is updated! It is completely reformatted and much more usable. Please check it out here and let me know if there are any recipes you would like for me to try to find. I love a good recipe challenge!
Eight days left until the big surprise. I know you all are excited!
I do still cook non-dessert meals, see? I set out looking for some quick meals for during the week, mainly because I haven’t been feeling very inspired on the dinner cooking front and I found this one. Super easy and I adore Gorgonzola, so a whole sauce made from it? Sounds heavenly. Strangely enough, this recipe is from Cooking Light! Doesn’t sound so light to me. . . maybe it’s about the portion size. Hm. Well, I stayed pretty true to the recipe, only adding a little nutmeg to the cheese sauce since cheese sauces + nutmeg = yum. I enjoyed it. It was quick. Easy. Yummy. Good for a week night meal!
Recipe for Linguine and Spinach with Gorgonzola Sauce
I saw this post on a felt Mr. Potato Head and knew that I just had to make it. I really haven’t had a whole lot of experience with felt softies, especially sewing them by machine, so I was excited about making this a learning experience! I hand sketched out all of the pieces on paper before cutting them out of the felt so there’s no pattern for this but the shapes are pretty easy to draw.
I think he turned out pretty stinking cute. Or should I say ’she’?
I took the advice to make the back pocket pleated and thought that it worked out pretty well.
Pretty fun little project and I definitely learned a lot about working with felt. I choose not to glue any of the pieces on (like the stripes on the hats or the eye color) since I was giving this to a one year old and I didn’t want anything to be easy to pull off! Everything was sewn on. No choking hazards please!
I think if I were to make this again I would sew the potato form right sides together and flip it so that the seams were on the inside. I think that may help remove the dimple that formed at the bottom – hand sewing it shut with an invisible stitch would probably take care of that. That’s the only part that looks a little more messy to me than I would like. I actually like the seams on all of the face pieces. A pretty great idea over all and possibly the beginning of a felt addiction for me. It’s so nice not to have to worry about fraying!
So you may or may not have noticed that there have been a lot of house cleaning items happening on the blog. For example, if you haven’t checked out the free sewing patterns page lately, it not only has a lot of new projects (perfect for Christmas sewing), it is much better organized and features links to the posts I’ve written about the free projects that I have tried. I am also working on cleaning up the categories and recipes page. Why all this house cleaning? Well there is a big surprise coming up on December 17th. Part of that surprise involves you! It may or may not begin with ‘g‘ and end with ‘iveaway‘! And it will not only be celebrating my birthday but something else big and exciting!
So this is a call for all you lurkers and blog stalkers to get ready to come out of the woodwork and get ready to comment (I know you’re out there – several people have admitted it to me on facebook and in real life)! And speaking of you facebook readers, in order to be entered to win you have to mosey on over to the blog and write a comment there so that I don’t have to figure out how to combine the comments. And the countdown begins. . . 10 more days!
Since I recently got over my fear of custards, I decided I would try out an ice cream recipe. And with all this pie and dessert that’s going around, what goes better than some vanilla bean ice cream? Again, I used vanilla bean paste from beanilla.com instead of whole beans and thought it was very successful. This is the perfect vanilla ice cream, better than anything you can buy at the stores and everything I would ask for.
Recipe for Vanilla-Bean Ice Cream
This free pattern may quickly be turning into the one I choose as a go-to girl gift item. It’s such a classic shape, and as I mentioned the last time I made this, it’s a good size and fits nicely under your arm. I was able to sew this up during one of Jude’s naptimes, so it’s a great quick project. Definitely went quicker the second time! I made this Phoebe bag as a birthday gift for a good friend of mine. I love this fabric… It’s been sitting in my stash waiting to be used and I love it in this application. I also love the yellow interior!
I may need to make a few more of these as holiday gifts! Holiday sewing, here we come!
