Shhh... A birthday present!

I really should not be showing you this yet.

It is a birthday gift for my mom.

I am going to give it to her tonight

BUT

I really, really, really am bad at keeping my own secrets!

AND

I really LOVE how it turned out!

I made her a scarf and cardigan set.

(BAHHH!! I am SO pregnant!)

Didn't it turn out cute?!

I followed the instructions for the scarf from mamma says sew's blog.

Mine did not turn out NEAR as ruffly because I did not use very stretchy fabric.

I knew this would be the case,

But I really loved the fabric for my mom

And she is not really a ruffly kinda girl!

I like the understated ruffles.

I got the idea for the cardigan from behind the seam's blog.

It is seriously the EASIEST thing EVER!

I made one for myself a while ago and I love it.

 I wore it last night to hang out with some of our friends

and I got so many complements

that we decided

to have a cardigan making party.

The only thing I did different when I made my mom's

was to serge the edges and arm holes.

Her fabric was lighter and I was scared it would not hold

up very well without some help!

This is a FABULOUS Christmas gift idea.

No sew.

One size fits all.

One yard of fabric.

Definitely a winner in my book!

~Happy gift making!

Cookies!

Today was cold and rainy in the great state of Florida.

In my opinion that is the PERFECT day for one of two things.

1. A Harry Potter marathon

2. Baking, baking and then eating!

We chose option number 2 today and I thought I would share our finished project with you. I wish I could let you have a taste test.

These cookies are GOOD!

I set the hubs on a mission this morning. I opened my Pinterest baking board and I told him to choose.

He chose well.

First we have chocolate chip cheesecake cookies

AKA heaven on earth!

Here is the recipe:



Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 10 tablespoons butter (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 ounces chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine dry ingredients (flour through soda) in a bowl and set aside. In mixer, blend butter, sugar, egg, cream cheese, and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing with each addition, until all are incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Grease a cookie sheet. Drop dough by the spoonful onto sheet, at least 1 inch apart.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown around edges.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

The only reason it is  not 5 stars is because this second recipe may be my new favorite cookies recipe so nothing could really compare.

Ginger cookies anyone?!

The Barefoot Contessa worked her magic again.

I am becoming a HUGE fan of hers.

Here is the recipe:

The Barefoot Contessa’s Ultimate Ginger Cookies
Makes 16 cookies

2 1/4 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (170 g) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
1/3 cup (80 ml) unsulfured molasses or black treacle
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (170 g) chopped crystallized ginger
granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop (I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup, which is 90 g of dough). With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.



I modified this a bit.

1. I used the ingredients I had on hand such as regular store brand molasses, light brown sugar, and fresh ginger.

2. I made my cookies A LOT smaller. These call for monster cookies. My batch made about 2 1/2 dozen.

3. I asked my husband to read the directions for me and tell me what to add with the molasses. He go everything backwards.

I have no idea how.

But they still turned out great!

We also picked and cooked some fresh greens for dinner.

And....

I put together all the ingredients for homemade goldfish but that dough is still in the fridge because I just ran out of steam!

SOOOO if you get the time come stop by for a cookie!

I have PLENTY!

~Happy Baking!

I made jewelry AHHH!

Hey friends!

Happy Monday!

Or if your Monday has gone like mine has, so far, then hopefully you will have a quick Monday!

Well family photos are upon us this week. Yay!

And AHHHH!

I always want to run out and get invisaline and smile lessons and freckle lightener (does that exist?!) before picture day.

I am such a teenager sometimes!

I am not a very photogenic person, but luckily I have an AMAZING photographer!

Z- baby is having her 1 year old pics done.

(I know I am 3 or so months behind!)

I am having a few maternity shots done.

And we are taking our Christmas pictures.

I have been working on a few projects to use as props in the photos.

I wanted to share them with you.

First I'll show you the Christmas photo prop:

It was so super easy it is kind of embarrassing to show!

I just picked up this wooden tree at Michael's (for $3!) and spray painted it gold.

We are wearing neutral colors for our Christmas pic- off white, black and tan- so I wanted to keep our prop neutral too.

We shall see how it turns out!

A major plus is I cannot wait to use it in my Christmas decor. I love gold at Christmas time. Plus, those holes are for mini Christmas lights to stick through- How cute is that!

The second prop I worked on is a necklace.

