Looking Forward, Looking Back

As the year draws to a close, it is a natural time for looking back and making plans for the future; a time for reflecting on experiences and lessons learned, a time for making resolutions. 

New Year's resolutions have been a staple of numerous traditions and cultures throughout history.  From the ancient Babylonians to the ancient Romans, and even through modern celebrations of the Jewish new year (Rosh Hashanah), many times the resolutions have a religious component.  Although the timing of these New Year celebrations differs, they all include a component of seeking forgiveness for wrongs done and vowing to do better in the coming year. Similarly during Chinese New Year the ill fate of the year before is literally swept away to make room for good fortune to come.  In modern American culture, resolutions have taken on a largely secular focus, often revolving around changing health habits or eliminating negative behaviors.  Available data seem to indicate a higher success rate for resolutions that are written down and/or shared. In that vein, we (Stacy and Christine) would like to take this time between Christmas and the New Year to reflect on where Out 2 Lunch has been this past year, and share some of our plans for the future...

2016 has been an interesting year for Out 2 Lunch and we have grown professionally and tried some new ideas. We have experimented with both product lines and sales venues, we have had some successes and some failures and learned from them all. We debuted some new products - most notably pendants created by disassembling and combining multiple pieces of vintage jewelry- and we have retired some of our originals as we streamlined our offerings. We now have a product line - clutches, jewelry and hair pins- that reflects where we are going as a company. We are focusing on those things that feed our artistic spirits; creating one of a kind items that meld the past and future, that combine beauty and function. While we plan on test marketing some new products in 2017, they will be sub-lines of these categories. 

Cheers to the New Year!!

We have also enjoyed exploring our passions this year, and sharing them with you via our Instagram account and this blog. In 2017 we hope to expand our Instagram account to create a virtual community of like-minded artisans, internationally as well as in our local markets of Richmond, Virginia and Raleigh, North Carolina. We have enjoyed finding and supporting other fabulous artisans and creators, and look forward to sharing the best of what we find. We are also continuing to develop this blog, and will be bringing you some fabulous guest bloggers in 2017- that share our passion for the beauty of vintage and hand made. We have found that, generally, things that have stood the test of time have a quiet quality that we prefer to flash in the pan trends. 

Over the past several months we have also been researching and trying some classic, vintage cocktails, as a counter to the trendy bar drinks that have been making the rounds. We will be sharing these drinks on the blog the 1st of every month, beginning on New Year's Day. Some of the drinks were in our common awareness, but we had never tried them, others were lost gems that we were thrilled to discover! Each post will share the back story (or stories in some cases), the recipe for the drink and other interesting information we have discovered. 

Make sure to follow the blog and our Instagram so that you don't miss out on any of the fun!! 

Instagram: out2lunchdesigns

Blog:  Well & Truly Out 2 Lunch

Happy New Year! and Cheers!
Stacy and Christine 

Lights in the Darkness...

Advent Wreath with Candles

As my 7 year old is fond of pointing out, we now get up for school in the "pitch black darkness".   Hearing her say this amidst the candles and Christmas tree lights in our house, got me thinking - where do all the traditions involving lights during this dark time of year come from? There seem to be so many different celebrations that include candles, coming from diverse backgrounds- from the Menorah (commemorating the miraculous burning of the oil for 8 days following the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks - read here for more information) to the Advent candles used by our family (used as a reminder to focus on preparing for the birth of Jesus - read here for more details) to the relatively recent Kwanzaa celebrations (focusing on the struggles and hopes of Africans in diaspora - read here for more information). While these celebrations all have a clear religious and/or cultural basis, there seem to be so many other seasonal uses for candles that have less clear or less publicized origins.

