It's so weird to feel lonely in anticipation of the family being gone. Tomorrow he Hubs and Squirt take off on a fun weekend to Cali while I get to stay home with a dozen or so DIY projects, a family portrait session (which I'm crazy excited for - it's always fun to photograph truly photogenic people), a baby shower for one of my good friends, and a Canadian Thanksgiving celebration with some of my favorite people. Downton Abbey may or may not be rewatched and preggo friendly cookie dough will definitely be consumed.
It isn't until tomorrow, but I'm already feeling like the house is too quiet.
Today I subbed for the second time this school year, and I work again on Friday. It pointed out to me that my doctor's advice to stay off my feet my not be ridiculous after all and that I'm really much happier when I am busy. I also learned that chocolate is a definite necessity to have in my house at all times. At present, I am failing in this endeavor, but I plan to rectify that first thing in the morning.
By the way, did you know it is almost impossible to find chalk in this town? Walmart, Target, JoAnn's, and a few other random local locations all lack basic white chalk in their stores. How can this be? Squirt may have to lock up her sidewalk chalk while she is gone lest her mother confiscate it all.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
Caramel Pumpkin Pecan Bread
I have a confession: I don't like pumpkin. I know it sounds like heresy and that it goes against all that is good and right in the world, but I don't. This time of year I tend to avoid looking for new recipes because everywhere you look it's a pumpkin overload, not unlike Zucchini in August. If you follow me on Pinterest, you will likely see very few new recipes added to my boards this month. Perhaps it isn't pumpkin itself, perhaps its the spices that tend to go with it. I don't love cloves, or allspice, or anything that one would add to a spice type cake that is not called either "cinnamon" or "nutmeg." I can stomach a slice of pumpkin pie only if it is drowned in three times it's weight in whipped cream, but I typically avoid much else made of pumpkin.
With two key exceptions: I make a mean maple pumpkin cheesecake, and this fabulous bread. Oh, this bread.
It's honestly the only pumpkin thing I seriously crave, and initially I only kept the recipe around so I felt like less of an autumn baking scrooge. Truthfully, I blame my cravings on the glaze. That sweet, caramelly, addicting glaze. I'm salivating just thinking about it. Excuse me while I go devour a whole loaf of this.
 |
| {It tastes pretty good naked too... but the glaze is seriously what makes this beyond amazing.} |
Caramel Pumpkin Pecan Bread
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin (not the pie ready filling)
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I left these out today since my family doesn't like nuts, and oh how I miss them. Please leave them in. They are amazing.)
Caramel Glaze:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
In a large mixing bowl, whisk or sift together the first 6 ingredients (all the dry stuff!). In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, eggs, and water mixing well. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in pecans. Spoon batter evenly into two greased loaf pans (I like to line them with parchment for easy removal). Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes or until the tried-and-true toothpick test yields a clean pick. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Allow bread to sit and cool while you make the glaze.
For the glaze, combine butter, sugars, and cream in a small saucepan. Cook until the sugars are fully dissolved. Allow sugar mixture to cool for 20 minutes. Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla, making sure to stir until the mixture is smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled loaves.
Take a slice, or twelve, and realize that fall is awesome and your life is now complete.
I actually made one large loaf and one pan of 6 mini loaves, and my family could not stop eating it. This morning the hubs took the last bit to work with the understanding that "we can make more of this, right?" I take that as a success.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Mock Crib Skirt DIY
I was determined to make a "traditional" crib skirt. At least I was until it came time to actually make it. I realized all too quickly that it wasn't practical to get the end result I wanted. So, I decided to make one of those loose side panels that attaches to the crib spring and can be moved as the crib lowers. The big reason is the way my crib spring attaches to the frame. There is no way possible to have a standard crib skirt lay smoothly over these bars. It always ends up bunched like crazy in the corners.
I learned that the last time around when Squirt used the crib, and it bugged me the entire two years she slept there. Lesson learned - figure out something that would lay flat.
Since the nursery is a shared space and the crib is basically sandwiched between a wall and a bookshelf there is only one side that is exposed. The space underneath is desperately needed for storage, so it needs concealment, but only on one side. There is always the way that they did it over on Young House Love, but I wanted something a little more tailored. I took the idea and changed it to work with our crib and the thinner material I'd purchased.
