Etsy find - #1 - The Bees Knees

so... because i love supporting hand made items, i wanted to share with you one of my recent buys.  This darling little cake stand (or cupcake stand as I will suggest) is going to be shipped off to Alabama to one of JD's recently married cousins and his new wife-ie.

the cupcake stand came from The Bees Knees etsy store.  If you haven't yet shopped etsy, what's stopping you?  Heather at The Bees Knees is super sweet and had my cake stand to me lickity split.

now I am going to wrap up this cupcake stand with a cupcake book and maybe some sprinkles and send it off.  I hope they enjoy and have cupcakes always on hand.  go check out etsy...buy hand made goods.  they are good for your heart.

little pies

With all the talk of holiday baking, well, pies are on everyone's minds.  Now that Thanksgiving is done they are consequently on our hips too.  Anyhow... not too long ago we went to a back yard party, and I decided to try the little pies I originally saw over at Not Martha and recently commented on over at shelterrific.  I made cherry... and boy were they a hit.

I used the tiniest jars i had - my jam jars so that everyone got their own but they weren't overwhelming.


I used my mom's pie dough recipe and made sure the dough was chilled.


I originally tried to roll out the dough and lay it in the jars as you would a pie pan.  That was not so  successful.  Instead i made one inch balls and used my finger to smash the pie dough around the tiny jars.  I was worried that my crust wouldn't be flakey because the dough wasn't all that cold after prodding it around with my fingers... but i had no complaints.



After all the jars were complete with dough they went into the fridge for some chill time.


We then filled them with cherry pie filling.  I was being sort of lazy so i just bought a couple cans.


Then tops were added and little holes were cut.  Here they are coming out of the oven... bubbling goodness.


Then we ate... they were quite a hit... and everyone enjoyed.

guerilla style baking

i am not a measure twice cut once type of person.  JD is thankfully.  so when it comes to cooking vs. baking, i am far better at cooking.  the precision isn't needed (as much anyway).

so the other night when doing some holiday baking i realized i had run out of sugar.  so out the door and down the street i went.  lisa was kind enough to give me sugar and i was back on again...   so i whipped up the mixture got it on a sheet pan and boom, in the oven.  it was only after it was in the oven that i realized i forgot to add the pumpkin.

so back out of the oven add the pumpkin blend again... oh not looking so frothy now eh?  back in the oven.

one down two to go.  this is what i am like when baking.  overall they turned out pretty well - i really focused on number two and three.  (sorry number one).  i think i will try again with chirstmas cookies.  i will really focus.

picture:  this is me while baking... in my crocs and apron.  Ginkgo looks on.

the new addition...

wow, where have i been?  i have been lost in puppy land.  JD surprised me with an early birthday gift on Tuesday night.  He called me at work to say that he wanted to give me my b-day gift early (my b-day isn't until Dec so we are talking early)...  why i asked?  well remember that puppy we have been talking about?  we are headed out to see them tonight so you can pick your puppy out!

Isn't it the sweetest gift... a new friend?  I for one am very excited.  So after work we drove out of our urban center out into the dark and rainy country.  (It was so dark - how i miss that.)  We were escorted in to meet the puppies, which for now resemble blind squirming hamsters... and we watched them play king of the hill in a very docile way.  we picked them up and petted each and every one.  we knew we had to decide on one (not two but one) so i chose.

i picked the white puppy with the black spot on his eye.  i think it is so cute.  he was one of the bigger puppies and well, i love him already.  we think his name is going to be baker but it isn't yet set in stone.  he is only a week old so he won't be coming home to live with us until Jan.  somehow i will have to wait through the holidays, past my birthday, to the beginning of a new year with a new puppy!

p.s. if you are wondering he is a valley bulldog and one day will look like a puppy and not a hamster or maybe gerbil.

the misadventures of Gingko & Bamboo - Meet Gingko

This is Ginkgo

Three things you should know about Gink.

1.  He is a cat that believes he is a dog. - He acts like one anyway.

2.  He is oh so stubborn. - I believe he understands and can possibly speak english because he is always doing what I tell him not to do, just to spite me.

