moriah's midwest

THIS WEEKEND

This weekend I need to relax. I need to re-charge my body. I went to town last night on a majorly OCD cleaning of my house. It was sweeping the walls…not kidding. This epic shake-down was fueled yesterday by major anxiety that my landlord (who had to stop by my apartment while I was at work) would see some highly personal items I had left in plain sight. Luckily, it turns out I didn’t leave anything out, but the fear had still struck a nerve and I felt like I want my apartment to be pristine so that anyone, ANYONE, at anytime could just walk in and I wouldn’t blink an eye.

Having a very tidy house is great though. It’s like a clean slate. I’m actually pretty tidy most of the time. My house is never really messy…but the satisfaction of tearing my bedroom apart, flipping my mattress and vacuuming under my bed provides me with a deep sense of calm. Now I really feel like I can get some things done this weekend.

Here are a few things I hope to do this weekend:

-finish the podcast I am working on. It’s almost done and it’s pretty funny so far!
-taking a good 8-10 mile run on the Lake Path
-making this hummus 
-listening to This American Life
-trying to fix my sewing machine
-seeing the new Wes Anderson movie, Moonrise Kingdom, with Joe!
-yoga with Diana May
-visiting my favorite coffee shop, La Colombe

I sure hope it warms up a little bit! It was chilly this morning.

Have a great weekend my friends. Check back for a podcast over the weekend or Monday.

Love,

Mo

*this photo of me is from years ago when I was in Argentina studying aboard. 

DISPOSABLE CAMERA

My friend Rachel always takes the best pictures using disposable cameras. It’s her thing, and I love it. Here’s a favorite of mine from our first year living in Chicago. 

These days it seems like everyone and their mom has some giant SLR hanging off their arm like it’s no big deal…but personally, I am sometimes afraid to bring my noteventhatexpensive point-and-shoot out into “the field”. I think this photo perfectly demonstrates why I am hesitant to do so. 

So, once in awhile I buy a disposable camera. Usually, the pictures kind of suck. But there is something really fun about not knowing what’s on there…and the quality of the pictures is so vastly different that the crisp digital photos I am used to taking. 

I’m not quite as talented with the old disposable as Rachel is, but it definitely kind of fun. I put the hard copy of the picture above on my fridge so I can remember the fun I had with Leah and Joel in Asheville!

Love,

Mo

PHOTO BLOG
http://moriahsmidwestinphotos.blogspot.com/

Pretty big photo blog this week. Holiday weekend here in Chicago meant a lot of good times. There is always something so much more special about a national holiday, as opposed to just a day off; when everyone in the city is off work it is like we’re all on carnival! 

Looking forward to a busy and productive work week and getting back into the swing of day-to-day exercise and good eating.

I’m feeling lucky and thankful for being so healthy and having wonderful friends who make me laugh like a hyena. 

Lots of love,

Mo

HOW TO MAKE LUNCH

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted about how to make a delicious and affordable lunch? Well, that night I got a text from my dear friend Brady, saying that he had really enjoyed that post. You guys, my heart melted when I read that text. Brady said that it was really helpful for him as someone that doesn’t have as much knowledge in the kitchen. Seriously, this is why I blog, to share things from my life that are actually helpful to people I care about. 

Here’s another quick how-to for a great lunch. This is a picture of the tuna salad I made this morning, before I mixed all the ingredients together. I think this illustrates really well how I cook: not off a set recipe, but for the most part intuitively. 

Grab a largish container or bowl and put out a cutting board. 

Cut up a small onion. It can be red or yellow, whatever you have around. Dice the onion pretty small. Take a couple of ribs of celery, cut them the long way so they are skinnier strips, and then cut those into small pieces. If you’re not sure how small to cut stuff, just think “how would I want this to feel in my mouth in a tuna salad?”. Add a dollop of mustard, a dollop of mayo, some olive oil, and then a squeeze of lemon or lime. I also like to cut up caper berries and mince cilantro, but that is probably personal taste. Do not forget a generous amount of fresh ground pepper and salt!

Add a couple of cans of tuna fish. I buy mine from Trader Joe’s. I usually but the kind packed in olive oil, but I’ll be honest I’m really not sure the merits of the different options. 

Mix it all together and taste it. Does it need more pepper? Salt? More lemon? Once you like how it tastes, simply put it into a tupperware and you’ll have 2-3 lunches for the week. 

