secret pocket

a stitch for your thoughts.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:24:00 +0000

This blog has been a journal about what I'm doing in the moment. Obviously, there has been a lot of knitting going on. My first trimester cooking large dinners sounded disgusting, so that's why my normal obsessing about food post have been diminished. Luckily this trimester I'm loving to cook again, and things are slowing feeling normal while also feeling so different.

I recieved this beautiful yarn for Christmas (color well water), destined for my first socks. I'm just doing a simple rib sock, and I'm won't be surprised if I have to rip it all out sooner or later. I'm not overthinking it, just the act of sitting and doing some mindless knitting with yarn that feels like silk through my fingers is my therapy right now. I have so many things going through my mind at times, and in those quiet moments I can just let them go.

For example yesterday, I spent over an hour at the grocery store putting together a perfect cart of food and things I needed. When I went to checkout, the lines were long and I panicked because I needed to get home so Tyler could get to a meeting on time. I had no choice, and I just had to leave my cart and walk out of the store so I could be on time. It was totally my fault, and I felt so frustrated and defeated. I got home, and just knit and knit. And then sweet Tyler went and got everything on my list (again) while I was at yoga. Things work out.

baby's first knit.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:14:00 +0000

As you can imagine, I was very anxious to find out what we were having, for many reasons. Mostly for me so I could finally pick out yarn colors and start on baby projects. A couple days after the ultrasound, my sister and I went to the yarn store to pick out colors to start on a chevron blanket together. Made of the softest organic cotton by blue sky alpacas, this yarn has a great color palette to choose from to make this old-fashioned pattern feel modern.

It was a thrill to get my sister back into knitting, we learned together over 10 years ago and I kept at it while she didn't catch the bug. I'm hoping this will ignite a spark in her yet. There has to be a knitting gene in our DNA somewhere we share. I finished this while we were home for Christmas, and her pace is a bit slower, but I can't wait to see it. Her colors for her baby girl are gorgeous.

ravelry link

two hats for two boys.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:12:00 +0000

Last of the hats! I promise. My husband and my sister's husband are very similar in what they like, and I wanted to make them the same hat. I liked this fisherman's style twisted rib beanie. But I did it two different ways. For my brother-in-law Jon I did the pattern as written, and for Tyler he wanted it longer. Jon wears it short, Tyler wears it long. Works for both. Ravelry link for Jon, link for Tyler.

adventures in cables.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

So many cables. Cables are shockingly simple to do, but make the greatest variations in knitting that make them look so complex. I knit these for my family for Christmas. From the top:

Lindsay: My sister-in-law's hat was probably my favorite one to make. Made from the softest baby suri, it was my first time doing bobbles. It's a great slouchy pattern that has a great textural effect. Ravelry link.

Mom: I wanted to do something snug and low profile, because she does a lot of athletic outdoor activities like skiing and snowshoeing, so this hat was great. I used a superwash merino yarn and it is a twisted rib with cables worked in for a subtle detail. It happened to match her coat perfectly without me even trying. Ravelry link.

Dad: I loved this pattern, and now I've made it three times since making this first one. A nice unisex hat. It's not very mindless, but it was my first time knitting from a chart and it was so easy to do that way. I'm a chart convert. Ravelry link.

Jake: My brother's hat was my only mess up. I made it too long, the pattern is way too long and I only removed one cable repeat when the last time I made it I removed two. The perfectionist in me was very disappointed and so he'll have another one coming to him, even though I know he's probably fine with rolling it a bit. Ravelry link.

Christmas hats: colorwork

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

For these hats, I did colorwork for the first time in my knitting. It was really easy to do, and a fun technique. I made twin hats for Malorie and I, using the yarn that I dyed. This hat can either be worn slouchy or the brim folded up for a different look. I loved the way that they turned out, and the yarn was dreamy to work with. Ravelry link.

For my adorable niece Reese, I wanted to do something using a bright neon because she loves those colors. I remembered those crazy ski hats from my childhood that are so fun. I used an adult pattern that I modified to be child-sized. I think the hearts are so sweet, and the purple/lime combo a little modern. I loved seeing her face when she opened it up, she's such a cutie. Ravelry link.

