Interior Inspirations ~ Gorgeous Farm Sinks

[ Cote de Texas ]

I've been looking through some photos I've had in my inspirations folder for some time now and I decided to share a few with you. I adore a farm sink. One day, I would love to have one. I love the look of them with polished silver fixtures and white marble counter tops. There's something about having a window to look out while scrubbing, and some fresh flowers beside as well.

Enjoy!

Entertaining ~ Holiday Cocktails

[British Country Living]

This holiday season, I'm aspiring to learn how to make a few simple, festive cocktails. I love the idea of having a gorgeous bar, like the one above, and being able to whip up any request in a matter of minutes. That, however, will never happen. We're not drinkers really, aside from a nice bottle of wine every now and then, so we don't ever really have any liquor on hand. This year though, I would like to stock a couple bar basics. A few versatile spirits that allow me to offer a few holiday drinks while entertaining. A fun cocktail is always nice when friends are over for dinner or games, and it's always nice to sip something special while chatting around a warm fire on a cold winters night.

So, I plan on making a trip out to my nearest liquor store and picking up a couple of things this season. Here are a couple of recipes that I've collected that sound really delicious.

- Smirnoff Holiday Cruise -

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1 oz. Smirnoff vodka, 3 oz. ruby red grapefruit juice and 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a dried star anise.

- Havana Holiday -

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1 1/2 oz. Havana Club rum, 4 oz. eggnog and a pinch of allspice. Shake and strain into a glass rimmed with raw sugar and filled with ice. Garnish with a pinch of nutmeg.

- Malibu Hot Chocolate -

Rim a heatproof mug with simple syrup and shaved toasted coconut. Add 1 oz. Malibu rum and 1/2 oz. Kahula. Top with hot chocolate, whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

- Very Berry Christmas -

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1 1/2 oz. vodka or Raspberry flavoured vodka, 1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, 1/4 oz. lime juice, 1/4 oz. simple syrup. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

All of these recipes are from the LCBO.

~ Tip ~

For making simple syrup, bring 1 cup of water to a boil, add 1 cup of sugar and stir until dissolved. Cool before using. Simple right?

Try one! But please, remember to drink and serve responsibly.

Inspirational Film Set ~ The Holiday

Every now and then I come across a movie that I fall in love with. There aren't that many films that I can stand to watch over and over, but there are a few. One of these such movies is The Holiday (Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black). It's really a wonderful movie. You laugh and cry and laugh and cry some more and just have an overall fabulous time.

But, I must admit something. I spend a lot more time daydreaming through parts of the film than I sometimes do actually watching it. And no, I'm not referring to the parts with the handsome Jude Law. I'm talking about Rosehill Cottage. I would sell everything I have, pack my bags, buy some sheep and move myself out there in a heartbeat. It's everything I dream of when I dream of living in an English cottage. It's everything an English cottage should be! In fact, the entire life style is something I love. Having sheep, the cozy knits and proper Hunter wellies, the rural landscapes and the cozy old towns. It just seems so idyllic. It's part of the reason I love British Country Living... it's all of this! And, they have that special little real estate classified section at the back that has ads for all of these tiny little English cottages. It would be amazing.

For now though, I live vicariously (as I so often find myself doing) through this movie. If you haven't seen it, rent it. Now. Put on your comfiest flannels, make yourself a nice cup of tea, and snuggle up under that huge old knitted blanket and watch it. You'll love it, it's that good... or at least the setting is.

Rosehill Cottage, belonging to Kate Winslet's character in Surrey, England. Could it be any more quaint?? It actually happens to be a real town. I know this because one of my dear friends Steph grew up there, and yes, she still has her accent.

I absolutely love the exposed, low beams of the house and the stunning stone fireplace. It's just oozing comfort!

And again with the beams... and the most gorgeous fireplace right beside the bed - perfect for those chilly, damp winter nights. How romantic!

And finally, my favourite, the bathroom. And more specifically, the tub. It's perfect. I love absolutely everything about this space - how tiny it is, the stonework, the gorgeous soaker tub, the adorable little window.... everything! I wish they would have shown the entire cottage. I guess you'll just have to watch it yourself to view the rest.

~ 100th Post Giveaway ~

So, this is my 100th post! And, today is December 1st.

In celebration, I'm having my first giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive this lovely little Growers Daughter package!

A gorgeous piece of vintage french ticking (it's roughly 2' x 4') as well as an assortment of 50 vintage buttons. These would be fabulous for so many different projects!

As well, one pillow made from a vintage bank deposit bag.

And, since it's the first giveaway, and since Christmas is just around the corner, I'm also including a $25 gift card to The Growers Daughter Etsy shop.

Entering is as easy as this:

Become a follower of The Growers Daughter and leave a comment letting me know you've done so (or already are!).

(to do this, click the "follow" button in the tool bar at the top left of the page)

For additional chances to win, you can post a link to the giveaway on your social networking site like facebook or twitter. Or, add a link on your own blog!

Either way, for each additional chance to win, just make sure to leave a separate comment.

