Upon arrival I was surprised to realize that the no-heat thing was no joke. I took one look at my half-bottle of wine I’d brought and quickly started pouring. No need to stay cold with women and wine around. Under the circumstances, I mean that in a oh-so-non-sensual-way, but women and wine are a most perfect pairing. I need not worry that we run out. So, there I am pouring and sipping, and soap making. I’m surrounded by a group of crafty ladies, freezing my little behind off in a wood shed, reminiscent of a Finnish sauna minus the burning wood. I HATE the cold. And I often dislike organized women gathering festivities, although I love mini cucumber sandwiches and the petite fours that are served at such events. But when the soap started bubbling on the crockpot (yes, literally) and ladies started sounding off essential oils like they were at a live auction bidding on a Degas, I really started to warm to the whole extravaganza. “Yes, nutmeg and clove!” I offered into the mix of requests.

And yes, indeed, my soap making tour was successful, largely due to the workings of Stacey Adam, owner of Blooming Earth Flowers. Adam, a wizardly artisan, magically twisting sticks into artful wreathes and drafting out calligraphy using homemade inks, is certainly a Knoxville specialty. In a place constantly booming with half-minute new restaurants, trendy little boutique shops, and a group of inhabitants – not quite sure if they are claiming the inspiration of historical Appalachia or the hipster renderings of Jack White – it’s nice to find something so unique. Yes, soap making is an old craft, sure, but making soap with people I’ve never met before in a North Knoxville shed, in the middle of winter, in cramped quarters on a weekday night, is not. It’s unique and I’ll take that, happily fulfilled to have accomplished something, on a Monday night.

But that’s enough of that. Moral is, if you live in Knoxville, and could do for some cold red wine and sticky soap pouring, I highly recommend a visit. Here’s a run down of the actual soap making process, in case you’d like to try it out yourself.

What you need: Hard unscented soap, double boiler or crockpot, essential oils, spices, empty MinuteMaid paper canisters, locally produced luffa (optional), spoon

1. Heat hardened soap (for this round Adam purchased soap, but she’ll be using soap made from her farm animal fat during a February workshop) in crockpots or a double boiler until it’s fluid.

2. Pour warm soap into empty paper canister. Then pour the soap into a glass bowl (see below).

3. Pour your favorite essential oils or spices into the warm soap. Work quickly so that the soap doesn’t harden while you’re pouring. Combos include: lavender and rosemary, orange rind and clove, spearmint and eucalyptus, oatmeal and lavender, rosewood and bergamot. My friend, Cassie, is pictured below sprinkling what looks like spearmint into the warm soap.

For other recipes, Adam suggested The Aromatherapy Companion by Victoria H. Edwards, a veritable inspiration for aromatherapy aspirations. One peek and I wanted to find someone sick to feed spearmint and bay leaves to, testing my homeopathic skills to the tune of praise and admiration. OK, I haven’t bought the book yet, but it looks just lovely.

4. If using, place the sized luffa (just cut it with scissors down to size) in the paper canister.

5. Pour the seasoned soap concoction back into the paper canister.

I, of course, while transferring the soap, spilled it all over the ground. It was absolutely amazing how this happened. I considered the task at hand, thought to myself, “wow, I remember in pre-school when I had to do something similar but totally missed and spilled the water, or whatever it was, on the ground.” Then I proceeded to pour the warm soap all over the floor. Absolutely impressive if you ask me. In the pictured above, Adam has taken over to manage the pouring herself, lest I burn a hole in her shed.

6. Place the filled canisters outside to harden.

7. Peel off the paper, and use a knife to cut the soap log into about six pieces. And voila! You have your soap.

The final product is a piece of real natural beauty, wonderfully used to laud over your friends and neighbors. “Oh, you buy your preservative filled soap at the supermarket discount isle?! Well, I make all natural soaps filled with essential oils and homegrown lufa!” Thanks to this post, you’re sure to win friends and influence people!

