Two Boys and a Beagle

Georgia Family Reunion

2011-07-17T16:36:00.001-04:00

We spent part of mid June in northern Georgia at a family reunion with my mom's side of the family. The reunion was held at Amicalola Falls State Park. It was fun to see everyone, the weather was beautiful, and we all had a great time in wilderness.

Mac had just finished reading Bill Bryson's book, A Walk in the Woods so we were all very excited to learn that the southern end of the Appalachian Trail is located in Amicalola Falls.

One of our favorites sights in the park were the Falls. We climbed the 605 steps to the top of the falls to see the pretty views below.

View from the top of the falls.

Another view from the top

Some of the steps to the top.

We liked the falls so much that we brought my parents there the next day. The park has a handicap accessible path to the falls that is paved, so it was easy for my dad to make the 1/3 of a mile walk.

The boys and I also enjoyed relaxing on the deck of the lodge. The same lodge that Bill Bryson stayed in at the beginning of his Appalachian Trail journey.

Ethan was really relaxed.

The view from the deck

The lodge

One of the cabins we stayed in.

Pretty blue hydrangeas

Some of the wildlife that we saw in the park. This is a barn owl.

A Falcon

A screech owl

A northern water snake

Mom and Aunt Kathy

In addition to relaxing and enjoying the wilderness we also spent lots of time with family. We had a great time playing games with my aunts and uncles and cousins.

There was always a game of pinochle going on.

Mom and Dad against each other in a game of Family Fued

The Smith family Uncles and Aunties

Dobos Torte

2011-06-02T06:00:00.001-04:00

My good friend, Helene recently passed the bar exam, the first time that she took it, and 20 years after completing law school. This was quite an accomplishment and I am so proud of her! My other friend, Amy and I wanted to do something special to acknowledge her accomplishment so we decided to throw a party.

I wanted to make a special cake for the party and decided to give the Dobos Torte a go. The Dobos Torte is a favorite in Viennese pastry shops which was perfect since Helene is Austrian. However, the Dobos Torte (pronounced doh-bosh) actually has a Hungarian origin. It was created by a well known Hungarian confectioner, Jozsef C. Dobos in 1884.

There are several recipes for the Dobos Torte but I decided to use the recipe in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. In Martha's recipe, there are nine layers of sponge caked filled with chocolate Swiss meringue butter cream. Rather than bake three cakes and slice each cake into 3 layers like Martha suggests, I decided to bake each of the nine layers separately. This took quite a bit of time but I found it much easier than trying to slice the cakes into nine even layers. I also chose not to make the caramel decorations in the recipe, and instead decided to make the traditional caramel coated sponge layer for the top decoration.

To make the top caramel layer, I set aside one of my thinnest sponge layers. I boiled about a cup of sugar with a couple tablespoons of water until it the sugar dissolved and turned a light amber color. I then poured the caramel over the top of the sponge layer and sliced the layer into 16 wedges before it cooled completely. I also dipped each wedge into bittersweet chocolate for a little added decoration and taste. I held each wedge on the top with a roasted hazelnut.

I was very pleased with how the cake turned out and look forward to making it again!

A Picnic Table For Tess

2011-06-01T06:00:00.003-04:00

This picnic table turned out to be another joint project of mine and Keith's. The boys had a cute green picnic table, just like this one, that a neighbor made many years ago, and it had been sitting in our backyard for several years even though the boys had outgrown it.

My plan was to refinish Mac and Ethan's old table and give it to Tess for her second birthday. I knew it would be quite a bit of work because the paint was coming off, and Pongo had chewed through two of the bench boards when he was a puppy.

Keith bought some replacement wood for the benches but when we went to pull of the chewed boards we found several other boards that were rotted. Unfortunately the table fell apart when we started pulling the boards off and the whole thing ended up in the garbage. Since I had already told Amy that we were refinishing the table for Tess, I felt obligated to start from scratch, so we did.

Keith built the new and improved table out of treated wood so that it wouldn't rot in our Indiana weather. I stained, and polyurethaned the table, and then painted a few personal touches like Tessa's name and some flowers.

The table turned out to be a very sturdy piece of furniture which is perfect for an active two-year old like Tess!

Teacup Tidbit Tray

2011-05-31T06:00:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share a picture of this tidbit tray that I made for my friend, Steph. Well, actually Keith did the hard part. I had seen these tidbit trays online and fell in love with them because I loved the teacup on top! I knew I could make one myself so I did some research and found this helpful site by Ponderman. It was a little hard finding the handle hardware but I finally found a source on Etsy. Keith did the drilling and even though I had doubles of all the dishes in case of breakage, we didn't need to use them because of Keith's careful and meticulous expertise.

More Cookies!! High Heel Cookies!

2011-05-30T06:00:00.003-04:00

I made these high heel shoe cookies for friend who was competing in a local charity dance competition/event. Not being a trained dancer, she worked really hard learning all new dance steps, and I wanted acknowledge her hard work with a special treat!

Two Very Musical Months

2011-05-29T16:39:00.000-04:00

The months of April and May were full of recitals and concerts. Mac had three Musical Arts Youth Orchestra (MAYO) concerts, two school orchestra concerts, two piano recitals, and a state violin competition. Ethan had a recorder recital and a piano recital. I'm not sure how we all survived but we did, and I can't say that I'm disappointed that the recital and concert season has come to a close and summer break is almost here.

Mac completed his Suzuki Piano School, Volume 2 last November. The Suzuki piano program requires that the kids give a book graduation recital, and Mac spent the first part of the year preparing for it. He had to play seven pieces, two that were required and another five pieces of his choice. Three were from the Suzuki book, and he also chose to preform one Bartok piece and one contemporary piece by, Martin Kutnowski. We decided to have his first solo piano recital at our home, and invited a few close friends and were especially happy that Mac's grandparents were in town and could attend as well.

I made a special piano cake for his piano recital topped with a chocolate grand piano. I was in Philadelphia the week prior and was able to get to the Naked Chocolate Cafe to pick up the chocolate piano and some special piano truffles -- Mozart truffles filled with hazelnut cream. Yum.

Our piano recital guests also received these music note and treble clef cookies as party favors.

A couple days after Mac's solo piano recital, he had a MAYO concert. This was the first orchestra concert that my parents were able to attend, and we were lucky to have them in town for two very special events!

Mac was a member of both MAYO ensembles, the Concertina and Symphony ensemble.

The boys also had their studio piano recital and Ethan had a recorder recital at the IU Jacob School of Music for the Pre-College Recorder Program.

This is a picture of Ethan and his teacher, Laura. Ethan played an early music piece, a solo, When Laura Smiles.......Philip Rosseter (1575-1623), and also an ensemble piece, Rigaudon........Esprit Philippe Chedeville (1696-1762).

Our final concert of the season was Mac's school orchestra. This concert is a special one because the director acknowledges all the 8th graders. She was especially proud of Mac and his friends Gabe and Roger for their gold medal trio performance at the state level. It is rare for a middle school trio group to get to preform at the state level. Mac and Roger also had Science Olympiad competition the same day, and the fact that they were able to follow through on two very different events, and perform well in both is quite an accomplishment.

Mac also sat 1st chair and was the concertmaster this year in his school orchestra. We are very proud of him and of Ethan for all their hard work and musical accomplishments.

Unfortunately in the rush to get out of the house for the final concert, I forgot both the camera and the video recorder. However, I was able to capture one piece on my phone which isn't the best quality sound or picture, but decided post it anyway.

The Tri-North Orchestra playing, Symphony No. 2..........Tchaikovsky/Dackow.

Fun With Cookies

2011-05-04T15:42:00.000-04:00

It seems like I've been making a lot of cookies lately, and I wanted to share some of the fun ones that I've recently made. Above is an order I had from a flight attendant who was traveling to Italy. She wanted to bring the flight crew cookies shaped in airplanes and clouds. She also wanted the clouds to have international airport codes written on them.

These were very fun to make and I think the clouds turned out especially cute. I improvised and used a medal flower cookie cutter for the clouds. I just stretched it out a little to make it look more like cloud rather than a flower.

Both of theses teapot cookies were made for birthdays. The monogrammed teapots were for a 6 year old's "tea party" birthday. And the orange teapots were a birthday treat that I sent to my friend, Steph for her birthday.

I made these music cookies for Mac's solo piano recital. (I'll write more about his recital in a future post) These cookies accompanied a piano cake, and were wrapped in cellophane bags for his guests to take home.

Science!!! (and the science of baking)

2011-05-02T12:51:00.000-04:00

Mac with 3 Science Olympiad medals and one ISSMA gold medal

This was Mac's second year to participate on his school's Science Olympiad team. There are fifteen team members and each team member participates in at least three events. For the regional competition Mac's events were Junk Yard Challenge (technology and engineering), Can't Judge a Powder (chemistry), and Experimental Design (inquiry & nature of science).

The regional competition took place at Butler University in Indianapolis. This year was unusually challenging for Mac because he had an ISSMA state competition scheduled for the same day as the Sci-Oly regional competition. Fortunately the two events were 15 minutes apart in driving distance, however; his ISSMA performance time was scheduled 20 minutes after his last Sci-Oly event. Keith and I went first thing in the morning to speak with the ISSMA judge to see if we could buy some extra time. Thankfully, he was more than willing to work with us and told us to get there as soon as we could but not to worry if we were late. That helped to take some of the pressure off of Mac during his competitions.

Mac and his teammate Alex building a tower for Junkyard Challenge. For this event each team was allowed to bring in supplies from a provided list. All of which must fit inside a box with total dimensions no grater than 90cm. They had to be prepared to build one of three things, a tower, a bridge, or a catapult out of essentially nothing more than Styrofoam cups, paper plates, tape, straws, and craft sticks. They found out at the competition what they needed to build which turned out to be a tower. They were given 30 minutes to build, and the tower had to withstand holding a golf ball at the very top without collapsing.

As you can tell their tower almost reached the ceiling, Alex is standing on top of a table to reach the top of the tower to place the golf ball. They came in second place, just 2cm under the winning team's tower.

