Christmas Card Giveaway - Winner! (and discount code)

The random number generator has spoken, and we are excited to announce that our $250 Minted.com giveaway winner is...

Geneva!

Who says, "love the Religious ones... ANY of them! So beautiful!"

We agree!

(Check your email, Geneva, for information about how to claim your prize.)

Thank you, Minted, for inviting us to host this fabulous giveaway, and thank you all for your comments.

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{Remember -- even if you didn't win, you can still use the code LIKEMOTHER to get 20% off your order from Minted.com until November 1!} 

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{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Have you entered the awesome $250 Christmas card giveaway from Minted? There's still time -- it's open through tomorrow night!

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

{pretty}

Habou's visit was a month ago, but while I meant to post about it, I never actually did. And since I didn't have any pictures from the last week that were particularly pretty, I thought I'd dig back in the archives for these.

We had such a wonderful time with her! I kept telling Pippo how lucky he was -- not every little boy has a great-grandmother who's up for hopping on a plane and flying all the way across the country to visit him!

We took these pictures at the old Mission San Luis Rey the day before she left: we made a visit at the church, walked around the grounds, and then Pippo and I played on a blanket on the grass while Habou sketched for a while. 

It was (as you can see) an absolutely gorgeous day, and Habou is a very pretty great-grandmother (or G-G-ma, as she kept referring to herself). 

{happy}

I've been buying applesauce for Pippo, and it comes in nice glass jars with labels that come right off, so I have a lot more empty jars than I used to (I've scrounged up a few more, but somehow none of my other grocery items come in jars... how is this possible?). I've been using them to tidy up my little pantry closet, which was starting to overwhelm me with all the half-empty bags of ingredients secured with rubber bands. 

Opening the door and seeing this instead (even though the jars don't all match, which would be lovely and oh-so-Martha-Stewart, I'm sure) is a small, but very satisfying, housekeeping victory.

{funny}

Pippo loves to play in the laundry room while I work in the kitchen; he climbs around the baskets of laundry (clean, but unfolded: the story of my life) and swings the door back and forth (I've rigged it so it can't pinch his fingers) and generally just has a great time. This evening I poked my head in the door and found that he'd pushed his little cart in there and then gotten stuck in it!

(I helped him out, and as he toddled on his way, I realized his pants were riding a little low. Of course, he wouldn't notice himself until they tripped him!)

(He's walking - did I tell you that? I don't remember if I did.)

{real}

Is the "real" the poor, tired baby at the end of the long day? 

Or the heartless mama who takes a picture instead of comforting him? 

(The main point of this photo is that I love these pajamas.)

(And I did comfort him, eventually. Obviously.)

Ask Auntie Leila: Six Strategies for Sibling Rivalry

{Don't forget to enter the amazing $250 Christmas card giveaway from Minted! Still open!}

Dear Auntie Leila,

Thanks so much for your blog!
As a (grateful) convert to Catholicism and an only child, I love reading your blog for Catholic motherly advice and to see your large family enjoying each other and enjoying life. Being an only child, I am sometimes flummoxed by the bickering the children engage in and am not sure whether to ignore it or constantly get involved; if I don't stick my nose into it, will I miss a "teachable moment?"  Shouldn't the kids act more loving to each other most of the time? What's with the teasing and, what appears to me, mean spiritedness? Am I creating an environment that encourages bickering? I don't think so but what else to blame? My husband has one sibling, an older brother, and says they 'fought' all the time and our kids are perfectly normal and fine. (But really, is he an expert?) I know you'll say you aren't either - an expert - but I would appreciate any advice.
Thank you,
God bless,
Jacki

Dear Jacki (and all the other Moms who wrote to me on this topic -- I told you I'd go through my emails and now I'm doing it!):

Minted giveaway ~ Fabulous Christmas cards!

{Comments are closed! We will announce the winner soon! Meanwhile, don't forget to use the code LIKEMOTHER to get your 20% off all Minted cards -- till Nov. 1!}

We are once again offering a giveaway of some very lovely cards! As you know, Natasha, my daughter-in-law, has the position of impresario and general factotum at Minted.

