Piles Of Pillows

I've been a little obsessed with recovering pillows. It started with pillows for the reading nook [still nowhere near finished], then turned into gifts, then turned into changing up the house. It's a fun, quick sew, and a cheap way to change a room. Here's my pile of pillows:

I made these 2 pillows for [L]'s bridal shower - the colors match the bedroom set she registered for, and the birds are from a decoration she is using at the wedding.



[Here is a sneak peek at what she might be doing with those cute little birds.]

I wanted to add a little sunny color to our back sun room, found this cheerful fabric and just couldn't resist snatching it up [tip: to make a pillow even cheaper, I used a less expensive plain yellow fabric for the back of the pillow, cutting the cost almost in half].

Here is the sun room, all jazzed up.

And, of course, a couple more pillows for the reading nook. [W] saw the kitty fabric and was in heaven, as she is crazy about cats right now.

So there they are. I have some ideas for more throw pillow for our bedroom and other couches, but we'll see if I get to them before baby boy arrives.

Pancakes 101

I finally figured out how to make good pancakes. It's only taken me, oh ... about 2 years now, but the past month we have enjoyed lovely, fluffy pancakes for our Saturday morning breakfasts.

I learned that a whisk is important - while pancakes need to be lightly combined, mixing with a whisk helps incorporate air and keeps the batter thick and airy, not thin and watery [which is what happened when I used a spatula]. Also letting the batter sit for 10 minutes before cooking helps the batter thicken nicely.

I was also able to tweak recipes to our families liking - adding whole wheat flour, some flax and wheat germ, and our favorite addition, blueberries. We also discovered a good syrup put them over the top - an accidental [and um, rather expensive] purchase at our local co-op of Grade B, organic, pure maple syrup made for an incredible breakfast.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes
Adapted From America's Test Kitchen
If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by whisking 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice with 2 cups of milk and set aside a few minutes to thicken. Pancakes can be held in a 200 degree oven until all are cooked. Other berries can also be substituted in this recipe. If you want just a basic pancake, use only all purpose flour and omit blueberries.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour [I use whole wheat pastry flour]
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt
1 tbsp flaxmeal [optional]
1 tbsp wheat germ [optional]
1 egg
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup blueberries, rinsed and dried
1-2 tsp vegetable oil

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, melted butter and then the buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the buttermilk mixture into the well, and whisk very gently until the buttermilk mixture is just incorporated [a few lumps should remain]. Be careful not to overmix the batter. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.

Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Brush pan bottom with vegetable oil. Using 1/4 cup of batter per pancake, add batter to the skillet [only 2-3 pancakes will fit at a time]. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon blueberries over each pancake. Cook until large bubbles begin to appear, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the second side, about 1 1/2 minutes longer. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing the skillet with oil as needed between batches.

Peanut Butter-Oat Bars

I made these bars the other day in hopes of finding a *lighter* snack. I was really happy with them - they are sweet, melt in your mouth, and have less calories than those cookies I find myself eating every afternoon. And, on these hot summer days, these bars don't require heating up the oven. The original recipe doesn't call for chocolate, but I had to throw some in. I've made them without, too... and they are still good.

Peanut Butter Oat Bars
adapted from Everyday Food Magazine

2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups crisp rice cereal
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup chocolate chips [optional]

Grease a 8 x 8 square pan. In a small saucepan over medium, heat honey, peanut butter, chocolate [if using] and butter. Stir until loosened and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cereal and oats. Pour mixture into pan, and smooth evenly. Refrigerate until set, about 1/2 hour. Cut into squares.

Thorns, Thistles, and a Hosta Takeover

Mama [L] came to spend another couple days with us, and helped me work on the garden. Did we have a mess on our hands. While our veggies and herbs are growing along wonderfully, most of the perennials that were here when we moved in have decided to take over the yard. Lilies, Hostas, Daisies, Hens & Chicks had to be moved, split, and thinned. We also discovered a terrible thorny weed that had tried to take over our raspberry plants - it looked exactly like the plant, so it was hard to spot. However, our garden is looking great, and it appears we will have a bountiful harvest of raspberries this summer. Here are some garden shots:

Chives: I've never had my chives flower so early [maybe it is due to the lack of rain we had and wanted to give off seeds?] but it sure made a pretty picture.

We have so many out of control Hosta plants. I started a garden journal to mark which ones to split next spring and where to move them.

I went crazy with Basil this year - 8 plants. I'm looking forward to lots and lots of pesto. And maybe I'll finally attempt making basil ice cream.

Miss [W] is *patiently* waiting for me to stop taking pictures so she can get into the kiddie pool.

Our raspberry bushes with little fruits appearing.

Daisies popping up! Our neighbor had these sprout in the middle of his yard.

Winter Hats in Summer

I think my nesting phase has kicked in - I've been trying to get all kinds of stuff done before baby boy gets here. I decided to make both him and [W] elf hats for this coming winter, and realized if I don't do it now, it is not going to get done. So here is his - gray and blue. It's hard switching to more 'boy' colors - I've been thinking pink for over a year now. I would like to line the inside with flannel, but have never done that before. The hat is not knit in the round, so I thought it might be easy to do, since I still have to sew up the side. I'll let you know if I find a good tutorial.

[On a side note, any good boy name suggestions?]

My Creative Space

I've been slowly working on my crafting space this summer. Since our dining room is now a craft room/play room, I've had to get really creative on how to organize everything without having a huge disaster. [T] + [L] gave me the most wonderful early birthday present - shelves for my sewing desk. [T] made them, and they are *beautiful*. I now have all my fabric, felt, supplies, patterns, yarn and whatnot organized.

**I apologize for the dark pictures - it is hard to get great light in this room.**

I also reorganized my corner craft table - I found a shelf to put my dolls on that are for sale, started decorating a nice big bulletin board with fun paper and inspiring pictures, and got my bins full of random crafting materials cleaned out and [sort of] organized.

fun fabric piles

little dollies all lined up

lovely little birds

Four Things To Do With All Those Strawberries I Got On Sale...

1. Make this incredible dessert.

2. Thank your neighbors for giving you fresh picked lettuce and make a
strawberry-balsamic salad.


3. Refrigerator Jam!


4. Oh, just eat them straight out of the container.


Strawberry-Balsamic Salad
adapted from Everyday with Rachel Ray

1 head lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups hulled and halved strawberries [about 10 oz]
salt and pepper

Heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and sugar. Stir the strawberries into the onion mixture, then toss with the lettuce; season with salt and pepper.

Strawberry Refrigerator Jam
America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced thin
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Set a small bowl over a larger bowl of ice water and set aside. Simmer the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a 12 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat until the mixture begins to look syrupy, about 10 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and spoon 1/2 tsp of the fruit mixture into the small bowl set over the ice water. Let sit for 30 seconds. Tip the bowl to one side. The jam should move only slightly. If the mixture is too fluid and runs to the side of the bowl, return the skillet to the heat and continue to cook until the mixture looks thicker, 2-4 minutes. Repeat the test and continue to cook if necessary. Cool to room temperature before serving, about 1 hour.