True Savor

[Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squach - recipe here, on Patent and the Pantry]

Searching for seasonal recipes to fill our local quota is almost half the fun for this encounter with CSA. I have 99 feeds in my bloglines (excessive, maybe) - crafty, creative people I admire and glean inspiration from. At least a third of these relate to some form of cookery. I LOVE to cook - I love to admire other's cooking and stow away recipes for an adventerous rainy day. I even considered culinary school for about a day, before I saw what kind of student loans I'd be racking up. At the time I also saw my gluten intollerance (celiac?) as a limiting factor - how would I get through culinary school if I couldn't taste and eat most of the things I'd be whipping up? My oh my, how wrong I was. These days I see it as a challenge, a beautiful adventure, with ups and downs (both in the form of my breads lately - some rise, some fall flat into a doughy mess reminicent of playdough). But I digress...

Our most recent recipe success came in the form of a creamy, autumnal, Risotto. As we had a lovely butternut squash sitting on the table, from Erehwon, practically begging to be a part of this creative process - the above recipe seemed fitting. Talk about comfort food. Taking the risotto off the heat to stir in butter and parmesan - and suddenly, smelling Italy. I'd eaten my share of Risotto for three weeks in the summer of 2008, and it was lovely to know I'd done something right - it had the right aroma, if nothing else. Delightful - will certainly be a family favorite - I beg you to try it.

Here is our final Wellhausen delivery of the season - the farm was able to squeeze one more week out of the crops and gave us the biggest spaghetti squash to date, a huge bag of potatoes, several yummy apples, some radishes, a bag of arugula salad, and some farmer's cheese we ordered from a local dairy and sent via Wellhausen.



Remember the apples we had such big plans for? They've now been a tart, applesauce, an afternoon snack, and spiced apple jam! Home made gluten free bread, hot out of the oven, spread of apple jam - heavenly desert.


I am so thankful for these days. Taking the earthy's bounty, worked with the hands of our neighbor, entrusted to our care, and in turn forming it into the very nourishment to our bodies and our spirits. How satisfying to simply make good food, and to enjoy it together in our home. This is not the typical American perspective - taking the time to make and savor our food. Annie Dillard describes in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek a blind patient's description of lemonaid as square, because it pricked their tounge, the way a cube had pricked their finger. When is the last time we really felt lemonaide prick our tounge? It seems many of us have taken to eating and drinking too quickly to even taste our foods. Upon the idea of making pickles last week, I sat amongst several who were shocked and almost bothered - all of the sudden we're taught to think this use of time would be a waste? Backwards, these days. This terrible construct of time has ruined us - time is now an asset, and we are to make the most of it. Perhaps we should take the advisement of good uncle Henry - "He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise." Henry David Thoreau

-E

Baked Millet & Turkey Spaghetti Squash

Baked Spaghetti Squash
Loosely based off Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash in Martha Stewart Living (October 2009)
Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash as on The Bitten Word

• 2 small spaghetti squashes halved and seeded - Erehwon Farms
  
• 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. ground lean turkey or turkey breast
  
• ground cinnamon
• ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp. course salt
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup millet
  
• 2 cups chicken broth
  
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped - from our porch
  
• 2 tbsp. toasted pine nuts

1. Preheat oven to 400. Place squashes, cut sides down in a 9×13 inch casserole dish. Bake until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add turkey, a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer turkey to a bowl or plate using a slotted spoon, keeping as much of the cooking liquid in the pot as possible.

3. Add onion, and cook until slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add remaining teaspoon salt and the millet, and stir to combine. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Fluff with fork, and add reserved turkey, parsley and pine nuts.

4. Scrape out baked squashes, forming 1/4 inch thick bowls, and fold flesh into millet mixture. Divide among squash halves, and return to the oven. Bake until warmed through and tops are browned. 12 to 14 minutes.

On a Sunday

As we noted before, we took the CSA bull by the horns right out of the gate and that has certainly kept us very busy as we sought and are seeking to create with the goodness we have been granted. We practice FIFO with our produce, which is embarrassing Accounting speak for first in, first out. While in accounting this counts for how you value inventory in your system, for us it is ensuring we are faithful in consuming and creating rather than adding to the waste.

[Wellhausen Farms]

We are improving our edibilities; that is, our ability to create edible(and delicious) food out of vegetables that we normally would have simply walked passed and ignored. Before you consult your dictionary on "edibilities," rest easy in knowing that it is simply the product of this crazy brain. Look for it in the 2020 Webster's, however(Goal #1:check).

