Have a great weekend!

The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.  ~Gertrude S. Wister

I thought these two looked like such happy friends, blooming together on the camellia bush beside our house. The sunny day has gradually declined into wind and clouds, so I decided to bring them in to protect them from the storm and brighten our home. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Room for Improvement

     It is often suggested that one take stock of their accomplishments to determine their progress toward reaching life goals. This is no such blog post. After realizing I inadvertently and unknowingly hung up on a cell conversation with my friend Eliza (for oh, the umpteenth time) yesterday, I decided to take stock of some areas that could use some work. I will lay myself bare, come clean and confess: these are some things I completely suck at doing. Hopefully, if you've witnessed any of these in action, you can have a good laugh.
      1. Operating a touch screen phone. Poor Eliza and I laugh all the time that it is a rare thing if we get through a whole conversation without me managing to hang up my cell phone. I like to blame it on my chubby little cheeks and dangling earrings, but the truth is sometimes I can't even manage to slide my finger across the screen to answer a call. That's why when a surprised reporter asked me why I didn't like to use my cell phone in the car, I told him "Because I know I'm not good at it." I'm a single task type of person. And my phones don't like me - I'm currently on my fourth Android in three years after several random failures.
      2. Doing the dishes. I loathe this task more than any other household responsibility. I like to think that I'm choosing to have meaningful time with my family while the dishes pile around the sink, but that is only part of the story. Having a dishwasher has made the task a little bit better, but I still try to shirk responsibility any time I can. In fact, just yesterday I swept all of my floors to procrastinate from putting a load in the washer. My grandmother used to insist on doing the dishes, nay, she would cry if not given the opportunity. I think it was how she used to work out her frustrations as she stood and scrubbed. She would be disappointed to know that in one flight of fancy, I considered throwing out all of the dirty dishes and buying new. Ok, it wasn't just one flight of fancy.
      3. Completing craft projects. I love to look at arts and crafts websites and blogs. I love to stroll along aisles of fabric and decorative papers and bins of beads and paint. Sometimes, I even indulge in the purchase of patterns and supplies. These patterns and supplies often find themselves in two drawers to the left of my desk, neatly organized and patiently waiting for me to work them into their intended project. I will let the contents of one of the drawers speak for itself: apron pattern, six yards of seasonal fabric to make aprons, four yards of fabric to make ottoman cover (wood to make ottoman in garage), wooden letters to paint for Christopher's room, brown paint for wooden letters, assorted zippers to make flower pins, pins, hot glue gun, hot glue gun sticks.
     I do feel like I've improved at each of these over the past few years, but they are all certainly works in progress. And this is by no means an exclusive list. Sometimes, I think my neurotic tendencies have no bounds. But those habits, my friends, are a post for another day.

That's Bananas

        Yesterday was really busy. I had a long list of errands that I usually complete while our friend, Sarah, comes to play with Christopher. However, Sarah was busy in her other life as a librarian, so I braved my list with a toddler and Irish Setter in tow (yes, the same duo that had me up in the wee hours of Sunday morning for various obstinancies). After breakfast, we were off to the grooming salon to drop off the dog, big box store for some necessities, UPS store to ship some boxes, consignment store to drop off some clothes, dry cleaners to leave other clothes, dollar store to buy supplies for an upcoming MOP craft, clothing store to return a shirt, and back to the grooming salon to pick up the dog. In the middle of all of that somewhere, we returned home and I scrubbed the dog's crate and cleaned the kitchen floor, arranged the pick up of yard waste, and made plans for dinner on Saturday. All of that before 1 p.m.
       Both child and dog were well behaved and I was feeling quite accomplished when we finished. As I was making an afternoon snack, I spied some really ripe bananas in our fruit bowl and decided that a treat for such a busy day would be a nice, warm slice of banana bread. Any time I start to see brown spots on our bananas, my mind instantly goes to banana bread. In fact, I will confess that maybe sometimes, I let the bananas get a little brown. I've tinkered with a few different recipes, and last night, I exchanged vanilla Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and tossed a handful of white and semisweet chocolate chips into Martha Stewart's classic banana bread recipe. The result was perfect with a tall glass of cold milk.
       The other thing I like to make with overripe bananas is a delicious breakfast smoothie. I don't know if I've ever followed a recipe for making a smoothie. Instead, I just usually open the fridge and assess the pantry, then stuff the blender with my findings. I've been inspired by some of the green smoothie recipes I've seen on Pinterest, and this morning, I decided to experiment with the remainder of my brown bananas and some baby spinach. I tossed in some ice cubes, a few large dollops of vanilla Greek yogurt (my new favorite ingredient for sure!) and a large tablespoon full of peanut butter. The textures and layers of brown, yellow, green and ivory looked really lovely in my blender and I really wish I would have snapped a pic for the blog before I pushed the liquefy button. The results were delicious, and Christopher and I enjoyed a healthy, filling addition to our breakfast of whole grain waffles.

