Riot and Frolic

a mostly ballroom dance, but also a bunch of other stuff, blog

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about

I own and rock people’s faces off teaching ballroom dancing at Dancers Studio in St. Paul, MN. My husband and I compete professionally in American style and wrangle eight children in our spare time. I’ve been teaching and competing in ballroom dancing for over 25 years and have lots of opinions on it. I am an expert by any means, but there are quite a few dancers who are better than me and I have a solid knowledge of basic technique, so suck it.

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  • Can, I Do It

    Last week, I took my naptime/chill-out time and put it to good use (if you don't consider staring at Facebook and Pinterest and Instagram productive, which I do).  The ladies and I had harvested two gallon buckets of our early-bird tomatoes and I wanted to put all those canning jars to good use. Result?  My favorite…

  • A Rant About Zucchini Bread

    We harvested 5 zucchini from the garden this year.  Each was about 5 pounds.  Seriously, as big as my arm, each one.   Since most recipes for zucchini bread call for 2 cups of shredded zucchini, I'll be making zucchini bread for about a week straight.  I decided I'd try a different recipe for each…

  • Let’s Get Rich and Buy Our Parents Home In The South of France

    [Really anywhere in France would do, but that's not the lyrics to the song.] The G and I went to Europe for our honeymoon (5 years ago, but I was just looking at pictures!) and obviously, it was awesome.  Vacation.  Europe.  Old crap.  Awesome. I'm no tour guide, but I do like eating and it's…

  • Bopenmeal

    We eat oatmeal at least twice a week.  V has always loved it, and has always called it "openmeal". Now, I have to make a conscious effort to call it "oatmeal".  Even typing it, I have to sound it out.  Out loud. About a month ago, I started making the super fabulous Baked Oatmeal, otherwise…

  • Ladies’ Afternoon

    The post title is funnier if you're singing "'Oh yes it's ladies' night and the feeling's right, oh this is ladies' night, oh what a night!" in your head and picturing some funky disco Saturday Night Fever thing and then comparing it to this… tea time, but with wine During our trip to Ohio, my…

  • Bratt… Party of 30- Lunch Edition

    Last week, I threw at you the easiest recipe for how to feed a crowd.  Boil, dice, grill, pour, mix, love.   This week, we get a little more involved, but I had a lot of kitchen helpers for this one, so divide and conquer. First of all, while we were picking up last minute supplies,…

  • Bratt… Party of 30

    For reals this time, I was going to be feeding 30 of my in-laws two meals.   I was a little concerned: I have that whole spicy-food-love that doesn't go over well in all cultures (por ejemplo, Midwesterners), about 92 of them were children under 10 (notoriously picky eaters) and IT WAS MY IN-LAWS. I was…

  • Hemming Jeans = Craft

    I don't "craft" much in the summer months.  I have no motivation to pick up a crochet hook or try my knitting needles or really pull out the sewing machine (we're having a fight anyways).  So I've been at a bit of a loss when it comes to Thursdays and my self-imposed "Craftacular" theme for…

  • It Takes a Village

    It takes a village to house the HUGE family get-together that is happening next week in Ohio.   For the second annual, immediate-family-only, Bratt family reunion, there will be 30 people descending on a boarding school for tennis tournaments, winery tours, beach-going, bantering, arguing, and eating.   Each adult-ish like person (or couple) is in…

  • The Final Four (Kitchen Tips for the Cooking Impaired)

    No, not the NBA.  Sorry, men. No no, my people, I'm just finally wrapping up the 10 Kitchen Tips for the Cooking Impaired. Since this is about 7 weeks and a day overdue, let's get to it: 7. Instead of buying pre-cut and washed lettuces (which are sincerely GREAT if you don't have any time…