Make a little magic! Part One....

December seems to always end up being a crazy mash-up of decorating, shopping, cooking and at least one art project.  Most years, I try to make something new to add into my décor.  Last year's project was a wooden Christmas village- a joint effort by my husband and myself.  I designed and drew the layout, which he then cut out and I completed with spackle, glue gun "drawing" and paint and glitter.  It ended up being more time consuming than expected, so, I'm finishing it up this year.  Also, on this year's holiday projects is a small portrait I'm doing for my nephew Cooper to gift his girlfriend, Abby. 

Projects galore!

I planned the houses to sit in my kitchen window- but also saved the templates I drew so I can use them again in the future.  I actually drew them connecting to one another in a kind of paper doll format.  Anyway, I got everything done except for their supports....(which probably won't happen till next year....)  I used Putz houses for inspiration- I think they are so beautiful!  After I drew and traced the template for Bill to cut out, I lightly sanded the edges and then outlined the houses with hot glue to create a bit of dimension and hide any defects.

Putz houses make great references!

Then, I used spackle to help each house look a bit more three dimensional

Toothpicks make great windows!

Note to self: snowfall spackle looks best AFTER painting the house- thankfully, it is easy to go back over it 

I used some old easels to create a base to support them in my window and next year, I want to create a weighted base for them to stand on....always something more to do

I'm really thrilled with how they turned out!  I haven't told Bill yet, but I'm already planning a larger haunted Halloween version of this for our front porch!

Happy Holidays & cheers,

Stephanie

I almost forgot- here's Abby with her beloved Rosie!

Dressing NOT stuffing!

Back in 2001, we were living in St. Croix and partook of our first ever "friendsgiving".  it was my first Thanksgiving away from my parents and our friends invited us to join their gathering and to bring a dish that meant "Thanksgiving" to me.  So, for me, that meant dressing.  NOT stuffing, which I was about to learn the hard way....  I put it together and was excited about bringing one of my southern traditions with me to share with our friends.  

Meanwhile.....something didn't go right for our friend's sausage and bread stuffing (NOT dressing!).  She asked if there was enough of my dressing to stuff the turkey with.  I remembered that although I'd never cooked it that way, my grandmother used to, and decided to give it a go.  SUCH a bad idea!  When it was time to baste, it looked like the primordial oooozzze in there- just WRONG and certainly not something you'd want to eat, much less serve others!  

Cornbread dressing is meant to have a bit of crunch- NOT be soft and oozy!

I caught sight of the other women exchanging horrified glances before asking me if it was supposed to look like that.  I reminded them that I'd never stuffed a turkey with dressing, and perhaps it needed to cook a bit longer?  Needless to say, we ended up tossing the stuffing, er, dressing and replaced it with my sheet pan dressing which was delicious.  

Don't forget the gravy!

As a proud southern gal, I'm excited to share my by gosh and by golly "recipe" for southern cornbread dressing.  It's really a conglomeration of this and that resulting in one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes! 

Southern Cornbread and biscuit Dressing (NOT Stuffing!)

4 cups chicken stock 

1/2 cup Buttermilk

4 cups crumbled Cornbread (I like Virginia Willis' recipe)

3 cups crumbled buttermilk biscuits -use your favorite recipe 

2 onions, diced

2-4 cloves garlic, adjust to taste

4 Tablespoons butter

2 eggs lightly whisked

2+ Tablespoons Celery Seed, adjust to taste

2+ Tablespoons Poultry Seasoning, adjust to taste

Pinch of garlic powder, again, to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

 Day 1:  I start the day before by making a fresh batch of cornbread and biscuits- no need to refrigerate; just keep them covered.  

Day 2: Preheat oven to 350

melt the butter in a large frying pan.  Sauté 2 diced onions until translucent (about 5 minutes) then add garlic and sage (let your nose guide you here.  I LOVE garlic, so I always go heavy with it!)  moisten it with 2 cups of home made stock and the buttermilk and then add celery seed, poultry seasoning, garlic powder plus salt and pepper.  If it seems dry, add more stock- you want it to be thoroughly moist but without any liquid floating on top.  It looks disgusting at this stage, but you can taste test to make sure the flavors are good.  once you're happy with the flavor, add the eggs and you're ready to cook this bad boy!  We always do two kinds- Bill and my Dad's favorite is the thin and crispy (spread out on a greased cookie sheet) and my daughter Emmy and my mom's fave is the thick (cooked in a cast iron pan)

Layering the Seasons...

Coral Bark setting the Autumn mood

 I LOVE watching the seasons change and have tried to plan and plant my garden accordingly.  When planning focal points for my garden, I try to make sure there is something of interest for each season.  One of my favorite shrubs is the purple smoke tree.  I love to plant clematis beneath it to weave throughout the shrub with it's sweet blooms peeking through as the spring leaves emerge.  

Purple Smoke Tree with "Happy Jack" clematis

Later, in the Autumn- the leaves turn a brilliant crimson before dropping to reveal the beautiful structure of it's branches.  In my back gardens, I have one placed with a coral bark maple.  One of the things I love about Georgia autumns, is we have a slow and steady show- the coral bark is usually one of my first trees to show it's colors and then, as it begins to fade, the smoke tree puts in her performance.  

Smoke tree nearing the end of it's performance- wish I'd snapped this a couple days ago!

KiKi boots "helping" with an arrangement

Once the leaves have fallen, the brilliant crimson of the coral bark takes center stage. I have to admit that I also plan my garden to provide me with beautiful material to decorate my home.  I also, use my garden a LOT for my paintings.  

