The Full Coffee Experience!

Hi Friends:

Coffee? Back then, I could take it or leave it. Honestly, I preferred English Breakfast tea with milk and sugar. But all that changed when I went to pastry school. The 4:30 a.m. wake up pushed me over the edge and into the hard stuff. It wasn't long before a latte turned into a cappuccino and a cappuccino turned into an americano; a tall turned into a grande and a grande turned into a venti! Espresso was preferred over drip, and the stovetop Bialetti Brikka system was best. Hold the milk and add frothy steamed almond milk made with a stovetop Bellman CX25S Stainless Steel Milk Steamer please. As for the coffee? Intelligentsia, Jim's Organic Coffee or Starbucks Reserve - preferably sweet and syrupy. I didn't intend for this to happen, but I've become fanatical, even maniacal about coffee! And now this....  

Vintage Hoosier embossed coffee canisters! I love them! What better way to house my fresh grind. Having one of these on the counter just makes me happy. Georgia's is hunting them down and will have them available soon. Do you have a coffee tale to share? Tell us about it in the comment section. 

Wishing you a cup full of frothy goodness! 

Lisa and Nikki's Friday Finds!

What has inspired and delighted us this week? Here they are - the sights, sounds, tastes and one-of-a-kinds we loved!

Beautiful pinecone chandelier! Perfect for an outdoor holiday celebration.

Vintage pinecone cuckoo clock weights with old velvet ribbon available at Georgia's. We love them repurposed as paper weights or used as a decorative accent on a hutch or side table.

Do you do needlework? Georgia's is stocking vintage wool mill bobbins and spools. We love repurposing vintage dough bowls as decorative and useful project bowls!

Nothing quenches our thirst after a long day of shopping for Georgia's than La Croix over a tall glass of ice. This 100% pure sparkling water comes in 9 natural flavors and is calorie, sweetener and sodium free. Our favorite flavors are coconut and pamplemousse (grapefruit).

Now that the elections are over, Georgia's wants to say thank you to the many volunteers who give their time and hearts to the democratic process.  Let's remember the following:

Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.

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Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain love for one another.

Erma Bombeck

 

Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup!

Hi friends:

When it's overcast, damp and downright chilly, we all start thinking soup for dinner. There are a lot of very good commercial soups to choose from, but nothing beats homemade when it comes to health and nutrition. You get to control the ingredients, especially the salt! This quick and easy recipe for vegetable beef soup comes to you from my dad. You can vary the ingredients so that everyone is happy and satisfied. If you have a vegetarian in the family like I do, just use vegetable stock and add the meat to each bowl when served. As with all homemade soups, sauces and gravies, this tastes even better the next day and freezes well.

Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, medium dice
2 celery stalks, medium dice
2 carrots, medium dice
60 to 64 oz. broth (beef, chicken or vegetable/can or carton)
2 cups water (according to desired consistency)
1 large potato, medium dice
2 large tomatoes, medium dice
20 oz. mixed cut vegetables (canned or frozen)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried basil or 2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 pound ground beef, trimmed stew beef or diced chicken

Melt butter in 6 quart saucepan and saute onion, celery and carrot until softened.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, brown ground beef, cubed stew beef or cubed chicken. Set aside.

Dice potato and tomatoes.

Add mixed cut vegetables to the pan. I used a bag of frozen peas, corn, green beans and carrots and then added a cup of frozen lima beans. This is completely your choice. Add more or less vegetables according to taste. More vegetables will give you a stew-like consistency.

Add broth and water to the saucepan.

Next, add in the potato and tomato. Everything is added immediately in this recipe.

Finally, add in spices and salt to taste. Simmer until vegetables are tender (approximately an hour). 

Serve with grated parmesan cheese and, of course, hot rolls! Enjoy! 

 

Georgia's in Georgia!

Georgia's traveled to Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta, Georgia to attend the Country Living Fair sponsored by Country Living Magazine and what an event it was! 

This charming natural park combined with a wonderful blend of antique dealers, crafters and artisans made for a great weekend of shopping. I was equally excited about what others were hauling away as I was about the goodies I found for Georgia's! We will be launching with our winter/holiday collection on Etsy very soon; in the meantime, take a peek at some of the sights and finds that inspired us!

We loved these turn of the century andirons-oh, the patina!

 Hard-to-find antique cast iron ham boiler repurposed to hold fireplace logs! 

Vintage hand brooms; why not hang one by the fireplace. We love the turkey wing broom!

Beautiful mid-century art deco decanters!

