Thankful Thursday

I missed this last week, and it's nearly the end of Thanksgiving, so I figure I better get my post up now. Here's what I'm thankful for today:

1. Family. Sometimes you crazies stress me out, but I'm lucky to have you. Thanks for being mine! This means you, too, taller half.

2. A good job. Work, too, can be a stressor, but I am so thankful to be compensated decently for doing something I enjoy.

3. Hobbies. They make the non-family and non-work part of my life even more wonderful.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I will post my advent calendar project soon.

Thankful Thursday

I have so many things to be thankful for right now, so the following three are only a sampling:

1. Supportive friends. One of my nearest and dearest recently had her heart broken. I admit that I'm not always the best friend. I'm the one of my group least likely to show up to a gathering or to call everyone else. However, we all dropped what we were doing to rally around my incredibly amazing gal pal. I hope she knows we're always there, and I know she would be for me, too.

As another example of good friends, the members of my book club brought all vegetarian treats to our meeting this week. In fact, the charming hostess made vegan chili with me in mind. I was overwhelmed. This is not a group of ladies I know very well yet, and that they were willing to plan around my dietary needs was so thoughtful. You can read more gushing about this here.

2. Successful cooking experiments. I threw caution to the wind and made a baked rice dish with Brussels sprouts and beets, two things I'm still learning to like. The end result was love -- beet love:

The recipe is posted on my food blog here.

3. A wonderful not-really-my-family-yet. I got a friendly, out-of-the-blue letter from my taller half's sister yesterday. She just wanted to be friendly and send me some tea she had recently tried. Her thoughtfulness overwhelmed me. I'm lucky to be surrounded by non-relatives who treat me like family. I hope they know I love them, too.

Weekly Literary Meme

My friend and former editor Emily of Red Fork State of Mind has started a weekly literature meme for us crazy bloggers. I couldn’t resist participating. I'm a little late because I gave this a lot of thought. Here is the inaugural topic:

All things being single, if you could date any five literary characters, who would they be, and why?

Go here to check out her answers. Mine are below, in ascending order:

5. Algernon Moncrieff, The Importance of Being Earnest: I just like him. I find him whimsical and silly and foppish. I would like to take ether frolics with him in the bucolic English countryside before tea and croquet time.

4. George Emerson, A Room with a View: Socially awkward, yes, but he’s a good guy, and he loves Lucy the way she is. He doesn’t bully or bore her, and he’s open and honest about his thoughts and feelings. I like that in a man.

3. Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby: In some ways, Nick’s kind of lame. He talks little of himself and was strangely fascinated by Gatsby. However, I like to think of him as somewhat humble rather than wimpy, and his affair with Jordan Baker clearly indicates he likes his women a little unruly. Plus, his handling of their relationship – hints rather than details – shows how respectful he is. My appreciation for his character may also derive from my wildly inappropriate childhood crush on Sam Waterston, who played him in the Mia Farrow/Robert Redford film.

2. Robbie Turner, Atonement: I just read the book this year, but I fell in love with this character. He is so honest and real, and I appreciate his ambitious nature and comfort in his own skin. He is also fearless, strong, and a friend to his crazy mother and the silly Tallis family. Even when things go really, really wrong, he handles himself with dignity and composure. And love, of course. The romantic in me is a sucker for enduring passion.

1. Theodore “Laurie” Laurence, Little Women: Laurie’s my ultimate dream literary character. He is smart, sensitive, loyal, artistic, and loving. He likes his women independent and strong, which was not exactly typical of the 19th century. He has a heart of gold, and he came out of his moody, pouty period full of strength and humility. Plus, his dark hair and eyes sound super sexy.

As much as I love Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, I would rather be celibate than date either of the male leads. I just wanted to throw that out there before someone mentioned that I forgot Mr. Darcy. Colin Firth is a hottie, but the character is so not my type.

I plan to post my responses to her second topic this week. I hope you'll play along!

Indie Emporium 2010 recap

I've been remiss in posting a recap of Indie Emporium so far. My apologies! I've been busy, plus I was waiting for fashion show pictures to share. I have some, so excuses are gone.

Here's a photo of my booth on Day 1:

I tried out some new display stuff this time. Instead of my boring cream tablecloth, I threw down a thrifted sheet that I think was fun. On the far right is a small set of shutters that helped me display my new Murano glass pieces. The white busts in front did the same thing. Next to it is my favorite chest with rings displayed plus a new smaller chest I used for my earrings. The trays and busts are old, and you've probably seen the standing display before, but never with my scarves. I'm so happy with how they turned out! I sold two of the six I brought (only five are featured here because one wasn't quite ready for primetime until the following day).

Also, I'm a nutter, so I dressed up as Super Brigid: Crafty Crimefighter that night:

These are my angry eyes:

It's really the silver mesh cape that keeps evil-doers at bay:

The boots were thrifted for a few bucks, the pants are actually workout pants I won from Self Magazine, the top is my ballet leotard, and the cape is a scrap I have from when I was selling scrub gift sets. Fun!

The next day, I rearranged slightly to show off the scarves better:

I also dressed up again, this time as a red-hot member of the Red Hat Society:

That's commitment. Here I am behind my booth that day:

Then the evening rolled around, and the fashion show hit the runway. I modeled for three designers. Up first was OK Tees. I can't share this photo because it's protected, but check out me strutting my stuff here.

Next, I modeled an apron from Tuggin Apron Strings. Click here to see me (second from left) with all four of the lovely pieces. I am dying for the lemon one on the designer (in the middle)!

And finally I got all sultry in a gorgeous piece from UPC Fashion. You may recall me in a long white dress from her last year. This year I mixed it up with a short white dress:

Ham:

And one more from the back:

All in all, Indie was a fun show again. I have lots of goodies leftover, though, so expect an Etsy update as soon as I get my marbles together.

Beating the winter blues

I’ve made my winter blues no secret on this blog. (In fact, I have an entire tag for the subject -- yikes!) Last year, I had a particularly bad case of them, and all of you came to the rescue with encouragement and suggestions for how to turn my frown upside-down.

This year, I’ve decided to stop them in their tracks.

I am decidedly a warm-weather girl, but instead of whining about the cold and – eventually – the snow and ice, I’m going to embrace it in 2010. Cold means sweaters, and I like my sweaters. It also means cuddle time, soup, roasted vegetables, and knitting. I like those things, right?

Right.

Anyway, I am now kicking off three big projects to get me through the beginning of November. I’m hopeful that they will keep the blues away.

1. Learn to bake yeast breads. I will make my first one this Friday.
2. Weed through boxes in the apartment. This will probably carry me well into December, too, and possibly the New Year. I have so much unnecessary stuff left over from childhood, college, and my pre-cohabitating days. It’s time to give or throw a lot of it away.
3. Make an advent calendar. I was raised in an irreligious household, so I’ve never had one before. I’m currently looking at patterns and ideas, and I hope to start the project next week.

What is your favorite way to welcome the cold weather?