Merry Christmas!

Sewing Project: Dining Room Curtains

While Adam and I were up at my parents' for Thanksgiving (yes I'm behind on posting this!) my mom and I undertook the task of sewing curtains for our dining room.  The room was all furniture and no softness, so it needed this extra touch.

I had no idea how long it would take to make curtains, but it ended up taking us about three days to make them, which is about all the time we had!  Why do these types of projects always take longer than you think they will?

Anyway, I'm really happy with the result.  The curtains are lovely.  They add softness, color, and whimsy to the room.  And, I'm proud because I did most of the sewing work, including the surging and the blind hem stitch (which I kept doing wrong, btw).

Baking Day

Last Friday, my best friend Tracy and I had a baking day in preparation for our annual Christmas party, which was the next day.

She came over around 11 AM and we got to work because we had a lot to do!

First, we put her four month old son, Quinn, inside the dog pen and got him situated.  We knew we couldn't just leave him on the floor because my two dachshunds are fascinated with him and probably wouldn't leave him alone.  And since the baby is less mobile than the dogs, we thought it best to put him inside the pen and keep the dogs outside the pen.

Here he is, the cutie:

 

 

 Then we started cooking.  The counters were covered with ingredients and cooking tools.

The first thing we made was lemon cheesecake.  It was pretty good, but the crust was too thick so if I make it again I'll adjust accordingly.

  

Next we made red velvet cheesecake cookies with a white chocolate drizzle.  They're made with a red velvet cake box and have cheesecake filling.  These were super easy and delicious!  Here's the recipe in case you're interested.

 

An interesting note about these:  the cake mix is brownish but once it gets red it turns bright pink.  I thought it was weird!

Let the record show that I am NOT a good drizzler, but these were still tasty!

We also made shortbread Christmas tree cookie sandwiches with raspberry preserve filling.  These were inspired by something I saw in a magazine, and they were also delicious.

Here's the recipe I used for the shortbread.  The only difference is that I rolled the dough out 1/4" thick and used a tree cutter rather than using  a cookie press.  I don't have one of those, but I want one!

We also made peanut butter fudge and put together cookie ingredient jars, which Tracy gave away as gifts.  They were super cute.  Have you ever made those?

After that, Tracy and Quinn had to go home, but I wasn't done.  I had to make these onion rolls for our Christmas party, so I put them together the next morning.  These were very good but the onion taste was VERY strong.  If I make them again I'll use two onions instead of three.

In other news, these photos prove that I am not a good food photographer.  I would love to have this book because I think it would help me learn more about taking appetizing pictures of food.

Just a Note

This is just a note to say that my husband Adam is just about the coolest guy ever.  Why?  Because he's on TV doing something he loves!

I'm watching the UCLA/UC Irvine basketball game as I type this and he is there taking pictures.   Because he works at UC Irvine, he was able to get a press/photography pass.  As I watch, I can see him sitting under the UCLA basket. His being there makes it so much more interesting for me to watch the game.  It's not that I don't like basketball, but I don't watch it on my own.

I hope he has a wonderful time tonight!  I'll try not to eat all of the cookies before he gets home.  ;)

That Conversation

My best friend had her first baby, Kenneth LeRoy Fox V, on August 20, 2011.  I'm not normally a baby person, but because I love Tracy (and her hubby is also a good friend), I love little Quinn (as the baby has been dubbed).  If I'm honest, he is an awfully cute little guy.

This event sparked the beginning of that conversation between my husby and I.  Why don't we go off birth control and try to get pregnant?  Are we ready for that?  Quinn is awfully cute...  We've talked about it back and forth since then, but we haven't come to any conclusions.  We don't have any plans.

The truth is that this whole idea terrifies me.  I'm not one of those girls who has dreamt of having children since she was a little girl.  I don't even really remember playing with dolls.  I was too busy playing outside, or playing with Legos and GI Joes and cars in the mud.  (Tom boy anyone?)  Up until sometime in college, I wasn't even sure I wanted kids at all.  It didn't appeal to me.  Instead of going gaga over babies, I went gaga over puppies.

So, when Adam and I started talking about having a child of our own, all of these thoughts resurfaced.  Do I want to have children?  I think so.  Yes.  I want to have a family.    A big family.  My dad had five siblings, and I love our crazy family gatherings.  On the other hand, do I want to go through pregnancy, labor, diapers, drool (disgusting!), and all that the first year of a child's life entails?  I don't know.  Honestly, pregnancy sounds awful.  Labor sounds excruciating.  I'm not a fan of pain.  I avoid it at all costs.  

