It Had Been a Week & It Was Only Monday

My very sweet husband brought home a bunch of tulips and take out last night for dinner.  I have spent the last week scrubbing, cleaning, vacuuming, combing out bugs of too many kinds.  Our house got hit by lice and the norovirus at. the. same. time. (shutter....)

I also missed out on a girl's night last Friday because I was so exhausted from the week that dinner and a glass of wine with my girlfriends couldn't entice me out of the house.  It probably didn't help that my husband had been in Chicago for part of the week and managed to snag the last seat on the early flight home.  Since I was missing out, one of my dear, best girlfriends texted my husband to stop by her house to pick up a little gift for me.

Yup, bestie for life for sure.

Wednesdays Suck & I'm Selfish

When I planned out my schedule for the school year, I knew Wednesdays would be nutty between bible study, morning preschool, early release for the 2nd grader and of course Wednesday evening at church, otherwise known as Prime Time.  Throw in soccer practice that day and of course, it's grandma day too and I tossed up the white flag.

Fast forward a few months and things are nutty in a different way.  I had to pull the preschooler out of his preschool because holy moly, that was a bad fit.  Praise the Lord I did find another preschool which is in the afternoon, so now I have to drop off the 5yo at grandma's, take a crying 2yo to bible study because he would rather be at grandma's, go to bible study, rush back to grandma's to pick up 5yo, kill an hour, take him to preschool, come home and find lunch before school pick up at 1:30 for mr. 2nd grader, back to pick up 5yo, dinner and rush to church.

So Wednesdays are nutty and I'm no different than most other parents who probably have an even busier schedule than mine 5 days a week.  Here is why I'm selfish....I want a full on, total grandma day.

Ummm, what the heck is grandma day? and how do I get in on that gig????

 I'm super, duper blessed to have a mother-in-law who takes one day a week out of her schedule to spend time with her grandsons.  I drop them off in the morning and they read, play, bake cookies, do whatever together, grandma and boys.  For me, this is a full day. To. Myself.

Errands, cleaning house unassisted, going back to bed because I could, quilting, beading, shopping for fabric or beads, whatever my little heart desires.  Like all good things, they must come to an end it seems.  Due to things way outside my control, grandma day doesn't really exist anymore.

So now I try to squeeze in grandma day because it's important for my boys to see their grandma and play with their cousins even if it has become a bit of an inconvenience for me.  So those other projects, errands, house work, etc. will wait another day.  Because when it's all said and done, I want my boys to remember their grandparents and treasure the time they had with them, just like I treasure all those years with my grandparents.

Ladies Christmas Dinner

I understand that this post is a bit past due, but I wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas activities.  Each year my church hosts a Ladies Christmas Dinner as a way to start off the holiday season and also a way to minister to ours friends and neighbors what the meaning of Christmas is all about.

For the past several years, I co-host a table with my mother-in-law.  She has all the dishes and most importantly the serving dishes we need.  The church provides a table, chairs and dinner, we bring the table setting, a gift for each lady at our table and the serving dishes for the dinner.

The day starts out with two hours of glorious, free baby-sitting to let the mommies set up the tables without little ones to "help"  My MIL and I have done this so many times and usually my husband's grandma is in town during this time so between the three of us, we can set that table in about 30 minutes.

The theme this year was Let Heaven and Nature sing, so our table had a burlap table cloth (nature) and the dishes were blue and silver (heaven).  It had a very Swedish feel to it.  Our gifts were silver, glittery ornaments and it was just a wonderful evening.

This is just a few pictures of other tables that night.  This event is special to me and I always enjoy seeing the other tables, seeing friends that I only get to see once or twice a year and an evening out with girlfriends celebrating the birth of our Christ, our Savior.

mom's signature

After spending some time traveling to see family, it's back to reality and helping my oldest with his homework. He came home last night with a packet full of missed work he needs to do this week on top of his normal homework. Most of the work is math and he should be able to complete it in a short amount of time, but it is such a struggle to get him to focus and get his homework completed in a reasonable amount of time.

I'm trying to be better at sitting down with him and helping him instead of being distracted with my phone and social media.  I suppose mom should focus on his work with him and stop multi tasking.  The other distraction is his two younger brothers.  I try to have them play on the computer or play in the other room as to keep the noise level down, but my oldest is so distracted that I end up getting frustrated at him for getting up out of is seat and taking more time than it should, in my opinion.

