< two fifty: life in a tiny apartment.

Holiday Gift Giving in a Tiny Apartment (or, What a Girl Wants):

Gifts are always a challenge. Of course, there is great joy in gift giving but finding the perfect something for someone or knowing how to steer inquiring minds in the right direction for someone else can be difficult. Knowing what to do with a pile of loot after a holiday comes and goes can send you (okay, me) into a tailspin.

Yesterday I wrote about giving homemade gifts. While I honestly believe that giving handmade comestibles is one of the loveliest gestures anyone can make, I also understand that this isn't always an option. My mom, for one, is never going to be satisfied by baking us a plate full of cookies and sending us on our way on Christmas morning.

Living in a tiny apartment  (and tending toward extreme choosiness...) makes the task even more challenging. People are afraid to burden us with things we don't need or don't have a space for. This summer, America in its entirety was concerned about where James and I would cram our wedding gifts (thank you, Today Show for stoking those flames).

There's no perfect solution to holiday gift giving for tiny apartment dwellers, but here are a few tips, just in case:

1. Tiny things. Believe me, too much tiny is just as bad as too much big, but portable trinkets are welcome indeed. Necklaces? I'll never say no. Bracelets? Ok! Sparkles? Why not?

2. Things you use up. You kind of can't go wrong in this category. Extremely special scented candles? Yes, please. Christmas tea? Right this way.

3. Activities. Anything to have us stretch our legs! Ballet tickets? I'm practically begging at this point.

4. Underwear. Okay. Maybe it's only me, but new skivvies are one of my all-time favorite gifts.  These, these, this or this. You, too?

ps. wrap up those pressies in old magazine pages. more on that, soon.

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with nutmeg.

Morning coffee lately includes a shaving or three of nutmeg and steamed milk. There's no special recipe or step-by-step, but I thought you might like to know.

And, of course, I'm curious:

What fancy additions are you making to your morning cup these days? 'Tis the season, after all.

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giving: cinnamon cardamom honey

This weekend was a grey one. It was one for putting on a thick pair of socks and turning on quiet music and setting to work on a project that eclipses the dreary damp. For me, the project was infusing honey to give as gifts.

It's not that honey has need for much improvement, but subtly infused with herbs or spices it becomes something even more worthy of gift-giving. For the holidays, I decided on an infusion of cinnamon and cardamom. They're two of my favorite cold-weather spices and ones that are just right for stirring into cups of black tea with milk on Christmas morning or sweetening whipped cream for post-sledding hot chocolate.

There are two options when it comes to infusing honey: you can either fill your honey jar with herbs and let them steep for a week before straining it, or you can infuse the honey by heating it with herbs. I chose the latter because I tend toward impatience and heating the honey means you can go from regular old honey to something delicious in a single afternoon.

I used Rachel's suggested method of a make-shift double boiler (heat-resistant mixing bowl over a sauce pan of water) and gently heated my honey that way. For a 32 oz. jar of honey from a local farmer I used 5 cinnamon sticks and 24 cardamom pods (roughly 1 cinnamon stick and 6 cardamom pods for each cup of honey).

I sterilized each jar in a much larger pot before adding a sampling of the spices (just enough to look pretty and add some additional flavor without becoming overpowering).

I put a small square of parchment paper between my lid and rim so that I could label the jar. If you want something a little more festive, you could swap in a square of thin fabric.


Infusing honey, step-by-step:

1. For every 1 cup of honey, add 1-2 tablespoons of herbs or spices. (You can use fresh or dried, but keep in mind that fresh herbs need to be completely dry to avoid the risk of bacteria). Lavender, rosemary, sage, thyme, vanilla and (untreated) pine are all delicious options. If you use cardamom, make sure to crack open each pod so that the seeds inside are exposed.

2. Heat honey with herbs until it reaches around 160 degrees F. It's not totally necessary that you use a candy thermometer to measure temperature--I've seen honey infused many times without one--but if you want to be technical, measure away.

3. Allow the honey to simmer for about ten minutes and then cool (anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours is fine). Once cooled, reheat the honey until it becomes thin enough to easily pour. I honestly don't know the reason for this step, but it's what the experts do, so I do it too.

4. Pour honey through a sieve into sterilized jars. (Expect some honey loss--I started with 32 oz. and was able to fill three 8 oz. jars (24 oz.) with just a small amount left over). Cover the honey tightly with a lid and wrap it up before you eat it all. Honey is shelf stable and should be good for (at least) a year!

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my week in objects (mostly).

five little things that made my week.


1. this parchment cover.

{because even though we need to buy replacement lids, parchment works just as well and it's pretty to boot}.


2. this mustache mug.

{because it's hilarious. also, it means tea at my sister's}.

3. this tiny jar.

{because i found it stashed in the spice cabinet and it's just the right size for the nutmeg}.

4. this deserted wine box.

