Cabin in the City

Books, cats and midwestern charm.

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Feeling Pure Joy // A Vaccine Story

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It’s been a scary time, but since COVID vaccines started being distributed in Wisconsin early this year, I’ve started to feel more hopeful.

Early on, our friends in nursing got the shots and it was nice to think that some people we knew were protected. As eligibility requirements expanded, Michael and I jumped for joy when our parents got their first and second doses. When Michael became eligible with other educators in the state, I was absolutely thrilled. Soon, I could count almost all of our immediate family as being on their way in getting vaccinated.

Because I’m a fairly healthy 31-year-old editor working from home, I figured I’d be last in line for getting the shots. As impatient as I am, I made peace with that. What’s another few months of playing it extra safe and staying in? I’ve mastered that by now. My main concerns were seeing my parents and in-laws protected. If they were vaccinated, I was happy.

And then I got a hot tip from a coworker that there were extra doses available at a nearby vaccine clinic. I called, thinking that the odds of me snagging one of those extra shots was slim. No big deal if there were none left or there were no more appointments to be had.

But there were. And two hours later I was getting my first dose of the vaccine feeling absolute pure joy.

Walking into the building, everyone exuded happiness. Good things were happening there. Sitting with the nurse, I nearly cried tears of joy as she pricked me with the needle (it was nearly painless).

After, as I sat in the recovery area, I texted with a friend about the experience. She was coming to get hers a bit later in the day. We exchanged all-caps, !!!!-heavy messages and it felt good. It felt good to be happy and hopeful!

Walking out of the building I took my vaccine selfie with pride, complete with #igotmine sticker. As a treat to myself, I headed over to one of my favorite haunts: Don’s Diner. I grabbed a chocolate shake, cranked up some girl power tunes and headed home.

I’ve got a few more weeks until my second dose, but I already feel so much lighter. I feel hopeful, joyful and grateful.

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Small Goals // March 2021

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Nope, you didn’t miss it. I totally skipped any sort of goals for January and February.

To be honest, we spent the start of 2021 really in the shit. Lots of bad news, lots of stress—not the time to be focusing on anything other than just taking care of ourselves and our families.

Life is still hard (more on this later), but I feel ready to set a few goals for myself, if for no other reason than to propel myself forward.

But first, let’s look at December because why not?

  1. Mail our holiday cards during the first half of December. We did it. All of our cards were in the mail by the middle of the month. We sent out more than 40 so that was a feat!
  2. Do most of my Christmas shopping with small and local businesses. I think I did a good job with this. I can safely say that 75% of my shopping was done at small businesses, most of which were located in Wisconsin.
  3. Make homemade ornaments. Done. I made two ornaments from my Hello Bargello kit. I put the kit in with our decorations so I can finish a few more next year. This was a super fun craft.
  4. Tackle a Christmas sewing project. Done. I made a holiday runner for our bar cart and a lot of holiday masks. Not a lot, but definitely something.
  5. Get prescription sunglasses. Done! The people at Be Spectacled make choosing stylish glasses very easy.

5/5. These goals are a long time past, but I’m happy that I was able to check them all off my list.

Now, onto spring!

  1. Sign up for Libro.fm. I signed up for Audible last year and I really, really love it. But of course, I have that little voice telling me that I should not be giving Amazon more money. So I plan on making the switch to Libro.fm this month. It’s pretty much the same as Audible but it costs five cents more a month and supports independent booksellers.
  2. Clean and repaper our kitchen cupboards. This is such a grandma thing, but I need to put new contact paper in our cupboards. The shelves just need some spiffing up, especially because I’ve got new Caraway cookware to put inside.
  3. Work on an Easter cross stitch pattern. This has definitely been my go-to hobby lately, and I really enjoy making seasonal pieces. They let me stitch to my heart’s content without having to have a million cross samplers on my walls at all times.
  4. Go on more lunchtime walks. I was going on walks every day for a long while and then just stopped. Now that the coldest days are behind us, it’s time to get outside a bit more. Let’s say four days a week, OK?
  5. Clean the den. The den is my workspace and it’s almost always a mess. Time to clean it (and then slowly clutter it up again).

