Food and Drink – Page 11 – Karla's Cottage

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!

A festive season

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

By Karla Nathan / December 22, 2014

I've been going full speed into Christmas this year. I always love the season, and this year even more. I've arranged one activity, party, or gathering one after another.

It has been glorious! (that word should always be spoken the way Will Farrell says it in "Old School")

Last weekend was Breakfast with Santa at Lion's Gate country club. They have the BEST Santy Claus.

Sadly, Dewdrop was ill and couldn't make it. So, we will be taking her to see the jolly old elf at the community pool for a Santa Swim party.

I've bought tickets to plays, gone to craft parties, thrown craft days, arranged luncheons, attended gatherings, hosted gatherings, and have had so much going on that there has been something exciting almost every single day.

If there wasn't a special activity going on, Sugarwings and I would make one up. We'd turn an ordinary day into an event. We'd dye trees (our Christmas version of doing eggs at Easter), set up a fancy table with good dishes in front of the Christmas tree and have a cocoa party, draw up a list of holiday lit homes in town and go on an adventure hunt to follow a map and find all the brightly lit up neighborhoods, or just snuggle up and watch some holiday specials on TV.

I've thrown a few parties this season. I like to have my friends over for an annual ornament making party with their kids, and this year, with my husband's travel schedule for work, it didn't look like we were going to be able to have our big bash.

So, instead of my usual weekend dinner party with a bonfire and beers for guys and crafting for anyone who wanted to hang out in the studio, I switched it to a luncheon for some of my friends and ornament making afterwards.

I wanted to try making these tarts, they are thinly sliced veggies, rolled into spirals and baked in a pie crust lined with ricotta cheese. And I also wanted my friends to know that they are special to me and I wanted to create a treat for them, so I set the table pretty and had them over.

But we didn't stop there. After school, their kids joined us for more crafting and a few other friends were able to come by to make ornaments too.

We turned it into a whole evening, ordered some pizzas, drank some wine, and had a cocoa party for the kiddos.

I set out thermoses of hot milk, a big bowl of marshmallows, organic candy canes, chocolate syrup, and some cocoa powder and let them serve themselves from the treat cabinet.

We also broke up candy canes and put those in the cotton candy maker and that was a hit too. Although, at times, the cotton candy maker was left on unattended, and big fluffs of spun sugar would float across the room.

I was ready to chase those puffs down and try to catch them with my tongue like snowflakes.

(and was glad that I'd covered up my vintage wallpaper with a curtain before setting the cotton candy maker next to it)

It is always fun to see what everyone comes up with, when presented with a table full of supplies and left on their own.

Lots of different styles of crafts get churned out.

But the best part is the laughing. It was a fun evening.

I've not finished my shopping or wrapped any gifts yet. I'll make that work out somehow. Gift cards for the big kids and a few toys under the tree for kids, probably. This year, I've tried to make the season about the people, not the presents.

And to have the holiday spirit of sharing and togetherness for the whole month.

And of course, soak up the joy every single day!

A Holiday Party for my Bookclub and some JOY

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

By Karla Nathan / December 16, 2014

"Merry" used to be my favorite word this time of year.

But now, I kind of like "JOY."

It is this silly elf's middle name and that has made it my favorite seasonal word.

Plus, we could all use all the joy we can get.

I hadn't planned on Sugarwings being here for book club, but her daddy had a chance to go camping with his buddies. (Even though it was going to be EIGHTEEN DEGREES THAT NIGHT!!!!!!)

So, I picked her up after school, and we ran some errands, then came home to foof up the house for the party. She was glad to help, but I was worried about her being on her own all evening while I entertained.

She had no problem with it and was excited to dress up like an elf to greet the guests (she is all about the costume, no matter what the occasion is)

I set up a table of crafts in my bedroom in front of a TV full of holiday shows to watch on the DVR. First of all, she never gets to craft in the bedroom in front of the TV, and take food in there too. Double forbidden fun.

Of course, there was some hot cocoa spilled on the chair, but hey, why use slip covers if you don't plan on pulling them off to wash them?

I guess these photos are pretty similar to the previous post, showing the dining room all set up for a party. But since this is an evening gathering and that was a luncheon, maybe they are different enough to show?

I love to use lots of twinkly lights when I have a party. The ones on the table are wrapped on gold branches and are battery operated. (bought on clearance after Christmas last year, 75% off)

I've added lots of layers of table clothes, and some lights under the table too. This time, I have vintage curtains as a table skirt and the string of lights show more. Usually, I have a regular table cloth draped to the floor, and get a softer glow. But this look is kind of fun too.

I chose the wine for the pretty labels. And it was good, too, and very affordable. It's nice to find a tasty wine under ten bucks.

