HHDE day 21: making arty photos and lady friends

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

hello again, forlorn readers! my apologies for the hiatus, but the last two weeks have been more hellish than happy. in addition to the usual holiday rush, we've had a number of family illnesses and issues arise, neither of which leaves time for documenting or writing about the things you have had time to make!

nonetheless, i'm back with a few remaining tidbits from HHDE ...

i was very fortunate to have been invited to a holiday/solstice party on the 21st at the exclusive woman's athletic club. not only does it have a ritzy n. michigan avenue address, but the club still resides in its 1929 home, with gorgeous decorative details. this was the second time i had been to a party in the silver room; but this time i documented some of the details.

ceiling light fixture in stairwell

metallic flora and fauna wallpaper

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

hello again, forlorn readers! my apologies for the hiatus, but the last two weeks have been more hellish than happy. in addition to the usual holiday rush, we've had a number of family illnesses and issues arise, neither of which leaves time for documenting or writing about the things you have had time to make!

nonetheless, i'm back with a few remaining tidbits from HHDE ...

i was very fortunate to have been invited to a holiday/solstice party on the 21st at the exclusive woman's athletic club. not only does it have a ritzy n. michigan avenue address, but the club still resides in its 1929 home, with gorgeous decorative details. this was the second time i had been to a party in the silver room; but this time i documented some of the details.

ceiling light fixture in stairwell

metallic flora and fauna wallpaper

20% off for 2012

get 20% off in the shop through 12/31/12 with coupon code "202012." get some fresh holiday decor now as a gift to yourself for the 2013 season!

get 20% off in the shop through 12/31/12 with coupon code "202012." get some fresh holiday decor now as a gift to yourself for the 2013 season!

HHDE day 19: roasting

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

we had a chicken to roast, so i decided to roast nearly every vegetable in our house along with it! what have you been making lately?

herb roasted chicken with pan juices

roasted carrots, parsnips, and radishes

(L) roasted beets; (R) roasted eggplant, red pepper, fennel, and onion

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

we had a chicken to roast, so i decided to roast nearly every vegetable in our house along with it! what have you been making lately?

herb roasted chicken with pan juices

roasted carrots, parsnips, and radishes

(L) roasted beets; (R) roasted eggplant, red pepper, fennel, and onion

HHDE day 18: making things christmas-y

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

our house has been christmas-fied: tree and wintery wreath is up and i've created a cute little vignette in our entryway with a felt snowflake garland, paper cardinals, and the xmas cards we've received. we got a tiny tree this year; since we just rearranged the house to accommodate the new tv set up, we didn't feel like rearranging everything to accommodate a big ol' tree, too. we're supposed to get some snow in chicago this week. if we do, it'll help make things feel extra xmas-y!

short and stout xmas tree

Winter Wyandot wreath on the front door

entryway vignette

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

our house has been christmas-fied: tree and wintery wreath is up and i've created a cute little vignette in our entryway with a felt snowflake garland, paper cardinals, and the xmas cards we've received. we got a tiny tree this year; since we just rearranged the house to accommodate the new tv set up, we didn't feel like rearranging everything to accommodate a big ol' tree, too. we're supposed to get some snow in chicago this week. if we do, it'll help make things feel extra xmas-y!

short and stout xmas tree

Winter Wyandot wreath on the front door

entryway vignette

HHDE day 17: making my office work

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

while this is not done, and so i hesitate to share prematurely, i did spend most of my day on monday making my office work better for me. i don't know what's gotten in to me after almost 7 years in this office, but i have finally decided to do something about the set-up and functionality. i have a very small office, but it is my own office, with a door and a window! i process and sign a lot of paperwork and disseminate a lot of stuff, so i make a lot of piles and have very little room to spread out. i was scored a "new" (old) desk from the warehouse, one with a large desktop and drawers, glorious drawers. there is still some reorganizing and reconfiguring to be done, but here's a glimpse:

big dark desk

snack drawer!

re-organized shelves

organized drawers!

what's left to work out is (1) if a different chair will work any better with this desk; (2) where can the printer move to and if there's a smaller piece of furniture for it; and (3) reorganizing the bulletin board.

it's kinda mad men-ish, yea? maybe i need new lighting and a cocktail cart, too?!

