October weekending at home...♥

Hello Lovely Friends! Happy Monday morning!  

I have missed you! ♥

Well, it happened.  I turned the heat on for the first time this season.  We have arrived.  I tried to hold out as long as I could, but it was borderline frosty when I got out of bed this morning so here we are.  That sound of the furnace kicking on and that first blast of warm air through the vents brought me to life. Like a big hug! Next was coffee, I lit a candle, and my Monday began....so, hello....how are you today?! ♥

October is really October-ing now, isn't it? Leaves are falling and every neighbor on my street has a pumpkin, or mums, or something spooky in the yard. I can remember walking to school on chilly mornings like this when I was in jr. high school. I didn't drink coffee then.  I actually remember drinking diet Pepsi first thing in the morning before school! Can you imagine? That was my drink. It was the 80's :) 

I think about my childhood a lot and have so many de'ja vus, probably because I live in my childhood home and know this neighborhood like the back of my hand.  If my jr. high self only knew I would be waving goodbye to my son from the front door as he leaves for the day (with hot coffee, not Pepsi), she never would never believe it.  

Life is crazy sometimes ♥

But anyway...this past weekend I was embracing all the cozy fall things, because we are in it now, and I don't want it to slip by. 

I finally got around to clipping some of these hydrangeas to bring them inside.  

The muted colors are so pretty ♥ 

Hard to believe these are bright blue in the summertime. 

I think I prefer them this way ♥

I spent Saturday cleaning and "nesting" as my mother used to say ♥

I found this string of pumpkin lights and didn't know what to do with them, so I put them on this plant in the corner.  

...me and my tea were contemplating if they should stay or go...

...they stayed! ♥

I couldn't let the weekend go past without some seasonal baking.  Look at these spices.  

Only good things can come from this line up! ♥

...and it did ♥

The best fall cookie!  

And my kitchen smelled amazing! ♥

Soft Ginger Cookies! They are chewy and delicious.  I blogged the recipe some years ago and totally forgot about them.  How could I? I am going to make these again for Thanksgiving this year.  

They are so good! ♥

(click here for recipe - super easy too!) 

Ginger Cookies

I have realized I don't make cookies enough!  I'm going to start trying new cookie recipes every week. 

Stay tuned! ♥

Saturday supper was beef stew and homemade biscuits! ♥

I used Susan Branch's recipe for Best Biscuits out of her Heart of the Home cookbook.  

They were perfect! We are having the rest of them with chicken pot pie tonight ♥

**By the way did you read Susan's latest blog post about her Martha's Vineyard house being sold?  It's bittersweet indeed, but I'm so happy for her.  I'm more happy that she's going back to the island in December to experience another New England winter.  Those of us that live here know there's really nothing like it** 

I preordered her knew Christmas book and the latest news is that they are being shipped on November 1st. Yay! I cannot wait! A gift to myself and something to look forward.  My cozy reading spot is all ready for me to sit for hours and devour every page. 

 I'm 52 years old and still want to be Susan Branch when I grow up :)

My evening walks were very chilly this weekend.  Last night I actually pulled out my winter coat!  This is me coming home.  It's only about 7:30pm and look how dark it is! 

I finished this audiobook on my travels and let me tell you...it's completely unhinged!  

Loved it👌 

In a shocking contrast, the Hallmark channel has started its countdown to Christmas movies, so I've been watching too many of those already.  I had them on all weekend in the background while "nesting" about the house.  My mom and I used to watch all of them together.  Even when she was in the hospital we would put Hallmark on and make fun of how corny the movies were and we'd laugh about it. I miss her so much and every day I find new things that remind me of her. She'd be happy I'm still watching Hallmark and thinking of her.  Don't worry mom, I am ♥  

And with that I will love and leave you here for today.  I have lots to do so I better get to it.  Have a happy Monday, friends! I hope you all have a cozy day.  Have a hot beverage and a sweet treat and please take time for yourselves! 

