A Quick Kitchen Tip....

Today I have a little cooking/cleaning tip for you. I've been doing this for years and I assumed everyone else did too. But lately I've mentioned it to others and they say they have never heard of it. Since this is mostly a sewing blog and not a cooking blog, you can look at it this way.....this little tip will get you finished quicker in the kitchen so you can get back to your sewing. So here goes......

Anytime I cook something that yields a really messy pan....like today I made homemade stove-top mac and cheese for part of our lunch. The pan is always cheesy and sticky afterwards. Or, if we have to eat dinner and then head out the door somewhere....like church. I hate leaving a sink full of dishes but sometimes it happens. Or, if you are steaming vegetables and all the water boils out and your pan and its contents burn and get all yucky. I am sure that never happens in your house....but it does in mine from time to time. Or whatever else that happens to create dishes in your house that you really don't want to waste time cleaning. 

Well here is what I do.....I take my box of baking soda from my pantry and sprinkle it on the messy pan, my stack of dirty dishes, my burnt pan, etc. Then I add just a bit of water and I leave it. Yes, I just turn my back on it or walk out the door and I give it not another thought. Then when I either get back home or I am ready to tackle that burnt pan or stack of dishes, I turn the faucet on and run the pan/dishes/whatever under the water. I am telling you that whatever it was stuck to your pan or dishes will literally wash off underneath the flow from the faucet. Sure you can use your dishrag just to make you feel better...but it is rarely needed. 

You can even keep a sprinkle bottle of baking soda on your counter for this purpose...but most times I just grab my box out of the pantry. I am never without baking soda for this reason alone. And I hope you remember this little tip the next time you have messy pans or a stack of dishes you have to leave in the sink. Then you can get back to your sewing that much faster!

Southern Plate Anyone?.......

How many of you are familiar with Southern Plate...the wonderful website as well as a fantastic cookbook? I came across Christy Jordan's website about a year ago and quickly purchased her cookbook. I cook almost entirely from scratch and so her cookbook really speaks to me. I am not a huge meat-eater but that's ok too. I think my family's favorite recipe of hers is the chili...and I am able to make mine without meat and make theirs with meat. Easy peasy! I also love her hoe cake recipe because my mom used to make the same thing but she called it "biscuit bread." Delicious!!! Plus Christy is all about family and family stories!!! Her cookbook is worth it alone just for the stories about her family!!! But the recipes are an added bonus!!

(I knew we were in the right place.)

Anyway, this past weekend I had the opportunity to listen to a talk given by Christy Jordan. I thought Christy was pretty amazing already...but after sitting and hearing her speak about her family history and the legacy she hopes to leave for her children, I am an even bigger fan!!! She is so down to earth I think I could have talked with her all day if I'd been given the opportunity.

(Emily and I were still waiting patiently in line for our turn. It came about 30 min. later.)

In the end Emily and I were able to visit with her for about 5 minutes or so while she was signing my cookbook. She even sent me home with little gifts for all four of my little ones!!! She is truly so genuine and precious. And I know you won't be surprised to hear that she SEWS too!!!! See I told you she was amazing!!!

And no, I am not affiliated with her or her company in any way....but just wanted to share about meeting her. Now maybe next time we can swap sewing stories!!!! I can hope right?

A Little Cooking/Cleaning Tip....On A Sewing Blog...

Today I have a little cooking/cleaning tip for you. I've been doing this for years and I assumed everyone else did too. But lately I've mentioned it to others and they say they have never heard of it. Since this is mostly a sewing blog and not a cooking blog, you can look at it this way.....this little tip will get you finished quicker in the kitchen so you can get back to your sewing. So here goes......

Anytime I cook something that yields a really messy pan....like today I made homemade stove-top mac and cheese for part of our lunch. The pan is always cheesy and sticky afterwards. Or, if we have to eat dinner and then head out the door somewhere....like church. I hate leaving a sink full of dishes but sometimes it happens. Or, if you are steaming vegetables and all the water boils out and your pan and its contents burn and get all yucky. I am sure that never happens in your house....but it does in mine from time to time. Or whatever else that happens to create dishes in your house that you really don't want to waste time cleaning.

