sleigh bells ring...i'm anne murray. in the lane...i'm anne murray. a beautiful sight..i'm anne murray tonight. walking in a winter wonderland.

i like what christmas stands for. the concept of getting together with your family and old friends is everything you could want in a holiday. chirstmas is about baking and sparkely lights and staying in on cold winter nights. its a wonderful excuse to spend time with the people you love most. so that is what i am doing. instead of this.
see you again once the twinkle dies down.

Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Cookies

first of all i have to say that these turned out soooo delicious. i'm not a very good baker because i never follow the directions properly and am the queen of substitutes.

this is the recipe i 'followed' with the proper substitutions i used. if you want an unedited version it is available here. my recipe is the doubled, no raisons, substitute butterscotch chips for the non-existent cinnamon chip version and it made about 50 cookies. enough for two parties :)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cup butter, softened
• 2 cup packed regular brown sugar
• 2 egg
• 2 tablespoon apple juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 (10 ounce) package butterscotch chips
• 2 cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped (about 3 apples)
• 2 tablespoons of cinnamon (or more) 

it helps if you drink eggnog with nutmeg.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheet.
2. Beat butter, brown sugar, egg, apple juice and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to butter mixture; beat until blended. Stir in oats. Add butterscotch chips, and apples; stir until blended. make balls with the dough about 1.5 inches wide.
3. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. don't overbake them, they are way better gooey inside. 

bacon for your boo boo

i wonder what the free toy is...

dog day afternoon

today was one of the best days i've had in a while. it started off with breakfast at home. fresh coffee, a bagel and omelet with feta. after a warm shower i set out into the world to capture it. 

walking around i made the decision to make soup in the slow cooker when i got home. an after thought is it may have been a bit late in the day to cook a meal in something that starts with the word slow. that kept me warm on my walk, ducking into store thats had condensation on the windows and bright shiny things inside. 

 

tomorrow is a big day for my apartment. there is a pile of things at the door to go into storage/parents basement. its mostly stuff i don't want anymore but i'm going to save that for a day with colour on the ground and lemonade. 

the cutest little tea shop open up near my house. they probably have over one hundred different kinds of tea to try. i'm partial to the chai tea lattes. 

its taken me almost a week of hanging and cleaning and lots of decluttering, but i'm ready for my new table and chairs. since this was a craigslist find my mom and brother are coming to help me get it here and lug it up four eight flights of stairs. 

tomorrow i am looking forward to the first meal on my table being homemade soup with fresh bread and butter, packing up all the extra clutter and going home to see a christmas tree. 

oh and i also cleaned my bong today. for once. 

pre coffee post pot pondering

today is saturday. its early enough in the afternoon that i still feel like i have a full day ahead of me. i'm going to go on a walk. i will show you the results tonight. in pictures.

this picture is actually a postcard. you can buy it in the little otsu shop. it was drawn by kaori kasai. 

there are lots of nice things to buy in the little otsu shop. i bought this for a best friend once and am thinking of getting one for myself. but i'm also thinking of making one myself.

i also want to make a calendar. tonight.

without going there. i'm going to go there.

i realized something today while looking around my completely clean apartment. the one with all the pictures hung on the walls, all of the surfaces wiped or scrubbed or mopped. i looked at all the things i de-cluttered, reorganized, brightened, and repurposed. all the work i accomplished in the past two days. 

i don't give a shit. 

it doesn't give me any satisfaction to have climbed to the top of my to do list. there is always another list started on a new page. there is always something. 

today i realized that i will never satisfy myself. i'm not one of those people that can accept things. some people call it drive, i think its going to make me go crazy. 

so for everyone in my life. you will never be good enough. you'll probably disappoint me at some point and i will act like i was expecting it. because i was. because that makes the constant disappointment in myself seem bearable. 

floating in the summer sky

"The thing I hate most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become artists. Modern art is a disaster area - never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little"

-Banksy

mmmmmmmmimosa

In the spirit of me being a huge nerd when it comes to pantone colours and all things yellow please put your hands together for 2009's pantone colour of the year.....MIMOSA!

last years colour was blue iris...not really my cup of poison. altho together they would make a pretty rad combo. 

loving it!

okay so i have been trying to think of a way to warm up my kitchen. not including the homemade soup and fresh cookies i will bake this weekend. so maybe this mimosa yellow lovely-ness could be the solution? on one wall? in a table cloth? drapes? lamp? i need your help!!! 

ps not sure why all that text above is links but i'm over it. blasted html beat me again. 

ah ha! but who gets the last line? sorry, i'll be quietly going insane over here..shhh...

the internet is not just for porn

There are many things i have done in my life, and there are many things that i haven't. One of the things that i have never participated in is self harm. it hurts me entirely when i project myself into another person whose life is so dark that self harm is seen as an option. where they escape to.

so please, lets use the internet as a tool for helping, for changing and for education. just for 10 minutes. please. go to mommy is moody and read her story. i do, everyday. you may find yourself doing the same, its touching on a level i didn't know the internet could reach. and if your so inclined, click on the buttons button on the right side of this page to learn more about a great cause. feel free to steal it for your own space on the internet.

instructions:

Roll a huge joint

Smoke it

Watch this video (to the end) 

and if your anything like me you will wonder why music produced today doesn't have this kind of passion. 

The Rolling Stones 1968

Heres some photo's from my trip around the internet today. the theme was red.