Showing posts with label Traveling Totes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Traveling Totes. Show all posts

Friday, April 6, 2018

A Taste of West Virginia ~ Traveling Tote Friends


The Traveling Tote Girls have teamed up
to share something tasty from our own town or region.

Most of you know my darling friend, Rita @ Panoply.
She is one of the Traveling Tote Girls 
and was my swap partner for our 
Taste of Our Town Swap.
In addition to our shared passion for MacKenzie-Childs,
Rita and I share a love of gardening, antiques, travel,
cooking, and setting a pretty table.
Rita lives in Charleston, WV, and sent 
 me some delicious treats from J. Q. Dickinson.

J.Q.Dickinson is America's oldest working salt farm
that harvests salt by hand from an ancient ocean trapped 
below the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia.
A jar of Ramp salt gives the true flavor of Appalicia
and is much appreciated by "the chef" who does the cooking here.

A decorative egg shaped box contained a jar of 
yummy caramel sauce, of which I've treated myself
to each time I've had a little ice cream.
YUM YUM! 

Pawpaw Butter!
I'd never heard of Pawpaw Butter,
but let me tell you, it makes a perfect topping 
on my morning biscuits, tasting a bit like mango and banana.
I learned that Pawpaw fruit is native to eastern 
United States and Canada, and is a staple in West Virginia.
Look for a future post devoted to Pawpaw.

Included in my gift package
were a Junior Leage Cookbook, 
MOUNTAIN MEASURES, first published in 1974
and the February 2018 issue of Southern Living.

I spent a recent morning reading through many of the recipes,
though Rita had already earmarked a recipe from the
cookbook that was featured in the February Southern Living.
Shaker Lemon Pie

For the crust, I opened my Houston Junior League Cookbook
for my favorite go to recipe, "No Fail Pie Crust."

Shaker Lemon Pie is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Simply take two lemons and slice them into super thin slices.
Yep, you use the entire lemon, rind and all.
Just be certain to remove the seeds!
Macerate the lemon slices in 2 cups of sugar.
I left mine macerating over night.  
Next beat 4 eggs and fold them into the lemon mixture.
Pour this into a pie crust, top it with another crust,
and bake it for 15 minutes at 450, before reducing the heat 
to 350 for an additional 30 minutes.
You can find printable recipes on the web.

 When there is food involved, this girl
isn't far from the action.

 I admit I, too, was eager for this pie to come out of the oven.
I'd never had Shaker Lemon Pie!

 To reward my efforts and to take a break from spring gardening,
I fixed a little afternoon treat to enjoy on the sun porch.

 Oh, my!  What a treat it was!
Wow!  This pie, with its sharp tangy flavor 
and chewy texture, is totally addicting!

It's like eating 
marmalade out of a jar!

 To quench my thirst, Me and the Bees Lemonade 
was the perfect beverage.
Go here to read about Mikaila Ulmer, 
Austin's young entrepreneur,
who has taken her lemonade idea and turned 
it into a thriving business.

 On my way back inside, I couldn't resist adding a 
petite bouquet of Summer Phlox from my garden.
The pinks are perfect with my MacKenzie-Childs ceramics.

I want to thank Rita for bringing some sunshine into our home.
The Chef and I have enjoyed and appreciated our
Taste of West Virginia!

Many thanks, dear friend!
Rita @ Panoply.
Click the links below to see the other swaps.
Patti at Pandora's Box and Emily at The French Hutch
Ricki Jill at The Sketchy Reader and Jackie at Purple Chocolat Home
Linda G at More Fun Less Laundry and Deb at Mountain Breaths
Linda P at Life and Linda and Jenna at The Painted Apron

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Friday, December 1, 2017

Tales of Traveling Tote #13 - Birds of a Feather

Welcome to Tales of the Traveling Tote #13

They say birds of a feather like to flock together, 
so Miss Merri Mac and I boarded a plane 
mid October to fly up to meet my collector
QCI friends on the east coast.


After three canceled flights and a lost day,
we finally arrived in Boston!


This year's QCI Annual Meeting was a cruise
from Montreal to Boston and NYC.
 Though I didn't take the cruise, I did meet up with my friends 
for after cruise visits to four homes in 
Connecticut and along the Hudson River.
 The collage above is just a peek at the lovely homes,
delicious lunches, and gorgeous pottery that greeted us.


