Feature Friday

So many different types of things make us happy. Through the hustle of the holidays with various worries and stresses its easy to get caught up, wrapped up and get wiped out. I've tried to make a point every once in a while to just kick back and focus on a few little things that make me happy and its totally made a world of difference. Today's theme is based on that...some of the things that have caught my eye, made me smile and in doing so made my day a little bit brighter.

 

1. Embroidered Felt Pincushion - Sea Pinks
2. Love - Robins and Pearls
3. Joy Birdie Print - SickFeet
4. Cherry Pie in a Jar - Meg's Creations
5. Twinkle Little Star Hairpins - BazaarLatino 

Feature Friday

I have to admit I almost didn't get this on in today...but I did and since latter is still better than not at all I'm pretty proud of myself for getting it done (pats herself on the back). I am proud to say I am a new member of an awesome team on Etsy called Team Worldwide! So I'm using this Feature Friday as a way to showcase some of my team mates. There were so many to choose from I got a little lost in picking my faves (hence the lateness in posting) but I finally settled enough to get moving.

 

1. Apricot Hair Clip - Eternal Eden
2. Sour Cream and Marscarpone Butter Caramels - BrownBagBakery
3. Vintage Squirel Salt and Pepper Shakers - rhan
4. Sailboat Blueprint Neck Tie - Rabbitstop
5. Vintage 70s Pendleton Blazer - Pistol Poppy Vintage
6. Modular Messenger Bag in Mustard - Bayanhippo 

Thanks all and have a great weekend!

Thanksgiving Recipes Part 3 - Dessert

Did someone say dessert? I can't tell you how excited I get planning all the goodies to bake and prepare for Thanksgiving. I do change the line up a here and there but I've definitely got my standbys that I either make for or around the big day. To say I did A LOT of digging in my box for this one is something of an understatement...mostly because the dessert section of my recipe box is 14 times bigger than the rest. But I've come out with a good representation of my favorites! So without further ado...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Makes about 3 doz

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt; set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add pumpkin, egg and vanilla; mix well. Mix in dry ingredients well then fold in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls on greased (or parchment lined) baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until set all the way through and lightly browned on the bottom.
These are very much on the cake like side of cookies and similar to a lot of quick breads they get somewhat sticky the longer you store them. I also find the flavor gets richer over time like quick breads as well. Store these in an airtight container for 2-3 days. If I'm feeling particularly indulgent I'll sometimes drizzle a little extra melted chocolate on top of the cookies after they've cooled.

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread (this is a Libby's recipe) Makes 2-9 x 5 inch loaves
3 cups all purpose flour
5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups sugar
1(15 oz) can pureed pumpkin
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries*

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease two 9x5 loaf pans and set aside. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In a large bowl or mixer combine vegetable oil, sugar, pumpkin and orange juice and beat until well blended. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just blended. Fold in cranberries. Divide batter evenly into both loaf pans and bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove loaves from pans onto rack to cool completely.
*I actually prefer dried fruit in this recipe but fresh or frozen is good too. Like the cookies above this loaf is fantastic warm from the oven but seems to get better as it sits.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cheesecake
For the crust:
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup almond flour
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbs sugar
4 tbs cold butter
For the filling:
2-8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar, divided
1 tbs vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup pureed pumpkin
2 tsp ground allspice
1 tbs ground cinnamon
3 tsp espresso powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor or with a pastry cutter blend crust ingredients until the mixture resembles course sand. Press into the bottom (not sides) of a 9-inch spring form pan. Bake 10 minutes, cool completely.
Using a mixer combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Remove 1 cup of mixture and transfer to another bowl. Add the espresso powder to the 1 cup of filling and mix until the coffee has dissolved and is uniform in color; set aside. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon and allspice into the remaining filling. Pour the pumpkin mixture on top of the crust in the spring form pan. Top pumpkin mixture with the 1 cup coffee filling mixture. Bake for 55 minutes or until filling is set. The cheesecake will puff up in the middle a bit as it bakes and then relax back down as it cools. Run a knife around the edge of the pan for easy unmolding. Allow the cheesecake to cool before removing the rim of the spring-form pan. Chill until ready to serve.

Roasted Pears with Carmel Sauce*
For the pears:
4tbs butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 pears halved and cored
1/4 cup walnuts (or your favorite nuts)
For the caramel sauce:
1 cup sugar
6 tbs butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in a baking pan large enough to hold the pears in a single layer: set in the heating oven until it melts. Sprinkle sugar over melted butter, then place pears, cut side down, on top. Bake until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven, turn pears over and baste with pan sauce. Return to oven; bake until golden and glossy, about 10 minutes longer.
Let cool slightly. 
While the pears are cooling prepare the caramel sauce. Before you begin the sauce, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. Be very careful during the process of making the caramel; boiling sugar is much much hotter than boiling water.  Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted. Transfer pears to dessert plates or bowls. Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for several minutes. Place pears into serving dish/dishes then drizzle with caramel sauce; sprinkle with nuts. Serve immediately.
*The caramel sauce may be made in advance then stored in a glass jar (after its cooled completely) in the refrigerator until needed.

