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Friday Favorites

a pastel dream ◊ Untitled ◊ kitty in distress ◊ Thoughts of Paris

Cute trays: Brunch, Drinks, Served
Pretty Instagram feed: Cabin and Cottage I love the soothing palette (and you know I'm all about the linens)
As we eeeeease into Christmas decorating (ahem) this candle truly smells like fresh cut Christmas trees. I do feature candles a lot in this series, don't I? It's a fairly inexpensive way to set a mood. We haven't done a fresh cut tree in a couple of years because of the cats and this candle makes it at least smell like we have one
Wait, what? Howard's End has been redone as a series? I'm not sure how I feel about this because I loved the Merchant Ivory adaptation so much but I'm willing to give it a watch

Happy day after Thanksgiving (for those who celebrate). I do like it when Thanksgiving falls earlier in November. Less of a panic about getting ready for Christmas.

We received a letter from our city that our house is on the Holiday Lights Tour route. We have four trolleys that are normally used for wine tasting tours but in December they use them to take people on a tour of the all the holiday decorations. The city asks politely if we wouldn't mind participating by doing a light display on our house. So the pressure is on. To be honest our efforts in years past have been kind of feeble. It's time to step up our game.

The question is all white or colorful? Decisions decisions…

Linens

If you were to ask me what my very favorite thing to collect is the answer would indisputably be vintage linens. I always gravitate towards them at antique stores and flea markets.

I think what I especially love about them is that someone took the time and effort to make something utilitarian pretty. Need a pillowcase? Add some crochet edging. Need a tea towel? Embroider it. Nothing was so humble that it couldn't be elevated with lace or pin tucks.

My dream job would be to open a linen shop selling both vintage and new linens. I picture quarterly buying trips to France and Belgium to restock my little shop. The shop would always smell of lavender and there would be hot tea should you need some refreshment.

I even like ironing linens and find it very soothing. The smell of a good linen spray and the hiss of the steam. It's a great way to de-stress.

Speaking of the laundering aspect – my favorite product for cleaning linens is Biz. I know I've mentioned it before and I'll keep saying it. If you have anything with yellow aging a good long soak in Biz will almost always remove it. Another product that I used to love but sadly is no longer made was Victoria's Secret dryer sheets. They were stupidly expensive but they smelled so good. My mother in law was dumbfounded that I would spend $12 on a box of dryer sheets and gently asked me if I knew that you could buy them for a few bucks at the grocery store. I'm thinking of starting a letter writing campaign to Victoria's Secret to get them to bring them back.

I try to use my vintage linens as much as possible. No point saving for best, is my motto. I especially love lace trimmed pillowcases. I can remember when I was a child that we had a few with crocheted edges that I always tried to snag from the wash so I could have one on my bed. Maybe that was the catalyst for my obsession.

It's getting harder and harder to find pairs of pillow cases or even ones that are in nice condition. I bought a beautiful set a few years back. The seller assured me they were indeed vintage and from FRANCE – well say no more. I bought them without really examining them. When I got them home and unfolded them they were completely rotted along the fold lines. Just came completely apart. So tip number 1: Check your item carefully before purchasing. Tip number 2: Repurpose.

I ended up making a curtain for my sink with that pair. Even if the material is stained or falling apart you can still salvage the lace. I have a project in mind for seat cover for our piano bench that involves a stained matelassé coverlet and some crocheted lace I salvaged.

I have tray cloths that are just gorgeous but don't have much need for. It's not like anyone is bringing me my afternoon tea on a lace covered tray (which I really need to speak to the staff about). You better believe that when you come to my little linen shop I'll serve your tea on a tray with the prettiest tea cloth.

I have used them to make a plain pillow rather spectacular. I made a simple ruffled pillow cover and then tacked on a tea tray. I can easily remove it to launder and then tack it back on.

I spent the morning tidying up my linen cupboard which is what prompted this post. It's nice to take them out and pet them. I do use them quite liberally throughout the house but I have so many that I don't want any to feel neglected.

Friday Favorites

One Autumn Day ◊ Coquelicot d'automne… ◊ A contraption of sorts ◊ Autumn dawn

Cute cocktail napkins for your pre-Thanksgiving drinks and nibbles
My love for white bedding has no limits. Love this elegant set and these sweetly simple crocheted set that looks like something your Grandmother would have. Although technically not sets since they sell the top and bottom sheets separately. Which is genius, actually. We wear out the bottom sheets regularly and the tops sheets never wear out
Next time you are in Target take a whiff of their Pink Peony candle – it has been a favorite of mine for a few years now. It just smells pretty and feminine. I don't get the fruit elements they list in the description. It's more of a white musk scent to me
I have been on a New Orleans house tour kick lately. I went last year and if it weren't for the humidity and being over 2000 miles away from family I would consider living there. The homes are gorgeous. This one is full of quirkly details that I love (I wouldn't have committed to that blue though…). This one is brighter and I love how the shutters open right up to the street. Maybe for my next trip there – right in the garden district!

The weather has turned decidedly cooler this past week. I know people picture California being all sunshine and palm trees but in the bay area we get lovely cool fall and winter temperatures and the trees actually change color!

If it doesn't rain Rick and I have an outdoor project to work on. Something that I will share in a couple of weeks. It is one of those Pinterest inspiration things and if we can pull it off it will be quite fabulous.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned. Stay cozy!