My inside connection enables me to offer you this chance to win $250 worth of Minted cards this Christmas! Details at the end of this post!

You know me, I'm probably not the type to a) get my act together enough to get a photo together and b) spend a lot of moula on cards, although I do love sending them.

But I think if I could win the cards I would be motivated to figure things out, wouldn't you?

And I will say that Minted has it all - beautiful paper, graphics, typography, ease of customizing. In fact, you can put your own words on these cards - you could add in a verse from Scripture with your message if you choose the folded card!

I find that very appealing.

Here's the thing about sending a Christmas greeting. Once a year we are given a chance to do two things: Touch base with those we might otherwise drift away from, in an awkward-free fashion; and offer friends and loved ones a little taste of what we actually believe.

People are grateful to know that you want to share the truth with them. They know that it means you love them. Christmas is the celebration of Christ's arrival into our sorry world. It's the celebration of the sanctification of human nature -- of our salvation. We don't have to -- and we shouldn't -- hit anyone with that reality. We don't want to turn "Merry Christmas" into a kind of bludgeon or rebuke!

Instead, we can confidently offer our greetings with love! Simple -- and beautiful -- a benediction! Yes, people have commercialized Christmas to a degree that makes those with faith wonder if we should participate in any of it. I worry about that too. But I've come to the conclusion that this custom of sending cards at a certain time each year can be used as a force for good!

So yes, even this thrifty, disorganized, and distracted mama has kept the resolution to send Christmas cards. I put postage in the budget. I think of it as almsgiving; as part of my tithe -- I really do. I hope God does too. To me, it's a work of mercy to send a card -- not that I think I'm that important, but I know how much I appreciate getting a card from a friend, and figure that it's something like that for them.

So head on over to Minted and browse around! They have a holiday card category (which has a lot of Christmas-oriented cards as well), and a specifically Christmas one.

And, speaking as a Grandma, I have to encourage you to check out these little minibook cards. Oh my. This amounts to a luxe gift, in my opinion! What grandparents wouldn't love to have this in their baby-starved hands! And again, you can customize everything about it! Even order it now and supply the photos later.

It also strikes me that you can get good ideas for what photos to choose or quickly snap. The photography is inspiring, isn't it? Lots of the pictures aren't particularly holiday-esque, so let that encourage you to get a fun shot of the family, even if you don't have everyone in matching reindeer outfits.

Not only do we have this giveaway, but for this week only, if you enter LIKEMOTHER in your order, you will get 20% off!

So, to put it all in one place for you:

Go to Minted and look around.

Come back here and leave a comment telling us which one(s) you like. Feel free to tell us why!

If you Tweet or Facebook the giveaway, leave another comment and you'll be entered again! Meaning you could enter up to three times!

We will choose the winner with a random-number generator.

Even if you don't win, you'll get 20% off (use LIKEMOTHER at checkout) anything you like over there. That code will be good until November 1.

Giveaway ends at 10pm on Friday.

Good luck!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

Ironically, the chocolate birthday cake did not get made for the Chief's birthday, which was yesterday. He didn't get strawberry-rhubarb pie, either, although I had told him he would. At the time I said it, I intended to make him just that. (We had already had the chocolate cake recently, as you can tell from that post, and enough is enough, right?)


But then I remembered in time -- Natasha had sent Bridget a honeycomb-mold cake pan * for the express purpose of making Phil his birthday cake bee-themed. Apparently, aparian paraphernalia pursue him. And of course we hid the pan so he wouldn't see it (not that he goes rummaging in my baking pans, but somehow you know he would, don't you?), and so -- we almost forgot.

{pretty}

I don't get anything for this product placement except the knowledge that I'm only helping myself if you buy my favorite ice cream. It's regional, so if you aren't in New England, you are sadly out of luck. Brigham's chocolate chip is perfection to me. I would happily make this whole blog a marketing tool for them. My worst fear is that they would ever go out of business...

