Easy Chicken & Dumpling Recipe

I know this may be a bit out of left field for a paper shop but if y'all have been following along, you know the the second thing I love after paper is probably food. I love sharing food with y'all and every fall + winter, it feels just right to usher in the cooler temperatures with my favorite recipe! 

I learned how to make this years ago, in college while living in my sorority house. Our house cook would make this for us pretty regularly and before I graduated, I asked her to show me how to make this. It's a bit of an adaptation of her OG recipe but just as good! 

This recipe yields a pretty large pot of delicious food and while I'm not a recipe or food blogger, I feel like the simple ingredients and recipe is perfect for anyone wanting some comfort food this winter! This is also something Evan requests when it's cold or he doesn't feel well and I'm pleased to report that it's even approved by P (Yay! 2 year old approved) 

I also love making this and taking over to friends who are under the weather as it's easy too divvy up into 3-4 Tupperwares for easy reheating. 

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do in our home! And if you do make this, let me know what you think!  

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken (shredded) 

1 large can of cream of chicken condensed soup

1 large container of chicken broth (option to add more)

2 tablespoons butter

3-4 celery stalks chopped

2 cups frozen peas and carrots (you can use fresh if you want)

2 large cans of canned biscuits 

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 tablespoon onion powder

Pepper to taste

Parsley to finish

Instructions: 

Heat a medium sized pot and melt butter. Add celery, peas and carrots to sauté. Add garlic powder and onion powder. 

Keep the temperature medium to low. Add in cream of chicken soup and mix well. Combine with chicken broth and stir well to bring to a slow rolling boil 

*It's important to let the contents of your pot comet to a boil before you do the next step! 

Open the can of biscuits and cut each biscuit disc into 1/8 pieces. This doesn't have to be perfect. 

Add them in slowly and stir gently. 

Allow everything to boil for about 20 minutes on low to medium heat. Add pepper to taste. 

Add in the shredded chicken and allow to warm for another few minutes. 

Serve and top with parsley!  

Hi paper friends! 

It's wild to think it's now been 6 months since our Kickstarter campaign went live. It both feels like an eternity ago as well as just like it was yesterday. 

So much has happened since April -  but most notably, we packed up our shop and moved into our new space! 

But before I get ahead of myself, I felt like I needed to find a moment to pause and reflect back on this incredible show of support for our community. Because it's so special to me and will hands down be one of the top 5 events of my small business career. 

If you need a little refresher or reminder, you can check out the campaign here where you can view some of the videos that explain more about why I decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign and a lot more details about the experience of trying to keep a small business alive through a global pandemic. 

I went back and forth about hitting launch for a week or so because it feels hard to ask for help. It feels scary and vulnerable to put yourself out there, in this case, in front of a lot of you who I feel like I know but have never actually met. I did some research aka Googling and found out that most successful campaigns run for 30 days. So I did a 30 day campaign. I had mapped out a loose timeline of how we would talk about the campaign via social media as well as to our in-store guests in the hopes of getting this project funded. 

I felt confident that I would be able to rally our community during the 30 days to meet our goal. I enrolled some small business friends who agreed to help talk about our campaign. I scheduled a few newsletters and Instagram posts but that was really the extent of the "plan". I ditched the pressure and stress of spending hours on marketing and content years ago. Turns out it didn't make me happy, and what makes me happy is genuinely showing up for ya'll through the products we stock our shelves, chatting with ya'll in person (and in DMs), and honestly, posting whenever I wanted to or felt like it. 

At midnight when I hit launch, names started popping up almost immediately. Perhaps a mixture of being sad I stayed up so late (lol) and also genuine bewilderment that some of y'all also stayed up late, knowing that I wasn't alone in that moment felt really special. And truly, I have not felt alone through this past year and a half with our incredible team and each and every one of you who have given me so much hope. 

I closed my laptop and tried to get some sleep before I'd have to wake up with P. And low and behold, woke up to see we were more than half way to our campaign goal. The rest of the day felt like a blur. We met our goal of 15k in less than 12 hours. And it didn't stop there, we doubled our goal in 24 hours. 

It still feels surreal and still feels very tender in my heart to think back on what I felt during that day. The immense love for our shop and the incredible show of support will forever stir up emotions for me. And I hope it never goes away because I never want to forget it.

Reaching the kickstarter goal and surpassing it has given me space to exhale a breath I didn't realize I had been holding since March 2020. It's taken a literal, physical weight off my shoulders to know I don't have to do this alone.

With our community's support and love, I was able to move the shop. The $ raised continues to be treated with a lot of care as I allocate it within the business because I know it's your hard earned dollars. And I want to honor that. 