Well here is what I do.....I take my box of baking soda from my pantry and sprinkle it on the messy pan, my stack of dirty dishes, my burnt pan, etc. Then I add just a bit of water and I leave it. Yes, I just turn my back on it or walk out the door and I give it not another thought. Then when I either get back home or I am ready to tackle that burnt pan or stack of dishes, I turn the faucet on and run the pan/dishes/whatever under the water. I am telling you that whatever it was stuck to your pan or dishes will literally wash off underneath the flow from the faucet. Sure you can use your dishrag just to make you feel better...but it is rarely needed.

You can even keep a sprinkle bottle of baking soda on your counter for this purpose...but most times I just grab my box out of the pantry. I am never without baking soda for this reason alone. And I hope you remember this little tip the next time you have messy pans or a stack of dishes you have to leave in the sink. Then you can get back to your sewing that much faster!

*I have no affiliation with Arm & Hammer....just a happy consumer!*

Our Annual Valentine's Day Tea Party......

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We sure did. The kids and I decided to make rolled sugar cookies this year for our tea party and I am so glad we did because we had a lot of fun and they were yummy!!!

We all took turns rolling out the dough and cutting out the cookies. And of course, we all participated in the decorating too. Some were a little more heavy-handed than others.

We swapped handmade Valentine cards, ate yummy cookies and drank warm peppermint tea. And so another wonderful year with this sweet little bunch has been celebrated!!!

Here is sweet Ean during the tea party. We recently found he is violently allergic to eggs....so unfortunately he did not get to enjoy the yummy cookies. Ethan asked me last night if I could find a recipe for cookies without eggs so that Ean can have some next time. I thought that was so thoughtful of him!!! And I will definitely dig up a recipe next time for our Sweet Ean. He is such a blessing to all of us.

And if you look real close you will see he has been busy cutting his first molar this past week. He stayed up many nights working on this tooth. I remember telling my dad once that I hated when the kids were teething because they were in so much pain. His answer was short and sweet and to the point...."Well having teeth is better than the alternative." He was right as always!!!

I have actually worked in little bits sewing here and there lately. I have lots to share as soon as I get a few pictures taken.

Happy Thanksgiving...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

from our house to yours!!!

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise;

give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations."

Psalm 100:4-5

Emily made us an adorable turkey center piece for our dinner table.

She also made place cards so everyone knew where to sit.

And I made the meal and the two yummy pie crusts and pies...pumpkin and apple!!!!

I hope your day was blessed and delightful!!!

Today.....

Today I am frantically getting my stuff together for Smocking Guild tonight! I'm packing my bag and finishing my samples. I'm also schooling the little ones, preparing lunches, and wondering what to fix quickly for dinner tonight.

Right now though, I'm enjoying a snack. Sourdough pumpkin bread slathered with yogurt cheese and a healthy drizzle of local honey!!! It truly is as yummy as it looks!!!

I wish you all could come to our meeting tonight....it would be a lot of fun to visit with each of you!

Sewing Therapy.....

My Mom took a fall early last week and landed herself in the hospital with another new hip. She is in Florida and I'm not....so I am relying on family members to keep me updated on her condition. In my house, when I pick up the phone my little ones instantly need me. Does that happen to anyone else or only me? So needless to say, I spent more time on the phone than usual and my sewing time went by the wayside...which is understandable in a situation such as this.

Finally on Saturday evening I decided some sewing would be great therapy for me. So I made this cute and functional check book cover. It honestly was embarrassing how tattered my old plastic check book cover had become. It was only held together at one tiny spot and every time I opened it it threatened to break apart completely.

I knew I wanted to use this quilting cotton...but the rick rack was an afterthought. I had already stitched quite a bit when the thought occurred to me. So I went ahead and ripped out the stitches and added the rick rack. I realize it will eventually get damaged in the bottom of my purse....but for now....I am enjoying it. Simple things.....I am striving to focus on the simple things!!