So Bridget made him this pretty cake. She used the recipe that came with the pan, and it was quite delicious -- vanilla almond cake with a seriously fabulous honey glaze.

 I was nervous about all these little nooks and crannies, but we buttered and floured the heck out of it and it was all good.

 {happy} is making my sweetie-pie a nice dinner for his birthday. The menu:

Garlic-roasted filet of beef (courtesy of Natasha's parents, who gave us this lovely meat for Christmas, and I couldn't commit until now!) -- with
Mushroom gravy, and can I just say that it was amazing, and
Three-onion pomegranate-molasses rosemary confit, also amazing
Asparagus
Baked red potatoes
Rolls

So for the onion confit you want to slice up a bunch of onions, in this case, one big yellow one, one red, and one large shallot.

Saute them in about 3 tablespoons of butter. When they are starting to brown, add about 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses (it's just reduced pomegranate juice, tart and sweet at the same time), 1/4-1/2 cup of red wine vinegar, a couple of tablespoons of sugar (just taste and see what you think; it should be sweet), salt, and some crumbled rosemary, about a teaspoon.

 

Keep that bubbling away at a moderately high temperature until the liquid starts to form a syrup and the onions are soft.

This is the most wonderful accompaniment to roast meat of any kind. It's what you were waiting for. And in a sandwich the next day, it's a revelation.

You can add dried fruits (raisins, figs, cranberries), garlic, peppers (and even I admit it can be very good with a little shake of red pepper flakes) -- but I wanted to keep it like this.

 

Keeping an eye on the baseball game.

{funny}

So you know this pot that is at the back of my stove? If you have been coming to my house in the past 10 days you've seen it there. We processed the two frames of honey we got this year (sad -- the bees had a hard time with all the rain), and I can't find my stash of cheesecloth. I'm sure I put it somewhere very safe, if you know what I mean.

So I have this: a bunch of sludgy wax** and honey, waiting to be strained, wishing, if pans could wish, that I weren't too cheap to buy more cheesecloth...

{real}

When you feel like your best photo is out of focus :( 

Happy birthday, Chief!

*The pan is from Williams-Sonoma.

**Edited to reflect me finally remembering (because Phil used the word while telling me he needs it to bait his swarm traps) that this sludgy wax/detritus is called SLUMGUM. Which is a good word.

Birthday cake for all occasions!

Now that it's not quite so sunny I can move this blog along from engagement announcements back to some homey stuff again.

Like birthday cake! With a secret for easy elegance, which who wouldn't want? {Don't worry, I won't forget about kids' chores and sibling rivalry and all sorts of other things I want to write about!}

But that sun, let me tell you. We are so starved for it. When it comes out, I hardly know what to do! Since Bridget's ankle was healing and she couldn't run around as she usually does, we took Roxie for walks on a hill near us where she can just run, frolic (even over-frolic!), and socialize -- off-leash -- with friends, always a consideration for the home schooled canine. And yes, it was tank-top weather! What a blessing.

Someone in the comments asked if our family has a favorite birthday cake, and we do! I'm going to share it with you!

Why? Because I want you to swear off box mixes.

There is really no need for them! Yes, there are cakes that are a bit complicated to make, and well worth the effort to master, like this Four-egg Cake of deliciousness. The texture, buttery flavor, and, well, texture of this confection is hardly to be imagined. Even so, it's just not all that hard.

But there are many cakes that are every. single. bit as easy to whip up as a box cake, but so so so so much better that you have to ask yourself just how committed you really are to paying more, eating a bunch of weird chemicals, and ending up with an inferior product. Because if the answer is you are that committed, well, Auntie Leila can't help you!

On the other hand, there is Easy Chocolate Buttermilk Cake. I make it all the time! It replaces a Depression-Era cake that I used to make that doesn't have butter, eggs, or milk in it. You know the one I mean? It's okay, if you have nothing to work with. But it's a little heavy and kind of weird, if you ask me.


