Sweet and Light

Let's catch up

Hello? Is there anybody out there?

Let's play a little catch up. Obviously I'm not dealing well budgeting my time between my day job and my homelife/hobbies. Cooking has ceased. Crafting is a weekends only activity. Alot of "events" are bearing down on me in the next month or so. Taxes due. Romantic weekend with the hubby. First craft fair of the year. Parent's visit. Other small things that I'm letting overwhelm me.

So this is what we've been up to: We looked at alot of houses in the area, thought seriously about buying one. But changed our minds and decided to keep renting, but maybe move to a nicer (bigger) place when our lease ends. Aaron's been doing all of cleaning and  some of the cooking, while I spend most of my home time lying around, watching tv and movies. Up in the Air was really good.

My parents are planning their first visit in well over a year. I'm very excited about that, but the craft fair is the weekend before and I have to keep my focus to be prepared for that.

I have been sewing, minimally. Feeling that I deserved a bit of a splurge, (since I bring home an actual paycheck now) I went and bought myself a Juki. Not a true industrial machine, but at least twice as powerful as my old Singer. I hope to take pictures of it and make a formal introduction at some point, but for now it's making me feel like a novice sewer. The speed is unreal. Threading the thing is a beastly task still.

I have several bags in various stages of completion:

See above wristlet with no wrist strap. Maybe it's a clutch?

I'm still obsessing over the raw edge leather look. This is a thick and supple white pebble leather, lined with some wicked colorful cotton shirting.  

And another bag missing it's strap:

This leather is velvety smooth. Not suede, just very smooth and matte. I had an idea that I would offer some bags made of thicker leather, unlined, but with interchangable fabric straps, but my strap hardware hasn't come in yet. 

Do you think people will dig an unlined leather bag? I love the simplicity of it, but we'll see what happens at the craft show!

And of course there are fabric bags (also missing their straps and hardware). Darn that slow shipping from China!

I've vowed to Aaron not to buy any more fabric this year, so I've broken back into my home dec. bins. I still have alot of home decor fabric, but so much of it is neutral and dark, which isn't usually my style. But I'm adapting.

 

That's all for tonight folks. It getting toward 9pm, which means I'm getting my tired butt into bed!

Hope to see you sooner than later!

Chewy Granola Bars

One of the challenges of going back to work has been coming up with brown bag lunches everyday. Aaron's easy. He takes the same lunch everyday without complaint: sandwich, baggie of raw vegetables, yogurt, and some fruit. I'm a little pickier. Leftovers are good, when we have them. I've also taken oatmeal packets, nuts and dried fruit, carrot sticks, soup, crackers. Just about anything that's easy to grab in the morning. One of my favorite at work snacks has been granola bars. I love the Quaker "chewy" bars, especially now that they have the "low sugar" varieties. But as you may know, we try to stay away from packaged foods as much as possible. It's typically cheaper to make food from scratch, plus then you know exactly what's in it.

Today I made some yummy chewy granola bars by just throwing together some healthy things I had on hand. They're a great little sweet treat full of whole grains and nuts.

If you'd like to try making your own granola bars, here's a pretty basic recipe:

Chewy Granola Bars

2 cups oats (I like old fashioned oats)

1/4 cup sunflower kernels

1/2 cup wheat germ

3/4 cup rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)

1 cup nuts of your choice (I recommend almonds or peanuts)

1/2 cup dried fruit

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp vanilla

few Tbls butter (or I like to use 2 Tbls oil and a glob of peanut butter)

Melt the sugar, honey, vanilla and butter (or oil and peanut butter) in a small pan until smooth. Mix the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, then pour in the melted sugar mixture and mix thoroughly. Press firmly into a greased 9x13 pan. You want it to be really compacted so it holds together. Allow to cool completely. Now you can drizzle with melted chocolate if you like, cool again, then cut the bars with a sharp knife. Wrap and store at room temp.

