snapshots taken throughout this most lovely day, from some early morning alone time through all the makings and happy good things, and ending with yet a few more quiet moments alone.
from me to you + from our home to yours, sending warm wishes for a most happy day of thanks. life is good. celebrate. where ever + when ever + how ever you feel like it. enjoy it. xoxo
twice a month, the girls participate in an extended day at preK which includes the very important lunch with friends. they are always excited about having extra time at school, and are particularly fond of the additional crafting time. wonder where they get that...
almost every day, we talk about how food fuels our bodies and how we can make sure to eat a variety of foods throughout the day that will provide us with energy and nutrition our bodies need to work and grow. and by involving them in packing their lunches, i am hoping they each develop a sense of smart choices they can make for themselves.
we've been using these stainless bentos which i really like for many reasons - they are small, have two levels and are rectangular in shape, meaning that lunch assembly becomes a game of tetris. hello, backhanded lesson in spatial relations + nutrition! and the best part is that they fit perfectly alongside a milk + chill pack inside the insulated lunchboxes the girls' aunt gave them last year.
granted, they are kids and they are going to want to eat the yummy stuff. who doesn't? today they apparently devoured cupcakes as their snack at school (a friend's birthday), but typically it's crackers or fruit or something not too sugary. and viva la cupcake, i say! just try and balance out the rest of the day accordingly - this is what i'm hoping to teach. and maybe continue to learn for myself, as well. xoxo
sunshine + big chess + knitting + white linen way way after labor day + best friends
improving vision + sewing + saturday NPR + re-opening the shop + superfun holiday fabrics + special goodies to share very soon
sorting through all the piles + twirling with my girlys to the brandenburg concertos + going for a quiet pedicure + meal planning for the entire week + grocery shopping coming in $7 under budget + baking a last minute tart with mascarpone, apples and blackberries + talking music and basslines with the hub by a crackling fire
and the best part is taking a few moments to think back fondly on all of it once again. i hope your weekend was filled with highlights, as well - do tell! xoxo
her sense of style
her sense of humor
their bond
daddy's influence on proper supergirl flying moves
other good (and great) things ::
all the neighborly love these past few weeks, my space being featured on modish, and my work featured on sewmamasew twice in the past week, and a few new + very exciting opportunities (and that's all i'll say about that).
also loving this scarf, all things tortillagirl, la fuji mama's nutella cookies, stefanie japel making t-shirt yarn, lucy and her gorgeous new design, gretelie's oh so pretty wool wristwarmers, wisecraft's brilliant removable quilt design wall, and halloween candy. oh yes, let's share a piece with mama, please.
what's making you happy on this gorgeous first day of november? xoxo
one might say i'm predictable - with cooking shows on television, that is probably a safe bet. this trend dates back close to 20 years when i was in graduate school and lived with my folks for a year -
- in exchange for a roof over my head, i cooked them whatever the frugal gourmet or natalie dupree had demonstrated on PBS on the previous weekend.
such is the case with the food network, and most recently, ravioli caprese: i saw it, salivated, confirmed ingredients in the pantry, and made it that evening to the delight of everyone. granted, i may not have been as stylish as the lovely giada whilst doing so, but my pictures do the recipe proud. simple, fun to make with kids, and oh-so delicious. especially if topped with a leftover lobster from the previous night's clambake.
and in other news, looking at all those dreamy images of my studio yesterday reminds me that i forgot to mention how awesome it was that i was approached to have my stash featured on true-up! way cool indeed - thanks! xoxo
it started as one of those saturdays wanting to make a special breakfast to celebrate all of us being in the same place at the same time. i knew i was on the right track as i overheard the girls whispering something about "mama's famous pancakes." but alas, there was not a drop of syrup in the house.
what to do what to do...
as soon as i came upon the recipe card, i knew this would be well-received - the smell of the cinnamon wafting through the house is something we can all relate to, and this "breakfast cake" (as the kiddos called it) delivered on its cinnamony promise, bringing a smile to everyone's face. i am not sure why it has taken me an entire lifetime to bake my mom's coffeecake - i remember it well from my childhood, although chances are i was finicky about it back then. that is not the case anymore, i can assure you of that. best part about this recipe - chances are you have the ingredients on hand.
so what are you waiting for?
irish cinnamon coffeecake (recipe from my mom)
cream the wet ingredients:then combine 3 Tbsp. cinnamon with 1/2 cup sugar or 1/4 cup splenda for baking - set aside. pour half of the batter into your greased pan and sprinkle half the cinnamon/sugar mix over it. pour on the remaining batter and knife the batter a bit in the pan as you would when making a marble cake. (mmm, marble cake sounds good too, doesn't it... oh sorry, got distracted.) sprinkle the remaining cinnamon/sugar mix on top and bake for 45 minutes on 350, during which time everyone will be lured by the dreamy aroma into the kitchen and proceed to nag you about when it will be done. once it cools a speck, let everybody dive in and watch it disappear.
