Advent Putterings.

Crafting, baking, crafting, baking, crafting.  That's how I spend my time these days.  That being said, let me also say that there have been many successes...as well as many failures.  My two most recent projects were: 

1. Making Peppermint Bark

2. Re-upholstering two chairs I found at Salvation Army

Can you guess which one of these was a failure?  

WRONG. 

It was the Peppermint Bark.  

(beautiful beginnings...) 

 I've made Peppermint Bark thousands of times.  It's easy.  All it is is melting chocolate and then putting it on wax paper with crushed candy canes.  How can you mess that up?  That's what I thought.  I mean, I'd just re-upholstered a chair.  Forgive me if I thought I was invincible.  Turns out, it's very difficult to make Peppermint Bark without a double-boiler.  Steeped in hubris, I thought "I'll just pull the old melt-the-chocolate-in-a-bowl-in-a-pot-of-water trick!"  Easy.  Two hardened pounds of chocolate and six burned fingers later, I was mad Googling how to fix my mess-up.  (Apparently adding 1tsp. of warm water and then mixing ferociously softens the chocolate.  It worked...somewhat.  I think my right bicep has grown in size after all the mixing.)   The chocolate was still too thick after about thirty minutes of stirring, but I slopped it on the baking sheets (Some jerk posted online also that if you don't have wax paper that non-stick baking pans will work fine.  This is a lie.) and covered the mess with the damn candy canes.  

Granted, it doesn't taste awful even if it looks like a car crash.  It's just too thick and an all around disappointing experience.  (Luckily, Alex loves it, and because it's now useless as Christmas presents, I'm just letting him eat it all.  Thanks, best husband ever.)  

But as for my re-upholstering, I am very pleased with how it is turning out for my very first effort!  (Thanks, Mom Burch, for the coolest new fabric!)  Here's a sneak peek: 

B.C. 

A.D. 

"Because Who is Perfect? Get Closer."

Please take a minute and watch this video.  

Advent Mutterings

As Christmas swiftly approaches (more quickly this year than the last...) it is difficult to pause and relish the wonder of the Advent season before the Christmas season arrives.  I find myself so wrapped up in Christmas shopping, craft making, and decorating that I rarely allow myself to have a truly fruitful Advent.  (Not that all this preparation is bad; not at all.  It is a good thing, and necessary!)  But I must continually remind myself in the midst of the sparkling material preparation that spiritual preparation takes precedent.  

  Advent is a time for meditating upon the beautiful mystery of the Incarnation, the mystery of God becoming man to save us:  

"Therefore because the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself in like manner hath been partaker of the same: that, through death, He might destroy him who had the empire of death, that is to say, the devil: And might deliver them, who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to servitude." (Hebrews 2:14-15) 

In Pope John Paul II's first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, the pope writes on Christ's role as our Redeemer and the importance of the human person in the world.  I find this paragraph to be particularly wonderful food for thought in preparation for the Christmas Season: 

"Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it. This, as has already been said, is why Christ the Redeemer "fully reveals man to himself". If we may use the expression, this is the human dimension of the mystery of the Redemption. In this dimension man finds again the greatness, dignity and value that belong to his humanity. In the mystery of the Redemption man becomes newly "expressed" and, in a way, is newly created. He is newly created! "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus". The man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly-and not just in accordance with immediate, partial, often superficial, and even illusory standards and measures of his being-he must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ. He must, so to speak, enter into him with all his own self, he must "appropriate" and assimilate the whole of the reality of the Incarnation and Redemption in order to find himself. If this profound process takes place within him, he then bears fruit not only of adoration of God but also of deep wonder at himself. How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he "gained so great a Redeemer", and if God "gave his only Son "in order that man "should not perish but have eternal life"."

Another reason to make the most of Advent: beautiful, glorious Advent carols!  Below is one of my favourites. 

O Come, O Come...