Not all of the events can be viewed by the public. Both of Mac's other events were behind closed doors which is why we didn't get photographs of those.

His team placed 1st in the regional competition. Only the top two teams go on to compete in state. Mac also received a gold medal for his ISSMA performance which made all the running back and forth from the two events worth while.

Mac's team and coach showing off their 1st place plaque

About 5 weeks late the team was headed off to the state competition which was held at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond Indiana. This competition had some challenges of it's own. The very first event started at 6:30am on Saturday morning. Purdue Calumet is about a 4 hour drive from Bloomington and given the early start time we knew we needed to arrive the night before. Despite the early hours, the kids all seemed wide awake and eager to go.

Mac and Alex in Can't Judge a Powder

Mac had to give up one of his events for state because it had a time conflict with another one. He was taken off Experimental Design and put on Write it Do it, which was also an inquiry and nature of science event.

I love this picture of Mac and his partner Scott giving each other a "high five" after winning a medal in Write it Do it.

Mac's team received 5th place in the state competition which is quite an accomplishment, and 2 places better than their 7th place finish last year! We are so proud of all of them.

The team and trophy after taking 5th place in the state!

I had fun baking "science" treats throughout the year for the kids. Below are a few pictures of some science related cookies, cupcakes, and a cake to celebrate their hard work and achievements.

cupcakes

A t-shirt cake the same color as their team t-shirts with a science Olympiad medal

Cincinnati!!!

2011-04-07T13:46:00.001-04:00

A couple weekends ago we spent some time in Cincinnati with our friends, Geoff, Amy, and the McKim family. Mac had a tour with his youth orchestra so we took the opportunity to go along for some fun. Mac was on his own with his tour group and Keith, Ethan and I stayed at Geoff's parents' lovely home in Ft. Thomas.

When we arrived on Saturday, all the boys (and Tess) went to the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown, while the ladies went to tea.

The kids had a great time at the parade, and it turned out to be a beautiful day to spend outside. It was a little windy, however, so Ethan and Grayson had fun testing their weight against the wind.

While the boys were playing downtown, the ladies enjoyed a lovely afternoon of tea, savories, and pastries at Orchids at Palm Court. Orchids is located inside the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza. The hotel was built in 1931 and is a registered National Landmark. It is a beautiful example of French Art Deco architecture.

The tea menu was exceptional as was the service. I was so impressed by variety of food we were served, especially the pastries. All the sandwiches were delicious, my favorite was salmon with creme fresh.

The pastries were unbelievable! In addition to two types of scones, we were also served chocolate croissants. My two favorites on the dessert tray were the raspberry macaroons and the citrus - berry tarts.

Saturday was also our wedding anniversary so Keith and I decided to join Mac's orchestra tour group, and enjoy the evening at Music Hall with a concert from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

On Sunday morning we all took a walk across the Purple People Bridge before heading out to Mac's concert in Mason. The day was chilly and overcast but we still enjoyed our time together. The Ohio River water level was very high and some streets along side it were flooded.

We ended the weekend with MAYO's Musical Legends Tour and enjoyed pieces from Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, and Bizet's Carmen. It was a very fun-filled weekend thanks to Karen and Bill for their kind hospitality, and all of the McKim family for spending the weekend with us and showing us around town!

Essay Winner!

2011-03-23T20:20:00.000-04:00

Mac and the mayor of Bloomington, Mark Kruzan

Mac recently won 1st place in the City of Bloomington's Human Rights Commission essay contest. The topic was: Why I Care About Diversity. Mac won first place in the upper level which was open to 5th - 8th graders. He was honored at an award ceremony hosted by our mayor who read an excerpt from his essay. In addition to receiving a certificate and recognition, he also received a $150 visa gift card. Below is his essay.

Diversity is Music to My Ears

One of my favorite activities is to play music, especially on the violin and the piano. I don’t just play solo music though; I play in the Tri-North Orchestra and the Musical Arts Youth Orchestra, as well as a piano trio with my friends, Roger and Gabe. In an orchestra, there are a variety of instruments such as woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion. Each of these instruments come in many different shapes, colors, and sizes, and when played alone they emit their own unique sound. When played together, however, like in an ensemble or orchestra, all their various sounds combine into one beautiful and dynamic harmony. How is it that these various instruments, all of which create different sounds, can work together to make something so pleasing to our ears?

Good orchestral music isn’t just created by having a diverse mix of instruments. The notes also have to be timed correctly, played correctly, and they have to have good tone. Sure the instruments can be dynamic and diverse, but what makes them sound good is how they work together. If the musicians don’t play their notes precisely, the orchestra won’t sound good. Pleasing music also depends on how the piece is played and the quality of the sound. If the musicians don’t work together to accomplish a shared goal, it doesn’t matter how good they are as individuals. Human societies work in a similar way. Each and every one of us is different; we each have our own personalities, looks, and thoughts. We are each equally important and while we can accomplish many things by ourselves, it is when we bring our different talents and perspectives together that we can achieve much more.

The human race is made up of people with various skin colors, hair colors, eye colors, body shapes and more. Not only do we all look different, like a diverse collection of musical instruments, we “play” differently, just like each instrument has its own unique sound and quality. However, when we work together and accept our differences, we can make a totally different sound. Together we have built great structures, invented amazing machines, created successful societies, and have shaped a better world for ourselves.

Diversity in the human race enriches our communities and our world because each person has different ways of thinking. By considering each person’s beliefs, opinions, and ideas, we can achieve our goals much faster. However, diversity isn’t the only thing that matters; how people work together plays a big role too. Without cooperation or the sharing of ideas, very little would be accomplished. It’s just like playing instruments, as not only does the diversity of the instruments make a great sound but the quality of that sound matters too. In both human society and the musical world, a mix of people and instruments work together and blend together towards a common goal. When this happens, that goal is achieved faster and better than before, and a new step is taken towards a better world. Diversity can become music to our ears if we understand and recognize the potential to build a better world.

First Came the Shoes, Then Came the Dress

2011-03-18T11:52:00.000-04:00

I recently took Ethan shoe shopping for new tennis shoes and while we were at the store we found a cute pair of shoes for Madelyn too. They were discounted quite a bit, so we couldn't resist buying them for her birthday. I took a guess on her shoe size and luckily it turned out to be right.

After getting the shoes home, I decided that I really needed to make a dress to go with the shoes. After all what would she wear them with?

I found a cute dress pattern from Butterick, #4434, and decided that I wanted the fabric to be eyelet, and that I would tie in the silver from the shoes with a silver satin bow around the waist. I was really excited when I found a white eyelet fabric that had silver sequins. I love it when I have something pictured in mind and it comes together so easily.

Here's the finished dress. The dress pattern didn't have a lining but I decided that I needed to make one because the eyelet was so sheer. The pattern was okay to work with but I've had easier instructions, especially regarding the zipper.

Thankfully the dress fit perfectly, and Madelyn seemed to like the shoes and the dress as much as my sister did.

Cupcakes in a Jar

2011-03-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

I promised a friend I'd make her some cupcakes for her birthday. The only problem is that she lives in another state so I wasn't sure how I was going to get them to her. After some research on the web, and some inspiration from Beantown Baker, I decided to try and ship them inside of a pint-size jar.

Baking the cupcake inside the jar makes it stationary and more likely to arrive intact. I put the batter into the jar without any wrappers, and baked them like I normally would if they were in a muffin pan. When they cooled, I filled them with homemade caramel and topped them with chocolate ganache.

I put them in the freezer overnight and then tied a ribbon and fork around the lid.

To keep the jars from breaking, I used a cupcake bakery box with dividers and slipped the jars into the holes. I filled the bottom of the bakery box with popcorn to provide a little extra cushion, and then taped up the box and placed it into my shipping box.

The bakery box fit snugly in the shipping box and I used extra cardboard on the top and bottom. FedEx did a great job getting them to my friend safely. They looked almost perfect when they arrived except for a few of the ribbons and forks had slipped off the lids. But most importantly the ganache and chocolate curls were still swirled on top.

Schubert - Nocturne Trio

2011-01-29T16:59:00.001-05:00

Mac and his friends have been rehearsing this Schubert piece, every week at our house, for the last couple of months. Recently they performed the trio in front of a judge for the ISSMA district solo - ensemble competition. They received a superior rating, a gold medal, and will advance to the state competition.

Mac received a gold medal for his solo piece as well. Everyone's diligence and hard work paid off, and we are so proud of them!

Gift Clutches

2010-12-31T15:47:00.000-05:00

I made these cute gathered clutches as Christmas gifts for friends. I found the idea on Sew, Mama, Sew! blog - Handmade Holiday's post. The original pattern came from Anna Graham, and she has a great tutorial on her blog, Noodlehead.

I made ten of these clutches and found that the tutorial was very clear and easy to use from the first clutch to the last. I didn't change anything. I only left out one optional step and that was not to make the divider piece.

I tried to match fabrics to my friends' personalities, so two of my friends received a variation of this tea fabric clutch. I'm hoping to make one of these for myself too!

The inside of the clutch has two credit card pockets which makes it great for downsizing your purse, but still keeping your important items organized.

I will definitely be making these again! Thanks Anna and Sew, Mama, Sew!

Christmas Tea with Steph!

2010-12-26T11:59:00.000-05:00

When I found out that my friend Steph was coming for a short, 24 hour visit right before Christmas, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to host a Christmas tea for her and a few friends. Not only was I looking forward to spending time with Steph, I was also looking forward to christening a vintage china set that I generously received from friend, a few months ago.

The menu was simple. We started with a white bean - rosemary soup accompanied by our favorite tea sandwiches, egg salad, chicken salad, and cucumber.

At the suggestion of Amy, I served festive cranberry orange scones with orange marmalade and cranberry relish. Followed by a simple dessert of a few varieties of Christmas cookies and candies, that I pulled out of the freezer, and sweet and salty chocolate cupcakes.

The china set also included matching crystal water goblets and dessert cups. The dessert cups were a perfect way to display the cupcakes.

