Food and Drink – Page 3 – Karla's Cottage

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.

Stopping along the way- the journey is an important part of getting there

antiques/junking, family, Food and Drink, Travel

By Karla Nathan / August 4, 2023

Asheville is about 13 hours from our house and Paducah, KY is halfway. We often stop there when traveling with our camper, but don’t get out to explore since the trailer is hooked up and it’s a hassle for a temporary stop to undo the hitch.

This time, we didn’t have the trailer so with two drivers wouldn’t need the break. But since we were taking two vehicles, we thought an overnight stay at the half point was a good idea.

This was a place I’d been wanting to spend time in, not just because it’s such a pretty place but because on of my favorite Top Chef contestants has a restaurant there!

Sara Bradley took second in World Allstars this summer and I was perplexed as to how or why such an acclaimed chef would be in a small, rural area. Once we settled into our hotel and took a walk through this Kentucky village, it dawned on me that this was a tourist town. That explained a lot. Her eatery wasn’t just dependent upon the locals, she had people from all over wanting a break from cabins and campers on the lake, who’d come into the little city for some night life.

Even with the traffic from the tourists and locals, we had no issue getting a reservation. The place was full, but with the week’s notice we had, we were golden.

The food was spectacular! I pretended to be at the judges table and had a blast, not just with the meal, but with my imaginary status.

I felt like I was dressed the part too. I’d just bought this from Angie at the last Good Juju sale for $8, and loved the dress. I love most clothes from Sundance catalog, but rarely can afford them even in the 40% off clearance area, so was thrilled to get this one for less than a Goodwill priced dress.

Here is a version in the current catalog.

Yep, I was feeling The Gail Simmons, Top Chef vibe in this outfit. There was no need to tell anyone to pack their knives and go, the meal was great, the price about what we’d pay on any normal dinner out, and the ambience was inviting. The staff was friendly and down home, no pretensions there at all.

My other stops were Midway Antique Mall and Artichoke Annie’s on I70 for some shopping in Missouri. I didn’t have much luck with any other antiquing across Kentucky or Tennessee, though. Durn it.

I made a pit stop at a legendary Buckee’s in TN, my first time at one of these out of this world gas stations.

Impressive.

But way too much for me. Crossing the parking lot was like the Thunderdome. I felt as if I was running the gauntlet while walking across it, and the line to even turn into the lot was crazy, as was the one for the pumps. Not to mention trying to leave and get back on the road.

But I have to admit, the bathrooms were some of the best I’ve ever seen. Not good enough to tempt me to go again, it took a big chunk of time away from the road. When I stop at junk shops, I can zoom through, in and out, seeing if there is anything I want. There is no zooming at Buckees.

While stops are needed to breakup my drive, I’m in a hurry to get to this.

I had loved ones waiting for me to explore the mountains with!

(Please ignore the sour face, my son is a sweetie, he just hates photos)

We had such a good time, and I got so many lessons in mushroom hunting. And how often does a mama get to wear matching shirts with a grown up son? ( My friend, Sam, is the artist who sells these at Juju).

Magic at the Hawk and Hawthorn

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Garden, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 24, 2023

Hawk and Hawthorn (about 20 min north of Asheville on top of a scenic mountain) is my new favorite vacation spot.

The Airbnb is set upstairs of a newly renovated, charming old house and the patio over looks the farm.

Bonus- the view includes the barn/event center.

Double bonus for me- my son lives there.

He is their onsite trim carpenter.

He and his buddy just built this outdoor kitchen for tent campers. Spaces are available through Hipcamp, and campers have access to the barn for yoga, bathrooms, cooking, and more.

I think how much you can hang out in the barn depends on scheduled events. They had just held one, and this mushroom display from it was still set up. I spy a couple of my schroomies in there too!

They host workshops, festivals, retreats, music, etc. Our visit was Sunday thru Friday, so it was pretty low key.

We had full use of the facilities and after harvesting our food to fix in the apartment kitchen, we walked it across the field and up the hill to dine in the beautiful barn.

It had just started to rain and was getting dark. We ate while listening to the drops on the metal roof and the curtains swayed in the breeze.

I am not sure how many times I used the word “magical”, probably way too many, but it was justified.

Our meal was trout that the kids caught with their grandfather that day and deliciousness we gathered from the vast gardens.

I would say that the term, “magical”, had to be correct. There had to be some magic in the head grower’s touch. Look at the size of this corn! All the veggies were lush and vibrant, over the top with health and vitality.

It made me think that my Kansas garden back home was a sad comparison.

We picked fresh produce daily. And had flowers in our salads, and even cooked into chewy brownies.

And I got to forage for chanterelles! It was my first successful mushroom hunt.

We walked through what felt like an enchanted land of moss and streams to find them. While on the hunt, my boy taught me tricks about different types and what to look for.

