angry chicken

another notable cookie

I went to a cookie party last weekend and these cookies are what I brought. I have mentioned them before, they are the Apricot Crumbles. They are sick with love. A ton of butter and apricot jam with ginger added. The only change I made was to decrease the butter by about 3 tablespoons and double (or even triple) the amount of fresh ginger. I love them so very very much, I only make them about once a year.

The cookie party was a wonderful event because it's just for consuming cookies on the premises. Of course there is extra to take home, but the no-pressure quality of this is genius. This pie was in attendance and I can't say enough good things about it. Really.

• I just got word the the AM Northwest show I will be on this Thursday will not be airing in the morning, live, but later that evening, between 7-8 on Comcast channel 302. They will have it up to view on their site right after 8pm Thursday, but you don't even need to remember this because I will link to it as soon as I can and also put it up on my YouTube channel if possible.

• If you are out and about this Sunday the 13th Crafty Wonderland here in Portland is having a huge holiday event with really great vendors. It's sure to be stellar. Details are here.

Holiday decor and other items

The tree went up last weekend and we decorated. It was an equal balance of kids helping and Mama pulling rank and relegating certain holiday items to the play area downstairs. The girls decorated the tree all by themselves (only 3 broken glass balls) and we taller humans finished up on the out-of-reach areas.

A simple mantel.

Here's a better shot of the room and you can see the penny rug above the mantel.

Okay, the holidays are heating up around here. I feel like I am doing a crazy two-step dance of making homemade gifts and having fun holiday activities (going to plays, seeing lights, outdoor events, etc.) while not over-scheduling. I actually think that I have cleared our social obligations/events after this week completely. I feel so good about it getting less busy before Christmas/Solstice than more busy. We shall see if this can be maintained. I am my own worst enemy here.

Randoms:

• I will be on AM Northwest again this Thursday (this is our local morning show on channel 2 KATU) between the hour of 9-10am. I will be adapting a technique from my new book to embellish holiday napkins. Hopefully hilarity will ensure. Or at least, disaster will be avoided. There will be bleach involved. Chemical burn potential + live television = total comedy, right?

• The newest Tie One On gallery is up over here on flickr showing all the amazing Peppermint Candy aprons. They are divine and so festive. Please take a look and leave a comment. I will post the next theme after the New Year, and if you have a good ideas, let me know—

• I really really want to get this game for the girls, Wildcraft. It's a game for learning how to pick and prepare wild herbs for medicinal uses. Um, my awesome alarm just went haywire. You can also get it at Rose Mountain Herbs. I have yet to find it locally here in a shop, so I may just have to order it. Update** You can also get it direct from the makers, Learning Herbs.

• We celebrate Solstice here, big time, and only handmade gifts are exchanged—ones the girls decide to make for each other, with help from us. I am so stoked that this year Delia will be making Sadie stilts (using the tool box full of real tools that her uncle got her for her birthday) and Sadie is making Delia a doll quilt (which she has already started with Grammie's help.) Baby is getting a bear, made by the two of them. Listening to them try to NOT tell each other what they are making is pretty funny. Like last year, when Delia said her Solstice gift for Sadie was a secret, but she would say it was "doll shaped."
  

holiday garland, thank you, & links

Thank you all so much for coming out to the book signing and saying hi. We had a blast. I will try to upload some photos soon, and if you all do, let me know—

I had forgotten long ago that I posted this free Holiday Funtime Garland project—you can print out several copies and make your own. I use to have a PDF for this, but I don't know where it is (long story) so here it is on flickr, just hit "all sizes" and download and print the big one.

Have fun! (And please just keep this for personal use, thanks.)

Some very important unrelated links:

• Colette Patterns has some new fabulous vintage inspired sewing patterns available for pre-order right now—please take a look, you won't be sorry. I love her designs so much.

• BurdaStyle is doing a Holiday Giveaway everyday this month, and it's crazy. They just gave away a sewing machine. You can see the info on the blog. You have to be a member to leave a comment to try and win, but as a member myself of this awesome group—I say sign up and go for it!

• Mix Tape #11 is now available and is in a new format. Very nice.

• A Wee Wonderfuls Folkster Dolls pattern is out now and I think this pattern, along with some fabrics, trims and threads, would be an awesome gift to give to a crafter.

• A stunning Jen Corace print is available over at Tiny Showcase.

I'm in Seatle Right Now!

Come by and say hi!! I will be at The Quilting Loft tonight with the lovely Miss Emily Black Apple.

Hope to see you!

The Quilting Loft

Thursday December 3rd, 7PM

2601 NW Market St
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 706-0445

holiday gifts and such

These are some of my favorite items from Stubby Pencil Studio, an excellent online kids art supply shop which I have blogged about before—I just love their inventory. They have items I haven't seen anywhere else. (And here's a handy 10% discount code: ACSAVE10)

I snapped this photo before the gifts got tucked away in a box. Note to self—don't let the girls see the blog this month.