It was such a blessing to spend time with Steph, even though it was brief. I had a lovely afternoon spent with good friends, followed by a quiet evening with just Amy and Steph as we enjoyed a few appetizers and the pretty downtown Christmas lights!

A Walk Through Leonard Springs

2010-12-24T14:23:00.000-05:00

Mac's class adopted the trail at Leonard Springs Nature Park, which means that they are responsible for the upkeep of the trail. The kids volunteer to walk the trail once a month; they are suppose to pick up trash, remove debris and small branches from the trail. They also submit a report to the city noting any fallen trees or soil erosion. Mac volunteered to take the month of November so the boys, Pongo, and I headed out for an evening hike through the woods.

There are many things to see along the trail including wetlands, streams, waterfalls and caves. On the day that we went, the trail was in pretty good shape except for this large fallen tree that was hanging by the branches of other trees.

Leonard Springs reservoir was used as the municipal water supply until about the mid 1900's. It was acquired by Bloomington Parks and Recreation in 1998 and dedicated as a park in October of 1999.

We had a nice hike on the cool autumnal day. Even Pongo enjoyed chasing the squirrels and rabbits through the woods.

A little Beethoven and a little Bach!

2010-11-20T16:20:00.000-05:00

Ethan - Minuet in G Major from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach........C. Petzold

Mac - Sonatina in G Major, Anh.5............................L. van Beethoven
Moderato

Mac - Haunted Mansion..........M.Kutnowksi

Today completed our whirlwind week of concerts! In the past week we've had 4 orchestra concerts and 1 piano recital, not to mention all the practicing, lessons, homework, and Mac's birthday that some how managed to fit into the week as well. Needless to say, the kids were real troopers and hardly complained that there wasn't time for much else. There were a lot of late nights, and time spent in the car driving to the out-of-town venues, but somehow we all made it through. Bravo to the boys for their hard work and dedication!! Now it's time to relax and celebrate the week's accomplishments with a little Harry Potter!

Veterans Day Assembly

2010-11-14T00:04:00.000-05:00

These videos are small excerpts from the Veterans Day assembly at Mac's school. The assembly was quite impressive. In addition to the eloquent guest speaker, a retired marine, there were also performances by the BHS North choir, the middle school band, and orchestra, as well as a vocal solo and trumpet solo. It was a lovely way to honor the men and women who have served in our nation's military, both past and present.

Of the patriotic pieces that the orchestra played, Mac asked me to post the pieces, Marines' Hymn, Caisson Song, and Fields of Glory. I also chose to post the piece America the Beautiful followed by God Bless America, because it includes a beautiful cello solo of Mac's friend, Gabe.

However, I am disappointed in the quality of the video and am sure that it has to do with my poor video recording skills. I am still learning how to use the camera correctly. It was a generous hand-me-down from my sister that came without the user manual. I wanted to share the video anyway so that the grandparents could get a small glimpse of Mac's concerts since they haven't been able to attend one yet. It is hard to spot Mac but he is sitting first chair violin, to the left of the conductor. Also keep in mind that this is in the school gym, during an assembly so the setting and acoustics are not ideal.

Christmas Baking in October

2010-11-11T13:18:00.000-05:00

It has also become a tradition to do Christmas cookie baking while we’re in Arizona over fall break. This year Mom, Kelly, and I had help from Madelyn who enjoyed sampling the cookies and licking the spoons as much as she did helping us decorate the cookies.

Yum! Caramel!

A few years ago Mom made all of us matching aprons, and each year mine gets packed in my suitcase to wear for our baking day. Mom always does a lot of prep work ahead of time in order for us to be able to make all of our favorite recipes in just one day. This year we made, chocolate chip, ginger snaps, spritz, almond butter balls, chocolate-caramel cookies rolled in nuts, cutout cookies, my grandma’s frosted molasses cookies, peanut butter kiss cookies, lemon bars, mounds bars, peanut bars, and chocolate-caramel-almond bars.

Grandma and Madelyn

Madelyn and her Mom

I have to bring an extra suitcase in order to bring all the containers of cookies home.I also place bubble wrap in the containers to keep the cookies from breaking while being transported on the airplane. Once we get home, into the freezer they go. It’s so nice to have a stash of cookies to pull out for our holiday guests.

Pumpkin Carving with Cousins

2010-11-10T13:17:00.000-05:00

After a fun day at the farm we went back to my sister’s house so the kids to could get together with their other cousins, Owen and Olivia, to carve pumpkins.

Auntie Kelly treated all the kids to some matching Paul Frank pjs. The kids had dinner, got showered and put on their new pjs just in time for Owen and Olivia to show up with their pumpkins.

First the kids picked out patterns from books that they wanted to carve. Madelyn chose an owl, Ethan a werewolf, Owen a spider web, Olivia an owl, and Mac chose a bat.

It took a little while to tape the patterns and trace them on to the pumpkins. Uncle Chris and Uncle Rick helped the kids trace and carve, some designs were more intricate than others and they took longer, but everyone finally finished after about an hour and a half, and the pumpkins turned out great!

When the pumpkin carving was finished, we got the kids together to take a picture of everyone in their matching pajamas.

They had a little trouble getting lined up on the floor, but eventually we got a them all to cooperate for the camera!

Schnepf Farms

2010-11-09T15:59:00.000-05:00

It has become a yearly tradition to spend fall break with family in Arizona. Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, and the kids weren't going to be able to trick-or-treat with their cousins, we decided to take the kids to a pumpkin patch. My sister found Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek, Arizona which turned out to be much more than just a pumpkin patch.

The kids had a great time at the farm. As per Madelyn's request our first stop was the petting zoo. The pygmy goats were a big hit. The kids could enter the pen via a slide, and the goats even had their own ladder and goat walk that was high above the ground.

After the petting zoo the kids watched some pig races, and Madelyn took a pony ride. The kids also enjoyed the amusement park rides, including riding on a vintage carousel built in 1912. The highlight for Madelyn, and the boys too, was the mini roller coaster. Madelyn got off saying she wanted to ride two more times. When she got of the roller coaster for the second time she asked to ride it just three more times. We finally diverted her attention away from the coaster by promising her lemonade. The kids also enjoyed riding pedal cars and walking through the corn maze.

carousel

Pig races

pedal cars

roller coaster

Swings

Slides

We all had a fun day at the farm despite the high temperature of almost 100 degrees. On the way out of the farm Uncle Chris let the kids pick a pumpkin to bring home for carving. Madelyn had a difficult time choosing which one she wanted, after all there were so many to choose from. She finally found the perfect one that was just her size.

Pink and Brown Cupcakes

2010-10-24T15:48:00.000-04:00

Cupcakes that I made for a baby shower. The colors were pink and brown so I made vanilla cupcakes with pink buttercream icing, and chocolate cupcakes with cocoa buttercream.

Cast Iron Teapot

2010-10-24T15:27:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share a picture of my pretty new cast iron teapot, a gift from a friend. The teapot has a stainless steel infuser, and it keeps my tea toasty warm for a long time! It also works well with our wood burning stove!!

The Making of Madelyn's Quilt

2010-09-15T08:54:00.000-04:00

My sister asked if I would make a blanket for Madelyn's "big girl" bed, so a couple of months ago, I began the process of making this quilt for my niece. This was my first attempt at a big quilting project. I've made several quilted craft items, and a few patchwork bags, blankets, and tablecloths, but nothing this big.

When I was visiting my family in July, my sister and I went fabric shopping in hopes of finding the perfect fabrics for Madelyn's quilt. Kelly wanted colors to match Madelyn's room which were mostly pink, green, and a little red.

Dolly Dresses

Fabric line by Holly Holderman for LakeHouse Dry Goods

After going to several fabric and quilt stores and not finding what we wanted, we decided to try our luck online. I came across several different fabrics before Kelly and I decided on the fabric line, Dolly Dresses by Holly Holderman for LakeHouse Dry Goods. I had used LakeHouse fabrics for other projects and absolutely loved the prints and quality. Kelly was drawn to the line because of the pink bunny fabric, bunnies are a favorite of Madelyn and it was perfect to be able to include them into her quilt.

I was like a kid in a candy store picking out which fabrics to order! I used 3 different online quilt stores to get the Dolly Dresses fabrics that I wanted. My favorite quilt shop was The Quilted B. They were wonderful to deal with and even sent me a quilted pin cushion with my order!! Got to love the freebies!

I decided I would make a Rail Fence quilt which is a perfect pattern for beginners like myself. I asked a quilter friend of mine for advice on quilt making and after meeting with her one afternoon, I walked away with many great techniques to help my quilting project go smoothly. I learned so much in the two hours that I spent with her, and knew my project would be a success thanks to her invaluable help.

The first step in my quilt making was cutting the fabrics in to 4inch strips. After the strips were cut I sewed three different fabrics strips together, side by side, making one big strip. Then I used a 10 1/2 inch square ruler to cut the strips into squares. Once all the squares were cut, it was time to figure out my pattern. I used the living room floor to lay out the 63 squares and played with arranging them until I was happy with the design.

After I figured out the pattern of the squares,I numbered each square with a sticky note so it would save me any confusion while sewing them together. I sewed squares together, one row at a time, and then sewing the rows together as a new one was completed. Below is the finished top of the quilt.

The next step was pin basting. First I taped the bottom piece of the quilt to the floor, making it taut without wrinkles. Then I placed the cotton batting on top of that, followed by the quilt squares. After the 3 pieces were in place I started pinning. I used about 400 large safety pins to hold the pieces together. The pin basting is what keeps the three pieces of fabric held together, without bunching up while sewing.

When all the pins were in place I started the machine quilting and I chose to "stitch in the ditch." I thought this would be the easiest technique for me since I would be using my sewing machine which isn't a special quilting machine. The fabric was a little bulky to fit under the sewing machine arm, but I managed it fine, and it was easier than I expected it to be.

