On the third day of Blogger Christmas, my true love sent to me all of Lulu's sweet and savory goodies! Welcome to the annual tradition on Pars Caeli where we celebrate twelve incredible bloggers and show off snippets of their creations. Unflappable in their tenacity, determination, and imagination, these artists return again and again with posts that amaze all around.

Grab your coffee and get your Pin It button ready. Melissa of Lulu the Baker has dozens and dozens of incredible recipes for every occasion. She also has a plethora of holiday projects. I've been so lucky to collaborate with her on a number of projects, and I'm so excited for some of the big happenings for her in 2015 - not to mention the new baby she delivered and new house she built in 2014!

I love making cookies for Santa. I feel like at this point in my life, I should pick something more mature than that, but I just love Christmas cookies. My family always makes the same 4 or 5 kinds of cookies, and it just wouldn't be Christmas without them!

I have some big projects I want to blog about in 2015, mostly stuff around the new house (the basement! the garden! the mudroom! my office!). And I've been working and working and working on a book proposal, and even though I've said this in past years, 2015 is the year I'm gonna make it happen! I've actually made lots of progress on it, and I'm right on the brink of making big things happen--hooray!

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies with Double Chocolate Chunks--I took everyone in my family's favorite Christmas cookie, the Molasses Crinkle, and added two kinds of chocolate chunks. And wow!! It's almost sacrilegious to say this, but they're even better than before!

There are so very many bloggers that I admire. Everybody is so hardworking and generous and just lovely. Right now, I'm particularly enamored of Melanie Blodgett from You Are My Fave because she decided to take time away from blogging.

I think every blogger considers stepping away from blogging when life gets overwhelming, but it is so hard to actually do it! We all worry about losing readers and losing opportunities and back-sliding, and we think that if we take a break, even if it's for a great reason like moving or having a baby or to maintain your sanity, that we'll miss out. So I'm always crazy impressed when a successful blogger takes a big, legitimate break. And Melanie is just so talented, you can't help but love her!

Congratulations Melissa! Can't wait to follow along with all of the house updates over on Better Homes and Gardens, too.

Tomorrow's blogger is my mochi hero. Can you guess?

xoxo, MJ

 

This week's Endless Summer Project is a real treat from Melissa of Lulu the Baker. Combine the love of color, architecture, and modernism into one fantastic project for the family to create. Her midcentury modern birdfeeder is simple in design, with full instructions included.

We love watching the birds in our backyard. With the warm temperatures, we've been eating dinner out on the deck and have discovered a momma robin feeding her nest of four babies in one of our plum trees. When I mention to my three that they once resembled those desperately hungry hatchlings, they snicker and giggle. It's awesome to watch another family in its beginning stages.

Hop on over to Lulu the Baker to get all the info you need to make one of these modern birdhouses, and be sure to check out all the other projects we've had so far in the Endless Summer Projects series! Next week's post is a full on circus to delight...

1. The printable summer banner from Classic Play
2. A large-scale art project with tape from Pars Caeli
3. A ready-to-go, free printable scavenger hunt from Alexandra Hedin
4. A collapsible cardboard playhouse from This Heart of Mine
5. This mid century modern bird feeder at Lulu the Baker

 Happy summer? Have you started any projects yet?

xoxo, MJ

Merry Christmas, lovelies!! I hope that your day of Christmas was filled with goodness and joy. We had a wonderful day in our pajamas, playing with presents and laughing together.

I'm so excited to enjoy another present with you! Over the next 12 days (straight through the weekend), I will be introducing you to twelve fabulous bloggers who write, design, craft, cook, make, and publish some of the most wonderful material on the internet. You'll learn what inspired them to begin, see some of their favorite work, and join in their hopes for 2014.

For those who don't blog, this series might just give you the itch to begin and at the minimum, inspire your everyday. For my fellow bloggers who create, day after day, meaningful, creative, and unbelievable content, I hope that you know how incredible you are, and what a great gift your art is to the rest of us.

Merry Christmas! And to start it off, none other than the incomparable Melissa of Lulu the Baker. You will be amazed!

