New Paint In The Kitchen

The worlds ugliest kitchen is becoming...well...it's becoming tolerable. We recently repainted the walls and cabinets. No HGTV budget here. No granite countertops or new cabinets in our near future but the fresh paint makes it look like a new kitchen. I especially love the chalkboard paint on the door. It's convenient and looks cool.

Spend A Day With Little Dorrit

Image from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/littledorrit/characters.html

Snowy, cold weather prompted me to stay in last Sunday and watch Little Dorrit - recently released by BBC Video. This screen adaptation of the Charles Dickens's story of the hardships found in London circa 1820 was gripping. As usual with Dickens, there are many turns of fortune and several subplots to keep you interested and hanging on to see what will happen next.

The actors were superb and you will recognize many of them if you watch any British television. Newcomer, Claire Foy plays the part of Amy (Little) Dorrit. She is perfect for the role and is surrounded by a cast of fine actors. The sets and costumes are spot on and the 452 minutes of the series will go by quickly. It's a BBC/Masterpiece Theatre classic.

For more information and study guides: click the link above

The Swell Season

image is from www.theswellseason.com

The Swell Season has become my musical addiction. Not a day goes by without listening to them. It's sort of driving my husband nuts. It's on in the house...the car...everywhere. He's beginning to think that we have no other music in the house. Anyway, their new album (do they still call them albums?), Strict Joy, is out. I think it even tops the first album and the "Once" soundtrack.

Native Irishman, Glen Hasard (am I too old for a celebrity crush?) and the Czech-born Marketa Irglova make up the group and are accompanied by some of the worlds finest musicians. Be sure to check them out at http://www.theswellseason.com/

P.S. Thanks to Amy for getting me hooked.

Vintage Stationery Find

Once, I purchased a box lot at an auction for $1. This beautiful, old stationery was included. It is from one of the finest stationers in Paris. Casselgrain has been in business since 1919 and is still located at 422 Rue Saint-Honore, one of Paris' most exclusive areas. The picture above is from the box. The beautiful greeny-blue has yellowed with age and has some brown spots but that only makes it more precious to me. Who knows? It may become a rare antiquity since no one seems to take the time to write letters anymore.

The box contained the paper pictured above and matching envelopes.

This type is on the back of the box.

Winter Beauty From My Window

This is a picture taken from the window at my desk. It overlooks our backyard. As you can see, we've had plenty of snow. Still, it is beautiful.

Armchair Traveling

This week, most of the country has experienced the Arctic blast in some form or another. Ohio has been no exception. We had exceptionally mild weather until about 15 days ago. Since that time we have had snow each and every day along with gray skies(OK... well, maybe the sun did peak through a couple of times...but not for long). The temperature dipped into single digits last night. Good thing I have flannel sheets and a down comforter to snuggle under.

Since this is my first weekend - in a very long time - without some kind of obligation (looming writing deadlines, Christmas functions or work), I decided it would be a weekend of hibernation and armchair traveling. The local library has supplied me with four issues of Britain magazine so I'm headed for the Cotwolds, Cornwall and many other beautiful places in the UK.

I had the privilege to travel to the UK ten years ago and it was the trip of a lifetime. It was an anglophile's dream come true. I even got a glimpse of Prince Edward. Unfortunately, I was not there long enough to see all that I wanted to but hope to go back...someday.

Armchair traveling is a great way to mentally escape when you can't actually do it. Travel books allow me to live vicariously through others and dream of a life lived in a far away and maybe even exotic place. I love to spend a Sunday wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of coffee nearby, and escape with Peter Mayle to Provence, Frances Mayes to Tuscany, and Bill Bryson to anywhere (I love his humor). So if you're stuck inside, bored with the same old stuff on television, and are craving a change then try taking a trip without even getting out of those flannel PJ's and fuzzy slippers.

www.britain-magazine.com

Mmmmm....Crescent Rolls

I have fond memories of waking up on a Saturday morning to my grandma making crescent rolls in the kitchen. The smell of the warm, yeasty rolls permeating the house combined with the creamy taste of butter spread onto them was divine. I have been afraid to tackle this recipe for years but today - driven by the stress of a looming deadline on an article that I have been procrastinating throughout the holidays - I decided to go for it. I mean, what better time to take on a scary and new recipe than when you have to submit an article on the same day?

The recipe: From the Betty Crocker 1950 Picture Cookbook

The Challenge: Figuring how to convert a recipe that calls for compressed cake yeast to dry,active yeast. (Difficult but not impossible. I finally gave up trying the read the conversion charts and used two packages) and trying to get the dough to rise in a chilly, Ohio house.

The result: I'll admit they are not perfect but still delicious. Especially the ones that I ate right out of the oven with the butter melting on contact. Surprisingly, they were not hard to make and may become a regular on our dinner table. They lack the flakiness of a croissant (due to using shortening instead of butter) but not quite as heavy as a dinner roll.

Mix the following ingredients together until smooth:
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. soft shortening
1 t. salt
2 eggs

Stir in:
3/4 C. lukewarm milk

Crumble into mixture and stir until dissolved:
2 cakes compressed yeast

Beat in with spoon:
4 C. sifted flour

Scrape dough from sides of bowl. Cover with damp cloth. Let rise until double. Shape as crescents. Cover, let rise until double. Bake in a 425 degree oven until golden brown. *Brush with butter before baking*

My modifications: I mixed everything in my mixer. Made the work practically nil. As I mentioned before, I used two packages of active dry yeast. Once mixed, I placed the dough covered with a damp towel in front of the register since the house is chilly today. It gave it just the right amount of heat.

To shape the rolls, I rolled the dough out on a floured cutting board and cut triangles with a pizza cutter then rolled them up. It worked perfectly.