Baby, it's chili inside!

It's been a dark, rainy day in D.C. -- the type of day for which comfort food was made. Perfect time to fire up my beloved 7-quart Crock-Pot!

Cooking, even when it's as simple as putting ingredients in a pot and letting it simmer all day, brings me so much joy. When I was little, I'd dutifully watch my mother prep the meat and chop the vegetables and add a pinch here and a dash there to make every dinner special and delicious.

To this day, I'm amazed by Mom's ability have a full time job yet serve a homemade meal for my dad, sister, and I nearly every night. Perhaps that's why I get frustrated when women tell me they're too busy to cook. All it takes is a crock-pot and an extra fifteen minutes in the morning to get a delicious supper, lunch for a week, and salvation from both the sketchy deli by your office and the $9.00 salad epidemic that has taken over D.C.

Pan to Pot Sweet & Mild Chili
1lb ground beef
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can sliced olives, undrained
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tbsp + 1tsp chili powder
1 tsp nutmeg

Brown ground beef over medium heat, adding in 1tsp chili powder. Combine tomatoes, beans, olives, onion, pepper, and meat in crock-pot. Stir in chili powder and nutmeg. Cover and cook over low heat for about 8 hours. Serve with cornbread and a dollop of sour cream, and enjoy!

Look Good / Be Good

One thing that I've always envied about Southern girls is their ability to look put together, regardless of circumstance. Their hair is always done, their hands are always manicured, their makeup looks flawless, and there's no such thing as a bad outfit.

As someone who was prone to tying back her still-wet hair with chipped nails as she dashed out the door for work, leaving her mane to air-dry into uneven waves, I knew I had to start putting forth more of an effort on a day-to-day basis. So this past week, instead of pushing the snooze button for the fifth time, I found myself waking up at 6:30am to hop in the shower and start my morning routine.

I was amazed at my results. By giving myself just one more waking hour before work, I found I had the time to really put my best foot forward everyday. I had the time to touch up my nail polish and straighten my hair. I could really look at my outfit and decide if I need another bracelet or a belt of a different necklace.  I had a real breakfast that wasn't in front of my work computer, and I could catch up on current events (read: Facebook and Twitter) from the comfort of my own home.

Starting your day in a frenzy affects the rest of it. When we feel rushed, we get stressed, and quality suffers. Not that Southerners are immune to stress (my Southern friends are some of the hardest working people I know here), just that they know how to conceal the hurricane swirling beneath the surface. This week was strange, for a number of reasons, but I refused to let that show through my appearance. What business it is of strangers to know that I am anything other than content?

My new mantra is to look good and be good. It's funny how those two things can make you feel so good, too.

Towards a new way of living

Not quite sure how I'm supposed to introduce a blog, but I feel that it needs to be done, especially when said blog intends to chronicle my transformation from a Milwaukee pseudo-hipster to a prim and polished faux-Southerner in D.C.

Some background: mere hours after graduating college, I began packing up the previous 21 years of my life into my parents' van and started driving east to start my life as a "real person" with a full-time job (and a not-so-full sized apartment). I had gotten an internship with a prominent lobbying organization just a few blocks away from the White House, and was excited for the opportunities that laid before me. I made friends, I learned a lot, and I'm still here, 18 months later.

I've loved my time in D.C. so far, so why change? Truth be told, I never felt any particular affinity towards the Midwest, despite having lived in Wisconsin my entire life. There were only three things I truly enjoyed about my youth: fresh cheese curds, Lake Michigan, and the Green Bay Packers. I will always love my hometown team, but the Great Lakes just can't compare to the ocean, and once my body started rejecting lactose, I knew it was time to surrender to "The Southern Calling".

A few weeks ago, over a liquid dinner as I watched the Gamecocks struggle for a win, I turned to my friends gathered and said, "Y'all, I want to be Southern." So here goes ...