Christina Nagey

As a lover of all things historical, I’m fond of color combinations that are reminiscent of the days before artificial dyes.  For me, natural red and tan or khaki fall under this rubric- the combination has an appealing old British Army look to me.

Skinny jeans are a relatively new item for me, but the recent weather had made them a firm favorite.  I bought them with the intention of tucking them in to my taller boots, but I love that they fold up neatly above short boots, leaving a lovely contrasting cuff that never sags or falls down into the snow and slush.

I seem to be one of those people that hats always look silly on.  For years I tried all manner of hats in the hopes of finding one that would not look ridiculous, but, older and wiser, I’ve embraced the absurdity.  I love the vintage ski feel of this hat, and of couse the pompom topper.

This outfit was a chance to break out of the box that both workwear and cold weather have put me in recently.  For a fun Saturday outing to a few local favorites (G Street Fabrics, followed by lunch at a brewpub), I just layered on things I love to wear- comfy jeans, cozy purple tee, my ridicuously warm and soft wrap sweater, and a khaki twill coat that’s so cute I can’t believe I turned it up at a Goodwill half off sale (seriously!)  Yay to a brief break from weather enforced conformity!

In our lovely old Victorian rowhouse, gaining any kind of reasonable temperature control takes some doing.  We have a quite effective central heating system, but it’s a living lesson in heat rising.  When we were newly moved in, a few months of broil hot upstairs and crazy heating bills led us to take a more measured approach, and try to work with the seasons a little more.  For us, that means sweaters on downstairs in the winter.  It’s still a tad chillier than I think we’d ideally like, but not using excessive amounts of heating is A Good Thing.  And if you’re cold, there’s always a snuggle-loving hound nearby.

It may be on trend, but I’ve owned (and loved) an army jacket for several years now.  It’s light enough for most of the year, but in a heavy twill fabric, with good coverage and a zipper, it can be pretty warm.  I love it for traveling- lots of practical pockets, but without a lot of unflattering bulk.  It’s important to find a good balance in terms of fit though- neither boxy nor tight.

In the past I’ve often tossed this on over a black turtleneck and jeans, or a vintage T.  Some other ideas for getting more mileage out of this look:
A Little Bit Country

Army Jacket I

The Beach is Fun Even When It’s Cold

Army Jacket II

Late Night in Goa

Army Jacket III

For a long, long time, I was a glove cheapskate.  For someone who grew up wearing those dollar-a-pair stretchy gloves in a panopoly of colors, locking in to one pair seemed pointless.  But, at the end of a winter spent gingerly gripping the steering wheel through lightweight knit, I saw these gloves.  Tan leather, with a plus (and completely fake) fur lining.  These gloves changed winter for me- one of those things that turned out to be worth every penny I spent.  After 5 winters they are starting to look a little worn and this may be their last winter on active duty, but they will definitely be replaced with something equally robust.

The snow has dwindled both our pantry reserves and my interest in hiking 10 blocks to the grocery store.  Yesterday I made a brief excursion to the market and several local shops, but didn’t find what I was looking for, so today I decided to improvise.  I think of this as Mexican Rice with an Spanish twist- chorizo, saffron, peas and a sofrito base.

Ingredients:

• 1 package chorizo (I used Argentinian chorizo, which may or may not resemble fresh Spanish chorizo), crumbled or sliced
• Olive oil as needed
• 1 onion, roughly diced
• 1 red bell pepper and 1 green bell pepper, cut into batons
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cube beef bullion
• 1 heavy pinch saffron
• Adobo seasoning, garlic powder and Aleppo pepper flakes to taste
• 1.5 cups frozen peas

1. Saute the chorizo in olive oil in a Dutch Oven; remove.
2. Add the onions and pepper and saute over medium-low heat until soft and jammy.
3. Increase heat to medium, add the rice and saute until transparent.
4. Return the chorizo to the pan, and season generously with adobo, garlic powder and pepper flakes.  Add in 4 cups of hot water, and reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 18 minutes.
5. Add in the peas and stir to distribute evenly.  Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

Shortly after we moved into our house, and while we were enjoying leisurely strolls through Eastern Market every weekend, we came across a woman selling hand-watercolored copies of original maps of DC.  We ended up buying a series of them, and decided that we wanted to use the front hall to showcase them.  The project never really went any further than that, though, so now we’re keeping an eye out for additional maps to help create a more finished look.

Some recent favorites:

Ork Poster of DC Neighborhoods

The days where I can skip out of the house in a t-shirt or a little dress seem unimaginably far away still, but I can just glimpse the day when the Thinsulate lined coat can move to the back of the closet so something like this can become my go-to jacket.  Trench coats are all over the place, but I’m looking for a short and casual one, something that will work from the first slightly-less-cold days in early March to the unseasonably-chilly evening in May.

When it’s Still Cold and Wet:

Trench Coat I

When it’s Brisk but Nice Out

Trench Coat II

When it’s Almost Warm Out

Trench Coat III

A recent cold night out at Molly Malone’s with a delicious cup of Sausage and Cabbage soup inspired this.  It proved to be a great at-work lunch- delicious, easy to make, surprisingly reasonable in terms of calories, and economical too.

My version is a little less Irish (I used Italian Sausage) and a little less carby (turnips instead of potatoes) but still delicious.

Italian Sausage and Cabbage Soup

• 1 package hot italian sausage (4/5 links)
• 2 turnips, peeled and cut into small slices
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into small slices
• 1 head cabbage, cored and sliced into bits small enough to eat with a soup spoon
• 2-3 cubes beef bullion
• red pepper flakes, oregano, fennel seeds (I’d probably use garlic too if it wasn’t lunch for work)
• Parmesan (to serve)

1. Remove sausage from casings and saute.
2. When sausage is well browned, add carrot and turnip cubes, and saute for several minutes.
3. Add several cups hot water, bullion cubes, and seasonings, and being to a boil.  Let simmer approx. 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost tender.
4. Add the cabbage (yes, all of it, mash it down some), and if needed add more hot water to nearly cover.  Add a lid and cook an additional 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly.  Stop when the cabbage is just tender and still bright- no one wants overcooked cabbage.
5. To serve, top with shredded Parmesan if desired.