Santa Lucia Figurine

My eldest daughter has long had a fascination with "Santa Lucia" or St. Lucy - owing no doubt to our set of Holiday Celebrations around the World figurines.  Since toddlerhood she has enjoyed hearing, and then reading the story of young girls dressing as Lucia and bringing breakfast to their families in celebration of St. Lucy's feast day on Dec.13th. We never went beyond that though, to find out why St. Lucy was wearing candles and bringing food, or why an Italian, Catholic saint was so popular in predominantly Lutheran Scandinavia. Being me, this meant it was time to research, and share! The first question was easier to answer - St. Lucy was a young girl martyred in Rome, around 304 AD. She was killed because she was bringing food to the Roman Christians hiding in the catacombs and wore candles on her head to provide light to her path, as her hands were full of food - practical girl!  The answer to the second question is a bit dicier, but after reading multiple sources I would summarize it like this.... December 13th was the Winter Solstice in the old Julian calendar, and as such the darkest day of the year.  Scandinavian countries in particular have an extreme shift in their number of hours of darkness due to their closeness

St. Lucia Day at our house

to the polar region, and as such naturally had pre-Christian rituals and celebrations surrounding this transition from darkness to increasing light. When Christian missionaries from Italy arrived and brought with them stories of St. Lucia it was natural for the locals to connect that story to their traditions and she became something of a icon in that area, even following the Protestant Reformation. Also, as my daughter can attest - its fun to dress up in candles and deliver treats!



Vintage inspired candles on a tree

The tradition of tabletop candles dates to medieval times, and continues today in various formats worldwide.  In Ireland families gather around a large lit candle on Christmas Eve and pray for loved ones, In England and France, families often use a large candle with 3 wicks to honor the Holy Trinity, and in South America a candle is often placed in a paper lantern depicting scenes of the nativity. Among Eastern European nations, the candle is often blessed by the local priest before being lit at the family table. But the German tradition is perhaps most interesting of all.  Traditionally the German Christmas candle was placed atop a wooden pole decorated with evergreens or as a part of a triangular structure with other smaller candles. These traditions were replaced in the 1600's with earliest examples of our modern Christmas trees! These trees used candles as their primary source of light and decoration until the late 1800's when the earliest electric Christmas lights were used.

Window Candles

The custom of lighted candles in windows was brought to America during colonial times.  It has its roots in an old Irish custom, although it's unclear if it was brought to the colonies by the Irish or by English settlers that had adapted the tradition (which seems more likely to me for a number of reasons...)  During a time of English persecution that outlawed their religious observances, the Irish began burning candles in their windows to let the local priests know that their home was a safe haven to come in from the cold night, receive a warm welcome and celebrate the Christmas Mass. In order to justify the candles to English soldiers in the area, the candles were explained as a symbol that their home was open to the weary travelers of Christmas - Mary and Joseph. This generalized in colonial America to a tradition of lighting candles in the window to let traveling family members or other weary travelers know that they could find a place of friendship and welcome.  It also let neighbors know - during a time when houses were more widely spaced - that families were home and welcoming visitors.

Over time, the history of many of the these customs has been lost from general knowledge, but we have retained the feeling of warmth and welcome associated with candles.  I hope that you have learned something interesting, and will share it with others.  Please share in the comments if you have other holiday traditions that involve candles - I always love learning about other cultures and traditions!!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a joyous celebration of all your traditions!

Stacy

Holiday Greenery - Where It All Began

It's that time of year - the post Thanksgiving decorating binge! Our decorations are decidedly Christmas, but most likely the process is much the same if you are decorating for Hanukkah, or generic "holidays". Pull out all the boxes, look through the items that bring memories of special times and family members that have passed, decide where to put things and see if you "need" anything new.  As I (Stacy) was reflecting on our (MANY) boxes of decor, looking at some vintage ornaments that haven't been on display since pre-kids, I began to think about how all of this decorating got started. Is it an "American" thing, did our forbearers bring things from Europe when they emigrated, and is any of this related to the Christian Christmas we celebrate? Being the history nerd I am, I of course started googling... in the pre internet ages I would have lived at the library I'm sure!

After reading a variety of sources- books, websites, articles and the like - I came to the general conclusion that's there's nothing new under the sun. Most of our Christmas decorating originated in Northern Europe, where they were borrowed and adapted from the Druids and other pagan groups that resided in the area. As Christianity spread, local converts wants to keep some of their festive traditions - so they assigned Christian meanings to them. For example, holly and ivy were used to celebrate the winter solstice - they were believed to ward off evil spirits and promote new growth. In Christian cultures the Holly has been said to represent the crown of thorns worn by Christ on the cross, while the Ivy (growing only with a support structure) reminds people to cling to God for support.