So I made most of our Thanksgiving menu from the November issue of Bon Appetit and while everything was tasty (the stuffing, the turkey), the recipes I’m sharing were the standouts for me. The others were fun but I’ll definitely be going back to brining the turkey next year. These are definitely worth repeating for future Thanksgivings.
I have made my own cranberry sauce for awhile now… Since college if I’m remembering correctly. It’s so easy, fresh cranberries, water, sugar – so much tastier than that canned gelatinous blob! This recipe takes what I used to do and makes it more savory, even less jello. The addition of Dijon and whole grain mustard make the cranberry sauce something I actually do want to smother my turkey with!
And this pie. Oh goodness, so easy but definitely the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had. That brown sugar walnut topping put me over the edge. Simple and delicious is a good recipe for anything for Thanksgiving! I will make this again. Maybe for Christmas. Just a note about the cooking time though… It took significantly longer to set than the recipe called for. Not a big deal, just be aware that your oven could be different. (I wanted to take a picture of the inside of the pie but it just didn’t happen – too yummy to pause and take a picture!)
Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar Walnut Topping
Based on my recipe postings, I’m guessing some of you think I only make dessert. All the time. Well, at this time of year, it’s almost true! The truth is that I tend to lean on some tried and true recipes at this time of year… Soups, stews, etc. Which frees me up to try recipes like these.
I made these for Thanksgiving, just to make sure there was a chocolate option to go with that pumpkin pie. Angry Chicken blogged about it and I already had all the ingredients. So why wouldn’t I make it?
These cookies need to be under-baked just a bit. They are very similar to brownie bites but oh so much prettier. I devoured most of these and plan on making more this week! Definitely a good candidate for the Christmas cookie!
I saw Amanda had tried this recipe and decided since she had enjoyed it, I should give it a shot. You see, I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit and scanned over it and kinda shrugged my shoulders. Sometimes I need a bit of a nudge to try recipes out of my comfort zone. . . I mean, leaving the peels of the clementines on??
Sure sounded like a deal-breaker to me. I mean, weird. Right? But I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised. I did do a couple of things differently than the recipe instructed. I zested the clementines just in case the peel was too much for us and we ended up not eating the segments, I still wanted the citrus flavor – this may have helped make the peel a bit more palatable because it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I kinda enjoyed the bit of bitterness that it added to the dish. And baby bok choy? Who knew it was so delicious? This was my first time to prepare it myself. I’ve had it once before in a cooking class. . . but we just ate it while the instructor did all the work.
I served it over basmati rice and thought it was wonderful. Reheated well the next day too which was surprising to me! Well worth getting out of your comfort zone to give it a try.
I know, ice cream during winter. I’m crazy. But I like frozen treats.
Just in case you haven’t had enough cranberries yet… This recipe is a great way to utilize any that you may have left over. The vanilla and cranberry are unsuspecting companions but it really works. I used fresh cranberries and vanilla bean paste (awesome deal here) and I would say that it turned out incredible. A delicious light finish to any meal, and if you ate like I did these past couple of days, a light dessert is a good thing!
I really don’t like aerosal spray air fresheners. It freaks me out that we spray chemicals into the air and breathe them in. Doesn’t seem right somehow. I also don’t care for plug in air fresheners either. Same sort of deal. I’m always on the lookout for natural deodorizers (like baking soda) to keep our house smelling nice. Especially the baby’s room. I mean, cloth diapers don’t go in a diaper genie, they sit there in their diaper pail and sometimes they get stinky, even if I spray them with BioKleen BacOut. SewMamaSew offered this tutorial on Monday and I knew it would be great to add to Jude’s room to help the smell.
So I made two thinking his room could use all the help it could get. Turns out it worked too well so I moved the second one into our guest bathroom! I really am impressed with how well this works and how cute the little bags are.
Now, if I wasn’t lazy I would have switched out the thread on the blue sachet, but I was feeling lazy the day I made these, and I don’t think it looks THAT bad… Oh and the two doorknobs in that picture, those doors both go to the same closet. Silly, right? One day we’ll take the doors out at remove that silly piece of drywall… Then the closet will be more useful!