I’m hoping that these goals aren’t too ambitious for me right now. I’m pretty confident that even now, when I’m at peak stress, I can get a few done. Until April!

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What I Read // February 2021

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Only a few books to report on this month, but I’ve got a few in the works right now that I’m really enjoying. Stay tuned!

The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr • ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one-sentence synopsis was all I read before diving into this book: “A post-mortem photographer unearths dark secrets of the past that may hold the key to his future, in this captivating debut novel in the gothic tradition of Wuthering Heights and The Thirteenth Tale.”

Sounds good right?

The book was fine. Not enough photography for my taste! And I spent a lot of time asking myself, wait, why should I care about this?

The Deep by Alma Katsu • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

OK, I think this book deserves exactly 3.5 stars—and that’s the general consensus on Goodreads as well.

The Deep is a satisfying retelling of the sinking of the Titanic. Can my ’90s kid brain ever get enough of it? It seems not!

But what I liked about this version was that it wasn’t just a straightforward fictional retelling focusing on the richest passengers (though, they do make appearances). Instead, The Deep follows a stewardess on the Titanic and the strange, occasionally spooky occurrences that seem to follow her on the ship (and later in life too).

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This February we got so much damn snow in Milwaukee. SO MUCH. So listening to this book about guests snowed in at a hotel in the Alps was a great match atmospherically.

I’ll tee you up and let you read the rest: An on-leave detective and her boyfriend takes a trip to visit her brother and his fiancée for an engagement party at this fancy new hotel. The luxury hotel once was a tuberculosis sanatorium, which gives it sort of an unsettling feel. And then there’s a murder. And then everyone gets snowed in. I don’t want to tell you any more!

I’ll say this: If you enjoyed The Hunting Party, you’ll really like The Sanatorium.

As always, you can follow along with my progress and see what I’ve read over on Goodreads!

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What I Read // January 2021

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In 2020 I read and listened to a whopping 50 books. That’s more than I read in 2018 and 2019 combined.

This year, I’m hoping to tackle a solid 40, though my stretch goal (ugh, who am I?) is 50. I’m off to a good start with five books in January.

The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan • ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sometimes you just need a halfway decent domestic thriller to listen to while you walk around the neighborhood or do some crossword puzzles.

The Nanny, a story about a woman who suddenly reconnects with her former nanny in adulthood, is exactly that. It was intriguing and fun to listen to. Maybe it deserved four stars? Let’s go with 3.5.

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hands down, When No One Is Watching was my favorite read of the month.

Initially, I put off reading this book because I thought I knew what the plot was and had been disappointed by books like that in the past (ahem Lock Every Door by Riley Sager). But whatever you think the plot will be, it’s not that.

I won’t give a speck of it away because it’s such a good read.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read The Broken Girls by this author a few years back and loved it. I’d definitely consider The Sun Down Motel to be in the same vein as that novel. This is a solid modern ghost story.

I recommend it for an afternoon in (and aren’t all afternoons in these days?).

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters • ⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of my first listens of the pandemic era was The Little Strangers, another novel by Sarah Waters. Now, almost a year on, it seemed right to read one more of her books.

This novel, about a common thief trained to act as a lady’s maid, definitely kept me listening. And there were lots of little twists in here that I enjoyed. Overall, though, it wasn’t my favorite read of the month. Maybe if I read it at another time, I’d give it four stars.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This new release is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. I’ll admit that I’ve never read the book, but I have seen the movie and I loved the concept. So, of course, I had to grab this 2021 version.

It did not disappoint. It was a nice domestic thriller that had me reading whenever I had a spare moment.

As always, you can follow along with my progress and see what I’ve read over on Goodreads!

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Baking to Get Through It

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I never really understood stress baking, though I understand it’s a real phenomenon.

To me, baking—something that requires some precision and attention to detail—is the last thing a stress-addled mind needs to be tackling. I’m more of a stress TV-watcher or stress online shopper.

But this past month, arguably one of the most stressful in memory, I have been baking a lot.

And maybe I get it now. When I thought of stress baking in the past, I thought of the kind of stress that comes with having too much to do, the stress that comes with that certain breed of frantic anxiety.