Be back soon! Xx 

♥

Orange Marmalade Cake ♥ (Susan Branch Recipe : )

Hello Friends! ♥

I hope you are doing well.  It's hard to believe that we are in the second half of September already.  For me it's been a total blur.  With my mother sick and us going back and forth to the hospital and now the rehab, I've totally lost track of time.  Thankfully I had decorated for Fall early because here were are.  See, I knew my anxiousness would come in handy.  

Speaking of my mom, she's doing better every day.  It's a lot of work but she'll get there. She's showing a lot of progress building up her strength, and I know that's because of her will to come home.  I just got back from visiting her.  I brought her a piece of cake and a hot chocolate.  Something, anything, other than rehab food is a treat, and homemade is even better.  I brought her one of her mugs from home to drink the cocoa in and she loved it.  

Hang in there mom, you're doing great! ♥ 

Around the house we are trying to keep as much normalcy as possible.  We are trying to eat well and get enough sleep so WE don't get sick.  Tis the season, you know! I light my candles everyday and keep the house as cozy as possible.  This week we've been watching all the Muppet Movies.  Most of them are on Disney Plus and the ones that aren't I checked out from the library.  They are so cute and funny, with a lot more adult humor than I remember.  

It's the pick me up we all need right now : ) 

 

It's still warm here but I'm finally starting the feel the shift.  It's getting darker earlier now and it's chilly in the mornings when I drive John to school.  I love that first inhale of fresh air early in the morning.  I'm not seeing much color on the trees yet like some of my Instagram friends are, but I know it's coming.  I'll be patient : ) 

 

I like to wear an old black cardigan sweater over my pj's when I come out in the kitchen to get coffee.  Lately I've been waking up at 5:30.  Rob is just leaving for work then.  We spend a few minutes together and then I sit and drink my coffee for a bit before John gets up for school.  It's dark and quiet and quite lovely in my opinion.   I do love to sleep but getting up early has it's advantages.  Don't tell anyone, but I'm starting to like it.  Have I become a morning person??  Possibly. 

Speaking of the cake I brought my mom, I want to share the recipe with you.  It's from Susan Branch's Website and it's wonderful!  In fact all her recipes are wonderful, but this one....chef's kiss to the air! 

Orange Marmalade Cake! ♥

Whenever I make a Susan Branch recipe I picture her in her adorable Martha's Vineyard kitchen.  She has the stove of my dreams and the cutest curtains on her windows.  She's baking, listening to Frank Sinatra, a kitty at her ankles, and all is right with the world. 

At least in that moment ♥

 

I don't think I've ever made a recipe with marmalade before.  I had to buy some special just for this recipe.  It reminded me of Paddington Bear! 

The batter was gorgeous with little flecks of orange and lime zest.  

While it baked I made the glaze.  

More marmalade (ala Paddington!) confectionary sugar, and butter!  So good! 

Drizzled over the top.  Yes please! 

What a lovely cake to have with coffee, tea, or in my mom's case HOT CHOCOLATE.  We are fans over here.  I bet you would be too! 

♥

It's very easy to make. Like I said, the only thing special I had to get was the marmalade.  Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try: 

For the cake: ♥

1 1/2 sticks of butter

3/4 cup sugar

zest of a lime

zest of an orange

3 eggs

1/3 cup marmalade

2 tbls freshly squeezed orange juice

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes until fluffy.  Beat in the eggs.  Stir in marmalade, juice, and zest.  

In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Fold into wet until just combined.

Put in greased loaf pan and bake 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn on to rack.  

For the glaze: ♥

In a small saucepan mix 1/3 cup marmalade, 1 tbls butter, and 1/4 cup confectionary sugar.  Stir until smooth.  Drizzle on to cake letting it drip over the sides. 

Cool completely before serving. 

Make one for yourself and one for a friend. It's a very cheery cake and I think a perfect gift. Susan Branch just gets me.  I say it every time.  She's the best.  

