Wizardry

During our week-long holiday vacation extravaganza in upstate NY, we went to this fab little place called Wizard of Clay.

It's a family owned and operated business where they make anything and everything out of.. you guessed it.. clay! The future in-laws bought me a mug from there a few years ago with their signature leaf print design:

Looks just like this, but with a handle. Cause it's a mug.

The cool part about the leaf design is that they are real leaves that the pottery wizard presses to the clay and etches in.. I'm not sure how it works, but it's pretty cool, no?

Said wizard. He banged out five of those bowls he's making in about 15 minutes.

Sure beats my 8th grade pottery jar with holes in it.

They also have tons of items that are glazed a myriad of colors and are also a bit cheaper (by like $3, but that's still something) that Scot and I tend to like better. Score!

So Scot and I, my mom and her hubby, and my future sister-in-law and brother-in-law (in-law.. twice removed? Who knows.) all headed over to the Wizard of Clay one super snowy day last week. Scot and I figured we'd just look around since we are poor and were really just tagging along with the adults to see the sights.

I think we all know where this story is going.

First, Scot sees a chicken roaster and decides we HAVE TO HAVE IT. The man hardly ever cooks, so really, it's inferred that I have to have it. Once the sis and bro-in-law saw the look in his eyes, they decided to be super amazing and buy it as an early wedding gift for us (no worries, we don't have to wait 18 months to actually get it). I'll admit that it is pretty cool..

You put wine/beer/juice/whatevs in the center part, stand the chicken up on top of it, and surround it with veggies and a bit more liquid to cover the bottom of the pan. Need a visual?

Yep, we totally used it the day after we bought it, and it worked like a charm. Super tasty. And I (finally) learned how to carve a bird!

But wait, that's not all my friends! We found this awesome little invention called an "Eggle Maker".

Basically, you beat an egg with some milk/salt/pepper/what have you, pour it in the bowl, and pop it in the microwave for about a minute. When you take it out, it's the perfect size to fit on a bagel and there's a little hole in the middle of it to match the bagel hole. Genius! It's already saved us money since Scot has used it multiple times to make breakfast rather than buy it, and I just like cooking eggs in it. Uber-nom.

Last but not least, we also bought two french onion soup bowls.

I have never made french onion soup in my life (except for this past New Year's Eve!) but I certainly plan on it in the future. The bowls are also just really awesome looking and can hold a ginormo amount of coffee, cereal, soup, whatever.

(Side note: french onion soup is just not the same without beef broth. I used chicken when I made it and it just didn't cut it. I know I don't eat red meat but I'll cave in for soup. Also.. making it makes the house reek of onion/b.o. It's gross.)

The greatest part about most of the stuff sold at Wizard of Clay is that it can go in the microwave, oven, and dishwasher. So convenient. (This was not an intentional plug post, I just love their stuff!)

Oh, domesticity. I'm starting to not be ashamed of you anymore.

((personal photos unless otherwise noted))