holly + peppermint

Ha! I can't figure out how to flip the bottom photo, but it goes along with my spirit today - a bit out of sorts - with holiday baking to be exact.

First the holly. I love holly. It's so winter to me. Nature understands complimentary colors. Red and green are compliments, and opposites, on the color wheel. Holly is just stunning to me. I took the second photo in Ireland. Holly grows there year-round and it's common to see it used for landscaping. This plant was outside our hotel in Tramore, Co. Cork, a seaside town in the south. It was gorgeous. So I've decided to use it each year in my holiday daily book. You can see this year I added some text (with picnik), and it's at the start and end of my book. I still need to get some photos taken of my progress with this journal. I'm a bit behind, but I'm really enjoying it.

I purchased a few bunches of holly and boxwood at a garden center today and made the arrangement in the first photo. It's great, and so adds some "living" to my living room. I hope I can keep it looking healthy into January. That's my goal.

Perhaps all my creative energy is going to crafting this holiday season because I'm really down on baking. Just blah about it. I was excited when I bought a holiday shape cookie pan at Crate and Barrel last weekend. It's a breeze to use. The first batch of gingerbread cookies are hideous looking. And I don't think they taste that great either. They might end up in the garbage. I frosted them with squeeze frosting from the store (never again) and added red sugar. And then broke out laughing that a 34 year old created the ugliest cookies ever. A two year could make something more visually appealing.

I also made peppermint brownies. Those are good. And in the freezer. I'm not really interested in eating them. I went back to the cookie pan tonight and tried a new recipe for peppermint chip sugar cookies. Way better looking than the gingerbread. They taste much better too, at least to me. I'm not interested in eating those either. And I got bored after making 4 dozen so I tossed the rest of the dough. That was difficult because I don't like to waste food, but I couldn't deal with the peppermint smell anymore. I think I'll whip up a simple buttercream frosting and crush some small candy canes and lightly frost some of them tomorrow. Then in the freezer they go. I need to bring some treats for yet another work potluck on Wednesday (yes, we do work at the U). And that's it for cookie baking for me. I do plan to make spiced pecans next week. Those sound delicious.

I wrapped up the baking with eating an apple. Seriously, I don't think an apple has ever tasted as good to me as it did tonight.