fair enough

This week I got to spend two days at a small craft fair at St. Stephen's preschool.  Other than getting to show off my stuff in person, the best part was checking out all the other tables. 

Amy Hart turns trash into art and had a whole array of metal sculptures for sale.  Her enthusiasm for her work is contagious and I had a great time just listening to her describe different projects to people.  I also think it's super fun that she has to really hunt for her supplies, instead of just buying them any old place.  I kind of wish I had to hunt for supplies. 

Celia is an artist with really eye-catching work because she uses such bright colors.  I was very excited to meet her because I actually recognized one of her drawings of downtown Charlotte that I had seen in a gift shop recently.  It was like meeting someone famous.  I think that this bird print is especially lovely.

Alicia takes beautiful photographs with really interesting backdrops.  The fact that she has super cute kids that like to pose for pictures doesn't seem to be hurting her business either.  She gave me some great ideas about photo props that I could make and I've been dreaming up ties for little boys in cute patterns ever since. 

Jenn Harrison makes beaded jewelry and was busily stringing beads the whole time we were there.  While her jewelry was pretty, I was more enamored by her daughter, who is five months old and has a big tuft of hair.  I am a sucker for babies with lots of hair. 

Bricklend makes jewelry as well, among other things, but she makes all of her glass beads by hand.  What an awesome and unique skill! 

I decided to organize my table into gift sections this time, so I had items for moms, graduates, new babies, and Easter baskets.  I'm also planning to do a mother's day gift guide blog later this month, with some great Etsy finds.  I have found that people are reluctant to buy a beautiful handmade item just for themselves, but they love to give them as gifts.   

I have been lucky enough to have this great artwork behind my table both times that I have done this particular show.  It sure does make a distinctive backdrop for pictures. 

Now that the craft fair is behind me, I have settled into spring cleaning.  I love spring cleaning.  What could be better than throwing open all the windows and scrubbing every surface until it shines?  Not much, that's what.  If you are as crazy about cleaning as I am (or even if you're just a little crazy), be sure to stop by on Monday when I will be posting about my favorite cleaning supplies and tools. 

And if you're looking for something else to do today, head on over to Lakeside Chatter and check out the post about Plumfield Shop.  My new friend, Mary, writes this cool local blog and was nice enough to feature me!  I am really looking forward to getting to know her better, because she is a wealth of information about local entrepreneur opportunities.  And she seems totally fun. 

Now before I relax for the weekend, I am off to vacuum the blinds.  And that is not a joke. 

Tutorial Tuesday- making a roux

This is a very unofficial how-to.  I could probably be arrested by the French government for even calling this a tutorial.  But this is how I make roux and it works just fine for my purposes. 

First off, a roux is a cooked mixture of flour and fat, usually used as a thickening agent in cooking.  I use it for one of two reasons: to thicken a soup or to form the base of a sauce (usually a cheese sauce for pasta).  If I am making any type of creamy soup, I make a roux to whisk in during the last half hour of cooking.  It gives the broth a thicker, velvety texture that I love, without changing the flavor. 

Step 1: Melt some butter in a saucepan.  I use about 2 tablespoons. 

Step 2: Once the butter has completely melted, throw in a couple of spoonfuls of flour.  Keep the heat around medium and be ready to whisk the mixture immediately after you add the flour.  Add a little bit at a time until you have added enough flour to make a thick paste with the butter.

Step 3: Whisk, whisk, whisk, so that it gets a little cooked, but does not burn. 

Step 4 (where Julia Child rolls over in her grave): slowly add milk (or you could use broth if you like).  Whisk like crazy.  Once it gets smooth, add some more milk.  I like to add a liquid before adding it to the soup so that it stirs right in.

Step 5: Keep whisking...

Step 6: DONE!  When the consistency is what you want, you're done.  For soup thickener, I like my roux to be like a thick gravy.  For a sauce, it might need to be a bit thinner since you'll be adding cheese later. 

Let me know if you thicken anything exciting!

I am at the craft fair today and tomorrow, so I'll share some pictures of that later in the week!

launch day

Friday was the official end of the online class that I've been taking.  I have definitely learned some valuable stuff, but the best part of the class was my teachers and classmates!  What fun to get to interact with so many other people who are passionate about handmade things, who are creative and hard-working, who are all about encouraging one another to work towards our dreams. 

Many of my classmates are launching a new shop, blog, or product line today and some are doing blog giveaways.  One classmate has a super blog post with all the links and, instead of reinventing the wheel, I decided I'd just link to her post.  If you click here, or on the image above, it will take you over to Eleventh Monkey's blog and you can check out some of the new stuff. 

If you see something you find especially beautiful, be sure to leave a comment.  People love comments.  It lets them know that someone other than their mom is reading their blog.  (Not that moms aren't important readers too.) (Hi Mom!)

We spent a lovely weekend in the yard, gardening and brushing up on our croquet skills.  The weather was pretty much perfect. 

Today I am off to the library and then putting the finishing touches on my items for the craft fair.  Let's meet here tomorrow for another tutorial, shall we?  This one involves food!

happiness is...

 Strawberry flowers,

A hammock in the shade,

Orders delivered and enjoyed,

Herbs coming back after a long winter,

Azeleas blooming in my favorite color,

Stitching in my lap in the backyard.

Have a happy weekend :)

my bff (x 4)

One of the great things about my best friend having a family is that now it's like there is more of her.  While I used to just have her to love and enjoy, now I have her husband (who is also one of my oldest friends) and her girls (one of whom is like a mini version of her).  What a treat when the people you love best multiply into more people to love. 