After the three pieces were quilted together, I made the bias. My friend gave me a great print out on how to make and sew quilting bias so this went very smoothly. The tedious part for me was the hand-sewing. The bias is machine sewed on to the front of the quilt but hand-sewed on to the back. It took a good 12 hours to complete the hand sewing. This was hard for me because I'm not a TV watcher, and find it difficult to sit down for long periods of time without being able to multitask. I think if I could have packed the quilt into my suitcase, and worked on it during all of my airport appreciation time, it would have gone faster but unfortunately it was too big to fit into my suitcase. I did, however, take it to a couple of the boys' piano lessons, and managed to watch a movie or two while stitching.

And here's the finished quilt!! I also made a matching pillow sham. I didn't have a pattern and had very limited fabric leftover so I did what I could to make it cute.

This is the front of the sham......

And the back.

And here's the "big girl" sitting on her big bed with the new quilt!

Yay! It's done! I enjoyed every part of making it and think I might have caught the quilting bug!!

Reusable Lunch and Snack Bags

2010-09-06T12:25:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago I flew with someone who was using reusable sandwich bags in her lunch. I loved the idea and wanted to make some for myself and the boys. After googling the topic I found several posts and tutorials which invoked the question, "What fabrics are food safe?"

After reading way too many articles and blog posts with varying opinions on food safe fabrics, I decided to try using ripstop nylon for my lining and cotton for the outer layer. What I've read is that ripstop is especially safe if it's not coated, and if it is coated then be sure to put the coated side away from the food. I found this to work well and it was easily accessible at my local fabric store. The kids tested these for a couple of weeks and all of their food stayed fresh with the exception of the Pirate Booty which seemed to get stale after a few hours.

More recently I found another supposedly "food grade" fabric called ProCare which does not contain DEHP, Phlalates, or BPA plasticizers. I found a couple online sources for ProCare and decided to order mine from here. However it did take a good 2 weeks to arrive. The ProCare is definitely more waterproof than the ripstop, and I found it easy to sew as well. Until I find something better, ProCare and/or ripstop nylon will be my liner of choice for making reusable bags.

There are many choices out there. Some people even suggested sewing a Ziploc bag or cereal bag as a liner. Others suggested only using polyurethane coated nylon which I have yet to find a supplier for. The bottom line is to use what you are comfortable with and what works best for your family. Do the research and decide for yourself. I am not an expert but after all the reading about and testing of fabrics, I decided I was comfortable with the two fabrics I used.

In addition to finding many opinions on fabric choices, there were also several different ideas on how to sew the bags. I decided to go with this pattern. I really like the simplicity of it and also that there isn't any inside seams that food can get stuck in. I cut the fabric for the sandwich bags 7 1/2 x 15 inches and the snack bags 7 1/2 x 11 inches. I also chose to use Velcro on the tops because it keeps everything nicely tucked inside.

The bags are easy to clean. At the end of the day, I simply turn the bags inside out and rinse or if needed scrub with my kitchen soap/brush and set out to dry, and then at the end of the week I throw them in the wash.

I love these bags and so do the kids. They got to choose their fabric from my big bin of leftover fabrics so it was a win-win for all of us. The best thing is not having to buy and throw as many plastic baggies as we have in the past!

One Hot Summer!

2010-09-06T09:32:00.000-04:00

The boys and I spent a week in Arizona visiting family this summer. Arizona is not the place to be in mid July, unless the ones you love and miss live there! Most of the week was a scorcher with temperatures reaching as high as 119 degrees! Yes, it's a "dry" heat but 119 degrees is hot no matter how dry the air is!!

Thankfully my sister has a pool and the kids were able to swim every day. Grandma also made sure that boys had plenty to do. She treated the boys to indoor go kart racing. This was their first time to drive go karts, something Ethan has been asking to do for the past couple of months.

Ethan lucked out because the minimum age was 10 and he barely reached the gas and brake pedals but it didn't stop him from zooming around the track!

Mac showed off his racing skills as this was his second time that week to go kart. Grandma took him a few days earlier while Ethan was in San Diego.

Inside the lobby was an Indy car and a NASCAR. The boys chose to have their picture taken next to the Indy car.

Grandma also treated all of us to Wet n' Wild water park tickets. My sister, Kristin and I took the kids and we decided that since it was so hot, the best time to go would be at night! It worked out perfect because we went after dinner when the sun was setting, and in addition to no waiting in lines under the hot sun, we also found great parking!

Floating down the lazy river!

Grandma and Grandpa V. also took the boys and their cousins, Jonah and Joshua, swimming at a Scottsdale resort while I got to spend some time with my friend, Eileen.

There's no better way to cool off in the Arizona heat then spending the day in the pool!

Also as a yearly (Arizona visit) tradition my sisters and I have the kids' pictures taken together. And this year Grandma and Grandpa joined in the picture fun!

Thanks everyone for a fun visit!! We hope to see you again in the fall when the temps are little more bearable!!

Ethan's Trip with the Grandparents

2010-09-05T21:18:00.000-04:00

Keith parents have 17 grandchildren and each year they take at least one kid on a special trip. This summer it was Ethan's turn. They chose to spend the week with Ethan in San Diego. Ethan was born in Laguna Hills, California and he's been wanting to go there for sometime now, so this was the perfect opportunity for him to revisit the place he was born.

The grandparents spoiled Ethan during the week that he was with them. The stayed at a resort that had 17 tennis courts! Ethan brought his racket and also convinced Grandma to bring hers so they could enjoy playing some games together. Ethan also participated in a tennis clinic while he was there.

He also spent many hours in the pool and made a few friends along the way. He had a great time with his grandparents but said that the best part of his trip was the day they spent at San Diego Wild Animal Park.

He took several pictures and here are some of his favorites. Above is a meercat.

He got to feed the parrots.

And pet the gazelles too.

Some other highlights were getting to eat lots of junk food, having a king-sized bed all to himself, watching movies, and spending quality time with his grandparents. A trip he'll always remember! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!

Tea Time in St. Louis

2010-08-22T23:02:00.000-04:00

I spent last weekend visiting my friend, Jennifer in St. Louis. We had a fun girls weekend that included, Sushi, movies, pedicures, shopping and tea! Jennifer took me to this cute little tearoom in her town, O'Fallon, MO.

I enjoyed my visit to Aggie's Closet and Tea Room which was surrounded by pretty gardens. There were several tables setup in the garden but it was too hot to enjoy the outdoor seating.

We chose to eat our lunch in one of the many tearooms inside of the house. One table over from us were two little girls enjoying tea with their grandmother. Aggie's Closet and Tea Room has a special "closet" where you can borrow hats, gloves and dress-up clothes to wear while enjoying your tea. The girls were all dressed for tea while nibbling on their flower-shaped tea sandwiches.

I chose a strawberry herbal tea to sip along with my lunch of spinach and artichoke quiche, and a garden greens salad.

The menu isn't huge but the food is made fresh daily and was certainly delicious.

One of my favorite things about tea is that it's meant to be unhurried which gave Jennifer and I lots of time to talk and catch up.It was a lovely afternoon, and wonderful weekend spent with a dear friend.

Preserving the Garden

2010-08-12T22:36:00.000-04:00

Each spring Keith plants a beautiful garden and each summer I feel so fortunate to be able to walk a few feet out into my yard and pick delicious produce for our dinner.I get so much satisfaction out of being able to cook with homegrown food, and enjoy creating new ways to get the most out of our produce.

So far this summer I've canned pickles made with our cucumbers, and tomato-basil sauce made from heirloom tomatoes and herbs. I've made three batches of blackberry jam, and several batches of strawberry jam. We devoured countless salads, roasted vegetables, kabobs, fresh tomato sauce, and salsa.

Recently Keith picked the remaining carrots from the garden so I took the opportunity to make a few loaves of carrot bread.

And although the blueberries and blackberries are pretty much done for the season, the raspberries are in full swing. I've been able to pick at least a pint of raspberries each day which is pretty good considering many don't even make it into the house before being eaten.

Nothing is more refreshing in the summer than a berry tart! I made this tart with garden raspberries and pastry cream.

There are many good eats still to come as there is plenty of produce that has yet to be harvested, and I'm looking forward to getting a little more canning in before the summer's end.

Visit to Portland and the Lan Su Chinese Garden

2010-08-08T16:58:00.001-04:00

Last month I had a "working" trip to Portland. I purposely chose to work this trip in order to visit my friend, Steph who recently moved there. I arrived in Portland in the early afternoon and took the MAX downtown to meet Stephanie at Pioneer Square. We had decided to meet at the Sqaure and then take the train from there to the Lan Su Chinese Garden.

The Lan Su is a beautiful and quaint setting to relax and catch up with a friend. It's one of Steph's favorite places in Portland so I knew we'd be visiting while I was there.

In 1988, Portland and Suzhou, China, became sister cities and the dream building a Suzhou-style garden became a reality in 1999 when the garden was built. Most of the materials in the garden were brought in from China, as well as most of the plants in the Garden are indigenous to China but were grown in the US.

While at the Garden, Steph and I enjoyed a gongfu tea ceremony at the Teahouse. Steph chose a Wuyi oolong tea which tasted nutty and smooth.

We also ate some special snacks, Horsebeans (roasted fava beans) and Coconut Tarts.

After our leisurely afternoon tea, we finished walking around the garden, taking in the beauty of it all. It was such a lovely place to spend with a good friend. I felt like I was on vacation even though I was actually working. I'm looking forward to the next visit, and hopefully Esme will be able to join us.

Sea World

2010-08-05T20:49:00.000-04:00

While we were vacationing in San Diego, we spent a day at Sea World with my in-laws and my sister and her family. The San Diego weather was cool and cloudy which made spending the entire day outside bearable.

The first thing we did upon arriving at Sea World was watch the Shamu show. Madelyn really got into doing the "Shamu wave" which signaled the wales to splash the audience. Thankfully we were sitting further up in the stands and out of the "splash zone."

The boys wanted to go on a ride but every ride involved getting wet and it was a little too chilly for that so Grandma and Grandpa bought them these cool Shamu raincoats to keep them dry while they rode the Shipwreck Rapids.