So far the Kickstarter funds have gone towards: 

Our new beautiful store front window vinyls

Hiring Corey (our muralist) to paint our iconic mural 

Building out more card wall shelves in our new space

Building out our pen wall shelves

Purchasing our rewards products

Adding new artists and designers to our shop

Expanding our product offering in our shop + online

Growing our small, all-woman team 

Just to name a few things...

Whether or not you were able to contribute to the campaign, the fact that I have the absolute honor of calling this small business my job is not lost on me. Beyond the stationery, I love having a door (a physical door you can walk through) because it's been a life changing way of allowing me to meet so many of y'all.

And I cannot wait to continue to be your favorite little paper shop in Austin (and beyond!)

xo, Pei 

Here are a few peeks at some of our rewards :)

Hello everyone! 

Gosh it's been a minute since I have blogged and I feel like it's a great time to share our first blog post that features our first workshop in 2021! 

It felt extra special since this workshop was led by my friend and super talented artist, Emily of Revery Paper Flora. Emily had texted me to let me know she was in town and wanted to see if I could meet up for dinner - according to her, which is accurate, I called her instead of texting back and basically convinced her to teach a workshop with the allure of our new studio space as well as with promises of food after. 

I know it might sound silly but I said to everyone in the class while I was sitting there working on my paper flower how truly happy I feel in the moment. It felt surreal having an actual in-person workshop after so many months of not having anyone in our studio. And it felt even more magical in our brand new workshop studio. 

This first workshop has me very excited to resume a bit more normalcy and bring back our monthly workshops for y'all!

The plan to resume our in-person classes was to start back up officially starting October of this year with some changes to how we do things. 

Pre-Covid (and pre having a child), I felt like we did a lot. Like a lot. 3-4 workshops or events a week, every week from the day we opened our doors in 2015. And at least right now, that sounds overwhelming! I've had a lot of time to think about what I want this business to look like moving forward and something I keep coming back to is - less is more and also, doing less but doing it better. 

Here's how our workshops will look like:

• 3-4 workshops a month released quarterly
• VIP access to tickets for those on our newsletter list 1hr before it is publicly released
• Classes will take place between Thursdays - Sundays
• By hosting a more curated calendar of classes, it will allow us to create kit versions of the workshops at a more accessible price than our in-person classes and for those who do not live in Austin
• Smaller class sizes
• no more than 10 students per class
• = more 1-on-1 instruction from instructors
• Slightly longer class times
• Classes will be 3+hrs in duration
• we want everyone to feel like they have ample time to unwind, work and get creative as well as get to know the instructor + fellow students too!
• Include more materials + goodies
• the goal is to provide y'all with enough materials to not only create something during the class but have extras to take home to continue creating
• extra surprise goodies as a thank you for attending
• Get to know the instructor
• We plan to cater in a delicious meal from a local small business to kick off each class
• It's a wonderful time to get to know the instructor as well as your fellow students
• We will also provide our usual snacks + beverages during the workshop 
• Open Studio hours
• Applies to workshops where the content allows for more work time
• You will be welcome to come back into our studio with your supplies and get crafty!
• Revised Workshop Policy
• You will be able to send another student in your place 48hrs before the workshop or choose to have the kit version of the class shipped to you

Dearest Paper Friend,

Today is the one year anniversary of when we closed our doors. It has both felt like another lifetime ago as well as like it was just yesterday. I am still in the pinch me phase (that I have been in for the past 12 months) that this small business still exists. 

I will never forget how utterly alone I felt. I had just barely started to feel myself again after having a baby. Through the postpartum months, the shop, our team and our community was what gave me something to look forward to when things felt so hard personally. I felt like I was good at what I did at the shop and it helped balance out how I felt like I was failing miserably at home. 

It felt like someone had pulled the rug out from under my feet when we closed and I found myself feeling like I was all alone, and 100% clueless about 100% of my life. Letting my employees go was one of the hardest things I've had to do to date as a small business owner. The girls really feel like the younger sisters I never had but always wanted as an only child. Their commitment, hard work and support as I transitioned to take time off to have a baby was an unimaginable relief as I knew my business baby would be in wonderful hands. 

I remember crying a ton the first few weeks as I genuinely believed we would maybe make it until Summer before I would have burned through savings. I remember sharing very transparently via social media what I was feeling and what was going on. I remember bringing home inventory and packing supplies so I could package orders after P went to bed at night and praying she would sleep through the night so I could at least get a few consecutive hours of sleep before the sun came up. I remember wondering if all of this would be worth it, of if it would even matter. 

