Queen Bee Creations

A purse is defined as a “container of one’s items.” It sounds simple, but alas, it is not. I’ve been working at Nest for two years, and a constant, repeating lament that I hear are women’s woes about current, past and even future handbags: too big or small, too many or too few compartments, broken straps, out-of-season designs, torn insides, soiled outsides. 

Well, thank goodness, I found my Queen Bee Truckette bag. I’ve been using it now for over a year, and it looks brand new. As a Howard County Master Gardener, I surround myself with flowers and trees and bees and butterflies in my gardens at home, so I love my Queen Bee’s “Chirp” design. Its two little birds on their respective branches are engaged in a nice little avian conversation. It’s casual enough for my daily activities, but dresses up to whatever I’m wearing. It holds all my stuff, whether I’m carrying an organized chaos of necessities or a mishmashed  hodgepodge of unnecessary belongings. For my “little things,” I have a Chirp zippered coin purse. When I’m trying to travel light, I’ll use just my coin purse to hold my essentials. It’s really easy to carry with a large ring to loop around your finger.

Queen Bee Creations was founded by designer Rebecca Pearcy in 1996. Her products reflect simple designs from nature like stems, blossoms and leaves. All of Queen Bee’s bags are vegan, the bodies are made of waterproof PVC-free faux leather, and the insides lined with a protective water resistant nylon. They are handmade in Pearcy’s  Portland, Oregon studio, and I’ve heard that you can watch them sew their creations while window shopping. 

To all you purse seekers out there: find a Queen Bee and try her out.

 

 

 

 

Cool Teas for Warm Weather

One of the things I enjoy most about Nest is how naturally the store transforms to celebrate what‘s special about each changing season.  Only a few months ago we were all about looking festive and feeling cozy. Now, surrounded by breezy dresses and colorful glassware, I can’t help but feel swept up by the spirit of late spring.

Spring has always been my favorite season. I love how joyful all the little changes feel- being warm enough to eat dinner on the patio, falling asleep to the sound of spring peepers instead of the humidifier, stepping out of the house without a hat and coat on.

Shifting from huddling over a cup of hot tea to sipping ice tea is another spring transition I love.  The steeping process takes me right back to when I was a kid making ice tea for my mom while she worked in the garden.  Back then, I steeped ice tea by twisting four jumbo tea bags awkwardly around a wooden spoon hung over a tippy plastic pitcher. I can still remember how tangled everything would get and the subtly plastic taste of the tea.

I love the Mist because it makes steeping tea easy and is made of glass, so tea tastes like tea and nothing else.  While you can choose to use tea bags, the built in infuser makes the Mist the perfect tool for straining loose leaf teas or any other infusing elements (citrus, berries, etc). That means the Mist is great for experimenting with your own blends or creating fancy flavored waters.  

Lately, I’ve really enjoyed using flowering teas with my mist. Instead of loose tea or tea in bags, flowering tea is made by bundling dried tea leaves together into a little orb. When the bundle is steeped in hot water, the tea unfurls in a process that resembles a blossoming flower.  As you can imagine, the mist’s glass pitcher is the perfect canvas for this little ceremony. I especially like the distinctive “leafy sea dragon” shape the tea leaves acquire at the end of the process.

Want to try something more inventive? Right now we have two great books in the store that make perfect companions to the Mist.

Green Tea: 50 Hot Drinks, Cool Quenchers, and Sweet and Savory Treats by Mary Lou Heis offers dozens of creative, restaurant-quality drink recipes all made with healthy antioxidant-rich green tea.  I can’t wait to try the “Johnny Appleseed Iced Green Tea” which includes both root beer and apple (or pear) cider (two favorites of mine). I also really enjoy spicy tea drinks like chai so the “Invigorating and Spicy Green Tea “made with whole white peppercorns and cardamom pods is right up my alley.

 

 Have you ever wanted to re-create the feeling of being pampered at a fancy spa or salon at home? Cool Waters: 50 Refreshing, Healthy, Homemade Thirst Quenchers by Brian Preston-Campbell might just do that! Preston-Campbell elevates simple water to delicious new heights by adding ingredients like blackberries, ancho chiles, swiss chard, cloves and tamarind paste (all from separate recipes-don’t worry!) to chilled still water. The author also offers food pairing suggestions and serving tips. With this book and the Mist, water may become the new wine!

 

 

 

Spring Rosette

After my last tutorial, my co-workers suggested that I write about how to create the “super-cute rosette that’s perfect for springtime,” so here we go!
 
This scarf twist is called The Rosette.    
 
Wear this as a sweet accent to accompany your favorite dress, or as a feminine touch on top of a summer jacket or blazer. This style is on the dressier side and so works great for an evening out, a formal event, or a fancy soirée.
Added bonus: the rosette encourages and inspires good posture as it elongates the neck.
 
 
To fashion your own resplendent rosette, start by placing your scarf on the back of your neck and let the ends hang in front of you. They should be equal length on both sides. Start twisting them together. (Doesn’t matter which direction you twist)
                     
 
 Twist to the ends.
  
When the twist becomes taut, wrap it in a circular motion at your neck using your fingers to guide the scarf into a bun.
                       
 
Note: make sure you’re not twisting too tight – you don’t want to strangle yourself. The French saying “One must suffer to be beautiful”? …not quite what we’re aiming for here.

When you come to the ends, tuck them into the bigger loop at your neck. Adjust as needed, and/or position to one side.

