was diagnosed with as all of us kids and spouses sat in the room at KU medical center listening to mom’s oncologist tell us the stage (three), the prognosis (treatable, but could come back), and the treatment (chemo with one medicine, and a clinical trial) six years ago.

We’ve walked this road.

But, it’s back, as we all knew it would be, as Non-Hodgkin’s is a reoccurring cancer in most cases. This time, it’s stage two, but much more aggressive in its growth. As is her treatment plan (chemo with a five medicine cocktail and a much longer duration). Right now, we’re all sort of plowing through our schedules and getting reacquainted with words like scans, white-blood count, port, chemotherapy, treatment, mass, lymph nodes, insurance, and appetite.

My mom is incredibly strong. She got through this once, and we’re all hopeful and encouraged that she’ll do it again. But just because you’ve already walked it, ran it, crawled it, long-jumped it, it certainly doesn’t make it less scary of a path to walk.

Yes, Drill Sergeant

Growing up in a military household, I can’t say I’ve ever had to the motivation to attend a boot camp fitness class. But last summer one of my writing clients was all gung-ho about doing them and asked me to join her long before the sun was up and newspapers delivered. Strangely enough (pretty sure wine was involved), I agreed. Of course I overslept badly and got in a explosive screaming match with my GPS who was giving me poor directions in his British accent to it’s-anyone’s-guess-where-the-eff-I-am-park a good twenty miles from my house.

I knew I was in the right spot when I pulled up to a lot packed with people decked out in running clothes and clearly pumped to be there. I managed to double-park as the crowd waited on me and my unbrushed teeth and raccoon makeup from the night before to join them. They may’ve even clapped in that, “so glad you could join us” way, which is what I also like to call “the sarcastic clap.”

In the end, the workout proved to be really hard, but really fun. Two days later when I was itching from the fertilizer rash I had from all the rolling around in the grass for sit-ups and squat thrusts, I was second-guessing my initial excitement about the camp.

Fast-forward a year to when I’m burned out big time on my usual workouts–yoga, Pilates, and running. I’ve peaked. Beyond a plateau, my body just stayed the same and I was plain bored. And don’t even get me going on lack of motivation when my husband was laid off and both of us were working freelance; let’s just say there was lots o’ sleeping in at my house and not enough working out.

I needed something to boost my workout enthusiasm and kick me back into shape. So, for four weeks I decided to do a boot camp series. That’s twenty classes, five days a week for four weeks. Plus, nutritional support. I decided to go in with an open mind; forget about the actual military father, and my usual course of action when someone is screaming in my face of either hitting the road or completely shutting down. None of the above happened. No one yelled, no one cried, no one stormed off in a huff.

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Glam Sunnies

I’m a firm believer in investing in the summer staple of a good pair of sunglasses, or as stylist Rachel Zoe likes to call them, sunnies.

Everyone needs at least one go-to pair. I have two. My Spys are sporty and do the job of not adding to the onset of crows-feet, while my Ray Ban aviators are used more for style than substance. Beyond those pairs, I’m certainly not the person qualified to let you in on shade styling secrets and what the trends are for this summer.

But, Chris Anderson, a.k.a. my accessories guru, can. Now, here’s the thing with a blog that is one of its greatest perks. You meet people and feel like you know them without ever having hugged or giggled in real life–just across FB status updates, twitter handles, and blog comments, that’s all.

Well, Chris is a former co-worker of my twin sister and just happens to be the most stylish person either of us know (albeit he and I have never met). The two of them were meeting up in San Diego (obviously to stay out until all hours of the night at clubs playing Lady Gaga) and so they went along the boardwalk to work on this dos and don’ts tutorial on the art of picking the best summer accessory around. Chris’ brother Matt also lent a hand in this piece, my favorite is his don’t picture.

Also–be sure to check out Chris’s fabulous work on his blog chrisryanart.tumlr.com.

 

Independence Day Shandy

My dad’s mom, Grandma Mary, used to drink one beer every July 4. And just that day. If memory serves, I think she said something about it being patriotic to drink a beer out of a can.

So, every year around this time I picture her and that beer. This year, I’ve spruced it up a bit with my version of how a beer should taste–The Shandy. It’s a ginger beer-based cocktail that originated in Britain in the mid 19th century. Which is ironically very un-patriotic of me, but I’m not one to overanalyze my cocktails.

Thankfully this drink, adapted from an old Gourmet magazine recipe, uses mint because my garden is overfilled with it at the moment. It also strays from the ginger-beer, calling for a good pale ale. In any case, this the most refreshing way to watch those fireworks while you ooh and ah.

ingredients
1 cup sugar
3 cups water
four 3-inch strips lemon zest, removed with a vegetable peeler
1 cup fresh lemon juice
2 fresh mint sprigs
chilled beer, I’m partial to Sweetwater 420 extra pale ale

preparation
In a small saucepan bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and stir in zest. Cool sugar syrup to room temperature.

Transfer syrup to a small pitcher and stir in remaining 2 cups water, lemon juice, and mint. Chill lemonade until cold. (make about 4 ½ cups lemonade).

Pour ¼ cup lemonade, or to taste, into each of 4 chilled beer glasses and top off with beer.

