In The Kitchen

As a young child, my grandmother Neine was a huge influence on me - not only did she get me interested in needlework...she taught me the joys of cooking/baking, the value of a clean/organized home, and the importance of sending handwritten correspondence. Often when I am in the kitchen, I think of my time in the kitchen with Neine when I was growing up - although we lived many miles apart and my time with her was limited, I still have the most vivid memories. This morning as the delicious aroma of Sticky Buns filled our home, I couldn't help but think of my time with my grandmother and our time together in her kitchen.

Today I thought I would share another favorite recipe with you...and although it is labor intensive, it is worth every minute...

Sticky Buns

First, make your favorite sweet dough recipe - I like to use the "60-minute Sweet Dough" recipe from the old Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book. (If you don't have a favorite sweet dough recipe or a "go to" cookbook, do a Google search for Sweet Dough Recipe, you will get many to choose from!)

Sweet Dough
1 tablespoon softened (not melted butter)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Roll out prepared sweet dough on floured surface to approximately 12" x 7" (you may have more/less dough depending on your recipe and may have to slightly adjust the measurements), then spread with 1 tablespoon of soft butter. Next, sprinkle the dough with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Roll up lengthwise and cut into twelve slices each approximately 1" thick. At this step, you could bake and have wonderful cinnamon rolls, but I continue on and make sticky buns.

1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 brown sugar

1/4 pecans pieces

Mix the three above ingredients and then pour into the bottom of a greased pan - you may use your favorite baking dish, but I like to use 9" round pans. Spread the mixture evenly in the bottom of the pan; place the the dough rolls on top leaving a little space between each one. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown (about 20-25 minutes). When baked, turn your baking pan upside down onto a serving plate. Serve with your favorite coffee or tea.

Pure Joy - A Holiday Get Together Continued...

When I arrived at Kimber's home yesterday - my place was set with a HUGE holiday gift basket from Merry. From my previous posts, you probably know that Merry loves to bake/cook (and to try new things in the kitchen!)...and I am one of the truly lucky ones who gets to sample all her fabulous treats! This first photo is a shot of what was in the basket...there was so much, it was almost overwhelming - both Kimber and I had to grab a pencil and write down everything as Merry walked us through the items, or else we would never be able to keep it all straight! There were three tins of baked goods (details below), a bottle of Lavender Extract, an adorable bottle of Limoncello, three jars of jelly (Spiced Crabapple, Gooseberry, and Black Currant), along with a bag of White Chocolate Cinnamon Granola - all of which she made herself!! I was truly in awe...

Here is a photo with the tins opened, so you can see inside...and I am going to do my best to tell you what each thing is....

The round tin in the lower left had three different cookies (from left to right) - Lavender Chamomile Shortbread, Sage Shortbread with Peach Jam Filling, and Raspberry Jam Thumbprints (of course she made the jams) - all are delicious...and believe me, my husband and I tried them all! The small treasure chest tin in the lower right was filled with Orange Flower Water Cookies (which are FANTASTIC!)....and the large tin shown in the top right was half Strawberry Madeleines and half Chocolate Chip Brownies with Peppermint Patties (my husband's favorite!). Yesterday I sampled each of these special treats with a cup of hot tea, so a couple extra miles on the treadmill is in order.....each and every one of them is absolutely delectable.

If all that wasn't enough, she also brought us both the most wonderful little lunch bags - yep, she sewed for us too! Seriously, how stinkin' cute is this little tote?! She found the instructions online for this great little bag on the Pink Penguin blog (which is spectacular)...if you want to make one for yourself, see Ayumi's fabulous Lunch Bag Tutorial! I absolutely LOVE the fabrics Merry chose for my little tote (note the birds in the fabric)...and the bottom section (brown flower print with birds) is actually a corduroy! I thought the rick rack on the handles was the perfect touch...and the drawstring cover is super convenient to keep everything safe inside. But wait, there's more! The bag was filled with treasures...can you say "over the top"? I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning pulling open the drawstring cover

to reveal more presents....there was a package of holiday hankies, holiday bandages, a tiny bag of lifesavers candy, two (not one, but two!) pairs of scissors that she knew I had been admiring, and a kitchen towel she made to match my black and white kitchen perfectly. AMAZING!! To say I was "blown away" would be an understatement. I have said it before - I have the most generous, creative, talented, and kind friends!

