celebrations – Page 14 – Karla's Cottage

A Mother’s Day gathering

celebrations, cottage, family, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / May 15, 2016

Last Sunday was Mother's Day and we had a crowd coming over to celebrate with us. I'd planned on keeping it simple, and using paper plates outdoors. But Sugarwings was spending the day with me and she LOVES a special occasion as much as I do. She wanted to do something nice for all the mothers, and that seemed like a good thing to encourage.

We moved the kitchen island out of the way, set up a folding table with extra chairs, got out the pretty table cloths, and I let Sugarwings set the table.

One of her special touches, was a colorful ribbon around the plates where moms would be sitting. (no that isn't Grammy hitting the wine bottle early in the day, that is actually sparkling water, although, I did switch over to sparkling wine at the dinner party)

Her Hippy Chick mama loves colorful things and rainbows, so instead of white roses, she got a fiery rose in a red vase, and an LED light stick that changed colors as it flashed in place of a candle.

Sugarwings took all of the photos after too.

Being able to set a nice table is a good skill to have. Our dishes, silverware and glasses are all mis-matched, but my grandfairy knows where each piece goes and makes it look nice even with the hodge podge we use.

It is always cute to see her use this tip, and make the a-okay sign with her hands to remember where the bread plates and drinks go.

Her finishing touch before guests arrive was to sprinkle some rose petals up the walkway.

Which was 100% her idea, she loves the over the top flourishes to make things special.

Rose petals lined the way to her mommie's seat.

Twinkle looked a bit confused by the whole thing, but will follow her girl on any adventure.

The Sacred Circus

celebrations, family, Sacred Circus

By Karla Nathan / April 21, 2016

My son and his family have an aerial troupe, called the Sacred Circus, that performs at festivals.

And my two new grand fairies are amazing to watch.

Well, that is when I can watch… sometimes I have to cover my eyes. They are too daring for me!

While in Missouri for the wedding, we also attended "Shamonic Boom" a festival where they were putting on their show.

Miss Tree (or should I start calling her Mrs. Tree?) had dislocated her wrist the week before, so couldn't do her act.

She did a substitution, of this sling performance, although, I think she might have over used her hand anyway.

Her daughters stepped up and filled in for her, it was so impresive to see these young girls be so professional and take over.

Of course, with their skills, it worked out well.

It was pretty cool that on my first official day as their grandmother, I had so much to beam and boast and be proud of.

Sugarwings' momma brought the heat with her fire hooping too. I always have a lot of reasons to be proud of this girl. Did I mention that she works full time as an RN while getting a further degree?

Sugarwings was impressive too. It was moving to hear her get up on stage and speak so confidently to the audience and tell us that "circus comes from the heart".

She even had a small part in the show.

My son is the DJ and announcer, he knows how to get a crowd going, too, with building the beats. Well, I think that is how it is done, I know that it is more than just playing a song and that he is pretty good at it.

It was quite a show. I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the event.

A naturally beautiful wedding

celebrations, family, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / April 18, 2016

Did I mention that the wedding was non traditional?

It was not only unique, it was lovely and moving, completely natural and fun.

No fuss, nothing fancy, just a lot of love.

Set in a cavern down in S. Missouri. The cave was so spectacular, no decorations were needed.

It was an adventure to reach the cave from our campgrounds.

With a long, winding, narrow road and a hike to get to the hidden cave under the cliff we had driven over.

Our Hippy Chick, my son's ex, who is now my daughter, performed the ceremony.

We had sage and blessings and lots of hugs passed around.

I'd helped Miss Tree create her bridal headpiece and she is also using it for her areal performances too.

And she looked beautiful in it.

This wedding was done on a budget of, well, almost nothing. You don't need to break the bank to have a perfect ceremony. These two were interested in simply sharing their moment with people they cared about.

Sugarwings and I decided to make ribbon wands for the attendees to wave as the couple exited the cave, and I brought some dried lavender to throw also.

Katie and Adam didn't want any wasteful items, and I wanted to honor their wishes, so some of the wands will be recycled for Sugarwing's birthday party favors in August.

Sugarwings enjoyed having something to plan for her daddy, and if you know me, you know that I just had to do something festive or I'd burst.

The bride's mother also provided a picnic lunch afterwards, back at the campground. Which was sweet and we all enjoyed.

The weather was perfect, and the sun was shining into the black cavern.