This recipe makes 14 generous bars. And what's great about it is how versatile it is. As long as you keep the ratio of dry ingredients to sugar/fat the same, you can really sub in anything your heart fancies. I like coconut and chocolate chips, but today it was raisins and sunflower kernels, just cause that's what I had.

It's hard to believe the weekend's almost over. I have just enough time to finish up a gift for someone special, who's birthday is just around the corner!

Happy Sunday to you all! 

Working Girl

So, two significant things have happened in the last two weeks that have impeded my blogging: I started my new job, and my old desktop computer died. The death had been a long time coming, so it was really no surprise. My only regret is that I never backed up my files. That means hundreds of pictures and designs potentially lost. I still plan to take the computer to a specialist to see if he/she can salvage the hard drive. Keep your fingers crossed!

About the new job... there's not too much to say. The position is in the construction industry, but I work in an office, pushing papers. So far things are going well. It's just been hard adjusting to this new 8-5+ schedule. Most nights I've been exhausted, hitting the hay at 9pm. It's a little pathetic, but hopefully I'll get into a normal routine soon. In the meantime, creating is mostly on hiatus.

What little I have done has revolved around cooking and crocheting. Last weekend it was delicious caramel corn and quickie cinnamon bread.

This caramel corn was made from the recipe found here. It's quite good and easy. The only change I made was to use corn popped in our stove top "Whirly Pop" rather than microwave popcorn. We don't eat microwave popcorn anymore because of the health concerns involved. I also doubled the amount of popcorn and kept the amount of caramel the same. There was still plenty of caramely sweetness to go around.

We also decided we liked the caramel corn better if it was baked only for 30 mins, rather than the full hour. But that could have something to do with our freakishly inaccurate oven. 

For Saturday breakfast I made quickie cinnamon bread. There's no recipe, but it's really easy. I buy the Pillsbury bread in a tube when I have a coupon or it goes on sale. I prefer the "Country Italian Loaf". It's in the refrigerated section with the crescent rolls, biscuits, etc... This bread has great texture and taste and I use it for all kinds of shortcut cooking. When you open the can, you're supposed to bake it as is, in a tube shape and it will become a little loaf of bread. But there is a seam on the bottom that you can peel back and unroll the loaf into a flat rectangle. It makes great pizza crust, filled sandwiches, etc... And also pretty good cinnamon rolls!

Just unroll the bread, and sprinkle with a combination of 1/2 white sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Roll back into loaf shape and pinch seam closed. I baked it as a loaf and sliced it afterward, but I don't see why you couldn't slice it before baking like with traditional cinnamon rolls. Just spread with a little butter to prevent drying.

And, because we're decadent around here, I made some icing to dollop on top.

 
The bread was quite sweet and yummy without icing, but everything's just better with icing, don't you agree?

I've been crocheting up some little coasters and table pads. They're like little granny circles, with a scallop around the edge for decoration. We needed something to protect the table from drippy glasses and hot plates. These are made from wool yarn and do the job nicely.

 

Thats all I have for now. I'm writing this on Aaron's laptop and it's bugging the heck out of me!  With any luck we'll find a great deal on a new computer for me this weekend!

See you again soon!

Snow and Tell

It's been a crazy week. We made a trip back to Indiana to visit with a beloved grandfather one last time and attend his funeral.

There is no question about the sadness associated with such times, but in addition to mourning our great loss, we also gathered to celebrate a life well lived. I like to think Grandpa is happy now, reunited with his wife and son who have gone before him.

The funeral was held on Friday, which also happened to be a cold and snowy day in Indiana. It seemed that no part of the eastern United States escaped this storm. For the first time, our entire route home from Indiana to Maryland was blanketed with a thick layer of snow. There was not one mile we traveled without the white stuff.

And we returned home to town covered with 3 FEET of snow! The roads were nearly impassable. Exits off major highways were closed off by heaps of snow taller than our car. Three lane roads had become one lane.

