cozy – Jaclyn Grace

Early Spring Recap

So remember around January 1st I posted about my New Year’s Resolutions? Remember how one of them was to be more consistent with the blog? Oops! I guess life just gets in the way sometimes and you have to roll with the punches. Lately, that means not opening my computer for any purposes besides work and studying. It’s not pretty or fun to think about, but hopefully it will get better soon.

While I have a few minutes, I wanted to share some of my favorite things that have happened over the last couple of months since I posted!

My aunt, uncle, and cousins came to visit me! We only got to spend a few hours together, but I loved having them here none the less.

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2. I discovered one of my new favorite places in Massachusetts – Birth Tree Bread Company. Since visiting, I can’t stop thinking and talking about how I would love to open a coffee shop just like this one – homemade pastries, fresh bread, delicious coffee, and craft beer. All of this along with the cozy atmosphere and the farmer’s market downstairs — I am in my element!

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3. Mom, Dave, Ant, and Dan came down for a long weekend in March. We had a great time despite it being one of the last freezing cold weekends that we had. We spent our Saturday night at Maxwell’s Tavern and ended up front row at a country concert. It was a bizarre twist of events, but we had fun being front row at a Drew Baldridge concert.

4. I visited Departed Soles Brewing Co. in Jersey City with a friend from college, her boyfriend, and Dan. It was so great to catch up with her after months apart! The brewery that we went to was such a unique and quirky little place – but the beer that I had was fantastic. She loved it because they have gluten free options, which is nearly unheard of for a brewery. Since we went around Easter, the specialty beer on tap was infused with marshmallow peeps. Now I know that this sounds strange, but it may very well have been the best beer that I have ever tasted. I’m still kicking myself for not buying a case!

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5. My five best guy friends from college came to visit me a few weeks later and we had the best weekend. We started the weekend off with a delicious Italian dinner at Margherita’s Pizza Cafe and it was a fabulous choice. All weekend everyone raved about the meal that they had here – myself included.

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On Saturday we spent the day walking around and exploring NYC. We went up to the observatory deck of One World Trade Center, visited Ground Zero, Wall Street, Central Park, and Trump Tower (or as all the guys kept saying, “White House North”).

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It was a full day of walking but we had a blast. I was so grateful to have them here for the weekend! I always find myself feeling so lucky to have such solid friendships that all started 5 years ago in our college freshman dorm.

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6. Last but not least, Easter weekend! I got into MA around 11 PM Friday night and immediately went to bed. I was exhausted after working all day and traveling all night, but it was more than worth it. On Saturday morning, I took a ride to Birch Tree Bread Company (surprise, surprise) for iced coffee. They had a farmer’s market downstairs where I picked up two bouquets of tulips from Fivefork Farms in Upton, MA – one for my mom and one for my grandma. The photos don’t do them justice because they were absolutely breathtaking.

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On Saturday afternoon, my Dad and Peggy stopped by to have an early Easter lunch with Ant and I. They brought us the most fantastic Easter baskets, as always, and I’m mad at myself that I didn’t get a picture of it. I was clearly too busy inhaling as much candy as possible, as fast as possible (LOL). We went down to Brew City on Shrewsbury St. for lunch and had a great time catching up.

After returning from lunch, we decorated cupcakes, easter eggs, and made chocolate covered strawberries with the boys!

Sunday morning we woke up early to have kielbasa, coffee, mimosas, and butter braids and it was the perfect relaxing start to the day before heading off Grammy’s house!

Here are a few of the photos taken from the day…

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That’s pretty much everything that has been going on for the past few months around here. I always find it funny how I can get so bogged down with the little details of my day to day life, yet looking back the weeks are filled with so much happiness. Writing recap posts like this really helps me put into perspective how blessed I truly am. God is so good.

xo,

Jaclyn

Flannel Love Affair

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I love love love being cozy when the temperatures get colder. There’s nothing better than being wrapped up on the couch in a warm blanket with a nice big cup of coffee. With the winter months just around the corner, my all-time favorite blanket to snuggle up under is my Vermont Flannel.