How does your family complete homework with siblings in varying stages in life;
in school and too young for school? 

Do Over Challenge

I love the idea of mystery boxes and the anticipation of what could possibly be inside.  The do over challenge from Jeannie was totally up my alley and I'm thankful for my dear sister-in-law and fellow jewelry designer/enabler for hooking me up with the link.  It's also a treat to get some fun mail and not all the political crap-o-la that is filling my mail box, but that's another rant.

I received a sweet three piece set of pink and white pearls with a pink and silver foil heart.  After taking the before pictures and taking all three pieces apart, I honestly just stared at the beads.  I'm not much of fan of the sweet, pink pearls and my first instinct was to recreate the beads into a bracelet for my one year old niece.  Unfortunately, little miss is going to have to wait a while for auntie to make her another bracelet.

Standing on my chair to reach my bead stash above my desk (to keep little busy hands in my household away), I started pulling out random beads.  Not sure what my color scheme was going to be, I just pulled beads out until I had at least 6 colors to choose from.  Once I saw the pink and brown ceramic beads, this was my jumping off point.  At first, I had planned a necklace, but the number of beads needed and my design wasn't cooperating.  I set it aside for a couple of days and when on with my life, wife and mom duties.

As I was sitting in bible study this past Wednesday, the design came to me - three stand bracelet.  Cha-ching!!  I drew out my design and then came home and went to work.  The third strand with the chain and aqua beads went through a few color changes before I felt the piece sang.  The only pieces I did not use were the white pearls, one of the claps and the earring wires.

I do love wearing multiple strands of bracelets, but rarely were a multiple strand piece at one time.  This was a good challenge for me and even though pink is so not my color (mom of 3 boys...) it was fun to play with and be challenged.

Feel free to do a little blog hopping with the other participants of Jeannie's 4th Do Over Challenge.

Jeannie K Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog

Miranda Ackerley http://mirandack.com/

Patti Vanderbloemen http://myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com/

Marlene Cupo http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com/

Mary Govaars http://mlhjewelrydesigns.com/

Kelli Jacobson http://www.creativemoonjewelryandthings.com/

Dagi http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/

Gerry Nickerson http://gersgems1.blogspot.com/

Charlene Jacka http://clay-space.com/blog

Birgit Klughardt http://www.gitesbeads-gite.blogspot.com/

Mowse Doyle http://mowsemadethis.blogspot.com/

Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/

Debbie Beechy http://beetique56.blogspot.com/

Cilla Watkins http://www.tellyourgirlfriends.com/

Carolyn Lawson http://carolyncreationswa.blogspot.com

Micha Sorensen http://tulipsandpine.blogspot.com

Emma Todd http://www.apolymerpenchant.com

Donetta Farrington http://simplygorgeous-donetta.blogspot.com/

Tracy Stillman http://www.tracystillmandesigns.com/

Rita Avila http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com/

Fall has arrived

I suppose it had to happen eventually. Yes, after 80 days of sunshine, the rain has returned to Western Washington.  While I am happy in some ways to pull out my sweaters, boots and my new warm, fuzzy TOMS, I will miss the sunshine.  Mornings are already hard enough for me trying to get out of bed in the dark and made even tougher with the dark, grey clouds at 8 am when it's time to scoot out the door for the day.

I did manage (finally) to put up the wind chime my mom gave me.  There is a large craft show outside of Wichita, KS each fall and last year my mom had bought this super cute coffee pot wind chime.  My dad hates it.  So my mom gave it to me last Christmas and yes, it took my 10 months to go outside and hang it on the hook outside my kitchen window.  Sheesh!

I am happy for the rain that has come to clean the air and water my sad, sad yard.  Though soccer in the rain isn't all that great either, God has been very gracious and held off the rain for last Friday's walkathon at school and the soccer game on Saturday afternoon.  Today, though, the street is covered with branches, pine needles and debris from last nights little wind storm, but the sun is shining and peaking through those pesky clouds.  Time for a little jewelry photo shoot.

Have a great day, y'all!!

Weekend of sewing

Last Thursday afternoon until Sunday morning, I was able to get away with a few ladies from the quilting group at church for some uninterrupted time with my fabric stash, sewing machine and ironing board.  It was a sweet time of fellowship with these ladies whom are all older than me and have come alongside me as I've been a young married woman to a new mom.  Some of the ladies I only see every once in a great while, so to get away for a weekend is special.