I like this recipe, which has all those missing ingredients. I will admit to you that it seems to come out just a little differently each time I make it. I'm not sure why, but before you get all nervous (it's really easy, trust me), you have to remember (and you will readily do so, if you are a follower of my recipes, loosely called) that I am the hastiest cook ever, and often wake up from making something with a start -- and not much recollection of what it was that I did this time.

Never mind all that. Just try it. It's moist, chocolate-y, and happy. It's the one that gets asked for the most. Not being one to fear a complicated recipe, I will declare that this one is superior to much more involved chocolate cake recipes I've tried. Classic ones always turn out dry and disappointingly not chocolate-y. Not this one.

Since chocolate cake is always appropriate, and a big one is sometimes not that versatile, after a long search I have found two small bundts, shown here with a mug for scale:

Aren't they cute? They make it so that I can send them to the kids at college, or put one in a meal for two elderly ladies, or what have you.

For birthdays or large gatherings, of course I just go ahead and make a big bundt or 9" layer cake. By the way, 9" layer pans are a good investment, because kids of course prefer frosting, usually, and enjoy thinner slices of cake rather than tall ones made from 8" layers. The cake goes further and isn't wasted on the plates. And there's more scope for decorating the top.

Not that I'm one for lots of decorating, usually. Having four birthdays in December (now five, with Pippo!), I always sort of felt spent having just made the cake at all, never mind getting fancy! But this is where my secret comes in --

The secret of easy elegance!

Have you ever had a petit four? Or a Sacher Torte? Well, the main idea there is apricot jam in the center and a firm chocolate shell.

Sha-ZAM!

A heart -shaped pan comes in so handy for Valentine's Day, Marian feasts (this was for Our Lady of the Rosary), and any time you want to say I love you!

What could be easier? Just always make sure you have a nice jar of apricot jam in the pantry (without high-fructose corn syrup, of course) and chocolate chips. If you start your kids early on this style of cake, they will always beg for it and scorn the fluffy-frosting kind. I'll tell you what to do in the recipe.

Quick overview of what to keep on hand so that you can Just Say No to box mixes:

Butter (buy it on sale and keep it in your freezer.)
Cocoa powder (I like Ghirardelli but have used Hershey's or Nestle's too. I'm not a fan of store brands, I have to say, in this case.)
Buttermilk (I use it all the time in cakes and pancakes using my homemade mix -- but you can also use yogurt in this recipe, so don't let a buttermilk shortage stop you, and of course there's always milk and lemon juice or vinegar.)
Chocolate Chips (they melt really well and who wouldn't prefer a thick chocolate glaze to frosting? Well, maybe not a seven-year-old boy, but mine were on board.)
Apricot Jam
Cream (why not? cream is so good in your tea...)

Put those things on your list and you will be good to go!

Here's the recipe. I've adapted it from my trusty Good Housekeeping Cook Book (I like the edition I've linked to here.)



Easy Chocolate-Buttermilk Cake Like Mother, Like Daughter

Oven: 350°

A large bundt pan or two 9" layer pans; or 2 smaller ones plus another 7-8" pan, all greased, floured, and waxed papered (butter the wax paper too) in the case of layers.

{This recipe also makes about 3 dozen cupcakes. Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely puffed.}

2 cups sugar (the original recipe calls for 1 3/4 cups of sugar, but since I prefer my cake sweeter and my icing less so, I adjusted. If you are going to pile heaps of fluffy frosting on this, then go back to the lesser amount of sugar probably.)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted (the original recipe calls for oil, and I have used olive oil and coconut oil. You have to melt the latter for mixing without tiny lumps, although they don't seem to adversely affect the texture even so. I don't think vegetable oils - other than those two -- are good for you and no longer use them.)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweeted cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (you can use yogurt, which you then have to use your common sense to see if it needs a little milk added for liquidity, or milk plus 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice, adding up to 1 1/2 cups.)