i might make a few more subtle changes next time - add ground flax seed and bake them as muffins to serve as some form of portion control (ahem). not for me, oh no - i only got one piece. but those other three people around here ATE ALL OF IT - in two days. one moment it was there, the next moment... poof! maybe i'll do muffins next time and double the recipe to see how they freeze - all in the name of research, of course. xoxo
*the recipe card says 1/4# which i misread as 1/4 cup, and although i have absolutely nothing against butter - believe me - it was super moist and i honestly didn't miss the extra butter. i do think substituting greek yogurt for the sour cream helped, as well.
after a recent assessment of our cupboard, i came to the conclusion that we have an imbalance of whole + prepackaged foods. we cook our meals from scratch - except for the occasional respite of chinese takeout - and the kiddos have developed a genuine intuition of eating a healthy balance of food groups throughout the day. but we are not perfect. there are bars in our cupboards - you know what i mean, granola bars, fruit bars, and a wide variety of breakfast/power bars to get the hub going as he heads off to work before the sun rises.
and then one of the littles requested a breakfast cookie - instead of her usual greek yogurt or boiled egg.
not in my house. enough is enough!
my response gets its inspiration from chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, but they are so much more. i blended the recipe for our favorite muffins with a basic cookie concept, and then added the power. big time. and you know what? they are beyond a hit. and knowing all those healthy ingredients that went into them - and love, of course - i am happy to oblige when someone now requests a breakfast cookie.
superpower breakfast cookies
recipe makes about 3 dozen
: preheat oven to 350
: combine wet ingredients (we used organic whenever possible)
: in a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (again, organic whenever possible)
: stir dry into wet until just combined - do not overbeat.
: spoon onto cookie sheet - we used a 2 oz. ice cream scoop and flattened them with the bottom of a glass
: bake for 9-10 minutes on 350, place on a rack to cool
high in whole grain fiber, protein, omega-3s, antioxidents - and low in fat. as best i could calculate, each one has about 120 calories, but if anyone is a nutritionist, i would LOVE to know the values of fiber, protein and fat.
you could easily adapt this recipe to suit your family's needs and preferences. a foodie friend of mine with a nut+dairy+egg allergy is giving it a go with a few changes to meet their nutritional limitations and i am sure you could easily make them gluten-free as well. in this house, we think they are near perfect and hope you enjoy them as well! xoxo
edited to add :: the following nutrition information has been provided by the lovely kirstie - thank you so much!
oh, Autumn. you are my favorite and my best. singing songs about the colors turning at every corner, telling tales and endless giggles under piles of quilts, falling in love with puzzles again and again, the baking for baking's sake, and the wool.
i hope you are finding special ways to welcome the turn of the season into your world. xoxo
wednesday nights are a bit tricky : the challenge is feeding the whole family a nourishing meal that can be as tasty + fresh + the right temperature/texture when some of us dine at 5 (before soccer) while the rest of us don't dig in until several hours later. last week we enjoyed foil-parcels-of-yum (so much so that we had them again earlier this week - salmon this time, oh yum!). this week's fare was inspired by the cool breeze and sunshine on this almost-Fall day... soup. and not just any soup, it was a day for what is now officially termed supersoup ::
into the roasting pan went onions, leeks, zucchini, parsnips, carrots, celery, garlic, tomatoes, potato and an acorn squash. that's 10 vegetables, people - super, indeed. toss with a hearty drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, salt + pepper and into the oven for 45 minutes on 400. out it came and into the soup pot with about 4 cups of chicken stock (vegetable stock would have been wonderful, as well). it simmered for about 1/2 hour, gave it a quick whiz with the immersion blender and dinner was served! we ate it topped with a sizeable round of chevre (yum!) and a hunk of fresh baguette.
one of the girls licked the bowl of roasted vegetable goodness clean and subsequently tore up the soccer field. and then there's her sister, who - despite being little miss veggie lover - only ate a few spoonfuls. and reluctantly, at that. the goat cheese + bread disappeared of course, but a bowlful of soup remained on the table as we headed out to practice. and manno, was she dragging the entire time. and she knew it, informing me afterwards that next week she'll eat up her whole bowl of super + soup so she can keep up with the team.
all in all, i declare yet another meal challenge met. now to ponder what next wednesday will bring... and who will eat it. xoxo
there comes a time in everyone's life when exercise is no longer optional, rather it becomes compulsory. as in, my clothes compel me to move it... or else. so yesterday morning, as i'm making like a grizzly bear is chasing me on the treadmill, and here comes al roker whipping up dinner en papillote.
to know me is to know what comes next.
oh. my. stars. why have i not done this in like a decade? dinner was amazing. incredibly healthy as well as aromatic + flavorful beyond words. and best of all, i was able to whip up these pouches and cook some jasmine rice mid-afternoon. the girls' enjoyed their early pre-soccer supper and i popped ours in the fridge for later. and only the rice pot to clean at the end of it all. um, hello new wednesday night dinner prep. xoxo