 

I started my blog on a whim over 5 years ago because I wanted to participate in an online baking group called The Daring Bakers, and you needed to have a blog to participate! Just in the past couple of years, I feel like I've really discovered this amazing blogging community full of creative, intelligent people, and being part of that community is so rewarding and enriching!

My blog used to just be about cooking and baking, because until a few years ago, I had another blog for projects. But keeping up with both blogs got to be way too much work. Plus I felt like they both represented parts of me and that I needed all of that content in just 1 place instead of scattered all over the internet. Lulu the Baker was never a chore to post on, and when I thought long and hard about it, I didn't want to give that blog up, so that's the one I kept! Since then, it's evolved into more of a lifestyle blog with a focus on food and family.

I'm also guest blogging on the Better Homes & Gardens Style Spotters blog for a few months, and write monthly posts for Ciera Design and Rue Rococo.

I'm really excited about this series I started in October called The Harvest. It is proving challenging, but I love the first post and have a few others in the works right now. My "human interest" posts don't get tons of traffic, but I really love writing them and reading them over and over. Sometimes you just have to post stuff you love!

I had someone tell me (lovingly) at the beginning of the year that I needed to work on my photo styling. I've really taken that comment to heart this year! I've taken a few amazing online workshops on photo styling, and I'm really proud of the strides I've made in just a few short months. I think the photos from this post are really lovely. One of my workshop teachers even told me they were fantastic and that I was a star pupil. As an admitted nerd, that is music to my ears!

A list of my favorite posts wouldn't be complete without The Tale of the Carmelitas! I'd been blogging for a few years without much hullaballoo when I wrote this post. And I think it actually took another year for anyone to notice this recipe. But when it finally hit, it hit with a lot of force. It's still my #1 post of all time, and I'm not sure that will ever change!

I'd love for my blog's voice to really be an extension of myself--always. With all of the sponsorship opportunities and talk of numbers and traffic, it's really easy to lose sight of that. I want my blog to be a happy place that people can look forward to visiting, where they can be inspired for a few moments, and leave with yes, a recipe or project idea, but more importantly, feeling good and happy and peaceful. I feel like that's a tall order!

I've been trying for a while to write a book! I lost my way a little bit this past year; sometimes it's hard to keep yourself motivated when you have an open-ended project like that! But I've been working steadily on it again for the past few months and am really excited to be making headway. Cross your fingers for me!

I also really love collaborating with other bloggers. It's so inspiring to work with talented people. I'd love to have some fun, new blog collaborations this year.

Lastly, I've been wanting to migrate my site from Blogger to Wordpress for so long, and I'm finally going to do it, along with a redesign! I would actually love to have it done this year, but I waited too long and all of the designers I want to work with are booked through January! So keep your eyes peeled in 2014 for a new Lulu the Baker design!

Melissa is so humble and gracious - two of the many things I love about her!! She has become a force to be reckoned with in the blogging universe (she's a regular over at Better Homes and Gardens!). Her creative talents are endless - and her recipes keep me coming back season after season. She is a dedicated mom who is always finding new ways to connect with her kids, and I've been blessed to join in the Endless Summer series with her as well as the Fresh Holiday Traditions!

If you have a blog reader like Blog Lovin' or Feedly, add Lulu the Baker to your feed right now, as your first gift of Blogger Christmas!

On the first day of Christmas, Pars Caeli gave to me Lulu the Baker!

xoxo, MJ

PS. On the second day...I'm gifting one of my favorite artists...

Y'all know I love the blogging community with the supportive, creative, hilarious women I have come to know and appreciate. And when I find excellence I'm just no good at keeping it to myself. I've had a handful of local friends lately ask me for new - and great - blogs to dig into in their spare time. For me, this sort of question is in the same line as tell me about your kids... I could go on and on.

And actually knowing the amazing people behind these blogs makes me love them that much more. If you're looking for recipes that taste and look great, create seasonal decor to inspire, or read the latest adventures of successful, smart, and sassy women...follow one of these greats.

Easy overnight cinnamon pull aparts from Melissa at Lulu the Baker.