We enjoyed both of the aquariums and the hands-on exhibits, especially feeding and petting the dolphins. .

At the starfish exhibit, the boys stopped to have their picture taken with Grandma and Grandpa at this giant starfish.

We all enjoyed experiencing the 4D Elmo show, and the kids looked pretty cute in their 3D glasses.

One of the last things we did for the day was watch the Blue Horizons show. This was probably the most popular show at Sea World. We had to arrive 45 minutes early just to get good seats. The show combines theatrical aquatics with acrobatic performers. It was really quite amazing!

A Cool Coastal Vacation

2010-07-27T21:34:00.001-04:00

Early this month the boys and I traveled to San Diego for a little vacation. We met Keith's parents there who had planned a fun week with Ethan. Keith parents have a great tradition of taking each one of their grandchildren on a trip sometime before they turn 12.This is quite ambitious of them considering they have 17 grand kids! It was Ethan's turn and they chose to spend their week with him in San Diego. Ethan was thrilled to take his trip there since he was born in southern California and has wanted to visit again for sometime now.

Mac and I flew out with Ethan so that we could stay for a few days and visit Sea World. My company gave me a season pass for Sea World which means that my family and I can visit any one of the nine Sea World parks for free, as many times in a year that we want. A very generous gift that we all enjoyed tremendously.

Our first stop upon arriving in San Diego was the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma. We had a nice walk down the coast and the kids enjoyed the tide pools. The weather was fabulous, a cool 64 degrees with a nice ocean breeze. A nice break from the hot Midwest summer in the middle of July.

The kids enjoyed exploring the tide pools and stacking rocks.

Taking a little break with Grandpa and enjoying the ocean view.

Next stop Sea World.............

The Quarry Men

2010-07-23T16:51:00.005-04:00

Guest post by Keith

A friend of mine from WFHB had long ago extended an open invitation to us to come swim in the limestone quarry on the property she and her husband rent. Last weekend, we finally got our schedules aligned and took the plunge. What an awesome adventure!

Fans of the 1979 film Breaking Away can attest to the lure of quarry swimming. The water is typically very clean as most of it comes from underground aquifers. But some quarries receive nutrient-rich surface runoff, and can become overgrown with algae. The quarry used for filming the Breaking Away movie is about five miles south of the one we visited.

Limestone mining was once the major industry of south central Indiana, and it is still important, but the demand for limestone has diminished steadily over the years as other, less expensive building materials have come on the market.

Bloomington-area limestone has a long history for its quality, and limestone from this area has been used in the construction of the Empire State Building, the Pentagon, the National Cathedral and various other monuments and buildings in Washington, D.C. Indiana limestone was also used extensively to rebuild many Chicago buildings after the great fires of 1871. And of course, Indiana University features local limestone in nearly every building on campus.

There are literally hundreds of abandoned quarries in this area, and nearly all are considered accidents waiting to happen by their owners, as quarry swimming can be very dangerous. Extreme caution and skill is necessary before jumping into the clear, cold water. Most have fences and/or security patrols to keep out trespassers, but determined swimmers usually find their way in, as evidenced by their graffiti. Limestone mining is also very dangerous, as it takes a special kind of skill and bravery to wrangle three ton blocks of stone out of the earth, without getting crushed.

The Lazy Days of Summer in Wisconsin

2010-06-23T18:10:00.007-04:00

We were fortunate to spend a week with my parents at our annual vacation spots in Wisconsin. Thankfully my dad was feeling well enough to travel via car all the way from Arizona to Wisconsin. We had a great time as usual and were happy to get to spend time with not only my parents but aunts, uncles and cousins too.

When we arrived in Door County grandma had a birthday cake waiting for Ethan. After taking a swim in the pool we all celebrated with cake and ice cream.

Our first day there, and our only rainy day, the boys and I walked to downtown Egg Harbor. We had to visit their favorite fudge shop, Gomy's Goodies, and I took a few pictures of the very Cape Codish looking town.

The small little town even has a natural foods store, Greens N' Grains.

On our walk I found several tea related goodies like these teacup and teapot planters.

And this cute little tea store, the Harbor Tea and Spice shop where we stopped for some black currant ice tea. This tea shop carries mostly Harney and Sons tea.

We had dinner with my parents, uncle and my cousin and his family. The kids got their own table and seemed to entertain each other.

We also took some time to go mini golfing which I hadn't done in a very long time. It was fun and a great day to be out side.

My aunt bought kites for the kids and the green space behind the condos along with lake breeze made for great kite flying conditions!

Ethan was the first to get his up and flying high.

Notice how the kite matches the kid.

Right next to the condo was a cherry tree orchard. The cherries weren't ready for picking but the orchard provided for some pretty scenery

After our four days in Door County we headed up north to the cottage on White Lake. On the way the boys and I made our annual stop at Bay Beach. We had fun riding the scrambler, bumper cars, and the Tilt-A-Whirl.

The boys also rode the super slide.

Once at the cabin, Grandma and Grandpa treated us to a good old fashion fish fry at the local corner bar. We ate some yummy local perch and then back at the cottage the kids got the fire pit ready to make s'mores.

Ethan stoking the fire.

Roasting marshmallows

The grandparents relaxing, and trying to stay out of the smoke!

We spent most of the long weekend on lake. The kids enjoyed taking out the paddle boat. We also took several trips in the pontoon boat. Ethan even got a chance to drive.

We even played Sequence with my aunt and uncle on the pontoon.

And enjoyed beautiful sunsets on the lake! Life doesn't get much better than this!

The hazards of living in a neighborhood with mature trees

2010-06-12T21:26:00.000-04:00

This car belonged to our neighbors across the street. They had only parked it in their driveway 20 minutes before this huge cherry tree toppled on top of it. Thankfully no one was in the car when the tree fell. The tree had decay at the base of the trunk, and that along with the wet weather might have contributed to the fall..

Keith went over and helped cut some of the limbs off the tree, which provided us with plenty of wood for next winter. The rest of the tree had to be professionally removed. And the car was obviously totaled.

More Sweet Little Dresses

2010-06-10T20:56:00.001-04:00

These are two more dresses, from the Lelia and Ben pattern, that I made for my niece, Madelyn. The pink is a made from an eyelet seersucker-type cotton, and the blue is made from two coordinating fabrics. The main bodice fabric has little birds and the sleeves match the print in some of the birds.

Of course the model and recipient, Madelyn, is even cuter (and sweeter) than the dresses! I was glad to see that they fit her since I had to guess on the size which was tricky living 2000 miles away!

Pink eyelet dress

Blue birdie dress

Recital Cupcakes

2010-06-03T19:23:00.000-04:00

Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream that I made for Mac's violin recital. I made the dark chocolate treble staffs with a chocolate mold, and sprinkled them with sparkly silver sanding sugar. Simple yet elegant.

Garden Strawberry Jam

2010-05-31T07:59:00.001-04:00

I recently made two batches of strawberry jam with strawberries that came from our garden. A couple of years ago we received some strawberry plants from Steph and her DH which Keith planted in our garden. Since then they've multiplied and even started popping up outside of the rock bed.

This year the plants have produced plenty of strawberries for eating, plus enough to make two batches of jam.

Sewing for Mommy and Baby

2010-05-26T11:34:00.002-04:00

I wanted to make a special baby shower gift for Esme and I was fortunate enough to find this sweet little dress pattern online from Lelia and Ben. I loved sewing this pattern! The directions were easy to understand, and the dress was so simple to sew. The best part of the pattern is that the sizes ranged from 12 months to 5t so I can make another one for my niece who needs a different size!

I had enough fabric left over to make a matching top for Esme. I found a simplicity pattern that looked similar to the Lelia and Ben dress. What mom and daughter wouldn't want a matching top and dress? Back in the day when I was little, my mom used to make us matching dresses, and occasionally my sisters and I wore matching clothes too. So what a better opportunity then this to bring back a little old-fashion tradition of matching mommy and daughter apparel.

Violin Recital in a Yurt

2010-05-23T15:37:00.002-04:00

Last night we attended Mac's violin recital which took place in a yurt near Griffy Lake. It was an awesome place to have a recital. The yurt was more modern then traditional -- a permanent structure with hardwood walls and lots of windows. It was a beautiful setting that provided wonderful acoustics for the young violinists.

videos taken by Ethan

Concertino 3.........George Perlman

Hungarian Dance #5........Johannes Brahms

Taken inside the yurt, students and audience wait for recital to begin.

Mac's violin teacher is accompanying him for Hungarian Dance

Students take a final bow.

Mac's violin teacher with her 6 month old baby, Zinnia.

Stinkhorn in my Garden!

2010-05-17T15:26:00.000-04:00

Guest post by Keith

The soggy spring has been mostly good for our garden, and especially good for woodland mushrooms. Here's one we haven't seen before: the dog stinkhorn (/Mutinus elegans/). As the name suggests, this critter gives off a strong, fetid odor. I could smell it long before I spotted this phallic-shaped fungus growing under our blackberry bushes. Mac thought some dog had pooped on it, but the oozing brown slime is how the fruiting body releases its spores. Flies are attracted to stinkhorns and their spore-slime, and thus are duped into carrying away spores as they search in vain for tasty dog poop. Stinkhorns belong to a family of mushrooms known as Phallaceae. It is unclear what other male anatomical parts were considered by taxonomists before deciding on this particular label.

Baby Shower Tea Party

2010-05-16T11:55:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was bittersweet as Steph and I hosted what was probably our last tea party together. The tea party was to honor and welcome our friend Esme's newly adopted daughter, Tessa. It was a lovely afternoon spent in the company of some wonderful women and the adoring Miss Tessa. Even her grandmothers and auntie traveled from other states to be there!

It was also the last opportunity for me to see Steph for a while as she leaves at end of the week for Portland, her new home. I will never forget the fun that she and I have spent my kitchen, over the last few years, preparing for tea parties. I don't know how I will ever be able to host a tea party again as it will not be the same without her.