And P.S. If I failed to explain Adam’s artistic soap making process correctly, which I’m sure I did, I won’t own up. You need to visit her for the real deal. That’s my disclaimer, and I’m sticking to it. Click here to learn more about her business and everything she can do to make your wedding, party, etc. better: Blooming Earth Flowers

While in Tucson, perusing around 4th Avenue, the home of a grunge-style, vintage-dedicated shopping district of sorts, I finally settled with a potential purchase after hours of shopping. But of course I couldn’t make the purchase right then, early in the vacation week. I mean, really, who knew what I might find in the days ahead. So I put it in the back of my mind, but come Thursday, with money burning a hole in my little knickerbockers, I was ready to spend that dough, but alas, no cigar was to be had. The little “Day of the Dead”  french maid skeleton woman wall hanging wasn’t to be found. I was devastated.

My reason for adoring her? She’s me, haunting my house to make sure it’s clean in 80 years (maybe 40, who knows)! I’m obsessed with cleaning my house and find it hysterically fitting to view my addition in this sad way.

So back to the search. I wouldn’t go down without a fight, so I called the artist up, learned that she had only traded out her store art for fresh sales material, and made the purchase right then over then phone. Two weeks later, she arrives and all is right with the world.

I fell in love with all Day of the Dead folk art created by Wimsy (artist name is Karen Manderscheid). She says that she’s particularly influenced by the Southwest, especially by a rich and vibrant Mexican culture, and it’s truly revealing in her artistic impressions that often incorporate bold colors and intricate designs.

So all this is to say, I love her, and you should too! She’s found a home on Etsy, but it’s an empty at this moment. If and when she has time to make additions, I’ll probably post here to let you know. In the mean time, if you’re interested in making a purchase or viewing her art in Tucson, AZ, you can message her through her Etsy account, found here: http://www.etsy.com/people/kmanderscheid

To start out the trip, the Tim Lee 3 played at HoCo Fest at the Hotel Congress on the same day we arrived. Here’s a pic of them rocking out:

The weather was breezy and the outside venue was just what I needed on my first day in. I grabbed a cocktail and enjoyed meeting new people and listening to a variety of musical styles, including Steve Wynn, Amparo Sanchez, and of course, my favorite, Tim Lee 3. Without a doubt, the vintage Hotel Congress and Cupp Cafe is a highlight of this town. The restaurant is charming, with a mix of Southwestern flair and a Spanish vibe that evokes relaxation so easily that I didn’t even have to remind myself to stop thinking about the long plane ride I’d just departed. I have a feeling that we will continue frequenting the restaurant.

A great view from the patio.

I was a little jealous of Tim’s dinner choice of tuna nicoise.

The Cupp Cafe seems to love duck. It was incorporated into taco shells and dressed with a corn-cabbage-avocado mix, above.

The Cafe was flooded with natural light, but they had no problem adding these crafty wine bottle chandeliers to the decor.

I am, though, two days into this trip. It’s hard to cover everything, but there are a few more highlights. Today, I made a trip over to the Tucson Botanical Gardens while the band was busy recording. I’ve visited a few botanical gardens throughout the U.S., but never been to one quite so expansive. The design incorporated different themed courtyards including a Zen Courtyard with a rock and sand garden, a kitchen courtyard that displayed dried peppers, and other foods, and so on. The decorative gardens were far different than anything I’ve seen before, with my favorite section being the cactus garden. Here are a few shots:

Above, a shrine is placed in the neighborhood garden, where a collage of distinctive styles are showcased to honor the Mexican-American homes that thrive in Arizona.

My favorite cactus was, of course, found in the cactus garden. It’s the Mexican old man!

The tallest cactus I’ve ever seen, above.

The Thorneville village, above, was located in the center of the gardens. Each house is intricately detailed, and makes up an entire miniature community.

Another shot from the neighborhood garden is shown above. I really am just including this picture for all the wonderful ideas it evokes for home garden design. The ladder concept could easily be recreated by an old garage-sale ladder and some spray paint. The chairs can be found at many vintage stores.

Every time I walk outside I’m amazed by the dryness of everything. The cacti are enormous, and the flatness of the desert against the jutting mountains is so unlike Tennessee. It’s hard to believe that this is all part of the same U.S. I’ll be back soon with more. Stay tuned!

I think the author of this article endorses Vanguard because they provide historically reliable funds, but of course, there could be many other reason, so do your research. Ideally, an index fund such as the 500 will return 10 percent a year. This seems optimistic to me, but who knows. Anyways, interesting option to consider.

