I have an abundance of zucchini right now. If you garden, or have neighbors who garden, you may be swimming in it too. I've been making copious amounts of veggie burgers (my recipe here) for fresh eating and for the freezer. And lots of zucchini breads. Yesterday, I felt like something chocolaty. SouleMama linked to a Chocolate and Zucchini cake recipe that sounded super scrumptious to me. So I made it. And I loved it!
What's your favorite thing to do with zucchini?!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Bedside Caddy
A friend of ours asked me to make a bedside caddy for her daughter. They had a bargain store version that just didn't hold up to the amount of use it was getting. I was also given a stack of cotton batik fabrics to go crazy with.
So I measured and thought and measured and drew and measured and dreamed. And then I measured and added and measured and cut and sewed and swore and ripped seams and sewed and ironed... And eventually came out with this:
The original version had those fun mesh pockets that I salvaged for the new version. The finished bucket measures about 4.5" in width, 12.5" in length, and 10" in depth.
Each piece of the outer bucket - pieced together front, sides, back, and bottom - is lined with a medium weight fusible interfacing for durability.
Inside, there is a large flat divider that can be used to hold a book or two, and a smaller divider that separates the remaining space in two sections. Both dividers are sandwiched with medium weight fusible interfacing as well.
Boy, this fabric looks pink in my pics. It's really a lovely shade of deep purple...
I made a pocket to slide under the mattress that will hold a piece of cardboard. This way the whole thing can be washed when you remove the cardboard. (Shown below is the original "under the mattress" part I cut off the old version and used in the pocket of the new version.)
Then it's just a matter of sliding it under the mattress.
And filling it up with your favorite bedtime items.
All in all, it came together fairly well. I had a few issues with not measuring properly and cutting pieces that were too small (that's the problem with sewing after you should be in bed!). And only one other mishap involving not attaching the small divider to the large divider, but we won't go into that. It all came out cute in the end. And the little girl I made it for had a huge smile on her face when she realized what it was! That, right there, is the best part about sewing.
So I measured and thought and measured and drew and measured and dreamed. And then I measured and added and measured and cut and sewed and swore and ripped seams and sewed and ironed... And eventually came out with this:
The original version had those fun mesh pockets that I salvaged for the new version. The finished bucket measures about 4.5" in width, 12.5" in length, and 10" in depth.
Each piece of the outer bucket - pieced together front, sides, back, and bottom - is lined with a medium weight fusible interfacing for durability.
Inside, there is a large flat divider that can be used to hold a book or two, and a smaller divider that separates the remaining space in two sections. Both dividers are sandwiched with medium weight fusible interfacing as well.
Boy, this fabric looks pink in my pics. It's really a lovely shade of deep purple...
I made a pocket to slide under the mattress that will hold a piece of cardboard. This way the whole thing can be washed when you remove the cardboard. (Shown below is the original "under the mattress" part I cut off the old version and used in the pocket of the new version.)
Then it's just a matter of sliding it under the mattress.
And filling it up with your favorite bedtime items.
All in all, it came together fairly well. I had a few issues with not measuring properly and cutting pieces that were too small (that's the problem with sewing after you should be in bed!). And only one other mishap involving not attaching the small divider to the large divider, but we won't go into that. It all came out cute in the end. And the little girl I made it for had a huge smile on her face when she realized what it was! That, right there, is the best part about sewing.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Birthday Dress
July is flying by!! What a crazy month it has been. We've been up to our eyeballs in summer camps, cleaning, gardening, and preserving.
Sweetpea turns 4 tomorrow. Hard to believe my littlest is going to be 4. For her birthday, I made her a dress.
I'ts Simplicity 4161 and I have no idea what the fabric is. I thought it was a cotton, but it may be a rayon or something like that. It ironed funny... I made her a size 5, but it was way too big at the top. I had to take in the seam at the armhole down to the waist by a good good bit.
(And I need a hook and eye. That seems to be a downfall of mine - not sewing on the hook and eye. So tedious!!!)
All in all, the sewing went well. The pattern was fairly simple to follow. And... I did my first buttonhole!!! (Thanks, Nick, for all your encouragement!) With such cute buttons, who could resist?