Pinto Bean Pie (I promise you if you didn't know what this was you would think it was pecan pie)

1 tsp cornmeal
1 prepared unbaked pie crust
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup pinto beans
1/2 cup pecan halves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cornmeal in pie crust and set aside. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Beat in sugar, butter, vanilla and pinto beans. Pour filling into pie shell. Place pecans decoratively on top of pie. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until golden brown and filling is set.

This is just the tip of the iceberg but mostly they are the recipes I get the most enthused about making. As always I hope you enjoyed the recipes and maybe added a few to your box. I'll see ya next week for what to do with your turkey leftovers!

Feature Friday

With all the hustle of the upcoming holiday rush I've found myself getting more and more eager for it to finally officially get here. I'm stoked about having Thanksgiving dinner with my family! In fact this year I get to have two Thanksgivings, one on Thursday with my side of the family and one on Friday with my husband's :) And too I'm sqealishly excited about the Christmas shopping season starting as well. But with all the stress and excitement I've found myself having to slow down take a minute and just relax. So this week I've compiled a grouping of wonderful items that remind to relax take a deep breath and unwind.

1. Orange and Sandalwood Whipped Soap in a Jar - Anderson Soap Company
2. Quilted Eye Pillow - The Wildwood Flower
3. Relaxation Set of 3 Candles - Cottage Garden Therapies
4. Hand Stamped Om necklace - EmilinaBallerina
5. Zen - Aromatherapy Oil - SpaGoddess
6. Deep Breath Print - Fika's Art Box

Hope you all enjoy and hope you have a great (and peaceful) weekend!

Tukey Recipes Day Part Deux

Ah turkey, the the great symbol and grand tradition of Thanksgiving. Though most have it as part of their T-Day feast few prepare it exactly the same way. Truth be told I've never actually cooked a whole turkey. First off I can barley handle dealing with a whole chicken, so I'm betting a whole turkey would probably end in disaster. Second I'm lucky to live in the same city as one of the top distributors of smoked turkeys in the US. Greenberg! It's what my family always had on turkey day so I was raised on it and I love it! But I do happen know several ways to prepare turkey breast (my favorite part anyway) and am lucky enough to have a sister and brother-in-law who deep fry their turkey so I'll share that as well :)
Preparing just the breast is really only a small version of the whole enchilada so if you wanted to you could certainly take the recipes here and translate it to your whole bird (you brave whole turkey roasting soul you).

Rosemary Roasted Turkey Breast
3 pound skin on turkey breast*
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
3/4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup water or chicken broth

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, basil, Italian seasoning, black pepper and salt. Set aside.Wash the turkey breast and pat dry. Loosen the skin from the breast and spread a generous amount of the rosemary mixture under the breast skin. Rub the remainder of the rosemary mixture over the outside of the breast. Use toothpicks to seal skin over any exposed breast meat. Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan. Add the 1/4 of water or chicken broth to the bottom of the pan to help keep the turkey moist while roasting. Roast according to the number of pounds your turkey breast actually weighs this is usually 20 minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 180 degrees.
*If you cant find skin on, or don't want to use it for any reason, don't its not totally necessary I just happen to prefer it ;)


Mediterranean Style Stuffed Turkey Breast
3 pound turkey breast bone-out, skin removed
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
3/4 cup dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 fresh cracked black pepper
2 tbs all purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 artichoke hearts roughly chopped
1/4 Kalamata olives roughly chopped
1 tbs butter, melted
3 large slices provolone or mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup water or chicken broth

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a lengthwise slit in turkey breast to within 1/2 in. of opposite side; open meat so it lies flat. Cover with plastic wrap and flatten to an even 1/2-in. thickness and set aside. In olive oil saute the onion and garlic until tender. Stir in flour, thyme, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and add the spinach, olives and artichokes to the sauce. Remove the plastic wrap from flattened breast and arrange the cheese on top, spread  the sauce over the turkey breast and starting at a short end, roll up and tuck in ends and tie with kitchen string. Place on a rack in a roasting pan with a 1/4 cup water or chicken broth in the bottom. Brush with melted butter. Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake for 1 hour or until internal temperature reads at least 180 degree. Let the breast rest for 10-15 minutes before removing the string and slicing. 


Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
1 medium onion sliced
1 medium red bell pepper seeded and sliced*
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
8 ounces turkey Italian sausage, casing removed
3 pound turkey breast
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
salt to taste

In a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker combine onion, bell pepper, garlic, rosemary, and oregano. Crumble sausage over onion mixture. Rinse the turkey and pat dry; arrange over sausage. Sprinkle with pepper. Pour in chicken broth. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 5 to 7 hours, or until internal temperature has reached 180. Remove turkey from cooker and cover to keep warm. In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and cold water. Stir into cooking liquid in slow cooker increase heat to High, and cover. Cook, stirring 2 to3 times, until gravy is thickened (about 10 more minutes). Season to taste with salt. Spoon gravy over turkey or reserve for individual pouring.
*Any color bell pepper may be substituted.

Deep Fried Turkey my sister's recipe :)
12 pound turkey (size varies but 12 pounds is pretty middle of the road)
Make sure your turkey is completely thawed, if not you may end up with a turkey missile and serious 3rd degree burns!
1/2 cup of butter 
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
Cajun seasoning to taste

Melt the butter and olive oil on low heat, add the garlic and Worcestershire and Cajun seasoning. Inject most of the mixture into turkey and under skin. Rub the remainder on the outside and store the bird for and overnight resting. Add peanut oil up to the line on the inside of the turkey fryer (or see your manufacturer's instructions for recommended quantity of oil). The turkey should be submerged with one inch of oil above it while cooking. The turkey should be placed in the frying basket neck end first. Slowly lower basket into hot oil. Maintain the temperature of the oil at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and cook turkey for 4 minutes per pound. Carefully remove basket from oil, and drain turkey. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; the internal temperature must be 180 degrees F (80 degrees C).