While waiting for it all to begin, we had a chance to explore our surroundings.

These are my two newest grand fairies. Both are ideal role models for their newly acquired little sisters. These teenagers are smart, funny, strong, and loveable. Not to mention talented, both are arealists like their mom.

This was a wedding with zero drama, just happiness.

No one had to fret, fuss, or worry, all happened as it happened. No practices, rehearsal dinners, gift registries, showers. Just a circle of people who cared, listening to promises of love.

I don't know why I didn't cry. I'm teary thinking about it now. But at the time, I was just beaming with joy.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a person who loves planning parties and going all out, but it was very pleasant and peaceful just to watch the day flow.

Of course, with Katie and Adam, that is a regular thing. There are no pretensions in their lives.

I'm quite lucky to have them in my life.

Thank you, son, for bringing me these 3 sparkling and delightful women as family members!

It was meant to be

antiques/junking, celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / April 3, 2016

When I started beading wrap bracelets, out of the blue and obsessively, I had no plan for them, other than I simply wanted to learn how to make them, then couldn't stop.

My dining table (for some odd reason, I wasn't working in the studio, maybe because I kept saying, "just one more, then I'll put this mess away") was filled with beads and supplies. Even all day on Easter, before we set the piles aside to sit down and enjoy our family dinner.

(It was all swept aside and we had dinner with no beads on the table for the first time in two weeks)

I was really into the beading process. It was nothing I'd done before, and I was happy to learn a new skill. But like I said, I had no plans, no rhyme or reason for the new obsession.

Then, my soon to be daughter-in-law asked for help with her bridal headpiece. And from her description of what she wanted, I thought my new beading talents would be ideal. Having the boxes of trinkets and beads on the table in front of us inspired the design of the creation too.

I wonder if any of this would have occurred to me if I hadn't had beading on my mind and in front of me while we talked about it?

Heck, I didn't even own super glue or beading glue until I started doing those bracelets, and then it was right there at my fingertips when I was ready to start on this piece for her.

I had happened to buy some bridal floral picks while in California, because I was in the middle of doing journal pages and hadn't brought enough flowers with me. (is there such a thing as enough flowers????)

While I was able to find a couple of vintage floral hats, I didn't think it was enough (see what I mean, there are never enough flowers!) and I bought some of those white picks with the pearls too, even though they are not my typical style. I coffee dyed them to lose that bright, bright white sheen, and to vintage them up a bit.

Funny, I didn't end up using the bridal picks in CA after all. And they were exactly what I needed to build a base for this. I tied them together with silk ribbons, and used some of that super glue that I had in front of me to secure them.

After that, I snipped many of the existing pearl strands that were on loops of fishing line stuff, and changed them out for my own sparkling beads instead then glued those in place. We placed more flowers, snips of sik, a few rhinestones, and lots of feathers throughout.

Now, the hard part comes. Miss Tree is an aerialist and will be doing her act right after the ceremony, so will be wearing this hat while being upside down. We have to make it stay on her head, plus she is wanting her hair styled into two buns with trailing tails and tidbits of wildness. We made a few from wool roving and she is working on more.

Since everything for her headpiece just kind of came together for me with stuff on hand, that I just happened to have, but normally would not, I have a feeling that the rest of the piece will work out beautifully too.

It was just meant to be.

Like having Miss Tree and her two girls as family.

Asian centerpieces and decor for a dinner party

celebrations, Travel, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 7, 2016

Well, that is not a photo you'd expect to see on my blog, is it?

Nope, not like me at all.

I travelled with my husband to Long Island to visit the Hamlet club, where the crew there had done an exceptional job and deserved a celebration. My husband's team was going to prepare and serve a special dinner and I offered to help.

When I was asked to pick up some items to decorate with, I was excited, that was right up my alley!

When I was told it was sushi night, I was flummoxed, that isn't exactly my style and I had no idea where to start.

Especially in a strange city, without my regular shopping targets. But, I went out exploring, set my Google Maps to Michaels and promptly got lost.

Very lost.

No cell service, no maps.

So, I turned into the first parking lot that I found, hoping to snag some free wireless from a business. I just so happened to be in front of an AC Moore, a store I'd not heard of, but the sign said "crafts" so I went in.

And found all the inspiration I needed for the table- some handmade, Japanese rice paper in firey dragon colors, and paper, clip on, crayon yellow, dragonflies. I bought enough rice paper to line up and use as a runner, scooped up some colorful bugs, and went from there.