But now I’m realizing that baking during stressful time serves another purpose.

Stress Baking to Help

First and foremost, during hard times, baking is an easy way to help and to let others know you’re thinking of them. Bringing over a loaf of bread or a dessert to someone that needs a pick-me-up or who can’t manage to bake on their own is helpful. Right now, my mother-in-law has a particular taste for sweets and is unable to bake on her own, so a batch of homemade brownies hits the spot for us both.

Stress Baking to Soothe

What I’ve really found, though, is that baking is a good way to propel yourself forward. Baking won’t help the worries of the day subside or solve any problems, but it requires enough focus to make those concerns take a backseat for a moment—and in a way that reading, TV or embroidery can’t.

So I’m thankful that I have a hobby that can take me through these hard days and can even be useful.

And if you’re wondering what I’ve made, here’s a list of what’s come out of my kitchen in the last four weeks:

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Moon Muffins // The Out of This World Treat I’m Living On

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I’ve got a lot of food memories. That’s what happens when you’ve got a mom like mine that loves to bake (not to mention aunts that are super bakers as well). From very young, I remember making our family’s classic recipes—the one’s my mom and grandma made for ages.

But once in a while I new recipe would come on the scene. And I remember when these muffins first appeared. My mom’s best friend brought them over for a Super Bowl Party. “They’re moon muffins,” she said.

What kind of muffins? And she explained the cream cheese-chocolate chip mix made the top of these black-bottom cupcakes look like the craters of the moon. And that makes total sense. So my fam never once called these treats black-bottom cupcakes; they’ve always been moon muffins.

And they are a bake I’ve been craving a lot lately, so I figure I may as well share.

How to Make Moon Muffins

Ingredients-wise, this looks like a long list, but I guarantee you that the only thing you might not have at the ready is cream cheese.

For the cupcake batter:

  • 1½ cup flour
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 egg
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For the filling:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 6 ounces chocolate chips
  • Dash of salt

Step 1: Make the Cream Cheese Filling

First up, grab a mixing bowl and combine the cream cheese, egg, sugar and a dash of salt. Beat that together until nice and smooth. Once really creamy and fluffy, stir in a handful of chocolate chips. I usually use minis but any kind will work.

Step 2: Make the Chocolate Cupcake Batter

Now onto the cupcake portion. This is really such an easy batter to make. It requires absolutely no finesse. You could really just chuck it all in a mixer and call it good.

But if you want to go step-by-step, I recommend mixing together the sugar, egg, oil and vanilla. Then add in the rest and beat until just combined.

Step 3: Fill ‘er Up

Next, grab your muffin pan and fill it with paper liners. Fill each about half to two-thirds full with the chocolate batter. In my kitchen, I use this OXO scoop for all cupcakes and muffins and it works like a dream.

Then top each cupcake off with a tablespoon of the cream cheese mix. I use this KitchenAid cookie scoop. Combined with the other scoop, it fills up the pans just right without them overflowing while baking

Step 4: Bake

All that’s left is to bake! Pop these in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes at 350ºF.

Once cooled, eat them! And keep any leftovers in the fridge (they’ll last about a week). Honestly, I prefer them chilled, so I usually enjoy the next day.

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What I Read // November + December 2020

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I slowed down on my reading in the fall but made up for it in the final month of 2020. I read (and listened to) 50 books this year!

The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni • ⭐️⭐️⭐️

There’s nothing I like better than this setup: A normal woman living her life finds out that she’s the heir to some great fortune or manor home or legacy. I am a sucker for this! Which I why I picked up The Ancestor.

It was not your standard gothic tale or ghost story, and that was kind of refreshing. Parts were a little silly to me, but I was definitely along for the ride here.

The Alibi Girl by C.J. Skuse • ⭐️⭐️

A disappointing read. I found the protagonist to be weird, whiny and too childlike (even though she was supposed to be relatively naive). It was just blah.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones • ⭐️⭐️

I started this book mid-October thinking it would be a nice read for the spookiest time of year. It took me until nearly the end of November to finish. I just could not get into it. I felt like I didn’t know the key characters very well, I was confused constantly and just couldn’t settle into the plot.

