I LOVE FALL!

Fall is my most favorite time of the year and Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday. People ask "Why Thanksgiving?". I say because it has all the fun without the stress. The food, family, stories, crowded tables, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas too and I'm not too stressed out by it. But I know that a lot of people are crazed by the gift giving and not to just those they know well and love, but to those they hardly know or see but once a year. The hosting and cooking too can have so many expectations. Thanksgiving is much more simple. The menu is set. The food doesn't need to even be that good just that there is lots of it. We host Thanksgiving every year and look forward to it every time. I do try to think of some little surprise or something different each year and it must be pumpkin oriented. We've done pumpkin raviolis, pumpkin soup and pumpkin beer to name a few. This year, pumpkin martini's. Which brings me to my latest blog entry. Pumpkins.

The first signal to my favorite season is pumpkins. Recently we visited our friends Josh and Aly Brewer aka Brewer Family Farms. They are pumpkin farmers and as you can see by the photos they have some fairly unique and rare types of pumpkins as well as hands on events at the farm every Thursday thru Sunday in October. I've urged them to get a facebook page and blog going, but for now you can reach them at 559-681-7000. Tell them Patty sent you.

"The Hip Hostess" Giveaway

Check out this blog that is giving away one of my hand painted  Olive You! dishes. Hurry to enter, the giveaway ends 8/28!

Decanter Tags

This is another trash to treasure story. Awhile back my Central California Etsy Seller's Team had a destash night here at my house. Destash is basically trading your unused stuff for someone else's. I picked up these wooden plaques without knowing what I was going to do with them. One day while I had my handy dandy chalkboard paint out it came to me! Now my guests will know what they are drinking. I just need to have a party so I can use them.

Couples Glasses

 I have an edgy side to me that I like to express now and again. I think it shocks people when this church secretary says a bad word and I like the reaction I get. Anyway, I came up with these sets of glasses and I hope other people see the humor in them. Eventually I'd love to do a set of snarky dishes with sayings like "Shut up and eat your damn dinner!". I just haven't worked up the nerve yet.

You can find these and other things like it at my Etsy Shop. 

Chalkboard Gifts!

These are some etching orders gone awry. I saved these boo boo's to paint chalk board paint over my mistakes. I'll try selling them at the craft fair this weekend. If they don't sell, they would make nice hostess gifts. One man's trash is another crafty lady's treasure!

Fancy Cork Board in Progress

We've been collecting corks for awhile now and finally have enough to lay the foundation of our new cork board. Of coarse we can't just do the basic weave pattern that everyone usually does. As you can see we have a few circles of corks already in place and we will fill in the outer areas as we go along. We'd better get to drinking more wine, it's for a good cause.