Archive for November, 2009

It Is Beginning To Look A Lot Like Crazy

Nov 30th, 09 / 2 Comments

It is no secret that I often have vivid, imaginative dreams that involve escapades, imaginary creatures, and alternate-dream-world-locations of real world places I’ve lived/loved/visited. I often wake up remembering bits of dreams, I’ve been known to talk in my sleep, and for the most part my dreams are pleasant enough that it isn’t a problem.

 

Every now & again though I have a dream that really sticks with me because it was either quite scary (the witch + chocolate mayonnaise + creepy cottage in which my girl scout troop was held hostage dream from 3rd grade will never dissipate) or sad- I often dream of college, and empty dorms and I wake up longing for my friends and memories of those years. (Oddly enough I never have sad dreams about missing law school….)

 

Sometimes though, a dream sticks with me because it is downright ridiculous. Case in point, the dream I had Saturday night. Saturday was spent decorating our Christmas tree, making a lovely post-Thanksgiving dinner for two, and an evening run to Target for stocking hangers & to peruse the tree-topper & ribbon section, of which we found nothing we liked. (We did however find stocking hangers after much debate & disagreement over which ones should be purchased. Married life, FTW! What a fascinating Saturday evening!) Saturday night I went to bed and had a dream in which I was searching for the perfect Christmas tree topper.

 

Finding no suitable topper (I’m not into angels, the stars I keep finding are covered in glitter & sequins, and I can’t find any ribbon to make a bow with that isn’t garish or off-colored or just wrong) dreamyDaisy finds an article in a homemaking magazine regarding do-it-yourself tree toppers. The one I selected (and made) was three easy steps:

 

1. Purchase a red cabbage, to scale for your tree & use your drill (B just got a new one, oh happy day!) to drill out a hole the size of the top branch of your tree.

 

2. Boil 6 cups of water with 6 cups of sugar – once at a boil, dip the cabbage completely for 2 minutes, until completely coated. Remove, place on a baking rack & allow to dry & crystallize.

 

3.  Voila! A gorgeous, deep purple, crystalized cabbage, perfect for placing atop your tree to sparkle through the season.

 

In other news, I’ve gone plum crazy.

 

And Martha Stewart needs to watch her back.

Domesticity Win, Happy Holidays

All She Wrote

Nov 27th, 09 / 4 Comments

Holiday gift shopping has reached a that stressful point for many- the sales, the deals the coupons, the question of what to buy hits many right in the face – along with the realization that time is beginning to run out. One of my favorite gifts, more for the lady folks then the men folks, is quality writing paper.  To me quality writing paper is something you feel- a thick card that soaks up ink well, a strong envelope, perhaps a little detailing on the corners or on the envelope. The colors are true, and you know that whomever receives the envelope in their mailbox will instantly have a brighter day.  A crisp monogrammed note card is perfect for one’s secretary or coworker, a lovely whismy design might be just what your best friend wants, and your friend with a new baby might enjoy a card with the names of all the family members along the bottom. New brides (who have changed their name) will enjoy cards with their new name or monogram, and your Mother or Mother-In-Law will delight in a box with a pattern that reminds them of their favorite season or colors. In short, it is a sweet gift that imparts thoughtfulness and a desire to connect with someone without the fuss of blogs, email or text messaging.  Unless you purchase a very high end line, such as Crane’s you can often find personalized writing paper at an excellent, budget friendly price, less than $20 or $25 a box.

The Preppy Princess carries many lovely writing paper lines, I especially love these delightful monogrammed cards and anchor cards- a little masculine, perhaps for your little brother who is heading off to camp or school for the first time? monogrammed note cards

hope anchor

Snow & Graham, a Chicago company makes me swoon over their letterpress creations – they use a lovely, thick paper with delightful designs – some geometric, others floral-inspired: flowering vine
blue cherry

This box of Kate Spade (by Crane)  all-occasion note cards is fun because you give someone a box of many sentiments that they can send out as-needed. Of course Kate manages to word everything in such a whimsy manner you can’t help but immediately think of who you’d like to start sending some of these out to.  Of course the price is nice as well – at $35 you’ve gotten something nice for your secret-santa coworker or child’s teacher.

All Occasions

One of my favorite places to shop for writing paper is a chain called Paper Source – right now these Indian inspired note cards adorne their website and I want to scoop a few of them up for my Mother’s stocking: paper source

Paper Source does beautiful custom printing as well if you’d like something a little more personal:

elephantsquiltedscript nightbrocade

My general rule(s) of thumb when buying writing paper:

  • stay away from cartoon-ish designs & bubble writing for older folks, unless you know they’d really enjoy them
  • for co-workers & acquaintances, a formal note card with a monogram runs no risk of offense or style-interpretation
  • stay away from large pieces of writing paper, a small note-card is less daunting for someone sit down & fill up with good wishes or thanks
  • personalization is an extra touch that you should splurge for if you can- a return address imprint is always nice
  • a few high-end writing markers (often found at the cash-wrap section of a paper store) are the perfect add-on, especially if you can find a coordinating ink color
  • for those you wish to impress, such as your boss, nothing is more classic than a boxed set of Crane initial  notecards

initial

Gift Giving Guide, Happy Holidays

Thanksgiving, Updated

Nov 25th, 09 / 4 Comments

Attention:

 B has re-named our special, lovingly raised and slaughtered and de-feathered turkey Alistair.

 

 I liked Henri, but B thinks Alistair suits him better. Whatever I say. Whatever. (That, and when we have kids don’t even think about pulling a fast one on me. I’ll skip the drugs if need be so I can prevent you from naming any child of ours Granderson (as in Curtis). And I’ll remind you about my sacrifice every day for the rest of your life.)

 

Our knives have been sharpened. The dessert is made. I covered the pumpkin pie in teeny-tiny pie dough acorns & maple leaves & pumpkins and candied pecans and all I can say is: boooyah. Beat that Martha Stewart.

 

My cheesecake recipe & cranberry orange mint relish how-to are over at www.thekitchenettes.net & I’ll be completely submerging my brined turkey, Henri, Alistair in its glorious salt-spa – I think the photo I posted earlier was just showing step 1 of the 3 step process outlined on Williams Sonoma brine label.

 

Now excuse me while I go prevent B from slicing the cheesecake now and adding it to the mashed potatoes because it “suits them better.”

 

Chicago