You can guarantee that a Winters visit won't be complete without Mia and Uncle Steve making up a new game.  In this case, walking laps around the house inside a nylon tunnel, while singing "Let's go out to the kitchen...".  And while this picture only shows Mia in the tunnel, you can bet there was plenty of Steve in the tunnel as well.  Plenty.

Natalie fixed us delicious meals all weekend.  I sure do love home cooked meals that I didn't have to cook. 

Doesn't this look great?  Natalie is adventerous in the kitchen and is always whipping up recipes that I would pass right over.  While this may look like a tame meal, I can tell you that it inclues half a box of lemon jello powder.  Surprisingly tasty.     

You don't really get a lot of space or a moment to yourself when you have an almost-three year old around.  She needs to investigate everything.  She is also currently obsessed with knowing people's whole name.  This meant that one morning we woke up to her trying to find out the whole name of the family cat.  Vinnie Boy Winters, if you were curious. 

Being at Natalie's meant that she was available to be my personal stylist, so I had my hair done properly for the wedding.  None of my usual wash, air dry, and hope for the best.  Sweet Cheeks wanted hers done too.  She's got kind of a mohawk thing going on right now and she may be a little self conscious about it. 

In the end, as usual, we were all worn out from having so much fun.  Even Vinnie Boy Winters. 

Tutorial Tuesday- Easter eggs

Good morning, friends!  Welcome to the second Tutorial Tuesday!  Today I will be sharing the details of how we like to decorate Easter eggs.  Since April is finally here, I am getting ready to put mine out for the month.  We always blow the middles out of our eggs before we dye them so that we can enjoy them year after year.  If you've never blown eggs before, here's how you do it:

- Use a sharp object (like the pointy end of a steak knife) to make a small hole in each end of an egg.  We do a mixture of tapping and twisting and eventually a bit of shell will break away. 
- Stick something into the hole (like a skewer or toothpick) to break the yolk.
- Hold the egg over a bowl and blow on one of the holes until all of the whites and yolk come out and you can blow air through it.
- Wash the egg shells with soap and water and let them dry.
- Make quiche with the insides (this part is optional, but what a great excuse to make quiche!)

We prefer natural looking eggs to brightly colored ones.  Previously, we have purchased an egg dying kit and mixed up the dyes as directed.  Then we just dip each egg shell into a color and pull it out immediately.  Each egg then gets dipped very quickly into the yellow dye, to tone down its original color.  Once the eggs are dry, we put some brown paint on a stiff paintbrush and flick the bristles to make speckles on the eggs.  I think that speckles on eggs are super cute. 

And that's it!  You can keep using your beautiful eggs year after year!  I like to put mine in bowls of  moss to make little nest displays. 

This year, I think we are going to make some more eggs to add to our collection and try something new.  I read a great how-to in the latest Country Living magazine about all natural egg dyes and think that the neutral colors will be lovely.  Here's what you do:

- Select produce based on color choice: 12 oz. fresh cranberries (tan), 1 head purple cabbage, sliced (blue), skins from three yellow onions (rust)
- In a covered, 8 quart stockpot over medium-high heat, bring 10 cups water and produce to a boil; let boil for 30 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, then strain and discard produce.
- Bring water back to a gentle boil, then stir in 3 tablespoons vinegar (1/4 cup for cabbage).  Gently lower eggs into pot and boil for 30 minutes.
- Turn off heat, cover, and let stand for 2 to 3 hours, or until desired color is achieved.  Remove eggs and transfer to carton to cool. 

It's certainly a more time consuming process, but I love the idea of making my own dye and even using table scraps, like onion peels, to do it.  We probably won't get around to this until closer to Easter, so if you try it before then, be sure to let me know how they turn out!

Easter is Steve's favorite holiday and we always host a big Easter lunch at our house after church.  It is usually a great mix of family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors, and we all play croquet in the yard after the meal.  I'll be sharing more details of this year's party, like the menu, as the date gets closer. 

And I haven't forgotten the rest of the weekend pictures- look for them tomorrow! 

race you to the altar

One of our oldest and dearest college friends got married this weekend in a cute little church with a red door.  I love churches with red doors. 

I love college friend's weddings because they are like mini-reunions.  We got to catch up with a lot of people who we almost never see anymore. 

And we got to see Eric get married.  As we drove home yesterday, we started adding up the number of weddings that we have been to with Eric and we counted up to 11, but I think there may actually be more.  We have a long and fun history of weddings with Eric.  Eric is a wedding organizer extraordinaire.  I even caught him trying to DJ his own wedding a couple of times.  You just can't stop him.

The reception was at a farm in Nowhere, Virginia, but we made it there on the first try. 

The food was good and the drinks were plentiful. 

They served three types of cupcake in lieu of a regular cake and the one that I had was delicious.  It had real strawberries in the icing.  Steve had one chocolate cupcake and then was out on the dance floor shaking it "like a Polaroid picture". 

We were a bit unprepared for how chilly it would be, so we did spend a good part of the evening trying to keep warm.  There were two heaters to huddle around and I wrapped my legs in the table cloth during dinner.  We also spent some warm-up time in the car.

Sara rocked her very stylish raincoat and this lovely head covering for warmth.  I may have been wearing my slippers and a fleece vest over my dress, but you won't be seeing any pictures of that because this is my blog and I control the pictures. 

Every time a friend gets married, I think to myself (and usually write in their wedding card), "I hope they love being married as much as Steve and I do." 

It's true- I love being married.  It's my favorite thing. 

What worked out rather perfectly is that this wedding took place near the home of our best friends.  So when we weren't out eating and dancing, we had the rest of the weekend to spend with them.  Tomorrow I'll share some pictures of the rest of the fun!