Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's day is only days away, but there's still time to get a thoughtful gift for the woman who is always there for you. So here are a dozen ideas that will make your "Best. Mom. Ever." smile.

1. Vince Camuto Ink Blot silk scarf: $58, VinceCamuto.com

2. "Best. Mom. Ever." t-shirt by Choies: $19, Choies.com

3. Mother's Day Card by Rifle Paper Co.: $4.50, AnnTaylor.com

4. New Growth Designs, Larger White Peony Faux Flowers: $920 (not a typo), BergdorfGoodman.com

5. Happy Elephant Rosa by Monica Strigel, iPhone 6 case: $40, Castify.com

6. Agraria Lavender & Rosemary Bath Salts: $79, Amara.com

7. Diane Von Furstenberg "Frankie" crocodile effect leather cuff: $134, MatchesFashion.com

8. Smartphone connected phone by Ringly: from $195, Ringly.com

9. Diptyque Scented Candle, Mimosa: $60, BergdorfGoodman.com

10. "I love you Mom, and Here's Why" Journal: $16, ShopTerrain.com

11. "Home is Wherever Mom Is" Pillow Cover: $20, Etsy.com

12. Julie Nolan Zodiac Constellation Locket Necklace: $75, AhaLife.com

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, godmothers,  and honorary "other mothers" out there!

Good, Fast, and Cheap

When it comes to goods and services,  most people want three things: they want good quality, they want fast service, and they a deal--they want it cheap. 

However, anyone who has tried to get all three of those attributes in one item or service know the truth: it's nearly impossible to get all three qualities in any product or service. 

So you can get something that's good and cheap, but it will take a while. 

You can get something good and fast, but it's going to cost you.

And you can certainly get something fast and cheap, but it won't be very good.

Visually, it looks like this:

For the most part I completely agree with this rule--for everything from a home remodel, to a haircut, to lunch, we get what we pay for...and what we wait for.

But there must be exceptions to this rule. Personally, I know that a cup of chickory coffee and beignets at Cafe' du Monde in New Orleans fits the bill for all three. But there must be more!

Do you know any other exceptions to this rule? Please share them in the comments!

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In the Kitchen: Taco Night

Forget the taco kits and powdered seasonings, there's a better way to have taco night at home. With just a few ingredients you can make a tastier and healthier steak taco in just a few minutes. 

Skirt Steak
Of course you can use flank steak or ground beef--or any other meat or fish for that matter--but when I make steak tacos I like to use skirt steak. You can also pre-grill or broil your steak, but it's very easy to cook in a cast iron pan. Basically it's a Mexican stir-fry.

White Onion
I find that for this simple recipe white onion works best as it's flavor is not too sweet and complements the cilantro. Usually I chop the onion finely, but I don't dice it. 

Cilantro

Use as much or as little cilantro as you like. If you don't generally like cilantro--try it anyway! A little of its flavor and fragrance really make this simple recipe delicious.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Honestly, I use extra virgin olive oil in almost everything savory that I cook. For a recipe like this you can use a lighter olive oil if you prefer.

Salt and Pepper
Use to taste. 

Corn Tortillas
Corn tortillas not only add flavor and texture to your tacos, but they're also very authentic


To prepare your skirt steak, cut against the grain into strips. 

Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a  medium or  large size (depending on how many you are feeding) and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (but not smoking) add the beef. (To test if the oil is hot enough, add a drop of water to the pan--if it sizzles and dissipates, the pan is ready.)

Spread the beef around so the pieces cook evenly. When the beef is about halfway cooked, add the onion.

When the onion becomes translucent, about five minutes or so, the steak should be just about cooked through. At this point, add some chopped cilantro and stir into the steak and onions just until it wilts just a bit. Don't overcook at this point and let the cilantro darken, it should still be a vibrant green when ready. Remove the pan from heat and set aside for a moment.

