We haven’t had much of a winter this year. There’s been a few cold days, but none of those long, frigid streaks that send you scurrying from one warm berth to another. Because of that, I haven’t made much soup this year. In a normal winter, I make a pot a week. This year, it’s been more like a pot a month.

Though today wasn’t particularly cold, I’ve been craving a bowl of carrot soup. There’s not much to it. Chop up an onion and some carrots (2-3 pounds is a good amount for two people plus leftovers). Saute them in a tablespoon or so of butter, olive oil, coconut oil or some leftover bacon fat. Once they start to brown, add enough stock or water to cover. Cook until carrots are soft. Puree in whatever way is easiest in your kitchen.

Top with a bit of cheese, a few shreds of ham or some crumbled crackers. Eat and be happy.

Scott’s birthday falls on Valentine’s Day. Since our early days, I’ve offered him a pass because of it (one shouldn’t feel an obligation to be romantic or overly thoughtful of others on their own birthday). He’s never taken it though. This year’s flowers were particularly lovely.

Life has been so good lately. I haven’t had a ton of writing work, but the trade-off has been that I’ve had a great deal of free time. This is a change for me. The last few years have been incredibly full and so I am trying to enjoy these slower days as much as I can. I know it won’t last forever. The canning season is going to pick up soon and my teaching work and book promotion will thrust me back into overdrive.

But right now, the absence of frenzy is pretty darn nice.

Though Valentine’s Day is over, the holiday lives on through a couple of squirreled away Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts.

A print of a painting by an old family friend, surrounded by a sea of jars.

My knives and their trip to the cutlery day spa (also known as Korin) in New York City.

Happy birthday, my sweet husband! That princess helmet really works on you.

I started using Flickr back in 2005 when I first started this site and soon after that, used the service that MOO.com provided to print some tiny business cards that featured some of my photos. I’ve printed cards a number of times over the years using MOO and have always been entirely happy with their service.

Recently, a representative from MOO got in touch and offered me several sets of MOO cards to giveaway to my readers. Because this isn’t a food-related giveaway, I decided to host this giveaway over here on Apartment 2024 instead of on Food in Jars. Of course, any canners who might want some cards of their own are more than welcome to visit and enter the giveaway.

I have three sets of 100 MOO Business Cards to giveaway. One lucky winner will also get a bonus MOO Stickerbook.

1. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post and tell me what images you’d feature on your cards.
2. Comments will close at 11:59 pm eastern time on Friday, Februay 17, 2012. Winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) and will be posted to the blog on Saturday, February 18, 2012.
3. One entry/comment per person, please.

Disclosure: MOO is providing all items for giveaway at no cost to me. What’s more, they’ve given me a coupon code for their website worth $75 so that I can sample their products. My opinions remain my own and have not been influenced by these freebies. 

Earlier today, a Twitter friend tipped me off that the March issue of Country Living was out and that my canning classes were mentioned in a spread of interesting culinary experiences. A very fun boost for a Monday afternoon.

The last few weeks, Scott and I have taken long, rambling walks on Sunday afternoons. We didn’t do it today, though. In fact, we didn’t manage to leave the apartment at all. We slept late, watched TV, read our books and ate leftover birthday cake. It was the most gorgeously lazy day in recent memory.