Butter. It Is Our Friend.

18 December 2009 by

As much as I love to cook, I have never really been one for baking. It’s way too exact for me. I’d much rather make something where I can throw in a dollop of this and a dash of that and a heap of something else and then stick it in the oven until it smells like it’s done.

Plus, baking sometimes requires special equipment like candy thermometers and double boilers. And also baking doesn’t involve nearly enough cheese.

But.

There’s something about Christmastime.

And for the last couple of weeks, I have been baking up a storm. At least by my standards. Compared to your standards, I’ve probably just been baking up a light shower. Nonetheless, I thought I’d share a few bake-y recipes that I love.

Note: you will not see any homemade candy on this list. I draw the line at having to use a candy thermometer. It’s bad enough that baking requires me to do all sorts of math.

– Mama’s Pound Cake – It’s a classic.

– Hummingbird Cake – This is one of the first layer cakes that I ever made, and it’s still one of my favorites. The pineapple in the layers makes me so happy.

– The Bar – I made this recipe for the first time tonight, and OH. MY. WORD. I don’t know when I’ve ever tasted something and thought, Well, this is just butter in all its glory. I’m taking these to a Christmas party tomorrow night, and then I’m going to make another batch next week because my mama WILL. LOVE. THEM. Three sticks of butter makes everything better, you know.

– Coconut Cake – I’m not usually a fan of coconut. But these cake layers are so delicious that they totally won me over.

– Peanut Butter Blossoms – Peanut butter. Chocolate. Sugar. Butter. What’s not to love?

– Lucy’s Chocolate Pie – My grandmother’s chocolate pudding recipe is the best. THE BEST. And in a baked pie shell? With some homemade meringue on top? Perfection.

(Just FYI: for my meringue, I whip four egg whites with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar. When the egg whites make stiff peaks, I spread the meringue on top of a cooled chocolate pie, then put the whole thing in the oven until the peaks start to get some color on them.)

– Apple Dumplings – These are so good that I talked about them for two days after I made them. Could not get over how something so simple could be so delicious. I’m planning to make them this Christmas Eve, in fact.

– Chocolate Citrus Cake with Candied Oranges – I made this cake last week. I skipped the candied oranges step because it was after 10 at night when I iced the cake and MAMA NEEDED SOME SLEEP. My cake didn’t turn out nearly as pretty as the picture next to the recipe, but let me tell you what: the layers of this cake – and the chocolate ganache in between – are ABSOLUTELY DIVINE. I think when I make this cake again I’ll probably just do the cake with some whipped cream and candied oranges on top. No icing. The layers are THAT good.

So those are my favorites – what are some of yours?

Filed Under: Cooking, Family Fun

Sanctuary

8 December 2009 by

At breakfast a few days ago my friend Paige and I were having a mighty deep conversation over scrambled eggs and these little sausage stick thingies that were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS, and somehow we got on the subject of our friend Angela’s house.

Because here’s the thing about Angela’s house, and I am not exaggerating: it is a SANCTUARY. As soon as you walk through the front door, you want to take off your shoes and curl up in a chair and drink something warm and pour out your heart. There’s always music playing. There’s always something good to eat. There’s always honest, wide open conversation. And there’s always a very big God at the center of it all.

Seriously. There is so much Light in that house that darkness doesn’t stand a chance.

I’ve been thinking a lot over the last few days (listen. I don’t know what it is, but “reflective” doesn’t even begin to do justice to my current state of mind, and that is a problem because quite frankly IT IS INTERFERING WITH MY TV-WATCHING SCHEDULE) about how much I treasure the peace in our home. Granted, I know better than anyone that I am a solid gold goofball who can be a smidge difficult to live with what with all my overcommitting and procrastinating and not-folding-the-laundrying. But even still, when I’m at home I am so grateful for the freedom to be myself, for the blessing of laughing and singing whenever I please, for the fact that I am never more at ease than when I’m with my people. And lately I’ve been thinking about some inexpensive, personal touches I want to add here and there so that our house feels like home to whoever happens to visit.

