Broadway+Thresher, Issue 3. Holiday 2013

Broadway+Thresher Rural. Urban. Inclusive.

Married Textiles - Amy and David Butler A Blue Christmas by Wade Rouse Party Styles by Ross Bennett Holiday Getaway Fashions A Vintage Christmas Alcoholidays!

Issue 3, December2013/January2014

Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius-- Pietro Aretino

photo by Raine Chism

| rainechism.com

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j o urnal

e’ve had an amazing year, and it’s all because of our talented contributors, and you, our wonderful readers. David and I are very proud of this issue. We’re confident in our original content, introducing you to people either for the first time, or in a new way. Because this is our holiday issue, it was important for us to recognize Christmas, Hanukkah, and the New Year. Because of this, we’ve pushed back our publication release dates. Thank you for waiting an extra month to read this issue.

Although we pushed back our release schedule, David and I hope you received a copy of our 2013 Gift Guide.

We couldn’t be more pleased with this publication, our first print release, and we thank every artisan who generously agreed to share his or her products with us.

Please be sure to check out a preview of the guide within this issue and visit our website to see its entirety. (And we must thank our Lifestyle Editor Nicole McGrew for her help – she is a B+T treasure and we appreciate her dedication everyday.)

With this publication, we officially mark the one-year anniversary of Broadway+Thresher, the first milestone of many to come. It seems like just yesterday, David and I were brainstorming the creation of a new magazine that would chronicle the blurred lines between rural and urban living. We’re grateful for your overwhelming positive response and support.

From our B+T family to yours, we wish you a joyous holiday season with family and friends.

David+Andrew

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Broadway+thresherwinter2013

c ontents 4 ... journal 7 ... contributors 8 ... celebrate 13 ... food+drink 31 ... farm+garden 41 ... lifestyle 61 ... fashion 81 ... music+art 90 ... the intersection

features:

26 ... alcoholidays!

42 ... married textiles 52 ... vintage christmas 64 ... party Styles 70 ... time to get away!

86 ... blue christmas: a short story by wade rouse

front and back covers, left image, and section covers by David Gobeli front inside cover by Raine Chism Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............5

Broadway+Thresher Co-Founders+Editors-in-Chief David Gobeli+Andrew Kohn Executive Editor Daniel W. Long Photo Editor Rachel Joy Baransi

The Blog BroadwayandThresher.com Subscribe BroadwayandThresher.com/subscribe Advertise BroadwayandThresher.com/advertise Customer Service info@BroadwayandThresher.com Contact David or Andrew David@BroadwayandThresher.com Andrew@BroadwayandThresher.com

Section Editors Ruth Coffey [Fashion] Nicole McGrew [Lifestyle] Mark Nickerson [Food+Drink] Anton Sarossy-Christon [Farm+Garden] Anne Sherwood Pundyk [Art] Meredith Peters [Music] Contributing Writers Emily George Emie Heisey Debi Ward Kennedy Lee Kirkpatrick Chelsea Morhman Deven Rittenhouse Luke Smith Caitlin Terry

Connect:

Contributing Editors Emily Blitzer Kristofer Bowman Brice Corder Jackie Alpers

Facebook facebook.com/broadwayandthresher

Design Consultant Jodi Melfi

Twitter twitter.com/broadwaythreshe Pinterest pinterest.com/broadwaythresh

Technical Advisor Donald Jones Editorial Advisory Board Amy Hamilton Michael Kennedy

Instagram BroadwayandThresher Broadway+thresher is an Ohio Limited Liability Company.

Published bimonthly at 4058 Columbus Road, Granville, Ohio, 43023.

For customer service visit BroadwayandThresher.com, or write to P.O. Box 473, Granville, Ohio 43023.

For subscription information visit BroadwayandThresher.com/subscribe or email info@broadwayandthresher.com. Š2013 Broadway+Thresher, LLC. All rights reserved.

Reproductions in whole or in part without written consent is strictly prohibited. .............Broadway+thresherautumn2013 6..............

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c ontri buto rs

Rachel Joy Baransi racheljoybaransi.com

Meredith Peters

Evelyn Frockling

Emily George

artifloragranville.com

Rita Finn

AntonSarossy-Christon terravitafarms.com

Ruth Coffey

Mark Nickerson

Lee Kirkpatrick

Additonal Contributors Raine Chism Rashmi Pappu Amy Rutherford Martha Compton

Nicole McGrew

Amy Patterson

blog.devereuxetfils.com

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c elebrate

a photo essay by Raine Chism

Gatherings of all kinds bring communities together and strenghten our bonds. Every month we’ll highlight celebrations and gatherings­—-from weddings to house parties--that allow people to come together, have discussions, and celebrate love and friendship.

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Baked good and confections made with fresh, local vegetables, fruits and herbs. The bakery is located at the Granville Farmers Market in Ohio and on the web. Special orders are accepted. Currently we are only shipping in Ohio.

A percentage of the proceeds support spay and neuter of community cats.

facebook.com/gocatbakery

food+drink

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a vi n ta ge vi r gi n i a christm as

Nicole McGrew | photos by Rashmi Pappu | styling by Amy Rutherford

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hen I think of Christmas, I think of family, I think of food, and I think of fun. It’s that time of year when everyone is in good spirits, when cakes and cookies seem to appear magically, when we can all feel a little bit like kids again.

I also like the holiday season because it gives us another reason to entertain. And, for me, there is no better way to do that than with a Virginia ham, baked and served with all the fixings—sweet potatoes, greens, macaroni and cheese, and pecan pie—coupled with mismatched vintage porcelain from far and wide, brass candlesticks collected and passed down over generations and fresh holly as a natural table runner. After I throw on the music, like Pink Martini’s Joy to the World or the jazzy, retro Stockings by the Fire, the party can begin.

The point, of course, is not to make everything perfect, though. Who needs the stress of that? Instead, by being creative with what you have, doing the bits you want (and are comfortable with), and not being afraid to get help with rest, you can actually enjoy entertaining during the holidays. For me, this means buying a pie (the horror!), pulling out the serving pieces I like best (whether they match or not) and rounding up enough chairs for a large group (a collection of handmade, auction house and thrift store finds). By working with what you have, and remembering that the whole point of gathering for the holidays is to share a special time, you can take the pressure off and simply celebrate in a way that works best for you.

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top: gather items you already have on hand to a create beautiful, and functional, tablescape. bottom: mismatched china adds ease and whimsy to the table.

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top: holiday tablescapes need not be all red and green--floral mixed with holly and brass adds visual excitement. bottom: a fresh pie from a local bakery frees up time to enjoy every moment with your guests.

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men u boa rd: hol i day feasting

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Mark Nickerson | photos by Martha Compton

all and winter means food.

Apples abounded in the orchards. Pumpkins appear on porches and in pies (and in some incredible craft brews - see the list of favorites in the sidebar). Turkeys run for their lives. The flavors of fall are rich and sumptuous and prepare the soul to hunker down for the winter ahead. Summery herbs give way to fall spices. The vibrant palette of the backyard garden warm to the red and brown and golden hues of autumn. For our menu board in this issue we highlight some of the best of the harvest, prepared in ways that are non-traditional.

We begin with a creamy soup featuring butternut and acorn squash. The vegetables are roasted and blended with chicken stock and cream to deliver a hearty and satisfying dish that makes a great appetizer. Leftovers can provide for delicious fall lunch alongside a grilled cheese sandwich or grilled salmon salad.

For our main dish we feature a turkey, but smoked on the grill instead of roasted in the oven. I chose to use cherry wood for my smoke, but apple, hickory or mesquite would all compliment the spice rub. The real key to success though is the brining, an often over looked technique growing in popularity with home cooks. Of course no turkey dinner is complete without stuffing and new B+T contributor Martha Compton has delivered an amazing apple and onion stuffing that takes this classic Thanksgiving side dish and infuses some unexpected flavors.

For dessert we’ve opted to stay out of the debate over pies —pumpkin, apple, blueberry, rhubarb—they can all be delicious. Instead, we highlight an apple cake recipe that is sure to end your fall feast on a high note.

We hope your holiday season is filled with good flavors, great friends and warm memories. If you have suggestions, recipes or tips based on your own menu board, please share them with our Food+Drink editor, Mark Nickerson at Mark@broadwayandthresher.com.

Your ideas could well end up featured on our blog our in an upcoming issue!

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Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup

Apple, Onion and Fennel Stuffing

4 tablespoons olive oil 1 large butternut squash; peeled, seeded, and cubed 1 acorn squash; seeded, peeled and sliced salt and ground black pepper to taste ½ stick butter, softened 1 medium onion, diced 4 cups chicken stock 1 bay leaf 2 fresh sage leaves ½ cup half & half

2 tablespoons olive oil ½ stick butter, softened 1 bay leaf 3 stalks celery, sliced ½ fennel bulb, sliced 1 medium yellow onion, diced 3 medium apples, cored and chopped salt and ground black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning ¼ cup parley leaves, chopped 8 cups unseasoned dried bread cubes 3-5 cups chicken stock

Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Toss squash with oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a baking pan and roast 20-25 minutes, or until soft.

In a heavy bottom soup pan, melt butter. Add onion, sage and bay. Stir to coat. Cook on low heat until onion begin to caramelize, about 20-30 minutes. Remove bay and sage leaves. Add roasted squash to the onions. Add chicken stock and simmer 20 minutes. Transfer to blender and puree.

Return to pot and heat.

Ladle into warm bowls, drizzle with half & half, and add a few grated of nutmeg.

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Pre-heat oven to 400°F. In a heavy bottom pan over medium-high heat melt butter and add oil. Add bay, celery, onion, fennel and apples. Sitr to coat. Add salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook 6-8 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Add parsley and cook an additional minute.

Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.

