Pumpkin Brain

The summer of 2009, my best friend Rachel was in four of her best friends' weddings and she categorized this time in her life as "Wedding Brain." I'm a believer that these overwhelming states of mind are absolutely seasonal, and every fall my mind is engulfed in Pumpkin Brain.

I have the discipline to brew coffee at home instead of running to a café... most of the time. Pumpkin Brain has caused me to crave Starbucks Pumpkin Spice lattes four times a day. Every time I go to the grocery store, I buy at least two cans of pumpkin puree even though I know it's available year-round. Since Collin and I move every six months, my fall/winter apartments have a historically strong pattern of having at least one room painted some sort of pumpkin orange.

In the spirit of Halloween and my incapability of suppressing Pumpkin Brain, I decided to make Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies for house church this past week. Speaking of recipes, all the recipes I've featured on the blog are now available on my Recipes page, linked also on the right hand side of the blog.



Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- dash of cardamom (I use this because of it's sweet and fragrant quality. It's very common in Persian desserts, but may be expensive or missing at your local grocery store. I find it at the Dekalb Farmer's Market or at Shahrzad in Roswell.)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 stick of organic unsalted butter, softened (The better the butter, the better the flavor. Organic butter is usually more flavorful than the regular kinds. If you want a real treat, Kerrygold Irish Butter is available at most grocery stores, and is a guilty pleasure of mine... most guilty in the sense that I could eat it by itself all day...)
- 1 large egg
- 1 15oz. can of pumpkin puree
- 1 cup of chocolate chips, plus another cup of chocolate chips for melting

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and salt in a medium bowl, set aside

2. Beat together the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the pumkin puree while beating on the lowest speed. Mix until just combined to keep the mixture light. Remove from mixing stand and use a spatula to fold in a cup of chocolate chips.

3. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1.5 inches space in between. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Slide parchment sheets from baking pans to wire racks to cool.

4. While waiting for cookies to cool, heat the rest of the chocolate chips in the top section of a double boiler (with water boiling underneath, low enough that no water actually touches the top pot). If you don't have a double boiler, a makeshift stainless steel bowl over a saucepan of boiling water usually works just fine. I will say, double boilers are only about $30 at home stores, and they make the process so much easier and less chaotic that I'm twice as likely to volunteer making cheese dip or chocolate dipped strawberries than I had been before. Continually mix the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula until all are melted and the chocolate is thick and smooth. Remove from heat, let cool for about a minute, and then transfer chocolate into a ziploc bag (or a real piping bag). Clip the tiniest corner off the edge of the bag to pipe a delicate line of chocolate onto your cookies.

Leftover chocolate can be kept in the bag and saved in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Just cut the ziploc bag off the cooled chocolate and put it back in your double boiler!

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I thought I'd include an inspiration board, a.k.a. "What's inside my head when I'm experiencing Pumpkin Brain."



Featured: Hand Warmers from the Purl Bee, Benjamin Moore Paint in Pumpkin Cream, Lion Brand Cashmere yarns

Snow White's Flurry Hat

My New Year's Resolution for two thousand and ten was to send everyone I love presents on their birthday. I realized last year, especially through the wedding and a new marriage, that I seek and give love in gifts. Not that gifts need to be fancy or expensive, but there's nothing more fulfilling to me than to receive something made/drawn/gathered especially for you. This has translated into many coupons for "10 minutes of back-scratching" taped on the bathroom mirror by Collin, a recipe for a good marriage in my opinion. But my desire to give birthday gifts this year has not been a selfless one. I find great joy in giving my friends things that I have made especially for them, and I hope that it's making the world a little better for them as well as me.

One of my oldest friends, Allie, just celebrated her 24th birthday this past weekend. (You can read her blog: Crafting in the City, about her life and projects in NYC) Allie's gorgeous dark hair, fair skin, and green eyes have always given her a very 'Snow White' beauty, so when I thought about knitting her a hat for her first blustery winter in NY, a pale pink seemed like the most romantic choice.

Allie and I at my wedding last October

I stopped by Knitch last week and picked up a skein of my favorite yarn, Stonehedge Fiber Mill's Shepherd's Wool in Baby Pink. I also grabbed a pattern by Ysolda Teague for the Rose Red Hat. I used double pointed needles and circular needles (12"-16" long) in a size 4.



