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imperfect perfect thumbprint cookie

Lemon Sage Thumbprint Cookies

Wouldn't it be nice if we could transcend ourselves without the innate desire for perfection. The thought of overcoming negative and rising to triumph somewhat implies perfection - or one's subjective concept of perfection. I am no closer to being perfect than fried food is to being healthy, which is probably why I have abandoned this blog for weeks at a time. No matter my curating effort when it comes time to post something isn't quite right ... the images aren't striking enough, the writing is lackluster, someone else has done it before and better. So here I am transcending myself with imperfection, accompanied with tasty thumbprint cookies.

I am far from a baker. Scratch that, I am the anti-baker nor am I a chef or a recipe maker. But a friend of mine who is all those things ate my thumbprint cookies and said she wanted the recipe. My thumbprint cookies aren't properly circular ... they aren't the correct proportion every time ... the icing sometimes doesn't even harden completely as it should. But they taste wonderful. The shortbread isn't dry and the icing can be catered to one's coveted flavor. My neighbor, who eats strictly gluten-free, says they are the only flour containing food he will consume. If they've won over the gluten-free community then I am pretty sure I can share them.

Lemon Sage and Strawberry Vanilla Thumbprint Cookies co-mingling

Strawberry laced with Vanilla Thumbprint Cookies

Sustainable honey from Holland, MI

Shortbread Cookies with Honey Almond Icing

Warning: Since I am not a baker, I do not regularly follow recipes. The recipe or template below is one that I ordinarily stick to when making these cookies. Traditionally, thumbprint cookies have boring icing with food coloring. I tend to take the path less travelled when icing is the topic. The thumbprint cookies in this round are Lemon Sage ... Strawberry Vanilla ... Honey Almond. If you wish to know more about the icing creations feel free to contact me. Otherwise, I encourage you to create your own - with what ever is available or which flavors you currently fancy.

Cookie Recipe: 
1} 1 cup of softened salted butter
2} 1/2 cup of sugar
3} 2 cups of flour
4} 1/2 teaspoon of salt
In a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the sugar and butter on med-high until almost whipped. Then add flour and salt and mix on low until the concoction becomes a dough. Flatten dough into a disc approximately 1/2 inch thick, then wrap in plastic and set it in the refrigerator for an hour. Or if you are impatient - like me - put it in the freezer for 40 minutes.
Heat oven to 325. Form dough into balls about 1 tablespoon in size. Leave a thumb indention too. Bake for 10 minutes, then pull out the cookies and repress your thumb into them because they will rise. Place them back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Total baking time 20 minutes.

Icing Recipe: 
This is really a trial and error element of the cookies.
1} 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
2} 1-2 tablespoons of milk
3} 1-2 tablespoons of other wet ingredient (honey, fruit puree or preserves)
4} 1/4 teaspoon of almond or vanilla extract *** optional
5} pinch over desired fresh herbs *** optional
Whisk the icing ingredients together in a bowl. I start with 1 tablespoon of the wet ingredients (honey, fruit puree, preserve, milk) because they can be added if the icing is too think. Add ingredients until the flavor is to your liking. If the icing is too runny then add more powdered sugar. And by all means, please pretend you are a chemist (it adds to the fun). After piping the icing, the hardest trial is at hand. You must wait 8 to 10 hours for the icing to harden before consuming the cookies. If you can’t wait to try one, stick it in the freezer or refrigerator for around 30 minutes.

KISMET

Luca Scarf by inks+thread

 KISMET...this is my new favorite word. It sounds spectacular spinning off the tongue, almost like a flirtatious whisper. It's meaning you ask...Fate or Destiny. Never in my life have I felt as though I had a destiny. I am almost 30 and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. In fact, I don't feel like a grown-up. Taxes and bills make me curl up into the fetal position. When I accidentally touch the "Stocks" app that was pre-programmed on my phone the images shock me: plus, minus, green, red, up, down. My escape from the "Stocks" app cannot come fast enough as a fumble to exit it. Grown up stuff isn't my thing. I guess I don't want to let go of my fantasies. 