The meltdown has begun, but this was the scene around the apartment building today:

People are still trying to dig out and clear their vehicles. There is a front end loader helping to open up the parking lot. Honestly, I've never seen anywhere near this much snow in my life before. The Valentine's Blizzard of 2007 in Lafayette IN dropped about 16-19 inches. Last month's snowstorm in MD had a similar total. But at 3 feet, this snowfall is like both of those put together!

When walked Casper this morning, he jumped off the cleared path into the snow and literally disappeared. All I could see was the leash coming out and I could hear a faint whimpering. I laughed at him as I pulled him out, but after that experience he was ready to go back inside! 

Appropriate to this wintery weather, I spent my downtime last week crocheting a scarf to go along with my earflap hat.

I used the same "Neat Ripple Pattern" from Attic 24 as for my friend's baby's blankie. I'm in love with this pattern. It's easy enough to do while having a conversation, but the counting keeps it from being too monotonous. Again, I used Naturally Caron Country yarn on a size G hook, chaining about 250 to begin with. The scarf itself ended up being about 52 inches long, so I added fringe to give it a bit more length. Still loving this yarn, but I did find a knot in the middle of a skein where two pieces were joined together. It's a bit of a nuisance, but nothing major. I've seen the same thing in the very expensive Noro Silk Garden yarn. 

Today's a rather busy day for me, as I'm trying to prepare for my new job. Yep, that's right, I'm going back to work. I guess all my mother's nagging finally paid off. It's full time and there will certainly be an adjustment period. I've warned Aaron that meals will be of lesser quality, if prepared at all. Housework will suffer. Laundry will pile up.  But he's assured me that he's ready to pick up the slack. We'll see!

Hope you're having a wonderful day!

An ear flap hat and some catching up...

Uh, it's been awhile. Sorry. I never meant to stay away so long, but this month has completely gotten away from me. Things have been mostly quiet at the Brown home. I'm still struggling to keep my New Year's resolutions. Failing in some respects, and having some success in others. Isn't that the way it always is?

Been cooking alot. Most of it healthy stuff. Some of it not so much. I love love love this recipe for soft caramels. These come out super soft if cooked just to 240 degrees and are absolutely excellent drizzled with or dipped in chocolate. Decadent. But, if you prefer a bit of a firmer, chewier caramel, just cook for a couple minutes past 240. I ran out of brown sugar at Christmas time, so I've used a pound of white sugar with a drizzle of molasses as a substitute. This recipe makes ALOT of caramels!

Up until a couple days ago, the weather had been pretty decent here in Maryland, so I've been walking for exercise. Walking is a BIG deal for me. For almost a year now I've been suffering from a severe case of plantar fasciitis which has kept me from walking or standing for more than just a few minutes at a time. Finally it seems my foot is healing, so I'm back to walking everywhere. If I have to go to the post office, I'm walking. To the grocery for a few things? I'm walking!

In fact, Aaron and I had plans to walk the 2 miles to the theater this weekend to see Avatar. But then it snowed. My "special" shoes aren't suitable for walking in snow, so maybe next weekend. Instead we stayed in, and in the spirit of this winter weather I crocheted a cozy ear flap hat.

I have a 20 degree rule. As long as it's above 20 degrees, I walk. So a warm hat was in order.

For this hat I didn't use a pattern. Just started by chaining 3 and forming a ring, then going around and around in a spiral, increasing when I deemed necessary until it was hat-shaped. For the flaps, I worked rows back and forth, then edged the whole hat with contrasting yarn to smooth the edges. Easy peasy.

I used Naturally Caron Country Yarn, which is a favorite of mine for apparel items. It's a merino wool/acrylic blend that's soft against the skin, easy care, and has a beautiful drape once worn in.

The yarn wrapper suggests a size I hook, but in my opinion that's entirely too big. I use a G with this yarn and still get a soft and supple crocheted fabric. 

