Oxford has no shortage of amazing restaurants. You can't throw a rock around here without hitting a restaurant that's been featured on the Food Network, in Southern Living, the New York Times, etc., etc. There are so many, in fact, that living here can begin to make one forget what it's like to experience a real craving...that need for something that you can't get and can't get out of your head.
In the spirit of enjoying life to its fullest, I've been thinking about particular dishes in Oxford that I just can't live without (and thankfully, don't have to). Here are some old and new dishes around town I adore and highly recommend that you try:
Ginger scone- Bottletree Bakery
Veggie Pizza- Newk's
Cheeseburger- Handy Andy
Muffaletta- City Grocery
Green Tea Ice Cream with Tempura Fried Bananas- Two Stick
Fish Tacos- El Milagro
Green Curry- Bangkok Thai
Uptown- Bottletree Bakery
Hot and Sour Soup- Two Stick
Ajax Salad- Ajax Diner
Big Bad Breakfast Plate- Big Bad Breakfast
Filet Special (regardless of what it is)- Yocona River Inn (come back soon, Yocona!)
Shrimp and Grits- City Grocery
Sausage and Cheese Plate- Taylor Grocery
What would you add to the list? Anything you'd dispute?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
long time, no write. lots of life.
I've had a lot of ups in the past few months. Enough, I guess, that I've been negligent when it comes to boring people with my writing. I've also had a couple of major downs. Downs are bad, and I won't go into the details of mine. I will say that inevitably, those downs suddenly bring the ups sharply back into focus. I take so many things in my life for granted...a job I actually love, a beautiful and hilarious niece. A boy who dedicates himself to me, ME of all people, and makes me believe every now and then that I'm the most phenomenal girl in the world. A wonderful, shaggy, unruly dog who fills my hum-drum day-to-day with laughter and cuddling and amazement, and family that are always, always there and who GET me even when they don't. Friends who are intense, funny, oh so smart, passionate, a little nuts, and who keep me afloat and inspire me continuously. And a faith that can get awfully shaky sometimes but that never ever seems to let me abandon it, no matter how hard I try.
The other night a friend and I were talking about one of these recent major downs, and also about faith questions, and also about how the subject of one of the recent downs had this fierce and uncanny ability to squeeze every last drop of life from every detail he encountered. He also managed to find the time and energy to document most of it. I'm going to do my best to do the same.
The other night a friend and I were talking about one of these recent major downs, and also about faith questions, and also about how the subject of one of the recent downs had this fierce and uncanny ability to squeeze every last drop of life from every detail he encountered. He also managed to find the time and energy to document most of it. I'm going to do my best to do the same.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Six Interesting Things...
Lisa tagged me to do this blog. However, as I am new(ish) or perhaps just not popular enough in the blogging world, I don't exactly have six people to tag...so I'll just fulfill my obligation to write down six interesting things about myself and leave it at that.
1. I'm an aspiring domestic goddess, but so far failing at it miserably. I read Domino magazine religiously. I regularly peruse the home offerings online at various website and compose fantasy wish lists. I daydream about elaborate dinner party menus, guest rooms and baths full of luxurious amenities, and entertaining in my fabulous, quirky, chic but comfortable home. I compose mental lists of in depth cleaning tasks to accomplish and convince myself that it will be truly enjoyable to accomplish them after work with a nice soundtrack and a glass of wine. Every now and then I make a little bit of headway...but too often I find myself doing what I'm doing tonight. I plant myself on my couch with my laptop or a magazine and try to ignore the many things I could and should be doing. I really hate to think of myself as a dirty person, but I'm realizing that in my own space I'm entirely too lazy. Hmm...New Year's resolution perhaps...
2. Next fall I'll be starting work on my third degree. Yikes! I have a Bachelor's Degree in English and a Juris Doctorate, both from Ole Miss. I've always sort of had Higher Education Administration on the brain, and even before getting my current job as a financial aid advisor I'd contemplated pursuing advanced degrees in the field. It seems a little like divine guidance then that employees of Ole Miss can take up to two classes a semester (one during business hours) free of charge. It also seems divine that with job experience in the field, a law degree can be substituted for a masters. Thus I will likely be starting my pursuit of a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration next fall. My home may not look as impressive as I'd like, but my office wall sure will!
3. My boyfriend is six years younger than I am. Yeah. I'm not particularly over-enthused about sharing this one, but I know it is indeed an interesting fact about me. I'd always thought of myself as someone who required an older guy for things to work. Instead I'm discovering that I am significantly less emotionally mature than my 23 year old fella. He definitely arrived on the scene as something great when I least expected it...but also something entirely different than what I anticipated expecting. Hah.
4. I'm a collection of stereotypes. During the course of my life I've been a goody goody, a nerd, a jockette, a prep, a sorority girl, a hipster, and a professional. Do I necessarily feel that I've REALLY been these people? Not exactly. But I do know that I've participated willingly in things that have led others to think that I've been one or more of them. Church camps, honors colleges, basketball teams, the Greek system, indie music shows, and now webinars and seminars and staff meetings. You have to wonder if we all wind up as rag tag collections of all the things we've been and are...
