tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57105257667367365472024-03-06T01:05:11.893-05:00Small Measureashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.comBlogger676125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-46327476805312228312012-07-16T12:25:00.002-04:002012-07-16T12:25:27.217-04:00Moving On Up
HUGE news today, friends. Small Measure is moving!
Thank you, Blogger, for hosting this little site of mine for 4 years. It's been a fine relationship, but it's time to move on.
Come find me over at smallmeasure.com! See you there! ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-6899023361232652702012-07-14T13:43:00.002-04:002012-07-14T13:43:31.965-04:00Sneak Peek
Here's a little treat for you, dear friends. The images above are some Polaroids outtakes the lovely Jen Altman took for my new book with Roost. They're from a gathering we hosted out here last weekend, highlighting southern cuisine.
I'll give you little glimpses of the book whenever I can. It's an absolute blast working on this project, and Jen has a wonderful ability to capture peopleashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-36715909756830752542012-07-13T11:05:00.002-04:002012-07-13T11:05:56.992-04:00Can-It-Forward
Happy Friday, friends! I don't know where you live, but it's been raining like the building of arks is in order for three days straight here. Which is just fine by me. The garden needs it, the water tables require it, and this cool-weather-loving-lady adores it.
It's been an amazing week. Busy, but amazing. My sisters just left about 30 minutes ago. I'm always so excited when they come, and ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-88212495386779066552012-07-12T13:09:00.001-04:002012-07-12T14:21:23.314-04:00A Perfect Day
Yesterday was nothing short of amazing. It was full of love, and laughter, and food, and rain, and fog, and cuddles, and everything I hold dear. If it set the tone for the coming year, it's going to be a very, very good one, friends.
Highlights included:
*This book and this book from Hubs (along with a gorgeous, but too large, ring from Nervous System ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-77329925848698351192012-07-11T20:07:00.000-04:002012-07-11T20:07:26.783-04:00Homemade Living Blow-Out!
Just in time for my birthday, folks! 36 years young today!
My editor wrote to give me a head's up on an amazing sale over at Barnes & Noble. If you have hesitated on buying any of the books in my Homemade Living series, hesitate no longer, dear friends of the interwebs! All four titles are now 50% off! Yeehaw!
This is an amazing sale. If you're tired of waiting for one of my books to getashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-77300430616528220362012-07-10T11:23:00.001-04:002012-07-10T11:28:22.704-04:00Whirlwinds & Crushes
Whew. The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind. We threw a big 'ole Southern foods gathering out here this past Saturday evening, as part of my new book. It was amazing-kids, parents, dancing (cake walk!!!), food, bourbon, and heat! Oh. My. Word. It was hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. But it was grand!
Today I'm off to visit this farm on my way north to Burnsville. My sisters, Huxley and I are ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-25360023471868155762012-07-06T11:14:00.001-04:002012-07-06T11:14:59.287-04:00What I'm Digging
Happy Friday, friends! My sisters are here for the week! I! Am! So! Excited!
Hope you had a lovely Independence Day (for those U.S. readers). We laid low at home, and rounded out the day gathered around our big oak dining room table with friends. Nice and easy, that's my style!
Here's a smattering of this's and that's that caught my attention this week:
*This is my kind of camp craft!
*ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-50964675188741884852012-07-05T19:54:00.000-04:002012-07-05T19:55:30.909-04:00Learned Behaviors
I've been so busy canning that I almost forgot to direct you to my post in this month's Verve, wherein I divulge the origin of my infatuation with the jar.
I'm holding honey in the jar above, extracted from my bees this past September. Yet another example of my affinity for putting edibles and delectables in jars.
What about you? What got you turned on to the world of simmering pots and ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-52456592776101693862012-07-03T13:16:00.002-04:002012-07-03T13:16:44.201-04:00Swimming In Cukes (+ Etsy!)
Our over-ambitious attitude in the garden this year seems to be paying off. We put in something like 20 cucumber plants and they are some kind of paying it forward, by the bushel!
