Cookie Exchange 2012

Oh how I love December.  The halls they have been decked,



...the ladies have come out of storage,



...the village is up,



and the stocking are out,



It's a scramble from Thanksgiving to my annual Christmas Cookie Exchange, but I love it.

This year my tree is drenched in amber and greens and browns and of course a little leopard.



I start early, the day after Thanksgiving, so I can be completely decorated and ready for my annual Christmas Cookie Exchange held the first Sunday in December. 

I have been hosting this cookie exchange for a few years now and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite traditions.  My friends each bring four dozen "Christmas" cookies to swap and after two hours of brunch and visiting they each return home with four dozen assorted cookies.

This year I made baked french toast from the Pioneer Woman for brunch, it's great because you make it the night before and bake it an hour before you are ready to eat.  I also served champagne, mimosas, coffee, scrambled eggs, apple smoked bacon and fruit.   The baked french toast was a big hit and two of my friends enjoyed it so much they requested the recipe and are making it for Christmas morning.



As my friends started arriving and with the hustle of hosting I set my camera down but I did manage a few cookie photos before we started the swap.

As always we had a lot of delicious cookies: Andes Mint, Lemon Cranberry, Chocolate Peanut Oatmeal, Cherry Almond, Shortbread with jam and coconut,  homemade Thin Mints, Roasted Chestnut Russian Tea Cakes, Shortbread dipped in chocolate and nuts, and Orange Pecan Biscotti with Cardamom Sugar. 





We laughed and caught up over the past year.  We listened to one friend who is planning her daughters wedding next June and chatted with another friend who is planning her daughters first birthday.   It's a wonderful mix of ladies each very different but all coming together to take a little time out of their busy lives to sip champagne and enjoy the small things.

This was my plate.



After the swap and while everyone was enjoying the last sips of coffee, I offered my friends either a set of measuring cups or spoons to take with them.



We had such a nice day and while the cookies are great I love the getting together part so much.






Wishing you all, a month long celebration of December, of toasting to family and friends and bringing more joy into each day. xoxo

Thanksgiving, near and far.

I woke up on Thanksgiving to this post on my sisters Facebook page,  

"Happy Thanksgiving!!! May your day be filled with great food, amazing family and friends and loads of fun!  This wonderful holiday is a true example that the best things in life aren't things." 

....and in my opinion, truer words have never been spoken.

It's hard being so far away from my family during the year but throw a holiday in and it can really get to a gal.  We make attempts on holidays to visit over the phone, through texts and Facebook messages but its not the same.  It's different.  We are busy, hosting or visiting and the day seems to go by so fast.  I try not to focus on what I am missing and I think of how lucky I am that I have such a wonderful family to miss and friends to celebrate with.

I love that my Mom still hosts the holidays and my brother, sister and their families as well as my Aunt and Uncle join in the celebration.  I love that my Dad needs to extend the already big rectangular table in the dining room so they can all sit together.  I love that they pass my Mom's delicious turkey, Aunt Barbs cardamom rolls, the cranberry sauce with Amaretto and all the other fixins' worthy of a grand feast.  And I love that my niece in Oklahoma made the cutest cookie/candy turkey's for her table this year and is celebrating with her family and her in-laws. 



We have celebrated Thanksgiving with our dear friends since 1995 and sometimes there have been big crowds and sometimes it's just the four of us but it's always wonderful.  One year we celebrated with my sweet cousin when she lived here which was extra special.  She has since moved back to the East coast and has a beautiful family of her own to celebrate with, along with her parents and in-laws. 

It makes me enormously happy knowing that although we are all so scattered and far away, we are all consumed by the same holiday and we are all grateful for what we are blessed with. 



This year was just the four of us, and our two canine friends of course, and it was beautiful.



The sides were delicious, the champagne was chilled...



and the turkey was perfect, yes I said it, the thing cooks should never say but my friends said it first so I am just repeating it.   They actually all agreed, it may just have been the best turkey I have ever made.  Yay!




Oh, and that delicious Cranberry Sauce with Amaretto was passed down to me from the lovely lady in the background, and it's been on our table for the past 17 years.

I dream of a big home only a few times a year and its usually when I envision these types of grand celebrations.   I picture all of my family and dear friends gathered around the same table toasting each other, passing rutabagas, and professing gratitude.   I think of them all playing cards or Apples to Apples until the wee hours of the morning and extending the holiday through the entire weekend.  Oh how fabulous would that celebration be?