I think the idea of adopting is a great one.  There are thousands (perhaps even millions) of children in this world who are homeless, who have no family, who need love.  I would be happy to take in a couple of those children (maybe more!) and make them ours.  I'm sure I would love them just as much as if they were biologically ours.  Children from far off places like Ethiopia, China, India, and Haiti appeal to me.

My husband wants to have children that are ours.  Really ours.  A melding of him and me into one new little being.  I understand that.  I really do.  I think our children will be adorable, especially if they inherit his wavy hair and my blue eyes.  His mom even mentioned the possibility of red headed offspring, and I'd like that too.  But have I mentioned that pregnancy and labor terrify me?  I'm afraid that I'll be horribly sick the entire pregnancy (because birth control pills make me sick).  I'm afraid that labor will be incredibly painful and that I'll end up having a dreaded c-section.  I've actually had nightmares about the doctors chasing me down the hall with giant scissors in order to cut me in half to deliver the baby.

I think it sounds good to adopt a baby of between 1 and 4 years old and start with a child who is already becoming a little person.  If we do that, I'll get to avoid most of the things about child rearing that scare me the most.  I was doing some research on adoption last night and unfortunately it can take between 2 and 4 years, and China requires the parents to be at least 30.  I'm only 26, and 2-4 years ( on top of waiting until I'm 30) sounds like an awfully long time to wait.

But, again, Adam wants a baby of our own.  So, I'm praying for wisdom from God to know what he has planned for us.  I'm praying that Adam and I will come to a meeting of the minds regarding children, and that we will both be ready when the time comes (whenever that is).

Recipes: Easy French Bread and Personal Mac 'n Cheese Bowls

I've had a lot of writing and editing work over the past couple of weeks, and this influx of work has caused me to slack off on blogging and taking pictures to share.  So, I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post, but I do have several delicious recipes to share with you!

I don't know about you, but I really enjoy making homemade bread.  There is something about it that makes me feel particularly accomplished.  Plus, it's delicious!  Here's a recipe for easy french bread that I got from a family friend:

Easy French Bread

3 to 3 1/2 Cups flour

4 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 pkg yeast

2 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 Cups of hot water

Combine 1 Cup flour and the remaining 5 ingredients.

Beat 2 minutes on medium with a hand mixer.

Add 1 Cup of flour and beat 2 minutes at high speed.

Add 1 Cup of flour and stir by hand until a soft ball forms.

Cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

Sprinkle flour over the dough and punch down.

Grease and lightly flour a baking sheet.

Add enough flour to the dough to handle it easily and plop it onto the baking sheet.

Form a loaf about 15" long and let it rise for a half hour.

Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes.

Remove loaf from oven and brush with melted butter.

Bake another 5 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown.

This bread is easy and delicious.  I love how it comes out every time I make it.  In fact, I wish I made it more often!

And for my second recipe, this is something I whipped up the other night when I had zero dinner ideas!  Sometimes I have oodles of ideas, and sometimes I feel so uninspired.  But my husby and I love pasta and this turned out really yummy.

Personal Mac 'n Cheese Bowls

2 tsp butter

2 tsp flour

dashes salt, pepper, nutmeg, and garlic powder

1 Cup milk

1 Cup grated cheddar (or whatever cheese you like!)

3 Cups of dried pasta

Panko crumbs or Italian style bread crumbs

Mix the butter, flour, and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat until well blended.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta.  I use a fasta pasta, and I LOVE it!  Seriously, I never boil pasta on the stove unless it won't fit in the fasta pasta.  Anyway...  Drain the pasta once it's done cooking, and set it aside.

Once the butter, flour, and salt are well blended, ad the milk and stir until the sauce thickens.

Add dashes of pepper, nutmeg, and garlic powder.

If the sauce is too thick for your taste, add a little milk until you reach the right consistency.

Add the cheese and stir until it's melted and the sauce is smooth.

Pour the pasta into the sauce and mix well.

Spoon the mac 'n cheese into individual serving bowls.  Make sure these are oven safe!  My dishes are oven safe, but you may consider using ramekins if your regular dishes are not oven safe.

Sprinkle Panko or bread crumbs over each bowl.

Broil bowls until the crumbs are golden brown.

And voila, you've got personalized mac 'n cheese bowls.  These were super easy and we both loved them!  If you like mac 'n cheese, I'm sure you'll like it too.

Sparkles

Lately, I've been on a sparkly accessories kick.  I've picked up a cardigan with beading on the front and I've been eyeing a sequined scarf at the Gap Outlet.

Today, I discovered these jeweled bags on Etsy and I'm in love!  Hopefully I'll get some Christmas money so I can snag one of these bad boys.

From TheVintageHandbag

From mysweetiepiepie

From ustabee

From shopvaluablevintage

From wearitagain

From HelloPretty

Are you enjoying the sparkles this season?