Please note: I have not invested this way, and I do NOT have a background in finance.

This was taken as we were boating in to take family photos at this beautiful little island. Locals, from my understanding, often choose this location for weddings. But I’m moving a little too quickly.

The trip this year took the Honkonen family to Saranac Lake in upper New York. I’m a Florida girl myself, vacationing in Islamorada in the Keys since I was a kid, so I was a little perplexed at the idea of northern relaxation time, but I can go with it, and besides, I was thrilled to visit a new place. And of course I wasn’t disappointed when I found myself out on a huge lake surrounded by the Andirondack Mountains. It was absolutely beautiful, with temperature in the 70s and long days spent hiking, swimming and tubing on Saranac lake. I should know if I was on upper, lower or middle Saranac lakes, but I was on vacation, OK? Don’t expect too much from this post. We had the opportunity to stay with the hub’s godfather and his very regal dog, Balta (pic below), and the house was packed with Matt’s two brothers, one girlfriend, Chelsea, and my new sister-in-law, Natalie!!!! Together, they are the best sister-in-law and girlfriend-in-law a girl could ask for, and will surely make a complete “Honkonen Wives Club” one day (that was Natalie’s creation!). I don’t have sisters, so it was another new experience to have some girl-time during family vacation.

Near the end of the week the temperatures dropped suddenly to 50 degrees, leading Hawk (Matt’s godfather whose house we were staying in) to start a fire in August! Whew, that was a little crazy. I don’t think I could even step foot on Saranac land in January or February when it can get to – 35! I think my veins would freeze and I would start crying. Saranac can be one of the coldest places in the Continental U.S. Did I mention that I can trace my family lineage back to Ponce de Leon and the family has been in Southern Florida ever since? And I’ve gone and married into a Finnish family, sealing my fate of cold vacations for years to come.

More pictures. I did very little thinking on this trip, and a lot of reading mystery novels, eating great food and swimming in the lake. As for the travel tips, I suggest you go and do just that – relax. Lake Placid is a very short drive from the small village of Saranac, and I hear it’s a great trip. Also, you can drive over the boarder and within a few hours drive claim a Canada visit if you feel so inclined. I did neither of these things, but I stayed with a local so I get travel bonus points anyways. Oh, and we drove! Yep, that’s 17 hours each way, but we made it through without killing anyone. No family member left behind!

It was a family trip like no other. Here we all are – the Honkonen clan.

Our days were spent out on the boats as much as possible. Here’s Matt about to go tubing with Alex and Hawk, Matt’s godfather, who was so nice to let us barge into his home, doing the navigating.

Here’s the gang at the Saranac “beach,” an area of very shallow water where we enjoyed some hang time in the water.

A good example, above, of a few adorable cabins on Saranac lake.

Girls gone wild…Saranac style!

And here we are again, all cleaned up and looking pretty.

A serene pic of the lake. This is what comes to mind now when I think about upper New York.

OK, the red hat and cheap sunglasses are more than a bit unfortunate, but this was leading into that 50 degree weather and I was at a loss as to how to move from the bathing suit gear to a winter ensemble. Clearly, I need to take some time to prepare for the upcoming Fall.

There’s Hawk’s little Balta, dear little “pup-pup.”

Two men and a boat. Enough said.

So, that was it. A week long adventure spent on the water surrounded by lots of pine trees and every outdoor activity at our doorstep. During the winter months, I hear that they actually pull out the snowmobiles to get across the frozen lakes. Sounds like fun, but I don’t know that this southern girl will ever experience it. A luckily warm summer visit was just perfect.

So, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Kernersville is very small. I’ve walked up and down Main Street twice now, even visiting the consignment stores featuring sales on hawaiian print shirts. Wow, I’m still regretting a big purchase. And this little Shakespeare and Co. bookstore (in no way related to the Paris chain) I’m sitting in is missing an abundance of something very important: books. Being a bookstore and all, I was expecting a bit more paper and ink.

But it’s really all my fault. I’ve taken the rock band’s van (yes, you should envision the familial type and yea, you should laugh at that irony) and it’s intimidated me into staying off the interstate that leads to Winston-Salem. Damn my fear of large, soccer-mom vans. I can’t be held responsible for wrecking the vehicle that provides rock glory all across the Southeast. Nope, not on my watch.