We rejoiced this holiday and with grateful hearts, we enjoyed all the blessings in our lives the near ones and the far away ones.

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving.

Chasing the magic hour.

I have heard alot about the "magic" hour lately, the first and last hour of daylight.  Also called the golden hour, this diffused light is highly sought after by photographers and today I wanted to experience it first hand.  So on this chilly November morning I woke up before dawn, grabbed my camera and took off.  It was a cold 32 degrees and quite frosty along the still quiet roads.  Not sure exactly what I was looking for or what I was going to shoot I ended up at one of my favorite places, the Edmonds waterfront.

It was quiet, easy to find a parking spot at the waterfront park and so very still.  The tide was low and looked like it was returning to the shore, a handful of seagulls were scoping out the scene, and two very brave scuba divers were prepping for a chilly early morning swim. 

I walked out on the breakwater and just as I reached the end and turned around I spotted it, my very first sun star.



This light is amazing and so much fun to shoot with.  The way the light passes through the atmosphere creates a highlighted effect on everything.  It was beautiful.   No harsh shadows or sharp bright light.


This Blue Heron was not too please I found his hiding place as he was tucked between the dock and breakwater of the Edmonds Marina; he flew off just after I took this picture.

My hands were so cold as I snapped photos, changed lenses and strolled from one end of the waterfront to the other. 







And just as I was starting to really see the beauty in this light, it was fading.  The shadows deepened, and the light was all of a sudden different, Mother Nature's slight of hand was fast and before I knew it, the magic had disappeared.


It was lovely and I will make a point of shooting during the magic hour more often because well, it's magical. 

And now it looks like it's going to be a beautiful clear, crisp fall day here in the Pacific Northwest and I must go enjoy it.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Apple Cider Caramels

For Halloween I made these Apple Cider Caramels and they were simple to make and delicious.



I have wanted to make caramels for a few years and after an epic failure with a Gingerbread Caramel that never set up I gave up.  But the other day with all the ingredients for this recipe on hand, I thought I would make another attempt.  These are yummy and would make a great hostess gift.



They come together very fast, once you have the cider reduced.  I cut my waxed paper while they were cooling.  The wrapping is a bit tedious but once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad.



The recipe makes an 8x8 pan full and once you start cutting them you realize that is quite a few.  I stored the leftovers in the fridge. 





I'll be taking the rest into work tomorrow, hope they like them.

Wishing you all a lovely day and great week ahead. 

Pumpkin Carving and Jack-o-Lantern Exhibition.

Saturday we were invited to our friends for their 11th annual pumpkin carving party and subsequent jack-o-lantern art exhibition.  This event has grown over the years and commands about 50 friends and family to gather along the banks of Pilchuck Creek bringing their favorite recipe for an afternoon of fall fun and merriment.



I brought two delicious recipes, both inspired by my amazing and talented sister.    

This yummy pumpkin cupcake with maple cream cheese frosting, which I altered to make into mini cupcakes and added a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg.  


And an addicting version of the traditional Chex Mix, which includes, Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos, and Potato Stix.   

I also made some cute treat bags for those who wanted to take some Chex for the road.

There were pumpkins everywhere and as people started arriving they instinctively began the hunt for the perfect pumpkin to carve.



The bonfire was in full blaze, the deck and cider pressing were mostly undercover and we were all dressed for the traditional October rain.  It sprinkled on and off but no one seemed to mind, although all the kiddos did look like they had taken in dip in the creek by the end of the night.



Soon the artists, little and big, took hold of markers, carving tools and scrapers and started creating.   Some drew their design of choice carefully planning each cut.



While others just started carving, their design unfolding in front of them with each new cut they made.



The day was filled with friendships, kids playing soccer, groups taking turns pressing sweet cider, and all enjoying a leisurely meal, toasting blessings and appreciating the opportunity to gather and celebrate life.

Friends walked down to the creek,



and gathered around the fire pit.



We sampled hot chili and cornbread, soups, homemade mac-n-cheese, decadent chocolate cake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cupcakes, and a generous buffet that as the day went on, steadily disappeared. 



And the setting, as always, is beautiful.



And this little seedum was artwork all by itself, spilling out of its pot begging to be noticed and demanding a private photo shoot.







A few hours later the pumpkin gallery opened and these once still life gourds came alive with wild personality.  Some happy and some frightening but all living out their dream of becoming a masterpiece fit for the season.



And once the sun had set, the night sky became the perfect backdrop to display their illuminated glow.



Thank you John and Brenda, of Circle Creek Home, we had an amazing time as always.

