SURPRISE!

Last night I got a phone call at 8:30 that went something like this:

Momma v: So what are you doing next week?
Myself: Not much, church & leaving for Salt Lake on Friday
Momma v: Would you like some company?
Myself: Sure??
Momma v: I was thinking that the boys and I could drive down tomorrow morning. We'll be there in two days.

My mother is anything but a spur of the moment kind of gal. Yes she thinks up crazy things but normally changes her mind at least 4 times. This was something else. They are on route to our place as I type. I'm quite exited & a little shocked. This Spring Break should be a blast!

Buttermilk Cranberry Muffins

Exhibit A: Cranberry Muffin

Last night after taking my 3 hour nap, I had a mad craving for a cranberry muffin as shown above. Jakob looked at me and cocked his head to the side and said "A cranberry huh?" and then made me Google it to prove the existence of such a thing. One of the things I dearly miss from Canada would have to be the food such as Tim Horton's (where we find said cranberry muffin) and a fair few junk food items like chips and chocolate. After some research we found we can purchase said muffins at Starbucks, but I thought baking my own would be a much better plan.

The Recipe:

Buttermilk Cranberry Muffins
Ready in: 30-60 minutes
Difficulty:3
Serves/ Makes: 12
Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
1 1/2 tea spoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1.2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup dried sweeten cranberries (I used WAY more!)
Directions:

Beat egg, buttermilk, and oil with a whisk. Add remaining ingredients and stir just until blended. Spoon 3/4 full into muffin cup prepared with non-stick spray. (I used paper cups for quick clean up but edges weren't crispy) Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes, testing with a toothpick. Mini ones I did for 15.

When we went to our neighborhood Food For Less I asked him for fresh cranberries he about laughed in my face, little did I know they are a Christmas delicacy. Note to self, research when cranberries are in season before going to the store. We made due with dried ones which obviously do not have the juices but came out wonderfully anyways. I had to make some bite sized ones for Jakob's lunch & I added some blueberries to half of the batter because blueberries are my favorite! So delicious!

Stu's Toys

What was Stu (Courtney's Hubby) doing while we made eggs? Playing with Jakob's figurines. Just goes to show you are never to old to play with toys.

"Tie" Dye

No Joke! I found this marvelous idea on uCreate. It originally came from a little old lady featured on Martha Stewart. How do people come up with these sorts of things?

Supplies: SILK ties (We tried to bend the rules and it didn't work... go with silk)
An Old Pillow Case
1/4 c. Vinegar
Eggs (Raw)
Some Fabulous Friends!

Step 1: Purchase some "egg" looking ties. We got ours at Good Will and D.I for 2.00 each. For next year I'll simply scout out yard sales.

Step 2: Destroy the ties. Cut it along the seams and remove the padding & lining.

Side Note: Meet Jenna and Courtney. They are the fabulous friends I listed as supplies. Love them!

Step 3: With silky side IN wrap egg as tight as you can without breaking it. Secure with string. twist tie, or rubber band. Do yourself a favor and go with the rubber band :). Eventually your pieces will get too small to wrap around, in that case whip out your sweing machine and stitch some multicolored ones.

Oh these babies make my heart sing.

Step 4: To avoid running to your husbands favorite pillow and cutting up the pillow case, I would suggest buying one at D.I or Good Will. For us girls however, Jakob's pillowcase was simply more efficient. Wrap up those little eggs a second time tight, tight, tight.

Step 5: Bring 1/4 cup vinegar and some water to a boil and place eggs in. Fill enough to cover eggs. Boil for 20 minutes.

Step 6: Remove from boiling water and let sit until cool enough to handle. We stuck ours outside on the porch to speed up the process.

Step 7: Reveal... Oh we were SO exited!

Presto!

What we would have done differently:

-I think next time I'll add more vinegar for a better vinegar to egg ratio.
-I would also use 100% silk ties. Those colors transferred better.
-I'd wrap them much tighter

Some eggs didn't turn out so we had no choice but to eat them!

Hope yours turn out great. Let me know how it went for you. I'd love to see some pictures! Happy Crafting!

