When working in Nicaragua in May, I had a chance to take a long hike through the rainforest. While knee-deep in jungle, my guide pointed out a vanilla tree dripping in long, bright green pods. I nearly jumped out of my skin I was so happy. Vanilla beans for my taking! I carefully removed six long pods and brought them home, tucked in a sock, thereby breaking several teeny tiny international laws.

I decided I’d use them to make vanilla sugar for holiday gifts. The directions are very simple — place 2 cups of sugar and one vanilla bean in a jar. Seal the jar for 2 weeks. Remove the bean. Viola — vanilla-flavored sugar.

I saved every jar I could for several months and then took the opportunity to clean out my fridge to find a few more. With 10 jars, 1 giant bag of sugar and 6 vanilla bean pods I set out to make my project. It was only when I sliced open the first pod did I realize my grave error. The pods were green because they hadn’t matured. Even though they’d turned a beautiful coffee brown when drying in my pantry, they’d never fully germinated. There were no vanilla beans inside.
Rats!
Considering I had all of the other ingredients, I went to the market to buy the missing piece. For $12, I purchased two tiny vanilla pods and made do.

On another note entirely, thank you for all of your well wishes with the race. They worked! I set another personal best time and was really happy with my progress. Something about my training is going right!

~K

I am not one to spend lots of money on fancy wrapping paper. Instead, this Christmas, I’m using things I already had around the house and a large dose of creativity. To wrap my advent gifts, all 250 of them, I used my alphabet stamping set, some red ribbon, a bunch of brown paper bags, some silver paper, and one $4 box of ornaments I purchased at Ikea. Viola — a bit of Christmas craftiness.

Using what you have is satisfying and challenging. The added benefit is getting back a few more shelves in my studio. I spent about 6 hours crafting yesterday, only to put everything away last night and have the closet doors close with ease. Woo hoo!

If I were home this weekend, I’d be bopping around the house in a holiday apron, listening to Frank Sinatra crooning about mistletoe and wrapping myself silly. Instead, I am off to Tucson to run another 1/2 marathon. The Tucson Marathon and I have a love/hate relationship. I love her when she is six months away and hate her the day before. The last time I ran the full marathon, I cried hard for last 13 miles. There is nothing like a long, solitary race through the desert to make me hysterical. By the time I crossed the finish line, I was dehydrated, embarrassed and frustrated. This year, I’ll be prepared with an iPod full of great tunes, warm clothing to ditch on the sidelines as the race progresses and an improved attitude. It’s just a nice stroll through the saguaros, right?

Dear Santa,
Hi there! How are you? Busy from the craziness of the season? What’s that you say? You’ve been delegating your responsibilities after finding out you have Type 2 Diabetes? I’d been worried about your belly. You know, belly fat is the most dangerous. Don’t worry Santa. I’ll leave you a copy of the Moosewood Cookbook to take back to Mrs. Claus. Studies show a vegetarian diet is a healthier choice — including reducing your chances of getting cancer by double digits. You’ll find the book under some fresh fruit (in lieu of cookies), and a nice glass of soy milk.
Santa dearest, if you could manage to squeeze a few things into your sleigh for moi, here’s what I’m thinking:
1. Skirts. I love skirts. My legs look cute in skirts. Skirts fit my height well. Skirts are good for me. This pretty yellow one is nice. Or how about the blue one?
Better yet, how about you deliver me a simple pattern for a cute skirt and a few hours with my mama to sew my own? Fantastic!

2. Stationery. I never met pretty paper I didn’t love. I could use a new address book for that matter too. How about this paper set from my very favorite paper store in Beverly Hills? While you are there…

3. It seems that underwear are passé among LA trollops these days. Santa, could you please do something about this? On your way to Phoenix, please consider delivering a significant number of panties to the Malibu/Hollywood/LA area. Make them lacy. Make them giant. I don’t care. Let’s just stop the commando craziness already. We’ll consider this a gift to all women in America.

4. So many books, so little time. I’m reading about a novel a week these days Santa. But, I promise, if you haul a few of these my way, I’ll pass them along when I am done.

5. A green thumb. Santa, if you could point me in the right direction to how I can grow a tiny vegetable garden and learn how to compost, I’d be so appreciative. I just can’t seem to keep anything alive — including pothos, the seemingly indestructible house plant. The only thing I seem to be great at growing is mold in the cottage cheese container I forgot in the back of the fridge. Pretty sure that doesn’t count. Need some inspiration Santie? (Can I call you Santie? It’s cute.) Lookie here.

6. A flight to Rome. Let’s not beat around the bush. One of my most favorite people lives there and I haven’t gotten my lazy bum over for a visit. I’m thinking May, and two weeks or so. Want to come along?

7. These will make my baking a bit easier. And they won’t take up much room in your sleigh either.

8. Tall. Dark. Handsome. Think Jack. He’d certainly do. Shoot, I’d even move to the island. And if that can’t happen, please feel free to bring the island to me.

Thank you!

Smooches,
Kelli

{Someone left a comment this week that my advent projects are like a crafty shopping guide. That got me thinking. What do I want for Christmas this year? What do you want? And don’t give me any “world peace” Miss America answers. Prayers for peace are a daily — not holiday specific — theme ’round here. God bless all countries.}

That crafty Martha gave me another idea. In one of the recent Living issues, she listed a handful of projects using old, matted wool sweaters. Living in Arizona, I don’t have many (any) of these hanging around, but thankfully I did have one gifted to me by a fellow crafter in a recent swap.
I followed Martie’s instructions on how to transform this lovely gray sweater into a pair of simple and sweet mittens. {What? You don’t call her Martie? Come on. She’s been in prison. I’d guess this is one of her kinder monikers. Then again, looking at her successful return to society, I’d guess there’s nothing like time in the pokey to make you more inventive. Spoon = shovel. Straw = shiv… Well, that’s a whole different magazine.}

Voila — a unique and warm pair of gloves. After I took this photo, I dolled these gloves up a bit with a few pretty black glass buttons sewn on the cuffs. They are wrapped and under my little tree, ready for a certain family member’s hands.
I’m going to use the remaining part of the sweater to create iPod cozies. That way when you throw your tunes in your purse, the screen doesn’t get scratched by your keys. I’m thinking of embellishing these with embroidered initials, buttons and a piece of pretty ribbon around the edge.