Thanks for the love yesterday! I'm so happy I could share with all you, and I'm relieved it's out there now and I can talk about all my weird food cravings. :)

big stripes, baby stripes, double stripes.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:31:00 +0000

so this has happened. . .
and this. . .
and this!

1. I'm having a baby!
2. It's a boy!
3. My twin sister is also having a baby!

I'm excited to share the news that Tyler and I finally took the big leap. (Not marriage, that was easy.) We are expecting a baby middle/end of May, and are thrilled. I guess it took me a while to get it out there, but I'm neurotic, so whatever. Sorry to Malorie for having me keep the news hostage for so long.

This would explain the lack of posts, for the first trimester or so it seemed like all I did was sleep. I had no motivation to do anything. I am beyond happy that Malorie is also pregnant, she's due just a week and a half after me. Some kind of twin miracle, I guess. I have loved going through this with her. We feel exactly the same, and I could call her and have her tell me what food to eat, our cravings are the same. Luckily the timing was perfect that we were able to get ultrasounds together when we were home to find out our genders. But I'll let her tell you what she's having. :)

winter elves.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:36:00 +0000

I'm back from my long Christmas break. We spent tons of time with family and ate way too much, so success. I'm glad to come back home and get more into a routine, I promise I'll be back here much more than earlier this year, I missed blogging.

Now I can finally show off my Christmas knitting, which was really fun this year. I made hats for my family, and each one was tailored to the recipient. It took a lot of time, but every project I learned something new.

First up, the cutest little beanies for my nephews, who are 17 and 18 months. Theo is pictured (in my nieces old snow gear), and sadly I didn't get a good picture of Noah in his hat, which was equally as adorable on his little noggin. I wanted to do this pattern because it had what I wanted, good ear flaps and ties to stay on a squirmy toddler, and a bit elfin. I wanted to embrace the cuteness of a pointy top while they are still young.

Knit up in a 100% merino superwash, they are super easy to care for, and not too bulky. The beehive ridges help it have some stretch so it is snug and comfy. Theo didn't even try and take it off once there was the distraction of snow to eat.

Want all the details? Here's my ravelry link to this project.

dyeing.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:42:00 +0000

Now that's it's December, I've been so busy working on all my handmade gifts and it's so hard to not be able to share them! I've done some new things that have been pretty fun, and the one I can show is my first kettle dyed yarn. I couldn't find the right color I wanted, and decided to try it out. I used Jacquard acid dyes, half purple half silver gray. I wanted the color to be a little more gray than it turned out, but I love the color so I don't mind. It was actually really easy to do, and I think I've spawned a new obsession to dye all my yarn.

I did pull the rookie move of tying my skeins with wool yarn so there are some lighter spots where they were tied, but it actually turned out to be a nice little variation in the color.

I'm getting ready to leave tomorrow for Idaho to see my family, so I'm rushing to get as much done as I can. I actually am in great shape, I'm almost done with all my gifts. I'll try and check in over the break, and definitely show off all my projects once they can be revealed.

jingle bells.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Sorry for the radio silence for the last couple weeks. We spent a great Thanksgiving break at my brother-in-law's house in Indiana, where we watched a lot of wonder years and sister wives. Not to mention spend fun times with our family and watching Gigi boss around a yorkie like he was her slave.

On the 10.5 hour car ride home, I developed a viral strep infection. I highly recommend catching a terrible illness while trapped in a car, it's quite an experience. So last week I was battling that, and then of course all bad illnesses are piggybacked by some kind of sinus infection, so I was literally on the couch all week. Still not feeling great yet, but today for the first time in a week I can breathe through half of my nose, so I consider that a great victory.

My outside excursions have been limited, but this weekend we went out to a favorite Amish saddle shop of Tyler's in a nearby town. We were there to get some leather, and the shop didn't disappoint.