Spring Has Sprung

For Christmas this past year I made some blocks for a mantle piece & I fell in love with the idea. Somehow I forgot to blog about it so those pictures will go up this Christmas instead. For a whopping $4.00 at Lowes (2 2x4's) my fabulous husband was able to cut me enough blocks for Easter, Halloween & Christmas.


I am far to cheap to purchase actual stencils so I printed off some funky letters off of my computer and cut them out with an exacto knife. From this past Christmas experience I glued the paper to the block with a glue stick this time. The letters came out much crisper and left no residue on the block.

I am quite pleased with the result and even more impressed with the price. With our house colors being black and red, my little blocks look a little out of place. I think I need to make a wreath or something funky to add to the Easter feel. Any ideas?

Hand & Foot

Yesterday I went over to Stu & Courtney's and re-met some of Jakob's friends from high school. I have to admit that these guys are fabulous! I had such a good time & I even met a girl who loves to blog, craft, scrap, quilt & decorate like me. She's even planned a trash the dress session for the end of March (ours will be sometime in April I think). Match made in heaven! They taught me a new card game that involves 9 decks of cards, 2 hands of 13 & things called books. As complicated as it sounds it was really quite fun. My little circle of friends has expanded and I am thrilled! I'm feeling another party in the works... oh what shall the theme be?

Flash Back

Remember back to those days when you thought you were cool but really.. you were undeniably wrong. Tonight having a sense of homesickness I started looking through old pictures (2005) and stumbled upon this. Yes, that would be my horribly annoying laugh you hear along with a play by play. This happened at our home and as most of you know... it would not lasted half as long if someone with authority walked up the stairs. Inevitably some adult found this a few weeks later and Jared and Leanne got an ear full. Now looking back I think it is just as funny as it was then (well to me at least). What most do not know is that my mother came up the stairs 5 minutes later telling everyone it was time for scriptures. Leanne & Jared fully clothed hopped into the shower to remove all evidence of the battle. I think we were even more amazed that they didn't get caught. I miss days like these with cousins and my brothers. I can't wait to see everyone come the summer!

Snug As A Bug

Once again illness has set in on Jakob. Here he is all bundled up ready for an afternoon nap. I think it must be true love to still think he's *ahem* sexy when ill.

Baby Made & Sealed With Love

A few posts ago I mentioned that I was busily making a quilt for the Dyers. They had their beautiful baby girl Raylee Helene Dyer on February 14th. I was able to make their quilt for them within a week! It doesn't look like much but crocheting is time consuming! I had started on Wednesday and after skipping blocks two and three of church was able to give it to them on Sunday! If you are thinking about making one for someone you know... give yourself more time! I love these quilts & I was very pleased with the end result. It just screamed baby! I had made one for Rachel (another friend) in blue so this is the first girl one I have completed. I really liked the pink and yellow. I want to experiment with more colors to see which is best for a girl & those that want the gender to be a surprise. Never the less I think these make a wonderful gift! Here it is step by step.

Step 1: Create 16 Yellow, 9 white & 24 pink. Each square takes 15 - 20 minutes if I'm focusing, Most of the time I would watch a movie so it took 30 minutes a square. Approx. 25 hours total.

Step 2: After completing all of your squares, you sew them together. I used a bobby pin which worked GREAT! At first I was sitting on my floor all hunched over which was killing my back. The next day the light in my head clicked on and I put in on a table. Each row took me an hour to sew together which totaled to 12 hours.

Step 3: After sewing it together, create a boarder. This one is only two rows because I ran out of time but it's supposed to be 4. Each row takes an hour. Regardless I was very pleased with the outcome! It looks so much better all sewn together and the Dyers were happy and that is all that matters! The time is so worth it when you see peoples faces.

I am now working on having a few pre-made so they are ready to go when I need them. I think that will make things so much easier. :)

Canada for Gold

2010 Olympic Ice Hockey Champions

All of this Canadian Pride is making me home sick. I wish I was there to celebrate. I am proud to be a CANUCK!

WAY TO GO CROSBY!!!!