miscellaneous ramblings

1. the photo challenge finalists and winners.

I know, I should I have gotten this up earlier. I'm sorry. Some of you were blackmailing me asking me nicely to announce the finalists and winners for my food photo challenge...you don't have to wait any longer :)

The finalists are A Story Told in Pictures, Da Hughes Ohana, Pixels and Stories, Emma Claire's Blog, and 4 Lettre Words.

Seriously y'all, I wanted to make each of you finalists winners. But unfortunately, that's not how it works.

The winner of the challenge is...



Emma Claire's Blog! Congratulations :) I loved your photo. The tones are so light and warm, the focus is perfect, and that cupcake looks amazing. Great job!

2. feeling uninspired.

Lately, I've been feeling rather uninspired when it comes to blogging, hence the sporadic posting this week. I've been having trouble coming up with ideas and seeing my visitor numbers plunge hasn't really helped either. But on the other hand, I've kind of liked not posting when I don't have anything to say. It feels...refreshing.

3. a pretty headboard.

I wrapped mini Christmas lights around the headboard of my bed and I'm in love. I gaze at it every time I walk in the room. Is that bad?




And because I was so enamored with my headboard, I wanted to restore the rest of my room to cleanliness. Finally.



(I know my walls look slightly purple, but I promise you they're brown.)
Le sigh. Looking at my room right now, it makes me never want to mess it up again. I really shouldn't let it messy all the time.

And yes, that is my Organic Bloom frame leaning against the wall. I need to get around to ordering the print so I can finally hang it up...

4. kids say the cutest things.

I was babysitting a little four year old girl the other day, and nearly accidentally let the dog out of the backyard. In her little voice, she exclaimed, "It's a good thing you did let out the dog - Mommy would have come home and said 'What the heck! Why is the dog out?'" I about died.

And while talking to MeMe, Lilly said, "This is mine, forever and ever amen." Oh man.

Is there anything funny that your kids or siblings have said lately?

5. the chocolate pie recipe.

A few of you asked for the chocolate pie recipe, and since I aim to please, here it is :)

I was improvising as I went along, so I don't know the exact measurements of everything, but I'll do my best.

- Any pie crust
- 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips), chopped, plus more for topping
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground coffee or cold brewed coffee (optional)

Toast the almonds in the oven on a cookie sheet at 350°F for about five minutes. Coarsely chop and set aside.

Bring the heavy cream to a simmer, then pour over the chocolate. Mix in the egg, cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and coffee together in the bowl until completely combined. Pour into pie crust and top with chocolate and almonds. Bake for 12-14 minutes in a 350° oven until filling is softly set and trembles slightly in the center. Cool to room temperature, about an hour.

I kept my pie in the refrigerator and actually preferred it that way, but you can do whatever you feel like :) And feel free to add more/less sugar...like I said, I'm just estimating how much I used.



6. in love with twitter.

I really am. It's so much fun and I feel so smart typing @so and so and using hashtags. And with all this twittering, I can't help thinking of this video. I don't think I've ever watched a movie and laughed that hard. Hilarious.

Do you tweet?

7. my new coat.

I got a new winter coat and I'm smitten. I got this one...I adore peacoats this one fits the bill quite nicely. Oh, how I adore it.

When it comes to winter coats, what do you prefer? Puffy ones? Peacoats? Trench coats?

Have a wonderful day!

-carlotta