One of the gals brought along a quilt she just got back from the longarm quilter and showed off her quilt.  The bird pattern is just too sweet.  The gal's friend has a computerized long arm quilt machine that you can put in a pattern and the machine will quilt that pattern without too much guidance from an actual live person.  The ladies also gave out guidance as to which fabric choice should be used for the binding.

One of the projects I wanted to finish was my buggy barn quilt top.  A couple or so years ago, our group decided to learn a new way to piece a quilt.  This specific way of cutting and sewing a block together comes from a couple of gals outside of Spokane, Washington and one of the gals from our group had fortunately been to their studio/shop.  I started my top, but with little ones, I wasn't able to finish the last ten blocks needed for the required 30 blocks.  

I have two nieces whom are my brother's girls and of course, auntie wants to make them a baby quilt.  I did manage to complete one quilt top for one of the nieces using the same flower pattern.  This one was a lot of fun to put together but also tough because I was only using 9 fabrics.  I used the small remaining black to make cornerstones and then added sashing from the other 8 fabrics.

I did make another easy baby quilt top for the church baby dedications but I don't seem to have a photo of that quilt top.  Once it's all put together and quilted, I will have to get a photo of it.  Of course since being home, life has been running full tilt and my sewing gear is still all packed up from the weekend, but I'm so thankful I was able to get away for some time to sew and pray in a beautiful place and to see all the fall colors.

linking up with Carina

Off to quilt retreat

Today I'm off to quilting retreat for a long weekend of no kids, no diapers, no tantrums, no drop offs, no pick ups, no "I'm hungry."  After a long week of the kiddos and I as hubby had his golf vacation in some place warm, tropical, I get to have a little getaway with a few ladies from my quilting group at church and my sewing machine.

I still need to pack my clothes, but my projects and all my gear is ready to go.  I have way more projects to work on than I will be able to get finished, but rather be a busy bee than napping away my time.  Well, maybe that doesn't sound so bad....napping....

Peach Rosemary Brown Butter Tarts #BakeTogether

My husband is out of town this week and while he is having fun in the sun, I'm holding down the fort here at home.  It has been a good week with some bumps, bruises and laughter, but I've also had two events in the evening that required some baking.  Good thing for me, baking is my therapy.  I may not be able to control my boys' behavior, but I can control the amount of ingredients and turn them into something scrumptious, delicious and loved by all.

This month I also decided to jump in on #baketogether.  Abby Dodge (who is an amazing baker in my opinion) posts a recipe at the beginning of the month and encourages other bakers to push their creativity and then link up their recipes.                                            

This month is all about brown butter apple tarts in honor of her latest book Mini Treats & Handheld Sweets ~100 Delicious Desserts to Pick Up and Eat!  When I found out about her new book, I placed a hold on it at our local library and was fortunate to be one of the first people to check out this book.  I so want this book......

I chose to make the Peach Rosemary Brown Butter Tarts for our bible study on Friday evening.  I did read through the recipe at least twice so I knew how much time I would need to make these.  Unfortunately, a certain 4 year old messed up my time line, but I've also learned to be flexible instead of stressing out.  Though, I'm still working on not stressing....

I had asked one of my friends earlier in the week if I could snag a few sprigs of fresh rosemary from her husbands herb garden. She graciously brought me a gallon size bag of rosemary and a few extra guests too.

After going to two different grocery stores and discovering that peach preserves seem to be a thing of the past, I had to great creative.  I went to the frozen section, picked up a bag of frozen peach slices and made my own peach filling.  I then took out a portion of the filling and added fresh chopped rosemary.

This is where the flexiblity comes in.  Once the tarts were made and ready for the oven, it was time for me to leave.  Earlier in the day I had asked grandma to watch the boys for the evening because we all needed a little time apart after being together nonstop since dad left.  Minus of course school and church activities.  I dropped the boys off for a fun evening with their grandparents and I headed off to my friends house for our biweekly bible study.

Our bible study group gets together twice a month to enjoy a meal and then do a study together.  While we were having dinner the tarts were baking in the oven.  I brought a box of Trader Joe's cookies for the kids because I didn't have enough time to make a batch of homemade cookies for them.  It was a small group of both adults and children, and the kids didn't seem to mind not getting any tarts.

I have to thank my friend Dana for taking a few pictures of the tarts.  My camera is in Hawaii and while my new iPhone takes pretty decent pictures, she offered to take pictures with her nice Canon.  These tarts are so yummy and I'm glad I added the Chinese Five Spice to them.