To that end, I've spent the better part of the last 3 days making my Dill Pickles, Quick Persian Pickles, and Sweet Pickle Relish. Recipes for the former and the latter can be found in my book, while the ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-21067085909601341522012-07-01T22:44:00.000-04:002012-07-01T22:44:07.816-04:00Weekend Eats: Bolognese-esque Frittata
I hate wasting food. I go to great lengths to ensure we use every bit of food we purchase or grow. That's especially true of leftovers.
Sometimes Hubs cooks like there's an army coming over for dinner, instead of just us two and Huxley. I never complain, because his eats are always amazing. That said, we're sometimes staring down the same dish for multiple meals, across several days.
Which ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-64810455763587107712012-06-29T10:51:00.001-04:002012-06-29T10:51:17.908-04:00What I'm Digging
Happy Friday, friends! This weekend promises to be a scorcher. Here in the mountains of western North Carolina we might even hit 100 degrees. Yikes! We plan to hit up the Blue Ridge Parkway in search of a frigid creek or swimming hole to cool our jets in. Or, if we're feeling lazy, just fill up Huxley's baby/toddler pool, and get in it with watermelon slices, cold beer, and a happy, ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-24460398811039688342012-06-28T13:55:00.000-04:002012-06-29T11:00:53.215-04:00Candlemaking the Natural Way (+ Giveaway!!!)
When I first met Hubs, he already owned the house we now live in. It was definitely a bachelor's pad at that point, which was actually kind of great, since it enabled us to set up the space together. As he was giving me a tour of the place, and he showed me the bathroom, I immediately noticed two things: he'd had a large, soaking, "garden" tub installed, and he had lots and lots of candles ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com67tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-9391076125032809262012-06-26T15:47:00.002-04:002012-06-26T15:47:28.949-04:00When Life Hands You Eggs
We are flush with eggs these days, chez English. More eggs than we can eat each day, which is saying something since we're all crazy about the things. There are so many eggs coming in lately that visions of custards and curds and ice cream move to the forefront of my culinary mind's eye (to reach that last goal, Hubs & Huxley just headed to the West Asheville Tailgate Market to pick ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-86321953451329158122012-06-24T14:03:00.000-04:002012-06-24T22:38:15.270-04:00Weekend Eats: Tortilla Espanola
We munched on this olive, tomato and potato bit of deliciousness just a bit ago. Hubs sliced the potatoes on a mandoline first, then lightly pan fried them in olive oil. Next went a bit of whisked eggs over the potatoes. We let those eggs set up a bit over medium-high heat, then added the remaining bit in the mixing bowl, along with the olives. The whole concoction then spent a wee bit of ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-14923250301631133212012-06-22T12:01:00.001-04:002012-06-22T12:01:25.701-04:00What I'm Digging
Happy Friday, friends! And happy summer, too. The season of sun, and sandals, and sweat, and soil is officially upon us. Oh. Yes.
I just got off the phone with my younger sister, Theo. She, along with my other sister, Devan, will be coming to visit usfor a week in early July. I shared with her my intentions for engaging in three definitively "summer" activities during their visit: a trip to ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-59762622761821237582012-06-20T15:05:00.000-04:002012-06-20T15:05:09.963-04:00Green & Black's (+ Giveaway!!!)
I have long maintained a love affair with chocolate. The darker, the better. If it's caramel-filled, I'm in heaven. If there are dried fruits involved, I'm swooning. I'll take it hot in a mug, snuggled into a s'more, or even just straight up. When it comes to chocolate, I'm often equal opportunity consumer.
Which is why I was so excited when one of my most beloved chocolate purveyors, ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com150tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-33484191275636200712012-06-18T14:45:00.001-04:002012-06-18T14:45:32.987-04:00Recent Acquisitions
This past winter, Hubs and I set out to get our crafty on. While mine never quite materialized as I'd hoped (turns out I'm not a learn-in-a-group-setting type of knitter; I really just need someone to sit beside me, regularly, and tell me what I'm doing wrong), Hubs' certainly did.
