Everything Goes with Ice Cream

It is almost 8:00 in the evening as I write this.  I have been gone from the house all day, and came home kind of tired and in a put-your-feet-up kind of mood.  However, that mood quickly changed when I found a parcel on my doorstep from Amazon.  I had placed an order earlier this week, but wasn't even expecting it so soon.  Upon opening the package, my tiredness immediately disappeared and was replaced with a happy dance because inside was a book I've been looking forward to receiving.  It is called "Everything Goes with Ice Cream" by my blogging friend, Koralee Teichroeb.  Koralee is the resident blogger over at Bluebird Notes, which happens to be one of my very favorite blogs.  Since I've only just received the book this evening, I haven't had a chance to try any of the recipes; however, upon initial perusal, I know it is going to be such a fun book.  Not only is it filled with delicious looking recipes, she has also included craft projects, and little introductions to her daughters and a few of her friends that contributed recipes to the book.  It is filled with beautiful photography, which I'm going to guess is all by Koralee herself, being the amazing photographer that she is.  I can already tell that it will be a late night for me because I want to start reading through this delightful book and start planning on what I want to make first.  Stay tuned, I will keep you posted of everything I try.

Saturday's Book Choice

Today we are in the midst of quite the little snow storm.  What started out as a bit of a drizzly gray morning, has turned into gusty winds blowing snow horizontally, and piling up inch by inch.  The kind of day that for me is the best kind of day to just stay inside where it is warm and cozy, sewing, cooking, and looking through some of my books.  One such book that I enjoy looking through is Country Living The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen: Live Well, Laugh Often, Cook Much by Serena Thompson and Teri Edwards. 

I first became acquainted with The Farm Chicks from my sister, Kass.  She told me about their blog and thought I would enjoy it.  She was right about that.  And soon after I started visiting their blog, they came out with this book.   I purchased a copy, and a good friend of mine and I headed over to Spokane one afternoon to a book signing and to meet The Farm Chicks themselves. 

Since that day I have gone through this book many times.  If you haven't seen the book before, it is a combination of a history of The Farm Chicks, a cookbook, and also a craft book.  I think at present our very favorite recipe in the book is the Big & Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies recipe.  In fact if you turn to that page of the book, you will undoubtedly find crumbs and splatters like all favorite cookbook pages develop over time.

Saturday's Book Choice

If you like to quilt, then this week's book is an amazing resource.  I don't personally own it, but have checked it out at the library over and over again.  It isn't an inexpensive book by any means, thus the reason I just use the library's copy.  But that is what makes utilizing a library so very nice.

The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns: 4050 Pieced Blocks for Quilters, by Jinny Beyer is 488 pages long, but a wealth of information.  She breaks qulting down into basic steps beginning with a primer on pieced blocks, followed by square blocks, hexagon blocks, continuous pattern blocks, etc.  Each block is broken down into square grids so you can see how they are designed and put together.  Seeing the basic grid is also helpful in creating your own color sequence, as many times the grid is lost in the amazing patterns that a quilt can take on after being pieced together.  With this book, a quilter would never tire of looking at the same familiar patterns because there literally are 4,050 different quilt blocks included.  I don't know about you, but that will keep me entertained for quite some time.

Saturday's Book Choice (on Sunday)

I couldn't let this week go by without recommending the sequel to last week's book, The Fisherman's Lady.  The sequel is entitled The Marquis' Secret (Macdonald / Phillips).  And if you are going to read the first, you must read the second, because it is filled with unsuspecting plot twists and turns.  Both books are about a simple Scottish fisherman named Malcolm and a young girl that he knows he can never love.  But the way MacDonald develops the story is very clever, and not the type of book that once you read the first chapter, you can pretty much guess how it all comes out in the end.  In fact all of MacDonald's books are written so well that the story line keeps your interest clear up until the end.

And now, I am back off to the kitchen to finish cooking food for the Super Bowl Game later this afternoon.

Saturday's Book Choice

I was introduced to George MacDonald by my sister-in-law, Nancy.  One year for Christmas she gave me a copy of The Fisherman's Lady (Hampshire Books), and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  Through the years I have read it several times, and as a matter of fact, after writing about it tonight, I think it is about time for another time through.

George MacDonald was an author in 19th century Scotland.  He wrote a great variety of books including novels for adults, fairy tales, theological works, and poetry.  C. S. Lewis was greatly influenced by MacDonald, and I have read that Lewis even even referred to him as "his master".

This is a good, hard-to-put-down type of story that is perfect for that cold stormy day outside when you have nothing better to do than spend the afternoon with a good book.

