What Was for Breakfast: Homemade Granola

I mentioned in my last post about undertaking an in-between holiday detox and workout regimen. Well, I actually followed through pretty well this past week, hitting the gym and trying to eat less and better. 

I've sort of been obsessed with finding the perfect granola since being treated to an absolutely delicious and ever-since elusive version of muesli at several bed and breakfasts on our trip to Ireland in 2009. Then on our vacay in Michigan over the summer, a good friend brought along some granola that she had made from scratch to share for breakfasts. It too was yummy, and after she emphasized that it was way cheaper to make than buy (hit up the bulk bins) and totally customizable, I decided I finally had to try my hand at concocting my perfect blend of healthy, breakfast goodness. I did a little bit of research and wound up cherry-picking ingredients and techniques from various recipes. Here's what I ended up with roughly. (Measurements don't need to be exact by any means, it's more about finding the proportion of ingredients that you like. And substitute away!)


2 cups rolled oats
1 cup almonds or walnuts
shy of 1 cup coconut
shy of 1 cup sunflower seeds (raw, not roasted or salted)
shy of 1 cup flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons salted butter (or if unsalted, add a bit more salt than the 1/2 teaspoon)
4-5 tablespoons honey
1 cup golden raisins or chopped dates


Combine first six ingredients well in bowl. 
Melt butter in microwave (or on stovetop, then remove from heat) then stir in honey. Pour butter and honey over oat mixture and stir, stir, stir thoroughly until everything is well-coated. If the mixture isn't looking at least slightly glisten-y throughout, melt a bit more butter, stir in a bit more honey, and mix in.


Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spread oat mixture out evenly. Bake for 30 minutes at 300° stirring every 10 minutes. Keep a close eye. You want everything to go a nice golden brown, but once this starts to happen, it happens quickly. Enjoy the sweet, delicious perfume coming from your oven


Let cool a bit and add raisins.


Serve with Greek yogurt and an extra drizzle of honey if you like (I do). This turns out slightly sweet, but not as sweet as what you would buy in the store. More raisins or dates up the sweetness quotient too.


Makes enough for one person for a week plus of breakfasts.


Totally worth the effort. Making and eating will have you feeling good on multiple levels, I promise!


♡,


Erin

Growing Gifts

I hope everyone in the States had an excellent Thanksgiving yesterday. We are in Illinois for the long weekend. We had a traditional turkey dinner yesterday with Greg's family and today we're on to a beef roast with mine. Monday I think I will be on to some sort of in-between-holiday detox and workout regimen. As today is Black Friday, tomorrow is Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday will be here before we know it, I wanted to share the paperwhite forcing gift sets I put into Little Green Vintage earlier in the week. 

I have two single bulb sets in these lovely silver goblets. Just the perfect size to snug the bulb in with just a bit of room below for water. They are engraved "Gene & Shirley 10-1-83", probably wedding favors once upon a time, and come tied off with vintage red and blue taffeta bows. 

I also have one three bulb set in this frosted Diamond Point pattern Indiana Glass compote, finished with a big bow of vintage silver ribbon and polished creamy colored river rocks for nestling the bulbs in.

All sets come gift wrapped. (And I'll soon have a gift wrapping option with the same basic materials available for everything else in the shop too, should you want to gift any of the other vintage goodies I've got on offer.) Inside a lidded gift box, vintage dictionary and silver tissue shred keep things padded and safe (compote will be bubbled and wrapped in tissue for extra protection). Bulbs are wrapped in tissue and tied up with twine and forcing instructions.  

Gift then comes wrapped in silver tissue and embellished with jute twine, green and white sparkle-infused baker's twine, a silver chenille stem star, white gift tag, and sprig of fresh cedar. 

All right, it's official, I've got the spirit. Bring on the rest of the holly-days!

♡,

Erin

Enjoy Co

Greg works in Granville, OH which is about 30 miles east of Columbus. It's a lovely New England-esque town (it was founded in 1804 by a group from Massachusetts and Connecticut)in a beautiful setting on the western edge of Appalachians. Granville is home to Denison University, a small liberal arts college, a picturesque downtown full of shops, restaurants and old churches, and loads and loads of gorgeous historic homes. (I will take you on a tour sometime after warm weather comes back around.) And Enjoy Co., a very nicely curated home and garden shop which I finally visited for the first time last week.    

Lovely leaves at the side of the shop.