I'm Kind of a Scrooge

when it comes to Christmas music.  I HATE it.  I do all of my Christmas shopping online or before Thanksgiving so I don't have to go out and hear it piped incessantly into my ears.  I don't listen to the radio for the month of December just to avoid it.

Why?  I'll tell you.  I get incredibly tired of hearing all of the same "classic" songs sung over and over again by anyone who ever got a record deal.  I also get tired of hearing the lame attempts by people to write new Christmas songs (I'm looking at you, Stephen Colbert).  Hence, my decision to stay away from all things Christmas music.

In college, my roommates knew to turn off the Christmas music when I returned to our dorm room.  I wasn't very nice about it, I'll admit.  I probably glared at them or whined until they turned it off.  Thanks for being good sports, guys!

Anyway, I do love Christmas specials, and especially the claymation marvels made by the Rankin-Bass team.  My absolute favorite is Rudolph.  Today, I discovered that I could buy the entire Rudolph soundtrack on iTunes, so I did.  I also discovered that Michael Buble's new Christmas CD (although it's almost entirely covers of classic Christmas songs) made me smile.  I'm pretty sure that man could sing a beer commercial and I'd like it.  The point is that there are now a total of three Christmas CDs that are acceptable in our house (the first being my beloved N*SYNC Christmas album from 1998).

Decorating for Christmas

Now that it is the 6th of December, I have decided that I am ready to decorate for Christmas.  I admit, I am not one of those girls who puts decorations out the day after Thanksgiving, or on Thanksgiving for that matter.  For some reason, I like a break between holidays.  Space.  Time to enjoy a few normal days before I have to gear up for the next big event.

So, I finally got started on decorating our home today, and I have a couple of cute ideas to share with you guys.

First off, I made this wreath last year.  I think it's stylish yet homey.  It's personal to me because I love to crochet.  In fact, there is a box full (yes a box) of yarn behind my couch waiting to be used.

 

All you have to do make one for yourself is to:
- buy an inexpensive fake evergreen wreath. I bought mine at Walmart for less than $5.
- buy styrofoam balls in various sizes at your local craft store.
- choose different colored yarns of your choice, and in varying weights.
- start pinning the end of the yarn to the styrofoam ball using a sewing pin. You won't get this pin back so use old or ugly pins.
- wrap the yarn around the ball, gluing the yarn to the styrofoam every couple of wraps to make sure the yarn stays in place.

- once the styrofoam is completely covered, add another pin to the yarn to hold it in place.
- leave a tail of yarn attached to the styrofoam ball.  The length of the tail will depend on how far down you want the ball to hang.  I hung mine at various heights to add interest.
- Wrap as many balls as you want!
- Using the tail of the yarn wrap the very end of the yarn around the top of the wreath a couple of times and tie a knot.  Repeat until all of the balls are attached.
- Use another piece of yarn or ribbon to cover up all of the knots on the top of the wreath.
And viola, you are done!

I added rustic bells to my wreath so that it will jingle when the door opens!

Another idea:  hanging crystals from the chandelier over the dining table.

Buy crystals at any hardware store or home improvement store (such as OSH or Lowe's), and use ribbon to tie a bow at the top of each crystal.  Hang each crystal at a different point on the chandelier using wire or monofilament.  Or, you can simply tie the crystal to the chandelier using ribbon.  It's super easy and classy.

Lastly, here's an idea for a festive centerpiece.

Get a candle hurricane and fill it with ornaments, acorns, or pine cones, or whatever other festive item you choose.  Then put a wreath around the base to add some oomph!  I got the ornaments and crystal wreath at Walmart.

*I cannot take full credit for these ideas.  Some of them I got from my mom or from magazines.  I'm better at copying decorating ideas than coming up with my own.  Oh well!

That Ever Elusive Goal

Five years ago (holy cow!) I started writing a young adult novel in a class at Biola.  Last October (over a year ago) I set a goal to finish the first draft of said novel by the end of 2011.  It is now December.  I have one month to finish this baby.

I have to finish it because I don't want to be one of those people who starts and never finishes and who never reaches her goals.  I love to write, but then why am I so slow at this?  Is it because I'm not really a writer but am afraid to admit it?  Is it because I'm an award-worthy procrastinator?  I don't think so.  I think it's because I let life get in the way.  I let cooking, cleaning, reading, running errands, and heck, even television, get in the way of my goal.  Well, not anymore!  I have one month to finish and by golly I'm going to do it!

Probably tomorrow because I've got actual, real, paying work to do today.

In other news, today is blog hop day!
Head over to Miss Mommy to hop along.