Window wreaths

Wreaths have been used since ancient Roman times to celebrate victory - in wars and in sport. They were both worn on the head of the victor and hung as decoration by the victorious side in a conflict. This tradition was adapted to represent Christ's victory over death and sin.  Wreaths of many styles are now commonly found hanging throughout homes at the holidays.

Mistletoe on the other hand, draws its story from ancient Norse mythology where it became associated with romance. In England it was traditional to bring mistletoe into the house to ward off evil spirits. As the Norse stories of romance spread, the strict English social customs were relaxed to allow the servants "a kiss under the mistletoe" as long as the berries lasted... 

Tree Lighting at The Jefferson Hotel, Richmond VA

The Christmas tree itself seems to have the most history/legend surrounding it.  From ancient times, the evergreen symbolized life in midwinter. Romans decorated their houses with evergreen branches to celebrate the New Year, and pagans of Northern Europe brought cut evergreens into their houses. Early Christians were vehemently against such practices. It seems as though, by the time Germanic areas were converted to Christianity, missionaries began trying to convert pagan traditions as well.   Some stories credit German reformer Martin Luther with originating  the Christmas tree as we know it, while others tie it to "paradise trees" in medieval morality plays. What seems more certain is that the tradition was brought to the US by early German immigrants. The first family Christmas tree in Williamsburg, VA was introduced by a German scholar boarding with a local judge in 1842. They did not have access to European style ornaments, so they decorated with paper ornaments and nuts.  The family trees eventually expanded to the idea of a community tree in the early 20th Century - this tradition continues today with elaborate tree lighting celebration.

Whichever of these holiday traditions you embrace....

Happy Decorating!
-Stacy & Christine

Hydrangeas...Pass it on!

Today we're talking about plants, specifically hydrangeas; and the idea of "heirloom" plants, passing pieces of gardens on from one place to another and one person to another, or through generations of a family.  We've all heard of heirloom roses, but in my family, the tradition developing appears to be
heirloom hydrangeas.

If you've ever seen the old mop-head hydrangeas, huge bushes bursting with enormous round clusters of blue, pink, purple, or white blooms, you know what I'm talking about!  These plants are Gorgeous!  And here in the south, they are an absolute classic.

Hydrangea bush starting to bloom

Growing up in North Carolina, our house had a whole side of it lined with big blue mop-head hydrangeas.  They were stunning!  Hydrangeas are rather large bushes and they do spread and fill in an area over time.  When our family moved to Maryland in my teens, my parents dug up some of the hydrangea shoots/clusters and took them along.  They were planted at our new home where they continued to grow, thrive, and spread.  Many years later, the process was again repeated as my parents retired back to North Carolina, and brought some of those original hydrangeas with them.  Their yard is currently full of numerous varieties of hydrangea, including those original mop-heads from my growing up home.

The newly planted Hydrangea Row (as we're calling it)

This past summer, my husband and I started doing a lot of overdue renovation to our yard.  We decided we needed some large bushes (that could tolerate some shade) to line our back porch, and naturally my thoughts turned to hydrangeas.  Upon mentioning this to my family, they offered to thin some of theirs.  Free Plants?  Yes Please!!

We thinned mop-head hydrangeas from various parts of their yard, but I must admit I was most excited to get some "sticks" my father cut off those old original hydrangeas.  Now, when I say "sticks", that is exactly what they were!  Some of the hydrangeas we received were small clusters with roots, but these were literally sticks, cut off the plants.  I had heard that you can propagate hydrangeas that way, but never having tried it, was a little skeptical about their future growth and development.  I am certainly not a garden wizard.

