Cabin in the City

Books, cats and midwestern charm.

Lisa

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Small Goals // November 2017

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I’m back with another month of goals! Let’s see how I did on my October ones first.

  1. Create a great couple’s costume. Check. I’d say our Bonnie and Clyde turned out pretty good.
  2. Check out Old World Wisconsin’s Legends & Lore. Nope. In my defense, it was exceptionally cold last weekend. Plus Stranger Things just came out. (I’m the worst.)
  3. Make three (or more) apple recipes. Not even one! The month got away from me kitchen-wise. Good thing apples keep a long time.
  4. Anything tarot. Stop trying to make tarot happen, Lisa. It’s not gonna happen.
  5. Scary stuff. Done! I’ve been listening to Lore and Welcome to Night Vale, and watching Unsolved Mysteries, Salem and Murder Maps all month long.

2/5. Not my best month, but that’s OK. Not every Halloween can be the spookiest.

  1. Finish half my Christmas shopping. I cannot deal with the stress of last-minute shopping. I can hardly deal with the stress of on-pace shopping. My goal this year is to have half my gifts purchased before December rolls around so I can maximize my baking and crafting time closer to Christmas.
  2. Have a cozy Black Friday in. Last year, for the first time in my adult life, I had the day after Thanksgiving off of work. To really celebrate the day, I spent a good portion of it in my jammies and then I made Michael take me to see Fantastic Beasts. I feel part two coming on this year.
  3. Unplug a bit. I do not need to look at Facebook on my phone multiple times a day. I do not need to keep up with every Snapchat. I do not need to answer every text immediately. To separate myself from technology a bit (not entirely, though – I love this blog, I love my job and I love Etsy) I’m going to take a step back, remove Facebook from my phone and get comfortable with not having it nearby all the time.
  4. (Lightly) rebrand Kaminski Handicraft. I’ve got something up my sleeve for next month, so I think a very light rebrand for my Etsy page and business cards is in order.
  5. Make 5+ new designs for Kaminski Handicraft. Ambitious! If you have any good ideas for hoops you want to see, I’m all ears!

That’s it for me this month, and seriously, folks, if you have any ideas, send them my way!

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Scaredy Cat Skirt

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I’ve gotten to the point in my life where I realize that costumes at work are not cool. Well, they’re not cool unless you have some sort of company costume contest and you win $15 (me!).

But as deeply uncool as it is to head to work dressed up as Special Agent Dana Scully only to find that no one else has so much as cat ears on (also me), it’s also deeply disappointing to me as a Halloween fanatic to be out and about on Halloween without even giving a nod to the holiday.

So to satisfy my need to be festive while also not making a total fool of myself, I created this Halloween cat skirt! I realize that wearing this on Halloween might also be a little lame, but it’s not nearly as depressing as seeing a grown woman march to work dressed as an owl (me again).

While this skirt was definitely a silly endeavor, I take comfort in knowing it was also a very simple one. From start to finish, this skirt took about a half hour and required almost no measuring. All I did was take a yard and a half length of fabric and cut it in half (perpendicular to the selvedge). Then I sewed the edges together until I had one big loop. Then I gathered the top, stitched it to the elastic waistband and hemmed the edge. That’s it!

And in the end I think it’s super cute (and also a little crazy looking). It’s also best accessorized with a nice Ouija board pin, my favorite booties of all time and a cranky cat.

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The Story of Bonnie and Clyde

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Prior to last year, couples’ costumes weren’t really Michael’s and my thing. Halloween was our thing, costumes in general were our thing, but never coordinating looks. But now we’re going hard into the couple thing, dressing up as some of the most famous duos ever. Last year we were Scully and Mulder, this year we donned our best Bonnie and Clyde getups.

This idea, while not exactly original, came via my gangster history-loving dad. Immediately he recommended the 1967 movie for research. Michael and I watched it dutifully. And we followed it up watching the made-for-TV version that came out in 2013. I think our costumes borrow a little more heavily from the latter, not that it really matters since neither rendition was historically accurate (OK, OK, I like gangster history, too).

