She thinks she's Ina Garten

I'm not a cooking show freak, nor do I think I'm Martha Stewart, but I have always liked to bake, and Christmastime provides a great incentive to do so and a great excuse to give the goods away. Of course I like to eat what I make but there's something about the baking and giving away, baking and giving away that makes it more fun somehow.

I love to watch Ina Garten cook on her show the Barefoot Contessa which may sound crazy to some of you but for those of you who like her, then you know what I'm talking about. She makes everything look so big and yummy and simple and good that she has me hooked. If it hadn't been for having mono two years ago I probably would have never known about her. There's a silver lining in every cloud.

So in honor of Ina I decided to make these little jam thumbprints from a recipe in this month's Country Living Magazine and they're a new family favorite. Whoever wrote that recipe is a genius becuase they've come out perfect every time.

And the peppermint bark is an absolute must. I can't get enough of it. So simple, so good,

and then Ina showed me this:

simple, easy, happy, Merry Christmas.

It's that kind of Sunday...

...where naps and homemade chocolate chip cookies beckon, where snuggling takes precedence over knitting and where soft, stretchy clothes are a must. We're filling the depleted reserves, nourishing what's left and gearing up for the week to come. What a luxury and a gift to be able to fall into the arms of family and know that here we're safe and welcome and warm. I hope each of you has just the kind of day you were looking for.

Berry merry

To the dissapointment of friends and commenters, the pink berry cluster of two posts ago did not morph into a ceiling fan pull, but rather became a new necklace style that I'm quite fond of. I made it yesterday morning and it made it's debut at the cookie swap. It was out again at a Christmas party last night and after for some late night, last minute shopping and then again at church this morning. It's really making the rounds.

There are many other color schemes in the works and it may even show up in my Etsy shop because the picture isn't half bad with my little point and shoot. It's hanging up there from the old door to the laundry room which is off our sunny little mudroom. Too bad my gifts of jewelry have all either gone out or are already made, otherwise this style surely would have found it's way into some gift bags. There's always next year.

I'm enjoying winding down now that all my pre-Christmas orders have gone out and am really looking forward to the few weeks the kids have off from school. No lunches to pack, no paperwork to keep up with, no having to make sure homework gets done, no school schedule to keep. Ahhhh. Enter baking. I really like to bake. Cooking's fine but I like baking better and I'm getting in the mood for more of it and now have the time. The bananas on the counter were just begging to be made into bread so I obliged.

This bread is from the recipe of my friend's now deceased grandmother and is simple, totally foolproof, smells divine and comes out looking like this every single time. It usually doesn't last two days around here.

Cookie swap

Tomorrow I'm going to my friend's third annual holiday cookie swap that I've missed the past two years because of work, so I'm more excited than I probably should be. Once I realized that what I planned to make didn't even qualify as cookies, I figured she'd probably stop inviting me. Kidding.

I decided I'd make peppermint bark, peanut brittle and fudge. Not a cookie in the group, but great additions to any holiday tin in my opinion. It was pure fate that while I was online to look up a recipe for the bark I came across one unexpectedly over at Soule Mama. Yes, it's easy, inexpensive and really really good!

As far as the peanut brittle and fudge go, I always turn to an old country church cookbook I have that has never failed me. I successfully avoided all dough rolling, icing, baking and cutting out and opted instead for melting, stirring and cooling.

I'm breathing a big sigh of relief with my last Christmas orders going out in today's mail and nothing in the queue, at least nothing that needs to be finished before Christmas that is. Well, unless you count the gifts I'm making/giving. Okay, so I'm not as done as I thought I was at the beginning of the paragraph. At least there's plenty of time to finish what I need to.

I'm looking forward to the kids being on break (she says this now) and an open wide schedule. I'm going to try to take them to a Nutcracker performance if the boy will agree to it, and other than that I'll just be trying to keep everyone from wriggling out of their skin with pre-Christmas giddiness. There is definitely more baking, wrapping and singing in our near future.

Camera shy

As I'm not a fan of having my picture taken, you won't see me often on this blog. But I thought I'd show you the scarf I finished last night. Long and skinny, right? Best part is it's only one of my two available skeins, so who knows, maybe I'll use the other and incorporate the same pattern into some fingerless gloves or something.





[Lauren just brought me a poem she wrote and at the end was a little question. "Which child do you like the best? Allie, Lauren, John were written and their pictures underneath. I was instructed to circle my answer. So I circled all three. She seemed surprised.]


Besides wrestling a four year old to give her drops for pink eye twice today, the only other exciting thing I've done was roast a chicken. I have a few words to say about both.


I'm usually pretty proud of myself when it comes to getting the kids to go along with the not so fun parts of being a kid or a parent for that matter. You know, like getting them to eat vegetables, clean their rooms or generally do anything they don't want to do. There's not usually a big fight, but they can be gently coerced and rewarded without much fuss. But this youngest, fiestiest, tiniest but often strongest child has become a screaming banshee with the drops. They are working beautifully and she's so much better. I've tried everything to get her to go along peacefully, even bribing her with donuts, cookies and chocolate. None of it works. I guess I can't always expect to get off so easily.


And as far as roasting a chicken goes, why have I not known how easy that is until recently? Why is everyone so afraid of the whole bird? I cooked the Thanksgiving turkey this past November and started out scared of it, but when all was said and done I thought, why does everyone make such a big deal about that? It turned out perfect. The only thing I needed help with was brining it, lifting it in and out of the bucket. That part is even optional. I swear it's easier than making spaghetti. Now gravy on the other hand, is a different story. I stick to the jar.