I am a big dreamer. I have grand ideas but they usually come to a halt when my mind conjures images of horrible failure. Most of my adult life has been spent roaming and chasing these big dreams that I've  never had the courage to put into action. Jumping from one location to the next, roaming between artistic ventures. One year, I actually moved apartments 5 times believing that if I was replacing one space with another then my life would complete. All of this roaming is what I refer to as dying. This may sound down right pessimistic. When I refer to dying, I guess I mean growing up, perhaps even trial and error. If I didn't explain that quite right please refer to the quote below:

“We all have to die a bit every now and then and usually it's so gradual that we end up more alive than ever. Infinitely old and infinitely alive.” -rb, the skating rink

So here is a rather grand trial and error for me, inks + thread. Will it be a fail? I don't know. Thus far it has been a Kismet experience if not for seeking my own small biz then for the simply joy of creating. Collaborating with artists and creating patterns pushes the concept of failure out of my head, which is a strangely new phenomena for me. Thus making this venture seem KISMET. Two people must be praised, thanked, and anointed with godly oils. Beca Lewis of Tumbleweeds Handcraft and Danielle Tanner of Dinosaur Toes|Girl&Parrot. These two outstanding ladies let me use some of their original art to make some of the inks+thread patterns. They are supportive and just plain stellar. The inks+thread shop is open, take a look! 

Wild at Heart, Pattern created with original art by Beca Lewis

Pastel Planets Scarf, Pattern created with original art from Danielle Tanner

Summer Night Scarf, pattern created with original art by Beca Lewis

Luca Scarf in Teal, inks+thread

Spring Scarf, pattern created with original art by Beca Lewis

Bouquet Scarf, pattern created with original art by Beca Lewis

Here's to hoping inks+thread can obtain a constant Kismet state in my life.

Thanks,
Maggie

An Edible Ode to the Passing of Winter + Coming of Spring

 It finally looks a bit like Spring here. The trees still are bare as the blooms have begun to dazzle us with their existence. But those who are cold-natured remain bundled up. On what I would deem moderately cool day, I see daring warm-natured folk busting out their shorts and exposing their arms with short-sleeves. However I am bundled up: long-sleeves, chunky knit sweater accompanied with my winter coat. Some how it doesn't feel like Spring unless I can participate in the shedding of layers. 
Though the my body prevents me jumping into the spirit of Spring with warm weather friendly clothing; there are other ways I initiate the coming of Spring. Whenever given the opportunity, I will walk. Actually experience the Earthly re-genesis. Driving, no matter how slow go and how much I aggravate the driver behind, never gives me the feeling and celebration of rebirth. I might see the initiation of Spring but I haven't experienced it. Walking. Breathing. Developing that blister of my heel from wearing the inappropriate but cute pair of shoes.

Perhaps the most tasty rite I adopt to initiate the coming of Spring is through fresh produce. My garden has not birthed any edible vegetables or fruits as of yet; but quick visits to the grocery with its abounding delights hints to me that Winter has gone.
Here is my edible tribute to the Winter-Spring Transition with wintery butternut squash combined with the essence of Spring squash, zucchini. Butternut Squash + Zucchini Pizza.

The flat bread is topped with spoon fulls of ricotta cheese, slivers of zucchini, diced butternut squash, one garlic clove chopped up. After spreading the love around on my pizza canvas, I drizzled the top with olive oil that has been upgraded with basil, pepper, and salt. Then baked. Then consumed.

only in chaos are we conceivable - RB

I have a deep affection for Roberto Bolano. His anarchist ways and curious yet truthful observations. His rustic and savage looks along side his feverish and crude writing. He says it right. For me at least.

“The truth is we never stop being children, terrible children covered in sores and knotty veins and tumors and age spots, but ultimately children, in other words we never stop clinging to life because we are life.” 

