Year Between Friends: 3191 Miles Apart

Crafts, Recipes, Letters, and Stories

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• Publisher: Abrams
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781419722462
• eBook ISBN: 9781613129951
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Culinary Arts

An exploration of 365 days of shared experiences between two friends on opposite sides of the country, inspired by their blog, 3191 Miles Apart. Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes share a love of art and design, handmade pleasures, and a well-lived domestic life. Almost a decade ago, they began their first year-long project together, posting a photo from each of their mornings on their blog, 3191 Miles Apart, named for the distance between their homes in Portland, Maine, and Portland, Oregon. 3191 Miles Apart quickly acquired a worldwide following of readers drawn in by the delicate intimacy of their shared experiences. A Year Between Friends celebrates their most recent project together—a visual representation of 2015, month-by-month, side-by-side, but miles apart. In addition to 400 photographs recording their daily inspirations and creative undertakings and a foreword from New York Times bestselling author Molly Wizenberg, this unique collaboration expands on their prior work with over 25 handmade crafts and seasonal recipes, notes on simple living, and personal stories that follow the tide of a year filled with new life, change, and loss. It is an intimate joint portrait revealed through photographic snippets—mending a sweater, making a mobile from a cherished collection, creating fabric dyes from natural materials, baking scones—that defies distance through the celebration of shared moments of calmness, warmth, and family. Both aspirational and down-to-earth, A Year Between Friends is an inspiring visual love letter to friendship and creativity, a timeless reminder to appreciate life one day at a time, to slow down, to cherish simplicity, and to make the extra effort to do things with care and with the people we love.

DEAR SCB !

It’s just the second week of March and yet I have so much to tell you. Of course, you know my mom has been in the hospital since March 5, and things here have been very stressful. Fortunately, however, she is slated to go into rehab in a few days, and from there home, and her spirits are actually fairly high. She is such a fighter. I continue to be amazed by her strength, and she feels the same about mine. We have been inseparable. I have been visiting her every day, sometimes for the full day, and feel beyond scared at the thought of losing her. She is the brightest light in my life! It just can’t happen. I will try to keep my thoughts calm and zenlike for her and for the baby. I must!

We have met some wonderful people along the way in the hospital. The nurses are incredible, and my mom already has her favorites, of course. What a difficult job! I have no idea how they can care so deeply for people who come in and out of their lives so quickly. There are many things that I don’t like about the hospital, however, and I can’t wait to get my mom out of there.

Meantime, we still have no signs of spring. Can you please send me more photographs of all of the blooms you have in your life? I would be most grateful if I could live through you. Your March seems to be ever so much more beautiful than mine. I will be in touch as I have more news.

BIG HUGS,

MAV

DEAR MAV,

I have begun walking the five-mile round trip to and from my studio. Ever since I gave myself over to the extra time it takes each day, it has become my refuge. I call it vernal therapy. We are in full fragrant spring now, and I wish I could package up the sweet smells and carpet of blossoms for you. You and your mom have been in my thoughts daily. I am amazed by your strength as you nurture the little life inside of you as well as advocate for and comfort your mom. I know that the two of you are bringing your feisty spirits to even the most clinical of settings, but my wish is that you will both be back in the comforts of home soon.

I am hoping you will all be together for Easter next month—I know how both you and your mom love family gatherings and celebrations. My often-jaded teens have surprised me with their enthusiasm for our own spring traditions this month. On a quick trip to the market last week, they excitedly brought me the candy eggs we use for our coconut nest cookies. Sugar is the gateway to family unity.

BIG HUG

AND LOTS OF LOVE,

SCB

MAV

SCB

MAV

SCB

MAV

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love this recipe for a traditional chocolate chip cookie with a bit of a twist! For cookies that are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, open the oven halfway through the baking process and gently push down the tops of the cookies with a wooden spoon, wiping the spoon after pressing on each cookie so the chocolate does not get messy. MAKES 36 LARGE, OR 60 TINY COOKIES

2 cups (250 g) whole-wheat flour

½ cup (50 g) almond meal (or finely ground raw almonds)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup (75 ml) coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temperature

¾ cup (165 g) packed brown sugar

¾ cup (150 g) sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1½ cups (260 g) dark chocolate chips

1 cup (85 g) unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, coconut oil, and sugars. Beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat the mixture well. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed briefly. When the dough has barely come together, stop the mixer and add the chocolate chips and coconut. Again, mix on low speed until the chocolate chips and coconut are evenly distributed.

For tiny cookies, scoop teaspoon-size dough balls onto your prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are slightly browned. For medium-size or large, pillowy cookies, scoop tablespoon or rounded tablespoon size dough balls and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

SCB

Coconut Macaroon Nests

My kids ask to make these treats as soon as Easter candy appears at the market. The coconut macaroons are terrific without the candy the rest of the year as well. They only require a handful of ingredients and are gluten-free! MAKES 12 COOKIES

2 egg whites

1 vanilla bean

2 cups (170 g) unsweetened shredded coconut

⅔ cup (135 g) sugar

Pinch salt

1 (10-ounce/283-g) package candy-coated chocolate egg candy

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg whites with a fork just until frothy. Cut open the vanilla bean and, using a paring knife, scrape out the seeds into the egg whites. Add the coconut, sugar, and salt. Stir to combine. (Use your hands, if necessary, to make sure the coconut is evenly coated.)

Make tablespoon-size mounds of dough on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Using a spatula, gently transfer the macaroons to a wire rack. While the macaroons are still warm, gently press 3 candy eggs into the top of each one to create a nest. Allow the nests to fully cool before serving.

SCB

Woolen Stuffed Bunnies

With Easter approaching, I decided to make a batch of bunnies for some of the little ones in my life (and MAV’s little-one-to-be!). They differ a great deal from the other soft sculptures I make in that they are meant to be grabbed and mouthed and squished and shaken, not merely put on display. A gentle jingle from bells sewn inside, fuzzy polka dots, and long ears for grasping contribute to a sensory experience for baby. Woolen fabric and stuffing are naturally anti-microbial and water-resistant. I love making and giving these guys!

Paper pattern pieces (see this page–this page)

Wool fabric for bunny body, head, ears, and bottom (see Fabric Note)

Cotton print for ear linings (see Fabric Note)

Wool roving for polka dots in one or several complementary colors

Wool stuffing

Three ½-inch (12-mm) jingle bells (optional)

Coordinating thread for machine

Black embroidery floss for eyes

Brown perle cotton for nose

Coordinating embroidery floss for bunny bottom

Sewing machine

Scissors

Washable fabric marker or pencil

Felting pad or piece of Styrofoam

Felting needles

Hand-sewing needles and pins

FABRIC NOTE: I use woolens from the apparel section. Look for soft fabrics, such as pure wool or a wool and cashmere or alpaca blend. Coatings, melton, and wool felt work well. Your fabric should have some heft, but not be stiff or itchy. I always wash my woolens in the washer and put them in the dryer to full the fibers before cutting. The warm water and agitation remove chemical residue and bind the wool fibers together—making the cutting and sewing of the little pieces much easier. For the ear linings, you will need a thinner fabric, such as quilter’s cotton, cotton lawn, double ga...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• JANUARY
• FEBRUARY
• MARCH
• APRIL
• MAY
• JUNE
• JULY
• AUGUST
• SEPTEMBER
• OCTOBER
• NOVEMBER
• DECEMBER
• Index of Recipes and Crafts
• Acknowledgments
• Copyright Page