Frequented Blogs

Well this week has been a bust.  Colby has been up a few times each night and is not napping well at all-which leaves me a bit unmotivated to do any projects.  We're finally getting to see the ear specialist  Wednesday after a three week wait.  In the mean time here's some of my favorite blogs, it seems to me that everyone and their dog has a blog these days and there are a lot of neat ones for ideas. 

1. Sewinginnomansland  is great for inspirational home sewn skirts, dresses, and little girls' clothes.  The premise of the blog is that she is the wife of a foreign service officer and moves every two years  to isolated locations so she started with her fabric stash to see how far it could go.  I believe she is in America now, but she does some awesome photography. 

Picture from sewinginnomansland.com.  Link is here. 

2.  Cluck Cluck Sew is a great blog for quilting.  I don't quilt yet, but the more I look at the beautiful quilts she makes the more I want to try. 

Picture is from Cluck Cluck Sew.  Link is here. 

3. Grosgrain is a great crafty/stylish blog that has doable projects with minimal investments.  She does a nice job with the photography as well.

Picture from grosgrainfabulous.com.  Link here. 

4.  Craftgawker is a blog that I ran across, probably off of Pinterest;  it has tons of pictures of projects and then if you click on the picture if takes you to a tutorial for the project.  This blog is even more dangerous than Pinterest! 

Picture from Better Homes and Gardens (bhg.com), but found on craftgawker.com.

5.  Okay, speaking of Better Homes and Gardens (bhg.com), that is an awsome site-not necessarily a blog but they have great ideas for decorating, crafting, and cooking. A few other resources I love on the web are marthstewart.com, lowes.com, and mycolortopia.com which is sponsored by Glidden Paints. 

Happy Birthday Colby!

Well, our little man was born a year ago today a week late and after three days of intense labor We're amazed at how quickly the year has flown by.  I made him a little cake in a pyrex dish and made some frosting using yogurt and powdered sugar because I ran out of butter or any other tasty subsitiute.  I even got my frosting gear out from a Wilton cake decorating class I took several years ago, unfortunately the frosting was too runny so it just poured down the sides, Colby didn't mind though.  He dug right into the cake, then squished it all around his high chair.  Happy Birthday Little Man!

DIY Rugs

Well, I've been accumulating a ton of old clothes that aren't even up to Goodwill's standards so my stash has been building downstairs of t-shirts, dress shirts, and jeans.  One prime spot for a rug would be for in Colby's room since the dog can't go in there the room stays much cleaner.  My favorite rug is this one from xoelle.com.  She cut all of her t-shirts into strips and then dyed them a dark gray.  I think I'd like to dye the shirts all different shades of blue, green, and gray so it gives the rug a watery appearance. Here's a few of the best ones I've seen.

Picture found here at xoelle.com

Lovely braids.  Found here at craftpassion.com

 

 

Loving the different colors, found here at creativejewishmom.com

I love these braided rugs-the colors are great.  Found here at moddish.blog.com

I'm not so into the pink but this website has good directions. 

Chili Glazed Tofu

Oh me oh my, I had my first adventure with tofu yesterday.  I bought it a few weeks ago and finally I had the nerve to try out the recipe from America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.  It turned out quite well but I was a bit squeamish at first at the odd texture:  it is crunchy on the outside like fried chicken but soft and creamy on the inside.  The sauce turned out alright, but it would probably just be as easy to use some sweet and sour sauce over them instead. 

For the tofu:
28 ounces of soft tofu
3/4 cup of corn starch
1/4 cup of cornmeal
salt and pepper
3 Tablespoons of canola oil

1.  Cut the tofu into 'fingers' and spread out on paper towels over a cookie sheet to get some of the excess juice off.  Leave on the towels for 20 minutes.

2.  Place paper towels on a plate and then place in oven at 200 degrees.  This is so you can place them on the plate after they are done frying. 

3.  Mix cornmeal, salt and pepper, and cornstarch together in a shallow dish.  Coat the tofu with the mixture pressing and rolling it on.

4.  In nonstick skillet heat oil up and place about half of your tofu fingers into the hot oil.  Cook until golden brown on each side about 10 minutes.  Once done place on plate in oven. Add oil to pan and finishing cooking the rest of the tofu.

5.  For the glaze mix together in a small bowl 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of rice vinegar (I just used apple cider vinegar because I didn't have any rice), 1/3 cup of sugar, 4 garlic cloves minced, 2 teaspoons of asian garlic sauce, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.  Add mixture to a hot skillet and simmer until reduced to almost half.  Add 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro and pour mixture over tofu. 

6.  Enjoy. This dish would be good with some fresh steamed vegetables and rice. 

Grandma Margaret's Orange Drop Cookie Recipe

This was another first try at cookies from my Grandma.  I have a terrible time actually following recipes precisely and I usually switch things up so a recipe never turns out the same twice.  For the frosting I used butter instead of Crisco and then added a teaspoon of orange extract for more orange flavor.  When I make them next time I'm going to see what happens when I use butter instead of crisco in the cookies and I will use the extract in the cookies as well so they have a stronger orange flavor.  My husband likened them to soft animal crackers-a compliment, I think.  Enjoy.

