Crafts

Homemade Wedding Cake

October 16, 2010
Homemade Wedding Cake

Wow! That’s really about the only thing that I can say about this experience. My good friend Kim and I offered to make a wedding cake for our friend Karen’s daughter. Her daughter Kara wanted a simple, elegant cake – Kim and I were up to the challenge! I spent Thursday evening baking and getting the cake components together. With help and patience from my wonderful husband Jason, I made 12 cake layers and two huge batches of delicious frosting. As soon as each cake was cooled to room temperature, I wrapped them up separately in plastic wrap and popped them in the freezer where they rested all night. On Friday I made two batches of my lemon curd (the filling requested by the bride) and assembled the layers. It is so much easier putting the layers together when you freeze them in advance. My “lemon goop” (as it is officially nicknamed) glued each of the four triple-layer cakes together and I used my super tasty frosting to apply a thin crumb coat to the outside. Back into the freezer they went for the night. Bright and early this morning (Saturday), Kim came over and helped me to put...

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This is My Time of Year

October 5, 2010

The last few days here in Mobile have been cool. Not cold, but sunny and mid-70s with a cool breeze. Perfect fall weather. I didn’t want to jump the gun and turn off the a/c too soon just to lose all the nice temperature in the house right before the weather turns warm again and have to cool the whole house again. However, we jumped on the bandwagon yesterday. I flipped off the a/c, threw open all the windows in the living room, dining room, and kitchen and let the beautiful breeze bring some fresh cool air into the house. We left the bedroom windows closed because I cannot sleep in a room that’s been filled with fresh allergens — especially since the house next door is vacant and the yard hasn’t been mowed in almost six months, it’s nothing but grass up to your hip and weed trees over there. We left the windows open all night and I woke up to an amazingly cool & cozy home. My old slippers are still buried in a box in the garage, so I think I’ll sit down today and crochet me a pair. I found a really cute pattern...

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Super-Frugal Tie Rack

May 21, 2010
Super-Frugal Tie Rack

As long as I’ve known him, Jason has had a bag full of ties. He had a couple that would be rolled up and stored in his sock drawer so that they wouldn’t get wrinkled but the rest of them were stuffed in the bag. A couple of weeks ago as we were going through all of the wonderful gifts we were given for baby Jesse, we took a bunch of onesies off of these super cool hangers that are 5 hangers in one. Before I threw them away Jason had an epiphany… while these little baby hangers aren’t strong enough to hold anything very heavy, they are the perfect size for ties! He hung the ties on facing alternate directions to keep the weight even. Each hanger held ten ties and we had two of these neato little hangers so he was able to hang up all of his ties. This was great because most of those had been his dad’s and he was really hoping to get them out of their make-shift storage. Now that this is handled (and on the cheap), what will the boys and I get him for Father’s Day? Isn’t a fancy schmancy...

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Catching Up

October 14, 2009
Catching Up

I have been incredibly absent around here lately. I made my big huge photo-laden post right after I returned home from a week in California, then I planned October’s menu – that’s it, all I’ve done in the past month. That is absolutely pitiful blogging and for the four people or so who read this, I am so very sorry. In a lame attempt at some excuses: 1) I was exhausted from finishing my first trimester of this pregnancy, 2) I’ve been busily preparing my son’s room for him to come home to us this week, and 3) I’ve been doing crazy lots of crocheting.   Item number 1: First Trimester of Pregnancy. As I’ve mentioned from time to time on Twitter and Facebook, this pregnancy has been different in every single way from my first. With my first baby (Jeremy) I had no morning sickness (aside from a reaction to taking my iron supplement with a glass of milk), with this baby I was ill all day every day for the few couple of months. All that changed as I headed into the second trimester (last week) and I’m so very happy for that. I feel like my old self...

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Handpainted Child’s Stool

June 12, 2009
Handpainted Child’s Stool

Several of the children in my family received a wooden stool when they were between two and three years old. All of them were handpainted by a wonderful old woman in our hometown. Each was different but they all looked uniform. They all came from the same blank so they were all the same size and shape. Here is a picture of my 25-year old stool: It was personalized with my name and a very sweet little poem: “This little stool is mine I use it all the time To reach the things I couldn’t And sometimes things I shouldn’t.” As you can see, the years have been rough on this treasured piece of my childhood. There is a significant crack that my mother patched with a piece of clear packing tape. My 2 1/2-year old son Jeremy has fallen in love with my stool. I keep putting it away to keep it from being broken any further, but he always drags it out from wherever I’ve stashed it. He loves to “help” me do dishes, cook, and do all number of things as long as he can stand on the stool (even washing his hands!). In my wanting...

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