Big Magic - Fearless Book Review

   I believe this is my second book recommendation (Simple Abundance being the very first and my first official blog!) in all these years! I hope I can do this book justice with just a few sentences. So this must be a pretty special book & I believe it to be! In three words ~ I devoured it! It resonates with me and I feel would emotionally charge anyone. The author is Elizabeth Gilbert (her most acclaimed novel/film is Eat, Pray, Love. (Oh yes, I did write another blog on an inspirational part of that movie see one of my favorite blogs ever, Dolce Far Niente.) The premise of Big Magic is understanding what experiencing that spark of inspiration actually feels like to us and then trying some creative living beyond fear. So for many this book will not speak to them as a writer but it is a book for anyone with any kind of creative inkling and how to capture that without fear. The stories from her own life are honest and human. What did this blogger take away from this self-help? To keep plugging along and to grab the inspiration when it hits; Grab a pen & write, grab my garden trough & dig, grab my spray paint and upcycle! Inspiration is fleeting and will find the next human and then the next and so on, until one listens and creates.

"Pure creativity is something better than a necessity; it's a gift. It's the frosting. Our creativity is a wild and unexpected bonus from the universe. It's as if all our gods & angels gathered together and said, "It's tough down there as a human being, we know. Here - have some delights.""

   The singer Adele is releasing her first CD (Adele 25) in five years on November 20th. In an interview she said that after some physical healing and then a few years after the birth of her baby she was ready to sit down and create. Well, she sat & it didn't happen. According to Liz Gilbert, you can't just say "I'm ready" and expect the Big Magic to happen. I believe Adele did what LG would advise; to get busy doing something else. So Adele went back to being a mum & eventually creativity came. Did she brush aside some inspiration along the way of her hiatus? I bet she did. Did it matter? No because life goes on too, adjacent to inspiration. So these women inspire us to keep plugging away at our crafts and the Big Magic will come for sure; no worries there. "Only when we are at our most playful can divinity finally get serious with us." ~LG  Amen to that!

   With the holidays approaching, I know this would make an amazing gift for the women and daughters in your life. Enjoy!

Molasses Gems Cookie Recipe & Baking Tips

This cookie recipe and the tips are a re-post. It is a perfect cookie for to make this time of year. It complements the scores of pies you have at the holidays! This is an old Sun-Maid raisin cookie recipe:

Molasses Gems with Raisins

¾ c. butter       2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar         2 tsp. baking SODA

¼ c. molasses    1 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg                 ½ tsp. cloves

¼ tsp. salt         ½ tsp. ginger

1 cup raisins      extra sugar or fancy sugar to coat

Beat butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Add molasses & egg; beat well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger & salt. Add to molasses mixture; mix well. Stir in raisins, Cover & refrigerate until chilled. (great to mix the night before.) Shape into 1-inch balls & roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. (grease if not coated but I actually prefer parchment paper to line pans). Bake in upper third of preheated 350 degree oven. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool 1 minute & transfer to wire racks. Makes 3 dozen. * Note – recipe can be made without raisins.

Cookie Baking Tips:

~ Use butter whenever possible – nothing beats it, but melt first & let cool to room temperature. Melted butter will dissolve the sugar much better! Make sure to cream butter & sugar well, no shortcuts here!

~ In keeping with using butter, use the best ingredients available (ie. real vanilla extract, chocolate). It will make a difference.

~ Follow cookie/recipes closely. You don’t want a too dry or wet outcome. Refrigerate dough that requires this, a sufficient amount of time or you will have cookie that spread way too much, are way too thin.

~ Mix just enough when adding dry ingredients to make sure your ingredients are properly blended but then STOP. Overmixing leads to hard cookies that do not rise properly.

~ Make sure your ingredients (ie. flour, baking powder, baking soda) are not old – again the outcome will not be the same.

~ Make sure to line the cookie sheets with parchment paper for even baking and easy removal.

~ An oven thermometer is great to use throughout the year to make sure your temps are what is expected.

~ Use cooling racks & transfer to cookie CANS if possible. They make a difference. Make wax paper circles to separate each layer in the can.

~ Finally, if you find your cookies that should be soft getting hard over the holiday weeks, add a slice of bread every few days to the container. The moisture in the bread will transfer throughout!

