Obsessions | Sailor Knots

I’ve been neck-deep in getting Christmas boxes in the mail for the past few days so forgive my absence. This month will be a little touch-and-go with all the traveling and projecting I’ve got going on but I imagine I’ll be pinning wildly all the way through the holidays!

If this particular obsession tells you anything, it is that I have been trying desperately to get my Christmas shopping done! Ha! My current method is to troll the Etsy Treasury until I see an item I like and then search the site for similar items. In this case, I found a necklace I liked and then went from there… Sailor’s Knot Necklace, $15 in a ton of colors… but ships from Turkey. *Sighs.* Nautical Doorstop/Bookend, $18.  Red Nautical Mitts, $25. Cute Little Ring, $16. Knotty Headband, $20. This, my friends, is a Knot T. Wocka Wocka. $36. Knotical Belt, $60.

Happy Holiday shopping/crafting/abstaining everyone! Now come over here and tell me if you’ve been Knotty or Nice this year… 😉

Test Kitchen | Thanksgiving Favorites

Entering back into the workforce today I have only a few regrets about the holiday past, and the biggest one is that I didn’t score myself a leftovers plate! We went to an “orphans feast” of types for Thanksgiving and I have never, I mean NEVER seen that great a variety or mass of food outside of a chow hall. It was cruh-razy. (The photo above is table 1-of-4, by the way. And we didn’t even get to TWO whole turkeys.) Crazier, perhaps, were my favorite dishes of the day! So I’m going to share them with you along with similar-looking recipes. Because odds are good I’ll be making these myself very soon…

1). Chicken Liver Pate

I was actually pretty shocked by how good this was, and it totally overshadowed all the other dishes, despite the all-around deliciousocity of everything. Man, I’m thinking about it now and my mouth is watering.

2). Oyster Dressing

I pretty much like any and all dressing/stuffing. Down to the Walmart brand boxed stuff you just add water to and let sit for 5 minutes. Oyster stuffing, though? That little unexpected kick is just fantastic. A faint seafood taste that is totally not overwhelming, and really sets off those great herbs and other deliciousness. Yum.

3). Cranberry Sauce, not the canned kind.

As far as I’m concerned, that canned jelly business is for the birds, despite its apparent popularity resurgence on The Facebook. Just type “canned cranberry sauce” into the search box. Anyhoo, fresh cranberry sauce is super easy to make, you can mix up the ingredients to your own liking (try brown sugar, port wine, lime juice, pomegranate seeds…) and it is TASTY. Tasty, I say.

4).  Ginger, Cranberry and Almond Scones. With Cranberry Curd.

Everybody’s heard of lemon curd. Cranberry curd is tart and delicious like lemon curd, but it is even more better! The awesome color alone sets it a mite above (although LAYERING cranberry, lemon and lime curds on, say a crepe cake would be UH-mazing) and it has crazy character and of course, the element of the unexpected. Pair it with scones (I used the above recipe and then added fresh cranberries, ginger and almonds) and you’ve got a not-too-sweet surprising holiday dessert that people will think took forever, but it really didn’t.

5).  Wheat Berries and Sausage.

“‘The heck is a wheat berry?!” you might ask. “Exactly,” I would reply. ha. From what I can tell, wheat berries are 1). Something hippies eat, 2). Cooked like rice, and 3). Actually really tasty! This young fellow (who wants to pursue community gardening and healing as a career after college) brought an especially tasty wheat-berries-n-sausage dish that made me want to delve into the terrifying (but oh-so-enticing) grains bins aisle of Whole Foods and emerge Victorious! with wheat berries, sprouted grains, and fresh peanut butter. Because I AM HEALTHY! Well, baby steps first.

Did you eat anything different from traditional Thanksgiving fare that you want to start incorporating into your own holiday tradition?

Design Sensibilities | Speaking of Trees…

I’m sure it’s bad form to start talking about Christmas trees before Thanksgiving has even come and gone… But I am determined to acquire one this week and I am torn, TORN I tell you!

Since I was ousted from the house many moons ago, I have never had a real Christmas tree. I have loved and cherished my respective 3-ft pink and white trees, but a little part of me has always regretted not having a big, smelly, pine-needle-shedding behemoth of a water-slurping Christmas tree.

