Life.

I've come to realize that little things make me happy: a tablecloth on the kitchen table, using my little juice glasses for orange juice, a loaf of homemade bread, a bowl with cherries on and in it, blueberries in my fridge, and seeing my daughter interact with others, watching her individuality bloom.

As a mother, I am constantly on the look out for her safety and well-being, while both correcting her when she misbehaves, and guiding her with proper social skills. (those who know me can go ahead and laugh and the last thing.) Sometimes (all the time) it's difficult to let her be her own person. You have to decide if you're correcting a misguided behavior or hindering her personality. When I send her to her room for not listening and get frustrated with her for saying, "NO!" to me, I try to remember that she's an individual. She's unique. And seriously, wouldn't it bug the hell out of me if some one constantly told me when, where, and what to do? Yes, it would. I know it would because I can vividly remember being annoyed with my parents for this. The circle of life, I suppose.

Abby's Apron.

I made this during the winter and never took pictures of it. The fabric was purchased at a thrift store. I love the little applique pocket.

It's the Little Things.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
~Leonardo daVinci

Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

I bought some yeast the other day with the intention of making some whole wheat sandwich bread. After some internet searches, I came upon this cinnamon raisin bread. It's a quick bread and therefore doesn't require yeast. Ah well.I did alter it some. I used 1% cow's milk because some one finished up "mommy's milk" (light vanilla soy) with her Life cereal. I also used agave nectar instead of maple syrup. I also tossed the raisins in some cinnamon. I also skipped the nuts. The bread is tasty. And the house smelled wonderful... I got my first glimpse (sniff?) of autumn and got a little giddy. After the bread cooled, Abby & I had a half a slice each. I said, "Seems a bit chewy." She said, "It's supposed to be." And I realized she was right. It was more of a bread texture then the texture I thought it should be (banana bread-kinda-cakey-texture). In total, Abby had 2 1/2 pieces yesterday. I had 1 1/2. We put some butter on it and it was delicious!
A bonus: Super low in fat! Since I skipped the nuts (Abby doesn't like them) it only has 1 gram of fat per serving. Actually, it's probably less since the recipe cuts the loaf into 8 servings... we're getting more than that from the loaf.

Farmers' Market.

I have been wanting to go the the Headhouse Farmers' Market for quite some time. Years, really. It's not much effort to get there, but it's an effort to find parking (except Heather drove and we found a super close spot!), it's an effort to go out on a Sunday morning when it's the only day my husband can sleep in, it's an effort to decide whether or not it's worth the guilt of having him wake up early and stay with the child or worth the frustration of taking her to a crowded place riddled with hipsters sporting their canvas totes. *sigh* I think too much, don't I?

So, this Sunday, after bombarding Heather with Facebook notes and text messages on Saturday, we went at 10am. It was not as crowded as I had pictured it in my head. Maybe because a lot of people are on vacation, or maybe since I over-dramatize everything in my head, the crowd was manageable. Sure, there were the pet parents and the human parents both with their appropriate gear. And then trendy rich people. And the trendy poor people. You can discern the difference in the amount of hair on face/head.

I was going to bring my camera. I was. I was going to bring my lenses and take great crowd shots and pictures of colorful, ripe fruit. But then I thought, I'm not gonna wanna lug the camera bag around the massive crowd (my over-active, paranoid imagination at work) so I just decided to bring my small camera that I can just toss in my bag and be done with it. But I forgot it. And so, I mentally slapped myself on the wrist a gazillion times as I saw a ton of photographs that weren't taken with my camera, only with my mind. The thing about mental pictures is that they can't be shared with others. Oh well, next time. And there will be a next time, I assure you.

The pictures had to wait until I got home. I'll admit, I bought those colorful carrots with the intent of photographing. I mean, look at them, they're beautiful! Who would've thought I would ever say that about a carrot?! I mean, really!

Hats Off!

I made a hat. It was pretty easy. Fairly quick. I used all the proper things: canvas fabric, hair canvas for the lining. I never used hair canvas before. It serves its purpose, but I think next time, I'll just use a medium-to-heavy weight interfacing. The hair canvas kinda made me itchy. And plus, ew, it's got HAIR in it.

The hat was made for my sister, at her request to resemble the hat Samantha wore in the SATC movie. The only resemblance, really, is that it is black and white. I couldn't find a similar fabric design, and, since this was my first hat-making experience, I didn't want to alter the pattern and make the brim any wider that the pattern called for.


I intend to make myself a hat too. I'll even embellish mine with some ribbon. SNAZZY!

Cakes.

The weekend was full of baking.
On Friday, I spent the majority of the day baking and preparing the decorations for my cousin's girlfriend's shower cake.
I finally used the chocolate decoration ideas from The Whimsical Bakehouse. I love that book. The recipes are delicious (I used the chocolate chip pound cake recipe from the book, but my own cream cheese frosting recipe) and the pictures are lovely. Many compliments on the cake. That made me happy.

On Sunday I made a banana cake (from the same book). The cake itself was good. The filling was OK. It was supposed to be french custard, but it just wasn't coming together properly. The frosting was a heart patient's bane. Chocolate chips, heavy cream, butter, and corn syrup. I didn't even use the full amount of butter called for ( 2 1/2 sticks!!!) because it just seemed wrong. Everything assembled was good, but next time, the banana cake with either be sprinkled with powdered sugar or topped regular chocolate frosting.

Thrifty Finds.

Lots and lots of fabric! (Some not pictured includes over 3 yards of a nice tweed fabric.)
I know, I know, the below is horrificly tacky, so how could I resist?!
The below is my favorite! Love the color combo and the vintage Christmas theme. No clue what I'm gonna do with it, but I *had* to have it! (It was only like .75!)

And cute decor for my kitchen.

Muffins.

So I had some overripe bananas. Was thinking about making a banana cake. With butterscotch custard filling. And chocolate glaze. Then I realized, who the hell feels like doing all that in the spur of the moment? Not me.
I was gonna go the banana bread route, but took a detour when I decided muffins would be a better choice to bring to work.
I used the "Joy of Cooking" recipe. Eh. I didn't put nuts in it because the child doesn't care for nuts. It needs them. I put in mini chocolate chips (2/3c) that was a good addition. The banana flavor (3 bananas) was lacking. I knew I should've used the 4th one. Oh well. Next time.

Thanks, Kathryn Ivy.

Last summer I made Abby a summerlin dress. It was very cute, but quickly became misshapen courtesy of the yarn and her incessant need to pull and tug on the straps. It was pointed out that I should probably change the yarn I was using. So, last week, I finally got my butt to Rosie's and picked up the recommended Rowan "Calmer" yarn. Very pretty. Very soft. Very unlikely it will be stretched out of shape (due to the quality of yarn and the child being another year older.)

The fabric was purchased at a thrift store awhile ago. I was drawn to it because it reminded me of sheets my parents used to have when I was little. Freaky 70s flower patterns rock. (Or so I tell myself to make myself seem cool and not outdated.)