And by the way, is anyone wondering if an alien has abducted the person who normally posts on this blog and replaced her someone who doesn’t know that she’s supposed to be writing about fried chicken, reality television and SEC football? I won’t blame you if you think that. Really.

Because do y’all know what I did this afternoon? I WENT TO HOBBY LOBBY. AND BOUGHT CRAFT SUPPLIES.

VOLUNTARILY.

So all that to say: I’m curious. What are some specific things you do to make your home a haven for the people who live and/or visit there?

I can’t wait to read your ideas!

Filed Under: Decorating, Faith, Family Fun

Sharing Crazy With The Internet Since 2005

23 November 2009 by

When I get into nesting mode, I cannot do anything else. NOTHING ELSE. I mean, I may look all laid-back and casual when I’m moving, say, a vase from one room to the next, but DO NOT BE DECEIVED. Because secretly I am hoping that I can get the vase moved before I see a dust bunny out of the corner of my eye since CLEARLY THE DUST BUNNY REQUIRES ME TO STOP AND VACUUM AND THE WHOLE VASE-MOVING SYSTEM IS RUINED.

Perhaps this is why I try to warn innocent bystanders when I sense a fit of nesting on the horizon.

Over the weekend I pulled out all of our Christmas decorations and set up a few things (I know. I know. It’s early. But I’m trying to seize pockets of decorating time when I can because the next two weeks = craziness). I put together a new centerpiece for the breakfast room table, put my feather trees on my dining room table, looked through a few storage bins to take a quick mental inventory of decorations, and then I decided that I really – truly – needed to rearrange some furniture.

Yes. It is a sickness. Thank you for asking.

The rearranging was complicated by the fact that Saturday was just a tremendous day for SEC football fans – State held on with Arkansas until the 4th quarter, and the LSU/Ole Miss game was probably the best SEC game I’ve watched all year. Alex was so into that game that it made me laugh my head off, and at one point, when things didn’t go the way he wanted, he actually stood up and STOMPED OUT OF THE ROOM. We had to have a little talk about keeping the football game in perspective, but I’ll tell you right now that the whole time we were talking to him, I was smiling and clapping my hands way deep down in my heart.

(You have to understand that having a child who loves SEC football and basketball just DELIGHTS ME TO MY TOES.)

(Personally I think we should all pause at this juncture and give the Lord a handclap of praise.)

(IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY.)

In the midst of Saturday’s rearranging and game watching I decided that OBVIOUSLY I needed to paint the desk in my office area a fun shade of green and/or turquoise and/or green-y turquoise, and I think we can all agree that when you’re trying to get your house ready for Christmas, it is always VERY wise to start a completely new project, preferably one that involves a good bit of acrylic paint.

(Maybe once I finish the desk I’ll just go ahead and re-tile the guest bath. Then construct some sort of stone walkway from the street to the front door while I’m at it.)

(Oh, I kid.)

(I think.)

Yesterday I didn’t get anything done around the house because of church and such, but David did put up the Christmas tree. It’s supposed to be pre-lit, but the lights were apparently too tired to twinkle this year, so D took all the old lights off of the tree. That whole taking-the-original-lights-off-the-tree thing looked like a SUPER fun task, by the way, and I’m hoping to try it myself sometime really soon in the near NEVER.

Tonight was great, though – we listened to Travis’ Christmas CD (it’s our all-time favorite, hands-down) while David put lights on the Christmas tree and Alex helped and I watched (I haven’t put lights on a tree since 1998 – it’s a sad, tragic tale that involves many tangled cords as well as an impressive amount of tears). Now the tree has pretty new lights (that work!), and it’s waiting patiently on some ornaments. The ornaments are next on my list. Just as soon as I get that desk painted and cook Thanksgiving dinner.

