Rainbow Dish Towels - A Good Beginner Sewing Project

I think I've discovered a perfect project for someone who is learning to sew.

My friend, Diane, had a birthday last week.  Diane is my co-mom.  When our big kids were 3, and we were pregnant with the little kids, we had this grand idea.  We decided that if we both worked half time, opposite schedules, that we could take care of each other's kids, save a bundle in child care, and choose any preschool we'd like for our kids to attend.  So, we bought new cars that could handle 4 kids, traded in our sanity, and raised our kids together (with the help of my mom when I went back to work full time).  I'm lucky enough to have lots of family close by.  We have many aunts, uncles, and grandmas who have always been like additional sets of parents to my kids, but Diane and her family get "honorary family status" around here.

Anyway... Diane's birthday was last week and my daughter wanted to make something for her.   She has a new sewing machine and I thought this would be a great way for her to get to know her machine.  We have a stack of flour sack towels in the sewing cupboard, and I have every color of thread in the rainbow, so we didn't even need to purchase supplies.  She chose her stitch, threaded the machine, and got to work.

There are a few things I really love about this project:

1.  You have to thread the machine 6 times.  Threading the machine can seem like a daunting task when you are unfamiliar with your machine, it's new, or you haven't used it in years.  This project gives lots of practice in a very short amount of time.

2.  It may sound crazy, but sewing a straight line IS NOT always easy!  The most common sewing question I'm asked is, "Do you have any tips for sewing a straight line?"  It takes practice and you need to know where to look as you are sewing. (Looking at the needle is not the way to go. You need to watch your presser foot or an outside guide that you have set up.)  You can see that my daughter's lines are not always perfectly straight.  (Friends, Diane doesn't mind.  As my daughter was sewing, and noticed that she was off a bit, she said, "It's ok, Diane will like anything I make for her.")

3.  The number one reason this is a great beginner project is that it is really cute and practical!  Who doesn't want a rainbow dish towel in their kitchen?

I buy my floursack towels in a 5-pack at Target and keep them on hand for quick sewing and embroidery projects.  If you are learning to sew, this a great place to start.  Play with your stitches too!  My daughter's machine has 60 different stitches.  Her next dish towel could take on a whole new look!

Happy sewing!

Shortbread Salted Caramel Bars

I made a batch of Shortbread Salted Caramel Bars the other day, for the Teacher Appreciation Lunch at my kids' school.  My daughter has informed me that a couple of different people have told her how much they loved them and that they'd like the recipe.  Well, friends, here it is!

***WARNING: Lots and lots of butter used here!***

 

The recipe originally comes from Annie's Eats.  I made a few changes in my own version, but I'll walk you through it.

For the shortbread layer:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
***I also added a 1/4 cup of water to the mixture because mine was a little too dry.***



For the caramel layer:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I told you there was lots of butter!)
1 cup sugar
***I also added 1/4 cup of brown sugar because I like a darker caramel.***
4 tbsp. light corn syrup
2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk


For the chocolate layer:

8 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
***I used the whole bag of chocolate chips, because there's no such thing as too much chocolate.***
1 tsp. light corn syrup
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
***I didn't use a full stick, just because it's a lot of butter. I cut it down to 6Tbsps.  Whew!  Think of all of those calories I just saved!***

Sea salt, for sprinkling

To make the shortbread layer, preheat the oven to 325° F. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a fork to blend, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed blend in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. ***Add water if you do my version.***Transfer the dough to a 9x12 pan and press. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden.

To make the caramel layer, combine the butter, sugar (***both sugars if you're doing it my way***), corn syrup and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring CONSTANTLY, until the butter is melted. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue simmering and stirring until the mixture turns an amber color and thickens slightly.  This step took me about 20 minutes of constant stirring.  Pour the mixture over the cooled shortbread layer, smooth the top, and allow to cool completely and set. I refrigerated it for about 30 minutes.

To make the chocolate glaze, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour evenly over the caramel layer. Allow to cool for a minute or two and then sprinkle with sea salt. Chill, covered, until ready to slice and serve.



Cutting the cookies works best if they are completely set.  I let mine set over night and then cut with a very sharp knife.  This time, I made a double batch and used almost every last crumb.  There were a few little scraps for us to nibble on, but I was secretly glad we didn't have half of a pan left over.  I love these, and would have eaten my weight in butter cookies if they had been in my kitchen.

I hope the teachers enjoyed them and had a terrific Teacher Appreciation Week!