I also remember the messages of love, support and encouragement I received. I may not have responded to every single one but I hope you know I read each and every word. I remember the orders that kept popping up on our website. I remember recognizing the names and wishing I could thank you in person. I remember seeing new names with notes that they heard about our shop through someone in our community. I remember thinking the support would slow after a few months.

But the support didn't stop. While our revenue very much ebbs and flows and running an online business is still uncharted territory for us, I am completely in awe and blown away by the continued love and support you have shown us.

You may not know this, but I moved to the United States when I was about 12 years old. I was in a country across the world and had to start middle school in a country whose culture I was not familiar with. It may seem trivial but my love of stationery (I recall in particular gel pens) was an easy connection to the other kids in my classes. Stationery has always been a big part of my life and while I would not have imagined ever owning a shop before I opened our doors, I also cannot imagine doing anything else. 

Running a small business has many challenges and pairing that with not looking like everyone else (as well as perhaps looking younger for my age and maybe even because I am a woman), I have been ignored in business meetings and literally scoffed in the early stages of searching for a location to open the shop. That was almost 6 years ago now and there have been so many instances between where it's been easier to make myself small to the point of not telling people I actually own my own business because having to prove or explain myself got exhausting. Over the past year, I've been practicing taking up a little more space. Because I want to be an example for not only the women on our team, but other women in our community and beyond. And certainly for my daughter because I hope she gets to grow up alongside our shop and grows up in a world where she is valued, confident and takes up as much space as she likes. 

This practice has been made easier by you. You've given me little bits of strength through the act of simple kind words. You've given me hope on days that it's seemed easier to give up. You've given me a reason to keep fighting to keep this business going even when there has been no end in sight with this pandemic.

To follow up from my story about finding our first location, there is one thing I will always be proud of, is that I have never backed down from a challenge. I may not know how, but I know I can and will figure it out. I ended up finding our first location after numerous realtors ghosted me upon learning my rent budget wasn't $$$$, by driving around East Austin and calling every for lease sign I saw. 

I never really understood just how deeply I loved having a door until we had to close ours. Our door is a portal to a space where all are welcomed. Your happy place in a world that might feel hard sometimes. When you walk through our doors, you are so much more than just a customer. We feel like we are welcoming a friend into our home.

The months leading up to this Covid-19 anniversary has been emotional tumultuous as I struggled with not knowing if our lease ending would be a sign that perhaps this business was no longer mine to be had. I've always said that I would be in this business for as long as it was meant to be mine. And I feel like the past 12 months has been sending me serious mixed signals. 

And strangely, I feel more clarity now, on the eve of the one year mark when we closed our doors. I am not willing to give up even though I am afraid of an uncertain future for the shop. I am not going to go down without a fight and trying my damnedest to keep going. 

I can't wait to one day welcome ALL of you back in the shop. To be able to see your whole faces. And to continue to be your little paper oasis whether you live near or far.

A note from Anna:

March 2020 felt like a blur. I remember how quickly things became serious and how everything was coming to a stop. It was a very confusing time that I've mostly erased from my memory. I'm so grateful for so many people coming together to support small businesses. People have come to appreciate the smaller and more personal touches that a small business provides and the support has been incredible over the past year.

Hi friends! 

It may seem odd to be sharing this on our blog but I wanted to give y'all a little peek behind the scenes (aka my life) since you all know by now that there's a real person behind this small business :) It feels really nice to connect with so many of you via the internet and through this shop - it honestly feels less lonely when you're stuck at home 24/7.

A few months ago, I started a conversation with Evan about how we felt about taking P on a little trip. And also how we felt about our comfortability level with having a family friend plus her family join us. I know we are in the midst of a pandemic but I also feel very strongly about there being a safe way for P to get to play with other children. 

Noting that this would be her second time every staying anywhere other than our house (we went and visited my parents who live about 2 hours away from Houston back in July) and I am honestly still a little anxious going anywhere with her. And to be fair, I haven't had much practice taking her places since she's spent more of her life in a global pandemic than not. 

WHO HAVE YOU SEEN AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?

I had an extensive and ongoing conversation with our family friend who have two little girls around the age of 2 and 4. We agreed that we both had the same comfortability level and chatted very openly and frequently leading up to this weekend. It's strange to ask people who they've been seeing and what they've been doing but I feel that in order for me to be totally comfortable I needed to be sure that who I was thinking about spending time with was taking this pandemic as seriously as I was! My friend stays home with the girls, neither of the girls are back to daycare/school and her husband has been working from home. Evan has been working from home, and I've only been going into the shop a couple days a week (sometimes alone and sometimes with one or two of the girls but we always have masks on and we practice social distancing as well) And example is that if her girls were back at daycare or school, I may not feel okay with spending time with them since I don't know about all the people and other kids at the daycare or school. Or perhaps she may not feel comfortable with me if the shop was back open and I was interacting with more people beyond my household. 