There were even some MacKenzie-Childs 
treasures within the homes we visited.
 "Designed to camouflage into the rustic backdrop to Aurora Farm,
the Forest Fish Chair stands out in the great indoors."  


"Each chair is a one-of-a-kind treasure . . . with a scenic landscape of rolling hayfields and the still, deep waters of Cayuga Lake."

New York City ~ Always A Favorite Destination
After our farewells to the QCI group, Miss Merri Mac
and I drove into NYC with a friend.
I've many fond feelings about this city and time
spent in the Big Apple when the chef and I enjoyed
a NYC  pied-á-terre for a few years.
My friend and I spent our days criss-crossing the city to take in
favorite museums, shops, and restaurants.

Friday morning, Patti and I had breakfast at Ellen's Stardust.
A new experience for me, this fun diner is home to a
singing waitstaff who aspire to be future stars of stage and screen

After, we hiked the High Line down to 
Chelsea Market, again, new experiences for me.

Rainbow Room, Bar Sixty-Five  ~  Rockefeller Center
Perfect spot for evening cocktail, light dinner, 
and incredible night time views of the city.

Next up and the grand finale of my NYC visit ~
a much anticipated meet up with some 
of the girls of Traveling Tote fame.

With many of us arriving during the week,
we decided to get a jump on the gathering by 
meeting at Fonda for a Happy Hour Friday evening.
Double treat to meet some of the men behind the totes.

On Saturday, the famed Russian Tea Room was
the venue for our first meet up of the Traveling Tote girls.  
What fun it was to actually meet this group 
of amazing ladies, most of whom I'd only corresponded 
with through our blogs, email, and texts.

Following the excited conversation over a delicious lunch,
the group headed down 57th Street to mecca.
The nice folks at MacKenzie-Childs NYC welcomed us 
with champagne and sweets upstairs in the mezzanine
before we all descended downstairs to shop our favorite brand.

Take a look at the video above for an
 overview of the fun shared by this group.
We are already planning more fun with hopes
of all eleven of us meeting up for a shared adventure.
With this edition we welcome two new travelers,
Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home
Ricki Jill and Countess de Monet @ The Sketchy Reader

Back home in Texas, I packed Miss Merri Mac once again
and off we went for a November weekend 
in Houston to attend a wedding.

The Saturday morning of the wedding, I joined a
few friends to view the fabulous Oscar de la Renta 
exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Closer to home, Miss Merri Mac and I spent a delightful
Sunday afternoon at another museum, 
the LBJ Presidential Library,
 to tour the Madeleine Albright exhibit, Read My Pins.

"The Madeleine Albright Collection features more than 200 pins, most of the costume variety, which Secretary Albright wore to communicate a message before, during, and after her years of public service, including when she led the Department of State from 1997 to 2001.  Sometimes demure and understated, sometimes outlandish and outspoken, these pins were used as gentle implements of statecraft.  Their stories and messages reflect the Secretary's sense of humor and her humanity, and are visual educational tools of cultural diplomacy." Albright Stonebridge Group

The exhibit shares the story of how the former secretary of state
used her jewelry to make personal and diplomatic expressions and has been on tour the past nine years to over 22 museums and presidential libraries.  LBJ Library is the last stop before
Read My Pins: The Madeline Albright Collection
will soon be part of the permanent collection of the
US Diplomacy Center.
You can read more about the exhibit here.

To round out this edition's travel log, Miss Merri Mac and I
ventured to a local urban farm with a group of friends, where
we learned about the two acre organically maintained farm and
met up with the donkeys, geese, chickens, ducks, and bunnies.

                           
Enjoy this adorable video of the love 
between the owner's mother and Gustavo the goose.
You can follow HausBar Farm on FaceBook to view more videos.



 More Adventures With the Traveling Totes ~ Links Below
Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths 
Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch
 Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box
Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron
Katie with Miss Daisy @ Preppy Empty Nester
Linda with Miss Rosie @ More Fun Less Laundry
Linda with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda
Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply 
Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul
and our new traveler: 
Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home
It's beginning to look like Christmas here at
Hyacinths for the Soul.  
Come back December 6 for a
Cozy At Christmas Holiday Blog Tour 2017.


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