Easy as Bolognese! (That sorta rhymes right?)

Happy joyous Friday everyone!

Today is one of those days. When I woke up and everything felt good. The sun is shining in Portland. We are supposed to hit 70 degrees. And tonight Jeremy and I are going to a concert!

Woo hoo!

I told you guys it's concert season now.
I warned you!

Tonight we are driving out to Spirit Mountain Casino to see the 90's country superstar
Jo Dee Messina!

Heads Carolina, Tails California...somewhere greener somewhere warmer...
...up in the mountains, down by the ocean...
where it don't matter
long as we are going!

If you can't tell I'm really excited. But enough about that.

Today I have a lovely recipe to share with you.

Recipe: Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 C onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
dice up some carrots and green bell pepper (or use red/yellow for more color!)
a few thyme sprigs (slide your fingers down the sprigs to pull off the leaves into your sauce)
chili flakes (to taste put start with 1 tsp)
2 lbs. ground beef, turkey, or pork
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C dry white wine
1 28 oz. can crushed tomato (add as much as you like until you get the consistency you want)
1/2 C veggie broth
Parmesan cheese for topping
Pasta (I used spaghetti but pick your favorite)

Directions:
Cook your veggies, garlic, onion, thyme, and chili flakes in a large sauce pan over medium heat until softened (5 or 6 minutes).
Add your ground meat and brown. Takes 5-7 minutes or so.
Add salt, pepper and more chili if you like.
Add the white wine and then let it simmer until the white wine has almost evaporated.

Add your tomatoes and veggie broth and simmer until your sauce is the consistency (as thick) as you want it. I simmered mine for around 15-20 minutes.

Cook your pasta, then drain and and mix the pasta and sauce all together.
Add a little cheese.
Spin around in a circle and poof!
You're done.

Delish in a dish.

A How To Guide to Festival Season (Country Version)

It's here. F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. I don't know about you, but I feel like I've been waiting for this for a very long time. Maybe it was all the rain and my desperate need for sunshine and summertime. Maybe it was the months of talking about it and anxiously counting down. But whatever it was now it's almost here...STAGECOACH. The glorious, weekend-long, country music festival in the desert that I wouldn't miss for all the world.

The best part? Stagecoach is just the beginning. It kicks off summer and summer in my world means going to every single country concert I can possibly squeeze in. For better or worse...here in Oregon we only have a few precious months of summer (read: good weather) and everything must be crammed in. That means concerts on weeknights, every weekend, and sometimes two in one weekend. Heaven.

As summer progresses I'm sure I'll be including quite a few concert entries, but for now I'd like to focus on Stagecoach. The forecast for Palm Springs next weekend is hovering around 93 degrees and sunny. This means I need to be prepared for 12 hours in the sun, two days in a row. Now you might be wondering, how is that pasty Oregonian going to survive? Well my friend, let me start by saying I've been prepping for this moment for the past few weeks. That means unavoidably I had to take a few trips to the tanning salon.

That was only the first step on my check list:

Stagecoach Must Do List
Buy tickets - Check.
Hotel reservation - Check.
Book flights - Check.
Tan - Check.
Secure Festival Wardrobe - Check!!

Of course, we all know the staples of the country concert wardrobe...cowboy boots and hat. Being a die hard country fan, these are already in my closet, along with my Jack Daniels Whiskey Makes Me Frisky Dress (see photo below for evidence). However, the high temps and desert setting for this particular concert calls for some additional thought and effort (shopping!).

Here are the musts for the Stagecoach wardrobe:

Denim Shorts
Tank Tops
Bikini
Funky Accessories
SUNGLASSES

Pretty easy right? After a trip to Nordstrom earlier this week I'm completely set for next weekend. If anyone else is headed to Stagecoach (or any other country concert) Nordy's has some great Native American/Western inspired accessories right now. Free People is also a great brand for all your festival-clothing-needs.

I promise after the festival I'll be sure to upload some photos and highlights from the weekend. But for now, I'll leave you with this photo from last year's Stagecoach Festival! Hope to see you all there!!