Star shaped crayons!! I drew these book covers and printed them onto card stock to make blank books to go with the nice art supplies. They say "This Very Important Book Belongs To:"

And "Mildly Interesting Secrets Belonging To:"

While I was at it with my brush pen (yes, the one from Jet Pens!) I made a fill-in-gift list for myself. I love drawing, scanning, and printing so much. I just want to play copy shop all day. Remember the stinky ditto machines?! I used to beg my teachers to turn that crank and make copies. Were they actually called mimeographs? I don't even know. But they stank to high heaven.

Hey there Apron Makers:

I am super-slammed this week and will need a little extra time to get the Peppermint Candy aprons up for Tie On One gallery. They look amazing! I will be back from Seattle on Friday sometime and will get the gallery up over the weekend. Thanks so much!

In Seattle this Thursday

I am very excited to be headed to Seattle to The Quilting Loft this Thursday for my book signing, and also to see some friends, do a little shopping, and have some quality time with the delightful Miss Emily, who will be accompanying me on this road trip.

I'm not even going to say how long it's been since I have been to Seattle (6 years! And we used to live there. For shame!) or how long it's been since I have been overnight somewhere without at least one of my children (Never! Unless the 5 hours between being in labor and having a baby counts.) So excited! I think I will feel like I'm in college again. Minus the super-cheap food, over-plucked eyebrows, and excessive flannel.

At the event, I will be giving away a tote bag with my book and my labels, chocolate, and of course there will be treats, silly antics and much tomfoolery. Please come and say hi!

magical verse

We are in a poetry phase around here—reading aloud usually while standing on the fireplace mantel which is a perfect stage. I was thrilled to find this lovely first edition of Favorite Poems Old and New: Selected For Boys and Girls for the girls for Christmas.

Such sweet illustrations—

The book is nice and heavy. They seem to be really into heavy books. I think it makes the reading more serious. The poems are all pretty short, which is perfect. I think this book might be more for me than for them, but there's nothing wrong with that.    

In other book news:

• I am totally not embarrassed to admit I am now on book four of the Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood books, by Charlaine Harris, and am loving every minute of this series. I haven't seen it on HBO, and I am not sure if I will. Grammie says it's not her cup of tea and she's the one with the HBO. She says she's not into vampires—she's all about the mummies. (?!)

• Gracia Haby's books are a visual delight. I have her blog in a folder on Google Reader titled "happy blogs" for obvious reasons. Please note her reading list is much more highbrow than my current tastes.

• Camilla Engman has a beatuful new book out of her artwork. She sells it in her shop—shipping from Sweden. If you are in Canada or the US you can get it a bit faster at Uppercase, who is also the wonderful publisher of this book. It looks so very lovely. (Big hint to family.)

The leftover mashed potato gnocchi was good.

leftovers.

Happy day after Turkey Day!

I am totally going to make gnocchi with the leftover mashed potatoes that Grammie made—which were crazy good. I'm going to use this recipe here. I'm not sure why I haven't tried this before with leftover mashed potatoes. It seems genius. AND I'm also going to try it with the left over sweet potatoes that I took home, which are whipped already with egg and cream, so I'm thinking all I need to add is a little flour. I saw a similar recipe here which has ricotta, but I'm going to leave that out and just go for it—cause' I'm crazy like a fox.

The newest issue of Small is here. I flippin' love this online kid's mag so much.

speaking of chocolate—

I was the lucky recipient of Blair's chocolates recently and for research purposes, had to eat a lot of it. My findings are as follows: It's crazy good. I like the Ramen Noodle the best, but really they are all so very tasty. Perfect for stocking stuffers (I get a little sick of the standard Toblerone in my stocking every year, you know?) and they are sold at this super-duper wonderful Portland shop, The Meadow (which I have blogged about before) but wait—the Meadow also ships, so do not fret! Might I suggest some salt and this other amazing bar of chocolate to add to your order? These items seem to be what comes home with me every time I go by there.

• And in other chocolate news: I am making and freezing my batches of cookie dough again this year and am reminded why this cookie is a household favorite. (Not with the kids). It's really the only cookie I would make if I had to choose, so that's saying something.
• Unrelated (maybe, depends on your menu) have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
• And truly unrelated (well, not really because I will be giving away some chocolate at the event) I will be in Seattle next Thursday at The Quilting Loft for a book signing, so please come by and say hi! It's December 3rd at 7pm, and I will of course be mentioning this again next week. And possibly I will be mentioning chocolate again, too.
• For real unrelated, the aprons for Tie One On are due soon—the end of November. I have posted the book I will giveaway to one of you lucky apron makers who join in the fun.