The most noteworthy pick-up in my book from this week was our farm fresh eggs from free range chicken. This was something we were excited about picking up for a while, but we had no idea just how good they would be. All eggs are most definitely not created equal. God must have spent a little more time on them(obligatory N'Sync reference:check). Our customary Saturday breakfast is a scramble, which usually consists of onions, peppers, turkey bacon or sausage, country potatoes, and eggs. It is exciting to start traditions in our family of two that we will hopefully continue as we hope to eventually have children, grandchildren and so on. There's nothing like starting out a weekend with breakfast in pajamas. It sets a tone for the time away from work to be more restful and relaxing. We have found that when we start our Saturday doing things(whether they be errands, chores, etc.) it changes the way the weekend flows.

[4 dozen eggs from Wellhausen Farms]

This weekend, however, we were intentionally waiting out for Sunday morning so we would be able to create our usual scramble with our new eggs. When we went to pick them up, actually from the brother of the man that owns the farm, he let us know that we were in for a treat. We quickly scurried back home with scramble on the brain. Even as we were making it, we could tell a difference simply in the way it looked. The white was so much more substantial and the yoke a brighter orange.

[breakfast scramble - Wellhausen eggs]

As we finished up and begin to eat, we both gave each other the unmistakable look of utter enjoyment. It was so much more creamy and fluffy than any egg we'd ever had in our life. Unbelievably hearty and so fulfilling...we were truly shocked by how different they were. I am finding that as we take on this whole experiment and begin a new way of looking at food, that there are areas to wrestle with.

I have found this to be rather analogous to the life of following Christ. N.T. Wright spends much time talking about what the gospel means and doesn't and this regards the present world. The present world is not simply meant to get by and not care for because it doesn't matter. Rather, it matters so much, is God's creation and is the location of the kingdom He will bring. The gospel is a message of hope, that evil does not have the last word. In light of this, there is the challenge of "how then shall you live." How will you live in light of this understanding? How does this actually become a message of good news, and how do we translate that to the world? Certainly this is not something to be answered in a space this small, but is something that I hope to spend my whole life seeking to understand and pursue.

In this same way, as we discover these "new" methods of acquiring food, we are forced to consider what this means. While this is not the most expensive way to eat, it is also not the most inexpensive. It is a choice. A choice to eat more healthily, to support local farmers(and help ensure they do not become extinct on a smaller scale), and to root ourselves more to the land around us with the gifts it provides. Additionally, I could never have imagined I would ever spend so much on eggs(because being cheap is definitely in my nature), but I'm beginning to realize that my money is not simply an exchange simply for the tangible good. I can either use it to support a large aggressive money-making endeavor which simply uses and demeans chickens, or I can be a part of something that enables farms to continue, gives dignity to chickens, and actually produces a higher quality item. While described in this way, it may seem obvious, but its not. There are many subjects in life that deserve unsettling of the soul.

Is there anything you are wrestling with because based on what you know it begs the question, "How then shall I live?"*

-J.D.

P.S. Please enjoy some other pictures from this weekend as well.

*I realize that in asking people, it may assume I'm expecting many people to read and respond. I'm perfectly fine with that not happening, as it is something I need to continually have in front of me

[Apple Tart - Erehwon apples]

[roasted pumpkin seeds - Wellhausen]

Trees Like Lungs

[First Pickup from Erehwon Farms - stew greens, green onions, stew veggies, spaghetti squash,

winter squash, radish, fennel, collard greens(?), fingerling potatoes, apples, garlic, baby pumpkins]

A restful weekend - full of this and that. We are taught to be industrious, to make the most of our time, never slow down, sleep is for the weak. Our imperfect, human bodies are not made to go that fast for that long... it's dishonoring to treat our bodies as machines. This season of my life and of the year has me in thought of how to reconnect my (our) life to the truly natural internal clock that was in mind at our very creation. Sabbath. What does that even mean anymore? When I was young it meant we HAD to take a nap on Sunday afternoons, but that didn't translate into anything. It didn't resonate with young little mind.

[first go at making applesauce - apples from both Wellhausen & Erehwon]

Now what can it and what does it mean in my specific life? I still try and fit entirely too much in, easily distracted by the next project on my wish list. Though, now, I'm coming to understand that Sabbath doesn't mean inactivity - it means taking part in creation, in a way that is restful and restoring to our own bodies. Intentional time that I have set to embrace the things that draw me closer to the heart of God.

