February 4, 2011

P. S. I Love You

I'm really not into "Valentines" things per say, BUT I do love sweet things. Especially if it can be used all year and is this amazingly cute and chic.

Check this out by Flamingo Toes. She does a great job explaining how to make one for yourself, too! Find the instructions here.

February 3, 2011

Yes, a quilt.

One of my bff's (I've known her since we were little. We think we were around 1st or 2nd grade when we became bests) has a baby who just turned two. When I asked what she needed the Momma said nothing. She just had Christmas and was spoiled by everyone. So I made her a quilt. Now...I'm not a very good quilter, but I LOVE it. I aspire to be making the beautiful things I see on blogs and in books. Someday I'll be there. For now, I'll keep practicing. And for all of those who receive one of my "beginner" quilts...thanks for being kind and I promise to make you a new one someday when I have mad skills. :)

One more thing, I forgot to take a photo of the final product all laid out or hanging. Seriously.


The color combo. Bright for the bright lil 2 year old girl.
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Piecing it together.
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The strips around the border.
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Squares sewn together.
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The back. Not what you'd expect seeing that it doesn't really match at all. I fell in love with these very colorful, large printed flowers. What can I say?
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The best photo I have of the finished quilt. Right before I wrapped it up. At least you get a little idea of what it looked like.
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For those of you who quilt, this was my first attempt at machine quilting. It was not a dreadful experience, but I could sure use a lot of practice. Perhaps a class is in order.

Frigid

I hate to even say this (especially considering what many parts of the country have gone through this week), but it's cold here. Like...incredibly cold. At least for the desert. My neighbor awoke this morning to find that their pipes froze and burst last night. Our house was 46 degrees inside when I woke up this morning! vrrrrrr We're just not equipped for this. We have a heater, but we hadn't turned it on and figured we'd be fine with blankets. We were until we had to get out of bed. I made some minestrone soup and my favorite bread recipe today. It's sure to warm my belly.


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Find the recipe here.

January 27, 2011

A Quilt?

Something I'm working on for my best friend's little girl. She just turned 2. I'll post more pics when I figure out exactly what I'm doing with these fabrics.

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For The Dogs

Homemade dog cookies anyone? This is a recipe that I've seen in many different variations. I've adjusted it every time I've made it and now I think I've finally got it where I want it (for consistency and what not). I haven't actually tasted these, but the dogs seem to love them.

Ingredients:

  • 3 - 4 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 15 oz canned pumpkin (cooked sweet potato also works well)
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
Sprinkle of Cinnamon (optional)

In a bowl, mix peanut butter, pumpkin, eggs and salt. Add flour and cinnamon until ingredients are well blended. Roll dough on lightly floured surface until it is 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough out to 1/2 inch pieces or use a cookie cutter of choice. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. You can adjust the size of the treat depending on the needs of your dog(s). Make sure you change the bake time accordingly.

The dough before rolling it out.
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Rolled out and about to cut. I used a heart shaped cookie cutter for Valentines day. :)
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About to be baked. As I've posted before, I use a silicone baking mat on my cookie sheets.
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Just to give you an idea of the size of the cookie cutter I used.
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Finished product...
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A few things to note:
~ I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to making these. Don't stress if the texture seems off, etc.. The process is similar to making sugar cookies, but much easier.
~ My dogs love these and I'm hope yours will as well, but I can't guarantee it. :)

January 25, 2011

Long Time, No Post

The last time I posted our kitchen was in disarray and I wasn't sure what the outcome would be. Well, our oven is working (at least it turns on and doesn't smoke), but our kitchen light is out. I mean, totally out. I haven't figured out how to fix it yet (it's electrical and not just a bulb), but I'm working on it. In the mean time, I have a few little lights in there for the evenings and luckily we have a great big sliding glass door window during the day.

Anyway, I still bake. I've also been working on many creative projects! I think I'm going to start posting non-baking (or food related) projects as well. It's fun and it's great to post pics and details of what I'm doing.

I promise there will be pics on future posts...