 

Cornelia, our mannequin, has been wearing variations of the rosette and even multiple rosettes at once… she’s been getting a lot of attention these days. Cornelia, you head-turner you!  

For multiple rosettes, repeat steps above and overlay. You can even use scarves of slightly different sizes for a more dramatic, enhanced ornate effect. 

Tip: For your comfort, as well as aesthetic purposes, you may want to use scarves that are on the skinny side made from lightweight silks and cottons as opposed to a heavier scarf (knit, wool…) so the rose has a better chance of staying in place and sitting comfortably on your neck. Your scarf doesn’t even have to be that long. You may even use a headscarf/foulard. Keep in mind though, the longer the scarf, the bigger the rose.

 

All the scarves featured in the pictures above are available at Nest and are handmade from genuine vintage silk saris. Come on over and take a look!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Spring Scarf Tutorial

I have always been a scarf person. I love the colors, the fabrics, the textures, and the warmth! In my world one can never have too many scarves. Often underestimated, the scarf serves as a stylish accent adding that extra touch of color to tie an outfit together. The right scarf can turn a casual outfit into an elegant one. Not only are they practical and pretty, they can also be quite fun. 

Did you know there are hundreds of different ways to tie scarves? The possibilities are endless! Here’s one idea I came across while experimenting with my -at the time- new scarf from Nest. Since then I’ve received many compliments on it by customers who want to know where it is in the store and how to tie it. “Show me how to make it look like yours!” After a few casual in-store mini tutorials, I thought it would be fun to feature here.

 

So here goes: Introducing the “Wrap Around” also known as “The Half Cape!”

We still have time to get some good use out of this one, as the weather seems to be settling into a more-spring appropriate temperature range, where mornings and evenings are still cool. This style is great for scarves that have beaded, fringed or sequined edges. 

 

Step 1: Place around the back of your neck and hold one end in each hand. Pull on one end to get some length.

 

Step 2:  Wrap the long end around your neck once.

 

Step 3: Take the ends and crisscross them in front of you.

 

Step 4: Then bring ends behind your neck.

 

Step 5: Tie loosely.

 

Adjust the scarf so that one side drapes over the shoulder.

 And Voilà!   Be sure and check back for more scarf tips and tutorials. More to come!

 

 

A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen

I admit to having a weakness for cookbooks. I love to read through them like novels at bedtime, always aspiring to cook something new soon! Having convenient access to Roots Market, and being part of my first CSA this past summer has allowed me to buy and learn about local, seasonal vegetables and fruits. My husband and I are not vegetarians, but we try to eat as healthy as possible and enjoy most types of cuisine. My most recent go-to cookbook, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop, has its recipes divided by seasons and their specific bounties, and covers all types of easy suppers.

The recipes are very straightforward and there are helpful tips throughout explaining things like how to peel an avocado, how to puree soups in a blender without splattering the kitchen, and which type of grater (Microplane) is best to zest a lemon or lime.  Bishop’s tone is personal as he shares his wisdom: Those beans that refuse to soften are probably too old to absorb water – his advice? Avoid shriveled beans and buy from a store that does a good legume business. Can’t find the long, flat Chinese noodles called for in the recipe? Regular linguine will work fine.

Lately, I’ve been craving chickpeas. Until I was an adult, I never knew that these “khaki colored beans” were used other than to top salads. Now, in addition to the requisite salads, I’ve also eaten them sautéed with olive oil and pasta, as the main ingredient in tahini and hummus, and now in my newest attempted Jack Bishop recipe: North African Chickpea Soup with Harissa.  I first had to figure out what harissa was (Bishop explains it’s a thick red chile paste often sold in toothpaste-like tubes). With that fact stowed away in my mind’s grocery list, I only needed to find it, along with a fresh bunch of cilantro and a baguette loaf – I had all of the other listed ingredients.  I didn’t find North African harissa exactly, but now knowing what it was, I confidently bought some Thai red chile paste instead.

I followed the recipe, filled my house with garlic, onion and cilantro aromas, and voila!, my husband and I had a spicy, wonderfully aromatic, soothing winter soup (almost broth-like) with toasted baguette slices for sopping up all the goodies. It was wonderful.

Now I am on the look-out for harissa – I’m curious to see how it may or may not change the recipe. I’ll let you know.

 

 

 

 

Letterpress Love: Fugu Fugu Press

Like a lot of folks interested in small press and handcraft, I have a deep fondness for letterpress cards. I love them for their texture, the attention to color and composition that goes into them, and the fact that they give me an opportunity to give my friends and family an honest to goodness piece of art at an affordable price. For that reason, the first thing I did when I started buying for the Nest card department was to look for the most Nesty letterpress card company I could find… Enter Fugu Fugu Press!

Fugu Fugu cards come to us from Ken and Shino who run a small printing press and design studio out of an old radiator repair shop in Pasadena, California. Their playful retro-cute designs are printed with soy based ink on gorgeous creamy paper with recycled content or on 100% cotton (tree-free!) paper.

Fugu means “blowfish” or “pufferfish” in Japanese.  Why Fugu Fugu Press? Ken and Shino just like they way they look.

 

 

 

When it comes to Fugu Fugu, it’s hard for me to pick a personal favorite. I love giving the “Preggers” card to expectant parents, and the “Time to Party” card I gave my husband is now a permanent fixture on his night stand. 

 

 

                              I also really love the “b-day face” card. It’s one of our best sellers!

             What’s your favorite Fugu Fugu Card?

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