[home made mashed potatoes - Wellhausen & Erehwon]

This weekend was restful & restoring. An extra hour yes - but it felt like twelve. Saturday morning gifted a gentle drive, my best friend at my side; explosions in the sky and trees, leafless, reaching into that very firmament like the lungs that they are. Bronchi and bronchioles stretching, bidding adieu to their luster and seeking restful days and nights, regrouping and regaining the strength for another year. Perhaps the time was not so intentional, but it was restoring.

[red meat radish for stew - Erehwon - how beautiful - does anyone
know if this is different than a watermelon radish? Sunday]

And what to be said for my list of activities? Purchase foodmill, pickup CSA delivery, make applesauce, crochet plant hangers, separate pumpkin seeds... I had quite the list by 3:30pm. But it was reposing. To take part in embracing this earth, in the creative process, is completely fufilling, and fills me up.

[Erehwon Farms - Grandma Beth's stew recipe - beets, radish, turnip, potatoes,
carrots, Jerusalem artichoke with stew meat, stew greens were added later - Sunday]

Saturday:
Apple Sauce - Erehwon & Wellhausen
Mashed Potatoes - Erehwon & Wellhausen

xo,
Evie

PS... Earlier in the week I needed an immediate satisfaction sewing project and made this lovely new pillow for our couch using a fat quarter of some incredibly silky, cotton, quilting weight fabric I picked up on Bainbridge island while shopping with my sister-in-law this August on vacation... The lighting doesn't do it justice, but the silly thing makes me grin.

I've seen a million onions...

and I've cooked them all!

We are at the beginning of quite an (CS)Adventure, and I think it's very fair to say we're still in the romantic stage. Optimism is the only thing we see in our future regarding this, and I can't help but wonder at what point we'll have our bubble burst. Feel free to start your betting now so you don't miss it!

Although our current situation might find us with a bushel half full, I truly believe this is important to document this time for when we are up to our ears in tatsoi and other insane things we've never heard of. We have never been as mid-west as we will be in the next 7 weeks, and that is a prospect worth writing about, contemplating, and taking us into the time of advent.

It is no wonder that the intrinsic value of the life cycle of food allows for many helpful analogies to life. We are all products of the Creator and while our relationship is symbiotic, we are able to connect on the level in much the same way as we are to others. That I am taking on this endeavor with my wife then, who I connect with in a way unlike any other human, is incredible.

Together in this time, we will learn to get a better idea of what it means to live more sustainably. While this is quite the buzz word these days, I don't want to give up on it yet. There is a reason behind it and I think it involves more than buying "green." In taking on this, we are becoming connected to the gifts of the area not the limitations of it. I think this will cause us to shift what we eat in different seasons and learn that simply because we are suburban Americans that does not give us the right to demand whatever we want whenever we want it. This will be a difficult process for us two banana fans(just had one today in fact), but bringing ourselves closer to production will shape the way we approach food. In order to eat my banana today, the only thing that is perfectly clear is that it was delivered on a truck and put out on display by a Meijer employee.

Through the CSA, we have already interacted with those that work on the farm and we are learning what projects they do throughout the year and what produce they were able to harvest that week. As we look into doing this again next year, we will be paying an amount up front which will enable the farm to take on another year of uncertainties.

Through all this, however, we are moving a step closer, but we are still not fully engaging with everything that goes into the daily life of a farmer. We are very aware of this and are excited for the lessons this will teach us as we one day get a house that has room for us to do some gardening ourselves. There is much wisdom to be gleaned from those that have gone before us and I eagerly await this whole time. We will be posting along the way(though not always this long!) of the different items we get and how we enjoy them. We will share what we have learned in this process and I'm sure many of the sentiments shared here will gradually shift over time as well. Even if this is only for us, I believe fleshing out these ideas will be a beneficial process for the two of us as we continue to learn about and from one another.

Just to give an idea of the first project with CSA food, we have a curry I put together! Many thanks to Justin Donner for teaching me the ways of the candy bar curry magic. It has served me well and it did once again.

Items used from the CSA in this dish:
Potatoes
Huge Onion

Unfortunately Evie could not have this because the curry sauce had wheat in it, but I think she's ok with it. I wear the curry pants in the family. She wears the mushroom ones.

-J.D.

The Beginning

Today marks the start of our delve into eating locally. We've signed up for a 7 week fall CSA, plus two weeks of an ending summer CSA. Bear with me here - on the off chance that CSA is unfamiliar - it stands for community supported agriculture - which is a "share" of a farm - we'll get weekly deliveries of goodies throughout the season. On average we'll receive what would fit into one and one half paper grocery bags.

