Christmas Gifts

Lucas and I decided not to do Christmas gifts this year. But, I kinda wanted to do something small just for the purpose of opening something together for our first married Christmas morning. I told him to just buy me a toothbrush and wrap it up, but instead he got me this:

This book is huge and wonderful. I would sit and flip through it whenever we were in a Barnes and Noble, making mental notes of Martha's homekeeping tips. Now, it's all mine. I'm looking forward to copying the pages about what to clean weekly and monthly and scheduling cleaning days for various tasks. Some girls like jewelry. I like cleaning tips and toothbrushes.

For him, I knew I wanted to go the homemade route. I feel like this is more difficult now as whatever I make for him will have to fit into our home somehow. Picture frames, memory boxes, etc. must now serve a purpose in terms of decor. I wanted to do something relating to his photography, when the idea came to me to make him a portfolio of his work. He's in the process of revamping his logo and website, but I thought for now (in case any jobs come up or in case he'd just like to show off his work), I'd make a tangible portfolio.

He's very specific about how he wants things to look and is quite the perfectionist, so this task made me a little anxious. I made it as flexible as possible so that he can go back and change things or add to the portfolio if he feels the need. I spent a whole day looking through all of the photos on his hard drive, trying to pick out what I thought to be a well-rounded portfolio. The wedding pictures were the most fun (picking out the best portraits, best show of details, and most romantic bride and groom shots). Choosing the best food photographs was fun as well, especially since most of the photos he took for me. I already had my favorites. The most tedious part was sizing the pictures to fit the pages of the portfolio then printing, cutting, and attaching them to the pages. I used a scrapbook album which I purchased from the craft store. I was very tempted to add all kinds of flourishes and cutesy elements, but I wanted it to look for sleek and professional, not like an actual scrapbook.

I like the way it turned out. Hopefully he does too.

Snow-covered Pohickery

We didn't get a ton of snow this weekend, but I was excited enough to want to go out and take pictures.

The wind had blown away a lot of the snow on the branches and fields, but we still got some pretty pictures. Pohickery is so beautiful in the winter. There are so many inspiring things to photograph and just enjoy.

I told Lucas that the above picture is my tribute to him because he has a ton of pictures of these bird houses all around the Pohickery property. The ones with the heart shaped entrances are my favorites.

I insisted that we get a picture of us together just before we went back inside. I wanted to document our first snowy Christmas together. Okay, so it didn't snow until the day after Christmas, but I'm still counting it.

It's Christmas!

It's our first married Christmas together here at Pohickery and it's SNOWING!

It's been an amazing year and a wonderful Christmas full of joy.

Merry Christmas, everyone :]

Snickerdoodles!

Hands down, my favorite cookies are snickerdoodles. I used to long for that time of year when my mother's co-worker would send home homemade snickerdoodles with her. And now I can make my own and OH what a pleasure that is. But, I still try to reserve them for Christmas season. It makes them more special.

I waited, as usual, until the last minute to do my holiday baking so our table is covered in snickerdoodles and white chocolate chip oatmeal cranberry cookies right now. Luckily I'm too busy to be tempted to just sit and eat them.
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Snickerdoodles are soft, chewy, delicious, and smell amazing as they bake.

And of course, they're pretty :]

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cookie coating ingredients:

• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or coat with nonstick spray
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt
4. Cream together butter and sugar
5. Add eggs to butter mixture, mixing well after each addition
6. Add in vanilla extract
7. Add in dry ingredients and mix well until smooth dough is formed
8. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together coating ingredients
9. Form dough into 1 inch round balls and roll to cover in coating mixture
10. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets
11. Use the bottom of a glass to gently press balls of dough down to 1/2" thickness
12. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges

Christmas, weddings, baking, AH!

I can hardly believe that Christmas is just a few days away. This year went by ridiculously fast. In just a couple months Lucas and I will have been married for a year. How is that even possible?

In the midst of Christmas baking I've also been studying and collecting ideas for Lucas and I's future endeavors. Since we moved into our little barn apartment, we've put most of our decorative focus on our living room and kitchen. We're finally shifting gears and taking a good look at our bedroom. The main reason for this is our desire to have a workspace so we can really get cracking on our little home-run business. I'm hoping to have a nice, tidy, inspiring crafting space within a month or so. We'll see how that goes. Right now we're in the getting rid of junk we don't need and daydreaming part of the process. I've been brainstorming all of the crafts I will be making and selling on Etsy. Some for your everyday gal, some for brides. Since my lovely friend Laurie got engaged this week (yay, Laurie!), weddings are fresh on my mind today.

Engagement photos. Wedding photography. Paper flowers and decor. My head is spinning. I'm so ready to put my thoughts into action.

For now, I need to use my crafty motivation to finish making Lucas' Christmas present. More on that later...

Peppermint Bark

Christmas time is the best inspiration for baking. I love that there are so many treats that are specific to Christmas and are rarely seen any other time of year.

