baby calvin

Yesterday was so bittersweet. My sister hannah called me in the morning to let me know my other sister jasmine was in labor. I was super happy the day was finally here (and about 2 weeks early) but so sad at the same time because i wouldnt be able to be there, since i live thousands of miles away.. 2817 miles to be exact. She brought the laptop so i could skype with them off and on throughout the day.. I got to "be" there through a couple hours of labor, chatting in between the contractions. Although she had gone through about 6 hours of natural labor, her doctor didn't think things were moving along fast enough for baby so he suggested a c-section and the next hour my sister and her husband became parents. She had a few hours of recovery so i skyped with the family out in the waiting room (all 13 of them!). Finally, hannah texted and said they were back in the room and i could see him.. and when they pointed the computer screen at him, with the whole family gathered around the bed and computer, i barely got out an "awww" before i erupted in tears and sobbed for a second with my hands in my face. i finally pulled it together and admired his adorable face and long hands, and how happy my sister looked as a mama. I stayed in the room and visited with them for over 2 hours, and i am so so so thankful for the technology to do so. It was definitely the hardest day in 3 years of living away from family.
I'll get to see him and smother him in kisses in about 3 weeks, which is when we're moving there. Oh! thats other big news.. i'll explain later..

For now, welcome to the world little Calvin Shane Lee






with my sister hannah


with my dad


my mom and dad
(pictures taken from various friends facebooks.. thank you!)



...counting down the days

our christmas

It came and went so fast! But it was such a great day.

Josh and i couldn't fall asleep on christmas eve, not because i was "excited" but because our sleeping pattern has been really messed up so we tossed and turned for a few hours then at 2am we got up and watched a christmas mass on ABC then the blindside. After that i was finally sleepy enough, then got a whole 2 hours of sleep before the alarm went off. We opened our presents from each other and my whole family, then drove to Josh's parents and opened gifts from them and watched our nephew enjoy tons of little toys. Then we napped for a LONG time and ate lunch, played a game and went to see black swan (which was AMAZING)..

Santa brought me:
an ikea giftcard, UO owl catch-all, UO labratory vases, built by wendy dress book, moleskine, an 11X14 print of this amazing painting, the black apple paper dolls book, Seychelles clogs, vintage style oxfords from jshop, an ikea muffin tin, matroyshka doll measuring cups, this paper trimmer, and more super sweet and thoughtful gifts.

The day after christmas I got up pretty early and went to target to pick up some christmas clearance.. its the best way to build your christmas decor collection! And when i came home it was snowing.. it didn't stick for long but it was still fun.

How was your christmas?? And what was your favorite gift?

merry christmas.

¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luke, chapter 2

advent calender: psl

Christmas is in FOUR DAYS! (i still cannot believe how fast this year went by, ive said it a thousand times i think.. but i need to say it again)
We've watched just about every christmas movie made.. quite literally. We've been drinking hot cocoa and cider as much as possible. And each day coming up with clever things to put in the advent calender. Today josh put a note in there that said "pumpkin spice date". I haven't had one yet this year, so i was over due. it was delicious. and over priced.

i made peanut brittle to send my grandparents this year but i didn't have anything to put it in so i stitched up the sides of parchment paper and added some ribbon and a tag. it ended up looking cuter than expected.
(grandparents if you're reading: i hope you enjoy it!)


and this is our kitty being naughty and climbing in the tree. he gets sprayed with water every time, yet still does it multiple times throughout the day... sending the ornaments flying..



hope the beginning of your week has been stress-free.

weekend in black and white

and a little color:





over the weekend:
i put finishing touches on some handmade gifts that i sent off today.
made caramels and reindeer cake pops
drank some coffee that didn't hurt my stomach
went shopping at the mall to get one present i couldn't online (it was crazy, and i won't ever do that again)
read a whole lot. (the glass castle and josh's upcoming memoir)
wore a cute dress i got for my birthday.
but other than that was in pajamas most of the weekend.


tomorrow we're going ice skating with friends, which i'm super excited about. i love ice skating, even though i tend to fall a whole lot.

modcloth guest post (& happy birthday mom)

just a quick little post to tell you i was lucky enough to be a guest blogger over on the modcloth blog.. a marshmallow recipe and cute way to wrap them up for gift giving.
check it out here!

and...



