cupcake dreams

I love fresh baked goods. And I’m not sure why, but lately I’ve been obsessed with cupcakes…especially ones with fantastic piping and huge amounts of smooth icing. I think I got started on it when Marianne Bonifacio began posting pictures of her recent cupcake-making endeavors.

I love spending time in bakeries. The hard work of a baker, I’m sure, is never fully understood by those outside of the trade–extreme early morning hours ensure fresh baked goods to costumers all day long, and the work is never quite done. When I spent the summer in Savannah, Georgia a couple years ago, my best friend was working at Harris Baking Company on E Liberty St. She worked out front, but described the grueling work of the bakers in the back. They are certainly to be admired. How can we not be thankful for those who provide us with fresh, delicious baked goods? And how can we so often forgo it for convenience and imitation stuff that’s chock-full of preservatives?

Speaking of Savannah, there is another fantastic bakery there called Back in the Day Bakery, where this sweet cupcake came from.

Maybe when Luke and I relocate to Charlotte in September I’ll pick up a special treat once in awhile from Polka Dot Bake Shop. They look amazing!

a place to get married

Here is a sneak preview of the location at which we will be married! We love how rustic and charming this South Carolina State Park is, and as soon as we saw the wooden amphitheater there, we knew it was perfect for us. Named for the seventh US President, the park also gives us ample opportunity to make wisecracks, many to the effect of “not just manifest destiny…MARITAL destiny!” Har har. Yeah, expect to NOT see the name “Andrew Jackson” appearing anywhere on our wedding invitation, as I’ve taken it upon myself to re-name the amphitheater to something a bit more romantic. I think “The Amphitheater in the Woods” sounds far better…

This beautiful old amphitheater and nearby pavilion suit Luke and I perfectly and provide the exact setting we want for our wedding: relaxed, simple and out in nature. It’s going to be a wonderful evening full of marital bliss, food, drinks and music. Not to mention horseshoes, cornhole, and…well, we’re still working on ping-pong.

It’s going to be the best day of our lives to date, and we want you there to share it with us. We can’t wait!

196 Andrew Jackson Park Road, Lancaster, SC
(803) 285-3344

an engagement story

It all began at a little Italian restaurant when David Sanford tried to show me a picture of six T-bone steaks and, instead, revealed a picture of a diamond ring.

Yes, it was an accident, but little did he know that picture would haunt me for weeks–months, even! You should have seen the look on Luke’s face when it dawned on him that the image on his dad’s phone (which, unbeknownced to him, was set to slideshow) was slowly fading from a pile of grilled meat to a sparkling ring. Eyes widened, jaws dropped, the phone was jerked back across the table, cheeks turned red. David, Lola, Luke and I realized almost simultaneously what had just happened. I was laughing maniacally. Could that have been… the Ring?

As it turned out, the image I saw was not the ring Luke placed on my finger on January 2, 2010. A far more special surprise was in store for me. What remained from that night, though, was the reality that a scheme was in play. For those of you who know Luke, you know that as responsible as he is, he tends to be a bit… shall we say… scattered. Thus it felt funny to know he was making these plans behind my back!

In December ’09, When Luke picked me up at the airport for my annual Sanford Christmas visit, I noticed his nails were stained brown. His fingernails being generally clean, I wondered aloud: “What’s that stuff under your nails?”  ”I was just doing things around the house.” Though my wheels started turning, I took his reply as a cue to not ask any more questions. The week went on, and, though eventful, yielded no proposal of marriage from the man I have long known I will one day marry. Then came the phone call.

Luke was hanging up the phone with his granddad when I walked into the kitchen. It was the day before we were scheduled to drive back up North. Wondering why he was on the phone with his granddad, I slyly asked Luke when we were planning on leaving the next morning, thinking ”if  he says something about stopping at the cabin, I’ll die.”  Now, when I talk about the cabin, I am referring to a slice of heaven that Luke’s grandparents, Cliff and Anne, dreamt up and built with help from the whole Sanford clan. It rests tucked away in the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia looking out at breathtaking views stretching all the way into North Carolina–the perfect place to get engaged (I know I’m bad, but as I said–my wheels are always turning)! Luke replied “I was thinking we could head out around 11….” Pause, silence. Then: “I thought it would be kind of cool to stop up at the cabin.”

