Quarantining: Weekending

Stores have been re-opening, which I have appreciated because I do like window shopping. I stepped into my favorite home goods store, Crate and Barrel to pick up my 8 Mercer appetizer plates (see below) and the small mortar and pestle or mini molcajete I ordered online. I'm really liking the small bamboo plates too that were displayed next to them. I do dream of entertaining or hosting crafty girl nights again after this pandemic.

I also like to get inspiration for my hobby of ceramics from the shapes and surfaces I see in stores. Below are some examples that got me thinking about sgraffito.

In fact, I'll be heading to my friend, Meral's garage today to do some distance handbuilding. I told her this weekend that small vases are in my brain because I like to buy at the florist shop, Blossoms, and forage for small blooms. I've been working with smooth red clay and want to play with contrast with matte surface.. I was thinking I could use pasta to create textures as well.

The centerpiece below would be especially fun and experiment with height and make low floral arrangements for my social gatherings.

While windows shopping, I did actual shopping at Joann's. I finally gift wrapped the birthday present for the 14-year-old recipient with some scrapbook paper and stencil.

I was going to originally stitch on my machine the gift paper to her gift, but washi tape works beautifully too.

I'm starting to think of gift wrapping as crafting too. Yesterday instead of playing with clay, I cooked. I finally got to make an antipasto pasta salad. And used up the hard salami and artichoke hearts in my fridge, but I also added mozzarella balls, rotini pasta, anchovies, red pepper flakes, red bell pepper, pepperoncini, black olives, Italian cheese shreds, and chopped basil for lunch.

And dinner became all about getting rid of leftover--chicken schnitzel and mashed potatoes and beef--and finally digging into my stone fruit galette.

 

I also finally Marie Kondo-ed my shoe closet. I had this large basket that I used with the intention of keeping the pairs of shoes I had that I wear, but that wasn't practical. I was having to dig and toss shoes over my shoulder to get to my rain boots or winter dress boots or running shoes or trail boots or espadrilles or dress flats or black heels or flip flops--which I would then have to toss back into the basket.. It was kind of time-consuming and efficiency-defeating. But then I spied this rack of wire drawer baskets at the dumpster....

Life-changing I tell you, being able to grab the pair of shoes I need either for work or for exercise or for lounging without re-organizing later (i.e., tossing the shoes hiding the shoes I need back into the basket).