Gluten Free Breakfast Muffin

As mentioned last week I've started eating low carb (or Ketogenic) which rules out all my most favorite breakfast options. Namely being toast or more toast. I tried doing the egg thing but oh my god can you get sick of eggs quickly. Being desperate I turned to my go to place for inspiration and guidance: Pinterest. I did a search on Keto breakfast and amongst the eight million ways to eat bacon (not a bacon eater here) I found a few mug muffin recipes.

A mug muffin is just that – a muffin you cook in a mug using a microwave. Never having great luck with microwaved baked anything I was doubtful but figured I had nothing to lose. Except about $40 in nut flours. Goodness they are expensive.

I tweaked and fiddled and finally came up with two versions that I absolutely love. I would take either of these over toast any day.

The base recipe is the same for both with one having coconut flour and the other having ground flax seed. The coconut flour one is a little drier and more muffin-like in texture. The flax seed one is a little eggier tasting and while still muffin-like, not quite as much as the coconut one. Coconut flour is very absorbent which results in a better texture but the flax seed one has a lovely nutty taste that I prefer. The flax seed one puffs up more, almost souffle like, but like a souffle, deflates a bit when removed from the mug. Speaking of mug – I actually make mine in a 5 oz. ramekin. Ramekin muffin just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Slight segue but aren't these containers lovely? I follow the Home Edit girls' Instagram and was inspired to reorganize my cupboards. The containers are the pop containers by Oxo and you can find them at Bed Bath and Beyond, Crate and Barrel or the Container Store.

Since I'm usually in a bit of a rush in the morning I wanted to minimize the amount of time it takes to make the muffins. The tedious part is measuring out all the dry ingredients so once a week I make up a week's worth in small containers. Then I just have to mix it in with the wet ingredients.

Be sure to read all my notes at the end. On to the recipe!

Mug Muffin

1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. erythritol (sugar substitute)
1 egg
1 tbsp. coconut flour OR 1 tbsp. finely ground flax seed
2 tbsp. almond flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cream or milk

In a mug or ramekin melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients then the egg, vanilla and cream. Mix well with a fork. Cook in microwave for 90 seconds for the coconut version or 100 seconds for the flax seed version. Use care when removing the mug or ramekin from the microwave as it might be hot.

Notes:

You can be as creative as you like with the flavoring. I like the vanilla/pumpkin spice combination but I will occasionally use almond extract in place of the vanilla. Just cut it back to a scant 1/4 tsp.

Vanilla – I buy my vanilla from Costco in a jumbo bottle. It's a good value but the vanilla isn't as great as say Penzey's or Nielsen-Massey so I add a vanilla bean to the bottle and it improves the flavor quite measurably.

For the sugar substitute I use Swerve granular. It measures up the same as sugar and is made of erythritol which is a natural ingredient. You could always just use sugar if you don't care about the carbs and are just looking for a gluten free muffin. Some people notice a slight cooling effect when eating erythritol but I don't really notice it. If you have pets be super duper careful with your sugar substitutes. Erythritol is okay but DO NOT let them eat anything with xylitol in it. It is extremely toxic to cats and dogs.

I use an extra large egg for this recipe. If you can use jumbo or large eggs if you want it more or less eggy.

I buy shelf stable whipping cream from Trader Joe's. It's a great product and nice small sized container. I usually stock up and since it is shelf stable you can store it in your cupboard for up to six months. It doesn't whip up quite as nice as regular whipping cream but it is great as an ingredient for soups and sauces.

The flax seed version is lower in carbs than the coconut version. I hesitate to give out nutritional information because you never know if those dietary database are completely accurate but when I plug it into MyFitnessPal it calculates the carbs in the flax seed version to be six and the coconut one is eight.

These muffins are best eaten right away (as is any baked good) but if you do want to save it for later just give it 15 seconds or so in the microwave to warm it up.

I hope you give them a try!

Alt Thanksgiving Table

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is setting a pretty table. I have never been into the typical autumnal colors for decorating. I'm just not a golds, reds and brown kind of girl. The tricky thing is my normal go to shades for decorating, particularly table decor, can look very Christmasy. I'm very much into whites, silver and crystal.

I wanted to create something that was warm and festive and not too formal.

To bring in a Thanksgiving vibe I brought in elements that seem Fallish to me – a mercury glass pumpkin, some deer busts, and warm silver accents. The faded floral plates and turquoise tumblers keep if from looking too Christmasy and yet I feel like I'm staying true to my style.

The table runner also helps to warm it up a bit. I threw that together in about 15 minutes. I just took a piece of scrap linen, cut it to the size I wanted and glued some lace on the two long edges.

I love the deer busts. I got them at Michael's last year (and shhhh…technically they are Christmas decorations). The turquoise tumblers are from the Pioneer Woman's line of glassware. The dinner plates are the Johnson Bros. Rose Chintz pattern that we collected from a few antique shops but it is a pattern that is easy to find. The smaller glasses are vintage Anchor Hocking Wexford (also easy to find). I rarely use them to drink out of. Normally I use them for votive candles. So so pretty.

This is my non-traditional take on the Thanksgiving table.

I really do want to just slow down and savor Fall for just a little bit longer before I have to get into full on Christmas panic mode.

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