Hattie B's Hot Chicken

Hot Chicken is a 'thing' in Nashville.  According to Wikipedia, hot chicken is "is a type of fried chicken that is a local specialty of Nashville,... In its typical preparation, it is a portion of breast, thigh, or wing that has been marinated in buttermilk, breaded, sauced using a paste that has been heavily spiced with cayenne pepper, and pan-fried. It is served atop slices of white bread with pickle chips."

There's even a Hot Chicken Festival every 4th of July.  (I know Lauren at Lladybird is a fan!)  There are supposedly 14+ restaurants in Nashville now that serve some variation.

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My coworkers are hot chicken fanatics.  But since spicy food sends me running for Tums, I haven't attempted to try it since I moved here.  Still, I was kind of excited when my team decided to have lunch at Hattie B's recently!

My Hattie B's experience made me feel like a real foodie... I had to endure 90-degree weather, an outdoor line, and dining without air conditioner to get this meal.  I was physically MELTING!  The line was literally out the door and down into the parking lot.  Talk about antici-  wait for it  -pation.  Even on a weekday at lunch!  I hear on Sundays the line goes for hours since they serve the chicken on waffles.

Shut the cluck up.

Look, I'm not going to pretend I ordered something super hot.  Medium-heat salsa is as adventurous as I get without chugging a gallon of milk.  Call me sensitive.  So I ordered *mild* tenders, pimento mac 'n' cheese, and fries, topped off with an ice-cold lemonade.  YUM.

The lemonade was awesome, by the way.  It was good like a lemon shake-up or Chik-fil-a.  Thirst quenched.

My meal.  ALL MINE.

As for the food, it was DELICIOUS.   I could still sense a bit of heat on the mild chicken, enough that I could really take in the flavor.  The macaroni had kick to it too.  Everything I had was so good.  And yes, the chicken was served on a slice of bread with pickle chips!

I'm supposed to check out Prince's in October with my coworkers, which is one of (if not THE) original hot chicken joint that started the trend.  Since I survived "mild" at Hattie B's, maybe I'll step it up to "medium" at Prince's?  But then again, the heat is all relative... and apparently delicious.

(2014 Follow-up... I am now up to a "medium" at Hattie B's.)

How to Sell Your Stuff on Poshmark

 


I've had a few folks reach out curious how I'm cleaning out my closet by selling stuff on Poshmark.  I'm kind of addicted, actually... and I've made over $400 since June (Note: as of 1/20/2016, to date I'm over $2500 in sales) getting rid of stuff I don't wear or use anymore.  There are a lot of ways to sell your secondhand stuff out there: eBay, Craigslist, and sites/apps like Poshmark and Threadflip.  Depending on what you're selling, you'll get different rates of success.  I also used to do consignment, but I like getting a bigger cut of my earnings via online sales.

Things I Like About Poshmark:

• It's all on my iPhone!  Photos, descriptions, etc.
• You don't pay shipping as a seller (the buyer does).
• Poshmark sends you a pre-paid shipping label.
• They handle all the payment stuff, then you can direct deposit into your bank account.
• It's not an auction, so you set the price.
• It's easy to sell quality, brand-name stuff if you price it right.
• You can negotiate, and bundle items for a single buyer.
• If you get scammed, Poshmark will help you get your money back.  (I haven't used this yet, full disclosure.)
• It's social.  I've interacted with some great women!

Tips for Using Poshmark:

• Build quality listings!  It's user-friendly, but there's still work involved.  Be descriptive, and fully disclose any flaws.  Also keep in mind you may be asked to prove the authenticity of items via serial numbers and tags.
• Use it to sell your brand names.  I'm sorry, but even high quality shoes, leather jackets, suits, etc. won't sell for more than pittance if they aren't popular brands.
• Price realistically.  I don't get hurt feelings about this.  You can't sell an item for retail.  Think about what you would pay (and bear in mind $5-7 shipping!) and price that way.
• Promote your items.  You do this by sharing, responding to comments/likes, and posting great photos.  This includes participating in Parties throughout the day and matching those themes!
• Negotiate, but be smart about it.  There are lowballers out there.  Just ignore them.  And if you negotiate, remember comments cannot be deleted, so if you agree to lower a price, you're stuck there.  USE THE OFFER FUNCTION!  And ask that prospective buyers use it too.
• Share, share, share.  It's courtesy to share a person's item if they share yours.  Return the favor, and you'll get more eyes on your items.
• Keep padded envelopes on hand.  I buy them cheap and then just pack and label.  I also use the 24-hour package drop-off at my Post Office so I can mail orders anytime it's convenient.

Some items just won't sell.  If an item won't sell for $5, it's not worth the envelope and a trip to the post office to me.  I delete stale listings and add those items to my donate pile.  At the end of the day, I'm not in it to make money, just recoup some costs on items I would otherwise just give away.

Also, It's against Poshmark's policy for you to take a sale "offline" and go the PayPal route.  You lose your Poshmark protective layer if you do this, so seller/buyer beware.

P.S.  If you join Poshmark, use my code HROMR when you sign up to benefit from referral perks, usually you get $10 right away to shop, and I earn something when you make your first purchase!

P.P.S. (1/1/2014)  I sold a Michael Kors bag on Poshmark, but the buyer claimed that it was not as described (size/shape) and filed a claim for return.  Because I disclosed every dimension, had a full description, and posted plenty of photos, Poshmark stood by me and the sale was final.  That is the benefit of going through Poshmark and not cutting corners with PayPal.  Well worth the 20%.

P.P.P.S.  (4/27/15, updated screenshots)  I'm still using Poshmark, though less frequently than before.  I hosted the first Poshmark party of 2015, and I've now got over 100K people following my closet.  Share, share, share to grow your following, and become a Suggested User by following the rules!

(1/20/2016) I'm still using Poshmark, have over 200K followers, and I've made over $2500 since I joined by selling the stuff I don't wear/use anymore!  Also, an item I sent to a buyer got lost in the mail.  But since it was via Poshmark, they refunded the buyer their money AND I got paid.  Again, this is why you give them the 20%; protection in case you need it.

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• cmesko
• affableolive
• jyih

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Shop more of my closet on Poshmark

Bear's Cat Tree

You guys, I caved.  I love my feline friends, but I always said I would never allow one of those hideous cat trees into my home.  Well, Bear has hit his terrible toddler age: jumping on everything, destroying things when he's bored, needing more play... driving us insane.

In a fit of frustration, I used my Amazon Prime perk to order one of those insane trees for like $80, and it promptly arrived within two days.  We chose the Armarkat 57-inch Cat Tree.

Bear's First Day with the Tree

Duke put it together quickly and easily, as I watched in sad defeat.  We were both worried Bear would ignore the thing entirely.

Well, Bear loves it!  When he's not next to me on the sofa, I often catch him climbing and playing and snoozing in his tree.  He has picked the second highest platform as his favorite.  It's placed near the sliding glass doors for our porch, so he see outside.

Never say never, you guys.  Bear needs something he can climb and destroy.  I'm hoping this is his victim, and that I can get over the eyesore in my apartment...  Sigh.

If I could afford it (and they had better reviews) I might splurge on a fancier, more elegant model like the Lotus Cat Tower, but I can't justify spending so much on a freaking cat tree.  No.  Everyone already thinks I'm a crazy cat lady.  Argh.

Refined Feline Lotus Cat Tower, $370