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

while this is not done, and so i hesitate to share prematurely, i did spend most of my day on monday making my office work better for me. i don't know what's gotten in to me after almost 7 years in this office, but i have finally decided to do something about the set-up and functionality. i have a very small office, but it is my own office, with a door and a window! i process and sign a lot of paperwork and disseminate a lot of stuff, so i make a lot of piles and have very little room to spread out. i was scored a "new" (old) desk from the warehouse, one with a large desktop and drawers, glorious drawers. there is still some reorganizing and reconfiguring to be done, but here's a glimpse:

big dark desk

snack drawer!

re-organized shelves

organized drawers!

what's left to work out is (1) if a different chair will work any better with this desk; (2) where can the printer move to and if there's a smaller piece of furniture for it; and (3) reorganizing the bulletin board.

it's kinda mad men-ish, yea? maybe i need new lighting and a cocktail cart, too?!

HHDE days 13-16: parties, packages, and cakes (oh, my!)

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

it's party time, people! i had two events on friday, two on saturday, and another on sunday. that plus all of the usual weekend hullabaloo, and you've got an absent (but busy) blogger. i had a ton of packages to mail, both etsy and holiday, so i got to play wrapping elf, boxing (and box-building) elf, and mail elf.

for our first official family holiday gathering yesterday, i made this earl grey chocolate bundt cake. it was good, but i only tasted the earl grey in the batter, not so much in the cake. oh, the batter? yes, i still lick the beaters.

and, we had a great time spoiling our nieces yesterday, and i think they liked it, too!

i've been messing with my office set-up and will be back with photos of it soon. cheers!

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

it's party time, people! i had two events on friday, two on saturday, and another on sunday. that plus all of the usual weekend hullabaloo, and you've got an absent (but busy) blogger. i had a ton of packages to mail, both etsy and holiday, so i got to play wrapping elf, boxing (and box-building) elf, and mail elf.

for our first official family holiday gathering yesterday, i made this earl grey chocolate bundt cake. it was good, but i only tasted the earl grey in the batter, not so much in the cake. oh, the batter? yes, i still lick the beaters.

and, we had a great time spoiling our nieces yesterday, and i think they liked it, too!

i've been messing with my office set-up and will be back with photos of it soon. cheers!

free shipping day is tomorrow (and today)!

twigs, twine, and thyme is participating in free shipping day on monday, december 17. you can read the original post about it here, but for you, my dear readers, i give you the offer one day early! get free shipping with orders over $50 with the code FREESHIP. All items will arrive in time for christmas, so go for it!

http://www.freeshippingday.com/?site=twigstwineandthyme 

twigs, twine, and thyme is participating in free shipping day on monday, december 17. you can read the original post about it here, but for you, my dear readers, i give you the offer one day early! get free shipping with orders over $50 with the code FREESHIP. All items will arrive in time for christmas, so go for it!

http://www.freeshippingday.com/?site=twigstwineandthyme 

HHDE day 12: miscellaneous making

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

today was a hodge-podge of making. i prettied up my drab winter coats with some felted wool pins and  swapped purses.

i also wrapped more presents. we plan to get a small tree this weekend and do our real decorating then. i'm also aiming to box and ship the presents that need to be mailed.

speaking of packaging, i also had to wrap and ship a buy now/ship later gift for an etsy buyer who sent this terrarium as a christmas gift.

Succulent Air Plant Terrarium w vintage plastic squirrel

and, finally i listed this jewelry display/storage branch in the shop:

what have you been up to?!

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

today was a hodge-podge of making. i prettied up my drab winter coats with some felted wool pins and  swapped purses.

i also wrapped more presents. we plan to get a small tree this weekend and do our real decorating then. i'm also aiming to box and ship the presents that need to be mailed.

speaking of packaging, i also had to wrap and ship a buy now/ship later gift for an etsy buyer who sent this terrarium as a christmas gift.

Succulent Air Plant Terrarium w vintage plastic squirrel

and, finally i listed this jewelry display/storage branch in the shop:

what have you been up to?!

