why i'm excited about turning 34 / the brave ones with megan silianoff

Something that gets me really inspired is hearing the real life stories of other women.  The real stuff.  Life, love, failure, dreams, disappointment, fear.  I want to hear stories, tell stories, celebrate stories.  Every one of us has so many unique stories, and yet, in every story there is something that each of us can nod our heads to and whisper, "me too, man, me too."  I'm all about that.  Listening to real people's stories makes me feel less alone, it makes me feel like we're all in this together, even if I forget from time to time.  I think that story tellers, especially those who tell very personal and vulnerable stories, are seriously brave humans.  It can be pretty scary to share your truth, and I believe it takes bravery to share your story.  So here's the beginning of a new series on the blog, featuring open and honest guest posts by rad ladies I like to call "The Brave Ones."  First up, an amazing women I had the pleasure of befriending at TxSC CAMP, Megan Silianoff.  Megan is amazing for a myriad of reasons, and if you want to read her story, you should grab a copy of her book, 99 Problems but a Baby Ain't One (Which I devoured in little over one plane flight), and I'll be giving away a signed copy later today! Take it away, Megan!

or a few years now my cousin and I (both 33) have been co-writing a screenplay in our heads titled This is 30. It’s the prologue to Judd Apatow’s This is 40 - a comedy about the various challenges 40 somethings typically face in that specific decade of life.

This is 30 (same concept, different decade) commences with a 33 year old writer-type (me essentially) dry heaving in the sand of Chicago’s Oak Street Beach. I hold a plastic bag in one hand and hide my face with the other as hundreds of beach-goers stare, point, and throw a lot of “hey are you okay?” my way. The camera pans down the beach where we my cousin (a successful career type) watches me, laughs, and attempts to get a pic of this newest phase of my hangover. She can’t get off a decent shot though with the distance between us and the babysitting job I gave her when I ran off and said, “WATCH MY KID. I’M GONNA PUKE!” The point we’re trying to make in this film, and opening scene, is that your 30’s are a very peculiar decade. We’re young enough that weekday hangovers are still on the table but old enough that we can’t stay in bed to ride them out.

The 30’s decade is grueling for a myriad of reasons. It’s a time when there’s no light at the end of the tunnel regarding “the big stuff” in life. Kids for example. Based on the average age of pregnancy, a lot of our offspring are babies or toddlers. Parenting at any age is hard, but parenting tots is PHYSICALLY exhausting in a way that parenting teens is not. (Teens generally aren’t fans of being carried, for example.)

Our 30’s are generally a “make it or break it” time in our careers. Lots of heads-down, putting the time in, setting the foundation, type stuff that’s paving the way for the rest of our professional lives. Job hopping and “gigging” is generally less cute, encouraged, and applauded at this stage in the game. There’s pressure to have figured out what you want to be when you grow up, even though most people, at any age, can’t answer that question.

We have to mention the single ladies scenario as well. If you’re single and ready to mingle in your thirties – panic starts to set in, which is validated by your friends, family, and society in general. No more, “you’re young – have fun” pep talks. Instead, we’re encouraged when we sarcastically joke about freezing our eggs or looking into adoption. “Do it!” they say, “Good for you girl!”


But 30 isn’t all bad. If you’re a glass half-full type of person, you absolutely can make a toast! The exciting news is that we’re generally “on fleek” in terms of our looks ladies! As much as we’re worried about sun damage, gray hair, and post-baby bods, we’re actually in our prime! Take Kourtney Kardashian (and Kim for that matter) as examples. Kourt was “basic” in her 20s but these days she’s often argued to be the best-looking Kardashian! J.Lo and Kelly Ripa are strangely looking better as they age. And sit down for this one. Studies show women are at their sexual prime at thirty-four. Are you writing this down? Thirty-four. You remember how I old I said I was, right?!

Wisdom is said to be the sum of your mistakes or bad experiences in life. We 30 somethings have accumulated infinite wisdom by now. For me personally, that came in the form of ovarian cancer, navigating the domestic adoption process, called off engagements, Homeland killing off Brody, and a bunch of other drama. Like my fellow 30 somethings, I’ve traded some bright-eyed naivety for experience and it feels good. Empowering even.

This is why it’s almost cliché at this point to hear women say 30 was when they finally felt comfortable in their own skin. Take my cousin for example. She didn’t pass the bar exam recently. Despite the obvious disappointment she didn’t have a melt down, plan a suicide, or post cryptic emoticons on Facebook. She knew it wasn’t a reflection of her intelligence (she already has a master degree btw) but simply a result of timing. Two months before the test she met and fell in love with her probably husband and therefore didn’t study as much as she should have. It was a mature and healthy response that she’d NEVER have had in her 20’s. She felt bad about failing the bar but good about her response to it. This is 30.

