BLEUBIRD BLOG

HACKWITH DESIGN HOUSE

hackwith design house sent me the beautiful dress you see above, along with the amazing navy jumper and rust kimono wrap you see below. hackwith design house is a small, minneapolis based clothing line created by self taught designer, lisa hackwith. her pieces are simple, beautiful, well constructed and compliment a woman's figure.

each week she releases a new american-made design, creating only a handful of each one, which are hand numbered. the sapphire blue jumper (below) is available today. there were only ten of them made. mine is number 3 out of 10. the delphinium dress (above) is being released on december 2nd. mine is numbered 2/8. lastly the hollynock kimono wrap is being released on december 12th. only 12 were made. mine is numbered 2/12.

i love the concept and the passion that is hackwith. the clothing is unique, classic and lovely. i am a true fan. i am also excited to announce that hackwith design house will be apart of our maker series in the very near future. i can't wait!

visit hackwithdesignhouse.com.

photos by bleubird.

SUNDAY'S CAKE

it's been awhile since we've baked a cake on a sunday, for no other reason other than it being a sunday. i miss it dearly and hope to start baking regularly again now that the winter season is around the corner. there is something so utterly comforting about the warmth from the oven and the smell of freshly baked goods when it's cold outside. this week we chose an apple cake and boy was it delicious. i think i will keep this recipe around for awhile. think big chunks of baked apples and sweet golden dates throughout the richest, buttery cake with a hint of bourbon flavor. it's definitely not your grandmother's fruit cake, but completely perfect for this time of year.

you will need:

1/2 cup pitted and chopped dates
1/2 cup bourbon, any kind will do
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups apples; (we used a mix of tart granny smith and sweet pink lady apples) peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
icing sugar for dusting the cake

*before preparing the cake batter, place your chopped dates in a small bowl and cover with the 1/2 cup of bourbon. stir to cover in the liquid and set aside for 30 minutes. the dates should plump up and absorb some of the bourbon.

preheat oven to 325 degrees. using butter, grease and flour your baking pan. we used a parchment lined angel food baking pan but a 13x9x2 pan will work just fine. in the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. add in the chopped apples, the dates and all the liquid they have been soaking in, melted butter and the eggs. the batter will be thick so be sure all ingredients get mixed in. pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread it around to make an even layer. place on the center rack of the oven and bake for one hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. the cake should be nice and dark in color. finish your cooled cake by dusting some icing sugar on top. 

recipe slightly adapted from here.

you can find more sunday's cake here.

47/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

julian: sunday afternoon computer games.
milla plum: we decorated our house and got a tree early because she and julian are heading to florida for thanksgiving.
birdie: a note worthy bruise on her head. she's so tough.
sailor: sleepy boy.

OUR RECENT TRIP TO CHICAGO

we went up to chicago last week for a five days. i had a some work up there and so we decided to stay a few extra days to spend time with our friends matt and stevie and their baby boy and to see my cousin lizzie who i adore. stevie and i were pregnant at the same time with due dates only a week apart. our boys also share a name, rhodes, which neither of us knew at the time. i think it's pretty special given that rhodes is such a unique name. sailor's middle name is rhodes for those of you who don't know. those two boys are the best of friends. it's really cute...

we had an amazing time like always, but this trip was extra special because julian and milla were there with us. it was their first time and they both fell hard for all that chicago has to offer. julian's favorite part was the bean. he was so excited to see it. milla's favorite part was just the whole experience. i asked her to elaborate and she said "just the whole thing. everything. the good food, all the cool things to see, the bean, the cool stores. everything."

we went to a few of our regular hang outs and checked out a few new ones. heritage, our favorite coffee/bicycle shop opened up a collective studio with our friends matt and stevie. it's a milk and cookie bar, photo studio, kids bike shop and smilebooth chicago headquarters. it's the cutest little spot and they have tiny linus bikes there. i fell in love with them and am thinking that one will make a nice christmas or birthday gift for birdie in the future. she's still a little small for a bike like that. we went to an incredible restaurant and bar called parson's for dinner one night. it was so good. they have this insane pimento toast that is seriously one of the best things i have ever tasted. i crave it already and can't wait to go back. do yourself a favor and go if you are in the windy city. i have a feeling you'll thank me. we also went to the land of nod headquarters while in town. i had a meeting with them about some up and coming projects and of course my kids were in heaven. the store is gorgeous and the kids have officially started their christmas lists thanks to the massive toy selection. it was a really great trip. we are home now for the holidays and i am happy about it. it's been a busy year and i look forward to relaxing a bit.

thanks matt and stevie for snapping a few of these photos for us.