Advent Calendar Roundup.

Advent calendars have always been a big deal for me. Whether it’s one from Hallmark or a more elaborate set-up involving pieces of chocolate or tiny presents, there was always one put up in our little house come December 1st. These are some of my favorites out there this year.


{Brooklyn Advent Calendar}


{Canvas Advent Calendar}


{DIY Advent Calendar}


{Advent Garland}


{Mini Desktop Advent Calendar}


{Wall Advent Calendar}


{Pinboard Advent Calendar}


{Uusi Advent Calendar}

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Holiday Shopping List.

I made you a little download surprise, friends. (My first ever, by the way.) It all started innocently enough after finally buying my first holiday gift a few weeks ago. I’m an avid list maker, you see, and immediately set after designing my annual Holiday Gift List. (I’m also a dork.) Then I got to thinking, “Hey, I bet other people might use this, too.” Crazy, right? So here it is in my favored minimalistic style. No reds and no greens, just grays and black to brighten your holidays and keep you organized.

{DOWNLOAD HOLIDAY SHOPPING LIST}

Required Disclaimer: This download has been created for personal use only, meaning non-commercial use. Please do not alter and/or redistribute the actual file.

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Happy Weekend.


{kristin~mainemomma}

+ If your playing Thanksgiving host you mights like these simple printables: a Thanksgiving paper chain + printable napkin rings + gift bags + all of these

+ Love this paper bag turkey for the kids’ table!

+ Hey designers, know what it takes to make a logo super suck?

+ Yet another idea for my paint chip collection.

+ I want to write myself a futureme.org letter, but am almost too nervous.

+ Quite possibly the best cat calendar I’ve ever seen.

+ Say hello to the Mrs. Shoppe!

+ Genius tutorial on making a modern coffee table out of a wooden pallet.

+ Anxious to try out a modern french tip manicure.

+ Jack Spade’s gift guides are the only ones that made me want to look.

Happy Weekend!

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Kaleidoscope Patchwork Quilt.


Here’s the thing, I don’t really like a lot of bright colors in my life. A pop here and there is great, but I live much closer to muted tones. And quilts? I own one for summer, but it’s white with light gray stitching. Nothing like this Kaleidoscope quilt that I can hardly keep my eyes off of. The flip side has a sweet floral pattern just in case you need a break or a change.

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Framed Friday: Overnight Oatmeal.

Hi there, this is Kate from Framed Cooks.  I am a mother, a wife, a redhead,  a dog-lover, a bookworm, a first-born, a photographer, an avid cook, and just a little bit of a hypochondriac. Framed Cooks started as a two week photography project, and two years later here I am, still trying to cook with teenagers and dogs constantly underfoot, still taking pictures of my supper, and still writing about my kitchen escapades for anyone who wants to listen to me!  My basic rule of thumb is this: everything I cook needs to be easy enough to make when you only have about 30 minutes to get dinner on the table… AND it needs to be something you haven’t made a million times before, because suppertime is so much happier when the food is interesting. And if it includes bacon and/or chocolate, even better!

I think I am overdue in terms of singing the praises of one of my very favorite kitchen appliances, which is my beloved, faithful, trustworthy slow cooker. I’ve had the same slow cooker for years and years now – it’s a basic Rival Crockpot model – and I’ve made everything from the best beef barley soup in the world to a really incredible chocolate pudding cake and a lot of stuff in between. There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you toss a bunch of stuff in the crockpot in the morning, go out to work, and then come home hours later to a house that smells like heaven and the glorious knowledge that dinner is already made!

Most of my crockpot recipes are dinner-oriented (Well, except for that cake. Which I would happily eat for dinner, but that’s just me.) This oatmeal recipe also makes a fantastic comfort food dinner recipe, but it’s my only crockpot recipe that is perfection for breakfast. Here’s how it works, and why I adore it so much.

First of all, you must use steel-cut oats – none of those regular rolled Quaker Oats for this recipe. Steel cut oats are those hard little round oats – they look like teeny little pebbles and you will wonder how on earth they are going to turn into anything edible, but have faith. You toss them into your trusty slow cooker with some water, a little half and half and some dried fruit. I used dried cranberries and chopped up dried figs, but I think probably anything you have around will work just fine – raisins, dates, etc. Set the slow cooker for 8 hours on low, and go to bed. The next morning you will wake up to an unbelievably amazing aroma of sweet and creamy oatmeal. It has slowly cooked away all night look, and the fruit has somehow broken down and blended into the oats, giving the whole thing a wildly delicious, comforting, sweetly creamy texture. No additional sweetener is needed – just warm up a little milk and grab your favorite bowl.

Take hold of a spoon, close your eyes and dig in.  It’s comfort food extraordinaire, and you may never go back to those little oatmeal packets ever again.

Overnight Oatmeal

from Alton Brown

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup dried figs, cut in quarters
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup half and half

1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and set on low.  Cover and cook for 8 hours.
2. Stir and scoop into bowls.  Pour warm milk over each serving.

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A Thanksgiving Feast.

A mix-n-match smorgasbord of sorts. Basically any of these recipes can be paired together with one another for the Big Turkey Dinner or the day after. Or even a month from next Thursday. (That’s December 25th if you don’t have a calendar handy.) Happy menu planning!


Let’s start with the libations. Because as far as I’m concerned, no holiday is tolerable without a few. (Boozy Mulled Cider, Butterbeer, Maple Concord)

Soup is one of my favorite things to make. I plan to subsist on it all winter long. (Apple Soup, Pumpkin + Peanut Butter Soup, Sour Cream Soup)


Then we’ll move on to some hearty bread, it serves as a nice sopping device for the soup. (Bread Baked with Honey + Cream, Brown Molasses Bread, Parmesan Potato Bread)


Now onto a few traditional things, sweet potatoes for one. (Cookie Crusted Sweet Potatoes, Maple Sweet Potato Casserole, Grilled Sweet Potatoes)


And turkey for two, although these are recipes for leftover turkey since it’s easy enough to roast one. (Curried Turkey Salad, Turkey Cranchiladas, Turkey and Sweet Potato Hash)


And now onto the most important part of the meal. Pumpkin. And dessert. (Mini Pumpkin Pies, Pumpkin Custards, Pumpkin Rice Pudding)

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