Food and Drink – Page 10 – Karla's Cottage

A pinterest fail? Pancake art that isn’t all that arty

By Karla Nathan / December 2, 2015

Have you seen the photos or videos of people doing pancake art? Sugarwings asked for a Rudolf pancake and I thought I'd tackle it.

I think my first mistake was cutting too large of a hole in the nozzle of the squeeze bottle I put the batter into.

You draw the outline with the batter, then fill it in after. My second mistake was that maybe either my pan was too hot or I was too slow because it all got too dark on me. This Santa looks more like Blackbeard.

With crazy zombie eyes.

Here is one with the heat turned down, but he looks more like a ghost than a snowman.

Notice that there are not any pics of Rudolf? He looked like Scooby Doo with boogers hanging out of his nose.

Well, it was fun to try. I'm going to buy another squeeze bottle and hopefully not cut the hole too big, and give it another try.

Maybe at Halloween. I've mastered the crazy, scary eye thing, which doesn't go as well with Christmas as it would the witchy season. Or maybe I'll be able to handle hearts at Valentine's day.

I plan on staying away from Rudolfs!

A Happy Thanksgiving

By Karla Nathan / November 28, 2015

We had a happy day for Thanksgiving. A houseful of people, laughing and eating, sipping sparkling cider mimosas (which might explain the laughter), what more can you ask for?

I'm slightly hooked on making these pie crust leaves. It was so much fun, that I added them not only to the pies but to the veggie spirals. And made a turkey from pie crust too.

The spirals would be easier to make if I had a mandolin to slice the veggies. I ended up using a potato peeler and don't recommend that one little bit!

If the golden beets, rainbow carrots, and squash are sliced in an easier way, these are simple to make. But if you are fighting a potato peeler, forget it! To make them, slice up your colorful vegetables. Fill a pie pan with crust or puff pastry, either is tasty. Next, spread cream cheese or ricotta lightly across the bottom of the crust to create a glue to hold the spirals. Sprinkle that with your favorite seasonings. Then, start rolling up selections of pretty colored slices, stick them into your cheesey glue, and fill the pan with twirlies.

Sprinkle the top with more spices, and drizzle with vegetable broth.

Bake til golden brown.

Another nice thing about our holiday was all the help. Not only with washing up, but with the prep. With 22 people to feed, it was good to have others bake up their specialities to bring.

Tree made organic green bean casserole with fresh beans.

Mommo made squash casserole.

Sharon brought sweet potato casserole and a cheesy spinach casserole.

Brooke whipped up creamed corn crock pot casserole.

Thanksgiving is the day for never ending casseroles, isn't it? YUM!

Our Hippy Chick brought veggie stuffing and pies. Sharon also made cranberry sauce and appetizers, Cole baked German Chocolate Cake. I made a TWENTY FIVE POUND turkey, which was way too much, considering how many vegetarians we had with us that day.

My sister had a good idea, she said she likes to bake the bird the day before, debone it, and then rewarm it in the crock pot for the gathering. And wow, was she right! That saved so much time, and the turkey was as tender and juicy as it could ever be.

I also made veggie pies, mac and cheese with lobster and broccoli, and homemade rolls with chia seeds and flax, mushrooms stuffed with parmesan fresh kale and spinach, vegetarian gravy with dairy free mashed potatoes as well as turkey gravy with regular mashers.

This was all way, way too much food. Especially with the appetizers of baked rosemary brie, smoked salmon and cranberry bruschettas. Seriously, I'm still full.

But the very best part? Seeing Sugarwings and Pixie Pie together again. Those two were BFFs for the first few years of their lives, it was great to see them reunited and having happy cousin time together.

They created crowns, played dress up, and played the day away.

Before Pixie Pie had to head back north to South Dakota with her family, she came back over to help decorate Christmas trees. It was hard to say goodbye, and we were so glad to have had some time with her again.

We were also glad to have Mommo here from North Carolina. When a family is spread out as far as ours is, it's extra special when we get holidays with far away loved ones.

Romantic Gothic Ghosts at the cottage, a spooky studio tour

Food and Drink, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 18, 2015

Having my home all spookied up has been fun. Maybe that is why I'm so into all of the witches and haunted house projects?

The haunting decor was set out for my Romantic Gothic Ghosts gathering earlier in the month. I have such a hectic October this year, with three trips and other fun things, that I almost didn't do much decorating.

