Baking vs. Assembling

True confession time. Sometimes I actually bake. Like, actually get a bunch of separate ingredients and whip up something fantastic. But more often, my majority of the time in the kitchen involves less baking and more assembling.

My most raved about baked good? Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies. A package of Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix with a Dove dark chocolate square on top. Secret's out. Of course, sometimes I make a criss-cross on top with a fork to make them look homemade. And people love them. When I show up at work with a plate of them I hear, “Well, look who it is! Betty Crocker!” and I smile and think to myself “No, literally. It’s Betty Crocker.”

Once I made Oatmeal Raisin Butter Cream Sandwiches. Two oatmeal raisin cookies from the Publix bakery with Betty Crocker Butter Cream icing in between. Again, they were loved.

I’ve discovered that assembly can sometimes be just as valuable as baking.

Especially in a time crunch.

And who has time at breakfast? Not me. That’s why I don’t bake breakfast, I assemble it. My latest choice? A whole wheat pita pocket with sunflower butter and pink lady apple slices.

Delicious. Of course, I often swap out English muffins for pita pockets or peanut butter/almond butter for sunflower butter. That’s the best part of assembly. Use what you have! And you have to try this. I’m hooked.

Popsicles in February

Sweet little snowflakes are currently falling outside my window. I’m wearing fleece pajamas and cuddled up on the couch under a warm blanket. And what am I eating? A popsicle.

I don’t know what has gotten into me, but lately I have been obsessed with popsicle recipes. I ordered a mold from amazon and have been blending fruits and juices together like it’s my job. Because of my weird "I don't eat sweets" quirk, I have a hard time finding things to eat that feel fun. Know what I mean? But ever since I started making my own popsicles with just fresh fruit and pure juices I can have something fun and know that they are good for me, too!

Lemon Berry Popsicles

• 2 cups of strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries (I picked my own at a farm this summer and froze them. If you use frozen berries, partially thaw them before blending.)

• 2 lemons, juiced

Toss the berries and lemon juice into a blender and puree. If it isn’t blending easily, add more lemon juice or a splash of pure orange juice. The Lemon / Strawberry combo is my favorite. The Lemon /Blackberry combo was a little bitter, so I added a tablespoon of agave nectar (pictured above) to cut the bitterness. They are all great!

Freeze in a popsicle mold. (Before I got my popsicle molds I would either drink these as a smoothie or freeze these in small bowls and eat them like Italian Ice cups.)

Perfect!

Strawberry Lemon Pop

Avocado Pear Popsicles

I eat baby food. Well, not exactly. But sort of. My coworker has a toddler that comes into the office sometimes and I – on many occasions – will grab a handful of these puffs. They are legitimately tasty!

And one of my favorite popsicle recipes from Pinterest is an Avocado Pear Popsicle recipe... for teething toddlers. There are no teething toddlers in sight here, but who doesn’t love avocados? And pears! See the original recipe here.

• 2 Bartlett Pears, ripe
• 2 Haas Avocados, ripe

Peel the pears. 

Slice them up and blanche them in warm water for about 5 minutes to soften them up a bit. They will be difficult to blend otherwise. 

Peel and pit the avocados. 

Toss the avocados and blanched pears into a blender. Puree.

If it isn't blending easily, add some of the leftover "pear water" from blanching.

These were made before I had the popsicle molds. I poured the mixture into a Rubbermaid container, put popsicle sticks in, and put them in the freezer. When they were almost frozen solid, I went ahead and sliced them with a knife so that I could break them apart later.

 Freeze and enjoy!

They are creamy and delicious. 

Baby food is not just for babies. And I hereby declare that popsicles are not just for summer! I mean, how great is it to be able to eat a popsicle outside without worrying if it will melt!

Fray (“Rag”) Quilt Tips

One of my 2012 resolutions was to learn how to sew. So after taking a class and making a tote bag, makeup bag, and skirt I thought – “Hey! Why not just make a whole quilt!” You know how I am… I always just dive right in! Sink or swim, baby.

