Halloween Ribbons & Trims

These are cut edge ribbons, perfect for your Halloween crafting needs. The top one is cotton and the lower is nylon velvet on mesh. Both are available in our Etsy store and we can cut additional yardage if you need more than 3 yards. No worries - we'll cut in in one continuous length!

Recipe Thursday: Avocado Bean Salad (& shop news)

One of our all-time favorite treats is the Barefoot Contessa's Avocado Bean salad. With color, texture, flavor, and fresh ingredients, this salad really has it all. It's so delicious, you'll be hard pressed not to devour the entire bowl, even though the following recipe serves six.

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/2-inch diced
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. small diced red onion
2 tbsp. minced jalapeno peppers, seeded (2 peppers)
1/2 tsp freshly grated lime zest
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 ripe avocadoes, seeded, peeled, and 1/2-inch diced

1. Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, jalapeño peppers, and lime zest in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper and pour over the vegetables.
3. Toss well.
4. Just before you're ready to serve, fold the avocados into the salad.

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And in shop news: The ric rac has landed!
And it's absolutely gorgeous! Here's a sampling of all the new colors. The first photo shows the velvet options, while the second photo shows the velveteen. You'll notice the scallops of the velveteen are slightly rounder; it also has a thicker pile. These are from different manufacturers and, ironically, the measurement of 3/8" wide differs slightly between styles -- the velvet is about 1/16" wider while the velveteen is spot on 3/8". Go figure. You can find these here.

New Trims, Ribbons and Velvet Ric Rac

This week we're busily adding more trims to our shop -- velvet ribbon, miniature pom poms, and, as pictured above, velvet ric rac! So far, the new colors of pom pom trims are listed, as are the new hues of velvet ribbon. The velvet ric rac however, will be listed tomorrow afternoon (except for this lovely navy, which can be found here). Stay tuned!

The Incredible Bulb & New Etsy Shop Additions

This assortment of blues includes the prettiest blue and white Delft iris.

Planting bulbs in autumn has been a yearly tradition my mom and I have kept for as long as I can remember -- something excitedly discussed and planned for weeks in advance and looked forward to with near-uncontrollable anticipation. This time of year means frequent trips to Home Depot and local garden centers as we hunt for new varieties of daffodils, narcissus and Dutch irises. I think our record is planting something close to like 1,000 bulbs. This year we've come across new (to us) colors of Dutch iris to add to our gardens and have added a few to our etsy shop, too, for fellow bulb fans. Also new to our etsy shop this week are some velvet ribbon trims and delicate miniature pom pom trims in a TON of colors.

Plush velvet ribbon in Royal Blue.

We love this pretty Monet-esque mix of yellows and purples.

This beauty is called "Carmen."

Bright violet velvet ribbon trim does it's best iris impersonation.

"Rosario" boasts a beautiful lilac-hued blossom.

Miniature pom pom trim in Buttercream.