the haystack needle

wishlist: luggage to make packing and traveling easier

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I scooted off to Maine on Christmas Eve without a second to spare. We came THIS CLOSE to missing our flight which caused a cloud of stress to circle us for the better part of Thursday afternoon. Sure we left too late, hit too much traffic, got stuck with a cab driver who didn't know his way, and met a Delta representative who seemed to have never heard of Portland before, but I always struggle with the bags when we travel — making the path to the gate through check-in and security that much more chaotic. Here's a little wishlist of what I'd love to have on hand to make flying a little easier and more organized.

+ luggage: We have one mini bag on wheels that's too small to hold a weekend's worth of stuff for both Dan and me. I'd love one medium-size suitcase for packing both of our clothes (and not get socked with paying a checked bag fee twice.) I've fallen in love with Steamline luggage — the Editor Series Stowaway suitcase in yellow is my wish bag. Just look at that gingham lining!

+ laptop case: My current laptop case is fine for toting my Macbook to the coffee shop, but it's bulky when it comes to traveling. I'd love a sleek laptop sleeve that easily slides in and out of a bag. I've seen many cool options, including this quilt laptop case. 

+ backpack: I'm like a schoolgirl again ever since I got this backpack for my birthday (and promptly substituted a backpack for a purse when I'm running around the city during the day.) It's nice to have free hands when you're traveling. I spotted this backpack on Unruly Things — looks like the perfect bag for traveling with laptop. (I'd toss my laptop with sleeve plus cords inside the backpack and be ready to go.) 

+ carry-on bag: I have many many totes of different sizes and patterns and they all share one thing in common. I wind up feeling around the deep pocket for an excruciating 5 minutes every time I need to find something. I think Jane may have turned me onto this cool site and I love the idea of this simple (tool) bag as a travel companion to keep my passport, hand sanitizer, iPod, et al, in easy-to-grab pockets. 

+ caribiner: I've almost lost my favorite water bottle a few times in the same way. I walk with water bottle in hand, set bottle down, and then promptly forget it. I need to start traveling with a caribiner to attach my bottle to me! This wing caribiner is super cute.

We head down to DC on Friday for a friend's wedding. This time we're traveling by train. I'm hoping for smoother travels!

banana bread deliveries

Since yesterday, there's been the amazing smell of banana bread in our apartment. I've been baking Molly's banana bread with chocolate chips and candied ginger (from her fantastic book, A Homemade Life) to give out to all the people who help me out on a regular basis — like my super, my acupuncturist, and my hair stylist. I love using these Italian paper loaf molds, which make it so simple and pretty to gift a loaf of bread. With Molly's recipe, you can fill two of these mini loafs. So far, my deliveries have been received with huge smiles.

ricotta muffins

For the first time in 31 years, I will not see my mom on Christmas. We're splitting up the holidays with our families, so this year we head up to Maine to spend Christmas with Dan's family. I'm super excited to wake up on Christmas in snowy Maine. Dan's family is huge, and there are lots of little kids (some still believing in Santa.) It's always a good time when his family gets together. But I am going to miss my mom.

We went out to New Jersey on Sunday to see my mom as an early Christmas. Like always, my mom had a delicious meal waiting for us. But these muffins, which I've never had before, were ridiculously good. It's like my mom read my mind and knew I needed a little comfort food. We ate these ricotta muffins while they were still warm from the oven. They're somewhere in between savory and sweet. You could spread jam on them and eat them as breakfast muffins, but they also complemented our lunch of steak and salad. It's impossible to eat just one — and they actually don't even taste like ricotta. My mom sent me off with a few ricotta muffins. And the next day, these muffins were a magic pick-me-up when I was feeling a little blue.

My mom has no idea where she got this recipe. My guess is she initially heard the recipe on some Food Network show and then tweaked it. Because she always tweaks recipes, and you're always glad she did. 

ricotta muffins

mix together with a whisk:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

cream together:

1 stick of butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp fresh lemon zest

then add:

1 tbsp lemon juice to 1 cup ricotta cheese

add to creamed mixture

add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add the creamed mixture to dry ingredients. Mix together but don't overmix.

Put in muffin pan 2/3 full (grease or use paper fillers.)

Top with sliced almonds and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

snow globes

I made holiday snow globes over the weekend. I gave a couple away as gifts, and I kept a few for myself. We don't have a Christmas tree in our apartment this year. It was definitely my intention to bring one home to decorate, but then Dan and I both got super sick last week, and we leave for Maine on Thursday. So these little snow globes helped me bring a little more Christmas into our space, which I have to say, I really needed.

