Pink of Perfection

Just a small post the Friday before Mother’s Day to say thank you to all of you for reading and leaving comments that are hilarious, sweet, and inspiring. I get such a kick out of what you have to say. Specifically, I have to thank Rebecca for her comment on the ribbon bookmark post. She suggested that the perfect life-affirming spring book was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and she couldn’t have been more right. Reading it, I felt exactly as she did: “I did not want it to end. I would live inside the book if it was possible.” There is such a wonderful sense of community and hope in this book; if you are in need of either of those things (to say nothing of characters so delightful you wish like hell they were real), pick it up. Because of other recommendations on that post from Lisa and Bernie, I also have Joseph Mitchell and The Blue Castle eagerly waiting on my bedside table. Thank you!

I am traveling out to my mom’s house this weekend to make a springy (yet still somewhat undetermined) Mother’s Day dinner. I’m thinking salmon with an herby Greek yogurt sauce, sugar snap peas, and possibly a big snowy coconut cake. But more on that soon, hopefully. Selfishly, I intend to raid my mom’s lilacs so I can delight you with yet more pictures of these fragrant harbingers of spring.

Lastly, I woke up with this song in my head this morning. It’s a little creepy, true, but it’s also sweet and, well, I just thought I’d share. (And just for the record, I do not think you belong to me, but I am continually delighted, amazed, and grateful that you swing by.) Happy Weekend!

image via graygoosie

I have come to the conclusion, after a winter of scraggly, watery kale, bruised zucchini and abused swiss chard, that my cooking has suffered from its being beholden to the grocery store produce aisle. All grocery stores are not created equal, of course. But New York City produce is some of the saddest and mistreated (and yet still overpriced!) you will ever see. Then there are the fancy boutique style grocery stores with their flattering lighting and appealing packaging, but I can’t really cough up the cash to shop there regularly. True, there is the farmer’s market. But call it laziness or a love of sleeping in and puttering around, but I never seem to make it before closing time on Saturdays.

It has come to my attention, however, that a mere two blocks away, a CSA takes over a playground and lets its members chose the loveliest fresh fruits and vegetables. I love the idea of supporting a farm, and interacting each Saturday morning with people in my neighborhood. But members are limited, of course, to whatever arrives from the farm. Which means if you suddenly have a hankering to make a mushroom pizza, you’ll have to make a separate trip to secure your fungi.

(Aside: A mushroom walks into a bar and orders a shirley temple. The bartender says, “We don’t serve your kind here. The mushroom says, “Why not? I’m a fun guy.” Buh-duh-duh.)

So I’m asking for your input and opinions. Do you belong to a CSA? What are the pros and cons, and ultimately, do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? Should I go for it or resolve to hit the farmer’s market with more frequency this summer? Your sage counsel is requested.

via jazmyn

For the last 36 hours, I’ve been recovering from food poisoning (not suffered at my own hand, mind you, but a restaurant that will now receive my eternal scorn!). Not so interested, as you might understand, in chatting about spring soups. But I am mustering the energy for something else: Care Packages.

When I was in college, my sister sent me the best care packages filled with makeup and bath products. My mom would send her incredible chocolate chip pecan cookies, and on the receipt of either, I found myself overjoyed in the dark, subterranean mail room of my school. I sent my little brother my attempt at the best chocolate chip cookies. To a college junior who had probably had too much to drink the night before, they were perfection.

I had always thought of care packages as being relegated to the college years, until my friend Jenny once sent me a pair of magnificent gold sandals in the mail. The care package can really be giving whatever the recipient needs — like three kinds of chocolate to a hormonal friend or a bunch of yellow daisies to another who’s been down in the dumps. I enacted the “local care package” when a friend was working so hard and so tirelessly that he rarely stopped for lunch. He was getting noticeably thinner. So I put together a bag of groceries that could be kept on his desk and grabbed by the handful. Chock full of preservatives? Some of the snacks were (peanut butter Ritz cracker sandwiches are a favorite of his), but I also included cashews, wasabi peas, and dried mango slices.

There is a certain level of self-satisfaction when you give someone just what you know they need but which they aren’t, for whatever reason, providing for themselves. That’s when you, the ever perceptive friend, get to swoop in and save the day with bubble bath, cupcakes, and all the words of encouragement needed.

What are some “care packages” you’ve given, even if it wasn’t via the mail or was as small as a Hershey’s kiss?

Last night, after a particularly grueling workout, I was craving stir fry. With only $12 left in my weekly grocery budget, I knew I would have to make some compromises. I had to swap the tempeh I initially grabbed for tofu, resisted my favorite short grain brown rice in favor of a cheaper long grain. Even still, with the shoyu and rice wine vinegar, I knew I would go over my budget, but damn it, I wanted what I wanted. And stir fry seemed like such a little thing to ask.

It was a ridiculously crowded time of day at the grocery store, and I got in a line with only one person. Unfortunately, that one person was a woman with a towering grocery cart. As she pulled out imported honey, French feta, and free-range chicken and placed it on the conveyor belt, I could feel my jealousy rising. Her mountains of fresh leeks and herbs and organic dark chocolate represented everything I wanted to buy at the grocery store and just couldn’t afford. I coveted her cart. Now, how low is that? After stewing for a few minutes, I changed lanes.

Continue reading “Highs and Lows at the Grocery Store” »

One of my favorite things about blogs, hands down, is how you can feel like you can count people as your friends who you might never get the chance to meet in real life. Amber Karnes, of the super fabulous My Aim is True, has long been that for me. Her craft room is a site to be seen, and I’m constantly inspired by a life that seems to be a flurry of friends, good food, creative fun, and lots and lots of colorful, meaningful beauty.