If you know me, you know that I am not a huge fan of jewelry.

I wear it, but not often and usually only one piece at a time.

But I really wanted a sentimental piece for the new babe.

I, of course, stole the idea from one of my amazingly creative and talented friends.

She makes and sells these necklaces for people. Her etsy shop is called valley of Elah. She will use the person's child's name, name meaning, and initial as the decoration.

It always turns out SOOOOO cute!

To bad new baby has no name.

Well she does- I just haven't annoyed my husband to the point of committing yet :)

So I made my pendant more general but still so meaningful!

I LOVE it! Here are some close-up of the pendant.

If you want to make one I'll show you what I did to help you out.

Please remember: I am NOT a jewelry maker!

I bought the pendents from Micheal's. They came two to a pack....

I can't wait to try again!

I also bought another pack of charms that were the same brand to add to the necklace. That is where the medal piece came from.

The pendant is really easy to take apart, you just unlatch it!

I took it apart and cut a piece of white computer paper to match the size of the glass.

Then I pulled out an old Thesaurus I got at a yard sale FOREVER ago and started clipping.

For the heart on the back side of the pendant I just google imaged "vintage heart graphic" and picked one I liked. I moved it to paint and saved it as a Jpeg. Then I scaled it down and made it sepia in picnic photo software.

I then pasted it to paint and printed it on regular paper.

The button came from some scrap booking supplies I had on hand.

I just twisted the brad in the back around the necklace chain and then I dabbed some hot glue on it.

I really like how it turned out! I can't wait to see what my photographer does with it!

And just for kicks... Look how cute Z-baby looked for church yesterday!

I hope you like my necklace and Christmas tree!

Are you taking any Christmas pictures soon?

Are you one of those super-awesome people who can take your own?

If so I am very jealous.

~Happy photo-taking!

Frugalista!

Today I spent a lot more money then I have in a while on clothes. They were mostly clothes for Z-baby because she is (Finally) having her one year photos taken (I am such a procrastinator!)

I did buy a few items for myself since I am having some maternity photos done too.

I ALWAYS shop from the sale rack.

I can't help it,

It is kind of like an illness.

When I finished my shopping spree today I did not feel giddy like I remember feeling in the (two income, pre-children) past. I didn't feel guilty either- I refuse to let myself! ;)

All I could think was, "I wonder if they had coupons on their website that I missed?"

Seriously.

I am a coupon addict. I could not be on that tv show- extreme couponers- or anything like that. I just love to shop the sales and add my coupons to it, whether it be Publix or Jo-Ann's.

Couponing has really changed my perspective about spending money. I just hate to pay full price because eventually EVERYTHING in a chain store goes on sale.

So in the spirit of being a frugal momma I just wanted to share some tips on how we save money in my family.

TIPS:

1. I love coupons- like I just ranted on! I love the blog Coupon-chix for my area. She post where to find all the coupons for the local sale adds and throughout the week she will let you know if anyplace is having a major sale. She even teaches classes and they are SO helpful. I also love Target's coupons. I always check them before I head to the store. AND I try to join the email list of all my favorite stores because they give out some AWESOME coupons that way.
2. We don't pay for cable. We use netflix instant streaming which is under 10 bucks if you only get the streaming and we watch everything else on HULU. The small things really count with us.
3. we switched our cell phones to no-contract pay by the month phones. I don't have an iphone but I have a smartphone with unlimited everything that I only pay 50 dollars a month for. SWEET!

I have some more tips that I would love to share with you down the road, but for now I think I have chatted your ear off enough! :)

If you have any tips of your own let me know!!

I do LOVE saving money!

~Happy Frugalista-ing

Shelf revamp and easy peasy diy tunic

Helllllo Friends!

Happy November!

I just LOVE this month.

I do wish it could be just a little colder though.

I have been working on several projects the past couple of weeks.

• My craft closet
• Zadie's big girl room
• a cute new tunic
• revamping a homemade shelf

I am not going to talk about those all today. But they will be coming sooooon!

If you noticed my lack of consistent posting the past couple of weeks I am sorry! Between my sewing machine frustrating the crud out of me and fighting the extremes of nesting then NO motivation, I have been foul. Seriously foul.

Sorry friends!

(Sorry hubby :)

Let's start with the shelf:

A few weeks ago I had a mantle reveal. I LOVED the way it turned out.

Except...

