the finishing touch
Oh what a weekend!
It was exactly how weekends should be.
Let me paint a picture for you......
Friday we cleaned up the house and got ready for The Tree.
We ate grilled cheese and went for ice cream (for them) and the BEST hot chocolate (for us) at Hatch's.
Side note: both Robby and I grew up cutting down our Christmas trees in real forests. There aren't a lot of places to do that here (if you are in Utah and do this PLEASE share your secrets:), so it KILLS me having to go "buy" a Christmas tree.
But.
We have to have one, right?
So we wandered through "the forest" (ahem, the tree lot), trying our best (with no success) to avoid the creepy Santa, while we hunted for our tree.
THE tree that would fill our house with the lovely scent of pine and warm glow of lights.
And then, we found it, standing by itself and calling our name.
And then, we found it, standing by itself and calling our name.
Saturday we slept in, and Charly and I hit the trail for a run.
We got lights on the house, decked the halls a little here and there, and made a batch of snowballs.
We ate potato and broccoli soup with toasty bread.
And then.......
The Tree.
We wrapped it with lights from bottom to top.
We dangled ornaments from branches--
glass balls, old Santas, and souvenirs from travels over the years.
Each, a memory.
We wrapped it with a garland that sparkles, and topped it with a star.
Our Tree.
We snuggled up and laughed at Elf together, and then went to bed with sweet dreams.
Sunday I giggled at my littles as they sat next to me in church and sang "Away in a Manger" LOUDER than I have ever heard it sung before.
We feasted on slow cooked chicken, salad with goat cheese, cauliflower, bacon, and pine nuts, and warm cornbread muffins with honey.
We listened to our prophet speak about Christmas, and ended the day with our hearts and bellies full (and boxes of Christmasy stuff alllllll over the house).
Cornbread Muffins
(recipe adapted from Martha.
I switched out the flour for whole wheat and the sugar for maple syrup)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a muffin tin. In a large bowl, stir together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined (do not overmix). Transfer batter to pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 12-15 minutes.
Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 15 minutes, before serving with butter and honey.
Enjoy!
How was your weekend?
13 comments:
That sounds a like a marvelous weekend! We're going away over christmas so we won't have a tree at home this year :(
Friday was spent editing and printing pictures to my portfolio, and my boyfriend worked saturday and while he was away I started to clean and christmas decorate. In the evening we made saffron buns and had some mulled wine.
Sunday was first spent shopping some stuff for our home at IKEA, then we headed into town and walked around at a small christmas market, after that we hung out with friends, making food, gingerbread and watching a movie :)
I found you on Instagram which led me to your blog, which is now my favorite read of all.
So thanks. :)
here's a tree cutting tip: I know you guys like to travel to Moab on occasion-- I don't know when the forest service starts to sell tree permits, but I think it is pretty early (like right after Halloween). You could always combine getting your tree with a trip down to play in the red rocks! The permit is $10 and you can cut it down anywhere in the Manti-La Sal forest (the office is right next to the post office on 100N) . The closest to Moab is to drive the La Sal mountain loop and drive up toward Gold Basin. Trees are all over the place up there and they never run out of permits since there are so few people for area.
That photo of the muffins! So simple. So lovely. And your littles...so adorable! I'm surprised to hear there aren't many tree farms in Salt Lake. They seem to be pretty popular in CO. Either way, the tree looks pretty perfect.
ohhh, the tree is my favourite part of every day after we get it! it just smells SO good, and it's so beautiful, and makes me feel all warm + fuzzy + happy. i think we're getting ours this upcoming weekend, but since we live in the city (and neither of us drives) we'll be looking at the walmart parking lot of the closest mall. (ugh.)
as for that cornbread recipe, you must have read my mind! i've been looking for one in all my cookbooks, and haven't come across one this easy + delicious-sounding yet, so thanks for posting it! i'm excited to swap the sugar for maple syrup (mmm)...i'll let you know how my effort goes! :)
We live in Logan and travel just across the border into Idaho where we buy a permit in Preston to cut our own tree. I have friends who live in SLC who go in the uintahs or maybe into Wyoming to cut a tree too. Its our favorite Christmas tradition.
@Angela I LOVE this idea!! Yes the permit thing is an issue here--they run out so quickly. Thank you!!
@Ashley there are quite a few tree lots.....I just want to cut one down from a real forrest;)
How convenient that you posted a recipe for cornbread! I am planning on making some this week, and I will probably try yours, but in a cast iron skillet instead of the muffin version.
Happy holidays :)
come visit us in CO for the weekend and on your way home we will all go chop a couple down together. that's the plan 2013!
Sounds fun;) the way you describe your weekend is so mesmerizing! Thank you for sharing xx
Made this recipe three times now and it is been a great hit every time! To me it has perfectly balanced flavors and texture! Thank you for sharing this! You make me look good ;D
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