We count on quite an adventure - vegetables we've not even eaten, and some we've not heard of and are planning on using the blog to journal our way through the adventure so we have something to look back on. We plan on basing our meals out of our weekly delivery for the next 8 weeks (plus some winter meals that we can prepare now and freeze, or veggies that store well over the winter months). So watch out for delivery updates, recipes, and consensus on the new veggies!

Several reasons for our decision to go CSA:

• Learn to eat seasonally and locally
• Embrace and support our local community & economy - our money goes directly to the farm, not to the 15 middle men (distributors, trucking companies, advertisers, lobbyists etc)
• Take a shared risk - we'll share in bounty as well as share in loss
  
• Eat healthy and creatively
• Reduce exposure to chemicals and preservatives
• Learn about where our food comes from and what it takes to produce it
• FRESH - do you know how long food takes to get from farm to grocery? its not exactly quick business! our produce (etc) will be harvested only days before it finds its way to our kitchen.
  

The plan:

• Today : pickup from Wellhausen Farms
• Saturday : pickup from Erehwon Farms
• Sunday : pickup last bag from Wellhausen Farms
• Tuesday: pickup from Erehwon Farms (continue weekly)

What was in today's share from Wellhausen you ask? This week's delivery was light because of the early frost. We expect next week (our last week with Wellhausen for the season) to be a little bigger.

• 1 gigantic spaghetti squash! Hooray!
• A bag of assorted potatoes
• Several apples
• 1 large onion
• 1 pumpkin
  

Hope you enjoy our adventure with us!
XO
Evie

I might have a grilled cheese...

Gluten Free baking poses a challenge - gluten is what gives elacticity, leavening, flakiness, and a great fluffy chew. When things don't work - they REALLY don't work. Last week I attempted a loaf of bread from a mix and it just really . didn't . work.

Now, I'm not a chef, or even a truly great cook - but I'm a good cook, and I know how to follow directions. It can be discouraging with cooking gluten free. My husband reminds me that everything is trial and error and lessons learned. Being practical, having an expensive mix (as gluten free mixes often are) turn out inedible is just plain sad.

So I turned to what I do know - cooking from scratch seems to work better. It just requires having a lot of different ingredients on hand. Thats where amazon came in handy. I ordered several flours I've used previously, and a couple new, in packages containing 4 of each at a discount.

Thursday night, armed with the ingredients and a recipe from glutenfreegirl.com, I made a (very) successful loaf of gluten free bread!

everyone loves a good before and after

Our apartment is lovely, and just the right amount of space for us at the moment, but living organized in a small space is tough. Our kitchen was seriously lacking in storage and we'd been on the Craig's List hunt for weeks when we found this amazing vintage drawer cabinet. It's a little smaller than we originally wanted, but has tons of character and will be useful in the future.

(I lined the drawers by decoupage with patterned amy butler paper)

(during the registry process I thought a popcorn machine was an unsightly, unused, space wasting machine - but we use it a few times a week! yummy!)

collecting

(via myspinningwheels)

So, who would be willing to send old dress shirts my way? Any men's shirt that is headed for the trash can - please send it to me so I can reuse it! I have future plans for a men's shirting quilt.

taking time to breathe

Finally... we have nights and weekends to relax. Room to breathe. No 150 person menu planning, no favors. Time to enjoy each other, to enjoy our friends, our family, and even ourselves.

I love post wedding life. I love being married and settling in to the days, slowly making our home ours. Everyone said that I wouldn't know what to do with my time after the wedding planning had finally come to an end - but I seem to be filling it just fine. So fine, actually, that I'm already juggling projects.

Here are a few peeks of what I've been up to for the past two months...



I have several before and after projects under way - watch out for my new kitchen cabinet in a few days and our new patio furniture next week!

adventures of the gluten free sort...

Recently I've noticed that I am far more sensitive to gluten. When I was first diagnosed with a wheat intolerance I found that little amounts (the breading on a chicken nugget, the crust on a cheesecake, etc) didn't seem to bother me. I cut out things like bread and pasta, but clung to everything else. In the back of my mind I've wondered if this was ok... the disease that killed my father has been known to begin with undiagnosed celiac disease. My grandmother was also intolerant of wheat. Did I need to cut it out completely? That would be far too difficult... I counted myself lucky that I didn't have to read every label and worry about where and how things were manufactured.