In a large bowl add bread cubes and vegetable mixture. Add chicken stock slowly, carefully stiring, until moist but not soggy. Transfer to greased baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Smoked Turkey

Apple Cake

To see the complete recipe and procedure go to broadwayandthresher.com/issue-3-extras

1 tablespoon butter, softened 8 large apples; peeled, cored, and chopped 1 tablespoon cinnamon 5 tablespoons sugar 2 ž AP flour, sifted 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup vegetable oil 2 cups sugar 1/3 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon vanilla 4 eggs

To start you need: 1 turkey Several sprigs of rosemary and thyme 4 or 5 cloves of garlic 1 large white onion 1/4 to 1/2 lb of butter Brine: 2 gallons of water 1 cup of sea salt Several sprigs of sage

1 cup of brown sugar 1/2 cup black pepper

Rub: Equal parts of: Salt Black Pepper Half part of: Rosemary Sage

Garlic powder Onion powder

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Grease tube pan with butter. Toss apples with sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Combine flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together sugar, vanilla, orange juice, oil and eggs. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just incorporated.

Pour half of the batter into tube pan. Top with apples, then remaining batter. Bake 1 and a half hours.

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d re a m i n g of a w hi te chri stma s (dinner )

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Jackie Alpers

here was a time in history when an all white meal consisting mostly of flour and milk was the most depressing idea imaginable. In Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge famously sat down to a bowl of gruel on awaiting him, while ghosts sat in it’s wake. It signified how miserable and miserly he was, not even allowing himself the finer things in life on Christmas Eve. Times have changed. I eat turkey a LOT, and bread and gravy are an indulgence.

Eating during the holidays used to be horrible—I hate stuffing, and green bean casserole, and the turkey tasted the same as it did on any other day. The only part of meals that I looked forward to was the mashed potatoes, and also the gravy, which I’d use to smother the rest of that mess in.

Then I met my husband. One of the first things that we did as a couple was come up with our own holiday ritual. Early morning we went to the fancy supermarket on the other side of town and bought whatever we wanted. Yellow Yukon potatoes for mashing, the white vegetarian gravy that comes in an envelope, Pillsbury Grands, good wine and something special for the cats.

Every year we also selected a new chili-heavy spice blend which was incorporated in with spice blends from holidays past, a unusual amount of butter and the broth from the potatoes to make the spiciest, creamiest mashed potatoes. We then stir the extra broth from the potatoes and a couple of crumbled vegetarian sausage patties into the gravy powder and serve up the whole thing as one wonderful, white, gloppy mess.

A new holiday tradition, by us and for us—the all white meal, without any of the foods we don’t like. It’s not a bad idea. Go ahead, start your own.

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hot choc ola te tr uf f les

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Emily George

ot Chocolate is one of my favorite cold weather indulgences. As a child my parents treated my brother and I to fancy flavored hot chocolate packets in our Christmas stockings every year. Those memories inspire me to create new and exciting hot chocolate flavors to share with my friends and family every year.

Chocolate truffles are an indulgence all their own and for me a very natural step to hot chocolate. This holiday season I created a recipe that combines these two treats into an incredibly scrumptious fireside beverage!

Curried Hot Chocolate Truffles 1 cup coconut cream 12 ounces semisweet chocolate 1 teaspoon red curry powder dutch process cocoa powder Refrigerate can of coconut cream for 24 hours. open top and pour off any liquid that sits on top, reserving the heavy cream.

Combine coconut cream and and chocolate in double broiler over low heat. Stir constantly to combine until smooth and silky. Remove from heat and add curry powder, stir to combine.

Let chocolate mixutre rest in refrigerater, covered, overnight, until set firm. Scoop mixture into ping pong sized balls and roll in palms until round. Repeate with all truffles. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze overnight. Remove from freezer and toss gently in cocoa powder.

Can be eaten like this, or when it’s time to cozy up by the fire, drop one truffle into 6 ounces of hot milk, stir to mix and enjoy. Top with marshmallow fluff and brulee.

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l et them ea t cake Amy Thayer

Chocolate spice cake 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ¼ teaspoon cloves ¼ teaspoon ginger ¾ cup milk 1/3 cup vegitable oil 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9” round cake pans; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl stir together dry ingredients.

Add milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer until just combined. Add eggs and beat until smooth, about 3-4minutes. Halve mixture by pouring into prepared pans.

3. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Top with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate ganache: 12 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped into small pieces 1 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons butter Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate, add butter, and stir until completely mixed and glossy.

Allow ganache to cool slightly before pouring over cakes as a glaze. The longer you allow the ganache to cool, the thicker it will set. When cakes have cooled slowly pour ganach over cake while spreading with a frosting knife to spill over and cover edges.

Place in refridgerator to cool and set.

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a lc ohol idays!

Emily George | photos by Rita Finn

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he Advent Calendar was a staple in my home during the holiday season as I was growing up.

Every morning at breakfast my brother or I would take turns opening the window, reading the verse and enjoying the chocolate treat. Enjoy this holiday season with you and yours and the Broadway+Thresher version of an Advent Calendar that will offer a variety of beverage options from Classic to Signature Cocktails, wines, beers and non-alcoholic choices to get you to Christmas Day!

Dec ember 1 Egyptian Chamomile - Hubbard and Cravens They’ve scoured the globe to bring you the best teas and coffees. Check out their site! A B+T favorite is the organic Egyptian chamomile. The flavor is rich but floral, slightly sweet and perfectly delicious on its own, of course, a splash of Dewars Highlander Honey doesn’t hurt either.

Dec ember 2 Reboot 8 Juice Loosley inspired by another big tomato juice brand, but made at home and is a great way to pack in the veggies during the busy holiday season.

-2 red bell peppers -2 apples -2 tomatoes -2 scallions -3 kale leaves -1 small handfull sunflower sprouts -1 lemon, peeled -1 lime, peeled -dashes of oregano and chili pepper for garnish.

Wash and juice all fruits and vegetables, garnish with sprinkles of oregano and chili pepper and enjoy. If you’re feeling frisky, add a little gin and enjoy a healthy Red Snapper!

Dec ember 3 Bees Knees A B+T favorite!

-2 ounces gin -1 ounce honey syrup -1 ounce lemon juice

irish coffee, see page 25

D ece m be r 5 Anything Bourbon Your choice, but we’re drinking bourbon today. Join us?

D ece m be r 6 Martini Give yourself a gift this holiday season and put the vermouth back in your martini! I like Dolin Vermouth for my martinis and prefer a 2:1 ratio to get a more balanced flavor.

-2 ounce vodka or gin -1 ounce vermouth -1 dash orange bitters

Shake all with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Combine all indgredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill. Strin into a chilled martini glass and garnish as desired.

Dec ember 4 Red Wine - Joel Gott ‘815’ Cabernet Sauvignon

D ece m be r 7 Local Coffee Shop Latte

Always look for wines that over deliver for their price point, and the Joel Gott family of wines do just that. Over the last few years JG wines have become more available at wine retailers and grovery stores, and usually priced below $20. The cabernet demonstrates beautifully rich flavors that would pair wonderfully with many winter-friendly dishes.

Pistacia Vera is a Columbus, Ohio German Village legend. When you drop down to the Village to enjoy the holiday lights, stop in for a caffeine boost and maybe one of their famous macarons. If you’re out and about early in the morning, their almond bearclaws are the things that dreams are made of.

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Dec ember 8 Anything Gin

D ece m be r 1 4 Irish Coffee

Your choice of maker, but we’re drinking gin today.

Tanqueray, Bombay, Hendricks, Beefeaters or Geneveive, we don’t discriminate.

-1 teaspoon raw sugar -2 ounces Jameson whiskey -coffee -lightly whipped cream

Dec ember 9 Hot Toddy -½ ounce honey -6 ounces strong hot tea

-2 ounces bourbon -1 ounce lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a warm mug and enjoy!

Dec ember 10 Curried Hot Chocolate Truffles

-1 Hot Chocolate Truffle (see page 22) -6 ounces hot milk -1 ½ ounces coconut rum Combine all ingredients in a warm mug, stir to combine.Top with bruleed marshmallow.

Dec ember 11 Grape Vino Juice

Add sugar, whiskey and coffee to mug and stir to combine.

Gently spoon whipped cream on top, and sip without stirring into beverage.

D ece m be r 1 5 Power Smoothie, aka Refrigerator Garabage Smoothie I always keep a stash of frozen fruit in my freezer so I can whip up a smoothie at a moment’s notice. Go by the loosely defined recipe of: -1 cup light fruits (mango, banana, melon) -1 cup dark fruits (cherries or berries) -1 cup plain yogurt -½ cup orange juice -½ cup pomegranite juice Blend and enjoy—makes a great on-the-go breakfast during the busy holiday season.

High in anti-oxidants, vitamins A, B, and C, plus numerous vital minerals.

-½ fennel bulb -½ medium red cabbage -2 large handfuls of red grapes -1 green apple

b+t rum fizz, see left

Wash all and juice.

Dec ember 12 Pomegranite, the B+T Rum Fizz A twist on a classic Ramos Gin Fizz, this will add a little flare to your holidays.

-1 ounce Bacardi Coconut Rum -1 ounce PAMA liqueur -2 ounces coconut milk -½ ounce lime juice -½ ounce raw sugar syrup -1 egg white -dash nutmeg and cinnamon Wash all and juice.

Dec ember 13 Pumpkin Pie Smoothie -½ cup canned pumpkin -1 banana -1/8 tsp nutmeg -1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-3/4 cup lowfat milk -¼ teaspoon cinnamon -1 ½ teaspoon raw honey -6 ice cubes

Blend all together and enjoy.

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Dec ember 16 Water - Donate to Wine to Water You’ve got a whole month here folks, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Take a break and rehydrate with a refreshing glass of clean water—something that is so readily available to many people, but hard to find elsewhere. Join us in supporting a bartender-founded non-profit aid organization founded by Doc Henley, called Wine to Water. You can find out more at winetowater.org, buy wine on the website or make a monetary donation to help the cause.