3.  He is fuzzy and cuddly. - He is always up for cuddling on the couch, in bed, especially if he is taking attention away from the dog.

ps.  and he has a cute little goat but from behind.

workin on it...

so... no photos yet of the stained glass table.  although the workbench is almost complete the storage area still needs built so i will share once it is complete.

you might have noticed i added a little badge for my flickr photos... there are some recently completed projects in there... some graphic design I did for our wedding and some sewing projects.  I am hoping to get the etsy store up and running early in the new year.  the images are just an intro.

tonight i baked pumpkin rolls... they turned out well even though i am an A.D.D. baker.  ach.. i will share soon.

oh. the image is our wedding invite.  i love the stag!

yesterday...

yesterday was well, one of those days.  you know the type.  although you work diligently throughout the day all the plans you had for what you were going to get accomplished just never made it to reality.  Oh well i guess.  maybe today i can get some of those things done.

last night we went to a friends house for homemade pizza and a movie... we even took the pup.  It was nice to get out and have a good time with friends.  well hopefully by the end of the day i will have something better to share... something i got accomplished.  if not well there is always tomorrow.

this weekends plan

This weekend i'm just going to hang low... maybe try and tackle a project or two around the house.  We have been trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to organize our tiny basement.  This weekend maybe we can get my glass bench set up so I can do some stained glass work again.

Currently I have all my glass under a bed... the grinder us under a pile of sewing stuff.  Anyway, you get it.  It isn't conducive to getting any glass work done.  Hopefully the bench and storage will be complete this weekend.  If so I will be sure to post some picts.

Maybe I will do a little baking or canning of apple sauce.  Either way I will see if I can get some web worthy shots to share.  Happy Friday.

my store. someday...

Today as I drove for a site visit... i though about the store i am going to have someday.  It is going to be a sunny space with lots of natural light.  The retail space will be in the front with the work room in the back.  I am going to have all handmade wares, some mine, some of my friends, or the people i have yet to meet.

The back room is going to be filled with shelves of beautiful fabrics, papers, glass... anything i could use to create.  I would get up each and every morning and head there with my pups... Rainier our Rottie who we currently have, and that pooch I wrote about earlier in the day we have yet to find.  They would lay in the sun and I would listen to music and think through the project at hand.  I would be able to wear comfortable clothing and pigtails... MY pigtails high on my head and answer to no one but myself.  I would see the sun - unlike the job I have now.  I would talk to people and they would be able to touch and feel the things i created... that is my dream.  Oneday... oneday.

A new addition?

So... although I haven't introduced all the fur babies to you all yet I wanted to chat about the fact that we are considering getting another pup.  Oh how I want another pup!  It will give our Rottie a friend and I can't imagine it being much harder to have two to walk and feed two.  So now the question is when is the right time and what kind of pup.  We love large breeds.  I grew up with Dobermans which are so sweet and we now have a Rottweiler.  But what kind should we try?  I love Bulldogs - LOVE but they aren't much for hiking... a Ridgeback, Boxer, Weimaraner.  If it were up to me... I would have them all.  Thoughts?

Oh.. I have also been scouring Pet Finder and Craigs List (where we found our Rottie... a Christmas puppy gone bad!)

a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear

Nothing to wear... blah.

That is what I felt like this morning as I stood staring into my closet.  Nothing I could think of represented how I was feeling today.  I wanted something comfortable and warm, but bright (oh...but not too bright).  I didn't want to wear heels; in reality I would have loved to stay in my pjs and surf the web with the pooch.  But I have no vaca days left so my only choice was get dressed.

I must have stood there... staring for more than 20 min.  Each time JD walked bye he laughed.  It sucked.  I don't think men try and match how they are feeling to what they are wearing.  I don't know if they relate feelings to clothing.  Maybe I'm the only one but, I think not.

Don't worry I didn't come to work naked what a shock that would have been.  I found something that sort of met my qualifications for the day.  It certainly isn't going to win any fashion awards but I don't feel like I'm not in my own skin either.  Today is just a so so dressing day.

and here comes Thanksgiving!

Yeah, Thanksgiving is next week and no I won't bore you with a million recipes that you will see else where (well at least not yet).  This year for the first time in five years I am going to someone else house and won't be preparing all the fixings, desserts, and of course the turkey.