I'm hooked! Or buttoned, rather, since we all know how i feel about putting hooks on dresses. It was so easy, I can't believe it took me this long to try it out! Way way way easier than lining up a zipper.
Happy Birthday my lil Sweetpea.
Sweetpea turns 4 tomorrow. Hard to believe my littlest is going to be 4. For her birthday, I made her a dress.
I'ts Simplicity 4161 and I have no idea what the fabric is. I thought it was a cotton, but it may be a rayon or something like that. It ironed funny... I made her a size 5, but it was way too big at the top. I had to take in the seam at the armhole down to the waist by a good good bit.
All in all, the sewing went well. The pattern was fairly simple to follow. And... I did my first buttonhole!!! (Thanks, Nick, for all your encouragement!) With such cute buttons, who could resist?
I'm hooked! Or buttoned, rather, since we all know how i feel about putting hooks on dresses. It was so easy, I can't believe it took me this long to try it out! Way way way easier than lining up a zipper.
Happy Birthday my lil Sweetpea.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Spinning
I keep waiting for life to slow down a bit. So I can do some of the things I've been meaning to do. Like stare at the clouds.
Play in the creek.
Take my kids to the park.
Waiting for life to stop spinning quite so fast and give me a bit of time.
But life is stubborn. Life plunges along whether you are holding on or not.
We are responsible for making our own time. For doing those things we want to do.
For finding our own balance.
***Here is a note added by Nick in the comments. I thought I'd share it with everyone in case you were looking for some clarity...
It's not clear from those pics (thanks to a fast shutter speed...) but that spinny thing was actually SPINNING.
And pretty fast, too...
And Munch could stand in the center and move her feet fast enough to NOT spin with it. An impressive feat - both physically and metaphorically...
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Donating!
*** Warning: If you are one of my sisters, and you want to be surprised by this in person, read NO FARTHER!!!!!!! ***
A couple weeks ago, I was combing Sweetpea's hair after a bath and I said "your hair is down to your butt!" Her response was "oooohhhhh! We should cut it and donate it!" Now, she is only 3, so you can imagine my surprise. Munch has donated her hair twice in her 11 years. But not in the last 2 years. It seemed hard to believe that Sweetpea could remember her sister doing that. They must have talked about it at some time or another. Ya know, as sisters are wont to do even if there is an 8 year difference between them.
We decided to wait until after the recital was over. So I could more easily pin her hair back.
Last night after her bath, we downloaded the form from Locks of Love, and set to work.
Sweetpea is having a great time telling how it all happened. Here's her version of it (in her words, but without her little Sweetpea accent):
First, we picked out a rubber band. A pink one.
And mama put it in my hair in a pony tail.
I had to hold really still.
Then mama cut the pony tail off!
[fit of goofy girl giggles]
The whole pony tail!!
[hand motions and more giggles]
12 inches. Oddly, this was very difficult for me. I sorta felt like i was cutting off one of her limbs. Like it would hurt her or something. Not sure why I felt like that. I'm usually not one to be so sentimental about things like that. But...
I'm loving the new look!
So fresh and cute.
I think she's loving it too.
A couple weeks ago, I was combing Sweetpea's hair after a bath and I said "your hair is down to your butt!" Her response was "oooohhhhh! We should cut it and donate it!" Now, she is only 3, so you can imagine my surprise. Munch has donated her hair twice in her 11 years. But not in the last 2 years. It seemed hard to believe that Sweetpea could remember her sister doing that. They must have talked about it at some time or another. Ya know, as sisters are wont to do even if there is an 8 year difference between them.
We decided to wait until after the recital was over. So I could more easily pin her hair back.
Last night after her bath, we downloaded the form from Locks of Love, and set to work.
Sweetpea is having a great time telling how it all happened. Here's her version of it (in her words, but without her little Sweetpea accent):
First, we picked out a rubber band. A pink one.
And mama put it in my hair in a pony tail.
I had to hold really still.
Then mama cut the pony tail off!
[fit of goofy girl giggles]
The whole pony tail!!
