I love the season of giving. While I completely believe in and support all of the conversations going on about cutting back and being grateful (I know I have a lot to be grateful for and I am indeed cutting back this year) I also just love to give. Finding or making something special for someone whom I love dearly is just … magic.

My tactic is to make a list, check my budget and then hit the streets of Portland as well as visit some of my favorite online shops in search of gold! The moment I find that special something that I feel a connection with, and know my loved one will as well, I get excited. It’s even more of an incredible feeling when it’s something that I make myself. Pow! Giving rocks! That said, you’ll find my holiday GIVE lists below with some of my ideas for giving. You can find last years lists in our Archives under “Holidays.”

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This year I fell in love with ceramics again and I’m over the moon about giving ceramic pieces as gifts. I started a collection for my sweetheart (as much for me, hee hee) and truly do use many of our pieces every single day. What I love is the tactile nature of ceramics, the usefulness. They are personal and each one-of-a-kind. Your recipient will think of you each time they use the gift and you can have fun picking out something that reminds you of them.

GIVE …
Ceramics
+ Object & Totum
+ Eric Bonnin Sylvia
+ Small Spells
+ Shino Takeda
+ Vitrified Studio
+ Akiko Graham
+ Karin Eriksson
+ Clam Lab
+ Jen E
+ Diana Fayt
+ White Forest Pottery

I am a big supporter of the idea that we are all artists. Even those sitting in a board room can have a red and blue pen and some scratch paper and doodle every once in a while, right? I love to give, especially to adults, art supplies. I think it brings out the inkling to create in all of us and everyone could use a little push!

GIVE …
Art Supplies
+ Akashiya Watercolor Pens
+ Akashiya Watercolor Box
+ Shinhan Touch Marker Set
+ Düller Marker Set
+ Washi Masking Tapes
+ Monocle Stationery Notebook

I always have the desire to give things that are useful. It’s just who I am. Trinkets and nick-nacks are never on my giving list because, to me, they are just another thing to dust! Therefore I always feel moved to give cloth dish towels and napkins. A good cloth can be used for years and year and even passed down. Useful and memorable. Such a good combo!

GIVE …
Cloth
+ from Spartan
+ Fog Linen
+ Scents & Feel
+ Lineacarta
+ from Canoe
+ Cloth & Goods

In the last few years I’ve gotten into giving my girl friends little lotions and potion that pamper just themselves. So many of my friends/family take care of their children and their sweethearts but spend little time taking care of themselves so this is my way of saying: I’ll take care of you.

GIVE …
Lotions & Potions
+ Fairy Flower Creme
+ Oakmoss Perfume Oil
+ Earth Tu Face Goods
+ Nuxe Lip Moisture Stick or Face/Hair Oil
+ Rodin Cream

We here at 3191 truly believe in giving handmade. It can be something you made that your friend can eat in a weekend and it will still mean so much. Spend a little extra time on the packaging using recycled jars with ribbon or maybe even add in one of the new kitchen towels to wrap up your warm baked good. Yum!

GIVE …
Handmade Treats
+ Aunt Polly’s Italian Cookies (wrapped in parchment with twine)
+ Chocolate Chip Hearts (stacked in a glass jar with a heart on top)
+ Sweet & Crunchy Nut Clusters (in a glass jar with a bow)
+ An Apple Galette (wrapped in parchment and a new towel)
+ Honey Caramel Corn (in a recycled tin or decorated box)
+ Granola (in a large glass jar with a bow)

And I’ll close my list with giving a little love to my own dear Portland. We have so many talented people here and I love shopping local. Here are some goodies you can get online so you can have a little of my Portland in your gift bag this holiday.

GIVE …
A Little Portland, Maine
+ Tandem Coffee
+ Seawall Soap
+ Baker’s Notes
+ Angela Adams Scarf
+ Herron Clothier
+ Ferdinand Goods
+ Seabags
+ 3191 Quarterly Subscriptions (Portland, ME & Portland, OR with this gift!)

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is wrapping gifts. I love to package gifts in a way that suits the recipient, and this week I set out to create a wrap for you. Share a 3191 Quarterly subscription with friends and family, and their gift will arrived wrapped in the paper I made.