Most of you would probably breathe a collective sigh at this knowledge but it is really freaking me out.  Thanksgiving is the one occasion that I get to have all those pieces just as I like them.  My pumpkin rolls, my stuffing (without walnuts), my home made cranberry sauce.  My OCD is out of control.  I know I like to have charge of things but I also need to learn to chill and try things a new way...

Hey there is always Christmas right?

The great furniture hunt.

We are working on a major remodel of our kitchen... well working is a loose term.  We have started designing our future kitchen remodel - there that is better.  Of course we are blowing out the wall separating the kitchen and living space which means rethinking the living space... which means NEW FURNITURE.

Lets just say our last round of furniture buying didn't go so well.  We have a very thin (small) living space and it is hard find furniture that will fit let alone will separate and define specific zones.

Last time after looking at 5 million couches that were huge and would never fit in our room I jumped on the first thing that would fit.  It's not that it isn't a nice couch, cause it is, but it isn't what we wanted.  So this time i am determined to get the table I want, a couch that not only fits in the room but allows us to lay together on it, and a chair... a chair nice enough to curl up in with a good book.  Am I asking too much?

Oh.. another thought.  We were in Crate and Barrel last night; what is with all the micro fiber?  I don't think that's for me.

Date Night #1

So I know I know.. I sort of fell off the bandwagon yesterday but I have a great excuse... but it will wait for another post.  Friday the man and I went out for date night; not our first date but the first for the blog.   What is the difference you ask between date night and any other lunch / dinner out?  The difference is we try.... we get dressed up and sort of meet at the door like you would before you lived together.  We make an effort not to get into messy everyday issues of life and we talk about all the things we dream to be...  Will I be able to have my own store one day?  Should we have a baby?  Should we get another dog instead?  What house project is next?  These types of things.

So... Friday night had us going out to try a new restaurant in our West Seattle hood - Spring Hill.  We didn't make a reservation so when we arrived we had an hour wait.  So we headed on over to Shadow Lands for some cocktails which I enjoyed and will go again.



After two pomegranate martinis we were deep into next, life altering, step questions and hungry.  So back at Spring Hill we ordered.

We selected the following:
1.   Bread and Butter
2.   Roasted mussels ( totten inlet, wa. ) - in their own juice, parsley, grilled bread with white bean-basil spread
3.   The man:  Rainbow trout ( snake river canyon, id. ) - brown butter, pan fried pumpkin cakes, toasted hazelnuts with parsley.
4.  Me:  Roasted duck breast - cabbage sausage, quinoa waffle, lobster mushrooms, orange-maple mustard

The service was good although the kitchen was slow... but on the bright side because the mussels took so long they brought us an intermezzo of yogurt sorbet which was delicious.  The bread and mussels were very good...but we were a little disappointed with the main course.





The Man's trout had smoky caramelized sauce that drown the subtlety of the fish, and the maple mustard and mushrooms was way too sweet as well.  We didn't order any dessert because the main dishes were so sweet we didn't need any.

Although dinner wasn't everything we wanted we made some pretty big life decisions.  You will have to stay tuned to find out what.

We are going to try it again, but we want to wait a little to see how it shakes out.  Oh.. I did forget to say the presentation was beautiful and sorry for the shaky pictures but one glass of vino and two martinis and no flash... well you try it.

the misadventures of Gingko & Bamboo - This is Boo.

A few weeks ago I was feeling under the weather.  Maybe it was one too many Mannys but hey how do I know, I'm not a doctor.  So as I was lying in bed watching football Bamboo came join me.  Turns out I think he is a Green Bay fan.

Don't you just love his little feet poking up in the air.  God it's adorable.

See his other paw.. He took this photo.  No joke.

Let your Flag Fly!

Yeah people of the USA.  I am so proud of each and every one of us that got out and voted!  I have had such a switch of emotion in this past weeks when it comes to the political climate.  I am hopeful.  I saw how so many of our voices could be heard and how loudly we demand change.  We, the voters, demanded showed how history can be changed in the blink of an eye.  We came together, as a country, and bridged racial barriers and make our voices heard.  I am feeling so patriotic since the election that I am going to buy a flag and let the colors fly.  Somehow… those colors seem a bit brighter this week… no so worn.

I know I am a bit late with this but... I am still feeling this way and hope that all of you do to.

