Pandemic Shopping with Rae

Small businesses appreciate every single sale. I know, because I am one. During the pandemic is is truly important to support those small businesses you love.

Rewind Decor. I love everything about this place and have bought a fabulous 1970s black leather lounge there. It was designed by Ingmar Relling who was a major player in the Scandinavian Mid-Century movement. Also got two of the vintage chairs above. They are a fun addition to the screened porch. If you need a little outing don your mask and go visit Morgan. 1336 Williamson St, Madison. Or if you are staying in check him out on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/rewinddecor/

Equally delightful are Hatch Art House and Hazel General Store at 1248 Williamson St, Madison. This is my go to place for gifts. We need to buy as much local as we can to help places like this stay in business. I recently got 2 birthday gifts there. Hatch is full of art and Hazel is a general store full of fun things. I am sure it will be an easy one-shop-spot for you. While both gifts I bought came from Hazel, Hatch carries my cards. Be sure to say hi to Tammy when you stop by. https://www.instagram.com/hatcharthouse

Jack + Ella Paper has endless cute cards. During the pandemic I think it is more important than ever to send cards, postcards and small gifts as everyone is more housebound. Just a little note that you are thinking about someone can turn a sad day into a good one. I send mail to 90+ year olds in assisted living and those who need a note so they know they are not alone. It is not that hard. But the important thing is to have cards on hand. Jessica has endless cards: pet sympathy cards, graduation, birthday, knitting, sewing, gratitude and lots more.

Her cards are also at Hatch and on her website https://www.jackandellapaper.com

P.S. and the illustrations are mine!

Be safe everyone!

Pandemic Baking with Rae

I am not much of a baker. That said, I am going to share a few things I’ve made since the pandemic. This is my second try at focaccia. The first time it did not rise. I went around asking everyone what could have gone wrong and my friend Gwen (thank you Gwen!) said you didn’t let the salt touch the yeast did you? Well, of course I did. This was my second try. And to be perfectly honest I am only doing this so I can make art bread . This is great with soup. The first batch did not go to waste. We had company and we decided it was veggie pizza and had a little lemon olive oil to dip it in. I did use a New York Times focaccia recipe but you can find one online. This will be a good Winter thing to do. Nothing like bread baking in Winter.

Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie, now that’s Summer. And I have rhubarb and the plants were my Mom’s. This recipe comes from The Joy of Rhubarb cookbook. And you can find the recipe here.

These are Jane’s brownies. These are the best brownies ever. My guess is that Jane got this recipe from an old 50s cookbook. They are the brownies of long ago, full of butter and chocolate. The best part is that the texture is right. More chewy than cake-like. And the recipe just makes 9 brownies. I make mine in an old square blue speckled pan. Go here for the recipe.

Here is the best banana recipe. (thanks Jen!) John often makes it, ok not really often. It is a treat and makes 2 loaves. Yum.

Enjoy!

Stay at Home with Rae. #1

I think we are all at a loss during this pandemic. I want to share things that I am doing to weather these trying times. I hope this gives you ideas. Plz feel free share yours in the comments.

Make the weekend a weekend. I was really floundering until I figured out that all my days were the same. Things felt endless. I was waking up sad. I work from home and now John is home too. So I lost my routine. I am starting to find a new routine. The most important is to have the weekend off to do as I please. Read, lounge, only do what I want. It does not have to be a big thing. A friend and her hubby get to eat potato chips on the weekend. Little treats. That new mindset is helping me a lot.

I find drawing to be meditative if I have no expectations. I bought this 5x7” sketchpad at the very beginning of the pandemic. I am drawing with a very fine line black pen. It is not how I usually draw so I am enjoying this new style that is emerging. It makes me happy. These drawings are just for me and the idea is to be loose and quick. I draw whatever I have laying around. These may become something at some point. Maybe fabric or wallpaper. But for now it is all for fun.

I just learned about Domestika yesterday. And just signed up for this class. It looks very hard but good. I got yummy new art supplies for my birthday and it is time to try them out. Again it is not about the results but about learning something new.

A friend told me I had to go outside for an hour a day and she is right. We go for a drive every day that it is nice. And yesterday we saw this. Cool huh?

My neighbor recently told me that she goes to sleep to bedtime stories. So last night I took Alexia upstairs, got comfy in bed and asked her to read me a bedtime story. A lovely British voice read me the Velveteen Rabbit. I was out before the story was done.

In the next Stay at Home post I am going to explore not doing things you hate.

Sleep tight.