Monday 21 December 2009

My New Pal!


I've got a new pal and her name is Fannie Flagg! Ok, so...I don't actually know Fannie Flagg but I've been reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe for the past couple of months. One could get through it a whole lot faster than I have been doing, but it's so fun and so good I have wanted to make it last and last. This book makes me laugh out loud! Love it!
I've only got a couple of chapters left but I don't want it to end so I've been having a look to see if I can get my hands on anything else Mrs Flagg has written. Are you ready for this fun-ness? There are recipes on her Publisher Profile!

Here are a few reasons Fannie Flagg is my pal:
  • She is a sassy southern woman (from Alabama).
  • She makes me laugh (well her writing does!)
  • She is a wonderful story teller, I just don't want her stories to end!
  • She shares recipes!
What fun! I have discovered that if you want Sipsey's Fried Green Tomato recipe you'll have to buy the cookbook, I would if I could! Believe you me!
OR you can do as I have done and look up one of the FGT fan sites!


A Few of Sipsey's Recipes (Adapted by Evelyn)

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon soda

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup Crisco

2 teaspoons salt
1 cup buttermilk


Sift dry ingredients together. Add Crisco and blend well until like fine meal. Add buttermilk and mix. Roll out thin and cut into desired size biscuit. Bake in greased pan and 450 degrees until golden brown.

These saved Naughty Bird, Big George's daughter's, life.

Fried Green Tomatoes

1 medium green tomatoes (per person)*
pepper
salt
White cornmeal
bacon drippings**

Slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick, season with salt and pepper and then coat both sides with cornmeal. In a large skillet, heat enough bacon drippings to coat the bottom of the pan and fry tomatoes until light browned on both sides.

You'll think you died and gone to heaven!

* I know from experience that a hard red tomato works well too
** can substitue with about 2 inches of vegetable oil 


Sunday 20 December 2009

I'm back y'all! And it's snowing!

I'm back! My time back home in Charleston was AH-MAZING! It gets harder to leave each time :(

{me & my mommy}


{me & my Jessica}
I spent a lot of time with my besties and their babies!(minus my little Mexican honey bun who lives in NY!)! What precious, precious times!



 {me & baby Titus x}



{oh sweet tea and fried chicken...how do I love thee....let me count the ways}

I also got to catch up with my cousins who are 82 and 66! I had not seen them since I was in high school.
{me and my cousin Andy}

My cousin Camille spoilt me rotten! She made fresh fruit smoothies every single morning! I got to spend time with my Aunt Janet making a 60th birthday collage for my mom to surprise her at her party - it went really, really well.
My mom spoiled me too!

and guess what?...



that is the Palmetto Moon, the image from the South Carolina State flag. I fought being southern all growing up. I had no desire to identify with where I was living. My family is from NY and that's how I wanted it to stay! How things change. When I moved to the UK I really began to appreciate the culture that I grew up in and now I can say with pride that I am a Carolina Girl!...hence the tattoo :)

I have so much more to share! In the mean time I am trying to track down lost luggage and get back on UK time!

Here are a few albums for you to see what I got up to!
AND HOLY COW! IT'S 5 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Friday 4 December 2009

FABULOUS FRIEND FRIDAY IS BACK!!!!!!!

Introducing...





....drum roll please....





Thoris Designs!!!!!!!!!!!!!









1. Hello Dejah :) Why don't you introduce yourself and tell us about YOU!
I’m a crafty pirate extraordinaire. When I’m not painting, sculpting, knitting, sewing or drawing, I’m probably playing video games or figuring out how to make a new kind of scone. I love to cook and make up all kinds of recipes all the time. It’s one of my favorite things. The next best is feeding it to people.

I’ve got two beautiful children that do their best to drive me bananas, but that’s as it should be, I suppose. You can see my daughter modeling a number of items in my shop and I’ll be getting my son to do some soon.

I’m in love with everything frilly and girlie. As soon as I get my sewing machine I’ll be opening another shop to house all the clothes I want to sell, mostly focusing on costume like pieces for kids, but I want to be making ruffled, Victorian inspired clothing with a modern flare also. Expect giant purses and nifty clutches that you don’t actually have to clutch.
 Music is always in my life. I don’t even include it as one my favorite things in most cases because that’s a given. Like I don’t have to tell people I breathe I don’t tell them I love music. I have to have it when I’m working, especially when I’m doing work on the computer. Without it I get completely distracted and can’t focus.


 


2. What are your Etsy shop & Blog called? Where did that name come from?

My Etsy shop is Thoris Designs and is located at http://thorisdesigns.etsy.com. My blog, which features items in my shop, recipes I’ve made up, reviews for others I’ve tried, and anything else I’d like to blog about, is located at http://thorisdesigns.blogspot.com. I should really write for it more, but sometimes my computer access is limited. The name Thoris came from an association with my first name. My mom named me for a princess from a science fiction series called John Carter of Mars written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He’s also famous for writing Tarzan. Dejah Thoris was a princess of Mars and married John Carter. Thoris Designs was born.