I take my tupperware to work and assemble the sandwich there. I like to add some cheese and bread and butter pickles. Along with some fresh bread, this is a sandwich that is hard to beat!

I didn’t do a cost breakdown here, but it’s pretty cheap to be sure. Also, very filling. The best part though is that you can whip it up so quickly. I did mine before work this morning!

Here’s a picture of my sandwich today.

Enjoy,

Mo

PHOTO BLOG
http://moriahsmidwestinphotos.blogspot.com/2012/05/may-14-21.html

You guys, this was the best week ever. I’ve got nothing but love for my baby sister. 

I’m really happy with the photo blog this week. It’s long, but that’s only because we did SO MUCH fun stuff.

Nice to back in Chi too though, getting ready for the soldier field 10 mile this weekend!

Lots of love,

Mo

ASHEVILLE & WHY THE PHOTO BLOG IS LATE

I’m about to board my flight back to Chicago. It’s been kinda the best vacation of my life. I have 10,000 photos for this week’s photo blog and 500 stories to share.

Leah and I just pretty much laughed the entire trip. It was like being on spa…

P.S. I love Joel, Leah’s bf.

More tomorrow,

mo

BYE, TIME TO GO HAVE THE BEST WEEKEND OF MY LIFE

My sister Leah is my best friend and favorite person in the world. I’m heading off to visit her in Asheville right after work and I CANNOT WAIT!

Plus, it’s her birthday on Saturday!!! She is turning 12. Just kidding…kind of. 

I’ve missed Leah so much since she moved away. I can’t wait to just hang out and laugh with her, work on projects around her house, go thrifting, eat our weight in gold, and meet her boyfriend Joel.

Lots and lots of blogging will happen this weekend…

Love,

Mo

CHAIRS!

Yesterday, I bought these chairs. They were $450 for the set of three. To me, that is a lot. However, it’s actually quite a good price. I’ve been looking to pick up a few more of these molded Eames chairs for awhile and when I saw these three on Wright 20’s site, I decided to go for it.

I already have a white reproduction at home so now I will have four. Perfect for having dinner parties and playing Settlers ofCatan! I can’t tell you how excited I am to go pick them up from Wright. I love furniture and having beautiful objects in my home is a top priority for me. I love that I am building a collection!

The red/orange color is actually no longer produced. I already have a feeling that it is going to be my favorite.

Finally, I have a very embarrassing admission: I did not know Ray Eames was a women until Sunday night, when I watched the Eames documentary. Very humiliating…

Love,

Mo

PHOTO BLOG
http://moriahsmidwestinphotos.blogspot.com/

A very quiet week here in Chicago. I was actually super busy, but it was with work stuff which doesn’t lend itself very well to the photo blog.

I’m thrilled that I will be heading to North Carolina on Thursday to see my one and only true love, my sister, Leah Spicer. Can’t wait!

Love,

Mo

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH?

I’m a nine to fiver (and proud of it) which means a large portion of my day is thinking about what I will have for lunch. I used to pretend to myself that this blog was equally focused on style, my life, my podcast and food but there is no denying the truth: it is 95% food. 

Packing lunch is really the way to go, in my book. I find I eat less and better food and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper. I try to pack my lunch most days, but sometimes travel and work entertaining (also my liver problem) get in the way and it doesn’t happen. There is nothing as terrifying as the days when I haven’t had time to pack a lunch and I have a busy day, leaving me no other option than the myriad of repulsive “restaurants” in River North. 

I’m being a bit dramatic, but really, it bothers me deeply to over-spend on a shitty sandwich with limp, Sysco lettuce and flavorless tomatoes. Vile. I do ride my bike to PQM almost every week as a little Friday treat, and there’s always Whole Foods—or Whole Paycheck, as I call it—but I have a fundamental problem with paying $50 for a salad…

Sandwiches are a great lunch option and I like that I can assemble them here at work. I had a nice loaf of bread that my friend Xavi who works at PQM had given me, so on Monday morning it threw it in a bag along with some cheese, mustard, an onion and pickles and brought all of that in to work. 

A cheese and pickle sandwich does admittedly sound like a pretty strange combination but I swear, it’s great! I grew up eating these now and again, but had forgotten about them until a few years ago when my dad was picking me up from the bus in Madison. I had told him I was ravenous, so he brought me a snack, a snack of pickle and cheese sandwiches. The pickles are quite specific, they are of the Bread & Butter variety, which means they are a bit sweeter, sliced along the width as opposed to the length. Delicious little circles of tangy crunch, grown and canned at the farm. 