Ysolda Teague's Red Rose Hat
When I saw the sample picture for the hat, I realized that I didn't really like how it finished around the head. I prefer a rib knit around the edge for a couple of reasons. The rib knit is stretchy and will conform better to a head that's a little smaller or larger than the natural circumference of the hat. A rib knit also resists overstretching, so after a few times of wearing your hat, it should still be in good shape and not too distressed. The third reason is simply aesthetics: the cable edge looked too raw, a little unfinished. Needless to say, I changed the pattern to fit my preferences and ribbed the end.



The hat has a lovely lace pattern that looks like a flower when viewed from the top...



And the flower devolves into a cable knit toward the end. This is a view of the bottom of the hat, with the open edge gathered into the center just to show the pattern.



The hat turned out a little big, especially for Allie since she's got a cute small head, haha. It was definitely on the difficult side to start out with, but once I figured out the pattern it wasn't so bad. I will definitely be making more of these hats before winter if anyone wants me to start one for them!

Travel: Seattle, WA

As you readers will know, Collin surprised me (kind of) with a trip for our one year wedding anniversary! I had requested Seattle since I feel like comments about Seattle and the fruits of that city have been surrounding me for months. Collin obliged like the wonderful husband he is, and it was confirmed at the AirTran ticket counter that Seattle it was!

Collin and I move and travel enough that the idea of being a tourist has died for us. Whenever we encounter a new place, we simply try to imagine life being real there as quickly as possible. Call it a knee-jerk reaction, but we just have to make life happen wherever we are - so for a weekend we "lived" in Seattle, and it was pretty nice! I could see myself doing it for much longer in the future, we'll have to wait and see...


The view of Mt.Rainier from the plane
First and foremost, Seattle is an incredibly clean, fresh and green city. The only things scattered on the sidewalks were fall leaves, there were so many different types of trees, there were orchids growing in the planters outside Nordstrom. I realized that a city focused and dedicated to sustainability is not only possible, but worth it! That would be my biggest message to Atlanta: stop talking about it and just do it! You can tell the people of Seattle are in love with their city - they walk to work in the fresh air, clean up after themselves, and they don't spraypaint dirty words on their buildings (very often). Not to mention that they are some of the most humble and kind people I've ever encountered. They are all friendly and helpful, genuinely interested in hearing your story and open to tell theirs. Love them.

Okay, of course, the first thing we did was stop by Pike's Place Farmers Market. What was I expecting? I don't know, maybe some kind of big grocery store? There's everything - gourmet jellies, jams, spices, pastas, and cheeses, arts and crafts, produce and fish, flowers. It's incredibly hectic and over-stimulating, which is usually a recipe for something I'll hate - but I had a lot of fun! Probably because everyone was so nice and funny, handing out slices of fresh Washington apples and chocolate pasta... it was the best.






These giant bouquets were all $10 = the main reason I will move to Seattle

I knew it was our anniversary because orange dahlias were back in season!

This block print artist, John Sollid, was one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. If I end up in his shoes at his age, I'll be a lucky woman.




Right alongside the farmers market is the first Starbucks ever! It's an absolute zoo, I didn't care to even try and go in, but this busker was quite talented.



Right next to the original 'bucks is a "very French bakery" (their words) called Le Panier whose cafe au lait and croissants far surpassed anything I've had at Starbucks. It was strange to me that people weren't lined up outside this place.



That night, Collin and I found a place on Pier 56, Elliot's Oyster House. What a good choice. We mentioned to our server that we were in Seattle for our anniversary and he had the manager send our table a free order of crab cakes (with chili lime beurre blanc... drool) and crème brûlée after our meal! Collin I both got salmon, mine was baked with crab meat and his was Alder smoked. We both tried local beers, Manny's Pale Ale and Pike Ale. I give it five McHugh stars... which aren't necessarily hard to come by, but top pick nonetheless!



The next day we took an early ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, WA. We had considered going to the museum, a Mariners game, a musical... but the ferry was only $13.00 round trip for both of us and we heard good things about simple life on the island. The view from the ferry boat was fantastic - we saw some incredible views of the city from the water!



Bainbridge Island is incredibly adorable. We walked off the ferry and up a hill into town where there were little diners, gift shops, coffee shops... and since it was Saturday we got to spend some time at the local farmers market! My two favorite places were Churchmouse Yarns and Teas and the Harbour Pub. One of the girls at the yarn shop had been to my favorite place in Atlanta, Knitch, and their shop had some incredible patterns. The Harbour Pub had a delicious menu and an unbelievable view of the harbor. I had a lamb burger with chevre and Collin and I split a Canadian favorite, poutine. It was the perfect lunch.




Eagle Harbor at Bainbridge Island.
The way back to Seattle provided a pretty amazing view as well...