My fabric was about 58 inches wide, and my crib spring was 51 inches so I decided to use the full width of the material.
*** In full disclosure these pictures are HORRIBLE, not that you need me to tell you that. I had time to kill one evening and let's face it, projects typically happen when they can and not necessarily when there is pretty lighting.***
Using a rotary cutter, I cut one strip from the fabric 27 inches long. I've seen so many blogs that say it's impossible to cut fabric straight. No, it isn't. It does help a LOT though if you've got the right tools.
I remember my mom using metal seam gauges to press her seams to the perfect width, but I tend to cheat and make my own out of a piece of cardstock. I drew 3 different lines to represent the different hem widths I was going to use for this panel. The sides were pressed over 1.
My ironing board cover is heinous. I've wanted to replace it for about a decade now. I'm sorry you have to see it here. After pressing I pinned the fold to keep it in place. You could use hem tape if you like, but I had the means and ability to sew it. Plus, I like the look of a stitched hem better than mysteriously clean edged fabric.
I stitched a 3/4 inch hem on the sides. Then I used my handy-dandy cardstock seam gauge again and folded the bottom edge up 1 1/2 inches. I knew I wanted a wider seam for the bottom edge. I pinned and stitched it at 1 1/4 inches from the bottom, then added a second row of stitching 1/4 inch from the first.
The double row of stitching looks a little more polished and substantial for the base of the skirt.
{Yes, I used a carpentry tape measure. I couldn't find my cloth one and this worked in a pinch.} Since I knew I wanted a pleat in the center, I hadn't worried that the material was a bit wider than what I needed the finished skirt panel to be. To create the pleat I first folded the material in half. The skirt needed to be 51 inches finished witdth so I measured the folded panel 25.5 inches from the sewn edge (plus an extra 1/8 inch cushion because I decided I'd rather have it slightly larger than slightly smaller).
I marked finished width with the white pin, and the true center of the fabric with the red pin.
Bringing the red pin to the white and smoothing the edges gave me one perfect pleat. In order to make sure it stayed centered and even I did the same thing along the bottom edge as well. Along the top edge I stitched it a few times to hold the pleat in place. Since I wanted the bottom one open I left it pinned.
Using the pinned/sewn folds as a guide I smoothed out the fabric keeping it as even as possible and pressed the pleat in place. This is the view from the back.
When viewed from the front it looks like this.
After realizing that it is an awfully long narrow pleat, I decided to stitch it in place periodically. I only really cared about the pleat being open at the bottom edge but wanted it to stay tidy looking while on the bed. I measured the front of the crib to see how high the stitches should be to stay hidden behind the wood. For my crib I ended up using 11 inches and 22 inches.
I stitched it in a "V" pattern like shown above. The stiches didn't show up in pictures, so humor me that the text makes sense. I think of this as a "cheerleader skirt pleat" since I seem to remember them having v shaped reinforcements. I could be wrong, it's just the image in my head from being jealous when my friend made cheer in 8th grade and I didn't. It's just as well, I'd have never been comfortable in one of those tiny skirts.
To finish the top, I first folded it over 1/2 inch and stitched it at 1/4 inch. Then I used ribbon already on hand (since it's going to be buried beneath the mattress I decided I could survive if it didn't match). I divided the length into seven and placed the a folded over ribbon at those intervals. That way there was a tie at each end, in the center, and two between each edge and the center.
I stitched them on twice just to be safe. I'd hate for the thing to fall apart in a month or two.
Here it is finished and laying in my hallway in the middle of the night. It doesn't look like much here.
This is more what I'm talking about - except for once again the really terrible lighting. See how the center pleat is mostly hidden behind the center bar? I could have stitched it completely down just leaving the bottom section open but I didn't actually realize that until I was finished.
This is why the crib skirt is so necessary for us. We are definitely using the space under there and I don't want to have to stare at everything each and every day. If I had enough space to use adorable baskets for baby related storage I'm not sure this would be so important to me.