Black "floating frames" were buy one get one free. I got 8, in different sizes (all they had) to use as zen garden style trays to fill with stones and moss, along with simple, cylinder candles and vases. In the larger frames, I centered a strip of coordinating rice paper for an extra layer.

To spice up the candles and vases (cheap ones from the wedding section), I bought some washi tape (that is Japanese, right??). If you are going to use washi tape to add a stripe to the top of a glass, I'd say make sure the vase or votive is as straight up and down as possible, and choose a tape that looks okay with a bit of a wrinkle in it. Because it is very hard to get it perfect. I thought about using an exacto blade to trim Vs out of the tape to make it fit better, then decided that working with the wrinkles, and burnishing them out as flat as I could was good enough.

I think it is fine.

Each frame "tray" was filled with handfuls of pebbles around the candles and flowers, with moss tucked in among the rocks. I also bought some big, black stones, and a gold paint marker. Then, I googled "Japanese lettering" and copied pictures I found.

On the backs, I wrote the English translation. I tried to chose words that went along with the event, and the people it was for, such as: pride, team, strength, friendship, self confidence, etc.

(Uhm, if you are fluent in Japanese, please don't try to read these, let's consider them arty, not accurate)

You can find anything online can't you? I thought that it would be a nice touch to have origami folded napkins too. So looked up youtube videos on folding swans.

I had a short period of time to pull this all off, from shopping to creating to setting the table. And the swans were not going well. So, I quickly switched to butterflies. Which went much, much faster. In all, I had about an hour into ironing and folding the napkins, and most of that was a learning curve. Once I figured out the steps, it went quickly.

The tall, clear vases were filled with more pebbles, and I split a package of curly twigs and bamboo between the 8 vases on the table and a larger one on the buffet.

On the way to the club, I got lost again and found the coolest grocery store I'd ever been in. I am a huge, Trader Joe's fan, and discovered the REAL deal type place that the chain is probably based on. It was an older market, full of imports and good prices too. I could've wandered around sampling cheeses and filling my cart with pasta from Italy, all day, but had to get to the club to set my table.

Before leaving, I picked up two bundles of freesias in yellow and orange for only $6 each, and they were the most perfect finishing touch for the vases. It wasn't something I'd set out to find. I thought that the vases looked pretty good with the washi tape, dragonflies, and curly twigs. But a few, small handful of bright flowers really improved the whole table.

There were even enough yellow freesias to add to the buffet table vase too.

There aren't any pictures of the buffet table because I was helping serve the appetisers by the time the main course was set out.

Yep, I was a waitress too.

When I was a single mom, that is how I supported my kids. And I met my Handsome Husband while waitressing at a Holiday Inn where he worked at the front desk. After I was married, I kept it up for years because the hours were great, I could work lunches while the kiddos were in school.

And I always loved doing the job and thought I was pretty good at it. So, I figured I still would be.

WHOA!!!!!!!!

Not so much.

The first thing I noticed as people were starting to come in, was that the trays were much heavier than I remembered. Very heavy.

Now, I still carry 9 year old Sugarwings around a lot. I garden, I keep busy. I'm not a gym rat, but I do lift some free weights (well sometimes).

But it didn't take long to find out that I do not have a single waitress muscle left in my body. Instead of 8 to 12 plates on a big tray, I could barely heft an empty, large tray over my head. I stayed with small, drink trays and carried a couple plates at a time, making many more trips back and forth that way.

Let me brag a smidge that I still had the drive and the eye for waitressing. I can spot a half filled glass and top it off before the guest even knows they are running low on water. I can whisk away a plate within seconds of the diner deciding he is done eating, and will scoop up all extra items on the placemat, keeping the area tidy.

But, boy, was I achey after all of it. It was fun to be a part of the event, and I loved the challenge of decorating, but the exhaustion that came with serving the meal really threw me emotionally. I wasn't prepared to face the fact that my youth is far, far behind me and I just can't keep up with things I used to do.

I think I'll keep my day job. Or maybe practice carrying trays around and get ready ahead of time before I do it again? I was too cocky to think of that, I figured I'd be a star waitress, not a weak, little old lady.

Because I sure would do this job again, what a delightful party it was, and the food was amazing!

