Chuck Wagon Cuisine

Huzz was asked to be a guest judge in the Western Heritage Classic chuck wagon cookoff over the weekend. Me and Nikon came along for the ride.
And despite my objections and explanation that I was on a detox diet consisting of unprocessed foods, mainly fruits and veggies, I was recruited at the last minute to judge as well.
I judged the bread category. I could have chosen beans and probably remained faithful to my diet, but tasting 18 different varieties of chuck wagon beans sounded like it would make me want to, well, chuck. I think bread was a better choice than dessert. I'm not sure why they didn't just call the category "peach cobbler."Huzz picked meat, otherwise known as chicken fried steak.It was all made in authentic chuck wagons, although I saw a sprinkling of bottled water and hand sanitizer that I'm sure Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving would scoff at.

Did I mention I live in Texas?But that I very much appreciate my American citizenship?

Nesting

After almost two years nestled in my buttery yellow 7'x9' office, I decided to decorate. This picture frame has sat empty since November, when I received it as a gift and stuck it up on the thumb tack which was already conveniently waiting for something to hold on to.
I didn't intend to use this small frame for my big bird silhouette project.
I bought two 11"x14" brown frames at Hobby Lobby last week for $3. I got home and spray painted them white and left them on the floor of the garage to dry. Huzz wasn't supposed to be home for another hour, but just five minutes after I went inside I heard a crunch and a car door. One of the frames was actually framing the bottom of the tire. They both had tracks on them, but neither broke. Maybe I'll use them in the future.
It all works out in the end, because I wasn't having any luck with my big art projects. I had taken the silhouette from the pillow in the post below and started to cut out the birds and branches, but it just wasn't working with my paper selection.
So I scaled down and made two little 3"x5" bird pics and now they're resting comfortably to my left on an otherwise blank wall.

For the birds

I hate real birds. I think they're pretty gross. It might have something to do with the terrible grackle infestation at my college and the abatement process that had me dodging 7-8 bird carcasses every morning on my way from Mozart Hall to the GAB.

I adore, however, this new bird silhouette trend that's taking over right now. I'm convinced it's a fleeting trend (groan), but that's not going to stop me from jumping on board. Check out this adorable baby's room chandelier on Living with Lindsay. I can't stand how much I love it.So I got the bird itch this week and flew to Hobby Lobby on my lunch break today (ok, I'll stop) to pick up some scrap book paper and some frames. I had a very specific color and pattern scheme in mind -- butter yellow, gray, stripe, damask -- but the selection just wasn't right. Did that stop me, though? Did I leave with a plan to see what Michael's had on my way home from work? No. I settled. But I think I'm happy with my selections and will leave you with these two inspirations that I plan to turn into something beautiful (well, acceptable at least).Ok, I'm also inspired by the real-life ground nesting bird that set up a nursery in my front yard this season brooding over her four adorable speckled eggs. She's actually pretty sweet, even though I feel she's taunting me. If those things hatch on Mother's Day I will be super peeved.