I've been reading a book called Gluten Free Girl. I've learned more about gluten free living, celiac disease and wheat intolerance in the past couple months than I did in the last 8 years. So many of the symptoms that Shauna, the author, experienced are eerily familiar to me. Armed with new knowledge of how gluten attacks someone with my kind of intolerance and old knowledge of isolating foods to find out what is negatively affecting you, I was ready when I started feeling poorly the last couple months. After a week of stomach ache and headache, I cut out the only things I could think of that had been changed in my regular diet. When I reintroduced those things in the following weeks I found the symptoms returning.

Trying to eat completely gluten free is like learning of my intolerance all over again, but this time I have an amazing support system (you know, that boy I'll be marrying in 97 days?) urging me to try new things and cheering me on as I begin to make things from scratch using ingredients I'm only just learning to understand.

The last week has brought:

Chicken Pot Pie with a Gluten Free Crust & gluten free flours to thicken the gravy
Chicken Noodle Soup with rice noodles
Onion, Swiss & Turkey Bacon Quiche with that same Gluten Free Crust
More of the Banana Bread I've mentioned before
Impromptu Apple Pie for two (yes, the very same pie crust)

A peek at the quiche (which luckily passed the test from my fiance the quiche lover!)

New Organization

in two forms...

1. I am now gainfully employed! Wednesday and Thursday of last week I interviewed with a small privately owned company which make, refurbish, and repair MRIs and CT Scans. I start my job as "junior accountant" this coming wednesday. Yippee! This means I have one week to truly relax (sitting at home spending 5 hours on career builder wasn't exactly relaxing...). I have one week to work on wedding and home projects before things get busy. What shall I start with??? Oh yes, addressing envelopes. Then perhaps I can recover the living-room table/ottoman (I can justify spending the $15 for the fabric now that I have a job!).

2. We're now the proud owners of a new (to us) ikea expedit shelf! We've been watching out for this shelf/entertainment unit for our living room. With one small modification (which required me to hand saw a shelf until I couldn't feel my arms) it is a perfect fit. Ample storage for records, books, and whatever else needed its own place. I love to organize... its true... and this shelf has made me a very happy girl!



Ok, on to enjoying my week!

crafty updates...

My very first quilt (small thought it was) is finished! This is the very first project I started with my lovely new sewing machine and was finished just in time to mail off for Erin's baby shower! More pictures to come when my camera cord makes its way through the snow to me...

My favorite part of the quilt was hand sewing the binding. It was surprisingly relaxing and satisfying... each stitch bringing me closer to an actual quilt, not just pieces of fabric pinned together. Each stitch, just like the women who've quilted before me. I know this will be something I enjoy for the rest of my days. I can fill my home, my children's home, my grandchildren's home with lovely quilts I hope.


Fabric for the wedding-table-squares came last week also! I've done quite a few... the tally:
To do: 13
Done: 12

The bottom two fabrics I am unsure of. The white pattern I adore, but I realize it may not stand out enough on the ivory table cloths. And the last, the green stripe, is much more neon green than I had supposed. I'll keep these in mind but may keep an open eye for other patterns that would be better in their place.


Updates of other natures...

My second job interview was today and went well! I truly think I would be a good fit and would love the job and the company. I hope it works out... I should be hearing this week sometime.

Hoverson Love

The library here is quite wonderful... I can request books online and they'll have them ready & waiting... I can request books they don't have, & they'll purchase them! Which is exactly what I did a couple weeks ago.

There are a few books I've been wishing would come into my ownership... so in the mean time I requested them from the Library to be sure that they were as useful and likable as I've imagined. One of those books is Patchwork & Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson (the owner of Purl Soho, one of my favorite places to look for fabric). This book is fantastic (even sans patterns... which for some reason the library took out) and I will definitely want it to be a permanent addition to my crafty library.


While browsing this lovely book, I enjoyed my third batch of gluten free banana bread (from gluten free girl), which is my favorite so far. I've tweaked the recipe a bit and this time added ground flax seed and left out the cocoa powder... all it needs is a thin layer of light cream cheese (add that to the mental grocery list).


Itching to make something & having finished my big secret project (photos coming soon... can't risk the recipient mother-to-be catching a glimpse) I wanted to sew! I fell in love with this adorable pin cushion from the aforementioned book but was without those pattern pieces. I gave it my best guess and dug through my scrap pile... definitely cut the pieces too wide, but hey, its still cute! Is it strange that I color coded my pins without much thought? Thats the OCD accountant type shining through in my crafts I suppose...


Now I'm simply hoping that my wedding-reception-table-square fabric comes tomorrow so I have an excuse to sew all day!

