Food and Drink – Page 2 – Karla's Cottage

A Cottage Christmas Open House

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

By Karla Nathan / December 18, 2024

Angie, Beth, and I cohosted a holiday get together at my house last week.

We had planned for plenty of food, and generous guests brought delectable goodies too.

It became a true feast!

And a feast for the soul too.

I loved having a houseful of festive friends filling up my space and my heart too.

Dorothy got plenty of attention and spent her days choosing which laps she wanted to visit. The hooligans, I mean, big dogs, were banished up to Ryan’s apartment.

Because they’d have loved to be climbing onto laps too. It’s not as cute when a 60 pounder does it as it is when a 6 pound dog wants attention.

Two nights earlier, I’d made dinner for my book club buddies, then Rich was out of town, Sugarwings was at mama’s house, so the cottage was already for party number two. I just shifted the extra tables around and brought in chairs from the studio.

Since I was on my own for a couple of days, well except for said hooligans, the house stayed cleaned up. I did need to re-mop, but with 2 doodles and a golden retriever that is the story of my life. I’m a full time mopper.

The outdoor tables with lights strung underneath worked well for the dinner party on Tuesday and just as well for Thursday afternoon’s gathering. They are my new favorite hosting trick and I’ll be wrapping lights under them all the time in the future. It will be a nice bit of sparkle for a summer night’s garden party too.

The cocoa station got beefed up for the day too, and we set out some tasty liquors plus whipped cream to mix in with the chocolate.

I might’ve gone overboard on the cocoa packets. But as much as Sugarwings and I enjoy our parties by the tree, plus with family coming, it might not be too over the top.

I feel quite blessed to have had these fun ladies all come to our party. Most were from Kansas City, so had to make a drive to get here. I appreciate them making the time to come and celebrate with us.

Holiday party season, part one

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

By Karla Nathan / December 13, 2024

An event that I look forward to every year is our book club Christmas party

We do a book exchange, have dinner and wine together and just take time to chat.

I try to come up with party favors to reflect the season. This year I made stretch bracelets in genuine stone beads the colors of the holiday and used them as napkin rings.

Dinner was slow cooked beef with red wine gravy, rice, and sweet potato/squash casserole. Plus a salad. I realized at the last minute that I forgot to buy salad dressing, so whipped up a cranberry vinaigrette with the berries I’d bought to serve as a side dish. Lucky I had them available, huh? Plus, now that is my new favorite salad topper. I boiled the cranberries in orange juice with cardamom, then whipped it up in the blender with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and fresh thyme, from my flower bed with a little salt and pepper. The blender made it almost creamy, I guess that is called emulsified?

Typically I make the entire meal, but this year I asked if friends could bring desserts. What a great idea! These bon bons were sorta like cake pops, but even better.

And who knew you could make cookies with tumeric? Oh my, what a treat.

We have a large group, which meant I had to be creative with the seating. Instead of setting up a folding table, I brought in my two glass topped garden tables. Our special farmhouse table that we had made has a an epoxy river running down the center and lights below it. To match that, I taped up some lights under the glass of the two I brought inside and I really loved the outcome.

Then we had a few cancellations, and ended up not needing either one. Oh well. It’s party week and I am using them again for the next group, so am glad to have carried them into the cottage before it got so cold outside. It all worked out. In the meantime, I was playing musical chairs, switching up place settings as each person dropped out.

In my world, the best time to host a party is the same week you just had one- you only have to clean your house once! I had a great time with the book club and am looking forward to part two with the next group.

Kinda like making lemonade when life gives you lemons

family, Food and Drink, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / November 28, 2024

Did I mention how hard the renovation we just went through was? The work was grueling. But after finishing for the day, we’d have jewelry parties at night.

Being with my boy, getting to be creative, certainly helped me get through the exhaustion. And the fact that Adam got the job done so quickly didn’t hurt either. If we’d gone through a contractor, we could’ve faced months of a torn up bathroom and laundry room, not just days. And doing it as a family saved us a ton of money too.

Mine is on the left, with a golden opal. Adam’s on the right with smoky quartz.

He crafted his with a mathematical scheme, mine was more random. I lay out piles of color on my bead board, and move them around til I find balance.

These are both mine, first is a mother of pearl “doublet” topped with quartz from the gem show, 2nd is a pearl mosaic I made. One is slightly longer than the other so I can wear them together.

I also whipped up a ton of holiday colored bracelets for Good Juju and to give to friends.
Too bad that I didn’t get more pics of what Adam made, he was as talented in creating jewelry as he was in rebuilding our foundation and creating a beautiful new bathroom.

