The Mid-November Christmas Itch

.... I can't fight it. I love getting ready for Christmas, even before Thanksgiving Break arrives. I know many people who can't stand any mention of Christmas until at least Black Friday, but I can't stop thinking about it and I don't care who knows it. I briefly mentioned in my last post that I'm attempting to give mostly (if not completely) homemade or repurposed Christmas presents, and that's quite a challenge. I've already begun planning, and I thought I'd share some of my inspirations on this blog. The idea of giving people gifts that take time and effort, love and care to create really excites me. Sometimes when I buy people gifts and wrap them I forget what I'm even giving them... another great part about homemade gifts is that they are usually less expensive!

Creature Comforts is a blog I visit time and again for craft and decor ideas - it's bright, joyous, and full of inspiration. There are a lot of great, relatively simple craft ideas (both holiday-themed and not) and a tab on the homepage where you can download printables like labels, gift tags, fonts and project templates. She has a few posts up about different types of homemade wreaths, a gift idea that I'm right in the middle of working on myself.

Smile and Wave is another eclectic blog that's jam packed with cool ideas that I recently discovered. I've been searching the handmade and holiday tags for inspiration and have not been disappointed.

Bugs and Fishes is another one of my absolute favorite craft-type blogs; this one is mainly focused on felt crafting, which is something I haven't tried much of yet, but it seems to be a popular medium right now. My favorite parts of this blog are the Christmas tutorials with instructions on how to make simple Christmas tree decorations and such and the Gift Wrap Ideas section, with tons of interesting and new ideas of how to wrap all your wonderful homemade gifts.

Hopefully I will be able to take a few photos of things I'm working on and get more into Christmas... but I'll wait a little while. Are you ready for Christmas? Got any projects going? Please share!

Two Pumpkin Recipes + Leola's Vintage Home & Garden

We're smack dab in the middle of fall and if you ask me, there's nothing better right now than delicious pumpkin treats.

This first recipe for Pumpkin Swirl Brownies is from a really great, very seasonal food blog called Smitten Kitchen. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes to cook simple but delicious food with the freshest ingredients! I made these brownies just the other night and to be honest I was a little worried about the pumpkin/chocolate flavor combination, but it was really great; I normally prefer a fudgier brownie but these were fluffier and more like cake. Interested? Heeeeeere you go!

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar (the original recipe calls for the larger amount; I think it could be dialed down a bit)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts or other nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish. Cut a length of parchment that will cover the bottom and two sides (makes it much easier to remove), and line the pan with it. Butter the lining as well. (Deb note: I used an 8-inch square, because it was what I had. It works, too, but the brownies are crazy thick and take much longer to bake, just to give you a heads-up.)

2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.

4. Pour half of batter (about two cups) into a separate bowl and stir chocolate mixture into it. If you find that it is a little thick (as mine was) add a little more batter (a few tablespoons or so) until it is more pourable. This is important because mine was quite thick, and the pumpkin half was quite thin, so I had trouble swirling the two together.

5. In other bowl, stir in the pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don’t set.

6. With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Be sure to get your knife all the way to the bottom of the pan–I didn’t, and ended up with a chocolate base, not that it is such a bad thing. Sprinkle with nuts, if using.

7. Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

The second recipe I wanted to share is from the kitchen of my friend's mom who once made this for me on my birthday (Halloween!). Most squash soups are somewhere between savory and slight natural sweetness but this one is all out sweet. I like to have some as dessert or even an appetizer, served with cold milk and some Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Snaps!

Cindy's Pumpkin Soup

2 - 29 oz. cans 100% Pumpkin

1 - 12 oz. can evaporated milk

1 - 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Each of these ingredients is to taste:

brown sugar

vanilla extract

nutmeg

cinnamon

ginger

salt

Milk to thin the soup

Add first 3 ingredients and thing to liking with milk (or cream); add seasonings to taste while heating on low heat. That's all! My favorite thing about making this recipe is that it is completely customizable.  Enjoy!

My 3rd favorite pumpkin treat? Braum's Pumpkin Ice Cream. I highly recommend. 

The last thing I wanted to mention in this post is a favorite store of mine located in Ozark just behind Lambert's called Leola's Vintage Home & Garden. If you're into somewhat romantic, cottage style vintage stuff, you need to know about Leola's! It's a hard place to describe... but each time I go there I get inspired to make something or decorate something! I just went to their open house this past weekend (which they do each season) and got so inspired to start my homemade Christmas gift-making adventure! They don't have a website, but they often update their Facebook page with news and photos of the store (which might give you a better idea of the feel of it than I have described...). They're open every day of the week, from 9:30 until 5 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and on Sunday from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.. 

Quick Etsy Roundup... No tengo tiempo para ti

You'll have to forgive me for the shortness of this post... okay, you don't have to, but guess what! This week has been incredibly busy: schoolwork, family time, my birthday this past weekend... and to top it all off, my brother is getting married in six hours. Yes, on a Tuesday. No, I'm not lying.

So, in lieu of a real post, here is a quick roundup of links to a few neat and local Etsy shops. Never heard of Etsy? Go check it out! It's a website that sells only homemade and vintage items from independent sellers, and it's the best spot to find great unique gifts, in my opinion.

Here they are:
Cool wall decals by Designfruit
Assorted baby items and other cute things by naomianselmo
Unique beaded jewelry by LaJubilee
Interesting woven things by weaver1141
Cool, earthy jewelry by lilruby