{for giving me a place to store my crafty things. under the couch. clean and neat. thank you, neighbor}.

5. these clear elastics.

{because they make my braids stay in so much better than regular hair elastics. why?}.

other things:
prettiest new things.
easiest merry-maker.
this is lovely. especially read aloud.
these lights. must make pilgrimage.
this cookie map.
this playlist (mostly).

what little something made your week?

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make-believe: ice skating.

When I was in 4th grade, one of my friends had her birthday party at Wollman rink in Central Park. It was a big deal. Hermès hosted. In celebration of their 10th anniversary in 1993, Hermès invited every 10 year old born on December 7 to a big ol' birthday bash. A gaggle of us skated, minimal longterm damage was done to our ankles, and we went home donning enormous silk scrunchies and singing Christmas carols.

The only trouble with this birthday party was my disappointment in the limitations of my wintertime wardrobe. Where, oh where was my rabbit fur muff? My smart little cloak and long full skirt? My valise? Instead of being the graceful Victorian ice skater of my fantasies, I was decked out in a fluorescent hand-me-down jacket and mismatched sweater: a vision in neon and roses.

Turns out that as an adult ice skating still gets me fantasizing about upping my sartorial game. Here's the current version of what I'd like to wear. Pockets filled with salted caramels, included, and an adult-sized version of those skates, please.

1. sweater 2. ice skates 3. hat 4. wool leggings 5. fleur de sel caramels 6. fingerless gloves 7. socks 8. scarf

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< two fifty: life in a tiny apartment.

An addendum to last week: deck the halls, but keep things simple (also, be kind).

Last week was more about decorating the outside of your tiny spot than the inside. I'll share a few more of my wintertime additions next week, but in the meantime, here's my wintry swag and few words on simplicity & kindness:

The absolute best part about December in New York are the tiny fir forests that pop up everywhere. You can hardly walk a block without being ushered through a wooded passage. Honestly. One minute you're window shopping and the next you're flanked on either side by Christmas trees. In these moments, I like to take in huge sniffs of the air. James gets embarrassed, but I am not in the least bit worried about looking deranged. Come January, the little thickets will be all cleared away and what am I going to sniff then? Let us not list the possibilities.

Last week as I was walking by one such wintry wonderland, I noticed a huge pile of discarded branches. The scraggly looking boughs that typically hang awkwardly from the bottom of the trees had been lopped off and were nestled in a corner of the vendor's tent. When I asked the young vendor if I might purchase a fistful or two, she looked at my quizzically and proceeded to pile branch after branch into my hands. She wouldn't accept payment and sent me on my way weighed down by fir but buoyed by her goodwill.

In this season, and always, kindness is the most important thing.

When I got home, I lashed together a few of the branches into a simple swag and hung it by the chimney mirror with care. I didn't fuss with it. I tied it ip with a plain ribbon and that was that. Earlier in the week I had been overwhelmed by my own fervent merry-making and had decided to decorate the surf board with colored Christmas lights. I'm still convinced it would have looked amazing, but without being able to adulterate the thing with glue or tacks, defeat was mine. I ended up with a lot of melted surf board wax and a pile of colored bulbs at my feet.

Simplicity triumphs again.

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chambre de sucre & tea no. 104

I don't consider myself to be a very fancy person. I'll choose comfort over style most days. If I brush a few coats of mascara on my eyelashes in the morning before work, I feel dressed up. For goodness sake, someone pinned a photograph of me in my wedding dress with the caption, "somber." I'd probably use the word simple, but I get the point. Still, there are moments when even the least fancy among us want something just a little bit more so. Enter Chambre de Sucre.

I admit, that I was somewhat skeptical at first glance. Fancy sugar? Fancier tea? I'll stick to my Irish Breakfast and a spoonful of honey, please and thank you. But when I received a package by post filled with tiny packets of beautiful sugars, I could feel the tides begin to turn. I think I had something of a fancy epiphany.

The tea blends from Chambre de Sucre are delightful. The No. 104 is my favorite: a blend of organic white tea leaves, rose petals, and chrysanthemum blossoms. I couldn't bear to hide away the leaves in my white tea pot, so I brewed a cup in my french press instead. It's a tea that's almost as delightful to watch brew as it is to drink, and that's saying something.

Then there are the sugars. Erring on the side of simple, I most loved the tiny amber crystals and the blocks of tiny brown sugar cubes and sucre pierre. For the truly fancy, there are sugars in the shape of miniature flowers and hearts and stars, and oh my.

If you're in the market for a little boost in your personal fancy factor, I'd say that investing in a box of fancy sugars might be just the trick. Stuffing a stocking or two with a package of tiny amber crystals? Sounds about right to me. At the very least, consider adding a few to your personal sugar bowl. A proper pot of holiday tea deserves a little something extra.

Materials for this post were generously provided by Chambre de Sucre.

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