Holiday Treats

Tis the season to replace all things pumpkin with gingerbread flavoring! I had actually never made anything gingerbread flavored, so I was excited to try something new!

In typical Martha fashion there were many components to said recipe, in fact I had mistaken the "see page 302 for icing" as the icing for the cupcakes when in fact it was the icing for the gingerbread men to top the cupcakes, talk about amateur hour! This realization occurred of course after I had carefully crafted a grocery list, returned home, and it was well past 11pm the night before the party. I can assure you there were a few choice words from my mouth at that moment!

After a deep breathe I decided I would finish the cupcakes and icing for the cookies I didn't realize I still had to make (and seriously contemplated purchasing), pour myself a generous glass of red, and call it a night. Sunday morning I got up early and put the finishing touches on the cupcakes and headed to the party! Several people at the party said they loved them, including three children. You know it's really good when a kid says something, they have no vested interest in making you feel better :)

I did make one substitution, which I have noted on the recipe! They still tasted great, and for some reason fresh nutmeg can be hard to find at 11pm on a Saturday night :)

Hope you enjoy making these for your next Holiday gathering! They will definitely be making an encore at Christmas Eve!

For Cupcakes: makes 22 cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tbs ground ginger
- 2 Tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (I just used ground nutmeg spice)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tbs unsulfered molasses
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 350, add paper liners to your cupcake tin. Mix all dry ingredients together EXCEPT sugar. Cream butter & sugar together until pale and fluffy, then add molasses followed by eggs and lastly vanilla beating until combined. Slow speed on mixer and slowly add in the dry mixture beating until just combined. Pour into your cups until 3/4 full and bake for approximately 25 minutes. My oven tends not to cook super evenly so I turned my tin around halfway through the baking time.

Icing (for the cupcakes): makes 4 cups
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 pound (4 cups) of powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions: Beat butter on a medium speed until creamy, reducing speed and add sugar until fluffy, lastly adding in vanilla and mixing until combined.

Gingerbread boys & girls: makes 4-5 dozen 2 inch cookies (if you're making just the cupcakes I recommend you half the recipe)

-5 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp plus one 1tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp plus one 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cups unsulfered molasses

Directions: Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt & spices. In a separate bowl cream together butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy then add eggs and molasses to the mixture. Reducing the speed add in the dry ingredients beating until just combined. Put dough into disks, wrap and place in freezer until firm, at least one hour. Remove dough onto a floured surface and roll out until 1/4 inch thick, return mixture to freezer for 15 mins. Preheat your oven to 350, remove dough from freezer cut out the men using a 2 inch cookie cutter and place them on a parchment paper lined tray baking for 8-10 mins until crisp.

Icing (for the gingerbread men):

- 1/2 lbs (2 cups) confectioners sugar
- 1/8 cup plus 1/2 tbsp of meringue powder
- 1/4 cup of water

Directions: With an electric mixer beat all ingredients together until smooth, approximately 7 mins. Add water if needed, should be thick enough to hold ribbons on the bowl. I made mine to watery at first so I added a bit more confectioners sugar. Add food coloring of your choice, the recipe called for pink and blue to make boys and girls. I just did all red which looks a bit pink in these photos.

Ted Baker Beauty

This may look familiar to you if follow me on Instagram, I tried it on a while back and absolutely loved it! However I had to wait for it to go on sale before I could commit to it!

Luckily, Lord & Taylor had a sale which included Ted Baker which doesn't happen very often so I snatched it up as quickly as I could! I love the lace detail on the sleeves, as well as the silhouette the lace sides give it.  I am looking forward to styling this with jeans, black skinnies & a skirt with tights! So many options!

I also love these pieces from Ted Baker!

Foodie Paradise: Portland, ME

I loved visiting Portland so much I needed to give it the credit it was due in it's own post! I  mentioned before on here that we were in Maine for a little getaway for Oliver's birthday.

I managed to surprise him which is a big deal, only because I am notorious for not being able to keep surprises actually as a surprise. I have given him just about every gift for every occasion except his wedding gift, beforehand. I also love to figure out surprises myself, so really there is minimal surprise all around!

So Portland...we stayed at an amazing hotel in the heart of the town called, Portland Regency Hotel & Spa. I was fortunate enough to find a Groupon so it was super cheap, but not lacking in luxury! The photo of the hotel is from their site, I wasn't able to get a great picture & wanted to do it justice!

My only misstep in preparation was I forgot to pack bathing suits for the hot tub & sauna. To be fair I was packing in secret and I did not have the slightest clue where Oliver put his suits! So unfortunately we skipped the hot tub and hit up some pre-dinner cocktails instead!

The North Point is where we kicked off our night. We literally stepped out the front door of the hotel and were right there. I loved the dim lights & decor so we headed in for drinks & the best cheese and charcuterie plate around! If you saw my Instagram I posted a photo of our drinks!