I also want to share with you how I made the block-printed paper, so you can create your own holiday wrap. You’ll need some thick leather scraps (from the craft store or you could cut up an old belt), a block or wood scrap, acrylic craft paint, and a roll of paper (use plain gift wrap, kraft paper, or a roll of white drawing paper like I did).

Cut your leather scraps into shapes. I chose a simple triangle bunting design. More random patterns work just as well. Lay out your design on your wooden block (I used a scrap of moulding that was about half as wide as my paper). Once you have decided on the design, glue the pieces in place (I used hot glue, but any craft glue should hold the leather).

Using a foam brush, cover your design thoroughly with paint (you could also use a brayer). Do not worry if the paint spreads to the block, but wipe away any large globs with a paper towel before printing.

It may take some trial and error to get the coverage and look you desire—practice on some scrap paper before you begin. I find that a little variation to the paint adds to the charm. As you print, you may need to clean off the stamp with a damp cloth if paint accumulates.

Unroll your paper out on a table or other large workspace. Gently place your painted stamp down on the paper, applying firm pressure (be careful to not let the stamp move). Carefully lift the stamp in one motion. Admire your design! Repeat, applying more paint to the stamp each time, until your paper is covered.

Depending on the stamp you’ve created, you may want to create a guide to keep your pattern even. I placed a darker piece of paper under the white, moving it down each row to keep my rows of bunting straight. If I was doing this project with young kids, I would create a stamp that could be stamped randomly.

Allow the paint to thoroughly dry before you roll it up for storage or wrap a gift.

All gift subscriptions will come packaged in the wrap I created along with a certificate notifying the recipient that they will receive a year of issues. All 3191Q subscribers receive Issue No. 9 as well as our 3191Q Notebook.

Well, I can say with full assurance: my dear friends and family and I are really getting to be good cooks! Our Thanksgiving this year was a feast to be remembered. We had a full day (noon–after midnight!) of togetherness and food. I just love Thanksgiving!!

Let’s start with the new shortbread recipe I made for my cookie plate. Finally, I’ve found my go-to shortbread recipe. I should have known to go to the Brits first. I got this recipe from Short & Sweet by Dan Lepard (love this book!).

Butter Shortbread
adjusted slightly from Short & Sweet by Dan Lepard

250g all purpose flour
75g whole wheat pastry flour
1 T semolina flour
100g caster sugar
1/2 t salt
225g unsalted butter

Mix flours, semolina, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Cut butter into the dry mixture until it looks crumbly. Then use your hands to quickly bring the dough together. Press the dough into a fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight. The next day bake at 320ºF/160ºC for about 40–45 minutes or until the edges start to brown a bit.

I also made Oat & Sour Cherry Cookies. This recipe needs a touch more work so it’ll be in Quarterly, Issue No. 10. *Don’t forget to subscribe to our Quarterly; our FREE ISSUE offer is only open for another few weeks.*

And I’ll walk you through a bit of the rest.
We had oysters …

We had a sour and a bitter cocktail (this was bourbon, grapefruit juice, bitters, yumm!)…

We had an amazing cheese board…

We had our outdoor fire and five adorable boys hanging around to make us laugh …

And we had each other. That is what we will always have. Friendship, family, time-spent celebrating and giving thanks. Giving each other hugs, time to listen and laugh, time to play games and take walks, time to share new recipes and savor them. So much changes as the year passes to the next but we still always have each other … we always have each other. Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all!

I hope everyone who celebrates had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We shared a wonderful meal at my parents’ house. The turkey was cooked on the barbecue rotisserie to perfection, and our plates were filled to overflowing with all of our favorite veggies and sides. I just barely had room for pie. Today I am making good work of the leftovers. I have turkey broth simmering, a pan of enchiladas in the works (one half squash, one half turkey), an egg was baked in a nest of stuffing for lunch, sweet potatoes will go into some Three-P soup for the freezer, and cranberry sauce will top my yogurt and granola tomorrow morning (this morning I had pie for breakfast).