It was ambitious.

I must say, though, that the sewing was one of the quickest parts. Cutting 390 squares of fabric evenly (130 patterned squares for both the front and the back and 130 squares of flannel for the middle instead of quilt batting), laying them out...

pinning the rows...

And then trimming the final product took up most of the time. Technically the quilt took four months from start to finish because I would work on it a little here and there and then put it away for weeks at a time. Homemade gifts always seem like a great idea in September, but during the week before Christmas when I was spending hours every night finishing this thing it didn’t seem so great! If I had worked on it consistently I probably could have finished it in about two weeks.

I used a tutorial on pinterest for specific instructions on how to create and sew the quilt, but have lots of tips below that I learned from my experience!

Fray (“Rag”) Quilt Tips:

I made several deviations from the tutorial. I’m apparently not very good with instructions. Or sewing. Most frayed (or “rag”) quilts have a definite front and back – with all of the fray on the front side. I, however, can’t sew that well yet and when I tried to put all of the fray on one side the back looked terrible because it showed every crooked seam and imperfect stitch.

 My experiment row… not very good!

So I just made mine double sided! I layered my squares on top of each other (one square’s edges all showed on top, the next squares edges all showed on the bottom)

And then layered my rows the same way so that fray would show on both sides. 

This made the seams much more forgiving because the fray covers them up in the end for the most part!!

I bought new fabric for this. If you do, wash and dry it all first so that it will shrink some before you sew it.

I saw this same method of quilting done with strips instead of squares after I had done all of the cutting. Considering that for next time…

Cut all of your squares to be exactly the same size THE FIRST TIME! Yeah, I didn’t do that and ended up squaring them all up again. Total waste of time.

Use a light colored thread that will blend in easily. I used chocolate brown and you can see every seam.

Use flannel as your middle pieces instead of quilt batting. It is easier to sew, warmer, and frays better.

Once the sewing is finished and you have cut off all of the extra threads, snip all of the excess fabric about 1/8 inch apart to allow for fraying. Use spring-loaded scissors when snipping the edges before you wash it (this is what allows the blanket to fray). I got a blister from my regular fabric scissors.

Don’t get discouraged when you sew your quilt together and it looks imperfect. Trust me, the fraying works wonders for the appearance of it!

When its time to wash and dry your quilt to fray it, use a laundromat. I’m pretty sure that my strings clogged my machine. Oops. 

The Finished Product:

My First Quilt!

It ended up being about 6ft x 4.5 ft which is a great size for curling up on the couch, but not quite big enough for a queen sized bed. The best part of this type of quilt is that you can just keep adding squares until it gets to the size you want! 

I gave it to my sister Allison on Christmas morning.

Ally enjoying her quilt

The main point is this – If you want to learn how to sew. Do it. Take a class. Ask a friend. And then you will figure things out as you go. As with most things, you can’t get caught up with absolute perfection and following the “rules”. I usually start projects and change directions a hundred times before it’s all said and done. My squares weren’t all even and my seams were sometimes crooked but fray quilts are very forgiving. And my sister loved it. And now I have about 3,000 requests for one. Yes, I will probably be getting better at these! 

Acting your Age

I always thought that I would feel older than this when I hit 25. I usually feel young. Until, of course, I do things like volunteer with my church's 8th grade girls. Then I feel ancient. Well, that and when I spend my Friday night sewing in my pajamas. Um, yes. I just admitted that on the blogosphere.

A New Hobby

Sewing. It's not just your grandma's pastime anymore. Thanks to pinterest, 20-somethings everywhere are determined to be crafty. And I have become one of them. And I now own my very own machine!

And with my very own machine comes a guest bedroom completely covered with fabrics and scissors and pins and all sorts of sewing supplies that I always played with at my Granny's house.

