It might be Valentine's Day

But everyone around here has a really bad case of the Mondays.

I was powerless against their typographic wiles

I logged on to Etsy just to see what was going on and I found the DoNotDestroy shop packed with vintage fun. These canisters popped up on the second page and before I had a conscious thought the four were in my shopping cart and I was entering my Paypal password. What's more fun than Helvetica canisters? Nothing! Nothing at all. I've had the accompanying "Salad" bowl for a few years now and hadn't realized I should have been hunting for this canister set. Don't tell Thomas, but the shop owner said she'll see if she can find the matching "Spaghetti" jar. HEYOOH!!

{Recipe} Bacon & Chocolate Chip Cookies

My new love affair. Salty, chocolatey, sweet, savory. It's all right here in one perfect little package. You brown the butter to add a rich nutty flavor and then the bacon takes it over the top. Yum!

Brown Butter, Bacon & Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from Mouth From the South)

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
4 oz semisweet chocolate bar, diced into 1/4" pieces
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chops (I like Ghirardelli 60% cacao)
3 tablespoons milk chocolate, grated
1 cup bacon that's been fried until crispy and diced into roughly 1/4" pieces

Adjust your oven rack so it's in the middle position. Pre-heat to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly. Watch this carefully - butter can go from brown to burned very quickly. When butter is dark-golden brown and has a nutty aroma, remove from heat and immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl. Stir the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into hot butter until melted.

Add granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, salt and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until completely mixed. Add egg and egg yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth and there are no lumps of sugar remaining.

Let sugar/egg/butter mixture stand for a few minutes. Then whisk again for 30 seconds. Do this several times - you want to make sure that the sugar has "melted" into the liquid. When ready, mixture will be smooth, thick and shiny.

Using wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in grated chocolate, chocolate chunks, chocolate chips and bacon pieces. Don't overmix but make sure no flour pockets remain.

Using a teaspoon, place a heaping teaspoon of cookie dough on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I get about 14 on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-14 minutes (my oven takes 11 minutes) until cookies are golden-brown and set along the edges but the middle is still soft. Remove from oven and set baking sheet on a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

How do I get anything done?

Knitting Needle Packaging {Designs by Heather Walpole}

Here's a fun photo I forgot to post from TNNA 2011. This is Dick Power, the owner of Plymouth Yarn, and your favorite graphic designer! I had the opportunity to create a fun package design for their new line of Japanese bamboo knitting needles. This is the first time I had seen the finished product and I seem pretty happy with the outcome!