Altered

I picked up the new issue of Altered today and it's yummy.  Check out the website stampington.com/altered.  Where do these shockingly creative people come from? Is there a planet that sends them here? lol  I'm green with envy.  The magazine has beautiful pics and I'm actually going to try one or two of the refashioning projects.   I am already looking forward to the next issue.

This is totally off the subject, but if there's someone out there who would be willing to assist me in polishing this sad looking blog.  Your reward would of course be I'd love you forever.  Some reward huh? lol  Just give me a shout out tyvm.

Spicy Thoughts

I've been thinking since Thanksgiving that this time of year is probably the time of the year when we use spices the most in our cooking.  Poultry seasoning, sage, cinnamon, and nutmeg just to name a few.  So that being said I thought I would share some trivia with you about spices. 

What is the most expensive spice in the world by weight?  If you guessed Saffron, then you are right.  Saffron is the stigma of a tiny purple crocus flower grown in  primarlIran.  Each flower on produces 3 stigma.  It takes 75,000 flowers to make 1 pound.  It's so rare  that it isn't always available.  Thanks goodness most recipes only call for a few threads.  There are many counterfeit versions on the market since most people aren't aware of rarity.  So if you see Saffron cheaply priced at your local market, the odds are it isn't even really Saffron.  So be careful because you really do get what you pay for.  The next spice is Mace.  Do you know what mace is? I didn't either other than to purchase some because the recipe called for some.  Lots of recipes call for it this time of year.  So me being the inquisitive type that I am, I decided to check it out.  I love history so where things come from and how they came to be is incredibly fascinating to me.  I know I'm a dork lolily .  Back to the matter at hand, Mace is the outer cover of the nutmeg fruit.  Who knew?  It grows primarily in the Caribbean and West Indies.  I had the pleasure of actually seeing a nutmeg tree when I visited Jamaica.  If you open up the fruit, the nutmeg is covered by a lacy looking membrane. That's Mace.  It has a lighter and sweeter flavor than Nutmeg.  I found a wonderful website thespicehouse.com  You can find out the history of spices as well as purchase some high quality spices.  Stop by and check them out!

Ebay

Can I just tell you that I love Ebay.  I think the only thing they don't sell is people and body parts lol. I found a lot of vintage table linens that I'm going to refashion into something.  I love this top I saw on the Allsaints website that I can't afford so refashion to the rescue.  I see tea staining the fabric and I may even come with something better than they did. So take that Allsaints lol.  But, I digress, I'm writing to sing Ebay's praises.  Most assuredly you can find what you are looking for at a bargain price if you are a savvy shopper.  I know that my sewing sistahs out there are SAVVY.  My lot of linens was $20.00 woo hoo.  I also love the thrill of the bidding, slamming and winning.  It makes me feel powerful.  Woman hear me roar.  So if you aren't an Ebayer, go to ebay.com check it out ladies.

Welcome

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I'm so new to all of this so please be patient with me lol.  I wanted to start sharing my creative juices with the world.  I'm 49 and slow to come to come in to my own.  I come from a long line of women who were healers, cooks, gardeners and seamstresses.   So needless they all are saying it's about time.  So as I get this blog all polished up and going I hope you will take a moment to look around and I hope you like what you see. 

The amount of creativity on the net is staggering and I'm a wee it green lol.  I hope i prove to have just a smidgen of some of the beautiful creations I've seen.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I have soooo much to be grateful for that I must never forget to give back.  I have an awesome family, wonderful friends and a special guy in my life.  I'm truly blessed as I'm sure you all are as well .