Friday, January 27, 2012

Winter Hat


My warmest winter hat for the last couple years has been the only store bought winter accessory I own. I recently decided to amend the situation. For the record I have been trying to amend the situation for the last couple of years, but no avail, the patterns weren't right, the yarn didn't feel right, you name it, it was a problem. But this year I put my foot down, I made it using leftover yarn from other finished projects, and made up the pattern as I went. I also lined the rim with fleece, to be extra warm. I love the results and have been wearing it everytime I go outside.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Mini Pies

We made mini chocolate and berry pies over the weekend. We used the Betty Crocker pie crust recipe and modified the mixed berry pie filling recipe, so that our little mugs could hold all the filling. They were super tasty, and if you warm them up just a tiny bit before eating, the chocolate gets melty, making the whole thing even tastier.

We also made chocolate mousse out of the Betty Crocker Cookbook and it was amazing, the pictures were not though.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Making Monday: Cook Book Holder

We kept running out of kitchen counter space (as does everyone it seems) and so we decided to try out a cookbook holder to use the vertical space. We made it using wood scraps in the garage,and bolts that were once part of an ikea piece of furniture. So far it's worked well for holding up the cookbook. I don't think we are saving all that much space, but the vertical is way easier to read.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Monster Sketchbook Project






My theme this year for the Sketchbook Project was Fill Me With Stories. Above are some of my favorite pages.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Making Monday: Recycled Surprise Quilt


We decided to make a quilt together for our roommate while he was out of town. We cut up a fleece tie blanket for the batting, Star Wars sheets, and a plain flat sheet for the back and border. This weekend project was quite fun.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Blueberry Patsries

We wanted to make blueberry cream cheese danish. We combined these recipes (one, two). They are quite tasty.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Completed

Here is what we did over our winter break:
  1. hosted mixed family dinner and celebration
  2. write thank you cards
  3. painted an angler fish on a skateboard
  4. hung skateboards
  5. watched "Buck"
  6. watched "Invisible Sign" (twice)
  7. made dinner rolls
  8. made mixed berry pie
  9. hung boots
  10. "You Are Beautiful" Project
  11. dentist trip
  12. sewed sock creature
  13. delivered sock creature
  14. wrote/illustrated/made a book in English and Spanish
  15. went the the Minnesota History Center
  16. bought pants and boots at savers
  17. Seward Cafe
  18. sent out 22 query letters
  19. late night drive by the river
  20. watched "Paperman"
  21. climbing at Midwest Mountaineering (twice)
  22. ate chipotle
  23. post office adventure
  24. watched "Science of Babies"
  25. watched "Stephan Fry Visits America"
  26. cut Claudio's hair
  27. watched pilot episode of "Breaking Bad"
  28. finished an afghan
  29. danced at Lee's Liquor Lounge with Molly and the Mistakes
  30. watched "The Little Princesses"
  31. Walker Free Thursday Night
  32. worked on the scrapbook
  33. baked two loafs of Honey Wheat bread
  34. made calenders
  35. embroidered a jacket
  36. lined pockets with fleece
  37. ate lunch with Father and Step-Mother at Old Chicago
  38. badminton shoes turned into bowling shoes
  39. fixed hand sculpture
  40. went through jewelry box
  41. signed up for clay class
  42. wrote Sam's resume
  43. hooked up Mom's vcr
  44. made lemon bars
  45. made vegan chickin' pot pie
  46. had second Christ's Mass with grandma
  47. fed a baby
  48. burped a baby
  49. skyped with Kyle
  50. applied for Red Cross EMT
  51. made and burned effigy
  52. group to do list for 2012
  53. coloring contest
  54. helped teach boys how to dance
  55. learned pop and lock routine
  56. made art with James
  57. made black bean "soup"
  58. made cowboy baked beans
  59. watched "Wavy Gravy" (twice)
  60. first clay class
  61. moved couch for Mama Rojas (twice)
  62. smashed toe with said couch
  63. made stop-motion granny square video
  64. put patches on pants
  65. tried to transfer cell phone plan
  66. watched "Eclipse"
  67. started to learn how to stick and juggle
  68. cut Marc's hair
  69. nebbed 7 times
  70. finished "Messenger" by Lois Lowry
  71. began "The Little Prince"
  72. went to a poetry slam
  73. managed to post a week's worth of posts
  74. non-probationary EMT for U of M
  75. went to the doctor for lungs
  76. ct scan for lungs
  77. cancer scare
  78. antibiotics for lung infection
  79. started to learn the ukulele
  80. fixed two pairs of Marc's pants
  81. went to grant meeting
  82. did not get said grant
  83. started planning for after school class
  84. watched "True Grit" (remake)
  85. switched grade by writing a paper
  86. entertained 3 year old with blocks, legos, snowflakes, coloring, movie, pizza
  87. went to the central library
  88. went to May Day Books
  89. started Marc's quilt
  90. made mushroom/apple combo discovery
  91. started to work on a grant
  92. started the "Phantom Tollbooth"
  93. treated Marc to Luce
  94. grocery shopping
  95. Filmzilla visit
  96. baked blueberry pastries
  97. watched "Fargo"
  98. watched "Mighty Ducks"
  99. watched "Big Chill"
  100. watched "In the Heat of the Night"
  101. ate at Noodles
  102. played chess
  103. two rounds of bowling
  104. continued work on knit sweater

Blaze

This New Years eve we started up a fire in the backyard, and burned the bad things of last year.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Vegan Chickin' Pot Pie


We used the Betty Crocker Cook Book to make chicken pot pie and substituted everything meaty for non-meaty things; vegan buttery spread for butter, almond milk for milk, vegetable broth for chicken broth, and Morning Star chicken for chicken. Result...quite good.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Lemon Bars

These lemon bars were made from a fancy dessert cook book from the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. They ended up a little bit wobbly, and very tasty.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Making Monday: Honey Wheat Bread Braid

We made honey wheat bread from our Betty Crocker Cook Book. We only have one bread pan and so decided to braid the second loaf. It worked quite well, in our opinion.