Thank you for stopping by today friends, and thank you for your continued prayers and well wishes for my mom.  They are working ♥

Have a great day!  Next week is officially autumn and I cannot wait. 

Byeeee! xoxox

It's Coming! ♥

 

The other day at the grocery store I picked up my first bag of Fall/Halloween themed candy.  I know it's only early August, but I'm not gonna lie....this made me so happy.  No matter what the temperature says outside, in my heart summer is over and I'm embracing fall.  Done.  Whose with me?  That taste of cinnamon, caramel apple, and pumpkin spice is bliss for me.  And although controversial, the candy corn flavor is good too! :)  The early mornings and evenings are getting cooler and I find myself reaching for my sweater more often than not.  I love sweaters and I love cardigans and I'm ready for the all my cozy clothes to be back in my rotation.  I was generously given a few gift cards for my birthday and I decided I'm going to buy myself a new fall jacket this season.  I typically hate clothes shopping for myself but I've seen some cute styles lately so hopefully I'll make a good decision. 

And just in case you're wondering (cause I'm sure you're dying to know!) Dunkin Donuts starts serving pumpkin spice coffee on August 17th (next Thursday) and guess who will be first in line! Meeeee!

And that's then end of my Fall rant for now : )

In other news, this week has been rainy and humid.  John has been working hard at his part time job and thankfully has a few more weeks of summer vacation left.  He doesn't go back until after Labor Day! Yay!  Next week is his 16th birthday.  I am still in denial he's going to be 16! We are planning on a low key pizza night with family with a special cake from the bakery.  

As for me, after a day of rest post Cape Cod,  I was inspired by my friend Rosinda's Instagram (who was inspired by our hero, Miss Susan Branch) and made blueberry corn cakes.  So easy! Just take Jiffy corn muffin mix, add one egg, half cup of milk, and one cup of fresh blueberries...

Fry them like little pancakes in a buttered skillet and you are left with the sweetest blueberry corncakes you can imagine.  Crispy around the edges and soft and fluffy on the inside.  Susan Branch has the recipe in the book "Martha's Vineyard, Ile of Dreams" which is fabulous by the way.  I think it's my favorite of all her books.  It's inspired by her diary pages when she first moved to the island.  It's not a cookbook but she has recipes scattered throughout it.  I love it. 

These corncakes are really yummy and this one accidently came out looking like a heart which made me smile : ) 

I will leave you today with a movie recommendation.  Tuesday night we watched On the Waterfront (1954) starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint.  This is my second time seeing this film.  I didn't think I could love it any more but I did.  It's such a good movie and if you've never seen it and are in the mood for a classic movie I highly recommend it.  Marlon Brando is a force.  He's amazing and I'm so happy he won an Academy Award for his performance.  Move over James Dean, Brando may be my new Hollywood boyfriend. I also googled Eva Marie Saint last night and I was happy to discover she's the oldest living Academy Award winner, and one of the last surviving stars from the Golden age of Hollywood. She's 99 years old! Wow ♥

Have a great day my friends! Thanks for stopping by today! 

Byeeeee! xoxoxo

February 1st ♥

  

Hello Friends! Happy February 1st ♥

As I type this post I'm listening to rain and wind outside my window.  Mr. Weatherman says it is supposed to switch to snow and we will be waking up to quite a few inches in the morning.  We'll see.  Rob has the day off tomorrow, John's school will be remote, and I'm planning on making soup with the leftover chicken from Sunday's dinner.  Not a bad plan for a snow day. They'll need warming up after shoveling.  

Speaking of Sunday's dinner, it was delicious!  Unfortunately I forgot to photograph it! 

We had a roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, mixed veggies, and homemade bread.  All for Rob's birthday.  He turned 49 yesterday.  (When we met he was 23!!) He always preferred homemade dinners rather than restaurants on his birthday, so lucky for him there was no choice in the matter this year : )

 

For dessert I made Susan Branch's Boston Cream Pie.  I did remember to take a picture of that!  

