Weekend 10. 2014

Do you ever have those weeks where you feel totally exhausted at the end? My week wasn't bad, but it was very full and challenging. By the time Saturday rolled around, I was so tired I didn't even want to craft or cook very much. While this feeling may be totally natural to 90% of normal people, I was appalled. I always have weird ideas and try to cram way too many experiences into two days. Clearly something needed to be done to reignite my fervor. ICE CREAM! 

I checked Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream cookbook from the library and made her lemon ice cream and cones fo Monay night dessert. Theoretically, these should have been finished on Sanday, but this cook didn't check to see if the ice cream freezers were frozen (they weren't).  It turned out fine and broke the cooking up, so I never reached frustration level 1. In case you're wondering the levels go up to 10 which occurs if you break a cake layer, curdle frosting, or set the smoke alarm off with wax paper. At level 10 there are tears. 

Anyway, this experience was very nice and I highly recommend the book. Tasty + Beautiful = Winner! 

The rest of my weekend was lovely. I met a great friend for coffee and thrift shopping. I had a delicious orange mocha and found brand new Birkenstocks at the thrift store. Woot! 

I'm planning on popping in with a little craft update later this week, but we'll see what happens. 

Happy Monday!

An Amalgamation of Things

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

     Here are a couple of photos from my past week and exploits. You may notice that some photos are better quality than others. Apparently, I can't always beg a better camera off my sisters.

     This group of photos provides a pretty good glimpse of what I consider appealing. That seems to include: puffins, cows, cookies, feet, and squash. I have eclectic taste.

 

     Anyway, on the handcrafts side of life, I'm working on "The Eternal Knitted Cardigan," some jersey tunics, and a pillow cover. I'm not making exceptional progress on the knitting, but I did finish two jersey items that I'm wearing far too often. I also finished the TOMS that I was mending and took the photo above at work.

    

      As the photos indicate, I've been cooking. This comes as a huge shock to my family (sarcasm). The cookies in the photo are biscotti from an Italian cookbook. Since I've made the biscotti once before, the recipe is now fair game for massive alterations. Instead of the original lemon biscotti, I now present: orange and chocolate, almond and chocolate, white chocolate spice, and lemon rosewater.

   Consequently there will be a biscotti tasting tonight at the house. I think it will catch on. I can see it now: Trend Alert- Biscotti Tastings on the Rise, Teetotalers Ecstatic! Before you know it there will be Groupons.  

 

     Full disclosure: these photos do not represent the entirety of my week, but rather photogenic and appealing moments. For obvious reasons, I did not include my disorganized purse or my current schleppy outfit.

 

     I'll end with a passage that I've been thinking on a lot, since bible study a couple of weeks ago.

 

"I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. . . I can do all things through Him who strengthens me"

                                      ~Phillipians 4:11-13

 

 

A Little Cooking

We (I) interupt our normal (sparse) programming to bring you a few foodie inspired pictures.

As my photos suggest, I am a foodie. An I was almost crying during 'The Hundred Foot Journey' kind of foodie. At this point I am kind of wondering if exercise is counterproductive, since I plan more food ideas as I walk. 

     Tonight I made dinner for the clan. We had chicken tikka masala, naan, yogurt rice, and salad. It was my second time making the meal and it was quite tasty. I love all of the spices in the dish! It is one of those dishes that wouldn't be very appealing to pinners or internet users looking for a "five ingredient/one pot dinner." The pin would read: Use Only 15 Ingredients and Every Pan in a Normal Kitchen. Not quite as appealing when in a time crunch, but ever so lovely for a puttering comfort seeker. 

If anyone wants to try the recipes, they are at: http://cant-live-without.com/2012/02/14/chicken-tikka-masala/

Attempt No. 1

Starting this blog feels quite awkward. I think I'll just begin as a journal of my varied crafts and see where it takes me. As I'm trying to begin in media res (for all the English nerds out there,) I'll share a couple photots of my latest works in progress.

 

       These TOMS came from the thrift store about a year ago. They already had wear and I wore them into the ground. I looked at new shoes, but decided to try some of the mending tactics that I've seen. I crocheted over the holes in the first shoe and decided to 'go big or go home.' I covered the front with freeform crochet and finished the heel hole with a medallion.

     I've also been working on some natural avocado dye this week and I will take a picture of the final project later. Currently, there is just a jar of brown water with green pieces floating inside. Essentially, it is not the most photogenic at this point.

      Final nifty thought for the day: I staged the photo with the cup of basil earlier and promptly forgot about it. The basil sprouted roots and was planted yesterday! Just goes to show that with a little neglect I can actually grow something.