The catch is that I’m not totally wild for the multi-colored arts-and-crafts style traditional trees. I mean, you really can’t mess up a Christmas tree but if I get a real one I want it to look like… well, like something I’d like. Personalized. By color and style, not just “this pasta ornament is personal to me.” I’m sure that if the hubs and I have children that kind of decor will eventually become my reality, but we’re not there yet so I don’t have to choose between love and design. ha.

So I need some inspiration to contemplate before we head out to Baldwin Farm and start sawing away with a pocket knife and a Ka-Bar. Real or fake…? Monochromatic or modern? Tree or artistic display? PINK or…? I can’t pick my wrapping paper until this whole matter is settled.

           

You know, as much as I love a good pink tree, and the little one with all the purple ornaments, and the branches wrapped in yarn… I’m thinking my favorite here is the big green tree with all the white ornaments… There’s something really clean and un-fussy about it that I like. But I’m not really an all-white kinda girl. Maybe mostly white with grey, lilac and chartreuse accents…? What do you think? I’ve got some new ideas brewing now…

 

 

Design Sensibilities | Tree Branches as Decor

       (Here’s my first branch-decor attempt back in 2006.)

Bear with me now, folks, I’m going to make a case for the awesomeness of tree branches as decor…

I know, I know. Not the most exciting-sounding topic in the world, but I think you’d be surprised at how much a few branches can bring a rustic natural feel to your decor: They can look really architectural and minimalistic, or end up turning into a compelling and delightful art/holiday installation/hanging object display.

It all depends on what you do with your branches: You can paint them… or not… Wrap them in Christmas lights. Get all crazy and wrap a few twigs in twine, ribbon, or yarn for added textural interest, or spritz them with glue and toss glitter all around — outside, please!

Also, they’re pretty much gonna be free, don’t need to be watered, and won’t shed on your carpet. All of the above I consider to be compelling arguments, but maybe you need to see a few examples to really appreciate the awesomeness…                

I’m ready to embark on a project similar to the third one to the bottom, what do you think? Are you ready to head out to the woods yet?

DIY | Acorn Projects

I think acorns are the “cute” nut because they have the little gnome caps. Either way, here’s some fun fall decorating projects if you happen to live under an acorn tree (otherwise known as an oak)…! A glittery acorn garland idea from The Long Thread. Cute acorn magnets by Make and Takes. Look at this cute little acorn next ornament from the bloggers at Twig and Toadstool… Get-Me-My-Gluegun Acorn Wreath, from DIY Crafts. I’ve thought of a name for the business that makes and sells these… Crochet Is For Hookers! Copyright! Pearl your way to decor with this a-corny project from Seams of Life. These painted acorns really spruce up this winter wood centerpiece… Very cute, methinks!   These little nutters look cute in these mason jar candles… I love these cute pushpins from Apartment Therapy.

Or, if you want to get all super crafty this felted acorn tutorial from Rhythm of the Home teaches you how to make cute felted acorn necklaces and a few other cute lil’ things…

Obsessions | Terrariums

I’m kind of a little obsessed with terrariums right now. They’re really almost too easy to even call a DIY: Get a clear vessel of some sort (like a glass), some dirt, a low maintenance plant and BOOM! You now have a fancy word to use for your cup of dirt! You are now master of DIY projects and re-purposing! Here’s some purty pictures to help inspire your terrarial experimentation…    
For these and more check out this Poetic Home article on re-purposing containers as terrariums…

DIY | Fun Wreaths Photo Blog

  

 

I should have saved the links for these but I wasn’t actually planning to blog about wreaths until I noticed I had so many photos. Sorry…? I did however save the DIY for the white fur-wrapped wreath courtesy of Nesting Place because it looked like it might involve more effort than a little effusive glue-gunning.

You know…? Not really! BRING ME MY GLUE GUN!

Enough of That | Back to Blogging

I’ve been a terrible blogger, I really have. I interviewed for an interior design program and then went radio silent for three weeks – that’s called “recovery” from all the emotional energy I’d been putting into getting things figured out! I really have spent the past few weeks thoroughly unencumbered by design inspiration, excepting researching Day of the Dead makeup for Halloween, see above photo. Otherwise… I’ve been working, traveling, and having an especially lengthy cold.

But now the holidays are upon us and with the looming scope of DIY projects, baking and decorating I think it’s time to get back in the swing of things.