We slept in until we heard the wee stirring.  We opened the nursery door to find a giggling elfin.

Holiday cheer at its finest!

Breakfast brought the smell of Fall spice as gray clouds slowly hovered outside.

We sang and danced to Christmas songs as we readied ourselves for the day.

I put on a scarf.

Ella donned her winter coat.

We headed downtown to officially begin the Christmas Season.

We (all three of us) sipped Mexican hot chocolate.

We walked in the misty rain.

We took in the Christmas tree (and pigeons).

We browsed the Christmas offerings.

We discovered the joy of crisp Autumn leaves.

When we returned home, I reunited with Bing, Frank, and Nat and did some sewing.  Some holiday sewing.

It’s here.  It’s here.  At last.

Happy Holiday Season!

Hope you’ve had a wonderful Easter Sunday spent with the ones you love.

Enjoy your stay.

Ten more days until she’s officially arrived, but lately she’s been sending quite nice weather our way to hold us over.  Such beautiful temperatures that every morning when I walk out to load Ella Faye into the car, it’s tempting to veer in the other direction & head toward the park.

I’ve been doing a lot of (web) window shopping these days, looking for springtime dresses & drooling over floppy hats.

My mind holds a very precise vision of our backyard.  It calls for citrus trees, flower beds, a porch swing, lush grass, an old red picnic table, & a blanket.  Floppy hats are also included.

A few frocks I’d like to take a twirl in:

(Courtesy of Anthro.)

Nextly, I love the dresses the seamstress behind Grosgrain has been whipping up.  Amazing.  And she’s giving them away!  More amazing.

(photos from Grosgrain.)

The Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress & the Paper Crane Frock.

I think perhaps I will welcome you, Ms. Spring, with delicious cupcakes.

]]> http://katyverga.com/2009/03/10/springing-up/feed/ 1 http://katyverga.com/2008/12/08/holiday-spice/ http://katyverga.com/2008/12/08/holiday-spice/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:42:24 +0000 Katy http://katyverga.com/?p=254 Lately I’ve been worried that I’ve lost my holiday spice. Yes, spice. The gusto that comes with unpacking the tree & stringing the lights around the house. I feel like my spice was stronger back at the start of November, when Bing & “Jingle Bell Rock” first began to dance along the airwaves. Thanksgiving baking wore me out a little, although it has taught me nothing, as I plan to do the same in a couple of weeks. This year I’ve got more on my plate, & the deadlines I set for myself every year seem even more unattainable than usual.

It’s all okay, though. I realize this when I look at the little pink-cheeked bundle two feet away. We’ve got the best little Christmas package, the finest blessing we can ever receive. Christmas has become even sweeter. All the more reason to bake, all the more reason to decorate, all the more reason to make the house as cozy as it can get. And, at the same time, all the more reason to take a break from all of the holiday standards I set for myself & snuggle with the ones I love. Take the time to enjoy those cookies & maybe ask Ant to decorate them with me. To hold Ella & introduce her to every ornament, to see her face lit up in the lights on the tree. To settle in early & revel in cheesy holiday movies.

The actual day of Christmas is always bittersweet for me, as I know I will have to wait another year for this feeling to return again. Really it’s the buildup to Christmas, those few weeks between Thanksgiving & Christmas Eve, that are most exciting to me. Next year & the years to come will be even more so as Ella Faye gets older & I can introduce her to holiday traditions & our own little family can create new ones.

I think I’ve got holiday spice. I just need to taste it a little more.
Here are some favorite captures of the season thus far…holiday spice in photos, if you will:

Pumpkin biscotti

Thanksgiving baking – cranberry pear pies & pumpkin biscotti

Ella Faye’s first trip to Glendale Glitters, in her stripey hat & shoes that glimmer.

She slept the WHOLE time…

…not one light nor sprite did she see.

Hanging the lights

“I don’t really like being up this high,” he says.

Homemade kettle corn, plus some red food coloring for festiveness.

More to come…

I love love love to bake. Lately though, it seems I have hit a bit of strife when it comes to cookies. (Do you recall my flat chocolate chip cookie dilemma?) I don’t remember having these problems in my parents’ kitchen growing up. I don’t know, maybe I should finally invest in an oven thermometer.

