Simple Joy Sunday

Don't forget, my birthday celebration is continuing until midnight tonight! Check out this post for more details.

Finding the simple joys each week...

Making pumpkin bread. I love pumpkin bread. I had the stroke of brilliance of adding chocolate chips after it was already in the oven, though. Undoubtedly, there will be more pumpkin bread to come this season... I'll have to do it then.

Awesome happy surprise on Monday morning. A work friend said that he was shopping over the weekend and found something with my name written all over it. It's a Wonder Woman mug!! I love it and I love how sweet he was to think of me. That was a really great way of starting what was looking to be a dismal Monday morning. =D

Got home Monday night to a sale in my Artfire Studio! It's just a little pair of earrings, but a sale is a sale and it always makes me happy.

Had a really nice time at this month's FL Herb Society meeting. We made herbal vinegars.

I thought I might add jogging/running to my work out schedule, so I gave it a shot on Wednesday. It really wound up being walking with short stints of jogging, but I'm just starting. It was fun to work out outside and I enjoyed the feeling of strength that came with running.

Thursday night, a lighting designer friend of mine was in town. I don't get to see him that often, so we were going to get together for a drink. Once he found out my birthday was the next day, he insisted on taking me to dinner. Italian food, drinks, and good company. It was a really fun evening.

I've felt all kinds of love from friends for my birthday: an unexpected e-mail, a postcard joke, love from friends on Facebook & twitter, a card from a group of friends at work... Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Scott really tried to make the day special for me since I was at work during the day and he was at work until midnight. I walked into my office full of presents, flowers, and a cake: it looked like my birthday exploded in there. And then later on during the day, he arranged for another cake and singing from all of my stagehand friends. He's such a sweetie.

Scott and I had a nice time yesterday wandering around downtown St. Pete. We went to the farmer's market and an art show. We were planning on going to the movies, but when the website was wrong and the movie we wanted to see wasn't playing, the manager gave us free passes for next time. Sweet. We hit Haslam's (an independent new & used bookstore) and some thrift stores before heading home to for some yummy pizza, leftover birthday cake, and catching up on our tv shows.

As always, check out more Simple Joy Sundays over at Cool Zebras. What were some of your joys this week?

Birthday Presents for Everyone!

I was originally thinking that this week's regularly scheduled Friday Finds blog post was going to turn into a general wish list for me because.... today's my birthday! Instead, however, I thought it would be more fun to give gifts to all of you! And you can choose what gift you'd like! And it's not just good today, but all weekend!

For every purchase in either Athena's Armoury Etsy Shop or Artfire Studio, choose one of the following:

-Free gemstone & sterling silver earrings
OR
-Free shipping
OR
-Free Euro 4-1 bracelet
OR
-20% (for November 20th, my birthday!) off

Make your purchase and leave me a note with which free gift you'd like. If it's free shipping or 20% off, you can either wait for me to send you a revised invoice before you pay or feel free to pay the full price and I will send you a refund through Paypal.

The celebration will last all weekend until 12:00am (midnight) on Sunday, November 22, 2009.

**20% off not good on armor.

FL Herb Society Meeting: Herbal Vinegars

As of last night, I'm officially a member of the FL Herb Society. Really nice group of ladies, a topic I enjoy, and an excuse to get out and do something. Okay, I'm in. =)

At last night's meeting, we had an herbal vinegar hands on workshop. Beautiful bottles filled with fragrant herbs and some good quality vinegar equal a really pretty, easy to make project that will last throughout the year. Herbal vinegars are a simple way to add flavor to salads, soups, stews, marinades, beverages, and even desserts without added calories, fat, sugar, or salt.


We were told to bring some herbs and bottles, but it turns out that they supplied an enormous amount of gorgeous, fresh herbs and some complimentary bottles (someone had a lot of those little wine bottles laying around!). There were a lot of amazing suggestions for herb & fruit combinations. I made two vinegars while I was there and another when I got home. Since I love Italian food, I made an Italian inspired vinegar while I was there (basil & garlic). I also used one of the suggested combinations of cranberry & rosemary because it just sounds amazing and looks so beautiful in the bottle. Since I had collected a bunch of my own herbs, I made one more vinegar when I got home with basil, rosemary, oregano, and garlic. I used red wine vinegar for all three.

