Time Suck.

As if facebook, flickr, and etsy aren't enough of a time suck, I've added a new website to the mix. Pinterest.
It's a site of virtual idea boards. You can "pin" images from any website onto a designated board. I have several boards including: lunch ideas, halloween, cloche hat, and cat-related items. One of the cool things about this site is that it gives proper credit to the original site. Kudos, pinterest!



This is such a cool idea because it negates the need for my annoyingly unorganized, endless array of bookmarks. Such a cool idea for redoing a room in your house, or anything really. You can also select ideas you're interested in (DIY, photography, technology, music, etc.). You can also see the pins of other people who share similar likes, styles, and tastes. Chalk this up to another, "Why the eff didn't I think of that?!" idea

Powder Room Cupcakes

So, a couple (few?) years ago my lovely friend Heather purchased Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and surprised me with it. I've made many a cupcake from that book, although, admittedly, I often didn't make them vegan. I just like the clever cupcake flavors.
Each time I look through that book, 2 cupcakes stand out. The green tea cupcakes, which I've made numerous times (non-vegan) and love. I make myself a green tea cake for my birthday each year (OK, 2 years in a row, but probably for the rest of my life until I decide that I don't feel like baking myself a cake anymore.) My daughter hates it, but I don't care. It's my birthday and if I want to pay $11.00 an ounce for matcha, then I'm gonna do it, dammit!
The second cupcake is the cover girl of the book. Rosewater pistachio. I know. I don't really care the pistachio as a nut, but in things, it doesn't bother me. And rosewater, I had no idea what it tasted like, but it sounds cool and worthy of a fancy-schmancy cupcake. On a trip to Whole Foods, at least six months (probably closer to a year) ago, I purchased some rosewater. It's been sitting in my cabinet.
I finally put it to use. It smells good, but not edible. I blame this on my Aunt Rose. Well, she's my great-aunt, but whatever.
She had a "powder room" off of her kitchen. It was overly pink and smelled rosy. I didn't realize it at the time, but the second I had a sniff of the clear liquid I was about to pour into cupcakes, I was immediately was standing in Aunt Rose's powder room. Gross. I'm about to flavor the cupcakes with the scent of a bathroom.

So, I can't really give an unbiased opinion of these cupcakes since I feel like I'm eating bathroom smell. I think it's needless to say that I will not be making these again. Abby enjoyed the first bite and finished the cupcake, but didn't want anymore. And she doesn't even have the bathroom memories, so that says something.
Oh, I didn't add the cardamom that the recipe calls for because I've realized that I only like cardamom in chai. It annoys me in anything else.

The Resurrection!

More than 365 days have passed since I've written in this blog. Not more than a week goes by that I think about resurrecting it. Today. Today is the resurrection. Please mark this day on your calendar (Heather, my sole reader).

So, what has occurred in the past 12 months? Lots of baking, sewing, and knitting. I also started a book reviewing blog with the child, which I've enjoyed enormously, but, alas! it is now defunct. Mainly because, (looking around shiftily), I have library books that are late. Very late. Months late. I am embarrassed to admit this publicly, even more embarrassed to own up to my crime at the local branch. Also, I feel like I enjoyed the blog more than the child. It got to the point where I could feel her eyes roll. I don't want her to hate reading books because her mother wants to blog about it. Heaven knows I don't want her to resent me for making her do things that I want to do, but she has no interest in...

Which, leads me to the second big thing of the year. Therapy. It's been helpful and stressful. I've also started writing in a journal again. The last time the journal was written in was December 7, 2005. The day before the child was born.

And school. I stopped going to school. I don't feel like getting into the whole thought process, but I'm very pleased with my decision. It's allowed me much more time to read. I've read so many amazing books since quitting school: The Help, I Know This Much is True, Water for Elephants, just to name a few.

Yeah, other things have happened, but nothing really comes to mind right now.

To conclude, enjoy a teaser photo for the next post.

Baby Shower Gifts.

My first sewing projects in, um, F O R E V E R.
All of these projects were pretty simple and turned out really cute. I love the fabric. The parents aren't finding out the baby's sex and I'm kind of glad because if I knew it was a boy or a girl, I probably would have gone for a gender specific fabric. This is pretty gender neutral without being a blatant, "I don't know what the sex of the baby is so here is something yellow and green" gift.
The blanket & bib are from Bend-the-Rules Sewing.
The kimono is from here. The last one I made was quite awhile ago!

A Delicious Sandwich.

I've had this recipe bookmarked for awhile. It's very good. I served it for dinner, but Cooking Light recommends it for breakfast/brunch.
I served it with sweet potato fries.

The sandwich is grilled goat cheese sandwich served on cinnamon raisin bread. The goat cheese mixture includes honey, lemon zest, and basil. The recipe calls for fig preserves. I couldn't find that, so I used Dickinson's apple butter instead. Very delicious!

Sorry for the crappy picture.

Some Sad (probably overdramatic) Thoughts.

I've been wanting to blog, but can't think of anything creative or clever to say.
I've been perusing old posts, even old flickr commentary. I don't even remember writing half of the things, and can't even believe that they came from my head.

I've deduced that school has sucked the life out of me. This makes me sad. But, what furthers my sadness is the high possibility that this will happen to Abby. School, but its nature, just does that. I hate that. Oh, how I wish that home schooling was an option for us. I really, really do.

But, it's not. I need to work (hence the reason I'm back in school) and Abby needs the social interaction and constant activity that school provides.

I get really sad when I think about her losing her creativity, or being told how/what to think.

Graceful.

I finished my first knitted non-scarf wearable item. For myself.
The pattern was easy, but the chart was a pain in the ass. Combined with my fading printer ink, the small diagram, and the pattern errors, I almost gave up.

I don't know why I have more patience with knitting than I do with anything else. It's weird an unexplainable. Honestly though, if I had encountered the problems I did when I started the top, I probably wouldn't have finished. The major problems came on the last piece of the front. I had to finish it!

The yarn is a discontinued Lion Brand (Imagine) line from Heather. It's kind of itchy, but will be perfectly fine worn over a button down shirt in the fall and winter.

Oh, and I put it on ravelry. My first ravelry posting. I'm a dork because that's exciting for me.