I hope these recipes have given you guys a little inspiration for trying something new this year! And if you've never had deep fried turkey, give it a try sometime! I know, it is a little bit of a daunting task, but it makes for some of the moistest bird you'll ever taste. Stay tuned for next week, I'll be covering my favorite part of the meal desserts!


If you happened to miss the first post of the Thanksgiving Day recipe series and would like to have a looksie, visit this link--->T-Day Side Dishes
 

Thanksgiving Recipes Part 1- Side Dishes

I don't know about you guys but growing up my family had a pretty basic short list of food stuffs that made up our Thanksgiving table.

1. Turkey
2. Dressing
3. Cranberries (jellied, can shaped)
4. Broccoli and Rice Casserole
5. Rolls

Pretty much in that order. For several years I didn't eat any meat and never could make myself eat the unnatural can shaped mass of cranberry jelly so I was pretty much limited to one casserole and a basket of dinner rolls....Thanksgiving dinner was no big deal for me. About two years ago though I started eating poultry and fish again and roughly a year before that I got pretty serious about exploring cooking. {If you have any question about why this was something akin to the Pilgrims voyage into the great unknown or about my culinary upbringing, or rather, complete lack there of; please feel free to peruse this post {awesome drawings alert too.}

Since cooking is such a fun pass time for me now and I know there are many of you looking to change up your menu a bit; I'd like to share some of my favorite recipes that I now contribute to my family's Thanksgiving meal.

I've decided to break this down into three separate posts, one a week for each category.

This week (as the title suggests): Side dishes
Next week: Turkey!
The following week: Desserts
The week of Thanksgiving I'll be posting a follow up post on what to do with your left over turkey.

So lets get to the gettin'...

Each of these recipes serves about 8-10 people.

First off, one of my favorite side dishes of all time!

Jalapeno Corn Casserole

• 1 (15 oz) white shoe peg corn, drained*
• 1 (14 oz) can cream-style corn
• 1 (8-ounce) packaged corn muffin/bread mix
• 1 cup plain low fat yogurt (Greek style is fine here too)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 cups shredded Pepper Jack Cheese (divided in half)
• 1 small can jalapenos drained and diced

In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin/bread mix, yogurt, and melted butter. Mix in half of the shredded cheese and diced jalapenos.  Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

•Some may consider this dish pretty peppy! Adjust the jalapenos to your taste.

*If you cannot find shoe peg corn, no worries, just use regular whole kernel corn.

Sweet Potato Casserole ala the Hubby

(This is an approximation of what my super Husband makes every year. Since he pretty much wings it, I don't have exact measurements but I'm pretty sure I'm close.)

• 6- sweet potatoes peeled cubed and boiled until tender
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tbs maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Mash boiled potatoes with butter while still warm. Mix in 1/2 of the maple syrup and all of the nutmeg and cinnamon.  Spread into a casserole dish and arrange pecan halves atop of the dish, drizzle the remaining syrup across the top. This can be kept as is until needed...when you're ready for it pop it into a 350 degree oven until warmed through.

I actually love this cold so warming it up may not be needed :)

Butternut Squash Casserole

• 3 pounds butternut squash - cut in half and seeded
• 1/4 cup water (for roasting squash)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 6 cups sliced peeled apples
• 1/8 cup white sugar
• 1 cup cornflakes cereal, coarsely crushed
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

  Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Roast squash upside down in water on a baking sheet for 45-60 minutes or until tender. Let cool enough to handle and scoop into a large mixing bowl. Mash the squash with 1/4 cup butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Heat the 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over low heat; stir in sliced apples and sprinkle with the white sugar. Cover and cook over low heat until barely tender, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spread the apples in a 3-quart casserole. Spoon the mashed squash evenly over the apples. Stir together the cornflakes, pecans, the 1/4 cup brown sugar, and melted butter. Sprinkle the cornflake mixture evenly over the squash. {Here again this is easily made ahead of time then reheated. Although if you're planning to make ahead, leave off the cornflake mixture until your final heat up} Bake in the preheated oven until heated through, about 15 minutes. 

Green Apple Cranberry Relish

• 3 cups fresh cranberries
• 1/2 medium red onion quartered
• 1 green apple cored and quartered
• 2 jalepeno peppers seeded and halved
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves*
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tbs fresh lime juice
• salt to taste

Place ingredients into the bowl of a food processor (or blender or chop by hand if you want/need to). Pulse processor/blender until coarsely chopped. Remove ingredients to serving bowl and chill for at least 8 hours.

*Cilantro is a pretty strong flavor some people are not that keen on so be careful with this and add for your families taste level. 

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

• 4 pounds Brussels sprouts sliced in half
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 small red onions, cut into strips
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Steam halved sprouts in a steamer basket for 8-10 minutes or until tender yet with still a bit of crispness.

