moving sale!

o Karleigh has moved!  you can now find me HERE! please come join me in this new little corner of the interweb.

add me to your reading lists and let's resume the party!  super cheesy, sorry.

the sweet stylings of James Taylor

hi everyone!  how was your weekend?  I went bowling which is always super fun especially when you win!  sorry Mom and Dad but your bowling skills are lacking.  someone had to tell you.  and how about them Packers eh?  

as you can guess by the title, we are gathered here today to talk about James Taylor.  and judging by the photos you can assume that I saw him in concert.   you are correct and correct!  I am becoming very predictable.  my dear mother and I went to Milwaukee for said concert but before we feasted!  we went to Morel, a newer restaurant in Walker's Point.  we chose Morel because we have known the sous chef since he was 16 years old.  he is essentially an adopted child  except we went there on his one and only night off.  bad timing and poor planning all around.  anyway, it is an excellent joint with a farm-to-table mentality.  their menu is delicious with many many things I have never heard of.  you can find their menu HERE. for dessert we had chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and walnut and bacon brittle.  you read that right, walnut and BACON brittle.  ten thumbs up.  we are planning a return trip in December with the rest of the clan, I am so excited!  

after stuffing our faces, it was back to the Bradley Center for James Taylor.  he is a very cool, very funny dude.  here is a song you will recognize:

that mustache, those bellbottoms. 

he has one of those memorable, soothing voices that can just put you to sleep but in a good way.  you catching my drift?  he is also one of those unknown yet popular kind of artists where you'll hear a song and be like "no shit, this is James Taylor?"  then you immediately download every song he's ever made.  I would know, it happened to me.  my mom sort of sprung this concert on me so I didn't have proper time to study before showtime.

the crowd at this show was really...weird?  lots of old people.  lots of canes and walkers blocking the aisle.  lots of old people fighting because this person was talking and that person was singing too loud.  these two women in front of us struck up a friendly conversation rehashing their recent medical problems.  woman #1 recently had an aneurysm repair and two strokes while woman #2 recently beat breast cancer.  that is all they talked about.  I do not want to get old.

also I would like to point out a new trend I'm seeing.  us Wisconsin folk are very loyal to our sports teams: Packers, Brewers, Badgers etc.  we apparently want to force our favorite musicians to love our sports teams too.  poor James was peer pressured in to putting on this Brewers jersey.  a few weeks ago at Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder had a Packer's jersey thrown at him.  Eddie is from Chicago and is a genuine Bear's fan (unfortunately) but the crowd was adamant that he put on that Packer's jersey.  we are a loyal, forceful people.  

happy Tuesday, see you soon.

Olson's famous caramel brownies

are you ready for the most delicious brownies of all time?  

this is a famous recipe in my family so use it wisely.  you will get many many requests for these puppies!

you will need:

1 (18 oz) package of German chocolate cake mix                            1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 (6 oz) package of chocolate chips                                                  3/4 cup melted butter

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

combine the cake mix, butter and evaporated milk.  do not make the cake mix like it states on the box, completely ignore that.  spread half of the mixture in a lightly greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes.  my oven takes 8 minutes but it's old and lame.  you don't need it to be fully cooked, you will be baking again later.  once out of the oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips and nuts on top.  we are not nut people so we always skip that.  

next step!  you will need:

50 caramels                           1/3 cup evaporated milk

we use those square caramels that are individually wrapped so find a small child to unwrap them. that's what my mom always did.  melt the caramels in the evaporated milk, once smooth, drizzle over the chocolate chips and nuts.  crumble the remaining cake mixture on top.  bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

make sure to let them cool fully before cutting otherwise it's a crazy mess!

enjoy!  

Pearl Jam

last week a downsized group of the Olson clan wandered to, you guessed it, Milwaukee for, you guessed right again, a concert.  this time it was Pearl Jam! it seems that most of Wisconsin was in town for this show, downtown was super packed.  we walked through five bars before deciding to hop across the river in search of smaller crowds, margaritas and enchiladas.  we stumbled into Rudy's Mexican Restaurant.  those poor folks were obviously not expecting crazy crowds on a Monday.  bless their hearts. 

after we stuffed our faces with margaritas, we hopped over to the Bradley Center for the big show.  when I say big show, I mean HUGE!  as you can see below, there were people everywhere.

the show was excellent, they played for three hours.  THREE hours.  at 11:00 pm the Bradley center flipped on the big, house lights to signal the show was over...just kidding. Pearl Jam played for another half hour.  Eddie just doesn't know when to quit.  seriously, he doesn't, by rough estimate we believe he drank four to five bottles of wine throughout the night.  damn dude. 

also, Aaron Rodgers was there.  we went to a concert with Aaron Rodgers.  suck it.

a lesson in quiet time

a few nights ago, I awoke at the ripe time of 2:03 AM.  great, another night of interrupted sleep.  I lay there, listening to the boyfriend sleep soundly.  curse him and his slumber!  the next time I look at the clock it's 3:00 AM.  I roll out of bed and wander around the house.  obviously laying in bed isn't going to help this sad situation.

finally, I land on the couch. little Shelly wanders over to cuddle.  we sit together, watching out the window down on to the empty street.  the tv stays off, we sit in the dark and silence watching the world.

all of a sudden, a little rabbit family came hopping down the sidewalk. it was as if they knew not to walk in the road.  a little group of three, hopping along to the corner.  they stop, look both ways and continue hopping across the road.  I look at Shelly and she confirms, she saw it too.  a little bunny family on a midnight stroll.

that is the moment that I realized the magic of sitting, being quiet and just observing the world.  it's amazing the things you miss when you're also occupied either in mind, body or both.

take a moment today to sit in silence with just you're thoughts and watch.  you might only see cars zooming by or leaves floating in the wind.  or, you might just see something unexpected.



keep your eyes open for a new delicious recipe in the next few days.

also, I just realized it's November.  when the hell did that happen?

national cat day

it's national cat day in case you hadn't noticed.  my entire instagram feed is cats which is totally fine with me.  i can't miss this perfect opportunity to brag about my own little fur baby, Shelly.

she is the raddest little kitty on the planet.  she's wild, quirky, cuddly and sweet.  she enjoys chasing strings, biting balloons and sleeping on shoes.

she is the best and i love her to death.  happy cat day, Shelly.  not that you'll read this because you're a cat.  ya know.

monday funday

happy monday everyone!  it is a random beautiful day here in burlington, like 73 degrees in october.  really?  how does that happen?

need some music for you monday?  i'll be listening to this song over and over and over and over and over today.