[hand motions and more giggles]
12 inches. Oddly, this was very difficult for me. I sorta felt like i was cutting off one of her limbs. Like it would hurt her or something. Not sure why I felt like that. I'm usually not one to be so sentimental about things like that. But...
I'm loving the new look!
So fresh and cute.
I think she's loving it too.
Monday, June 20, 2011
What Happens When Life Runs Away With You?
But that's all over now. We're into garden maintenance mode. The costumes have been gathered or made and danced in.
I've got some po-ta-toes to salvage!
(Hey, no one can say I can't grow anything!)
Monday, June 13, 2011
A Sister's Garden
I have 4 wonderful sisters. We get together often and have a great time. Last week, while 2 of my sisters went on a trip to North Carolina (welcome home!!!!!!!!!), I got the chance to hang with another one of my sisters twice! Twice in one week! She lives an hour away in PA, so we don't see each other as often as we'd like.
This year, she decided that she wanted to plant a garden. Much to my excitement, she asked me to help her design and plant it. Early last week, I took the kids to her place, had a sleepover, and then planted her garden the next morning. 'Twas really fun!
Her garden, being her first ever garden, is 3ft by 12ft. She wanted tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, green beans, and onions. We chose 3 tomatoes - 1 Debaro paste, 1 Bellstar paste, and 1 Medford field; 2 sweet peppers - 1 King of the North bell, 1 Lipstick; 1 hot pepper - we had chosen a Hot Portugal, but a lil bunny ate it, so we replaced it with an Anaheim; Provider green beans; Black Eel zucchini; and onions grown from onion sets.
Right after planting.
Hurray for sprouting seeds!!! Always one of the most exciting parts of gardening (next to harvesting the yummies, that is).
With bunny protection and replaced plants.
Isn't it cute?! I think I'm just as excited about her garden as she is! (Thanks for letting me be a part of it all, sis!!)
Gardening is a never ending spiral. Once you start, you can't stop. You constantly think of how next year's garden will be bigger, better, different. You learn from your mistakes and from your successes. Happy accidents happen. Losses occur. It's challenging and exciting. Each year is different. Gardening is dynamic.
This was one of the wettest springs I can remember. We are just now caught up on getting things in the ground in our own garden. Now that things have slowed a bit in the garden, I'm hoping to have the chance to take some pics of it and post them. After all, this will be our last year of gardening at my sister in laws house. Next year, we'll be able to garden at the farmhouse we bought. Hopefully we'll be living there as well! Right now, we are dealing with the challenges of buying an old farmhouse. But! We now have a working well. That's some progress!
How does your garden grow?
This year, she decided that she wanted to plant a garden. Much to my excitement, she asked me to help her design and plant it. Early last week, I took the kids to her place, had a sleepover, and then planted her garden the next morning. 'Twas really fun!
Her garden, being her first ever garden, is 3ft by 12ft. She wanted tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, green beans, and onions. We chose 3 tomatoes - 1 Debaro paste, 1 Bellstar paste, and 1 Medford field; 2 sweet peppers - 1 King of the North bell, 1 Lipstick; 1 hot pepper - we had chosen a Hot Portugal, but a lil bunny ate it, so we replaced it with an Anaheim; Provider green beans; Black Eel zucchini; and onions grown from onion sets.
Isn't it cute?! I think I'm just as excited about her garden as she is! (Thanks for letting me be a part of it all, sis!!)
Gardening is a never ending spiral. Once you start, you can't stop. You constantly think of how next year's garden will be bigger, better, different. You learn from your mistakes and from your successes. Happy accidents happen. Losses occur. It's challenging and exciting. Each year is different. Gardening is dynamic.
This was one of the wettest springs I can remember. We are just now caught up on getting things in the ground in our own garden. Now that things have slowed a bit in the garden, I'm hoping to have the chance to take some pics of it and post them. After all, this will be our last year of gardening at my sister in laws house. Next year, we'll be able to garden at the farmhouse we bought. Hopefully we'll be living there as well! Right now, we are dealing with the challenges of buying an old farmhouse. But! We now have a working well. That's some progress!
How does your garden grow?
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