Movie review: Food Inc. (and my very left-leaning views on the importance of fresh, local food and sustainable nutrition for all)

What I eat and where it comes from has always mattered to me.  I became interested in the subject during college.  As part of one of my courses, I was required to watch Supersize Me.  I also read Fast Food Nation. It's a very eye-opening look at the formation of the fast food industry, it's growth, and the diminished quality of food that the fast-food epidemic has produced.  I loved this issue so much that I wrote my senior honors thesis on instant gratification and the philosophy of fast food.  For much of college, I had a slight reputation among my closest friends for being horrified by fast food.  (Huddle House western omelettes don't count, do they?)  I tried my best to avoid supporting entities that I felt perpetuated not only an obesity epidemic but also left families with few choices for cheap healthy food.  When a hamburger and French fries are cheaper than a crown of broccoli or a bag of oranges, we have problems.  There are many solutions, too many to take up in one post.  The most important thing about this film is that it makes you think long and hard about where your food comes from and how your food's production and quality is affected by market-demand.  The long and short of it is that you should care about where your food comes from and the effect that its production has on the environment.

Book Review: The Fountainhead

I highly recommend this book.  I am always looking for something new to read.  For a long time, I felt like this book was an unattainable goal.  It's incredibly long, rife with interconnected sub-plots, deep themes and complicated relationships.  It required me to think about the characters, their motivations, and their guiding philosophies.  I like books that demand a little engagement of me.  

As an English Literature/Philosophy double major, this book appealed to me on several different levels.  Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism, the ego, and individualism shines through the well-developed characters.  It's quite an undertaking -- nearly 800 pages -- but well worth the effort.  I'm not great at book summaries but both Sparknotes - The Fountainhead & Wikipedia - The Fountainhead have excellent analyses of the book and its characters.  

Trying something new

I always loved running outdoors in high school and college.  In Kentucky, I could run outdoors almost year round.  As an added bonus, my parents had a great assortment of fitness equipment for me to use whenever it was too cold or rainy to exercise outdoors.  During law school, I was a member of a fantastic gym in Indianapolis.  I probably went to the gym five or six times per week.  It was a great stress reliever.  Now that I'm in Chicago, I find it more difficult to go to the gym on a regular basis.  My gym is about a mile from our apartment.  When the weather is nice, I can walk there but I always rationalize that if I'm going to walk to the gym, I'd rather just take a long walk with my husband for twice as long.  That's another thing.  We are still very much newlyweds.  I love hanging out with my husband after work.  It's always hard to drag myself back out into the cold to catch the train, walk, or even drive to the gym.  I love my gym but I hate paying for a service that I use so infrequently.

SO during the winter months, I realized that there were several times that I wanted to work out but I was too cold/too tired/missed my husband too much to get out and go.  The motivation was there but the desire to freeze my tail off was not.  In order to prevent myself from throwing away a ton of money at the gym this year, I've decided to cancel my gym membership and get an upright exercise bicycle.  I would love a treadmill or elliptical machine but it makes more sense to get something a little more space-efficient and quiet for our apartment.  Plus, now that the weather is getting a nicer, I should be able to supplement my outdoor exercise with regular use of the exercise bicycle.

My parents have the same one at home and have had great luck with it.  I ordered mine last week, so it should be delivered TODAY! :)

Spring cleaning

In honor of spring, I decided to clean out my closet.  I struggle with keeping a balance of older classics, items that will eventually come back into style, and trendier pieces.  More recently, I've definitely had trouble dressing for the times in between work and formal events.  I wear suits to work almost every day.  Day to day, it's easier just to throw on skinny jeans and a sweater -- in the winter, at least.  During the spring and summer months, I wear lots of sundresses, shifts, and cropped pants or skirts.  I haven't quite gotten the knack of dressing for the winter months.  It's easier just to pile  on clothes until the cold can't reach me!!

Here is my closet before:

After -- much better:

Even more fun than dressing myself . . . dressing my husband!

I like to change his wardrobe every spring/summer too.  These are a few of my favorite things right now.

Kiel James Patrick Slim Fit Bracelet - John Galt


So preppy and fun!

1901 Saddle Up Oxfords


Vineyard Vines - Elliot Plaid Whale Shirt


J.Crew - always love gingham


Banana Republic Heritage Casual knit blazer



Southern Proper - Sweet Magnolia Gent tie



Brooks Brothers Milano plain front lightweight chinos



Brooks Brothers Bermuda Shorts



Ralph Lauren Aberdare Plaid swim trunks



Ralph Lauren cardigan  -- love this look!