Camellias, a Winter Surprise

      
        On a chilly Wednesday morning, my friend Annmarie and I decided to visit the Norfolk Botanical Gardens to take a peek at the early blooming camellias. I hold a particular fondness for this flower because during our first year in our house, I was surprised to look outside one frosty February morning to see pink petals blossoming on one of our trees. In previous locations, I had always considered February to be a cold and sometimes dreary month. It always seemed to be the time when winter dragged on and the most you could hope for in terms of foliage were damp, decaying leaves from the previous autumn. Not so in Virginia where the camellias have changed my outlook on the shortest month of the year. Each year, I've welcomed the bright, cheery blossoms as a beacon of the coming spring.

Virginia Weekend

     Pinkies up at the Olde World Tea Company

          When I think of exploring historical Virginia, images of Monticello and Colonial Williamsburg immediately flash through my mind. Though I have certainly made a point to visit both of those history-rich locations (just a few times), our area is also full of smaller, but equally historic gems that can make for pleasant weekend adventures.
       On Saturday morning, I headed to Smithfield with my fellow Moms on Point Steering Team members for our leadership retreat. Our destination was the Olde World Tea Company, but we had a fun car ride through a little bit of the Suffolk countryside. There are several large, old farmhouses and barns along the way that I admire, and the weather was clear and rivers sparkling in the sun.
      Smithfield, known as the "ham capital of the world" for its eponymous pork products, has a main street lined with boutiques and cafes in restored houses from the Colonial, Federal and Victorian eras. The Olde World Tea company is in one of these quaint houses, and we spent a refreshing morning sampling some fine teas and treats (I highly recommend the formosa oolong and sweet potato pot de creme). It was good to catch up with friends after the busy holiday season and start talking about our plans for the new semester that starts next Friday. By the end of our retreat, I commented that I felt as relaxed and peaceful as if I had just spent some time at the spa.
       Sunday afternoon was cold and windy, and the perfect time to see a lunch matinee at The Commodore Theatre in Olde Towne Portsmouth. Though I haven't written about Olde Towne on Belletrist, it was my home my first year in Virginia and I adore its restaurants and attractions. The Commodore has been a favorite date location for us for several years. The theater and lobby are a gorgeous Art Deco restoration project that is reminiscent of a Jazz Age supper club. Before the movie begins, you can order a meal or snack from a tabletop phone. We saw the second Sherlock Holmes film, and though I did not like it as much as the first in the series, I was still impressed with the special effects cinematography.
        It was too dark to take pictures of the beautiful curtain or murals in the Commodore, but I was able to snap a shot of Matt ordering our lunch:

These are a few of my favorite things...

     I thought it might be fun to post some of the things that have tickled my fancy in the past week. They might not be enough to warrant their own post, but they've certainly caught my interest.

