where's she been?

recent days with coco. she is sneaky and without neither guilt nor care. she will keep you up all night, and steal your candy. but she is warm and funny and makes good company.

what's your foliage

This is a book of foliage plants that I think I will be getting as a gift. It's full of beautiful photographs and there are some really nice planting ideas.

The Foliage Book is by Nancy J. Ondra Photographs by Rob Cardillo

happy animals

more smiling animals on Huffington Post found here (but this is the best one).

keeping your mustachio

I guess a mustache can be cute sometimes! I love this hat by design group Vík Prjónsdóttir. It kinda looks like my friend, Mike.

The icelandic group started in 2005, and are engineers in making amazing pieces to keep you warm for the winter. Here's another one:


These come in all sizes too.

The beard cap $77. click here.
The Sealpelt $238. click here.
Baby seal $96. click here.

2010 calendars

I have been making calendar's as gifts every year, which I may do again but I need new inspiration. I sometimes prefer a calendar with drawings, like Nikki McClure's or Jill Bliss. But I did find this collection of illustrations from frankie magazine.


Jill Bliss - $16 from buy olympia

Nikki McClure - $16 from buy olympia

Frankie Magazine $30

pumpkin cookies

It's the time of the year for squash everything: soup, pasta, stew..
AND for some pumpkin cookies. I made them a couple years ago from a recipe I found in my Martha Stewart cookie magazine. I got too busy last year to bake, but I think I will try them again this year.

Ingredients

Makes about 6 dozen
FOR THE COOKIES
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (14 ounces)
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
FOR THE ICING
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon evaporated milk,
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions

1.Make cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.

2.Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, evaporated milk, and vanilla; mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; mix until combined.

3.Transfer 1 1/2 cups batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as Ateco #806). Pipe 1 1/2-inch rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until tops spring back, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

4.Make icing: Put confectioners' sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Immediately add butter to confectioners' sugar, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan. Add evaporated milk and vanilla; stir until smooth. Spread about 1 teaspoon icing onto each cookie. If icing stiffens, stir in more evaporated milk, a little at a time. Cookies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

* this recipe was found here: Martha Stewart.

Also, you should watch this lil' funny cookies video.

flowers at your door.

how nice it would be to find this hanging on your door. i would fill it with wildflowers.. like my previous post: here

found on D*S from etsy artist, thisbreezeisnice. you can find it here for $12.