Saturday's Book Choice

Today is the first Saturday of our new year; and for some unexplained reason, I have thought that on each Saturday, it would perhaps be fun to make a book recommendation right here on my little blog.  There will be no particular method to my madness, just any book that seems to be calling out to me as the weeks go by.  This week was an easy one.  In fact my daughter passed it to me this very morning as we were eating breakfast together.  She had checked it out at the library; but just as soon as I started thumbing through it, I knew that I need to get my own copy.  You see I enjoy being on the lookout for better ways to keep a house by being organized and keeping it clean.  And especially with the new year, and resolutions still in full force, I thought you might be interested in it as well.  It is called "Express Housekeeping" by Anna Shepard.  The layout of the book is very user friendly, dividing itself into chapters from speed cleaning to decluttering.  The one thing I really liked about it is that you don't have to spend hours trying to organize your life just to fit in her particular cleaning schedule.  All of the suggestions seem very practical.  I also like her tips for using things around the house for certain types of cleaning, such as baking soda, vinegar, etc.  My daughter also had a great suggestion that it would make a wonderful bridal shower gift.  I agree wholeheartedly; and to include some microfiber dust cloths, or a special cleaner that you like with the book would certainly add that little extra to the gift to make it very useful.

New Bags

Do you think a girl can really ever have enough bags?  One  might think so, but then when you least expect it, new inspiration comes along, and of course you can dream up all kinds of ways to put a new bag to use.  This has been the case at our house after my daughter received a copy of one of Amy Butler's newest books, Amy Butler's Style Stitches: 12 Easy Ways to 26 Wonderful Bags.  It is the type of book that I not only like to look through over and over, but I would also just like to sit down and make one of each bag.   Here is a picture of the cover:

 After enjoying each and every page of the book, decisions were made, and fabric purchased.

One bag is now completed with two more on the burner.  My daughter made this one, and I think it turned out really cute:

Creative Inspiration

As a seamstress and crafter, I enjoy sitting down with a good book filled with ideas. Quite often I will check them out at the library; and if I find a particular one that I enjoy, I will splurge and buy a copy of my own. A couple of years ago I came across a new book at the library entitled, Sew Pretty Homestyle, by Tone Finnanger.

I enjoyed flipping through the pages so much that I renewed it for a second round. After that period of time was over, I came to the realization that it was time to return it to the library so that someone else could enjoy it; however, I just wasn't quite finished with it. So I turned to Amazon and purchased my very own copy. Since then, I have purchased two more of her books: Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle

and Sew Sunny Homestyle.

Now at this point I must confess that I haven't ever actually made anything out of them quite yet; but whenever I find a free moment on my hands, and want to be inspired, I reach for one of them. And besides, who could even possibly resist not wanting to make this little guy:

(you can find him in Sew Sunny Homestyle)

Creative Gift Giving

With Christmas fast approaching, it is time once again for me to turn my attention to gifts for family and friends. One of my favorite gifts to give, are gift baskets. They are so much fun to put together. I like to fill each one with special items that I know will bring a smile to the recipient's face.

I try to pick up various sized baskets throughout the year when the stores are having sales. The best times that I have seen are after Christmas, and in the spring when Easter is near. You can also pick up the cellophane to wrap them with during these sales as well as the shredded paper for the basket filling. But just in case you haven't stocked up earlier in the year, all of these supplies are readily available any time of year.

Baskets aren't the only vessel that can be used for gift giving. You can be very creative with how you present your gifts. A large salad or mixing bowl, a wooden crate, tote bags, pretty pots, or even cookie jars. The ideas really are endless. A great resource for some fun ideas is the book, Southern Living at Home Beautiful Containers. My sister-in-law, Jill, gave me this book as a gift this past year. It is filled with some very creative and beautiful ideas. The book itself makes a great gift, and look how cute she presented it to me:

Joyful Adventures

I went on a very joyful adventure this past Saturday. I was able to attend the "Sisters' Sale" that the Farm Chicks had posted about. Actually my sister, Kass, is a good friend of "the sisters" so I had already heard about the sale last year after the fact. Kass promised to let me know when it would be happening this year so we could go together. And together we went, along with my mom and one of my daughters. I think we spent nearly two hours browsing through vintage linens, dishes, jewelry, scarves, books, buttons, etc. I came home with many treasures - most of which I have exciting plans for. As I refurbish, embellish, and refinish my new treasures, I will be sure and share them here. However, my very first treasure I want to share is this little book. I bought it solely on the basis of its name. After all, who wouldn't want a book by this title.

A New Book

I have recently begun reading a book that I have been wanting to get my hands on for quite some time. It has always been one of those "one of these days I will get around to ordering it" type of thing. I finally broke down and actually spent a moment going through the ordering process at Amazon. I'm not very far into it, but I could tell immediately that it was going to be good. Certain books I like to read and then re-read right away just to make sure I don't miss anything good. This book falls into that category. The book is:

and if you are interested, it can be ordered here.