His child joined in too, Sugarwings made these pieces. The kiddo stayed with us most of the time he was in town. It was great to have them both around during such a stressful time to turn things around into something special instead. Now, don’t get me wrong, it was strenuous labor to get through, but working by my son’s side, watching his skills with pride, making jokes, and then making jewelry was a delightful way to tackle a huge project like ripping out the back of the house and redoing the bathroom.

I was also lucky enough to have a new favorite person added I too my life. Adam’s partner, Jacquelyn flew out to join him for a week. I vastly enjoyed getting to know her, and appreciated the way she pitched in on the hard work too.

She made these two bracelets.

And some earrings, as well as a few other nice pieces. Once again, I didn’t get photos of them all.

Another thing I did not get enough pictures of? Jacquelyn’s cooking. Her plates of food were art.

Colorful, all natural, delicious, and healthy too. As the person who typically does all the meals, I appreciated the effort she made along with the discovery of how nice it is to work your butt off then sit down to a plate of tasty food someone fixed for you. What a treat!

Little Dewdrop couldn’t be here with us, and her dad missed her birthday to do this job for us. We sent her a gift and got to see her open it on FaceTime, but he was still pretty sad to miss out on being there in person. Each of us put together bracelets for her that he can personally hand to her when he returns to North Carolina.

The one with the silver and crystal moon is from me, because her nickname is Tiny Moon.

Everytime I wear one of the necklaces I put together during this reno, I’ll have a reminder of my son and how he turned what could’ve been a hell into a special time.

The chickens made some friends and my mushrooms went to a new home

celebrations, cottage, Food and Drink, mushrooms

By Karla Nathan / September 20, 2024

My friend, Mindy, came by to purchase some mushrooms for her online shop, Myrtle and Mo.

Since I believe that most occasions should be parties whenever possible, I told her to bring the kids with her for a spooky cocoa party.

Instead of having the inventory packed up in the studio, I used it as a centerpiece, and Sugarwings set the table with our Halloween themed cups and teapot.

We were ready to welcome a couple of adorable guests.

Dessert was scary cherry pies.

Their mom was a good sport about all of the sweet treats before dinner time. We also had fruit skewered onto witch leg picks, and a cauldron full of guacamole to dip pretzels in. So, maybe that counter acted some of the decadence.

The tarts were in silicone teacups made to bake in, lined with crust, cherry pie filling, then topped with a circle of pie dough that I cut faces into with a knife. I added noses and eyebrows from the trimmings.

But the big hit of the party was the henhouse.

The ladies are some of the sweetest chickens we have ever had, and seemed happy with the attention.

There was plenty of snuggles to go around, and those birds got lots of attention.

Mindy went home with kids filled up with sweets, tired from chasing chickens, and a nice selection of mushrooms.

If you are one of the people who have been asking me to list schroomies in my poor, neglected boutique to sell online, uhm, you might be better off checking out my pal’s store. I do not seem to be filling that shop up, am I?

It’s still open, and I’m paying fees for it, although I sure haven’t used it much this year. But Mindy has a full shop, with a few dozen mushrooms along with her fantastic vintage goods.

You can find her (and my velvet mushie creations) here:

https://www.myrtleandmo.com/shop-1/artist-spotlight/karla-nathan

Sometimes ya gotta break a few rules

cottage, family, Food and Drink, games, Halloween treats

By Karla Nathan / September 17, 2024

Sugarwings and I have a strict rule.

You can drink cocoa any time at all. But you cannot have a cocoa party unless you sit in front of a glowing Christmas tree.

Then I saw this teapot at Homegoods, and our rule loosened up.

It inspired a Halloween themed cocoa display.

Complete with a glass cauldron to hold our spoons and rat poison additives for deliciousness. (We did not use the jar to hold any foodstuffs, it’s just for fun)

We got some skelly cups to drink our potions from.

With skelly napkins to mop up drips of blood. I mean, chocolate.

We invited a little witch to join us.

Then added some mood lighting.

The new rule, in addition to the Christmas tree rule, is that cocoa parties can only be held with the proper ambient lighting, ghostly paraphernalia, and a scary movie on the tv.

Fall family and farm stuff

cottage, family, Food and Drink, guncles

By Karla Nathan / September 8, 2024

We had such a nice time with the Guncles! Randy and I even got a full day in the studio together to make angels with the pin cushion dolls he brought to use.

We had a couple of dog walks, enjoying the mellow weather that came with the beginning of September.

Terry and Dale swang by on the way home from their long Florida to Canada drive. It was almost becoming an accidental family reunion. At least a mini one, Rich has a huge family.

We hadn’t planned it out this way, it just luckily happened that Terry and Dale were driving through while Guncles were visiting.

Little Dorothy got plenty of snuggles. She loves it when these guys come to town.

The visit wasnt all just about strolling around, chatting, and cutting up old lace, though. Stuff got done! Rich and Kevin cleaned the chicken coop, then picked apples and green beans from the garden. We peeled until late into the night, cooking and freezing apples for pie.