Dec ember 17 Infused Spirit Sometimes the best cocktails can be the easiest. Every year I add a bad of fresh cranberries to a bottle of Jim Beam and let it sit for as long as I can stand it. Although the result will make for a lovely holiday-themed Manhattan cocktail, I like to serve mine tall and icy with ginger ale. This is a great and refreshing long drink to enjoy while cooking those cumbersome holiday feasts.

Dec ember 18 Apple Brandy Old Fashioned Take a break from the holiday stresses and swing down to Lindey’s Restaurant in the German Village (Columbus, Ohio) to let their phenomenal bar staff whip you up one of their new fall signature cocktails.

-1 cherry -1 orange slice -3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters -1 ounce Calvados brandy -1 ounce chair tea infused apple cider In double old fashioned glass, muddle cherry and ornage together. Add bitters and brandy. Swirl to mix. Add ice to top of glass then top off with apple cider.

Dec ember 19 Green Tea There are many delicious flavors and styles of green tea at your local markets. Choose one that is appealing to you and enjoy the light caffeine rush and the many health benefits that can be felt from regular enjoyment.

Dec ember 20 Hot Buttered Rum -½ tablespoon butter -1 teaspoon brown sugar -splace vanilla extract -2 ounce dark rum -hot water to fill -dashes of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice Add all ingredients in your favorite mug and stir to combine.

infused spirit, see left

D ece m be r 21 Pumpkin Tom + Jerry -2 ounce pumpkin Tom + Jerry mix -6 ounces hot milk -1 ½ ounces rye whiskey Combine ingredients in a hot mug and stir to combine. Top with a bit of freshly grated nutmeg.

D ece m be r 22 Milk Punch Milk punch is a holiday tradition in Wisconsin. It can be made in advance (perfect for parties) or great for a romantic evening curled up with your favorite guy or gal and holiday film.

-4 cups whole milk -12 ounces bourbon -1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Whisk all ingredients together and put in freezer for a minimum of 3 to 4 hours, but can be made a day in advance.

When ready to serve, simply remove from freezer and crush it up before dipping it out into serving glasses. Top with a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg.

A B+T Editor in Chief favorite!

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-1 cup Half & Half -1 cup powdered sugar

Dec ember 23 Egg Nog

D ece m be r 28 Brandy Old Fashioned

Last year we discovered the most delicious eggnog from Wooster’s (Ohio) own Hartzler Family Dairy. The product will start hitting the shelves in November and it is well worth the price. Delicious on its own as a nonalcoholic treat, you could also add 3/4 cup bourbon, ½ cup Cognac and a few splashes dark rum to one quart egg nog.

In my home state of Wisconsin, we make our Old Fashioneds with brandy year-round. Now that I’m closer to bourbon country I only make the change during the winter months when I want a little extra warmth in my cocktail. you find that a Brandy Old Fashioned is a little sweeter than the traditional bourbon version which could make it perfect for cozying up to a fire in your holiday flannel. Korbel Brandy is traditionally the most Wisconsin of brandies.

Dec ember 24 Scotch - Glenmorangie There are hundres of Scotches on the market and the range of flavor profile is wide enough to truly satisfy any palate.

That said, we find the scotches of Glanmorangie distillery to be satisfyingly complex but still very drinkable. In addition to their lveley aged scotch, the Glenmorangie distillery offers a selection of additionaly aged scotches that see time in sherry, port or solera barrels which adds another level of finesse to the finish.

-1 orange slice -4 dashes Angostura bitters -splash cherry juice

And, perfect for Chistmas Eve.

Sometimes ou just need to flush your system during the holiday season and this green juice is the perfect way to do it! high in protein and with lots of vitamins and minerals, this green juice will help you take a break from the richness of the season.

-6 kale leaves -2 handfuls Italian parsley -1 large cucumber -2 stalks celery -1 zucchini -1 lime

Dec ember 25 Christmas Ale - Great Lakes Brewery The Christmas Ale from Great Lakes is a perennial favorite.

We start stockpiling this beer as soon as it’s released and usually run out at the restaurant before Thanksgiving. Try yours as a Black Christmas, layering it with Guiness, a la Black & Tan.

Dec ember 26 Green Ginger Ale Perfect for the day after Christmas—feasting and merrymaking does a job on the tummy—when a bout of rest and calm can come in handy. Ginger juice not only calms the tummy and aids in digestion, but warms cold hands and feet.

-3 green apples -1 large cucumber -2 inch piece of ginger

-2 celery sticks -1 lime

Peel ginger. Wash all other ingredients and juice all. Serve over ice.

Dec ember 27 Fresh-Squeezed Orange Juice

Try mixing different types of oranges. Different varieties of oranges will lend different flavor profiles and levels of sweet and tart. Variety is the spice of life, and that goes for your orange juice too, plus, with all this drinking and partying, the added vitamin C will do your immune system wonders.

-1 maraschino cherry -2 ounces brandy - splash club soda

Muddle orange and cherry with cherry juice and bitters, Add ice and brandy, swirl with spoon and top with club soda.

D ece m be r 29 Super Green Detox Juice - Detox to Retox

Wash all other ingredients and juice.

D ece m be r 3 0 Manhattan -2 ounces bourbon -1 ounce sweet vermouth -4 heavy dashes Angostura bitters Build ingredients is a mixing glass, add ice and stir to chill. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

D ece m be r 3 1 Champagne!!! Larmandier-Bernier Rose de Saignee This is a true French grower-producer champagne and it makes a perfect toast at any holiday gathering. Production is very limited so you will most likely find Lardandier champagnes at finer wine retailers. You can learn more about the amazing way they make wine at larmandier.fr.

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Vi l l a g e F l o w e r B a s k e t

“I must have flowers, always, and always.”

— Claude Monet

740.587.3439 r 1090 River Road r Granville, Ohio 43023 Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. r Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. villageflowerbasket.com r Find us on Facebook Delivering to Denison University and the Village of Granville

10.1.13 VFB - B + T Ad Final art1 1

10/2/13 9:19:14 AM

fa rm+ga rden

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over the ri ver to ti mbu k farm s

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Rita Finn | photos by Timbuk Farms

n a sunny Saturday afternoon, I found myself waiting for Jim Gibson in the parking lot of a greenhouse office. He drove up in a red pick-up truck covered in mud, and asked me to get in. We were going on a tour of Timbuk Farms located in Granville, Ohio, talking all the while about his love for the farm, growing Christmas trees, and the differences between a Douglas Fir and a Scotch Pine. Jim and his wife, LaVonda, both originally from farming families, bought Timbuk Farms seven years ago from the Schmidt family, who planted the first coniferous trees on the property in 1952. It took them five years to open as it takes time to grow something as special as a Christmas tree.

As we walked the slopes through rows of six-year old trees, Jim talked about the perils of weather on a tree farm. Their most popular tree is the Canaan Fir, which is a natural hybrid between balsam fir and Fraser fir, a flood resistant tree that sheds fewer needles during the holiday season.

Live Christmas tree lovers can come and choose their tree starting the day after Thanksgiving. Timbuk is open to the public starting November 29 at 10:00 a.m.

Santa will be on hand to visit with children and discuss Christmas gift options. Bring your family, have some hot chocolate, and pick your special Christmas tree.

The talented people at Timbuk Farms will tie it up and help you put it on top of your car.

Timbuk Farms is located at 2030 Timbuk Road, Granville, Ohio, and can be found online at timbuk.com.

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w i nter citr us

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Anton Sarossy-Christon | photos by Four Winds Growers

t started with a pip—a pip from a Washington Navel orange to be precise. I was about 16 years old, enjoying an orange and discovered a strange seed.

The seed was cracked open and a root, about an inch long, was growing out from one end, and from the other a tiny stem. I’d never seen anything like it before and decided to find out what would happen if I planted it. It grew! And grew, and grew, and grew until it reached over 5 feet tall and had followed me from home to college and then on to my first home after college.

I got lazy one cool autumn evening and thought I’d leave it outside just one more night and woke to find it covered in ice. That was the end of my seed-grown Washington Navel, and though I was disappointed I also knew it had never flowered in those years. Since my experience growing citrus trees from pips, I’ve discovered specialty nurseries willing to do the grafting and cultivar selection for me and have been delighted by my success at growing and harvesting oranges from my own citrus trees. I’m certainly not the first to give it a try and know I won’t be the last!

History: Citrus trees, grown for their tasty fruit and aromatic leaves and flowers, have been popular around the world since before written language. Citrus by Lance Walheim gives southeast Asia credit as the original home to most of the world’s numerous citrus varieties.

Little is known about how the species spread outside of its home territory but chances are sailors and horticulturists helped citrus leapfrog across the globe as they spread the trees on their travels. Most famously, Christopher Columbus is responsible for planting them in the Caribbean as a means to provide the fruit, rich in vitamin C, to his sailors for treating and preventing scurvy. Due to hospitable climates, subsequent plantings in Texas, Arizona, California, and Florida were quick to follow, giving rise to the modern citrus industry.

The novelty of citrus trees quickly gained the attention of western monarchs, and the orangerie was born.

Orangerie (a.k.a: orangery) is a French word for a heated building with south-facing windows used by those in the more northerly latitudes to house their citrus trees from winter’s killing frosts in very grand style. The Sun King, Louis XIV of France, had a sumptuous orangerie built at his palace of Versailles, and is still in use today.

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dwarf improved meyer lemon in fruit

dwarf improved meyer lemon in flower

Growing Citrus Indoors

Tips for Success

Lacking an orangerie of one’s own does nothing to diminish the allure of growing citrus trees—nor should it! Countless northern gardeners find success growing citrus trees in pots—bringing them in and out of the house when the weather dictates. Thanks to the rise of modern dwarfing root stocks, a vast array of citrus varieties are available to the northern grower. The dwarfing root stocks do two things: first, they prevent the trees from growing too vigorously and second they make the trees more precocious—enabling you to enjoy the literal fruits of your labors years earlier than what might otherwise be possible if you were to try growing your own from seed. Four Winds Growers, a “Top 5 Garden Watchdog” rated nursery, provides customers with a Citrus Variety Info Chart on their website.

