etsy update

Dear readers, I hope you'll take a second to check out all of the new additions to my etsy page. Necklaces, tea towels, embroidery oh my!

save the date: amanda & seth

Amanda and Seth were the very first people D and I met in Kansas City. We looked at their house when we were searching for a rental and Amanda was nice enough to invite us to happy hour. It's kind of tough to be new kids in town and I'll never forget the kind gesture these two made to a couple of strangers.
Last month Amanda and Seth got engaged while in Columbia and when they returned Amanda asked if I'd like to shoot some engagement pictures and images for their "save the date" card. Luckily my photography skills only had to go so far, since Amanda and Seth happen to be amazingly photogenic.
Just as I pulled up to their house, fat fluffy flakes of snow began to fall, making for a sweet scene and impromptu snowball fight. It was so fun to shoot pictures of two people so obviously crazy about each other and I know they're in store for a lifetime of happiness.

snow doe

There's been quite a bit of snow dumped on our fair city, more than I'm used to anyway. D and I spent a week in our home state of Texas and when we returned shoveled a driveway for the first time in our lives. I can't say that shoveling snow is my new favorite hobby, but I can say I'm less bothered by the blustery weather than I anticipated. My love for handiwork is only increased when under a blanket in front of a fire. This little doe embroidery is now available on my Etsy shop.

the eggnog that isn't

Traditional eggnog, with it's raw egg, doesn't exactly appeal to me. I'm a fan of more friendly variations of this contentious holiday drink and a particular family recipe, which is unequivocally not eggnog, is my favorite.

This recipe was invented, or at least claimed by, my beloved granddad, Jack, who sadly passed away last year. My grandfather was one of those fabulous fibbers who's stretching of truths and hilarious inventions simply made life more amusing and therefore went unattested. So, for all intents and purposes this is my grandfather's original recipe, AKA "Jack's Eggnog".

You'll need...

2 cups cooled brewed coffee

1 box of vanilla ice cream (yes a box! A tub will simply not do- this made explicitly clear by the recipe's proprietor)

1 cup of bourbon

My granddad insisted on the box of ice cream because he claimed that the recipe was best if the if the ice cream was cut (not scooped!) into 1 inch squares prior to mixing. You will probably use your discretion as to this instruction. If you don't want to make the whole batch, you can just mix each individual glass to taste, which is what I usually do. After you're done, top with cinnamon and/or nutmeg.

For my family, and many of our family friends, this is a favorite treat. I hope you might enjoy Jack's Eggnog that isn't, with your family this holiday season.

new website

Hey, I wanted to let you guys know that I recently finished my website. Next on the to do list, getting my etsy site back up and running.

christmas on paper

The time had come for our first Christmas tree and in this new city, with few familiar faces, it's a sweet and welcome sight. Last Christmas, my mom and I went through our family's ornament collection and I got to pick out some of my favorites. With the addition of a few homemade ones, we have a surprisingly full tree. I first created these book page ornaments for my friend Kelly's winter wedding shower last year. They are so easy to make, here is a quick tutorial.

You'll need...

-brads

-string

-old book pages or whatever paper you'd like to use

-something to cut your strips; scissors, a paper cutter, an exacto knife or maybe your office paper shredder.

Cut 25 strips of paper per ornament. You can make them big or small depending on the length of your paper, but you'll want more than 25 strips if you go longer than about 10 inches. I made my strips for this demo around 7 inches long. After your pieces are cut, stack them and punch a hole at each end of the bundle. Then, loosely insert brads at both ends and swing the strips around to create a sphere. Lastly, tie a string around one of the brads for hanging.

breakfast cookies

Seconds away from pouring myself a bowl of quaker oats this morning I spied a familiar recipe on the box. I then thought that there was perhaps no better way to continue my pattern of holiday overindulgence than cookies for breakfast. I'm not under the delusion that there is an acceptable "breakfast cookie," (I'm sure today's act of nutritional defiance would make my mother squirm) I simply think that if there were a moderately appropriate a.m. cookie it would be the oatmeal raisin. Am I on to something here?

Let me share with you my twist on this very simple recipe.

1 stick of butter

3/4 cup of sugar- brown,white, or a mix

1 egg

1/2 t. vanilla

3/4 cup flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt (I like to taste the salt in a cookie, I put a bit more and use Kosher)

1 1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 pecan halves

Combine and stir wet and dry ingredients in two separate bowls (save the oats, nuts and raisins aside). Slowly stir the contents of the dry bowl into the wet one, then fold in your oats, pecans and raisins. I've made these cookies with walnuts too, but since I had some left over pecans I used them. I think given the choice I'd go for the pecans again.

After refrigerating for about an hour, place spoonfuls of dough on greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 mins. at 350.

These treats are definitely some of my favorites, and I'm only mildly ashamed to admit that this batch might not see tomorrow.