And, since it snowed yesterday, it seems an appropriate time to share some pictures of the blizzard we had here on the east coast last month.

Officially we got 16" inches here in Columbia, MD.

 
The snow was about level with Casper's back.

But with the high winds, the snow drifted much higher in some places.

This is the view of our balcony:

Can you see how the drift is up even with the door handle? Crazy!

Okay. That's all I have today. But I'll be back sooner, rather than later! Hope you all had a happy January!   

Doing it wrong, then starting it over

I'm still being lured by the siren song of the hexagons. This time in the form of crochet. I had some yarn leftover from my dear friend's baby's blankie, so I thought I'd add a few girlish colors and begin an afghan of my own.

I spent all of Sunday evening crocheting away, using Lucy's tutorial. Foolishly, I worked the steps from my memory.

I was utilizing the "join as you go" method and, after doing many hexes that night, I sensed that something was not right. And alas, when I checked her tutorial again online the next day, I discovered that I'd joined all the pieces incorrectly. Bluh.

So now I've started over. I haven't gotten to joining the hexes again, but I've amassed a little pile of colorful circles.

I just love playing with the colors. I'm using Vanna's Choice yarn. It's acrylic, it's cheap, it's bulky, it's soft, and there are alot of colors to choose from. I've mixed in yarns from Vanna's "Baby" collection as well, since they are bright and fun and the same weight as the rest of her collection. You get alot of yarn for your money too. I finished one ripple baby blanket in 10 colors, about 40" x 40" and still have plenty leftover to get a good start this afghan. I'm not sure how the yarn will wear, but this being my first try at hexagons, I thought it would be better to test the waters with a cheap yarn!

One of the things that has made me wary of trying a multi color blanket such as this was weaving in all those ends. But I'm crocheting over the ends as I go, as Lucy recommended and it works pretty well with this design. It's a little bit of a nuisance to keep those ends in place as you're hooking, but definitely less of a nuisance than weaving them in at the end!

Hope you all are having fun in the New Year!

Resolutions

Sorry to be away so long! We had a wonderful Christmas holiday full of fun and excitement and time spent with family and friends. How about you?

I have many pictures to share from these last few weeks. We even had a blizzard here in Maryland!. A BLIZZARD! But I'll save those for another day.

Today I wanted to talk about resolutions for the new year. This is such a hopeful time. An appropriate time to shed old destructive habits and create new productive ones.

In 2010, I'd like to:

1. Live each day as if it were a special occasion. Because it is! 

For me this means staying on top of the housekeeping, dinner at the table, dressing up, inspired cooking, fresh flowers, making the bed, etc... Just the little things that I often ignore.

2. Take better care of my body (and my husband's).

If we're lucky, there will be a baby in our future, so it's about time I begin preparing my body. Healthier food choices, a little exercise, and some weight loss are all in the plan. Over the holidays it's been all about comfort and gratification. Now we'll shift our focus to health.

3. Make and stick to a budget.

 
Aaron and I are a pretty thrifty pair and we typically save a decent portion of our income. But this year my goal is to really track our spending. I printed out a very detailed monthly budget worksheet from Dave Ramsey's website. It will be interesting to see how my perceived budget compares with our actual spending! I've also thought about instituting a form of the "Envelope System" for groceries and eating out, since those are two areas were I tend to lose control.

I've been in such a practical and domestic state of mind lately. Even spending tv time crocheting useful things like dish scrubbers and washcloths.

 
And feeling pretty good about myself, since all this yarn is thrifted and scrap. Unfortuntely for Aaron, all the washcloths are some shade of pink! 

I've been giving some serious consideration to joining Dottie Angel's "Challenge of the Utmost Kind". The amount of money saved would be immense, but could I handle a whole year without crafty shopping sprees?

Happy 2010 to you all!