The chart lists bloom time, fruit season, indicates whether the fruits need heat to become sweet, at what temperature the plants need protection, and my favorite column: varieties best suited for indoor growing.

Important considerations when growing citrus indoors include the size of the container you plant the tree in, type of soil medium, exposure to sunlight, pests, fertilizer, and temperature. Four Winds Growers recommends that citrus trees grown indoors receive eight to twelve hours of sunlight per day for fruit production. If you receive less than that, you can supplement using a grow light hooked up to a timer. Use a store-bought soil mix indicated for growing citrus—do not add soil from your garden into the pot as this can introduce pests and disease. Citrus trees grown in pots do best when soil is moist, not soggy. To maintain ideal humidity, line a sturdy saucer with pebbles, fill with water, and place the pot on top of this. Citrus specific fertilizers exist and are highly recommended when growing citrus in pots; follow the directions on the package. Finally, frequently check the stems and undersides of the leaves for pests. Aphids, scale insects, and mites can attack citrus trees and if left unchecked will reduce vigor and lead to fruit loss.

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Varieties It would be a serious understatement to say that I’ve only spent a few hours of my life browsing online citrus catalogs. The biggest problem I have is whittling my list down to a manageable number and for this article I’ve come up with my top ten must have citrus—ok, I may have snuck one or two more in!

-Oranges, Lemons, and Grapefruits

Everyone’s familiar with oranges, lemons, and grapefruits but finding varieties that thrive in a pot while not growing too large is a challenge. Trovita and Washington Navel orange work perfectly as a pair because by growing both varieties you’re guaranteed to have fresh oranges all year long. Trovita’s fruits ripen in the spring and hold well on the tree for weeks while Washington Navel ripens in the winter. In both cases, the fruit takes ten to twelve months to ripen after flowering which means you’ll enjoy ripe oranges, small green developing fruits, and flowers on the tree simultaneously.

Variegated Pink Lemon adds some color to your room.

Both the leaves and fruit are variegated green and yellow while the inside of the fruit, flowers and new

growth tend to go fuchsia to bright pink! This isn’t the most prolific or flavorful variety but if you have room for something unusual it easily earns its place.

Improved Meyer Lemon trees bear fruit year-round and are famous for their flavorful and aromatic juice. The fruit take on a distinctive golden color when ripe and as oranges, can stay on the tree well after ripening.

Oroblanco Grapefruit isn’t technically a grapefruit but rather a cross between grapefruit and the larger pummelo. As a result, the edible portion inside the fruit is a little smaller than traditional grapefruit and the rind tends to be quite thick. This is the only grapefruit recommended for growing indoors because it has the ability to fully sweeten even in cooler climates. The fruit ripens mid-winter and the flowers are especially fragrant.

-Limes

Thai and southeast Asian dishes aren’t truly authentic without adding a few highly aromatic Kieffer Lime leaves. Kieffer Limes tend to be small bushy trees, and if happy in their environments will flower and produce small aromatic bumpy green limes perfect for grating into various desserts and squeezing into drinks.

a variety of citrus for sale

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oroblanco grapefruit

Thornless Mexican Lime won’t bother you with the long thorns other citrus are famous—or infamous for, and you’ll enjoy harvesting the perfect tasting lime for key lime pies and authentic south of the border drinks.

it’s recommended for indoor cultivation and the fruit can be candied though they yield little to no juice. If you choose this citrus, bring it inside well before the weather cools down as it doesn’t tolerate cold.

Bearss Seedless Lime will produce large fruit with few seeds. Fruiting is year-round and the small trees don’t mind a little cold—perfect for growing indoors.

-Kumquat Rounding out my list is the Variegated Calamondin, in the Kumquat family. In his book, Walheim rates this variety as an “exceptional ornamental”. The leaves are edged in white and yellow, and the tree produces generous amounts of small orange fruit. The tree flowers and fruits throughout the year such that you’ll always have fresh fruit available to enjoy.

-Citrons

Some believe Etrog Citron was grown centuries before the birth of Christ and may have been the first citrus grown for its highly fragrant fruit. The fruit looks like a large bumpy lemon when ripe and can produce yearround. The rind makes an excellent marmalade, though before cutting them into your recipes, reserve one or two in a fruit bowl as a natural room freshener—one of its popular uses.

Buddhas’s Hand is one of the most unusual citrus in cultivation. If you’re looking for a conversation piece, this may be the only citrus you need. The fruit looks like yellow squids hanging down from the tree with tentacles reaching out in every direction. Happily, 38.............Broadway+thresherwinter2013

If you’re ready to get started, Four Winds Growers is offering all Broadway+Thresher readers 15% off on orders with items totaling $60.00 or more by entering in coupon code broadway at checkout. The offer is valid December 1 – February 1.

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l i festyle

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ma rri ed te xtiles

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David Gobeli | photos courtesy David and Amy Butler

extile and home decor designers Amy and David Butler make it seem easy—beautiful colors, thoughtful patterns, visual intellegence wrapped in a glorious facade. We chatted with the Butlers about their two brands, Amy Butler Design and Parson Gray, and where their inspirations are born.

B+T: Why textile design and how did you both get started?

Dave: My getting into textile design was a direct result of Amy being in the industry. I have worked with her from the beginning helping to translate her handcreated artwork in digital files so that it could be used by licenses outside of the fabric industry. A few years ago I was approached by Amy’s fabric company to develop a line of “guy friendly” fabrics, a niche they saw missing in the craft fabric industry. After a few pokes and prods

by Amy and the folks at Rowan/Westminster I decided to give it a go. I’m always up for a design challenge, and I felt that I truly could find a unique voice in textiles that would be very different from what was already out there.

Amy: I’ve always had a passion for textiles! Some of my favorite early memories as a little girl involved rummaging through my grandmother’s fabric scraps and having fun inventing projects from the bits and pieces leftover from her quilts. I studied textile and fashion design in art school where I knew I found my niche. Thirteen years ago my dream to design fabrics came true after I launched my first sewing pattern collection at the International Quilt Market which is the premier industry trade show for independent fabric shops. I was approached by several companies to design a fabric line at this show and I landed with Free Spirit who later became Westminster Fibers. I am now a Rowan branded designer and have created several collections for them over the years and I totally love it!

B+T: You both have your signature look—Amy’s are more floral, David’s more masculine—where do you get the inspirations?

left: parson gray quilt

Dave: My inspirations stem from some of the same places that Amy’s do. Nature, architecture, travel. I just focus on different aspects of those things through my own filter. I love to focus on inherent textures of time and wear, so my artwork tends to have more patina infused into the design. And my color palette is Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............43

David and Amy Butler

Amy Butler Design Fashion Home Fabric

obviously more muted, my designs focus more on the geometry of forms.

there it’s all editing down to a collection of line weight, scale and form that seems to dance, evoke a feeling, tell a cohesive story. Then I scan them into the computer, turn them into a repeat pattern, and add my color.

Which takes several days to complete. From there a collection is born and goes off to the fabric company where we begin the strike offs to see how it looks on fabric. Tweak and edit, tweak and edit until completion.

Amy: I get loads of inspiration from travel and from my friends. Dave and I live in a very creative and supportive community (Granville, Ohio) where a lot of our friends and neighbors are artists and business owners. I also am a huge fan of ethnic textiles and historic design.

I grew up in a very eclectic and artistic home and my early cultural upbringing influences many of my design choices. My garden and home are a constant source of ideas and inspiration too, Living and creating in our home has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.

I find I have a lot more freedom to flow and create spontaneously and living this way gives me a ton of creative fire and energy.

B+T: How does the process begin and progress to design a fabric?

Dave: The process is very loose and organic for every print. Usually it’s culling a series of print ideas, putting them to paper in black and white and pinning them up to see if a story is coming to light. At least, the story you set out to tell. Sometimes it changes midstream. From 44.............Broadway+thresherwinter2013

Amy: I work on a total collection at one time. After I’ve noodled my inspirations and ideas I create a mix of artwork that I feel tells the story I’m dreaming of. I’ll create a bit more work than I need so I can edit down to the very best patterns in my mix. I work in black and white first to get scale and balance figured out and then I match my color palette on my computer and digitally color each design. It’s a completely luscious experience for me. I love getting lost in all the creative options and feeling that zing in my heart when I land on the perfect color combination!

B+T: What locations inspire the most? What catches the eye? Is it color, texture, shape, shadow, natural movement?

Parson Gray Spring 2014 Wallpaper

Dave: I find something inspiring almost everywhere I go.

You can see obvious influences of Celtic and Japanese culture, American folk art and Mid Century, even Scandinavian design in my prints. It’s a combination of all the visual cues that inspire my work. Many times it’s just an impression of a place, even a smell that might trigger a motivation for a print. The souks in Old Cairo, for example, had too many inspirations to even begin to translate. You just have to keep the feeling in your soul and try to figure out what to do with those remembrances later.

Amy: My inspirations continue to change and evolve.

That’s a big part of the fun for me. I’m thinking about color and pattern all the time and I often turn to the natural world for inspiration. Dave and I have lots of natural ‘ found ‘ collections that are of the moment and have special meaning to me. I’m always taking photos of flowers on travels; keeping a keen eye for beautiful color combinations. My garden at home is an endless source for ideas and a place where I can decompress and “activate” the creative side of my brain Color is my world and I find loads of inspiration from the things I surround myself with. For years I’ve

collected ethnic textiles and artifacts and I have bowls filled with antique trims, buttons and beads. I use them all in my mini inspirado displays that I change out all the time in my studio. My pin boards are covered with drawings and paintings, family art pieces and lots of photos. My studio is a living and breathing entity, full of life and always lots of color!

