Fashionista in training

Should I be concerned that my kindred fashion spirit is a four-year-old? In all seriousness, lately I have found that my wardrobe and current taste has a lot in common with the granddaughter of my boss… what does this mean? Granted she is four going on thirty-four, and is by far the most precocious child I have ever met, is often allowed to dress herself and pick out her own “costumes” as my boss calls them, and what can I say, this girl has taste!  Perhaps it is because a lot of her outfits are whimsy and dress up inspired, which is something I am currently longing for in my own wardrobe.

 I work in a garden store and farm, and though I am primarily indoors, my fashion has definitely started to reflect my settings. On non-event days, it makes no sense for me to show up for work in cute shoes, skirts, or pretty much anything I don’t want covered in occasional garden soil or olive oil.  Thus my daily uniform primarily consists of jeans, tee shirts, dansko clogs, and fabulous earrings.  Not that its all bad, I’m comfortable, and practical… but on occasion I get nostalgic for high heels, fitted skirts, lace camisoles,  and sexy cardigans.

The other day Ava, my four-year-old fashion maven came into the store wearing her bangs pulled back with a very chic barrett. Three black fabric roses were woven together, and with her very stylish 20’s bob haircut, I was totally jealous… I had been out accessorized by a child.

The Anthropologie Version of Ava's hair-clip

I could spend hours browsing the shelves of Anthropologie  and online boutiques planning my dream wardrobe. It involves a lot more pearls, boots, lace, ruffles, one shoulder numbers, sheath dresses, pencil skirts, blazers, blouses, embellishment, vintage, bracelets, sophistication, sparkle, sassiness. .. sigh… someday. Nevermind the fact that my current life doesn’t support such a wardrobe, monetarily  or socially, or the fact that this probably won’t change for a LONG time if I get accepted to graduate school. I try not to dwell on these factors though, and prefer to be distracted by the pretty things.

I think my boss has started to realize that Ava and I are on the same fashion wavelength as my outfits are sometimes referred to by my boss as “costumes”. Last week Ava wanted to wear a bird Christmas tree ornament in her hair to school ( can you see the style potential in this child? Four years old, and she is already channeling the fashions of Sex and the City… Think Carrie’s wedding dress/ veil ensemble in the movie). Her mother wouldn’t allow the ornament, but my boss did note “well you know, Tayler does wear feathers in her hair sometimes” though it is kind of a mystery whether this was an encouragement to Ava’s style, or a dig on mine… but I’m going with the former.

Here are a few items from Anthropologie that I am currently lusting after

  

 

  

All pictures courtesy of the Anthropolgie Website

go there to find your own fashions to lust after/ purchase

'Tis the season

….to be sicky. Yes it is that time of year where colds are running ramped, and despite my best efforts to avoid sickness this year, one still caught up with me.  Hello Emergen-C! It is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, not the sickest! Thankfully I’ve had my flu shots, but I guess that gave me a false sense of hope… I will admit I’ve been a little less frequent with the hand sanitizer since I got my H1N1 immunization…. Silly me. On the bright side, it’s a cold and not strep throat. My tonsils seem to be a sucker for strep, so any time I start to feel a little under the weather I break out my family sized bottle of hydrogen peroxide and start gargling like there is no tomorrow. Fortunately this seems to be living in my sinuses, which is more annoying than anything else. Dripping, congestion, and plugged ears are not my favorite things, but I will settle for them if strep is the alternative.  Thankfully, I live across the street from the organic grocery store, so my first act was to stock up on Throat comfort tea, Echinacea, and homeopathic cold medicine.  Oscillococcinum is probably one of my favorite discoveries of this year.

                                                                           Photo courtesy of www.boironusa.com

I guess on the bright side of things, if I’m going to be home sick, I’m glad it is during the coldest week we’ve had this year. As if I wasn’t already looking for an excuse curl up on the couch with a cup of hot tea and a good book…

Olio Nuovo

Over the past few weekends the Willamette Valley has gotten is foodie on in a major way. The weekend before Thanksgiving has been emerging over the past few years as the “aficionados” weekend. It’s before the Thanksgiving rush, so it is generally less crowded, and its historically more of a buying weekend, where Thanksgiving is a tasting weekend.

The Oregon Olive Mill combined it into a little bit of both, giving many Oregonians their first taste of Olio Nuovo, oil fresh off the press. There are quite a few people out there who are skeptical about the olive harvest in Oregon, and to be honest there are still a lot of unknowns, but people were skeptical about Pinot Noir 30 years ago, and look at the valley now!
The Olio Nuovo is the first press of the year, and has incredible flavor. Imagine the best olive oil you’ve ever had, and punch up the flavor about ten notches. It has almost a creamy texture, due to the large amount of organic sediment still in the oil. Typically we let this naturally filter out of the oil before we bottle. Though the oil loses a bit of its intensely fresh flavor, this gives it a remarkably longer shelf life. Due to the large amount of sediment, Olio Nuovo only stays good for about 90 days, but oh what a delightful 90 days! The flavor is sassy, punchy, green and seductive & the color of the oil is unreal! (please note that the color of the oil actually has nothing to do with the taste and flavor profile… but if you are looking for a gorgeous oil, in both color and flavor, the nuovo koroneiki is a fabulous chartreuse!)

                                                    Koroneiki Olio Nuovo
                                                           
I’ve been enjoying olio nuovo all week, and have tried putting it on just about everything. I would be perfectly content with a baguette and a bottle of oil, but my curiosity has lead me to try the oil on some less conventional things. Thus far I’ve discovered that it is quite tasty over scrambled eggs, broccoli, & savory French toast (sort of a substitute for syrup) Olive oil isn’t just Popeye’s companion anymore, and pairs with more than just pasta. It’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner… and based on the response Red Ridge Farms has been getting from the Oregonian Article, I think it’s a trend Oregon is going to be seeing a lot more of in the future.