Our last half-day in Seattle was Sunday, so of course we searched for an awesome breakfast and found it at Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts. This place was incredibly cool and delicious, honestly it reminded me of something I'd find in Athens. Love at first sight! Plus, they served my coffee in my favorite giant Fiestaware mug - the same ones we have at our house!





A short walk away from Top Pot is the Space Needle, and another bit down from there is the Olympic Sculpture Park, a satellite of the Seattle Art Museum. It's not chock full of stuff, I found that most SAM spots are big on local artists, but I did love seeing this huge Alexander Calder laid against the Puget Sound.


Eagle, Alexander Calder, 1971, painted steel.
After walking to all of these places for a few days, we opted for a cab to get back to the hotel. From there we took the light rail down to SeaTac Airport and said goodbye to sweet Seattle. It was incredible though, and I don't think it'll be the last time I'm there!

Identity: Pure 127 Soap Co.

Today I want to take the opportunity to show some design work that I've done for a great friend, as well as share her business with all of you! (And I swiped some of her pictures for this post!) Her name is Bonnie Pruitt, and her and her husband have been dear friends to Collin and I before and during our relationship - her husband Richard was the minister for our wedding! The best things about Bonnie and Richard are how much fun they are, how much they care about other people, and what a heart they have for those in need.

Their love and desire to help is further proven by the journey they went through to adopt their amazing son, Jude. They flew to Ethiopia after two years of waiting this past January - you may remember a pillow I made for his 'welcome home!' shower. Jude is such a ray of sunshine and a blessing to his grateful parents, and the Pruitts aren't finished bringing fatherless children into their home.



In order to help raise money for another adoption (and probably another adoption after that?) Bonnie started using her artistic talents to make soap, and thus her company, Pure 127 Soap Co. was born!



Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...
- James 1:27

On a similar vein, this past weekend I volunteered to help with a benefit that my friend Annie Coppedge held at Mt. Bethel UMC to raise money for the growing medical needs she was seeing during her trips to Kenya. She's a pretty incredible person, and you will be bettered immensely from reading her blog about life in Kenya: Ramblations. I'm serious, I am riveted by her stories and her insight always.

Anyway, I called Bonnie to see if she would want to donate something to the benefit (a silent auction) and of course, she sent me along with a basket of her soaps! I wanted to make some cards to put out by the soap to spread the word about Bonnie's project, so I decided to go ahead and set her up with an identity system!





I was struggling with the placement of the numbers in other versions of the logo, and then I decided to think about the numbers as the centerpiece - almost like an address plate on the door of a boutique. I also wanted the logo to be something that could easily be cast as a die and then used to stamp into the soap. Also, soap is about making people cleaner, so it only felt right that the logo feel similarly squeaky clean!

The soap did very well at the auction - it received several bids before the end of the night, and the scents were irresistible! My personal favorite is the Sage & Lemongrass. Bonnie has a blog for her business : Pure 127 Soap Co. and is in the process of opening up an Etsy account. In the meantime, please email her if you'd like to place an order for yourself or gifts for the holidays! Also look for her stand at the Lilburn Farmers Market during the summer!

Textiles: David Hicks and Kelly Wearstler

As promised in my previous post about Courtland's wedding pillows, here is another project using some amazingly beautiful to-the-trade fabrics. More pillows, of course! Perhaps you remember this photo:



Well, lots of careful cutting (I had exactly as much fabric as I needed and no more!) and careful sewing resulted in sixteen pillows for a client in Chicago! Courtland at No. Four Eleven is styling her home, and these pillows add pattern and interest to her couches and beds.

Here are some 14"x20" pillows to fill up a couch or four club chairs. The fabric is Imperial Trellis II by Kelly Wearstler in navy on ivory linen - distributed by Schumacher Fabrics. The linen is thick and heavy, perfect for upholstering a bench or chair, and the pattern works well in traditional decor (in muted colorways) as well as modern spaces.





These European shams (26"x26") are for waking your bed up! (ha. ha. right?) The fabric is La Fiorentina by David Hicks (edited by Ashley Hicks) in Grey - distributed by Lee Jofa. This linen is much thinner and finer than the previous, with a little muslin lining these pillows are so soft and plush, and what a lovely colorway!





It was hard to ship these off without stealing one or two, but I'll keep dreaming. I'm sure there are other less expensive fabrics with a similar look that you could use to add some spark to your decorating on a more realistic budget. Nevertheless, I'm fantasizing about two wingback chairs upholstered in Sand on ivory linen...

Baby Shower

Baby shower, our anniversary trip to Seattle, more wedding invitations, pillows I've promised since the summer... I have a lot of posting to catch up on! My goal is to post every day this week until I get everything caught up... but today I think we can tackle this shower!