A cold mess . . .

We've been through this once already.

The battle over apartment air temperature begins anew with the changing seasons.

My husband and I don't fight about many things.  On occasion, we disagree about things like where we're going to sit in church, the appropriate position of the dish washing sponge in the sink, which dishes are hand dried and which dishes can be air dried, the arrangement of the food in the refrigerator, and redecorating our apartment.

However, we FIGHT about temperature.  Throughout the winter, I have survived in near frigid conditions.  Our thermostat is set at 66 degrees.  He'd probably set it at 64 if I let him.  When we have parties, I make sure to turn up the heat two hours prior so that our guests don't have to borrow sweatshirts and blankets.  Our fireplace has helped but it is near the thermostat.  The rest of the house will freeze if we use the fireplace too much.  Alas, I have learned to dress in layers when going outside -- and when I'm indoors, as well.  My parents are not stingy with the heat or the air conditioning.  They were shocked when they heard that we don't keep our home temperature above 68 degrees.  (side note: this is a massive understatement.  An indoor air temperature of 66 degrees during a Chicago winter is akin to spousal abuse in their eyes . . . . just kidding-ish).  I suppose that it is easier to manage heating and cooling when you're in a more temperate environment.  Ahhhh the South . . .

So all of this temperature turmoil was precipitated by a conversation we had one morning last week when I was preparing to leave for work and he was arriving home from the night shift.

Me: It's warm outside.

Him:  Yeah! I turned the heat off. Did you notice? <smiles devilishly>

Me:  Yes. I was so comfortable that I didn't even notice.  Look, I'm not even wearing house shoes!  <teeth chattering grin/grimace of triumph>

That's when I knew that the battle was back ON.

His domination over our air temperature started last summer when we moved into this apartment.  It has very high ceilings and is a little draftier than our old apartment.  Rewind to one of the warmer summers I can remember since moving to Chicago.

Me:  It's so hot in here! You have to turn on the air -- we're having people over!

Him:  I bet that you'll complain that it's too cold in here in the winter. You are never the right temperature! (while he's right . . . )

Me:  No, I bet you money I won't complain about being cold.  I'll never be able to cool off again after being this HOT!

FF to Snomaggedon 2011 in Chicago: I came home and the temperature was set to 68.  It must be really cold for that to happen.

FF to this week:  The heat is off once again, ladies and gentlemen.

Now that spring is coming . . . I'd better prepare for battle round 2 . . .

I guess that there are worse things to fight about than temperature.

My bff

I love this pic of my sister and I from Christmas 2010. It was taken in our pecan orchard in KY. Ahh home . . .

Adele - Someone Like You (on 'Later Live with Jools Holland') - Nov 2010

Another great Adele song!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Zs7XS3XUo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Adele - Rolling In The Deep (Live)

Such a great song!

More of beautiful Chicago!

The snow has left Chicago!!

What an absolutely gorgeous day! This is the view from my office. My window faces south.

Ann Taylor's ridiculous suit sale . . .

I was able to combine a 30% coupon with a 30% off suit sale.  I snagged this adorable suit for a whopping $150.  Full retail price with Chicago sales tax would have been around $312.

I love the feel of the stretch tweed.  It's great that it is a little edgier than the rest of my suits, as well.  I like the detailing -- especially the exposed zippers on the back of the sleeves and the buttons on the back of the bodice.

My only beef with Ann Taylor is their consistently disappointing lack of sizes.  I could probably use a size smaller in the skirt but the nearest one is in Wisconsin or on 5th Avenue in NYC.  I think I'll just make do with what I've got. Yay for new suits!
 

In honor of Valentine's Day - (Somewhat) romantic movie moments that would have been RUINED by technology

When Harry Met Sally 

After nearly a decade of going back and forth and it never being the right time, they finally found one another on New Year's Eve.  How irritating would it have been to have had tinny cell phone ringer strains of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" or "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul invading the moment that they finally realize they're right for one another?   I'm guessing on the song choices -- but both of those songs were in the top 100 for 1989. :)

The Notebook 


    


What if, during the boat scene where the ducks/swans are surrounding the boat, Allie Hamilton was texting her friends about Noah's ruggedly handsome good looks instead of taking it all in?  What if instead of gazing at Noah over dinner the night before, she tried to beat her high score on Angry Birds?  In every scene, it is clear that each was fully invested in the presence of the other.

