our february weekends

We haven't been skiing much this winter.  Aside from the snow conditions being a little dangerous (hello avalanche!), and the warm winter we've had, we are just a little burnt-out on making the big drive to the mountains.  So we have spent most of our Saturdays in the foothills just outside of town.  And even though it's hard to compete with snow-capped peaks, these rolling hills are really growing on me.  The sky seems so big and it makes me hope I always live in a place with wide open spaces.  They make me feel good.

rice bags are neat

I have been using my electric hot pad quite a bit lately (sore back...) and accidentally kept falling asleep with it in bed.  Evan was worried I was going to burn myself or set the house of fire (he is our chief safety officer).  So I finally broke down and made myself a rice bag.  I had made these before for gifts, but never for myself.  And let me tell you--they are  positively splendid!  I made mine smell oh-so-delicious with lemon essential oil and plenty of lavender buds (still trying to use up my giant sack from this project).  Last night as I was drifting off to sleep, I was thinking that it smelled just like a lemon cake (a sure-fire way to have sweet dreams).

To use, just remove the rice pouch from the cover and microwave for about 2 minutes.  Return to cover and relax (you deserve it!).

framed

I used my Christmas present money to get some frames for these lovely paintings we picked up in Ethiopia (we lived there for a semester while Evan completed his graduate research).  I love them so much and would find myself cringing whenever I would open my studio cabinet and witness them collecting dust on a dark shelf.  They are so beautiful and a little bit fragile (they are painted on some kind of animal skin and when bent,  it cracks the paint.  Eek!), so I am glad they have a proper place to live now.

This one is my favorite.  A rather contemplative Daniel in the Lions Den.

And Jesus washing the Apostles feet.

details of note: 

the afros on the Apostles and the large Ethiopian eyes on everyone, including the lions :)

a waffle with strawberries

I have been on such a painting kick lately!  I think it's funny that I can't handle more then one type of creative activity at a time.  For example: when I first got my sewing machine I made 7 quilts (oh, you think I'm kidding?  It's no joking matter!), and then I felt like drawing for a while.  And so I drew over a dozen wildflowers.  And then I thought I was a pro-felter, and couldn't stop stabbing things (okay, just wool things).  And right now it appears I am into painting food.  So food I will paint.

We absolutely had several waffle dinners while I was working on this painting.  It couldn't be helped.  And I was seriously considering adding a drizzle of syrup to the pat of butter, but Evan made a good point that strawberries and syrup don't go that great together (he is turning into such a foodie!).

p.s.  this isn't the first time I've blogged about my affinity for waffles.  Oh my.

cookie love

I waited as long as I could to make these cookies again.  They are so soft and good!

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies     

from deliacreates


1 c. shortening {you can use butter, but shortening produces a softer, chewier cookie}
2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. sour cream
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

5 c. all purpose flour, plus 1-2 c. more for rolling cookies out
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 375 and prepare your cookie sheets with a light mist of spray oil.  Beat your wet ingredients together.  Stir or whisk your dry ingredients together.

Mix your dry and wet mixes together to get a nice thick dough

Flour your counter and rolling pin.  Don't be shy with the flour.  This dough is quite sticky.  But also be careful not to add too much flour or the cookies will taste floury and they will crack easily.

Take a big chunk of dough and roll it out to about 1/4 of an inch thick.

Cut and place on the baking sheets.
Bake for 10-15 minutes...until the top starts to look baked and oh so slightly browned.

Then let the frosting begin!
This cookie frosting/glaze is from the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook:

3 TBSP. whole milk {I used half and half}

1 TBSP. softened cream cheese

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Mix 2 TBSP. milk and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar. Add remaining milk as needed.

Wishing you a lovely Valentine's day!!

It felt like Spring

Last weekend we went hiking without gloves or hats or down coats.
 It was magical.
 And now it's snowing.
Whatever.  I think I'm getting used to this bi-polar winter weather.

p.s. before we got our puppy, Evan used to tease me that it would like him better then me.  I was seriously worried that would happen.  I mean, Evan is way funner than me, can wrestle better, and has a deeper voice--who wouldn't choose him to be the alpha??
Since getting Gesso I've noticed that he likes us better at different times, and we accidentally captured it in these photos.  If we are hiking/skiing/biking/roughhousing, Gesso is Evan's shadow.  He doesn't even care about me.
But if he wants a nice face massage or a lap to sit on (I'm not kidding), I'm his number one pal.
I'm glad it worked out that we are both his favorite.

