Food and Drink – Page 10 – Karla's Cottage

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!

Whitworth Ranch Retreat

celebrations, Food and Drink, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 8, 2015

What can I say about my visit to the Whitworth Ranch Retreat??? Oh my, where to start? What a pretty place. Comfy, great food, hospitable, and fun. Stacy Seely is owner and chef of the retreat on an acreage in Scurry, Texas and she threw a party for my FABULOUS buddy, Karen Hillman.

But this wasn't just a party. It was an extended weekend BASH. With a bevy of beauties all dressed up like visitors to Downton Abby.

Stacy not only decorated to the hilt to make photo ops for us, she hosted one little party after another. Each elaborate, gourmet meal had its own decor and all featured British foods to keep with the Downton gowns we wore.

Her food was as delicious as it was pretty, and I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the fancy meals against the backdrop of the Texas landscape.

We were surrounded by a few hundred acres that were home to herds of cattle.

The interior is nicely shabby chic-ed. This was our attic room, with four little Snow White and the 7 Dwarves' beds.

Sissy called them Goldilocks beds.

I think there were 4 or 5 rooms of 4 sets of beds, each with a different cottage style. And spacious bathrooms, with big, fluffy towels. I liked our attic room best because it was pinkalicious.

And because I got to share it with these guys! Regina, Sissy, and Guncle Randy. I brought them each a set of fake teeth to go along with my gappy smile. And we put them in our mouths, composed ourselves, and calmly called a person upstairs, telling them we wanted to show them something. When our guest got up to the top of the stairs, we gave them each a wide grin, then rolled on the floor laughing. We pulled this prank over and over, til we had a room full of people rolling around with us.

Some meals were served in the main house, while some were poolside. Continental breakfasts were available in either building, and were self serve, with plenty of fresh fruit and home made pastries.

The main house was the original, Whitworth family home.

This addition is fairly new, and is where I stayed.

It holds the craft room, as well as two guest rooms, a large sitting area, a kitchen and two baths. We wanted to be here, so we could craft till all hours of the night, and we sure made use of it. I was up till after 1 each night, cutting and gluing. And maybe sipping a tiny bit of wine and snacking on some of the best cookies I've ever had in my life.

I'm not the only one who thought so, although I did my share of emptying out the cookie jar!

And see what I mean about the beauty of the decor?

Stacy went all out.

No detail was left untouched. For High Tea, we were served these specialty teas from Highclere Manor.

With tea sandwiches, fresh baked scones, and clotted cream. I'm very surprised I was able to control myself around that clotted cream. It took all of my will power to not lick the jar clean and risk getting the container stuck on my nose while trying to get to the bottom.

There is nothing as good as one of Stacy's home made scones topped with clotted cream.

Unless maybe it is her chocolate pudding made from a recipe handed down through 7 generations…

Or the champagne jello…

Or the fish and chips with Mushy Peas…

I'd never heard of mushy peas, and now they are my favorite food.

I'll leave you with some pictures of the prettiness. And soon, I'll post about about the crafts. With a craft room like that, I couldn't get in enough arty time. I was enticed to go in there and work whenever I got a free moment.

I really hope to go back. Preferably around Canton time or McKinney flea market days.. Stacy asked me if I want to teach sometime, I wonder if anyone would like to join me?

(photo by Karen)

She only charges $230 per person to stay there (classes, if offered, are not included in that fee), and that is from Thursday at 10am til Sunday at 3pm, with continental breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners included. (Plus whatever classes are being offered at the time, or else you can just treat it as a B&B and rent it for a vacation, not come during classes)

The cost kinda blew me away. I kept asking her again, in case I got it wrong, and then finally wrote it down just to be sure. Really?? Only $230 a person for the whole time, not for each day? And those meals are included? The food has to be much more simple than what we had, right??? NOPE. Elaborate, home cooked, gourmet meals done fresh, with any theme you'd like. Stacy has a culinary degree and knows her way around a kitchen. She says she can cook any style food that is requested. Italian, TX BBQ, or pure British bliss like we had.

I just go this message about a Mother's Day special, if you have free time in May, you should make plans to go! What a deal and what a friendly, welcoming place!!

Mother's Day Special, Treat your Mom, Sister, Daughter or Best Friend to a weekend away of fun, relaxation, crafting, sewing and great food!