Brown Butter – Apple Hand Tarts
Makes 18 hand tarts
For the brown butter dough
16 tablespoons (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup (7 ounces) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp Chinese five spice
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups (13 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
For the peach rosemary filling
1 bag of frozen peach slices
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
agave syrup to taste 
For assembly
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon water
Turbanado or demerara or sanding sugar
Make the brown butter dough
1. Put the butter in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until nutty brown and the milk solids are dark brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Slide the pan from the heat and add the brown sugar, Chinese five spice and salt. Stir until the sugar is almost dissolved, then set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Using your fingertip, check the temperature of the batter—it should be warm but not hot. If it’s hot, set the pan aside for a few more minutes before continuing with the recipe.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended. Add the flour and stir until a smooth, soft dough forms.
3. Arrange two pieces of plastic wrap on the counter and scrape the dough onto the center of one. Divide the dough in half (about 14 3/4 ounces each) and put half on the second piece of plastic wrap. Using the plastic as a guide, shape both into 5-inch squares.Wrap in the plastic and set aside at room temperature until firm enough to roll, about 3 hours. (You can pop the dough into the refrigerator for a hour or so, but you don’t want the dough to be too chilled. It would be impossible to roll.)
Make the filling
Puree frozen peach slices in a blender.  Add agave syrup to taste for sweetness.  I made mine a little sweeter since I was adding the rosemary.  Take out 10 tablespoons of filling and transfer to a bowl.  Add chopped rosemary to the small bowl of peach puree and mix together. 
Assemble and bake
1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment or nonstick liners. Put the egg and water in a small bowl and, using a fork, mix until well blended.
2. Working with one piece of dough at a time on a lightly floured piece of parchment (this dough is soft, so the parchment is a must for successful rolling), roll out to a rectangle slightly larger than 9×15 inches. Using a sharp paring knife or a fluted roller and a ruler, trim the edges to get a neat 9×15-inch rectangle, then cut into 3 x 2 1/2-inch rectangles (for a total of 18 rectangles).  Arrange the pastry rectangles about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets and cover with plastic. Roll out and cut the second piece of dough as you did the first one.
3. Uncover the dough on one of the cookie sheets. Spoon a scant 1 tablespoon of the peach filling onto the center of each rectangle and spread down the center, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the edges. Using a small pastry brush, brush the edges of each rectangle with egg wash. Lay the remaining rectangles over the filling. Using the tines of a fork, press (or crimp) the pastry edges to seal. Lightly brush the top of each hand tart with egg wash. Using the tip of a small, sharp knife, cut 2 small slits in the top of each hand tart to let steam escape. Sprinkle the tops with some of the turbanado sugar and slide the cookie sheets into the fridge while the oven heats up.
4. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.
5. Bake, one sheet at a time, until the tarts are dark brown on the edges, 20 to 23 minutes. Move the sheet to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the tarts from the sheet and set them on a wire rack and let cool until warm or cool completely. The tarts are best when served at room temperature or slightly warmed.

slightly adapted from Abby Dodge

Slowing Down

Oh to be staring out at the beautiful, majestic Pacific Ocean 

while spending the morning golfing.

It's been crazy since school started on Sept 5th. Getting back into the groove of a routine and having to be out of the house by 8:15 which is loco, has been challenging. Toss in soccer, church activities, family get together's plus small group and so some things have been put aside for a later time.

It seems one of those things set aside is slowing down and just taking in life.  I was letting the dog out early Wednesday morning and fortunately, looked up to see the beautiful sunrise peaking through the trees.  I ran for my phone as my camera is at the above location and snapped a few pictures.  Unfortunately due to all the wildfires in Eastern Washington, our sunrises have been spectacular and late enough in the morning to see them.  Oh, how I don't like it getting lighter later in the morning and earlier in the evening. Sigh....

After dropping off my preschooler, I have about 30 minutes to kill before I need to be at bible study.  I let my 2 year play on the playground and just enjoyed watching the fog roll in and making myself aware of this sweet precious time with my little guy.  Lucky for him, mom's phone was in the car, so I played with him and watched him run in his cute little rain boots.  It was in those moments that I thanked God for making me slow down and just enjoy my boys.  The busyness can wait another day, I want to imprint in my mind those little hands.

As for the picture above, my lucky husband in on a golf trip to Hawaii with some friends of ours.  That's another post in and of itself ;)

Linking up with Carina at lovely little whimsy