I hope to have a post up tonight that’s more rock-centric, since that’s why I’ve made my way to NC. So, for now, here are a few photos taken at the Fidelitorium. The new banner was pasted together with all photos taken here.

Luckily, for you, the fun has already started. I’m at Knox IVI right now just typing away and getting ready for the 11 O’Clock Rock Show. Who’s performing today, you ask? You can follow along and enjoy the show online, featuring musician Scott McMahan and events editor of the website PopMatters Drew Fortune. That’s right, freaks and geeks, we’ve got a busy day ahead.

Six months is a long time to go without blogging communication. So, here’s a quick list of updates:

- found the best recipe in Southern Living and I’ve cooked it up twice now: Black Beans and Coconut Lime Rice from Southern Living

- Ryan and Holly Boos are now married! Their wedding was absolutely everything you could imagine it would be: unique, beautiful, creative and so Ryan-and-Holly. Great job, guys, on a very memorable event!

- My good friends – Adrienne and Stanton Webster – have given birth to a baby girl. Sophie, welcome to this crazy, beautiful world.

- My little brother went to camp and consequently, my husband and I were forced to live vicariously through him through my parents who provided nearly daily updates about his rowdy, campy, bonfire-y, sing-y, brother-y experience. I hate camp.

- I got a new job. It’s great.

- Matt and I bought a house. Whooohooo

- Visited Brevard, NC for a family reunion, and I discovered that I can’t keep up with the rowdiness of the Honkonen cousins, but I did make a solid purchase of hand-thrown wine glasses. You win some, you lose some.

- Went to Atlanta, GA with Tim Lee 3 who played at the Highland Ballroom. We stayed at the historic, musician-centric Highland Inn and ate at the Majestic Diner, both awesome experiences that I highly recommend. The Highland Inn was a bit “The Shining-esque,” which made it all the more intriguing.

- Followed along as my old skating partner Arnold Myint cooked on Bravo’s Top Chef. He was ultimately eliminated, but did a wonderful job representing Nashville! Great job!

- Visited Silva, NC with the Tim Lee 3 gang, and stayed in a beautiful apartment overlooking the Cherokee mountains. I stole stalks of lavender and spent the weekend sniffing them. We met very nice musician friends – Angela Faye Martin and Husband Brent Martin – who took care of us, fed us blueberries from their garden, and cooked up a delicious meal of apple-and-sausage fritatta. I highly recommend checking out Angela’s homegrown music.

- The hubs and I celebrated our 2-year anniversary at the Madison Inn in Black Mountain, NC. We love this place, great food and great people…and about five minutes outside Asheville, NC. Plus, the rooms are cheap – about $70 and includes an awesome breakfast, sometimes consisting of sweet potato pancakes, eggs, hash browns and more. Their dinner is great, as well.

- Forced the hubs to dye eggs again this year for Easter celebrating. They were all sparkly and multicolored. I really just do this so I can smell the food dye that reminds me of preschool. The experience, though, is really a bit of torture for the hubs-man, so I guess I also have additional motives. He looks pretty cute when he’s all sulky and dipping eggs in pink dye.

- Read some great books – Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad and Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Go read them now!

There’s a quick update, and not exactly in order of importance. I’m sure that weddings and babies should come before beans and rice, but we’ve got to get moving. I’ve got a lot of blogging to catch up on. Onward and upward, folks.

She also makes time for a job, a fiance, and creating beautiful hand-made earrings and recycled goods that she sells at etsy.com and a variety of shops in Knoxville, Tenn. Read on, and if you want to see her items in-person, be sure to visit her this upcoming First Friday in Knoxville, December 4, at Earth to Old City in Market Square from 6 to 9 p.m.

Let’s get started!

What are you currently creating and selling to the public?

Currently, I have OlioTree earrings for sale at Earth to Old City on Market Square, Aimee’s Bohemian on Sutherland Ave, and Variations by Victoria on N. Broadway. I also sell items on Etsy; you can visit my store at OlioTree.etsy.com. I make these earrings from various items such as, but not limited to, prints (relief, intaglio, and lithography), exposed and processed negatives, preserved leaves, vintage scarves, and children’s books. I make them all with sterling silver hooks.

