Foxy Lady Scarf

Fascinated by an old picture of my Great Aunt Marion wearing a real fox stole (you know, the kind that's a dead fox wrapping around your shoulders, creepy!), I decided to make an animal-friendly version.

I looked around online and found a template I liked from Prudent Baby. However, I wanted a slightly more realistic-looking fox. So I made the fox's jaws wider, rounded the paws, and made the back hips more rounded. I also set the ears at a different angle and left off the whiskers, for aesthetic purposes. Other than these changes, I followed their directions. You can find the Prudent Baby version and template here. 

For fabric, I used leftover orange sweatshirt material from a Halloween costume and a fuzzy sherpa backing. The sweatshirt material was from Etsy and the sherpa was from either Michael's or Joann's Fabric. I used maroon thread to embroider the eyes and nose, and to over-stitch the ears. I think my fox is about 36" from head to foot.

This scarf definitely isn't warm enough for deep winter, but it's perfectly appropriate for fall and spring! I think I'm going to make a mini-version for my little guy with some black and gray flannel for the fall. I'll post it here if I do!

Happy Halloween

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Halloween - I hope you have fun plans for the night, and great costumes to wear! Oh, and your favorite candy to eat. Can't forget that part!

I couldn't resist posting these photos of faux carved pumpkins on Beacon Hill in Boston to my Flickr, in honor of the holiday. You never have to worry about these pumpkins rotting - or getting smashed!

The Best Cranberry Orange Muffins

I'm not exaggerating when I say that these are the *best* cranberry orange muffins, and so easy to make! My husband surprised me with them one weekend morning, and they've become one of our go-to "special breakfast" items. I'm usually not a muffin person as I find most to be too sugary and too dry, but these are worlds away from your standard ho-hum recipe. (Excuse the less-than-lovely picture, it came with the recipe and our batches disappear too quickly to get any beauty shots!)

The tart real cranberries keep the muffins from tasting too sweet, while the orange juice keeps them extremely moist. And they come together quickly! Seriously, if my husband can make them without becoming flustered, then you can as well. This was the recipe that turned him from someone who thought they couldn't bake to someone who will now make me 3-tiered birthday cakes. That's the kind of confidence they will give you in the kitchen.

Find the instructions from Food.com here!

New Fall/Autumn Printables in the Shop!

We're still unpacking and getting settled into the new place. What is it about the last few boxes of random bits and pieces? It seems like it's always hard to find places (or storage) for the remaining items once I'm 95% unpacked. Does that happen to anyone else?

But I'm still here, and still trying to blog when I can! I thought I'd update you on some new pieces I've added to the shop for fall/autumn. The first reads "I Love Autumn", with the "o" replaced by a maple leaf. The words are in orange on a antique paper-looking background.

This piece is also available in red, for anyone who thinks cherry red fall leaves are the prettiest. I can't decide if I love bright orange or bright red ones the best myself.

Can you tell I like maple leaves? They always seem to be the brightest, loveliest colored leaves out of all the tress. And they come in so many varieties and shapes! So I couldn't resist creating a printable set of two maples, one in scarlet and one in golden orange.

Last, I created an "I Love October" digital print with pumpkins replacing the o's in "October". In Massachusetts, that's when we get peak foliage. It's also the best time of the year for picking apples at local orchards and visiting farmers' markets.

I hope you like the new printables! You can see more of the digital prints available in my store - HeritageCurrentCo - here.

Easy Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Chip Cake

This cake takes about five minutes to mix together, and comes out incredibly moist. It's actually a little hard to cut because of this - hence the raggedy-edged, not-so-pretty cake slice shown here - but it's so delicious that you won't care!

As I mentioned in the last post, we're in the middle of moving - a perfect time to use up extra ingredients in the pantry! We just happened to have a can of pumpkin left over from the fall, and a yellow cake mix from a Thanksgiving sale. I'd heard of people mixing pumpkin with chocolate cake mixes for muffins, so I figured you could do the same thing with yellow cake mix. After searching for some recipes online and reading the comments where people suggested subtle changes, here's the easy pumpkin dark chocolate chip cake recipe I came up with:

1 box yellow cake mix (you could also use spice, chocolate, white, etc.)