So there you have it. All the news that approximately four people care about, and it is really so sweet for them to care since we’re related and all.

The end.

Filed Under: Family Fun, Rambling

All In The Interest Of Research, You Understand

17 November 2009 by

Last night after supper I was sitting in the living room, clicking around on the computer while my husband flipped around on the remote. At some point between shows D stood up to go fix himself a Coke, and as he walked past me, he stopped for just a second and stared.

Trust me when I tell you that he did not stop and stare to meditate upon my loveliness. I was wearing sweats and had my hair pulled back with a clippie. JUST LIKE I LIKE IT.

(Attractive.)

“Is everything okay?” he asked. “I mean, you’re sitting in the living room and playing a game on the computer. Why aren’t you writing a blog post? Is something wrong? Are you okay? You seem weird.”

“I’m caught up.”

“Huh?”

“I’m caught up. I’ve written my blog stuff. Finished my deadline stuff. Answered my email. Cleaned up the kitchen. Clothes are in the dryer. I’m caught up.”

And then I sort of stared off into space.

“So, does being caught up make you weird?”

“I THINK IT DOES!”

But then I remembered all the mail that was waiting on me when I got home Sunday afternoon. And I remembered what was in the mail. And I realized that I was missing out on one of my favorite pre-Christmas activities in the whole wide world because YOU CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE HOW HAPPY IT MAKES ME.

Seriously. Two Christmas magazines and some post-it notes for bookmarks. WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE?

I spent the next couple of hours flipping through the magazines, marking the pages that have recipes or decorating ideas that I want to try this year. And when I was finished – at least with the first read-through – here’s what the magazines looked like.

I found some great new recipes to try (that cake on the Southern Living cover is first on the list), and I also found a little inspiration for decorating our front porch.

And don’t think for one second that I won’t be dragging out some of our Christmas decorations this weekend. Because I TOTALLY AM. Thanksgiving weekend and the first weekend in December are going to be a little cuckoo around here, so Mama needs a jump start. I can’t wait!

What about y’all? Any pre-Christmas preparations underway? Found any good ideas in your favorite magazines or on your favorite websites?

I’m all ears.

(Or eyes, as it were.)

(Because I guess I’ll be reading as opposed to listening. Since I can’t really hear you over the internet.)

(Bye bye.)

Filed Under: Decorating, Family Fun

In Which My People Hit The Road

15 November 2009 by

Since I was in Nashville from Thursday until today, my fellas decided that they’d take advantage of my absence and head to the beach for a few days. I didn’t mention their little father/son trip earlier because I am wary of announcing to the internet that HEY, OUR HOUSE IS EMPTY, but now we’re all home again and everybody’s safe and sound. NOTHING TO SEE HERE, Ring of Thieves!

Anyway, I have started about four different posts over the last 24 hours (more Mexican food misadventures with Melanie, links to a couple of great posts from Compassion El Salvador, last week’s episode of “The Office,” and this one), and I’ll try to get to all of that other stuff eventually. But for the last hour I’ve been looking at all of the beach pictures and thinking about how much I love water, sand and sky. It makes me all weepy, really. Too much beauty for my heart to take. And when you add my favorite people in the whole world to the mix, well, I get a little captivated.

I KNOW.

Before the boys left last week, I asked Alex if there was something special that the two of us could do when he got home again. He said, “Let’s snuggle up and read books, Mama,” and so tonight, about 30 minutes after he walked in the door, that is exactly what we did. We snuggled up and read a chapter of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” It was delightful.

But before we started reading, I asked Alex to tell me about his favorite part of the trip. Without missing a beat he said, “Just getting to spend all of that time with Daddy!”

It made my heart smile.

Have a great week, everybody.

Filed Under: Family Fun, Oh Howard

Poochy Wan Kenobi

2 November 2009 by

So we started off with this:

And then the wheels started to spin:

And then we ended up with this:

The good news is that the force was with her for the remainder of the weekend.

Filed Under: Family Fun
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