At any rate, I’m pretty happy with how things turned out! I say the hats really do the heavy lifting for us with these outfits, and that’s fine by me – I love a good beret.

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Fall Feels + Spooky Sounds

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So far this fall has not been giving me the cool, breezy weather I’ve been craving. How can I don my favorite flannel shirt and boots if it’s 70º outside? How can I be expected to enjoy apple picking if I’m sweating at the orchard? But I decided that if Mother Nature isn’t going to provide fall feelings, I’d make them instead.

That’s when I dragged my Halloween decorations out and put some Fleetwood Mac on the hi-fi. It was finally fall.

I realized flipping through our record collection , that most of our albums made me feel nostalgic and cozy. I mean, we have a ton of Christmas albums and those are instant warm fuzzy-makers. But so many other albums made me think of windy fall days, hot drinks and just being inside my weird little cabin. (From fall and into the holidays is when my house feels most itself.)

Here are my favorite fall albums currently in my collection.

Rumours by Fleetwood Mac 

A classic! As a child I loved Fleetwood Mac and would jam out to “Don’t Stop” whenever it came on the radio. Everyone knows Rumours, but I don’t care. Just listen to “Never Going Back Again” and tell me it isn’t the prettiest.

Unicorn by T. Rex

Michael shared this album with me years ago, and I instantly loved it. It’s psychedelic, hippie ren faire goodness. Plus with songs about black cats, owls, wizards and alchemists, it’s a Halloween no-brainer. This one is probably a tough sell for most people, but I highly recommend the track “Cat Black” for starters.

Tapestry by Carole King

This is such a mom album, a really great mom album. Filled with classics “You’ve Got a Friend” and “Where You Lead,” it really pairs well with gusty winds and falling leaves. Plus “So Far Away” fills me with that sort of melancholy nostalgia that fall can bring – in a good way.

His 20 Greatest Hits by Harry Belafonte

I love the movie Beetlejuice (obviously). You’ve got Alec Baldwin at his absolute dreamiest, Winona Ryder as style queen Lydia Deetz and an amazing soundtrack! I’m tempted to buy the actual album because the Danny Elfman score is top-notch (and it’s the perfect accompaniment for pumpkin carving), but half the fun is all the Harry Belafonte tracks. I mean don’t tell me you don’t think of this scene when you hear “Day-O!”

What are your favorite fall albums? I love hearing what puts people in that fall state of mind.

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Apricot Poppy Seed Bars

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I have a soft spot for poppy seeds. My wedding cake was a delicious almond poppy seed layer cake filled with buttercream, and not too long ago I tried to replicate it (and did OK!). But I also love the flavor in the potica and kolaczky I make at Christmas. I love the hint of nuttiness and the crunch they add to all these treats. But let’s face it, cakes, potica and fancy cookies aren’t really everyday treats.

But you know what is an everyday kind of treat? A bar. Just a hardworking sweet that doesn’t require any garnish or flair. They’re perfect for weeknight desserts of for bringing to a party.

So it figures that I wanted to combine the tasty flavor of poppy with the no nonsense feeling of a good ol’ tray bake. I developed this struesel bar recipe based on a recipe from Amy Thielen’s The New Midwestern Table, one of my favorite cookbooks. I wasn’t super keen on the raisins she calls for (and I didn’t agree entirely with some of the proportions), so I developed my own take. Plus, this totally counted as my September bake for my Great America Baking Resolution. Let’s dig in.

For the filling:

  • ¾ cup poppy seeds
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

For the bars:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ cup room temperature butter, cut into chunks + more for greasing pan
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

I warned you that the filling for this one takes a little extra time and work, but you can relax a little knowing it can be prepped a few days in advance – just stash it in the refrigerator. You can relax a little more knowing that making this filling from scratch isn’t mandatory either. Feel free to substitute a can of poppy seed filling from the grocery store (it’s typically in the baking aisle near the canned cherries).