On Saturday I made Christmas cookies with the girls. On Wednesday I made peppermint bark with my friend from church, Rachel. It's really easy to make. And really wonderful to eat. It was oh so tempting to eat it all up right away.

I always make Lucas wait to eat things until I go through a gazillion pictures, trying to get the right angle. Poor guy.

You can make peppermint bark with white chocolate or both white chocolate and milk chocolate. You could make it with just milk chocolate as well, if you're not a white chocolate fan.

I used my little pan for my little freezer. But, for all y'all normal folk, here is the original recipe...

Peppermint Bark Recipe
Ingredients:

• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (170 g) in squares or coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 6 oz. white chocolate (170g) in squares or coarsely chopped
• 1/3-1/2 cup crushed candy canes or starlight mints (to crush them, simply place them in a Ziploc bag and go to town on them with a rolling pin)

Directions:

1. Line a 8x8" baking pan with parchment paper
2. Make a double boiler by placing a heatproof mixing bowl over a saucepan of simmering water
3. Melt semi-sweet chocolate and one teaspoon of vegetable oil in bowl over saucepan
4. Pour melted chocolate into baking pan and tilt pan to spread the chocolate evenly along the bottom
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until chocolate has set
6. Melt white chocolate and remaining one teaspoon of vegetable oil in heatproof bowl over saucepan
7. Pour white chocolate over the chilled dark chocolate and spread evenly
8. Sprinkle peppermint candy evenly over white chocolate
9. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until white chocolate has set
10. Remove the bark from the pan by gently lifting up the parchment paper.
11. Peel back the paper and break the bark apart with your hands into different pieces
12. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to two weeks

This recipe makes about 25 delicious pieces of bark.

The Best Thing

Can I admit that I am starting to really like Taylor Swift? I honestly haven't listened to most of her music, but while watching Teen Nick (yes, I am aware that I am too old to be watching Teen Nick), I saw her music video for the song "Mine" and instantly loved it. At first I think I mainly loved the style of video and her clothing (all of the cute vintage/retro style). But, I was also struck by the line "We've got bills to pay. We've got nothing figured out" and how the video depicts a young couple starting off on a rocky road together, learning more about each other each day. That's what really got me.

Lucas and I have talked a lot recently about how content we are in our teeny barn apartment and how perfect life is with so little a space. God has really made our hearts content without all of the garbage that this world thinks will make them happy. I'm so grateful for this. I think the idea of a happy yet struggling young married couple is a beautiful thing. Depending on and loving each other in the midst of a rough beginning, needing nothing else but each other to pull through. And not knowing what the future holds, but knowing they can get through it together.

Beautiful.

Christmas Tea Party

A couple of us ladies have been trying to have monthly tea parties. It's nice to have a little girl time fix. Especially when it involves tea and treats. Since I'm crazy in love with Christmas, I really wanted to host the Christmas tea party. We had all kinds of peppermint in the form of peppermint brownies (thank you Laurie, thank you thank you), peppermint tea, starlight mints, and peppermint sticks for tea and hot chocolate. We snacked and decorated cookies as we watched Love Actually.

I really wish I would have gotten more pictures, but we got into the habit of decorating our cookies then immediately eating them. Lucas was disappointed and confused when he found out that instead of decorating them and eating them later, we decorated them for the sole purpose of eating them right away, leaving him none. Don't feel sorry for him though; Laurie left her delicious brownies behind.

 We made cookies that resembled our men. I think that was the most fun part. My cookie version of Lucas looked like the hardcore kid version of Santa Claus. Laurie's cookie version of her boyfriend had a smear of brownie for hair and zebra striped shoes (which were supposed to be Adidas). Melissa's cookie looked just like her husband. Especially with his fancy green sprinkle pants. It was awesome. And we laughed a lot. Which is wonderful. I love to laugh.

My friends are super cute.

Christmas Decor

Yesterday I peeked out the window and got majorly giddy when I saw that it was snowing. I threw my boots and coat on as quickly as I could, ran into the in-laws' house to grab Scrappy, and went out to enjoy the lovely winter weather.

I saw a picture a year ago on Country Living.com of fake branches over top of a bed with little stars dangling down. I loved it and thought I'd like to try replicating a smaller version, but in the living room over the couch. I recently started thinking about it again but in terms of Christmas decorations. I've been wanting to make it more Christmasy in here without having to buy pre-made decorations. So I got crafty.

While out on our walk, Scrap and I picked out some nice sized branches. I arranged them under the shelf above our couch and hot glued them together. Using styrofoam balls, I made little yarn balls by wrapping them in red and green yarn, then hung them at different lengths from the branches.

I think after Christmas I may replace the yarn balls with hanging stars. Or maybe a mix of the two. And I might add more branches as well. For right now, I don't even want to think about taking down Christmas decorations. I just want to enjoy them for as long as I possibly can.