-Roberto Bolano, 2666

Over the past year, I have been restless with the need to create and with no vision of where I should center that energy, much like a child that can't concentrate. I would jump from task to task while taking on another and committing to something else. It wasn't until my friend, Beca, said just do this and let it be your own. And with that came Inks+Thread, granted some of these patterns are collaborations with the talented Beca Lewis and Danielle Tanner. So with pleasure I show you the patterns for the Spring Scarf Collection. They will be available for purchase later in March. To read more about the collaborations in this collection click the collection page above. 

identity crisis

Chattanooga is having an identity crisis. The area in constant struggle amidst this confusion is the weather. A few weeks ago it decided to tease us with threat of snow. Then we were gifted pre-summer weather thus prompting us to take leisure bike rides and break out the shorts. Now we are back in the throws of winter with an omen of snow yet again, it is bound to be another attempt to provoke us with excitement. I prefer the summer heat: not only because I despise being cold but because I can dress myself with ease in warmer weather. I admitted this to Jaime of She Wore It Anyway before we ventured into another outfit post. Naturally, I am dressed for warmer weather so sucking it up for this shoot was necessary.

To see and read about this collaboration visit She Wore It Anyway. More to come as always.

not my birthday, cake

Attention is a state that I constantly struggle with. The giving of attention is not a problem, but the receiving of attention is troublesome. Being an eternal pessimist means that my first conclusion is to assume that any attention is due to a negative reality. I shy away from being the subject of photos though I am working on this, birthday parties with myself as the guest of honor make me clam up, and all activities that result in going out in public where I may or may not receive stares pose an invitation for stress. Contrary to my nature, I accepted an invitation to speak as a Pinterest expert for the Social Media Alliance of Chattanooga. If having over 10,000 followers makes me an expert then I will gratefully concede. However, I rehearsed the line "I don't know what I am doing here" in front of the mirror a few times before heading out that morning. Even though I was a basket of nerves, it really wasn't all that bad and I think my expertise was pertinent. So I somewhat conquered my fear of attention, but that still doesn't mean I want to be the subject of a birthday party. This is precisely why I was grateful to shift my attention toward another's upcoming birthday. 

Last week was Eric's birthday. I had purchased tickets to a big concert in Nashville, but the artist cancelled the tour. In a panic to figure out another birthday gift, I resolved upon making a birthday cake from scratch. I've never made a cake from pure ingredients. I asked him what type of cake he would most like to consume. His single word reply..."CHOCOLATE." After giving him a few icing options he decided upon raspberry. Perhaps he didn't know that this meant his cake would be pink, but he is seemingly sure of his identity so I went ahead with the combination of Chocolate and Raspberry.
Friday was the birthday and we planned on having his family over for cake that evening, therefore I had to bake this cake Thursday night. I was up until 1:30 am finishing off the icing, which I admit I am not the least bit talented at decorating a cake with icing. However, I am talented at eating the icing with a spoon. Both the recipe for the cake and icing came from The Vanilla Bean Blog. Now I must admit to my buttercream icing addiction and I will conclude this post with the adverse of all anti-drug campaigns... "Just say YES...to Buttercream."

collaboration: SWIA

Though I worked in a field that demanded that I be comfortable in front of the camera, I am not the sort that enjoys being the subject of pictures. Usually photos must be force upon me, but this new collaboration with She Wore It Anyway takes the obligation out of force and implants the concept of compulsion. She Wore It Anyway, is operated by Jaime Smialek of Our Ampersand Photography. Her companionship is dreamy. Nothing forcible, just simply fun and her bright hair serves as a indication of her stellar personality. Below are a few images for our first of many fashion collaborations. Click over to her blog to see the rest of the post.

 

What I wore? Imogene+Willie Jeans, American Apparel top, Vintage scarf as a belt, Lotta from Stockholm clogs. 

What Jaime wore? Shoes from a thrift store in Florida, jeans from WalMart, top was given to me by a friend, flannel thrifted, bracelets from F21 and Nasty Gal, Hat from F21 and sunglasses from Target.