EAB Designs

Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

 

As with all holidays, we look forward to many traditions.  At Thanksgiving, we set the table the evening before.  When my girls were in pre-school and Kindergarten they came home with these adorable pine-cone turkeys and paper Pilgrims they made.  Since that time, (my girls are in high school now!),  we have placed them as the centerpiece on our Thanksgiving table.  I love them now as much as I did when they first brought them home.  Today we made our traditional sweet potato, pumpkin and apple pies.  (Okay, I have to confess, I ate a very small piece of the sweet potato pie already.)  I hope tomorrow finds you surrounded by friends and loved ones.  We have so much to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

    

New Holiday Items for Shop

Thank you to everyone who came by my show this past weekend to say hello or do a little holiday shopping.  It's so nice to see so many returning customers and meet new ones as well.  It's always a pleasure visiting with each of you!  I'm beginning to add some new holiday items to my shop this week and thought you'd like a little peek.  More to come later!

 

 

 

From Traditional to Contemporary

   

Ten years ago we decorated our youngest daughter's room.  We purchased beautiful wallpaper from England which my "super talented husband" hung.  It required not only his expertise, but extreme patience because the wallpaper did not have any vinyl coating on it and it was quite delicate to work with.  We cheered him on in between our shopping trips to select the perfect bedding, fabric and furniture to complete the room.  I took the above picture after it was completed.  My daughter absolutely loved it! Today...not so much.  She has a great sense of fashion and design, but her style has grown into a contemporary/modern one.  That same wallpaper which was painstakingly hung, has now been painstakingly stripped by "super talented husband".  To work on the redecorating, we moved my daughter into my husband's office and his office was moved into the basement.  My daughter chose the new wall color and new contemporary furniture from IKEA.  (Currently in boxes in our living room, until the renovation is complete.)  My husband tore up the berber carpet and is now installing wood floors.  He really is the best!  We are definitely three lucky ladies.  Below are some pictures of the progress.  I'll be sure to post some "after" pictures once the project is complete.

 

The color is "pear green" from Benjamin Moore.

   

Wood floor, about a third of the way complete.  The Ryobi compound saw was a Christmas gift to my husband a few years ago.  He deserves it!  Love you honey.

The Ultimate Comfort Food - French Onion Soup

 

Years ago, while visiting Paris, I fell in love with french onion soup.  Once we returned home, I began my search for a french onion soup recipe that would transport me back to France.  After a lot of testing, I found the perfect recipe which can be found here.  The important part to remember is not to rush the amount of time needed to cook the onions.  It really does take about an hour for the onions to mellow into their sweet wonderful flavor as they begin to caramelize.  If you don't have homemade beef stock, substitute a good beef stock from the grocery store.  I use the organic boxed beef stock from Whole Foods.  (Just make sure you don't use canned beef broth.)  Also, I add 6 cups of beef stock to the recipe instead of 3 cups.  After a fun afternoon of shopping with my daughter today, we came home and I made this for dinner.  The perfect accompaniment was a green salad with goat cheese.  Bon Appetit!

Business of the Month

 

I would like to send out a big thank you to TAGS Consignment Boutique for featuring me as their "Business of the Month" for November!  Located in Oakdale, CA, TAGS is a wonderful boutique to visit for your holiday shopping.  Owners, Tanya and Sandy, and additional team members, Melissa and Alicia, are always on hand to help you with your selections.  Please stop in and say hello if you are in the area.

Nature's Inspiration

Before I left to vote this morning, I took this picture from the window of my studio.  The yellows and oranges were so vibrant.  After voting, I visited the fabric store and was drawn to these same colors.  I came home with these beautiful fabrics.  I'm fast at work using them to create something new for my shop.

And the Winners are....

Congratulations to Jennifer and Sandy, the winners of my "Celebration Giveaway"!  I will send you out an email today so you can provide your mailing address and let me know which frame you would prefer.  Thank you to everyone for their lovely comments.  It was a pleasure reading each one.