Now let’s get to it. I’m going to kick this off with an optional step: crushing the poppy seeds. This isn’t 100% necessary, but it does help release a little extra poppy flavor by cracking the exterior of the seeds. To crush the seeds, pulverize them in a clean coffee grinder. Working in batches, pulse the seeds in the grinder until they resemble coffee grounds. Set these aside for a moment.

Using your food processor, pulse your chopped, dried apricots so they break down a bit before you add your remaining ingredients. I’d say pulse until they’re about the size of chocolate chips. Then you’re ready to add the rest of your filling ingredients: milk, cream, sugar, vinegar and your poppy seeds. Process until the apricots are reduced to the size of mini chocolate chips or smaller. A blender would work well here too if you don’t have a food processor.

Once blended, pour your mix into a sauce pan. I’ll warn you that it doesn’t look the most appetizing, but don’t worry – it will turn out. Cook this mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently. When the mix begins to bubble, reduce to medium low heat and continue cooking (and stirring) until the filling has thickened – about 15 minutes. Set aside or pop in the fridge.

Now, onto the bars themselves. In a large bowl, quickly mix together your dry ingredients. Then add your cubed butter and mix with your hands until the mix feels damp and holds its shape when squeezed.

Grease a 13″x9″ pan with butter. Scoop five heaping cups of unpacked dough into the pan and press down to form a crust. Bake this at 375ºF for 15 minutes. When done, remove from the oven and let cool for another 15.

Once the base has cooled off a bit, spread the poppy filling across in an even coat, leaving a bit of room around the edge. Then take the remaining struesel mix and crumble on top. Don’t cover the poppy seeds 100%. You’ll want a bit of the filling to show through.

Pop this back into a 375ºF oven for another 45 minutes or so. Wait for this to cool and slice away!

The result is a rich, buttery struesel with a delicious nutty filling with a hint of fruit. These are a bit time consuming, but I think for poppy lovers like myself, they’re definitely worth it.

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Small Goals // October 2017

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Let’s start, like always, with my goals from last month.

  1. Find the perfect first-day outfit. Done! I signed up for Stitch Fix and got a handful of nice things. You can read more about my experience here.
  2. Clean up my wardrobe. Check. Got rid of a giant box of clothes plus two extra shopping bags full. I’m probably down 30+ items, and it feels great! I hope to go through this coming month and do a final sweep.
  3. Find a suitable 70th birthday gift for my dad. Done. I got my dad a fancy cribbage board and a custom deck of cards with his initials on the back. It wasn’t a knock out, in my opinion, but still a good gift.
  4. Paint the cabin’s shutters. Done.
  5. End the mattress shopping saga. Nope. I’m just as unsure as ever. I want my old bed back (but transformed into a larger size).

4/5. After reviewing these, goals, I realize how blah and wimpy they were! September is the start of fall – I should have incorporated more seasonal goals.

To make up for my lack of fall-related goals, I’m going full fall for October. I’m talking apples, pumpkins, scary movies, leaf crunching and the like.

  1. Create a great couple’s costume. After a successful go as Scully and Mulder last year, I’m sold on pop culture-inspired couple’s costumes. I’m pushing for Don Draper and Peggy Olson right now, but we have some time.
  2. Check out Old World Wisconsin’s Legends & Lore. Michael and I went to this event a few years back, and we totally loved it. I think it’s time to revisit and get our old timey spooky kicks.
  3. Make three (or more) apple recipes. Michael and I went apple picking with some friends of ours and brought home 20 pounds of Cortlands and Macintoshes. I’ve got to put those to good use (outside of snacking).
  4. Anything tarot. I am really enamored with the mystery of tarot cards, but I never seem to find the time to read them or learn more about them. No more hesitating! October is peak spooky season and prime time for spooky practices.
  5. Scary stuff. I’m big on ghosts, ghouls and anything creepy. It’s time to binge on old seasons of American Horror Story, Unsolved Mysteries (original Robert Stack episodes only!) and scary movies. (This is an easy one, but super important!)

