Season's Greetings... Cards

Hi Friends:

One of my favorite holiday traditions is sending seasonal greeting cards. It's such a nice way to tell people you are thinking about them during this time of year. 

As I am sure you have experienced, displaying these cards can be a trick. Here are a handful of ideas to help you showcase your cards and add charm to your holiday decor.

When you rifle through your Christmas decoration box, do you have any extra ornaments that just don't seem to make it to the tree? Add them to a decorative bowl and add your cards. The bowl will look great on your coffee table or sideboard.

You can use the same philosophy with bells -- add them to a decorative bowl with your cards and voila!

Do you have a table with glass on top of it to protect the surface? Slide the cards underneath the glass for a great display.

We just love this idea from Martha Stewart! Simply punch a hole through your holiday cards, add a ribbon to form a loop and hang on tree branches. So cute and festive.

You can also purchase card holders that can be hung over the back of a door or mounted to a wall. I have a vintage card holder that I hang from a ribbon on my door (image on the right) but we found a great vintage-inspired piece at Pier 1 this year (image on the left)!

 How do you display your holiday cards?

Lisa & Nikki's Spooktacular Friday Finds!

Hi Friends:

Here at Georgia's we love Halloween. But not the scary, gory Halloween, we like the "Happy Pumpkin" kind of Halloween. So, what has inspired and delighted us this week? Here they are - the spooktacular sights, sounds, tastes and one-of-a-kinds we loved!

Remember when we made ghosts out of lollipops? Why not make mummies out of chocolate bars! We love this idea from Fun Family Crafts.

Want an easy-to-make door decoration that you can keep year after year? Visit your local craft store and purchase a twig wreath, gloss black spray paint and your favorite Halloween-themed ribbon. Simply spray (two coats), dry, add the ribbon then hang. This wreath is currently on my door and I think it is just adorbs.

Don't these jack-o'-lanterns just make you happy? We spied these at Brimfield this year and enjoyed their unique, industrial character.
We all love our pets, but aren't they even cuter when dressed up in Halloween costumes? These are the pets of Georgia's Crew: Ally "the shark" Bechtold, Ricky "the sailor" Ackleson and Johnny "the skeleton" Ackleson.

Looking for more great Halloween ideas? Follow our Halloween Pinterest Board, we populate it year round with our favorite finds!

On behalf of Georgia's Crew, we wish you all a safe and very happy Halloween!

Let's Kibitz About Grits!

Hi Friends:

In recent weeks, I've been on the road spending a lot of time below the Mason Dixie Line. That's right folks, I was back home in the South eating some good 'ole comfort food and shopping for great vintage finds. My trip gave me a lot to write about (so get excited, there's more to come), but let's start with the highlight of my trip - eating. Specifically, eating grits.

Grits have their origins in Native American cuisine and today are predominantly served in the South as a breakfast item. In fact, according to Wikipedia, "three-quarters of grits sold in the U.S. are sold in the South throughout an area stretching from Texas to Virginia sometimes referred to as the 'grits belt.'"

I've seen breakfast grits consumed with a myriad of additions including cheddar cheese, sugar (yuck, sorry mom) and my favorite, salt and pepper. Yum!

From my experience, sad to say, grits are polarizing; you either love 'em or hate 'em. Clearly I love them. And up until this trip, my husband swore he hated them... that's until he met the grit cake. We sampled two variations while in Asheville, North Carolina.

First up, the grit cakes served as an appetizer for lunch or dinner at Tupelo Honey Café. This is when Mark realized his major mistake, came to his senses, and started liking grits. I just fell harder for them.

But then we discovered grit cakes...for breakfast. Oh my gosh, I was beside myself. Early Girl Eatery's twist on eggs benedict, the Early Girl Benny, was out of this world. And look who was eating grits yet again!

But let's get serious peeps. Grits really shine in my all time favorite dish, Shrimp and Grits. I could eat this meal three times a day for the rest of my life and never tire of it. If you've never indulged, do yourself a favor and Google "best southern food in [city - enter the city where you live]," get in your car, drive to the restaurant and order shrimp and grits. You will not be sorry.

