Thursday, February 19, 2015

Feburary Featured Item - Glass Garden Flower



     Want a garden flower that blooms ALL year, rain or shine? Glass Garden Flowers are for you! The beautiful red of this glass flower reflects bright yellows, reds and oranges, which are stunning during all seasons. This garden flower is made with four pieces of beautiful crystal and vintage glass to create a beautiful sparkling flower I've named "Danielle" for its elegance and timeless beauty. This flower measures 11 inches in diameter (dinner plate size) and features pieces of cut crystal, and a beautiful vintage, pressed glass, red rimmed, carnival glass, center piece. This glass garden flower will certainly be a lovely addition to your outdoor decor in your yard or garden for year around beauty. This gorgeous, one of a kind piece will surely impress!

     Our family spends many weekends together combing through antique stores and estate sales to find sparkling crystal, vintage cut, pressed or frosted vintage glass, silver and pottery. We inspect each piece for its beauty, charm and reflective qualities as well as checking its structure and integrity, it is common for individual pieces to have minor flaws such as scratching or tiny chips. These will not affect the look and wear of the glass flower.



     Shipping is a flat rate of $20 including insurance. (FedEx, UPS, or USPS delivery) Please contact me directly for international rates.

     Please note that the garden stake is NOT included. You can purchase a ¾” hollow pole (your choice of flower height, plus 12 inches) at your local hardware or home improvement shop. We will provide an instructional sheet with each flower detailed how to set it up and take care of it throughout the seasons!

or check out my shop section Glass Garden Flowers 



Heirloom Broken China

Do you have pieces of grandma's heirloom china that you want to preserve?  We can take the pieces you have (add a few of ours) to create several garden flowers that can then be gifted to multiple family members!  A perfect way for all members of the family to remember their special loved one.  Contact us directly for shipping instructions and pricing.

Thanks Everyone :)


Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Beer Tasting Party - February 2015

Invitation

Semi-Annual Sherman Beer Tasting Party

     First up we are not beer snobs, in fact the truth is my husband simply likes beer, friends and playing pool, so a couple times a year I throw a beer party just for fun (another inside joke is I personally hate beer, while the beer lovers are drinking beer my non beer friends and I are tasting  tequila). 
     This party I decided to research a little about the process of beer tasting and share what I learned with you - if you feel it necessary to correct a term or technique the comments are open, but don't expect it to influence me in any way.

How To Taste Beer

     It sounds much like wine tasting - you don't just chug-a-lug and declare it good or bad.  I've learned if you follow these steps your experience could improve:

 1.  Look at the beer. Raise the beer in front of you, but don't hold your beer to direct light as this will dilute its true color. Describe its color, its head and its consistency. 
2.  Swirl your beer, gently in the glass. This will pull out aromas, slight nuances, loosen & stimulate carbonation and test head retention.
3.   Smell the beer.  90-95% of what you experience is through your sense of smell. Breathe thru your nose with two quick sniffs, then with your mouth open, then thru your mouth only (nose and mouth are connected in the experience). Let olfaction guide you. Agitate again if need be, and ensure that you are in an area that has no overpowering aromas. Enjoy its bouquet.  (sorry, this is why I don't like beer - I personally think it STINKS).
4.  Taste.  Now sip the beer. Resist swallowing immediately. Let it wander and explore your entire palate. Let your taste buds speak. Note the mouthfeel, the consistency of the liquid's body, and breathe out during the process of tasting. This process of exhaling is called "retro-olfaction" and will release retained stimulations at the mucus and mouthfeel level, but at a higher temperature. At times this will be the same as the olfactory process if not different and complimentary. Try to detect any sweetness, salty flavors, acids and general bitterness. Explain what they are, or what they are similar to.

      A few of our guests suggested re-tasting the beer after it warms a bit. Really cold beer tends to mask some of the flavors. As a beer warms, its true flavors will pull through, become more pronounced.


The Beers

 Party Highlights

The real highlights are the  friends that came - a few of us were camera shy.   Thanks for joining us everyone!!! 



Congrats to Damian & Ariel on their upcoming marriage!!
Kyle and I decorated the kitchen chalk board together