So, company’s coming! It’s that time of year, and I’m getting ready to host my family Thanksgiving Dinner. Should be great! I come from a storied history of huge holiday dinners. My mom, the consummate hostess, threw Thanksgivings where everyone was welcome: friends without family, visiting missionaries, extended-extended family, shut-in neighbors – I think we … Continue reading Get Set . . .
I have coined a new term. “Elfwork.” elf·wərk/ n. preparations for Christmas, usually performed in a hurried or hyper manner. Now dear reader, I do no mean to confuse you. This new term “elfwork” is very different from another term I’ve coined: “elf workout.” elf·wərk·out/ n. An exercise regimen consisting of throwing snowballs and jumping over … Continue reading Elfwork
For Thanksgiving, we jump in the car and drive to see family out-of-state. And of all the real holiday activities, this one little trip is a beloved tradition for me. I’m not sure why. It may be the time of year. Fall is just starting to stagger under winter’s coming cold. Harvested fields are barren, with … Continue reading Give Thanks
Every year as September wanes, our family gears up for one of our favorite holidays of the year: the twins’ birthday on “Knockedover” October 4th. The twins are a . . . lively* addition to our family and we’re all pretty smitten with them. While I was talking to some moms at the playground a … Continue reading Pumpkin Party
I had my annual Christmas Open House last Saturday evening and it was just beautiful. Just like last year, I decorated my house, cleared out the furniture on my first floor and invited artist friends to set up tables brimming with their handmades. Then I open the doors to guests who shop and sip wine and mulled … Continue reading Goat Cheese, You Sassy Girl!
I’ve heard that in the Indian town of Jodhpur, so many of the houses are painted a bright, periwinkle blue that the whole town looks blue from the hills above. Did I need to hear this? Did I need another reason to pine for a tour through India? No. India captured my imagination long ago. I think it’s the idea … Continue reading I ♥ India
Today I’m bustling around my house, getting ready for a girlfriends brunch tomorrow morning. We do this every month or so: gathered together with a spread of quiches and muffins and fruit, we chirp about domestic minutiae. Everyone catches up whilst drinking strong coffee. It’s so cozy. This time we’re saying goodbye to a dear … Continue reading Hosta Leaf Bouquets
Now dear reader, I wish I could tell you that this project is pure reduce-reuse-recycling genius. The kind of project that gives new life to a doomed piece of rubbish and we all walk away feeling better about our eco-wonderful selves. But I cannot. No, No. I love the look of printed cans from international … Continue reading Cantastic
(The title is a Godfather-geek reference to the dirty song that Mama Corleone sings in the wedding scene of Godfather I – possibly the best scene in all of film.) The first time I ever heard of chai, that spicy tea-milk drink that soothes my soul, was in an Indian restaurant in Chicago. My big family had ordered … Continue reading Chai la Luna
Every once in a while, a friend and I will go out for lunch at one of those so-hip-it-hurts bistros. The places that kindly suggest certain wines to go with your chic salad. (Alright, twist my arm.) After getting over the guilty feeling of being a fake, a phony, I love these lunches. I feel … Continue reading Grilled Cheese and Fig
Handmade by Anne Potter 