A good rule of thumb is one cup of fresh herbs to flavor one quart of vinegar. Use a good quality vinegar between 6-8% acidity. Clean your herbs and pat dry. There are many recipes that call for heating your vinegar, but it's not necessary. Heating it will infuse it quicker, but the results of the slightly longer wait are supposedly more than worth it (it's my first try, so I don't know yet). Loosely fill your bottle with your herbs of choice and then fill with vinegar. Cap (you should probably use a cork or wax paper with a rubber band since the vinegar's acid will eat away metal) and store in a cool, dark, dry place for 4-6 weeks. When you are satisfied with the flavor, strain through white paper towels or coffee filters until the paper is clean (it may take several tries). Add some fresh herbs to a clean, sterile bottle, fill with the filtered vinegar, seal & label.

Fruit vinegars are made a bit differently. Combine all your ingredients (fruit and vinegar alike) in the top of a non-aluminum double boiler. Simmer, uncovered, approximately 10 minutes. Place in a large glass jar and store 3 weeks. Strain, pressing the fruit to get the juice out. Filter. Add a few berries, fruit, and herbs to your sterilized bottle and fill with your filtered vinegar. Seal and label.

Flavored vinegars will keep up to 18 months or longer if stored in proper containers in a cool, dark place. Some fruit sugars are likely to caramelize after a while and turn slightly brown. It's not attractive but it isn't harmful either. Use fruit vinegars within 3 months to avoid this. Vinegar is a natural preservative, so refrigeration is not necessary.

Cleanliness is essential. Be sure to wash all utensils, bottles, and equipment in hot, soapy water and then rinse in hot water. Always use non-reactive materials such as glass, plastic, or stainless steel.

If you are making some herbal or fruit vinegars for gifts this holiday season, dip your cork into hot wax, add a label, and write a recipe for its use on a small hang tag to tie around the neck of the bottle.

Of course, herbal vinegars can be used medicinally as well as culinary. Herbal vinegars are nutrient dense containing large amounts of calcium, the nutrients from the individual herbs used, and the healing properties of vinegar.

Herbal Concoction: The Queen of Hungary's Water

The skin is the largest organ of the human body. What many people don't think about is that what they spray and slather on their skin is, in fact, absorbed into their bodies. For this reason, I really started reading the labels of my personal care and body products a few years back. There were ingredients in there that I couldn't pronounce and that the European Union's version of the FDA won't allow into products due to their many harmful effects. I started to not only buy handmade, but also all natural and organic products as much as possible. In the past year or so, as I started to make my own household cleaning products, I also started to make some of my own personal care products (deodorant powder, lip balm) as well. I'm taking it a step further with my herbalism studies now.


I recently made a batch of The Queen of Hungary's Water. It has as many uses as it has variations, but my primary intent for this batch is to be used as an astringent (or toner). Astringents are used to remove excess oil, dirt, and cleanser from the skin. They tone the skin and help prepare it for moisturizing. While astringents are especially appropriate for oily skin, all types of skin can benefit from their pore-tightening effects.

Legend has it that Gypsies formulated The Queen of Hungary's Water and touted it as a cure-all using it as a hair rinse, mouthwash, headache remedy, aftershave, footbath, and I'm sure more. Another legend states that Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary originated this as a perfume to either preserve her youth or catch a husband, depending on which version you read.

This is one of the world's finest cosmetic formulas. It combines gentle common herbs in a masterful way, it's easy to make, and it's a versatile formula that serves many purposes. Not only can it be used as an astringent, but it can also be used as a rinse for dark hair; or as an ingredient in deodorants, herbal baths, lotions. The Vinegar of the Four Thieves is a variation of The Queen of Hungary's Water and can be used as a disinfectant.

Here is the formula I used from Rosemary Gladstar.

6 parts lemon balm
4 parts chamomile
4 parts roses
3 parts calendula
3 parts comfrey leaf
1 part lemon peel
1 part rosemary
1 part sage
vinegar to cover (apple cider or wine vinegar)
rose water or witch hazel extract
essential oil of lavender or rose (optional)

1. Place the herbs in a widemouthed jar. Fill the jar with enough vinegar that it rises an inch or two above the herb mixture. Cover tightly and let it sit in a warm spot for 2 to 3 weeks.

2. Strain out the herbs. To each cup of herbal vinegar, add 2/3 to 1 cup of rose water or witch hazel. Add a drop or two of essential oil, if desired. Rebottle. This product does not need to be refrigerated and will keep indefinitely.


After the photo above was taken, I added more vinegar for it to rise the full inch or two above the herbs (the jar was full). You can see in this picture all of the beautiful colors of the herbs. Well, it's been infusing for a little more than a week and you can actually see the vinegar taking on the properties of those herbs. The vinegar is turning a gorgeous deep rose. I'm going to let it work it's magic for the full three weeks. I can't wait to try it.