But I'm glad I did, it has been inspiring for me. I don't think I've ever gotten into so much Halloween themed creating as I have this year. It has been one witch, haunted house, and banner after another.

Well, at least, not since Beth and I did the online zine with how tos and printables titled Romantic Gothic Ghosts back in 2009 or so. That was such fun to do and I just recently reread it. It has some good tips and is pretty cool. And still for sale, here, if you'd like to check it out too.

Oh, I've always enjoyed making witchy things, this pink witch is from a few years ago. But I don't think I've had quite as many to sell in the past. It has been rewarding to see how well they sell and to see that others like the witchy goods too.

At the craft day, after our main project, the ladies stayed late and I got them making banners too. here is Tami's, in progress.

This is the main project for the day, an apothecary jar filled with ghosts and witches.

I'm afraid I don't have any kits for this, but I do still have some little witchy girl kits, if you'd like to make a free standing witch of your own.

The other kits available are the "Book of Mysteries" journals.

Some of my decor for the party was pretty simple. I have this large, spring time mural with blue birds that was too cheerful for this season. So, I printed some bat and witch images and taped them over the birds. Here it is halfway done.

And here it is all batty. I probably should've added some cobwebs to the pink tree…

This was Sugarwings favorite bit of decorating. She is a big, Wizard of Oz fan, so loved this idea.

The tablescape was set up for the party, but the little girls liked it too, so I've left it up for the month. But without my Great Grandma Nellie's hand made table cloth underneath.

I'm a big believer in using the special things I own, not leaving them stashed away in drawers to save for another day. But I'm not stupid and I know that if I left it out for everyday, it would soon be a ketchupy mess.

I'll leave you with more photos from the day and of my studio.

Ghost party 027

An Arabella Cinderella Farewell Teaparty

cottage, Dew Drop, family, Food and Drink, parties, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / August 31, 2015

We've had a nice, long visit with our tiniest fairy girl.

But now, she is headed East to be with her momma. We've squeezed in lots of snuggles and hugs before it was time for her to leave.

Sugarwings thought it would be a good idea to throw her a going away party, so we planned a tea to send her off with a toast.

Usually, Sugarwings helps set the table with me, but this was scheduled for right after school to combine after school snacktime with the festivities. I had the table set and waiting when they got home, to save time. If we delay after school treats too long, they interfere with dinner appetites.

But of course, this girl had to do some rearranging to improve my set up.

Dewdrop had been admiring some vintage dresses that I had hanging in the studio, and I kept promising her that she could wear them, but we never seemed to get around to it.

It dawned on me, that if I didn't pull those dresses down and let her try them on, they might not fit her when she came back again in a few weeks, those little ones do not stay little forever.

A vintage gown was chosen for Sugarwings too, but she preferred one of her own princess dresses. Both girls wanted to wear some of the jewelry I had out in the studio and chose some sparkling necklaces to try on. Dewdrop went with a floral hat from the studio too.

When the bigger girls got off the school bus from Jr. and Sr. high schools, they were good sports and joined in to toast our little sweetie. Can you tell by the look on her face that she appreciated our efforts and loved her party? That is one happy, kiddo.

We have recently discovered how delicious basil flowers are. I have always picked them off to make the basil plants last longer, and sometimes fill a vase with the blooming stems. Dewdrop likes to pick them out of the vase on the dining room table to eat during dinner, so I sprinkled some over our heart shaped watermelon slices for the party (made with a cookie cutter).

We also served blackberries and cupcakes along with the tea. All the dishes are mismatched and mostly from garage sales, and when set out on a floral table cloth, they feel special. Not so special that I get upset when one breaks. We had a creamer casualty, but it had only cost a quarter, so that didn't matter much. I want the grand fairies to enjoy nice things, had be used to handling them, not be afraid to use the pretty pieces.

We are all going to miss our silly, funny, little goofball and will be looking forward to planning a return party for her when it is time for her to come back.

Birdsong FIVE weekend- vendor night

bird song art event, family, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / July 6, 2015

If you are interested, Birdsong kits are available here.

Seriously? It has been a month since Birdsong? Well, I think I, personally, have recovered from the bash and from my whirlwind of a vacation right after, but my studio and garage sure haven't. If you walked into my garage, you'd think that it was a store, not a place to keep a car. I don't know why it takes so much longer to put things back to normal than it does to set it all up.

