My Leap Year Thoughts!

Hello!  It is one of my favorite days!  I love the special day that only comes around once every four years!  I have been trying to decide what to do with my special day and how to make it memorable.  After reading countless ideas I have a plan!   I am going to answer the questions from this website.  Place them in a box and read them in 4 years! 

I am not a stranger to the answering questions and rereading them later.  In fact when my beautiful sister was married a few years ago we pulled out the list of our dream guy qualities.  She was 14 and I was 12 when we wrote it.  Let me just say it definately made my toast a bit more fun when I read it at the rehersal dinner!! 

So what are you going to do this year to celebrate leap year?

Lazy rainy weekend!

Here in west Texas the lack of moisture last year was horrible on the farmers. But this month we have had a lot of moisture! Snow, sleet, and rain. So this weekend when I woke up to the sound of water in the streets I decided it was time to bake!

Yummy rolls!

So I have always heard how hard it is to make rolls. I found a great recipe from Our Best Bites and had at it. I love their recipes because of their great detailed directions. So instead of giving you my break down of their recipe I thought I would share some of my baking tips!

Baking tips:

• Follow the directions.
• Make sure your water and sugar mixture is not to hot. I used to kill my yeast all the time.  I just make sure it is "warm" 
• If it is cold or dry where you live place a bowl of water in your oven and heat it to 350 degrees. Turn off your oven and put your dough in to rise. Crack the door of the oven to let some of the heat dissipate. I always reheat my oven in between letting the dough rise. Make sure you remove the bowl of water when you bake your bread.

All in all the rolls turned out great!

Kip thought so too!  He snuck a bite on the way home!

Sweetheart! You shouldn't have!

So here is a special valentines edition. For all you singles I found that fun food to share makes the day a bit better.

This valentines day I made some yummy sugar cookies that looked like message hearts!

In real life I am not the biggest fan of the actual candy hearts but I do love the bittersweets from despair.com

So to begin I made up some of my sugar cookie dough. I made a double batch and ended up with around 4 dozen hearts. While they were cooling I hopped on the Internet to look up sayings for the hearts. I wanted to be authentic.

Then came the fun part! I mixed up some buttercream frosting and separated it into 4 bowls. I made three pastel colors: blue, yellow, and green. I also made red to write the inscriptions.

So here are my favorite cookies!

Click click click

That's not Santa's reindeer it's my knitting needles! I have been knitting away and wanted to show you what I've been working on.

The Saroyan

This beauty of a scarf is made out of malabrigo yarn twist and is so soft! I knit it up once but the pattern was written more for a shawl. I don't really do shawls so I just ripped it out and did not do nearly the amount of increases it called for. I love how in knitting you can tailor things to your liking!

Twisted Ribbons Scarf

This is a fun pattern and my first attempt at cables! It is in a pink cascade 220 not as soft as the malabrigo but is growing on me.

Maybe it is just me but sometimes it seems like a yarn has a mind of its own. I tried several different patterns before this one would seem to behave.

Apparently this pattern and type of yarn are a good fit. Especially with size 5 needles.

Oh the weather outside was frightful!

So this past Sunday we had winter...all in one day. So here are some pics! I love the snow!

Yummy! Homemade Lunches!

Hello!

I am eating dinner at my desk at work and wanted to share my yummy new favorite meal: Homemade Lean Cuisines! 

I watched this fabulous video and decided I had to try out my own version!

Here is the link if the video is broken  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=815tZP0zwmI



So here is the quick walk through.  Watch the video for a in depth how to.

First I found about eight containers close to the size of the lean cuisines.  Made a pound of pasta and after it cooled dished it up!

Then I sauteed all my veggies: carrots, green beans, peas, and broccoli.  Yum!  When it cooled I add it to the dish and then cut up some left over turkey and added it to the mix. 

This is the end result!  Yummy!  If you noticed at the top I went with an Alfredo sauce.  I am not to concerned with the amount of calories in the sauce because I am a little low right now on them in my diet right now! 

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Hammocks and pumpkin bread!

So today it is beautiful out! So nice that I pulled out my hammock. I don't know about you but when purchasing it I never thought, "this will be perfect for January!"