Mix the sugar and melted butter together in your mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, vanilla, and eggs -- you can alternate adding them if you like, but just dumping everything in works also. Don't over mix but just blend them all together until smooth and then stop.

If you use oil instead of butter, you can truly just dump everything in and mix, which is just what you do with a box mix, right?


Pour the batter into your pans, spreading evenly. Bake for 30 minutes for layers and 40 minutes for a large bundt, or until the toothpick comes out clean. For the smaller bundts, 30 minutes.

Let bundts cool completely before inverting. Layers cool for 10 minutes.


Sacher Torte Treatment for Easy Elegance

Take your layer and carefully slice it in half (see photo above). Warm up about a cup of apricot jam and spread it on one half. Replace the other.

Ganache Shell Icing

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (chips are the easiest)
1/4 cup heavy cream (milk is fine)
1 Tbsp. butter

Melt all together, mix well. When slightly cool, pour and smooth over the top of your cake.

You will note that I sort of didn't have enough glaze for the sides, and in this case I only had milk chocolate when I was making the ganache. But you know what? It was delicious.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter! 

You saw Sukie's news, right? (Aren't they just the cutest? I mean, Sukie is undeniably so, and John is insofar as a big, strong Army doctor can be cute. Cute-slash-manly.) I got to meet John when I was out there for a friend's wedding this summer, and he's great. I'm so incredibly happy and excited for them!

I'll tell you though, I'm dying over here. I have two (2!) engaged sisters, and they're three thousand miles away! They're making plans... going wedding dress shopping... without me! Sadness.

It's just everyday life over here....

{pretty}

I have had this doily for years; a friend of mine actually made it for me as a graduation gift. It's so pretty, but I've never quite known what to do with it, so I've had it tucked away until now. I got the idea from this pillow from something I saw on Pinterest - you can see the picture that inspired me here. I love how it turned out!

It was just a matter of finding fabric the right color, attaching the doily (I used a combination of Fabri-Tac glue and a needle with white thread), and sewing it into a quick envelope cover. 

The pillow itself is something I've had for years as well, but was significantly less pretty: a very blah brown-gray color. I actually have three more waiting for me to recover them as well (I banished them to a closet. That's how ugly/blah they are). Hopefully we have more pretty pillows in our future!

{happy}

I found this adorable little hand-painted chair on a trip to the thrift store last week. It was $7. Isn't it the cutest?

{funny}

Rice Krispies saved for later.

{real}

We've been doing some serious rearranging of rooms here, which means that my front room (yes, the one that also serves as our entry) currently looks like this, and has for several days now. It's a little bit of a puzzle, where you have to find new places for the things that are in the places you want to put the other things. You know what I mean?

It's exhausting to think about, but when I have twenty minutes to actually move things around, I can make some progress.

And maybe, if I ever get there, I can share some pictures of something other than mess!

Another engagement! Sukie and John!

People.

Can you believe it?

Another engagement!

Yes!

Our beautiful Suzanne!

John is in medical school -- in the Army!

We couldn't be happier! We have maximum happiness right now!

{And -- a little bit of overwhelmed. Just a little. Because of the whole two weddings thing.}



Here they are in the heat of July. Aren't they just the cutest?

Want to know something funny? John's sister had met Rosie and Deirdre in DC several years ago and then started reading Like Mother, Like Daughter... and told John when he got there that he should meet the Lawler girls for sure. He ignored her at first. He's a busy guy.

But when he met Sukie, he thought that maybe there could be something in what his sister was saying after all! ...and then he knew that she is the one for him.

John, Deirdre, John, Sukie, Joseph. Three of our kids live near (or with) each other in Northern Virginia. They are fast friends with each other and with these great guys who are going to be part of our family!

He is just that combination of thoughtful and fun-loving that makes him perfect for our girl!

Viz, he came back from a rotation in San Antonio with a gift for her... of cowboy boots!

I mean, how fabulous does it get?


Congratulations Sukie and John! We love you!