I'd like to see more of Long Island, especially the Hamptons. There wasn't quite enough time to get that far. We did go to Times Square where we posed with one of a dozen or so Elmos walking around. They work for tips and before you know it, you are surrounded by all sorts of characters, each asking for money, even if some weren't in the picture and most weren't asked to be in it. They all crowd in, whether you want them to or not, and then try to get more cash from you. I was a bit taken back by it all, but it was pretty funny to be mobbed by cartoon characters.

I don't think Disneyworld would approve of Minnie Mouse's attitude.

We took a ride up to the top of Rockefeller Center. (Nice venetian plaster on the wall, isn't it?)

I was entranced by the chandelier.

Wouldn't you love to have just one strand from it?

And the lights built into the walls were chunks of crystal with colored lights behind them.

And what a view!

And what nice people we were with. Who knew I'd go all the way to NY just to meet a fellow junker and furniture painter? I enjoyed hanging out with my new friend, Beth.

We ate at Carmine's and I adored the mismatched chandies there too.

The selection of old photos on the wall made me feel right at home. This was my fave.

I've never been a city person, but I sure did love New York.

Under the Sea and still under the spell

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / January 5, 2016

I know it is the New Year (already???!!) Well, at least I am trying to convince myself that, yes, Christmas is over, 2016 has arrived, and it is time to get back to normal.

Hmmm, if I could just figure out what normal is.

Anyway, our holidays were so full that I still haven't run out of photos from them. And I am still basking in that holiday glow. Soooo, I'm indulging myself with yet another blog post of girls being excited by the Christmas extravaganza.

Last year, we started a tradition of seeing a play at the local theater as part of our month long party in honor of the holiday. The play in 2014 was Mary Poppins, and was cute as a bug.

This year, we got to see The Little Mermaid. It was spectacular! Yet one more reason that we are lucky to live in such a cool town with so many interesting things going on.

I'll leave you with some pics from the day, and I just might sneak in a few more of happy girls enjoying Christmas too. Because those are my favorite pictures of all.

Unless we are at a beach… I do love beaches. That sounds especially good right now when the temps are dropping in the midwest and things get icy.

But for now, Under the Sea is close enough to the beach for me.

A year in photos through my art journal

Books, celebrations, family, photography, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 1, 2016

What better way to look back over the past year than through photos?

I take pictures almost daily, and while many are blogged and I can look back at them that way, I still prefer having books to leaf through and enjoy.

Most of my favorite photos get pasted into one of my art journals. A physical copy of a photo is very meaningful. And I always worry that digital pictures are only a dirty, cruel virus, or a silly mistake away from disappearing forever.

Plus, it just feels good to look through a book of memories.

I include some artwork, and other tidbits. Like the schedule I printed for Birdsong last spring.

And a painting that I'd done years ago and found in the bottom of a drawer. (It is mounted on paper that was dyed when I used it as drainage for some other hand dyed project.)

My books are a little of this, a little of that, and a LOT of grand fairies.

Here, I saved the tiny paintings I made to create the buttons on my blog. Next to it, is Dewdrop, snuggling a kitty both on vintage papers and tied together with ruffled ribbon.

While my books are quite a hodge podge, I do try to have adjoining pages look nice together, either by theme or color.

And I like to have different sized or shaped photos to add.

Sometimes, one photo is all I'll put on a page.

Other times, I'll fill the page up.

Often, I'll add cards that I was given during the year, and have pictures inside the card to see when it is opened up too.

And I'll add danglies, I love danglies. This heart was a "to-from" tag off of a gift given to me by my sissy.

This is the picture inside the card, along with lace and old images.

Sometimes I'll use inks or paints behind the photos. And on this page, is a tag given to me at Birdsong.

On this page, I've cut the people out of the photos.

Here too.

And here.

Doodle pages always add interest.

Throughout the year, I'll toss little items I like into a journal box and save it up for a day when I feel like sitting down to make a page.

Not all pages are elaborate. This is torn pieces of old paper, with two photos on it. I've outlined the pictures with a marker.

But other times, I feel like doing more. Like these branches drawn onto the page and the "hinged" mat. When the mat opens up like a door, the branches are drawn underneath to continue on the full page too.

Some pages are just for fun. But they still hold memories for me.

Not only do I love having these completed books to linger over, and sometimes pass around at family gatherings, I dearly LOVE making them.

And they really are never quite finished. It isn't uncommon to go back and add a little charm or doodad years after the book was supposedly finished!

And they aren't usually chronological, either. This is a picture from the year before that slipped into this book.