At this point, heat up the tortillas. Depending on what brand you buy the directions may vary, but generally speaking, I wrap four to six tortillas in a dampened paper towel and microwave for about one minute.

You can, of course, garnish your tacos to your liking, but personally, I like to use either Mexican Queso Fresco, or Cojita cheese (usually easily found in the international or Latin section of your supermarket) and maybe some Pico de Gallo (I like the Goya brand), and Cholula or Tapatio hot sauce. For a variation, diced avocado and thinly shaved radish provide a really refreshing flavor as well.

If you give this recipe a try, I'd love to know how you like it. If you have any other taco night ideas, I'd love to hear them!!

GIVEAWAY Winner!

Thank you for sending in your comments and entering to win the John Robshaw Stationery Collection!


Lynn C. from Virgnia is the winner and will receive her stationery this week. 


 

In addition, a sheet of stamps will be included--so you don't even have to go to the post office, Lynn!


Thanks again for reading and stay tuned for more giveaways from TheWifey.co!

GIVEAWAY--Extended 1 More Day!

I've had only a few direct email responses to the John Robshaw Stationery Collection Giveaway, so I have decided to extend the giveaway for 1 more day!

For a chance to receive this lovely collection all you have to do is:

1. Like "The Wifey" on Facebook and share this post.
2. Leave a comment below this post and tell us what the best letter (or email) you have ever received was.
3. Let us know who you plan to write with your new stationery--don't worry, you don't need to give any personal details!

And that's it! 


Thanks!

GIVEAWAY--John Robshaw Stationery Collection

I hope that you read and enjoyed yesterday's post about letter writing. Personally I plan on reviving my letter-writing habits. Hopefully I'll receive some similar hand-written responses, but regardless, I will do my best to bring a smile to a few mailboxes!

If you'd like to do the same, here's a chance to win some fun new stationery--FREE--in my first GIVEAWAY!

John Robshaw is a noted textile designer and Chronicle Books has taken his designs and produced a great collection of stationery. 
16 sheets (4 different designs), 16 envelopes, and adress labels in vibrant colors and patterns.

How to enter:

1. Like "The Wifey" on Facebook and share this post.
2. Leave a comment below this post and tell us what the best letter (or email) you have ever received was.
3. Let us know who you plan to write with your new stationery--don't worry, you don't need to give any personal details!

And that's it! 

The winner will be chosen at random and be announced on Monday in a new post and on Facebook. 

The Power of the Pen

I've moved around quite a bit in the last several years. So often, in fact, that I have boxes that I haven't opened in years. In one of my last moves I came across a box that was labeled "MBP/Personal," which could quite literally have contained anything private, intimate, or sentimental. 

I shouldn't have bothered to open it. After all, if I didn't know what the box contained it was likely that I didn't need the contents anytime soon. But I did open it, and out poured years' worth of letters. Yes, letters. Before email, cell phones, Facebook, and facetime I actually corresponded regularly by mail with friends who lived everywhere--from all over the US to Italy, Spain, Japan, Australia, and South America. 

The other now-extinct oddity I found, were notes. Notes left on my door when someone dropped by my apartment and I wasn't home; there was no cell phone on which to call me. They were the texts of my college days. (Either that or someone would call and leave a message on your answering machine and then you would have to call in and listen to your messages...) Here's a particularly entertaining one:

Or how about this impromptu bit of poetry:

What I probably should have done was read a few letters, get a little nostalgic, then put them all back, re-tape the box and move on to more pressing things on my to-do list. What I did instead was spend hours sitting on the floor, poring over my correspondence. There were postcards from all over the world; cards for every and no occasion; letters from friends with whom I'm still in touch; letters from old school friends I had lost contact with (until Facebook for some); and letters from old beaus--some even tied with ribbon.