Also last night, Emily and I made homemade pizza for dinner. I had to show you the pizza that Emily made....she shaped it like a heart.....kind of. And it was yummy! Again...focusing on the simple things!

December Fun......

This has been a busy month....and so far, we have managed to do our favorite December things.

The gingerbread house is now complete and looking good. Emily orchestrated the decorating of our annual gingerbread house tonight. I built the house and then turned the icing bag over to her. She piped icing and Elisabeth and Ethan strategically placed the candies. Everyone had fun.

Elisabeth made the annual Nativity Scene for us using various baby dolls.

And Elisabeth also had a birthday!!! She is now a sweet seven year old. And somehow Ean turned 6 months old this month. I don't know how because it seems like he was just born yesterday!!!

The girls also had their ballet and tap Christmas Recital. They both did excellent!!!!

Our Smocking Guild had our annual Christmas Dinner....it was a great evening with wonderful friends.

And Emily has had several custom orders for her hats. She bought the yarn, made and delivered this one the same day it was requested. The photo isn't great....but it is chocolate brown with light pink. (I think this one is my favorite so far.) While she was making it a neighbor stopped by and ordered one just like it but with reversed colors. She has quite a following now.

I still have a few gifts to wrap....but I think we are on track for a fantastic Christmas. I hope yours is wonderful as well!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Today the kids and I have been getting a jump start on our Thanksgiving cooking. They did a great job bringing these turkeys to life...and they were so proud of themselves!!! I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving....with or without turkey!!!

What We've Been Doing Lately.....

The girls wanted to give their little ballet friends something for the holidays. We finally decided on "Snowman Soup." There are a lot of references to it on the Internet if you google it. I modified one of the poems to make it appropriate for our little friends and then we got busy assembling. Basically it is hot chocolate mix with some yummy add-ins like...a few chocolate chips, some mini marshmallows, and a candy cane for a stirring stick. We made home-made hot chocolate mix...which is our favorite. I always keep some on hand. You only have to add hot water....and yummy add-ins if you want.

And for the Christmas ballet recital that the girls participated in...we took some chocolate crinkle cookies. The girls had a lot of fun rolling the dough into balls and then rolling the balls into powdered sugar.

They sure were yummy!!! Kind of like a brownie in a cookie!!! Tonight we are making snickerdoodles for our neighbors....nothing like the smell of cinnamon baking!!! YUM!!!

Our Annual Tea.........

We had our annual Valentine's Day Tea Party this past Thursday. I found these cute lollipop flowers in the latest Martha Stewart Good Things for Kids magazine.

I could not find the little lollipops that were called for....so I improvised with the Tootsie Pops. They are so cute...they are still on our counter top. I can't bear to eat them yet.

The girls received home made Valentine cards from me.

And we all had mugs of yummy hot (caffeine free) herbal teas and home made spritz cookies. Another year.....another Valentine's Day Tea Party success!!!!!

More Cookie Goodness......

We thought the cookies I made the other day were yummy. But let me tell you, they were NO match for these incredible cookies. If you enjoy the thin mint cookies manufactured by the Girl Scouts....then you will flip for these.

In sewing news....the Christmas pj's are DONE!!!! They have not yet been modeled....but photos will follow soon!!!!

Oh How I Love Google......

Wayne came home from work today and handed me a bundle wrapped up in a paper towel. He proceeded to say that a guy from work had brought some Christmas treats in to share that his wife had made. Wayne is great about thinking about me in these situations. So after he tried one and throughly enjoyed it he decided to bring a few for me to enjoy. Sure enough, upon opening the wrapped bundle I found three yummy looking cookies. I quickly knew they were cake mix cookies...which I have had before and really didn't care for. I decided to go ahead and try them though since Wayne had gone through the trouble to bring them home. Wow...these were really yummy!!! Wayne says....."I'm going to ask the guy at work if he can get the recipe from his wife so we can make them." I of course told him that was a great idea...then I ran off to the computer. Two minutes and a Google search later.....the recipe was found!!!!! You can find it here. A quick trip to the grocery and a few minutes later......COOKIES!!!! And yummy ones to boot!!!! These will be perfect for Christmas neighbor treats too!!!