Downton Abbey - My new guilty television pleasure. Originally a British series, the second season just started on PBS in the United States. The clothes! The great house! The English countryside! Those things alone make it aesthetically pleasing enough to tune in. However, the storyline, set in the Edwardian era, balances a fair amount of social and political history with its soapy drama. The first season is available on Netflix, and I caught up during a rainy weekend marathon with lots of cookies and hot tea.

Pinterest - My friend Keeley mentioned this website to me while we were at the gym. Basically, it is an online resource to share and collect ideas for every sort of interest. It's part social networking (since you can "like" and comment on others' posts) and part inspiration file (since you can collect and sort pictures of ideas, projects and tips into different categories on your boards). I've found loads of ideas for sewing and cooking, as well as activities for Christopher. Now if I can only stop collecting and start implementing :).

Cast Iron Dutch Oven - I made the most delicious and easy dinner in my new 6.5 quart cast iron dutch oven last week. I've collected several recipes over the years that require a dutch oven, but since I didn't have one, they remained untested in my recipe binder (from the days of yore before Pinterest). Matt and I found one a cheery red one at a very reasonable price, and my inaugural meal was such a success that I imagine it will quickly become a favorite piece of cookery in my kitchen. There is something homey about preparing an entire meal in one pot, and I felt like a real cook when I lifted the lid to poke the meat and vegetables around with my bamboo spoon.

Banana Republic - Some lovely people gave me Banana Republic gift cards for Christmas. When I went to use them, I discovered that they were having an amazing sale with many items that were an additional 50% off their sale price. I was able to get a perfect dinner dress for $30. While I was making that purchase, I took in the new arrivals and was excited to see lots of nautical details and navy blue. I've been working on incorporating more navy in my wardrobe since it isn't as stark as black with my pale complexion. Even the most casual styles look crisp in navy. I will definitely be stopping back in Banana Republic for some new Spring clothes.

It's in the cards

A selection of my holiday stationery

     My wrists and fingers have been giving me some trouble over the past week, so I haven't been able to get my holiday thank you notes out as promptly as I had hoped.  I really like handwritten correspondence, and in our ever paperless world, sometimes the only opportunity for me to send a note or card is as a thank you for a gift or hospitality. 

      Since my elementary days writing an Irish pen pal, I've also really enjoyed choosing beautiful stationery to express my thoughts. My early selections were scrolled with ballerinas, puppies and flowers, and I had a very bright folder of Lisa Frank paper and stickers that I was quite proud to mail. Next, in college and my first years working, I loved to buy notecards decorated with the works of some of my favorite artists. These cards were pretty and vibrant, and reminded me of museum visits in the United States and Europe each time I opened my paper drawer. 

      When I became a married lady, I was thrilled (THRILLED!) to order my first formal stationery. Since I was young, I had admired the engraved monograms on cards sent by my great aunts and I had pored over the sections in our etiquette books that covered what items belonged in a well stocked stationery portfolio. It might seem archaic to wait until I was married to get nice personal stationery, but I was trying to be practical. I didn't want to invest in good paper and be left with an unused pile in my maiden name once I married.

     My favorites are from Crane&Co. I think there is something luxurious about the weight and texture of their papers and the designs are simple and elegant. For all occasions, I have copper monogrammed notecards in a creamy ecru, and I also get seasonal cards with my full name embossed across the bottom (even though I was excited to have a married monogram, I still like seeing my maiden name spelled out in ink). To fill out my paper drawer, I also pick up the occasional box of cards inspired by Asian art (such as Koizumi's birds above) that can usually be found on the discount shelves at bookstores. 