Planted hydrangea shoots (sticks)

Never-the-less, I brought the plants, (and sticks) home, and set about getting them into their new location.  The plants with roots were immediately planted in the ground.  As for the "heirloom sticks" (as we now referred to them), I first trimmed or freshly cut the bottom parts.  Then they were wet with water, and dipped into rooting powder (or had powder (rather liberally) sprinkled on them depending how big the stem was).  After that, all the "sticks" were planted in the ground in a large cluster and watered - a lot.  Hydrangeas need lots of water, especially when new. 

For the next couple weeks I diligently checked my sticks - somewhat unconvinced of their survival, as I saw their sad, wilted leaves curl up and turn brown.

Then suddenly a few weeks (and some hurricane rains) later - buds!  

And a few weeks after that?
Leaves!! They grew Leaves!!

The heirloom hydran- geas might just make it to carry on; and maybe someday once they've grown and spread, I can continue the tradition and pass them on again! 

In the mean time, I can't wait to see them grow and fill in.  And maybe one day, my children will remember those large mop-head hydrangeas all along their back porch growing up.  Pass it on!


Cheers!
Christine

Out 2 Lunch Thanksgiving - A Tale of Two Tables

Thanksgiving is coming, and we here at Out 2 Lunch are prepping our tables for dinners and gatherings.  So, what are we decorating with?


Common Themes: Pumpkins, Berries, Acorns, other Natural Elements (leaves, seed pods).  But how we each use those elements?  And what tones/colors they are?....

milk glass, mercury glass, vintage glam table

Christine:  My table mixes my love of vintage elements with my love of glam.  One of my favorite decorating looks mixes white vintage milk glass with mercury glass for lots of sparkle and shine.  With all that shiny metallic, what better to soften the look and add more glam texture than this fabulous table runner edged in white feathers!  I just recently came across this shopping, and absolutely could not resist it!  Keep watch, this one will show up in various places throughout the holidays.  

My center bowl I filled with "natural" pieces, with a bit of a twist.  I have two small handmade fabric pumpkins, as well as a handful of handmade matching acorns.  The shiny and matte silver fabrics tie in with all the mercury glass.  Under the pumpkins and acorns are my gold magnolia seed pods.  These are a favorite decorating item for me, always located somewhere about my house.  Growing up in the south, I had a couple of huge, old magnolia trees in my yard as a child.  These were my climbing trees.  I could frequently be found 20+ feet up in the air, lounging on branches, reading or day dreaming.  Needless to say, magnolia's have always held a special place in my heart. 

hand made pumpkins, magnolia seed pods - c/o Out 2 Lunch

A couple years ago on a hike, I happened to find a number of fallen magnolia seed pods in good condition.  I brought them home, dried them and then spray painted them antique gold.  I absolutely love the shape and intriguing look of the pods, and rotate them around regularly between bowls and centerpieces.  The antique gold gives them a lovely shine and really brings out the spiky texture in them.  So my table incorporates a lot of sparkle and shine, glam textures, and vintage and handmade items which are special to me, allowing me to share those pieces with the special people in my life.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Stacy:  To me, fall, and Thanksgiving in particular, has a very warm and organic vibe. It is about the changing of the seasons, the colors of the leaves and the nip of cold in the air. I combat the chill (with which I have a love/hate relationship) by creating a tablescape filled with rich, warm colors.  I picked up these cornucopia years ago, when I was newly married, and they have been featured in various locations of our fall décor over time. This year, as we adjust to our move, they needed a new home. I chose to make them the focal point, and build my centerpiece around them. They are filled with fall fruits and vegetables, and provide a great opportunity to discuss early American life with my children (who are studying the complicated relationship between the Jamestown Settlers and the Powhatan Indians in Virginia Studies). 

Did you notice some of those small fabric pumpkins we made this fall managed to transition into both of our centerpiece designs? My pumpkins were a beach color scheme, but this one just happened to work - the fabric had a rustic organic feel, that was the perfect compliment to my design!  Completely unplanned, but talk about a versatile little decor piece!  Follow THIS TUTORIAL to make your own.  

Wishing a Wonderful, Joyful Thanksgiving for all! 