I certainly consider grits food for the soul and I just can't get enough of them. Next up, I plan to figure out how to prepare this Southern staple up here in the windy city (but until I do, I've already tried the Google tip I told you about. Thank goodness Chicago is a foodie city). Do you have any tips on how to prepare grits or know of a great place to get grits in your city? Leave a comment and let us know!!

Until next time ya'll.

A San Francisco Treat...Make that Treats!

Hi Friends:

Georgia’s was on the move again last week, this time hitting the west coast. For what? To eat and shop our way through San Francisco, CA while visiting some great friends. Take a look at the sights and tastes that inspired us!

First up, a trip to the Saturday morning market at the Ferry Building on the bay for some homemade oversized fig newtons, donut muffins and pluots. Yummy.

While there we found a stand devoted to mushrooms. Check out all of these varieties!

We also stopped at the can’t miss Cowgirl Creamery for easily one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I’ve had in recent years. Their grilled cheese special of the day is not to be missed and be sure to ask for extra homemade bread and butter pickles, they are delish!

The market is home to many local artisans who come out on Wednesdays and Saturdays to sell their handmade jewelry, clothing and woodwork. We could have snapped something up at every booth.

Next up, as we made our way down The Embarcadero, we stopped in at TCHO, a chocolatier that calls San Francisco home and boasts some of the most delicious dark chocolate around.

Moving right along our next step was, of course, the world famous Boudin Bakery for a Sourdough bread bowl filled with Clam Chowder.  

To wash it down we sampled the local brew Anchor Steam and it was such a delight. Boudin, you never disappoint.

All this walking, eating, sightseeing and shopping left us in need of a serious caffeine pick-me-up, so we swung by Buena Vista for one of their famous Irish Coffees.

Named the “Best Irish Coffee in Town" by the New York Times, Buena Vista boasts that their establishment perfected Irish Coffee. We took their word for it and gladly partook in the spiked, caffeinated delight.

Last stop - the famed Ghirardelli Square because we couldn’t end our day without one last taste of San Francisco, chocolate style.

We took a lap around their mix-and-match candy bar and picked up a few of our favorites including the luscious pumpkin spice caramel square and peppermint bark square before departing for home.

Liz, Sameer and San Francisco: thanks for your hospitality, history and great food. We will most certainly be back!

All Hands On Earth - Highlights From Chicago's Green Festival!

Hi Friends:

Georgia's attended Chicago's annual Green Festival this past weekend and it was everything we hoped for and more. This sustainability event is a celebration of solutions, and we were reinvigorated by all the ways there are to reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose! Here are a few of our favorite exhibitors: 

eco ditty - Makers of reusable, organic lunch, snack and sandwich bags. When you use one of these items, you're keeping a plastic bag out of the landfill and dangerous toxins out of your body!

The Greatest Candle - You aren't going to believe this! This company makes a powder that allows you to turn cooking oil waste into a vegetable based, eco-friendly candle. It takes just 2 minutes in the microwave and 15 minutes to solidify the wax. Did you know that for each 100 ml of cooking oil that you recycle, you save 100,000 liters of water?  The candles are long burning and there are great fragrance choices. We will demo this for you in a future post.

Theo Chocolate - This Seattle, Washington, chocolate maker cares about the way they "touch lives across the planet." They are the first organic and Fair Trade bean-to-bar chocolate factory in North America. The chocolate is truly high quality!

Working Bikes - A midwest organization dedicated to recycling bikes and making an impact. Discarded and donated bicycles are refurbished and redistributed as tools of empowerment in local and global communities. They ship over 5,000 bicycles per year and partner with groups that provide employment to severely underserved populations. Bicycles are even used as a source of electricity through the creation of pedal-powered machines!

Sleeping Mats

New Life for Old Bags - This project reuses plastic bags to help the environment and aid the homeless. Volunteers get together to turn plastic bags into plastic yarn (plarn) which is crocheted into sleeping mats for the homeless. We will demo this project in a future post, too; but, in the meantime, if you would like to join a group or start one of your own, search "new life for old bags" on Facebook. It is an open group.

Bottle Cozy

go dotty go! - These ladies recycle unloved wool sweaters! The wool is felted, cut and transformed into scarves and accessories. We think they make perfect one-of-a-kind gifts!

We hope we've inspired you to learn about and support green and Fair Trade businesses!

A Mother's Day Letter From Mom!