Advent is finally (or should I say suddenly?) here!  It kind of snuck up on me as I have spent the last few weeks making Christmas crafts and counting down the days to the most wonderful holiday of the year.   But here it is, and I cannot be happier.  It really is such a blissful time, chock full of Saint's feast days, Christmas baking and crafting, decorating, and prayer. 

In Phoenix, Al's Mom had bought a bunch of fresh greens for wreath making, and I brought my wreath back to Chicago so that it could serve as our Advent wreath.  I've never really liked the purple and pink tapers.  I really wanted just to have white tapers with pink and purple ribbons, but I saw that Al's Mom had put up white pillar candles with ribbons and I just about died at how beautiful it was, so I dashed to the store the day after we returned home and grabbed some ribbons and candles.  I am so happy with how my first wreath turned out.  (The photographs make the purple ribbon look burgundy...It's more of an aubergine, and so beautiful...)  

O Lord, stir up Thy might, we beg Thee, and come that by Thy protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins and saved by Thy deliverance. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Phoenix Thanksgiving.

Al and I spent our first married Thanksgiving (!!!) in Phoenix this year with his family.  It is difficult for me to accurately write out what a truly wonderful visit it was, how blessed we feel, and how we cannot wait to go back again.  Facing that difficulty now, I regret not taking more pictures of the trip, but oh well.  Here are the few that I have, none of which are of the actual Thanksgiving day, but nonetheless are things I am very grateful for.  

1. My wonderful husband.  (I really cannot imagine life without him.  Thank you, God, for giving me as my husband the best, smartest, holiest, funniest, and handsomest man I have ever met.)   

2. This cute cute cute mural. 

3.  These two little ones.  

4.  Trampoline Tricks 

5. Beautiful mornings. 

6. This sign. 

6. Reading Pals.  

Giving Thanks.

"Gratitude is a flower that blooms in noble souls." 

Pope Francis 

Cultivating gratitude is such an important task.  Parents first begin this cultivation in the simplest of ways such as encouraging their little ones to say "thank you".  But after our parents plant these seeds how do we continue to cultivate gratitude in our grown-up lives and how do we, as Pope Francis so beautifully says, foster a "noble soul"? 

I suppose I've been thinking about this question given that the holidays are swiftly approaching. During this time of year when we are encouraged to give thanks for all we have been given, we focus rather on what we don't have.  I find myself thinking much of the time, "oh we need that," or "oh I could use that," or "I wish that wasn't so expensive."  But this desire for more money or more things gives way to a darker type of desire, an acquisitiveness not limited to money or material goods. Now we desire talents we don't have, gifts others have been given that that we have not; our desire is not merely for a thing now, but for a thing someone else has.  This scares me, frankly.  It scares me because I know I fall victim to this train of thought so much myself.  Of all the times I've counted other peoples blessings, how often is it that I count my own?  How often do I focus on the positive in my life rather than the negative?  When I stop and think about this, I feel so embarrassed.  I know that the good in my life far far outweighs the bad.  And that being said, shouldn't I spend my days being grateful for every beautiful good gift I've been given rather than wasting time lusting over J. Crew catalogues and Pinterest boards, and wishing I was a world class pianist, athlete, and artist?  

Yes.  Yes I should.  

I'm not pulling a holier than thou card here.  I know that I'll always want to have more than I do.  I know that I will always struggle between being grateful and being ungrateful, and there will be many times when gratitude won't win out.  I know that just because I've written this trite blogpost, I'm not suddenly going to cast off my desires and become a Noble Soul in the blink of an eye.  But it's the struggle that counts.  

One of my goals from now on is to stop, at least for 60 seconds every day and think, "what do I have to be grateful for?" Not, "how am I luckier than other people," or "what gifts I have that others don't," but what should I be grateful for in my own beautiful life?  I have not answered all my questions;  I still don't know what a foolproof way to cultivate gratitude, or how to best foster a noble soul, but I know that I want to make an effort to pray more and through prayer open my eyes and recognize the  limitless love and generosity God showers upon me every day.  I want the flower of gratitude to bloom rather than wilt.  

