Friday, December 31, 2010

And a Happy New Year!

To all our readers,

We hope that your 2011 is even more wonderful than your 2010. May the new year bring lots of exciting experiences, meaningful relationships, delicious food, and fun travels! And may you always be healthy and happy! (It's corny, but we mean it!)


HAPPY 2011! Go out and celebrate!

Liz & Anna

Thursday, December 30, 2010

The Purl Bee

While Liz has been obsessing over cute apartments and cozy homes (ok, I admit, I do this too) I have been glued to any and every blog that is craft or DIY-related.  I think it's a way of getting out some of the creative energy that is stifled at my office job.

the purl bee

My favorite one is The Purl Bee, a knitting and sewing blog run by the very hip and creative employees at Purl Soho.  On the top of my project to-do list are the simple pleasures hat and the super easy baby blanket.


How amazing are these color schemes?!  I'm tempted to make a (slightly larger) blanket for myself.

The Little Bee

I just started reading Little Bee.  I'm excited to continue because I have no idea what it's about! 


Instead of a blurb about the story on the back of the book, there is a plea to readers to please not give away the story to friends once they've finished reading.  I think it's a cute idea.  I guess I'll keep my mouth shut about it until I find someone else who's read it!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Cool Houses

These days I am totally infatuated with cool houses and apartments. Have you guys seen Dwelling Gawker? It is basically a photo gallery where people can share pictures of their elegant clawfoot bathtub, or their cube-like library in the Catskills, or their super modern houseboat. Thanks to our good friend Jessie for opening our eyes to Dwelling Gawker.


Paperbark Camp, Jervis Bay, Australia
(Via Studio Home)

We love you, Dwelling Gawker. And we love you, Jessie.

- Liz

Monday, December 27, 2010

Snow and Sleeping In and Homemade Pop-Tarts

You know it's going to be a cozy day when Weather.com reads Blizzard Warning and you haven't gotten out of bed yet. The wind is howling and the snow is coming down, but we're nowhere near the predicted 10 to 16 inches. I guess that means there's a lot of snow to come. Or the weather man is wrong. 


It seems like a great day to test out my new cookbook, which looks almost as delicious as the recipes inside. With its glossy pages and crystal clear pictures, I pretty much want to eat the book itself. Serious kudos to photographers Keller & Keller. (For an hour's worth of fun, take a look at similar food photographs here.)


Did you know that Joanne Chang, the author of this book and the owner of and pastry chef at Flour Bakery & Cafe in Boston, MA, has a degree in applied mathematics and economics from Harvard? Pretty cool! But what I am most interested in is the recipe for Homemade Pop-Tarts on Page 88. YUM!


Homemade Pop-Tarts by Joanne Chang
Makes 8 Pop-Tarts
Helpful Hint: The dough needs to rest in the fridge for 4 hours, so it might be worth making the day before you want to eat these!

For dough:
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
3 eggs (2 yolks for dough, 1 egg for brushing)
3 tablespoons cold milk

Filling:
1 cup raspberry jam

Simple Vanilla Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons water

Step 1: Using an electric mixer (stand or handheld), mix together the flour, sugar, and salt until combined (about 10 to 15 seconds). Add butter. Mix on low speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Step 2: In a small bowl, whisk together 2 egg yolks and milk, just until blended. Pour into the flour mixture. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. (Will look less like dough and more like a mess, but you're on the right track!)

Step 3: Dump the dough onto an unfloured counter and pull the dough together into a little mountain. Use the palm of your hand to smear the butter clumps into the dough, starting at the top. Do this until the dough forms a solid mound of dough with streaks of butter.

Step 4: Tightly wrap dough ball in plastic wrap. Press down to flatten into a disk about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using. Helpful hint: the dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

4 Hours Later...

Step 5: Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.

Step 6: Remove dough from fridge. Divide it in half and press each half into a large rectangle. On a floured surface, roll out each half to make a large rectangle. Lightly score one of the rectangles into 8 small rectangles. Ideally, each small rectangle should be about the size of an index card.

