lit*chick

10 on Tuesday: Finding Christmas

1. I have always wanted to simplify at Christmas, but forced simplicity is not so fun. Our tree is 18 inches tall, has no ornaments and sits on a side table. All our decorations are in storage and the effort to get them out, and then have no place for the empty boxes seemed too much. Plus our usual real tree/falling needles/disposal/no extra space issue seemed rather daunting. That nasty stomach bug didn't help either.

2. Our Christmas cards were ordered this week, arrived yesterday and I had to use a picture from 5 months ago. We realized not sending out change of address cards earlier this year may explain why we've only received 3 Christmas cards. Hmph.

3. Apart from getting the cards out (the hardest part of sending them, I think), my main goal - if I do nothing else - is to remember to dig out the stockings from Grandpa's basement on Christmas Eve. Otherwise, we are going to need some puh-retty big socks. And since I don't wear socks, we may be in trouble. Anyone ever seen snow boots hung on the mantel?

4. A little bit of snow would help set the mood for sure - at least the outside would be decorated!  Pajamas inside out. Spoons under the pillows. What other wacky snow day superstitions are there?

5. For Christmas Eve, I'm planning to make this Gingerbread Trifle - recipe found here.

6. Owen's favorite book for the last few months has been Brett Helquist's version of A Christmas Carol.

We have plans for watching multiple versions of the movie, and have already started with the Patrick Stewart one. I would like a marathon of White Christmas alternated with It's a Wonderful Life, but I'm usually outvoted.

7. Project move Christmas CDs onto Ipod is not moving very quickly. Methinks this is a project for the pre-teen in the house who likes gadgetry and repetition.

8. I did not plan well for the boys to be home this week. Two week breaks are nice in theory and I imagine are especially nice if you have travel plans, but not so nice when you have no strategy for three extra bodies hanging around bickering and hungry and stuck indoors.

9. If this post looks like complaining, it's not meant to. It's just a snapshot of this Christmas, this year, when we are in transition and not quite ourselves. I imagine we will add this to our remember whens, not with fondness exactly, but acknowledging with a trace of amusement how bleak and ridiculous it all seemed.

10. Even though Evie is running around with the mini tree skirt on her head and unraveling tape with frightening speed, I am grateful for much - all the usual things and then some. But mostly I am humbled when I remember the Light of the World arrived as a baby, what that means and how the rest of the story unfolds. And then all that other stuff and nonsense falls away.

The End.

Lit*Chick Christmas List - Children's Books

Picture Books:

                    

 

winter picks:  
Snowflake Bentley is one of our favorites and I think it's time we finally saw his photographs.

middle school/chapter books:

 

 What were your family's favorite reads this year?

 

Happy Birthday Jane Austen List

Today is Miss Austen's 223rd Birthday - which coincides nicely with a list of related items for the Austen fan in your life.

    A  Darcy Christmas - A collection of 3 short stories/novellas revolving around Darcy & Elizabeth by popular Austen fiction authors. This was a fun imagining of holidays with the Darcys, including a take on A Christmas Carol.  From what I recall it would make a fine gift for a high schooler as it isn't racy like some of the others in the genre.

Etsy is full of Austen inspired art & housewares:

One of my faves, Brookish is on holiday. But she has fun mugs & such with quotes from P&P.

This is brilliant - Poster Text has prints using the words from your favorite classics as the background with a silhouette imposed overtop. Love it.

This one is Pride & Prejudice, but there are more.

And there are cute coasters from Green Chair Press - in a variety of colors.

Then there are bookends from  Two Stray Cats:   and this I have showed you before, my new favorite artist, Janet Hill Studio:

and if you'll forgive the shameless plug - The Paper Pear would be happy to make you a custom silhouette of any shape using any Austen title. I'll even work in your favorite quote if possible. :)

Finally, our good friends at  Sourcebooks, the world’s leading publisher of Jane Austen fiction, is offering a unique deal to readers who want to celebrate Jane by reading special editions of all six of Austen’s beloved novels in a 21^st century format.

Special e-book editions of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion and Mansfield Park will be available for free. These celebratory editions include the full novels, plus the legendary color illustrations of the Brock brothers, originally created to accompany the books in 1898.

In addition to the Jane Austen classics, readers can also enjoy these bestselling Austen-inspired novels. The following bestselling e-books will be free on December 16th and 17th in honor of her birthday:

Eliza’s Daughter by Joan Aiken

The Darcys & the Bingleys by Marsha Altman

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll

What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown

The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins

The Other Mr. Darcy by Monica Fairview

Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange

Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan

Lydia Bennet’s Story by Jane Odiwe

Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy by Abigail Reynolds

 Available wherever eBooks are sold. (This morning there were some glitches I understand which is why they have extended the freebies through tomorrow!)

