Potatoes vs. Sewing

So, I've been having trouble with my cheap little Singer sewing machine and haven't sewn a stitch for a good while. I've been crocheting a bit instead. And cooking. What else is there to do in this brutal winter weather?? Remember this is a family oriented blog! Besides, pre-heating the oven warms up the house!
So, I found these Hasselbeck Potatoes over on Nigella Lawson's blog (you can get there by clicking the picture) aren't they so cute and yummy looking? I could live on potatoes (and bread and chocolate). I want to try them as soon as I get Scott to convert all the metric stuff to whatever it is you convert metric into so I can understand what I'm supposed to be pre-heating the oven to. And as soon as I figure out what a hob is. Really, I'm sure I can wing it.
I also found another great cooking blog: The Sisters' Cafe It has great sounding recipes and really good photos. It's nice to know what you're making is supposed to look like.
That's about all I have other than Dewey is now fine. He has stopped limping after his squirrelin' mishap, and I wouldn't have given him this much credit where intelligence was concerned, but it appears that he was really working the sympathy angle over at Scott's parents' house. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's dumb. I just never thought he was quite wily enough to limp more if he thought he might get a little more attention. Unfortunately for him, he forgot to limp on the right leg all the time........

Brrrrr!

How many times have you heard that in the last two days? Seems like it's cold everywhere too, out on the west coast where my sister lives in Issaquah, Washington and down on the Gulf Coast for my brother in Houston. Dang!
I've been housebound for the last three days as we've had a whopper of a storm. I won't share too many details because many of you lived through it too. But in a nutshell Monday night was our first round of snow and the roads iced up, into Wednesday we got a total of 14 inches and then the wind started gusting up to 50 mph. Needless to say we were snow bound by the up to 8 foot snow drifts. The county finally got to our road out here around 2 pm or so, and I can't see what the point would've been yesterday at all. It would've blown back over within the hour.
But don't worry! I tried to keep busy. I made another round of cookies for the cookie event at work and also a new batch of toffee as that last one just didn't cut the mustard. The recipe is super simple 2 cups of butter and 2 cups of sugar in a pot and bring to a boil and then the recipe says to bring it to 285 degrees on a candy thermometer. Either my thermometer is off or the recipe is wrong. The first batch didn't set right, so the second time around I used the thermometer as a guide and then waited until the mixture came to that toffee brown color and then took it off the heat (stirring occasionally throughout). Perfect! I guess I might as well finish up the recipe for you since I started it, and since it is so simple: pour the toffee mixture onto a large sheet pan covered with parchment paper. When it cools slightly and is partially set pour enough chocolate chips on top to cover, give them a few minutes to melt and spread the chips evenly with a spatula on top of the toffee. I had to put it in the freezer after it cooled and I had broken it up because I COULD NOT STOP EATING IT! I also made a pan of brownies with frosting and dived into the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I made earlier. I think I've gained about 5 lbs. this weekend alone. Yikes!
On the pup front Dewey is a little under the weather. He went out to do a little of what we refer to as "squirrelin' " on Tuesday and had a big wipeout in the snow. He gets a little excited about chasing squirrels. He even does this little high pitched yipping while he's chasing them sometimes. We joke that he just wants to talk to them, he needs to know how they run so fast on their short little legs, he needs to learn the trick so he can keep up with the big dogs. Anywho, he's gimping around and if it doesn't clear up by Monday I'm afraid he's going to have to pay a visit to the vet. He really hates that.
So I hope everyone is home and cozied up. I'm going to go put the finishing touches on the beef stew and hot rolls I'm planning on putting in front of Scotty when he comes in from shoveling out my poor little hyundai so I can finally go back to work tomorrow. What a guy!

Chocolate Cobbler....

Omigosh...this sounds sooooo good, and it's a really fun blog too!

Monday, Monday

Thankfully I came to my senses on Friday and didn't venture out into the world of retail. I did stop at Fareway on my way home and pick up the necessaries for cookie and candy making, and also a 12 lb prime rib roast for Christmas dinner. Can't wait for that! I didn't have a very successful cookie baking session unfortunately. My first batch of chocolate cookies were just a little off. Scott and the boy ate almost all of them anyway. :) I set about 2 dozen in front of them while they were watching Daddy Day Care and came through about a half an hour later to see an empty plate. Holy Mackerel! They looked pretty sheepish, but I'm glad they didn't go to waste. The second batch turned out fine and are now packed up and ready to bring in for cookie day at work. I also made a batch of toffee that I'm still not sure how it turned out. I'll report more on that later.
Hope everyone is enjoying the snow we got! More looks to bearing down on us by Tuesday night. Hunker down, and drive safe.

I need to shop!

I rarely feel this way, but I guess it's because I'm having a slow day at work. Why fight the feeling? Think I'll leave at 3:30 and do a little Christmas shopping and maybe pick up a treat for myself! Happy Holidays!
LB

Shanty Clauses

What a wonderful website. Be sure to read the about section for a great story of how the santas came to be. Click to picture to visit.

It's so hard!

I find that the men in my life are so hard to buy for. The other night I was asking Scott for about the umpteenth time for Christmas ideas. He told me he had thought of something earlier that day....but that he'd forgotten it already, and that maybe he would remember it by the 23rd or the 24th. Sigh. Then there's my Dad, and Scott's dad. Another sigh.

I have no trouble picking out gifts for myself. Above are a few to entertain you. Just click the picture to be taken to Etsy to view the pages. And let me know if you have any ideas for the men in your lives. I sure could use some help. :)

Little guy ties

These are so cute I can hardly stand it! I think my friend Cathy definitely needs these for her boys! If I win, I promise to sew them some Cathy! Click the picture to go to Cluck Cluck Sew and leave a comment to win this pattern!

Sunday already??

Weekends always go so fast. Today we have to go over to my old house in Morse and finish up the installation of the water softener that was put in by Culligan last week. Poor Scott has to go in the crawlspace under the bathroom and hook up a spot for the softener to drain. I'm hoping to salvage part of our lost Sunday by stopping at the Sycamore mall and looking for a couple of new pairs of jeans for Scott and maybe some fat quarters of new fabrics from Ben Franklin's for me! : ) At the very least we'll get to spend some uninterupted time together. Maybe I can even weasel some Christmas present ideas out of Scott. He's soooo hard to buy for!
Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.
LB

Dewey

Did I ever tell you how much I love my weiner dog? No? Well I sure do. He's been with my through thick and thin and is a great companion. He's getting a teensy bit fat right now, okay, he's downright huge for a mini dachshund, but I still love him even though he refuses to lose weight no matter what kind of diet I put him on.
I love, love, love this story over on this blog too: http://dachshundlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/rescue-dachshund-nurses-rescue-kitties.html
seriously full of cuteness.

Sweetwater giveaway

Click the pic, and good luck!

Simplify giveaway

Yummy! Click to go to simplify!

I went and did it!

I shouldn't have, but I did. I bought 3 fat quarter collections from Shabby Fabrics of the new Celebration line by Brenda Riddle. The fabrics are so sweet, just couldn't resist. I guess I'll have to make some pot holders or something like that for folks for Christmas because that is really what I should be budgeting for! Oh well!

Now to break the news to Scott!

A Worthy Cause!

A beautiful quilt and a worthy cause! Click the picture to go to Simplify

Not a giveaway, but oh so cute!

So sweet! Click the picture to visit Leanne's House blog. I added her to my list to!

Can you tell I love giveaways??

Here's another one! Click the picture to be taken to Heather Bullards blog to enter. Good Luck!

A Quilt Along

I joined a quilt along. Ha ha! We'll see. I will watch though because this person does some amazing work, and at the very least I'm sure I'll learn something if I don't end up making a beautiful quilt. And believe me, I could stand a lesson or two! :) Clicking the picture of the quilt will take you to the quilt along page.....

A Lazy Sunday

Ahhh. The house is clean, dishes and laundry done, and Scott is off with his little guy spending some quality time. I'm making scalloped potatoes and ham (more ham left over from the wedding!) cutting a few strips for my quilt and generally just relaxing. I love a nice quiet Sunday. Monday starts a new week and off we'll go again, but for now I'm not going to think about that. Hope you're having a nice Sunday too!

Make life a little sweeter

by entering the fabric give away at mike life sweet!
http://sweetwater.typepad.com/makelifesweet/2009/10/jackpot-make-life-scraps-giveaway.html

Progress

I'm finally out of bed for extended periods of time and have made some quilting progress! I'm so happy not to be running a fever anymore! I cut and pieced and sewed, and I cut and pieced and sewed some more. All while sweet Scott was over wiring and insulating at Newburg. I'm just about tuckered out for the day so it's off to bed with me.

Good night all!

Pumpkin Time

I love this. Blackbird designs had it in their display for Quilt Market in Houston. I found it over in their blog.

Ugh. Sick...