Happy baking!

A Few More Herbs

I woke up pretty early on Saturday morning.  The sun was out, so after a shower, I headed for the garden.  We didn't need to leave the house until about 10:00, so I knew I'd have a few hours of quiet time to get a little yard work done.

I absolutely LOVE having a garden.  Herbs are probably my favorite things to grow.  I have several areas of my garden devoted to herbs, but this little box, on the deck, usually houses geraniums.  Well, I decided to shake things up a bit this year and plant herbs right by the back door.  It's a pretty small box, so it wouldn't fit too much.  I planted basil, parsley, and a few purple basil plants (which I have never tried before).

My mom gave me this box several years ago, as she was moving out of her house.  She found it in the back of the garage and knew I'd love it.  She was right!  I love cool old stuff. (My hubby tells me that it's just someone else's junk that they didn't want, but I'll stick with calling it cool old stuff.)

This was my last little project before cleaning myself up and heading out to do a few errands.  My whole garden had been weeded, new dirt had been added, and a few veggies had been planted  Ahhh, the peace and quiet of spending time in the garden.

The peace and quiet was suddenly broken by my son threatening to shoot his father with his Air Soft gun, and his father threatening to soak him with the hose.  Long story short... one got pelted with plastic air soft pellets and the other was so wet that he had to change his clothes.  Good times!
(By the way, I'm the mom that was NEVER going to allow guns in her house. Ever. Now the boys run around my yard shooting each other and cracking up laughing about it.  Who wants to nominate me for Mother Of The Year?)

Happy peaceful gardening, friends.

Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day, here are a few pictures of my mom and my hubby's mom, with us when we were kids. Happy Mother's Day!

Springtime Window Boxes

 

It was planting day today!  My window boxes have been looking very bare for the past few months!

They need about 6 weeks of Miracle Grow, sunshine, and tlc before they're really looking pretty.

I plant four window boxes and two hanging baskets.


I like to use the same plants every year. The red and white flowers make me so happy. Geraniums and baccopa seem to do really well in this area. So, if it's working, I'm not going to change things.

They should be looking pretty good by the 4th of July, unless the rain keeps pounding them.

 

Happy gardening!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

I think I'm really missing Hawaii. I walked by the macadamia nuts, at the grocery store the other day, and I could almost feel the warmth of Hawaii again.  I couldn't pass them up.  Ok, I saw the price of $8.49 and I did pass them by, but I kept thinking about them.  Fast forward to a few days later.  I was at the drug store, around the corner from our house, and they had a smaller container that was on sale for less than $5.00.
  Sold.
I also had a package of white chocolate chips in the pantry, leftover from my Holiday baking.  I smell cookies, don't you?



Here's the recipe:
1 Cup Crisco shortening (original, not butter flavor)
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup white sugar
Mix until soft and fluffy.

Add:
2 Eggs
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix just until blended.

Dry ingredients:
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Mix it up and add a 6oz package of macadamia nuts (slightly chopped) and about 8 oz of white chocolate chips.

Bake for 10 minutes (or less) on 350 degrees. My oven is a standard oven, not convection, and this is what I do.
 

 

Happy baking!

Lunchtime Salad Kits

I've often said that I don't know how I dressed myself in the morning before Pinterest.  I rely on the "my style" pinboard on my Pinterest page to help me put together outfits.  Well, now I'm wondering how I fed myself before Pinterest.

 

Have you seen these salad kits all over Pinterest?

 

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to lunch all ready to go.  My little kits have lettuce, Feta cheese, tomatoes, and a little bit of chicken.  The dressing is in a separate container.

 

Yum.

Thank you Pinterest!

Sewing Camp Pillow Pattern

I've been working on a pillow pattern for Grown Up Sewing Camp.

 

 

 

If you can sew a straight line and know how to use an iron, you can make this pillow!  I can't wait to show you how to do it!  The end result will be a 19x19 inch throw pillow.

 

Sewing Camp for Grown Ups, coming soon!

Migraines - Ugh

I've had headaches for as long as I can remember.  I get the typical, "Oooh, I wish my headache would go away" type of headaches, but I also get the, "Oh my goodness, if I took a hammer to my skull it would certainly feel better" type of headaches.  I've been on different pain medications and a few things that were supposed to prevent the headaches from starting in the first place.  I've tried massage therapy, yoga, relaxation exercises (all of which are great), but I still get headaches.  I've worked with a naturopath (who is fabulous), and I'm taking all sorts of supplements.  I would say my pain has improved with all of the above, but I still miss work for migraines and sometimes miss out on fun times with my family.