Hi Friends:

With Mother's Day just around the corner, I thought I would post a letter to my children, Nikki and A.J., and to children everywhere, as to be a mother is to feel bound to all children. Happy Mother's Day to all moms and their beloved children!

Dear Nikki and A.J.:

Each year on Mother's Day, I realize that my gift is the privilege of being your mom. From the moment that I first held you in my arms, I have never been happier than when I am spending time with you. As your mom, it was my job to love you, protect you and encourage you and I wanted to get an "A" in it! I know well that I have been imperfect, but I hope you realize that every decision that I made was rooted in my love for you. Through you I have fine-tuned who I am, what I stand for and experienced the purest form of love. You have been my teacher.    

So on Mother's Day more than any other, I want to celebrate you. For without you, I wouldn't be a mother. On a day when you go out of your way to make me feel loved, know that you love me with every smile, with every hug with every phone call; you love me when you're compassionate towards others, courageous and responsible.  

And now that you are out there finding your way in life, I want you to know that I am proud of you for who you are. Strive to pay attention to what is meaningful in life and always take the high road. In your lowest moments, picture me standing there right beside you holding your hand and be strong. You are never alone, for you are in my heart and I am in yours.

Love, Mama 

Happy Mother's Day 
from Georgia's!     

Easter Fun!

Hi Friends:

Did you know that bunny rabbits, chicks and eggs historically symbolize Spring and new life? There are, of course, many traditions and practices surrounding Easter. Easter baskets, dyeing eggs, hot cross buns and Easter Lillies, just to name a few, all in some way celebrate newness and re-birth. Easter is joyous and hopeful!

At our house, even though we're all adults, Easter is a big event. I still make a big dinner, put together Easter baskets for everyone and I have managed to keep the egg hunt tradition going by upping the ante. In addition to hiding chocolate eggs in the yard, my husband and I hide plastic eggs filled with coins, dollar bills, a fiver or two, a ten, a twenty and golden eggs worthy of a gift card! With the holiday just around the corner, I have been busy gathering together some ideas for this year and want to share them with you in hopes of making Easter "eggstra" special for you and your loved ones!

Welcome guests with a carrot door decor. I embellished this one with indoor/outdoor fabric strips!

Display your eggs! This wire basket is ready for those hand-dyed beauties!

 

Decorate with a bunny. Whether ceramic, stuffed, or vintage wicker like this one, nothing says Easter like a bunny!

These picket fence baskets from The Lucky Clover Trading Company are too cute and a real bargain at $3.50!

This crochet carrot pouch from Repeat Crafter Me is adorable! It's the perfect quick and easy project and you can fill it with a special treat! Click on the link for complete instructions.

Leave it to Martha Stewart to come up with this Easter basket favor made from paper cups. So cute!

Aren't these chevron bags great! Perfect for Easter goodies. Here I glued an Easter chick to a small scrapbooking clothespin and used it as a bag clip. Bags and clothespins are available at Michael's!

If you're giving a special Easter gift, tuck it into a beautiful egg like this beaded beauty. 

I made this crocheted egg cozy with the help of a DIY tutorial from Flax & Twine using DMC pearl cotton size 5. I love the natural look!

Sew up a few carrots! How cute to decorate with or tuck in a basket. I used vintage bedspread fabric and calico to make the patterned carrots; the other two are felted. Cut carrot shapes from fabric, sew right sides together, turn inside out and fill with poly fil, add calico stem and whip stitch closed. Sew simple!

This baguette board loaded with filled eggs doubles as a table centerpiece and favors for guests! A cute basket would work, too!

Speaking of eggs, look at these cute alternatives for fillable plastic eggs. Fill with jelly beans, m&m's and more!

Make Rice Krispie treat pops! Simply cut Rice Krispie treats into an egg shape with a cookie cutter, decorate and add a lollipop stick!

Assemble a mini Easter basket for friends, neighbors or co-workers! This little basket from Michael's measures 3" x 4" and comes in a variety of colors.

How about these cheery mini paper bags also from Michael's sized perfectly for homemade cookies or candy!

Need a hostess gift? Embellish a planter with a bottle brush chick, pinwheel or candy-filled egg! Find embellishments at craft stores.

Georgia's crew wishes you and yours a happy Easter!