This shop was brightly lit with skylights, and you could see the gas lanterns that were placed for after the sun goes down. A woman with a simple dress and cap sat at a tiny desk next to thousands of rolaxdex files, where customer information is kept. The man helping us let us walk around the shop area to browse for what we needed and I was amazed with the ancient giant iron sewing machines they use for leather, all run with foot pedals and no electricity.

We were taken to a back area where the workers live to look at some stamps, and I got a shot of their clothesline. The people there are so kind, and I tried to snap photos discreetly and respect their wishes for not having them in any photography.

I picked out a few jingle bells that they have for horses, they have such a beautiful weight and simpleness to them with a such a true chime, perfect for Christmas.

a borrowed friend.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:20:00 +0000

When I was in Portland, my sister and I were taking a short jog through a park and noticed a pack of goats clearing an area. A sign was advertising a "goats for rent" business. So Portland. Well here where I live, it's not so much a hip eco-friendly thing to do, but a country way of life. Tyler's friend has a goat at his house just to keep his grass short, and Penelope needed some more grass to eat so he brought her over to our house.

She's pretty tiny and cute, and pretty afraid of Gigi. They both have a high level of caution around each other, but I can sense some respect there. Gigi likes to nibble on grass occasionally, and I think she was curious why this animal was so focused on eating the grass that she started to eat some too.

It may be eco-friendly, but in the end, Penelope's got a different path than a goat in Portland. I can't get too attached because unlike those western goats, Penny doesn't have any room and board for the winter. I'll just say that.

actually modeling.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:47:00 +0000

Saturday while Tyler was at a football game, I started and finished a little sweater for gigi. It's a shame that I haven't made one before. She does pretty well with wearing clothes. Because of her itchy skin, she has already scratched at it a few times, but I expected that.

I had to get her up from a long nap to model, and she sat there and then did down dog like 5 times to stretch. She has perfect form.

This was a super fast knit (using this pattern), and I like the interest of a cable up the back, maybe I would add a couple more or make it a bigger cable next time.

ravelry post.

fall football.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:23:00 +0000

So after 3 straight weeks of weekend road trips to Maryland, New York and Virginia, Tyler and I were looking forward to a quiet weekend, relaxing at home. Then Friday we went bowling with some friends and it comes up that someone is trying to sell some NFL tickets, and they are Tyler's favorite team. He gave me a look, and I caved. We have some family in DC that we love to visit, and we could bring the dog with us, so it worked out well.

I've never been to an NFL game, and we both felt a bit out of our element, considering everyone wears team gear, and I'm wearing a striped shirt and Tyler is in plaid. But the weather was beautiful, so warm that I got a bit of a sunburn on my nose. They had ben's chili bowl, so that made me giddy with happiness. The redskins were terrible as usual, but it was a fun day.

This weekend is officially our only roadtrip-free weekend until after Thanksgiving. I have spent so much time in the car! But it's nice that we can just do whatever on a whim when an opportunity comes up.

I feel bad I've been a bit absent. I've been trying to have quality over quantity, and I think I'm failing on both ends. It's a little different this fall, because I don't have any shows this year, and I decided to take a bit of a break from selling. It's been terrific to have no stressful deadlines hanging over my head. I have been knitting a lot, starting on my Christmas gifts. I love being able to enjoy the season. I'll be better!

she likes it, I promise.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:52:00 +0000

I recently finished a couple herringbone cowls. This pattern is wildly popular, and I have been wanting to make it for a while. Shanna and I decided to make them together, we got the yarn together over the summer and had grand plans of knitting in a cabin together sipping tea while the leaves fall.

When those plans didn't work out, I started mine in September while I was in Portland, and then Shanna was so swamped with work she knew she wouldn't get to hers. I am more than happy to have a knitting project to do, so we decided to do a trade and I knit hers up this week.

This pattern is really simple and easy, once you get past casting on 220 stitches. I made a couple mistakes on mine, but once I got to the second one I knit it up totally mistake free (a little proud of that).

