Another from the ranch

kitty, originally uploaded by BlushOnYourCheek.

I adored this kitten, she was so tiny with so much hair.

One quick picture

since I've got bread at the end of it's rise and it needs attending. Two of the horses at my family's place. I think Silver is on the left but Sport and Silver look nearly identical to me so it could be Sport. Bonnie is on the right, she's a Percheron/Clydesdale mix and massive.

Crafty fun for toddlers

I'm co-chairing Kinsley's daycare Christmas party on Friday. So, my task was to come up with a craft little people could do with relative ease. So, James and I are going to busy ourselves cutting out about 100 mitten shapes from red, green, and white cardstock tonight and tomorrow. Then on Friday the children will decorate two with foam stickers, little pom-poms, glitter glue, crayons, and then we'll tie a ribbon between the two and they have made a mitten ornament.

Then, for my own fun, I'm thinking I'm going to make these calendars for next year. I already have a wall calendar for my office wall but I can make an excuse and have a pretty one on my desk as well.

Advice well taken

12.16.07kinsley.2, originally uploaded by BlushOnYourCheek.

We took time to stop and smell the roses today. It's been nearly 4 or more years since neither James nor I have been in school. It's nice to finally have some downtime.

The Pear Shirt

pear shirt, originally uploaded by BlushOnYourCheek.

Finally, I snagged a picture of the shirt I made for Kinsley. I bought a red knit shirt to wear underneath it now that it's getting colder outside. I'm really hoping I didn't make the sleeves too tight though.

Pink is festive

cookies, originally uploaded by BlushOnYourCheek.

I had a quick moment to decorate a few stars last night- all pink of course. It really did help lift my spirits and get me in the Christmas mood. I even managed to sing a little "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas".

Martha turned my frown upside down

I was in a bit of a funk about Christmas this year. We had let a friend stay with us to help him get on his feet in a new town and it went downhill from there. Needless to say the loss of a friendship and a feeling of having generosity taken advantage of can zap any Christmas spirit.

But just as I was starting to send out invitations for a pity party I decided to bake it out. So I baked 2 dozen thumprint cookies, 2 dozen sugar cookies, another 2 dozen gingerbread cookies, and a loaf of bread. I can't take all the credit on the bread since I let the bread machine work a brioche out for me but it came out so delicious.

I'm going to decorate as many cookies as I can tonight and hopefully get a good handprint of Kinsley's so I can make hand cookies. I used this royal icing recipe but doubled it and subbed powdered egg white for the real thing and used almond extract instead of lemon juice. James just called and said he picked up pink sugar sprinkles for me. It's like he knows what little thing is going to make me happy in the day and he knows being able to pink up the holidays is just what I need to do right now.

I'll upload pictures of the cookie madness tonight (except the thumbprints, those disappeared since Saturday).

The girl, my world

50mm 1.4 lens, Aly's Simply Vintage action

Busy weekend

But oh so worth it.

Last night I helped my cousin and two of her friends tear down the wallpaper in my aunt and uncle's house. Wowza. When DIF says wait 15 minutes they mean it and we were not so patient. All in all though, 4 hours later all the paper was down. James and I went back to help smooth out the drywall and prime the walls. I'm so excited to continue with the painting; it's going to be gorgeous!

Playing with histograms and photoshop

(action is Creamsicle by SCP and a frame action from action central)

Looks like this could be fun-

I started thinking that it might be fun to work my way through a cookbook next year, something simple-ish, like a baking book where even the worst outcome may still be edible. Then again, maybe I should work my way through a book I already have, like one for quick dinners from Southern Living. Anyhow, looking at Amazon I found Cakes, Cupcakes, and Cheesecakes from the Williams-Sonoma collection and now I'm thinking that might be fun too.

Hm.

Oh, and crepe paper poinsettias look like a great way to get the look without worrying about the poisonous side effects.

Another quick photo-

of course, an outtake, but doesn't she look like an angel before you realize what her hand is doing?

One picture to post

before snuggling on the couch and watching the Dallas Stars game with my husband.

Our daughter in the tub tonight. Canon XTI, 50mm 1.4 lens. SCP Lighten Up action

Apples and Pears, oh my!

A little bit of Alexander Henry's Brown Apple and Pear Fabric from Sew Mama Sew and the tutorial for a peasant top from Just Tutes and I have a fashionable little two year old in my house. Pictures to come.

I will make time for this-

Martha makes my heart all aflutter when I find things like this on her site. Oh, I think I will have to make these this Christmas and every Christmas thereafter. I'm wondering if I could make a herb bread and cut it into cubes and forgo the icing and use cream cheese instead (of course mixed with Paula Deen's house seasoning*). Oh, and a little pecan half for a door.

*House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.


It's the best thing in our house. James mixes it up in large batches and then we store it in little glass spice jars I picked up from World Market. It won't last 6 months, you'll use it far too often.

Not such a grand cold front

The "cold front" was more of a two-day cool down and then right back up to the 80s. I did not make the bread by hand yet, although I did make some in our mysterious breadmaker. It's mysterious because my sister brought it over under the impression that it was my old breadmaker from college that I had left with my mother when I moved to Arizona. But, the machine she brought is not my old machine with the dings of love and moving catastrophes. But, I can say this machine makes good bread. Real good bread.

There is a cold-front a comin'

I want to make this bread this week in anticipation for the cold front the Austin-area is supposed to get. I cannot begin to say how upset I will be if the cold front does not come- it's November for goodness sake. I am willing the weather to change for the cooler if only for the selfish fact that I want to sit by a fire. I think I'm owed cooler weather with the time change that funks up my afternoons and makes me crave a nap.

I think the bread, though looking quite bulbous in that photo, would be great as a foundation for one of James' panini experiments. Last night's version was delicious and I made up a double batch of cream of green chili soup to accompany his toasted masterpiece. We enjoyed it with some chardonnay. Perfect Sunday dinner.

In anticipation of a new year

I'm setting my resolution early- do one crafty thing each day for one year and post about it here. The title comes from my and my husband's first dance song "My One and Only Love". We chose the Louis Armstrong version, "the blush on your cheek whenever I speak tells me that you are my own". Just as the song marked our first dance together in wedded bliss it's going to mark another big undertaking in my life.

So, the rest of the year I will be collecting fun projects and posting them here for future reference. I will include culinary attempts in the crafty category because, well, it is crafting something (hopefully delicious something).

I hope I don't give up on January 12.