Tessa's welcome tea party was even more special because of the extra time Steph and I spent together preparing for it. We had a couple lunch meetings, we spent time shopping together, making and mailing invitations, and lots of time in the kitchen -- all filled with plenty of conversation and laughter. (Especially laughing at our baking disasters. Mine involved the dog eating all the tartlet shells that were cooling on the counter while we were away at piano lessons.)

The menu we came up with for Tessa's tea was simple as compared to other teas we've done, and it seemed like less work since we also had some help from friends.

We started with tea sandwiches: cucumber dill, chicken salad, and goat cheese-smoked salmon.

The sandwiches were followed by apricot-oat scones. These were made by Steph, and were so delicious! They had a layer of brown sugar in the middle - yum! Check her blog for the recipe that she promises to eventually post. We served these with homemade devonshire cream and homemade apricot jam.

For the desserts I made cupcakes and a small cake for Tessa. Her birthday is in a couple of days so I wanted to make a "take home" cake for her birthday celebration. The cake and cupcakes were vanilla, filled with raspberry cream. I made the cream with fresh raspberries and heavy whipping cream. I also used a little raspberry jam in between the layers and inside the cupcakes.

The colors we were using for the shower were pink and red so I went with a ladybug theme.

Along with the cupcakes we served lemon-raspberry tartlets (the second batch after the Pongo incident) and chocolate covered strawberries. I made the tartlet filling with homemade lemon curd and cream cheese. Our friend, Heather was kind enough to make the beautiful chocolate covered strawberries.

Steph also made a yummy punch that was served in this pretty punch bowl and glasses, which I inherited from her as part of her moving purge -- again, bittersweet!

Also as part of the red and pink color scheme, we made up flower bouquets from pink peonies, and red Gerber daisies. The peonies came from our yards, as well as from a friend's yard, who so kindly contributed the most of the pink ones. We placed the bouquets in decorative Chinese take-out boxes to incorporate a little bit of China into our party.

For party favors Steph and I also sewed these bookmarks using Asian fabrics that we found at our local craft/fabric store. We finished them off with a ladybug button.

A special thank you to my sister who helped us with the invitations. She has masted PhotoShop and worked her magic putting Tessa in a teacup (see above picture) as part of our invitation design.

Tennis Annyone?

2010-05-14T23:03:00.000-04:00

Tennis cupcakes for a going-away party

Spring Piano Recital

2010-05-08T12:06:00.007-04:00

Ethan:
Minuet in G Major from Klavier Suite in G minor, BWV 822........J.S. Bach

Mac: Cradle Song................................................C.M.von Weber

Sewing for Summer

2010-05-06T15:09:00.000-04:00

I recently made this cute little sundress for a friend's daughter. I really liked this fabric that I found at Hobby Lobby; thank goodness for their 40% off coupons! The pattern for the dress is from Simplicity, #2469. The instructions were easy to understand, and the dress was a lot of fun to make. The purse is my own made-up pattern; it's lined with a zipper.

A Birthday Cake for Two

2010-05-04T10:44:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of making this birthday cake for my favorite five-year-old and her friend. The request from the five-year-old was a big vanilla cake with lots of flowers and butterflies. The "big vanilla cake" was filled with chocolate mousse, at the request of the five-year-old's mom. Good choice!

Thinking of my Aunt

2010-05-02T23:09:00.002-04:00

Last summer my Aunt Mary thoughtfully bought me this beautiful teacup fabric while we were in Door County, Wisconsin on a family vacation. It was a very special gift then, but became even more meaningful after she died unexpectedly this past Christmas.

My aunt knew how much I liked pretty tea things. She even passed along a few miscellaneous plates and bowls that once belonged to my grandmother, and that I use regularly when having or serving tea.

My aunt and I shared a common love for sewing, and crafting. Each time I would visit she was always in the middle of refinishing a piece of furniture, or some big needlework project. I would always look forward to seeing what she was working on. The last time I was at her house, she showed me a collection of furniture, chairs and a dresser, in her basement that she had refinished. They were painted mostly blue with other bright accent colors, and were very eclectic looking. Her talent never ceased to amaze me, she was one of the most creative people that I've known.

I had been holding on to the fabric for a while, and after my aunt died, I felt a strong desire to make something with it. Many things crossed my mind but I only had 1/2 of a yard of two different fabric patterns so my options were limited. I finally decided that I had enough fabric to make a patchwork table runner. I found some coordinating purple floral fabric, at my local fabric store, to use as the border . I did not have a pattern, and decided to cut 7 x 9 inch pieces out of the tea fabric, and 3 1/2 x 9 inch pieces of the floral to go in between. The floral sides and back are all one piece about 20 inches wide by 62 inches long.

I'm very pleased with the way it turned out, and I think if my aunt could see it she would be too. I have a little fabric leftover, and when I get a chance I think I'll make a matching tea cozy. Thank you Aunt Mary for giving me such a happy memory of you.

Chocolate Covered Balloons

2010-04-28T20:48:00.000-04:00

I wanted a simple way to make chocolate cups for chocolate mousse, and finally found one. After trying different things like candy molds, and painting muffin wrappers, I came across an idea for using balloons. The tutorial that I watched used regular sized balloons to make cups for ice cream, also a yummy idea. However, I wanted my cups to be a little bigger than bite-sized, and to hold chocolate mousse, which gave me the idea to use water balloons.

I blew up the water balloons very small, about half the normal size. Then I dipped them in melted dark chocolate. You have to be careful to give the chocolate a chance to cool before dipping the balloons because if it's too hot the balloons will pop, and trust me, it's not a pretty sight.

Once the balloons are dipped once put them in the fridge to harden. When hardened, dip them one more time and put back in the fridge. When the chocolate is hardened for the second time, take the balloons out of the fridge and let the cups warm up a little before popping the balloons. This will make the balloons much easier to remove from the chocolate. Cut the balloons with a scissors at the tied end, and they will shrivel up enough to be pulled out easily.

Then fill them with your favorite mousse or cream. Yum!

Birthday Cupcakes

2010-04-02T20:18:00.000-04:00

I recently had two orders for cupcakes/cake, one for a 4 year-old the other a 60 year-old. Can you guess which one was for the 4 year-old and which one was for the 60 year-old?

Raspberry cheesecake filled chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache and raspberry buttercream

Hello Kitty cupcakes, vanilla with vanilla buttercream

The Making of Maple Syrup

2010-03-29T22:54:00.002-04:00

This spring, for the first time Keith tried his hand at making maple syrup. We were all excited at the prospect of having homemade maple syrup but had no idea how labor-intensive and costly it would be to produce. Keith tapped about 20 trees on the property, using spiles and various types of collection equipment. He used buckets, milk cartons, and cups.We even had our friends save their empty gallon milk jugs.

The syrup started flowing the end of February and there was a lot of it. Too much for us to keep up with. Keith had a 50 gallon barrel that he stored the collected syrup in until he was ready to boil it. He collected 160 gallons of sap and could of collected more but we couldn't keep up with the boiling.

He used a propane burner setup outside to boil the sap which ended up to be a costly and inefficient way of boiling it down. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Boiling time varied but it usually took over 24 hours to boil one pot of sap into syrup. He used a warming pot on the grill burner to keep the sap warm so it would be ready to add to the boiling pot. When the boiling pot was almost finished we usually brought it into the house to cook where we could keep a closer eye on the temperature. We lost part of our first batch that scorched a little on the bottom of the pan, and the second batch was also overcooked but made into maple candy so not a complete lost there.When all was said and done we ended up with a little over 2 gallons of delicious syrup! Not bad for first-timers!

We learned a lot about the process of making maple syrup and hope to improve our operation next year to be even more productive!

Fun at the Cabin

2010-03-17T19:05:00.000-04:00

Today we spent the day hanging out at the cabin. The kids have been outside enjoying the sunny and warm weather. It's hard to believe that there is so much snow on the ground up here, especially since the temps have been in the 60's. We wish we would have brought some shorts along. It was so warm today that we could have all used some cooler clothes.

The boys had fun pulling Madelyn around in the sled.

We've played lots of games too. Ethan has been attached to the pool table, challenging everyone to a game of eight ball. The boys have also had fun playing Grandpa's (homemade) shut box game. Grandma brought her coins and Mac made a few dollars.

We brought so much food that we ran out of refrigerator space. The snowbank on the back deck made an excellent cooler for the drinks. :)

Grand Canyon

2010-03-16T22:08:00.004-04:00

We spent the day at the Grand Canyon. It was the first time for Ethan and Uncle Chris to visit. Mac was there once before but was too little to remember. Seeing the look on the kids' faces when they saw the canyon for the fist time was priceless! They were all smiles. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, and we were so glad to be there.

Here are some of the day's pictures.

Spring Break!

2010-03-16T11:51:00.004-04:00

We're in sunny Arizona staying in Munds Park at a cabin (if you can call it that, it's more like a luxury home) with my family. The boys are enjoying the warm weather (60's) while playing in the snow! Yesterday the boys went to Out of Africa Wildlife Park with Keith's parents. Today we're heading up to the Grand Canyon.

Here are a few pictures. There will be more to come.....

Baby Shower Cupcakes

2010-03-05T22:07:00.006-05:00

I recently made these cupcakes for a baby shower. Since the baby shower was for a baby boy, I wanted to use blue and yellow for the colors. I made rubber duckies out of fondant for a 3rd of the cupcakes. The other third had white and yellow fondant flowers, and for the last set I made cookies with the letter "J" cutout of the center.

Number Six Birthday Cupcakes

2010-03-05T22:06:00.003-05:00

The past week has kept me busy with cake orders. One order was birthday cupcakes for a six-year old. The six is a cookie on a stick, and the blue and orange (the birthday boy's favorite colors) stars were cut from fondant.

Twirly Skirt for Madelyn

2010-02-17T13:53:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe that my niece, Madelyn just turned 2! I was fortunate enough to fly out to Arizona to spend time with her during her birthday weekend. She had a ladybug birthday party and enjoyed every minute of it! To see more of Madelyn's birthday pictures click here.

