Yellow is the Color of the Day

As promised, because I know you’ve been patiently waiting with bated breath, here are some pictures of my new yellow skirt. Getting my 8 year old to take pictures was really difficult, hence the no head. Probably better anyway since I have wet hair and circles under my eyes from a bad night sleep.

Last night I had the urge for something really tart and lemon-y. I found this recipe for a vegetarian version of avgolemono from The Broccoli Forrest cookbook. My dad is of Greek heritage and used to make the traditional version often, but I haven’t it in at least 16 years. This version is made with brown rice instead of orzo and of course doesn’t have the chicken, but it was still really yummy and the essence of the original is there. I’ll definitely be making it again with a few tweeks here and there.

A Little Selfish Sewing

 

Spring break was so wonderful and it was certainly difficult for me to make the transition back to our regular routine yesterday and back to blogging. We’re all looking forward to summer vacation…just about 6 weeks away. Time is going by too quickly these days so I’m trying to savor each and every moment.

This past weekend without the kids around I was able to do a bunch of sewing. A little for me, a little for Sarah. I had this dream last week of a yellow polka dot sleeveless wrap dress and I still can’t get it out of my mind. I haven’t found just the right pattern for it yet, so I opted for a yellow skirt. I LOVE this fabric and I can’t wait to wear it tomorrow when it’s going to hit the mid 90s. I used Simplicity 2906 and I definitely will make a few more skirts with it.

I also fell in love with the light chambray with aqua dots fabric. I decided to use it for a dress for Sarah though I kind of want to make a skirt for me now. This is the first time I’ve made a dress with a lined bodice and zipper. I think if I make it again, it will go more smoothly, but first time around wasn’t so easy. Can directions get any more vague? Thank goodness for the internet and all the great tutorials out there! Anyway, it’s a sweet little dress and Sarah has requested another one in purple. Yes, any excuse to take a trip to the fabric store.

Up next is this dress for Sarah.

As usual, I’m linking up with Frontier Dreams.

This Moment

Inspired by SouleMama.  A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

One Down, One to Go

I have to say I have loved knitting these socks over the past week. They are the perfect sort of mindless knitting one needs at the end of the day or when also trying to focus on the kids. And the colors just make me happy. It’s been a little cooler here lately, so if I can finish them up in the next few days, I can still wear them before the 90s set in.

I sure do wish I had my act together yesterday and brought my knitting with me to Sarah’s doctor appointment. What I thought would be a quick look at her eye for pink eye or something turned into a 3 hour event and multiple doctors. It turns out the itchy scratchy eye she’s been complaining about for the last week is a foreign body embedded in her cornea and it looks like it’s getting infected. Poor girl. I have a bit of mother’s guilt. I really just thought in the beginning it was an eyelash or that she was being a little dramatic (she is a 5 year old girl after all). The eye doctor opted to leave the particle in her eye and put her on a course of antibiotic eye drops for the next two weeks and hope her body will rid it on it’s own. If not, because she’s 5 and not likely to sit still to have it removed, surgery. Ugh. Sarah did a great job and we were all rewarded with a trip to the bakery for cupcakes.

Linking up with Frontier Dreams and Small Things.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot-cross buns!

Hot-cross buns!

One a penny, two a penny,

Hot-cross buns!

If you have no daughters,

Give them to your sons;

One a penny, two a penny,

Hot-cross buns!

How could it be I forgot about making hot cross buns yesterday? I guess it was the commotion of the beginning of spring break. Back in the fall I read The Husband’s Secret which takes place around Easter. There were a few scenes where the characters were eating hot cross buns on Good Friday and I remember thinking, “oh, I can’t wait for Easter!” And…I forgot. Thank goodness we don’t live in Elizabethan England and I can bake hot cross buns whenever I want. Check out this article on the history and traditions surrounding this bread.

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter

We Heart Guinea Pigs

No, this is not a new pet, but we are quickly becoming very enchanted by this little guy. He’s Timmy, the 2nd grade classroom guinea pig and we are taking care of him over spring break. He’s super mellow and very cuddly…and look at that hair! Have you watched House of Cards with the computer hacker and his long haired guinea pig, Cashew (don’t worry, I had to look up the name)? I feel like I could quickly become that guy! I just had to share a few pictures. We’re so happy to finally be on spring break. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

This Moment

Inspired by SouleMama. A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

The Best Banana Bread (and why I’ll never be a food blogger)

As if we really need another banana bread recipe out there! But I figure when you’ve struck gold, might as well share it. I usually use my bananas for smoothies, but for some reason I had 3 overripe bananas sitting on the counter this past weekend along with some buttermilk (which I never have) in the fridge.  Seriously, what else to make but banana bread?! I don’t have a go to recipe so I searched around and there seems to be a general recipe out there but it had 1 1/2 cups of sugar in it. Yikes. So I tweaked that and used some whole wheat flour. Sarah even begged for her favorite chocolate chips to be added, but I wanted to keep it classic and added walnuts. It turned out amazing. The long baking time filled the house with the glorious, sweet aromas and we needed to dig in even while piping hot. That may account for the bottom getting stuck in the pan and leading to a not so perfect appearance. Or maybe I didn’t grease the pan enough. Either way, the bread still turned out delicious, even if not photo worthy.

Which leads me to conclude that food photography is not my forte. Do food bloggers make a recipe multiple times just to get the right shot? How do they capture the butter melting without needing to immediately put the food in their mouth? Or doesn’t their food get cold while photographing it?  Not to mention, my kitchen is north facing and the light often shows very yellow (too many oak cabinets I suspect).  And I’m not always willing to crawl on top of the counter to put the food on the only windowsill above the sink which is what I did for these pictures. I suppose I’m just not  cut out for it. I want to eat my food and I’ll leave the beautiful pictures to the pros. But when I do happen to make a wonderful recipe, I want to share it with you. My pictures may not do the final product the full justice it deserves, but rest assured, it will be delicious.

Helen’s Best Ever (ever? Yes!) Banana Bread

ingredients:

2 eggs

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup mashed banana (I used 3)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 brown sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 and grease a 9×5″ loaf pan.

Mix the wet ingredients including the sugars in a small bowl. Then mix the dry ingredients in a larger bowl. Pour the wet into the dry and mix well. Stir in chopped nuts or chocolate chips if using. Pour into loaf pan and pop into the oven for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. And that’s it. Easy and delicious. I hope you enjoy.

Yarn Along

The weather is heating up here in Northern California and I’ve been trying to figure out some knitting projects that won’t make it hot. I also want something to work on while out and about with the kids since spring break is next week. Everyone says that socks are the perfect traveling knitting project so I’m giving it a go. I also scored a this fun yarn for half off.

While the book I’m reading does look like some 1980s Fabio romance novel (just look at all that red satin), it was actually first published in 1938. I’m only a couple chapters in but I’m enjoying it

I’m linking up with Small Things Yarn Along.

The bunnies are multiplying

I’ve been taking a break from sewing my quilt. Instead I’ve been using up some fabric scrapes to whip up these plush bunnies. Squishy, mushy, and perfect for cuddling. Even Daniel couldn’t resist giving them some love. I’m adding them to my shop today.  They are sort of addicting to make and great for using up leftover fabric.

As usual, I’m linking up to Keep Calm Craft On.