Cheer In Progress

I'm happy to report that after our second weekend of recouping from wicked colds, we scraped ourselves off the couch, unglued our eyeballs from "Frozen" (yes, the freeze has finally descended upon our household), and made some Christmas ornaments out of baking soda/corn starch dough. 

It was pretty simple, except working the the press cookie cutters, like the snowman... Those are tricky but ultimately gratifying. We really got into poking holes in each ornament with straws and then blowing the little plug out like a spitball... When you hang out with a 3-year-old it's the little things that really get you going.

We feel slightly elfy and are excited to tie ribbons on these suckers and give them to friends, family, and teachers as tokens of our love and appreciation. Pippa was quoted at school at Thanksgiving saying that how you cook a turkey is to "Make a triangle and a heart. Then make a star. I'd cook it with hearts and stars so I don't burn my hands." So it only seems appropriate to give heart and star ornaments to her teachers. Please note: all the other kids still answered like pre-schoolers but were much more literal. My little dreamer.

And of course we'll save a few for our tree. ; )

It's Mid-December Already?!

All Christmas presents can be bought online, right? Because I'm having trouble leaving my couch, never mind my house.

Xmas Morning

We were really impressed with how engaged in opening presents the little one seemed to be. She joyfully plucked tissue paper from gift bags and, most notably, was really excited for all her new clothes. She really took a liking to her sequin sweatshirt (she's a Maxxinista for sure) and insisted she wear it over her fleecey footy pajamas. Mr. SevPrez thinks its because I wore a sequin shirt on Christmas Eve, but I think she's just a magpie like me.

She received two Fishers Price toys from her Mema, and they are like gold. I forget that FP exists, and sometimes I feel bad that my kid has a mom without a clue about fun kids stuff. But let me tell you, the few loud, flashy, plastic toys that we do have make a real impact. They almost trump all our real electronic devices. Almost.

The Motivation To Be Festive

I'm taking Christmas to the next level here at Seven Presidents. Some years I'm more gung ho than others, but I think the addition of our little one has me excited about the holiday this year, even if at 5 months old she's too small to really appreciate it. Reminds me of the Christmas episode of "Up All Night," Will Arnett's new show. That show pretty much nails the experience of being a regular person who has a baby and doesn't totally lose their identity. I find myself laughing out loud at least once every episode. But I digress.


My mom keeps offering me holiday decorations that my Grammy made, and I keep accepting. Her handmade decorations hold a ton of sentimental value and precious memories, which is probably why I've always been so hard on new store bought Christmas decorations. Grammy set the bar pretty high. 


I got the extra parts of her ceramic village (except for the church, which seems appropriate). I set it up and meant to take a picture because -- what do you know! -- President Obama stopped by the village to shake hands and drum up votes for 2012. I also acquired a calico gingerbread garland that is hanging over my entryway where I hang our stockings. (Poll: Do you think stockings are just for hanging on Christmas Eve?). 

I stopped by my mom's yesterday and she gave me a stick wreathe to decorate (again, I should have taken a photo) and an idea for the pendants in my kitchen, which I actually managed to photograph. And notice that pot rack in the background? It's been about three years in the making. I finally found one I liked from Crate & Barrel and my dad put it up for me. (It's serious business. Because pots are so heavy you have to make sure it's in a joist.) I couldn't take a picture of the whole room for you to get a better idea of how it looks because there were dishes everywhere. But just trust me that it is an awesome addition to the house. It looks pretty cool and it frees up an entire corner cabinet, which now holds all the extremely tall cereal boxes, bottles of olive oil, cans of formula, and small appliances that were cluttering up the counter. Serenity now! And Merry Christmas, if I don't talk to you before the big day.

Charlie Brown Tree No. 3

This year's tree was handpicked (and cut) but my dad. It road all the way down from Maine on the top of his Mini Cooper. He was a little concerned that maybe it was too wily, but it turns out it's awesome -- long arms and loads of personality. Fits right in.