Thus my dreams that night were of the events at the cabin the next day. I didn’t know what would happen, but I had an inkling.

I never would have known Luke planned to propose that day, he was so very poised and confident. We drove the hour and a half from Charlotte to exit 1 just across the NC/VA border, chatting, singing, and obviously stopping at Chick-Fil-A to share an Arnold Palmer. We maneuvered the steep, windy road up the mountain until the car could go no further. We hiked the rest of the way in the bitter cold. It was a freezing, beautiful, sunny day on the mountain and once we got in the cabin we took a minute to warm up before Luke asked me to join him on the back porch, which looks out over all of this:

Then he gave me a wooden box he had made (hence the stain under his fingernails)…

In it was a letter & a ring box. Luke smiled as he took the ring box in his hand and got down on one knee in front of the bench we sat on. He told me he loved me, that I am his best friend, that he wants to spend his life with me… and that I was about to be very surprised. When he opened the ring box, I saw his mother’s beautiful ring that I have always admired on her hand. So unique, so intricate is this ring–I have grown to love it more and more every day. But as he said, I WAS very surprised–so surprised that I didn’t even respond “yes!” Instead I could only blurt “it’s your mom’s ring!” over and over while poor Luke waited on his knee for my response. Looking up and seeing through my tears that he was waiting in anticipation, I said yes. He sat next to me again and gave me the letter from the box. Lola had written it to me–to express her joy that I would be entering the family, to share her desire for me to wear the ring, to ask me to accept it “as a symbol of not only Luke’s love, but mine and David’s as well.” It was beautiful and meaningful–and the ring is an antique! Lola received it from her husband’s mother, who received it from her husband’s aunt. We have since discovered that the diamond is from the late 1800s/early 1900s. Amazing!

We are so happy and can’t wait to gather with our family and friends to celebrate the love we have found in each other. Updates will ensue with wedding ideas, the website launch, etc. And hopefully from now on I will keep up with my blog! I have lots of work to do and a beautiful new Macbook Pro to work on. Life is good.

A Thoughtful Regift

As I’ve been handmaking all the paper for my recent projects, I’ve come to a few realizations. Let me begin by saying I am completely biased and think handmade is by far more beautiful and meaningful than something manufactured, and I desperately want to believe that everyone feels the same. When I give a card made from paper I myself made…well, let me put it this way. Last night a girl in my letterpress class re-gifted me a bundle of Nepali handmade paper cards, envelopes, and stock. I couldn’t believe the intricate beauty of the papers…

  

And I loved the inscription on the back of the cards:

What a lovely way to see things. After I read this I decided to include inserts in my handmade cards from now on in order to encourage those who receive them to use them again. I have to say, in America we have the negatively connotated idea of the “re-gift”… but I LOVE re-gifts! Honestly, the other week, Luke’s brother Mitch sent me a Starbucks gift card as a thank-you for putting him up for the night. When I called to thank him, he owned up to the fact that it was a re-gift. I thought that was fantastic. There’s something I like about a person who realizes that you will like something more than they do and passes it along for your sake. Sure, there is also such a thing as cheap, thoughtless re-gifting… but thoughtful re-gifting is where it’s at. I also loved this great idea I read in Real Simple this month. The question was “How do you stay on a budget during the holidays?” and one reader answered:

“I host a snack-and-swap party for my girlfriends. Everyone brings over 8 to 10 things (clothing, books, household items, etc.) that she has never used, despite best intentions. We pour wine, eat cheese, display our goods, then “shop” for Christmas gifts in the comfort of my home. Inevitably we all find items that are perfect for our loved ones, without spending a dime.” – Amelia Winslow, CA

All that said, I’ve been a little discouraged lately about my handmade paper cards. Inevitably, it takes far more time and effort to handmake something as opposed to buying it–that’s a given. I guess in business, one has to begin to weigh the amount of time it takes to complete a project against the amount of money earned for that project. At this point, my ratios are hardly balanced–consider the 4 hours it took me to make a set of 10 stationery cards, start to finish, and the $15 I’ll get for it in return. I’m determined, however, to not let this get to me. Yes, sometimes time spent measuring, pouring, cooching, squeezing, and drying the paper gets long and tedious. To be honest, though, the process is relaxing. The studio is soothing. I turn on some music, head back to the place where everything comes together, and spend an hour making 30 sheets of paper–and things are alright. And when the end result looks something like this, I remember why I’m in love with handmade paper.

