Can Christmas Change the World [again]?

The following video message changed the way I plan to approach the upcoming Christmas season. I pray that it blesses you as well. I promise it is worth the 2 minute investment of time :)

http://www.adventconspiracy.org

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

Sunday Bakeday

It was beautiful here today-bright sun and low temps-perfect weather for staying inside and baking up a storm. Which is exactly what I did. A big shout-out to Katie over at goodthingscatered.blogspot.com for the fabulous bread recipes; my husband is a very happy man!

Cranberry Walnut Bread

adapted from The Silver Palate by goodthingscatered.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp grated orange zest
2/3 c. juice from an orange
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c. shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 1/4 c. fresh cranberries

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a standard loaf pan.
-In a small mixing bowl, combine orange juice, eggs, butter, and stir to combine thoroughly; set aside.

-In large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add orange zest and stir to combine.

-Add wet ingredients to well in dry ingredients and mix until just combined (don't over mix).

-Fold in walnuts and cranberries and transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan.

-Place into oven and bake until knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes.

-Remove bread from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes.
-Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

-Wrap and put away for 1 to 2 days before serving.*

*note that I completely disregarded this part of the directions, and suggest you do too!!

Cheesey Beer Bread

adapted from goodthingscatered.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

2 c. all purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

4 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar

12 oz. bottle of lager or stout (Don't punk out and use something like bud light)

2 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare loaf pan for baking.

-In large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder.

-Whisk to combine well.

-Add cheese and whisk to combine.

-Slowly add beer to dry ingredients and stir lightly until combined.

-Knead dough lightly until it just comes together.

-Place into prepared loaf pan and pour melted butter over top.

-Place in oven to bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

This bread is a guaranteed man-pleaser!!!! :)

Peach Cranberry Pie

I don't have a recipe to share for this one because I just threw the filling together as I went. I used a combination of peaches, cranberries, sugar, almond extract, vanilla, cinnamon, and tapioca for thickening.

Wingman

Because every handyman needs a good wingman.

The Kitchen!

The kitchen is probably my favorite room in the new house. I spent so much time designing every detail of this room with my fantastic friend Abby (thanks, A!!!) I wanted a room that was large and warm and bright and where I could envision spending hours cooking, baking, and canning. Okay, so I don't can. But I plan on learning. :) And I do make jam. Does that count?

All cabinetry by Kraftmaid; wall color is River Rapids by Ralph Lauren Paint.

An older shot, before the range hood was installed, shows the cool contrasts in the wood floor

This farmhouse sink is a $1200 Kohler sink that I scored on ebay (after months of scouring) for only $200-brand new in the box.

French doors to dining room

Life in our space :)

Any suggestions for window treatments in this spot? We have plantation shutters in the rest of the house, but I hate to cover these windows up to that extent because they let in so much wonderful natural light. Thoughts??

"You are my hiding place;

you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."

Psalm 32:7

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you.

I have called you by name, you are mine"

Isaiah 43:1

Beautiful Spaces

I have been collecting pictures of inspiration rooms for years and years. Some eye-candy for a mid-week pick-me-up.

Ode to Barnes & Noble

I absolutely love Barnes & Noble.

I could spend hours there. If the books (swoon!) and big over-stuffed chairs (double swoon!) weren't enough, there is a Starbucks inside that also sells Cheesecake by the Cheesecake Factory. It's certainly a little piece of heaven here on earth.

Today was cold and overcast and rainy. A trip to Barnes & Noble was the perfect Sunday afternoon pick-me-up. First stop-the cafe-then, chai latte in hand, I headed for the cooking section to check out the cookbooks. Here is where the only problem with Barnes & Noble pops up: just when I am on cookbook Cloud Nine, with plans to make a great white chicken chili in my new dutch oven, I catch sight of the decorating and home improvement books out of the corner of my eye and am immediately drawn in by the aura of farm houses, bungalows, and the complete collection kitchens by House Beautiful (Oh My!) After twenty minutes spent mentally calculating the cost of implementing some of the fabulous decorating ideas into our new house, I notice I am also standing next to crafting books-sewing, quilting, knitting.


Oh knitting.


I was bitten by the knitting bug over this past summer and it was not good to me. I was first drawn to knitting by Soule Mama, over at http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/ Then, I caught site of the cover of this book, at the library, and immediately I felt my womb tighten and my unborn children call out for me to create these darling, soft, knitted outfits for their yet-to-be-born (sure to be darling) selves.

Here is the thing with knitting. I am sure it is quite easy (cough) or at least doable, but first you have to do this incredible difficult thing (cough, for me, cough) called casting on.

Shudder.

And despite an investment in materials, four different "learn to knit" books from the library, and an online video tutorial (not to mention a doctorate), I couldn't figure it out. And even Edward tried to help (he will deny this to his dying breath-but I tell you girls, he is a keeper!), but alas, I was terrible at it. Resigned to the fact that I would simply need to take a class or find a real-life knitter to get me going (volunteers??), I stuffed my knitting materials in a box sometime in late July and haven't looked back since. Until today, latte in hand, when I thought about that box as I felt the knitting books mocking me from the shelf.

Anyway.

Barnes & Noble; it's lovely, comforting, and entertaining, all the things that for me, knitting was not, and because I couldn't make it out the door without at least one souvenir from my trip, I have decided succumb to the pop culture wave that is Twilight.



This book is everything that I normally don't take a liking to, so we shall see; even the 65 year-old checkout lady swore I would devour it in one sitting. I'll keep you posted. Until then, blessings to everyone tonight!

Erin

Nesting.

I am a nester.

I love to decorate, to sew, to quilt, to bake, to cook . . . and to paint. I was probably the only member of my law school class who came home from moot court competitions and quilted to relieve stress. One of my friends calls me Martha, but I promise I have an equal amount of Maxine in me somewhere (more on her later).

Here is my latest nesting project, our guest bedroom paint job. This is paint, not wallpaper:) It took many, many hours of taping, many more hours of painting, four different shades of cream paint, and four different widths of painters tape.

We are now all set for guests.

Come visit!