Or maybe it takes a while for a kitchen to accumulate the spirit of warmth & coziness that produces perfect cookies.

Anyhow, would you care for a GingerFlimsy?

My first attempts came out very melty.

Here they are in the oven. I’ve always loved those Pillsbury commercials that show the cookies baking in the oven, slowly melting down, then puffing up into plump discs. Last night I decided to finally sit down in front of the oven & watch my own real-life simulation. They didn’t puff up. I took them out & they sunk down even flatter.

After adding another fourth cup of flour, they came out looking like actual cookies.

Gingersnaps at last. Still somewhat lacking the cracks that signify them as “snaps,” but cookie-like nonetheless. And they taste lovely. How nice they’d be with a warm cup of tea.

Here’s wishing you & yours a beautiful Friday evening!

(Red cups! Red cups!) Plus Christmas carols, a gray sky, comfy slippers, a holiday project, & my loves at arm’s length. The model of a cozy afternoon in my book.

And a nice rain-then-hailstorm came through to polish off the goodness.

I’d been waiting for a day like this.

Sweet dreams.

Four little pumpkins, sittin’ on a chair
Enjoying the crisp, cool Fall air.

The first one said, “There are witches in the air!”
The second one said, “Well I don’t care!”
The third one said, “Let’s run and run and run!”
The fourth one said, “I’m ready for some fun!“

Ooooo went the wind
And out went the lights
And the four little pumpkins
……Rolled out of sight.

I could just eat her up……

Happy Halloween, you goblins & ghouls! Be sure to eat something sweet & delicious this evening! We will be making Candy Bar Blondies with friends…I am off to think up the best candy combination! Results to surely follow.

]]> http://katyverga.com/2008/10/31/from-our-pumpkin-patch-to-yours/feed/ 0 http://katyverga.com/2008/10/31/yesterday-i-got-things-done/ http://katyverga.com/2008/10/31/yesterday-i-got-things-done/#comments Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:09:40 +0000 Katy http://katyverga.com/?p=165 …Today, not so much.

Yesterday I woke up, took my shower before Anthony, got myself into normal clothes (a dress, no less, that I wore for the whole day!). I dressed the girl, fed her, changed her, fed her, changed her, had some tummy time, fed her…

I did a few loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher. I know, these tasks are manned by machines, but it’s the issue of remembering to do them that snags me most days.

I watered the lawn. Our new baby green sprouts that light up the house from the outside. This has been months in the making. Watering seems like a small feat, but has somehow turned into a large daily task for me that I haven’t been able to meet very often.

We made it to the grocery store, just me & Ella, by ourselves! The idea of this caused me much stress, as up until now we’ve had Ant or family with us everywhere we’ve gone. But we did it, & came home with her first tiny pumpkin, to boot.

I cooked dinner, then made dessert. I’d woken up determined to make Anthony dinner, & I’d wanted the house to smell of cinnamon & apples when he walked in the door. But the apple crisp was best eaten fresh out of the oven & it would not do to have dessert at 4:30. Well, it would have…apple crisp was had for breakfast today & an afternoon snack too, & I will tell you it tastes delightful any time of day. It was refreshing to be back in the kitchen whipping up comfy foods. All the while, Ella slept soundly on her Boppy (her new favorite lounger). The only thing missing was a proper apron.

We dished up & dined, then dove into the apple crisp. I thought maybe it could make up for our lacking “Baby Bistro,” so I pulled out our wedding goblets & filled them with sparkling pear juice. Cheers to our new bundle & a yummy fall dessert!

Then, I settled back into my pjs.

Throw a good sprinkling of feedings & changings in there, & you have the picture of a very full, very productive feeling day for a new mommy.

Today I am worn out.

Here is the recipe for the delicious Sit & Stay Awhile Apple Crisp (via Joy the Baker):

For the filling:

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, & cut into quarter inch slices (about 7.5 cups)

3 T. sugar

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

For the topping:

1 1/3 c. flour

1 1/3 c. lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1 stick unsalted butter, well-softened

2/3 c. finely chopped pecans (I normally am not a fan of nuts in desserts, but they are divine in this one)

1/3 c. quick oats (I used old fashioned & those are fine too)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Generously grease an 8×8 baking dish with butter. Or double the recipe (oh, you will want to) & grease a 9×13 dish.