We don’t know how our screenplay ends yet but we’re brainstorming possibilities for our characters aka ourselves. To me – that’s the very best thing about being a thirty something. The fact that we’re old enough to know better but young enough to still dream a little. We’re not going to be the next American Idol (there’s an age limit) but there’s still a possibility we could “make it” in whatever it is that we do. Kristin Wigg, Bradley Cooper, JK Rowling, Julia Child, and Vera Wang all are encouraging examples of this. At 30 something, we know what’s in the realm of possibility and what’s not. But that gray area in-between? It’s still in play as far as I’m concerned. You may already own a strand of pearls, but the world is still your oyster. This is 30.


Thanks Megan!  Stay tuned because I've got a giveaway coming up later today for a signed copy of Megan's book!

Want to share your story?  Here's how to participate:

 Have you experienced something similar, or did this post spark a thought or feeling in you?  Write your own post on your own blog, sharing your experience. Write it quick, don’t overthink it, just spill it all out, it can be pictures if you want, whatever. If you’ve already written one, feel free to link that up, too.

 Include a link in your post back to this post, so your readers can find others writing on the same topic. Feel free to use my photo up there in your post!

 Enter the link to your post (the actual post link, not just your blog link) into the link-up tool thing there below.

 Tell a few people about your post, either through social media or talk about it with a friend over coffee.  Click around and visit a few of the other posts linked up, leave comments for each other, and feel comforted that kindred spirits aren’t as rare as we think!  We're all in this together.  There is strength in numbers!

An InLinkz Link-up

blackberry thyme pie with belgian ale beer

i guys!  I'm super excited to share my first guest contributor today!  Muriel from Pies + Travel is here to share a delicious pie recipe which includes beer!  Beer and pie?  I'm in.  I just turned the heat on in the house for the first time since last spring and a warm pie sounds like the perfect way to commemorate the beginning of fall.  Take it away, Muriel!

I’m Muriel and I blog over at Pies + Travel. Last winter, I challenged myself to bake 50 pies in a year. Why? Because I wanted to learn the ins and outs of pie baking. Pie baking is all about chemistry, the ingredients need to be a certain temperature otherwise it turns into a giant mess! As the summer slips away and Atlanta gets a bit colder (yay!), I wanted to finish off my summer pies with a bang. We had this Belgian Ale Beer in the fridge and it served as the perfect inspiration for this pie. I used Monday Night Brewing’s Gunshow for my beer, a local brewery, but you can use any IPA or Belgian ale of your choice.

For the blackberries, make sure to taste them before starting. Sometimes they may need a day or two to sweeten up a bit. I personally love tart pies. If you have the opportunity to go pick your own, do so! It’s one of my favorite things to do. The fresh thyme in this pie makes the whole kitchen smell so good! So let’s get started.

Note: For the all butter crust, I suggest doing it the night before your actual pie making. I like letting sit in the fridge overnight so it settles and rolls out easier. Just make sure it spends at least an hour in the fridge before you roll it out.



BLACKBERRY THYME PIE WITH BELGIAN ALE BEER
All-Butter Pie Crust (9-inch pie) recipe via the Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup ice

1. Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl.

2. Add the butter pieces and coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula.

3. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-
size pieces of butter remain (a few larger pieces are okay; be careful not to overblend).

4. Combine the water, cider vinegar, and ice in a large measuring cup or small bowl.

5. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture, and mix and cut it in with a bench scraper or spatula until it is fully incorporated.

6. Add more of the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, using the bench scraper or your hands (or both) to mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining.

7. Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight, to give the crust time to mellow.


Pie filling
recipe by Muriel Vega
20 oz of blackberries
1⁄2 cup of beer
3 sprigs of thyme, just the leaves
1 cup of white sugar
1⁄4 cup of cornstarch
Turbinado sugar
Egg wash (one egg yolk beaten plus 1 tablespoon of water)

 
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a large bowl, add the blackberries, cornstarch, thyme, sugar and beer; stir carefully until combined. Let sit for about 20 minutes. If you don’t like tart pies, I would suggest adding 1⁄4 cup to the mix.

2. Roll out the crust on a floured surface with a cold rolling pin (place it in the freezer for about 5 minutes). Place the crust in the pie pan and poke a few holes on the bottom with a fork.

4. Pour the fruit mix into the pie crust and brush the crust with the egg wash mixture. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar all over the pie.

5. Place the pie on a baking sheet and place it on the middle oven rack. Cook for 60 minutes or until the crust starts to brown and the filling is bubbling.

6. Let the pie cool before serving, about an hour. Serve it with ice cream (vanilla is my favorite!) or homemade whipped cream.

photos by Diana Ascarrunz

cold brew coffee

Hey guys!  My friend Mae is here today to give us a lesson in cold brew coffee!  I met Mae through ye olde blogosphere last year and she recently moved to Tacoma, so it's been fun to get to know her IRL.  Her and her husband are all about coffee and I asked if they'd be interested in sharing a recipe for cold brew, since summer is here and hot coffee on a hot day just doesn't sound appealing.  Cold brew, though?  Perfect.

Can I just say how awesome it is to be taking up this little post space on Delightfully Tacky? When I started reading three years ago, I was smitten. More so when I found out that Elizabeth is a PNW dweller like myself. I have loved watching the blog grow and change over the years, and find it crazy that I get to stand on this proverbial mountaintop and say, "Hey!"