Its a time consuming recipe, but well worth it.  For special occasions only ♥

The recipe comes from her second book, Vineyard Seasons. 

Link to the full recipe here if you want to try it.  I added sprinkles ♥

And now all of a sudden it's February.  The one month of the year I can decorate with hearts and the boys in the house can't complain! hehe 

So tonight we'll be buckling down, waiting for the storm....happy and grateful to be warm & cozy.  Candles lit, leftovers warming in the oven, and I just made a cup of tea for myself, because...why not?  

OOOH, and I almost forgot...the most exciting news of the weekend.  My mother is getting vaccinated on Thursday!!  

Happy new month friends! The month of Valentine's Day, chocolate, and all things pink. We'll have snow days but dreams of Spring have already begun ♥

xoxox 

Susan Branch's German Pancake (with apples!) ♥

Hello Friends! 

If there is one thing a pandemic has taught me, it's don't wait for special occasions to do things.  And if you've never tried Susan Branch's German Pancake then now is the time to do it.  Don't wait for Christmas morning...any old Saturday will do.  I made one today and it was heavenly.  

Light and puffy, a bit crispy on the outside, soft and eggy on the inside....YUM! The only adaption I made was adding sliced apples and cinnamon on top because...why not? It's October after all.  Serve warm with powdered sugar and a light drizzle of maple syrup.  Not a bad way to start the day : ) 

I also made a short video of me putting it all together, so fill your coffee or tea, give it a look, and let me know what you think ♥

Happy Sunday Everyone!  I'm off to make a pot of turkey chili for dinner and then settle in and watch football.  

Well, actually... Rob will be watching football.  I'll be in my room watching Hallmark :)

I hope you all have a cozy day! ♥

XO 

Perspective (...by Susan Branch ♥)

Hello Friends! 

If you read Susan Branch's blog regularly you've probably already seen this, but it made such an impact on me this morning I had to share it.  Susan never ceases to bring joy to my heart when I need it most.  

 ♥

"Something amazing is happening: Ask people stay home to protect one another  and here’s what happens: they unselfishly do it! And suddenly, everything changes. No school shootings this March for the first time since 2002 , our air has gotten cleaner, our National Parks and all the critters are breathing easier, families are having dinner together, people are nice to each other and reach out to help, the earth gets a rest, we’re becoming more spiritual, angels are popping up everywhere, people are singing and clapping for each other from balconies, and kindness abounds: healthcare workers at a Boston hospital are gifted with lifetime Red Sox tickets as a thank you, a patriotic 99-year-old army veteran in England spends the lead-up to his hundredth birthday walking to raise money for the National Healthcare Service, my single-mom sister gets to stay home with her twins because she works for Starbucks who continues to send paychecks to their employees just as if they were working, and Andrea Bocelli sings Ave Maria to the entire world. And we all cried at the same time. It’s beautiful to see that we are part of a larger plan, a world cause, we are in it together. Turns out the gift is proof-positive and something we’ve always known: that the true heroes are the regular people, the unsung heroes of the world."

Don't you just love her?  ♥

To read this post in it's entirety please visit her blog at www.susanbranch.com

She's also updated the cooking section with some yummy spring & summer recipes that I'm looking forward to making.  

Have a wonderful Wednesday my friends.  Be well!  ♥

Banana Fritters on a Saturday morning ♥

Hi Friends!  Happy February ♥

 

We've made it out of the post-holiday doldrums of January and are happily striding toward spring!  Yes, I do try to enjoy everyday of every season...but when it's minus a gazillion degrees with a wind chill that will freeze your nose off, it's kind of hard.  This past week there was a slight rise in temperature and believe it or not we are suppose to hit 50 degrees early next week.  I don't understand it, but I'll take it! ♥  

 

Despite the weather we had a good week. Everyone is getting excited for the Superbowl on Sunday.  There have been parades and rallies and send offs. And even at my work on Friday we had a spirit day!  It feels like the week before Christmas! : )

 

 

But even better than that - on Thursday we celebrated Rob's birthday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ordered pizzas and had a very relaxing night it. It was way too cold to go out, which suited us just fine.  He loved his cake and presents (especially the cake : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've been picking on it all week.  Currently there are two small slices left. 