As modeled by Gigi, these cowls are huge, and really cozy. I don't know how I got so lucky to get a dog I can put crazy things on, and I just say "stay" and she will be motionless for 15 minutes while I take a hundred pictures. Although I had to adjust it at one point because she was about to tip over (first picture). I love her.

ravelry details for ecru and gray.

friend time

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:40:00 +0000

I took another road trip a few hours north to beautiful upstate New York to see my dear friend Shanna (and her cutie pup Ollie). I think we both needed some friend time, and it was nice to spend a few days just hanging out, and helping her with her work (I don't know if I helped that much, but I tried my best). I had the best chocolate milk of my life, and ate a frozen apple cider thing that was delicious, but I'm still not quite sure what it was. We did things only us besties can do together, including splitting a 1 pound burger, and nerding out over listening to classical music. It was nice to recharge and catch up in person, rather than online.

On my drive up and back, I kept myself entertained by listening to only two albums: blasting ABBA gold, and the new album by My Brightest Diamond. Totally obsessed with it. Tyler was probably glad he wasn't with me.

24 hour trip.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:49:00 +0000

This weekend we went to a race, but the whole trip was a race. Race to get to Baltimore in time (had huge delays), race to get his race packet the next morning, Tyler of course racing against his PR (which he beat) and racing to get back to the hotel before checkout time. It was exhausting! I guess for Tyler too. But fun as always, and Tyler did so great, I'm so proud of him. He's got another one in a month, I'm getting a lot of practice at being a spectator/supporter.

stripe times.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:27:00 +0000

So remember my quilt I started a while ago? I finished it on the plane to Portland a few weeks ago, and so didn't get pictures of it until my sister kindly sent me some with my favorite model (who apparently wouldn't stay still).

This picnic blanket was fun to make. I made it a smaller square size so it can be tucked into a bag easily and not be as bulky as a normal sized blanket. I used the lighter side on the front, and the darker side on the back. I quilted it with a neon green thread, but it didn't show up as much as I hoped. I used some vintage neon striped fabric for the edging, which was perfect punch of color to such a monochromatic look.

I'm off to a 24-hour trip to Baltimore, to watch Tyler run a marathon. One of my favorite things to do, I love watching races. I always leave so inspired (but not to run). Hope your weekend has some adventures planned.

my first, and maybe not my last.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:57:00 +0000

I said before I was going to finish my sweater at the end of last week, and I did it! The seaming actually went pretty smoothly. I took in a little more at the sides to help the fit, but I'm pretty happy with it.

Big thanks to Tyler for taking the photos, it's a hard task to photograph quite possibly the least photogenic person ever, and having that person be a perfectionist photographer. He kept saying "your skin looks so white, is that ok?" The photos were even a bit underexposed. I am really that pale.

I can take knitting my first sweater off my list. Next up, socks.

the pattern I used and my ravelry page with more details.

new things and old projects.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:08:00 +0000

With a high of 45 this weekend, space heaters were brought out, heating oil is back to being a constant worry, and wool socks are on. Constant rain kept us inside so I was able to do very tedious domestic things, like making bread, finishing up Christmas present #2, and finally blocking all the pieces to my sweater. Which took much longer than I thought, making sure each piece was the right measurement.

I have a goal to immediately jump into the dreaded seaming, and get it done by the weekend. Don't let me forget it!

When I got back from Portland, I had a package waiting for me from Muji. Before we left I had shown Tyler a new product that I loved, and he sneakily bought some for me! They are tiny envelopes that are self sealing with a tiny square of post-it in the corner. Adorable.