I kept the food simple, like brie sprinkled with rosemary and wrapped in puff pastry, with a side of fig jelly and crackers. That is one of the easiest things to ever make, but sure looks special.

Another trick I have for elevating an ordinary dish is to, well, elevate the dish.

Here, I've set a compote of chicken salad on a plate, and set that on a cake plate, making three levels.

This compote full of dip makes this veggie tray more interesting than it would've been if I'd had it served on an actual tray. And lining the bowl with ruffly kale made it prettier too.

The three vases of flowers (left over from my last party) are also on different levels. I turned a bowl upside down to set one vase on to lift it up.

The cheesecake is a regular cheesecake, but I added a hand full of chopped pecans to the graham cracker crust, and then mixed in some of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Carmel Sauce into the batter. When it was done baking, I drizzled a little more on top.

One thing I should have done was to take some leaves out of the table, but I can't do it by myself and my husband was out of town. There is too much space between the dishes. since it was a small gathering, I didn't have a ton of food out, and it was spread out a bit too much to look its best. But that is just nit picking, huh? I doubt if my friends were gossiping about how much space I'd left between bowls…

For party favors, I made tiny, glittered books out of vintage papers. I'll have a mini how-to coming up soon if you want to make some yourself.

A Fall Wedding in New Hampshire

celebrations, family, flowers, Food and Drink, guncles, holiday decor, Travel, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / November 8, 2014

What a perfect place for a wedding! The guncles have been together for a long time and had a commitment ceremony 17 years ago, but now that they can be legally married, we gathered in NH to celebrate with them.

We had a rehearsal dinner the night before the event at Ipswich Country Club. And oh my! It was something!

Great appetisers.

Exceptional food.

Wonderful company. (this is just some of us, I don't have a group shot)

And a serenade from Carol Swarbrick Dries (Aunt Carol). She sang a song that had tears in all of our eyes. We begged for an encore the next day at the wedding.

The air was crisp, the leaves were colorful, and the site for the wedding luncheon and ceremony was ideal for the occasion.

And did I mention that there was carrot cake? My fave! And so pretty with the fall colors. There wasn't a cake stand, but I slipped a couple of box lids from our centerpieces under it and that made a quick but cute, make shift stand.

I was so pleased that the boxes we worked on together to make centerpieces looked so festive in the room.

We also glittered and sponge painted some packages of tissue paper leaves from the dollar bin at Target to sprinkle around the table. And Randy framed a picture of each guest to create name cards for the seating.

17 years ago, we had to take apart two bride and groom cake toppers to get two grooms. Now, the guncles had plenty of toppers to choose from with two grooms. All this one needed was some highlights in one groom's hair and it was ready to adorn the carrot cake.

I was honored to be in the ceremony. The whole time I was up there, I watched Kevin's face and was moved by the emotions he showed.

That man is a treasure and we are lucky to have him in our family, and seeing the love and happiness in his eyes that day, moved me to my core.

I spent the entire day with red, weepy eyes, but a huge grin on my face at the same time.

Garden Love

Food and Drink, Garden, Nathan Family Fairy Food Forest

By Karla Nathan / October 4, 2014

I'm ready to fill the house with pumpkins from the local patch, the grand fairies and I love to hang out there and spend our time picking the world's best pumpkin out. I like the white or gray ones, Sugarwings likes the small orange ones, and Dewdrop always goes for the very first one she sees.

This little orange one is a drawing I did with the finger painting app on my iPad. I hope to do a few more paintings with the app on vacation soon with my sisses. Sitting on a balcony and watching the waves is a perfect time for sketching.

Our garden produced some winners recently. This heirloom tomato was a perfect heart. Which we thought was about as special as can be. Sugarwings isn't a big tomato fan, but she couldn't get enough heart shaped slices.

Then, what do you know, here comes an orange heart shaped tomato the next day!

Then, we find this. Our garden loves us as much as we love it.

Sugarwings helped me harvest the potatoes. But only one was heart shaped. After all of the special ones we'd found, we were spoiled and slightly disapointed with normal taters.

How can you go back to eating plain old garden produce after you've been treated to this?

So, Sugarwings asked me to cut out french fries with cookie cutter shapes. I was slightly busy that day and almost said no, then remembered that I'd been so busy that morning that I had accidentally sent a thermos of hot water in her school lunch instead of the roasted chicken I was warming up for her.

I always fill the thermos with hot water, swish it around and heat up the container while I wait for the food to get hot and then I am SUPPOSED to switch hot water for hot food. But this day, it slipped my mind.

So, I made time to fix her a special dinner with all of her favorite things to make up for it. (and her daddy delivered a replacement meal for her that morning, she didn't go hungry)

And really, those french fries didn't take much more time than cutting up regular fries, and were as she said, "The cutest french fries in the whole world."