I have 2 weekends available in May that I am offering at a discount in appreciation to all the Mom's out there!

These weekends are Thursday 10:00 AM to Sunday at 3:00 PM

May 14-17 and May 28-31

Cost is $185.50 and includes lodging and all meals.

Upcoming Retreat with Shanna Noel with Illustrated Faith is coming to Whitworth Ranch Retreat on Thursday October 22 to Sunday October 25th. This fun weekend will be packed full of devotionals, journal techniques and more. Deposit is $200.00 to reserve your spot. More details to follow. You can follow Shanna on Pinterest and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/shanna.noel.5?fref=ts

https://www.pinterest.com/shannanoel/

A simple, easy, enjoyable Easter (its kind of late to post about it though)

celebrations, family, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / April 24, 2015

We had a laid back Easter, pretty simple and lots of fun. With time for crafting and egg decorating in the afternoon, which is alway a plus for me. Walmart sells these plastic eggs that are great to embellish and also take paint well. They can be cut open to create an interior scene too. I poked two holes in the top to feed a wire through, and dangled a butterfly on, then made a glittered, moss nest with genuine pearl eggs. It is mounted on a tiny tart tin and has vintage millinery covering up the holes on top.

Since Dewdrop was away, Sugarwings was our only small child for the annual egg hunt on the Fairy Berry Trail.

But she had a little help from a friend.

When I got a new convection oven a few weeks back, I was so excited to try it out, I baked a turkey, and stuck some in the freezer, which was great to have waiting and ready to go for the holiday. I might do that more often. I made noodles with most of the frozen turkey, and saved some of it to make gluten free noodles for Sugarwings. Since we have vegetarians at our table, I also made noodles with Swanson organic vegetable broth. I've found that by adding poultry seasonings to that brand of broth, I get a nice, traditional flavor that works well with noodles. Other brands haven't done as well for me.

Our family has a tradition of eating egg noodles over mashed potatoes at holidays, something that started with my mom.

While it might sound complicated to make three different kinds of noodles for one family, it really wasn't a big deal. And I prepped those along with fruit salad, green bean casserole, and roasted veggies the day before, so all I had to do was pop pans into the oven, warm up the noodles, make mashed potatoes and bread on Easter Sunday. I was happy with myself for getting so much done the day before so that I could relax and enjoy my day with the family.

We had plenty of time to sneak out and go to a movie, "Home". And if you've seen it, you'd know how perfect a choice it was for Easter, those "booves" changed colors with their emotions and the little aliens reminded me of Easter eggs.

Lots of crafting got done by part of our group, while others worked in the garden, and our dinner cooked away pretty much on its own.

I am going to remember how much I enjoyed this day as I get ready for Birdsong. It is entirely possible to have a delicious meal mostly made up ahead of time, so that I don't have to spend as much time in the kitchen, and I can have fun being with people I enjoy.

Birdsong is so special to me, but I often run around so busy, I don't get to hang out the way I really want to. Well NOT this year!! I'm doing some serious planning ahead.

A belated Christmas party. WAAAAY late!! (but worth waiting for)

Food and Drink, show and tell

By Karla Nathan / March 19, 2015

My friend, Angie, and I had been trying to get together to exchange Christmas gifts, and finally got around to it in February.

Since we were so late, I added a Valentine and a Shamrock to her gift box, then wrapped it up in an old editorial cartoon featuring Grover Cleveland (for President's Day) I was a bit surprised how easy it was for me to come up with the old president picture. My studio has about anything I might need, no matter how obscure.

Beth was coming in town for craft day, what good timing, for her to meet us for lunch. (I'm not really a foot taller than these two, it's the angle)

I'm still dribbling drool over the pretty gift Angie made for me. She foofed up this great, old celluloid box, with some of my favorite things.

Inside and outside!

Plus filled it up with even more faves.

And as much as I loved the gifts, the company was even better. We ate at one of our favorite restaurants, and took our time, catching up, telling stories, and laughing.

By the way, Angie is a new dealer at Bottom's Up, as well as at Mission Road Antique Mall, near Beth's booth there.

Angie is just getting hers going, she has this one plus a case.

This one is Beth's. We recently had a play date to redo and rearrange. I miss doing that, it was my favorite part of having my own spot. So, I'm always happy when I get to mess with her booth.