Another Wizarding Accessory

I forgot to mention a crucial piece of the Harry Potter loving puzzle in my last post -- my Constellation Baggu. It is the Baggu to end all Baggus.

For those of you unfamiliar with Baggus, they are the originator of the reusable nylon grocery bag. It's the same shape as a plastic grocery bag, but holds 3 times the amount of weight. When you're not using it, you scrunch it up into a little pouch that it comes with and throw it back into your purse or car. Not only does it help the environment out, it helps you contain the beast that is the exploding mountain of shopping bags under your sink. It's also helpful for disguising presents during Christmastime. Speaking of which, three ladies in my life received Baggus this year as part of their Christmas presents. To the naked eye they might not seem so exciting, but once you start using them their awesomeness is fully evident.

Things I Would Spend Money On If It Was Coming Out Of My Ears...

Just in case there is some rich benefactor looking to grant three wishes, or any of you have some gold doubloons burning a hole in your pocket and share my taste.

1. This utterly amazing small sofa from Wisteria would be the perfect replacement for my black leather Ikea loveseat, which is definitely a placeholder for something more special.

2. Any number of items from Lauren Moffatt's outerwear collection. I was really salivating over this plaid number until I realized that I basically have the same thing in buffalo plaid. Imagine my good fortune!

What can I say, it's been a long hot summer and wool coats are apparently the farthest thing from my mind, until now. But this little schoolgirl cape would be a fine addition to someone's closet. So adorable! I am a fall cheerleader for sure.

3. A Cuisinart Food Processor. My whole life I grew up and it was the only thing my mom ever used to mix anything. For 20 years it was KitchenAid who? Now I am a slave to my gigantic mixer (and won't even take it off the counter because I love it's red-ness) but I'm crushing graham crackers by hand to make tart crusts and splashing tomato bits all over my kitchen with my immersion blender while trying to make gazpacho. Santa, are you listening? The time is nigh.

4. I'd commission portraits of myself and Mr. SevPrez from John Perry. Check out the ones he did for Steve Nash and his family. For some reason I'm completely enamored of this guy. I think it's probably because he's an athlete and an artist, and I find that combination highly desirable. There is nothing better than people who can't be pigeonholed.

My Third Felt Pillow...

Was a present for my youngest niece. Sometime in the future her room will be upgraded to a "big girl room" and my sister-in-law very sweetly commissioned a pillow. She also, very sweetly, let me decide what it should look like. The ideal client! 


It took a while for the big idea to come to me. Let's see if you can figure it out. I will give you a hint: it's my niece's favorite food.

Any guesses? They are ice pops! I don't know if my niece really gets it, but I do know that when she opened the present on Christmas Eve she promptly put the pillow on the floor and laid down on it. That is exactly what you want someone to do when you give them a pillow! Success!


The good news is I have another commission in the works, also for a little bambino. This is good news because it's an excuse to buy some more felt in different colors. Viva la felt!

POTUSes with the Motuses

Friends look at me differently after they see my collection of miniature presidential figurines for the first time. They call my name from the other room and ask, is this a civil war re-enactment? Are these action figures? What exactly is going on here? They knew I was a little nerdy, but this, this changes something. It's my dirty little secret. 


But I can explain. I'm history major with a love of American history and the presidents, which was handed down to me by my mother  -- she founded our town's historical museum for crying out loud. I also inherited her love of antique stores and quirky historical commemorative items. (My mom is using my upholsterer, and upon visiting her house he said, "It's very evident that you two are related. And you look alike too.")


So a couple of birthdays ago I became the proud owner of a set of The Presidents of the United States by Marx. The set wasn't in it's original packaging or anything, just piled into a ziplock baggy. Jefferson may have a broken arm and I think I may be missing Kennedy, but that never bothered me. Then this morning a friend sent me a link to Verrone.com, a company that picks up where Marx left off (Nixon.) They've also branched out to include presidential candidates, Supreme Court justices, VPs, and other notable Americans. Please, please, contain your excitement, you're going to break my blog. 