The crib skirt is tied straight to the spring and can be moved as the mattress is raised so it will always just grace the floor. As much as I didn't want to do that at first, I'm really excited to know that I won't have to redo this project as the mattress moves. This idea really is brilliant. I've also seen binder clips used for this purpose. My fabric is smooth and polished so I felt that it would slip out of the clips and drive me crazy. This way I know it won't budge until I want it to.
Doesn't that look nice? I was planning on doing side panels the same way, but decided they weren't needed since you don't see the sides at all. Fortunately I have plenty of material left over if I change my mind one day. I won't tell you how long I spent trying to iron the fitted sheet so it would look just right in a picture. I'm totally over it and will never try such a silly thing again. The map is from my years teaching and will be getting a little makeover of it's own pretty soon!
Things are coming together!
I learned that the last time around when Squirt used the crib, and it bugged me the entire two years she slept there. Lesson learned - figure out something that would lay flat.
Since the nursery is a shared space and the crib is basically sandwiched between a wall and a bookshelf there is only one side that is exposed. The space underneath is desperately needed for storage, so it needs concealment, but only on one side. There is always the way that they did it over on Young House Love, but I wanted something a little more tailored. I took the idea and changed it to work with our crib and the thinner material I'd purchased.
My fabric was about 58 inches wide, and my crib spring was 51 inches so I decided to use the full width of the material.
*** In full disclosure these pictures are HORRIBLE, not that you need me to tell you that. I had time to kill one evening and let's face it, projects typically happen when they can and not necessarily when there is pretty lighting.***
Using a rotary cutter, I cut one strip from the fabric 27 inches long. I've seen so many blogs that say it's impossible to cut fabric straight. No, it isn't. It does help a LOT though if you've got the right tools.
I remember my mom using metal seam gauges to press her seams to the perfect width, but I tend to cheat and make my own out of a piece of cardstock. I drew 3 different lines to represent the different hem widths I was going to use for this panel. The sides were pressed over 1.
My ironing board cover is heinous. I've wanted to replace it for about a decade now. I'm sorry you have to see it here. After pressing I pinned the fold to keep it in place. You could use hem tape if you like, but I had the means and ability to sew it. Plus, I like the look of a stitched hem better than mysteriously clean edged fabric.
I stitched a 3/4 inch hem on the sides. Then I used my handy-dandy cardstock seam gauge again and folded the bottom edge up 1 1/2 inches. I knew I wanted a wider seam for the bottom edge. I pinned and stitched it at 1 1/4 inches from the bottom, then added a second row of stitching 1/4 inch from the first.
The double row of stitching looks a little more polished and substantial for the base of the skirt.
{Yes, I used a carpentry tape measure. I couldn't find my cloth one and this worked in a pinch.} Since I knew I wanted a pleat in the center, I hadn't worried that the material was a bit wider than what I needed the finished skirt panel to be. To create the pleat I first folded the material in half. The skirt needed to be 51 inches finished witdth so I measured the folded panel 25.5 inches from the sewn edge (plus an extra 1/8 inch cushion because I decided I'd rather have it slightly larger than slightly smaller).
I marked finished width with the white pin, and the true center of the fabric with the red pin.
Bringing the red pin to the white and smoothing the edges gave me one perfect pleat. In order to make sure it stayed centered and even I did the same thing along the bottom edge as well. Along the top edge I stitched it a few times to hold the pleat in place. Since I wanted the bottom one open I left it pinned.
Using the pinned/sewn folds as a guide I smoothed out the fabric keeping it as even as possible and pressed the pleat in place. This is the view from the back.
When viewed from the front it looks like this.
After realizing that it is an awfully long narrow pleat, I decided to stitch it in place periodically. I only really cared about the pleat being open at the bottom edge but wanted it to stay tidy looking while on the bed. I measured the front of the crib to see how high the stitches should be to stay hidden behind the wood. For my crib I ended up using 11 inches and 22 inches.
I stitched it in a "V" pattern like shown above. The stiches didn't show up in pictures, so humor me that the text makes sense. I think of this as a "cheerleader skirt pleat" since I seem to remember them having v shaped reinforcements. I could be wrong, it's just the image in my head from being jealous when my friend made cheer in 8th grade and I didn't. It's just as well, I'd have never been comfortable in one of those tiny skirts.
