homemade nutella and greek yogurt biscuits

Sunny days have to be taken advantage of around here. I got up early to bake before my short work shift—so early that the lighting was that dramatic.

HOMEMADE NUTELLA Adapted from Miss Moss.
1 bar of chocolate (I used Lindt)
6 oz whole hazelnuts
1/2 cup chopped raw, unsalted almonds
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
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1/ Roast hazelnuts in a 350ºF oven until browned. Meanwhile, melt chocolate bar in a double boiler over low heat.
2/ Using a food processor, grind hazelnuts until slightly buttery. Then, add dry ingredients and melted chocolate. Continue to mix ingredients, adding the vegetable oil along the way, until it reaches a close consistency to the real deal (Nutella).
3/ Refrigerate for at least a half an hour, and then . . . devour. 

YOGURT BISCUITS Adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day.
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into tiny cubes
1 1/3 cups Greek yogurt
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1/ Preheat oven and ungreased baking sheet to 450ºF.
2/ Using a food processor, mix dry ingredients until combined. Add tiny cubes of butter and pulse until "mixture resembles tiny pebbles on a sandy beach." Add the yogurt and pulse a few times until incorporated. (Don't overmix; it's fine if there are some dry spots.)
3/ Place dough ball on a lightly floured surface and knead five times. Press into an inch-thick square, cut in half, and stack on other half. Repeat this process—flatten, stack, and cut—two more times. On the third time, press into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle and cut into twelve even biscuit squares.
4/ Arrange biscuits on the preheated baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned on bottom. Like I did today, eat them halved with butter and jam for breakfast, and cheddar and apple for lunch.

brianna and keith

I just finished these wedding invites for a friend (Hey, Brianna and Keith!), and with little time and a small budget, they ended up very simple, but quite elegant. The printer made so many mistakes and wasted so much of my precious paper that I continually (as she continued to make errors) requested she discount my order. In the end I got the job completely free—I'm turning into my mother.

(That's not a bad thing.)

million years

My tiny room has been messy from projects, but it looked pretty in Saturday's light. And although I haven't seen much of the sun since Austin, I'm feeling so very hopeful. So very hopeful that I just called Sam to ask, "Hey, when it gets warmer . . . and we both have a day off . . . can we ride our bikes . . . to the park . . . and not have anything to do . . . but find shapes in the clouds . . . "

"Of course we're doing that." In the meantime, this feels awfully sunny, mhmm:

Alexander Ebert—Million Years

busy

I went home last weekend for my cousin's wedding reception, and my friend's wedding shower. For the shower, I baked lemon madeleines, coconut macaroons, carrot cake whoopie pies, nanaimo bars, sea salt brownies, and pistachio brittle. Also, I got to see my family, my farm, and a few of my favorite people—childhood friends . . . who end up being lifelong friends . . . are the best.

But between traveling, designing (and cutting, scoring, folding, assembling, etc.) invites for my friend's wedding, and preparing for a new exhibition at work, exhaustion has set in. Sometimes I get so caught up with tasks and deadlines, that I have to stop and remind myself: "Hey! You like what you do." And I do.

So, I'll be back on here soon to share some photos of my new sprouts and some other little projects and recipes I'm looking forward to. Have a lovely Easter weekend! Xx.

P.S. The last photo was taken from "Action Hill", overlooking our town's branch of Missouri Farmer's Association, where my dad has worked since he was eighteen. Eighteen, I tell ya.

slow dancing

. . . to the music of the Sunday street. (Let her get warmed up.)

Sheer white curtains are an absolute blessing.

from seed

It's too sunny and beautiful outside to get any real work done today. But storms should arrive by the evening and I'll make some tea, put on some mellow music, and buckle down. It's been a perfect weekend with a dinner party, flowers, delicious small plates while dining outdoors, a cute boyfriend, and a few long walks.

I sowed four different varieties of seeds in a big ugly plastic trough, and—more quaintly—in some egg shells I'd been saving for the occasion. I'll still buy many seedlings from the garden center (hello, lavender!), but I'd love to eat some summer veggies which I grew from my own tiny seeds:

Gardener's Delight Cherry Tomato Lycopersicon lycopersicum
Roma Tomato Solanum lycopersicum
Arugula / Rocket Eruca sativa
Ring-O-Fire Cayenne Chile Capsicum annuum

wall vase

Sam's mama and sister gave me this wall vase for my birthday last month. I like the contrast of its geometry with the crooked stems of the flowers, which are already so contrasty themselves. (I'm not sure if you can tell by the photos, but the seemingly black interiors are actually a dark indigo color.)

Does anyone know the name of this flower? I'll give a million kisses to whomever can identify it with a comment below.

P.S. Two million kisses to Lorraine and Sarah for the perfect gift.

bill cunningham new york

I saw a sneak preview of this sweet little documentary tonight with Molly. I feel happy, inspired, and excited to pick out my outfit for tomorrow. (See it, guys!)

mango smoothie

I don't usually post so many photos of the same thing, but I thought it was funny to see the progression—or rather, the regression—of my breakfast. All in a blender, now:

1 ripe mango, cut into chunks
1/2 cup coconut water

austin, tx

I'm happy to be going, and sad to be leaving. It's warm here, and I'll miss my friends; but Chicago's getting warmer, and I miss my friends.

With a clear head, a warm weather attitude, and a hint of a tan: so much love to Ellie and the girls, and my cousins. XX