Ingredients for the cookies
1/2 cup of Crisco
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon of orange zest
1/2 cup of orange juice
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375.  Mix Crisco, sugar, salt, eggs, orange zest, orange juice.  Stir in flour and baking powder.  Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheets.  Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. 

Frosting:
1 Tablespoon of Crisco
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Directions:  Mix all together until smooth and frost cookies while still slightly warm if desired. 

***lemonade and lemon zest can be exchanged for the orange juice if desired***

Accessories for the Nursery

Well, this should be the last official post about baby room decor, until I actually get my tush in gear and make something.  I'm thinking making a baby lounger would be awesome, although it will probably just end up being a golden retriever bed.  Once I pick a color scheme and just go for it I think the room will come together. 

Good Old Martha, can you ever let us down?  Oh that's right you've been to prison.  Link here.

Cute little lounger with directions here.

What a cute little rug.  Link here. 

So cute, but Colby will pull these off once he can reach.  Link here.

To measure...here

Yes, yes more baby rooms

Okay, I apologize for all of the baby rooms, I'm sure those of you that are reading this, yes I know readership is limited (hello Maggie, Chelsea, and Tyler) I will soon be getting back to actually doing things, but for now here are more inspirations for Colby's room.  By the time I get his room done he'll be a teenager and probably won't let me in to paint a cute little bunny mural. 

This is probably something more doable for Colby's room.  Link here.

Maybe just some stripes?  Link here.

This is a super stylish room, a girl can dream, right?  Link here.

Loving the tent! Here's the link.

Wall Murals

Well, I'm still on this decorating kick for Colby's room and pretty soon I'm just going to have to start into it and let it work itself out, but for now I'm trying to accumulate all of my options before I decide.  So far he's got all different wood tone furniture and light green walls-other than that it is a blank slate.  So here's some murals I'm debating about:

This is one of my favorites-a bit retro it came from here.

Perfect for Minnesota, eh?  Came from here.

I love this book, but monsters may be a bit too scary for Colby...it came from here

Or possibly I should go for something more simple.  From here

Nursery Wall Art Ideas

Yesterday I went into a cleaning frenzy-it was one of those fits where everything in my eyes was cluttered, mismatched, and out of place.  Usually when I get in one of these moods my husband will return from work to find the living room furniture moved into wacky configurations and the wall clock in a new spot, which really bugs him.  I managed not to move any living room furniture; but I did move a bookshelf up to Colby's room since we had previously been storing books in diaper boxes under the crib.  So now I have a refound desire to make Colby's room a more cheerful place so I've been looking for some ideas for wall decor so here's some of my favorites so far. 

The first three pictures are great and come from weandthebean.com, looks like it's time to get my paint brushes out:

Found here

Found here

Free Paper Toys

Free paper toys-basically little play figurines made of paper-great to entertain kids while waiting for the doctor, dinner, or whatever comes up.  I just ran across these yesterday from the freebies section of pocketyourdollars.com which has coupons and deals and it is found at madebyjoel.com.  From briefly looking at his sight he's been featured on Martha Stewart and also has a book out.  I'm sure when Colby is older we'll print some off.  The website is here .

madebyjoel.com

madebyjoel.com

madebyjoel.com

Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce Recipe

Well that certainly is a doozie of a name-for a bean burger-but I found them to be quite delicious.  My husband got me America's Test Kitchen Healthy Cookbook a few years ago for Christmas and I've found that they have a lot of good recipes, but they all seem very intensive.  I've been trying to eat more vegetarian foods mainly because they're tasty, but also are healthier and cheaper.  I found the recipe online here, but I'll recopy it for you all. 

INGREDIENTS
2 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and shredded
Salt
1 1/4 c Greek yogurt
6 scallions, sliced thin
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
2 large eggs
4 T olive oil
1 t garam masala
2 (15 oz) cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Pulse bread in food processor to coarse crumbs.  Spread crumbs on rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown and dry, 10-12 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
3. Toss cucumber and 1/2 t salt in colander and drain for 15 minutes.
4. Combine cucumber, 3/4 c yogurt, 2 T scallions, and 1 T cilantro in bowl and set aside.
5. Whisk eggs, 2 T oil, garam masala, and 1/4 t salt in bowl.
6. Place chickpeas in a large bowl and mash them with a potato masher until mostly smooth.  Stir in breadcrumbs, egg mixture, and remaining yogurt, scallions, and cilantro.  Form into six 1-inch-thick patties.
7. Heat 1 T oil in non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering.  Add three patties and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Transfer to plate and tent loosely with foil.  Repeat with remaining oil and patties.
8. Serve with cucumber-yogurt sauce.