I immediately called my mom to tell her the good news, and something tells me there will be some tiny statesmen under the tree this year. But the real question is, am I ready to welcome W. into my home? I'm not sure enough time has passed.

Melting Down over Melting Cookies

Last night I was supposed to make cookies for my husband to give to various clients and friends. I have probably made these cookies, alone or with my brother, more than 100 times. They are the family recipe of all family recipes. Rice Krispies are what make them special. 

Having just read a crazy article in the Times about how important the treatment of butter is to baking,* I was careful to only use my butter when it reached room temperature, whip it for almost three minutes before adding the sugar, and keep the dough chilled until it was ready to go into the oven. I made a double batch, excited to spread the gospel of the Chocolate Chipper this holiday season.

But the cookies failed. What a terrible feeling, watching them spread farther and farther out, refusing to rise, instead bubbling in an unsavory way. I would swear that I measured everything, especially the baking soda, correctly. It is a reminder of why so many people hate baking. There is no salvaging a failed baked good, you just have to throw it out, take a deep breath, and move on.

My only consolation is that this has happened to my mother and brother (the real champion of this recipe) several times: it's not us, it's the cookies. In fact, it happened to my brother when he first tried to make them for his future in-laws, at their house (no hiding the failure). This after talking them up for an hour. He didn't blink, and threw the dough right out and started over. That's the spirit!

I didn't have it in me to do that last night. I felt too angry and powerless. I didn't even have the husband to complain to, he had already gone to bed. I am hoping to get another batch in the oven tonight. I gotta get back on the horse.

By far the worst part about this whole incident is that there are two pounds of delicious chocolate chip cookie dough in our fridge, and but I can't have any of it because of my sad, lactose rejecting body. It's too bad we don't have any kids: "Please eat all mom's useless cookie dough. She can't bear the sight of it, or the idea of throwing it out!"

Merry Christmas, and good luck to all you bakers!

*That butter article was the most emailed article over the last 24 hours. I guess it really is cookie season!

More on those crafty grandmothers of mine

Trimming the Christmas tree really reminds you of who you are. I realize that my urge to make ornaments in genetic. 

Exhibit A: The Felt Ice Skate by Grammy, that you've already seen.

Exhibit B: The Counted Cross Stitch Stocking, by my other grandmother. 

(These are pretty awesome, for all you needlepoint mamas out there.)

Exhibit C: The Clothespin Skier, by Grammy (There were also soldiers in this fashion).

Exhibit D: The Clothespin Reindeer, by Grammy

Exhibit E: Last but certainly not least, the Crocheted and Starched Angel, by Grammy.

Felt Ornaments

Every year I intend to make ornaments as gift add-ons: 2008 is the year I finally succeeded. Martha Stewart is a good place to go for inspiration, but I always end up paging through her magazine or clicking through the website thinking, these projects are far too exacting. Where is the Christmas joy, you know?

Felt ornaments seemed to be Martha's easiest and most rewarding project, but they required printing templates, which, in my book, is inherently lame. Yet I knew I had a bunch of felt in my crafting drawer (yes, I have a crafting drawer! 2 points for the suburbs) leftover from an aborted pillow project (I still think I can make those for far less than $200 --someone let me know if they are interested), so I decided to let my creative cider mull and wait for an idea come to me.

And then it hit me -- letters! Specifically, the initials of the recipients' family names. Low and behold, it turns out I have four B families in my life! That really made things quick and easy. I still have aspirations to make an H, and a couple other letters (maybe a D and some Ws?), but for now, I am just happy to have completed a Christmas Craft. I'm off now to sew a loop in the top so they are ready for hanging. 

And today, while trimming our tree, I was reminded that my very crafty Grammy made some felt ornaments in her day, too. I think replicating these will be something for next year.