3. What was the last treasure that arrived in your mail?

The last thing I bought was from http://dennisanderson.etsy.com. A bar of Once Upon a Blue Moon Beer Soap for my brother (Blue Moon is his favorite beer) and a luscious Maple Crunch Lip Balm. They sent me a free Coconut balm too! I’ll definitely be buying more bath and body goodies from them in the future.
4. Where in the world would you like to visit? why?

I would love to visit Japan. I’m a huge fan of ancient Japanese culture and find the architecture, artwork, and fashions of the ancient Japanese deeply beautiful and alluring. The history of the samurai and the geisha are especially appealing to me and I love learning about their histories and customs.

I would also love to visit China, for much the same reasons. I would most love seeing the Great Wall of China and the tomb of Emperor Chin, who united the various states of China for the first time. He is most commonly known as the Emperor with the Terra Cotta Army. Fascinating!

5.  What 8 records or books {or combo} would you would take with you to a desert island?

Oh goodness, that’s not nearly enough choices. Okay, it would have to be at least eight of each and I’m going to cheat a little.

Music:
Tool – every album
Primus – every album
Rush – “Fly by Night”, “2112”, and “Moving Pictures”
Led Zeppelin – every album
Pink Floyd – “The Wall”
Across the Universe Soundtrack
The Smashing Pumpkins – every album up to “Machina”
And a Ben Harper and Jack Johnson mix album

Books: More Cheating

Lord of the Rings Series and The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
Narnia by CS Lewis
Old Kingdom Trilogy by Garth Nix
Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea
The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan
All Chuck Palahniuk novels
Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
The Gentlemen Bastards Series by Scott Lynch

Some of those series aren’t finished yet, so my exile will have to wait.
6. If you could go back and live in a past decade or century, when would you choose and why?
We so romanticize so much of the past. I love that I live in a time where things like electricity, indoor plumbing, hot water, and rapid communication are fairly common. I also like that I experience little prejudice as a woman in today’s society. However, I would love to have been a pirate captain at sea during the Golden Age of Piracy, minus the bad teeth and poor personal hygiene. Being a samurai would have been grand, with all the armor and the swords. I also love the fashions of Victorian times, the 1920’s and the 1940’s. I would, of course, have wanted to have all the freedoms I enjoy now during those times. I wish I could combine elements of all those times and make a world of my own, but alas, I visit them only in books. Except for the pirate thing. I really am a pirate.
7. What is your favorite thing about creating something by hand?

The magic! To take a few materials that are raw and unformed and turn them into something new and beautiful. When I’m knitting at the park or somewhere where my children are playing, I get asked by kids, “What are you doing?” all the time. I always answer, “Magic!”
 My second favorite thing is seeing people wear the stuff I make. Nothing is more flattering than seeing someone wear or use something I’ve made. I just made my friend a scarf that she wears almost every day. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside every time I see her in it.


8. Please list three of your favorite things. Why are they favorites?

I think I can safely exclude my favorite people here. They know who they are.
My three favorite things are:


Books: I learn from all sorts of books all sorts of nifty things and get to visit times, places, and people that might not even exist in our “real” world. I read so much it’s almost a bad habit. “Hello, my name is Dejah, and I’m addicted to reading.”

Tea Time: I have about forty different types of tea in stock at my house at all times. I bake scones from my own recipe and love having afternoon tea. Whenever I see a tea shop I HAVE to go inside. There’s just something wonderful, comforting, and timeless about tea and the wonderful circumstances that brought it to our attention so many centuries ago.

Writing: I love to write. I hope to someday be a published author and contribute my own fantasies to the lovely world of literature. To create a world outside of our own that can bring laughter, tears, and wonder to a reader is an amazing gift and I hope that I can someday give that to other people the way it’s been given to me by so many amazing authors.
9. What could you eat/drink every single day and never grow tired of?
I could eat seafood, blackberry cabernet sorbet, and homemade scones every day. I could drink any kind of black tea (especially chai), Jack Daniels whiskey, and strong coffee with French Vanilla creamer and never get tired of it.
10. What is your favorite place? Will you describe it to us?

My favorite place has more to do with the company than the location. It’s with my children and my friends. As long as I have them with me, everything will be alright.






Thanks so much Dejah! Good times! Make sure you visit Dejah's shop and blog! Give her lots and lots of love!!!! Mrs Woo says so!



P.S.



I'll be seein y'all later! I'm leavin on a jet plane! I'm going home to celebrate my mommy's 60th birthday! I'll be back in about two weeks, just in time for the last few days before CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!
If you wanna see where my home is google Charleston, SC....nothin' could be finer....

Wednesday 2 December 2009

the giveaway is over....

Woo Hoo! Thanks so much Sweet Tidings! Because of the fun blog giveaway look who was checkin me out and got themselves the chance to win this necklace


Dizzee at Memoirs... La la la la la...

Grace Wong at Sugar Rosies



gomelissago on Twitter

 The winner will be announced later today {I already know who it is!!! eeeeee!}!
 
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