Local Treasures

This past weekend, I trolled around the second annual Shabby Love Barn Sale for a few hours on Saturday morning.  And while I picked up some great finds, I was most impressed with the talent that lives right here in Orange.  Take Maria Pace for example.  Locals may recognize her as the cute gal that rides her vintage bicycle around town, but she is better known for her nature-inspired watercolors that she screenprints on paper and fabrics.  I hope to save enough pennies someday for one of her gorgeous duvet covers.  Another treasure I discovered Saturday is a a gentleman from my church, Mr. Cooper, who restores turn-of-the-century trunks.  His work is meticulous and handsome and I shared with him that I'd like to have chests for each of my children to store heirlooms, artwork, and meaningful letters to give them one day.  Mr. Cooper agreed to be on the lookout for something special for Miss Maddox this fall.  Finally, the best local treasure, my friend Hanna Kappes, proprietor of Shabby Love and founder of the barn sale.  Hanna has spurred more artistic creativity in this little town than anyone I know.  Thanks to her, people like me are scouring their local thrift shops for that piece that has good bones despite its shoddy appearance.  Hanna reminds us that everything has potential, and that is a true gem.

Beautiful work by Maria Pace.

This artist takes scraps of damaged Turkish rugs and turns them into pillow covers.

A little banjo music set the mood at the barn sale.

Photography on canvas.

Our local gem, Hanna Kappes.

Two of my barn sale finds:  A driftwood mirror perfect for my living room and a silver plated champagne bucket that doubles as a vase, now filled with fall treasures. 

Still Pickin'

This summer was my first attempt at a true vegetable garden.  With a Master Gardener for a mother, I was instructed to plant raised beds, and with the help of a good friend, we filled my boxes with a mixture of top soil and manure.  But nobody told this novice what exactly I was supposed to plant or in what quantity (of course I didn't exactly ask either).  Hence, why I bought SIX teeny, tiny tomato plants at the nursery that just so happened to grow into giants within weeks.  Now, here I am at the end of September, still harvesting cherry and heirloom tomatoes.  And although they tasted like heaven in the summertime, I am no longer wanting to pop these little globes into my mouth all day long.  So this week I gleaned what I hope to be the very last of the tomatoes from my garden and set about to make a creamy sauce, perfect for a fall soup base or a yummy lasagna.  

Ingredients:  

All the cherry tomatoes you can stand (in my case about 8 cups)

Big ol' handful of basil

Garlic Salt

Olive Oil

Wash your tomatoes then place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and garlic salt and roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.  Tomatoes should be wrinkly when they are done.  After cooling for a few minutes, toss in a blender with the basil leaves and puree.  Serve the warm sauce immediately or pour in jars and save for later. 

   

 

  Happy harvesting!

Keeping it Together

There are some things that technology just can't improve upon.  In my opinion, a good old fashioned calendar is one of them.  I want to touch pen to paper when jotting down an event, meeting, or get-together I'll be attending.  There's something about putting it in writing that solidifies it as a legitimate commitment in my life.  I know that my best friend Laura shares my sentiment.  As long as I've known her, Laura's planner is only a reach away.  So, when I stumbled upon this fantastic paper company, I knew I'd have to design an "On the Go Life Planner" for my BFF.  And oh, it was so much fun!  From creating personalized tabs for her activities (i.e. church event, date with Josh, Kentucky trip) to photo stickers of all of her family members (and me, of course) to put on their birthdays, I had a blast.  Interestingly enough, just a few days after I ordered the finished product, Laura called to let me know that she and her husband Josh had just been chosen as the new children's pastors at their church, making their lives much more full.

So here's to a planner that doesn't make you feel like a high school student, but isn't as rigid and boring as the calendar on your phone or at your office either.  I liked it so much, I may have just created one for myself.

Ask a Country Church

Virginia is known for its deep American history.  Having lived here nearly four years, I have come to fully embrace my status as a Virginian and have learned to appreciate the stories of the past that define my "Old Dominion" state.  Recently, a good friend and I were lamenting how little we knew about some of the farms and homesteads that surround us.  "Somebody needs to write a book," she said.  And while an undertaking of that enormity is not exactly in my near future, I set out this weekend to get some pictures and learn a little bit about some of the country churches just minutes from my home.  

