It’s the middle of Winter, and it’s been consistently quiet around here. I’m not complaining, because any excuse for me to stay in with my dog(s!!!) and a book is alright with me – but it doesn’t make for very exciting blogposts… – so you’ll have to forgive this mash-up of random iphone pictures.

This weekend was especially wonderful because my sister Allie was visiting – and I adopted another dog!

Without further ado – let me introduce to you, the new addition to my (and the Larkspur) family – Frankie! She’s a nervous little thing, who loves to cuddle more than any dog I’ve ever met. She’s heart-breakingly sweet, and her perfect little face will be making lots of cameos on this blog. Lola is still getting used to the idea of having a sister, she likes her, but she’s a little protective of her toys and treats…but they cuddle at night, and I know they’re going to be best friends.

This weekend, my sister and I went to see the movie The Quartet (we’re a family of crazy Maggie Smith fans) and baked some dessert, and made really delicious pasta for dinner. We went to meet our aunt for brunch, and she graced us with a million wonderful stories about her and our Mom when they were in high school. But mostly, we sat around laughing and talking and looking at old pictures, and getting really giddy about the fact that our cousin just announced he is going to be a father for the first time! It was a perfect weekend – and I would have been a lot sadder seeing her off if it weren’t for the cottage weekend we have planned with our family in two weeks!

I tend to spend the better part of the month leading up to Christmas, getting myself excited about it by watching as many holiday movies as I can. This year, I didn’t have much time to spend watching my favorites because I was moving, and working full time, and making sure we’re all set for our upcoming shop launch (!!!), so, when I got to my parents house last night, I was happier than ever to sit on their couch and drink wine and watch movies that make me feel festive!

Most of my favorite old movies are Barbra Stanwyck movies, but that happens to be extra true around this time of year. Last night, my parents and I watched Christmas in Connecticut, which is way at the top of my list, but I’m saving my all time favorite for tonight.

Remember the Night is a perfect example of what I love about Barbra; she’s scamp-y and mischievous and an all around trouble-maker, and I love it. Her character, in this movie, gets caught shop lifting, and her prosecutor feels so bad for her being in prison on Christmas that he posts her bail and takes her to his Mother’s place for the holidays. The movie has just the right amount of holiday season sentimentality, but really the best part is watching Stanwyck get up to her tricks.

She happens to be TCM’s star of the month this month, which means they’ve been playing a ton of her movies! (I realize the month of December is almost over….I’m a little late on posting this). 

Posted by Meaghan

Today’s DIY is more of a recipe I’d like to share. With the holidays around the corner, I have a tendency to get especially into baking so that I always have treats to bring to holiday parties. Nanaimo bars are one of my favourites to eat, and also to make, because they involve a bunch of steps, and I like baking projects that keep me busy for a little while. The bars do require quite a number of ingredients, but all of them are easy to find at any grocery store. I actually just stole this recipe from my friend Danielle, who got it from the Nanaimo, British Columbia website. You can find the original recipe here, or just read on, I only made two minor changes.

Bottom Layer:

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter (European style cultured) (You can sub in margarine for this layer and it won’t make too big a difference)
¼ cup sugar
5 tbsp. cocoa
1 egg beaten
1 ¼ cups graham wafer crumbs
½ c. finely chopped almonds (I used chopped walnuts instead!!!)
1 cup coconut

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8″ x 8″ pan

Middle Layer:

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter (You can also sub in margarine for this layer without sacrificing taste)
2 Tbsp. and 2 Tsp. cream
2 Tbsp. vanilla custard powder
2 cups icing sugar

Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Top Layer:

Ingredients:

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each) (I actually used more than 4 squares because I like them to be extra chocolatey!)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter (For this top layer I like to use real butter because it makes it taste so much richer)

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator.