One Day At A Time | A Pre-Christmas Breather

I need this reminder today.

Everywhere I look it’s Christmas. Not just Christmas, but CHRISTMAS!!!!!  It’s yelling at me.

My head is full of how many packages I have to wrap and how much laundry I need to do. What am I going to make for Christmas dinner? Why didn’t I get around to infusing that booze or making that vanilla extract? I sit here legitimately kicking myself that I did not take a family portrait with myself, husband, dog and cat all in Christmas sweaters. Why did we not get around to that? When does my family get into town again? Wait…when is the water bill due again? Sheesh. Complain, complain.

I am knee deep in crafting. Covered in felt scraps. I might burn some granola. I have too many ideas and too many lists. […]

Wilted Kale & Coconut Salad

 

If you are anything like me, you most likely took a fork to the brownie pan yesterday.

You were amped. There was a sugar-mania in which you scrubbed your shower and your entire bathroom area. Jeez, you are efficient! You started laundry. By the time the dryer beeped you developed a case of what I like to refer to as “the sugar sweats.” Your feverish mania starts to break. You start to crash. Things get real. You need a nap. You know you did it to yourself. Those brownies deserved it. It’s the holidays. You take the laundry out. You start by folding all the towels. Gosh, that laundry is warm. Maybe you will just lay in it for a minute. You wake up thirty minutes later in a pile of clean laundry. Your cat is on your chest, looking pleased with herself. You realize you left your puppy in the living room with your Christmas tree…oy.

If you are anything like me, today you need to eat a whole bunch of kale and drink a whole bunch of water. […]

Peppermint Patty Brownies With Dark Chocolate Ganache | Gluten Free

What do you do when the world just doesn’t make sense?
Because, Friends, It really doesn’t. Not even close.

My heart breaks for the all of the families in Connecticut. Tears roll down my cheeks and I try to make sense of this horrifying news. No sense can be made.  I extend my arms and my love and everything healing out to everyone and anyone affected by this tragedy. To all of the families that feel broken and scared and unimaginably heavy, I wish you everything. I wish you peace.

I honestly don’t know what to do in times of tragedy. I always want to fix things. I want to rescue the problem. This is rarely if never possible.

So, I cook.

It’s just something that we do in our family.

We tie up our aprons, roll up our sleeves and put things in pots and bring them to a simmer. We cream some butter, throw some batter in a pan and bake at 350. […]

A Homemade Christmas: Rosemary Bath Salts

Christmas is swiftly approaching our doorstep.  I am reminded of this every time I leave the house. There are no longer good times to go shopping. The malls are crowded with families clambering for time with Mall-Santa and fellow last-minute shoppers. Even the grocery store is a battleground. I had to drive to three different stores in my small town yesterday to find shredded coconut. Holiday baking is in FULL swing. Tensions are high. Coconut is scarce.

As much as I love buying people anything and everything, it’s hard on the wallet. Plus, there is a certain sentiment about receiving a homemade gift. It feels extra special.

This is one of the ideas that I came up with recently. […]