Jan's Fan

My friend Jan lives in Dripping Springs. A small town about 20 minutes from Austin. She lives in a fabulous house up on a hill at the highest point of "Drippin," as the locals call it. And since Jan's lived there about four years, that's what she calls it, too.

When I need creative inspiration or my brain seems stagnant, I sneak away and spend a day or two with her. I've know Jan since 1992 when she came into my shop to order rehearsal dinner invitations for her son. Over time we became fast friends. I have learned so many things from her through the years. She has style and class and terrific ideas.

That's where I was Wednesday and Thursday of last week. Sometimes I just feel that I need something new to look...just to get the creative juices flowing again. She always has fresh ideas. She is a fabulous cook and the best party planner under the sun. Her presentations are over the top and one just never passes up an invitations to Jan's. (And sometimes one doesn't even WAIT for an invitation, one just invites herself, like I did last week.)

Leaving here on Wednesday morning at 6:30, I was in her driveway by 10:15. We took off to Austin, picked up our entertainment for the day...her daughter Andrea, and made our 12:30 lunch reservations at Bess's with time to spare. Bess's happens to be Sandra Bullock's restaurant on Sixth Street and Pecan. She didn't know we were coming, so she wasn't there, but the food was fabulous and the atmosphere was stellar. Even without her, it was wonderful...and besides, she now has that baby to take care of...

We then drove to Marble Falls to shop, finding inspirational displays at The Mews and finding great disappointment that my favorite kitchen store, Zoo-La-La, is out of business. We drowned our sorrow in the bottom of a pie pan at The Bluebonnet Cafe...making it there just in time for "Pie Happy Hour"! My kind of happy hour...

After many miles and lots of calorie-burning giggles, we dropped Andrea back at her house, drove back to Drippin', and grabbed a rocking chair on Jan's back porch just in time to watch a few rain clouds roll in.

The next morning Jan followed me in her car to a little junk/antique shop in Elgin, a little town east of Austin. Had a quick bite of barbecue, which is what Elgin is famous for...much more so than junk/antiques, we discovered. From there we took the back country roads to Geronimo, a tiny, tiny town full of antique stores. We both thoroughly enjoyed the ride through the lush, green countryside to get to Geronimo. It was sort of on the way home for me and just a giant loop for Jan.

I spent a total of $27...$10 on a tray and $17 on a wire basket, but the inspiration was priceless. And I came home with a bag full of books and magazines that she thought might offer me something new to discover.

So thanks, Jan and Andrea, for the laughs, the good company, the fabulous food, and always being up for an adventure! It does the soul good!

Little Stool Makeover

My friend Colleen is coming for a visit in a couple of weeks and I'm in high gear getting ready for her. I find houseguests provide a great incentive to get things in shape...like all those "temporary" piles that develop in my guest room get cleaned up and put away and my linen closet gets organized again...those sorts of things that I need a little push to get done.

I was walking through the garage last weekend and found this stool that she'd given me on one of my visits to her house. I have a thing for little stools and seem to have them all over my house. She'd found this one at a garage sale and thought I'd like to redo it. It was covered in some type of nautical polyester rope in blue and white and if I lived on a houseboat like the ones we saw in Seattle a couple of months ago, I'd be good to go, but it doesn't really go with my decor. So, it's been sitting in the garage along with another gadzillion projects waiting to be done and I figured I'd better hurry up and get it done before she gets here.

The square base is wonderful and sturdy with barley twist legs so, of course, the first thing I do is remove the rope seat and spray it with black satin paint. I spray anything that stands still long enough with that stuff and I always like it better. Then I asked St. Wayne to glue the joints just to give it a little more sturdiness. I left it to set for the week.

This afternoon, I dug out a package of left over drop cloth from last year when I made pillow and table runners. Remember those? I had plenty left over, so I cut out six strips, folded them in half, sewed them, then turned them right side out and pressed them with the iron. I then wove them across the bottom and stapled them underneath. That provided a base to attach a pillow. I lettered "No. 12" (because I have a thing for numbered things, too) and scanned it, ran a transfer sheet through my ink jet printer and ironed the transfer onto the cushion top. Sewed it up, stuffed it with polyfil, and glued the finished sides to the woven strips...and there you have it. I'm really happy with how it turned out...and it really didn't take that much time and cost about nothing. And we just won't tell Colleen it took about two years to get it done!

Tiny Tags

There are times you'll want to print on something other than a 8.5 X 11 inch sheet of paper in your computer printer. I'm always wanting to print on something small...like the tags in the first picture. I use these for gift tags, labels for boxes and baskets, and mailing labels. Well, I have a trick I use that might make your life easier...you can thank me later.

The second photo shows the blank tags ready to be printed and the secret ingredient...Post-it tape.

First, I choose the font, color, and size I would like to print on my tag and then type it up with lots of space around it as shown in the third picture.

Then I use a Post-it Labeling and Cover-up Tape to secure each tag OVER the words that were just typed and printed. You have to secure it and make sure there are no little edges sticking up because you want it to go through your printer again without coming apart. In the next photo, I show you what it looks like all taped up with the Post-it tape holding the tags in place.

Then I send the same piece of paper through the printer with the tags taped up and cross my fingers. It makes a little noise and scares me a little...but knock on wood...I've never had a problem losing anything in my printer.

You remove the tape and your little tag is ready to go. The Post-it tape is available at Staples Office Supply. We don't have a Staples locally, but you can order online. It's wonderful tape and easily removed after it's done its job.

If you have trouble understanding the process, email me and I'll walk you through it. Good luck, practice on one tag at a time at first and then, hopefully, it will open up a whole new way of printing all sorts of things...luggage tags, postcards, placecards...the possibilities are endless. Manipulate your printer at your own risk and practice until you become fearless like me and are willing to try anything. Don't blame me if you have to buy a new printer...afterall they're pretty inexpensive. Just kidding...it's always worked for me and if you secure the tape so nothing catches as it's going over the rollers, you really shouldn't have any problem.

Views from my Lunch Spot

About once a week I take my lunch down to the bayfront. Today I took my camera. I'm a firm believer in taking advantage of where you live and finding spots to love. Needless to say, my favorite thing about Corpus Christi is the bayfront and the energy down there. I especially love Wednesdays because there is a regatta in the afternoon. There's nothing I love better than watching those boats dance with the wind on the bay.

The top photo is the view where I ate a sandwich then I drove over to the second spot to have my cupcake for dessert. Even though my thermometer on my dash read 96 degrees, just knowing it's September, makes it feel different.

I was a little early for the races today. Some Wednesday in the near future, I'll talk St. Wayne into dinner on the water and we'll snap some pictures of the boats in action.

What's the view like where you have lunch?