This cocktail was 100% inspired by Mexican hot chocolate. It has the cocoa, the spices, and some milk, but I wasn’t sure what to call it because it’s served over ice. Does it count has hot chocolate when it’s not hot?! Whatever we call it, this is delicious and perfect for when you’re gathered around the fireplace this season.
Continue readingHey! We’re popping in this weekend to share another super simple Christmas craft (this is for the folks that have finished their shopping – if you’re rushing around the mall today, don’t even bother to read this post). You’ve probably seen some version of cinnamon ornaments popping up on your Pinterest page? Or even made them as a kid? They are super easy, relatively fast, and a fairly kid-friendly project.
So, why are we sharing yet another cinnamon ornament post? Because as I was prepping mine for the tree, I realized that they would also make a really cute garland! The key here is to make a batch with shapes that are close in size, then your garland will hang nicely and you won’t have really heavy and big ones weighing it down in different areas.
You can use your favorite recipe, but I like the ones that have a little bit of kids’ glue in them.
I ended up making two pieces of garland. The little three-piece one hangs just inside our door on a wall that was just an empty space, so you see it and the tree as you enter the house, creating a nice little Christmas scene when you enter! The longer one hangs on the empty wall going up our staircase, but because the staircase is open, we still get to see it from the living room, which I love.
There you have it, a super simple twist on an old Christmas craft, and one that you can use to decorate a small space that could use a touch of cheer! xo
A new Christmas tradition started in our family a few years ago, and it’s one that we all look forward to!
Continue readingWe love books. If you know us, you know this. Today we’re sharing some last minute, but golden, Christmas gift ideas: Great Coffee Table Books. I cherish a big and beautiful book, but it is one of those items that is harder for me to justify purchasing for myself. That means it’s a beloved gift when received!
This is another one of those recipes that I knew I wanted to try… I just had to wait for our first snowstorm. Oh man, we’re still waiting for that snow, but I couldn’t wait anymore to sip a warm and spicy mug of Mexican hot chocolate.
Continue reading
The inspiration for this gift idea developed a couple of weeks ago when I was scanning the library shelves and came across the book called The Bluest of Blues about Anna Atkins and her use of cyanotype photography. That is one of her images above.
If you’re still looking for a gift for a great kid in your life, we may have just the thing.
Continue readingI recently made another pot of this soup, and it has held up well to the test of time. The combination of simple ingredient list with a rich finish make this the perfect soup for chilly winter evenings.
***
Seeing as how the east coast is shoveling out from another storm, we’re bringing you a delicious, nutritious, and simple sweet potato and mushroom soup.
As we mentioned above, sweet potatoes are not within the same taxonomic family as potatoes. Potatoes are in the nightshade family while sweet potatoes are in the morning glory family. If you’ve ever grown a decorative sweet potato vine that bloomed, you would immediately see the resemblance. But for our purposes, this season we’re grouping all of these tubers together.
When I think of comforting cinnamon desserts, rice pudding often comes to mind. Granted, cinnamon is not a key ingredient in the recipe, but we always top our rice pudding with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.
I’m a huge fan of eating the pudding straight from the pot when it’s ready, having some from dessert, and then having it again for breakfast, but you do you.
This is the recipe that we grew up eating. It’s a boiled pudding, as opposed to the baked variety. And we like to keep it simple, no raisins please! And while this isn’t the fanciest of desserts, if serving it to guests, it’s always fun to elevate the experience with fancy dishes and spoons.
Bring the water to a boil. Add the rice and cook for 20 minutes or until the water is gone.
In a large pot combine the 1 cup of milk, evaporated milk, vanilla, and sugar. Beat the egg and cornstarch into the remaining cup of milk and add it to the pot. Add the cooked rice, warm over medium heat, stirring constantly until it boils. Boil for 3 minutes.
Cool and serve with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