Over the last few years I’ve been incredibly inspired by recent travels to Indonesia, England, India and Egypt.

The culture and colors in these beautiful countries is astounding. I’ve been busy creating new artwork for several fabric and product lines and it’s been interesting for me to see how these experiential inspirations have translated through color and print. My designs look like an international travel log filled with luscious florals and ancient ethnic graphics.

While there’s tons of energy and creativity to be found in taking trips to far away places, I don’t always need to go far to find inspiration. A trip to a farmers market, a walk in the woods or a day at an auction can provide inspiration for weeks.

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Amy Butler Design Hapi Fabrics

B+T: With the two different styles of Amy Butler Designs and Parson Gray, how can they work together? Is it like a grand ballet pas de deux? The stronger masculine pieces embracing and supporting the more feminine?

Dave: They do work together in our home, and that’s certainly not by a conscious decision or philosophy.

I believe they work together because on so many metaphysical levels WE work together. We have an understanding and a connection as a couple that just envelopes our whole creative life together. We share similar tastes because we’re meant to be together. My deeper palette is sort of like the ‘room and the floors’ of our world, and Amy’s bright modern color and style is the furniture and the detail.

Amy: I totally agree with Dave, we flow as a couple and as a team in life so I’m not surprised how beautiful our pieces look together. It’s such a wonderful metaphor for “us”. We hold space for each other and allow the natural balance of who we are come to the surface in all we do and all we create. When you come into our home you are greeted by a very natural Dave feeling in our grand living room and as you look around the stone fireplace into our lounge you are greeted by a 46.............Broadway+thresherwinter2013

very Amy feeling. The movement from one room to the next feels great! We compliment each other in many ways and sharing our expression with textiles has been incredibly fun!

B+T: What is it like to have two great artists in one household? How does – if at all – the influence of the other show up in your own work?

Dave: We both do have strong opinions about things.

Fortunately we agree on almost everything. It’s hard to imagine because our work seems so different, but it’s true. We really do have a very similar aesthetic. There has to be an influence on each other, we work too closely for there not to be. We bounce ideas off of each other and consult opinions. We work well together because we play to each others strengths, deferring to Amy on color and form, and to me on graphic art.

Amy: I have a huge admiration for Dave as a person and artist. I think he is an elegant soul and I’m always aspiring to connect with the world as gracefully as he does. We bounce ideas off of each other constantly, and I know I will get an honest opinion from him and I trust him completely.We both love the hand in mid-century

ephemera, magazine tears and other misc materials that embody a color or colors I’m crazy about! I group the color feelings together using my instincts and intuition and land on one or two color stories that feel wonderful. These color stories become my point of reference when I’m looking to select color palettes for my designs and for my sewing projects. The other bit about color collage that I love is that it’s incredibly meditative and relaxing. We are all color geniuses, it’s part of being human. We just have to allow it to happen.

B+T: What’s up next for Amy Butler Designs and Parson Gray?

Dave: I have two new lines of fabric coming out in 2014 and I’m working on my first sewing book with Chronicle called Parson Gray’s Trade Quilts. It’s a project book of twenty quilts that embraces a rough-hewn approach to making distressed and raw quilts embracing the mistake as a part of the story. A great book for those getting started and those who like a bit of patina in their life. Also introducing a wallpaper range in the Spring with Graham & Brown UK. Oh, and my band Black Owls (my night job) is going quite strong also, so there will be plenty more music spinning in my world.

Parson Gray Military Bag Collection

and Japanese artwork and I often find myself crafting prints that embody that feeling. I don’t see Mr. Butler creating bold English florals any time soon, but I’ve also learned to never say never!

B+T: Any tips for sewers on how to combine fabrics of different patterns and colors? As a beginning quilter, I struggle with combinations and sometimes end up unhappy with my choices.

Amy: I’m having so much fun! I’m exploring more on line workshops and teaching. I also have a new project book in the works with Chronicle and a Decoupage Kit! 2014 is full of more inspirational travel for Blossom Magazine as well as many upcoming fabric collections.

I’m also clearing my schedule so I can hit the road with the Black Owls! Dave doesn’t know this yet but I’m his new head Roadie!

Find more from Amy and David online at: amybutlerdesign.com parsongray.com

Dave: Amy’s actually giving amazing color workshops on this very subject right now. It’s all based so much on intuition. I lay everything out on a table or the floor first and get a sense of whether it’s going to work or not. I’ve had what I thought were amazing ideas only to lay them out and see that they were quite bad. We ALL do this, and it’s a part of the creative process. It is not avoidable. You’ve got to have the dark to understand what light is, right?

Amy: I think it’s super helpful to sketch out or collage a color story as a foundation for your quilts or any sewing project. By going through this excercise you relax, let go and allow a whole world of color possibilities come to the surface. I make a lot of color collages with found Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............47

Ruth Coffey

a festi va l of meno rahs Ruth Coffey

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hanukkah, the jewish fetival of lights, is celebrated from sundown of November 27 to December 5.

While traditional menorahs can be found in many stores, this year we are focusing on homespun and unique designs, pulling in elements of nature. Whether simple votives and wood, or a mix of evergreens, glass, tile and the beauty of nature, light up the candles and celebrate the season.

Common Hanukkah prayer and blessing ‫םלועה ךלמ וניהול א ’ה התא ךורב‬, ‫םיסנ השעש‬ ‫הזה ןמזב םהה םימיב וניתובאל‬.‫‏‬ Transliteration: Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam, she’asa nisim la’avoteinu ba’yamim ha’heim ba’z’man ha’ze.

Translation: “Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time...”

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i n h i s own words : a n a nti qu e christm as Andrew Kohn | photos by David Gobeli

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oo many of us have wonderful stories that need to be told. David and I were lucky enough to find one such story last winter, and we’re excited to share it with you. It was on a cold night that we met Mr. Dave Thomas at his home in central Pennsylvania. Inside, Dave houses one of the most extensive antique and vintage Christmas decoration collections in the nation.

We were surrounded by treasures, collected over time, and displayed with care. After a detailed tour, we were able to sit down and learn more about Dave and his love for holiday decorations.

In Dave’s words: I started collecting antiques when I was in the third grade. But it wasn’t until 2000, after I attended my first convention of The Golden Glow, that I started collecting Christmas memorabilia. The Golden Glow is a national organization of people who eat, drink and die Christmas! It’s a good place for beginner collectors to become acquainted with items as the members are always very willing to share their knowledge with others.

Most people who collect Christmas stuff go back to their childhood days and the memories of times past.

As with all antiques, you should buy what you like, buy the best you can afford, and at the price you can afford. A good place to start is visiting antique shows and malls. Also, Ebay is a great place to discover new items. Another source of inspiration is to buy the many magazines during the holiday season which feature decorated homes. You may find something that sparks your interest.

During the holidays, I usually have one live tree decorated like the ones we had when I was young, with Shinny Brite balls, colored lights, bubble lights and tinsel. I also have a tree decorated with candy boxes— the kind that were given out at Sunday school—and two feather trees, and one will usually have a Christmas garden surrounding it.

I collect items from all the holidays with Christmas being first, followed by Easter and Valentine’s Day. In fact, there have been times when you can find a Santa image in among a Valentine or on a milk glass Easter egg! I can’t say that I really have one favorite item in Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............53

my collection. If I had to pick just one though, it would probably be a clockwork walking Santa from the 1930s or 40s. My favorite time period would be the Victorian Era as they always did everything so over the top!

My want list is constantly changing, as there is always something out there you never knew existed. Often, you will see something at a collector’s home and think, “I just need to have one of those!” And the next thing you know, you have two, then three…and then you have the start of a new collection.

I remember the wonderful holiday family gatherings we would have, the house full of aunts, uncles and cousins.

After dinner, and the opening of gifts, all the cousins would gather for a marathon of Monopoly games that would go on and on into the wee hours of the morning.

The holidays hold a special place in my heart.

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“Some of my most valuable items, however, are not directly linked with Christmas, but are the letters and cards I received from Mrs. Mamie Eisenhower. I was the owner and innkeeper of the Historic Fairfield Inn located near the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Mamie Eisenhower often entertained there and we became friends. Around 4:00, I would get a phone call and it always went like this: “Mr. Thomas this is Mrs. Eisenhower. I’m coming for dinner tonight at seven and you WILL join me!”

And so, we would have dinner together one-onone, with the Secret Service at a table nearby. She was always very gracious, and the conversation most interesting, but she was very much the general’s wife.”

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B+T gi f t g u i de redux

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David Gobeli

ast month B+T released it’s first Gift Guide—a curated collection sure to please even the most discerning of recipients.

For the complete collection, go to broadwayandthresher.com/gift-guide-2013.

Clockwise from top left: No. 164 Small Carryall, Billykirk The bag that makes all others jealous. A collaboration with J.S. Homestead from Japan. Natural canvas and tan leather from Horween Leather Company. A B+T favorite! $300 billykirk.com Shot Out of a Cannon Bookends, Knob Creek Metal Arts Made from solid steel, these bookends are strong enough to hold up your heavy reading collection, but whimsical enough to remind you to keep things light. $63 knobcreekmetalarts.com Vintage Chenille Bear, Lavender and Old Lace Created from vintage chenille blankets, each bear is unique. Soft and huggable, these bears will continue to be tucked in every night for years to come with your little one. $38 vintage-linen.com 1000 Steps Eco Throw, Happy Habitat Bold graphics to liven up your space. Crafted in the USA from 80% recycled cotton and 20% acrylic. Cozy up by the fire with this throw as you watch the snow . $150 happyhabitat.net Great American Flask, Jacob Bromwell Made of pure, solid copper and hot-tinned on the interior using historically correct techniques, this flask holds its own by the campfire or the Kentucky Derby. $199.99 jacobbromwell.com

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fa s h io n

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ha i r a p parent

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Joshua Harrison

inter weather causing one too many bad hair days? Let us help you untangle the mysteries of your coiffure during the dry season.