DIY Card Wreath

Well, I realize it's a bit late, but I made another card wreath to hold all of our lovely Christmas cards from our friends.  This time I decided to make it a bit heftier with some burlap and ribbon.  I used two embroiderly hoops of different sizes and simply tied on strips of burlap and ribbon.  The clothespins just wiggle in between the pieces so they aren't glued on or fastened in anyway which makes it more versatile to fit whatever size of cards you receive.  Now that I have them all done I imagine the clothespins could be placed on the back of the wreath so they would be hidden even more-oh the possibilities.  Happy Crafting!

Grandma Margaret's Oatmeal Cookies

Well, here's another recipe from my Grandma's collection-it was originally called "Mrs. Bickett's Cookies" but no one knew who Mrs. Bickett was so they are now officially renamed.  This was the first time I've made the cookies and they are delicious.  They're not your average oatmeal cookie; they are a thin  chewy lacy cookie.  I'd definitely make them again and would try to add a bit less sugar because with using sweetened shredded coconut they become pretty sweet.  The recipe also comes with a frosting, but I decided it would be best not to make that since I will be the primary cookie monster.  Good Luck.

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter or margarine
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of salt
2 cups of quick oats
1 cup of shredded coconut
1 tsp of cinnamon

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix in.  Next add all of the rest of the ingredients and combine.  Drop by the spoonful on cookie sheets-they will spread out so don't place too closely.  Bake for 8-12 minutes until golden brown.  Remove and let cool a few minutes and then place on cooling racks. 

Frosting:  cream 1/4 cup of butter or margarine, 1 Tablespoon of milk, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract, and 1-2 cups of powdered sugar.  Frost cookies when cooled.  Enjoy.

Making Wallet Sized Pics from 4x6 Photos

 With our Christmas cards I wanted to put in small pictures of Colby but I didn't want to pay a ton for it.  Through Shutterfly wallets are almost 90 cents each where as 4x6's are only 15 cents each.  After some quick math, I decided that I needed to somehow make wallets out of the 4x6's.   After many trials I managed to figure out how to do this.  Before working in Paint I cropped the pictures to a 4x6 ratios.  I pretty much just opened one of the pictures I wanted to use in paint then zoomed out so the picture was small and then expanded the white area around the picture.  I then pasted another picture in and moved it butted up against the other one on the right side.  And whalla, for 7.5 cents I have some wallet sized pictures.

Holiday Pictures

I unfortunately haven't gotten professional photos done yet, so Colby and I just did another photo shoot to suffice for the Christmas cards we just sent out...a bit late.  So here's some we took using a white comforter as a back drop.  Not too shabby for not having a fancy camera...I think...

Homemade Egg Rolls

Well these turned out absolutely delicious. I remember my mom making these one time and they were delicious.  I found the egg roll wrapper on a voyage out to the store without Colby and they were directly above the carrots, I had just never noticed them before.  A package of 15 costs less than three dollars and it is well worth trying.  As I posted earlier I tried the mozzarella sticks using them and they weren't great, but now that I think about it the mozz sticks would've been way better fried instead of baked, maybe that was the problem.  With a few simple ingredients you can really impress your family and friends. I apologize for the photos, it seems that egg rolls aren't very photogenic.

                             Ingredients for filling:                                      Other Ingredients:
                             Bag of Coleslaw                                                 Vegetable or Canola Oil
                             Shredded Carrot                                                 Egg Roll Wrappers
                             1 teaspoon of Sugar                                            Sweet and Sour Sauce for dipping
                             1 Egg White
                             2 teaspoons of Soy Sauce
                            1/2 cup of Cooked Chopped Chicken
                            1/2 Onion Chopped

Grandma Margaret's Cherry Wink Recipe

Yum, so my intentions this year were to make a bunch of cookie recipes from my Grandma's collection-unfortunately this did not come into fruition.  I finally made these cookies that I remember as a child-not very fondly though.  Now I find these cookies to be a welcome change from the tedium of chocolate and sugar cookie varieties.  The cookies have a crisp chewy texture with the corn flakes and dates along with the holiday appeal of a split maraschino cherry on top.  I put these cookies in the chest freezer with have downstairs thinking that they would last longer, but I find myself making special trips just so I can nab a cookie-hmm-might have to go check the laundry again...yum. 
 

2 1/4 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup of Crisco
1 cup of white sugar
2 eggs
2 T. milk
1 tsp of vanilla or almond extract
1 c chopped pecans
1/3 cup of maraschino cherries chopped
2 1/2 cups of corn flakes crushed
2/3 cup of maraschino cherries halved

Directions
Heat oven to 375.  Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Cream together shortening and sugar.  Blend in eggs.  Add milk and flavoring.  Blend in sifted ingredients.  Add pecans, dates and chopped cherries.  Shape into balls and roll each in corn flakes and top each with half of a cherry.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes 5 dozen