Melt the butter in a deep skillet, add the onions; cook until onions brown and nicely caramelized. Add the Brussels sprouts, sugar and vinegar. Saute over medium heat until the Brussels sprouts are also lightly caramelized. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

 So there you go, a few of the dishes I like to add to the table on turkey day! Hope you try a few and hope you enjoy! See you next week when we're on to turkey. Gobble Gobble!

Feature Friday - Halloween!

Fun.

Retro.

Cheerful.

I love Halloween!

 

1. Retro Orange & Black Full Apron - Lovers Dovers Clothing
2. Fleece Ghost Poncho - Izzy B's Stuff
3. Trick or Treat Snoopy - Barnaby Huxley
4.  Franko Sock Monkey - Suzanne's Stuff
5. Lips Flexible Mold (this reminds me of the wax lips I loved as a kid) - ShopSakura
6. Candy Corn Fudge - Paula's Shop

Hope you guys liked this weeks feature Friday and everyone has an awesome weekend!

Whole Lotta Whole Grains

Millet.
What is millet you say.
An ingredient in bird feed for one. But also a pretty awesome grain.
I haven't always been blessed to have the wide view of food I now have. Growing up my culinary exposure ran about as far as the San Francisco Treat and Hamburger Helper could throw me. So lets just say I had no idea about a lot of food stuffs.
One day I was invited to stay and eat supper at a friends house. All was well until I saw what we were having.

And as you can see by my beautiful illustration, her whole family laughed at my ignorance and I quickly found a good excuse to leave....then made sure to never agree to stay for a meal again for fear of not knowing what the hell I was eating.
Now thankfully I'm pretty proud to say I not only usually know at least a little something about most fruits and veggies and food stuffs in general but I'm pretty sure I can make a more awesome Eggplant Lasagna than my childhood friend's Mom any day of the week.

But that's not what this post is really about. This post is about millet and hopefully expanding your food knowledge. On one of my many ventures into health food I stumbled upon millet. At first I really didn't know what the heck to do with it except sneak it into things instead of rice or along with rice in order to bump up our whole grain intake. But eventually I started finding more ways to use it. One in particular is my very favorite way! It makes an awesome nutty tasting muffin that's perfect for breakfast on the run but especially good served with blueberry preserves.

Millet Muffins

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 cup millet

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup soy milk (1tbs vinegar added) *or 1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup dried or frozen blueberries or cranberries

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups.
2.	In a large bowl, mix the flours, millet, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the soy milk/vinegar mixture, egg, applesauce, and honey. Stir buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture just until evenly moist. Fold in dried fruit. Transfer batter to the prepared muffin cups.
3.	Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

 So there you go! Healthy delicious and now you can say you know what to do with millet if you ever have the need to :)

What do Bingo and Feature Friday have in common? + Giveaway Winner Announcement!

I ♥ them both and they're both part of today's post! 

Last night I had the pleasure of joining my Mom and Sister at a neighboring towns VFW for a few games of Bingo. I've never actually played Bingo before (excluding the peppermint candy Bingo we used to play in elementary school) so I was pretty excited and also feeling a little bit nostalgic too. See when I was a kid my Mom LOVED Bingo  (still does) and she was pretty lucky at it too if my memory serves me right. She was certainly lucky last night, she won twice! But long past are the days of my mom toting me to her Bingo games at one venue or another where my jobs were exactly two things; carry the bingo bag and get her coffee when she started running out of steam.So last night walking into the Bingo hall I felt a little empty handed without the bingo bag to carry. But we had a blast and all of us won at least once except my sister though I'm sure she'll have her win next time ;). BTW Bingo ladies are a riot and I ♥ them too!

So the theme today in honor of all the awesome new friends I made last night is...

 

1. Vintage Tin Bingo Box -  Pip and I
2. Vintage Bingo Game Piece Ring - Kyle Looby Jewelry
3. Bingo Book -  Another Work in Progress
4. Bingo Bank Handmade Stoneware - Shars Art Pottery
5. Antique Bingo Cage - Blue Belle Bazaar
6. Bingo "I came to win" Button - Creative Clam 
7. Sister Ivana Wynne, the bingo player - Nun of a Kind

AND now for our giveaway winner announcement! Drumroll please..........KD Design Studio is our winner Yay!
Ms. KD I'll be contacting you shortly to get your address!

Thanks everyone for entering & have a great Friday and fun weekend!

Sugar Cookies are the Debil

Ever since I the very first time I saw The Water Boy anything that gives me any kind of trouble gets called the devil (pronounced with a "b" instead of a "v") and up until 2 years ago my husband and I had this conversation every year...

Hubs "When are you making your Halloween cookies?"
Me "Never! I hate them and I'm never making rolled cookie cutter cookies ever again!"
Hubs "But you say that every year."
Me "I really meant it last time, sugar cookies are the debil and possibly the death of me."

Every year even though I would swear never again, I'd decide its was a good idea to make cut sugar cookies. Something about their festive little shapes and all the sparkly colored sugar and royal icing just sucked me right in like a big gaping black hole. And then I would say "what the heck I'll try again" and have a melt down again.