Presenting…

Miss Mary Adelaide. I have been waiting to show the finished product of my niece’s birth announcements, but I ran into a sort of road block… not owning a camera. The shots I’ve been posting are from my roommate Allison’s Canon, but who wants someone else’s mitts all over your expensive electronics? So I felt guilty (in addition to the subtle hint I got when she started keeping it on her person at all times) and started scoping the interwebs for a good deal. Enter Craigslist. Some people have trouble with this modern wonder, but I have had smooth sailing all the way through multiple transactions, and I’m very pleased with my newest purchase: a Canon PowerShot SD950 IS. It has literally been years since I’ve owned a nice camera, so I (almost) didn’t mind dropping the cash for this one. Plus, I got a great deal, if I do say so myself. I’m loving the camera and, after 5 years, enjoying having one that takes decent pictures. Maybe now I will actually start documenting this time period of my life. But enough of that… here are more pictures of the announcements:

For my very first large-ish edition letterpress project, I’m happy with them & quite excited to be able to give these to my brother and sister-in-law. Off they will go in the mail later today! I hope all who see them enjoy them, despite the fact the child is now 10 weeks old… live and learn, right? And how cute is she? I haven’t seen her since that day she was born, so I’m dying to get home for Thanksgiving to hold her and see that adorable smirk for myself.

Traditional Pomanders

When I think pomanders, images of tissue-paper-pierced foam balls come to mind. Personally, I think they’ve been a bit overdone in the wedding scene lately–yet I still love them. They have a great look–very whimsical–and, from what I understand, are a significant amount of work (this etsy shop, featured on the front page today, got me on this kick). I think when it comes time, I’d be willing to put the time in to create some of these, but when I did a google search to find out how, I was directed to the original idea behind pomanders.

Does this look familiar to anyone? Orange pomander balls are whole-clove-infused, great-smelling decorations I used to make when I was young. The smell of cloves always ushers in memories of stabbing oranges and inevitably leaving them unfinished (I don’t recall ever completing one–they, too, take so long to make!). I just think they are so cute and nostalgic. I can see them being used in any kind of fall and winter decor, and I love how earthy they are compared to the syrofoam & tissue pomanders we have become accustomed to.

 

This last idea is my favorite. So festive! Here’s a link to a tutorial for making traditional holiday pomanders.

white space ::

Lately I’ve been increasingly drawn to white in interior spaces. This past summer in Charlotte, NC, I stayed in the bright red guest room of a couple’s very colorful home (who was spending the season in Chicago). As summer waned, this couple decided to sell the house to begin a new life at Messiah College where the husband (new daddy, too) took a job as assistant soccer coach. What did this mean for my 3 fellow tenants and I? Paint crews made several trips and drastically changed the interior of several rooms, mine being one of them. One day I went to work and upon returning home that night, my red walls had been transformed (by who knows how many coats of paint) into a crisp white–and my endearment for the room actually grew exponentially. The bedspread was already white with a few shades of red in the throw pillows. A white bookshelf and white windowseat created the perfect canvas as I was able to accent with little bursts of color, like wooden crates and colored glassware. Light absolutely flooded the room. I never, ever would have guessed I’d like so much white in a room–but thus began my obsession.

When I moved into our house here in Rochester, the walls in my room were peptobismol pink–true story. On move-in day, I was the first to arrive. I pulled into the driveway, took out a strategically-packed box, left everything else sitting in my brother’s beat-up pickup truck and proceeded up to my room to paint. 4 coats and 5 hours later, I had three white walls and one wall waiting to be painted a soft green, which is the way my room looks now.