After Me Comes the Flood by Sarah Perry • ⭐️⭐️

I bought this audiobook on a lark because a) it was on sale and b) it was described as “gothic.”

The idea here was really intriguing. A man has car trouble, goes up to a home for help and is greeted like the people were expecting him. And he stays. What an unsettling start!

But this book didn’t go anywhere. At the end, I was asking myself, so what was the point?

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

OK, I loved this book. I downloaded this audiobook to listen to while cross-stitching some Christmas gifts and it was absolute perfection.

Did I know who would end up with who within the first ten minutes? Sure. But the ride there was really enjoyable and festive and not even that corny.

I won’t give a stitch of this one away because I want you to really enjoy it while you snuggle up with a blanket, a craft and a cup of hot chocolate.

Christmas in London by Anita Hughes • ⭐️⭐️

Inspired by The Twelve Dates of Christmas, I downloaded this audiobook. Readers, let me tell you: This one was downright implausible.

A random baker is plucked from obscurity based off one pan of cinnamon rolls, gets flown to London to star in a Christmas cooking special all without any TV experience? Oh, and she’s also the worst? As in “Oh I thought instead of going to that important rehearsal, I’d go sightseeing! I’ve never been to London! I’m adorable!” NO.

Also… as someone that works in food media, I can tell you that being a good baker does not make you a good on-camera personality. Also, all those Christmas shows are filmed in the summer—not on Christmas Day. COME ON.

One Day in December by Josie Silver • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

OK, after one good cozy holiday read and one awful one, I hit my stride again. It took me a while to acclimate to this book (it was a little cheesy at first), but once I did, I really liked it.

It was a nice read to coast into the holiday season. Add it to your list for next year! That’s what I did—I downloaded the book in January 2019 and just held onto it for a good while.

The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb • ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my last read of 2020—my 50th book! I’m a big fan of Wendy Webb. Her books are all set on the Great Lakes and are all spooky and cozy.

This wasn’t my favorite of hers (those would be her first four books), but it was still a nice read to curl up with as it snowed. Plus, the setting in this novel is based on Bayfield, Wisconsin, one of my favorite places. It was nice to take a trip there in this book.

As always, you can keep up with what I’m working on over on Goodreads!

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Homemade Irish Cream // A Cabin in the City Tradition

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When it comes to the holidays, I’ve got a lot of Christmas traditions. I like to make a few treats (like molasses cookies) year after year. I also like to make one non-baked item: Irish cream.

Honestly, the homemade version of this sipper is so delicious. It blows Bailey’s right out of the water. Sure, it’s decadent, but it’s only the holidays once a year.

Plus, it takes only about five minutes to make a batch from scratch. It’s a fun surprise to share on Christmas Eve. I also really like making this recipe with Michael. It’s something fun we can do together to share with our families.

How to Make Homemade Irish Cream

Making Irish cream from scratch is a breeze and you don’t need any fancy ingredients (you might even have some in your cupboard right now!). Here’s what you need:

  • 1 cup cream (half and half also works)
  • 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
  • ¾ cup whiskey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
  • ¾ teaspoon cocoa powder

Makes 3½ cups.

A Few Notes on Ingredients

When it comes to the cream in this recipe, I truly don’t taste a major difference when I switch to half and half. Use what you’ve got!

As for the whiskey, do not use your best stuff in this recipe. Irish cream is so loaded with other flavors that you can get away with a bottle from a lower shelf. I use Canadian Club.

But when it comes to the vanilla, I always like to use the good stuff. Nielsen-Massey and Penzey’s are my go-tos.

Directions (It’s So Easy)

Start by whisking together the vanilla extract, cocoa powder and instant espresso powder together. It should make a paste of sorts. The main objective is just to get out any cocoa lumps. If you do end up with lumps though, it is 100% fine! It’ll just be an extra pocket of cocoa as you sip.

Then add in your cream and whiskey. Finally, whisk in the sweetened condensed milk. The milk is pretty sticky and thick, so be sure to whisk it pretty well until you don’t have any gooey stuff stuck on the bottom of the bowl. And that’s it!

