Salutations!

We hope to express a spirit of hospitality in all that we do. From gardening and crafting projects to decorating and preparing new recipes, we appreciate the beauty and blessings of life. Joyful celebrations are one way that we add zest to our recipe of life. Homeschooling is another. Welcome to our blog!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Elizabethan Hairstyles and Accessory

I'm very thankful that my older daughter has a gift for creatively expressing herself.  Gabrielle's idea for a Tapestry of Grace, Year 2, Unit 2 project was wonderful.  She chose to learn about hairstyles of the period.  I'm very proud of her and would like to share her work. 

Hoping you're blessed with a zest for life, 
~tambrie


The Fashion-Conscious Queen

The late 16th century is called the Elizabethan Era because Queen Elizabeth I reigned.  Her clothes evolved into bigger and more lavish dresses.  Ruffs were popular in the mid century.  Large ruffled collars were worn by the wealthy, mainly in Spain and France, but their popularity spread to England.  Elizabethan clothes reflected a person's wealth and social status. There were actually laws that regulated the colors and kinds of clothes that certain people could wear.

Queen Elizabeth was well-educated and a follower of fashion.  While she may have worn the same casual gown for three days at a time while inside, when she went out in public, she dressed to impress.  Her clothing and jewels made a statement about her power and the strength of her nation.  Also, when she went out, none of the ladies were to rival her appearance.

Several portraits show Queen Elizabeth with a feather fan.  During the Sixteenth century, fans were a clothing accessory and only the wealthy could afford them.  Some were even adorned with jewels.


The other hairstyle that was worn during the time period was the Frizzed hairstyle.  Shorter hair was curled in the front and teased to have a frizzed look. The back of the hair was secured in a bun. 

The ladies of England padded, curled and dyed their hair.  Flame red hair was the most popular color during the Elizabethan period.  Many ladies used wigs because the dyes used to color hair were poisonous.

The ladies of the Elizabethan court would have worn their hair uncovered when they attended parties or balls.  However, when a lady went outside, a head covering, called a coif, was worn by all ladies.  The fabrics used to make the coifs was dependent on the lady’s social status. White or off-white linen may have been used by peasants, while nobility would have had their coifs made of silk and made with an embroidered design. 


My Project
 
For my project, I got two head forms and painted them.  I added hair to the head forms with hot glue and then styled them in the period hairstyles. 

For my Queen Elizabeth I head form, I used the Padded hairstyle by using cotton balls as my “rats.”  The crown is cut from foam and I also used felt and jewels.  I created an Elizabethan ruff collar by gluing and folding adding machine tape with doilies. 

For my peasant head form, after painting and adding the hair, I wet and curled the hair and let it dry.  Then, the next morning, I teased the hair to make the Frizzed style.  I used a cotton fabric to make the coif.  I cut the fabric using a pattern I found online and then hand-stitched the seams.  I added a lace edge to the front of the coif.   

I made the feather fan out of feathers, a dowel and decorative items.  I painted the wood a gold color and glued the feather and the design together.

I really enjoyed learning about hairstyles and accessories during the Elizabethan period. 


 


Monday, February 21, 2011

Home is Where the Heart Is

Does the busy pace of life keep you from connecting with friends the way you'd like?  Or, are you waiting until your home has the much-needed updates before inviting guests over for coffee and dessert?  Well, if you're waiting for the perfect time to have a gathering, you may very well be wishing and waiting for quite some time.

Moms continually illustrate the fine art of balancing life's tasks with grace.  While preparing meals, driving to sporting events, and providing educational opportunities, we think of friends old and new and are abundantly thankful for social media sites that keep us connected.  However, cyberspace can't recreate laughing with friends, tasting their delicious, let-me-throw-it-together quesadilla meal or that much needed hug.

Keep in mind, no one's life, home or kids are perfect.  Inviting guests into your home isn't an advertisement for having it "all together."  Inviting new friends for a home gathering with the laundry basket overflowing or the dishwasher that needs unloading may very well cause that new friend to be a lasting one.  Undoubtedly, they're bound to feel an instant connection by your transparent reminder that we're all human and doing the best we can every day.  That common thread can be as soothing balm to our souls.

So, if you're hoping to connect and wanting a simple way to do it, here are some easy entertaining ideas:

  • Choose YOUR best day and time and schedule the event on your calendar (even if it's an impromptu plan).
  • Next use Facebook, Evites or e-mail to let your friends know about it.
  • Rather than planning to make an entire meal, plan something simple.  Consider making smoothies or coffee and dessert.  Ask your guests to bring their favorite fruit, muffins or simple dessert to share.  For a fun, ongoing dinner theme, plan to host an International Cuisine gathering, where each guest brings a dish from a pre-determined country.  An example might be:  Greece.  Have guests sign up to bring a beverage, entree or dessert using a new or old Greek recipe.  Then, while everyone is enjoying Greek night, tentatively plan the following month's country.  You could even take turns hosting the dinner at each friend's home.
  • You don't want anyone to see that room that collects everything or that corner that can will never be clean.  Closed doors marked private and flat bed sheets work can wonders in hiding those areas.
  • Speaking of sheets, they also double quite nicely as table linens.
  • A simple way to decorate: fresh flowers.  Buy a bouquet at the grocery store and add branches and greenery from your yard.  Divide the flowers into smaller bouquets and use household jars for vases.  Use the flowers as a centerpiece on your table, and place them in your entryway and powder room. 
  • Balloons or a fresh wreath may may enable guests to find your home easily.
  • If you cannot host a gathering in your home, consider planning a quick bite at a coffee shop or plan an evening at the pottery.  Don't rule out a Walmart or Target get-together.  With coffee or tea in hand, friends can shop together, while catching up.
  • Last but not least, be yourself and enjoy yourself.  After all, that's what time with friends is all about! 