Enjoy the day and download some free stuff!

The End.

Lit*Chick Christmas List: Cookbooks & Crockery

 

 

As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis De Voto edited by Joan Reardon - i think collections of letters are fascinating and find written correspondence inspiring

One Big Table: 600 Recipes from the Nation's Best Cooks, Farmers, Fishermen, Pit-Masters and Chefs by Molly O'Neill - this is my pick for big reference/preservation of regional recipes book

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunch melt in your mouth cookies by Alice Medrich - i'm attracted to this to liven up my cookie baking repetoire...how can you resist such a great title?

From Seed to Skillet: A Guide to Growing, Tending, Harvesting, and Cooking Up Fresh Healthy Food to Share with People you Love by Jimmy Williams and Susan Heeger - this appeals to me ever since we began investing in a farmer's market bag that is delivered biweekly to our door. There is always a mystery root vegetable lately and I'd love to have a reference for preparing some of the more unique offerings.

Urban Pantry: Tips and Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable and Seasonal Kitchen by Amy Pennington and Della Chen - after the cookie book, this is next highest on the list. I am drawn to helpful tips, particularly where cooking is concerned.

New England Soup Factory Cookbook: More than 100 Recipes from the Nation's Best Purveyor of Fine Soup  by Marjorie Druker and Clara Silverstein - since receiving my immersion blender a few years ago, i am becoming increasingly fearless when it comes to making soup. I'd love to serve soup out of my bookmobile. :)

The New Brooklyn Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from 31 Restaurants that Put Brooklyn on the Culinary Map by Melissa Vaughn - I don't know anyone in Brooklyn, I"ve never been to Brooklyn, but I think this looks cool. And it would be neat to have more regional cookbooks like it.

The Dirty Life: On Farming Food and Love by Kristen Kimball - this is my pick for foodie memoir. Are you sensing a farm theme in my picks this year? Moo to you.

In the Kitchen with an Appetite : 150 Recipes and Stories about the food you love by Melissa Clark - this one just looks good and comforting.And really when you put some kind of oozy cheese on the cover, I'm going to want to read.

now onto the crockery.. some i admire from afar, some i think look fun, and some i'll be waiting for the after christmas sale

Rice Bowls $3.95 ea. from Crate and Barrel i like the size of these for kid portions of ice cream, cereal, pasta etc. or if you want to be adult about it you can combine with a rice cooker & some chopsticks

the Darth Vader Spatula from Williams Sonoma - I admit I got sucked in and bought the Star Wars shaped pancake molds (they require a certain amount of finesse - i know i need the pancake pen - darn those gadgets) but this is way more useful and the boys would be fighting over it.

Coffee mugs from Crate and Barrel $4.95-5.95 - you know how i love a new mug and these are mix & matchy.

Besides gravitating towards plaid, i also have a thing for melamine trays.  They are affordable and I don't worry about breaking them...although they are surprisingly sturdy. And awfully cute to hang, set up a tablescape or just stick behind things on your counter. guess where mine are.

          


Target $4.50        Crate and Barrel $12.95

 

Recipe Bookmarks - Anthropologie, set of 100 bookmarks $10.00 okay this doesn't qualify as crockery, but i thought i'd sneak it in.

MoMA spoons - set of 5 $24.00 - lil china spoons perfect for girly or coffee or tea...

 

Speaking of tea, I've had my eye on this & now it's on sale :)

Spots of Teapot from Anthropologie $29.95 - patterned polka dot on fine china,  a sweet mix of fancy and not.

It doesn't take much to make me happy:

plus a pretty dishtowel would make a nice hostess gift. Method holiday handsoap $3.99

    I'm a big fan of these upcycled pedestals from Burlap and Blue on etsy.

Practically speaking, this covered 12 cup muffin pan would make transporting muffins/cupcakes much easier. i'm still using my grocery store 6 cup muffin pans and they work great...i won't give them up mind you, but this would be a welcome addition to the baking cupboard. from Williams Sonoma $19.00

And filed under new cake
pans i have no need for but look awesome, voila the new Gingerbread Bundt Pan $34.00 WSonoma

Enjoy!

The End.

 

10 on Tuesday: Shopping for Books, etc.

