This Week's Blog Post

Agate Eyeglass Chains

I came across these great multi agate beads that would make fun, beautiful eyeglass chains. So I made 1 in gold and 1 in silver! Available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Festival of Trees
The Methuen Festival of Trees is in full swing again! I took these photos in dim lighting with a flash which probably comes out better than taking the photos when they are lit!

I have not seen Frankenweenie yet but love Tim Burton and really want to see it!

More Tim Burton! Remember a Nightmare Before Christmas?

The Festival takes place in the building where I work. It is open to the public on nights and weeks. 200 Christmas trees are lit up when it is open.

Anyone can donate a tree to be raffled off. Each raffle winner takes the tree they won along with any goodies that come with it!

Awards are given for things such as best tree topper, best tree skirt, best theme etc.

 You can tell who is going for which award! The toppers and tree skirts can be really amazing.

Each year in the center of the building is a super creative tree created by a local hairstylist. The use of materials is always really cool. 

Of course the photo does not do it justice. It is really amazing lit up with twinkling lights.

Those of you in the US are probably familiar with New Balance sneakers. Their factory is in a city next to mine.

There is a store at the factory where I purchase my sneakers for a small fraction of retail! Well this is their tree. It shows how creative people get. A tree is not necessarily a tree!!! I did not read what comes with this one but my guess is a serious gift card.

The Festival is organized by the Methuen Historical Society and the proceeds go to maintaining historical buildings like the ones I have been showing. The Festival gets bigger each year so they now donate to local towns as well. There is tons of history in the area where I live so it is wonderful to see such a successful, entertaining fundraiser for these sites!

I will be back next week with more festive fun! Have a great week everyone! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

Gemstone Lanyards
I have been wanting to make multi gemstone lanyards for a while now. It was just a matter of time available to create fresh, new inventory.

Well I had some extra time between product orders this week and made one with silver plated findings and one with gold plated findings. They really look much more like jewelry than my other ones! Available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Red Tavern
This is my favorite building in town named the Red Tavern. It is haunted (supposedly).

Reading up on this I learned that its original owner, Edward Searles was actually responsible for the walls in the city that I mentioned in my last post.

They were built to create more privacy for his property. I found this cool old photo on a Searles history site showing some of the walled part which really looks out of place today!

The Tavern was built in the early 1900s as a guest house to his castle. The nuns own his castle now so I have not actually seen it. Maybe in the spring I will try checking it out if it is accessible!

It was sold in 1946 and additions were added to the original structure which I think is what makes it so visually appealing to me.

Today it houses business and a function hall. I have been inside and it is quite beautiful with wood paneled walls, high ceilings, fire places….all sorts of stateliness!

 It is not easy finding much information online for all these neat old places and structures but I am slowly finding more photos online of things to check out!

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great fun-filled week! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

New Earrings
These pretties are garnet and iolite. Both beads are handcut giving them character!

All metal is sterling silver. Available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Coconut Curry

Jim and I love coconut curry and have eaten is at Thai restaurants, Indian restaurants and P.F. Changs. However we have never attempted recreating it!!! If you love coconut curry but have never cooked it before it is really easy and super healthy to make at home!!!

We made a HUGE batch with this easy sauce.

• 2 cups of coconut milk
• 8 tablespoons of soy sauce (we used light to keep the sodium count down)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 4 tablespoons of brown sugar (more could be used if you like saucers sweeter)
• 8 teaspoons of rice vinegar or cider vinegar
• 2 cups of peanuts (yummy)

Just mix them all together. I looks totally disgusting but tastes heavenly!!!

Then we sautéed our veggies of choice in olive oil. This could include:

• carrots
• sugar snap peas
• regular potatoes or sweet potatoes (we prefer sweet since they are more nutritious)
• mushrooms
• bell pepper (green is really good in this)
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• peas
• onions

• 
 After sautéing for a few minutes, then add in the sauce and cook further. Then taste test. You could add more curry, maybe cumin, black pepper….whatever suits your fancy. It is ready when the veggies are at the texture you prefer.

While this is going on, cook up some basmati rice to serve with the dish.  The first time we made this we used regular white rice, but what a difference when using the “correct” rice!!!

It really tasted like we got take out from the local Indian restaurant!!!!  Unfortunately they may not see us anymore since we are now confident in our Indian cooking!

The Walled City

My town is a bit walled! These structures look like they belong in Europe.

I could not find information explaining these online. There is a street with high walls that go on for quite a length!

There were a few key wealthy families in town back in the day that had some fabulous structure built so I am sure this was the brainchild of one of them!

They certainly add character to the town!

If you live in the U.S., have a wonderful Thanksgiving! This is my first year going to Thanksgiving on a gluten free diet which kind of stinks but at least I can still eat my mom’s sweet potato casserole! Cranberry sauce it still my friend too.   ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

Striped Agate Necklace
This huge teardrop is striped agate. It is black with blueish grey stripes. The strand is made up of onyx and manmade hemalyke.

So simple and beautiful! Available at Miss Val’s Creations.

Stuffed Butternut Squash

Jim and I made stuffed butternut squash. We baked 2 pre-cut and de-skinned butternut squash halves at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

At the same time we cooked the following diced vegetables in the oven:

• 1 zucchini
• 1 summer squash
• 3 parsnips (but agreed would have been better with turnips or carrots)
• 1 package of pre-sliced mushrooms

We seasoned these veggies with curry, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. The veggies were done before the squash so we left that in a little longer.

We cooked 1 cup of quinoa and seasoned it with orange zest, dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, salt, pepper, spring onions and maple syrup to taste.

Once everything was cooked we put the quinoa in the squash cavities.

Then poured the veggies over it. I also had some leftover breadcrumbs in the freezer which we put on top (amazingly delicious addition). Then put it back in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes so it is all hot and ready to eat! 

Not only is this delicious and filling, it is also vegan and gluten free so anyone can enjoy it! This was inspired by a local chef if you would like to see his video tutorial.

Around Town Part I

I live in a city called Methuen (I call it a town since it feels more town like to me). While it is not a picturesque town, it does have some amazing historical buildings which I have decided to check out. So over the next several weeks I will be showing some beautiful bits!

Starting off with Town Hall.

I remember going here when I moved to the town for my business certificate and thought “how grand is this?”

It was built in 1904 as the high school and later used as the town hall. Architecture has become so bland in recent years. New schools look nothing like this!

Thank you for stopping by! It sounds like Hurricane Sandy will be affecting my area at the beginning of the week. It has been such a devastating storm in the Carribean! 

My fear is always losing power. A couple of weeks after moving into my house 4 years ago in November we had a wicked ice storm and my neighborhood (as well as all the surrounding neighborhoods) were without power for 3 days. Not fun, especially when I was trying to settle into my new home and had to stay at my parents house for those days (not to mention worrying about pipes freezing)!!! Mother Nature really loves having her evil fun.

Last year Trick or Treating was rescheduled due to a massive snowstorm at the time. It may be rescheduled again this year! Happy Halloween everyone!~Val