OH... I will let you know as soon as I get my flag up... !

Pride in the little things.

I've realized as of late I can certainly be a glass is half empty type of person.  Well that isn't necessarily true but I do get overwhelmed with the enormity of all the little things.  Those pesky dishes need done, the dog needs walked, we didn't stick to our budget, the oil bill came, my sweater somehow made it into the dryer and is now Barbie size.... and wham!  I freak out.  Each and every one of those on their own wouldn't be a big deal, but somehow you combine a few of those things and you might as well dropped a bomb on me.  My replies become very short one word answers, my lips become pursed and I know that the next little thing ... will be the straw that broke the camels back.

I wish i was more orderly every day so that these little things wouldn't add up...but truthfully I am an eclectic mess.  I love to organize but on my terms on my days.  I am horrible with repetitive tasks and loose focus very quickly.  The same jobs every day = no way.

I have been recently trying to, as my mother said, "Find pride in your task at hand".  So I have been trying to take pride in my daily activities.  Working full time and trying to take pride in ironing each day is hard.

So how do you do it?  How do you get everything done in the hours we have at hand?  How do you take pride in everything you do and still have time to enjoy the little things?  Hmmm.

doing dishes is like sex...

My husband and I were having this discussion last night.  It is a discussion that happens at least once a month in our house hold.  The dreaded dishes discussion.

Me:  Are you going to do the dishes tonight?  You haven't touched them since last week.

Him:  I did the dishes four times last week.

Me:  And?

Him:  Well I don't want to do them now - I did them last week.

Why is it that they don't understand that dishes have to be done every day... or at least several times a week?  The way I see it is there are certain things like laundry, dishes, sweeping... that are just never done.  But he doesn't seem to get it.

So I asked... so if we were to have sex one week does it mean that it is done for the next?  "No" he responded imfatically.

So housework is like sex... It's NEVER done.

The last of the tomatoes.

 

A few weeks ago, with the ensuing fall, it was time to pick all of the tomatoes left hanging on the vines (green or red) and bring them in for the final tomato harvest of the year.  Our location in the Pacific Northwest really limits our tomato harvest because of the climate.  We have warm summers and cool evenings and, tomatoes like hot days and warm nights.  So each year we fight the climate in hopes that this year will be different – that we will reap a huge tomato crop.  Well, each year for the past several since our move the tomato harvest has been ho - hum.  Unfortunately, this year was no different.

We picked all the tomatoes and brought them inside sorting the ripe from the not so ripe.  The no so ripe green ones then went into a brown paper bag with a banana and were placed in a cool dark place.  The banana produces ethylene gas and helps the tomatoes to ripen quicker.   The ripe ones were all washed and prepped for cold pack canning.

I just use the sink (scrubbed and scrubbed clean) to get the skin off the tomatoes.  All of the washed tomatoes are placed in the sink and a few kettles full of boiling water are poured over them.  The boiling water causes the skins to burst open, making them easily removable.



I had prepped my canning jars and had them ready to go.  (humm I will write another post about canning jar prep sometime… check back).  Each tomato is then quartered and seeded.

Pop the tomatoes into a hot jar and pack tightly.  Add a tsp. of salt to the top of each jar (we used sea salt but use what you like).



Then boil the jars in a hot bath for 20 minutes and let them cool under a blanket of tea towels.


The cold packed tomatoes are great for throwing in sauces, chili,  and soups all winter long.

WE ARE(n’t ) going to be National Champion

It was not a good football weekend for me…  you see although transplanted far, far away; I am a PA football fan through and through.  If you follow football you will know that my Penn State, Nittany Lions lost to Iowa ??  And with that lost our bid for the National Championship.  This was especially hard since JoePA is almost 82 years old and this was “the year” in terms of players and a reasonable shot at the title.  CRAP.   Following up that devastating loss on Saturday the Steelers failed to seal the deal on Sunday as well.  With 3 minutes to go and 2 points down Ben needed to march the boys down the field and score.  Instead of that we made poor time management decisions and threw an interception…. Girrr.  It is enough to make a girl throw her Terrible Towel at the TV in disgust.   But come Saturday I will be in my blue and white routing PSU on to the Rose Bowl and Sunday will find me with my jersey on screaming at the TV.



We ARE…