Yes, I know. I really should be sewing....but who can resist when their wonderful husband wants cookies???? Not me!!!! The gowns only lack hems and the pj's only lack buttons....I am almost there!!!!

Five Candles.....

It's official...we have a five-year-old in the house. Elisabeth celebrated her birthday the other day. She long ago decided she wanted a "princess" theme cake.

And not just any princess cake.....a "stacked-up princess cake." Which to this sweet little girl means a two-layer cake. I am so glad my kids are pretty easy to please. Aside from managing to dye my right thumb pink.....the rest went off without a hitch. I enjoy basic cake decorating. A few years back I made a 50th wedding anniversary cake for my parents. I made it two layers with the columns between the layers. And the top layer was smaller than the bottom...kind of like a traditional wedding cake. But I'd much rather do these fun birthday cakes. Much quicker and less brain-strain involved.

Ethan was on the ready to help Elisabeth blow out her candles. This year she was lined up just right and one perfectly executed blow was all it took. We ate lots of yummy cake and then proceeded to open the gifts. She throughly enjoyed that too.

Since she wanted the princess cake....I knew when I saw this cardboard castle advertised at a local craft store....that we had to have it. Wayne and I assembled it and then the children all started coloring it with markers. They stayed on task working for hours afterwards. Amazing.

Ethan was as focused as the rest. Plus he's working on those ever-so-important fine motor skills.

And they can all fit inside the castle for playing purposes as well. Who knew you could have this much fun for $14? Doesn't it look like Emily is saying, "You all come back now, you hear????" Probably too much Beverly Hillbillies watching in my youth!!!

It's The Simple Things......

Earlier today, after getting Ethan down for his much needed afternoon nap, I came around the corner and found the girls busy drawing and coloring. They both can and do spend hours drawing, writing, coloring, making books, etc. Just in case someone may think the girls don't use the items I make for them: think again. They use these fun little portfolios almost daily. We go through a lot of paper in this house. And I love that they enjoy playing together. These are the memories they will have the rest of their lives.

I personally believe children should have lots of down-time and time to explore their interests. Therefore we don't spend a lot of time out and about or in the car. Think of all the wonderful moments we would miss out on. This is a simple pleasure for all of us. Also, I endeavor each day to make just about all of our food from fresh and whole foods. We use virtually no processed foods. Why should I when it is so easy to make healthy foods. For example.........

....last night Wayne came home from the store with some fresh strawberries. He requested a strawberry and banana milkshake. Tonight after dinner and clean-up he asked that I make the shake for him/us. It was fantastic!!! We make a lot of smoothies but this one is actually more of a milk shake. But the neat thing is that it requires no ice cream. Take a look at the recipe:

2 cups cold water

1 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder (I buy it in bulk from a food co-op.)

1/2 cup sugar (I use Sucanat)

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 banana

5 strawberries

Lots of ice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil and a 5 second squirt of non-stick spray for emulsification process (This recipe cannot be made successfully without this addition. I wish it could because I rarely use veg. oil...but alas, it can't.)

Put all the above in a blender and process for two minutes. We have a Vita-Mix, which we love, and I turn it on for about one minute. YUM!!!!! (This recipe can also be altered for a vanilla shake or a chocolate shake.....similar to a Frosty. For a vanilla shake - delete banana and strawberries. For a chocolate shake - increase sugar to 2/3 cup, decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon, and add 1/4 cup of cocoa powder.)

The older I get the more I realize that simple is usually better! Fortunately, Wayne agrees....or maybe he's really requesting more milk shake.

Easter Blessings....From Our Family to Yours

We have had a wonderful and relaxing day today. I hope everyone else has had the same. The kids were all so adorable in their Easter finery. I am not sure the pictures captured how sweet they looked....so I included more pictures than usual.