*As you can see I also put on my new butter polish color, scoundrel. Love me a purple.

put an egg on it.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:23:00 +0000

so here are all the pictures of the food we ate on our trip to portland. This is not everything we ate, but most of it. I think my sister made fun of me quite a few times for declaring things "the best _____ ever," but what can I say, I'm passionate. One thing I craved but got shot down every time by the peanut gallery was a crisp bean burrito from taco time (west coast fast food chain). It's a food from my childhood, you try one of those dipped in ranch and tell me it's not magic. I'm no food snob.

oh and the total weight gain: 1 lb. Jazz hands!

tuesday:

meat cheese bread: right from the airport we went here and I had a mushroom sandwich. Mal had a sandwich with green beans on it, which was really good.
voodoo doughnuts: this place is a tourist trap, so take it or leave it, but it was near where we were driving and I have a weakness of my favorite trifecta of sprinkles, maple glaze and cinnamon sugar on one doughnut called the blunt.

wednesday:

pine state: this place is perfection (love the alberta location). One of my all time favorites. Mal and I shared the Reggie deluxe, a beautiful composition of flaky biscuit, fried chicken, cheese, bacon, sausage gravy with an egg on top. sigh.
salt and straw: really great ice cream, I had the cinnamon snickerdoodle and almond brittle, but almost went for the strawberry balsamic and black pepper.
tam tam: place we went for banh mi, and pho, which was alright, but not amazing. I just found a place on yelp, but it was decent.

thursday:

Nickolas: We went here for Lebanese food and they brought out delicious pitas the size of a pizza to share. Huge portions, easy to share.
Waffle Window: We went here for dinner, after such a late lunch. This place is also a must. Their sugary waffles are so good. I had one with huckleberries, and lemon panna cotta.

friday:

Broder: I had been wanting to go here so badly, after having so many friends recommended it, and I love anything Scandinavian. All their items we had were so great, totally worth the hour wait.
pix: always has great macarons.
taco truck: this place is near Mal's house (I'll update the name and address when I get it), true dollar tacos. We had the Al Pastor and they were so good, and the homemade aqua fresca and horchata were delicious.

Saturday:

baker and spice: this wonderful bakery right by mal's house is a great place to eat for breakfast or lunch. The people that help are so friendly, and everything is so good. I alway have to have their crumb cake, which is fulfills all your dreams of a crumb cake with more crumb than cake. And they always oblige with a center piece request.
native bowl: this vegan food cart has a great rice bowl, but if I had a request, I'd put an egg on top.
homemade cake: mal and I always attempt some large thing to bake. We made a chocolate layer cake with salted caramel frosting and whipped ganache.

monday:

clyde common: this place never fails to make a perfect evening. I've had such good memories here, it's just a place you want to bring those you care about, and share some really fresh seasonal delicious food.
ruby jewel: this ice cream place was a nice place to go at night, I had a strawberry lemon pudding ice cream sandwich with lemon cookies.

tuesday:

Being our last day, we went out with a huge bang with a food cart feast. I want to relive this lunch every day.
euro trash: Jon got this prawn sandwich that had the most amazing coconut curry sauce.
Violetta: This place had the corn dog of my dreams. DREAMS. BEST. EVER. Sweet cornbread batter with huge beef hog dog. Jon (my sister's husband) had never had a corn dog in his life and this one took his virginity.
Lardo: this cart is epic, I got the double burger with pork belly, and when I asked to get an egg on top, the man said "nice! That is going to be beautiful." He was right. Mal got the banh mi, which was really good also. Would maybe get that again over the burger. Their fries with fresh sage and parmesan were like candy. salty candy.

back to my singleton reality.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:29:00 +0000

We got back late last night from our Portland trip. We had such a great time eating our way through the city and having lots of fun with my adorable nephew Theo. He's pretty much the cutest thing ever. And he's a master unlocking all our iphones, finding his favorite apps and taking as many pictures as he can, moving apps around and maybe deleting them. Kids and technology.

There's nothing like spending time with my sister. When we're apart it's like there's always something missing. It's funny that every time we get together, I'm still amazed by how much we are the same.

I miss those unique twin things that can only happen when you're together. What was once an annoyance when we were young–now I love it when people stop us in the street or I can tell they are doing the conspicuous stare at our clone faces.

I'll have to do a round up of all the food we ate, it exceeded all my dreams. We only ate in two meals in a week, and I still feel like we just scratched the surface.

neon.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:23:00 +0000

So I previously showed a new project that I was working on, and started sewing away. Then my machine jammed up. No one told me that you are supposed to change your needle about every project (which I've never done, and I've sewn miles) and I hadn't cleaned out the lint in a while. So I had to get a tune up, which now my machine purrs and doesn't make a clunking sound. figures.