First, I used Mod Podge and some favorite wrapping paper (from Rifle Design and Snow & Graham) to dress up the jar lids. I used this DIY tutorial from design*sponge, and it worked so well. It's rather addictive, too. I started looking for jar lids to mod podge as it's so fun to have pretty patterns on boring lids. It's best to use a solid lid: the two-piece lids used with many mason jars are more difficult to cover with paper and mod podge. (But they work — I only had those lids to use with my blue mason jars.) You'll want to put a couple coats of Mod Podge on the lids to really seal them.

The main piece in each snow globe is this holiday postcard from Rifle Design. When you shake up the snow globes, the snow glitter falls over Anna's pretty illustration of a winter scene. My white glitter even clustered along the bottom edge of the postcard, making it look like piles of snow. I also added in a few natural elements to the snow globes, like sprigs of pine and stones. To protect the postcards from the water, I first covered each postcard in packing tape, and then (for extra protection), I slipped the postcard into a plastic sleeve from a new greeting card (I confess to owning a lot of stationery sitting in drawers that have not been used yet.) If you don't have a supply of cards on hand with cellophane sleeves, I'd ask a local paper shop if you could grab a spare sleeve. Don't write on the card! I made the mistake of writing a note on the back of one postcard and wound up needing a do-over, as you'll eventually be able to see the pen through the card after it sits in the snow globe for a day.

After you've placed your elements inside a clean jar, add your water and a dash of liquid glycerin (the glycerin makes the glitter fall slowly like snow.) Then add your glitter. I'd stick with white glitter. I first tried mixing in gold and that looked off. I had glow-in-the-dark glitter that was less fine than my white glitter, so I thought it'd look even more like snow. But the glow-in-the-dark glitter looks a little yellow even when it's not illuminating in the dark. And yellow snow is not pretty. Screw on your lid as tightly as you can. I also recommend putting one final seal of Mod Podge on your lid. I even added a little Mod Podge to the threads of the jar top before screwing on the lid. Wait for the Mod Podge to dry (at least an hour) before testing out your snow globe. If you have any leaks, wipe off water, let the jar dry, tighten lid, and then add another layer of Mod Podge to seal. That worked for me with one jar that had a little leak. 

here's what you need to make your own snow globes:

clean jars with lids

gift wrap or pretty paper scraps

mod podge

brush for applying mod podge

postcard / card/ photo and bits and bobs to display

packing tape

plastic cellophane sleeves

water (I used boiled water that I let cool to room temperature.)

liquid glycerin

glitter

scissors

pencil

and a love for falling snow!

appliqué your way + giveaway!

Do I have a Friday treat for you, my dears. As part of her blog tour, the super talented Kayte Terry is popping in, and Chronicle Books is doing a giveaway here of her new book, Appliqué Your Way!  Leave a comment below for a chance to win. I promise this is one inspirational craft book you'll want around this winter — you can dive into the projects simply using the scrap fabrics you have lying around. Kayte's done an amazing job of making appliqué accessible to the beginner — and making it modern in style. She's included templates for the 35 sewing projects in the pocket at the back of the book. So smart. Because if you're anything like me, needing a trip to the copy store is a sure way to derail any ambition to start a project. Oh, and Jennifer Causey is the talent behind these gorgeous photographs — another reason I adore this book. I'd like to step inside the cover image and live there. But I digress.

I picked three of my favorite projects from the book to share, which stirred up that "oh my" feeling. You know the feeling. The one that says you're in trouble because you're in love with what you're seeing but you already have a list of 68 other projects on your to-do wishlist. Look at these doily trivets made from bright wool felt! I want to make these as a housewarming gift for friends. There are only 7 steps to this project — it looks simple even to me (and I'm a bit skiddish about using the sewing machine.)

This project is one big wow — garland sheers! It's like Kayte read my mind and knew I needed something for my window that's pretty and lets in a lot of light. (Don't we all?) These sheers use organza fabric to create the look of festive paper garlands. I love these garland sheers — shot straight to the top of my list of projects to try.

And for me, quilting is something I want to try in the not-too-distant future, but right now I don't have the patience. These quilt square cards satisfy my desire for more instant gratification when it comes to quilting.

I asked Kayte to share a peek at her appliqué toolkit. Check out these photos! Appliqué is a really portable hobby. There are some basics you need, but the tools aren't that expensive. I don't knit or crochet (yet) and one thing that keeps deterring me is the cost. I know friends who knit and see how much the yarn costs. That's what seems so appealing about appliqué — once you have your kit pulled together, you need very little amounts of fabrics to create projects, so it's easy on the wallet.