As a hairdresser (read: hair therapist), I deal with more than tresses on a daily basis. I also educate clients about the importance of hair care, especially relevant when Old Man Winter blows. First, you need a product that is pH balanced. Hair, no matter type or texture, has a pH of 4.5 to 5.5, which means you need the same level to get maximum benefits with the best protection. Many shampoos have an extremely high pH that opens the cuticles, drawing out moisture from your goldi locks.

Since folks often use too much shampoo without a pH balance their hair becomes brittle, dull, and lackluster.

High pH products also cause expensive colored hair to fade, losing that post-salon-visit vibrancy. Winter months are dry (evidenced by static electricity hair), so using shampoos and such that provide the most moisture and are properly pH balanced keeping cuticles closed is paramount.

Sojourn– Moisture– provides an equal balance of moisture to the hair, leaving it soft and manageable Smooth– contains keratin which keeps the hair strong. Smoothing Conditioner is a great weekly treatment Thermal Protections Heat Spray– contains a protein to keep hair safe from moisture depleting heat treatments

At our salon, we use Sojourn (sojournbeauty.com), which is correctly pH balanced and made with the highest quality ingredients. Plus, it’s 100-percent biodegradable. Using the proper product means no matter what texture type or color treated, your hair will receive the moisture it desperately needs this winter.

Most of Sojourn’s products can’t be overused and you’ll soon notice an overall difference in the health of your hair. Also, be sure to snip your ‘do every 4 to 6 weeks to keep those bitter ends trimmed. One more tip: Cover your bouffant with a beenie when outside and I guarantee your hair will survive the brutal chill.

Monoi Oil– finishing product that also helps control frizz, detangles and hydrates Texture Spray– softens, defrizzes, detangles and

adds shine.

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holi day chao s!

Amy Patterson

E

veryone needs a little chaos in their lives and that’s what inspired Ross Bennett’s new collection. It packs a punch—splashed with color, bold blacks, reds and white and paired with classic silhouettes and luxurious fabrics.

You may recognize Ross Bennett from his appearance on NBC’s Fashion Star, or possibly from some of the many other endeavors he has been involved in, including an eight-week installment at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. For the 2012-13 season, he was chosen to design the ‘Circuit of The America’s’ Grid Girl uniforms and has been chosen again to continue that partnership.

Ross studied at The University of Texas in Austin where he left with an amazing gift for dressmaking and a desire to help women feel beautiful and confident in what they wear. The Ross Bennett Collection was founded in 2008 by Ross and his wife, Erin Bennett, and is a labor of love between them.

Over the past few years, Ross and Erin have opened themselves up to numerous business and design ventures including a budding partnership with Blue Avocado, launching the Ross Bennett luggage series, partnering with Maven Fly to design a fishing and clothing line specifically made for women.

Ross and Erin currently live in Austin, Texas and provide clients with a classic, versatile sense of style that can be worn for decades. Ross is adamant about providing a personalized experience for each and every client, and believes clothing should be recognized like a piece of art, with each item having its own story.

Stylist:Amy Christine Patterson Photographer: Gregg Cestaro Models: Erica-Lynn Holly; Mitchell Johnson; Kendall Karczweski Makeup: Mandy Ray Hernandez Hair: Mel Martell Assistants: Rebecca Price and Sybille Sandford All clothing by Ross Bennett Jewelry: provided by Kendra Scott Special thanks to: Rebecca Price, Sybille Sanford and Candice Johnson

With all of this going on in his life, it’s no wonder his new collection was named Chaos and is both beautiful and versatile—appropriate for day and evenings. The Ross Bennett collection is a labor of love with one main goal in mind: to bring classic, custom tailoring back to modern, everyday life. Ross and his talented team are building together and they will create one of the next great American fashion empires. As Ross says, “Getting things done, one stitch at a time.”

Find Ross Bennett online at therossbennettcollection.com Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............65

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a hh, i t’s ti me to get away! styled by Ruth Coffey | photos by Rachel Joy Baransi

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he leftovers have been packed away, the kids have already lost interest in their new toys and the chill of winter is creeping further into your bones.

Time to get away.

Whether you’re heading to Miami, Mexico or Saint Tropez, Faherty Brand has you covered with high quality and great looking clothing and swimwear made from recycled polyester. Using two-thirds less energy and ninety percent less water than traditional fabric, Faherty Brand’s commitment to eco-friendliness is equal to their great style.

Faherty Brand is online at fahertybrand.com Extended photo gallery for subscribers at broadwayandthresher.com/issue-3-extras

on him: classic board shorts, $125; t-shirt by threads for thought Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............71

top: cami underwire top in sumatra plangi, $110; convertible hipster bottom, $100 bottom: (left) one piece in aegean turquoise, $155; (middle) see above; (right) cami underwire top in japanese floral, $110; convertible hipster bottom, $100

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on him: classic board shorts, $125; bracelet by kiel james patrick; t-shirt by threads for thought 74.............Broadway+thresherwinter2013

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mi mi a nd dotti e j e welr y

B

Rebecca Davis

ehind each piece of Mimi and Dottie jewelry is a piece of history. “Mimi and Dottie’s tagline is ‘History Repeats Itself,’” Rebecca says. “I discover unique and unusual antique and vintage pieces from around the world.” She utilizes her ever-growing collection of interesting curiosities to design one-ofa-kind jewelry. “I’m taking old things, incorporating them into new pieces and making them special and relevant again.”

Rebecca has a love for travel and learning about other regions and cultures. She translates her passion for travel into her work. Using pieces from all over the world brings her wanderlust back to her studio in her historic home in Franklin, Tennessee. Her favorite finds are Victorian trinkets, antique coins, religious medals, watch chains and pocket watches lockets and love tokens. “Most of these are things that carry sentimental value and were once loved and important to someone.” Her focus is on quality and craftsmanship and she mixes her antique baubles with sterling silver, 14 karat gold-filled, vermeil (24 karat gold or chocolate gold over sterling silver) and semi-precious gemstones.

Rebecca’s work can be seen on the necks and wrists of some of the most recognizable faces in music, and on amazing people from Alaska to the U.K. Each piece has its own story and finds a new owner to love it and pass it down as their own heirloom. A sterling silver fob hallmarked 1906 from Birmingham, England with the original owner’s name—D. Manning—was purchased by a woman who had to have it because her husband was named D. Manning and was working in Birmingham, England at the time. Many antique Catholic medals from Belgium and France find new owners who are drawn to their patina, significance and beauty. A large penny (pennies used to be about the size of a half dollar) that dated from the time of the Civil War had two holes through it and was probably used as a replacement for a button on someone’s coat. Rebecca incorporated the penny button into one of her lost and found necklaces—a collection of small trinkets that hangs from a long chain or deerskin leather. That necklace remains in her own jewelry collection, a prized possession.

“I really enjoy talking to people and telling the stories of my pieces,” Rebecca says. “I’m fascinated by religious art and antiques and the whole history and the beauty of them.” She also receives commission work from Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............77

clients wanting an inherited item incorporated into a new piece of jewelry. “It is a really fulfilling and special feeling to be able to work with someone to create a wearable piece from something as sentimental as their mother’s baby ring, their grandmother’s locket or their grandfather’s pocket watch.”

Rebecca began designing repurposed jewelry and creating custom pieces when she was in high school.

It all began when she spent days after school visiting with her grandmother (born in 1907). She offered Rebecca some of her antique jewelry from the 1930s to repurpose into new pieces. “She said to me ‘These things aren’t fashionable anymore and I would like you to take them and create something wonderful that I can wear.” After re-working strings of beads, Rebecca began to create collages with her grandmother’s broken or unwanted baubles. While studying art and design and pursuing a BFA from Auburn University, she exchanged the repurposed style of jewelry-making for a more traditional one, but she never forgot how much she loved the transformation from old to new.

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After college, Rebecca packed up her jewelry making skills and became an award-winning graphic designer but she never lost her love for vintage and antique jewelryand jewelry making. Fifteen years later, in the Fall of 2008, she went full-circle back to her first love: creating jewelry. She launched Mimi and Dottie and has since developed a following of loyal customers who love the pieces she curates and her mix of edgy and feminine designs.

In 2010, Rebecca changed careers and is now a full time boutique owner and jewelry designer. Her boutique, Jondie (named after her husband, Jondie Davis) is located on Main Street in Historic Downtown Franklin, Tennessee and features contemporary apparel, fashion accessories and, of course, handmade artisan jewelry.

The boutique’s decor features many repurposed items and antiques and some are a nod back to her love of graphic design and printing. There is a wall covered in antique printing drawers that is the backdrop for displaying necklaces and vintage drying racks where printed pages would have rested while their ink dried are now earring displays. Large antique thread spools

from the textile industry are used to feature bracelets and also hang on the wall as a great display for hats. In 2012, Rebecca’s husband left his career in corporate sales and now works full time with her at Jondie.

Rebecca Davis’s jewelry line, Mimi and Dottie, features re-purposed antique and semi-precious stone jewelry and can be found exclusively at her boutique, Jondie, in Historic Downtown Franklin, Tennessee and online at jondie.com.

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Wade Rouse is the author of five books, including Confessions of A Prep School Mommy Handler (2007). He has been featured multiple times on NBC’s Today Show, as well as People.com and Chelsea Lately on E!.

To purchase books visit www.waderouse.com

WADE ROUSE

mu s i c +art

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s on g sters of the seaso n Meredith Peters

E

ach holiday season brings with it the chance to revel in cherished traditions and develop brand new ones to fold into the mix. In this issue, the editors and contributors at Broadway+Thresher will regale you with holiday recipes, rituals and tips as we embark into one of the most magical times of the year. And what makes this season so magical? The snow? Maybe. The presents? Sure. The soundtrack?

Definitely.

So while you prep your pipes to sing some Christmas carols, we reached out to some of B+T’s favorite musicians to get a peek into their own holiday habits.