Cup of Joy

Another simple joy: hot chocolate. Add in a stick of peppermint and a darling husband (who was the genius behind the idea of said treat) and you've got yourself quite an evening.

CouscousCouscous

I've been slacking in the blogging department. Sorry :/. We had a super crazy week of events, and now we're experiencing the most quiet week we've had in a long time. It's nice to not have to rush through dinner to get out the door in time. And to have extra time to tidy up the house and do some reading, which has been on my to-do list forever now.

Tonight I made two of Lucas' favorite foods for dinner: couscous and pork chops. The first time I ever had couscous was after we were married, and I fell in love. Of course, I always try to find my own way to sweeten things up and was excited when I found a recipe for couscous with cranberries, carrot, and cinnamon. The first time I made it Lucas was a little overwhelmed by the sweetness, so I had to dial it down a little bit. Tonight though, it was perfect. This side dish is really good with pork chops or chicken. I cooked the pork chops in the same skillet that I used to saute the cranberries and carrots and added about a tablespoon of honey.

Cranberry and Carrot Couscous
Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup cranberries
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped (optional; I didn't have any on hand tonight and it was just as good without it)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt and paper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring one cup of water to a boil, then stir in couscous, cover, and turn off heat
2. Heat oil in skillet and add onion over medium-high heat; saute for one minute or until translucent
3. Add carrot to skillet and cook for one minute
4. Add cranberries and cook for about 30 seconds-1 minute
5. Add cinnamon and cumin to skillet and mix well, cooking for 15-20 seconds until spices become aromatic
6. Pour skillet ingredients into cooked couscous along with the cup of chicken broth then cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
7. Fluff couscous and serve!

It's Been a Very Good Year

Lucas and I have been "together" for two years as of today. And married for almost nine months. It feels like so much longer than that. Having known the guy for ten years surely makes it feel like forever.

Two years ago, on a very cold day, he took me to the playground behind the library where I worked when I was younger. I sat there, incredibly nervous, thinking he had brought me there to tell me that he noticed that I was digging him and that I shouldn't. But, instead, he told me that he was digging me too. Then we very awkwardly held hands and started the beginning of our journey together.

I guess "dating" anniversaries aren't as significant now that we're married. But it's still lovely to think about when we first fell in love two years ago, and the million times I've fallen in love with him since then.

German Chocolate Cake

My mother's birthday was yesterday and I took on the challenge of baking her favorite cake- German Chocolate. It's the most involved cake I have made so far. But, it was fun. And I got a nice work out whipping the egg whites by hand. Next time I'll have to bring out the hand mixer. There are a few little random baking/cleaning tasks that make me feel super domestic; for some reason whipping egg whites is one of them. It made me feel like a little homemaker and like I should have had a child on my hip while gabbing on the phone to a girlfriend. Anyway, the hard work paid off. I think it turned out rather nicely.
















It was a tad bit sloppy as I was inpatient and didn't wait long enough to put the frosting on. The frosting was still warm and started sliding off, but, I kinda like the messy look. It gives it that "I was made from home with love" look.

I used the recipe that came with the box of Baker's German Chocolate. I actually found the same recipe online and it got a gazillion positive reviews so it seemed like the way to go. I did tweak it slightly. I added more chocolate to the cake (I can't help it, I like everything super sweet), used cake flour instead of all purpose, and poured chocolate ganache over top of the cake before adding the frosting.



German Chocolate Cake Recipe

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (4 oz.) sweet German chocolate  [I used 1 and a half packages]
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour  [2 cups if you're using all purpose]
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, seperated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk

Frosting Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 package (7 oz.) coconut flakes
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover bottoms of 3 (9 in) round cake pans with wax paper and grease sides of pans. [I only did two layers and used the leftover batter for cupcakes]
2. Melt chocolate in water in a saucepan on medium heat until chocolate is almost fully melted. Turn off heat and stir chocolate until completely melted.
3. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
4. Beat butter and sugar together with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
5. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla
7. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing well after each addition.
8. Beat egg whites in a small bowl until stiff peaks form then gently fold whites into batter
9. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans
10. Bake 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
11. Immediately run a small metal spatula or knife around cake layers
12. Cool in pans 15 minutes, then remove layers from pans, discarding wax paper
13. Once layers are completely cooled, apply coconut-pecan frosting between layers
14. (Optional- pour chocolate ganache over top layer. To make ganache, make a double boiler and melt 4-8 squares of German chocolate then add in 1-2 tablespoons whipping cream or half and half and mix well)
15. Spread coconut-pecan frosting generously over top layer of cake

Coconut-Pecan Frosting Directions:

1. Beat egg yolks, milk, and vanilla in a large saucepan with a whisk until well blended.
2. Add sugar and butter to saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 12 minutes (until thick and golden brown).
3. Remove saucepan from heat. Lightly toast coconut and pecans on baking sheet
4. Add coconut and pecans to saucepan and mix well.
5. Allow frosting to cool before applying to cake