I’m feeling good about these October goals: super achievable and super fun. What do you have lined up for this month?

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Fix Me Up // My Stitch Fix Experience

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I mentioned in my small goals post for this month that I was on the hunt for the *perfect* first day of work outfit. After spending the last year in a very casual office, I wanted some new work gear (and to treat myself a bit). I spent a lot of time scrolling my favorite sites and shopping my favorite stores for a new ensemble only to find that nothing appealed.

I was beginning to think I’d have to start a new job in an outfit I already owned – horror of horrors! Since my favorite stores and my closet were both failing me, I knew I needed help. I needed real professional style help, so I started exploring Stitch Fix.

At first I was extremely wary. How could a quiz and a few sentences encapsulate my desired style aesthetic? Would the stylist ever understand how much I hate cold shoulder tops? Could they even know how hard it is for me to find a pencil skirt? Would it be worth risking the $20 styling fee? In the end, I realized that in order to get new clothes that suited my new purpose, I needed to expand my horizons. And having a professional scouting merchandise that I couldn’t find on my own would be a an option worth exploring.

When the box arrived, I was nervous. WOULD IT BE WORTH IT? I opened the box and was pleasantly surprised by the first item: a kelly green blouse with lace detail on the shoulders. Um, wow. OK. This isn’t bad. It was actually gorgeous. Then I pulled out the textured A-line skirt with a Greek key-style pattern. This is so me. Next was a bright violet blouse with a slight ruffly bell sleeve at the elbow. HOW DID THEY MAKE ME LIKE BELL SLEEVES?! Last were a black and white polka dot blouse and a pencil skirt with a crochet overlay. Umm, close but no cigar. This shirt looks like something by best friend’s mom would wear, and this skirt is going to make me look like a stuffed sausage.

And then I tried everything on. The A-line skirt, the green top and the violet shirt were all home runs. I stared at the polka dot blouse and evil pencil skirt. I had to at least try them, even though I was certain they’d be garbage. Once I had the shirt on, I came around to it. It struck me as a bit career-y, but I suppose that was really the point. Then I put the skirt with it. I held my breath (really because I thought I’d have to suck it in). To my complete and total surprise, it fit, and it fit well. And the black on black detail was banging. Looking at everything, I was really pleased, especially because of the mix-and-match potential.

And just like that I was sold.

I purchased all five items, which came with a nice bonus: 25% off the whole box. It ended up costing me a little over $200, and I felt that was pretty reasonable for five really nice items.

I realize that this is only one box’s worth of items and that my request for clothes for a fun, creative job might have been a softball, BUT I’m still thrilled with the result. The process saved me a lot of time while exposing me to styles I wouldn’t normally consider but really enjoyed. And now instead of one ho-hum outfit of my own making, I have a mini collection of pieces from which to draw for my new gig.

So if you’re considering Stitch Fix, I obviously encourage you to try. Tell ’em Lisa sent you.

• • •

P.S. I know it’s pretty lame to post this review and not actually include any photos of me in the outfits. I’m a lame person. But I’d rather you hear how about how cool I thought this was than wait forever for me to have one decent photo.

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Spooky Hoops // What’s New in Kaminski Handicraft

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It’s no secret that I’m all about spooky things here on this blog – or embroidery for that matter. So it’s not really a surprise that I’ve combined the two for a few scary shop updates at Kaminski Handicraft.

My first hoop is a real pride and joy piece for me. I dabbled with a new text style and new colors to make this Beetlejuice hoop. As a kid I loved Lydia Deetz, so this one is close to my heart. Plus, I feel like the red rose fabric (major heart eye emojis) and metallic black hoop scream Lydia.