I'm a good cook and a darn good baker but for some reason I could never never never seem to get the dough right for cut out cookies. The dough would be too dry/wet/warm/soft/whatever it wasn't ever right. Truth be told I don't really even like sugar cookies much...give me a p-nut butter cookie, chocolate chip cookie or better yet a combination of the both and I'm a happy girl! I do love how festive they are though and being able to share them with friends and family and they just really remind me of making them with my mom as a child so there's all kinds of sentiment behind them. AND I just couldn't let something so small as a teeny tiny cookie call me out. So every year I'd try again, somehow fail and end up with a big ball of dough in my trash can.

Then I found this recipe, I can't tell you what is different about it from the others I tried mostly because I threw them away/burned/stomped on them as soon as my attempt failed. But I know it works and I get perfect cookies every time now!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Mixing on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week. 

So, off to make my yearly cookies to share with friends and family (if any make it past the Hubs) & Happy Thursday to everyone and good luck to all that entered the giveaway! A winner will be drawn tomorrow morning, I can't wait!

Feature Friday Double Time + Giveaway Alert!!

Last Friday was a bit of a scramble for me so I missed my FF post. Sooo I'm making up for it here with two feature boards plus the onset of my shop's very first giveaway! For my features this week I've got two totally different themes going on; one something of a masculine gift theme since tomorrow is my Pop's birthday and the other a mix of some more my fall-ish vintagey feeling things I've happened upon this week.

1.Shirt and Tie Card - FlyAKite

2.Cash Register Cuff Links - KD Design Studio

3.Maple Pecan Popcorn - OhYum

4.Red Leather Sketchbook - DanielHeywood

5.10 #s Hard Candy Lollipops - SweetLollipopShop

6.Beer Word Ring - Kablamindustrie

7.Nerd Herder Wallet - rockitbot 

 

1.Cotton Jersey Triangle Top - outofline

2.Owl Pillow - birdenvy

3.Molasses Spice Shortbread Minis - cgconfections

4.Dates to Remember Book - KandiceInWonderland

5.Zig Zag Tam in Pumpkin - YesJess

6. Fruity-Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings - alibli

 7.Tangerine Carnival Tickets - papertreats

8.Carved Wood Sign Oz - SignsofaDaydreamer

Now it's giveaway time!! I first thought to myself, "I should probably wait until I have a few more followers before I do a giveaway ." But then I thought, "Pfftt what the heck I'll do it anyway and see what happens!It'll be fun anyway, right? Right!" So without further nonsensary....Here's how to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post = 1 entry

2. Share this giveaway on Facebook with a link to this post = 1 entry (please leave a link to your post)

3. Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post = 1 entry (again, leave a link to your post)

That's a total of 3 entries available per person! The giveaway is open now through October 21st and on that next wonderful day (Friday) I will announce one lucky winner (picked at random) of the items shown above from my shop plus a couple extra little goodies!

I've also been a busy little bee adding new items to my shop this week too...

 Good luck to everyone! Be sure to tell your friends so they can participate in the giveaway too and have a great weekend!!

Is That Cinnamon I Smell?

Know what I mean by those things you have to do every year when the season changes? Surely I'm not the only one that has certain seasonal rituals that if not done you just don't feel quite right.

Every year when the season starts to change I turn into something like a kid watching the clock waiting for school to let out. I get so excited when the first cool evenings of Autumn arrive! For me it signals the beginning of all the fun things I love to do...dragging out decorations, baking loads of stuff that smells warm and comforting and all cinnamon-y and whatnot, and the return of yummy pumpkin bagels to my favorite shop across town.

It's been a little hectic around our house the past week so I've just now gotten our Halloween decorations out. It never seems like its going to take very long but I sometimes forget that I seem to "collect" another few bits and pieces for the next year....like this funny little guy...

In the midst of all the decorating and other excitement going on I've been working on a few new things for my shop! I've been trying diligently to get prepared for the holiday season...which alternately seems to be a non-alarming distance away yet somehow rocketing toward me. This will be my first holiday season on Etsy and two of the things I'm totally excited about adding for the season are ornaments and bows. I'm something of a Christmas ornament fanatic and love making them to give as gifts during the holidays so I'm definitely stoked to be offering them in my shop this year. I've got my Mom to thank for the bow idea though, growing up she always found the neatest ways to make a simple package look special! So I'm always looking for a cute way to add a little something to my gift packages. Here's a quick peek at one style of bows I'll have available...

 Before I wrap this little ditty up I wanted to let you guys know that I've got a giveaway in the works that I plan to have sometime within the next two weeks! So keep an eye out for it and let your friends know so they can participate too :)

Front Page!

One of the coolest things happened this morning all thanks to lapetitcoquette. I was so excited this morning,  when opening Etsy's front page I find my paper rosette bobbies staring back at me!! Such a treat :D

 

Feature Friday

I guess the State Fair being in town this week has brought out the kid in me cause there is something decidedly whimsical and fun about the Friday pics this week! I haven't yet been able to entice the Hubs to go yet and I'm running out of time but I think I may be able to get him there with the promise of a turkey leg and funnel cake on my tab.....we'll see.

In the mean time hope you like the features this week and have a great weekend!

 

1. Bite Size Oak Leaf Sugar Cookies - sugarandflour
2. Fox and Forest Studs - Joannarutter
3. Hand Printed Brown Paper Bags - contemori
4. Felted Relaxing Soap - SoFino
5. Silk Rosette Headband - frostingcoutureshop
6.  Chocolate Nut Caramel Apple - SinnersSaintsSweets

Shop Promo!

