Brief Hiatus.

It's Christmas break. I'm thinking I may delve into something crazy. Maybe I can make this? I have no idea really....

This is the Tuxedo Bedding from Anthropologie - and I think it's BEAUTIFUL.

Chiffon Pumpkin Pie

So, thanks to StumbleUpon I stumbled upon this seemingly perfect recipe.

Chiffon Pumpkin Pie via GuiltyKitchen.com

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Yield: One 9″ round pie
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time:  20 minutes

For the Crust:

2 cups digestive biscuit crumbs (about 14 cookies)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp each ground ginger and nutmeg
1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Grease a 9″ springform pan and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Create crumbs from digestive biscuits by placing in a zip top plastic bag and crushing with a rolling pin, or in a food processor.
3. Mix the crumbs with the remaining crust ingredients and press evenly into greased springform pan.
4.  Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

For the Filling:

1 package gelatin (such as Knox brand), or 1 tbsp gelatin powder
1/2 cup heavy cream, divided into 1/4 cups
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each ground ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon
3 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/4 cup spiced rum
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 whole vanilla bean or 1 tbsp vanilla extract
zest of one navel orange

1.  Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup of cream and let stand for 5-10 minutes.
2. In a medium metal bowl, beat brown sugar, salt, spices, 1/4 cup cream, egg yolks and vanilla bean.
3. Set the bowl over a pot of lightly simmering water (or use a double boiler) and whisk until sugar is dissolved.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in the cream/gelatin mixture.
5. Stir in the rum and pumpkin and refrigerate for one hour.
6. In bowl of stand mixer, whip the egg whites and 1/4 cup of sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into pumpkin mixture.
7. Pour over cooled crust and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
8. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Giant Bubbles via http://thatshappy.blogspot.com/

Alone with my Giant Soap Bubbles / Sly Lebulleur from issole on Vimeo.

Stolen!

Thanks to my lovely friend Nicole at sarcasmforbreakfast.blogspot.com, I am planning on making one of these for my mother for Christmas.  Maybe I'll even by one...?  Who knows?

d.i.y. MUST HAVE.

http://www.pickles.no/whirl-it-lampshade

Sitting at work.

So I'm sitting at work in the 'information commons' of the Merrill-Cazier Library.  For the most part, this is a pretty awesome job. I only wish that I had photoshop and illustrator to work on some random projects.


Last night, thanks to my self-imposed 'sleep pressure' that I always fail to fulfill, I didn't get much sleep.  I tried to go to bed AFTER Britt had already gone to bed.  This is always a mistake.  For whatever demented reason, my body knows when I want it to sleep - and it just won't comply.  Instead, I find myself tricking my body into sleeping by falling asleep with the bedroom light on and Britt still working on her homework.  This way, my mind/body THINKS I'm just doing what I want - as always - and thus has the choice to go to sleep or not.  When I turn the lights out and expect my body to fall asleep - oh contrare!  I lay awake for hours.  Thinking.  You know what I'm talking about, I'm sure.


ANYWAY.  Yesterday, Sheth (Shauna + Seth) and I made these muffins.  Ironically, the house was full of non and used-to-be Mormons.  How appropriate.  I went home.  Tried to sleep. And this is what happened at 3 in the morning. 

Mormon Muffin Recipe
	Ingredients
	2 5 1 2 4 1 5 1 4 2 1	cups teaspoons cup cups each quart cups teaspoon cups cups cup	boiling water baking soda shortening sugar eggs buttermilk flour salt All Bran Cereal 40% Bran Flakes walnuts (chopped)
Directions: Add soda to boiling water and set aside.  Whip shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs slowly.  Mix well.  Add the buttermilk, flour, salt and mix again.  Add the soda water very slowly.  Gently fold the cereals and the walnuts into the mix. Spoon 1/8 cup into greased muffin tins.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes. Muffin mix must sit in the refrigerator over night before baking.  Muffin mix will last one week, covered and refrigerated.  Yields 3 dozen muffins.

Hard to see.  This is just a screen-shot of my email inbox, since I'm not on my personal computer.  Mary  asked if I would help her come up with a new design for her blog.  These are 3 quick little headers I whipped out.  Then, try as I might, I still couldn't sleep.  Perfect. MMMk.  So the other day I was sitting with my new co-worker, Tara, who is getting married.  This, (obvi), led to my searching and perusing wedding blogs.  Irk.  Zzzztt.  Well.  I found some preeetty neat-o stuff.  This is one of my favorites:  The brooch bouquet.   and and  Tell me.  How classy is this?  I don't know if it's something that I'd do for my wedding... but maybe. AND finally.  I love stumbling across neat things on the interwebs.  For example.  This little blog is a treasure and I can (bashfully) totally see myself doing this kind of crafternooning later on in life.  Hopefully I become thrifty in the near future.  Here is a favorite from her stuff:    Before.  duh. AND After.  Darling.