Steph gave me the idea to make this tired skirt for Madelyn. She made one for her niece and it turned out so cute that I wanted to make one for Madelyn too. I fell in love with some pretty coordinating fabric that had teacups on it. The problem was that I couldn't find a shirt to match. The pink is too mauve, and the white is more off white or cream, so I'm still looking. I'd like to applique a teacup on a matching shirt, if I ever find one.
I love how the skirt turned out, and fits her well too. Thanks, Mom for getting me the measurements!

The pattern for the tiered, twirly skirt came from this blog.

Valentine Tea

2010-02-16T10:23:00.008-05:00

Last week I hosted a Valentine's tea for a couple of my friends.

I recently fell in love with and bought a vintage tea set that was perfect for the occasion. There were two things that really made me fall in love with this tea set, the shape of the teacups, and the painted flowers on the inside of the cup. Most of my tea ware is blue (my favorite color) so I also liked that these had painted pink flowers, something different. I don't often splurge on these types of things for myself but I couldn't resist this set.My only disappointment was that I wasn't able to get the teapot. Or so I thought! I was completely shocked when my friends gave it to me as a gift at the tea!Since I was having a small tea party, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out some new recipes. So I started off the tea with a champagne cocktail that consisted of a sugar cube, a couple dashes of bitters, a 1/2 an ounce of brandy, and about 4 ounces of champagne.
I made tarragon chicken salad on croissants, cucumber sandwiches, tomatoes filled with couscous, and smoked salmon with sprouts on endive. I served a special peach-ginger tea -- that my aunt gave to me before she died -- with the sandwiches. The second course was orange cream scones made with oranges picked from my parent's backyard. They were accompanied by homemade strawberry jam, and cream.The tea pastries included chocolate covered strawberries, heart-shaped sugar cookies, raspberry-almond financiers, and chocolate mousse tartlets. It was a lovely afternoon shared with my closest friends and tea-mates. A special thank you to Steph for helping with preparations, and for also taking these awesome photos!

Teaching Environmental Literacy

2010-01-29T13:03:00.004-05:00

Guest post by Keith

Image courtesy of IU Press

A few years ago, I participated in a monthly gathering of university faculty, staff, and students around the subject of improving environmental literacy. How human societies relate to their physical and biological environment has long been an intellectual and ethical interest of mine. But increasingly, our current global realities such as human-induced climate change, unsustainable soil loss and degradation, species extinction, dead zone expansion, and natural resource limitations demand smart and equitable responses from every society. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in a few decades, the nearly 7 billion of us currently inhabiting this finite planet will grow to 9 billion or more, and I assume all of us will want to eat well and live well, with access to clean water, safe housing, and healthy, prosperous livelihoods. Currently, only a small fraction of us are fortunate enough to enjoy high living standards, and too often, our prosperity comes from shifting the true costs of development to someone or somewhere else.

At our monthly gatherings, we wondered what strategies or programs could be used to enhance and deepen student understanding of current global realities. What should an environmentally literate person know? Is a college classroom the best place to learn how our ecosystems provision us with what we need to survive? Our group came to be known as the Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative, and one of my colleagues—Heather—spearheaded and organized many of the activities. She won funding from the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Program to bring in guest speakers, and the movement eventually convinced the University to create an Office of Sustainability to provide institutional support for various student initiatives.

I was flattered when Heather asked me to contribute a chapter to the book she was putting together. Eric, another researcher with interests similar to mine, agreed to help me co-author. The book was released by IU Press a couple of weeks ago. College faculties are the target audience for this project, which is somewhat unfortunate, as many of the strategies can actually be used by educators at any level. High school students and the general public are likely to find something of interest in Teaching Environmental Literacy. For example, Bennet Brabson, a physics professor, contributed a chapter that makes explicit the connections between aggregate economic growth, population, our per capita energy consumption, and environmental degradation. How many citizens truly understand these relationships? Scott Russell Sanders, an English professor, argues powerfully for nurturing a culture of conservation instead of our current culture of consumption. I’ve enjoyed Sanders’ work for years (especially Wilderness Plots, which a couple of years ago inspired a group of Bloomington musicians to put into song.)

In our chapter, Eric and I focus on Indiana’s forests and the many ecosystem services that well-functioning forests provide us for free. We touch briefly on how ecosystem degradation has negatively impacted Haiti’s developmental history, and highlight some of the success stories that are possible when society changes course and commits itself to ecosystem restoration. We even give a nod to work done by civil engineers in an Indianapolis flood control project.

Our society’s general deficiency in environmental literacy certainly runs much deeper than what this particular collection of essays can ever hope to address, but I was pleased with what Heather and her co-editors put together. Faculty from the School of Law, Religious Studies, Public and Environmental Affairs, Physics, Biology, Anthropology and more are represented—a true interdisciplinary effort.

Warm Toffee Pudding

2010-01-23T19:53:00.003-05:00

I stumbled across this recipe for warm toffee pudding when I was looking through one of my past issues of Martha Stewart Living, February 2007 to be exact. I was excited to find it, just in time to make it for my Saturday afternoon tea with Steph.

A while ago she and I had lunch at the Tea Cozy in Indianapolis and shared a yummy plate of warm toffee pudding for dessert. I knew then that I wanted to find a recipe for it but had forgotten about searching for one until finding this recipe.

At first glance I wasn't sure I liked the recipe because it called for 8 ounces of Medjool dates. I like dates but I don't care for them (cooked) in my food. As I read the recipe further, I realized the dates were pureed after cooking them in rum, and didn't think I'd mind eating them this way. I was right! The pudding turned out delicious! The dates added moisture to the cake-like pudding and you couldn't even tell they were in there!

The recipe wasn't exactly like the toffee pudding we had at the Tea Cozy but it was still tasty, and the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea on a cold winter's day!

Financiers

2010-01-23T19:51:00.003-05:00

I recently tried out a recipe for Raspberry-Almond Financiers. I found the recipe in a past issue of Martha Stewart Living. I'm hosting a Valentine's tea for a couple of my friends and wanted to try out some new recipes. The financiers didn't turn out exactly how they were suppose to, but I thought the flavor was delicious.

A financier is described as a small French tea cake, usually made with ground almonds or almond flour. Traditionally they are baked in rectangular molds; however, I baked mine in mini muffin tins. The outside should be somewhat crispy which is why I didn't bake them in the muffin wrappers. The base of the cake is browned butter, almonds and honey. The raspberry heart is made from pureed raspberries, not jam.

My financiers puffed up a little while baking which made them appear to be more muffin like. I haven't perfected how keep them from doing this, but in my next batch I'm going to try a couple different things, like leaving out an egg white and not beating the batter as much. Even if I can't get the recipe exactly right, I'll be making these again.

Treats from Japan

2010-01-23T19:01:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Mad Queen stopped by and brought us some treats from Japan. A bag full of KitKats in a variety of very unusual flavors. Flavors that are not available here in the US.

The whole family had a great time sampling the different kinds. I was surprised at how true the flavors were. The sweet potato KitKat really tasted like sweet potato. Some other unique flavors were wasabi, flan, ginger ale, and mango pudding. The boys and I passed on the meat pocket one and let Keith have that one to himself. I shared the royal milk tea and the green tea KitKats with my tea-mate, Steph, and was so impressed by how much they really tasted like tea!

Thanks, Mad Queen!

Mac's Magazine Publication

2010-01-10T16:41:00.010-05:00

Check out the January/February edition of Stone Soup to read Mac's Lucky Penny story. Stone Soup is a literary magazine written and illustrated by kids. Mac was told by the editor that they receive about 300 submissions per week, and only consider about 5% of them. Once Mac's story was selected for possible publication, it took almost a year for it to come out in print!

Congratulations, Mac!

Remembering

2010-01-10T16:18:00.008-05:00

At the year’s end
We celebrated your life
On a cold winter’s day
Snow sparkled outside
Your precious little ones
Danced in rays of sunshine
Streaming through stained glass windows

Tears
Laughter
Sadness
A beautiful quilt handmade by you
Photographs
Your favorite flowers
Filled the church

I will remember you
Kind and gentle
Bright blue eyes
Warm smile
Flower gardens
Snicker bar salad
Pretty blue vases
Painted ornaments on the tree
Teacup on my shelf
Lucie’s hand in yours

Journal Covers

2010-01-10T16:16:00.003-05:00

A few friends received these patchwork journals for Christmas. I found a great tutorial on Bloom. The tutorial was easy to understand and the covers were fun to make. I made them to fit a standard 6" x 8" notebook so that once the pages are full, the cover can be taken off and placed on a new notebook.

Beagle Creek

2009-11-30T16:35:00.006-05:00

Beagle Creek is a piece of land that we bought a couple Months ago. It's about 4 acres located half of a mile from Lake Lemon. About 1/3 of the property is pasture and the other 2/3rds is forest. The boys named it Beagle Creek because it's a favorite outing for our beagle, Pongo, and also to honor the memory of Highway, another beagle who would have loved this place.

There is a one-car garage on the property which Keith uses as a storage shed. He has big plans for this piece of land. In addition to planting a small orchard and other produce, he has started a new business, Native Solutions, LLC, in which he will be growing and selling inoculum to restoration companies.

Keith and boys spend almost every weekend at Beagle Creek. They have been cleaning out the creek which is full of trash. Obviously, the previous owners must have mistaken the creek for a landfill. Keith has taken away several trailer loads full of old refrigerators, washers, car and truck parts, even a big natural gas tank. Apparently it's a very "Hoosier" thing to do -- dispose of your trash in your own backyard. It seems there is no shortage of junk in Beagle Creek, and Keith and boys have been hard at work removing all of it. The various metals (copper, steel, aluminum, etc.) are taken into town and sold for their salvage value, and much of what the previous owners considered "trash" will actually be put to use in the orchard and other parts of the property."

There is a small persimmon grove at Beagle Creek as well as a big sugar maple that we're hoping to tap for syrup in the spring. We're also looking forward to next summer when we can pick and eat all the chanterelle mushrooms that grow abundantly in our forest.

