midwinter dream

frosty winter hues
rimmed in gold

spring will come soon enough.

winter is still

☼here☼

♥

this week

we've been all together

we've been eating these

and this 

{sauce recipe here}

and this

and i made some of these today

{annie, i'm sending you some}

♥

she prefers a chair with socks

well, don't you?

come see the whole treasury

☼right here☼

♥

today is a good day

emily is home.

she arrived last night

{after being stuck in phoenix the previous night,

when the densest fog ever closed the boise ariport}

and it's missy birthday!

{source}

{source}

happy birthday, sweet friend!

♥

brandi carlile

◄-l-o-v-e-►

you have likely heard of brandi carlile
and the twins, tim and phil hanseroth,
but i hope you find something new
in the songs i've chosen here.
this one at the top, hard way home,
is hands-down my favorite.
pay close attention at 2:16 - 2:23 ~ so beautiful.
does she remind you a little of johnny cash?
i wanna leave this town, fake my death and never be found.

okay, so this one, a promise to keep,
might be my favorite

♥

baked french toast, yesterday's marathon, and hotel transylvania

this morning, i made baked french toast

using all the same ingredients

as my usual french toast,

but i put everything into a casserole dish and

topped it with chopped pecans & melted butter.

it baked at 350° for about 40 minutes.

we loved it.

today's slow pace and relaxed vibe

are brought to you in part by the

marathon i ran from 6am - 7pm yesterday.

{okay, so it wasn't a real marathon}

i helped in ned's class in the morning,

ran a bunch of errands, 

taught an afternoon art lesson for ned's class

{i'll have a post about it soon},

took franklin to the vet,

then picked up movies & pizza.

phew.

we watched this

adam sandler as dracula.

it is really good.

♥

hot cocoa day {& my favorite teas}

today was hot cocoa day

at ned's school

such a sweet winter tradition.

all proceeds go to the local food bank.

when i'm not drinking hot cocoa,

here's what's in my cup

:: tazo focus ::

note: tazo focus has a new package that looks like this

read about tazo tea's artistic makeover here.

:: marble & milkweed modern chai no. 1 ::

briar is a master at blending flavors and scents.

amble through her beautiful etsy shop here.

:: teavana cococaramel sea salt herbal tea ::
{there's a teavana store at my mall}

:: celestial seasonings sleepytime vanilla ::

i always add lots of this

and sweeten with a tiny bit of this

what's in your cup?

♥