Good luck! Enter before December 12th at midnight and a winner will be drawn randomly on December 13th.

Sinterklaas Begins!

Tonight is the first night of Sinterklaas for our family. It's a Dutch tradition that we did when we were little, because my father did it when he was little, because my father's father did it when he was little and so on...

Sinterklaas would be similar to the North American version of Santa Claus, with similar traditions. Sinterklaas Eve however, is on December 5th and we begin celebrating from December 1st. Each night, before bed, we put our shoe out on our window sil, sing the song, and go to sleep. If we've been good, when we wake up in the morning, Sinterklaas and his helper Zwarte Piet (black Peter), would have come on his grey horse and left a treat in your shoe. The continues each night until the night of the 5th when instead of a small gift, Sinterklaas delivers your Christmas presents.

I remember one Christmas in particular, my dad had gone out to feed our rabbits and my mom was busy getting us to bed. That night, we had sang our song and were settling in when we heard a loud, distinctive rapping on a window in the room. Scared half to death, we ran to the window to see who was there. Nothing. Then, the same banging came from the next room down the hall and so on around the entire house. By the time we reached the front of the house, we were probably all white as ghosts. At this point, our front door flew open and a garbage bag of gifts came hurdling in the entrance, spewing presents all over the floor! In complete shock, we picked them and up and read: To Maria, From Sinterklaas.

Seconds later, my dad came in wondering what all the fuss was about. For a long time after that (longer than most kids, I think), I still believed there was a Sinterklaas. It was too real.

It's a family tradition that I'm excited to teach my son this year, now that he's old enough to grasp the concept (somewhat). We won't be celebrating it to the full extent, but the singing each night and awaking to the small treat is enough fun. It's a lovely way to start off the holidays. For the rest of the presents, he'll have to wait until Christmas morning.

His tiny wooden shoe from Holland.

My attempts to teach him the song.


Sinterklaas, kapoentje
Gooi wat in mijn schoentje,
Breng wat in mijn laarsje,
Dank je Sinterklassje.


{Saint Nic'las, my dear one
Something in my shoe put,
Something in my stocking,
Thank you, Saint Nic-o-las}

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

Our back forest has the slightest dusting of our first real snowfall this season. I always love how the landscape goes from barren and dirty to beautiful and clean with a single falling of snow. It's so cozy (for now) and really does make it feel a little more like the Christmas season.

Happy December 1st everyone!

BAKING DAY ~ Mini Lemon Poppyseed Poundcakes

I find myself baking a lot as the holiday season begins. A plate of baking is always welcomed when guests pop in for tea. And, a box of home-made treats are always a nice thank you or hostess gift. Either way, there always seems to be some way to share some confectionery bliss.

I recently found a recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine for Classic Pound Cake. Generally, I don't think of pound cake as being the most desirable of all cakes... I mean it's not in the same category as fruitcake, but it would pale in comparison to a fudgey chocolate cake any day!

The fact that this recipe was so versatile was what caught my attention. The basic recipe could be made into a number of different varieties of pound cake with the adjustment or addition of only one or two ingredients: spiced chocolate, marble, cherry preserve, poppy seed or even vanilla bean, all being equally appealing.

I decided to make the basic recipe and settled on adding some poppy seeds and fresh lemon zest (my own twist).

Here is the recipe:

CLASSIC POUND CAKE

3 1/4 cups of flour (1 lb)

1 tbsp coarse salt

4 sticks of butter softened (1 lb)

2 cups of sugar

1 tsp real vanilla extract

9 eggs

It is important to measure the flour exactly and if possible, weigh it for accuracy.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Because I only wanted to try a small batch, I halved the recipe and used only 4 large eggs. This didn't seem to hinder any results. The recipe originally makes 2 - 5 x 9" loaf pans but halved, it was 8 mini loaves.


Lay out all ingredients. Measure flour and salt. Ssift into a small bowl and set aside. Next, cream butter and sugar on med-high in a stand mixer for about 8 minutes. While creaming butter, grease tins and set aside. Once light and fluffy, reduce speed to low and add vanilla. Next, lightly beat each egg and add, one at a time. Once mixed, add flour mixture in 4 additions, reserving last and mixing by hand, just until incorporated.


For the lemon poppy seed variation, mix in 1/2 cup of poppy seeds and the zest of one lemon before incorporating last flour addition.



Divide equally into loaf pans and smooth tops. Bake for 65 minutes (30 for mini loaves) or until pick comes out clean.



Cool, remove from pans and then continue to cool completely on wire racks.

Creaming the butter and sugar well enough is an important contributor to having a proper pound cake texture. Make sure that butter and sugar are completely pale (whitish in colour) and fluffy (or super whipped looking).

For an extra kick, mix a few heaping tablespoons of powdered sugar with the juice of about half a lemon and drizzle over top. It's a tart but slightly sweet glaze that really enhances the citrus flavours of the cake.

The make pretty little gifts when wrapped in parchment and tied with pretty ribbon or twine. For a summer variation, try tossing chunks of this pound cake with lemoncello and adding fresh berries and whipped cream.