I am currently expanding my OlioTree collection to feature bags, pillows, and other accessories composed from recycled materials that I pick up from local thrift stores. I love giving life to an object that someone else has found fit to discard.

The First Friday in December, I will be debuting this new line of products at Earth to Old City on Market Square from 6 to 9 pm. After the debut, these items will be available online through Etsy and at the other stores. The things that I create are always revolving; I like to keep things fresh. I don’t like to make anything twice, which is ironic considering my formal training in Ceramics and Printmaking. I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in December of 2008 from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Where do you find inspiration for your creations?

I find inspiration in my surroundings and life in general. I have several recurring shapes in my work, and I’m not exactly sure where they come from. I like to rely on intuition as much as possible. My Reiki training influences my art in that way. I like to keep things fresh by always experimenting and not planning too much.

How many animals do you have, and how do you manage them? Any tips?

My fiance, Ryan Boos, and I live with 4 dogs (Rocko, Wembley, Leo, and Paige), 2 cats (Sage and Abby-Gail), and 4 hens (Jubilee, French Fry, Lemon Belle, and Coraline). We are strong believers in adoption; there are so many loving animals in need of a home. I always suggest checking the shelter before you buy from a breeder.

All of our animals are rescues with the exception of the hens and Leo the champion Jack Russell Terrier. He won the Russell Relay for Life 2 years in a row, and scored enough Canidae dog food to feed our pack for almost 2 years!

We all live in a 1200 sq ft bungalow in Old North Knoxville that was built in the late 1800s. When you live with that many animals, organization and routine and cleanliness became key elements to creating our happy home. I prefer to catch fur in a brush before it has a chance to hit the floor; sometimes I save it and use it for a sculpture. Forget carpet, plush area rugs, or floor pillows because they just turn into big pet bed fur traps. Hard floor is the only way to go in my opinion. We stick to small rugs that are washable; I love colorful cheap rope rugs!

As crazy as it may sound, it is easier to have multiple animals because they form their own little pack and keep one another company. Luckily, our animals recognize us as the leader of the pack; we would have major dominance struggles if this was not the case. We have a large privacy fenced backyard that is essential for our sanity. You must have a place for you pack to let out their energy and be happy healthy animals!

The dogs are nice enough to share their yard with the hens. They have their own fenced off section of the yard with their coop. The dogs can’t get to them, and surprisingly they don’t try to. I let them know that the chicken area was off limits by acting like a dog and guarding the area when we first got the girls. This may sound crazy too, but growling at them worked well. You have to learn to speak their tone and body language; if they respect you as master, they will listen.

The hens, or the girls as we call them, have been a wonderful addition to our family. In the mornings Ryan cooks a delicious breakfast while I do chores like sweep, clean the coop, brush the dogs…whatever needs to be done. We are a very good team; he is a talented cook and I like to get my hands dirty. He will cook oats for us and the girls, and they get so excited when they see me bringing a bowl out to them. The girls get to free range in the yard while breakfast is being prepared and the dogs are eating their morning meal (compliments to Leo of course) and hoping Ryan will be clumsy enough to drop some sharp cheddar. They are very comfortable with their backyard routine, but you do have to keep a very close eye on them and any predators, like hawks, that may be lurking over the ridge.

Balancing chores is essential to keeping all the animals; neither of us could do it alone. Our hens are right at laying age, but now that it is turning cold, it will probably be spring before they start paying rent with eggs. That element will make breakfast that much more enjoyable. We already get a lot of food that we use from our backyard garden. The cats are the only animals that don’t go outside, and they don’t seem to mind. Sage was an alley cat that we brought in from the streets after we got him checked for everything at the vet. He doesn’t even offer to go out anymore; he knows he’s living the life now. There is plenty of action inside, and they get to enjoy the wildlife from the windows. Sage has just recently discovered that he can watch the chickens from the back window. We are lucky that everyone gets along so well; We feel it has something to do with the positive energy of our home.

Your fiance, Ryan Boos, is a musician and artist, too. How do you use your space in your home to optimize an artist-friendly vibe that is conducive to creativity?