Well, maybe I do. Getting ready for a big party is exciting. There is the giddy anticipation plus deadlines to meet. But after it is all over? It's just a job, packing up, cleaning up, putting up. I'm fed up with it!!

This is how the garage looked, pre-birdsong as I was getting ready. The room was emptied out, and I rolled out strips of vintage wallpaper and tacked them up to brighten the dingy place, then filled that wall with an assortment of frames painted white.

Here it is after I got them all together. And while quite a few of the frames are gone now, I'm afraid that the wall still looks pretty much the same. You know, it isn't a bad look for a garage, is it? Maybe I can just leave the wallpaper up there…

It was a little hectic on vendor night. Luckily, I have a helpful crew who run the show, I am in the kitchen getting our dinner ready, and swaps are going on at the same time. I was in three of the swaps, but I wasn't able to fully participate, I had to do a run by swapping, I practically tossed my swap to my partner as I speeded by on my way to the kitchen.

And I completely LOST one of my swaps. It wasn't a partnered one, or I'd have kept searching til it was found. It was an exchange where numbers were drawn to chose partners, so I didn't leave anyone in the lurch by not joining in at the last minute.

But I was disappointed to not be a part of it, and irritated with myself for being careless. But if you saw my office and studio during Birdsong, I think you'd understand how anything could be misplaced. There was (and still is) stuff everywhere.

Slowly, but surely, I'm working my way through piles and getting it rearranged and back to normal.

Vendor night is fun, though, even with all the running around I have to do.

My helpers make it all go smoothly, and I hope that the rest of the Peeps enjoy it all too.

While I have to hurry through swaps, I do love peeking out to see all the happy exclamations over the generosity and talent that went into the pieces being traded. And I'm also pretty happy about all of the treats around that night. This year, I made some apple rosette tarts, and they were pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.

What I like about them is how deceptively simple they are. Apples, sugar, cinnamon, pastry, and that is it. The trick is to use a very flavorful apple and let that taste shine through.

I also tried to whip up some macarons. Not quite as successful as the tarts, but they tasted better than they looked. And you really can't go wrong with anything filled up with white chocolate ganache, can you?

Karen sweetly brought this box of hand made, bird shaped, chocolates for us.

Terry was a constant help in the kitchen, while Randy ran errands, took out trash, did all the heavy lifting, 'guy' type jobs, and was just plain old, great to have around. As were all the kindly family members who chipped in to make this thing work.

What would I do without my family?

Shelli helped me use cookie cutters to add chicks to the watermelon salad.

Since making it that way, Sugarwings and I have done that same trick every time we cut open a melon. why eat a plain old slice, when you can have a butterfly or a star????

The salad was made like this:

I ran a fork along the sides of a cuke to make pretty ridges, then sliced it up thinly.
We sliced two small melons, into a thickness that coordinated with the cookie cutters and then cut shapes on a cutting board.
A lot of watermelon goes to waste when using cookie cutters, it can't be re-rolled out like sugar cookie dough to use the remnants. So, we had a separate bowl for the ugly pieces. That is why it took two melons to make enough for one big salad.
We mixed the melon and cucumber, drizzled it with lime juice and topped it with fresh mint. (you could also use balsamic dressing instead if you'd rather, I serve it that way sometimes too)
The feta cheese was served on the side, so it didn't get soggy.

I'll leave you with some photos of my house before it all began.

And this is the puff pastry crust I made for the pot pies. And yes, I see now that the R is backwards! ha!

Maybe I should stick to birds? I'm slightly fond of birdies!

PS- I've been adding the to Boutique, if you couldn't make it to Birdsong to shop, you can shop here.

A bounty of blossoms

bird song art event, flowers, Food and Drink, parties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 26, 2015

If Beth and I look slightly delirious with joy, it is because we most certainly were. And Sugarwings was here to capture the moment.

We had a very good reason to be soooooo happy. Our pal, Carol had posted a photo years ago of some beautiful, gorgeous, dreamy, scrumptious, silk flowers and it was one of those pictures that stayed with me. Then, for some crazy reason, but lucky for me, she posted that she was selling them all! In one big, giant lump of unbelievable beauty.

