A warm hello, my dear reader friends!
Oh, how delighted I am to be back this week for yet another seasonal teatime...I just love this sort of thing. As the second week of November is here, so are the true autumnal feelings...and preparations for the grand Thanksgiving feast. Our days have been filled with cups of flavorful, spiced tea and novels, usually more than one in hand at once, movie watching in the eveings along with bread making and comforting dinners eaten round the dinner table. Over the weekend I made chili for the first time this season...this is quite late for me to make chili for the first time. Usually I have a pot of it on the stove just as soon as September comes around, but this year, I have had other recipes I've been making. But the chili tasted extra good because we hadn't had it since last year, and we always eat it with plenty of buttered saltines.
Seeing as how rain is on the way for my little corner of the world, our days have warmed up ever so slightly, but the nights are still quite chilly. Chilly enough to finally turn the heat on, which I waited until November second to do this year. It's always a fun little challenge to see how long we can wait until we need a bit of warmth in the house. First frost hasn't quite made it our way yet, but hopefully, in the next week or so, we will get our first visit from Jack Frost. And that is always a wonderfully magical indication of a glorious season coming...winter!
Friends, this week I have discovered a remarkably scrumptious treasure!
Shall I tell you what it is?
Okay, okay...
This Sugar Plum Spice tea. When I first smelled this tea I knew it was going to be amazing, but it wasn't until I had my first sip that I realized what a treasure it was. It is the perfect blend of fruity sweetness with a very subtle tartness and a spiced backdrop. Truly the perfect mingling of flavors and I do believe I am obsessed now. So if you see this in a shop near you, do pick up a box. I don't think you'll be sorry!
And can we just take a moment to appreciate the absolute beauty and whimsy that Celestial Seasonings puts into their tea box designs. Seriously, if a box is that pretty, I'm all over it!
The mug I've chosen for today is another favorite...but then again, all my mugs are favorites for different reasons. My mom picked this one out for me for last Valentine's Day because she knows how much I love home...as does she. I especially love the delicate leafy vine wreath in a soft sage green color. And it fits ever so perfectly in my hand as well...any mug collectors and lovers know how important the handle design and shape is.
For my baked treat this week, I decided on a quick bread recipe that I've only made once before. I remembered it a couple weeks ago and placed it on my seasonal baking list. And this past weekend was declared the weekend to get to baking it!
I first found the recipe for this Cranberry Orange Nutty Bread several years ago. The original recipe had a ridiculous amount of sugar and so I cut that down quite a bit. I also made a couple other small changes and the end result is literally one of the best quick breads we make. I'll be sharing the recipe on Friday, so do be sure to pop back over for a visit if you fancy baking up a batch for your family. I must say this bread also make a lovely gift at Christmas time...just wrap a bit of plastic wrap over the bread and attach some baker's twine in festive colors and a cute gift tag.
We always, always make our quick breads in mini loaves. That's just how we've done it since I was little and the tradition continues...same pans all these years and everything. They are cute and sweet to give as gifts and also easy to freeze for ourselves for a later date. We can also make a variety of breads and since the loaves are small, one doesn't last but just a couple days. Then we can move on to the next flavor a few days later and so on...so yes, it's more fun that way, too! {{smiles}}
Some more of our family's favorite cranberry recipes are below, so do check them out!
Have you ever celebrated first frost? It was never something I even considered until last autumn when I first read First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen. This is one of the books that I dearly, dearly love and one that I think could easily be reread every year...during the last week of October to be precise, which is exactly what I did this year. And a first frost celebration is something that the story centers around. I am terrible about giving an overview synopsis of a book without just spilling all the good stuff, so I won't say too much more. But I was mesmerized by just how delightfully magical a first frost party sounded, especially as described in the book. I thought I would share a little description of the feast that the Waverly family enjoyed on the night of their first frost party...which they ate outside in their garden under the magic apple tree that blooms on first frost.
Loaves of fig and pepper bread, of course. But there was also lasagna cooked in miniature pumpkins, and pumpkin-seed brittle. Roasted red pepper soup, and spiced caramel potato cakes. Corn muffins and brown sugar popcorn balls and a dozen cupcakes, each with a different frosting, because what was first frost without frosting? Pear beer and clove ginger ale in dark bottles sat in the icy beverage tub. They ate well into the afternoon, and the more they ate, the more food there seemed to be. Pretzel buns and cranberry cheese and walnuts appearing, just when they thought they'd tasted everything...
The family brought out lanterns and halogen heaters when it got dark, and put them all around the garden. They lit candles on the table, all while the apple tree shook and blossoms continued to fall. When the petals hit the flames of the candles, they hissed and popped into ash, leaving behind a scent that was so beautiful and sweet that it smelled like both yesterday and tomorrow.
First Frost
(by Christine A. Kysely)
There is a certain magic
To the first frost of the year
When autumn's golden halo
Has been kissed by winter's cheer.
As the sun climbs over the horizon
Your breath's vapors become unfurled
Like plumes of steam rising from within
Its warmth in the chill revealed.
Every twig, every branch, every blade of grass
Every surface that one can see
Has been adorned as though from high above
As though diamonds are now given for free.
Every surface has been delightfully adorned
With a million gems thrown from the sky
Having been touched with Jack Frost's icy caress
Winter's love of autumn cannot be denied.