I have a feeling I need to start making these as gifts for friends that are having babies. A non smelly baby room is nice to have!
Hope everyone has an enjoyable Thanksgiving!
We have a lot to be thankful for around here!
I have tried a couple French bread recipes but never have turned up anything easy enough that is tasty. Then I made all this cannellini bean dip and I needed bread! I didn’t want to go to the store so I went hunting for a recipe. And I found this.
So easy. I’ve already made this recipe several times! It is so delicious and the texture is just right. The crust isn’t too tough or crunchy and it toasts up nicely into crustini!
It really is easy and worth a try. The recipe asks you to throw water on the floor of the oven to create steam. I wasn’t comfortable doing this so I placed a cookie sheet on the bottom on the oven and got the same results!
Pretty sure you should try this. It is really perfect! Perfect for the Thanksgiving table. I’m just saying . . . 
There is this restaurant here in Austin, called Asti, that serves this fantastic bean dip as an appetizer (although I think they may call it a purée… It’s fancier that way). It is so delicious, it’s addicting! I decided to try and whip up a batch for Amanda’s shower and I think it was a huge hit. It’s so simple and then you just use truffle oil to dress it up a bit. I know, I know, ’so expensive’, right? Well I got a bottle of it for $5 at HEB. Not bad at all. And that smell, and that flavor! So rich, earthy, nutty, buttery… There is nothing else like it. Perfect on top of this bean dip.
Now this dip is similar to a hummus but it’s so much more rich and creamy. A perfect Thanksgiving day appetizer . . . Simply yummy! I’m going to try to recount what I did when I recreated this, but beware, there aren’t any measurements! It’s really not necessary!
Cannellini Bean Dip with Truffle Oil
Dry cannellini beans
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Garlic
Peppercorns
Bay leaf
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Truffle oil
Soak beans in water overnight in a large bowl.
Rinse beans. Add to a large pot.
Cut carrot and celery into 4″ pieces. Quarter onions, add garlic whole. Place peppercorns and bay leaf in some cheese cloth and tie up with kitchen twine. All in the pot!
Fill with water about 2″ above all the veggies. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two hours.
When beans are tender, drain all liquid. Pick out veggies and herbs. Place beans in food processor. Turn on and stream in olive oil until a creamy texture is achieved. Taste and adjust season with salt and pepper.
Serve drizzled with a generous portion of truffle oil. French bread, crackers, crustini or raw veggies all play nice with this dip.
Ever invite people over for breakfast and not want to mess up your kitchen? Even though breakfast dishes are usually easy, they tend to make a big mess (at least in my house!). This is my solution. French Toast Casserole. Now I’m well aware that anything with the word ‘casserole’ in it can cause cringing but this one is worth it. Especially is you want something vaguely resembling French toast in the morning with no effort. Perfect for the holidays when you would like a nice breakfast but are exhausted! It’s super easy to set up the night before and benefits from an overnight soak! Stick it in the oven when you wake up and it’ll will be ready for guests shortly after. One of the best things about this? It reheats really well!
So since I did the Bum Genius 3.0 vs. SmartiPants comparison, I have tried out FuzziBunz One Size diapers. I thought it would be helpful to provide a similar discussion comparing these two diapers.The reason I compare to Bum Genius is that it seems to be the most common cloth diaper that people are familiar with and it seems to also be the most accessible and widely available.