Shown above are several of his creations. Oh, the shapes! The colors! The glazes! I just love these ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-87618818690326666712012-06-15T10:27:00.003-04:002012-06-15T10:27:29.102-04:00What I'm Digging
Happy Friday, friends! Huxley's follow-up visit yesterday revealed that his wound is healing up swimmingly. The doctor said that, in time, it should heal over completely, permitted we keep it out of sunlight for the next 6 months. So, it'll be a summer of hats, sunscreen and bandages for the tiny Englishman!
Here's a smattering of this's and that's that caught my attention this week:
*I love ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-42283846082771499372012-06-14T21:14:00.000-04:002012-06-14T21:14:10.858-04:00Garden Tour
It's seriously go time in the garden, friends. I recently mentioned that Hubs was whipping up a deck and pergola for us to enjoy out there. And, boy, did he ever! Never one to make something just so-so, or expected, or conventional, he fashioned a pergola to beat them all, full of whimsy and nuance and, well, "him."
We held our first photo shoot for the new book ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-60615005692445236742012-06-12T16:08:00.001-04:002012-06-12T16:08:28.576-04:00Pies & Life & Babies
Thank you so much for all of your kind words and assurances over our Wild child. Were it not for the bandages placed front and center on his wee forehead, you'd think nothing had even happened. He's a trooper, that one. We follow up with a facial surgeon on Thursday. Fingers and toes crossed that those bandages, once removed, reveal nothing except a nice, healing wound.
I've got a few posts ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-77744525900966669302012-06-08T20:19:00.000-04:002012-06-08T20:19:30.357-04:00What I'm Digging
Happy Friday, friends! We had a bit of a harrowing day yesterday, chez English. Things were going great. The breeze was fine, there was no humidity, the birds were chirping, life was good. Hubs was in the garden and Huxley and I were on the patio, weeding. The tiny Englishman, however, decided, all of a sudden, to climb onto a patio chair, which pitched over backwards, landing his tiny ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-19392213753078908912012-06-06T17:03:00.001-04:002012-06-06T17:03:51.685-04:00Recent Acquisitions: The Spice Bible
When you enter our home, you enter directly into the kitchen. What's technically the "rear" of the house is used as the front, while the actual "front" is fenced-in and located at the far end of a circular driveway. It's a strange orientation for a house tucked in a cove, a mile down a dirt road, but it works for us.
Once you walked in, if you'd never been here before, the ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-77419750230653545242012-06-04T14:38:00.002-04:002012-06-04T14:38:37.464-04:00Come Join Me!
Happy Monday, friends! Hope your weekend was a good one. Ours was amazing! Huxley was cool, calm and collected with his aunt Theo Friday night while we went out for our combo birthday/anniversary date. So much so, in fact, that when we arrived back home, he was fed, bathed, p.j.'ed and asleep in his swing. Go, auntie, go!!! And the meal. Oh, the meal. We sampled and oohed and ahhed our way ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-69545084213755099382012-06-01T14:28:00.000-04:002012-06-01T14:28:24.087-04:00What I'm Digging
Happy Friday, friends! 'Tis a special day, chez English. A special weekend, in fact. Today marks another glorious trip around the sun for Hubs, while tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of when we took the nuptial plunge and read our vows to each other down in our lower field. He's a man of immense talent, overflowing generosity, and profound humility, this man 'o mine. I can't imagine a better ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-87139126849982807922012-05-31T15:18:00.000-04:002012-06-21T09:48:31.744-04:00Food In Jars (+ Giveaway!!!)
You know those bloggers that, whenever they make a new post and it shows up in your inbox, you just can't wait to read it? Marisa McClellan of Food In Jars is one such person for me. Soon as a new post from her appears in my email, I make a beeline to her site. Whatever new concoction she's dreamed up, it's always intriguing, and it's always good.
Imagine my supreme delight, then, ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com307