stuff about artstuff.: Random Cozy Winter Stuff

As the year comes to an end I'm looking back at some highlights, or I suppose they're more just odds and ends, of my winter this far - under the cozy category:

Winter sparkles

and bits of sunlight

enjoyed inside and out

Eating lots of cozy, hearty homemade soup and cheesy biscuits

A few firsts, and successful ones at that:

Chewy salted caramels.

I used this recipe found through Tastespotting then added some of my new favorite thing: Trader Joe's flavored-sea-salt-in-a-grinder, yum - and the darker section is a super-smoky Yakima Applewood Smoked Salt. Pretty much addictive, and dangerous because although many were wrapped up and given away, there is still a good sized chunk in the fridge...

This winter I made my very first lemon meringue pie. So happy to have found this amazing recipe. The meringue is extra-marshmallowy as the sugar is cooked into a syrup before it's added to the egg whites. And her lemon curd has a higher lemon-juice-to-water ratio and a few more egg yolks than others I found, resulting in tangy-sweet heaven.

The girls have been helping me practice my sewing "skills".

I have a favorite set of bedding that Husband Guy got for us in Montana years ago: flannel with cute bear silhouettes. But the problem with cute bedding sets like that is there are only 2 pillowcases, and the Logans love our pillows. Lots and lots of them. So there are also a few umatching ones thrown into the mix, which I pretend doesn't bug me. For a while I've been wanting to make some sort-of-almost-a-little-bit-matchy ones with some of my At The Lake flannel, and have hoarded the last few pieces of it for that purpose.

I'd made basic pillowcases before, but found this great pattern on Pinterest and learned to make the perfect, no-seams-showing pillowcase using the "burrito method" - and learned French Seams in the process.

At The Lake doesn't actually "match" my bear bedding as much as I had imagined it would, and the new pillowcases were much longer than the original ones, so the old ones got a matching border - and so did the top sheet.

Tall Bear agrees, it's quite cozy.

Another cool Pinterest thing: embroidery floss organization.

I don't know about you but before implementing this genius idea, every bit of my floss was a tangled tornado of torture. Now it's a pleasure to use.

Our lives are infinitely better now, as the girls demonstrate while helping me finish off the crow pillow I made for my sister.

And speaking of stuff that makes my life infinitely-better, I made a bunch of my favorite easy-peasy scrub from Pinterest for Christmas gifts.
That was fun.

And to wrap up random winter highlights, this has nothing to do with anything, I suppose, but it made me cozy on the inside, and it was another first:
I finally stopped at the taco truck outside of the Home Depot in North Seattle. Oh em geeeeee, the fish tacos were to die for. Fresh, crispy, spicy . . . absolutely perfect. My brother and nephew enjoyed big gooey meaty tortas that were pretty amazing, also. You local folks really ought to try it out, if you haven't. It's even a cold-wet-winter-friendly place to stop for a bite; there are tables under-cover with a couple big cozy propane heaters keeping it quite nice.