homecoming

This weekend was full of delightful deja vu. D and I made a trip down to Norman for our third Dustbowl Art Market. The little vacation was a much needed respit from my hectic schedule and it was great to see some dearly missed friends.

invitation sneak peek

My husband and I agreed to ignore Valentines Day this year in order to save money for an upcoming trip. After blatant denials of secret Valentine surprises, we both sneakily planned and ended up celebrating in spite of ourselves.

While I perpetuate my Valentine's Day sugar high, I am working on my cousin's wedding invitation and I wanted to give you a little peak. I designed my own wedding invitation, but this is the first one I have done outside of that. Luckily the "client" is family and required to love me no matter what. I'm still working, but what do you think so far?

bring it on blizzard

Sixteen inches of snow and sub zero temperatures will go a long way when it comes to keeping a native Texan locked up indoors. However, I can't hardly be jealous of friends and family further south because this crazy weather has hit almost everywhere. I suppose I should just be thankful that I live in a city with a fleet of snow plows and have a snow shoveling super hero of a husband. The day after the blizzard, we did brave the frigid air long enough to do some sledding with a couple of friends, but mostly we're enjoying chili, late night card games, and peppermint schnapps. What are you doing to keep warm?

etsy update

Dear readers, I hope you'll take a second to check out all of the new additions to my etsy page. Necklaces, tea towels, embroidery oh my!

save the date: amanda & seth

Amanda and Seth were the very first people D and I met in Kansas City. We looked at their house when we were searching for a rental and Amanda was nice enough to invite us to happy hour. It's kind of tough to be new kids in town and I'll never forget the kind gesture these two made to a couple of strangers.
Last month Amanda and Seth got engaged while in Columbia and when they returned Amanda asked if I'd like to shoot some engagement pictures and images for their "save the date" card. Luckily my photography skills only had to go so far, since Amanda and Seth happen to be amazingly photogenic.
Just as I pulled up to their house, fat fluffy flakes of snow began to fall, making for a sweet scene and impromptu snowball fight. It was so fun to shoot pictures of two people so obviously crazy about each other and I know they're in store for a lifetime of happiness.

snow doe

There's been quite a bit of snow dumped on our fair city, more than I'm used to anyway. D and I spent a week in our home state of Texas and when we returned shoveled a driveway for the first time in our lives. I can't say that shoveling snow is my new favorite hobby, but I can say I'm less bothered by the blustery weather than I anticipated. My love for handiwork is only increased when under a blanket in front of a fire. This little doe embroidery is now available on my Etsy shop.

the eggnog that isn't

Traditional eggnog, with it's raw egg, doesn't exactly appeal to me. I'm a fan of more friendly variations of this contentious holiday drink and a particular family recipe, which is unequivocally not eggnog, is my favorite.

This recipe was invented, or at least claimed by, my beloved granddad, Jack, who sadly passed away last year. My grandfather was one of those fabulous fibbers who's stretching of truths and hilarious inventions simply made life more amusing and therefore went unattested. So, for all intents and purposes this is my grandfather's original recipe, AKA "Jack's Eggnog".

You'll need...

2 cups cooled brewed coffee

1 box of vanilla ice cream (yes a box! A tub will simply not do- this made explicitly clear by the recipe's proprietor)

1 cup of bourbon

My granddad insisted on the box of ice cream because he claimed that the recipe was best if the if the ice cream was cut (not scooped!) into 1 inch squares prior to mixing. You will probably use your discretion as to this instruction. If you don't want to make the whole batch, you can just mix each individual glass to taste, which is what I usually do. After you're done, top with cinnamon and/or nutmeg.

For my family, and many of our family friends, this is a favorite treat. I hope you might enjoy Jack's Eggnog that isn't, with your family this holiday season.