He is always on the lookout and you never know when he will abruptly pull over the car to spring out and return with a handful of berries to share. He spots tasty treats everywhere he goes.

At the farm, there are baby bunnies to hold and goats to visit. There is a fresh mountain spring set up with pipes to fill your containers.

Pretty and rustic areas to enjoy, trails to explore, and vistas so lovely, all you want to do is sit back, sip a glass of wine and take it all in.

Plus-NO CHIGGERS! It felt oddly uncomfortable to walk through tall grass without bug spray. In the back of my mind, I kept worrying that I’d be up all night itchy and miserable.

But I got used to not needing a thorough spritz before going outside. And I was not homesick for any midwestern bugs that typically torture me all summer long.

There is cool art everywhere, including on these shirts.

The dragon was by our front door.

I don’t know why I didn’t get any photos inside our cozy studio apartment, maybe because there was so much to see and do outside.

The tranquility was just what we needed, the rest of the trip was so stressful. Serious family illnesses, an auto wreck, all were overwhelming.

Thank goodness for the peace and welcome we found at the Hawk and Hawthorn.

It was MAGICAL.

Once again, that was wine in the teacups

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

By Karla Nathan / June 15, 2023

To celebrate Angie and Beth’s birthdays, we made plans for a day out, and I offered to make brunch first. But then, Angie picked up an estate sale to do, and between that and all of her other obligations, her time off for a whole day disappeared. Our date switched to lunch and I decided to serve it in the gazebo to make it special.

Hmm, not the best picture of us, but you get the idea.

We had wine in our teacups, and drank it with our pinky fingers crooked while wearing floral garden hats and speaking in a British accent, of course.

I draped a little, round table in layers of clothes, and brought out the floral china.

The weather cooperated with perfection, but just in case, I added a fan and extra sun umbrellas to the space.

Teapots were filled with $1 flower bundles (our local Kroger always marks them down after the weekend) and I made place cards with “Angela” and “Elizabeth” instead of Angie and Beth to be extra fancy.

But “Karla” doesn’t come with a fancy option.

So I used the name my dad, Hubert, had written on my original birth certificate.

“Huberta”

As in Huberta Josephine Downey.

Yep, that was my name. My mom changed it to Karla Jo. Not nearly as much to roll off the tongue. I think I could’ve grown up as a Bertie, or Birdy? Instead I was always Karkie Jo.

The silk flower umbrellas from my April Showers Bring May Flowers theme at Good Juju got another go round as garden party decor. I’ve left them up outside a while, they somewhat survived a 24 hour deluge. I’m not sure how many more uses I’ll get out of them, but I have enjoyed every bit of our time together so far.

We had dipped strawberries and lavender honey dark chocolate for dessert.

I fixed honey butter toasted croissants, individual quiches, and fruit salad.
Even though it was their birthdays, Angie brought sparkling soda and Beth brought a salad.

Happy Birthday to two of the funnest people around!

There was wine in the teacups

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

By Karla Nathan / May 21, 2023

Last Tuesday evening, I hosted a Mother’s Day tea party. A friend recently lost her MIL, then right before the holiday, her own mom passed unexpectedly. As I planned a get together for her I realized that none of the guests’ moms were still alive.

I thought we should honor all of the lost mothers and asked for photos of the ladies.

Then I picked some flowers from my yard to tuck into tussie mussies.

The plan was to sit outside by the fire and order pizza.

But I wanted a real tea party style gathering, so I made food instead and set it out on the table with the pretty dishes.

This tiered stand from Hobby Lobby, years ago (they still have them) always comes in handy. On a daily basis, it holds fruit, but when company comes, the fruit goes in a bowl and this is used for serving food.

Earlier this month, I found a metal lamp base on a flea market dollar table. It made an ideal holder for a stack of salad plates.

My table is oak, and not the look I wanted for a spring, flowery party. But it’s also huge, and I don’t have tablecloths to fit it. So, I covered it in a painter’s drop cloth and layered these rosey placemats (50 cents from a garage sale this week) on top.

Focaccia bread isn’t exactly a tea party staple, but I baked it to look like a flower garden.

And how lucky were we to get a perfect spring evening? Just cool enough for a fire, but not so chilly that we’re had to be close to the fire for warmth. It was more for atmosphere.

The table was a generous and exceptional hand me down from my sis, Terry. And oh my. It is a dragon mosaic made from genuine stones and can feature either a fire or umbrella in the center.

We just love it. I call it my fire breathing dragon table.

And I love my friends. I’m glad we had a night together to honor our moms and to sip wine from teacups.
I think I’ll make this a tradition. You are never too old to miss your mommy.

Glass ornaments as mini carafes

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

By Karla Nathan / December 20, 2022

We had our annual holiday bookclub dinner at the cottage last week.