The dresses fit the girls fantastically. With bishop dresses sometimes the neckline gets a little too "funnel-like" and doesn't fit correctly. I always use a bishop neckline guide and so far, every time it has created a perfect fit. With Ethan I went ahead and made the size two outfit. It definitely has a little growing room, but it fits well.

You can't see the detail of the dresses too well in these pics....but you may be able to click on them to enlarge the photo. I really like the color of the fabric.

I honestly wasn't sure about putting Ethan in a periwinkle blue houndstooth fabric, but in the end it was perfect. The owner of the heirloom store is the one that suggested it. I even took the outfits in to show her the other day because I was thrilled with how they turned out. And just for the record, I finished all the outfits on Friday with plenty of time to spare. And what I never mentioned was that I was sick for three out of the last four weeks....belly bug and ear infection.

Trying to get Ethan to stand or sit still for pictures is almost impossible. First we try the couch.....

....and then the floor. He's a busy boy with lots of things to look at, take apart, throw around, etc!

And I'll wrap up the long entry with our favorite holiday dish. Wayne's grandmother used to make this chicken entree often for her family. It's called Chicken Bodine and we mainly reserve it for holidays or birthdays. It is delicious. And to make it even more special Emily helped prepare it. While we were eating it, she said it was extra yummy because she put extra love in the dish while she was helping. Eventually it will all come full circle......hopefully my girls will prepare this dish for their families one day!

Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter weekend!!!!

Did You Know You Can Bake Donuts At Home?????

Ok, I have finished smocking the dresses and I have cut out Ethan's outfit, however, I have not done any sewing yet....that's the bad news. The good news though....is that we have homemade baked donuts!!! How can you be too sad when you have yummy donuts to eat????? This is "sewing avoidance" at its finest!!!!

I used the recipe that came with the donut pan and they turned out pretty tasty. I will hunt around and see if I can find more recipes though. I do have a chocolate recipe that I want to try. And I think next time I will make a chocolate glaze for the top. For the mini donuts I made a vanilla glaze and sprinkled little jimmies on top. All the kids, including Ethan, gobbled them up!!!

Birthday Wishes

Today our sweet Elisabeth celebrated a birthday and is now four years old. The girls and I always talk about what kind of cake they want for their next birthday.....it is the topic of much discussion thoughout the year. The other day Elisabeth told me she wanted a "stacked-up cake." Initially I had no idea what she was talking about. After further discussion I realized she wanted a two-layer cake (hence the "stacked-up nature")...white cake with white icing. So while she napped today this is what I made for her. I tried to put four sweet little white candles on the cake.....but Elisabeth picked this candle out while grocery shopping with her dad and she insisted upon placing it on the cake.

She had a birthday filled with a lot of great things: french toast and maple syrup for breakfast (prepared by dad), playing outside in 70 degree weather, going to the park for even more fun, a three hour nap, cake and ice cream, and opening great gifts from family and friends. All in all, I'd say it was a fantastic day!!!! When I asked her what her favorite part of the day was, she quickly responded with..... "eating the ice cream." Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!!

The Daily Grind

I have been working on Christmas cards the past few days. As a result, this is about the only thing crafty I have accomplished......I managed to cut out my next two sewing projects. Another jumper for Emily out of the solid red pinwale pique/gingham and a dress for Elisabeth out of the red/ivory print. Hopefully I can get busy sewing them in the next day or so.



In the meantime, we have been invited to dinner with some sweet friends of ours on Friday night. All they want us to bring is homemade wheat bread and cheesecake. I think I got the easy end of the deal. I had to grind some wheat tonight so I can mix up the bread tomorrow. Here are the wheat berries about to be ground up.

And here is the resulting flour. I grind it and store it in the freezer for a couple months at a time....or until I run out and need to grind more.

And here's the yummy chocolate chip cheesecake. This is the easiest cheesecake recipe ever. This is the same recipe we make and deliver to our neighbors (6 families) each year. I like baking it in the foil pie pan because the recipients do not have to return it. Makes everyone's life easier.