Long live my love of fall.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend of finding beauty in the unexpected and celebrating your one wild and precious life!

Friends and football.

Clyde and I have never been to a pro football game so when the New England Patriots were scheduled to play the Seattle Seahawks, we knew we wanted to attend the game.  Single tickets went on sale at 10am August 27th and by 10:45am they were sold out!  But with a quick call to a ticket broker I had secured 2 tickets in our price range, aka the nose bleed section, by 11:30am.   The Patriots rarely play the Seahawks so this was a special event for us.  Now keep in mind we always root for our Seattle teams unless they play against the teams we grew up with.

I was even more excited when I received a message via Facebook that a high school friend was flying out to Seattle with another friend for the weekend to root for "his" Patriots.  I had not seen Scott since graduation in June of 1988 and we made plans to arrive early and meet up for brunch before the game.

It was great!  Scott and his buddy Jeff met Clyde, myself and another high school friend Shanna for some pre-game urban tailgating.

After brunch we headed over to the Showbox SODO and happened upon the tail end of a VIP event where we met, and took photos with Hall of Fame inductee, Sam "Bam" Cunningham, a former Patriot's full back.


Jeff, Scott and Sam.

I know what you are thinking, how much do I really follow football, right?  Well, when in Rome.

It was exciting, it added to the festivities of the day and well, why the heck not?  This might just be the only time I have the opportunity to meet a pro football player, get an autographed photo and have my picture taken with him.  Carpe Diem! 

That would be my Patriots unicorn right there baby!

With a half an hour to kick off we headed over to the stadium where 67,000 screaming fans would soon huddle together in a whirling frenzy full of passion and energy also know as American football. 


Go Pats.

Funneling into the stadium proved to be a bigger challenge than I had expected and we did not make it very far before the gridlock set in.   Most of the crowd was friendly as we slowly shuffled passed the entrance, down the hall way and through the turnstile into the stadium.   One Seahawks fan even shared his bag of chips with us in an act of general camaraderie.  We chatted along the way with lots of people, many with ties to the east coast; who knew football could be so bonding?


We had each bought our tickets separately and our seats were scattered around the stadium but we did agree to meet up after the game.

Inside the crowd was massive and the smell of hotdogs, garlic fries and beer swirled as we meandered on the way to our seats.  We went up, up and up to the nose-bleed section and it wasn't until the rain started to pour down that I was completely content with our dry seats. 

And by pour I mean the skies just opened up and dumped buckets on the field, the players and the fans.  It was impressive though the loyalty of these fans, fans who were draped in ponchos, soaked from the all too famous Seattle weather, yet steadfast in supporting their teams.  All I could think of was that famous quote by Bill Shankly, "Some people think football is a matter of life or death.  I assure you, it's much more important than that."



Now I must also mention the noise, oh my gosh the noise I could not believe the sound of that stadium, it's hard to describe and awesome to feel.  It was a thunderous roar that quickly became constant and every so often it would rear its head even louder as if saying, least you forget the presence of the twelfth man.



And look who we spotted just above the scoreboard, directly across the field at the 50 yard line, Shanna.   I had an idea of where she was sitting and it did not take long for Clyde to find her in her Pats jersey sitting right next to a Hawk.


There she is texting all her friends in Maine, "neener, neener I'm at the Patriots game, lol."

And speaking of the game, is was good.  The first quarter was good, the second quarter was good, even the third quarter was good....


They kicked, and huddled and took time outs.



....and they fumbled, and crashed and tackled each other on the soaking wet field.



And then, with minutes left on the clock, the New England Patriots gave up a 13 point lead in the fourth quarter, losing 24-23 in a tough loss to the Seattle Seahawks.   And at that very moment this eight section, 1.5 million square foot structure began to move.  Built to withstand an earthquake, CenturyLink field sits on over 2,200 pilings driven 50 ft below the ground and it was riveting to experience the massive concrete slab floors tremble beneath my feet.  It makes you wonder if the architects goal was not only to build a beautiful stadium but to actually feel the power of the twelfth man,  because at that moment the stadium was alive.  

After the long descent  downward, we all met up post game for a beer and a bit of consolation.  But mostly we laughed and reminisced and caught up on the past 24 years.  It was great.  Then we decided to head North to Mukilteo, we needed a change of scenery and we ended the night with a spin around the track at our favorite go-kart course before dropping them off at their hotel by the airport. 



We had a wonderful time, the day was full from beginning to end and every moment unfolded better than I had planned. 

Wishing you all a lovely day!