Anna Bondoc

I love the dualism of Anna Bondoc’s work. This L.A. based artist works in one of the most seemingly simple forms around–paper. But what she does with an X-acto knife creating and cutting these layers is like nothing else. Working and whittling down pieces ever so intricately, using shapes and designs that appear like a modern twist to an ancient medium dating back to origami.

I had the chance for a Skype interview with Anna and her business partner Vanessa Peter in which we chat about perfectionism, patterns, and parenthood.

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El Mundo Revisited

This week, I check back in with Eric & Beth from El Mundo. Remember, they took a trip around the world that lasted many months and I wrote about several portions of their journey here and here. I was curious how they were acclimating to life back in Atlanta. Recently, we finally had a chance to catch up a bit where we talk Beijing barbecue, compromise, and communication barriers when traveling.

dp I’d imagine settling back into normal, everyday, non-traveling life would be quite difficult after such a long time on the road, how was the transition post trip?

Eric The transition was much smoother than expected. Beth and I were extremely fortunate to find jobs within a month or so of being back. This made paying off our small travel debt, quite easy. As far as the non-traveling aspect, that’s the bummer. To go from having everyday like Christmas eve, where only excitement awaits you in the morning; to groundhog’s day, where everyday is pretty much the same, is a harsh reality. Good news … anytime, anywhere, I can always think back and reminisce, and no one can take that away.

dp How was it traveling through the holidays and being away from family?

Eric Traveling through the holidays was a bit difficult at times because, Beth and I both have strong relationships with our families and the holidays are when we come together. On the flip side, it was great spending a holiday in another country and experiencing it in a different way.

Beth It was quite different experiencing Thanksgiving dinner at a Texas BBQ house in the middle of Beijing and spending Christmas eve and morning lounging by the pool in Bali. The Balinese man dressed as Santa handing out the best chocolates in the world made for a fantastic Christmas morning present. Plus, Eric and I gave each other the greatest gift ever–a four star resort complete with our own bathroom and warm water.

dp Is there anything you wish you packed?

Eric We both wished we had bought and brought a Netbook. We would have saved quite a bit of time and money with our own compact computer. The reward would have exceeded the risk on this item.

dp Overall, what did your journey teach you about yourself? Each other?

Eric Individually, I learned more about myself than anything else. I could go on for hours about this, but in a nutshell I learned that there is more to life then just flashy cars and fancy clothes. I learned how to function on little money and how to sleep in not so nice places. It seemed like my everyday Atlanta life, with a car, a nice apartment, and great food within arms reach was actually more stressful. Deciding what to wear to work, choosing a place to eat, and figuring out what new gadget I wanted to buy, were all foreign concepts while I was gone. I did not miss that at all. Living as a minimalist was quite blissful.

In regards to the both of us, just thinking about spending six months with someone 24/7 is a bit nerve wracking. We were a little apprehensive about this big journey, but it turned out being ten times easier then we thought. We learned to work as a team

Beth I learned a lot about compromising with Eric. We often shared meals and slept in places that I normally would have turned my nose up at. He taught me a lot about living on barely $20/a day and saving our money. I’ve definitely noticed this influencing my life in Atlanta. I think items through before purchasing them and Eric and I often share meals when we go out.

dp What country or region did you think was the most difficult to travel in and why?

Eric I think that India is probably the most difficult to travel in. We were lucky enough to have had a tour guide for most of our time in India, but without them would be a mess. India, for one, is a tough cookie to swallow. It’s hard to stomach the levels of poverty you are exposed to in certain places. Anytime you ask someone a question, you get a head bobble in return. It’s not a nod, nor a shake … it’s both. Basic communication can be VERY misleading.

Beth Although I agree with Eric on India, I also found China to be very difficult. We constantly found ourselves in situations of the Chinese stealing our money and pointing us in wrong directions. I used the best sign language that I could and the people of Beijing would still look at me and turn away, pretending not to see me. Eric and I got in a bad habit of talking about everyone we passed on the street because no one understood us anyway. We spent lots of time lost with fake money in our pockets.

dp Which place would you like to return to?

Eric We would both like to return to India, and the Philippines. There was a lot that we saw, but much more that we missed due to our tight schedule.

Beth I felt that a lot of our trip was on fast forward. I’d love to re-visit most of Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. I would like to surround myself with more of the culture and visit more of the sights that we had to skip over due to our tight schedule. I would agree with Eric as well, India and the Philippines are at the top of my list to revisit. The beauty of the people, country, and culture is something that I would like to experience more of.

dp Would you have changed anything about the experience?

Eric I would have probably been gone longer. We were held to a tight budget on a tight timeline. If we had the option to do it over again, we would probably have taken a year off and posted up somewhere to get some short term work and earn some scratch. We met many travelers that were doing just that. Traveling until they money ran out, working, then starting all over again.

Beth I would have stayed gone longer and given myself more time in some of the larger countries. I regret not seeing more of India and China. They are both so big with so many great things to offer. I feel that my negative perspective of China would have changed if I had visited other cities besides Beijing.

I also would have bought a few more souvenirs. I hated having a heavy pack so I often didn’t buy some great things that I saw.

 

dp Do you have any current trip itineraries in the works?

Eric At this time (cough cough) we do not, however there have been talks about Morroco in the near future.

Beth As of now we just have some short weekend trips to visit friends in the United States planned. Fingers crossed we will either be spending Thanksgiving or Christmas on the road again. Sorry mom and dad.