Beth messaged me when she saw it, and I had a little stab of jealousy, but then was happy for my friend. Then, she said she was waffling and I asked it if would help to split it.

Yep! She shared the bounty! And I contacted Carol before the treasures were scooped up and we missed out.

Carol lives just down the road, and dropped it in the mail box, by Priority, that afternoon. The next day, Beth and Sugarwings were here for craft day and the box arrived. Perfect flowers and perfect timing!

See why we squealed??? This is new, old stock. Never used. Here is how Carol described them on her blog. And she also says she has more goods to sell in the next couple months, so if you are wanting some very special things, keep an eye out for what she'll be offering!!

Over the Summer, I’m going to be offering for sale a select few of my very special and very vintage stash of goods.

To start will be my collection of Vintage Millinery Flowers and Trims that I’ve kept tucked away for several years. This amazing old store stock, is from the Emery, Bird, Thayer Department Store of Kansas City, Missouri. Handmade of vintage fabrics, ribbons and some velvets including many flat appliqués and trims in gorgeous muted shades of color. A few still have the original EBT sale tags. There are over 100 pieces to this collection, some range from very delicate petite to large size flowers and trims. If you’re a collector or crafter of vintage millinery, you know how rare it is to find a grouping of embellishments such as these.

There was bag after bag after bag of these beauties in our box of delights. Plus some cool trims. They were easy to share, too. We opened one bag at a time, and between the, "Oh my gosh, look at this one" and the "Oooh"s and "Oh my goodness"es, we managed to take turns picking out what we wanted, one piece at a time, till the piles were gone.

Then, we found a bag that had slipped off the table and landed on the floor, and the squealing resumed.

Sugarwings took a thousand or so photos, which took her away from her own work, but she was having fun watching the old ladies be silly.

She wasn't allowed to touch our blooms. She was deep into her own Project Runway style creations and had a tad of paint and glitter on her hands.

Earlier, we'd hosted a Birthday Luncheon for Beth and Angie, with Sugarwings as my co-hostess. She decorated all the cupcakes, and set the table using her favorite trick. Here is what she does-

Make an a-okay sign with both hands.

Notice that the left hand looks like a "b"

The right hand looks like a "d"

The "b" stands for bread plate and goes to the left, the "d" stands for drink and goes to the right.

That is a quick way for a kid to learn about where things go at a table setting, and she enjoys doing it so much, she makes the a-okay sign each time she sets the items down, even though, she already knows where to put them.

The day was so much fun. And while I am supposed to be getting caught up after Birdsong, and trying to put the studio and garage back to normal, while also selling leftover kits (first offered to sponsors and past attendees, soon to the rest of our friends), it was nice to have a day just to laugh. All day long. And that is what we did.

Sugarwings was glad I didn't have the studio back to normal yet. I still had the big tables up, her small ones weren't back out yet, and the larger ones were still covered in paper.

Instead of doing a project on the table, she made the paper covered table her actual piece. It was a fashion themed day for her, and she had previously drawn dozens of gowns in chalk on the patio, side walks and breezeway floors, for us to take a walk through her "fashion museum".

Then, the table cover became a full length ball gown, covered in red glitter and embellished with sparkling tape.

Afterwards, she cut it out, and we hung it up in the studio. I love to see her creativity run amok. She was into this for hours.

My project for craft day was working on Lesa's kit. I'd already made one of them, and someone gave me their kit to finish, and I was happy to do it, I love these little birds. And again, perfect timing for the flowers to arrive, just when I needed them to make this special birdie, extra, extra special!

Thank you for parting with the blossoms, Carol, and thank you, Beth for sharing with me.

All of Lesa's kits are sold now. I have a couple of Lori's and I made quite a few extras of my own. I'll be marketing them as soon as all the Birdsong Peeps have had a chance to get first pick at them. So please do check back if you are interested in one. I'll also have some posts about Birdsong coming up soon.

Mulberry season

bird song art event, cottage, Dew Drop, family, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 5, 2015

It's mulberry season here at the cottage. Which means that Sugarwings spends hours up on a ladder snacking away, and filling bowls up, just to spill onto the ground and start over again.

With dozens upon dozens of mulberry trees (which is how the Fairy Berry Trail got its name), there are plenty to go around, so if a few spill, no one worries about it. The chickens are actually pretty happy about that when it happens.