2 eggs, preferably room temperature

1 can pumpkin puree

1 tsp. vanilla extract

cinnamon, cardamom, mace, cloves, ginger

dark chocolate chips (you could use semi-sweet, white, or butterscotch as well)

Preheat your oven according to the directions on the box. Select a pan size from the back (or wing it, like we did), and grease and flour it if the directions call for it. I used a Duncan Hines mix, and that's what they advised.

Pour the cake mix into a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and crack both eggs into it. Add the vanilla, the pumpkin, and as much or as little spice as you like. I like a good amount, so I added several dashes of each. In the comments I read, some people also added 1/4 c. sugar to sweeten it up a bit. If you're not including chocolate chips, you might want to do this. With the chocolate chips mixed in, I think it might be overkill. Totally up to you, though! I tend to like things less sweet than other people do.

Mix according to package directions - usually 30 secs on low to moisten the ingredients, then 2 minutes on high. I didn't feel like cleaning beaters, so I did this part by hand. The batter was a little lumpy, but I suspect it was mostly due to the cake mix being in a warm kitchen for months. The lumps turned into cake - rather than flour-y pockets - so no harm, no foul. They just didn't look so pretty as pockets of white in the finished product. But taste is what matters, right?

Gently fold in the morsels/chips. We had about a cup left in the pantry, so that's what I went with. I thought it was a good amount. You could add more or less - just go with whatever you like!

Pour into the prepared pan, and bake according to directions. We didn't have cake pans around (they'd already been packed), so I just went with a large greased 12" skillet. I forgot the flouring part (whoops, you can tell I have a lot on my mind) but the cake didn't stick too much and only took 25 minutes to bake. That's why I like this cake so much - you don't have to do things perfectly and it will still be wonderful!

I opted to leave it plain, but since it's not overly sweet, I think it'd be even better with a light cream cheese or whipped cream frosting, or even just a dollop of CoolWhip.

British Beef Print by Paul Bommer

I'm currently captivated by this "British Beef...For Strength" print by  Paul Bommer. It's a little Guinness advertisement-y and a lot vintage-y with John Bull standing in front of his prize steer, yet also totally modern. I can hear strains of "in England's green and pleasant land" in my head as I look at the lovely little details in the background of a cozy country church, a little cottage, and haystacks in a field. This would be a great accent for a kitchen or breakfast nook, don't you think?

Rose Hips and White Spider Mums

Just wanted to add a note to my earlier post about arranging rose hips for a simple late fall/winter table centerpiece.

I ended up adding in some inexpensive mums to mine after a couple weeks (the rose hips last forever!), and I really love the way the white mums pop against the deep reds of the rose hips. It's very Christmas-y without using the obvious evergreen and holly sprigs. The petals of the mums almost look like frosty icicles, don't you think?

Easy Thanksgiving Table Arrangement

The period between colorful fall leaves and Christmas greenery can be a bit bare when it comes to centerpieces. Stacks of gourds and fruits weren't really in the budget for Thanksgiving, so I decided to gather local berries and seed pods from our garden for my Thanksgiving table instead.

Here I combined two types of rose hips (wild and regular garden roses), a plumed stalk of dried grass, and sprigs of wild bittersweet. I put them in lanterns etched with fall leaves (see my earlier DIY post) and surrounded them with LED flickering candles, some of which were placed in mercury glass-like holders. I'll be posting a DIY for the holders this week!

What did you decorate your table with?

Animal Prints by James Brown

These limited-edition animal prints by James Brown are so colorful and charming. I love the bold shades and simple, clean lines. They'd be perfect in a nursery or play room!

Read more about them here.

Curly Purly Pumpkin Pattern

How cute is this knit pumpkin from Curly Purly? It's perfect for Halloween, and seems to knit up very quickly. All you need are double pointed needles, yarn, and something to stuff in the middle!

Get the free pattern and spin-off ideas from Curly Purly here.

Animal Prints by Zara Illustrates

These "Country Badger" and "City Fox" prints by UK-based Zara Illustrates have had me smiling all day! I think they'd work wonderfully with taupes, browns, and tweeds in a living or dining room. They'd add a wonderful touch of humor and lightness, and would be great in combination with pops of blue, orange, or red.

See more of Zara Illustrates' work here!

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Autumn's Fire

I took this photo today of a maple tree's leaves turning lovely shades of gold, orange, and scarlet. Autumn foliage is always so beautiful!