We booked this an Airbnb months before and were open to plans changing or canceling if needed. The Airbnb  would allow us specifically to have lots of room for the girls to play and brought all of our food/groceries so we wouldn't have to leave. Not that there was any where to go to anyway! We were truly in the middle of nowhere with zero cell service.

The house was located about 3ish hours North East of Austin and had a large living, dining and kitchen area plus 4 bedrooms upstairs. A must was to have a washer and dryer plus be somewhat kid friend with space outside. And we hit the jackpot with this house. The two younger girls stayed in the room with a bunk bed and P had her travel crib in one room while Evan and I took one room, and my friend and her husband took the last room.

Also, there's an amazing screened in sunroom as well as a shaded fire pit area in the backyard that would be so incredible to spend time in cooler weather. And on one side of the house, there are four hammock style swings.

THE DRIVE 

We timed it where we left after her bottle so she would be awake in the car, be able to have a snack before we pulled over to change her diaper (it's one of her "time to go to bed" cues) read her a book and turned on her portable sound machine so she would take a nap in the car. She usually manages to take at least an hour nap which is pretty good for her. She did this both ways and the drive was not too bad.

We packed her a little backpack of car toys to entertain her while she was awake. And she only started to get fussy when we are 15-20 mins away from our house, who could blame her? Sitting still for a little baby is really hard! 

SLEEPING + NAPS

Our end goal of each day is to help set P up for a successful night's sleep. And it's no different being away from home.

We wanted to ensure she would be able to rest for her naps and at night too so it was a must for us to pack her sound machines, her favorite sleep sacks and pacifiers plus black out shades to create a cozy and dark environment. We had no issues with her falling asleep for her naps or sleeping through the night the entire weekend!

The only thing I would do different next time is to actually set her travel crib up the day or two before we go somewhere so she could "practice" sleeping in there. The first few times she woke up while napping this weekend, she cried because I think she woke up confused as to where she was.

TOP 5 THINGS I PACKED

I definitely overpacked clothes for her but overall, we did end up using almost everything we packed which is kind of insane! 

But if I had to choose, these are the things I will never leave the house without.

1. Sound machines (crucial since you can't really tell a 2 and 4 year old to be quiet lol)
2. A small fan (I know she's past the risk age for SIDS but moving air is just nice to have especially if I'm not 100% of the temperature we will keep the house at)
3. Her favorite books (especially the ones we read to her before her naps and before bed)
4. Her chair (it's a high chair that kind of anchors itself to any table top surface) + travel crib (we got one that folds into an actual backpack)
5. Black out shades (we have some that have suction cups to them which was helpful since this house didn't have window shades and a dark environment helps cue her that it's time to sleep)

She had an amazing time and was super stimulated just by watching the girls play and also from crawling around everywhere so we just watched her closely to make sure she didn't get overtired throughout the day. Her little eyes lit up overtime she saw the girls running around and it was so heart melting watching the two girls be so sweet to baby P!

Overall, I feel like this trip was so needed for her because it feels crazy that this was her first time getting to play with other children. To maintain the integrity and wellness here at the shop and as a part of our small team, I will be going into the shop around the times I have scheduled the girls to be here for 14 days starting today. 

Here's the listing to the modern farmhouse we stayed at - it sleeps up to 10 people so it was perfectly large enough for 4 adults, 2 small children and 1 infant! I was able to snap a few photos before the 3 tinies humans basically took over the house :) 

Y'all, how on earth is it August right now?

I feel like this entire year has been a blur. And I also cannot believe that back in March when we first closed, I figured it would be at most a month or two before we would be back in the store. (Literally LOL at my past self haha) I've been thoroughly enjoying writing our weekly newsletters that have allowed me to share a bit more than just on Instagram and social media - I really feel as though I'm writing to each of you and it slightly makes up for the fact that I have had little interaction in real life with other human beings besides Evan and Penelope for actual months now. 

In this monthly edit, I'll catch you up on: what's going on with the business (a check-in since it's been a little while I shared what's going on), some of my current shop favorites, a life lately (more personal) update, something I've purchased from a small business that I want you to know about, and I wanted to end it with a little reminder and virtual love note :) 

So here goes! 