| Bum Genius 3.0 (BG) |
Fuzzi Bunz (FB) |
Discussion |
| must pull out insert after use | must pull out insert after use (easier to shake out though) | So far, SmartiPants are the only one size pocket diapers I’ve seen that allow you to leave the insert in when washing. |
| adjusts through snaps (length) and velcro (waist) | uses adjustable elastic at waist and legs | This is easily my favorite feature of FB. Additionally, FB will replace elastic when it wears out, easy to switch out and custom size to your baby. |
| microfiber interior | soft fleece interior | The fleece is significantly softer than the microfiber. |
| snaps to size insert (plus newborn insert/doubler) |
one size insert | The one size insert doesn’t seem to be a problem since the sizing is adjusted through the elastic at the legs and waist instead of through snaps. No bulk is added. BG on the other hand, is bulkier when the insert is snapped to smaller sizes. |
| Made in the US | Made in China | I prefer to buy things made in the US when possible. |
| snaps match diaper color | white snaps | Not a big deal, but worth noting. |
| velcro at waist | three snaps at waist | Again, the biggest complain of BG is that the velcro wears out over time (we’re seeing this already after 4 months of use) although it is much easier to velcro a squirming baby than snap! |
| discount when buying more | no discount when buying more | This could be a deal breaker for people that are purchasing their own diapers and not putting them on a registry. |
| $17.95 single | $18.95 single | FB is $1 more per diaper. |
| $53.10 for 3 pack ($17.70 a piece) |
n/a | Would be nice if a reduced price was offered for larger purchases. |
| widely available (ex. target.com and local stores) | available at local stores and online | Could be difficult if your are registering for cloth diapers. I loved that I could register for BG on Target.com since Target is well known and widely available. Support your local shops though – I just feel like it’s difficult for out of town guests to fufill registries done in local shops. |
| leaks out side/back | leaks until you perfect the fit | Again, this is the biggest strength of FB over BG. Although since Jude has gotten bigger, leaks are not as common. Could be due to the fact that the leg holes were a little too big for him in the BG since they’re not adjustable. |
| 9 colors | 15 colors | Speaks for itself |
| available in organic/bamboo | no organic/bamboo | Not a big deal for me but maybe for others. . . |
| more bulky | less bulky | The sizing system in FB is impressive at how small you can size the diaper without adding any significant bulk. The runching method of sizing is pretty clever! |
| more reviews | new product | All of the reviews I’ve read for both have been great, but there are more out there for BG since it’s been around longer. |
So now for the visual part of the comparison. I didn’t do a breakdown on the different sizes that you can snap to because it is essentially limitless for all the sizes available on the FBs. . .
You can see that the BG are overall larger and a fairly different shape than the FB. You also have to be careful to tuck the extra bulk in the interior pocket when securing on your baby with the FBs . . . otherwise the fabric will wick moisture and it will leak.
The front panel is especially more of a different shape. The BG front wraps around a bit more than the FB. You can see even more clearly the fabric that hangs over the back waistband that must be tucked away on the FBs.
A clearer illustration of the size difference:
Here is the incredibly innovative sizing method for the FBs. The excess elastic tucks into a little pocket once you have use the buttons to size where you want it. The number make it easy to make each size the same.
You can see the back leg elastic sizing and the sizing around the waist here:
Saturday I helped throw a baby shower for a friend. I love throwing baby showers and all the planning/sewing/cooking that comes along with it! How cute is this onesie banner? I love practical decorations!
I always have such a hard time staying quiet when I’m sewing gifts for friends! I want to post pictures before I even give the gift, but force myself to stay quiet. . . Well these presents were made by me, Ellie and Jenn all together for our good friend Amanda!
We all got together one day and each sewed three blocks for a nine block baby quilt that we dreamed up. We each had a color and did one log cabin, one checkerboard and one stripe block in our choosen color.
I am really happy with the result! It’s a fairly modern looking quilt that looks girlish but not girly.
The backing fabric is what we based most of our color choices on. It’s so cute and made me tear up when we were reading it in the store… Love it!
And we found this great fabric flower tutorial from green… it’s the new blue that we decided to do as a centerpiece that could be taken home to decorate the nursery. Most of the fabrics we used were scraps from the quilt.