Grease 





Instead of hanging out with her friends after school, Sandy chooses to Facebook her friends about her summer fling.  She tweets about staying out until ten o'clock, drinking lemonade and strolling with Danny Zuko.  Thus, she and her poodle-skirt wearing, scarf-clad friends are deprived of multiple opportunities to burst out into spontaneous song and dance in public places.  Anti-social Sandy might have missed the chance to stage a casual run-in with Danny if she had waited to see where he had last "checked-in" on Facebook.


You've Got Mail 



So you're wondering how this fits with the premise of this post? BETTER technology would have ruined the beautiful progression of the love story between Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly.  The archaic AOL instant messaging technology they used for real-time chatting was not developed enough that they were able to check one another's profiles or video chat.  Nor did they have Twitter or Facebook accounts linked to their AOL account information, as that would have likely led to one of them realizing that they were inadvertently falling for the competition.  Better technology would have kept them apart.  Sometimes not knowing everything is better . .  .(unless you're meeting men on Craig's List).

Sleepless in Seattle 





I'm just realizing that I have, quite suspiciously, listed three Meg Ryan movies.  I guess I'm implying that she has the market cornered on romantic comedies.

This is a good one.  Technology was just beginning to connect us all beyond landlines and snail mail.  If the newly-widowed Sam Baldwin had really wanted to meet someone on such a large scale, Match.com, eHarmony, or one of the other websites would have surely been perfect for him.  Never has a lack of technology been so effective at bringing two people together.  Sam's son, Noah, calls into a radio show in an attempt to find his father a new wife.  The two of them sift through tons of mail, suggestive photos, and the like, to no avail.  With the ease and wide availability of e-mail, the two would have been inundated with digital communication, possibly preventing them from ever reading Annie's letter.  One day, Noah discovers that Annie has written to his father.    The rest is history.

She does a background search on Sam (on a prehistoric DOS-based computer) and begins the process of tracking him down.  (I'll admit that technology would have resulted in far fewer near misses by both parties).  Noah, pretending to be his father, begins to communicate with Annie.  They borrow a page from an old love story, "An Affair to Remember," and plan to meet at the top of the Empire State building on Valentine's Day.  Noah flies across the country to, in turn, prompt his father to follow him. The story is a little complicated but is overall less complicated by the noticeable absence of advanced technology.

Spring shopping

It has been a crazy shopping month.  Between buying suits and replacing some of my older casual clothes, I've been trying to find items of clothing to send to Goodwill.  It's tough for me to abide by the "one in, one out" rule. My husband tries to enforce it but he's not so good at abiding by it either (as evidenced by his massive collection of polo shirts).

However, I already have my eye on a few other items to round out my spring wardrobe:

This beautiful blue casual dress

These "Two Lips" gladiator sandals are kind of strange but something about them is oddly stylish

I think that these are a little more my style.

After!!

Separate bathrooms (and closets for that matter) make our marriage run very smoothly.  However, I still feel like it's my job to make sure that his bathroom is fabulous.  It doesn't hurt that my husband loves practical gifts.  He was thrilled with the results! 

AFTER

New towels, shower curtain, rug, apothecary tray, and new stoneware accessories for his vanity made a huge difference! I love cleaning with my hot pink rubber gloves but I may or may not have nearly asphyxiated myself with bleach.  It certainly smells clean in there! We're hoping to paint the whole bathroom a shade of white/blue/gray this spring when it warms up enough to keep the windows open for awhile.  

Yay for redecorating! 

Happy (early) Valentine's Day Pt. II! 

Since V-day is on a Monday and my husband and I won't really get to spend much time together, I decided to surprise him.  For weeks he has had his eye on a bathroom collection at West Elm.  His old bathroom accessories have been with him since medical school.  PLUS his bathroom is also the laundry room so it could use a good dusting.  Here is his bathroom before a deep clean and some new accessories: 

Check out the results tomorrow! 

Delicious . . .

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp red food coloring
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 8 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
2. In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
4. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
5. To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in 8 dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.
7. Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper to remove the brownies.

These look healthy :). 

Recipe courtesy of Sweet Pea's Kitchen. 

French press coffee!

Yum!

Chocolate chip pecan waffles!

People of the El - Pt. 2

Look over his left shoulder.

People of the El

Floor length fur coat with a fake Coach purse. Interesting choice.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My husband chose a new Lilly for me!

Since he will be working during Valentine's Day weekend, he decided to surprise me with my Valentine's Day gift after work.  He also replaced my janky cell phone case with a new Lilly iPhone case.  How sweet!


I can't wait to surprise him with his Valentine's Day gift.  I'll post more details later -- I don't want to spoil the surprise!