SCARVES!

So this girl's lil' fingers have been working hard on preparing for the coming cold, first and foremost with scarves. Many of the skeins that I have been using were purchased from the D.A.V., sadly they were unlabeled therefore I do not know the brands or weight. Regardless, the quality of the yarn was great and very usable. Now presenting, my many scarves (and it's only the beginning).

Scarve #1




Scarve #2




Scarve #3


Scarve #4



And just for fun, the first scarve this girl ever made.

...HALLOWEEN WISHES AND APOLOGIES.

Happy Halloween to all you kiddos out in internetland! Before we begin the Halloween fun, many apologies for my lack of posts these last several weeks. Life has been crazy busy for this girl and well, I'm kind of a bum. Many apologies. The mostest apologizing. From the bottom of my lazy heart, I'm sorry.

Now onto Halloween fun...

You remember when I said I wasn't going to buy any more store-bought cookies? I totally lied.

Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

Exhibit C.

Exhibit D.


You get the picture.

I adore baking, but the laziness discussed earlier...yeah, that. To my credit B-D (and many more like them) were decorated by my own hand. I know, it's not the same, but hey, throw me a bone. So I am once again vowing my loyalty to home-made goodies (and hopefully I can keep my word this time).

This girl has been busy crocheting up a storm (with pictures soon to come). To tide you over here are some fall photos from my neck of the woods.

...A CRAZY HAT LADY LIVING INSIDE HER.

After months of envious groans against those who could create their own lovely crocheted hat creations, this girl has finally become one of those people! El yay!

Before getting into the wonderfulness that is crocheting a hat, let me explain what has been holding my inner crazy hat lady captive. I am very much a visual learner and do not know how to read crochet patterns, so everything I crochet is either a pattern I have made up or have actually seen someone else do. This can be very limiting and frustrating, let me tell you. My prior attempts at making hats all came from up in my noggin and it would be kind to say that they were the ugliest, most unwearable, pieces of hat poo that you have ever seen. Hat poo.

Then youtube entered the picture. Ah, why didn't I think of that before? Of course, look up videos of people crocheting hats and follow along. I have been so foolish not to do this earlier! Youtube is amazing (and a time vampire). Once you have a basic understanding of the principles of hat making you can go off and make your own wondrous hat stylings.



Pictured is my first hat (that can actually be worn in public) ever! I followed The Art of Crochet by Teresa's "Crochet Beanie Hat Cap" to the letter and came out with this adorable lil' hat. For the appliqué, I followed Threadbanger's "Quickie, How to Crochet a Flower" and attached. The yarn is Vanna's Choice 100% acrylic Eggplant (color 145). Threadbanger and The Art of Crochet by Teresa are great resources to get you started crocheting your own hats. I am currently working on hat number 5 and after some practice am able to comfortably crochet beanies and berets without a pattern. I promise once I put down my yarn and crochet needle I will post more hatty goodness!

...HER LAST STORE BOUGHT CUPCAKES.

This girl has a crazy-love for sweets of all kinds. I'm talking crazy-love. I want to call an oreo cupcake up and tell it how much I love it and wish I could spend more quality time with it and start a cupcake-human family, but oh, I've got this husband, job, pets, etc... CRAZY-LOVE.

Out of respect for the cupcakes and cookies that fill my dreams I have decided no more cooking of the non-cooking kind (aka from a box). If my desire for a butterscotch cookie covered in cheesecake icing so appears I will not drive to the grocery store and pick up a box of cookie mix. I will make it myself. This girl has held the belief for a long time that fresh food is the best food and it has shown itself in most of what I eat and prepare for my family. Pastries and desserts are the final frontier.



Chocolate cheesecake cupcakes aka the last store bought dessert this girl will ever make.

...PAIN PERDU WITH CARMELIZED APPLE RECIPE

4 ripe granny smith apples
1/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3 large eggs, beaten
4 tbsp of milk
4 tbsp of sour cream
2 tbsp of vanilla extract
4 pieces of sourdough bread
Handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped
Handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped

Quarter the apples. Heat 2 tbsp of sugar in a heavy-based ovenproof pan. When it begins to caramelize (gets all brown and yummy looking) place in apples, cut side down in the caramel. (If your caramel is kind of chunky at this point, that's completely normal.) Add another tbsp of sugar on top and let cook for a few minutes. As the sugar starts to disappear add 2 tbsp of butter and let it cook into the sauce. Add your basil and when the sauce starts to look thick, pull off the heat and set aside.

Melt the remaining butter in a wide pan until it begins to foam. Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, and remaining sugar in a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract and chopped mint into the egg mixture. Dip a single piece of bread into your egg mixture and place in your melting butter until golden brown on each side.

To serve, place the apples onto the bread and garnish with basil.

(Altered from Gordon Ramsey's Pain Perdu with Carmelized Peach Recipe)

...A WRAP DREAM.

I have dreamt of making a beautiful, simple, thick wrap to put all other lesser wraps to shame for as long as I can remember. I wanted to make something simple, but bold.

And by gosh, I think I've done it.



This wrap was crocheted in a single stitch- double stitch pattern per row using Vanna's Choice 100% acrylic Charcoal Grey (color 151) and Linen (color 99) both in Medium 4 (completely machine washable) with a H/8 5.00 MM needle with accented "holes". "Holes" (I am sure there is a proper word for it) are achieved by simply skipping stitches. For example, let's say you've used 10 double stitches in your row already and you would like to accent this area or have designed a pattern creating a "hole" here, you simple stop double stitching and chain stitch however long you would like your "hole" to be. With my own crocheting, I like to keep it simple and creating basic patterns and accents can infuse some fun into your work.

...A BABY BLANKET IN THE WINGS.

This is a multicolored pastel blanket I am currently in the process of crocheting for a friend's child. I absolutely fell in love with this yarn the second I saw it sitting the on the racks of JoAnne's Fabric Store (local).



The blanket consists of a basic alternating single stitch- double stitch pattern per row. My goal was to have this blankie signed, sealed, and cuddled with by the beginning of the month, but I ran out of yarn about 1/3 of the way through (per my habit of under-purchasing for the sake of thrift) and have yet to return to the fabric store. I hope to have it finished soon, which translates to before the kid can ask for it.

... THE EGGPLANT & FETA CHEESE PASTA RECIPE.

10 1/2 oz. penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 eggplant cut into small chunks
14 oz. chopped tomatoes
1 pinch sugar
16 basil leaves
7 oz. of feta cheese


Boil the pasta according to pack instructions.

Heat the oil in a pan, then gently fry the onion and garlic for about 5 mins until softened.

Add the eggplant, cook for 3 mins more, then tip in the tomatoes and sugar.

Add a few drops of tabasco if desired.

Bring to the boil, simmer for 5 mins, then stir through the basil and feta cheese.

Toss with the drained pasta and serve.