To finish the top, I first folded it over 1/2 inch and stitched it at 1/4 inch. Then I used ribbon already on hand (since it's going to be buried beneath the mattress I decided I could survive if it didn't match). I divided the length into seven and placed the a folded over ribbon at those intervals. That way there was a tie at each end, in the center, and two between each edge and the center.
I stitched them on twice just to be safe. I'd hate for the thing to fall apart in a month or two.
Here it is finished and laying in my hallway in the middle of the night. It doesn't look like much here.
This is more what I'm talking about - except for once again the really terrible lighting. See how the center pleat is mostly hidden behind the center bar? I could have stitched it completely down just leaving the bottom section open but I didn't actually realize that until I was finished.
This is why the crib skirt is so necessary for us. We are definitely using the space under there and I don't want to have to stare at everything each and every day. If I had enough space to use adorable baskets for baby related storage I'm not sure this would be so important to me.
The crib skirt is tied straight to the spring and can be moved as the mattress is raised so it will always just grace the floor. As much as I didn't want to do that at first, I'm really excited to know that I won't have to redo this project as the mattress moves. This idea really is brilliant. I've also seen binder clips used for this purpose. My fabric is smooth and polished so I felt that it would slip out of the clips and drive me crazy. This way I know it won't budge until I want it to.
Doesn't that look nice? I was planning on doing side panels the same way, but decided they weren't needed since you don't see the sides at all. Fortunately I have plenty of material left over if I change my mind one day. I won't tell you how long I spent trying to iron the fitted sheet so it would look just right in a picture. I'm totally over it and will never try such a silly thing again. The map is from my years teaching and will be getting a little makeover of it's own pretty soon!
Things are coming together!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Happy October!
It's so wonderful when fall comes. I love the leaves, the sweater weather, the constant motivation to bake something wonderful. I even love the rain, which is a good thing. Fall definitely came in with a bang. The hubs took Squirt to a UO football game this past weekend though they only stayed about ten minutes because it looked something like this the whole time:
Yep. Welcome to fall in Oregon. Rain doesn't stop us from anything.
I pulled out the "fall box" today and spiffed up the house a little. I am not one to go to extreme decorating lengths for every holiday. I prefer subtlety. Granted, if we had more space that might be a little bit different. In our little place too much decor just makes things feel stuffy and cluttered, leading me to a massive freak out followed by a mass exodus of stuff to goodwill.
Which means this is what we have this year:
The top of our IKEA Expedit cubbies got a slight makeover. I didn't move any of the art, just took a couple small photos down, and forced it to accept a few small halloween details. Like the beaded spiders I made here and the spooky sign I made years ago.
Truthfully, I think that's enough for me this year. Do you go all out in decorating, or are you more of a simple or non-decorator? Looking at Pinterest makes me feel like I'm in the minority but I have a tendency to believe that not everyone has homes that could be photographed for Martha Stewart Living on a whim. I'm not going to lie, I truly hope one day I do, but until then this will suffice.
Yep. Welcome to fall in Oregon. Rain doesn't stop us from anything.
I pulled out the "fall box" today and spiffed up the house a little. I am not one to go to extreme decorating lengths for every holiday. I prefer subtlety. Granted, if we had more space that might be a little bit different. In our little place too much decor just makes things feel stuffy and cluttered, leading me to a massive freak out followed by a mass exodus of stuff to goodwill.
Which means this is what we have this year:
A purchased wreath from JoAnn's about 5 years ago dolled up with burlap banner and slightly glittered ribbon. I have scrubbed this door a million times and it always looks gross in photos. I can't wait until I live somewhere I can paint my front door.
The top of our IKEA Expedit cubbies got a slight makeover. I didn't move any of the art, just took a couple small photos down, and forced it to accept a few small halloween details. Like the beaded spiders I made here and the spooky sign I made years ago.
Truthfully, I think that's enough for me this year. Do you go all out in decorating, or are you more of a simple or non-decorator? Looking at Pinterest makes me feel like I'm in the minority but I have a tendency to believe that not everyone has homes that could be photographed for Martha Stewart Living on a whim. I'm not going to lie, I truly hope one day I do, but until then this will suffice.
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