monday music: christmas countdown, week one

Thanksgiving being over means lots of things. There's suddenly a rush to buy things, people are seen driving about with trees on top of their cars, and lights and decorations appear overnight. For me it means I can finally listen to Christmas music. I have a self-imposed rule about holiday tunes, to prevent myself from playing my favorites all year round. Once Thanksgiving is over, that's when the carols come out.

I've known plenty of people who hate Christmas music, and I can't say I blame them, considering the sort of stuff you're likely to hear when you walk into a store around the holidays. But for me, music is a huge part of what makes this time of year special and magical. So until Christmas, my music Monday posts will be mixes of my favorite songs of the season. They may not be what you'd expect. I've got plenty of Windham Hill Christmas cds in my collection, yes, but for the past few years I've been leaning in a decidedly indie direction. When you do a bit of searching, you'll find that lots of bands and artists seem to have a soft spot for the holidays, or at the very least do a beautiful job of expressing their Christmas angst!

You can find this week's mix HERE.

the best smelling day of the year

I had a hard time leaving my mom's house earlier, the kitchen smelled so good. Like buttery crust, sweet apples, and spicy pumpkin pie. But I had my own baking to do, and now 18 sweet potato buttermilk rolls are puffing up all golden in the oven.

Where ever you are going tomorrow, whatever you may be eating, and whomever you may spend your day with, I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

scenes and a recipe

These are just a few scenes from what I've been doing the past few days. I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting to these November days, so I've been drinking large amounts of tea and trying to get some things finished for the holiday tables at work. I've also put up a garland in the shop. I made several and they are so festive and pretty that I think I'll have to make one for myself!

As you can see from the above pictures, I've been doing a bit of baking. I was struck with an urge to bake cranberry bread over the weekend, so I started searching for the perfect recipe. I wanted something not overly sweet and moist without being spongy. I was also hoping for a recipe that incorporated whole wheat flour to add a bit of density and a more complex flavor. Unfortunately I couldn't find a recipe that had all these things, so I did a bit of experimenting and came up with my own. I'm quite happy with how it came out.

Cranberry Bread (adapted from this recipe)

4 TBS melted butter

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup orange juice

12 oz. cranberries

1 TBS turbinado sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan (8-cup capacity), and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine butter, egg, milk, and OJ. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, and whisk to combine; fold in cranberries.

Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle top with turbinado sugar, if desired. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let bread cool 30 minutes. Invert onto rack, then immediately turn right side up to cool completely.

Notes: The original recipe said to butter and flour the loaf pan, but I decided to use spray oil instead and it worked perfectly. I also didn't have the right sized pan, so I used an 8-by-4 inch pan instead. Because of this the cooking time was a bit longer, but it came out alright in the end. I would like to make this again and add some chopped walnuts or pecans to the top.

monday music: cut copy

I've already done a music post about Cut Copy, but seeing as I love them so much, I couldn't resist posting a link to their new single. You can listen to Take Me Over here. I'm looking forward to hearing what the rest of this album sounds like!

all that is gold

There's a certain time of day...

when everything in our house turns golden.

I don't like how early it gets dark these days, but at least the sun's been putting on a good show before going down.

monday music: mix for november

(photo by SnaxTRON)

Instead of one song or artist, today I have a mix for you. These are the songs that I keep coming back to this fall. Some are old, some are new, but they all have been getting a lot of play around my house lately. I very much hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

a bed to dream in

I can't get over this amazing bed that was featured on Etsy today.

Imagine falling asleep in that each night! I think it would inspire magical dreams.