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Christmas felt almost anticlimactic after our big advent calendar/music/cookie/movie/reading selection lead-in!  We had a quiet morning of gift-opening and board games (and A Christmas Story, of course!).  I was finally able to reveal Todd's big gift:  a hand-knitted Star Wars sweater!  I found the basic design  in a database of Star Wars patterns, tweaked it very slightly...

...and added the characters to a plain men's sweater.  I think the final result was a winner!

Before starting this sweater, I had basically stopped knitting.  My fingers would get so sore after just a few days because of my "death grip" issues.  Sure enough, this sweater was a real labor of love.  As I knitted slowly and painfully over the course of several weeks, I decided that I would discard my cobbled-together method of knitting forever.  I would learn a way that worked for me, without finger pain.  The research began...

...and I think I've settled on an unusual method called Portuguese knitting (tried once before but ended up defaulting to my incorrect style after a while).  With Portuguese knitting, you drape the yarn strand around your neck, so there's no finger-squeezing to worry about.  I'm knitting a scarf/shawl wrap now that's made up of simple knits and purls, so I'm excited to switch to this new method to see how it works in a practical setting.  One New Year's goal already accomplished!

I did try something new for Christmas Eve that I'd love to become a tradition for us.  I made homemade biscotti and whipped hot chocolate, which is basically regular whipped cream with cocoa powder added.  I overfilled our cups with hot milk and made a huge mess...

...but it was still delicious.  Here's the official "glamour shot" from the website, which is apparently how it would've looked if I hadn't filled the mugs so much:

Photo courtesy of Hummingbird on High

Now Christmas is over and we can focus on a bright and shining new year!  So far we've had cold weather with no snow but beautiful blue skies.

It's been cold enough to keep the ponds frozen...or at least semi-frozen.

Sometimes you can see interesting patterns on ice as well as snow.  On our front pond, there's a line of tiny steps, and then a long, sweeping slide.  Was it a cat?  Muskrat?  Fox?  I couldn't get a good angle of sight, but I'm so curious!

We took a nice hike around the property on Christmas day.

Lots of wildlife.  ;)

It's been nice to be out and about, although I'd love a good snowstorm!  Meanwhile, I'm enjoying thc cold, sunny days.  The sunrises, in particular, have been amazing.  It's wonderful to sit at my office computer and watch the skies change.  First it's dramatic and dark...

...and then it slowly begins to lighten and turn golden.  

I had a beautiful "winter view" from my office at our old place in South Carolina, too.  Contemplating the beauty of nature in these tiny ways has really helped me learn to notice and appreciate the small, everyday things in life.  One of the keys to happiness, I believe!

Have a great week!

Browned Butter Takes the Cake

When the weather dropped alarmingly into the 40s and 50s this week (gasp!), I realized how spoiled I'd become with South Carolina's warm weather.  I closed all the windows, washed a load of thick sweaters and swaddled myself in layers, then cranked the heat up.  I bemoaned my lack of fingerless gloves and wrapped up in a blanket when Todd and I ate supper on the sun porch.  He laughed and then reminded me of many of the things I love about fall.

Like...cozy fires down by the pond.

We love to play Scrabble down there when it starts to get chilly.

 

The night sky is so beautiful...

Todd won, but only because he had some extra help (ahem):

Another fall favorite:  early morning hikes.  I love to gather little bits of twigs, leaves, and berries for bouquets.

I love to see the leaves starting to change.

Other little reminders, too.

And look at these strange, beautiful flowers I found pushing up through the pine needles!

I don't feel quite so chilly when I'm distracted by these things!

I'm doing quite a bit of fall baking.  I found an amazing apple cake recipe last week and have made it multiple times in various forms.  

Bundt cake.

Mini bundts.

Cupcakes.

Now, I don't traditionally like apple cake.  I find it disconcerting to bite into a soft bit of cake and come across a chewy - but usually hard - morsel of apple.  I have to admit that I love this recipe, though.  It's become one of my favorites!  The apple slices are incredibly tender and flavorful, the cake is spicy, and the browned butter frosting takes it way, way over the top.  It is best in its traditional bundt or mini bundt form.  The batter is incredibly thick, so the cupcakes didn't rise, but spread, and sank in the center.  I thinned out the frosting a bit and piped a healthy amount on top to hide the sinkhole, but the cupcakes are so dense and sticky...I'm going back to the bundt.  Very soon.   The original recipe is here, at the Cookies and Cups website.  Now, because I can't leave well enough alone, I added a cup of cinnamon chips and additional spices (1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of cardamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg) to the cake batter.  I also decreased the powdered sugar in the frosting by a half cup to let the taste of the browned butter really shine through.  You really, really need to try this recipe.  It's amazing.

I've been knitting, too.  I finished one project...

...and am starting on a pair of those fingerless gloves I've been needing.  I also pulled out an old handknit, the first sweater I ever made for myself.

 

Here's the detail:

 

This sweater was a major splurge for me.  I had the yarn custom dyed in England because I wanted a cheerful minty-green and white sweater for winter and early spring.  Sigh...isn't it beautiful?

The sweater itself is very light, with three quarter-length sleeves.  It was an easy stockinette knit and didn't take too long, even with fingering-weight yarn.

I decided to make it a small sweater for my goal weight.  I was sad to fold it up and put it away in 2011, but I was so happy to unwrap it recently and wear it around.  I'm still 15 - 20 pounds away from goal, but I think the sweater will still fit then.  Hooray for handknit sweaters!

Have a great week!