Although busy touring schedules can often deny them of the comforts of home, these artists have found the best ways to make it work for them—albeit a bit unconventionally.

Check out their takes on favorite holiday treats and traditions: Keith Murray, We Are Scientists

On Traditions: My parents have a tradition, but, sadly, I have an exceedingly hard time abiding. Sometime during my teens, my parents arbitrarily decided that, on the mornings of Thanksgiving and Christmas, the whole family should be compelled to sit down together first thing in the AM for a pancake breakfast. It sounds great, on paper—family time, a bonding routine, all that—but there are two problems. First, I don’t want to wake up when I’m on vacation. Don’t bother me before, like, 11:00am when I’m owed my holiday sloth. Second—and I truly hope they don’t see this—my parents make horrible, miserable pancakes. They’re wonderful people—warm, supportive, and fully capable of preparing any number of delicious dishes. But, man, do their pancakes suck.

On Treats: My sister makes a pumpkin bread every Thanksgiving that drives me batshit with pumpkin-desire, so much so that she routinely has to make two of them—one for the holiday dinner with the extended family and one for my gluttonous nuclear family to gorge on for the rest of the weekend. Sadly, I don’t have the recipe. I’m a horrible cook. On the holidays, I’m always the one who gets stuck making the salad, you see.

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photo by Rachel Joy Baransi

Jesse Kristin, Jukebox The Ghost On Traditions: My mother has too many ‘refreshments’ while my sis cooks. She fights a little bit with my sis. Last year, there was actually no fighting but it was just my mother and I. We don’t tour on during holidays so we can have quality family time.

On Treats: Pumpkin pie. Toss it in an oven. Take it out of oven and eat whole thing. One piece at a time. Slowly. Allow one year for digestion and repeat.

Zach Yudin, Cayucas On Traditions: Every year I usually go home for about a week. We typically go find a Christmas tree and decorate it.

Pretty standard stuff. One thing that usually ends up happening though its not necessarily tradition, is a dance-off and talent show of sorts. This involves my nieces & nephews and usually incorporates dancing, gymnastics and possibly magic. My brother and I usually 84.............Broadway+thresherwinter2013

help coordinate the show, our nieces and nephews perform and everybody else watches. The goal at the end of the performance is to not hurt myself somehow.

On Treats: My all-time favorite holiday treat is rice-crispy treats with fudge on top. My grandma use to make it every year and it was amazing. I think it may be time to pass down the recipe to me so I can make it myself.

Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson, Kisses On Traditions: Each year, for the past few years, we have been hosting a Christmas and Hanukkah gathering in the desert of 29 Palms, California. We rent a house and both of our families come out from LA and Yarmouth, Maine to imbibe, eat and laugh in the holiday spirit. While this holiday tradition requires us to not be on tour, one Thanksgiving we did eat a bag of ‘turkey and stuffing’ flavored chips in Europe while on the road!

On Treats: I’m big into Christmas cookie-making and usually do

quite a few different ones. The espresso-chocolatecrinkle ones seem to go over best, but I’m partial to my pistachio torrone, which I usually have to eat all of because no one else is particularly into them.

Trayer Tryon, Hundred Waters On Traditions: Since the start of Hundred Waters two winters ago, I’ve skipped both Christmases to work on music. I chill with my family before or after. It makes Christmasland a void where you’re the only one making things-on the moon.

On Treats: Usually sometime over the holidays our man Galal will lead us in a big improvised meal. They typically pop out of thin air using distantly related ingredients, and are always scrumptious.

Timothy Cohen, Fresh & Onlys On Traditions: My family has a Christmas tradition that has grown in weirdness each year. Each Christmas morning (usually takes place on a day other than Christmas due to travel snafus) we each pour ourselves a glass of orange juice and put on Jose Feliciano’s original “Feliz Navidad.”

Then we dance around the living room wildly for the duration of the song, which is about six verses and choruses. The dancing usually gets pretty intense and imaginative. It’s exhausting actually. This dance is the great equalizer; you must suspend your humility and “coolness” the whole time, as it’s the ultimate embarrassing family tradition.

exciting about unwrapping a tiny bottle of toothpaste).

The one holiday season I’ve missed out a lot on during a tour was actually Halloween—one of my favorite times of the year. I got some little decorations at Michael’s and decorated our merchandise table with sparkly little pumpkins and small candles.

On Treats: Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite things in the world. I am a sucker for the back-of-the-can Libby’s recipe. For the Christmas season, it would have to be gingerbread cookies. Spicy sweet is a magical combination.

Wes Miles, Ra Ra Riot On Traditions: My family is pretty laid back with holidays, just as long as there’s some time for us to hang. Sometimes we celebrate Christmas on the 27th when everyone finally has time to be together. I’ve done the movie and Chinese food combo on Christmas day when it was only my parents and I, but also the full two family double Thanksgiving dinner which is fun too.

On Treats: My mother usually makes Swedish meatballs for either Christmas or Thanksgiving from an old family recipe.

That’s probably my favorite meal of the holidays. I regret that I actually haven’t learned the recipe yet.

Also, my family has an unusual affinity for various kinds of creamed corn. My paternal grandmother had made it every year and it stuck.

On Treats: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. Remove seeds from as many giant pumpkins as possible. Weed out seeds from flesh of pumpkin. Put seeds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Salt, black pepper, and paprika liberally.

Sprinkle some sugar. Roast at 375 degrees until seeds are golden brown. Let sit for ten minutes.

Deirdre Muro, Savoir Adore and Deidre & the Dark On Traditions: Every Thanksgiving I make two pumpkin pies at my family’s dinner. For Christmas, it is a requirement in our immediate family that stocking stuffers are a communal responsibility—everyone has to get tiny things for everyone else (typically travel size toiletries, pens, socks and a walnut—there is something still Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............85

blu e chri stma s : a s hort sto r y

Wade Rouse If Martha Stewart were to have a full-body electrolysis, Adam’s apple shaving and, well, basically just go whole hog and become a man, she would be my partner, Gary.

Gary is home.

He is coasters, and table runners, and twig lamps.

He is right scent, right season.

He is place settings, and teacups, and dish towels that cost forty dollars apiece but can never be used.

And Gary is holiday.

He is bedecked Fraser firs and red-twig dogwood centerpieces, he is mistletoe and twinkle lights. He has the perfect recipe for a Thanksgiving sweet-potato casserole or a Father’s Day breakfast-sausage bake.

In his wallet.

In his previous life, Gary was responsible for bedecking

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the city of St. Louis in all its holiday splendor. He was Simon Doonan for an entire town, now just a window.

He raised forty-foot firs and trimmed them in more shiny shimmer than Liberace’s panties. He hung forests of poinsettias from the ceilings of malls, making holiday shoppers both spend more and believe they had just witnessed the arrival of baby Jesus. He would’ve flocked the Gateway Arch if he could’ve gotten approval from the airport.

And when Gary was finished with the city, he focused on our home, decorating it like the White House and then tossing a holiday party.

Every year around Halloween, Gary began thinking seriously about the theme for our holiday bash. I could tell because his face would always grow serious and tight, like Martha’s does when she ties a duck with rosemary-infused twine or is firing a kiln to make her own dishes.

All of our parties, no matter how intimate, had themes, like “Winter Wonderland,” or “Gingerbread Castle.”

We had never been Velveeta-on-Ritz-type hosts, even for unannounced drop-bys. We held a Frost & Berries holiday party, meaning everything—food, décor, the table, drinks—had to be frosty and berrylicious. We served frosty cranberry punch out of a frosty antique cut-glass bowl. We had tuxedoed waiters with frosty hair. We transformed pine roping into an old-fashioned garland by stringing it with popcorn, cranberries and twinkling frosted lights. But the piece de resistance was a flocked, berry-bedecked Christmas tree that Gary hung upside down over the dining room table a la The Poseidon Adventure.

People actually gasped.

Even our Super Bowl parties had themes, much to the chagrin of my old fraternity brothers. “What does ‘Cheer Squad 2010’ have to do with the big game?” they would ask. But it gave Gary endless opportunities to decorate our mantel and big-screen with pom-poms, serve popcorn out of megaphones, and choreograph his own halftime show.

One evening just before Halloween, as I watched Gary line our porch with pumpkin lights and scatter our yard with hay like we lived on a farm and needed to feed our horses, his face grew serious and tight, and he looked up in the witch’s hat he was wearing and said, “I’ve got it! Let’s go simple. Let’s go retro. Let’s do a Blue Christmas, just like Elvira!”

“Elvis,” I said to him. “You’re mixing your holiday

metaphors.”

“Our theme is simplicity. Simple, simple, nostalgically retro simple.”

Simple to you is like casual Friday to Karl Lagerfeld, I said to myself.

“What? Did you say something?” he asked, before yelling “BOO!” so loudly at a neighbor that I could swear she started to reach in her purse for pepper spray.

Having a simple dinner party to Gary meant loads of cash and lots of time. It meant filling McCoy pottery with cranberries, and vases with lake stones and floating votives. Simple meant creating a canopy of pine boughs and bittersweet over the dining room table.

Just something simple meant spending four hundred dollars on new place settings and stemware because the dishes we had “weren’t simple enough.”

And as simple luck would have it, we, of course, didn’t have anything amongst our forty red-and-green holiday storage containers that was “blue” enough for our Blue Christmas.

“I want ice blue, frost blue,” Gary told me in Target. “I want everything to look dipped in ice, like a winter sky at night.”

I had no idea what he was saying but quickly got the point – five hundred dollars later.

“I desperately need some ice-blue tapered candles,” Gary then said.

And I desperately needed something, too, I thought: I desperately needed a turkey baster inserted into my eyeball to dwarf the pain I was experiencing.

Another three hundred dollars later – after buying candles and faux ice blocks and icy blue penguins and ornaments we wouldn’t even use—I cracked standing in Michael’s while looking at luminaries.