Rich brought in the honey comb from the hives and we got it bottled up. There wasn’t a big harvest this year, but that doesn’t change the amount of cleanup afterwards. Whether you get one gallon or five, you are still left with a kitchen full of sticky equipment. But also delicious honey to share, so all is good. I made up a charcuterie board that included a bowl of gooey honey comb that was worth all of the wiping down with warm soapy water that the kitchen required.

Speaking of honeycomb, check out this sky we were treated to after finishing the bee job! A sky filled with glowing honeycomb.

We might not be in Florida with fresh seafood, but the Guncles still worked their butts off feeding us great meals. One night was Kevin’s famous grilled turkey burgers, next was Randy’s signature lemon chicken, and then on my night to cook, Kevin took over and made fresh marinara sauce with chicken parm. All I did while they were here was a little bit of bread.

On our final night, Sugarwings hosted a Hocus Pocus cocoa party.

Complete with eyeballs on the cobbler made with the apples from our tree. I might not enjoy the time it takes to cut up all of that fruit, but it was made easier by so many hands, and I loved having loved ones here to share “the fruits of our labor” with.

These two couples who came to see us might technically be Rich’s family, but they each own huge chunks of real estate in my heart and I consider them my sibs too. Thanks for the visit, everyone!

A kinda vacay

Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / June 26, 2024

Rich is doing short time job in Lincoln, NE and I took a quick trip up to visit over the weekend. Since he’s been gone, I’ve not been cooking much. So when he wined and dined me in the restaurant of the club, it was quite a treat.

I felt very spoiled with the delicious food.

And it was a fun getaway with my guy. Although, I guess it wasn’t a getaway for him… I felt like I was on vacation, but he works there.

We stayed in his apartment by the golf course, but I kept calling it a hotel. I spent some time at the mini water park, worked on a pile of velvet mushrooms that are in progress, and took the dogs on lots of walks.

On our walks, I spied a couple of hearts.

You never know what you’ll find while on a walk. When I got back to the cottage, there was a bunny making itself at home in my planter.

My empty planter.

I think he had a snack too.
Well, I hope he enjoyed his meal as much as I did my delectable ones at the club.

An indoor garden party

celebrations, Food and Drink, friends, Garden, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2024

Two dear friends, Angie and Beth, had birthdays in June so I threw a party for them.

It was a landmark number for Angie, so a large celebration was in order.

The party itself was on Beth’s actual birthdate.

The birthday girls made the guest list, and also helped with some treats and wine. I told them I was throwing the party FOR them, but they wanted to help, which was very nice.

Both brought wines too. And Beth put her husband, Jeff, on ice duty. Don’t you hate to buy bags of ice? Paying for ice is a weird pet peeve of mine. I just hate buying the stuff.

Beth said she had a good ice maker (mine is so tiny) so Jeff dumped it into gallon bags everyday til she was able to fill a cooler with so much ice she could barely carry it.

A couple weeks ago, I’d gotten lucky at an estate sale and scooped up dozens of teacups for twenty bucks. The plan was to use pretty cups and saucers for the herbal fruit and lavender ice tea, plus for the wines.

And I got to welcome back the Treat Cabinet! This large wardrobe spent many years in my studio, filled with goodies during get togethers. When we redid the room, it was moved to the breezeway for a boring job of storing patio cushions.

But for this one day of glory, the cabinet was back in its element, filled with tea party essentials.

I hung this old, embroidered, tea towel on the inside door of the wardrobe. It had been free in a box of junk a friend was discarding. Perfect!

This birthday celebration as meant to be a tea party in the garden.

I’d had lovely weather all week while tending to my flowers and getting ready for guests.

Then, bam, the night before, a heatwave came with a vengeance.

I’d always planned on keeping the food inside the house anyway, but I was disappointed that we couldn’t have the garden as a place to hang out.

(Angie made this trifle. Why are they called that when they are not mere trifles, these types of dessert are magnificently lovely).

If I’d known in advance that the heat index was going to be in the danger zone, I’d have brought chairs and tables indoors. But friends made do, and used what they found. I carried in a few extra seats from the yard, but many had made themselves comfy on kiddie chairs already. They didn’t seem to mind.

We had a full house, but in a good way.

So many delightful people! And flowers! Many sweet friends brought bouquets, so it was like an indoor garden party with all of the pretty blooms.

Including blooming cookies from Catherine.

We filled the studio too. I had a mini craft project set up for everyone, so guests were spending time out in the workroom to do those. Once again, I could’ve brought in more chairs, but we seemed to make do with what was there. With my bad shoulder, I’d have needed help before the party to bring in extra seating. Rich had helped me set up the patio, but he was out of town when temps started going way up into unbearable numbers.