Hoping you're blessed with a zest for life, 
~tambrie

Lisa and her Baby Gender Reveal party!

Recently, amid prayer requests on our online ladies support group, Lisa posted a wonderful praise report.  She shared that she was expecting her 7th child, due on 7/7/11.  Rather than finding out if they would be having a boy or girl in a medical office, they opted to host a Baby Gender Reveal party.


Lisa and I do not live in the same state, yet we had a wonderful time sharing thoughts and party ideas online.  From invitations, to poetry, locations and menu ideas, brainstorming with such a gracious and creative lady became an enjoyable part of my week.  


Lisa looked at many cake designs and chose one that would allow her to add 7 petit fours, representing all of her children.  Her menu also included food favorites named after her children.  Their names were included in her poem as well.  Photos, taken by a family photographer, reveal Lisa has a wonderful way of presenting her delicious dishes.  



One photo-sharing idea was to paint bare tree branches brown and use pink and blue ribbons, along with scrapbook paper, to suspend photos of her children and the ultrasound photos on the limbs (a family 'tree').  Lisa opted to make a nice display board with all her children's baby photos, as well as another display that contained a wonderful array of photos taken of her, while she was expectant each child.  She also placed her unborn child's ultrasound photos in both blue and pink frames.  Then, she crafted nice tally sheets, so guests could vote for the boy and girl names they are considering naming their child.



Lisa's midwife was an absolute gem and called the bakery for Lisa after her ultrasound appointment.  This step meant Lisa did not know the gender of the life she is carrying and that she and her family would discover this exciting revelation together at the Reveal party on February 12th.  When she and her husband cut the cake - at 7pm, of course - the filling between the cake layers indicated the gender of their baby.


Votes for names being considered (write-ins were welcomed)















7pm, time to see if it will be a boy or girl on 7/7














In case you're curious as to the color within the cake...









Hoping you're blessed with a zest for life, ~tambrie

Ladies Night at the Pottery

Looking for a quick and easy way to plan a gathering, but don't have time to clean?  Check your local area for fun places at which to host an event!  Our local pottery offers Ladies nights and Kids nights.  Recently, I scheduled a homeschool curriculum fair meeting at the pottery.  Since I had meeting notes to prepare, it didn't leave much time to prepare food.  So I picked up Jersey Mike's subs and packed a cooler of water & soft drinks.  By adding a table covering, cute paper plates and napkins, the simple setting had warmth.  We had a successful evening planning, painting pottery and eating!


Easter gifts for the girls, made at the Pottery.  (Arabella made the Valentine's plates during Kids' night.)

Hoping you're blessed with a zest for life, ~tambrie

Gluten free bread

In an attempt to find a nice, soft gluten-free sandwich bread, I looked over recipes on gluten-free recipe blogs such as Ginger Lemon Girl and Gluten-free Goddess.

My first bread attempt, in quite a while, was the sandwich bread recipe on Ginger Lemon Girl's blog.  It turned out well and was not as dense as other GF breads I've made.

I ordered my flours and ingredients from Nuts Online and was very happy with their selection and service.


 Hoping you're blessed with a zest for life, ~tambrie

Sunday, February 20, 2011

That's Amore'

Christmas is a time of excitement, surprise,  and exhaustion - at least, for me.  I stay up too late trying to do all the things on my to-do list.  I want to find ways to save steps, while giving attention to detail.  So, I do little things like print Christmas labels for the gifts and prepare my Christmas morning French toast on Christmas eve, so things move quickly when excited girls are waiting to open gifts.

After years of serving lamb and garlic mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner, I wanted to try something new.  For our 2010 holiday meal, I decided to make an Italian meal.  I thought everyone would enjoy the aroma of marinara sauce simmering and fresh rolls baking.

I absolutely LOVE trying new recipes when I have a captive audience (yes, I know, you're not supposed to do that, but I always have a frozen pizza or lasagna in the freezer as back-up).  I began researching recipes on the Internet and found several recipes that rated very well.  With that, I chose my menu:

Antipasti tray as a starter (served hours before meal)
Braised Braciole, served with a homemade marinara sauce over angel hair pasta
Italian dinner rolls
Classic Tiramisu


While I'd love to make everything from scratch, I have to be realistic about the time I can spend shopping and preparing.  With that in mind, I bought packaged angel hair pasta and frozen Italian dinner rolls.  I made the Braciole, Marinara and Tiramisu.


The result?  Everything was absolutely wonderful!  The only downside was that I misjudged the time it would take to make the meal and instead of a 7pm seating, we sat down at 8:30pm (thank goodness for the antipasti platter).  Also, I had hoped to make rugelach for one our dear friends, who happens to be Jewish, but time did not allow it.


Indeed, a good time was had by all and it was a warm and wonderful Christmas!



Hoping you're blessed with a zest for life, ~tambrie