For those looking for a more obvious Halloween-theme, I obviously had to tap into my 90s childhood for a Hocus Pocus hoop. It’s really a shame that this one doesn’t photograph that well, but I think it’s bewitching nonetheless. Bonus: the fabric glows in dark. Super cool.

And of course, Halloween would not be complete for me without some X-Files references. For those of you keeping track, Michael and I won a costume contest last year dressing up as Mulder and Scully. We’re way into it. And I’m way into these hoops! You can find them here and here.

For those interested parties, get these hoops now! I ship them out pretty quickly (within three days), but who doesn’t want to celebrate Halloween sooner than later?

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From Peggy Olson to Mary Berry // A New Career

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I mentioned in my small goals post for the month that I was starting a new job. It’s true! This week I start working for Taste of Home, a food magazine based in Milwaukee. I’m really excited to start a career in a new industry, and I’m absolutely thrilled to be working back downtown.

This is a really wonderful opportunity for me to stretch my writing muscles in new way. For the first time in my professional career, I’ll be writing copy for copy’s sake (and not to sell sweaters, socks, wheelchairs or diapers). I’m a touch sad to not call myself a copywriter anymore (I really was trying to live that Peggy Olson life), but I also think that associate digital editor has a nice ring to it.

I’m a day into this new gig, but if the Mary Berry welcome sign at my desk is any indication of how this gig will go, I think I’ll be just fine.

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Small Goals // September 2017

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Welcome back to Small Goals! Let’s see how I did on last month’s goals.

  1. Get my summer reading list together. Done! I’ll let you know if anything is worth checking out.
  2. Get a few more designs whipped up for Kaminski Handicraft. Happy to report that this is also done! I added this Yes to staying in more! design, an X-Files hoop and a Beetlejuice hoop.
  3. Apply for the Crafty Fair. I applied for this, and unfortunately I didn’t make the cut. I also applied to Hover Craft in Milwaukee, but I won’t hear back until September 11.
  4. Get my stitching in order. Yes! My fabric and floss combinations are all in writing (finally).
  5. Clean, like really clean, my bathtub. Done. I’m pretty happy with how this turned out. The tub looks 95% cleaner and all it took was a half hour, some elbow grease and $5 for supplies.

5/5. I feel good about this past month! I had a whole week of vacation tucked in there and I still managed.

Let’s move on to September. I hate to see summer wind down, but I really love the fall. I’m going to take it easy on myself this month because – drum roll – I’m starting a new job! This is a task on its own, so I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to accomplish a lot outside of work. Also, I’ll share more about that later!

  1. Find the perfect first-day outfit. I’ve bought a new interview outfit for every post-college job I’ve had – except for my new one. I’m going to treat myself to a new first day outfit instead.
  2. Clean up my wardrobe. Looking in my drawers and closet recently I realized that a lot of my clothes are under- or over-worn. It’s time to trim down my t-shirt collection and get rid of sweaters that have seen better days. I’m not going to go full-on Kondo by any means, but if I can get rid of a laundry basket full, I’ll be happy.
  3. Find a suitable 70th birthday gift for my dad. My dad likes simple things: new zip-front sweatshirts, Elvis memorabilia and anything he can take camping. Those aren’t going to cut it for a milestone birthday like this. I’m making it my mission to find something special for his 70th.
  4. Paint the cabin’s shutters. Our family cabin (OK – it’s a mobile home) is looking a little worse for wear due to its bleached out shutters. I want to spruce the place up and paint the shutters a fresh shade of Blue Midnight.
  5. End the mattress shopping saga. Earlier this year, I upgraded our full-size mattress to a queen. I was convinced after limited research and limited understanding about my own sleep needs that a Purple mattress was going to perfect for Michael and me. It was impossibly firm. So I ordered a Cocoon by Sealy. Still way too firm. It’s time to put this problem to rest. PUN INTENDED.

Alright, that’s all, folks! See you in October.