I promise you all of my advent posts won’t be crafty. I’ve got some decorating, wrapping and baking ideas coming down the pike too. It’s just that I’ve been sitting on these photos for a bit and couldn’t wait to share.

~AK

Do you have little ones in your life? Perhaps you are a mama, or an auntie or just a girlfriend with lots of friends who have children. While I don’t have any wee ones of my own, I’m “Auntie Kelli” to a couple of adorable boys and a friend to a gaggle of other little ones.
One gift I’m crafting this holiday season are embroidered T-shirts. I combine plain cotton T-shirts with a bit of underwonder, fabric and embroidery thread. Viola — a unique and sweet garment.

This gift is economical, practical and easy — my favorite kind! In fact, I’m hoping to craft up a few of these for a couple of the larger wee ones in my life too. I’d like one with stars dancing across the bottom. Or saguaro cacti waving their prickly arms at me from the pocket…

~K

My friends and family will tell you — I love giving gifts. I look forward the holidays each year because of all the gift-giving opportunities. This year, I decided to go a bit crazy and celebrate all 24 days of Advent by sewing calendars and matching each day with a small gift. It’s an adventathon!
Today — the calendars. I sewed these basic 25-pouch wall calendars after asking several blogging crafty types for their advice. Nicole, Alison and Blair were all kind in responding with their ideas — which certainly pointed me in the right direction. Like so many with needle and thread, I love the simplicity of Japanese design. Granted, these fabrics are bit busier than the typical zakka project, but they are more festive too.

They have tiny ribbon loops at the top and were gifted with a dowel. The second calendar is intentionally less-Christmasy. Then again, the pointsetta fabric is some of my favorite this season. You’ll be seeing it here a time or two during this crafty adventure.

Excessively jolly,
Kelli

The Phoenix Farmer’s market has about two dozen vendors selling a a variety of items — from fresh produce, to duck and chicken eggs, to preserves and fresh baked bread. I enjoyed wandering around the stalls and making my selections. I was frugal and selective. However, as I feared, my $20 did not go very far.

My produce alone cost $17.85. The loaf of bread was $3. The honey was $4. While the produce tastes wonderful — so full of flavor — I wouldn’t be shopping here if I was on food stamps. This sack of groceries cost me $25.

I met the woman who organizes the fair and she was so welcoming and kind. I will continue to shop here — the olive bread and tomatoes I bought are out of this world — but I do not think this is a practical answer to those shopping with food stamps in Arizona.

This experiment has reconfirmed my desire to learn how to cook, bake, can and jar, and garden more than ever. It isn’t so much about saving money as being more self-sufficient. How great would it be to give homemade loaves of bread and jars of tomato sauce (from veggies grown in your own garden) for holiday gifts? Next year, absoloodle.

~K

P.S. Check out what Laura (LLA) of Atlanta got for $10 at her grocery by also using coupons and smarts. Awesome!

I’m not going to miss this snack.

Tonight I’m joining friends for happy hour and will delight in ending this food stamp diet with a veggie burger and Ace Pear. It’s been a great week — one I won’t soon forget. I’ve learned far more from hearing about your stories and experiences with hunger, than managing my diet.

A few updates, in conclusion:

~ According to Ginny Hildenbrand with the Association of Arizona’s Food Banks (great, great organization), you can purchase any food product you want with food stamps. For those who have witnessed people in the grocery line putting back lower-fat dairy products for their higher-fat counterparts, chances are they were using WIC funding (a different program specifically for women and children.) Food stamps can be used to purchase any food or garden seeds in Arizona. Granted, some rules vary by state.

~ According to Sharon Mahan with the Department of Economic Security in Phoenix, in September 2006 there were:
“106,986 Food Stamp Cases in Maricopa County
261,223 Participants
The average allotment of Food Stamps per household: $222.20.
The average allotment per person is: $97.37.
Total Food Stamps provided to individuals and families in Maricopa County: $25,436,023.00.”
And here is the real kicker: she told me if I made $16,000 per year, I’d make too much money to qualify for food stamps. The limit is actually less. Imagine how many working poor families are struggling with this! Even more, imagine what an increase in the minimum wage could do to help with these numbers. Thankfully, Arizona just passed such a law.

~Was this hard? It was challenging and exhausting, but I’d do it again. In fact, I’m going to do it next week too — of sorts. A representative from a local farmer’s market emailed and wants to show me tomorrow what I could get at her weekly market for my $19.88. Fair enough. I’ll post photos of the loot next week.

~ Also, I’m considering making $20 worth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to distribute at a day laborer pick-up point I pass each morning on my way to work. I figure everyone can use a snack.

Thanks again for all of your encouragement and conversation this week. If you are interested in preventing hunger in your community, I suggest donating to your local food bank, asking your pastor, priest, rabbi, mullah, what the hunger needs are of your spiritual community, or just stopping in your tracks the next time someone on the street asks you for money for food. Rather than handing them cash, why not figure out a way to actually feed them? You could keep a protein bar in your purse for such occasions, or even McDonald’s gift certificates. Or, you know, you could invite them to a nearby restaurant and sit down. I’d guess they’d be floored by your compassion.

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
-Mother Teresa

Cheers,
Kelli