FRIDAY FLOWERS

This was a birthday bouquet I received from Erika,

the stationaire extraordinaire.

Beautiful!

Love the card wrapped around the vase!

And a card she whipped up with all 41 of my wonderful and

not so wonderful attributes!

SNEAK PREVIEW...

We are so excited to show you all a sneak preview

of the limited edition candle we are introducing for the holiday's.

Our good friends from THE SOAP AND PAPER FACTORY

are pouring a candle for us to package

in these beautiful reversable bags of

wonderful velvet and silk that we are having made.

Great gifts for the holiday's.

Keep you posted!

PUMPKINS...

Well, we thought it was pumpkin time

but as Charlottesville is going to be in the mid to upper 70's

the next few days... we decided to bring the pumpkins inside

and create a little fall within....

There are so many different variety of pumpkin these days it is so

fun to mix and match!

MAO'S LAST DANCER

Temple Fennell, a Charlottesville resident, CEO of ATO Pictures (aka Art Takes Over) and good friend is distributing Mao's Last Dancer at the Vinegar Hill Theater.

Mao's Last Dancer is based on the autobiography of Li Cunxin, who grew up poor in rural China and became a world-famous ballet dancer. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford, the Academy Award winning director of Driving Miss Daisy, Breaker Morant and Tender Mercies.

To see the trailer of the film to to http://www.maoslastdancer-movie.com/flash.html

Hurry, because it wont be there long.

It is so good, a "must see"!

Bring your tissue.

BRAISED BEEF CHUCK ROAST WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

This morning I woke up and was inspired to cook my first braised meat of the fall.

With the temperature cooling, the leaves falling and after a very busy Friday and Saturday

I popped in a chuck roast that I had bought at the Organic Butcher.

My plan was to take it to a friend who had been moving all day but instead they

came to us as well as some other good friends.

We sat around for a very impromptu dinner

and watched football. There is nothing better than a roast or chicken that you can throw in the oven and walk away from all day.

These are my favorite kind of meals because they are so tasty,

really healthy and they just always leave you satisfied.

Meanwhile, your total prep time is no more than 20 minutes.

Recipe:

chuck roast half pound per person is the rule of thumb

you always want to get extra because it is better the next day

root vegetables any of your favorite, in season

I used potatoe, yam, turnip, beet and carrot

chopped the same size

onion

pint of stock

salt and pepper

thyme

salt and pepper your chuck. make sure you always let your meat sit out at room temperature

before you cook.

heat a few tablespoons of oil in a dutch oven

once hot sear the meat a couple of minutes on each side.

add stock ( i like chicken stock best)

and chopped vegetables and onion

add salt pepper and thyme

bring to boil then cover and put in oven at low temp until meat breaks up with a fork.

at least 4 hours

the longer the better!

Yum!

FRIDAY FLOWERS

Finally!

It feels like fall.

So we scavengered the yard and added some

grocery store roses and made a couple of arrangements.

A good friend gave me this woodstump for my birthday last year.

One of my very favorite things... makes a great center piece.

There is nothing more beautiful than what you find in nature.

Don't discount this time of year.

You will be amazed at how many beautiful things are

still in your yards.

Just look.

Happy Friday!

SCOUT Guide Vol. 2 is out!

We are so pleased with the response of the new edition

of the SCOUT Guide.

Great as a local resource or

as an out of town guide.

Check it out, if you haven't already!

"http://www.thescoutguide.com"