back home

It was nice to get back to normal this weekend...last week my company had its annual Leadership Meeting, where 200 of us are sequestered away offsite with each other for the majority of the week. I had to give a 30-minute presentation to the group, which I was extremely nervous about, since public speaking pretty much freaks me out. After about a dozen or so practice runs, I felt pretty good about getting up on stage--but I have to say, once I hit that last slide in my presentation, I felt such an amazing lightness knowing that I had made it through (until next year, anyway).  

I was happy to return home and settle back into my creature comforts. For me, this meant knitting and puttering around the kitchen. Before my eyes could fully open on Saturday morning, I immediately finished up the ribbed edging on the cowl pattern I'm working on. The second picture shows it fresh off the needles--a shriveled, heavy mass waiting for a good, long soak in a Eucalan bath. It's now pinned and blocked within an inch of its life in the guest room. This one was tricky to block...I think perhaps Hunter has the right idea! 

On Sunday, I made a Dutch baby for breakfast (this one, if you're so inclined), which I first read about on Alicia's blog. I break this recipe out once a month, when we're feeling particularly decadent and want something cozy and warm to start our day. We had some of the season's first apples stored in the fridge, so those were peeled, diced and warmed over in a pan with some butter, dark brown sugar, and cinnamon. (Promise you'll try it with the lemon sugar before making it any other way!) Later in the day, we simmered a pot of of Sunday sauce on the stove and baked a pumpkin bundt cake for dessert. 

In between my kitchen adventures, I sat down on my perch and knit row after row of my Topiary wrap while watching scary movies on Netflix. All in all, it was a nice way to end an exhausting week. How about you--what did you do this weekend?

Hope you have a lovely week!