One of the themes for this week's teatime is autumn apothecary and self-care. I've shared about this topic in the past and I'll share some links below to some past posts I've written. In fact, just last month for my October series I shared a post on this exact topic.
Autumn and winter are the months of hibernation and home and slowing down and gathering in. They are the times of comfort and gentleness. And while I think these things are important all year long, during all four seasons, there's just something about the colder months, when the light fades earlier in the evening, that makes them all the more desirable. I think our bodies need times of rest and hibernation of sorts and I think that is something we need in order to be healthy...physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We aren't meant to go, go, go, all the time. It's just not good for our minds and bodies. And these months whisper to us ever so gently to slow down, to gather in and to settle in.
My favorite ways to practice self-care are quite simple. I am not a person who likes expensive or showy things, nor do I care to participate in those kinds of activities. So going to a spa or to get my nails done or even going out among crowds of people... that to me is an utter nightmare. I prefer home and if I'm going to "get out", which I do enjoy, it's not quite what lots may have in mind. Getting out to me means going for a drive in the countryside with my camera and a warm drink or stopping for ice cream or other treats...yes, even in the winter, ice cream is still yummy. It's going to peruse a small bookshop at the library or walking through Whole Foods before the workday ends and I can avoid the heavy crowds of people. And oddly enough, sometimes it's going to a concert, play, musical or other performance. I know that doesn't really make sense because I don't like crowds, but the performances I attend, well, let's just say they attract a certain type of crowd that isn't rowdy or overwhelming. I haven't done that in a couple years, though, because of the current situation, but how I do miss those times!
At home, self-care looks like making time for hobbies and fun things...a bit each day. Whether it be reading a novel before bed, watching a favorite movie or TV show, listening to music whilst cooking dinner or cleaning, knitting or working on some hand embroidery, looking at my cookbooks and planning out meals, working on a seasonal craft, journaling or writing, even reorganizing my bookshelves or other cupboards in the house, making my bed, lighting candles and using my diffuser, always making sure I apply my essential oil blends twice a day, wearing a pretty headband, wearing clothes that make me feel comfortable and like "me", reading a favorite magazine. Self-care is really about all the things that fill you up, that are lifegiving and soul-filling.
Those are the sorts of things I do as "self-care". And to be honest, lots of them, I do all day long or throughout the day as I am getting my things done. Self-care doesn't always have to mean setting aside special time to do one thing, though I do think quiet times or times of "just" relaxing are important. But as you go about your day, there are opportunities for self-care all over the place. Light a candle and play music whilst you get your domestic work done and as you cook dinner. I think one big thing, perhaps the main thing for me, about self-care is creating a peaceful atmosphere. And that can be done no matter what!
Another last thing I want to mention is that we need to get over the idea and feeling that we are wasting time by not always doing something that is so-called "productive". Not every minute of every day needs to be productive. Maybe the times we consider unproductive are in fact some of the most productive, though one may not see it on the surface. I think of a mother who is busy cleaning her house whilst her children are begging her to come play with them. Her "productive" work is cleaning her house, and just playing with her children for a few hours is seen as unproductive. But really, what is truly productive here? A mother who plays with her children is investing in her relationship with them, growing their imagination and in the meantime, reawakening hers, allowing her children to share and talk and just be with their mother. That is just one example, but I truly feel that our ideas of productivity and of what's truly important is seriously messed up and backwards. Maybe if we stopped and asked ourselves what we've been conditioned to believe and think thanks to society or whatever other sources, we will find what it means to truly live.
I wrote about this topic in the following blog posts in more depth, so I'd love to have you check them out:
The Lost Art of Wasting Time (this post has tons of links to my older posts as well)
The Song of the Wind and the Leaves
(by Ed Blair)
There's a beautiful song that is sung every day
When the wind and the leaves play together.
And I hear the sweet notes as I wander along,
From my low cottage home to the heather.
As I fain would express the sweet sentiment there,
The sweet songs of love and devotion,
When the wind sighs to stay but must go on its way
On its journey o'er land and the ocean.
Oh, the songs yet to sing of the beautiful woods,
Oh, the songs that old Nature is singing,
I hear them each day as I wander away
Where the gay summer birds are awinging.
'Neath the dark shady leaves the soft winds take a peep
Where the birdlings are nestled together,
And say: "Fly away," for the leaves cannot stay,
To shelter in bleak autumn weather.
Oh, soft summer winds; oh, beautiful woods,
Sing on for the children yet coming,
Sing sweet songs of love while the young turtle doves
Are cradled to sleep with your humming.
And when in the autumn the leaves turn to gold,
And sigh for the wind that will sever,
They'll sing once again your sweet plaintive strain,
And the music will go on forever.
November is gracing us with sprinkles of autumnal color here and there, bits of rusty red and gold on the leaves. Thanksgiving plans are underway, as are the very beginnings of Christmas planning. Autumn is here...the time for home, for coziness and warmth and comfort, the time of slowing down and gathering in, and of hibernating. Tis the season of all the good things in life!
Thank you, dear ones, for joining me for this cozy teatime...
please feel free to share your recent cozy ramblings below. I love hearing from you each week!
And don't forget to come by on Friday for the Cranberry Orange Nutty Bread recipe!
May your day be a beauty!
♥