It's (obviously) been a while since I've posted here, and that's for two reasons:
1. I've been doing more blogging over on our Livability.com Best Places to Live Blog. If you haven't checked it out, do! It's a team blog with contributors from our Livability.com content and web departments. I usually write Monday posts for the Foodie Finds category, but we all mix up a bit. Here's a link to my archive of posts.
Stick around and read a while. We've got posts about cities in the news, awesome restaurants and shops you've probably never heard of, day trip tips, fitness trends that are popping up all over the U.S., nightlife and entertainment happenings and more.
Whether you're considering a trip somewhere or want to learn more about fun things to do in your own city, you will find good info on Livability.com (select "Choose a City" to get started!) and some personal insights on the blog.
2. Second, I am seriously considering a switch to WordPress, just haven't gotten around to it.
Ultimately, there's no sense in adding content here when I'm already writing about the same types of things for our Livability.com blog and the content here is all going to have to be moved to another blogging platform. With Christmas coming, I don't have the time!
So I am giving you guys these links to stay connected in the meantime and hoping you use them.
Ever made mice, hogs or frogs out of Oreos?? Why, who hasn't?
The folks at Kraft are trying to set a Guinness Book of World Records entry for the company's Oreo cookie brand, aiming to get the most "likes" for a Facebook post within a 24-hour period. No such record currently exists, so the folks at Guinness set the number at 45,000. It's hard to imagine there are many people who aren't fans of Oreos in real life, but if you haven't indicated your love on the interwebs, today is the day to do it if you want to be part of an interesting social media experiment. Go to the Oreo Facebook page, "like" it (if you haven't already; I hadn't), look for the post with the opened Oreo with the "like" thumbs-up icon carved in it, and also "like" that particular post.
And speaking of Oreos, many were used in my "television debut" last week. My friend and co-worker Shelly Miller is married to David Miller, host and producer of "Your Plates or Mine," a locally televised cooking show. They asked me to be a guest and prepare some of the Merry Kissmice cookies I usually bring in to the office during the holidays. The mice are one of those things that look really awesome and complicated, when in fact they are simple to put together. They can make you seem all Martha Stewart-y, even when you're not.
The first time I saw them was while working the annual Bake-A-Christmas fundraiser at WTDR Thunder 92.7 FM in Oxford, Ala. - one of the most fun days each year when I worked in PR at Talladega Superspeedway. The track would donate a lot of awesome racing memorabilia (much of it donated by race teams), and then people from the community would donate baked goods to pair with each auction item. The lady who made the cookie mice gave us the recipe, and my family and co-workers have ended up with them just about every year since.
Besides the mice, we got fancy and made Frog Princes (above) and Holmberg Hogs.
Then we had a "face-off" and got creative with the candy we had on hand. I made Bucky Beaver. David made an awesome buffalo.
So ... here's the show!
Your Plates or Mine Cookie Critters Part 1
Your Plates or Mine Cookie Critters Part 2
We laughed a lot and had a ton of fun filming the show. David and Shelly are just like that: Fun. Friends Betsy Williams and Kim Madlom were also on hand, increasing the fun quotient as they always do. I'd love to say this was filmed in my own kitchen, but Betsy was kind enough to allow us to use the sweet suite kitchen within one of her family buildings downtown. Not only that, but they popped in near the end of the filming, bringing us some amazing fajitas and fixings. Thanks again, Betsy and Kim!
Just for kicks, here's another take on the Kissmice I found on Youtube. So they are not that original, see? ANYONE can do it. Even this chick. I regret not doing a ventriloquist act with mine like "Kassandra" from AMIClubwear. What is AMIClubwear, you ask? Hmm. Snooki and JWoww are "celebrity" fans of AMIClubwear. I will leave you with that thought.
Meeting Luke, the Harley-riding dog, was an after-dinner highlight for both me and Carley
I was so excited to share my finds at Biltmore I forgot to tell you about the rest of our day! After touring America's largest private residence, Carley and scoped out the Lexington Avenue Bizarre Bazaar, which debuted this summer as yet another arts-oriented happening here. It consisted of a collection of local artists specializing in everything from graphic design to handmade clothing all tucked away in a cozy courtyard off of downtown's funkiest shopping corridor, Lexington Avenue. The bazaars were held as a fundraising effort for Arts 2 People'sAsheville Mural Project. Although the original art prices were very reasonable, I hadn't budgeted to add to my collection. Instead, I picked up a few small items for friends - a mini-print/fridge magnet from science fiction artist Edward Rowles and a postcard from David and Meegan Cuzick's Circles & Squares. Check out Circles & Squares t-shirts and hoodies, too; they're super cool and come in sizes for small kids to adults. I opted instead to directly support the cause and picked up a great Asheville Mural Project tee.
We completed our day with a delicious meal at Salsa's downtown, where the food was off the charts amazing. I regret not taking note of exactly what I had, but it was the special that night and it involved everything from black beans and plantains to jalepenos and whole garlic cloves. I counted at least 10 different vegetables in the dish, and somehow they all worked together marvelously.
After that, we took in the sights and sounds of downtown, which included the rumble of a Harley approaching along Patton Avenue near Pack Square Park. But something was a bit different about this motorcycle. Perched in his own seat on the back was a yellow Labrador, who we soon learned is named Luke. And of course we took advantage of this photo op. Luke's owner, Lee, told us about how he has trained several dogs to accompany him on his two-wheeled jaunts. I'm told that this isn't exceptionally rare, but we were still amazed by Luke's ability to get on and off the bike by himself on command, cautiously avoiding the hot tailpipe going up and coming down. And he was a really sweet dog! Moving on, we stopped for a glass of wine at Vincenzo's and called it a night.