♥ Yay! ♥

In honor of Fall finally finding us here in East Texas I'm having a 1/2 price shipping sale (within the U.S.) for all items in my Etsy shop now through October 16th for Facebook fans ( Bits & Barley Fan Page ) and blog followers (yous guys)! 

Just mention your blog user name if you're a follower or Facebook user name if you're a fan of the Bits & Barley page (you must reference your name in order to be eligible) in notes to seller upon checkout. **Please wait for an adjusted invoice to be sent to you via PayPal after you Commit To Buy. Don't worry I'm pretty fast on the draw and it'll be sent right directly :)

Nag Nag Nag

Yesterday morning I got an email from the fabulous girls @ MayDae letting me know I'd been featured in their blog (yay!),  which I love, they've got such a cool modern vintage anthropologie like feel going on over there! After perusing their beautiful blog and going about my normal daily routine I started to develop a small niggle of a nagging feeling in the back of my mind like I'd forgotten something....

Oh crap.

This feeling is never a good one...Did I forget to turn off my flat iron this morning? No. Did I leave the soy milk out on the counter again? Not that either. After 30 minutes of trying hard to figure out what form of impending doom must be happening somewhere that's caused me this particular feeling I gave up.

And as fate always has it I almost immediately remembered, my birthday is on Wednesday.

This might not seem like a problem per se and its not particularly in and of itself except a few weeks ago I made an appointment with our dogs Vet to have my dear Bitty's yearly shots and check up. This again is not that big of a deal except our Vets office is one of my least favorite places on the face of the earth. Don't get me wrong, I love our dogs Vet he is the best animal doctor I've ever met, but they work on an extremely loose terminology of appointment. Basically they write your name, along with a long list of other names, on a schedule for a particular day and then wait and see what happens. In other words something like first come first serve but on a certain day. I'm not particularly fond of sitting in a tiny room with 50 billion other people crammed in with me waiting till the end of time with some of the worst behaved animals I've ever seen sooo I'd lodged that information in the part of my brain that holds all the horrid things that I'd rather poke my eyeball out than actually do. Hence the nagging feeling and impending Vets office doom.

I knew I would have to fulfill my duty as a good pet owner and visit out Vets office but I could do something to make myself feel better! So I ordered these:

Cashew Clusters

Walnut Clusters

I feel better already just knowing I've got something tasty coming my way! As for the Vets office I'll probably be camped out in front tomorrow at 5:30am waiting for them to open so I can make it to work on time afterward. But oh well, I've got chocolate, caramel and nutty goodness on its way to me to sooth the crazy Vet's office blues.

Giveaway Yay!

After all of my Feature Friday posts I always contact the folks I feature and let them know (and make sure its okay with them) that I've featured their awesomeness. This last Friday {just yesterday in fact :) } I featured these cute cute cute pair of earrings from Hi Tree...

Neatly enough yesterday turned out to be her birthday (yay!) and also the beginning of a Hi Tree giveaway (double yay!). So when I contacted her to let her know about my post she was kind enough to invite me to check out her blog post as well and I'm so excited to share it with you guys!

Here is a link to her blog post (http://hitree.blogspot.com/2010/09/fall-is-here-giveaway-alert.html) detailing the super easy entry specifics and also a very exciting preview to what you can expect from this most excellent giveaway! And also for those in a shopping mood this Saturday morning a link to her Etsy shop Hi Tree where you can find a magical mix of cute trees, leaves, unicorns and more! So check it out, show some birthday love, do some shopping, enter the giveaway and share with your friends!

Have a great Saturday and fantastic weekend!

Feature Friday

This week I started to notice my list of items for this feature definitely had a theme going on! I can't say I was trying to but I kept being drawn stuff with a decidedly warm and cozy type feel. Since its still firmly in the 90s here I can't explain looking for warmth except maybe I'm subconsciously hoping for cool weather and cozy fall evenings :)

 

1. Hand Embroidery Autumn Leaves - merriweathercouncil
2. Dusky Autumn Throw Lap Quilt - PiecesOfPine
3.  Cashew Clusters - nikid
4. Welcome Sign - SuzsCountryPrims
5. Yellow Autumn Maple Leaf Felt Earrings - hitree
6. Beer and Cedarwood Natural Vegan Soap - krugsecologic

Hope you've enjoyed the finds this week and have a great weekend!

P.s. If you're new and are wondering what Feature Friday is all about take a look here at the very 1st

I've got a confession...

I love Martha Stewart....okay not really but I do kinda love the Martha Stewart show. About this time every year I start getting antsy for the Martha Stewart show holiday episodes. Just about any other time of the year I couldn't care less what she's teaching people to do or interviewing people about but I love to watch the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials. I've tried to figure out why it is that I'm so excited about watching them because frankly I find most of her shows kinda boring and honestly I just can't figure it out. Maybe they're just such a harbinger of the fun of the holidays I anticipate, maybe I'm just kinda kookie that way. Who knows. But I'm ready! I want to see what goodies the Stewart team has for me this season!