I'm home sick today with all the ominous symptoms of the flu except for the sore throat. Yucky. The weird thing is I don't feel that horrible, a little on the crappy side, but I'm running a fever and cannot go back to work at the hospital until I'm fever free (or afebrile, as they refer to it) for 24 hours. So I'm bored. Hence a little internet surfing! :)
http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/10/14/diy-project-pinwheels/
I wish I would of found these before we got married, I definitely would have used them. They're just full of cuteness!

Another fabric giveaway!

http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/
check it out!!

Yummy Ham Carbonara!

Here's a recipe for you:
Ham Carbonara

8 oz linguini
1/2 Onion Thinly Sliced
2 T Olive Oil
1 C cubed ham
1/2 C chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C butter
2 egg yolks beaten
1/2 C parmesan
2 T half and half
Cook pasta according to directions. Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until it begins to brown slightly, add ham, butter and garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Add chicken broth and let simmer until it thickens slightly. Add half and half and toss in cooked pasta. Add egg yolks and toss until they coat the pasta. Toss in parmesan.
Super easy and sooooo tasty! I put that one in your recipe organizer Debbie!

a busy, busy weekend!

The weekend is coming to a close. Sigh. Why are they always so short??! I did get quite a bit done though, I cooked and I cooked and I cooked. Let's see, Cheesy Potato Soup with Bacon, Chicken and Noodles, Chicken Enchiladas,Twice Baked Potatoes and I pattied Ranch Burgers and froze them, and also froze some chicken for Chicken Nachos later this week. Our freezer is now stocked for awhile and I won't have to cook again until next weekend.

I also did a bit of sewing. I'm ready to nest again after the first freeze. I worked on a small quilt from the Snippets I posted earlier and I got this far:

And...Scott cleaned our entire house, and I mean cleaned in ways that I have never thought of cleaning. I sure did marry the right guy!!!

Wedding Gift and a request for your Fave Recipe

My sweet friend Debbie E. gave me these two Lang recipe organizers for a wedding present along with the sweetest note in a card about how after 33 years of marriage to her husband Rick she has realized that everything centers around food. She is SO right! I've added a few of my favorite recipes to the smaller recipe file already, but would like to gather more to add to my cooking repertoire. (thanks to Scott who took French in High School for helping me with the spelling there).

Do you have a recipe that your family and friends request over and over again? If so, please send it to me! Thanks a million.....

Fall Market 09: We've arrived! and Sample Spree Giveaway... - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber

Fall Market 09: We've arrived! and Sample Spree Giveaway... - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber
Oooh, a fun giveaway....

Baby Isaac!

I forgot to mention how much I love my nieces and nephews! They weren't all there but I made sure to squeeze the ones who were extra to make up for it.

we're hitched!

We pulled it off, had a sweet little ceremony and reception, and now we're married. I couldn't be happier! Here's some pics to tide you over until I get a chance to post more this weekend:

Time zero

I know, I know, I haven't posted in over a week. But time zero (Oct. 3rd) is rapidly approaching and I'm just a tad busy! I promise to have lots and lots of photos for you all after I get done. Especially since my future in-laws now have DSL!

Yippee!

We're awake!

We're up early and Scott is NOT happy about it. :) I didn't force him though, and I know he's really just faking it. The guy doesn't have a mean bone in his body.

I have so many projects swirling around in my head: I need to plant the Sweet Autumn Clematis starts we got from his Aunt Peggy, I need to bake and freeze cookies for the wedding, I really shouldn't, but I want desperately to play with the fabric I got in the mail the other day, and there's always the laundry, the dishes, and all the other flotsam and jetsam of daily life. I'll let you know what we decide!

Blog love

I love blogs. There are so many to choose from and such great folks to challenge and inspire me ( and distract me from work!) Maybe you've noticed that I've divided my blog rolls into different sections. I had to, I was getting confused about what was what. And also now that fall is just around the corner it's time for me to think about nesting again. I'll soon start sewing and knitting. I should probably go over and measure all the windows in the Newburg house and start with curtains. I'll let you know if I get to it! Invariably I'll start a million different projects and finish some of them, let some of them linger on for a few years, and some I'll never ever get to again. I'm getting better though! I swear I'm finishing more and more every year. Have faith in me.

And go check out The Pioneer Woman's blog. She'll cheer you right up.

Moving on

Pretty soon I'll have to start talking about something else besides the impending wedding. Since it will be fall maybe I could start talking about sewing. Gardening season will be over, so I guess I'll have to sew.