Amber (looking the happiest) with super cute hubby on the last day of her honeymoon

Tell us a little bit about your blog and what the name means.

Well my site is sort of my life in notes and photos, if that makes sense. I talk a lot about crafting, cooking, my grumpy dog, music that I like, stuff like that. The name is a line from an Elvis Costello song called “Alison“.

How did you first get into making, crafting and cooking? Any particularly memorable flops or successes?

I was homeschooled for most of my life, and my mom always encouraged creativity and artistic pursuits. We made a lot of crafts when I was younger, everything from teddy bear bread to a heck of a lot of t-shirts covered in puff paint. I guess I grew out of it for a while, then after college I decided I wanted to learn to knit, just out of the blue. I showed up to a stitch ‘n’ bitch night, and the rest is history. I love teaching myself whatever new thing I want to tackle and making things myself so it was a great fit. I taught myself to cook mostly by experimenting, then from cookbooks and the internet after I went vegan in May 2007. Vegan cooking is a totally different game.

I think my most successful DIY projects have been things around the house. I can follow a craft pattern pretty well but I feel like I’m more creative with interior design and making just so-so things into really special things.

Flops? Ask my husband, I’ve cooked some pretty awful things. A lot of it involves eggplant. Why are those suckers so hard to cook properly?
Dude, I hear you. The craft scene in Norfolk seems really vibrant. Tell us about the 7 Cities Crafters.

The 7 Cities Crafters are a group of crafters and visual artists who sort of represent the indie art scene in the area. We’ve been a group for a few years now in one form or another. We’re a pretty diverse group, most of us are in our 20s and 30s but we have had everyone from high schoolers to 70 year old women come to our get-togethers. We have a monthly meetup where we bring food, hang out and craft together. We also host free skill-sharing workshops where one member of the group will hold a demo and teach the rest of the group a skill like knitting, photography, whatever. They’ve been very popular and we just scheduled several more for the next few months. I got the group going out of a totally selfish desire to meet more creative people in the area, sort of bring them out of the woodwork, and it worked!

What do you think the significance of the crafting movement is particularly for young women?
I think the coolest thing about the crafting movement is the information sharing. I am a big advocate of knowledge sharing, skill sharing, making or doing something and then getting the word out about it so others can do and enjoy it too. One of the
things that makes the DIY/craft movement most appealing is that someone can look at something I did and say, “Hey, I can do that too!” Then they might take the technique I used and put their own awesome and unique spin on it. I love that! I think the craft movement has been a great outlet for young women to be a part of something bigger than themselves. I am going to have a hard time articulating this, and I’m sure some women’s studies major could do a much better job, but I feel like young women have a hard time bonding with other women a lot of times. Men seem like they are just born to support each other or bond with their “bros” but girls are bred by society to compare themselves to one another and compete with one another. I feel like the craft movement has been one way for young women to find their own voice, express themselves creatively, and be a “team” with other girls just like them.

I think you hit the nail on the head — and very articulately, I might add! So what most inspires you?

Continue reading “Amber Karnes of My Aim is True” »

Saturday, November 15, marks the official grand opening on Flirt’s design studio, class space, and retail shop filled with unique home finds, Home Ec. If you head down to the space on Saturday from 12-6pm, you’ll be treated to free craft tutorials for kids and adults alike, snacks, 15% off purchases and class sign-ups, and a trapeze performance (whoa). The Flirt ladies are super great and just look how cheery this place is!

I love the idea of this space, not least of all because I’m particularly fond of the notion of home economics, especially in its modern incarnation (and one of the many reasons why I love Jean Railla‘s Get Crafty: Hip Home Ec). But maybe most importantly, I also love the feeling that comes from a community of people engaged in creativity together. It’s amazing what a sense of connection you can feel for the person cutting out a pattern next to you while the two of you discuss the finer points of  Rock of Love. That is, after all, what the real magic of quilting circles was all about: bringing women together under the auspice of practical creativity, when the end result, of course, was so much more meaningful than a warm blanket.

If you’re in the nabe, go!

Home Ec
303 3rd Avenue
between Carroll and 1st Street
718 852 2889

I took a break from blogging, and funny enough, that made me realize the error of my ways. When life gets tough, what I need, maybe more than ever, is to appreciate the little things.

Like getting up in the morning. I’m naturally a sleepyhead, but I do love the romanticism of the early day. Thoreau called it the heroic hour; the idea that I might accomplish great feats in the understated early hours coupled with the soft, slanty light is almost enough to make me want to jump up out of the warm sheets.

Almost. These brightly-hued jam and honey pots might give the extra incentive. Wouldn’t they be lovely on a white kitchen table? Maybe right next to this book.

This book is a conversation in pictures between two friends. The photographs linger on the beautifully quotidian details of getting up and carrying on. I can think of few things as encouraging as that.

And with that, I’m back. But you know, I’m not sure I would have been eager to get back in this space had it not been for all your sweet emails and comments (and mail!). There really is something to this online community, isn’t there? Again, thank you so much.
 

• High bandwidth

The Knitting Olympics were started by crafty Canadian blogger, Yarn Harlot. The rules: cast on your project during the opening ceremony and finish before the flame goes out. The Olympic catch? You have to define your project as a challenge. Not necessarily a crying your eyes out at 2am challenge (though Yarn Harlot details that here), but difficult enough to make you sweat a bit. Brilliantly, there’s no hiearchy of prizes: every finisher gets the gold (alright!).
Continue reading “Knitting Olympics” »