Step 7: Spoon 2 tablespoons of the jam in a mound in the center of each scored rectangle. Lay the second large dough rectangle directly on top of the first. Using fingertips, carefully press down all around each jam mound, so the pastry sheets adhere to each other. Brush the entire top surface with the remaining egg.

Step 8: Using a knife (or a pizza roller!), follow the scored lines and cut the layered dough into 8 rectangles. Place the rectangles on a baking sheet, leaving enough space between them.

Step 9: Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tops of the pop-tarts are evenly golden brown. Let cool for 30 minutes.

While pastries are cooling, make the glaze...

Step 10: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and enough of the water to make a smooth, pourable glaze.

Step 11: When the pop-tarts have cooled for 30 minutes, brush tops with glaze.

Step 12: Enjoy! And if you have extra, put them in an airtight container and eat them for the next 2 days.

Next, I'd like to try these with a filling of apples and cinnamon!

Now a question for you: What flavors and fillings would you put inside your pop-tarts?

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Blizzard!

Rumor is, we're about to get hammered with snow here in Maine!  All is calm outside for now, but the wind's picking up and the sky is looking ominous.  

Fisher, my dog-in-law

Don't worry--we aren't leaving Fisher out in the snow.  He's inside lazing by the fire, as we all will be soon, hopefully with a glass of eggnog and a game of Scattergories.   

Stay warm!  xoxo anna


(picture via Diary of a Locavore)

Friday, December 24, 2010

Puppy Love

These days, I'm a little puppy crazy. (Anna is too.) It probably isn't a good idea for me to get a pup this year in DC, but I sure hope that one's in my future. For now, I guess I'll just spend as much time as possible with Ben's pup Max. Today we (he) ran around like crazy and is now conked out in front of the fireplace.

Then
Now

Guilty Pleasures






The holidays are a time for indulging, right?!


Duh.  



Especially hilarious since my brother-in-law knows every. single. word. 



(don't tell my boyfriend)



Only recently acquired the CD; the family copy is on tape!



Just plain awesome.  And not only for December listening.  (Well, except for a few songs.)


What are you listening to?




P.S. Try this for something more sophisticated:








Thursday, December 23, 2010

Homeward Bound

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Whatever! I didn’t grow up celebrating Christmas, but I do love the festivities. Yesterday while riding the Metro to work, a grown man (I would say mid-50s) in a long black peacoat started singing Silent Night at the top of his lungs. He didn’t have the best voice, but I loved his spirit! In fact, it put me in a good mood for the past two days.

The other reason as to why I am in a good mood: In about an hour and a half, I will be soaring through the clouds on my way home to Massachusetts for the holidays. I usually like to sit in the front of the plane so that I can get off first, but I was warned that overhead space goes quickly during the holiday season, and I should sit in the middle of the plane to reserve a nice spot for my WONDERFUL bag. By Jane Marvel. Best weekender bag on this planet. Get one for yourself.


Lots of Love,

Liz

Holidaze

Christmas is absolutely my favorite time of year, so it seems fitting that our very first blog post should fall in the midst of the holiday.

Although Liz and I keep in touch in many conventional ways (thanks, google chat!) one of our favorite things to do is share new blogs that we find.  I find that the office work environment is perfect for blog reading--whenever I need a quick 2-minute break, I hop over to one of my favorite sites to check for a new post.  I love reading about different projects that people are working on or new recipes they've tried.

This time of year I especially like reading about some of the homemade gifts that are all over the web.  Without any final exams this season, I had more time to test my craftsmanship for friends and family.  I didn't get as far as I would have liked, but my grandmother will be getting one of these calendars, made with cute seasonal paper I've had stashed in my desk for a while.  My sister, who loves to take long walks, will be getting a cowl along these lines to keep her warm.  Andy's family got a tin full of buckeyes and Russian snowballs, both of which were recommended by smitten kitchen.

Even though I only managed a few homemade gifts this year, I already have a running list of future gift ideas.  Happy Holidays!
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