Cheers,
Christine & Stacy

An Alternative Fall - Home Decor

Well, we had SO much fun creating pumpkins for our earlier Fabric Pumpkins Blog Post, and had so many compliments on them at a show we attended over weekend, we decided to share with all of you how wee incorporated them into our personal home decors. These pumpkins are fairly easy to make and perfect for adding a custom look to your house from early fall through Thanksgiving. Just pick a fabric or 2 or 3...that coordinates with your style, and get started...  As mentioned in our previous post, Stacy and Christine have different styles and created very different pumpkins, which of course carries over to our differently styled homes!  Everyone's home should be a reflection of their personal comfort and style. We would love to see pics of your style with your pumpkins!!

Antique Sideboard display - Out 2 Lunch 

My style (Stacy) definitely tends towards a classic coastal look; bare feet, the moon on the water, the breeze in a clear blue sky, the deep shade of moss covered oaks - these are the happy places I travel in my mind, and the decor of my home helps take me there. I grew up on the shores of Lake Ontario, and lived many years of my adult life in Charleston, SC - I am drawn to the water and find peace there. With three elementary age children, peace is a valuable commodity in our house!! When we made our pumpkins, I chose fabrics that echoed the sand, sky and water. In addition the paisley fabric was a baby sling I used with my youngest- I held on to it for over 6 years, waiting for the right project.

Beach Pumpkin- Out 2 Lunch 

Fall is one of my favorite times of year, to enjoy the outdoors and the changing of the seasons.  However, it IS NOT my favorite time of year to decorate my house. I'm not a big fan of creepy Halloween, so that doesn't leave a lot of options. My children love to decorate their play space with whimsical Halloween, and I am glad to finally have something that captures my style.

Each piece I feature in my decor has meaning for me, from family pictures to handed down furniture, to items sent to us by friends living far away. The fisherman in this area was a treasure we found going through my grandmother's belongings. Although she lived in Kansas      and Texas for most of her life, he was the perfect memento to add to the driftwood and fossilized rock my children collected in Charleston.



 I love that these pumpkins can add the warmth of fall without replacing my existing decor - they just seemed to fit in seamlessly - other than the large blue pumpkin in this picture. I loved that it was a "life size" pumpkin; lesson learned... consider the space before you create!

     

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Fabric pumpkins, milk glass decor - Out 2 Lunch Designs

For me (Christine), fall and the holidays are about textures and feeling.  I love the crisp cool weather that comes in at fall.  I love the changes all around me from the lush green, hot sun of summer, to vivid colors, and cooler nights, fire places lit up, and jeans, boots, and sweaters replacing tees and shorts.  With each season I enjoy and embrace the change-over.  I spent the bulk of my formative years in North Carolina, and love the distinct changes of seasons evident in areas from the coastal Outer Banks to the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains!   As always, I am drawn to shiny, sparkly, glam textures, as well as vintage styles and nature.

Black Velvet Pumpkin

My fall most definitely incorporates a mix of natural elements along with vintage and sparkly/shiny items (milk glass, glam vintage fabrics, shiny accessories with rocks, twigs, etc).  With the coziness of fall I also always look forward to incorporating lush textures - my hands-down favorite? Velvet!

 

Fall Mantle  via Out 2 Lunch Designs

Over the last couple years, my home has taken on a more neutral mid-tones look, incorporating mixes of grays, greens, taupes, and golds in various combinations; so I stuck to those colors with my pumpkins, letting the mix of natural stems, and glam fabrics shine.  And of course, I paired them with my fave classic, vintage milk glass, plus other elements like: glass, rocks, pottery, and textiles.  Some of my little pumpkins even show up in my Fall/Thanksgiving table set-up...but that, dear reader, is for another post - stay tuned!  :)


If you follow our fabric pumpkin post and make your own, I hope you have as much fun with them as we did!  What I absolutely love about these are their versatility, and how everyone can make them to fit their own style and personality!  Happy Decorating!

Cheers,
Christine and Stacy

A Not So Haunted Halloween...

My Little Buddies Ready for Snacks!!