Dewdrop has a ladder of her own, but prefers being down on the ground.

Especially if there is anything soft around to cuddle. I'm always surprised at just how silky, soft a hen is. they are so nice to pet. Sadly, only a few of our ladies are friendly. The dozen we bought this spring still act like we are only entering the coop to murder them, not to feed, pet, or gather eggs. But there are still some older gals around who don't lay eggs anymore, but who are very sweet, little pets.

We had a nice family evening, watching Sugarwings drag her ladder from one tree to the next and eat her weight in berries. I popped her into the bath before dinner, and as soon as she was done eating her grilled shrimp, she was back outside and climbing up the steps again, this time way, out in the woods- with no bug spray on. I had to toss her right back in the tub again before she left with her day, so she wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night, itching and scratching from chigger bites. (if you use soap after being out in the woods, you wash away those pesky things)

We managed to get one bowl filled with enough mulberries (thanks to her daddy) to make a cobbler. I used about 6 stalks of rhubarb and a pint of strawberries in it too, since mulberries are a little bit bland.

This was far from bland, and I had a big dish full for breakfast this morning. Now, that is the way to start a day. I'd love to make more for my Birdsong peeps who are arriving soon, but I have a feeling, time is too short. I need to bake bread, cupcakes, and a few other treats yet. And this cobbler isn't going to last long enough to feed it to my guests this weekend, although I do know someone who is up to the task of picking enough to make another one.

Apple rosette tarts

Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / May 24, 2015

Stacy served pretty, apple rosettes at the Whitworth Ranch Retreat, and I was smitten. I'd been wanting to try some myself, but thought they looked too complicated. Seeing hers in person, and tasting how wonderful they were, gave me courage to try some on my own. I think they turned out nice, even though mine are more like full blown roses than rosettes.

I'm hoping to make these for Birdsong too, so I wanted to practice and see how it went. It was fast, and easy. My only problem was being patient while the dough thawed, I didn't plan ahead and was in a rush. I was also in too big of a rush to wait for them to cool, and popped one into my mouth too soon. That was a mistake.

I'm afraid I didn't follow the recipe, I'd looked at it weeks ago, and had an idea on how it was done, but didn't refer back to it. Mine was close enough.

First, thaw puff pastry.

Next, cut apples in half, core, then slice paper thin. Microwave the slices in lemon water to soften them. I used organic Gala apples for mine, they had a nice flavor.

Roll out the pastry, cut each piece down the center lengthwise, and line up apple slices along the pastry so that they peek over the top edge and sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mix. I used brown sugar.

I also added extra apple slices to the middle of the dough, not just along the top edge. (I wanted mine to be more fruity)

Roll up, and pop into muffin tins.

Bake and wait til they cool to eat, because that cinnamon sugar will burn your mouth when it is hot.

Believe me, I know. I couldn't wait for them to cool! The whole house smelled great and the tarts were looking as tasty as can be. And they really were just wonderful.

You can follow a real recipe and do it right by looking these up on Pinterest, they are all over the place and the recipes there are certainly more precise than the way I wrote this up. Or just wing it, like I did. It is pretty hard to mess these up, they are much easier to make than you'd think.

French Macarons were also attempted, not quite as successful as the tarts. But still delicious, so I went with the crookedness and will call them Kansas Macarons instead.

A week ago, I tried to make some, and those weren't as good as these, some of those turned into explosive pockets of air instead of cookies. They aren't an easy thing to make, especially if you have an aversion to recipes like I do.

I kind of skim a few, get the gist of the idea, then whip something up. It has worked well with me for most things, including fresh baked breads. But I might need to actually follow directions to get these right.

Still, these are getting closer, see the little feet/ruffles on the bottom of some of them? (I was so happy to see those developing, I snapped a photo while they were still in the oven) Of course they look more like biscuits than cookies, but I promise,they taste pretty good. Mine are made with vanilla beans scraped from the pods instead of liquid vanilla because I was worried about adding anything else to the batter. I also declined to add coloring.

The filling was the best part, though. I warmed up cream, melted white chocolate in it, whipped it with butter and some more vanilla beans. I could've just eaten that by the spoonful.

The macarons are frozen and ready to serve for Birdsong. I tried freezing some tarts, but they don't taste as good if not straight from the oven, so I'll be making those the night before our party.

