bread and jam kind of weekend

Bagel breakfast on Sunday morning. I feel that every Sunday should start like this.

snow day!!!

There's white in the air and the roads are covered, which means no work for me today! Instead I will curl up next to the stove and drink tea. Days like this are perfect for browsing so I thought I'd share some links to things I've been enjoying.

My brother showed me this website and I've had airstreams on the brain ever since.

I want a sip of this... ok, more than a sip. Citrus is such a blessing this time of year.

I've been baking more bread lately. We have another person in the house to help finish it now, and the days have been cold so I've been feeling much more inspired to experiment with baking. These are a few recipes that I am looking forward to trying. 1 2 3 4

Speaking of baking, I want this book.

I'm planning on watching this documentary very soon. Tea is an obsession for me. I always want to know/try more.

This mix makes me happy.

That's all for now. Time to enjoy the snow.

daily food

Sunday we had a random fit of culinary creativity. Since then we've been consuming fresh bread and apple butter at an amazing rate. I think more bread baking will need to happen today.

monday music: caveman

A new favorite song that I am listening to this Monday morning...

one week in

We rang in the new year with sparklers and homemade ginger beer and board games and smores roasted in the fireplace. It was nice. I like staying in on New Year's Eve, all safe and cozy with friends and good food. It's hard to believe that was a whole week ago, or maybe it's hard to believe that it was only a week ago. Time moves in funny ways.

Now my thoughts are turning to the year ahead. I'm not making any resolutions exactly, but I do love making lists, so here is a list of things I would like to do in the coming year.

1. Visit Acadia

I've wanted to go here for a looong time, but it got lost somehow amidst traveling to other places and getting older and having a job. Last week the boy sent me a link to the park's website, saying we should go and take pictures there this summer. I could not agree more. I want to visit new places this year.

2. Read 100 Books

I said I would do this in 2011 but I didn't make it. I don't feel like I failed at all though because the goal was really just to read more, and I did finish more books than in 2010. I've rediscovered how much I love going to the library on a weekly basis and I spend a lot of time on Goodreads adding more books onto my "to read" shelf. To further inspire myself I started a book blog as a place to write down my thoughts after I finish a book. I'm not very good at writing reviews, but I like that this makes me ponder on what I did and didn't like about a story even after it's over.

3. Garden

We're already pouring over seed catalogs trying to decide what varieties to plant this year. This year's garden is going to be even better than the last.

4. Take a Yoga Class

I need to move around more. In the past I've been really bad about going to yoga. I tend to go to one class and avoid going back, but I want to really give it a try. I think if I can just stick it out it will get easier and it will make me feel good instead of just feeling like a sweaty weakling. That would be nice.

5. Get the Etsy Shop Going

This one is pretty self explanatory. I have some new ideas for the Mixed shop and a whole other crazy idea for a brand new shop.

There are more things to do that I haven't even thought of yet. Little things and big things. But all that will just have to reveal itself over time.

trees and carols

Our sunroom is looking decidedly festive.

This little beauty ended up finding its way home with us last week. It was one of the misfits. We found it hidden in a little group of scrappy discounted trees and knew it was perfect. It's all dressed up now and brings a bit of Christmas cheer to the house. Now that it's finally gotten really cold we've spent the past few nights hanging out in this room with the stove on, admiring the sparkling lights. That one lonely present is going to have some friends pretty soon.

If that isn't enough cheer for you, how about this version of Carol of the Bells? I don't care if the Windham Hill Samplers can be a little cheesy sometimes, I like them and this song's my favorite. Gotta love those steel drums.

monday music: ella fitzgerald

Oh hey, it's December! Look at that. I still have photos from October that I keep meaning to put up here, but that will have to wait because today is Monday and I am all about the music.

Lately the boy has been thrifting some really great old records. We now have a pretty impressive collection of big band and jazz albums. I like to put on the livelier ones to dance around to when I'm hanging out at the house by myself. One of our latest acquisitions is this Ella Fitzgerald album. It's in great shape and really nice to have playing in the background at just about any time.