Made a couple of these little suckers for lunch and god damn were they good. I really like toasting the bread up just slightly, spreading it with a thin layer of dijon, thinly sliced onion, cheddar, and of course, the pickles. So tasty, quick and filling. Let’s do a little cost analysis too!

Bread: $4/loaf (one loaf probably has 6 servings)=$.67/day
Raw Milk Cheddar: $2.75/block at TJs (roughly ten servings)=$.27/day
Dijon Mustard: $1.99/jar at TJs (roughly 25 servings)=$.08/day
Small Red Onion: $.50 at Stanley’s (or free from the farm…two servings)=$.25/day
Bread & Butter Pickles: $5? I don’t really know…mine are from the farm. Maybe $5/jar? (I think I jar would have about 10 servings)=$.50/day.

That’s a grand total of $1.77/day for a great lunch! WOW! That is even better than I was expecting. 

Just a final note—it’s the pickles that really make this sandwich. The tangy sweetness matches beautifully with the bite of the mustard and the creaminess of the cheese. I highly recommend pickle and cheese sandwiches! Does anyone know a good source for finding these pickles in the city? I always get mine from the farm…

Lunch, so delicious, so nutritious. 

Love,

Mo

PHOTO BLOG
http://moriahsmidwestinphotos.blogspot.com/

It is not okay how much I ate this week. It was as if I was here from out of town and did a little tour of top Chicago spots, cramming them all into one 48 hour marathon. Except I live here…

Honestly it was kind of a bummer week for me. It’s been a little rainy, maybe that’s part of it. I’m too emotional, maybe that’s part of it. Giving up on a friendship that I’ve tried to make work for years really tore me apart. There were a lot of tears mid week but things looked better over the weekend…and it was great to see my mama and other family members.

Hoping it take it a bit more easy this week in preparation for a two day auction weekend and client events. Totally pumped that I harvesting radishes from my garden!

Lots of love,

Mo

THE ART OF EATING

Roughly two years ago I was in Seattle, having lunch with friends at Cafe Presse and preparing to head back to Chicago. I decided to pick-up a couple of magazines for the flight and that’s when I first saw the Art of Eating. 

I remember balking at the price (I think it was something like $15) but I couldn’t resist the simple beauty of the publication, particularly the striking photography. I read about duck hunting, about wine and about a certain kind of beef raised in France. The depth of information and the quality of the writing in the publication is, in my opinion, unparalleled. It reminds me of old issues of Saveur, but it’s way better.

About a month ago I stopped by my colleague’s desk and coincidentally saw an advertisement for the Art of Eating. I immediately began raving about the magazine, and my colleague (who also runs our work library) said we could get a subscription! I was OVER THE MOON. 

The first issue arrived yesterday and I have already torn through the first article about Texas Barbecue and started the second, about caviar. I’ve already learned so many interesting things, particularly about the different kinds caviar and roe. All I can think about is reading the rest of the issue. I want to curl up and just gobble the whole thing up in one sitting. It’s a funny thing though when you have something you know you’ll enjoy and there is only a finite amount of it. I want to tare through it but another part of me wants to parcel it out slowly, because I don’t want it to be over…

I love this publication. It just goes way, way deeper than Cook’s Illustrated or any of the other food mags I read. If you like any of the following: food, good writing or photography, you’ll enjoy the Art of Eating. No, you’ll love it.

I’m so happy that quality products like this exist. It’s a bit expensive, yes, but gosh am I happy to support such a fantastic product. It’s worth every penny. 

Now I am just hoping that I meet the love of my life in the next two months and he gets me the cookbook for my birthday…

I hope you all have fun plans for the weekend. I’m looking forward to a lot of family time, espcially hanging with my mama and getting new plants into my plot at the community garden. 

Lots of love,

Mo

PHOTO BLOG
http://moriahsmidwestinphotos.blogspot.com/

Last week was kind of a shit week for me. Who knows why…weather, hormones, people being assholes, not sleeping enough etc. But regardless, I wasn’t feeling on my game. I decided a trip home for the weekend was neccesary; going home always puts me in a good mood and reminds me that there are people out there who appreciate me and like being around me.