Sweet and Salty Cake

2009-11-22T09:09:00.005-05:00

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a few months now, ever since I bought the book, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking cookbook. A friend recommended the book to me, and I was able to check out a copy from the library. Well, after making several recipes that all turned out fantastic, I knew I had to buy it.

The special ingredient in this cake is Fluer de sel, a sea salt harvested from France. I bought mine at Williams Sonoma. You could probably substitute regular sea salt but I wouldn't suggest it; the Fluer de sel has a very unique flavor and really makes the cake special.

One thing I found with this recipe is that it has to be followed precisely. It requires making two batches of caramel, one salted and one not. I'm pretty much a veteran when it comes to making homemade caramel and wasn't intimidated about making the two different kinds, but I ended up throwing out my second batch. I ruined it when I waited a just a little longer than 1 minute to add the cream to the sugar mixture. The directions were to remove the sugar mixture from the heat and wait one minute before adding the cream, and I discovered that they mean exactly one minute, not two.

Aside from my caramel snafu, the rest went pretty smoothly. However, the process was quite time consuming as there are several steps. It took me most of the afternoon to make the caramel, the ganache, and to assemble the cake. That of course doesn't include the baking of the cake which I had done ahead of time.

All in all, I think the cake was delicious and well worth the effort. I will be making it again this week for a friend's birthday. I'm hoping the second attempt will prove to go a little more smoothly then the first.

The Missing Little Ladybug

2009-11-03T22:11:00.005-05:00

We spent fall break visiting family in Arizona. The kids had fun trick-or-treating with their cousins, and my mom, sister and I did our annual Christmas baking. Unfortunately while we were there my youngest niece, Madelyn got sick and had to miss out on all the festivities. And we were sad not to be able to spend more time with her!

Below is a picture of the kids on Halloween. As you can probably tell, my sister Photoshoped the missing little ladybug, Madelyn, into the photo. Pictured along with the ladybug is a mad scientist, police officer, owl, and Disney's Mulan.Instead of having fun with her cousins, Madelyn (along with her mom and dad) spent the afternoon in the doctor's office. Poor baby!

Below is a preview of some of the holiday treats my mom, sister and I baked all in one day......hundreds of cookies and some candy too. The baking was the fun part, hauling it all home on the airplane, not so fun.

What a Hoot!

2009-10-28T11:49:00.005-04:00

My friend, Eileen called me with this cute owl cookie idea from Taste of Home magazine. I thought they were adorable and wanted to try making some for Halloween. I followed the the recipe exactly except for doubling it, and yielded about 22 cookies. So if you need a fun Halloween treat, there's still plenty of time to make these.....hoo, hoo!

Homemade Baby Gifts

2009-10-02T11:41:00.004-04:00

Our favorite music teacher is having a baby girl, and I wanted to make something special for her. I fell in love with this floral fabric from Hobby Lobby and thought it would make the perfect blanket for a little girl.

I washed all the fabrics before sewing and was pleased how soft the cotton came out. The pattern for the blanket came from the Purl Bee. I made it 42 inches square with a soft cotton floral and a coordinating pink flannel. I embroidered a running stitch along the outside of the blanket.

I also made some matching burp cloths out of coordinating fabrics. I've made these before and loved how they turned out so I knew I wanted to make them again. You can find a great tutorial here.

Lastly, I added fun sayings to some onesies. I also cutout and fused a butterfly and flower from the fabric to two of the onesies, and I added a running stitch to the outside of the cutouts.

Cookie and Cheesecake Cupcakes

2009-09-28T13:32:00.007-04:00

Lately I've had time to try some new cupcake recipes and wanted to share a couple that I think are definite keepers. Both of these cupcake recipes came from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.

If you enjoy making cupcakes this is by far the best cupcake cookbook out there. I have many cupcake cookbooks, and this is the one I continually go back to again and again. I haven't been disappointed by any of the recipes.

The first cupcake is a snickerdoodle cupcake. I was attracted to this recipe because my kids love snickerdoodle cookies so I figured a snickerdoodle cupcake would be just as yummy....and it was a big hit with my family.

The cake is basically a vanilla cake with lots of cinnamon. The recipe recommended using Seven Minute frosting but I chose to use my Marshmallow Buttercream recipe that I used in the S'more Cupcakes instead. I like the Seven Minute frosting but it doesn't last long and has to be eaten the same day that it's made, so it wasn't a practical choice for me.

Pictured above is a mini raspberry cheesecake cupcake. Our raspberry bushes are producing their second round of raspberries for the season so I was looking for something to use them in when I came across this recipe. These mini cakes are the perfect size to indulge in with out feeling guilty. Fresh raspberries are pureed in the food processor, strained through a fine sieve, and marbled through the cheesecake. I added my own touch of whipped cream and a raspberry on top.

It's Football Time Again!

2009-09-13T21:30:00.008-04:00

I was reminded that it was football season when I went to work today. Not being a big football fan myself I guess I was a little oblivious to the people around me as I was sitting in the Indianapolis airport wondering why everyone was wearing a Colts jersey. Then when I got to Chicago and went into our lounge, there it was on the big screen TV.... football! No one was really watching it though, two people were asleep on the couches and one guy kind of seemed to be watching while listening to his Ipod at the same time.

I was reminded again later when I visited my sister's blog and saw the most adorable pictures of my niece in a Packer cheerleading outfit. Most of my family members are huge Packer fans and so I guess they figure they better indoctrinate my niece while she's young. The first thing I noticed in the pictures is that she has grown so much! She doesn't look like a baby anymore. It's been a while since we've been out to visit my family, and seeing how much she's changed made me miss her even more.

So whether your a football fan or not, I thought you'd enjoy seeing these pictures of the cutest little Packer fan, even though she might not know it yet! Too see more Madelyn pics click here.

The Proof of the Pie is in the Eating

2009-09-12T22:34:00.003-04:00

This post is dedicated to dear, sweet Esme. On more than one occasion she has been so kind as to bake a pie and leave it on the doorstep for my husband who she thinks is pie deprived, and well, she's probably right. Not only are her pies delicious they are much appreciated and enjoyed by Keith.

I am not a pie-loving person so I don't make as many pies as I do cakes and other pastries. My kids are not too fond of pies either, except for apple pie which Ethan claims to be the only kind of pie that he likes.

So, Esme here is my proof that I really do make pies. I've averaged a pie a month for the last couple of months, not bad when you consider all the other baking that happens in my kitchen.

In early August I made a blackberry-peach pie (above) out of fresh blackberries and peaches from the farmer's market.

And now that local apples are in season again, Ethan has been bugging me to make him an apple pie. I finally got around to it, and I enjoyed baking it in my new Cuisinart convection oven that I received from Keith and the boys for my birthday. It turned out perfectly golden brown and the aroma in the kitchen was heavenly. Keith and Ethan gave it two thumbs up!

Thank you Esme for your thoughtful pie-giving self, and for inspiring me to make more pies!

A Honey of a Birthday Cake

2009-09-06T21:59:00.010-04:00

For my birthday on Friday, I received this lovely beehive cake and mold from Steph. I can count on one hand the number of times that someone has made me a birthday cake (not including all the cakes my mom made me as a child), so having a homemade birthday cake is a very special treat. This cake was not only delicious and enjoyed by my whole family, but it was also a very thoughtful gift as well.

The cake was a honey glazed spice cake and the recipe came from Martha Stewart . I first fell in love with the cake and mold when it was featured on the cover of Martha Stewart Living magazine over a year ago. I had completely forgotten about it until a couple of days ago when Steph surprised me with it. Thanks, Steph for making me such a special birthday cake!

This is what the Nordic Ware mold looks like.

Meet Pongo

2009-08-23T11:13:00.008-04:00

About a month ago we adopted Pongo from our local animal shelter and joyfully welcomed him into our home. I finally caved into the boys who had been begging me for a few days to take them to the shelter to look at dogs. Little did we know that we would all fall in love with Pongo, an energetic beagle mix puppy. Pongo got his name from the shelter and we felt like it suited him well. We don't know what he's mixed with because the shelter didn't have much information on him. However when the boys and I took him out to the playroom so we could get to know him, he stole all our hearts.

The only problem was that Keith was out-of-town and I knew we couldn't make the decision to adopt Pongo without Keith's OK. Keith was opposed at first as he didn't want to get another dog so soon after putting Highway down, but he had a change of heart, and we were able to convince Keith, upon picking him up from the airport, to come to shelter with us to meet Pongo. We came home with Pongo that night and felt fortunate to get him because there were already three applications filled out for him by the time we got back to the shelter with Keith. Luckily ours was the first.

Pongo is a funny puppy and likes to get into all kinds of mischief. It is impossible for me to sweep our floors with him in the room. He thinks it's a game and chases the broom around, trying to bite it. Ironing large items like tablecloths are also a challenge. He likes to bite the hanging edge and tangle himself in and around the ironing board. We've lost two sandals and a few socks, so far, and we still have to remind the boys to keep their shoes off the floor. The other day, I watched him pull a pillow off the chair and the next thing I see, is Pongo asleep on the floor with his head on the pillow.

He has a ton of energy but is also very smart. He's mostly potty trained, and crate trained. He goes to bed when we go to bed and gets up when we get up. He likes to fetch balls and sticks and will bring them back to us most of the time. He has brought so much joy into our lives, and although we'll always miss Highway, having Pongo makes our family feel complete again.

Berry Charlottes

2009-08-23T11:04:00.004-04:00

I made these mini berry Charlottes for a friend's birthday last week. I found the recipe in Tea Time magazine and thought they would make a pretty presentation. As always I made a few changes to the recipe but I think they turned out yummy.

The bottom of the Charlotte is a homemade butter cake that I baked in 10" x 15" pan and then cut into 2 inch rounds. The rounds are surrounded by lady fingers and a bow holds them together. The Charlotte is filled with a heavy cream mixed with raspberry preserves and cream cheese, and then topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.