Elizabeth once jokingly told a friend that she was responsible for convincing David, my husband, and me to move to Tacoma. It's admittedly mostly the truth. Now here we are sharing a city, which I can confidently say we all love. 

David and I run a coffee review blog called Purista and are a special breed of coffee enthusiasts. We're also in the midst of launching a coffee roasting business which Elizabeth is creating the logo for. Emailing back and forth about design work she asked if we'd be interested in sharing a cold brew recipe, so here we are.

Realizing that we're working with a lot of fancy schmancy equipment that most at home coffee drinkers don't possess, I decided to make this recipe as kitchen friendly as possible. 

This recipe should yield 1 and 1/2 cups of cold brew concentrate, which you can dilute and doctor to your preference. It takes 12-24 hours.

What You'll Need

A One Quart Jar or Container w/Lid

Cheesecloth

Rubber Band

Measuring Cups

Coffee* (1 and 1/3 cup whole bean if you have a grinder, 1 and 3/4 coarsely ground if not)

3 cups cold, filtered or spring water (not distilled!)

Patience!

*A note on coffee: It is advisable to buy whole bean and grind at home immediately before use, but if you don't own a grinder your local shop or roastery will grind it for you to your specification. Tell them you want it coarse for cold brew.

Step One

Measure out your coffee and water. If you have your own grinder and are starting with whole beans measure them whole, 1 and 1/3 cups, then grind. In the event that you are using pre-ground coffee it will take up more space in the cups, so measure out 1 and 3/4 cups.

Step Two

Add your grounds in the jar/container. This can be messy, and most funnels would take forever with their narrow openings. The funnel we have is wider at the bottom and comes with the Aerobie AeroPress, an awesome coffee brewing device that anyone can use and everyone loves. 

 
 

Step Three

Pour in the water, stir it, cap it, and put it in the fridge. 

Step Four 

Take it out of the refrigerator. We do 24 hour brews for fully developed flavors in the concentrate, but if you can't wait 12 hours should suffice. Give it another good stir. Cut a one layer piece of cheesecloth to fit over the opening and secure with the rubber band. 

Step Five

You'll definitely want a funnel for this step. Pour through the cheesecloth. At some point liquid will stop moving through the cloth, but still be in the jar. This is because there is air stuck behind the grounds. Once it stops you can use a spoon, or your fingers (messy!), to gently press at the front of the cheesecloth repeatedly until all of the liquid has made it through. 

Enjoy!

You will end up with approximately 1 and 1/2 cups of concentrate which you can dilute to your taste, sweeten, and/or add milk or cream to. We generally dilute the water with a 1:1 ratio or add unsweetened almond milk in a 2:1 concentrate to milk ratio. 

I hope this recipe keeps your energy levels up and your body temp down this summer! If you're feeling the coffee vibes check us out on IG as both @Purista and @TerminusCoffee. Peace! - Mae

Late fall wedding style with Orchid Grey

Dress // ModCloth :: Bag // Threadsense :: Bracelet // ModCloth :: Shoes // Lulus

Hi there, Julie here from Orchid Grey! I am so excited to be helping out Elizabeth as she gets ready for her big day! As a recent newlywed myself and a long time reader of Delightfully Tacky, I can say that this is such a special time, and I couldn't be happier for her and Dan. I love weddings, and only wish I had more opportunities to attend them, why can't more of my friends be the marrying kind? Haha. Something I always have trouble with though is finding an outfit to wear, there is definitely something about weddings that just puts the pressure on. For a late fall wedding like Elizabeth's, earth tones and neutrals in luxe fabrics are a great way to go. This dress from ModCloth is so fun and just so happy, paired with black wedges from Lulu's, a velvet bag from Threadsense, and a simple bangle from ModCloth, it's the perfect outfit to help celebrate a friend or family member's big day. Do you have a go-to outfit for weddings?

Congratulations Elizabeth and Dan!

Wedding Outfits from jenloveskev

Hi Everyone, it's Jen from jenloveskev! Yay! I am so excited for Elizabeth. Marriage is such an awesome journey. I am so happy for the two of them. I wish them a lifetime of love and happiness! Elizabeth asked us to write about wedding fashion, like perhaps what we would wear to her wedding if we were attending. I started looking back through all my style files and found that I had a good handful of outfits I have posted that have been from weddings. I thought it would be fun to look back on them and recap. Shall we?

These first pictures are from way, way back. I love dressing up for weddings- it's a great excuse to wear the fancy dresses you don't normally get to wear.

Even when I was 8 months pregnant I was trying to look decent for our friends wedding. I wore this black wrap dress over my giant bump. The picture on the right was a few weeks after Rowan was born.

You can even take dresses you wear day to day and dress them up for weddings. I wore a great Modcloth bird dress with a yellow crystal necklace and some heels and felt perfectly dressed for my cousins wedding back in May. The most fun is when you get to be a bridesmaid and they let you chose your own dress. The picture on the right is from Orchid Grey's wedding this past summer.

Aren't weddings the best?