“How can a quarter ounce of paper,” I asked, my voice rising with each syllable, “cost four dollars?”

“Well, each luminary has this adorable cutout of a northern star …” Gary began.

“That’s a rhetorical question!” I yelled.

“What’s wrong?” Gary asked. “Don’t you want to Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............87

throw a great holiday party?”

I did. But I also wanted to retire before I was 112.

I didn’t want to deplete our IRA, and we hadn’t even hired the caterer or bartenders yet.

And, to be completely honest, I always felt a bit worthless when it came to tossing our holiday parties. Gary was gifted. He knew how to entertain. I really wasn’t able or allowed to do much except pay for all of it.

That’s when it hit me.

“Hey, why don’t you let me handle the food? I can do it!” I begged like a child. “You want simple. I can do simple. I swear, I can do retro!”

“Don’t go …” Gary stopped himself before saying the word cheap. He couldn’t right now. I controlled the funds. And I looked insane. “Okay.”

I spent weeks agonizing over the food, finally deciding on a menu I knew I could do well: garlicrubbed standing rib roast, maple-coffee-glazed pork tenderloin, and baked apple turnovers, among many other things. I would hit only the best produce markets, the best butchers.

But as I began to price the menu on my own, the Rouse genes took control, the ones my grandmother passed on to me, the ones that forced me to buy the bruised peaches in the sale bin and the dented cans of soup.

So when I walked into the market with my list in hand, I reasoned that my original menu was simply too grand for all this exceedingly well-planned simplicity.

Standing in the produce aisle, an idea so grand in its simplicity and yet so perfect for our theme knocked me over the head.

“Stuffed peppers!” I thought. “They’re simple. They’re retro. They’re fun. I can use red and green—it’s not blue, but they’d be oh-so-old-fashioned Christmasy.”

When I returned home and told Gary of my new menu, he honest to God, twitched, just like Wile E. Coyote does when an anvil falls on his head. But Gary wasn’t in a position to fight me—literally, or he would have— considering he was hanging off a ladder in mid-air attempting to dangle blue spruce limbs from our chandeliers and ceilings in order to create an in-themiddle-of-the-winter-woods effect.

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And yet, though he was suspended and had wire in his mouth, he managed to give me his patented “Don’t mess this up!” look.

Gary tweaked and tucked and terraced the next few weeks, up until the very last moments before our Blue Christmas guest arrived, leaving me free to run with my retro menu that included fondue and fun fifties fingers foods. I was thrilled with the menu, excited, finally, by my lone contribution to one of my partner’s perfect parties. Instead of only dressing up, looking pretty, and then falling into the tree because the only thing I’d been entrusted to do was pretest all the holiday drinks, I was actually supplying one of the most important elements for any party.

I was laughing and dancing and replenishing food in a drunken Blue Hawaiian-cocktailed haze when I noticed that two of our guests—no matter how hard they tried, no matter how they balanced their plates, no matter what they used—couldn’t cut through their green peppers.

Houston, I thought, we have a problem.

And we did.

I realized, too late, that I had never actually cooked stuffed green peppers in my life. Especially for fifty.

This was my mother’s recipe. They all were. And she had made them all sound so easy; but then again, I realized too late, my mother was an emergency room nurse. She made catheterization sound easy.

I looked at the fondue. It was clotted and cold. I looked at the pigs in the blanket. They actually looked like pigs in a blanket.

No one was eating.

Everyone was whispering.

I was drunk.

“Eat up!” I screamed at the crowd, shoving raw hunks of meat and bread and cheese into my mouth. “It’s soooo good!”

In a stupor, I handed out even sharper knives, never a smart idea being drunk and handling cutlery, and then to prove my point I used one to try and saw a pepper open. I grunted and, finally, succeeded, only to watch a wall of water cascade from the middle. The rice was undercooked, the meat raw, the peppers like concrete.

My dinner was a disaster. More likely, spoiled.

But just like Martha, Gary had already planned for that.

And, to the horror of Gary, I started eating it like a junkyard dog.

A blue ice bucket was already waiting on the floor next to me, along with a frosted blue dishtowel with dancing penguins to dab my mouth.

I’d spent eight hours—and roughly forty-two dollars— making this food.

It wouldn’t go to waste.

And I wouldn’t be humiliated.

“It’s okay, Wade,” one of my friends finally yelled.

“Really, is!”

And then she shared with the crowd the time her awardwinning soufflé fell when everyone clapped at its arrival. And then someone else told of how they forgot to turn on the oven at Thanksgiving. And someone else tried to cheer me up by recalling how he had used cumin instead of cinnamon in a dessert, causing all the guests to aspirate their coffee.

While everyone laughed and shared, I realized we all occasionally wilt under the pressure to be perfect. Life, especially at the holidays, is so not perfect. That’s why we have friends. That’s why we love to be entertained.

So we can just be for a little while.

I looked around. I wanted to share this newfound wisdom with Gary.

He, however, was already on the phone. Ordering two hundred dollars worth of Chinese food for delivery. He was red with anger that his Blue Christmas had turned into Chinese New Year.

After everyone left I lay in a chair, staring up at our tree and our blue-spruce-forest ceiling, icy blue lights whirring in front of my drunken eyes, Elvis continuing to croon “Blue Christmas.”

The work of humorist and memoirist Wade Rouse has been featured multiple times on the Today show as well as on Chelsea Lately on E!. A writer for PEOPLE and Coastal Living magazines, and a regular contributor to Michigan Radio, Rouse is the author of five books, including the memoirs: America’s Boy, named by the American Library Association to its inaugural “Rainbow List” of the most important LGBT books; Confessions of A Prep School Mommy Handler, a Target Breakout Book; and the bestselling At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream.

Wade’s latest books include the memoir, It’s All Relative: 2 Families, 3 Dogs, 34 Holidays & 50 Boxes of Wine (Crown/Random House), from which the essay “Blue Christmas” was excerpted, and the humorous dog anthology, I’M NOT THE BIGGEST BITCH IN THIS RELATIONSHIP (NAL/Penguin), which features a foreword by Chelsea Handler’s rescue dog, Chunk, and 50% of whose proceeds benefit the Humane Society of the U.S. USA Today calls Wade “wise, witty, wicked” and the Chicago Tribune’s Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic states that Rouse’s memoirs are filled with “sparkling humor” and that everyone should “read Wade Rouse, especially if you value laughter and wisdom.” Wade was named by Writer’s Digest as the #2 Writer, Dead or Alive, We’d Love to Have Drinks With! (He was between Hemingway and Hunter Thompson), and he is a popular speaker and writing teacher. He is currently completing his first novel. For more, please visit www. waderouse.com, or www.wadeswriters.com.

As I began to pass out, Gary tossed a blanket over my body, pulled a holiday stocking cap over my head, and said, “We won’t be going simple anymore, will we, Mr. Peppers?”

He then kneeled down and kissed me on the cheek, an icy cold smooch that fit in perfectly with the party’s theme, a kiss to let me know—silently—that my hands were tied. Forever.

And then I puked peppers.

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“A

ny tree, $10.”

As a kid, my eyes popped at that pronouncement. We can get the biggest tree­—the tallest, the greenest, the widest, the densest for ten, one-dollar bills.

Davies Tree Farm on Louden Street in Granville, Ohio was a gold mine find for our family. Before this amazing discovery our Christmas trees came from lots, empty islands of urban land that filled up magically overnight with cut trees propped on X-marks-the-spot feet. And before they appeared there, I didn’t know where they came from—much like the bananas we ate for lunch or the gas that powered our car to get there.

Then as a transplant to rural countryside, I saw Christmas trees in their natural glory at Davies, 90.............Broadway+thresherwinter2013

legacy

Evelyn Frolking growing alongside each other, sharing floor space and open sky. Some pruning kept them neat and tidy, but they were never shaved into shape. There was spruce and fir and pine. My favorite then was blue spruce, those rare slow growing sapphires that dotted emerald rows. It took real feet on the ground to find the bluest.

At least one other Christmas tree farm started up around the same time as Davies and eventually even the headquarters of the Ohio Christmas Tree Association located in the area. So while my family bought our ten dollar trees from over at homegrown Davies, citydwellers from Columbus drove straight to Timbuk Tree Farm. When the farm was planted in 1952, the Columbus-based owners sold the dream of driving to picturesque Granville for their Christmas tree experience and it stuck.

Named Timbuk because the 45-minute drive from Columbus seemed then like driving to Timbuktu to the owners, the farm may have been the first here to

usher in horse drawn wagon rides, an on-site Santa Claus, and a machine that stuffed your tree of choice into green netting for the trip back to the city. It was then also, perhaps, that the tradition of urban tree shoppers stopping in town for a hot drink or lunch before trekking back to the city took root.

Driving down any of the roads leading out of small-town Granville and across the county will now likely bring you upon a Christmas tree farm. There are dozens now. Whether it’s modest stands of trees like the former Davies farm, or tree farms sprawling over several hundred acres like Timbuk, the area dominates as a holiday tree destination. The rolling Welsh hills surrounding Granville are well suited to growing trees, and with highway improvements, the speedy drive from Ohio’s capital city makes Granville a handy location for day trippers.

dollar tree hunt was our family tradition. Over the years as care and maintenance of the Davies farm began to decline along with its aging owners, it seemed every tree became a Charley Brown tree and finding the perfect tree became mission impossible.

Eventually the old roadside shed where bright red tree saws once hung haphazardly outside and where you plunked down your ten bucks inside was shuttered and the remaining trees became a patchy forest.

And though the ten dollar tree is a thing of the past, the hunt for the prefect blue sapphire goes on….

But in the holiday season for most of my youth, the ten Broadway+thresherwinter2013.............91

fe bru a r y / ma rch: the food issue ea t +drin k wh o le h eartedly

subs cr i be a t b roa dwaya n dt h re sh e r.c o m /s u b sc ri be

issu e 4 , food 2014

b+t