I happen to love seeing other people's workspace and inspiration boards. Here's a peek at Kayte's inspiration board. Prize ribbons + photobooth photos — so fun.

For a chance to win a copy of this super book, Appliqué Your Way, simply leave a comment below and I'll pick a random winner (be sure to include an email address, or way for me to find you, if you're the lucky winner.) If you post the giveaway on your facebook, blog, or twitter, come back and leave a second comment for an extra chance to win!

The giveaway ends Tuesday, December 22, at 9pm EST. Good luck!

UPDATE: I used Random.org to pick a winner for me, and Andi is the lucky winner! Thanks so much to everyone for playing! I hope to pull together more fun giveaways in the new year.

Thanks to Chronicle Books for the giveaway, and a big thanks to Kayte Terry for stopping by on her blog tour! I'm so happy that through this I found Kayte's blog, This is Love Forever. Her blog was new-to-me and I'm now hooked. It's a really lovely space of inspiration — I recommend popping over.

applesauce muffins on the fly

Before Sunday, I had never baked anything on the fly. Baking has always been a very calculated sport for me: carefully choose a recipe, get all my ingredients in place, mentally prepare, and then block an entire afternoon or evening to go for the goal. I was never one of those, "you have this, why not make that" kind of cooks in the kitchen, especially with baking. So I guess I'm learning.

I'm trying hard to cut down on wasting food, and sometimes I get fickle with my produce. Like how I bought a bag of apples anticipating a daily snack of apples and almond butter all week, and then it got ferociously cold outside, and all I wanted was my childhood favorite. You may laugh when you find out what I've been eating (Dan teases me about the combo often): toasted frozen waffle smeared with almond/peanut butter and topped with raspberries. (I use frozen raspberries that I microwave for a minute so they become warm and saucy, like a compote I spread over my waffle.) By the end of last week, I realized I had 7 apples on the verge of going bad. What to do? I decided to roast them, because it seems like the sort of thing to do when you only want to spend 5 minutes of hands-on time with food and wind up with something delicious. I actually slow-roasted my apples and went about my morning with the smell of apples and cinnamon making our apartment smell heavenly.

The next day, I set to making my (very planned) menu of artichoke + asparagus baked eggs and raspberry bellinis as brunch for me and my friends Liz and Erin. What to do with my roasted apples, I wondered. I was flipping through my cookbook, Brunch (by Marc Meyer and Peter Meehan), to find the baked egg recipe when I stumbled upon this: applesauce muffins. And there you go, muffins on the fly.

applesauce muffins

adapted from recipe by Marc Meyer for Brunch

3/4 cup light brown sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, preferably at room temperature, plus additional to grease the muffin cups (or use cupcake liners like I did)

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup applesauce (see below)

1. Preheat the oven the 350 degrees. On high speed, cream the sugar with the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer; give the machine 3 to 4 minutes to incorporate the sugar into room temperature butter, and 5 to 8 minutes for colder-than-room temperature butter. Butter the muffin tin cups or line with cupcake liners.

2. Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture and beat for 30 seconds to incorporate them. Mix in the flour. Stir in the baking soda and spices last, then gently fold in the applesauce.

3. Fill the muffin cups three-quarters full and set the tin into the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the muffins are light golden brown and firm to the touch. Serve warm (we pretty much ate them straight from the oven.)

Here's how I made my cinnamon applesauce:

Put cinnamon roasted apples in Dutch oven with 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, until apples can break down with a press of your spatula. Then uncover and raise the heat to medium-high to boil off any excess liquid.

ps. I used the same Cascadian Farm organic frozen raspberries to turn Prosecco into raspberry bellini. That's one staple in my freezer these days: frozen raspberries.

simple gift wrap

I love any reason to pull out my collection of rubber stamps, and I'll never tire of seeing ways to wrap presents with a simple, stylish edge. This gift wrap inspiration comes by way of my friend and wedding photographer Charlotte Jenks Lewis. I love how she created a modern handmade look for wrapping gifts that's also personalized. And with this idea, you can skip the gift tags and splurge on some pretty ribbon instead. If you're on the hunt for alphabet stamps, I spotted an amazing antique set of stamps over in Pretty Tape's shop. Thanks for sharing your stamped gifts, Charlotte!

ps. Charlotte just started her own photography blog. Show her some love and pop on over. You'll find some fantastic inspiration like these gorgeous farm photos.

(photographs by charlotte jenks lewis)