the baby reveal.

crack an egg over a loved one's head to reveal the contents (pink or blue confetti) then hunt for the name we've chosen.

(nicolai xander baldwin)

the name nicolai comes from here.

and here's the little guy doing the plow at our last ultrasound.

the tech wrote 'yoga' on the image.

what do you think?

future circus performer?

perhaps he'll take after his maternal grandfather and great auntie and become a yoga master.

time will tell.

and we're so excited.

confetti eggs for baby.

to reveal our baby's sex, d and i hatched the idea to make confetti eggs.

have you heard of confetti eggs?

growing up in santa barbara we celebrate fiesta every august and part of that celebration is crushing confetti eggs over loved ones' heads throughout the celebratory days.

we decided to fill our eggs with pink or blue confetti revealing the sex of the baby and then went a step further, since we had settled on a name.

we folded up a fortune-sized piece of paper with the name printed on it and told people to hunt through the confetti and eggs shell bits for the name.

come back tomorrow and we'll crack one for you.

last week of the year.

christmas is done.

i hope yours was calm and bright.

ours was full of baby reveals, ipad surprises, and lounging.

today it's off for a sleigh ride and exploring a new colorado town.

cookie exchange #5.

the last delivery of cookies in our exchange arrived from san francisco.

and how appropriate that they used a recipe born right there in the city by the bay.

101 cookbook's homemade and all-natural thin mints.

soft, delicate and yummy.

it's a long recipe...if you don't mind, hop over here to view it.

cookie exchange recipe #4.

one of our latest batches of cookies was a trio.

we received nutmeg logs, vegan chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and chocolate kiss cookies.

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (vegan)

ingredients:

3/4 c smart balance buttery spread

1/2 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

1 t vanilla

1 T ground flaxseed mixed with 3 T water

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 c flour

2 1/2 c oatmeal

1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions:

cream butter and sugars.

add vanilla, salt, baking soda, and flaxseed mixture.

add flour and oatmeal, then the chocolate chips.

bake at 350 for 11 minutes.

nutmeg logs

ingredients:

1 c butter

3/4 c sugar

1 egg

2 t vanilla

2 t rum

3 c flour

1 t nutmeg

directions:

cream butter and sugar then add remaining ingredients.

bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

let cool.

frosting

3 T butter

1/2 t vanilla

1 t rum

2 1/2 c powdered sugar

add milk (1 T at a time) to achieve proper consistency.

frost, and sprinkle with nutmeg.

chocolate kiss cookies

ingredients:

1 c butter

3/4 c sugar

1 T brandy

2 c sifted flour

1/2 bag hershey kisses

directions:

cream butter and sugar then add brandy and flour.

roll a single kiss inside dough.

bake at 350 for 10-12 min.

hello winter.

today marked the first day of winter.

funny, it seems you've been here for weeks.

hello freezing cold bike rides to and from work.

hello new gloves.

hello hot chocolate and chai tea.

hello oatmeal breakfasts with cranberries, walnuts, brown sugar, and cream.

hello christmas lights all over town.

hello scented green tree in our front window.

hello snow...piling up just outside our door as i type.

winter, i'll do my best with you this time around...you know i'm no pro.

time to tell...

we're 20 weeks pregnant.

cookie exchange recipe #3.

our third cookie of the season was sent from friends who are the fifth generation on his side to bake french cake cookies.

not only that, but they were loved by john as well.

and yes, they are delicious.

french cake cookies

ingredients:

1 lb pastry flour or whole wheat pastry flour

1 lb sugar (2 1/4 c)

1/2 lb butter

5 egg yolks

1 t sour milk or buttermilk

1 t baking soda dissolved in milk

1/2 t salt

directions:

cream butter, add sugar, add yolks, add soda/milk, add flour (with salt)-work well.

if too crumbly add a little milk so dough will stick together.

make into rolls 1 1/2" in diameter (refrigerate overnight).

slice 1/8" and place on cookie sheet-may need to be a bit thicker.

beat egg yolk and brush/wash on top of cookies.

sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

bake 375 for 10 minute-don't let get brown.

cookie will raise then fall.

(1880 alice melinda spangler)

happy weekend.

cookie exchange recipe #2.

this was the recipe that d and i sent to everyone this year.

(along with the same caramels from last year that had the texture of a maple candy this time rather than a caramel.)

we knew we wanted a ginger snap or spice cookie in our package and since one of the cookie exchange crew members is vegan we went that route in our online searches.

we landed on this:

vegan ginger cookies

ingredients:

4 T turbinado sugar

2 c flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

2 1/2 T ground ginger

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground cloves

1/2 c canola oil

1/4 c molasses

1/4 c soymilk

1 c sugar

1 t vanilla

directions:

sift dry ingredients (except sugar) into a bowl and set aside.

in a large bowl combine wet ingredients (including white sugar) and beat on medium until blended.

stir the dry ingredients into the wet until well combined.

roll dough (about 1 T at a time) with dampened hands and flatten to your liking.

press turbinado sugar onto tops and bake for 10 minutes at 350 on greased cookie sheet.

cookie exchange recipe #1.

our first cookie exchange delivery of the year, arrived friday.

in fact, this was a hand delivered batch, as our weekend guests were a couple from our cookie exchange crew.

their recipe is a family one called sandbakkels.

the flavor is like an almond shortbread or almond sugar cookie.

grandma phillips' sandbakkels

makes 5 dozen

ingredients:

1 c butter

1/2 c shortening

1 c sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 t almond extract

3 3/4 c flour

directions:

cream together butter, shortening, and sugar.

add egg, egg yolk, and almond extract.

beat until well mixed.

add flour until you have a fairly stiff dough.

refrigerate for 1 hour.

press about 2.5-3 t dough into a greased 3-inch sandbakkel tin.

start at the bottom and press evenly and thinly as possible up the sides (these do not fill the tin, they make a shell).

bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown.

remove from oven and place upside down on cooling rack.

tap bottoms while still warm to remove cookies from tins.

happy weekend.

project #1 in the new house-check.

yesterday i spent the morning putting light switch plates and outlet plates up.

our lights went from this.

to this.

one day we'll replace the switches and outlets so they're also white as can be, but for now it's looking a little less construction site-ish around here.

it's that time again.

last year we did our first annual cookie exchange with our bay area friends.

this year we're doing the same.

i've thrown a new (vegan) recipe into our box this year, which i'll share later.

along with a repeat from last year, which seemed popular, fleur de sel caramels.

this is my 3rd attempt, though...the caramel keeps going past the firm ball stage.

this was a breeze last year.

hopefully i can send this batch away to friends.

photo shopping.

are you like me?

do you "shop" online by filling the virtual cart and then exiting the site without paying for even one thing?

if i bought everything i liked everywhere i went, i'd quickly realize how junky most things are and that i really only love something for a short time.

somehow i get tired of what i own and rotate through my small belongings regularly.

my sister taught me to consign clothing and that's been fantastic.

so, yesterday while out with my mom during my lunch break i just took phone pictures of the items/displays that i thought i'd like to have.

i think these would look swell hanging from a corner in our living room.

this one may have to go on my christmas list...a foot massage in the form of a floor runner for our hallway.

hello monday.

hello snowy town.

hello baking in our new kitchen.

hello readying the house (enough) for our first guests this weekend.

hello lights and trees appearing in home windows.

hello...cold, bundling up, hot oatmeal breakfasts...it's feeling like christmas.

(photos by d)

thanksgiving salad.

one of the best dishes during our thanksgiving trip was a persimmon spinach salad my mother-in-law found via sunset magazine.

while there's still access to persimmons, give it a try.

(image from here)