When we first moved to our home we shared a 13×13 ft room. We were always bumping into each other or being too loud…the list goes on. It was not working at all, so Ryan kept that room, and I moved my things into the front sitting room which is also 13×13 ft and we moved the couch in his room. We are happy now! He has a quiet place to record music, write, edit photos, study, read, or do whatever he wants, and I have a place for all my gadgets and supplies. I can spread everything out and play my ipod as loud as I want. This correlates perfectly with the organization that I mentioned earlier. I can not focus or begin to create anything if my space is not in order. It is so wonderful to have your own space.

One of the great aspects of your home is the bright paint colors you chose. What was your process for interior decorating?

Before we closed on our house we went to Lowe’s and purchased paint, and as soon as we got in we started painting. It was really fun picking out the bold colors of our house. Since it is a bungalow, you can see all the colors from every room when you stand at certain areas. Before we moved in we went to Lowe’s (Home Improvement Store) and picked out a ton of of paint cards. I drew a diagram of the house and we went to Sunspot for dinner and PBR. We narrowed down the colors and then we placed them on the diagram to see how they all went together. It was really fun!

We love to rearrange furniture; it gives such a new feeling to the room. I’m lucky to have a man that will live in a home with such bold colors; they really set a mood for each room. I find that I use a lot of the colors from our house in my art.

Paint Color Note: Holly and Ryan used Valspar satin finish paints. They chose the following colors: La Fonda Spanish Dancer for the bedroom; Mother Nature for the bathroom; Brown Mustard for Holly’s arts room; French Violet for the kitchen; and Tantalizing Teal for the living room.

You’ve lived in Knoxville all your life. From a local’s perspective, what are your thoughts on the City’s growth?

I love the size of this city. Not too big or too small, it’s just right. There’s a lot of great music that comes through this area. We’re so close to the mountains, so that makes it nice. The only downfall is the air quality; everything sticks in the valley. I grew up in Fountain City, so I’ve seen the progression of the city. I have watched the downtown area grow from abandoned buildings to thriving businesses, and that is very exciting to me. Even as a small child, I saw the potential of the city, and I thought it was really a shame that it was so abandoned. I’m happy to see that it has evolved into such a progressive town.

If you’re able to make it over for a quick visit, here are my top picks of things not to miss: Clumpies Ice Cream Co., Whipped Cupcakes, Plum Nelly (hand-thrown pottery), Leo (a handmade gallery), and for those seeking an adrenaline rush, take advantage of a climbing wall overlooking the river.

One of the best aspects of a Coolidge Park visit is looking out over the river at the museums, restaurants and shops situated right on the cliffs jutting out from the Tennessee River. They’ve practically made a little community 200 feet high named the “Arts District.” In Coolidge park, you’ll be across the river from that famed district, but you can walk right across Walnut Street bridge to experience its eclectic mix of shops and restaurants.

If you do decide to take the stroll, be sure to make your way to Rebrandt’s Coffee House for coffee and home-baked goods. They also keep chocolates made by the next-door chocolatier in stock to enjoy on their outside patio.

Coolidge Park is a beautiful area to stroll around just enjoying the views. Although I will have to say that a scoop of ice cream from Clumpies (above) in a waffle cone made right in front of you always helps in such endeavors.

Looking out at the “Arts District” from Coolidge Park.

A view of a rock climber traversing a bridge support structure. Now that’s an urban climb if I’ve ever seen one.

What’s a park without a fountain for kids to run around in? And even better, behind this fountain is an in-door carousel.
The carousel seems to be available all year long, so if you want a ride on that colorful giraffe, above, he’ll be there waiting for you.

I checked out Leo, a gallery of hand-made items, and found these handbags and wallets made with colorful fabrics. The store is jam-packed with clothes, posters, books and more.

Hand-made hair pins, above.

Lots of unique earrings to choose from at Leo.

If ice cream isn’t your pick, you can go for a yummy cupcake piled high with icing at Whipped Cupcakes.

As always, Chattanooga provided a quick, fun trip with lots to see and do. There’s alway a mountain view (below) around every corner. Next visit, I’ll highlight that bridge walk and the Arts District. I’ve got to have some bloggy reason to return!