**************************************************************************************************************************

PS- I've got 50% off the Boutique right now. But you MUST use this link:

http://www.karlascottage.com/?code=Fling

to get to the sale site. If you go through the regular link, the 50% off won't register. If you can't click on it to get to the page, you might want to try cutting and pasting it to your browser. Thanks for helping me spring clean!

A little luncheon for friends

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

By Karla Nathan / March 2, 2015

One of my favorite things is a day in the studio. Throw in friends and the day is ideal! It isn't always easy to get everyone together, with all of their busy schedules, so when we do, it is even more special.

I went out to the coop and gathered up some very fresh eggs to whip up little mini quiches (because any food looks more special when baked in individual pans), baked some rosemary garlic rolls (because rosemary makes anything seem fancier), and set the table with my favorite old dishes (because, DURH! Birdies!!!).

For the quiche, I tried something a little different and used puff pastry instead of pie crust. I liked it, and it was even better for leftovers, sometimes quiche pie crust can be soggy on the second day.

I thought I'd try to make a flourless chocolate cake too. It really fell apart pretty bad when I took it out of the pan (the trick is to have the right kind of pan, instead of just a cake pan, I think). So, I drizzled it with lots of dark chocolate syrup, dusted it with powdered sugar, and sprinkled a few chopped choc. chips over it. That did some camouflage work. Plus, no matter how crookedy a cake is, placing it under a glass dome works miracles.

Beth taught me years ago when we shared an antique booth, that anything looks better under glass. She could set the oddest bit of junk under a cloche in the middle of a pretty display, and it would be the first thing to sell every time.

We still had some Valentine decor up. Around here, holidays linger.

Since I had company coming, it was a good reason to spiff up around the cottage. And to take some photos, because I don't think the place has been cleaned up much since I put away all the previous holiday decor.

The trapeze like swags of cobwebs even got wiped away. Those are the one downfall I've come across from the tin ceiling. The uneven surface tends to attract cobwebs. And I end up not noticing them until there are enough for a full fledge circus performance overhead.

But I discovered the perfect way to get rid of them! A quick brush with the cinnamon broom that I got at Trader Joe's over the holidays snags each little web easily.

My tables are always a mismatch of pieces. I've given up on silverware. Who knows where the forks disappear to???? sigh

I've discovered that I can replace cutlery for 10 cents a piece at Goodwill, so I just don't worry about it anymore. Most of my house is a hodge podge, why should my table settings be any different?

Mostly, I was just happy to have a break from my house looking like this. I love a reason to clean up, because if I don't have one, this is how it stays.

But messy or clean, there is no place like home! And I love having company come to join me here.

A quick trip to Ft Lauderdale

Food and Drink, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 17, 2015

My poor husband flies a lot for business but lucky for me, he flies so much, that he earned a companion pass for me to go anywhere he goes for free. When I heard he was flying into Ft. Lauderdale to play golf in Palm Beach, I decided to tag along and snag some Florida sunshine.

Well, I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but there wasn't a heck of a lot of sunshine. I didn't even need to unpack the sunglasses.

But Ft. Lauderdale was warm, or mostly warm enough. Better than Kansas, that is for sure.

Oh, there was some sun, and we had a whole day of exploring, walking along the beach, and dining by the ocean at H20 Cafe The food was great, the view even better.

And yes, my wine was almost empty before my food arrived, for lunch. It was vacation time!!

We only had the one day and night together there, but we squeezed in two ocean side meals. Dinner was at our hotel, and I fell in love with the back lit menus.

The veranda was a bit chilly, and other guests left to eat inside. But we were near a heater, and in a more closed off spot, so the wind didn't bother me, I just wore layers and braved it. When you only have one night on the beach, you just have to go for it and not complain about a little cool air.

Because it is OCEAN AIR!!!!!!!!

And worth a couple of shivers here and there.

This was my tip top, best ever, most favorite hotel to stay at. It was pricey. But, for just one night, we didn't mind. I loved all the details, our room had plantation shutters, lace curtains, gingerbread, and lots of white wicker.

Pretty furniture too. Oh, yes there was a mattress on that pretty bed frame.

But we moved it to the seating area, so we could prop the patio doors open and be near the ocean waves all night. The room was a little chilly (like my whole trip) and the outdoors was warmer than the indoors, so having the doors open warmed me up.