After we finished opening all out gifts, we headed back to the kitchen for more beverages and snacks...and then made our way to Kimber's sitting room for more chit chat and some needlework. Kimber had the fireplace burning to keep us toasty warm and we all worked on different projects. Merry was knitting, Kimber was hand quilting, and I was cross stitching...but truth be told, I think I did a lot more talking than stitching (what's new?)....

Driving home, I reflected on the our time together and the beautiful friendship the three of us have built - Merry and Kimber both encourage and inspire me...they help me grow and be better...their friendship is truly the best gift they have given me!

My wish for you this holiday season is to be surrounded by good friends and family - to find joy in the little things - to be encouraged and inspired - and to be aware of life's many blessings....

Pure Joy - A Holiday Get Together

I am so very blessed! I have so much to share today, I am not quite sure where to start - I think I will have to split this post into two days...

I spent my morning and early afternoon with my two dear friends Merry and Kimber - we had a very special holiday gathering at Kimber's cozy 1885 farmhouse. The three of us had so much catching up to do and so much to share, it was pure joy to get together. First, we spent some time in the kitchen - Kimber had a phenomenal assortment of hot teas (see all the tins - it was hard to choose which one to try) and snacks...plus Merry brought a selection of her delicious homemade sweet treats (so very yummy!), and I brought cinnamon rolls, so we had a cornucopia of delicacies to choose from!

After a sipping hot tea, sampling each of the sweets, and lots (and lots) of chatter - we couldn't wait any longer...we had to open gifts! There were so many beautifully wrapped presents - it was hard to decide where to start - most of them were so pretty, I hated to open them...but it *had* to be done. Merry and I each had three gorgeously wrapped gifts from Kimber....I will show you those first...

The first gift I opened was the adorable snowman box, which had three surprises inside - the cutest tiny spun cotton reindeer I have ever seen (which immediately made me smile), a unique little package of sticky notes, and a package of two seasonal note cubes...all so thoughtful and fun...plus, we all know how much I like to open little packages. Note: isn't the little winter house on the table the sweetest holiday decoration...I just had to get it in the photo....and the reindeer looks so perfect in front of it...

Next I opened my gift wrapped in pink tissue paper...and oh my gosh, I was giddy - a lovely assortment of fabric fat quarters - beautiful colors and prints....and I was immediately thinking of projects for their use....

I saved the fabric wrapped gift for last - Kimber actually used fabric and glass head pins to wrap a gift - a beautiful idea! After carefully removing the pins, I unfolded the fabric to reveal a gorgeous set of quilt pattern notecards - these are so very cool - there are 12 notecards (2 each of 6 different quilts) and inside the notecard are the "how-to" directions to make the quilt on the front....and the template for the quilt shape used is on the back of the card...these are so awesome, I just might have to keep one of each for my own collection! The three of us had quite a laugh looking at each of the quilt patterns, as the number of pieces to cut for each quilt seemed astronomical - the first one we looked at (Clam Shells - 1932) said to cut 1,000 clam shells using the template on the back of the card...another (Little Cedar Tree - 1940) said to cut 768 light triangles and 768 dark triangles to make 192 blocks that are 6" square...these are definitely some labor intensive quilt ideas!

I have plenty more photos to share with you - but I think I will share them tomorrow - I want to spread out the joy! You will definitely want to stop by tomorrow to see Merry's homemade gifts....you all know by now that she is an over-achiever (and if you hadn't figured it out yet, tomorrow's post will definitely prove it!)....

Today really felt like Christmas - spending time with close friends, enjoying a hot cup of tea, stitching by the fireplace, and gifts from the heart - I really can't think of a better way to spend the holiday. My blessings are many and I am truly thankful....