Look relaxing? It is. In fact, white spaces can be the most calming and relaxing of all. I know my draw to white rooms has to be a result of its spirited re-emergence into the world of interiors. Just look at some of these:

I love this last one especially–such intelligent usage of clean whites and calming earthtones. I plan on incorporating the use of whites paired with subtle undertones in many upcoming events & work… it honestly never hurts to simplify (graphic and interior) design, and what better way than to utilize clean whites?

Weekends for inspiration

It began with the latest Anthropologie catalog & these lovely letter ornaments… I decided that this month I’ll be compiling ideas for Christmas gifts and and then spending the preceeding month before Christmas constructing them.  I think these ornaments are so sweet; very personalize-able (hmm… probably not a word)  and I’m thinking not too difficult to make by hand.

On Saturday, Luke was here and we went into several used book stores–a favorite place of ours to spend time. I can’t seem to leave one without buying a book (or 2 or 3), and I won’t deny that sometimes I buy an old, worn book just for the way it looks. Will I ever read Shakespeare’s The Two Gentleman of Verona? I can’t say for sure that I will, but I love looking at it on my bookshelf.

Yesterday afternoon I met with Mary Dougherty to show her around the Book Arts Center. I always love to share its richness of history and art, so if you’re ever in the area and want to see the studio I’d love to give you a tour, too. I love chatting with Mary and her work is not the only thing that inspires me–I very much admire her achievement in pursuing what she loves to do and building a small business from the ground up. That should send a message out to everyone who is not currently following their dream. Check out this amazing photo from a wedding she shot this weekend: Mary Dougherty Photo Blog

Then last night I was the joyous recipient of a lone ticket to Neko Case at the Harro East Ballroom in Rochester (similar to Babeville’s Asbury Hall in Buffalo if you’ve been there). I went with Mitch, director at the Book Arts Center, his wife Elaine, and the folks who gave me the ticket: a sweet couple who are involved at the center: Jim Malley (owner of Mercury Posters on Monroe) and his girlfriend Jen, a printmaker. They were so nice to give me the ticket and the show was beautiful–I love it when I see an artist perform live and it inspires me to really explore and enjoy them further, embracing the music all the more. If you know of Neko Case, you know she has the most soothing voice and her music is breathtaking. Her sound alone inspires me enough, but I especially loved the visuals she included in her show: surreal, interesting projections of footage or animations going on behind her throughout every song, reminding me of something Jesse Stoddard or I might put together. I can’t seem to find any footage from a show on her tour, but here’s the video for “Maybe Sparrow” which represents well her keen eye for interesting visuals.

Ha. I have to include this guy whose self-recording of Neko’s “This Tornado Loves You” made me chuckle because it’s so cute (especially when he explains that he can’t find his tripod, so propped the camera up in a tree). Precious. Where in the world is he? No wonder he has little more to do than record himself singing Neko.

Lastly, I have been hearing much ado about some art happenings at Houghton in which a former student submitted a piece of artwork to an alumni show and it was tossed out with the idea that it was not art, but garbage. I admire my professor Ted Murphy and appreciate his take on “questionable” art that he submitted to the Star–his writing is always worth reading.

The upcoming week is going to be busy with projects and I’ll update you as I go. The weather is beautiful, I have my Monday coffee in hand, and it’s going to be a great week!

christmas PEACE cards

On Wednesday I began making paper for Christmas cards. I wanted to see how they would hold up in press, as I’ve heard the inconsistency of a sheet of handmade paper sometimes makes for some shoddy letterpress, but I printed yesterday and I really love the way they turned out! Did I mention the Book Arts Center also has a papermaking studio?

Papermaking is a really fun and easy endeavor. Two summers ago I lived with my best friend in Savannah, GA, and our conversation on the drive down south included the two of us deciding we wanted to learn how to make papen. Thus sparked my interest in handmade paper. I made paper out of junk mail, cereal boxes, even spanish moss (until I learned it has living, biting organisms in it!) and continued the practice through my senior year of college. The paper I printed on yesterday was made out of recycled brown paper bags. Handmade paper is so beautiful and unique–every single sheet is different and I especially think the variations of color and the deckle (natural edge) are to die for.