Breakfast in Bed.

Breakfast is one of my favourite things.  Breakfast in bed is one of my most favourite things.  Al and I got up a few hours before he had to leave for work today (last day in the office before Thanksgiving in Phoenix with family!), and I decided to make scones with the time to spare.  Mmmm, scones.  Soft and warm and delicious--just what this cold, early morning needed.  I used Bon Appetit's Blueberry Oat Scone recipe, which is super super delicious, but substituted fresh cranberries for the blueberries (to get in the holiday spirit) and added chocolate chips for Al.  

They look kind of funny...I think it was the chocolate chips and the fact that they are dropped scones rather than cut (and also because I was just too sleepy still to snap a decent photograph).  Don't let the appearance tell you they weren't delicious.  Because they were amazing.  

Here is the recipe, but I'll write it out for convenience: 

INGREDIENTS

·    3 cups all purpose flour

·    1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

·    1 tablespoon plus 1teaspoon baking powder

·    1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

·    3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

·    11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

·    1 cup plus 3 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

·    1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (about 5 1/2 ounces)

·    1 3/4 cups chilled half and half

·    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·    5 teaspoons raw sugar*

·    *Also called turbinado or demerara sugar; available at most supermarkets and at natural foods stores.

PREPARATION

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and coarse salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add butter. Using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Add 1 cup oats and blueberries; stir to blend evenly.

Stir half and half and vanilla in small bowl. Gradually add to flour mixture, tossing until dough just comes together (dough will be very moist).

Using 1/2-cup measuring cup for each scone, drop dough in mounds onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Sprinkle tops with remaining 3 tablespoons oats, then raw sugar.

Bake 15 minutes. Reverse sheets and continue baking until scones are golden and tester inserted into center from side comes out clean, about 12 minutes longer. Transfer scones to rack and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy snuggled up in bed with hot black tea and someone you love.  

       

Chicago Date Passport.

Chicago is overwhelming.  Overwhelming in the best sort of way.  In the sort of way that there is so much to do, to see, to experience, to learn, and you know that you won't ever have the time to enjoy everything there is to offer.  However, we're bound and determined to make the most of our time here, however long it may be, and stuff our days as full as we can of this lovely city.  (Of course, it's easier said than done, with Al's job, and my own homemaking busyness, but we fit things in where we can.)  In order to organize our travels a little more, I spent a good few days researching local haunts, festivals, best museums, most delicious restaurants (and not just on the "top 10 places to go in Chicago" websites...).  I combined my findings with all the wonderful advice from our city friends and family, and have compiled quite the little book of things to do in the city.  Think a Chicago Bucket List mixed with Date Night ideas mixed with an Activity/Guide book for visitors.  Al and I have already visited many of the places in this little book, and not one of them has disappointed.  We are going to add little notes about our experiences on our visits (as well as surprises, hidden fees, best things on the menu, etc.)  to the different pages to make it more thorough.  It will also service as a nice little memory book of our time here if we keep it up!  

 

pure calm. lets put that on repeat.

as if Fridays couldn't get any better...I stumbled across this ephemeral piece today.  it's the perfect symphony for those golden leaves flitting so whimsically outside our window.  

balboa-moon.

Balboa Island was the perfect place for our honeymoon-- it was 75 and sunny every day, we had an entire house to ourselves, and were spoiled with delicious food and fun gift cards left by Mom and Dad Burch and Laurie. 

// piles of deliciousness waiting for us at the beach house //

// this was just the normal weather //

// handsome husband! //

// treasures from the Long Beach Flea Market //

// luxurious dinners // 

// joy //

// perfunctory beach naps after long trivia games // 

// birthday boy // 

//  cupcakes in honour of the Best Husband // 

// see you in July, Balboa //