Vintage bread baskets - so nice for serving dinner rolls!

Antique goat cart - perfect for holiday decorating!

We can't wait for store launch; watch for the big announcement!

Lisa and Nikki's Friday Finds!

What has inspired and delighted us this week? Here they are - the sights, sounds, tastes and one-of-a-kinds we loved!

Garden chandelier all dressed up for fall!

We love this mint condition antique Underwood typewriter! 

While in North Carolina, I had an awesome dessert at Carrabba's Italian Grill - vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and roasted cinnamon rum pecans. It was called the John Cole. I wanted to try making this at home. I knew I could buy good vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. But the pecans are what made the dessert. So I did a little experimenting and here is the recipe I came up with for the pecans:

1/8 cup white sugar

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. rum (divided)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 cups whole pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Bring sugars, salt and 2 tablespoons of the rum to a boil. Reduce heat and stir continuously until sugars completely melt and you have a reduced syrup. Add pecans and stir to coat. Add last tablespoon of rum and cinnamon. Bring mixture back to a boil and then spread pecans out on a parchment/silpat covered baking sheet drizzling syrup over nuts. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and then break apart. It's not an exact match, but give it a try. Go ahead, put them on a salad, too!

Have you heard of Brightbox? It's a phone charging station and they are popping up where people spend time. For a flat fee, your phone charges while you eat, drink or shop! Kudos to Brightbox for providing free charging to New Yorkers during the power outage caused by Hurricane Sandy. 

There's nothing like a cozy fire on a chilly Chicago evening. Georgia's loves birch logs!

Dill-icious!

Being a full time communications professional, business owner and blogger, any recipe that is quick, easy and flavorful has my immediate attention. My life changed when I tried this new entree salad recipe that features seasonal fruits, nuts and a dillweed vinaigrette that makes my mouth water just thinking about it. If there is one variety of food that must work extra hard to inspire me, it's salad. I'm not that girl who can sit down to a plate of lettuce and a bottle of ranch and be happy or satisfied. But this salad really packs a punch. Try it for dinner one night this week and let me know what you think in the comments section.

Happy dining!

Mixed Greens with Dill Salad Dressing 

Assemble ingredients

Dressing Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. dried dillweed

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/4 Tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/4 Tsp. dried oregano

Salad Ingredients:

4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 1 pound of shrimp

Steak and Chicken Rub (any brand will work)

8 cups spring/mixed greens or baby spinach

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup crumbled goat or farmer's cheese

1/4 cup pecans, chopped & toasted

For the vinaigrette, mix all ingredients in a bowl and combine with a whisk or fork. Let stand while you prepare the salad. 

Next generously cover the chicken or shrimp with a steak and chicken rub and grill on a gas or charcoal grill (12-15 minutes for chicken / 2-5 minutes for shrimp). I skewer my shrimp to avoid losing them through the grates. Cool.

Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and toast chopped pecans (5-8 minutes, turning often). Arrange salad greens on four plates. Top with cranberries, goat cheese, toasted pecans and chicken or shrimp (if using chicken, slice thinly). Give the vinaigrette one last whisk then drizzle over each salad. 

Dill-icious salad pictured with chicken and shrimp. Enjoy!

Create a Fall Arrangement from Nature!

Happy Halloween from Georgia's!

Hi Friends: 

Thanksgiving entertaining is just around the corner and, if you're like me, you're making a list of cooking, cleaning, and decorating to be done. Why not get a jump on the decorating by creating this fall arrangement with elements from nature. It's easy, quick, inexpensive and has a WOW factor! There's a lot of beauty in the fall garden and you can use just about anything with a sturdy stem. Look for bright orange, yellow and red leafy branches, Red Dogwood branches, twigs with berries or seed pods. The most important thing is to have fun with it!

I started with a container lined with sheet moss and packed with dry floral foam.

I covered the floral foam with sheet moss cut to fit the top.

For my arrangement, I used curly willow branches, a few faux fern stems, preserved leafy branches (available at craft stores) and some cotton stems that I brought back from a recent trip to North Carolina.

Start by inserting any tall stems into the foam right through the sheet moss establishing your shape and structure (known as the thriller).

Add a few fern stems to fill in around the base (known as the spiller).

Start adding your leafy element (known as the filler). Be gentle, these stems are brittle.

Finally, add berries or pods - dried lotus pods, okra or thistle would be great. Nature offers so many bold shapes and textures. I used cotton and then filled a bowl with my extra cotton pods. Enjoy!