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I made jewelry boards for my friends as part of the Happy Homemade Christmas we had two years ago. I, however neglected to take a photo of any before I gave them out. The response was fairly positive and I think they’re adorable.
This board is my friend Jennifer’s. When she last moved it got really hot in the box and was ruined b/c the hot glue melted. I told her that I would be happy to redo it. And I was - even if it took more than 6 months to actually finish (turns out I can be pretty bad with procrastination at times). The top ribbon is for stuff like earrings. Bracelets and necklaces hang from the decorative marbles. It’s a fairly simple project and useful too I think. I hope she enjoys her new board that she will be putting in the new house she is moving into this week!
My friend Bridgette recently mentioned that she had discovered Snickerdoodles and loved them. I can’t remember a time that I had snickerdoodles, although I know I must have. The do sound delicious though, don’t they? Something about the name Snickerdoodle makes me smile and want to eat all at the same time! Anyways, I suggested that surely we could figure out how to make them on our own so I invited her over to find out.
We used Mrs. Sigg’s Snickerdoodles recipe from AllRecipes.com. That’s really my go-to place for recipes anymore. Besides my momma, of course.
The recipe was really easy for us. And they came out wonderfully. Firm, but a little soft on the sides as well. We ended up with over 50 in our batch and I ate on my half throughout the week and they stayed just as yummy.
I understand now that snickerdoodles are usually bigger than ours were, but I like how small they are. Makes you feel a little less guilty than when you eat a huge one, if you know what I mean. I definitely plan on making Snickerdoodles again. They were as fun to make as they were to eat!
I’ve been toying with the the thought/practice of candy and cake making for a couple of months now. I consider cooking to be a craft in and of itself and, as far as crafting goes, it seems to be a practical one. Projects are done in (typically) a relatively short amount of time. Supplies (can be) relatively cheap and people are almost always are willing to take the finished product off your hands.
This, a cookie cake for a work friend’s graduation, was a first attempt at many different things: baking a cookie cake (from scratch), making buttercream icing (from scratch) and cake decorating. As you see, it was a major learning experience. Obviously the cookie didn’t spread out as I anticipated, which made the cake… more unattractive than I had hoped. I still need to get a lot of practice with the decorating tips, but I thought it was pretty decent for having never tried it before. And the icing tasted pretty good, I thought. I got compliments on the cookie, although next time I think I’d try a different recipe b/c I wasn’t a huge fan. All in all, I was happy with my first experience. And hey, the great thing about cooking is even if it comes out ugly, it’s gone in a few days one way or another!
Willow (via aforementionedthoughts)
We are dogsitting this cutie this weekend. Willow is Sam’s sister’s dog and she’s just a puppy. It’s been a long time since I’ve been around a puppy and it’s hard not to get sucked in by all the cuteness of puppy play.
It’s also been fun to see Willow and Levi interact. Levi has been much better at sharing than I thought he would be. He’s growing up to be a fine young dog!
I gave my try tonight at making caramel corn from this recipe. It wasn’t hard to make, but it did take a little while.
Totally worth it though, it’s hard to stop eating the carmel corn when it comes out of the stove. Hubby loved it too. So yummy!
Really enjoying this show about knit dishcloths. Dishcloths are probably my favorite thing to knit and I like how they did a test of different kinds of cotton yarn.
Speaking of cotton yarn… look at this stash of Peaches ‘n Creme yarn I got on vacation!
Yeah… that was totally using self control too… I could’ve bought one in every shade they had!
I’m not a natural cook. While I wish I were, I guess we all have to learn somewhere. I’m slowly learning to make some of my favorites of my mom’s recipes. This past week I gave my favorite pie - Derby Pie - a shot!
It turned out great! This is an easy pie to make, even by my standards. You basically mix everything and pour it into the pie shell. In the oven, it (almost magically) turns into this beauty:
It’s definitely not a healthy pie or anything like that, but it is so good! Interested in the recipe?
My Momma’s Derby Pie
1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 stick melted butter (cooled)
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 cup walnut or pecan pieces
1 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix flour, sugar, eggs.
Add butter & mix Add chips & vanilla & mix
Pour in unbaked pie shell.
Bake for 30-40 minutes @ 350 degrees.
It is done when it doesn’t jiggle when you shake the pie pan.