Don’t be fooled… This project looks quick, but I think it took us longer to make and assemble twelve flowers than it did to assemble the quilt face! I did love the way the bouquet turned out though… Well worth the time and effort.
And of course I had to make a sling. No baby shower is complete without one.
So fun! Congratulations again Amanda! We can’t wait to meet your little girl!
I got to revisit one of my all time favorite books with this month’s book club book, Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson. This book, although it is non-fiction, reads much like a fiction book; Larson does a fantastic job of pulling readers in to the story using only the facts. It tells the story of the architect, Daniel Burnham’s vision and quest to achieve achitectural splendor for the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 right along side the dark tale of Dr. Holmes, who kills between 27-200 people during the time of the fair.
For me, both storylines are equally intriguing for different reasons. On the architectural side of things, I love that Fredrick Law Olmstead is represented in the story as the first Landscape Architect in America. He tells the frustrations of most current Landscape Architects as he was striving to get the profession widely recognized as being worthy of more than just flowerbeds. The LA in me really geeks out on that. I also really enjoyed learned about all of the items that were ‘firsts’ at this time, the kodak camera, AC electricity current, the Ferris Wheel and many others. It’s amazing to see a time when America was on the cusp of so many modernizations.
On the other side of things, my interest in mystery is peaked and somewhat repulsed in the story of Dr. Holmes. That such a charming, deceptive man existed chills me.
The two men of the story never met and yet their paths coexisted in Chicago, a dark city striving to make itself equal with New York. Larson also does a great job telling the struggle of the city to come into it’s own through the fair.
Fantastic book! I loved reading it again. Larson makes history readily accessible with this book. 10/10
I got around to some sewing lately and finally got to work on a gift for a good friend of mine’s graduation. She graduated in May. Oops. What can I say? Life got a little busy!
It was determined that she wanted a cute apron based on one that we saw on the anthropologie website.
Cute, right? $38 cute? Not too sure about that.
Always up for a challenge, I decided I would try to recreate it without a pattern. I tried a couple new techniques, most notably, shirring with elastic thread. Pretty dang cool effect for very little effort!
Overall I’m happy with how it turned out. I need to learn some more about working with fabric after it’s been shirred. . . or really, I should have made the top of the apron a different shape before it was shirred. And maybe made the straps a bit thinner. Next time around. . . I’m thinking about making this apron a tutorial, anyone interested? I’ll work out the kinks if I make it again as a tutorial.
Another month. Just vanished! Jude turned 5 months yesterday and I am in shock that it’s already been 5 months. He is getting so big so quickly!
Recently he has become an even easier baby – he goes down for naps without the use of the sling now! Woo hoo! And his naps are a significant length of time. It’s pretty great. I get a lot done while he’s napping. Well, and sometimes I nap too.
Speaking of sleeping, he has been sleeping pretty much through the night now. He pretty much only wakes up around 5am, eats, then goes back to sleep for a long awhile. And here’s a confession, he sleeps on his tummy. For all you non-moms out there, it’s not recommended for babies to sleep on the bellies. Apparently it’s linked to SIDS. . . (it kinda seems like everything either prevents SIDS or is linked to SIDS, but no one knows exactly what SIDS is. . . ) but I’ve done some reading and as long as they can roll over and lift up their heads, it should be ok. And I mean, even if I put him on his back, he rolls on his belly. I’m not going to fight it!
One more month and we start solid foods. I’m pretty excited about trying out different baby food recipes that I’ve accumulated. I’m pretty sure this baby is going to like food if he takes after me at all. I’ve already been letting him taste certain things like mushed banana that I’ve been eating, the condensation on cups, licks of an apple, fresh pomegranate juice. He seems pretty excited about all of it.
And I’m finally back into my pre-pregnancy jeans! I was pretty thrilled the day I pulled them on. Now, there is still a significant need for some toning and such since it seems things have shifted around a bit over the course of this adventure, but that’s to be expected I guess. Now if I could just motivate myself to start running again. . . hm.
