foodstuff: fresh pasta

your innkeeper has finally crossed the threshold of noodlecraft.

this week, i made my first pasta from scratch...

these fresh spaghetti noodles were created with the help of my beloved stand mixer who is also known as "the mixin' vixen"...

(do you see her winking at you in the sparkly glow of warm evening sunshine? what a saucy piece of machinery she is.)

the pasta is a simple dough made of flour, eggs, and water which gets squeezed through this mixer attachment, play-dough fun factory style...

the pasta dries briefly on a towel before getting plunged into a giant pot of salty boiling water...

once cooked, it is fluffy, light, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

betwixt bites, kevwrex and i enthusiastically proclaimed our love for it.

so it's official: we are adding pasta to our growing list of food (pizza dough or marshmallows, anyone?) that is ten gazillion times yummier when made from scratch at home.

dear guests, do any of you make your own pasta? any recipes or advice for a brand new noodler like me?

hand made mug: swirly birds

when traipsing about the world on adventures, there is one thing i love to collect: hand made mugs.

it makes me so happy to sip my coffee or tea out of a piece of beautiful art. i consider it a special everyday luxury.

at maker faire last weekend, i visited the bazaar bizarre and found catherine reece, a local pottery artist whose whimsical creations captured me instantly.

i bought one of her pieces to add to my mug collection...

{i could not resist these swirly plumes}

{a sweet little yellow fellow}

{stack of birds}

{my favorite -> that hairdo melts me}

{smitten with swirls}

{pale yellow spiral}

there were many other pieces i loved. my next purchase from her will be these...

{rainbow + birds + tiny vases = love!}

visit catherine's etsy shop to see more of her lovely work.

spring cleaning + creation inspiration

i truly adore restoring things to order, clearing out winter dust, and repurposing old into new.

lately i have been spring cleaning in my studio. it is inspiring me to create. decluttering stuff and clearing out cobwebs gets my brain zipping again after the cold months. suddenly, i'm dreaming of design changes at the dew drop inn, planning this year's garden, and playing with a plethora of crafty supplies.

on saturday, i dusted off a trusty old fishing tackle box which contains my twenty-year-old bead collection. over two decades, i have purchased, thrifted, and inherited quite an interesting stash of beads. spring cleaning inspired me to open up that box and make something new out of old pieces.

i made this green glass pendant...

out of these upholstery tassels given to me by an interior designer years ago...

easy, fun, satisfying.

for my next trick, i shall clear out my closet and freshen up my summer wardrobe. i fully expect that this behavior will inspire me to pull more odd beads out of the tackle box and create new pieces to wear.

i believe that this is the wondrous combination of spring cleaning -> taking inventory of what you have and making space for new things to grow. i find it most delightful.

am i alone in this joy, or are any of you inspired by this process? 

{camp cozy} day one: paper chains

december has arrived!

i love this month.

i think it is a wonderful time to make merry + snuggle up.

to me, december always feels like a cozy winter camp with loved ones, fun activities, and festive food.

for the next few weeks, i will be hosting {camp cozy} here at the dew drop inn.

each day i post, i will share a winter activity happening here at the treehouse.

it's my own personal celebration at the end of a fantastic year.

i would love for you to join in with comments to share what's going on in your own camp during this time of year.

my first {camp cozy} activity:

i spent the afternoon creating colorful paper chains with my best friend's toddler twins...

i cut a huge stack of paper strips and the three of us had fun looping and taping them into chains.

we then had an exuberant paper chain dance party parade through the house.

it was our way of saying, "welcome, december!"

let the {camp cozy} festivities begin!

artist: rewined recycled glassware

i live in wine country.

i love drinking wine.

what i don't like is the number of used bottles that the consumption of fermented grape juice creates.

thus, i truly appreciate this etsy seller for his beautiful reclaimed wine bottle glassware...

...it's lovely and his philosophy is sound.

side note: i enjoyed reading his "quit your day job" interview for the storque.

thai squares

one of my oldest friends brought me these beautiful hand stitched squares from thailand...

 

...the detail is absolutely incredible.  they are only about 2" x 2" and those stitches are teeeeeeny tiny.

i'm thinking about having them framed.  any other ideas as to what i could do to preserve and display them?

monsters

last summer, we spent a wonderful week visiting salt spring island, canada.

one of my favorite moments on the island was visiting the saturday market.  it was a dreamy summer day of delicious local food and beautiful handmade art!  

i fell in LOVE with the booth of farmhouse gallery, in particular with the plush monsters made by diane perry of the wrestler and the needle.  i went back to the booth three different times and purchased several monsters to give to some darling babies in my life.

because i was so smitten with the monsters, i decided to use my travel watercolors and paint their portraits in my sketchbook before giving them away...

"splash"

"caramel"

"moth"

love notes

as promised, a small sample of my valentines...

artist: neither snow

i am in my studio today addressing valentines.

these incredibly gorgeous creations from neither snow inspired me so much that i woke up thinking about them this morning...

...in her etsy shop, you can order one to be handwritten to your valentine and mailed with beautiful vintage postage.

more deer

while exploring scoutie girl, i found these lovely and whimsical deer pendants for sale at peppersprouts ...

...so cute!!!