So after I dried the paper yesterday, I found a pretty woodblock flourish in a drawer in the studio and chose some woodtype to print with. We have been doing some major hunting-down/organizing of our woodtype collection and it has paid off immensely–wait until you see the front & back covers of the GCAE Friends of the Book Arts Calendar that Geri, a printer from the GCAE, is putting together! It’s fantastic! This is one of the best font collections we have in woodtype–I’m not sure what it’s called. The capital letters are especially gorgeous, so that’s what I chose for the front of the cards. I printed a very small edition of these cards, so I actually inked up the flourish and woodtype by hand each time I cranked a card through. Even though you get a much more consistent image when you ink up the rollers and let them evenly ink the form for you, I didn’t want to go through the whole process of inking up the rollers and having to clean them for such a small number of cards. When I print with intricate details or small type is when it’s really important to get a clean, even amount of ink on the forms–it doesn’t so much matter with bulky woodtype (and I like the inconsistent look that comes with hand-inking the woodtype).

I was so excited to print these yesterday and I’m so pleased with the way they came out. I listed them on my Etsy if you want to buy some to send out to loved ones this Christmas! Enjoy!

Chili days of November

It’s the perfect time of year for chili. I love it because it’s one of the easiest things to make and you can rarely mess it up… toss in some veggies, lots of tomatoes and beans, maybe some secret ingredients & a loaf of bread and you’ve got yourself a perfect fall meal. At least, this was Alaina’s & my train of thought as we thought about what meal we should make for Dan & Luke’s visit today (whose soccer team had a heartbreaker Saturday–but still finished 3rd in their conference!). Being the awesome girlfriends that we are, we settled on a huge pot of chili and some bread from the bread machine. Alaina tracked down this recipe online and I have to share it because it’s, well, unique to say the least. If you know Alaina & I, you might wonder what it would be like with us cooking together. The scene is somewhat ridiculous at times… here are some snippets from the kitchen:

Me: “Where did you find this recipe?”
Alaina: “famouschilirecipes.com. So I knew it had to be the real deal…”
/
Alaina: “I always like chili.”
Me: “What? You always make chili?”
Alaina: “Yes, that’s me, always slaving away over a crock of chili.”
/
Me: “Mm, so hearty.”
Alaina: “So much heart!”

Ha. I love how she chooses recipes based on the best names online–she’s making pie now, and can’t go wrong when the recipe she’s following is called “Scrumptious Apple Pie.” Speaking of names, we decided to call our chili Octoberfest Chili because of the Sam Adams Octoberfest beer we used in the recipe (yes, the recipe called for beer). Or perhaps Beer Belly Chili–we chose this alternate name based on the looks of the chili after all ingredients (including beer & refried beans) were combined. With ingredients like that, what guy wouldn’t like it?

Alaina and Margaret’s Octoberfest Chili

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lg white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
3 tbsp chili powder
1 can red kidney beans (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can refried beans
1 jalepeno pepper
2 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup beer
1 tbsp ground cumin

In a large pot, add olive oil and warm over medium heat. Add onion, peppers, and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes or until softened. Add beer and stir well. Add tomatoes, black beans and kidney beans, stirring well to combine. Add cumin, chili powder and salt. Stir in refried beans to thicken chili. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Sadly (for me), this is not vegetarian chili–the orginal recipe didn’t call for beef but we figured the boys would appreciate it. It would be very easy to make into a great 3-bean veggie chili, though. Also, we simmered for a good 4 hours. Hmm, I’m trying to think of anything else we did differently… served with cheddar cheese and sour cream garnish, warm honey wheat bread on the side & cider, and finished off with Alaina’s apple pie and my pumpkin pie (from a can–although soon I plan to make fresh pumpkin pie from my pie pumpkins! YUM! Here’s the recipe I found to do this). The chili was heartily enjoyed. I thought it had a southwestern feel to it… delicious, all in all. Just look how happy we are!