5. I have a scarf addiction. If the weather and the situation in ANY way permit it, I'll find a way to incorporate a scarf into my outfit. It's gotten to the point where I literally just feel more natural while wearing one.
6. The above fact might make more sense when one considers how ridiculously cold natured I am. I spend the majority of the winter with cold feet and a cold nose. Meh.
1. I'm an aspiring domestic goddess, but so far failing at it miserably. I read Domino magazine religiously. I regularly peruse the home offerings online at various website and compose fantasy wish lists. I daydream about elaborate dinner party menus, guest rooms and baths full of luxurious amenities, and entertaining in my fabulous, quirky, chic but comfortable home. I compose mental lists of in depth cleaning tasks to accomplish and convince myself that it will be truly enjoyable to accomplish them after work with a nice soundtrack and a glass of wine. Every now and then I make a little bit of headway...but too often I find myself doing what I'm doing tonight. I plant myself on my couch with my laptop or a magazine and try to ignore the many things I could and should be doing. I really hate to think of myself as a dirty person, but I'm realizing that in my own space I'm entirely too lazy. Hmm...New Year's resolution perhaps...
2. Next fall I'll be starting work on my third degree. Yikes! I have a Bachelor's Degree in English and a Juris Doctorate, both from Ole Miss. I've always sort of had Higher Education Administration on the brain, and even before getting my current job as a financial aid advisor I'd contemplated pursuing advanced degrees in the field. It seems a little like divine guidance then that employees of Ole Miss can take up to two classes a semester (one during business hours) free of charge. It also seems divine that with job experience in the field, a law degree can be substituted for a masters. Thus I will likely be starting my pursuit of a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration next fall. My home may not look as impressive as I'd like, but my office wall sure will!
3. My boyfriend is six years younger than I am. Yeah. I'm not particularly over-enthused about sharing this one, but I know it is indeed an interesting fact about me. I'd always thought of myself as someone who required an older guy for things to work. Instead I'm discovering that I am significantly less emotionally mature than my 23 year old fella. He definitely arrived on the scene as something great when I least expected it...but also something entirely different than what I anticipated expecting. Hah.
4. I'm a collection of stereotypes. During the course of my life I've been a goody goody, a nerd, a jockette, a prep, a sorority girl, a hipster, and a professional. Do I necessarily feel that I've REALLY been these people? Not exactly. But I do know that I've participated willingly in things that have led others to think that I've been one or more of them. Church camps, honors colleges, basketball teams, the Greek system, indie music shows, and now webinars and seminars and staff meetings. You have to wonder if we all wind up as rag tag collections of all the things we've been and are...
5. I have a scarf addiction. If the weather and the situation in ANY way permit it, I'll find a way to incorporate a scarf into my outfit. It's gotten to the point where I literally just feel more natural while wearing one.
6. The above fact might make more sense when one considers how ridiculously cold natured I am. I spend the majority of the winter with cold feet and a cold nose. Meh.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Dear Santa...Part Two.
4. Little Birch Jewelry Stand. I currently have jewelry tangled in every available nook and cranny, so finding and carefully untangling that one particular necklace can sometimes turn into an extended exercise in patience. This stand would look artistic and graceful on a dresser or bathroom vanity even without jewelry, but I think it would be delightfully quirky, bohemian, and, gasp, FUNCTIONAL dripping with all of my necklaces and bracelets.
5. Bodum Chambord French Press. I gave my Mom one for Christmas last year, and while it doesn't come out for use on a weekly basis, it always feels a little luxurious when it does. French press coffee just tastes richer. Maybe it's just the fact that using one reminds me of dinners at Yocona...oh, and at last weekend's freezing Ole Miss/ULM game, we discovered that toting a French Press, an electric burner, and a tea kettle to the Grove makes a steaming hot cup of coffee and Bailey's a perfect and surprisingly easy game day drink.
6. Domino Magazine. I'm addicted. Pure and simple. More great home ideas and products than you can shake a stick at. Giving a magazine subscription seems like something of a dud gift at first, but getting something in the mail each month for a year that provides you with a few minutes of relaxed entertainment before bed is a truly great thing. And while you're on the Domino website, check out the super cool online Deco File tool.
More to come...
5. Bodum Chambord French Press. I gave my Mom one for Christmas last year, and while it doesn't come out for use on a weekly basis, it always feels a little luxurious when it does. French press coffee just tastes richer. Maybe it's just the fact that using one reminds me of dinners at Yocona...oh, and at last weekend's freezing Ole Miss/ULM game, we discovered that toting a French Press, an electric burner, and a tea kettle to the Grove makes a steaming hot cup of coffee and Bailey's a perfect and surprisingly easy game day drink.
6. Domino Magazine. I'm addicted. Pure and simple. More great home ideas and products than you can shake a stick at. Giving a magazine subscription seems like something of a dud gift at first, but getting something in the mail each month for a year that provides you with a few minutes of relaxed entertainment before bed is a truly great thing. And while you're on the Domino website, check out the super cool online Deco File tool.