SHOP UPDATE

We're still closed to the public and plan to stay this way for the remainder of the month. Depending on if the case count isn't continuing to rise, I am going to have a conversation with our girls and evaluate the possibility of weekend hours, by appointment only. I'd really love to bring back curbside on those days as well. But all of this is TBD. As much as I understand the frustration of paying for shipping when you might live close by, it's not worth it in so many ways right now to have y'all out here or have someone on our team here weekly. 

Currently, I am prepared for us to be online only for the remainder of the year. Which very honestly is terrifying as I literally have never been an online only business. I very much feel like I started a brand new business back in March when we closed our doors. The holiday season is so important for us as a retail business (and is important for so many other small businesses too) and trying to anticipate, plan and navigate it right now feels so extremely daunting and overwhelming. 

Trying to figure out how to recreate the holiday magic in our store virtually feels impossible. Trying to plan out what to buy for inventory while managing a different type of cash flow. Trying to anticipate what our community will want and need this holiday season. Trying to decide if it's insane to have a shipping/order cut off date almost a month before the 25th of December in preparation for package delays. All of this feels like A LOT. 

I know it'll all work out - and again, reminding myself that although I love our shop, nothing we offer is life giving (literally, any way). And I'm also just grateful that we have such a kind and understanding community who supports us! 

Anyway, I usually buy for the holidays later in the fall. Since we are in Texas, it doesn't quite feel like the holidays until after Thanksgiving. So usually that's when we have our holiday goods out! But now the plan is to bump that up to perhaps October - with a shipping/order cut off by Thanksgiving (If you're thinking OMG, same, girl, same. )

So that's what's weighing on my mind, my heart, and my bank account - seriously, figuring out how on earth to do all of this! 

SHOP FAVES

Okay on a lighter note... I'm so beyond grateful that with y'alls support, I've been able to continue to make purchase orders from other independent businesses to stock our virtual shelves. 

Here are a few things I'm loving lately! 

These candles are hand poured right here in Austin by a woman owned business. It's hard to pick a favorite scent - for an extra special treat, try burning both at the same time for an amazing combo scent! 

I cannot get enough of these watercolor pencils. They offer you a bit more control as you would draw, illustrate and color as you would a normal color pencil before adding water with your brush to create a watercolor effect! I've been using them to paint and illustrate some botanicals for a friend's wedding invitations.

August subscription box goodies have been ordered and I can't wait for you to see what I picked out this month! Only a few of each are left before our cut off date of the 7th this month so get yours today! 

Also, did you know we added a New Arrivals section on our website? We update this frequently as soon as new goods arrive :)

LIFE LATELY

I almost didn't want to write this section because honestly, I probably feel the exact same way everyone else is feeling right now. I feel like I'm experiencing a whole new level of tiredness and most days I'm running purely off of coffee, baby giggles and day dreams of a time when the world feels a little happier and safer as a whole. 

I know stress manifests in physical ways for me and I'm trying really hard to keep those at bay. The excuse of not having time to take care of myself first is something I have used for a very long time now, even pre-Covid and I feel like I need to reevaluate what I need to prioritize personally. 

Currently, a good place to start looks like actually committing to some form of online work out just once a week and genuinely not turning on my computer or working one day a week. Lofty goals huh? 

Something exciting personally is that our backyard update plans are in motion! The fencing material was delivered last week and will be stored in our backyard until they can come work on it. The timeline is currently last week of August for the fencing and early September for the concrete work! 

I've recently discovered a business I am so excited to share with y'all about - Beam Paints creates handmade watercolors with materials and pigments found in nature. These are handmade in the M'Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island in Canada. I ordered a few to add to to my watercolor stash and also subscribed for a monthly watercolor pod to be delivered to my home. The shipping may seem steep but it is coming all the way from Canada, and also, I don't mind it because I love knowing I'm getting to support an Indigenous owned small business monthly! 

LOVE NOTE

Something I've observed over the past few months is how truly wonderful it's been to connect with people through social media. It's a way to feel like you're still interacting with the rest of the world during quarantine - and honestly, even before all of this I've felt like one of the good things of social media is that it allows you to get to know people you may not have otherwise known or met. 

That being said, I've seen from other friends and also experienced it in perhaps a lesser severity as others, how cruel people can be to other human beings with their comments and messages. No matter if someone has 10 or 100,000 followers, it doesn't make it hurt any less when someone says something incredibly insensitive or hurtful. 

Everyone is going through their own difficulties in life, and I'd like to think everyone is doing their best. So consider this a little reminder, what we see of each other online is just a little snap shot of a whole person.