Countdown to Birdsong!

bird song art event, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / May 22, 2015

I'm not the only one getting ready for Birdsong, a couple of our past guests who couldn't come to the party this year were kind enough to send door prizes. This lovely pillow is from my friend, Suzanne.

And Terry sent craft packs. She finds wonderful stuff, and has an etsy shop where you can snag some for yourself.

We also got some generous ephemera packs from Wendy, who has an etsy shop filled with goodies too.

Last year, I met Patty at Kim's Downton Affaire in LA, we were table mates. She will be at Birdsong this year and has also sent gifties from her Etsy shop to her fellow Peeps.

And she included a gift for me! I'm always enraptured by sparkly bird pins.

Our Peeps will be thrilled with all of the gifts, and I am too! Thanks for being a sponsor, Suzanne, Patty,Terry, and Wendy!

And I guess I can say we have "corporate sponsors" now that Gundren Sjoden has sent us a package too! All the way from Sweden, care of my dear friend, Betti.

They not only included two gifts for my friends, but also a $15 coupon for their store.

My tweet bags are all done and ready to be filled. It is going to be fun to stuff them with all the goodies that have been sent. I've got more coming, and will be sure to show you those too.

Now, most hostesses like to keep the goodie bags secret. But not me. I feel like the thoughtfulness needs to be shown off and public thank yous sent out to the givers. I don't think the Peeps mind seeing some of the treasures that will fill their bags. And I'm sure that they are happy to see the sponsors be thanked along with photos of the presents.

Serendipi-TEA at The Whitmore Ranch Retreat

Food and Drink, Travel, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / May 10, 2015

(photo by Cassandra)

The Downton Abby themed, "Serendipi-Tea" that Stacy Seely hosted for Karen, was filled with beauty. Of course, anything Karen touches is beyond FAB, and Stacy has a lovely setting to throw a party in. The Whitworth Ranch Retreat is cottagey cute, and when it is gussied up with a Downton Theme to compliment Stacy's skills in whipping up British cuisine, you can't beat it.

Stacy, her mom, and crew worked their bottoms off to create this atmosphere for us to play dress up in, and we sure took advantage of the stage they set for us.

Guncle Randy, handsome as ever, wore this steam punk crystal pendant that my son had made for him, along with a debonaire, linen suit. He looked so suave, I told him that I couldn't refer to him as just "Randy". He was his full name, Randall Paul to me all day.

See what I mean?

That boy cleans up well. As does his partner in fabulousity, Karen.

Part of the group dressed for the current season of Downton, and were all flapper-y and sassy like Cousin Rose.

And some of us were making the most of the style of the earlier seasons.

I was so glad that my Sissy came along! We had the best laughs together. It was good to have a carefree weekend to relax and be totally pampered.

Speaking of being pampered, Stacy made these apple roses I'd been dying to try myself after seeing them on Pinterest. She'd posted a photo of them on FB, Sissy saw it and casually said she wanted some too, but without cinnamon (it causes a migraine for her), not knowing that Stacy was making them for our upcoming party.

And guess what? There they were, in all of their rosy goodness, waiting for us at our tea party. And a special plate of them with no cinnamon was on our table.

I was so excited to see these in person. Oh my, they were so pretty and so tasty!!

It was such a special treat to be fed so well, and to be treated so special. And to hang out with such a nice bunch of friends, old and new. This was at our High Tea.

Then we had a second opportunity to dress up for our formal dinner.

And we had the perfect spot for posing, courtesy of Stacy.

Sara surprised us with this below stairs costume she whipped up.

Cute, isn't it?

Oh, there was LOTS of cuteness! Here is my new friend, Molly. She was one of the teachers, I'll show some pictures of her pretty project later.

My pal, Linda made this for the night. I always think of her as a rainbow artist, she is very boho, and loves bright colors, I often wish I had her skill for creating with color. And now, I have to be jealous of her touch with the neutrals too!

Everyone was just beautiful!

With this beautiful scenery behind us.

Info about the ranch is in my previous post, along with a nugget of an idea about concocting a get away to Texas. Contact me if you'd like to attend and we'll see about setting it up.

Of course, we won't be all Downton-ed up, but I'll bet we can throw on a cowgirl hat and some boots for a Texas style wingding!