My poor mantle shelf was just not well crafted the first time.

So hubs, being the great sport he is, helped me revamp it yesterday.

Here is the before pic

and the after...

Here's a close-up just of the shelf..

It is SOOO pretty!

We were only going to add the supports

BUT

Brent had this wood wax he was DYING to try.

SO

we stained it and then waxed it.

WHA-LA

The new and improved mantel/shelf!

Now for the DIY tunic.

I love tunics. Actually I love anything that doesn't really touch you but still looks spectacular- pretty much anything flowy and light.

I have admitted before that I am a novice in the sewing department. I have been doing it a long time but WITH my grandmother. That means, anytime I had to do anything other than a straight stitch I would pretty much let her handle it and I would watch.

So, in the spirit of independence I decided to start small- NOT- and create my own pattern (Seriously!?!)

It really wasn't that hard, but I did learn some pretty important lessons I want to share with you.

First I found a shirt I really like to use as a starting point.

I laid it on some pattern making paper my grandma handed down and started tracing.

Can you see the tracing?

If you can't, I promise it is there.

Then I took my measurements and started to modify the original pattern.

I wanted the sleeves to drape more and I wanted it to be longer so I could wear it with just leggings or on its own when I am not preggers.

I also needed it to really be a sheath since I am preggo and do not enjoy my pregnant booty.

SO I took a ruler, pencil, and a cutting board and I went to town.

Here is where my lessons were learned. I am just going to list them:

1. When tracing a patterns using another piece of clothing do not trace RIGHT on the clothing line, allow for a seam. -- duh! (This really only affected my neckline thank goodness!)
2. As grandma says, "Always mark the center!" Well I need to start listening to this advise. It would have worked MUCH better had I modified one side of the pattern then simply folded it down the center and traced the modified side. I spent half my time measuring and remeasuring trying to get all the angles the same, and I didn't...
3. Which leads me to this lesson. Cut the fabric with the right sides together. If you do not you will have to match two sides that may not have been cut exactly the same. (duh, duh, duh!)
4. Finally, when working with silky material, serge the ends of the fabric before sewing because they fray A LOT!

Well, even with all these lessons I still think it turned out great. Here you go!

Sorry about the pics. I took them FIRST thing this morning.

Like pre-tooth brushing.

Yuck!

I made this originally as my Halloween costume to match Z-bugs.

But i will be wearing it much more because it is so stinking comfortable and versatile.

Put it with jeans and flats

Or leggings and heals

or just heals

And wha-la

You are ready to go!

I hope you learned some from my mistakes!

~happy seam ripping!

Persimmon Bread...MMM...MMM... GOOD!

One of my husband's patients brought him MORE persimmons. Now, I am not complaining I am simply informing you that we didn't use all of them for the last batch of cookies so we still had some of our own. We had A LOT of persimmons so we decided to make bread. Here is the best recipe we could find (meaning it used the most persimmons :)

Persimmon Bread


Using the higher amount of sugar will produce a moister and, of course, sweeter bread.
From Beard on Bread by James Beard.

Ingredients:
3½ cups sifted flour ( I used half all purpose flour and half white whole wheat flour)
1½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 to 2½ cups sugar
1 cup melted unsalted butter and cooled to room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
2/3 cup cognac, bourbon or whiskey
2 cups persimmon puree (from about 4 squishy-soft Hachiya persimmons)
2 cups walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped
2 cups raisins, or diced dried fruits (such as apricots, cranberries, or dates)

Directions:
1. Butter 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper or dust with flour and tap out any excess.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Sift the first 5 dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Make a well in the center then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree then the nuts and raisins.
5. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Storage: Will keep for about a week, if well-wrapped, at room temperature. The Persimmon Breads take well to being frozen, too.

We did not use nuts because we did not have any and we used crown as our liquor.
Here are some pics:

 Orange for Halloween.. Right?!

 I was grumpy.. can you tell ;0

 mmm... raisins

 Really, I love the color!

 The dogs waiting patiently for the bread to finish (Like they are going to get any!)

 Sorry about the fork mark in the middle of the loaf. Rookie mistake

 And now for the taste tester shots...

Score! She gave it 5 stars!

It was SO yummy!

We even got to boo our neighbors with the other loaf.

And.... Brent just asked if we could go pick MORE today!

I am going to turn into a persimmon!!

~Happy baking