Happy heart day to my best ping pong partner! I hit the Valentine jackpot with you.
teammates for life
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sewing a shirt: done!
And we have a final product! And it actually looks like a shirt, and is completely wearable in public, so that is a huge plus.
Its not quite perfect, but I think its a pretty solid first attempt. I also feel as if I have uncovered one of the world’s great secrets. Everybody is wearing clothes, but not everybody knows how they are made. I can join that secret club now.
Its fun to look back through the pictures and remember all the “firsts.” Also, all the calls and texts to my ma asking her if it was looking right.
Sometimes I just had to remind myself to go step-by-step, and it would magically become whatever it was supposed to be.
The continuous lap part. Thank goodness for youtube.
I’ve made buttonholes before, but I’ve never sewn on a button with the machine. The button foot is a little scary looking, but we made friends.
I’m excited to make another one! Maybe some spring fabric? Of course, now that my flannel shirt is done, the weather has decided to warm up a bit here.
a home for a kindle
My kindle has been roaming around unprotected since forever. Its survived hundreds of shoves into my backpack, luggage, purse, etc, and thankfully only has one tiny scratch. Its been so good to me, so I thought it was time for me to show my appreciation. I whipped up this little cover for it yesterday. I love that wooden button.
new in the shop: panda and mouse
Some new animal friends for ya! A shy little panda, and a curious mouse. I love the grey and pink combo of the mouse for Valentine’s! Find them both in the shop!
vanilla donuts with maple glaze
We had company over this weekend, so that was all the excuse I needed to make donuts. I woke up a little early on Saturday, and got to work on the dough. I love a good cake donut, but there is just something about fluffy yeast donuts.
Based on this recipe here, I added normal vanilla instead of the vanilla bean, and no one complained at all. The glaze was really sticky, and kinda a weird consistency when they were being dipped, but again, no one complained about the final product. I loved that they were yeast donuts, but baked instead. Not having the house smell like oil was a big plus, especially with having company over.
They are basically soft, warm donut pillows that dreams are made of.
things that caught my eye this week
My shirt sewing is coming along smoothly so far. Its very fascinating. Like learning one of the tiny secrets of the universe.
A couple things that I noticed this week:
- Pretty handmade knitted hats
- Cute wearable interpretation of a mountain range
- Felted bowls for plants
- How the super cold weather makes me feel
- Donuts are Olympics food, right? Rings? Gonna try these.
- We are watching the opening ceremonies tonight, and attempting to make a version of this soup.
new in the shop: bunny and penguin
A couple bright new friends in the shop this week! A purple bunny, and a blue penguin.
I have a couple brand new animals coming in the next couple days, too!
sourdough/ week three
I get so proud of the bread dough. Since we grew the starter ourselves from scratch, I am very mother bear about the yeast. I am so pleased when they do their best.
This recipe was for French bread. It is very, very similar to traditional sourdough, except that you also spritz the oven with water during the first 15 minutes of baking. This witchcraft magically makes the bread chewier, with a softer crust than normal sourdough.
Look at that sourdough starter at work! My chest swells with such pride.
This is the kitchen utensil I never knew existed, but now use all the time when making bread. You can lay down a nice, even flour bed for the dough with it. You can also use it to grab more flour when you need it and sprinkle it down, instead of reaching your dough hands straight into the flour, and then throwing it down in a big clump.
I accurately predicted the outcome of the finished product. YUM. The crust was lighter and softer, from the oven spritzing I assume, and the bread was amazingly delicious and chewy. We ate it just as is, no butter or jam necessary. Its that good. Well done, my little yeast children.
obsessed with hats
It probably started with the floppy hat I HAD TO HAVE for Hawaii. I couldn’t possibly lay on the beach without one, and I am pretty sure it was the first non-food item my guy bought for me after we got married.
Hats are the coolest. A big old hat makes you look mysterious and awesome, especially if it hides your face a bit. So much drama. I also love that during some eras, your outfit wasn’t complete without a matching hat. It was necessary.
I just started a hats pinterest board, and I love it. If you like big hats, you’ll probably like it too!
road trip, part four + some road trip tips
We took the more direct route back to Texas. So we drove through eastern Oregon, south through Utah, a little Colorado, some New Mexico, and then back to Austin. There really is some beautiful scenery in those parts. Some of it looks like The Land Before Time. Like a dinosaur family might be roaming about right on the other side of the mountain.
When we started off, it was so foggy we could barely see, and everything was covered in a layer of ice, except the road, thankfully.
But then suddenly, the fog cleared, and it was a beautiful, chilly, sunny day. It was like angels singing cleared the fog away.
We drove through all types of terrain: gorge, mountains, desert, hills, and these kinds of magnificent, ancient land formations. We saw snow on the ground, but we never did see any fall from the sky.
I kept a sharp eye out for this rock with a hole in it for miles. I was starting to think it was just all a publicity stunt, and then, there it was.
A road trip is like 50% snacks. We had to eat this box of cookies right away, since the sun was going to melt the chocolate.
The sun spent about 8 hours a day glaring me in the eyes, and then it would go down, and I could spend a nice 5 minutes being able to see before it went completely dark.
Yay! We made it to Texas! You are happy for crossing the state line for a couple minutes, and then you realize that you have to drive like 8 more hours before you get to the middle of the state.
Even though there were some long driving days, our road trip was the best. I would do it again, with a few minor changes, in a heartbeat.
Here are a few tips for long couple road trips that we learned along the way:
- Pack smart snacks that keep well. Mostly healthy with some treats. We had mainly crackers, muffins, beef jerky, little carrots, and baby oranges. We also brought a little cooler with lunchmeat and cheese, and we would make bagel sandwiches for meals if we didn’t want to stop. Some states do make you declare any fruits or veggies you bring into the state. We had to show a policeman our oranges when we got to California.
- Remember to drink water. You can also use empty water bottles as pretend microphones for car singing. It makes you less grouchy, and its ok to have to stop and stretch your legs every now and then.
- Keep a separate spot for trash, and throw it out when you make stops. Also paper towels are handy, as are pillows/blankets.
- Be sure to have a car charger if you are relying on a phone for travel info, and be sure to have actual music stored somewhere for all those times when the radio and phone service are weak.
- Make rules beforehand. Our rules were to: 1. No matter what, be nice to each other, and 2. obey the traffic laws.
guy and his girl 