There are no less than thirty cards plus letters from one of my best friends and, believe it or not, some friends and I used to exchange...faxes. Fax. Machine. Well, here's a fun fax--and it printed out on that thermo...whatever paper that feels really weird and from which  all the printing fades away eventually. If you're curious as to why my nice Jewish friend was affecting an unusual dialect, I think it had something to do with a movie that we had be watching and re-watching at the time.

Oh, and in case you're curious as to the article my friend sent me, here it is. Just don't ask me to explain it--I couldn't possibly--but "Robbi Jeffy" (not his real name, but I remember is a joke related to the dialect) always did have a good sense of humor.

I know that it sounds old-fashioned, but I miss corresponding by mail. Personally, I still try to write notes and letters whenever the opportunity presents itself--and sometimes for no reason at all--but usually the reply comes in the form of a phone call or an email. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate how many different ways and how quickly we can get in touch with one another, but sometimes I wish our correspondence was slower and more thoughtful. There is also something about not needing a wifi signal to sit down and read the thoughts that someone wanted to share with you.

What might be just as interesting though, is sitting down to read the thoughts that someone wanted to share with someone else. While there are several books out there that are collections of correspondence, here are two titles with which I've recently been engrossed.






The first book is Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience. This collection of letters to and/or from the notable, famous, and celebrated caught my attention from the first entry.









In this first letter, Queen Elizabeth II writes to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In her missile the Queen writes to the President because she realizes that she "had never sent you the recipe for the drop scones which I promised you at Balmoral." Priceless. 

Her Highness writes two double-sided sheets to Eisenhower noting that when it comes to the scone recipe "I generally put in less flour and milk, but use the other ingredients as stated."

I don't know about you, but I love imagining her in the palace kitchen, her apron dusty with flour. 

Signing off as "Elizabeth R" (R as in Regina)...

she includes the following recipe:

I've already made a copy for myself, which I plan on trying when the occasion presents--after all, I found my recipe for Yorkshire Pudding in another book of letters, 84, Charing Cross Road. (It's delicious, in case you were wondering.)

But in addition to this very friendly and politics-free letter from Elizabeth R, Letters of Note shares Elvis Presley's five-page in-flight letter to President Richard Nixon. He offers his services as a "Federal Agent at Large" on page two:

 ...

Then there's the 1956 letter twelve-year-old Jim Berger wrote to noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright commissioning plans for a house for his labrador, Eddie. His father promised to build it if Wright would design it. Mr. Berger completed construction in 1963:

Well done, Jim!

Marlon Brando was no stranger to fan mail, I'm sure, but how about these letters from authors Jack Kerouac and Mario Puzo. Both were efforts to woo the actor to bring their books to life on the silver screen.

"I'm praying that you'll buy ON THE ROAD
and make a movie of it."

"I wrote a book called THE GODFATHER which has
had some success..."

There are dozens of letters penned by the likes of Eudora Welty, Clementine Churchill, Mick Jagger, Mark Twain, and Fidel Castro. But even if the writer or recipient isn't famous, it's still curious to get a glimpse into the minds and relationships of others.

Several years ago I picked up another collection of letters entitled Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See.

These mostly modern love letters include emails, post-it notes, messages scribbled on napkins and phone message slips, drawings, collages, as well as cards and some good, old-fashioned love letters. Some are syrupy sweet, some snarky, some sexy, but all are sincere and meant to be secret.

This particular note made me smile:

And I have to applaud the creativity of this one:

There's not always time for creativity, though, but any slip of paper will do...

And  you don't need to use personalized, embossed stationery to create a letter that will be cherished.

Considering how much of our day we spend sending emails and texts, taking the time out to put pen to paper and write someone is in itself a meaningful gesture. It's a gesture that I think we should make more often.

If you need another reason to write, check back here tomorrow for a correspondence-inspired giveaway!

Figs This Exit!

My father was a gardener. He loved to plant vegetables from seeds, cultivate grapevines, and tend to his  fig tree, which grew the most sweet and delicious fruit. All summer long his crops would fill baskets on the kitchen counter and table in my parents home.