I love, I mean REALLY love, making holiday themed snacks and meals. Sometimes they can get a bit too involved, but I find the most successful runs I've had have 2 things in common - they are fairly simple and fairly healthy. In that spirit, I wanted to share with you all some fun Halloween treats. What'd a mom to do when she wants to have a mini Halloween get together, but her children are in school all day and crazy busy the rest of the time? Offer to bring food to other people's children of course! Several of our friends with younger children hold a weekly playgroup, and were willing to allow their little sweeties to be my guinea pigs (don't worry, my children enjoyed the leftovers as an after school snack!).

Step one to planning your fall gathering is finding a location - I was very lucky in this regard, as our friend Stephanie is a fabulous hostess. Here house is always adorably decorated for the season, and she makes (and sells) felt wall hangings that are the perfect compliment to her decorating style. Shameless plug - if you'd like to see more of her designs, check out her Season of Restoration  shop on etsy.  The highlight (in my humble opinion) of our fabulous hostess, is her fancy coffee - I enjoyed a pumpkin spice coffee with sweet Italian cream, perfect for the fall weather that is finally reaching Richmond.

Step two - plan the menu! This took me to my fail safe planning destination - Pinterest!! You can find all of the original pins/ blogs for these ideas on our Pinterest page in the Blog Sources board. I decided to go with banana ghosts, pumpkin oranges, and a pumpkin spiced "puppy chow" mix. The bananas and oranges were a breeze to assemble and a big hit with the preschool crowd. The original poster of the bananas used mini chips for the eyes, it was a little more cute that way, but I think it looked ok with regular chips, and not worth the added chip buying - unless you have them around. I also looked at some ideas with skin on citrus "pumpkins" - with Sharpie drawn jack-o-lantern faces. They would be great for an elementary school party, but with preschoolers I decided that already peeled, skinless clementines were the way to go.

Top Pic was my first try!

Then I tackled the puppy chow... You can get the complete recipe here at Sally's Baking Addiction, one of the cooking blogs I love to use as inspiration. Being me, and absolutely hating colored candy melts (it's a real issue sometimes) I went with her suggested substitution of white chocolate. Helpful tip... She isn't kidding when she says to melt the chocolate first and then add the spices. I thought I'd "save time" by adding everything to the chocolate at the start... The joke was on me as I had to get more chocolate and try again! I did melt it on the stove instead of the microwave, and that works fine as long as you watch the temperature (medium at the highest!). 

Surprisingly enough, with both the littles at the party, and my kiddos after school, the fruit was the biggest hit (followed by the cream pumpkins picked out of the mix). The moms seemed to enjoy the puppy chow mix, as did my oldest - I'm wondering if pumpkin spice is an acquired taste? When I make this again, I think that I will replace some of the nutmeg and cloves with cinnamon. 

** ALLERGY DISCLAIMER**  

Knowing that one of our little guys has a peanut allergy, I checked the ingredients on the cereal.  The Cinnamon Chex is made with peanut flout, so I substituted Cinnamon Life and it was still tasty - and no different in texture than previous mixes I've had with Chex (the Chex is gluten-free though, so make the best choice for your crowd!). However, I never thought to check the chocolate. Thankfully mama was vigilant and I had the chocolate wrappers with me. The chocolate chips for the bananas were fine, but the white chocolate had a trace risk of peanuts. I've now learned that chocolate has a fairly high risk of peanut contamination! 

             

  

All in all, I had a great day with some absolutely adorable children. A big thanks to their mothers for sharing them with me! 

I want to leave you with a couple of ideas for big kids on the go as well... 

Christine made these spooky donuts for her family and they had a great time- breakfast and a toy in one! I think that I will be making these this Halloween, and taking advantage of her helpful hint (as I don't love extra plastic "junk" around our house) ... Buy cheap teeth, they can play fir a bit, then the teeth break and are gone! 

And I'm planning to make these jack-o-lantern peppers for dinner tonight. I'll comment tomorrow with the review from my guys and a picture. 

Hope you all have a great fall, I'm off to work on some fun ideas for Thanksgiving and Christmas!


Enjoy the Moment.... Stacy