Alright, this is going to be a long post. I'll try to separate it into three chunks for some breather time in between: Baby shower and decorations, another pillow project, and some recipes!

--The Shower--

Two Saturdays past, my sister-in-law Eryn and I threw a baby shower for our other sister-in-law, Rebecca! Unfortunately with moving, planning, cooking, and everyone arriving on time or early - I had a hard time taking good pictures of the shower in action. Here's one after everyone ate the food and I realized I had never taken a photo:



The theme of the shower was pink and yellow diamonds, with a specific calligraphic "M" that showed up here and there.



For example, I monogrammed the white cotton napkins with the "M" for lunch, and I monogrammed burlap pouches to fill with notes and pictures for a "baby's time capsule."





Everyone filled out a card with their name and a quote or verse or some words of wisdom, then took a picture in our "photo booth" that can be put in their pouch - someday when mommy chooses, our little girl will be able to take out her time capsule and see what all her friends and family looked like the year she was born and what words of encouragement they had to offer her! The photo booth was a fun little section on the porch decorated with lanterns:



Also on the porch was a bulletin board of baby pictures from everyone in the family. It was so much fun to look at cousins and aunts, nieces and nephews - all at about a year old. My favorite picture we found was of Collin's grandmother, LaRue. The picture is beautifully classic, one of the painted-in color antiques and the best part is that Rebecca's baby girl will have her middle name from her grandmother. These all seemed like great reasons to frame the picture of LaRue for the baby room!





The other decorations for the shower were all made from tissue paper since I'm a big fan of cheap, disposable decorating. The lanterns were left over from the wedding and a little papier-mâché made them event-specific. The pom-poms are a common favorite from Martha Stewart, and I've given a step-by-step for how to make the fast and fun decorations!



First, you take eight sheets of tissue paper and stack them. Then fold the stack back and forth, like making a fan out of your church program when you were in middle school.



Then, take an 8" length of floral wire, fold it in half, and place the paper stack inside. Twist the wire to secure the paper stack.



Then, cut the edges of the stack to round the edges, fan out the stack on either side of the wire, and start pulling apart the separate sheets of tissue. You might have a hard time finding a good direction to pull the tissue, but I found that it worked best to work in hemispheres: the bottom sheets pulled down, then the top sheets pulled up. Fluff and hang!

--The Gift--

My mother-in-law, Teresa, asked me before the shower to do a little bit of my pillow-sewing magic on a keepsake from Evan's (the daddy) childhood days. He had a favorite nightgown of Teresa's that he claimed as his own blankie. She had just a few inches of the gown left, and asked if I could find a way to turn it into a little boudoir pillow for the baby room.

Since Eryn and I decided on a gorgeous shell pink and white quilt from Serena & Lily as our gift to Rebecca, I thought I'd make the pillow to match. I added the pink piping and quilted the gown to some cotton batting (and muslin backing) with a pink diamond stitch to match the quilt we bought. I used a thick white linen for the reverse. We also bought a sweet crib sheet in pink and mocha Florentine to bring together the pink quilt and the espresso colored crib Rebecca chose.







--The Food--

As far as the menu, we tried to stick to traditional shower fare, but with a little more interest:

-Strawberry Lemonade
-Slushie Punch (donated by dear Aunt Darla)
-Mango Salsa and Tortilla Chips
-Herbie's Cream Cheese Stuffed Croissants
-Chicken Salad Crostini
-Marti's Pimento Cheese and Pita Chips
-Strawberry Oreo Truffles
-Cupcakes by Mari
-Chopped Fruit Salad (Strawberries, Mango, Pineapple, and Raspberries with Honey Lime Glaze)
-Veggies with Ranch

A few of the recipes were big hits, so of course I have to share them with the world! You already have my recipe for Mango Salsa, but here's a few more:


Herbie's Cream Cheese Stuffed Croissants
Herbie's cream cheese is a creation of The Grit in Athens, and is included in their cookbook


Marti's Pimento Cheese
Marti's Pimento cheese is done by Marti's At Midday in Athens, GA. The only thing you ever need to order is Martha's Salad Plate - incredible.)


Oreo Truffles
These are classic holiday desserts, and most everyone has had them before. If you don't know how to make them... now you do!

Whew. Posting all of that was almost as much work as actually throwing the shower! It ended up being a great day, everyone had a good time, and I was more than happy to throw a shower for/with my sisters-in-law. I can't wait for more babies and more showers to plan... well, maybe I can wait a little while, haha.