So on to pumpkin bread!
I did not get to snap any pictures of the yummy bread but it was dense and oh so very moist. I had bought a pumpkin bread kit but when I opened the bag of dry ingredients the spices we overwhelming. Unfortunately I had already mixed up my wet ingredients. So off to magical google where I searched for pumpkin bread and four eggs. I found this recipe which is what you will find modified below.

Yummy pumpkin bread

4 eggs
1(15 oz) can of pumpkin purée
2/3 cup Oil (I used olive)
1 cup Water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger

Mix the pumpkin, eggs, water, oil, and sugar together. Then add the dry ingredients. Mix until just blended. Pour into pans and bake.

Bake at 350 for 50 min.

I needed to let mine bake a bit longer. It might have been my pans I used 2 4x9 inch pans from Ikea. It made fun skinny tall loaves.

You might have noticed the lack of cloves. We don't use them as some family members are allergic. You can add to taste if you want.

So give it a go and see if you like it!

Friends don't let friends sew sleepy! :)

So I had a grand idea!! I plotted, planned and I prepared! I was going to make baby sheets for the plethora of under 1 year olds I know. So Black Friday I bought flannel to make some cozy and stylish sheets. And a few weeks ago I picked up the elastic. All my supplies were assembled.

Tonight I was going to make my first set. I pulled out my fabric and it measured 41 inches across instead of 45 inches! I guess I lost 4 inches in the wash? I am not sure what happened. So not to be daunted I decided to make do and switch to a small blanket.

I cut my fabric and laid it out to begin pinning it. You may be able to tell where this is headed.

I began sewing and after about 12 inches I realized that my pins were on the bottom side and hard to get out. But I kept sewing.

I finished sewing and trimming and it suddenly struck me! I had laid out my material and batting as if I was going to use binding. This was not the correct way to flip out the blanket.

Out came the seam ripper and apart came the blanket. I laid it out correctly, pinned it and began to sew. This time it took awhile because my helper wanted to help.

Finally it was done! I trimmed it, flipped it, tacked it, and cleaned up loose threads. Ta da!

Umm I think I just made a designer changing pad instead of a blanket :).

Moral of the story: friends don't let friends sew sleepy!

2012: A new year!

I just realized I have not posted in a month!  Time has flown as the holidays came and quickly went.  I have been trying to decide exactly what direction I want to take this blog and how it fits into the rest of my life. So I think there are going to make some changes and I think that hopefully it will keep things interesting. 

Some of the blogs I follow are starting the 366 pictures a year idea.  I was going to join in but realized that I don't take pictures.  So I am going to make a list of 366 things of which I am thankful.   Each week on Sunday I will post one thing from each day that inspired me to be thankful.  I encourage you to join me and leave the things you are thankful for in the comments or if you post them on your blog let me know and I will try to link them up. 

Wednesday will be Working on Wednesday.  This is the day I will add tutorials, updates on projects and new knitting instructions.  This brings me to an exciting new addition.  I am adding a new portion of my blog with step by step instructions and videos of how to knit.  Hopefully the instructions will be simple and easy to follow for all my soon to be knitting friends!

Fun Filled Friday will be Fridays post where what ever flits into my head will be the topic. 

So that is my new schedule!  What do you think?  Do you have a schedule of postings? 

Gearing up for Christmas

It is time to break out the boxes and get all the decorations out.  I love this time of year!  I went with low key decorating and left the rest of the house to other family members.  I had to put out my favorite snow man decorations.  These little cuties were created by my oh so talented cousins.  I love the one with the little baby snow man.  

I love these little guys too.  Although I do worry they are going to get to cold not being ready for the cold weather.  I think I might have to get them some hats so they will be all bundled up. 

Oddly enough we have been experiencing a cold snap.  Because he must always be within 2 feet of me Kip was feeling a little cold next to the door.  This is his red blanket.  He loves it! All his items are colored red it's his favorite color.

Do you have all your decorations up?  Are you going all out or just putting up your favorites this year?

Shopping.

I love black Friday. Usually we make rice crispy treats, form a strategy and go hit around five stores. This year we are attempting the midnight madness in the mall. So far we have not found anything spectacular bit it is fun to be in the hustle and bussel.

My first take up job!

So I know sewing hems for pants is not rocket science but it was a first.  I was asked to shorten a pair of overalls this weekend of course only a few hours before they were to be worn.  :)  I went an bought new sewing machine needles and measured twice so I could cut once.  They came out fabulously!  This tiny project bolstered my sewing courage and I think I am going to have to make my sewing machine cover sometime this week... or maybe a Christmas tree skirt that has been on my to-done list for a year! 