And I'm sorry that I post about my dog all of the time.  He's kind of like my kid.

feeling inspired

I was asked to paint a little something for our church's youth-group theme this year.  While I was doodling some possible ideas, Evan thought it might be a better idea to paint a grey rain cloud with the inscription "lay down and be dull".   He was pretty sure the teens might respond to some reverse psychology.  But I really wanted to paint a cheerful sunburst (It is the middle of winter, afterall!).  Also, I didn't want to be held responsible for any dull teenagers walking around church.

picture this

I have been slowly making my way through years of photos.  You see, we take A LOT of picturess.  And it always made me a little bit sad that we couldn't look at them that often, because they have basically stayed on the computer.  Since I am not a scrapbooker, making these photo albums through Shutterfly was PERFECT and more importantly, FAST!  I cannot even tell you how great it feels to finally have done something about our photo situation.  And I did finally print out some of our wedding photos!  I am going to make a fancier album for those and my goal is to have it done by our next anniversary.  Yay!!

birthday wishes

Evan had a Birthday this weekend.  We celebrated by hiking to the top of a frigid mountain (I'm sorry if the picture makes you feel cold!), and then the next day we ate a small mountain of cake (don't worry, we had help).  I meant to take a picture of it before we dug in, but ya know.  Whatev.  The filling was cookies and cream, and if I do say so, was fantastic.

oh the weather outside!

is so delightful!  welcome back winter!

soft pretzel bites (and where I talk about my sweet tooth turning salty)

I most definitely made pretzels last weekend.  And they were goooooood!  I have been really focusing on getting enough protein for the past few months (we herbivores need to make an extra effort!).  And I've noticed the most interesting thing happening...my giant sweet tooth (teeth?) is turning into a salt tooth.  I know.  I find it fascinating.

So normally, when hunkered down at home on a weekend afternoon, I would probably make a giant cake, I found myself making pretzels instead.

YUM!

The only problem was the cheese sauce recipe I used wasn't exactly what I was hoping for (but hey, at least it was made with real cheese!).

And so the next time I make these little gems I need to find another recipe to try.

Soft Pretzel Bites:
recipe from whatmegansmaking.com

ingredients:
1 1/2 c. warm water
2 Tablespoon light brown sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast
3 ounces butter, melted
2 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 c. all purpose flour
vegetable oil
3 quarts water
3/4 c. baking soda
1 whole egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water

directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot over high heat and add the baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a long rope measuring about 22 inches. Cut the dough into one inch pieces. In small batches (about 15 at a time), boil the pretzel bites in the water solution for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon and place pretzel bites on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season with coarse sea salt. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating.

These are best warm, but are still good at room temperature. They are best served the day they're made.

Gesso the giant

80 lbs later...

my oh my how they grow!

on my mind:

::  It won't stop snowing (I'm not mad).  

::  Gesso ate his new bed.  He had been dragging his other bed into the living room every day to lounge on, so we thought he was trying to send us a message--that he wanted a living room bed.  We took the hint and got him a new one (I guess it wasn't the one he wanted).

::  Our good friends moved to Australia last week.  It was super sad.  And then they gave us this awesome vintage classroom map.  Which made it a little less sad.

::   I made this soup last night (good!).

::  I took a photo of the food wall.  I started working on a giant waffle painting last night.  It definitely won't fit on that wall with the other paintings.  I think it's time to move.

::  Two people dropped by this week and I wasn't wearing pajamas (pajamas are my hibernation outfit of choice).  I was so proud of myself!

::  I showed Evan these helpful hints for talking to crafty ladies.  He really took them to heart and has been trying out a few of his own!  So funny!

wishing you a warm Wednesday!!

tomatoes in january

I have a small collection of food paintings that hang on my kitchen wall (I must remember to take a photo of that!), and this is the latest installment.

Tomatoes.  I love them sooo much.

While I was working on this, I couldn't stop thinking about how nice a cherry tomato would taste.  And the next time I was at the grocery store, I accidentally bought a small container of them.  I'm actually not even sure I did it on purpose.  I got home and there they were!  Sneaky little tomatoes.

They tasted like water.  And the texture reminded me of chewing on a balloon.  It was kind of the worst tomato ever grown.

So now I have this painting to tide me over until summer.  When I can finally eat sun-warmed tomatoes that taste like tomatoes.

p.s. It's SNOWING today!  We have been having the weirdest winter ever.  60 degrees in January??  What?  Okay.  I had never experienced a mild winter before, and at first I hated it.  And then I started to really like it.  And then when I was going on walks without a coat or gloves on I absolutely loved it.

  It has been softly snowing all day and I have to admit, I am relieved winter is back.  Turns out, I had been missing it.   I just got home from a walk with my giant sled dog and when we came inside I couldn't get his collar off (frozen to his neck fur).  Hooray for winter!!

around here -- january edition

 

winter wonderland

 

I feel bad for January.  Christmas has come and gone.  February means Valentines candy and hearts.  And January means...new year?  Cold outside?  Gloomy?  Diet?  This year I decided that I would celebrate January.  Because if you have the right attitude, January can be quite the winter wonderland!  So I hung some bedazzled snowflakes in front of the windows.   And then I whipped up a simple garland that reminds me of snow.

I found the sparkly snowflakes at an after Christmas sale (they are actually ornaments) and for the garland I cut up bits of natural quilt batting and fed them into the sewing machine (watch your fingers!).  Evan thinks it looks like a potato chip garland (men!).

Happy January to you! :)

hello 2012

I surprised Evan with some Alfajor cookies on New Years Eve.  We thought they were just okay, and we shared them with some friends who thought they were super amazing.  So I guess the jury's still out.  In either case, they were pretty cookies. 

I am feeling ready for this new year.  A fresh start.  There is a big pot of change simmering on the stove at our house and I am hopeful and excited about what's to come.