1.  Chronicle Books has extended its friends and family 35% off sale. They have some unique titles and gift items and this is a fabulous sale. Use promo code FRIENDS at checkout thru Dec. 12.

2. Don't forget Book Closeouts for discounts on great books.  I have a list of titles and search for them at greatly reduced prices. The only drawback...you probably have to order now to get them in time for Christmas - shipping is not the fastest. But they have such good deals it's worth it if you're prepared.

3. I'm all for bundling. For example, the new Louisa May Alcott bio by Harriet Riesen, combined with this lovely Penguin Classic of Little Women (or this one - love the cover 
combined with a favorite movie version and a set of paper dolls or coloring book  would be a super fun mama/daughter gift. Ditto with any of the classics - Anne of Green Gables, Jane Austens, Sherlock Holmes etc. LEGO would do well to branch out into the land of classics, the nerd in me has already built a Little House on the Prairie settlement out of Lincoln Logs. I'm just saying....

4. I have become well acquainted with several of my local used bookstores and they all have frequent buyer programs for very little money. I think it's $10 a year and buy 3 get the 4th free - the kids love going there too. You should check them out - or put together a little used bookstore daytrip with girlfriends. Plan a route, have some lunch, usually used stores are in cool parts of town with other indy shops and you can discover hidden treasures close to home.

5. Besides just reading, books make great decorations. Stack books (without jackets) to give height to picture frames, glass jars filled with ornaments or other seasonal decor, or as a centerpiece with those nifty flameless candles. (paper + fire = bad idea) This is also where used bookstores are awesome - you can get old copies of A Christmas Carol or other classics.

6. A bookclub basket for a reading mama or grammy.  My choices would include: What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen, Every Last Thing by Anna Quindlan, Bloodroot by Amy Greene, Starting from Scratch by Susan Gilbert-Collins, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin, Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman, Room by Emma Donoghue, and A Novel Bookstore by Lawrence Cosse. And anything by Beth Kephart.

Oh look, those are my favorites from this year!

7. Cookbooks. I never buy them for myself anymore. But I love to get them. Oh yes I do. These caught my eye and would go great paired with a kitchen tool or baking dish or new dishtowels. I started to list some here, got carried away, and it will be a new post tomorrow...

8. Books in art - my fave is Jane Mount. Check out her etsy shop for The Ideal Bookshelf.

9. For a family with a newborn or young children, I think these compilations that suggest even more books are great. A Family of Readers: The Book Lover's Guide to Children and Young Adult Literature by Roger Sutton or The Book Tree, or the Read Aloud Handbook.

See also What to Read and When by Pam Allyn.

10. If you haven't signed up for Amazon Prime yet, I must recommend it.  For $79 you are guaranteed 2 day no more cost shipping all year. And while it turns out to be worth it just for Christmas, I am thankful I did it each time I order. It's a keeper and might be someone's favorite gift that keeps on giving.

Lit*Chick Christmas List no. 1

I had visions of orderly thematic gift posts but that is not to be. No more dillying with some dallying thrown in for good measure. I think it's best if we just dig in to the sea of bookmarked goodies I have amassed over the past few months in no particular order (the theme of my life, it seems).

Tea Cupcakes - set of 4 $19.95 (silicone baking cups)

Book Lovers Teapot - $39.95

 

Book Rest Lamp (oh, i love this) $69.95 (cheapest on amazon, in other places for around $80)

Eco Recycling Game- $28.00 A simple game, with cute factor galore.

Snap photo frames by Umbra- $16 ($18 on Urban Outfitters) - set of 9 - 3.5" frames


Shrinky Dinks - they're back!  - these are from Paper Source, but I've seen them at Hobby Lobby too. Also on Amazon...

  Slipper Genie (come in blue and in green on amazon)- here from Sur La Table - $12.95  I'm seriously thinking about getting them for each of the boys and my floors will have no excuse :)

  Cake stencils from NY Cake- all kinds of cool designs

    

from my new favorite etsy jewelry shop - Nest Pretty Things  by tamar(the ingrid, madeleine, and claire)

  

and my new favorite artist Janet Hill Studio on etsy. i love it ALL - classic and beautiful prints and paintings. (l to r: Library Ladies, Her Christmas Tree Dress and Austen Dresses)

     

Fabric bins from Baffin Bags $18. on etsy. With tons of other fabrics (not just Christmas) I think these would make cool teacher gifts.  And I'd like one for all the little girl things that are starting to accumulate around here.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend and stay warm! Monday's gift guide will include the always delightful (and useful) calendar.

The End.