Place a single layer of apple slices in the pan & sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Repeat a couple more times until all apples are in the pan, then toss until evenly coated in sugar & cinnamon.

To make the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, & oats in a large bowl. Work the melted butter into the mixture with your fingertips until it’s evenly dispersed & you have small lumps. Toss one handful in with the sugared apples, then sprinkle the rest of the topping evenly over the dish.

Place the baking dish on a cookie sheet & bake on the center rack in the oven for 55-60 minutes. The juices & apples should be bubbling & the topping crisp & lovely golden. Serve hot to someone you love.

- ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ -

Today is my blogiversary!!  This tiny tiny nook of the interwebs has been home to my crafty/foody/undirected thoughts for a year & I am looking forward to carving out this space even more.  Thank you for reading my musings thus far…more to come!

♥

Our dry, brittle leaves don’t get the lovely tinted changes at the onset of Fall, & our climate holds a steady temperature of 101°, dipping slightly into the high nineties throughout the first few weeks of the seasonal change.

Nevertheless, Fall is here. And this house is ready.

I pieced this wreath together a couple weeks ago while watching a holiday movie (could not help it). It’s been stashed in the Craft Room since, waiting for Fall to come knocking. Yesterday Anthony crawled into the attic to sift through Christmas boxes & returned with the wreath hanger. Only two more months before all the contents of those boxes can be unleashed!

Butternut Squash & Vanilla Risotto was had this evening to ring in Fall.

Warm cranberry apple cider with cinnamon & cloves awaited us after dinner. The house smelled divine.

These are to be whipped up within the week. I’ve gone through my recipes & pulled out all the Fall-ish soups & desserts…now I will need to be patient enough for Mother Nature to share Fall temperatures with us.

On the eve of Autumn, we went out for our evening walk only to encounter a trio of nomad kittens a few houses down. One ran up to us, eager for love (read:food) & promptly fell into step with us as we paved our way back home. The others, a slinky black thing & a tiger striped tabby, lingered slowly behind, adamant in keeping the crew together. I am fairly certain they are little wandering strays, but more certain that they do have a purpose & they know what it is.

I spent time with them at our door last night, watching them romp through our barren lawn, chasing crickets & leaping over the piles of dried weeds (at least someone appreciates our yard). Eventually the second kitten warmed up to me & began spiraling between my ankles. I named her Serafina. Anthony deemed the shy one Harold (I am sure he is the boy of the group; he is quite timid). The most forward kitten, the leader of the pack, still goes unnamed. During one of my several wake-ups thoughout the night I think I decided she could be Nattie, but I’m not entirely taken with the moniker.

Cats are magical to me, symbolic I suppose. Over 10 years ago, on the day we had to put our white kitten down, I was sitting on the stoop outside my parents’ house & spotted a shaggy tabby curled up under a car across the street. It was my first encounter with a stray cat, but I called to it & surprisingly he ran over & unabashedly began nuzzling me. I was instantly soothed in a way that all the words of comfort fed to me that day seemed to lack. We named him Sebastian & he became our “outside cat.” He was my angel cat, I am confident. There was something magical about him, about our meeting. Later on, he & “his wife” Susie stashed their litter of squeaking kittens under our side window & we took them in to nourish & find homes. We kept two for ourselves, our little mini-angels…

Last night’s encounter with the nomads felt very reminiscent of Sebastian’s homecoming. There was no event to mourn or comforting needed, but rather I think their presence symbolizes change. The onset of Fall, the imminent arrival of our own little angel any day now.

I don’t think I’ve ever anticipated the turn of seasons so much.

When Ella is old enough to know about the seasons & begins to wonder what makes Fall so different & special, I will tell her it is a time of magic. The weight of the air lifts, the leaves begin to turn, & change can be felt when you step outside your decorated door. She will grow up knowing the dawn of Fall by the cinnamon scent in her home. And she will know that of all the seasons in my life, she brought me the most pleasant change of any.

Happy Fall to you & yours.