What really gets you all excited about the coming festive seasons? The first cool mornings of fall, the sight of pumpkins piled high on a wagon at your local nursery, or perhaps the promise of festive crafts brought to you by Martha and the Fine Living Network :)

Feature Friday

First humor me with a short(ish) ramble...Before I ever considered opening shop on Etsy I had very little to do with the net. I did e-mail, some online shopping (but mostly during the holiday season), a quick check with Wikipedia about one thing or another every once in a while and that was about the extent of my online meanderings. I had absolutely no intention of joining Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking site...in fact I really couldn't come up with a rational reason for those sites to even exist. Especially when most of the media surrounding them was somewhat negative. But when doing a little homework on "helpful things to do when opening your new shop" I read numerous posts about none other than Facebook and Twitter. I cant tell you how big of an eye-roll episode I went through while debating whether or not to dip my toes into the murky water of social networking sites. Months later I can honestly say I'm so glad I did. Not so much from a business stand point but from a family/friend one. I've had the great opportunity to connect with family and friends that I would otherwise probably never get to talk with. Not to mention that my narrow internet world has been vastly expanded! I don't go one day without collecting loads of things that I love and would love to have!!

Now lets get on with what this post is really about: the totally cool, beautiful, wonderful things I've been blessed to stumble upon. I've been throwing around an idea for a way to show my appreciation for some of the coolest people and things I've found in my daily online ventures. "Feature Friday" is what I've come up with, a post every Friday featuring a collection board chocked full of my favorite things for the week. Thus I give you the very 1st in a line of Friday awesomeness :)

1. Mix Tape Tee - CausticThreads
2. Photo Booth Dogs - Cameron Woo
3. Let There Be Flight Hanging Lamp - ModCloth
4. Eleanore, Vintage Secretary Raccoon Plush - OneLittleRedFox
5. Flower Garden Mint Green Yellow Vintage Cameo Necklace - laurenblythedesigns
6. Tea Love Mug Cozy - KnitStorm

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

Or by the beautiful photos it has displaying all the tasty recipes inside because that's all they do...look pretty. A few weeks back I was so excited to get two books I had very high hopes for. But lets just say the aforementioned one really fell flat. I do, however, really want to stress how awesome the other one is! Patty Pinner's Sweets is such a fantastic book full not only of interesting and endearing stories about her and her family (the source of her recipes) but the recipes themselves come through like crazy!
Feeling a little burned by the other book, I was a little reluctant to try anything from Sweets but dear Lord am I glad I did. Although at one point after making her Walnut Wonder Cake I thought my husband might be plotting to pull the old "I must have been sleep walking when I ate the whole thing" bit.

I thought we talked about that blouse...

Maybe no one will pick up on the Karen Walker reference there but I seem to hear her critical voice when I step into my closet lately. It's been months, no wait, lets go ahead and be fully honest and say years since I've gone serious clothes shopping....I sorta hate it. Don't get me wrong I looooove having awesome clothes in my closet that make me feel like a million when I wear them but I cannot stand (read totally loath - would rather poke my eye out) actually shopping for them. I know my particular problems with clothes are not unique but seriously could it kill somebody to make jeans for those of us that have short legs. God blessed me with a whopping height of just over 5 feet which means not only is it impossible for me to reach anything on the top shelf of anywhere but it also means that I'm also blessed to be lumped into the masses that are labeled petite. All shopping issues aside, I'm always drawn to shop when fall rolls around and our unusual sudden drop in temperature has got me itching for new duds. I am in East Texas and we won't actually see consistent fall-ish weather until at least mid October but I've been collecting a few things that I really would love to have if I can ever make myself commit to shopping...

1.Ruffle Front Fleece Jacket by cotylee
2.Women's Plaid Double-Weave Western Tunic from OldNavy
3.Prized Rose Peep-Toes from Anthropologie
4.Miss Me Glam Boot Stretch Jean from Buckle
5.Bella Rustica Antique Bronze Tiny Twig Hair Pins by WoodlandBelle
6.Faux Boot Legwarmers by LeshasWorkshop
7.Sterling Silver Necklace by gypsystudio

Being Included Makes My WednesDAY

If I could only make a few extra of myself I would have enough time to do everything I want....Sadly if there were extra of me one of us would probably inadvertently kill the other in some running with a pointy object related disaster. So really I guess I don't want more of me...
Anyway, I'm still working on a tutorial that will hopefully be fun and interesting but until then I'll send out my thanks today to Jewelry by Jessica S for including my new fall mini wreath ornament in her treasury yesterday!

Lazy Friday

Okay so I'm totally a lazy and I didn't finish this weeks blog post (or at least the one I had lined up for this week). I've sort of been revamping my product line so I've been a little preoccupied by that, but instead of the post I'd planned, I'll be sharing whats hung around on my radar for this week. Let me also confess that I've spent more minutes than I should watching YouTube this week...whew somehow I feel better confessing but still not so regretful if its in fine print.

Probably my most thought about topic this week (aside from product tweaking and YouTube) has been my studio remodel. It's in desperate need of change and I am sooo ready for it! As of now the walls are white (eww) but are at least mostly covered with my paintings drawings and whatnots. I know there are people that actually do like plain white walls but I can't be counted as part of that camp. I need color! I've picked out turquoise as my wall color of choice and have red curtains lined up to divide the studio from our bedroom but have the pretty big dilemma of large heavy immovable objects on two of my walls. I've debated about just painting around them. Cause no one will know but me right? Wrong, some crazy part of my brain says "But YOU will know!" and a weird warped version of Poe's beating heart sequence from The Tell Tale Heart ensues.

So the paint issue is sort of at a stand still for now.

