st lucia
this season we are trying to hold true to giving handmade and simple.
and at the same time we are trying to remain in the moment and not beat ourselves up if something does not get made or if we give less than last year to someone.
i have to try hard not to keep score and compare from year’s past.
we don’t put much focus on lists. i do however listen to what the girls might tell someone who asks them what they want for christmas to get some sort of idea.
they usually say what i used to say when i was young, “i like to be surprised.”
it’s funny how some people are just not satisfied with that answer. “you must want something!” they’ll say.
and so the girls usually reply with a thing or two to make them happy.
i remember when hannah was about 4 years old she replied “world peace”
well that was a long break.
i kept wanting to check in here over the last few weeks with little updates and snapshots of our holiday spruce up but then 2 weekends of hannah’s nutcracker performances and (a good) life in general took over.
the holiday candlelit house tour was this past saturday which had me touring and talking about my home for 5 hours straight.
there were non-stop visitors and after bragging about my pop and his master carpentry skills and showing off all of chris’s wood creations and discussing our appreciation for beauty, simplicity and practicality in the home, i couldn’t help but love this place we have created even more.
my mother’s house was also on the tour and even though our houses are quite different it was fun for people to see the similarities. my mother is an interior and landscape designer and extremely talented at what she does. it was her vision that motivated us to buy our house which took a little convincing since it was quite a project to undertake. she has instilled in me a love and appreciation for nature and beautiful, useful things as i watched her nurture her house into a home throughout my life. i think of her as i spruce up a little corner, find the perfect evergreen bough dripping with pine cones, or as i cut out branches from our christmas tree so the ornaments fall just right.
yesterday the girls and i strung popcorn, cranberries and grapefruit rinds to hang on the creature tree in a few weeks.
we talked about tradition and how they want to continue the many things we do during advent with their young ones.
i can’t help but wonder if they will also continue the tradition of appreciating the little things that bring both my mother and myself such joy.
christmas tunes were on shuffle all day long while i danced around with greens, twinkle lights and pine cones.
i truly am happiest when at home creating and making. especially around the holidays.
i had chris go back to the house with the huge fallen tip of a spruce tree. this time with the right size clippers.
he came home with our little wooden trailer filled to the brim.
like santa and his sleigh.
we spent a few days visiting family for the holiday.
i baked some goodies to bring along including a triple ginger apple crisp.
inspired by a recipe from the moosewood restaurant book of desserts i have been making this for years and love how quick and easy it is with only a few simple ingredients that i always have on hand (i now always have a fresh jar of ginger preserves stored in the pantry). it’s my go to for when i have to make something in a pinch at this time of year. i have created my own version with a little more butter and maple syrup instead of honey.
with ginger preserves, ginger snaps and ground ginger this crisp has a yummy bite to it.
triple ginger apple crisp
serves 8-10
preheat oven to 350 degrees
fruit layer
6 cups of peeled apple slices
1/4 to 1/2 cup ginger preserves
2 tablespoons hot water
topping
1 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup gingersnaps cookie crumbs (about 15 cookies.. simply crush in a plastic bag with a rolling pin)
place apple slices in bottom of baking pan. in small bowl mix together ginger preserves and hot water. pour over apple slices and coat evenly.
in a bowl combine butter, maple syrup, cinnamon,nutmeg and ginger and mix well.
stir in oats and cookie crumbs until well blended.
spread oat mixture over apples and tamp down.
bake 35-45 minutes until apples are tender and topping is crisp.
serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.
enjoy!!
11/21/12
i think the nature gods must have read my post a few days ago about foraging for the holidays.
:: driving to work the other day i found a large pile of osage oranges on the side of the road. i love the pop of chartreuse they can add to darker greens and they look great with red berries.
:: we visted a new park with friends yesterday which just happened to be full of pines. a short hike through the woods had me walking back to the playground with armloads of fallen branches. my friends giggled at me but then proceeded to go collect too.
:: and today was the find of the century! when driving chris to work this morning i spotted a huge fallen spruce branch dripping with cones on somebody’s lawn.
i screamed and everyone in the car jumped and just rolled their eyes when i told them why i was so excited.
i went back later and knocked on the person’s door.
no one answered. in fact the home looked some what abandoned.
i convinced myself that they wouldn’t mind my helping to clean up what would most likely be turned into wood chips.
sometimes i feel like a squirrel gathering and collecting my goods for the winter months.
my empty palette of a sunday turned into a wonderfully cozy day.
my grandparents stopped by just in time for a pot of curried chicken vegetable soup for lunch.
we sat by the fire.
we talked and laughed while i wound balls of yarn to turn into christmas presents.
not a day goes by that i don’t appreciate still having them both in my life. in my girl’s life.
hannah and norah are at ages now where they will most likely remember them when they are older.
my grandfather (pop) is the master carpenter who crafted the inside of my house. all of the built-ins, my kitchen, my bed.
there is a huge piece of him in every room of my home.
a big reason why i can never leave this place.
:: i like to tip toe around in the morning when the light is just perfect and all is quiet except for a little snore here and there.
:: norah told me last night that i looked like ma from little house. i love my llbean flannel nightgown
:: i love sundays with nothing planned but some friends for dinner. an empty palette.
i don’t know about you but i am ready for the holidays!
as much as i am trying to remain in the moment and savor each autumn day i am craving candy canes and have my christmas music organized and ready.
our home has been chosen to be in a historical holiday house tour this year and i am excited to spruce things up and decorate.
on a shoe string budget i have plans of using whatever i can find out in nature. fallen branches, pine cones, osage orange fruits (hedge apples).
i do something different each year depending on what i might find.
every year on our way home from visiting chris’s family for thanksgiving we stop at a pine grove on the side of the road for fallen branches, and a few snips here and there (i always keep a pair of clippers in the glove compartment).
we hope for boughs dripping with cones.
sometimes i’ll find a radio channel playing some nat king cole christmas tunes and if we’re lucky rudolph comes on.
we sing along. the car smells sweet like pine sap and our hands are scratched and sticky.
it’s time to deck the halls.
pancakes and pjs is what norah suggested for a birthday party this year.
hannah and her friend were the waitresses and took orders for different shaped pancakes and toppings.
it was norah’s star birthday this year.
7 years old on the 7th.
happy birthday to my spunky girl who embraces life at it’s fullest each and every day.
life is so much more fun with you in it.
xo
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- …
- 48
- Next Page »