I love the quiet time of Thanksgiving. I ignore the shopping and buying frenzy and instead settle in with my family and think to the season ahead. It has been a hectic fall, and, in many ways, I feel like I am just coming up for air. I am grateful for so much this year—my happy family and kind friends, the creative work I get to do every day, the 3191 and More & Co teams, my amazing, talented, and supportive work partner MAV, and you all—the 3191 community—that makes it all possible. Thank you!

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Note: Time is running out on our 3191 Quarterly subscription offer—get one issue free! You will receive a copy of our 3191Q Notebook as well! And MAV still has a few smocks and scarves available from her collection.

I have so much to tell you about my new Collection … about SCB’s Collection (this is my favorite) … about the Found Collection (I am sad to see these go) and the new Q9 but for today I only have time to show you a few quick photographs of little old me!

I’m really proud of my fun little pieces in Beauty & Use III. They are basics that require participation from you. You have to mix in your own personal style to make them special. You’re the beauty and they are the use!

My pick for “favorite Smock” this time around is Smock No. 7 (or at least that’s how I’m feeling on this fine Friday). I’ve been layering my Smocks with tank tops or long-sleeved tops underneath. Here I went with a turtleneck and chunky necklace. I’ve been super cozy all day.

Above is how I’ve been wearing my Wovens No. 1 and No. 2. I worked alongside a wonderful artists group in Thailand to create these handwoven scarves (they did everything from grown the cotton to weave it) and am so happy with them. They are delicate but not precious. I’m really into the fact that they arrive stiff and loosen within a few wearings (the indigo takes a bit longer … like jeans); you have to break them in! And once you do … wow … they feel so good and natural. They are the kinds of pieces that will last forever and I plan to keep mine that long.

And lastly my Knits No. 1 and No. 2. I have to say I’ve been having a hard time taking these off. The cotton is amazing! One can see why organic is better in cases like these. I do double up my No. 1 but mostly wear it down around my neck long. It’s like a necklace! As for No. 2, it’s a nice size to help out as a hood so I have been tucking it into my coat as seen here.

Special thanks to RTS for help with the snaps!

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We want to take a moment as well to THANK YOU for your constant support of and interest in our work. Sharing the 3191 creative vision means a lot to us. We do that through the goods in our shop, the pages in our Quarterlies and the notes we post online here and through Twitter, Instagram, etc. Without you there would be no sharing … we hope you know how much you are appreciated. And please, do share with us how you wear your MAV Collection or how your Found Collection find fits in with your other treasures. Email your photos to - photos(at)3191milesapart(dot)com. We love it when you share!

Our collections went live early this morning, and our mailing list subscribers have been busy shopping! I have just one pine cone left in my collection. I am so happy to see them sent out all across the globe.

My collection was inspired by the natural beauty of Oregon’s forests. The color palette was inspired by this photo I shot last year on a favorite hike in the Columbia River Gorge. Thank you so much to everyone who visited the shop and shared it with others!

3191Q Issue No. 9 is now in the shop as well. Many of you subscribers have already received your issues. I do hope you are enjoying them!

I feel that our subscribers are a big part of our 3191 Team. We could not do it without you. We do not have any advertisers, sponsors or backers (except you!). Even as we bring on extra helpers, 3191Q is truly a labor of love for MAV and me, and we are so grateful for your interest and continued support. There are just a few weeks left to subscribe. If you think you are going to buy more than one issue this year, a subscription is really the way to go. You will receive all four issues for the price of three!

We are really excited for the year ahead. We have increased the size of the books, so that our photographs can be even larger, and we have increased the length of the books, so we can tell you more in-depth stories and take you on longer travels.

Every issue this year will have four recipes—two from each of us as, along with a few other recurring features like “our favorites”—recommendations for our tried and true places, products and inspirations.

And you will find a project in every issue. These are so much fun to do, and the best part is when we get to see what you’ve made. (Don’t forget to email a photo to photos {at} 3191milesapart.com if you’ve made something from our books or blog!).

Thank you so much for your continued support! Do visit our collections to browse or buy. We are so happy to have you.

What will you find in the new Quarterly, Issue No. 9? Well … you won’t find these images (they are outtakes) but you will find the following stories and more!

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An outtake from the Deep Summer gallery. This was taken at the very beginning of summer when there was so much promise. The sweetness of summer was still to come. I still remember this moment. I can smell the summer air.

