As Promised...

Whether you wanted me to follow up on this, or not, here are some more fabulous photos from my Thanksgiving, and the day after, and the day after that.

I apologize to those of you who were eagerly awaiting their posting, it's been a long few days of packing.

Here's Phil grilling the bird. It goes on like this; bloody mary's, grill smoke, and man banter for quite some time.

Isn't she a 'bute?

Despite dinner being ready at a resonable hour, we were all pretty hungry.

Thanks to Laura's remote control these shots were a breeze :)

The next day we were back to work in the kitchen. This time it was turkey broth... and Hand Pies!

Gimlet anyone?

No, not "giblet", "gimlet."

No recipe needed here. Just get (or make) some dough; pizza, pie, pastry, whatever. Fill it with your leftovers and heat it in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Top it with gravy and BLAMO! A Thanksgiving Feast all over again!

Party on Wayne!

I didn't want to leave you hanging on the outcome of the broth. Here's Phil's turkey tortellini soup.

Well, I hope by now you're satisfied. That was turkey to the third power.

Have you had your fill of pre holiday shopping yet too?

No?

Fear not. I just found out that today is Green Tuesday. A holiday shopping event hosted by Nonprofit Green America. They are encouraging us to buy gifts with the environment and community in mind.

Interested?

How about jewelry made from recycled nuclear bomb equipment?

www.fromwartopeace.com

Not interested?

Nevermind then.

And to my friend GoHeyJudy... I'll get you that donut recipe in a minute :)

Extreme Holiday Cravings



Click the scarf to see it on Etsy.

Sorry if I got carried away with the pies.

A Few of My Favorite Things

The joyous whirlwind that I call "going home for the holidays" is officially over. My husband and I are back home and I couldn't love it more. I spent the majority of today unpacking our car from the vacation of the past two weeks. We drove from Alabama, to New Jersey to celebrate Christmas a couple of times, to Pennsylvania to celebrate Christmas a few more times, to the mountains of Pennsylvania for the New Year, and finally back to Alabama. In an attempt to get back to normal I've been emptying bags and boxes and putting new and old things in their places. This process of going over all of our gifts was delightful. I decided to photograph my favorite gifts and share them with you here. Some of the gifts were handmade, some were purchased, and still others were a combination of the two. Even though this season of giving is almost over I hope these treasures will inspire a late gift or ideas for next year.

My mother-in-law gave me this wreath. It is handmade, O.O.A.K., and the coolest door decoration on my block. It is by KnockKnocking. Theses original felt wreaths are sold at http://www.etsy.com/

My grandmother gave me some cast iron skillets for Christmas. Finally! I've been admiring the collections that both she and my mother have. The smaller one is actually an old one from a flea market. The larger one is new. It came with a lid and I'm pretty stoked on that. Apparently cast iron lids for older pans are hard to come by. I can't wait to use them with some traditional recipes like german pancakes and pot roasts.

My mom is a ceramic artist. This year she made me a tile. I love the design. She said she got the idea for it from a children's book she recently read. I think this technique in a frame looks like a painting. The thing is, it is better than a painting. After she draws the image and glazes it magic happens in the kiln. The chemical reactions work together to give the composition depth and clarity. Her images are truely O.O.A.K.

This one is even better. My mom let my six-year-old brother use her supplies to make me a gift this year too. My mom is amazing, but her and Frank make a great team. You can shop her creations at http://www.kathycasper.etsy.com/

My aunt made everyone's gifts this year too. It's a family calendar. We all loved looking through it. She even labeled important dates, like birthdays and anniversaries, with photos. This idea, in particular, I found to epitomize the notion that you don't have to be an artist to make a gift everyone can appreciate.



I also got this cookbook. The recipes in it are amazing. Some of the soups are quick, some are more involved, but they are all topped off with killer olive oil. So in addition to the book I was given the kind of olive oil you never buy for yourself.

Another handmade gift my husband and I were glad to recieve was from our friend Heather. She is a Seed Collector. During her journies through the woods this fall she collected pine cones. She then came up with the idea to transform them into angel ornaments inspired by nature. Isn't it adorable? To me the idea was personal and original. 

My husband was the recipient of a few gifts I found to be killer holiday finds. Santa brought him the vintage beer tray featured above (flea market, $2) as well as the vintage flannels in primo condition, featured below. (flea market, $1 each!)

My husband was so stoked on these shirts. I couldn't believe what a hit they were. He wore them just about everyday we were up north.



These are two CD's that my husband got for Christmas. They are not vintage, or handmade, or O.O.A.K., but they are of particular note. They are but two in a series of CD's that were put out by the Buena Vista Social Club. Most of you are probably familiar. If you aren't, I urge you to check them out. The resurgence of this musical genius is a gift to mankind. The story of each individual artist in the group is inspiring. Check out the documentary too.

My list is not as long as Oprah's, I'm sure, but I hope it was more unique. I can only hope that all of you had as "homemade" of a holiday as I did.

Later! 

Does Color Make You Nervous?

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, and have finally decided to voice my concerns. I think people are afraid of color. They like to look at it, but they don't like to use it. I'm going to list a few examples.

Since the beginning, black cars have sold the most.

Black, brown, and gray are the most popular color choices for clothing, especially jackets. But you can't argue against the fact that the man in the middle is enjoying his outfit the most.

People prefer to eat things that are some shade of brown.

Food is especially delightful when it is brown and topped with something brown.

 Raise your hand if this is you.

I could go on about houses, inside and out, jewelry, this list is endless. Personally I think it is time for a change. Read on and realize how much more appealing the rest of the post is.

Don't you feel rejuvenated from looking at all that color? I do. This is why I focus on color when I make art. I need color. When customers are shopping for a scarf they initially ask for something in black. If I always had a scarf that was all black they wouldn't be very unique, would they?

I work hard to make Florida Scarf like Art on Sedatives. (to stress this point I have chosen to randomly capitolize words) By this I mean that my focus is color contrast and texture. I want to make things that seem alive. Of course, the product needs to be wearable, so I also apply some rules of fashion.

The scarves and hoods are small. It's an easy way to enjoy color. It surprises me how many people are intimidated by even that. I spend most of my money on sale fabrics. These fabrics are the ones that are most outrageously colored. I take it and cut it into my little 5"x30" rectangle and make it manageable. People need time to process. A certain fabric may not stand a chance as a dress, but turning it into a scarf gives it potential.

The same reasoning can be applied to answering the question of why more people don't like salad. I think they see all the color dancing around the plate and assume it can't be good. You can however, get people to eat a single serving of carrots, or strawberries. Again, in small portions color is manageable.

Everyone needs to realize that color gives us energy and life. It can make you more happy to surround yourself with color. Take the holidays for instance. People like color then. They wrap their house in color. The purpose of the holidays is to spread cheer by decorating things. Wouldn't we all be better off if this was the intent year round?

So honk if you love color! Get your lighters up!

This is Sarah Geraci For Color

signing off