This leads me to my other major issue which is storage. I'll be honest. I've got a lot of stuff, and by stuff I mean all kinds of crap. Paint, brushes, canvases, sewing supplies, collected papers, books and specialty papers, yarn, beading supplies....you get the idea. Most of this stuff is just sort of in what I call controlled mess zone. It looks like a pile of nonsense but if I need to I can find what I need fairly quickly. I can usually go a few days, maybe a week before I freak out and have to reorganize my mess but lately its been driving me more batty than usual.

In search of ways to better my much needed improving creative space I found these awesome resources:

• The Inspired Room Creative Spaces
  
• The Inspired Room Creative Spaces: Part 2
• Crafty Storage
• The Container Store

Check them out, they're pretty awesome! The Inspired Room is such a great blog, not only for creative spaces but any room in the house your seeking to improve. Crafty storage is also an excellent blog, perhaps you all (and maybe me one day soon) can add an awesome room to the collection going on there. :)

I Rarely Know Where I'm Going

I Rarely Know Where I'm Going,
but I always end up where I belong.

I know...I'm pretty sure that elicits some form of eye rolling, but it's typically true. I tend to move through things intuitively rather than with a focused rational method. I think on a high functioning level my brain knows my goal, forms a path and leads me to the destination, but I'm not always (read rarely) aware of it.
Most, if not all of my creations coming out of my workshop are that way. I start with a general idea and play with it until I'm happy. I've never been one to follow a strict guideline and seriously struggled in classes where I had to make essay outlines and things of that nature. I would just go into *blank stare at the wall for 10 minutes* mode if I had to think that far ahead.

So what's my point?

I'm a scatterbrained fool? Hopefully not, although if you were to stop me in the middle of this tirade trust me it would take a full 5 minutes for me to remember where I was.

The point is that everybody's creative process is different. Some people are laser focused and know from start to finish how something is going to work for them and some (like me) start at the beginning of an idea and feel their way through it. My best ideas come to me while I'm just letting the creative juices flow. Sometimes I start a project and realize that working on it was just a primer for something else, something way bigger and better.

I'll tell you a secret though...I DO sometimes wish I could be super focused. I kinda envision that version of myself as being something like Rachael Ray (but not annoying or scary), able to accomplish 20 different things in the span of minutes all because I didn't get distracted by something shiny.

At the end of the day though I'm still able to work up enough focus to channel my creative juices into my various projects. Most recently I've gotten obsessed with wreaths..Every year I make a wreath out of cedar clippings and random Christmas type things for the holiday season but have in the past few years also started making fall/harvest type wreath too. I made one like this from Martha Stewart's website last year which is kinda the inspiration for the wreaths that I'm making now. I'll be updating with finished picks of them as I have them and they'll be introduced to my Etsy shop shortly so keep an eye out they're pretty much the awesomeness.

SWEET!

So I'm totally excited, I just received via Amazon.com these two books!

If you look closely you can see my traditional torn post-it note marking system. One of the first things I do when I get a cookbook is mark the recipes I have to try first. At first glance I was a little leery of Cake Keeper Cakes just because it seemed a little more like a coffee table book than an actual baking book; beautiful images and somewhat strange and unconventional layout for the recipes themselves threw me off but really was a nominal issue. Patty Pinner's Sweets: Soul Food Deserts and Memories reads more like a novel than a cook book and is completely fun and truly fascinating to read the origins of the recipes she's laid out for you.

That said there are more recipes in these two little books that I can't wait to try than in any other books in my cooking library. Don't get me wrong I cherish the copy my husband gifted me of Dori Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours, and it is in my opinion a must in a full baking armory of books. However, the types of recipes in that style of book can be time consuming and require ingredients that I may not have on the fly. Which is other huge reason I am loving these books, not only are the recipes themselves simple to achieve (yet creative and in a lot of cases elegant) most do not require much other than basic baking staple items.

I generally do A LOT of baking in the fall/winter months. So I've decided that for the coming weeks and months I'll be making (hopefully) at least one recipe from one of these books per week.This week I chose Apple-Walnut Upside Down Cake from Cake Keepers, next week I'm thinking Applesauce Sheet Cake with Walnut Cream Cheese Icing from Sweets. I guess I'm in a bit of an autumn theme...I'm soooo looking forward to fall.
P.S. Sorry about the not so great photo, my kitchen doesn't have the best lighting and it was like 9:30 pm when I took this out of the oven so I had no natural light. Still its not too bad I think :)

Live What You Love

Live what you love, love what you do.

I love that line. It's so simple, just do it, just be what makes you happy, have fun and love life.
Often I think we stray from actually consciously acknowledging the things that truly make us happy, the simple things and the big things that we love.

Things like:

• Being the proud owner of a goofy dog that hops around like a baby horse when he's happy
• Finding a stray ice cream sandwich hiding in the freezer
• Fireflies
• Sharing your life adventure with your best friend and love of your life
• Being able to channel artistic energy into tons of different avenues
• Spazzing out to a dance song when no ones looking

You get the picture. When you go so far as to really focus on the things you love, it becomes your life.

Originally I intended to compile something of a collage of things I love but got distracted....So no collage, but I did manage to take this totally cute picture of the galloping dog for your entertainment ;) and of course I can't leave out his less goofy but smellier counterpart



the best pups around ♥