More to come...
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Dear Santa...Part One.
I've been thinking about Christmas gifts...about past gifts given that were raging successes, about the perfect thing for Mom, Dad, boyfriend, family, friends and beyond, and maaaaybe a little about a few things I'm drooling over for myself. I thought I'd share a mix of them...
1. WoodWick Candles. When you're stranded in a bland little musty apartment in the winter sans fireplace, these babies are perfect. The scents are nice, but the flat wooden wick that creates that familiar crackling, popping fireplace noise is genius. Dim the lights, grab a good book and a blanket, and let one of these create some perfect substitute cold-night-in ambience.
2. The University of Mississippi: A Pictorial History. I flipped through a few pages while on a coffee run at the campus bookstore the other day and was pretty pleased with what I saw. This new book is a hodge podge of photographs and other memorabilia from throughout the years, and would make the perfect coffee table volume for idle flipping/declaration of school spirit.
3. Victoria's Secret Flannel Pajamas. At six feet tall, I have a pretty darned hard time finding comfy pajama pants that will cover my ankles AND make me look cute. I have to admit that this pair from Victoria's Secret is my go-to, and this season the array of prints is thankfully a little more grown-up and chic. Plus, around the holidays you can usually get a matching pair of slippers tossed in for free.
To be continued...
1. WoodWick Candles. When you're stranded in a bland little musty apartment in the winter sans fireplace, these babies are perfect. The scents are nice, but the flat wooden wick that creates that familiar crackling, popping fireplace noise is genius. Dim the lights, grab a good book and a blanket, and let one of these create some perfect substitute cold-night-in ambience.
2. The University of Mississippi: A Pictorial History. I flipped through a few pages while on a coffee run at the campus bookstore the other day and was pretty pleased with what I saw. This new book is a hodge podge of photographs and other memorabilia from throughout the years, and would make the perfect coffee table volume for idle flipping/declaration of school spirit.
3. Victoria's Secret Flannel Pajamas. At six feet tall, I have a pretty darned hard time finding comfy pajama pants that will cover my ankles AND make me look cute. I have to admit that this pair from Victoria's Secret is my go-to, and this season the array of prints is thankfully a little more grown-up and chic. Plus, around the holidays you can usually get a matching pair of slippers tossed in for free.
To be continued...
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Vive le procrastination...
Some things I should be doing on this Sunday evening:
1. Cleaning my kitchen.
2. Pouring half of the massive amount of leftover tamale soup into freezer bags to save for later.
3. Figuring out what in the heck is wrong with my car THIS time and praying it fixes itself.
4. Laundry laundry laundry.
5. Taking a shower.
6. Brushing Charlie.
7. Organizing bills and statements.
8. Dusting.
Instead I'm on my couch, drinking the last of the vino from the weekend and watching reruns of America's Next Top model. It just seems like a good way to wrap a weekend of freezing cold football.
1. Cleaning my kitchen.
2. Pouring half of the massive amount of leftover tamale soup into freezer bags to save for later.
3. Figuring out what in the heck is wrong with my car THIS time and praying it fixes itself.
4. Laundry laundry laundry.
5. Taking a shower.
6. Brushing Charlie.
7. Organizing bills and statements.
8. Dusting.
Instead I'm on my couch, drinking the last of the vino from the weekend and watching reruns of America's Next Top model. It just seems like a good way to wrap a weekend of freezing cold football.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
a farewell to the one truly great thing about my new apartment...
So we've established that mid September is most definitely NOT the ideal time of year to be searching for a place to rent in Oxford, Mississippi. Given my limited budget and tight time frame, I felt lucky to find a place period, even if it was in an apartment complex I've always regarded as being thoroughly unremarkable. There was one little thing that cheered me up about the place...the fact that along the wall beside my front door were three wild and lovely abelia bushes, always alive with butterflies. To be fair, I didn't know exactly WHAT they were until I clarified it with my good friend Lisa over at Shower Fresh Garden. When Lisa saw these bushes however, she made her jealousy perfectly clear...and if Lisa is jealous of your plants, then you have some seriously great plants. She informed me that it was nice to see my abelias looking the way they're supposed to, as in the aforementioned wild and lovely. I'm fairly certain that she advised that the worst thing to do was to cut them back...so imagine my horror when I arrived home for lunch today to find my bushes hacked into sad, low squares, with more stick showing than leaf or flower.
OK, so I know that technically they aren't MY bushes, and that in all likelihood, I'll be moving on to a (hopefully) more fitting Oxford location in July. Still, I feel like my otherwise boring little place has lost the one thing that gave it instant character. And I'm definitely making a mental note to plant some abelia bushes at my next place...
OK, so I know that technically they aren't MY bushes, and that in all likelihood, I'll be moving on to a (hopefully) more fitting Oxford location in July. Still, I feel like my otherwise boring little place has lost the one thing that gave it instant character. And I'm definitely making a mental note to plant some abelia bushes at my next place...
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