I finally broke down and went to a Neurologist who specializes in pain control for people with chronic migraines.  I found out that I would not be a candidate for many of the medications she would want to try first.  (Those darn kidneys would prefer that I not take them!)  I'm totally fine with that because I really don't want to take medications.  I'm fine with herbs and vitamins, but I'd like to stay away from the heavy duty stuff.  The specialist's answer??? Botox.  I'd never heard of this as a solution for treating migraines.  I looked into it, and sure enough, there is quite a bit of research out there to support this.  So, a few weeks ago, I had Botox injected into my neck and the top of my head. (I have a very wrinkle free neck now, thank you very much!)  Headaches?  Well, better.  Actually, much better!  I'm kind of thinking it's amazing.

Well, after a few weeks of feeling pretty good, the headaches have started creeping back into my daily life.  My ears start ringing.  My vision gets a bit blurry.  Then the pain starts in.  I started to revisit the suggestions my Naturopath shared.  She told me that the absolute #1 no-no for a migraine sufferer is MSG.  My first thought was, "Well, I'm glad I don't eat Chinese food take out or eat Top Ramen."  I can't tell you how surprised I was to see MSG in many of the foods in our pantry.  I had no idea.  I half-way expected a package to come with a label that said Contains MSG or something like that.  But, those sneaky food companies list it under lots of different names.  The article below has some good information.

http://www.ehow.com/list_6580597_list-foods-containing-msg.html

 

  Two of my kids' favorites (and two of the foods I have a hard time saying no to) contain MSG.  It's in everything from frozen burgers to cheesy crackers!

I've decided that the only way I can control what I'm eating is to really control what I'm eating.  I'm not talking just reading labels.  I think I need to eat like people did in the pioneer days.  I need to grow my own food, pick my own veggies, and visit a butcher once a week. (Ok, I know the pioneers raised their own animals and butchered them on their own, but I just can't go there.)  Did you know that even some canned veggies contain MSG?  Sheesh!  You can't even eat right when you're trying to eat right!

So that's my story.  I wish my story had a beginning, middle, and end, but I've been in that middle stage for about 20 years now.  My friend, Diane, is doing an elimination diet.  Maybe that's what I need to do, except I need to eliminate just about everything.  Think how skinny I will be when I only eat home grown fruits and veggies! 

Happy eating!

Spring Yard Clean Up

We don't get a lot of sunny spring days around here.  Most of the time, when you wake up in the morning, it's gray.  As you move through the day, it's still gray.  Sometimes, in stormy weather, it may turn a dark gray, but it's pretty much gray most of the time.

Well, today was one of those rare Seattle days where the weather man said it would be cloudy with... wait for it.... sunbreaks!  I don't know if sunbreaks is a term used in other parts of country, but if you aren't familiar with this, I'll explain.  You see, we dress in layers around here.  Today was a capris, t-shirt, and fuzzy sweatshirt kind of day.  Most of the day I needed a fuzzy sweatshirt, but once in a while the sun would break through the clouds (thus the name Sunbreaks) and I would happily take off my sweatshirt and soak up the vitamin D.  Then the clouds would come back and I'd put the sweatshirt back on.



Well, since the forecast was for temperatures in the 50's and sunbreaks, I decided it was time to tackle a little spring yard clean up.  I usually don't have Tuesdays off, but my teaching partner asked if I could swap.

I spent most of the day weeding.  Ugh. I don't think anyone really loves weeding, do they?

I took a few minutes to snap a few tulip pictures.  (No need to drive an hour North to the Tulip Festival!  I have 2 or 3 in my own garden.)

If you aren't from around here, and don't know what the Tulip Festival is, it's really an amazing sight.  There are rows and rows of tulips, as far as you can see.  The colors are stunning.


So, my 3 little tulips really don't compare.



I played in the yard until it started raining (so much for sunbreaks) and then took a break and went inside. When my kids came home from school, the sun found its way out again, so the kids helped in the yard too.  My son mowed and my daughter helped plant a few cold weather seeds, lettuce starts, and potatoes in the garden.  I usually begin the yard clean up and cold weather planing in March, but this year the whole kidney surgery thing set me back. (And then I had to spend a week recouping in Maui after that!) It's late, but we're off to a good start.  

Happy gardening!