Contemplating

I'm sitting here this morning contemplating the many things that must be done before Dec. 23rd. I believe all our shopping is done, save a few odds and ends. We're still waiting on a shipment from Amazon.com, but that's not expected till next week.

Presents are wrapped and nestled under the tree.

But there are several handmade gifts that I have yet to finish. And there's food to consider. What would the holidays be without some sweet treats to share?

My plan is to spend Wednesday morning cooking and baking. Here's the tentative list:

No Fail Fudge. Recipe here.

Attic 24 Caramel Shortbread Bars. Love love love these! Find the recipe here.

And, I'm thinking of jumping on the "dessert in a jar" bandwagon. People have been making pies and cakes in jars all over blog land lately. Seems like a perfect Christmas baking project to me. The Angry Chicken posted about it here. 

Seems like a modest list, right?

On a completely unrelated note, I'm keeping the Sweet and Light Shop open until Monday for all those who have yet to finish their Christmas shopping. Place your orders by the 20th to receive your items by Christmas Eve!

Have a great Friday!

Thank You!

I'm feeling a bit like celebrating, because yesterday I hit 200 sales in my Etsy shop. Yay!

I wanted to say thank you to everyone for making this such a great holiday season on Etsy. I know that buying handmade isn't always the cheapest option, but each and every sale means so much to us artisans on Etsy.

I've been doing quite a bit of buying on Etsy myself these last few weeks and I thought I'd share some of my loot with you today.

Perfumes, for myself and others:

A lovely sweet rose scent from Theme Fragrance.

 And an addictive fruity blend from Bath Life. I also purchased a shampoo bar from this seller that I can't say enough good things about. It smells so great and eliminates the need for conditioner. Plus it's all natural!

Both the perfumes came beautifully wrapped with freebies!

I scored this adorable piece from one of my favorite embroidery artists, Doe-c-Doe:

It's part of an alphabet/circus animal collection in her shop right now and I'm exercising alot of restraint to not go back and buy at least one more. I'm partial to the bear on skates:

 

And perhaps my favorite aquisition of late is this painting by seller LucaJenn:

A truly magical original piece of art. The girl's arms and legs move by means of brads. Such a clever idea to take this painting to an interactive level. I. am. in. love.

Despite my happy mood, today is going to be less than fun. I was rear-ended yesterday afternoon/evening, so I have the inevitable next day back pain. I'd love to stay in bed all day, but this morning I have a few orders to take care of, which is no big deal, but then at noon I have to take the car into the shop. Yuck. There's something about sitting there for hours smelling tires that rubs me the wrong way. The smell of tires is especially repulsive to me. I can barely walk into Sam's Club because they keep their tires right by the front entrance. Well, at least I'll be able to make good progress on that crocheted blanket while I'm at the auto shop.

Bye for now!

Playing hooky

The Christmas rush is upon us. Aaron and I finally went out and did some shopping last Sunday. We made a fair dent, but still have a ways to go. And then there are the handmade gifts... I'm using my new-found crochet skills to make handmade gifts for his grandma and grandpa. My mother will get tablecoths for her new (thrifted) dining room table. My dad is getting a pocket planner in a handmade leather sleeve. What to make for my secret santa person is still in question. But I will report back when I've come to a conclusion.

For now I'm just slightly overwhelmed. Is it true that Christmas is only two weeks away? Yikes! Sales are still up in my Etsy shop. Thank you to everyone who has bought from me. And, if you haven't, there's still time! I just listed these candy colored wristwarmers.

That sweater was a real find. Such bright colors!

Also, I've been carrying my new leather bag and wallet all week and I love them! The bag is light and comfortable to carry and the slim wallet is perfectly sized for my essentials. I'm planning to have some slim wallets listed in the shop in the next few days. Wouldn't they just make perfect gift card holders?

 
That's it for me today. After a quick trip to the Post Office, I'm settling in for a few hours with my crochet hook and a movie. I rented Julie and Julia and am so excited to see Meryl Streep playing the cooking icon!