Thanksgiving food faves

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I’m dog tired, but am starting to think about my favorite Thanksgiving foods all of a sudden. I’m actually going to Asheville, NC, with my fam for Thanksgiving and I am really looking forward to all the fun times + yummy goodness. These are my top 5 faves I like seeing at the Thanksgiving table!

1) My mom’s bread stuffing – packed with celery, spice, and day old bread crumbs…it is so good and soft and crispy…just awesome!

2) My mom’s raisin bread – this is her specialty. It’s especially good served warm with butter. I’m not as much of a fan of leftovers. Never have been that crazy about leftovers in general

3) Pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I love anything pumpkin, actually, but I love the texture of Pumpkin pie with a basic pie crust. A little cool whip makes it perfect! If I can get my hands on a pumpkin roll, though, I would be in ultimate pumpkin heaven!

4) Of course, turkey with gravy! My bro-in-law made it last year in the deep fryer and it was super yummy. Have you had it that way?

5) Homeade mashed potatoes – I love mashed potatoes with lots of butter and milk. You know, I’m very particular about having gravy over top. I like KFC potatoes with gravy, but I’m weird otherwise.

What are some of your Thanksgiving favorites? Please share!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

A visual & vintage cookbook smorgasboard

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pancake mix

I’ve been meaning to post about this for a while, but recently while on a trip home I got out my mom’s old cookbooks that she used back in the early 60’s…and boy was I in for a treat.

If there was one thing I wish I could do art-wise, it would be to know how to illustrate in the 1950’sesque style. I love the kitschy linework and adornment along with the colors they infused into their work…just love it. I’m sure there are plenty of artists out there still doing this style (I met one named Suzie Millions at the CHA show last year who replicated this look to a T and had them featured in her book Retro Crafts.) But there’s definitely something to be said for the unadulterated whimsy and fanciful shapes and designs and linework. I guess it goes back to it be a simpler time…when it was much easier to hire an illustrator to do a cover than to have it photographed. I would def. love to meet one of these illustrators today and hear about their craft. It just amazes me.

Well, I’m going to post a whole slew of photos below of covers, quirky foods, and those beautiful illustrations. I guess back then, the domestic housewife had a lot of time on her hands and could utilize it by ‘whipping up’ a 5 layer cake or several batches of homeade cookie bars. I know very few people today who even attempt a daunting task like that even once a year (actually my sister Angela does around Christmastime-must applaud her for that effort). It seems like Thanksgiving and Christmas are the only real times we actually cook. It’s kind of sad that we don’t “play” as much in the kitchen cause our lives are so overwhelmed by work, kids, and social obligations. I do notice a lot of people have been doing more simple baking like cupcakes which are relatively easy and pretty and are rather quick craft of sorts. I guess it’s all about finding the time to create something – even if it is a 30 minute meal. hope you dig these illustrations and retro foods as much as I did!

sorbet fantasy

cookiesandcandies

coconut layer cake

wagon cake

table talk

practically cookless cookbook

frozen assets

do ahead party book

Until tomorrow Swellions!

Alexa

Cookie party 2007

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cookie party mosaic

So, I went to the cookie party tonight. This is the 5th year, I have gone and my friend, Donna does put on one helluva show. She’s amazing…the food is like a spread you would see in a magazine (and you wondered who really had time to do that stuff – she does…she’s hyper organized and on top of things).

I should have known, though, that the night wouldn’t go as planned, when I realized that I had forgotten the earrings I had made for a friend who owns a shop that I sell my jewelry in. She was at the party, too, and I was going to hand over the jewelry for her to sell in her store. Well, I left it at home, and that was a mini bummer, after I had stayed up late to make the cards and get them ready for her.

Everything started out fine. I was a little bummed that game after game, I was never the recipient of a prize. Now, this sounds childish and silly. I don’t get that upset over such things (and the prizes were “chance” prizes, nothing based on skill). I just never got one and pretty much everyone else did and sometimes little things like that can make your day.

So, I had planned to make beaded bracelets…purchased mini boxes, organized the beads by color category, etc. Then while setting them out (and everyone oohing and ahhing over the beads) that I didn’t have the Stretch Magic I had bought the night before. I went out to my car to look to no avail, so I came back and apologized, kinda embarrassed about the whole thing. Donna said we could do it during our luncheon, but I had wanted to do it at the party and I was bummed. Around this time, with my mood at an all-time low, I started to really feel some cramps comin’ on.

Cramps + a bummed mood = a not so nice/spunky Alexa. I am usually the entergetic one at a party. Jovial, upbeat, and a cheerleader in some ways. When I’m sick, I’m withdrawn, sad, isolated, and quiet. Everyone kept asking me what was wrong, and I would muster up a quick answer. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be there…I just was disappointed by my own mistakes and my current state of being. I’m not the type to be all babyish or “look at me”, I just want to be left alone and it just sucked. I always look forward to the cookie party, and this just wasn’t my night.

I guess we all experience such things from time to time. I hate being the buzzkill, but you can’t help how you feel, and I’m sorry, but putting on a fake smile just isn’t my thing.

I’m fine now. I took some medicine, watched me some Hills and beaded some when I got home. I finished a cute bracelet using some clearanced “Stuff by Duff” charms from Michael’s. I’ll post a pic soon.

I just wish my night had gone better, but I guess that’s how things go sometimes.