And nothing is as soothing as listening to the waves.

Cute entry ways to the rooms, huh?

I wish I could've stayed longer, but I was happy and lucky to get one night there. Of course, the rest of my trip wasn't too shabby either. I went to the Land of Guncles. I thought I'd hitch hike a free ride to Florida with my husband, "swing by" and visit family a bit, and enjoy being warm during the middle of a freezing Kansas winter.

Well……. while the Guncles have a heart warming and welcoming home, it was forecasted to be 25 degrees in Jacksonville. And "swinging by" to visit Jacksonville while in Ft. Lauderdale is like telling someone who is visiting Lawrence, Kansas that they should "swing by" St Louis while they are in town.

Which is not close.

But Jax from Ft. Lauderdale is even further.

And so worth the drive. I even got to pick some flowers and oranges from the garden before anything froze.

I'll have more pictures from the wonderful world of guncles next time. It was very festive there!

Our Christmas

Dew Drop, family, Food and Drink, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 27, 2014

Sugarwings and her mommy spent the night with us on Christmas Eve, so we had her here when she woke up to find what Santa had brought to her.

And to check and see if he'd found the cookies she'd made for him the day before. (Yes, and speaking for the jolly, old guy, I have to say, they were YUMMY!)

We do our family party on Christmas Eve. It's a day of hanging out, baking, dinner, and then opening gifts together.

Mid-afternoon, we realized that we had no cookies to leave out that night! Oh my! So, we all chipped in to mix, roll, cut, bake and decorate a giant batch of sugar cookies and a small batch of gluten/dairy free ones too.

I discovered that almond meal is perfect for dusting the table to roll out the gluten free ones. I'm not a fan of most of the flours used in that kind of baking, and if you dust with them, the cookies aren't very good. Almond flour was ideal, plus it gave a nutty flavor to the goodies.

Making cookies at the last minute set us behind a little on our dinner. So, the prime rib got into the oven a bit late, then just would NOT cook. It was taking forever, we started in on gifts and decided to open a few before we ate.

So we had some back and forth, checking on dinner and opening pressies. Till we realized that the hunk of meat was going to be in the oven way, way too late, and we might still be waiting to eat, with Santa sitting up on the roof waiting for us to get tucked in so he could come on down.

We went into high gear, slicing up the giant slab of prime rib, and turned it into rib eye steaks, while my husband fired up the grill (in the dark, on a 30 degree night).

I was glad he did because, man, were those good, and grilled to perfection!

My son sauteed a few pounds of mushrooms with eggplant and golden beets, and I'd baked a layered red beet, asparagus, and rainbow carrot casserole. Along with that, we had smashed potatoes with garlic aoli sauce and panko crumbs. Plus fresh, homemade rolls, and canned green beans from Aunt Jenny's garden.

No one minded waiting, it was delicious, and a big group effort.

And soon, we were right back into the fray. Leftovers were popped in the fridge, the table was cleared, and dishes were piled up to do later, getting those packages open was much more important.

We like to open one gift at a time, with everyone getting to watch and enjoy seeing what the other person got. That way, there is time for modelling and admiring the presents too.

And plenty of time for hugs and thank yous.

We are all about the hugs around here.

See what I mean?

I hope there was lots of love in your day too.

For the rest of the week, my husband and I are loading up these two fairies and driving south till we find some sunshine. It's an impromptu trip and who knows what we will find on our "maventure" as Dewdrop calls it.

Our adventures have been nonstop for the holiday, and it is very exciting that they are still ongoing.

Last week, we saw "Mary Poppins" at the local theater the same day that we attended a "Santa Splash" at the indoor aquatic center. Along with all of the other parties and plans, it has been one fun event after another for about a month of Christmassing. A little vacation is just what I need to rest up from all of the celebrating that I've been whooping it up with since Thanksgiving.

Between being on the go all of the time with holiday happenings, buying and wrapping gifts, shipping packages like crazy (by the way, thank you for all the shopping at my Boutique and Etsy store!!), being sick for months, (I'm finally done coughing, it was a Christmas miracle), redoing the bedroom (pictures to come of the new look) and everyday life, the beach is sounding pretty good right now. I hear it will be too chilly to swim in the Gulf, but I'm happy with playing in the sand.

There are new pre-posted blogs upcoming, so please do check back. And have a great new year!