What tiny project has gave you great satisfaction or encouraged you to step out in unknown areas?

Sentemental

So today I was getting ready to go to work and I noticed a broach that came with a sweater sitting in my counter. As I reached to pick it up I thought about another one I had tucked away for just a day like this. I don't know if it is just that time of the year when you think about family or the fact as the youngest I feel a bit left out. I went and got the beautiful broach that we found in a traveling case owned by my great grandmother. I am not sure if it was hers or my great aunt's who had the case afterwards. Either way I was very excited to get to wear a fun piece of jewelry and be connected to them in a physical way for a day. So I just wanted to share it with you. Do you have a fun small thing that brightens your day when you remember the people who had it before you?

A plan!

Well I have a plan! And I think it is workable! Those seem to be the best kind :) I have cast on the Toasty woodland wrap from the 2011 Holiday issue of Love of Knitting. So I figure if I can do at least one repeat each day I'll have this knocked out by Dec 15th. So I think I'll cast on my other scarfs and work them simultaneously.

So my question is do you do one project at a time when your on a deadline or do a bit of each one?

Holiday season has opened!

Yea! My favorite time of the year is fast approaching. The time you can listen to Christmas music without judgement, you get Christmas and thanksgiving breaks and it is baking season.

I thought I would set out some holiday goals and I invite you to add your own!

1) I am going to buy all my presents before Dec 24th.

2) I will not eat a whole pumpkin pie all by myself (it is so easy to just even it up until there is none left)

3) I will blog once a week.

4) I will finish all Christmas presents. (gifts in pieces are not near as much fun)

How about you? What are your November-resolutions?

WIP, Cookies and a new app

WIP

Hello! I wanted to drop by and tell you about my latest project. My new scarf! Well actually it is half of a new scarf!
I have started knitting the Saroyan by Liz Abinante. It is lovely. I am half way done which is awesome as I should have cast on Christmas presents instead of something for me :)

Cookies

Well you know how I can't turn down a good cookie idea. I attempted to make candy corn sugar cookies for an October party. They turned put quite lovely.

They are super simple to make. Just make your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Split it into three parts. Add food coloring so you have a yellow third and an orange third.

Layer them in a pan. First making sure it is covered in Saran wrap. Let this chill all the way through. I mixed up my dough before work and left it all day.

Finally remove it from the dish and cut into strips. Cut the strips into triangles. And tada! candy corn. Putting sprinkles and sugar on them make them all sparkly.

New App

I am attempting to blog from a new app on my phone so we will see how that ends up.

It's Alive!!

Oh wow!  I thought it had just been a month since I had written but it has been two!  I don't know about you but when school starts things get a little crazy around here.  I have been busy crafting and baking away so I wanted to share a little highlight of what has been going on.  Hopefully I will do some more in depth posts about these projects later. 

On the Baking front! 

I have been baking quite a bit lately.  Most of my baked goods are scarfed up before pictures but I do have some goodies to show you. 

Anti-Aging Potion Cookies for my sisters birthday party!

Cinnamon Rolls
I have been craving Cinnamon Rolls so in order to work on that I have made them totally from scratch and with pizza dough from a can!  Yummy!

In the Crafting World!

In September I made a puppy set for a little one.  Blanket, pillow cases, stuffy (toy stuffed animal) and cross stitch. 

I learned how to do pin weaving.

Attempted an ironed crayon abstract piece.

And lastly have started to teach myself how to crochet!

So I will get instructions and more info about each project!  Check back soon!

When it gets below 100 out its baking weather!

(Imagine a dog laying by a couch)

Izzy wiped out by the heat



This summer it has been crazy hot!  We have not had any rain in our part of the country in weeks so I have been to hot to bake.  But we had a few days where it did not reach 100 until late afternoon making me believe that it is baking time!  A baking weekend was declared!