Oliver was super happy because they had loads of cider on tap, I went for the Ginger St. Germain- it was amazing! I snapped a little photo of the description hoping I can recreate it at home!

After our pre-dinner snack we took a little stroll around the neighborhood, I loved the quaintness of the town which is very much still a working port!

Dinner was at Street & Co and it was simply delicious! I have to be honest we were pretty full after our cheese & meat plate, but I am so glad we didn't skip dinner. I had clams that were to die for, Oliver went for Arctic Char which I had several tastings of! What I also loved about this place was the decor, it was a stone building with rustic decor & loads of candles, perfect date night spot!

While we were eating it felt like the temperature dropped 15 degrees so we practically ran back to the hotel and snuggled up in our Spa robes & called it a night!

The next morning, waking super refreshed we went to a bakery Oliver follows on Instagram called Scratch Baking Co. He hopes to someday open a bakery/cafe with some sort of cycling component to it so he is always checking out places that inspire him. The bakery was really cute & trendy, we were quite obviously not regulars, but they were welcoming nonetheless.

We went for a quick, and I do mean quick, stroll on the beach by the Birthday Boy's request! You can tell how windy it was by both of our hair, it was also absolutely freezing!!

















After the beach we headed South to our sweet boy Clovis who I think had been waiting for us by the window! My Mom sent us this picture while we were away, talk about tugging on heartstrings! 

If you haven't been to Portland I highly suggest making plans to go soon! If you have been what are some of your favorite places? Have you been to any of the restaurants we went to?

Fantastic Finds: JCrew & Barbour

I wrote about Oliver's birthday briefly, mainly due to the fact that the post was published before his actual birthday & I had a few surprises up my sleeve!

We went to the outlets in Kittery, ME on Monday (his actual birthday) which he knew about. It is only about an hour from us and we wanted to check out the Barbour Outlet. We spent a good amount of time in there checking around & found him an awesome wax jacket so he was super happy! After that we checked out a few other stores. Le Creuset has an outlet store and we found these awesome salt & pepper shakers, I know so wild! ;)

We also went into Orvis where I found a Barbour jacket as well. Talk about a splurge day! I really love the jacket, especially the country pattern on the inside, it reminds me so much of Oliver's family home in the South of England.














I spotted the JCrew Factory store from across the road and could not resist. The people that work in that store are amazing! I tried on endless pairs of jeans, none of which fit. One of the women who worked there mentioned she has a hard time finding pants as well because of her height, she was the same height as me. She recommended these pants which I am IN LOVE with! 

I have never owned a pair of pants I didn't need hemmed before! I got them in black & navy, however I tried on the navy when I got home and for some reason they don't fit the same. I plan on switching them out for a different pair, maybe one with a fun pattern!

I also got this sweater which I've had my eye on for quite some time! Loved adding this to my closet!








I got to the register and could not have been happier, everything was 50% off and an additional 15%! Talk about a deal!

Mostly work & a little play

My schedule is pretty variable, but one thing I can always count on is my every third weekend rotation! Not too bad to be honest, I have worked places where it was every other weekend, so I have no complaints about that. However it can be a bit of a drag when all your friends are headed out and you're headed into work. I always try to get out at least Friday night before I spend the weekend working. This weekend I worked night shift so I apologize that I am a day late on my "weekend recap" as I essentially slept through Monday ;)

This Friday we had plans with great friends so it helped to get me through the Saturday/Sunday night shift! We were dog sitting this weekend for my sister which has been fun but also a good reality check of what life would be like with two dogs... yikes!

We have gotten past that stage of puppy ownership where you are constantly asking yourself "what were we thinking?" Clo is pretty well trained, no accidents indoors or chewing on everything in sight, so we have been telling him he needs a little sister. Then my Sister's sweet boy came over and we quickly realized we are so not ready for another dog. They have been having some fun but Clovis is a puppy & Bailey is not loving all of his energy. The one thing you can't deny is they are so cute!

Bailey is a total snuggle bug so he was on the couch with me. Clovis was watching longingly from the floor, he was very patient but clearly not super happy about his place on the floor!

Friday night dinner was amazing! We met up with our friends first and headed over to Cassarino's Ristorante in Federal Hill (Providence, RI). My friend Ashley's cousin owns the place so we go there pretty frequently with them.

Family connects aside, this place is an absolute must visit if you're in the area! Rhode Island has a special place in my heart, being URI alums, Oliver & I often talk about moving back someday, but until then we enjoy dinners at our favorite spots & weekend trips.

 I loved the Holiday decor that was up, you can't go wrong with white lights and greenery! Well actually I think you can, but Tyler definitely did not! :)

This place was super busy Friday night, it looks empty in this picture because we stayed well beyond close chatting & playing heads up at our corner booth!

I was grateful for the opportunity to snap some shots after everyone had left, especially of the bar and those copper mugs!