They won't make it past tomorrow.  I guarantee it.

 

 

 

 

 

And now it's February! Which means....Valentine's Day!

 

My tree is up ♥

 

 

 

 

 

I was puttering around the kitchen this morning doing a little Valentine's Day decorating. 

 

Do you like my new banner?  I got it at Target in the dollar bin section for $3! 

The hearts are made of wood with little clothes pins behind them. 

So cute, right? 

 

 

 

 

 I hung up one of last years vintage valentines to start it off.

.  I love the old fashion ones the best.  

 

 

I just realized above the garland you can see a little bit of our wedding cake topper inside the china cabinet.  It's a Lenox bride and groom that was given to us a wedding gift.  It's very special and seems appropriate for Valentine's Day : )   

 

Little pink and red heart touches are scattered all around.  The room feels warmer now.   It's ok to be as romantic and corny as you want in February.  No one can tell you different ♥

I'm not done with my hearts yet, but I'm getting there.  I stopped for another cup of coffee and to check in with the news. Today is Groundhog Day and guess what?  Phil says we are in for an early Spring! Wooo-hooo! 

This is very promising! 

I need to dig out another string of white twinkle lights for the window but I was getting hungry.  John asked me to toast him a bagel but I had a better idea.... 

So last night while I was lying in bed I decided I was going to make banana fritters for breakfast. I got so hungry thinking about it I could hardly sleep. You really shouldn't think about food when you are trying to sleep ♥

Hot and crispy on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside.  Oh my YUM! 

The recipe comes straight from Susan Branch's Sweets to the Sweet.  

The cutest little dessert book you've ever seen ♥

It took no time at all for me to whip up the batter.  

It's amazing what flour, eggs, and milk can do! 

I cut bananas into large chunks. 

I was lucky to have three on hand that had seen better days so it was either this or banana bread  :)

 

I dipped each banana chunk into the batter...

...and fried until golden brown! (I wish you could hear the sounds....ahhhhh....)

Sprinkle with a flurry of powdered sugar and serve warm!   

I dusted ours with a few pinches of cinnamon which made them even more delicious and slightly sweeter! 

Susan  recommends a dollop of sour cream so naturally I tried it.  

She was right...again!  So good!
 

 

 

Here is a screen shot of her recipe in case you want to make them.  I highly recommend it! 

Also try the ice cream while you are at it : )    

 

 

 

 

Why go out for donuts when you can have hot fritters at home? 

I think I might be slightly addicted.

 

 

After breakfast, dishes, and more coffee, I decided it was the perfect time to write out some Valentines.  

Something I enjoy doing as much as writing Christmas cards.  I just love the old fashioned sentiment of it. 

Valentines days doesn't just have to be about sweethearts. I like to show my appreciation to my girl friends & family and anyone that holds a special place in my heart. 

YES and Rob too, of course <3 

But wait....  Some Like it Hot is on!!  

Stop. Everything. 

I hit the couch and put the world on hold for a bit.  

This movie is a classic and certainly one of my favorites.  It's so funny!!!  

Marilyn is simply charming and beautiful  (her wardrobe is amazing! The dresses...omg!)

 but it's Jack Lemon as "Daphne" that steals every scene.  I have to watch it to the end! 

 

 

 Once it ended I went back to my Valentine writing.  I'll be bundling up soon to head out to the grocery store (need dinner and SALAD)  but maybe just one more cup of coffee first.  It's still early!

 

 

Have a great day, friends!! I'm off to check to see what other movies are on today.   Will I ever get to the grocery story????  It's debatable at this point ♥

 

 

Happy Weekend!!