Mums The Word

   This blog is a re-post for me. I have learned something new about mums since I first posted this one. They are excellent air cleaning plants! They are also an attractant of good luck in the home! So buy plenty for indoors to enjoy!

   The Chrysanthemum, the most popular plant of the daisy family & is the quintessential plant of the fall garden. I get this question often: will the mums (cutest flower nickname) I plant this fall come back next year? Well the bad news is ‘no’ but the good news is the low cost of these plants shouldn’t sway the gardener one bit. Who isn’t drawn to decorating with corn stalks, hay bales, pumpkins, gourds & mums!

    So, the reason these won’t survive is that if planted in the ground, they will not have enough time to establish a root system strong enough for them to survive. (We also leave them in their containers for decorating purposes – so not a chance there). To complicate things more, there are two kinds of mums: Hardy (Garden) & Florist mums. Florist mums are produced for cuttings mainly & will never develop a stolen that would help produce those necessary roots. The hardy mums when planted in the spring, however, do stand a chance at coming back for years to come. These contain the stolen for developing roots. These need at least 6 hours of sun a day, need a well-drained soil, water them well & provide plenty of mulch for over-wintering. They need to be pinched in spring/summer to encourage that round shape & not the leggy look. They may produce blooms in spring but can be pinched off until summer to produce a fall-fabulous set of blooms. Use beautiful grasses as a backdrop for your hardy mums. Enjoy the link below that shows some new varieties. The sky is the limit when it comes to color. My suggestion is to buy what you are blown away by & not worry about next year!

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/perennials/all-about-mums/?page=3

Walking the Walk ~ Clothes Closet Time!

   Simplify, Simplify. I have committed to walk the walk and talk the talk. So, yes, this is my second in a series of GET ORGANIZED! CLEAR THE CLUTTER! Don't be scared. I can promise you that I have not missed ONE single item from the Part One of this series - the makeup drawer. Amazing? This simplifying pledge is truly easier than you think!

    Today I am overhauling your clothes closet. This is the time of year you are beginning to transition from summer ready-to-wear to fall - and pretty quickly after that - winter. If you are like me you will be purchasing a few new things for yourself in the next few months. When my closet is discombobulated there is no possible way to know what I have/don't have, what I've outgrown (physically or emotionally!). We all have dressy clothes, work clothes, going out in jeans clothes, work-out clothes, comfy-watching-TV-clothes... Some may have a closet to accommodate all the attire of fabulous you (yes, Bestie you know who you are lucky girl!). Some of us with smaller closets should not even try...

    Begin by creating piles of things you know you will no longer wear for whatever reason. Create a couple piles; one to donate and one for a girls night swap event (see previous GNO Swap blog, Nov 2013). Then if your closet is smaller, keep only in this convenient closet the categories of your fab life that you use most, say work clothes and going out in jeans clothes. Find another closet or storage option for the other categories. (If this is not an option then you will need to really pare down & in turn be crowned the simplify queen for the year! I am not there - yet). In the pics to the left the first is my jumble and the second so much better. I have jeans/pants lined up according to color & type. My tops are organized by sleeve length & weight. I started with shorter sleeve and organized the colors within that section (yes black & gray of course & then colors - use prominent color in patterned tops). Next, long sleeve - same thing organize by color, etc. Then sweater/cardigan weight and organize by color again. Be your own kind of creative with this & have fun. I promise you will no longer say I have nothing to wear & I guarantee it will make getting dressed & looking pulled together a time saver now and we certainly need more time in our days! If you feel you really do need new things to wear then consult my blog from Stacy & Clinton - just Google What not to wear ultimate rule book - (Yes, I made page 1! Woo hoo!!) these tips are invaluable because who wants to waste money on items that aren't fab for us!

    To take it to the next level, have some fun with your accessories. I like to wrap the coordinated scarves & jewelry around the neck of the hangers of my tops so they are ready to go. To add more polish to your closet you can try to use all the same hangers for unification. My not so teenage tester does this and it looks sooo organized (yes, you guessed it - I got the cast offs but someday...) Wal-Mart sells great hangers and cheap! The TT's advice, buy more than you think you'll need and take them back. Yes, we under bought silver & it was a few months before more came in. If you are not sure then she suggests choosing white which is always available.

   So there you have it. Most importantly, be generous with your donations; have fun with it and feel your power & fabulosity next time you put an outfit together in under two minutes!