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Taken, again, in the beginning of summer, this photograph was a contender for the Deep Summer Gallery but I went with one that is a bit different (you’ll see when you get your issues). You can see my oldest nephew, Miles, there making his own path. I remember thinking how brave he was/is. I yelled to him, “stay where I can see you” to which he replied, “you can see me here, see?” … and he was right.

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An outtake from one of my favorite recipes included in Q9. It’s Chocolate Almond Torte. Not a fancy “torte” per se but just a simple one, more like a cake really. I love this recipe because my guests seem to always love it. It’s a great one for the upcoming holidays!

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An outtake from a review of one of my favorite natural products to help make art with kids. I had so much fun working on this piece with Miles.

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An outtake from my road trip to The Berkshires. What a lovely trip that was. It was fun to be able to tell you the story of this trip and some other trips I took this summer in the issue.

So what will you find in Q9? You’ll find pieces of our every day, stories about our trips, lots and lots of photographs, our favorite recipes, inspirations and much more. Please do join us for this THIRD year of Quarterly by becoming one of our treasured subscribers. 3191 Quarterly remains ever still our sponsor-/ad-free, beautifully printed (in New England), full-of-love and simple inspiration, publication that we put our hearts and souls into. We thank you for your interest and support and thank you for welcoming us into your homes. (NOTE: Stephanie does a great job of laying out the perks of our subscription right here; don’t miss out … subscriptions end soon!)

3191 Quarterly Issue No. 9 is shipping out to subscribers today, and we are thrilled to share it with you all. This year has brought some changes to 3191Q like a bigger and longer format, but the spirit of the content has remained the same. Today I wanted to share some outtakes, a few photos I love, but didn’t make it into the issue, as well as share what you’ll find inside Issue No. 9.

A hold-over from last year is our seasonal gallery of film photos. Printed on glossy paper, this time the gallery looks back at summer in all its lush, green glory.

A new series this year is Morning, Noon and Night—film photos that capture quiet moments from throughout our days. I love how this harkens back to our original mornings and evenings projects.

Our family has a favorite camping spot we have been returning to year after year, and I write about it and share film photos in Riverside. I am really happy to share this special place with you all.

You know I love a good project, and I have a great one for the holidays in Issue No. 9. These hand-knotted and dip-dyed bottle carriers are perfect for gift-giving and holiday parties. They are quite simple to make and have so many creative uses. I will share some of the ways I have been using mine here in the coming weeks.

You will also find recipes (I share oatcakes and a wilted kale salad), a tour of some of my favorite stops in my neighborhood, and more. The issue officially releases in the shop next Friday, November 16th, but you can still subscribe now and receive all four issues from our subscription year for the price of three (this is a limited time offer, so don’t delay). We are super excited about being able to offer bigger and longer issues at a lower price this year and hope you are happy too!

Thanks so much for your continued support! Next week, along with the official release of Issue No. 9, we will be releasing our individual collections of clothing and gifts and a new Found Collection of vintage housewares. Make sure you are on our mailing list to be alerted to when our shop opens as items often sell out quickly.

Cheers!!

I’ve talked about Rabelais before many times and now that they are no longer in Portland I’m learning to add “Rabelais” to my Saturday list of “to-do’s.” I just get in the car and simply make the 20-minute drive down to Biddeford to see what Sam and Don have on the shelves. The best thing about their new space is that you can see and pick up everything! They have ample space for all of their gently-used and antique titles and you can just browse all you like.

For us this week I visited Rabelais and brought back a peak at a couple of their favorite titles of late and a few beautiful old books that I just had to share! You can always contact Rabelais if you’re looking for an old book or if you want to talk about new books recommendations. They are so good at what they do!

On their stand-out (new books) list:
Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu
Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi
Whole Larder Love by Rohan Anderson
The Kitchen Diaries II by Nigel Slater

On my stand-out (old books) list:
Parties On A Shoestring by Marni Wood
The June Platt Cookbook
A Fresh Herb Platter by Dorothy Childs Hogner

And if you have the chance to visit Rabelais definitely give their dog a scratch for me. He’s on my short list of favorite dogs to be sure.