Well, this weekend wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It turned out okay, but I had a little eye injury that just frustrated me so much. I wanted to go home to relax and have a good time and all I got was f’ing pus eye. I was pissed!

It healed really fast though, and now I can’t help but laugh at myself.

I hope this week is a little more upbeat than last.

Lots of love,

Mo

FRIDAY AND COOKIE DAY AT WORK

I have to say, I have pretty awesome co-workers. We work hard, but we also have fun and I feel like we all genuinely care about each other. Plus, we’re mostly all foodies.

I’ve been talking with a couple of the ladies here about having a surprise cookie day at work. I suggested that we do this a couple of weeks ago…and then along came Friday and I was the only one that showed up with cookies!

Well, since then I’ve been giving the girls hell and we decided to try again for today. The idea was simply that we would all make cookies, and bring them in to work as a surprise. I really tried to emphasize that this wasn’t a competitive thing (I have a bit of a tendency to try to make things into a contest)—the whole point was just that it would be a fun little time for everyone!

Well, the girls really came through today, I have to say. I made the red velvet take on a cookie, chocolate/red cookie and a cream cheese filling. Miss GB made oatmeal cookie sandwiches with a creamy peanut butter filling, and my girl ME made classic chocolate chip. All were amazing!

I’m heading off to the farm in just a couple of hours, and I can’t wait! The main reason I am going is because the morels are in season. If you don’t know what morels are, then look it up immediately. I can’t wait to hang with the family, run, see the little ones, eat a ton of awesome food and drink some of the cool wines I bought from work. When I come home from the farm I always feel like I’ve been on spa. I had a shit day yesterday and I need to get away so I am just super excited.

I hope you guys have great weekends!

Lots of love, Mo

SUMMER SHOES AND HOW MUCH THINGS COST

I often wonder if I spend too much on my wardrobe. Whenever I used to complain about feeling poor, my ex-boyfriend would say something snarky to the tune of “Just skip ONE of your monthly trips to Penelople’s.” Easier said than done, but he had a point.

I pulled my summer shoes out last night (appartently wishful thinking as it’s positively glacial and pretty much sleeting in Chicago today) and I got to thinking about how much each pair cost, how long I’ve had them etc.

Sometimes I see these girls and their blogs and I just think: “how the hell do these chicks afford their seemingly endless supply of Dolce Vita, Hasbeens etc.???” Clearly these women don’t have jobs, their entires lives seem to be occupied by floucing around Manhattan shooting “accidental” sultry looks at the camera…a camera probably manned by their friend who is also a “fashion blogger”. I think the truth is that I am probably jealous, I want all of those cute clothes!

But anyway, I really like my summer shoes. I’ve tried to be more conscience about buying quality items and taking care of them/repairing them. It seems smarter then buying shit at Forever 21 and having to replace it every year. 

Here’s a little run-down on my summer shoes, how much I spent, and how long I’ve had them:

#1: I got these Dolce Vita sandals last summer. I think they were something like $65 or $70 bucks. I really like them, they go with everything and the back zipper is really cute. They don’t show a lot of wear, so I’m hoping to get at least another two summers out of them.

#2: I adore these little Rachel Comey sandals so, so much. Her shoes are notoriously expensive, but somehow I totally scored a deal on these about three years ago. I think the original sticker was something like $150 or $200 and I had actually noticed them on the Creatures of Comfort site, but couldn’t justify spending that much. I was selling some clothes at Crossroads one day (back when I worked at American Apparel and would just sell all my of give-aways) and I saw they had these Rachel Comey’s brand new for $50! I was super pumped, I guess they had come from Hejfina, which was closing. I had $25 in credit, so I ended up only paying $25 in cash. They are pretty beat up at this point though, but I’m def going to wear them again this summer.

#3: Leah found these vintage Bass sandals at a thrift store in Wisco for a few bucks. I always liked them, and wore them a couple of times last summer. The sole was in terrible shape though, so I eventually coerced her into giving them to me under the guise that she couldn’t afford to have them repaired. I took them to the cobbler and they replaced the entire soul and re-stitched them for $40. 

And that’s a wrap! I do have a couple of other awesome sandals and summer shoe staples, but I only photographed the ones I had put away for the winter.

Do you spend a lot of clothes? Do you think it’s worth it? 

Love,

Mo