Happy birthday mom! I love you and i hope you had a beautiful day.

triple chocolate cupcakes

When I first saw the recipe for these cupcakes I was very fascinated.. an entire cupcake.. with frosting.. using no sugar. That's right up my alley. And I have to say, they didn't let me down one bit. They taste like "real" cupcakes, with a bittersweet chocolate frosting. They are quite perfect for those days when you are needing sugar (or chocolate) extra bad, but don't want to spoil your no-sugar rule.

Well, for me, that rule is not in place in December. Too many things to indulge in!! But come January, these will be a close friend of mine. (these are also a better alternative for diabetics)

I used xagave in these. It's the best agave i've tried, very subtle in flavor which makes it a great substitute in baking and cooking. I love the stuff.

Triple chocolate AGAVE cupcakes
vegan

Filling:
5.5 ounces silken tofu, drained
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup agave

Melt the chocolate and agave over a double boiler until perfectly smooth. Set aside. Puree the tofu in a food processor, until perfectly smooth. You will need to scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the tofu and process until smooth and thick. It will look like chocolate pudding. Set aside while you bake the cake.


Cake:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/4 cup cocoa, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup agave
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon rice vinegar

To bake the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin tins with papers.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Melt the chocolate and oil in a medium sized bowl over a double boiler until perfectly smooth. Whisk the agave into the chocolate mixture. In a third bowl whisk together the soy milk, vanilla, and vinegar, then stir it into the chocolate mixture. gently whisk the wet mixture into the dry. Divide the batter into the muffin cups and bake for about 18 minutes or until the tester comes out clean.

Using a paring knife cut out a portion of the cupcake, to make a space for the filling. Don’t cut too much away or the cupcake may not have enough structure and fall apart.
Use a pastry bag with a round tip to fill the cupcakes with the filling and spread it smooth.

Optional:

Ganache:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons coconut milk

Melt the chocolate and milk over a double boiler until smooth

Spoon the ganache over the top of the cupcakes.

recipe source

brrr...

It's 24 degrees right now!

It's been really cold the past few days and its supposed to keep up for awhile. And its about time! I've been staying cuddled up on the couch (where a hot cup of tea is always within reach) whenever i'm not doing projects that involve the sewing machine. I've been busting my butt to get christmas gifts made and so far i'm on schedule.. deadline is the 12th.

some snapshots of the day:

morning tea in my (new!) favorite mug


some cuddly knit gifts i wish i could keep for myself


i've had a mini obsession with matryoshka dolls lately, so i decided i better make some felt ones. these are unfinished..


pretty colorful felt


a print from black apple (the first of many i plan on collecting), a gift from vanessa.


pretty ribbon i picked up on black friday.



i got this poster sized street map of Paris in the mail from a friend. I'm so in love with it, I cannot wait to frame it and put it up in our new place. Thanks Kim!!




Stay warm!

christmasy times

We've been having lots of fun with our new flip camera. It's so dang convenient, we find ourselves using it constantly. I put together this set of clips last night and hopefully i'll be posting videos more often.

(I apologize in advanced if they bore you to tears.)

music: horchata by vampire weekend

pinning

I've had an awful headache all day, so i took it easy (ha! like my days are so hard in the first place) and did some of christmas music listening, kitty cuddling, christmas movie watching and a whole lot of aimlessly perusing the internet. One of my new favorite websites for doing that is Pinterest. Ever heard of it?? I just discovered it and i'm kind of obsessed now. It's eye candy in every category possible.
Here are some of my favorites from today.

ALSO!

the new dujour magazine issue is out.. and it is chock full of beauty. You can see a sneak peek of the issue here, or you can get an online subscription for $10/year. (Its worth ten times more than that) I have quite a few recipes i contributed to this issue, and a travel diary spread from my San Francisco trip as well.

Have a great weekend.

p.s. I'll be posting my first video montage from our flip camera on Saturday. be excited.