The project was making fairy garden stakes. It was self explanatory, and simple to do, so the ladies were on their own making them. I wish I’d taken photos of their pretties when they’d finished. There were lots of sparkly wishing wands completed.

Another timely garage sale find was this metal picnic basket. I used it for the cheese and cracker display. I think that now that the party is over, I’ll be filling it with teacups and taking them to Good Juju to sell in July’s First Friday weekend.

Although, this get together was such a good time, maybe I should keep them all and use them again for another party?

Return to the night of the Living Dead, the Downtown Lawrence Zombie Parade!

Food and Drink, holiday decor, Ryan, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / October 29, 2023

Over the last decade or so, October has come to be the month when I take a trip.

So, I often miss the downtown Lawrence Zombie parade.

I’ve gotten to go here and there, when the timing is right. And the weather too. Typically, KS can be at its best on a late, October evening. But could also be an onslaught of freezing rain, so you never know.

This year? Perfection! And half the town agreed. The streets were as full of living people as they were of the dead.

We were lucky to find not only a parking spot, but at seat outside at a favorite restaurant so we could eat dinner while enjoying the invasion of corpses.

That’s where our lucky streak stopped dead in it’s tracks.

The line was so long to get a bowl of ramen that we were given a number to be called out when it was our turn to wait to order.

Just about then, the lunch ladies stumbled by, but we stuck with our plan to wait and eat later.

It was too bad we didn’t get to slurp noodles and pretend they were guts, but hey, you can’t win them all.

And it was such a gory, good time. We didn’t mind waiting for dinner.

We sat back in our perfect seats, guessed the back stories of the ghouls as they strolled by, and critiqued the acting.

Some of even the littlest kids were quite committed to their part.

But to me, it seemed like the people who were into it the most were grown men.

Many walkers chatted away with others in their group. Some played the part well, though And this gal was on her phone. Or was she purposely doing that because teenage girls are teenage girls weather zombified or not.

And teens do love their phones. I can imagine that even turning wouldn’t separate a young girl from her device.

When the walk was winding down, we tried to do a call in take out order for food just in case, but the wait was still quite long. And when we spied that the line was dwindling, we checked inside to find out they were out of noodles.

I don’t know how many zombies paraded through Lawrence, but we watched them lurch by for about an hour and a half.

They start at the south end of town, about 11th street, walk up one sidewalk to 6th, then down the other sidewalk back to their crypts, or cars, or wherever they end up.

We noticed that many of them trickled into the downtown bars and restaurants after their hungry march, so the options for takeout just got smaller for us.

As we looked into the windows of restaurants we passed on the way to our car, we saw them full of hungry zombies.

We figured we’d be cooking at home, then noticed there was a lull in the line at Chipotle.

I mentioned that I’d only eaten there once since Ryan died, it had been a favorite of his and held too many memories for me. Back in January, Sugarwings had the idea to eat burritos and watch zombies on tv on Ryan’s birthday, and it had been emotional, but satisfying.

So we thought it was fitting to pick up a bag of food there to take home with us and watch something scary at home while eating in honor of him. We walked right up to the counter, just to see the line immediately fill up behind us as the horde poured in to feed. One more lucky stroke for us, and Sugarwings said Ryan was with us and had guided us that way. He loved zombies and burritos, we would celebrate him with a dinner of Chipotle and more walking dead.

I was so glad that everything about the evening worked out like it did. We almost didn’t go because someone, not naming names here, was late with a bit of schoolwork.

I told them that I really, really wanted to be there on time to get a seat, and reminded the kid of just how much I loved this event. I said, “You know how much you love sea turtles? I feel that way about zombies. They are my favorite animal. I’m sorry there isn’t a sea turtle parade to take you to, but you could finish your homework and take me to the zombie parade .”

Homework was completed, we got seats, parking, and even dinner. (By the way, Sugarwings has some pretty good grades that need to be mentioned, I’m proud of that and they way the homework got finished in time).

It was my idea of a lovely, fall evening.

Guncles in Kansas

cottage, family, Food and Drink, guncles

By Karla Nathan / September 13, 2023

We had a Guncle-riffic visit last week. They spent half the time with us, the other half with close friends in KC. Their last night in Lawrence included a birthday party for that couple, who are family to the guys.

Now, down on Sweet Cherry Lane in Jax, the tablescapes and delicious food are legendary. Randy keeps his dining table set on a regular basis and then goes even more all out when guests arrive.

And the food, oh my.

So while they were visiting, I had Randy help me set my table.

Our big craft project had been to restyle some violins.

So we incorporated those along with some violin sheet music.

We had a small group at a large table, and only needed to decorate half of it. Kevin makes the best German chocolate cake, so that got center stage on the other half.

Dinner was a luscious lemon chicken. And the company? The best!

I’ll have some close ups of the violins in my next post.