a peek into my pantry and Christmas ramblings

My current pantry may not look like this one, but I do love it. I love whipping something up, tucked away in there, away from the rest of the kitchen. It's also where my Kitchen Aid resides once more - my replacement mixer arrived earlier this week. It sounds entirely different from the first one I had, which is probably a good thing. As is the case through the rest of the house, in my pantry glass jars abound. See that barley on the right? It's been there for way too long. Do any of you have recipe suggestions for barley which don't involve mushrooms? Adam can't eat them, and it seems as though barley is usually paired with those fun fungi. Let me know - I'd love to see your recipes.

And this little Martha-fied stack has been getting me in a festive kind of mood. I'm very excited that on Saturday, Annie and Ingrid are coming over for some Christmas crafting. I haven't decided what I'll be working on, but it won't be soap! I can't wait. I know that the whole Christmas thing isn't for everyone, but I am one of those people who love it. The planning, gifts, and food, of course. But especially the music. I'm very sheepish about my all-time favourite Christmas album, since it seems to be so out of character for me but I'll tell you - it's Mariah Carey's Christmas album. I know. In high school, a great friend (Hi, AC!) and I made incredible gingerbread creations each year for the annual school-wide contest, and I remember listening to it with her in her kitchen while we made a model of our school from scratch. I've loved it ever since. Listen carefully, and you just might hear me singing away in the car. Happy Thursday!