30 Days of Creativity – Day 27

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Four challenges to go in the 30 Days of Creativity

Day 27: What is the usual theme of your work?  If you tend to create joyful, bright and optimistic art, then try to create something somber or dark… or vice versa.

I never considered if I have a usual theme in my work, but if I had to describe it somehow, I guess it would tend to be on the positive side and easily understood. Though I love abstract and sometimes eerie art, I haven’t had much success in that. Here’s an attempt at something off my norm – a little darker, maybe? And using magnetic poetry.

What’s your usual theme?

Today’s Cuppa {Tea of the Week: Spiced Pear Bai Mudan}

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I don’t start my day without a hot beverage. And, we’re an equal opportunity household – coffee and tea – with a pretty diverse selection at home. From Ethiopian Harrar (we heart Valhalla) to Starbucks Christmas Blend, from Earl Grey to Peach-Mango, Sweet Lychee to Yunnan – I brew them both.

But there’s nothing like stopping into your favorite spot for your cup o’ joe, or maybe you frequent a tea place. I’m soooo lucky that there’s a local tea shop. I’ve mentioned TeaLula before. I visit with my kids, my husband, by myself… TeaLula, how we love you so. And it’s not just a shop with all things tea, and a hundred different loose teas, it’s an oasis for me. And I feel like we’ve made some very nice friends over the last couple years…

TeaLula: Sampling Tea

You know when you go to a restaurant and order the same thing every single time? I thought it might be nice to start off the year with something… new (innovative, I know).  Since I visit TeaLula on a fairly regular basis, I thought it might be fun to journal about the brews. Recently I tried a white tea, Spiced Pear Bai Mudan. Mmmmm. Sounds like it could be a swanky cocktail. Instead, it’s a swanky tea.

Bai Mudan is tea from the white peony. This blend has some star anise, sweet pear and see the helichrysum flowers? Adding a bit of sugar made the flavors more defined. Lovely. It’s light, unlike a black tea, and this blend has a fruity aftertaste with a surprising cooling sensation. Almost minty… it lingers on your tongue. (Made me want more, just so I could figure out what that taste was.)  My daughter said only two words after sampling the Spiced Pear Bai Mudan: melted pears.

More flavors and tidbits from the tea bar next week month!

If I don’t get back here before the weekend, I wish everyone a happy Chinese new year!

Cranberry Raspberry Jello Crunch recipe

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Over Christmas, I made a classic Jello recipe but changed up a few ingredients and steps. If you enjoy raspberry jello crunch, I have a recipe solution to using up some leftover cranberry jam with raspberry and cranberry jello. A nice balance between tart and sweet. I opted not to bake the crushed pretzels as stated in a lot of recipes – only because I didn’t have time. Just make sure you buy butter pretzels. Otherwise, you ought to take the extra step and bake your crushed pretzels with 1/2 cup of melted butter in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

  • 1 3-oz. pkg. cranberry Jello
  • 1 3-oz. pkg. raspberry Jello
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 to 1-1/2 cups of fresh cranberry sauce/jam
  • 1 cup butter pretzels, crushed (I used Rold Gold Butter Checkers)
  • 1 8-0z. pkg. cream cheese, softened
  • 1 8-oz. pkg. Cool Whip
  • 1/4 cup sugar (optional)

In a 4 to 6 quart glass serving container/bowl, empty contents of both Jello packages. Add the boiling water, and dissolve Jello. Mix in the cranberries after Jello is completely dissolved. Refrigerate until set (it may seem like a long time – give it 3-4 hours.).

Crumb topping: Mix cream cheese, Cool Whip and sugar until well combined. Spread on top of cold, set Jello. Top with crushed pretzels, and press down. Refrigerate until firm. Use a good size serving spoon when plating.

(I chose not to turn out (flip out) the Jello onto a serving platter… haven’t been totally successful with that.)

A New Year, a Clean Slate and Thank You

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Happy 2012 from our home to yours! How were your holidays and New Year? We were blessed with a wonderful break – gatherings with family and friends, awesome houseguests, many mornings of sleeping in, crazy eruptions of laughter in the house and constant eating. We all put on a few pounds, I think. (Among visiting Chicago favorites, we tried a new place, Slurping Turtle – yummy!)

Amazingly, my brother-in-law didn’t have to shovel our driveways and walks – not once this break (Merry Christmas, bro!). But it did make for a weird Christmas according to my little one (Where’s the snow? I want to eat snow, but not yellow snow.).

Every year, I marvel at how quickly time seems to pass. I think about what we’ve done over the year, remember people who’ve touched our lives. And, I quietly make resolutions for myself – mainly personal improvement things to enrich my family life. I’ve only shared one simple resolution on the So This is Julie Facebook page… to finish more projects than start. If you know me, I’m forever dreaming up things to do. And while my Pinterest boards show all my “someday” projects, I feel like I need to teach my kids about completing projects, too. I love that they know their mom is a crafty nut.

I’m totally excited for 2012 and all the sewing, papercrafting and cooking ahead of us. Thank you for reading along, all the comments and support… health, happiness and peace!

update :: sites to visit for journaling and renewal this 2012

New Years Manifesto | New Year’s Writing Ideas | A Year in the Life of an Art Journal

30 Days of Creativity – Day 26

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Another installment of 30 Days of Creativity – Day 26: Write, draw or paint something with your non-dominant hand.

It was funny explaining this exercise to my kids, and I found it somewhat easier than I expected. My little one told me a few times to switch hands to make drawing easier. He can be so logical. Drawing felt a little weird, and I had to think a lot more about how to form letters, which way my pen was going. Would this be like being in a reverse universe?

30 Days of Creativity – Day 25

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We’re coming around to the home stretch of 30 Days of Creativity.

Not a typical “30 Days of Creativity”. I have my good days and then there are not-as-good days. Recently I had my annual checkup, and my doctor couldn’t be happier with me – steady weight, great cholesterol numbers, light exercise, fair diet (still love good food). But, some symptoms were bothering me, my doctor and I talked, and now I’m researching fibromyalgia. I sort of suspected it – achy muscles from a little horseplaying with the kids and pain from simple activities. Like, you know you don’t feel well, but you ignore it, and then one day you wake up and think, “What happened?” I guess I would have chalked it up to aging, except, I keep thinking I’m doing all sorts of things to stay active and healthy, but still feel like… crap. On the flipside, my acid reflux issues are under control.

Unloading this right now seems so anti-holidays. But, really, the symptoms are manageable, and I’m thankful, so thankful, for my health when it could be so much worse.

Day 25: Write a simple Haiku. (5-7-5)

Getting older, my
Body betrays my spirit.
Hypochondriac.

 

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