Waddell Memorial Presbyterian Church, circa 1874, is located in Rapidan, Virginia.  Built in a Carpenter's Gothic style, the church was named in honor of Rev. James Waddell, a local blind preacher who became a key player in the battle for religious tolerance during the Colonial times.

 One of my favorite little country churches, Emmanuel Episcopal was also built in 1874 in Rapidan.  In 1902, Teddy Roosevelt attended Sunday services here with his wife.  The church has flooded twice, most recently in 1996, whereafter the building was moved from its original foundation next to the Rapidan River, to the location you see today.

 This dilapidated church is located in Culpeper County.  Although it no longer has an associated name, the 1908 structure was called the Winston Family Chapel.  In perfect Romeo and Juliet fashion, a Winston daughter married a member of the dueling Somerville family.  Over the generations, the Winston family has died off, and the remaining Somerville heir no longer claims the chapel.  A local historical society hopes to restore this beautiful stone structure.

South Plains Presbyterian Church is located in Keswick, VA.  Built in 1819, this small church of only forty members still has original oil lamps hanging on the walls.  

 Grace Episcopal Church is by far my favorite little church on the drive from my house heading into Charlottesville.  Also located in Keswick, Grace was one of only six colonial churches in Virginia when it was constructed in 1745.  The foundational stones of the 32x24 structure can still be seen by the large oak trees in front of the present day church, built in 1855.  Its first rector, Rev. James Maury, educated Thomas Jefferson in the mid-1700's out of the classical school he ran in his home.  In the earliest years, congregants were asked to financially support the ministry with cash or by a levy of tobacco.  Today, Grace Episcopal Church hosts an annual Blessing of the Hounds ceremony held on Thanksgiving Day.  Fox hunters, horses and hounds, and local parishioners gather to offer prayers and thanksgiving in the front lawn.

So, next time you drive an all-too familiar route in your own hometown, take note of the places you'd like to learn a bit more about and then do your research.  The history is there for the taking and best of all, it's free.    

Getting into Character

Anyone who knows my family understands that we are gaga over Halloween.  I truly believe we start talking about next year's costumes around New Year's Day.  And when the Wishcraft catalog arrives in our mailbox in August, you can just forget it.  Due to a very persistent big sister, even Henry and Harper are feeling the heightened pressure to decide "what we're going to be" for the big day.  By using clever mommy tactics, I have always convinced my children to steer away from the most popular costumes as well as the heinous polyester messes and, of course, the scary disguises.  And thanks to a mother-in-law who's made more than a few costumes in her day, most of our wares are of the homemade sort.

So yesterday on the playground, my three little pumpkins made their final selections- a rose garden for my Harper Rose, a super sleuth for Maddox, and a red "twain" for young Henry.  Guess I'd better be off to the craft store to start gathering supplies.  Good thing I've got six weeks to prepare!
     

A Fresh First

My first grade teacher's name was Mrs. Gray.  She was a kind, grandmotherly figure who taught me the love of reading, how to tell time, and how to add and subtract.  I still remember the felt apples she kept on the bulletin board that we used to learn our math facts.  So how is it possible when I can vividly remember Mrs. Gray, my classroom, and some fellow classmates, that I now have a first grader of my own?

In a moving article written last year for the Huffington Post, Jennifer Rowe Walters describes this age perfectly.

"We know what six looks like. We know six's gap-toothed smile and its gangly arms and legs. We see how it jumps and dances. How it twirls and runs. We know how funny six is. How absolutely charming it can be. We know six's terrible jokes. We know its crooked "S" and its backwards "3." We see how it teeters on the cusp of the world of books and all the joys of reading, but how it's not quite ready to fall in yet. We see how six can't decide if it wants us to stand beside it or not. We watch it take two steps towards independence and one step back towards us every day. We know how sturdy and strong six is... and yet how frail and fragile.

We know what six looks like. How beautiful it is. How precious. How brightly it shines with promise. How much it looks towards the future... toward 7,8,9... How much it looks like forever."

So with a gap in her front tooth, a backpack still too big for her shoulders, and a confidence in her step, Maddox jumped on the bus today, ready for another year of school.  And all we could do was smile.