Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Welcome to Milady's Pantry & Still Room ~ My Outlander Inspired Love Affair!

Well here you have it..I'm about to reveal to all of you my guiltiest pleasure! 

I am obsessed with all things Outlander. To be fair I'm also obsessed with all things Celtic, but in truth I've decided to finally come out of the closet. I check my Outlander apps at least 3 times a day and hunger for the latest pictures from the Starz Outlander Series which will be out sometime this spring. I embrace my inner Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser on a daily basis and I swoon every time that I see Sam Heughan (who's playing Jamie Fraser) in his kilt. 



 For anyone who has never read these books I will say that if you love romantic novels full of heaving breasts, beautiful women & valiant men and loads of great 18th century sex then I'm wondering what you are waiting for. The initial storyline is fairly simple. A young army nurse named Claire Randall is on her second honeymoon in Inverness after having been separated from her husband Frank Randall as a result of World War 2.  An amateur botanist, she finds herself wandering the Scottish Highlands looking for unique plants. She comes upon a ancient stone circle, gets too close to the cleft stone and very quickly finds herself falling through time. She lands in Scotland in 1745 where she's quickly accosted by a British captain who is remarkably her husband Franks  six times great grandfather and then subsequently rescued by a band of cattle raiding Scotsmen that includes one fairly remarkable young, very red headed Scots warrior named Jamie Fraser. 

 Fast forward a bit into time and Claire finds herself forced to marry Jamie to protect herself from being taken and imprisoned by the English as a spy. One thing leads to another and although their marriage was at first forced, they fall quite passionately in love with one another although Claire definitely finds herself emotionally torn between both of her lives. The rest is chronicled in soon to be 8 completely amazing novels; each of which is at the very least 1800 pages long and generally takes Ms. Gabaldon at least three years to write if not more. This is the completely abbreviated version of the synopsis and I'm trying very hard to not give up any of the really juicy details! The stories are remarkable to me because they are the first romantic novels that I've ever read where the heroine was the absolute equal of the hero.

Both characters are strong, loyal, passionate and constantly getting into some sort of trouble. They are also completely drawn to each other and fiercely in love. Historically these books are dead on; The author really does her research. I'm not going to say anymore because I really want you to read them! You will fall madly in love with every character and find yourself wondering what they are doing every day. No this is not just me, nor is it the result of voices in my head. These characters have cast the same spell on hundreds of thousands of loyal fans; men as well as women. Did I mention that when Jamie & Claire are forced to marry that he's a 23 year old totally gorgeous and romantic virgin? Their wedding night is the stuff of dreams....

 I've begun this page partly as a result of this obsession and because Claire as a character completely fascinates me. She's a courageous woman who is part healer / part White Witch
(although she doesn't quite know it!) and she truly and passionately becomes herself as a result of her marriage to Jamie. She's an herbalist who provides all of the medicines, household items and literally brings Jamie back from deaths door several times. She's a passionate woman ripped from her place in the world and torn between two great loves although one is clearly her soulmate. She is thoroughly from the 20th century yet finds herself enjoying her new circumstances and her fiercely protective Scots warrior  , even without running water and hot baths! 

 As for me? I'm an Herbalist, Aromatherapist, Reiki Master and Certified Health Coach with a passion for white magic & fine horses. I love to craft gorgeous perfumes, healing elixirs, luscious natural skincare products and delicious jams, chutneys and spice mixes. I have a still room of my own where I make my own tinctures, tonics, home brews and teas!  

 I've been married to my own James Fraser for well over 30 years. He lineage is both Clan Keith & Clan Scott.  He wears the Clan Keith kilt and is just breathtaking to me in it. I've quite a strong suspicion that I was born in the wrong century so everything that I love tends to be full of tartans, bagpipes, mandolins and tapestry. It is my hope to give you a peek into my personal interpretation of Claire and Jamie's world through a celebration of passions, fashions, feasts, glorious music, healing remedies and more.   Above all , it's just a creative gift of love from me to me and hopefully the thousands of Outlander fans that I meet everyday on the Facebook  pages will enjoy it too!

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