My big interview has again been rescheduled, now to Tuesday morning at 9am (silly CEOs who are always flying here and there!). In the process of rescheduling I did deduce something quite nice... I believe I am one of two candidates in the final interview process. The CFO emailed the agency asking if the collective interviews could be changed to 9 & 10am on Tuesday morning. Sounds like two interviews yes? Well the 9am is me. Down to the wire... what shirt should I wear with my suit (must make a visual impact so they remember me)?

productivity

The delivery man brought me a present early this morning... the order from paper source! It was only ordered on Sunday... fastest shipping ever! The envelopes for our invites were on sale, so now they're stocked up and waiting to be turned into a lovely package!

I got a lot done today, even a couple wedding projects under way...

22 inch squares for center of table -
To do: 23
Done: 2

9' table runner for our buffet table - DONE!

Now I just have to wait for the lovely package of fabric that is headed my way from fabric supplies etsy shop. They were kind enough to sell me a few fabrics in my 1.25 yard increment and I'm so excited about what they had. Fantastic prices too- on the fabric and on the shipping... I'll be watching their page.

For my dear family... my big interview is now on Friday at 11am! I wish it had been today... the weather here didn't end up as bad as they weathermen made it out to sound. I also got a call today about a temp position as a staff accountant for 4 to 6 weeks so they're presenting my resume for that. I'll update when I know more...

as it were...

I've discovered that I managed to leave the cord that blends the world between my camera and computer in Atlanta. So, until it finds it's way into an envelope and weathers the trail betwixt an old home and new, I'll have to make due with my macbook's photobooth.

I present to you, a christmas gift...


She is beautiful, is she not!? My dear boy managed to conspire with my family and make her mine.; I couldn't thank them more! She hums... oh, she hums. A fantastic machine, I will treat her well and give her plenty to do!

My first project came but a day into our relationship... I made a day-after-christmas trip to Joann Fabric near my grandparent's house and picked up a few goodies. Pictures will come... but not yet! I need to finish up and ship off before I can let the cat out of the bag.

A project you CAN see... I'll be making 21'' squares for the middle of the round tables for the wedding reception (why 21'' you say? Because I can make 4 squares per every 1.25 yards of fabric that way, most fabrics being 44 or 45 inches wide that is, and I can justify the project knowing that It will only take 10 yards or so). They're 66'' rounds, and will have 120'' ivory table cloths. I wanted something to add a little color and after realizing that making 200+ napkins was out of the question, I settled for 25 squares for the center of each table.

I'll be looking for fun fabrics to use, and the exciting part is when it's all over, I can still use the fabric for other exciting projects! 2 for 1 bonus! I've been swooning over this "wedding ring" quilt (an adaptation of the color wheel quilt in the book Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts) that another bride made using the napkins that she made for her own wedding. So here, you can sneak a peek at my first square, donned with decorative stitch (have I mentioned my new sewing machine?), and below it a picture of the quilt which has stolen my heart!

Enjoy :)

(source: the purl bee)

the old college try

I'm a bad blogger. There, I said it. I spend free time pouring over other people's crafty blogs imagining that I have the patience to write about my own endeavors. I even started this particular blog last year with those intentions.

I get distracted. I used to write in response to all sort of activities... it made them feel more whole, having the chance to sit and reflect, to tell the story of how they affected me. Perhaps making the time to think and write on these things will become a sort of centering, to keep me mindful of what it is I'm doing, of all the implications that come along with participating in the nature of creation.

I've just moved across the country (vertically). My immediate and extended family who I've been near and close to since the day I was born are all (nearly) in Atlanta, GA. I've just moved to be with my fiance and in-laws-to-be. How in the world do I keep up on the sharing of my life, my crafts, my loves of nature and beauty? I call them of course (and beg them to visit)... but I also urge myself to give time to this. A place where they can come to see what I am working on or dreaming up.

I've finally a solid reason to keep myself at this. Years ago, blogging felt selfish or at the very least, arrogant (who am I that the whole world would want to read what I have to say). More recently blogging became an amazing collaboration of admirable, crafty, thrifty, creative people who I can admire and gain inspiration from. And now, now blogging is even more, it is a chance to root myself, reflect on myself, and connect with those who helped to mould myself.

Bonus: I always forget how much I love to write... this will come in handy as I begin my career as an accountant crunching numbers five days of the week.

Once I uncover the cord to my camera... a peek at a christmas present and projects of all sorts. For now, I leave you with a picture of my very first, made from scratch, gluten free, chocolate banana bread!