Mommy Coddle published by Molly with her incredible pumpkin bread.

Joy sharing family secrets with yummy apple butter over on Frock Files.

Alexandra making things fun with upcycled sweater pumpkins over on Alexandra Hedin.

Gorgeous and good for you roasted carrots from Janae at Bring Joy.

Learn the fall essentials with Amy from This HeArt of Mine.

Now go.. and learn and create... and if you visit these ladies, tell them MJ sent you. :)

Happy weekend, friends. Let's make it a bright one.

xoxo, MJ

Happy Halloween eve, my lovelies. Our team is excited to head out into the possible Indiana freezing rain dressed as a witch, a minion (from Despicable Me), and Mr. Potato Head. The hubs and I, in the fun frenzy that can be shopping for Halloween costumes, purchased coordinating wigs. They are big and strange and hopefully we'll come up with a way to utilize them well - in the next 24 hours.

Truthfully my head is already in Thanksgiving mode, and I'm ready to fill my home with warmth, family, deliciousness, and a heightened sense of gratitude. I am a total sap, married to a sap, trying to raise three little saps so I embrace all the emotion and tenderness that come along with the holiday as well.

Perhaps that's why I'm so excited by this first project that Melissa made with her family:

Head over to Lulu the Baker to find out how to spend a quick five minutes to make something special and memorable - a gratitude journal!

I'll be sharing projects here at Pars Caeli. If you make one of these beauties, tag it with #freshholidays and let us know how it went!! Looking forward to crafting these with the kids this weekend!!

Grateful for all of you!

xoxo, MJ

Welcome to it, my friends!! A new series launching today and coming to you every Wednesday this summer. I've teamed up with some of my favorite mommas in the blogosphere to bring you fun and to keep your kiddos engaged in fabulous projects.

Let me introduce you to the gorgeous gals collaborating with me on Endless Summer:

This is going to be an amazing summer thanks to these ladies. We are showing you parties and recipes, backyard fun and art projects, and a few charmed surprises that will make you wish on an evening star for a few more days of childhood. So tell your friends and pull on some play clothes!

Melissa is starting us off with a great mosaic project. My kids are going to love this one!! How about yours?

xoxo, MJ

PS. Come on back tomorrow for a thoughtful way to capture this year's school memories for your children. I promise, it's a really good one.

Friday, Friday!! Three cheers for Friday. Are you ready to celebrate the weekend? Let's go out and meet some new folks (or hop over to their blogs) today on New Friends Day. Tomorrow we're getting our Hallmark on and letting all those we love know how much they mean to us on Sweetest Day. Sunday is National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, and today we're honoring my love for pumpkin with all the great ideas on a Tri- to Try!!

                                

1. BECOME A NEW FAN OF PUMPKIN AMAZING

This is so good, my friends. So good. When Melissa of Lulu the Baker posted this recipe for Pumpkin Crumble, I knew that I would become an instant fan of such goodness. The photos alone had me.

I also loved hearing just how much her husband loves this special treat made just for him. :)

2. PULL APART THIS DOUGHY DELIGHT

Jessica from Sunny Side Up has it all going on with this incredible recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread. Ripping off this sugary sweet goodness would be a fabulous way to spend the weekend, don't you think? The recipe involves all sorts of fall favorite ingredients (yum for rum), and I'm pretty sure any guest would remember this scrumptious dessert and hope to be invited back for more!

3. WIND UP ITTY BITTY PUMPKIN FUN

Gina from Desperately Seeking Gina invited me over to her Month of Pumpkin. She's had mouth-watering pumpkin recipes day after day. I added in these silly, simple balls of pumpkin.

You need no great crafting skills, just some orange yarn, a pipe cleaner, and some black paper to make a whole bunch of little pumpkins. Hop over and see the process. I think these would be fun filled in clear glass jars on your Halloween table or set out as placecard additions.

I'm working on a fun treat for a great friend and blogger that I'm excited to show you next week!! We'll be working on the house inside and out this weekend and hosting some family, too. What are you up to?

XOXO, MJ