What a great week!

Where to begin?  This past week has been a whirlwind, as holiday weeks usually are :)  On Thursday Jake and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house.  In a mad frenzy we cleaned, shopped for groceries and navigated around five dogs. It turned out beautifully and deliciously.  Remember that most of my family is vegetarian...here was our menu:

Savoy Cabbage Gratin
Roasted carrots and parsnips with sage brown butter
Garlic mashed potatoes with Gruyere
Caramelized cauliflower with red onion and chickpeas (and cumin)
Cream Braised Brussels Sprouts
Stuffing with celery and onions
Wild rice with cranberries and walnuts
Swiss chard with fresh ginger
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Crumb cake

I thought that maybe we would have too much food, but there were hardly any leftovers!  Can you tell that Orangette and Smitten Kitchen have been on my mind?

Then we made decorations for my sister's intimate wedding on Friday.  Yes, you read that correctly.  My sister is married now!  To a marine!  And she's moving to North Carolina!  It was a beautiful and touching ceremony and then we all headed to a local restaurant for some delicious food and then back to a friend's house for cake and mingling.  It's odd, I never thought that my sister would get married so quickly, but I can see why - he's an awesome super sweet guy.

After the wedding I headed over to VSW for the panel and screening of Handmade Nation (and old-school bake sale).  Both were fantastic!  We had a huge turnout and filled the auditorium.  I hope that happens again this week :)  Afterward, we transformed the auditorium into a little oasis for crafters.

And the fourth Second Storie Indie Market was Saturday and Sunday.  I can't tell you how super incredibly amazing it was!!!  We doubled the attendance from last year and all of our vendors were just the sweetest most talented bunch of people.  It felt like being at a family reunion, where you can't wait to catch up with everyone and they have sweet stuff for sale - or trade!  I think my favorite part is Sunday brunch with the vendors.  A couple of hours to eat delicious tarts and quiche and really get to know everyone before the shoppers arrive.  Thank you SO much to everyone who stopped by and said hello - it means so much to me!

It's a little fuzzy, but I thought you might like to see how the Second Storie raffle winners were chosen...Jake had a rough job!

This week will also be crazy.  I have a holiday show tomorrow night at a local country club and then two this weekend.  The Holiday Gala at my studio is Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  I won't be able to be there in person, so my sister and my intern are going to take over for me.  I'll be in NYC for the Bust Craftacular on Sunday and a little round of museum hopping and vegetarian soul food.  Whew, my little blog-break is over, it's time to get back to work!