Wednesday, November 19, 2014

nesting

More snow and continued bitter cold is in the forecast. Perfect nesting weather, that's keeping me in cooking, baking, making mode- it's my happy space for the holidays. Soups, muffins, cookies, sewing, carving stamps... They are all happening simultaneously these days!

While in DC over the weekend, I had the most exquisite lunch at the National Art Gallery... felt like a feast from a French country farmhouse- you can find a link to the buffet menu here. I essentially want to just duplicate it for our Thanksgiving dinner. As I was savoring the Pumpkin Bisque, I was trying to figure out the ingredients to repeat it at home... and at the end of the meal they brought complimentary recipe cards to our table. What a sweet surprise to have it handed to me. Here it is for you too! I was thinking- what a great Thanksgiving idea. If you are making/baking something very special- why not print it up the recipe ahead of time to hand out to your guests at they leave- or the host if you are bringing your contribution elsewhere. Perhaps you've already done this or maybe thought of it- but since I hadn't, a reminder to all of you brilliant friends out there can't hurt!

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These are now my go-to pumpkin muffins for my family. And all the kids that frequent our home. I use this recipe from smitten kitchen, but substitute butter for oil, use 1/4 cup less sugar, and add these chocolate chunks and cranberries. We've been watching the Cupcake Wars on Netflix recently... and are inspired to frost EVERYTHING, even muffins. Maybe a honey cream cheese frosting with a sliver of candied ginger- yes? YES!
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The second issue of Mabel arrived in my mailbox, and I enjoyed it last night with a glass of wine and set aside a moment this morning with tea. Perfect by the fire reading-  it's a decadent dessert and comfort food all rolled into one. So proud of my talented friends who have created such a fabulous new edition to the (printed) publishing world... and excited for all of the creative contributors to have a new platform to showcase their work and share their voice. Hello to cover art by my girl- Pixie Lighthorse!

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And this is a sneak peek at a new project I'm working on... the process and testing of new stamps (for something special) is always exciting!

Sending you wishes for cozy and creative days ahead...



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2 comments:

  1. Your stamp is so cute! What a fun project to make stamps. That is something I haven't tried but sounds very fun! Baking is a very fun activity for cold weather. We too are having very cold blustery days - the snow is flying all over today. I can't bake in a regular oven just now as we don't have one due to our home still being under construction but I was able to make some gingerbread in the crock-pot yesterday and that along with real whipped cream made a very nice afternoon snack fpr our hardworking family that are working on making our fireplace.

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  2. Oh my, that stamp is simply gorgeous! My husband has recently started wood carving an I was just telling him how stamps could be something fun to do for our kiddos.

    Happy creating and thank you for the link to the magazine. Looking forward to checking it out. Love a good creative read.

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