As I usually do, I set the table with a hodge podge of mismatched pieces, but with kind of a theme. And I tried a cute trick I’d seen at another party, using a clear glass ball as a mini carafe.

The way I’d seen it done was at a wine tasting and they used small, plastic ornaments. I really don’t know if those are food safe. So, I bought the big glass ones (at Hobby Lobby on clearance for 60% off), washed them well, and glued on roses that I’d painted onto old sheet music.

At our party, I make the food and friends bring the wine, so I couldn’t pre-fill the balls with wine like the previous way I’d seen them used. So I decided to use them for water, sitting on a glass of ice.

Before everyone arrived, I poured one into a cup, to see if it really was a good idea or was just messy.

Well, so so.

I had over filled the balls, and when pouring the water over the ice I realized that there was just too much in them. And no where to set the balls down except right back on top of the glass, or they would roll away and flood the table.

Oops!

I quickly poured some water out of each ball, leaving just the right amount for the glass. Ha, I’m glad I checked!

After dinner, the ornaments were party favors to take home.

I should’ve made everyone take food home too, I made way, way too much. As usual. I ended up putting this pie in the freezer for when the family comes home for Christmas. And I served some of the cupcakes at another party. Oh, and I did manage to take care of the rest of the extra cupcakes.

Somebody had to, right?

A few days after the book club bash, I was hosting a craft day get together. And the day after that, Sugarwings was supposed to have a cocoa party, but it was cancelled due to an ear infection, poor kid.

Typically, I like to have all of my parties in the same week, so I only have to clean the house once. And as I take plates out of the dishwasher, I reset the table so it’s ready to go for the next event. The cottage has a festive feel all week when it is party time.

For the craft day party, I did use wine in the Christmas balls.

Which, come to think of it, probably makes them harder to rinse out if they are meant to be keepsakes. I am not sure if I’ll do this party trick again or not. I enjoyed it, and thought it made the table festive. I hope the guests enjoyed it too.

The elves are drunk

fairies, family, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 17, 2022

Some of these elves are from my childhood, others have been collected over time. I’ve always loved the little sprites and one of my favorite memories at the holidays was being allowed to play with the three mouse head elves on the tree.

Why were the elves mice? That wasn’t a question that I ever thought of back then.

When the Elf on a Shelf craze started a few years back, I bought the grand fairies a couple new ones. We didn’t really play the spy game with them, they were mostly cuddled, loved, and included in holiday activities. Like a favorite stuffy.

Now that Sugarwings is a teenager, the elves are getting into trouble that kid surprises me with various drunken elf scenes and messes.

I bought some of those chocolate liqueur candies and the elves think I purchased those just for them.

I never know where I’ll find a drunken elf getting into trouble.

One seems to be the instigator.

They try to make up for it by doing something sweet.

It was a happy Halloween

celebrations, cottage, family, Food and Drink, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / November 12, 2022

At this point, Halloween is long past, withering away in its crypt.

Due to my inability to use my blog, I didn’t get to share the holiday, so I’ll post some highlights now. As I upload these pictures, I am sitting in the glow of my Christmas tree.

But that doesn’t mean much. Around here, the flip is fast. Almost, but not quite like at Disney, where over night on October 31st, the entire park is transformed from one holiday into the other.

We go through more of a Nightmare Before Christmas scenario, where they are jumbled together for a couple days during the switcheroo.

Sugarwings loves the spooky decor and does not want it touched if she is with us. But I needed help with getting the big tree put together and Rich was going out of town. My choices were to ask him to help before he left and have the tree set up, with all the heavy boxes of decorations piled up around the pumpkin and bat filled house or do it myself later.

Of course, I asked for the help! So we had a messy mix of two overlapping decor styles.

I used to wait til thanksgiving weekend to deck the halls. Our motto was, “You Must Respect the Bird” and wait for that holiday to pass before enjoying twinkle lights. But not any more. I have changed it to “You Must Respect the Pumpkin” and don’t even let the jack-o-lanterns start to moulder before I fill the house with joy and light fro the trees.

But no, we don’t totally gloss over Thanksgiving. I de-skull and un-spookify the table, but leave the pumpkins out on it till after the turkey has been consumed. The pumpkins either light up or have glitter, so I am happy with the compromise.

Sugarwings still trick or treats, and since my mind is already on gingerbread and garlands, I asked her to save some candy for building our gingie cottages.

As much as I love spring time weather, and the heat of summer, this has to be my favorite time of year. I dread the coming of cold weather, but love all the hustle and bustle that comes around when the leaves drop and snow starts to fall.

Ugh, did I really just say that!? Snow and falling leaves can be truly despicable (and way too cold).

But I do love the transition into Christmas, so if I have to put up with a chill to get to be surrounded by twinkle lights, we’ll, I guess I’ll just deal with it.