"Moondance" available as a card or print

This one happened by accident- I'd taken the Thanksgiving arrangement outside (didn't have the heart to throw something so beautiful away!) to make room for Christmasing....loved the composition so much that it had to become  painting!  And I loved painting my "Moon man" so much, that he's made multiple appearances in my art......

"Live, Love, Laugh" available in my shop

"Greetings of the Season" available in my shop

My favorite spot in the garden

I hope you're enjoying Autumn as much as I am- 

it's such a beautiful way to be thankful in this giving season.

Cheers!

Stephanie

Down with the Dahlias....

At the entrance to my back gardens

There are a few kinds of flowers that I will ALWAYS love; foxgloves, roses, irises just to name a few.  BUT' in the last three years, I have fallen in LOVE with dahlias.  It began with me reading this article from the Middle sized Garden-  based in England, she lives in zone 8 like me and she says you DON'T have to dig up Dahlias for them to come back yearly.  It's a great article with lots of ideas and information- I highly recommend it!  

Thomas Edison (I think) from Eden Brothers Gardens

Anyway; D A H L I A S......I LOVE them!  Here in Decatur, GA, they start their show in May and most of them will continue their dance until first freeze.  Yes, their leaves will need a little attention in the heat and they DO need to be staked- but, come on- they are SO VERY worth it!

This week, we had our first freeze and with it, went the last of this years blooms.  I think, even frost burned, they are still quite wonderful.  It will hurt my heart to cut them down this weekend.  

"Emory Paul" from Eden Brothers

"Emory Paul" from Eden Brothers

"Emory Paul" from Eden Brothers

For the last two years, I've been working on a garden journal for others to be able to use for their own gardening notes, ideas and memories.  So, of COURSE I had to include dahlias!

Close up of my painting for the July "spread" available as a card or print in my shop

And this is how the journal page will look with numbers and lines for notes.  

More soon, I'm off to cut down and mulch my dahlias!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Baby, I'm BACK!

send in the clowns!

I have missed blogging so very much, but in the past five years, so much has happened, it has been a  whirlwind made up of buying and gutting our "forever" home, the world stopping via Covid, illnesses, starting a new business and just life in general.  It has been an exhausting handful of years and I've finally been able to re-evaluate my life and start living again.  Here's a brief recap of our home and garden design adventures......

                                                            home renovations, 

Our blank canvas!

dining and living rooms with the kitchen- three walls knocked out

my R E D kitchen to match my stained glass window

gardening dreams leading to installations.......this IS my happy place!

Always a work in progress.....

P U R P L E door to match my mini butterfly bushes!

I have eight Pugster Blue butterfly bushes along my front path- it looks like a freakin fairy tale in the summertime!

I wanted the back gardens to be more naturalized, just for sitting and relaxing.....it's a series of garden rooms with the focal point being our garden shed- AKA our Covid project.  We totally took advantage of home improvement delivery services!

Our once and future back gardens

it all started with a handful of azaleas......

our "breakneck" hill became garden steps 

the garden "shed" was our Covid project

a magical spot in the evening

We built our shed during C O V I D, then I was benched with incapacitating back problems, got better and then the next spring was once again out of service due to life altering SHINGLES (seriously, if you're over 50, GET the vaccination!)   Add all this into regular life, and I'm just now able to lift my head up get back to the business of living- this made me realize how much I missed blogging and the connections it offers.  So, long story short; I'm back!

2017: Year of the Dog

2016 ended up being "Year of the Cat" for me after I finally fulfilled my promise of a cat calendar.  And the calendar had a great response, in fact the only negative comments I received were, "But what about a dog calendar....?"  Unfortunately, I am a sloooow painter and I know realistically I can expect to complete 15-20 paintings a year, on a good year- that's more than 2 paintings a week, and I just can't whip them out like that!
So, with my top priority this year to be producing enough pup paintings to have a calendar by October, 2017 is now (at least for me) YEAR OF THE DOG!!!!
The only problem is I don't have dogs of my own so I need dog photos and permission to use them as models!  My favorites are holiday themes, garden settings or goofy, "Character" poses- please help!  If you have any great photos, you'd like me to paint, I'd be thrilled to see!
I'm almost done with my first painting- this is Daisy, a regular customer at my farmer's market....I think it's perfect for April!

I have two basic rules; after I've drawn in my "map, I always start with the background bc it's the hardest part, and I always do my underpaintig with the shadows first

getting there......

Annnnd almost done!

I'm hoping to finish Dotty Daisy by the end of this week- fingers crossed!
Stephanie

Peach Cobbler with Pearson's Georgia Peaches and finished with my Peach-Amaretto Jam!

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 cups fresh Pearson's Peaches
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for (optional) sprinkling
• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch fine sea salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 4oz jar Dragonfly Design Studios Peach Amaretto Jam, warmed to drizzly goodness

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the butter in a large (10- to 12-inch) cast-iron skillet (may substitute a large ovenproof baking dish) and place in the oven so the butter melts; this should take 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the fruit in a large mixing bowl. Use a potato masher to mash the fruit just enough so that it releases some of its juices. If the fruit is tart, sprinkle a little sugar on top.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate medium bowl. Add the cup of sugar, milk and vanilla extract, stirring until well incorporated.

Remove the skillet from the oven. Carefully pour the melted butter from the skillet into the batter, stirring to combine, then pour the batter all at once into the skillet. Add the fruit and juices to the center of the batter. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the batter comes out mostly clean. 

Drizzle with warmed Peach Amaretto jam and serve warm  vanilla ice cream if you like, straight from the skillet.

ENJOY!

Recipe Source: Adapted from Virginia Willis's "Bon Appetit, Y'all" (Ten Speed Press, 2008).