The important part of the books I make, is the love that goes into them. Yea, I know very corny. But true. I adore working on them, and have to stop myself from obsessing over making journals.

I thought maybe my New Year's resolution should be to not spend soooo much time doing books, when I should be making things to sell….

Nope.

I'll still have these books to pass down to great grand fairies someday. But if I made something to sell instead, I'd have spent the money on some little token and it would be gone by then.

So, maybe my resolution should be to not beat myself up over the time I take away from work to make books for myself?

These do bring me a lot of joy. And I am such a workaholic, I get plenty of other stuff done too.

Sugarwings has started her own art journal, plus is kind enough to make things for me to add to mine. Maybe I'll resolve to help her get her own journal habit going more this year.

As far as resolutions, those aren't bad. They are probably pretty doable.

I don't take resolutions lightly. The list's improvements for the year ahead are something I think about and try to uphold.

Last year, I worked hard on being more patient, and nicer. I think that helped, and I stayed aware of the issues I had to deal with. By doing that, I think it honestly made a difference in my attitude.

Vowing to enjoy the work in front of me, and not being impatient with myself for making what I want to make instead of what I think I should make, kind of echoes last year's resolutions. It is me being patient with myself, and not annoyed. Last year, I vowed not to get so annoyed with others.

It worked.

And I felt the benefits of it, personally and emotionally. I guess anytime you work on being nicer to others, it comes back to being nicer to yourself too.

I think I'll also resolve not to keep apologizing for other people's perceived notions of what I meant when I said something as opposed to what I really meant.

That is a hard one.

All I can do is explain what I meant, apologize for possibly being misleading, but assure that person that I didn't mean it unkindly.

I can't be sorry for what someone THINKS that I thought if that is NOT what I thought, right?

Sounds simple, but this is a trap I've been caught in.

So, as long as I know my intentions are clear, I can't feel bad about how upset a person gets with me. I will do my best to be a nice guy, if another doesn't see that in me, then….. well, not my problem!

We can only control our own reactions, not other's reactions.

Ooh, that one really is hard.

So, here is my list for 2016:

1- Keep trying to be patient and kind, and be true to my own emotions, do not let others perceived notions effect me if they are not correct. Of course, part two of that means, looking deeply into part one to make sure that I have not been hurtful.

2- Enjoy the work in front of me, whether it is personal, or profitable. This kind of goes along with my life motto of "Use the Good Stuff"- if it is worth my time, it is worth using the best materials. The work is also worth using my best outlook too, right? If I'm going to do it, I'm going to let myself go, and let the guilt go too.

So, 2016 looks like a year with some effort ahead for me.

And some enjoyment.

I hope that your year holds some improvements, surprises, many blessings,and lots of enjoyable, creative moments.

Our Christmas

celebrations, Dew Drop, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Food and Drink, holiday decor, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / December 26, 2015

I hope your holiday was full of joy. We had some fun experiences, and plenty of laughs. With lots of hugs.

We started out our two day, holiday extravaganza with a nice, long walk in the woods on Christmas Eve.

It has been mild weather, ideal for a light jacket and some time in the trees.

Albie took that literally, and showed off his climbing abilities. That boy loves to climb trees.

Dewdrop likes to be a damsel in distress waiting to be saved from her perch in the branches.

And her Pop Pop is always happy to step in and help her down.

Katie's girls are as adventurous as Albie and showed off their circus skills by straying off the path and up the branches at every turn of the trail.

Of course, when you hang out with trapeze artists and circus performers on a regular basis, things usually get interesting.

We also had a big, family yoga session before our dinner Christmas Day.

Which soon led to a human pyramid.

Or two.

Or three. (Although this one is only 2/3 human)

Notice that I am not in any of the piles? I was in charge of Santa Hats and photos. Somehow, I wasn't added to the stacks of people, I think my reputation for clumsiness is pretty well known.

Our Thursday was full of exciting deliveries, there were presents being left on the porch all day! One was a package of steaks which came with DRY ICE packed in it.

I was intrigued by the dry ice and used it to create a mini fog machine in this old, silver coffee pot, with the mist flowing from the spout and around the evergreen branches. (Adding rubbing alcohol to the block makes clouds of swirling fog rise from it)

We also tried making sushi on Christmas Eve.

Tried pretty hard.

Then my husband got us some take out.

It was a little like the Bumpas' hounds ruining Christmas dinner in A Christmas Story.