 

Twelfth Night

     After a long winter's nap (aka a very busy but delightful holiday season), I've decided to get myself in gear and back to Belletrist. This evening the decorations are down and I've decided to celebrate the end of the Christmas season by baking a Twelfth Night cake.
     Twelfth Night (January 5 or 6) marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas and Epiphany, when the wise men made their visit to Jesus. I've always been rather fond of it since I played Feste in Twelfth Night during college.
     In several areas of the Gulf Coast, particularly Louisiana, the custom is to bake a King Cake to mark Epiphany. In colonial America (my particular area of interest), the tradition was to take down Christmas decorations by Twelfth Night and to use any unspoiled fruit from those decorations to make a cake. If you have ever visited Colonial Williamsburg and seen the beautiful wreaths with apples, nuts and oranges, they are exactly what was used to make Twelfth Night cakes.
      Another fun tradition surrounding the Twelfth Night cake dates back to Tudor England. A bean was baked into the cake and the finder was declared the king for the night, and could make rules that would last until midnight when everything was put back to order.
      If you are interested in the recipe for a traditional Twelfth Night cake, you can view one here. For my recipe, since I had also promised my husband a chocolate treat, I modified Martha Stewart's classic chocolate bundt cake recipe. To make it more authentic, I added ground cinnamon, chopped dried apricots, and golden raisins. I plan to top it with a chocolate and Bermudan rum glaze once it cools.
      Don't worry, I didn't forget the bean. I have a dried lima tied on the end of a ribbon to insert for more child-friendly discovery, but hopefully he'll be sleeping long before his rule ends at midnight.

Closet Keeping, Part Two

Here are three of the items from my wardrobe that I decided to keep even though I don't actively wear them:

 

        Wool Skirt (Circa 1960s, worn early 1990s). If I could manage to squeeze myself into this skirt without removing internal organs, it would still be one of the favorite pieces in my wardrobe. It represents not only my junior high school years, but also my first experience trying out my mother’s fabulous collection of clothing. I have been told that my mom and aunt (aka the Strother Girls) were quite the head turners in their youth and wore some great self-made and department store clothes. This skirt was my first find from “shopping the attic,” which quickly became a yearly fall ritual. Vintage wasn’t cool yet, but I didn’t care. I loved the swish of the heavy wool and the way the orange yarns stood out among the mélange of black, grey and cream. The fabric was decidedly itchy, but I just made sure I wore it with good black tights and a smooth camisole under my sweater.  It was my go-to skirt for dress up days before band performances and I once wore it to present my science fair project to the judging panel.

         Cotton Shift Dress (early 1990s-mid 2000s). This dress dominated my summer wardrobe for over a decade. There was a time when if you sniffed it, even freshly washed, you could smell beachy air and sunscreen. It was a random, inexpensive find – my mother and I were buying supplies for our annual beach trip and its colorful and unique pattern caught my attention. I had a love affair with brown since it worked well with my reddish hair and freckles, so I paired the dress with any number of brown and tan sandals and light sweaters. Mostly, I wore it barefoot and over a bikini – lounging on large, flat river rocks, strolling along the beach, hanging out on a boat or reading in a porch swing. Once, when I was packing up an apartment in 90 degree heat, a friend commented that she couldn’t believe I was wearing a dress while moving furniture and I laughed since it felt more like second summer skin than something to wear to a barbeque. Eventually, the zipper broke and I discovered it cost far, far more to repair than the original purchase price.

           Velveteen Jacket (2000s). I fell in love with this jacket the moment I saw it hanging in a boutique on the Getreidegasse in Salzburg, Austria.  It embodied all of the things I love about European fashion: luxe fabric, sophisticated detail, incredible fit. I feel like in the United States, you often have to shop at a much higher price point to find the same qualities in clothing. The jacket has an edgy quality that was certainly aspirational when I first bought it, but soon became familiar as I wore it out to impossibly chic clubs and galleries in Spain, Italy, Germany, the UK, Netherlands and New York. I think my confidence in wearing it helped me take more chances in terms of experimenting beyond my usual style. I used to put the jacket over some of my other European finds – a bronze leather mini skirt, slim grey cigarette pants, or jeans with a perfect cut. It makes me think of young, fun times hopping trains, sitting in cafes, navigating cobblestone streets and looking at great art.