The last couple days have been a whirlwind of sewing, I got a lot done. I'm pretty happy with the outcome, I'll show it off this week. I got to use neon thread and some favorite thrifted neon stripe fabric.

I am getting ready to fly out west to sunny Portland tomorrow, I can't wait. I'll be catching up on some dearly missed twin time, and to see my nephew running around. I'm usually pretty terrible about blogging while I'm gone, so there may be a post in the next week, or not. But I'll be all over instagram (username: secretpocket) probably showing off every meal I eat, and lots of theo photos.

See you soon!

baby soft.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:41:00 +0000

So it still kept raining, and raining. I think gigi got a UTI because she wouldn't put her pretty little face outside. Drama, drama. So here are some dim pictures as I'm sitting in the overcast darkness. Bring me sun!

During all that rain I finished my knitting project for the week, a little baby towel/burp cloth for my hairstylist. I'm hoping that I can somehow get her maternity leave to only a couple months long. It took me so long to finally find a stylist that can give me my perfect haircut and I'm afraid to lose her!

This turned out a bit bigger than I thought it would be, I used some organic cotton that's so soft, it turned out incredible. It was super easy and nice to knit something mindless after all the sweater knitting I've been doing lately. All the details are on my ravelry page, it's been too long since I've added a project.

rain. go away.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:21:00 +0000

Like probably a lot of other people here in the east, it's been raining non-stop for almost 3 days. I'm starting to go a bit crazy, the constant gray and soggy everything. Although it does give me an excuse to just hunker down and knit. This project is to be a baby towel for my hairstylist who's having a baby soon. Hairstylists on maternity leave is a disease to pixie cuts. Why would she even think of doing this to me?

Today there the sun came out and I thought the rain was done. I took gigi out for a quick walk because gigi is such a diva and won't go outside in the rain without desperation (causing other problems). Halfway home and it started to rain again. And then it rained harder. I tried to take shelter under a tree, thinking about waiting it out, but decided to just run the half mile home.

But someone wasn't having it. My spry little pup went into diva mode and didn't want to walk at her usual fast pace and kept stopping. I literally had to pick up the soggy 8 lbs of beyonce and jog home the half mile.

naked peaches

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:11:00 +0000

This weekend I picked up a ripe half peck of peaches from the market, and was determined to make some jam. My mom clued me into using instant pectin for a fast jam. I know that might be cheating a bit, but actually for peaches I think it's perfect. I chopped up some, and put the rest in the food processor to keep it chunky. With instant pectin the fruit isn't heated, and with delicate peaches they stay intact and firm and taste really fresh and not so sweet.

It was really easy to make a few pints in about 30 minutes, and it tastes so good. Peach preserves don't seem to set up really firm like other jams, but it is still thick enough even though I was worried at first. We went through a whole pint this weekend spooning it over ice cream and english muffins, and maybe just straight from the jar. I don't think the rest are going to make it to the freezer.

Make some jam this week before the peaches are all gone, you won't regret it. If you can stir, you can do it!

my contribution.

noreply@blogger.com (kenzie) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:14:00 +0000

Today is Tyler's thesis defense. He's been working hard on it all summer, and we've been looking forward to this day. Of course I had to make something for his committee because that's really all I can do to help. I still can't fully even explain what his thesis is about, but I can bake.

I made my favorite banana bread recipe into muffins. I think this is the most fool proof way to make banana bread, because I always seem to get that doughy bit in the middle and the edges a bit too brown in my loaf pan.

I followed the recipe exactly, (well as close as I ever would) but I used whole wheat pastry flour and no peanuts. I am one of those people who think nuts in baked good is a terrible terrible thing. I sprinkled a generous amount of cinnamon sugar on top before baking so they have perfect crackly tops that shatter when you bite into them. Heaven.

::update:: I forgot to mention that I baked them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.