Often, after weeding and tending his garden he would sit on the patio and relax, satisfied at his plantings progress. One summer day, while sitting with him there, I noticed a fixated stare and followed it to the power cables that bordered the property.

I asked him what was so interesting about them and he said in Italian "Scoiattoli." Squirrels. Still confused I looked up to see a couple of the bushy-tailed hoarders confidently traveling back and forth on the high wire.

"It's like an autostrada (highway) for them," my father would say. But he was not at all amused by this.

As it turns out, squirrels would take the exit for our garden, jump from wire to tree, cross the garden and scurry up the fig tree. The uninvited guests select a fruit from among the tasty offerings, examine said fruit and either remain in the tree to dine or choose another "table" al fresco. Sated, they simply discard whatever remains of the fig--skin, stem, what have you--around the garden.

Not good.

Now, the fig tree had grown well beyond expectations, and there were plenty of figs to go around, even after sharing some with the scoiattoli. But my father believed that this was not a good precedent to set. It was the principle of the thing.

How to discourage the squirrels from feasting on the figs and solve this problem?

While my father was no fan of the squirrels' pesky behavior, neither did he mean them any harm. He set out some humane traps that would simply catch the gluttonous offenders. Loading the full cages into his car he drove the squirrels to the park and set them free to forage among the vegetation there.

Back on the patio with a satisfied grin, my father proudly surveyed his flourishing garden and the absence of half-eaten figs on the ground. A job well done.

Well, yes . . . for a while.

Unfortunately, the park was a mere block away and our epicurean squirrels' internal GPS soon led them back to the autostrada and to the exit at the garden.

My father was not pleased. But being a foodie himself, he understood the attraction to his garden and its fruits, so he couldn't really blame the squirrels.

Last fall, while having breakfast at my parents' house, movement my attention was caught by a small visitor on the patio outside the breakfast room . . .

I feel quite certain that if my father had seen up close how much his uninvited guests enjoyed his figs, he might not have minded so much.

Back to Shcool

The "Back to School" season is generally seen as early fall--even late summer what with supplies for students filling the shelves not long after the Fourth of July (don't even get me started on the seasonal marketing schedule). But this month is back to school again for the spring semester and I have to admit...I'd like to be going back myself.

As a child I loved the back-to-school shopping and getting new "school shoes" (yes, the shoe fixation goes that far back). But even through university and grad school I loved shopping for my books, starting a new notebook, and choosing my courses. I sometimes regretted my a choice or two, but even with a bad class thrown in here and there I miss school.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the "student lifestyle" that I miss--it was fun, but it was by no means the best time of my life. It's the learning I miss...no, really, it is! I have always been a voracious reader and I love learning new things. Maybe sometime in the not too distant future I'll find myself able to be immersed in school again, but until then I'll have to content myself with self-study...not to mention some of the trappings of a student who is "all grown up" now.

Back to Shcool by mbphipps featuring a ceramic cup

Henri Bendel nylon backpack / Prada tortoise eyeglass, $285 / A6 Notebook Ruled Paper White Paper / Battery operated wall clock / Ceramic cup / Prada Planner, $240 / What Is the History of the Chalkboard?

In with the New

It seems that half of last year just slipped by without a new post. I'm not exactly sure how that happened--I wasn't living in a cave; I hadn't lost the use of my hands (and even if I had, there's dictation software out there); and it's not like I didn't have anything to say (just ask anyone who knows me). But, somehow, life got in the way of posting.

What happened? Well, I moved...again. It started in June and technically has lasted to date--I've still not unpacked all the boxes because...I'm moving again--next week. Don't ask. Then there were multiple extended trips to New York for family business.