Enjoy Co. sums up their aesthetic as "vintage, industrial, natural, and contemporary". The bright space the shop occupies showcases a neutral palate of silver, steel, bronze, wood, glass, jute, wool and leather with green accents in the form of lush potted plants. 

Wish I was a knitter so I could have justified a skein or two of this yarn. Have to try it out sooner than later.

Love, love, love the mini tinsel garland! (Getting closer to having that holiday spirit.)

I wish I had taken more store-wide shots, but I just kept zooming in on all of their great little vignettes. 

Reusable wooden gift boxes. ♥ 

I also wanted to bring home this porcelain votive house...

and this plushy, faux mossy wreath. Perhaps next time.

I did come away with some sparkle-infused bakers' twine for wrapping up holiday things...

and a few paperwhites for forcing. I just got this one nestled in today to my "Best Scholar Freshman Fencing 1934" cup, the lone specimen in my vintage trophy collection, but my peepers are always open. 

I am going to have on offer in Little Green Vintage a few paperwhite forcing gift sets of a similar vintage persuasion in the very new future. I've been wanting to have the "green" in Little Green Vintage refer to growing things for awhile now, and I'm super excited with how they're turning out as I put them together. I hope you'll like them too!

If you ever find yourself in central Ohio, do visit Granville and if you visit Granville, do stop into Enjoy Co, located just east of downtown and open Thur. - Sat. It's a beautiful, inspiring place. In the meantime, check out their website, as it is likewise!

♡,

Erin    

A Little Tribute

Last night when I should have been getting off to bed, as I got up and went to the gym way to early this morning (for reasons that are still not clear even to me), I made this treasury instead. Still not giving up on the autumnal palette, but getting a bit closer to embracing the big to-do of next month. Making plans!


♡,


Erin

A More Fashionable Friday

Hello! Just a quick post before we run out the door.

Last Friday I posted on a couple of my at-home comfies, this Friday, somethings a little more out-the-door ready.  

I picked up some new lip gloss today at Lennonheads Salon & Spa.

Cherry red lips have been going strong for awhile now. I have a similar color lipstick that I love, but this will be a great day version, so much more low-maintenance. You can grab a tube here.

And once I saw this polish, even though I tried to walk away, I just had to have. Zoya is great, none of the nasty stuff, and it goes on nice and smooth, even if you're horrible at self-manicuring like I am. I can only hope that the name is referencing the 80s cartoon. And here it is. 

And finally I scored this pretty from the consignment/thrift store earlier this week for $6 or $7. I think it's sterling, though I couldn't find a mark. It's got the greatest platinum-y patina. Very classic. A keeper.

Ok got to get ready, so I don't get yelled at for delaying happy hour.

♡,

Erin

Feeling Clingy

As in I'm not yet ready to say goodbye to fall. It's still just way too autumnal outside to be listening to x-mas music and thinking about pressies. The weather has been pretty good, no sign of the white stuff, and there are still tons of good-looking leaves around, both high (still on the trees) and low (like all over the backyard that need to make it to the curb).

Tulips are ok in November if they're orange, right? And these only came from Virginia by way of Whole Foods, so it wasn't too ungreen of me to bring them home I maintain. 

Just got these gorgeous, fiery poms from PomLove over the weekend and put them right up to show my allegiance to the third season of the year right up through Thanksgiving. (These replaced the pretty summery ones I mentioned here.)

And I'm keeping my pumpkins too.

But in reality, I know I've got to get busy on some holiday prep. I would like to make rather than buy most of the gifts I give this year. And I have neglected The Little Green Vintage Shop for oh so long now, between working on our basement and another project relating to the career I got degreed to do. I know I promised to update it with oodles of vintage goodies, and possibly some handmade ones as well, literally months ago. Well, the oodles are still sitting about, waiting to be given the chance to be adopted. I just have to find the time and good light to photo them.

Alright then, to work!

♡,

Erin

Comfy

is what I've been today, if not exactly on the cutting edge of fashion, loafing around the house in my brand-new, fuzzy mocs (grab a pair for yourself here)...

and the long-sleeve New Holland Poet tee I picked up on our craft beer tour (available online too). You've got to love that graphic though, especially this time of year. I definitely chose the design with a casual fall day such as this one in mind (though I do like the beer too).

And I'm guessing they designed the logo as such because stouts are so fall-weather-appropriate.

And speaking of the libations, it's nigh on happy hour.

Cheers!

♡,

Erin