Turkey Croquette Recipe

If you still have leftover turkey from Thanksgiving and you're not sure what to do with it, here is a GREAT recipe that I've had since 1995. April of 1995 to be exact, from Family Fun magazine.

 It was one of my kid's favorite dinners and its a cinch to make. You can even make the croquettes ahead of time and freeze them. The recipe calls for baking them, but I never had a good result. 

They never got crispy and browned up, so I deep fry the ones I make.

You'll need some gravy to top them off and crisp, steamed green beans make the perfect side dish.

The meatloaf recipe is seriously easy and really good, too! The sauce topping 

is what makes it special.

Hope you try them both out and enjoy them as much as my family has!

Until next time,

xojo
PS;  I just re-read my post from yesterday. You know, about how I'm trying to eat healthier? Then today I post about frying up turkey balls. Hmm. I'm obviously conflicted.

A little of this and that

I saw this post on facebook this morning and thought I'd share.

As a (very) small business owner, I can't express how important is it to shop the "mom and pops".

So please remember us during this holiday season!

#shopsmall

On another note, I'm trying to eat healthier, so I bought this for lunch today;

It was weird and kind of spongy. I didn't finish it because it gave me serious heartburn.
(Sorry, garden lites!) Oh, well...at least I tried. But from now on,
I think I'll stick to my usual sandwich and chips baby carrots. :/

Until next time,

xojo

veteran's day 2014

Today I give thanks to all the veterans who have served our country, past and present.
My Dad served in both World War II and the Korean War.

Here he is, circa 1952

Thanks for your service, Dad! Love the "dungaree" outfit, lol!

I also wanted to share a really cool art installation at the Tower of London titled
"Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red"

888,246 handmade ceramic poppies were installed over the course of the year with the last one being planted today. Each poppy represents a fallen Allied World War I soldier.

Photo courtesy Rex Features/The Telegraph

Over 19,000 volunteers helped make and plant the poppies.

You can see a fly over of the installation on buzzfeed, here.

I'm kind of obsessed with the artist's vision of this installation!

Its beautiful but humbling to think of all of those lost.

If you'd like to read a great children's story of how the poppies became the symbol of veterans and armistice day, try this one;

The Poppy Lady, written by Barbara Elizabeth Walsh

Enjoy this wonderful day and please stop for a moment to say a prayer of thanks
for the men and women who serve and protect our country.

Until next time,

xojo

Happy Halloween!

To celebrate the day, I thought I'd share a spooky story from The Moth Hour, a radio show I listen to on Saturday afternoons.

Its  "The Ghost of Rue Jacob" as told by Joan Juliet Buck.

Photo credit: Denise Ofelia Mangen

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 

http://themoth.org/posts/stories/the-ghost-of-rue-jacob

Well, that's a little better!

Didn't really have time to clean and organize the studio today, but it was such a mess I had to do something.

You should have seen the "before". Tornado alley!  :/

All that glitters is gold

Have you noticed the resurgence of gold accents in design recently? I have, and boy, am I glad its back! I've been dying to use it in my work but most clients see it as "so 80's and so dated." (The eighties were thirty years ago, people, get with it!) I really think gold, brass and warm metals give a richness and depth to all types of spaces, from super traditional to ultra modern. It also balances cool colors really well. (Here I'm referring to all of the greys I've been seeing around lately.) True brass is best left unlacquered, which means the metal will age and patina over time, giving it even more character. (I call this a living finish and its a good thing!)
Here are a few of my favorites with that Midas' touch...

An ivory lacquered cocktail table from Bernhardt.

A concrete and gold floor from skulptur-projekte.de
Its actually an exterior art installation and here's a better photo of the whole thing...

pretty cool, isn't it?

Here's a gold metallic and aqua hand-blocked fabric from

Galbraith and Paul. LOVE! 

All of their fabrics are made to order, by hand in Philadelphia. 

A lovely little folding tray table from CB2. This would be great to have around for parties, wouldn't it? Its a perfect place for a guest to set a drink or appetizer plate on.
Then it folds away when the parties over, easy peasy. 

Ahh, purple and gold, the colors of royalty, LOL! No, but seriously...do you see how the gold details are a nice compliment to the cool colors of the purple, grey and cream? That desk is covered in shagreen, by the way. Its from MadeGoods. 

Even seashells are getting into the act. 

The barnacles are from HomeGoods. They were about $30.00, depending on the size.
I think I would probably buy regular barnacles from one of the shell stores here in the Keys (or online) and spray them myself. Its less expensive that way.

Finally, there's even a little gold in our cat, Bindi. 

She looks annoyed in this shot because I had just woken her up from a nap.

She's actually really sweet and I love this picture of her....

"what a Beaut!"

Until next time,

xojo