Alien Tea Shoppe

That's a whole mess of NO right there It did not begin with this article from Indian Country Today entitled, 17 Redface Costumes You Can Buy , but it was the most recent article about culturally racist Halloween costumes to come across my news feed.  This article in particular, which I read earlier this month, Is Your Halloween Costume Racist? , actually led me to ask some questions, which nobody really answered. I could assume that since no one bothered to accurately answer it (other than saying Ebola would be the most offensive costume this year - seriously, how is that an answer?), that I've been doing things right?  But, since I don't want to assume, I'll have to only half assume. If you reference the second article and the questions it points, I am guilty... but am I? I have made costumes of different cultures before.  They key word here being made.  I have never purchased a costume, nor has it ever been 'sexy'.  Any costume I have ever come

stock photo They go by many general names; Persian Rugs, Oriental Carpets, Tapis de Orient, S ajada, Prayer Rugs, Saff.  This of course doesn't even cover the various types of rugs and their names; Caucasian are rugs from the Caucasus region,  Anatolian are rugs from Turkey,  Ghali are large rectangular rugs from Persia, Makatlik are long narrow rugs, Turbehlik is a grave carpet, or that Turkoman are rugs from Turkistan.  Or styles such as Tabriz, Sarouk, Shiraz, Kelim, Bukhara. One thing they all are, however are handmade works of art in a utilitarian form.  Oriental rugs come found Iran (once known as Persia), Turkey, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Daghestan, Turkmenistan, Nepal, China, India, Romania; also from Albania, Hungary, Egypt, Greece, and Morocco, though to a lesser extent.  What they never are, are machine made.  It may have an oriental design, but if it's machine made, then it is not real. Works of art in a utilitarian form couldn&

So, in an earlier blog post I talked about my father being a jeweler; and more specifically that he implemented the system of bartering to obtain things we needed like dental visits.  But his bartering also extended to my sister and I having a trousseau, or dowry.  A trousseau is something every bride brought to the marriage in numerous countries.  The wealthier you were, the wealtheir your trousseau.  It contained your wedding dress, as well as things for setting up your new home; blankets, crystal stemware, china, sterling silver pieces, jewelry.  It might also contain various types of livestock, money, servants, art works. While technically it was in order for the bride to have her own things, trousseau's were ultimately incorporated into the man's wealth and more times than not, never belonging to the bride to begin with. It is an odd thing to think about.  Today a trousseau is generally not something a bride has, nor needs.  Also, with our monetary status as it is, our tro

Super extreme close-up! Since my friend and I were carving pumpkins last night, I cobbled together some recipes I found in order to utelize the fresh pumpkin innards.  They were beyond delicious, and since several people wanted the recipe, I thought I'd write it up. I combined two different found recipes for these cookies. The first recipe , the cookies were too time consuming to whip up or to bake.  The second recipe , the glaze didn't seem as appealing. I used fresh pumpkin, instead of canned. I did not slightly flatten the cookies prior to baking. I, personally, refer to the glaze as icing (not important, but now you know) and found that I did not need to add more milk. Also, while parchment paper is  a great idea, I just drizzled the glaze on using a spoon all willy nilly; some cookies were on the cooling racks, some were on plates; it all turned out fine.   I also did not let the glaze sit for 20 minutes. Mmm... pumpkin innards! Pumpkin Spiced Cooki