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Over the years, I have collected more blankets than I care to admit. However, since receiving this gem 2.5 years ago as a gift, I haven’t touched another one! All Vermont Flannel products are hand-made in the USA and are of extremely high quality. Mine has been heavily used and washed countless times over the years – yet it just seems to get softer and softer.

I also love these flannel pants. I have one pair and wear them too often to count during the colder months. Just like the blanket, they get softer with each wash.

I’m not usually one to promote a brand or product on here, but I feel so strongly about this company. To give you an idea, everyone in my family got a blanket from here last Christmas! We now have four of them in my house alone. On top of that, I am considering investing in another pair of pajama pants for myself :).

I guarantee you that if you find yourself investing in a Vermont Flannel blanket, you won’t ever want to leave your couch come December and January! (and yes- I am speaking from experience 😉 ).

xo,

Jaclyn

Crazy for Candles

Another snow day today! New England weather has been crazy lately. We got around 3 feet last week, and are expecting another foot today.

One thing that has helped me fight the winter blues is my newfound love for candles! Lately I have been obsessed with coming home after a long day and immediately lighting one. I love the ambiance it creates and how cozy it makes my room.

Living in a college apartment, I don’t have much opportunity to make it my own. Of course I have pictures and decorations everywhere, but there is only so much you can do. Lighting my candle makes me feel at home.

My grandmother always has the most delicious scents filling her house. All of the memories that I have in my grandparent’s house are accompanied by a delicious smell – making them that much sweeter. I hope my house is like that someday.

My favorite scent currently is Yankee Candle’s Red Velvet. It smells like a delicious dessert!

Right now I have Yankee Candle’s Gingerbread Candle going – one of my other winter favorites.

A few other favorites include Hot Buttered Rum (Made by my Grandmother’s craft business, The Pumpkin Patch), Vanilla Cupcake, and Luscious Plum.

I’m hoping that I can pick up a few Bath and Body Works candles during their next sale – I have heard great reviews about these. They also come in the cutest decorative jars. You can check out their selection here.

Enjoy this wonderful Monday!

xo,

Jaclyn

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Before I start on today’s post, I want to take a minute to mention an inspirational, beautiful, and kind woman who passed away earlier this week – my great grandmother. While we no longer have her here with us on earth, I know that my family has gained another guardian angel.

On another note – we got bombarded with THREE FEET of snow today! If you know me at all – you know that I will always prefer the warmth of summer to the cold and miserable New England Winter. There is something to be said, however, for the first snow day of the year! I love nothing more than cuddling up on the couch with a big cup of coffee and watching movies all day.

Cozy, cozy, cozy 🙂

Another thing I love to do when snowed in is bake. Today I attempted coconut oil based coconut and chocolate chip cookies. They came out alright, but I am going to continue perfecting the recipe before I share it. Instead, I am going to share one of my favorite cookies of all time – Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Every year at Christmas time my mom, brother, and I bake tons of cookies. We make enough to give to family members, bring to parties, and of course eat ourselves. We all choose one type of cookie that we want to make for that year and are in charge of that one. This year, these were the cookies I chose to make!

I love how festive these cookies are for Christmas, but they are still delicious year round! I hope you love them as much as I do.

Preparation:

1. Combine butter, brown sugar, and granular sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

2. Stir the egg and vanilla extract.

3. Finally, stir in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt until a dough is formed.

4. Next, fold cranberries and white chocolate chips into the dough using your hands.

5. Wrap the dough in saran wrap and refrigerate for a MINIMUM of ONE HOUR. This will create the light and fluffy cookie texture that we all love.

6. After an hour, pre-heat the oven to 350 F and roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls. Place them approximately 1.5″ apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

7. Bake for 8-10 minutes before removing from the oven. The cookies might appear to be undercooked, but they are not! Let them sit on the cookie sheet for about ten minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack.

8. Enjoy!

xo, Jaclyn