Friday
I found this fun recipe for these Chocolate-frosted Peanut butter Cookie Bars on Our Best Bites.   I believed them when they said they are quick to make only 15 min and with things found in your own pantry!  Yea!  lol so this was about 7pm.  I went to my pantry and quickly found that I did not have many key ingredients (read: peanut butter, butter, vanilla) so off to Walmart.  Then as I was precisely following the directions apparently just dumping all the ingredients in the bowl.  Lets just say many things happened between starting and pulling the finished product out of the oven around 9:50pm.  Just a note I found that I needed to add more water to the icing to make it spread and I needed to cook the cookie about 7 more min to get it to set up enough to put anything on top.  I must say it was worth it they are so yummy!

Saturday

I decided to try out a vanilla cake from scratch.  This was my first scratch cake that is not one of the tried and true recipes in my mother's recipe box.  Lets just say it did not go so well. This time I actually followed the directions.  Something was off.  I had more of a cornbread consistency that was a super yummy batter but a not so good cake.  I also had some trouble with the crust.  It was super thick and started popping off so I pulled it off made a lackluster frosting and called it good.

So I think I am going to work with the vanilla cake.  Make sure I have the ingredients on hand for the peanut butter cookie bars because they are oh so good!  And try out a cinnamon roll recipe this week.

What yummy quick recipe do you whip together when you have company on the way?

Where did July go?

Hello!  It seems like July just zipped by so quickly and I was side tracked with so many summery things.  

I have not got to be very crafty in July but I did go to a Harry Potter Marathon and got my very own Harry Potter 3-D glasses!! So I'm chalking July up as a success! 

Moving on to August! 

I have been working on several ideas for embroidery so I thought I would start out with a simple kitchen towel project. So with out further ado.  I used the light box and draw it on with pencil method.  I used a drawing from the book Rainbow of Stitches. 

 

So here I used the Stem Stitch to outline the blender and the mixer following the tutorial from Needle 'n Thread

So here is my final piece.  I really like how it turned out. 

And because I am always nosey and want to see here is the back of my piece.  I messed up a little on the first one I worked on so I am going to go back and tuck in the threads. 

Count the Happies!

I have a stamp that hangs out on my desk where I can always see it that says "Count the Happies"!  I bought it at hobby lobby one day and although I have not used it yet it always brightens my day.  So today I am going to start a post that I will be repeating on a regular basis called Count the Happies!

1)  My new cook and serve dishes!  The perfect size for one person in wonderful colors!  I have looked high and low for pans like this and was so excited when I found them last night :)

2) My dog Kip.  He is always ready to hang out and cuddle with me when I feel not so great.  

3) Tickets to the antique road show.  I know I'm a nerd but I am also a very excited nerd!  I get to go in July to the Tulsa event.  I am ready to see how my chairs work out!

4) Having enough money to pay the bills.  I am thankful I am past the point in my life where I am barley breaking even pay check to pay check.  I know that I probably will be back there sometime but I am working towards making sure that does not happen!

5)  Allergy medicine!  I am so happy that I get to live when we have modern medicine!

6)  No mosquitoes!  I know the lack of rain is reeking havoc on the land but at least we don't have to put up with mosquitoes too!

7) My family!  I love that my family is not just my blood relatives (although they are pretty great) but also include close friends.  Even though we have not had a ton of "real" relatives I have never felt like I was missing out. 

Join me and Count your Happies below!

Badly done, Emma...badly done

Ok so you may know from the title of my post that I have been watching the 2009 version of Emma.  That one quote has been stuck in my head for over a week now!  I absolutely loved the miniseries it is so funny!  This fun movie came all the way from Wisconsin with my cousins as they settled in for a long visit.

I thought I would catch you up on my crafting since it has been so long. 

Knitting

I have finished a washcloth.  I knit it in I Love this Cotton that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.  It was a white with flecks of color.  So much fun and so soft. New dishcloths are on my list to make for my own kitchen.

I have started another project.  It is the Robbin Hood Hat by Grace Akhrem.  So much fun so far.  I had an extra skein of Cascade 220 Tweed and this is the perfect project for it!  I had tried several different things but none of them worked out.  Sometimes you just have to listen to the yarn.

My afterthought heel sock.  Well I have not yet tried to put the heel back in but I think I will be brave enough quite soon!  I got some fantastic advice at the knitting group I attend so hopefully I will be done with this sock soon and can start the next one. 

Embroidery

While my wonderful cousins were here we went to an estate sale and found the most wonderful embroidery transfers!  My favorite are the fairy tale book ones.  I am going to attempt to work them as pages of a soft book for some special little ankle biters! 

What are you working on?