I totally texted Ashley before dinner to let her know the fur vest that we both own was making it's debut! :) I could have easily been a cast mate of Mob Wives that night, faux fur, leopard belt, red lips & lots of red wine-I loved every bit of it!

When you go, you must order the Calamari with the sweet balsamic reduction, I literally could have did eat it all! They also just got these awesome Moscow Mule cups so we may have had a few of those as well! How great do they look on the bar?

The finale was no short of amazing as well, Espresso Martini's, Espresso cheesecake & Chocolate Lava Cake! I was so grateful for the stretchiness in my pants that night ;)

 Saturday & Sunday (& clearly Monday) were a blur of being up all night and sleeping all day! Back to day shift next week! Wohoo!

What did you get up to this weekend?

Gift Ideas: Four legged edition!

There are no shortage of gift idea lists this time of year, 'what to get for the lady or gent in your life' recommendations are easy to come by. What I haven't seen much of is gifting ideas for pups, maybe this is because not everyone is as obsessed with their pets like we are. However, I have a fair few friends who are crazy pet parents like us. I made a Christmas list for Clo when we picked him up in June, what can I say I'm a planner! :)

Here are a few things I love for the furry friends in your life!

1. The LLbean dog bed, I absolutely love this bed. I have actually been holding off until Clo was full grown so he would have it for the longhaul. I love that they back their products 100% and who can argue with a personalizion option?

2. Orvis makes a Shotgun Shell collar which I love. It would definitely be a seasonal collar, I would avoid using it in the summer months when we are frequently swimming & getting wet. However I love the genuine leather and gold shotgun shell. Surprise, surprise it can also be personalized! Seeing a trend?

3. I love this Red Tartan collar & bow tie! There are tons more options at CrewLaLa, the owner Heather, makes all the ties herself. She even has a cute Collegiate line if your pup just has to wear your college colors!

4. I love these Pottery Barn stockings, we actually have ours from there as well, so I wanted Clo to match us! It just so happens these are on sale so head on over to order yours soon!

5. Probably the most important to Clo would be treats! He loves rawhide's, we actually bought him an extra large one that will be in his stocking! I also love to make treats for him. I have several recipes on my Pinterest that I have tried & Clo has loved!

What things have you bought for your pet? I would love to hear!

Hope this helps to show your pet how much you love them this Holiday season!

Creative & Crafty Weekend

Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! If you haven't gotten a chance to check out our Thanksgiving Recap you can see it here. We definitely enjoyed our extended weekend.

Friday was a recovery day for us both, we were exhausted after hosting on Thursday! We slept in and then I headed into work Friday night until Saturday morning. I got home shortly after 7:30 only to get ready and head right back out again. My Mom's best friend was hosting a basket class at her house, which is about an hour and a half away- I slept most of the car ride which was great.

I was hesitant because I had never made a basket before, but thought I'd give it a shot! I was pleasantly surprised it was fun and not too difficult! It was so fun to see how everyone's basket differed, mine was much tighter and tapered up a bit, whereas my Mom's was perfectly round and looked exactly like the sample-  it wasn't her first time! ;)

I still have to burn off the "hairs" apparently you have to wet it really well first otherwise it will go up in flames. I think I will wait for my Mom to help with this part! I also want to stain it somewhat natural, but something to even out the coloring. I would definitely do this again! Have any of you made a basket before?

Saturday night Oliver & I had lots of leftovers and snuggled with our boy Clo! It was so nice to relax & have a low key night in. I had never seen Good Will Hunting- I know this makes me a bad Bostonian, so we watched it!

Sunday was super fun! We went to a calligraphy class with Liz at Lettering By Liz! It was amazing! I couldn't stop staring at all of her work adoring the walls! I was envisioning all of the parties I want to host just to have some of her work!

I thoroughly enjoyed the class. I remember when we were getting married I absolutely loved having calligraphy on all of the little details and really wanted to be able to learn someday. I wasn't sure I would actually be able to do it, and to be frank I am not confident I will ever get it perfectly. However, over the two hours I definitely made progress along with the other three classmates. I loved that the class sizes are so small, on average they are eight people.

Our class was only four, which meant lots of one-on-one time & attention. I appreciated that Liz really watched and showed me how to tweak my style. She also gives you a ton of supplies to get started & practice at home. I will for sure be back for her intermediate class once I practice a little more! If you live in the area and are remotely interested go see Liz, she is a wonderful teacher!

Just to be clear- the photo on the left is done by me! I joked with Oliver our children won't have "B" names, they aren't my specialty! The photo on the right is what Liz made for me, she did this for each of us before we left! 

After class we headed over to my Parent's house for dinner & cake for Oliver's birthday. His actual birthday is today so we have some surprises planned & super cute outfits! :) 

What did you all do this weekend? Have you ever looked into taking a calligraphy class? 

Enjoy your week! xo