Whole Larder Love

I like food. No, I love food. I've got a whole lotta love for food. In honor of his new book, Whole Larder Love, I had the pleasure of listening to Australian blogger, cookbook author and food warrior Rohan Anderson share the beginnings of his journey as a hunter/gatherer; hosted at Longman & Eagle's Off Site Bar. To top it all off, Rohan carried out a first hand demonstration on skinning a rabbit. His familiarity with the process was mesmerizing. I can't imagine that knowledge will ever come in handy for myself but Rohan's desire to work for his food has stuck with me (and to thank for my newly acquired tomato plant.) Post-skinning, Longman worked their magic and made a lovely dish for Rohan which I may have stole a delicious bite of. Thank you, Max Wastler, for introducing me and being an always charismatic host.

Rabbit Avenue

I am having an affair... with the city of Toronto. It shouldn't come as a surprise since it's often compared to Chicago, but my love for Toronto is in the honeymoon stage when it can do no wrong. For my birthday, I treated myself to a flight there via Porter Airlines. I spent the weekend with some of the most loving, easy-going humans I know. We met only a year ago but their hospitality and city keep me coming back. I spent my last day biking with Annie around Kensington Market, stopping for ice cream and candy and sampling jams and mustard. That evening, I wanted to take a moment to capture my lady friends in the garden they've begun curating. At one point, Cailtin sweetly inquired, "Do you know when you've taken a good picture?" This stuck with me and the answer is yes. There's a feeling when I know I've taken something that encapsulates the moment perfectly; a desire to freeze what my mind sees so others might see it too. Of course, I don't have to travel anywhere to find that feeling... but it doesn't hurt when I get to see these faces.

Top notch

For me, making an afternoon's journey to get ice cream is old hat. And not just any ordinary ice cream but Original Rainbow Cone. A medley of flavors stacked sky high had me drive 30 minutes south and wait 15 minutes in 30 degrees to get it. Luckily Mr. Max Wastler came along to humor me. I now regret his suggestion of taking home a tub of the Palmer House (cherry vanilla with walnuts.) Afterwards, we stopped by Optimo Hats ("Life's better in a great hat.") The interior, lined with magnificent hats, had a sultry vibe much like a speakeasy would. On the way out of town and on a whim, Max and I stopped into Top Notch, a diner serving up savory beefburgers since 1942 and the best diner fries I've ever had. The recent Rainbow Cone had yet to be forgotten so we split a meal and called it a day, but not before Max could pick up some memorabilia to wear home.

H'orderves

Spent a leisure weekend in the grand city of Fort Scott, Kansas (pop. 8,000). It's quaint nature makes me feel like a real "city girl" away from everything she's ever known (like Target). I lack wanting to type anymore so here's an image prior to assisting DJ a high school prom in Pittsburg, KS. Playing it cool by the h'orderves table.

ark & co. "bird dress" $75, Standard Style.