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In other news, we want to take a moment to introduce you to the full team here at 3191 Miles Apart because we’ve grown! You might see their initials on our Twitter or Instagram or you might even get an email from one of them. We know you’re used to us after all these years (we’re, of course, MAV & SCB) but these dynamos are a big part of 3191 too so get to know them and say hi if you like!

EBT ~ Evan ~ ebt(at)3191milesapart.com
Evan, a great friend of mine, started working with us one year ago. She initially joined the team to help out with this and that and has taken over so much more! We’re so grateful! Evan is the one who takes care of your by3191 order, she’s the one who sees to it that your Quarterly subscription goes out without delay, she’s the one who keeps things moving behind-the-scenes. We’ll be saying goodbye to Evan in December for a few months while she goes off to have her first baby (hip hip!) but she’ll be back in the Spring, thankfully.

CMB ~ Chloe ~ cmb(at)3191milesapart.com
You might already know Chloe from Quarterly, Issue No. 1 or from one of my posts here. She has been a dear assistant of mine, and ours (and now ours here at 3191 Miles Apart), for years. She’s a fixture. Chloe is taking on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all things social and online-related. She’s much better at keeping things up-to-date than we are! And Chloe will be the one who takes *your* photographs and adds them into our new 3191 Album (this project is set to go online in late-November, stay tuned). Taking these tasks on as a side-job while she gets her degree in art, Chloe works with us from the great city of Chicago.

And you can always contact Stephanie (scb(at)3191milesapart.com) and myself (mav(at)3191milesapart.com) via email as well. It might take us some time to get back to you but we promise that we do read your notes and are very grateful for them. Cheers, all!

It has been a stressful week for many. My heart goes out to those in the northeast who have been through so much and continue to face huge disruptions and hardships in their lives. This week, I wanted to share a few things that have been making me smile in the hopes that they might make you smile as well.

I had the pleasure of meeting artist and blogger Jaime Rugh when I was on the east coast last month, and this week I received her beautiful Backyard Wildflowers book. What a treat on a gloomy day.

Every year I marvel at these crazy blooms from my peanut butter tree (it really smells like peanut butter!).

And, up top there, homemade graham crackers! If you subscribed to 3191 Quarterly and received your 3191Q Notebook, you know that Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain is one of my favorite cookbooks. This week, I decided to try her recipe for graham crackers.

Despite burning my first batch, I was quite happy with the wholesome, not too sweet, crisp result when I got the cooking time right. I didn’t have the teff flour she calls for on hand, so I subbed in more all-purpose which seemed to work fine. I wish I could have a graham cracker snack-time with you all.

Graham Crackers
Adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce

1 cup graham flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (or sub in 1/2 cup teff flour for 1/2 of the all purpose)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Whisk together the melted butter, honey, molasses and milk in a separate bowl.
3. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until combined. Press the dough into a disk, wrap and chill for a t least an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub two baking sheets with butter.
5. Dust your rolling surface with flour. Divide your chilled dough in half and roll out first half until it is 1/8 inch thick, dusting well with flour and moving frequently to make sure it is not sticking.
6. Cut the dough into 5-by-2 1/2-inch rectangles and transfer to baking sheet. Score each rectangle into quarters and then prick with fork or toothpick to create holes in dough (my crackers were a touch messy before baking as you can see, but, really, they turned out fine).
7. Stir the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle generously over crackers.
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes (Boyce recommends 15-17 minutes, but my first batch burned at 15 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through. Grahams are ready when the edges darken. Remove to cool on a rack and repeat with remaining dough.

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One more happy thing:

I hope you all will find a way to connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (we are 3191milesapart at all those avenues). MAV and I have been a little slow on the social media bandwagon, but we have engaged Chloe as our helper (learn more about Chloe at the bottom of MAV’s post), and we are really excited to connect with folks in new ways. I am especially excited to get to see bits and pieces of MAV’s day through Instagram—it reminds me of how we started at A Year of Mornings. You will be seeing posts from everyone on our team—MAV, SCB (me), CMB (Chloe) and EBT (our creative assistant Evan). The community that surrounds and supports 3191 Miles Apart is so important to us, and we are all really excited to share more and connect with you all. Thank you!!