HHDE day 11: stops and shakes

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

i've got a few non-pictorial statements to start!

today i made:

• stops for attempted xmas shopping after work
• myself go to yoga
• more stops between yoga and home
• myself go to bed at 11 p.m. and get 8 full hours of sleep

and, finally, a shake! or smoothie, depending on which you prefer. a KALE shake. i guess i use the two terms interchangeably. it wasn't bad and i will probably do it again though i will add some honey to sweeten it up a bit next time. if you still have reservations about it, i will say that it smells more like kale than it tastes like kale.

kale smoothie and a fabulous reusable metal straw

here's my non-recipe recipe:

1/2 an apple
1/2 frozen banana
two handfuls kale, already cleaned and prepped
dollop of greek yogurt
almond milk

dump all ingredients into vitamix blender, let it rip, drink  and enjoy!

while we're on the subject, i'll give you a little preview to my day 12 activities, which started with shake. that's two back-to-back meals involving shakes! this one is an orange, frozen pineapple, pomegranate shake with the usual 1/2 frozen banana, dollop of greek yogurt, and almond milk. one of my favorite combinations!

fruit shake and another fabulous reusable metal straw

i'm planning to tackle some crafty activities tonight, so i hope to have a fun update for you tomorrow!

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

i've got a few non-pictorial statements to start!

today i made:

• stops for attempted xmas shopping after work
• myself go to yoga
• more stops between yoga and home
• myself go to bed at 11 p.m. and get 8 full hours of sleep

and, finally, a shake! or smoothie, depending on which you prefer. a KALE shake. i guess i use the two terms interchangeably. it wasn't bad and i will probably do it again though i will add some honey to sweeten it up a bit next time. if you still have reservations about it, i will say that it smells more like kale than it tastes like kale.

kale smoothie and a fabulous reusable metal straw

here's my non-recipe recipe:

1/2 an apple
1/2 frozen banana
two handfuls kale, already cleaned and prepped
dollop of greek yogurt
almond milk

dump all ingredients into vitamix blender, let it rip, drink  and enjoy!

while we're on the subject, i'll give you a little preview to my day 12 activities, which started with shake. that's two back-to-back meals involving shakes! this one is an orange, frozen pineapple, pomegranate shake with the usual 1/2 frozen banana, dollop of greek yogurt, and almond milk. one of my favorite combinations!

fruit shake and another fabulous reusable metal straw

i'm planning to tackle some crafty activities tonight, so i hope to have a fun update for you tomorrow!

HHDE day 10: pesto and link love

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

after some holiday drinks with the work girls on monday, i made the most of the basil in the fridge and whipped up a batch of pesto. despite the not-great photo, it's an especially delicious batch! i'll be having it for lunch today with some trader joe's butternut squash agnolotti.

recipe:

1 large garlic clove, peeled
2+ cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

optional, which i did here to keep the bright green color: blanch basil in boiling water for 20 seconds and immediately plunge basil into ice water bath.

after blanching the basil and toasting the pine nuts, i took the lazy way out. i shredded the cheese and cut the garlic clove in half,  then dumped everything but the olive oil into the food processor and let it do the work (most recipes will tell you to stir in the cheese at the end). with the blender still running, slowly add olive oil; adjust the amount of olive oil so that the consistency is to your liking. since i also add olive oil on top to further prevent browning, i went light on it. tah-dah!


in other news, my friend and fellow blogger carrie has been playing the HHDE "game" with me. she blogged about her december mini book; check it out here. also check out the MiUS online boutique for a superb collection of USA-made clothing and apparel from emerging designers.

carrie's mini scrapbook

* read the original HHDE post here. follow along and post your daily endeavors in the comments! {click photos to enlarge}

after some holiday drinks with the work girls on monday, i made the most of the basil in the fridge and whipped up a batch of pesto. despite the not-great photo, it's an especially delicious batch! i'll be having it for lunch today with some trader joe's butternut squash agnolotti.

recipe:

1 large garlic clove, peeled
2+ cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

optional, which i did here to keep the bright green color: blanch basil in boiling water for 20 seconds and immediately plunge basil into ice water bath.

after blanching the basil and toasting the pine nuts, i took the lazy way out. i shredded the cheese and cut the garlic clove in half,  then dumped everything but the olive oil into the food processor and let it do the work (most recipes will tell you to stir in the cheese at the end). with the blender still running, slowly add olive oil; adjust the amount of olive oil so that the consistency is to your liking. since i also add olive oil on top to further prevent browning, i went light on it. tah-dah!


in other news, my friend and fellow blogger carrie has been playing the HHDE "game" with me. she blogged about her december mini book; check it out here. also check out the MiUS online boutique for a superb collection of USA-made clothing and apparel from emerging designers.

carrie's mini scrapbook