And then my Basset Hound, Rufus, required spinal surgery in early November to remove a herniated disc. Eight hour spinal surgery that required him to have strict stall rest for thirty days and then limited rest for another thirty (and trust me, he did not like it)...which brought us right into the new year. He's back to his old self again, though he's not allowed to climb stairs anymore, at least not more than a few. (I have to thank the doctors in the neurology department at the Animal Medical Center in New York, I would trust them with my own life.)

We're halfway through January now, and I've read my share of "resolution" blogs and I'm not keen on writing my own. The truth is, I don't like new year's resolutions much. It just seems arbitrary to me that you resolve to make some change in your life on a particular day simply because it begins a new year. The fact of the matter is that unless you resolve to something every day you won't follow through on anything.

That said, I have set some new goals for myself. One of them is a long-term goal that I've been working toward for the last ten months or so. I'll discuss that when it comes to fruition--I'm a little superstitious and don't want to jinx it! I'm cultivating some new habits as well regarding my free time and my lifestyle and writing as well.

So while I won't resolve to post every day, or even every other day, let's just say that you'll be seeing new posts here a lot more often than in these past six months! One thing I'd really like is to hear from you--about anything at all. Share your own resolutions, opinions, news, or even problems. Comments are more than welcome or you can email me at ask@thewifey.co.

Cheers!

Walkin' the Dogs . . . Well, Hounds.

Foxhunting is something that I've been intrigued with for years now. While I've not had a lifestyle that permitted me to join the field, living somewhere again with an active hunt club (two, actually, here in the Lexington area) makes the opportunity to learn about the sport very accessible.

Recently, compliments of a foxhunting friend, I went on my first Iroquois Hunt hound walk. Simply put, a hound walk is a walk through hunt country with a pack of hounds of varying ages and experience to teach them the lay of the land and to learn about their individual personalities.

While the Master of Foxhounds (MFH) and huntsman will walk with the scent-hungry hounds, there will also likely be a few mounted foxhunters along to turn the hounds should they not respond to the call of the MFH, or to seek out the occasional wandering novice hound.

On this particular day we were five on foot and three mounted with eleven couple (hounds are counted in pairs, so twenty-two) of foxhounds. And tried as I might have, I couldn't resist uttering the words "Release the hounds!" when I saw the doors of the trailer open and the pack burst out.

Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

We walked across the field over the hilly landscape while the hound advanced and retreated to the sound of the MFH's prompts and horn blows.

    Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

They will survey the land . . .

Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

and when they come back in . . .

     Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

 they are amply rewarded by the MFH with treats from her bottomless leather satchel. And it's every hound for himself!

Sometimes a hound--or a couple--will stray. It's understandable for the novice hounds in the pack--so many scents to follow! 

To facilitate the tracking of wayward hounds, each one is outfitted with GPS collars, like these . . . 

Photos by Melaina Balbo Phipps

The fields were wide and very inviting to roam . . . 

   Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

    Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

and, understandably, we were not the only ones enjoying the countryside that day. 

It seems that as much curiosity as was aroused in the hounds by the scents and the sights was also aroused in the herd of cattle that decided to take a break from their grazing and stalk us around the fields . . . 

    Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

They were definitely interested in what we were doing out there, in what I can only surmise they considered their land.

For such a large herd they were fairly stealthy.

    Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

and they kept their distance . . . mostly.

    Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

But for as gentle as these bovines can be, there is something very imposing about turning around and seeing this . . . 

    Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

And I've learned that you shouldn't let their languor fool you, they can catch up pretty quickly when they want.

                     Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

After a couple of hours and with all hounds accounted for we made it back to the trailers and cars, a successful hound walk complete.

Hounds were happy to relax after a good morning's work . . . 

    Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

    Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

but the cattle seemed to want us to stay a bit longer . . . 

                      Photo by Melaina Balbo Phipps

I guess that means they won't mind if we come back. 

A great many thanks to my friend for taking me out, the MFH for the beginnings of my foxhunting education, and our host for the access to enjoy his beautiful piece of pasture!