On Christmas morning, we had evidence of the Jolly Old Elf's visit, by the tracks of glitter left on the floor. And I have a feeling, I'll be seeing remnants of that holiday magic for the rest of the year.

The evening ended with Elf and Nightmare Before Christmas, after a big poker tournament where Ryan won 40 bucks from his cousins and was beaming with pride.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of our celebration, and wishes for a happy holiday season to you too.

A Santa Do-Over and some fancy time for the big girls too

celebrations, Dew Drop, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 20, 2015

We took the grand fairies to see Santa again, this time at Lions Gate Country Club. Of course, the little ones were excited to see Mr.Claus, but I was really excited to see the fab brunch that was set out…

Beth came along with us, and we decided it was a good time to practice being hoity toity since we will be attending Deb Hodge's fancy event in Feb. We will be living the high life then, that event looks amazing!

So, a luxury style holiday buffet was just what we needed to get into practice of being pampered.

And we wanted to do some elfing around.

We arrived early so that Sugarwings could have a heart to heart with Santa, since her last visit with him was so intimidating.

All went well, and smiles prevailed.

Of course, when you are spending time with this little goof ball, there are usually plenty of smiles (and funny faces) to share.

Lion's Gate is part of the company my husband works for, but it is a 45 minute drive, so we only go there for special occasions. The food is always THE BEST and they have cute events for kids.

That is where Dewdrop first met her favorite princess, Snow White. It was at "Ghost and Giggles". One of the co-workers dressed as Snow, and Dewdrop fell head over heels for her. She is always happy to see her when we visit the club. She even took her an apple this summer when we went there to use the swimming pool on a day out.

Hmm, if you think about it, that might seem traumatic for Snow White, to be handed an apple. Isn't that a scary memory for her?

On this visit, she gave her a shy hug, then watched her from afar. Then, she told her Pop Pop that she was so happy to see her friend again, and asked him if he knew that Snow White had a job there.

I could save a fortune on vacations, if I just went to visit this Snow White over and over, to Dewdrop, it is as exciting to see her there as it is at Disney.

It doesn't matter where you go, as long as you bring your imaginations. Fun is waiting for you anywhere if you just look for it.

I hope all of your holiday celebrations are tasty and fun too!

Cupcakes and Cacao Torte with spinning flames

celebrations, family, Food and Drink, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / December 12, 2015

Birthdays are considered a BIG DEAL at our house. Dewdrop spent hers with her mommy, but we threw her a party when she came back to Kansas and had plenty of celebrating with her here.

You can't have too many birthday parties, can you?

We had three birthdays to enjoy, and threw two parties for them. One out to dinner for Italian food, and the next night, a family dinner at home with a crock pot full of veggie soup.

And cupcakes decorated by grandfairies.

The other two celebrating their birthdays wanted a more grown up cake, so I made a flourless chocolate torte with cacao powder.

That cake was a better size to use for the light up, spinning, and singing candle than the cupcakes were.

But it didn't sing! Dang it! Last one I bought was a lot of fun, this one was a bit of a dud and also scared Dewdrop.

The flames were a little overwhelming, without the Happy Birthday song that is supposed to be a part of the act.

But not too scary. She was pretty happy once it was time to bite into her custom cupcake.

But at a $5.99 price tag for the big, flame throwing, spinning, wonderland of a candle that wouldn't play the song, I think I'll take it back to the store for a refund. Or exchange.

We are tickled pink to have our tiny, Arabella Cinderella back for the holidays. There have been lots of kisses and hugs, big smiles, then more hugs. Dewdrop was missed.

She has been keeping me company out in the studio where we have had a few parades with her as Frosty the Snowgirl. Yep, that girl is a lot of fun.

Here is how I made the torte:

stir 3/4 cup raw cacao powder (more nutritious and stronger than cocoa)
into one stick of melted butter
add 1 cup organic sugar and 4 egg yolks
In a separate bowl, beat the 4 egg whites, when foamy, add in 1/4 cup of sugar and the scraped seeds from one vanilla bean.
Beat the egg whites till almost into peaks, but not as long as you would for meringue, you don't need stiff peaks.
Fold the two mixtures together, gently

Pour into 8" pan and bake for about 45 minutes at 300 (I don't have a springform pan, I use Grandma Nathan's old cake pan, but I think a spring form is called for)

And here are a couple of banners that I've added to the Boutique.