For quality control, I like to take a little sip over ice before giving it to friends and family.

How to Store Homemade Irish Cream

When it comes to storing this treat, I just bottle it up in clean jam jars (the perfect size for gifting) and keep it in the fridge.

Unlike the bottled stuff, homemade Irish cream won’t last forever. Drink it by the cream’s best by date.

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The Only Oatmeal Cookie Worth Eating

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I love a good everyday cookie. You know everyday cookies: chocolate chips, gingersnaps, peanut butter… Good ol’ fashioned cookie jar cookies. But there’s one everyday cookie I never liked: oatmeal.

Why? 99% of oatmeal cookies are filled with raisins. Now, I don’t mind raisins, but they have no place in cookies!

But as I was paging through my favorite baking book Midwest Made, I saw there was a recipe for a raisin-free oatmeal cookie. Now that’s something I could be interested in! I made a few tweaks to Shauna Sever’s recipe—not that there was anything wrong with it (all the recipes in her book are amazing), but because I’m a twerp that likes to change things just for fun.

What I got was a chocolate-filled oatmeal cookie worth dunking and snacking. Here’s how to make ’em!

Chocolate-Studded Oatmeal Cookies

To make these cookies, you don’t need anything special! Just some pantry basics:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 old-fashioned oats
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cups chocolate; I used a mix of semi-sweet chips and chopped up the remains of a baking bar

This recipe is definitely on the smaller side. Since it’s just two of us at home, we don’t need dozens of cookies laying around. This recipe makes about 20 cookies.

Step 1: Mix Up the Dough

I don’t need to tell you how to make a cookie dough, right? But I will anyway.

Start by creaming together the butter and sugars. You’ll want to cream them on medium speed with a paddle attachment for about five minutes. Creaming does take longer than you think! Just let ‘er rip and do some other tasks while the mixer runs.

Scrape down the bowl and beat in the egg and vanilla extract until well combined—about another minute more.

Next, add in all those dry ingredients—oats, flour, baking soda, salt—until you’ve got a dough. Don’t over-mix here! And be sure to scrape that bowl!

Step 2: Stir in the Chocolate

You can use whatever kind of chocolate floats your boat for this recipe. Dark chocolate, semi-sweet, mini chips—whatever’s in the pantry as long as it gives you 3/4 of a cup.

In my cookies, I chopped up the remainder of a dark chocolate baking bar I had in the cupboard (leftover from a babka) and then some semi-sweet chips to top it all off. I like the variation in size and flavors of chocolate. But you do you!

Because my mom always did this when I was growing up, I mix in the chips by hand. But you can use your mixer.

Step 3: Bake!

All that’s left is to portion out the cookies and bake! Grab your favorite cookie scoop and plop portions of dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, just drop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto your pan. It’s all good!

Bake at 350ºF for 10-12 minutes. Move to a wire rack to cool (yeah right—just eat one while it’s warm!).

Let me be clear with these cookies: Just because I’m posting this in December doesn’t mean I consider these Christmas cookies. Christmas cookies are supposed to be special! That means you won’t find chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies or plain ol’ peanut butter cookies on my cookie tray. But these chewy chocolate oatmeal cookies will tide me over until my holiday baking starts in earnest.

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Kaminski Handicraft: Open for the Holidays

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It’s been a hot minute since I’ve shared any updates about the embroidery business!

Shop on Etsy

Kaminski Handicraft is still up and running, and now I’ve got my hoops listed in my Etsy shop!

I’ve got a little more than a dozen of my best-sellers listed in my shop ready to rock and roll for the holidays. All of these hoops are made and ready to ship out the next day.

Plus, I’m offering free shipping when you purchase $35 or more from my shop.

Shop on Instagram

If Etsy isn’t your style, you can see what’s up in my Sunday Insta-Sales over at @kaminskihandicraft. Just DM me and I’m happy to take your order and accept payment via Venmo or Square.

Plus, if you live in Milwaukee, I’m offering free contactless pickup or delivery. Not a bad deal!

Now there’s my shill for the season. Happy shopping (I hope you shop small and local when you can!).