I'm going to start with these:

and make a quilt for Scott and I. And in the mean time I'm going to be hanging out at the Moda Bakeshop. It's a cute little site! http://www.modabakeshop.com/
Maybe I'll even make a rag rug! Who knew it was so easy! http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/02/braided-rag-rug.html

Bornay

I always get so excited when Bornay makes a new post on their blog. Today's is no exception, this very simple bouquet is gorgeous! It's titled Lisianthus and Austin. I don't know what Austin is, maybe someone can fill me in......

One a different subject, wedding planning is rolling right along, we're going to spend the weekend gathering up our containers for flowers, fine tuning the menu, and I'm hoping that we can get the message out to folks to come spend time decorating with us on Friday if they would like. That's going to be my favorite part! Thursday is also open for comraderie in the kitchen if anyone prefers baking and cooking over decorating!

Crikey

I haven't forgotten my blog, I swear I haven't. Some day soon I will write about how making 40 tiny pinwheels, a few paper banners, and loads of glitter can suck the life force right out of you.

Got 'em done!

I got the invites done! They're not in the mail, but they are done. I'll buy stamps later today, so look for yours soon!

I will get it done!

I was talking the other day to my friend Cathy and told her I felt more than a little busy. She said "You know why?" I had to laugh and answer honestly: because I am trying to organize a wedding, remodel a house, plan a move, work at a job where I drive 2.5 hours a day to get there? Seriously, something's wrong with me! No, no, not really. I actually think I function better this way. I need deadlines and pressure. So my deadline for this weekend is to get the invitations designed, printed out and in the mail. I designed some already, but of course, I've changed my mind and feel that I need to design them all over again! So tonight I'll be perusing the net and picking out invites that I like. I've seen a few already, but they're not exactly it. Here's one:

It's cute and informal, which is what I'm looking for. I found it over on Snippet and Ink. Hopefully I find something I like (and can pull off). And hopefully I get them in the mail by Monday morning!

Now, just so you know, I've just met another deadline. I finsihed this post during my fifteen minute break time. Have a good weekend!

yummy

I want this! It's from Bornay.

I think I've got it!

I think I may have finally decide on a cohesive theme for the reception decorations. Above are some pics to help illustrate. The inside of the Grange will be done in a lighter palette (light pink, peach, lavendar, and light green) a little more muted, and the outside will be bright colors in pinks, purples, oranges, and greens. I'm busy collecting all kinds of stuff to decorate with! I've gathered up my cream haeger pottery to use inside and a smaller collection of the brighter things to use outside. We're also working up a collection of past wedding photos to use on the dessert table. We may be renting a tent to use outside, if we do, I'll also be making tissue paper poms to hang inside it, and lots of ribbons stranding down. I need to get busy b/c it's just around the corner!!!

p.s. Scott went to Menards today to buy insulation and drywall! We are making progress on the house too!

p.s.s. The above photos are from Style Me Pretty whose link I've posted on the places to visit section, the Haeger vase is from Ebay.

I heart Etsy!

I love Etsy, the website for everything handmade. Here are a couple of my favorites:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7035522
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5139538
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5572140
Enjoy!

My newest wedding acquisition

Antique celluloid cake toppers!

Lisa Jo's birthday

Today is Lisa Klipfel's birthday (my future sister-in-law). So to get in good with her I want to offer public congrats on another year of managing a happy family and a thriving business:

Happy birthday Lisa!!! And many many more.....

my dress

from J. Crew, I think it's perfect!

Are you coming?

To our barn party (well schoolhouse / grange party, really!) on October 3rd? We really hope you can make it! You can let us know if you're coming by leaving a comment below, or you can just say hi!! We'd love to hear from you.

We hope to have something like this photo from Country Living Magazine...

Many people have already asked if Scott and I are registered anywhere, and nope, we're not. We thought about it, but we really don't need anything, in fact in combining our two households we have duplicates of so many things that I think we will actually have to have a garage sale or something. Because we have TOO MUCH STUFF! Lol! How does that happen anyway? It seems like one day you turn around and there is all your stuff: packed into cupboards and closets, jamming up the attic....overflowing out of your future in-laws garage. Thank goodness they are such nice generous people!

summer's almost over??

Where did it go?? We spent Saturday at the Iowa State Fair and had a great time seeing the butter cow, riding the rides and checking out the chickens and bunnies. The weather cooperated for the most part, it wasn't really hot and it only rained a little bit! The exhibit halls got a bit crowded when it did.

I think we're going to have to make a big push to get stuff done on our house, or we are just plain never going to get in there. I promise we'll have some progress to post soon! Promise.....

Indulge me one more time....

As I post some more images I got from the Ritzy Bee: http://ritzybee.typepad.com/my_weblog/page/45/