You have already seen my first crafts: the reversible tote bag and the lined, zippered pouch. For my third project I went with a skirt. 

This skirt started as a circle skirt. Then when I realized that my fabric was the wrong length, I switched to an exposed elastic skirt. But when my elastic looked wrinkly, I switched it to a tucked in elastic skirt. I didn't follow a tutorial for that part. I decided to just wing it. So, here you have it. Plan C. Voila.

At least my seam was perfecto!

I have more projects in the works, but of course I would hate to ruin the surprise, so you will just have to keep checking back!

Small Town Charm

In my parent's home, you can find the black and white episodes of Andy Griffith on television every night. That, combined with the fact that I am from a decently small town, means that I love any little town square. A couple of weeks ago I went with my parent's to this little town called Bell Buckle, TN.  

You probably know it as the home of the annual RC and Moon Pie Festival. :) 

I just adore meandering through antique stores looking at old quilts and furniture and glassware and asking a million "What's this?" questions to my parents. I was disappointed when mom didn't know the answer, to which mom always reminded me that she isn't that old. 

A Secret Daughter

I am at the age where mom often sends me home with boxes of childhood items when I visit. Last time I got a box full of school papers from primary and elementary school. There were lots of little gems in there, but I'll share this one. A note to mom and dad:

To: Mom and Dad

From: Your Secret Dauter

You are the best parents even though you are my only parents you are still the best. You pick me up when I fall.  You give me lots of toys for my birthday.

Ah, yes. I had such a way with words...

Apparently I really was a "Secret Dauter" though because this note was actually filed away in my sister's box. Ha. Victory!

Fulfilling a Dream

There is one item on my Christmas list every single year. Even now. A trampoline. Of course, now it is just a long running joke, but I desperately wanted a trampoline for years of my life. And every time that I would pass by a Walmart and see them propped up outside on the side walk with a giant $198 sign, I would always beg mom to let me get one. Mom always said no. Her response was that I would break an arm. Hmm. At one point I even asked if I could save up my own money to buy one on my own. To my surprise, she said "Sure, Emily." I'm guessing that she either wasn't actually listening or assumed that a six year old would surely never save up that kind of money, but she clearly didn't know my saving habits. After a birthday and a few random holidays, I counted up all of the little bills in my desk drawer (totaling just over $198) and was super delighted to tell my mom that on our next Walmart trip I would be bringing home my very own trampoline! She looked at me like I was crazy. 

"No, you can't have a trampoline. Why would you think that I would let you buy one? And how do you have that much money?"

"But mom, you said..."

"No. You'll break your arm."

"But mom..."

"No!"

(That makes her sound mean. She wasn't mean, mainly just surprised.)

So there you have it.  No trampoline. I must mention that like most of the stories that I remember from my childhood, mom says that this scenario never happened. She says that I have an unusual memory and dream things up. If I had a nickel for every time I was told that one of my memories never actually happened, I'd have enough to buy a trampoline. And pay for a broken arm. 

Anyways, I have known my friend Travis since he was five years old.  And tonight we celebrated his 25th birthday (which means I have known him for 20 years... ah!) in true Travis fashion. By having fun. We went to Sky High Sports which is basically a giant room with trampoline walls and floors. 

Why does everyone doubt me?!?

The trampoline room

We jumped around, played dodgeball, and jumped into a foam pit from both a trampoline and a rope swing. 

 Dodgeball

Foam Pit

It was so fun. And very, very exhausting. And made me feel a little bit better about all of those years that I never had a trampoline.

And the best part? Look, Ma. No new breaks!

My Birthday Project - 25 Acts of Kindness

I like celebrating my birthday. And since it is at the beginning of August, I typically choose to celebrate for the entire month. :) This year, since I turned 25, my friend convinced me that I needed to do something really special to celebrate my 25^th birthday. Something that I will have with me forever.  Something that I will always remember. Honestly, diamond earrings felt like a good option. But then I remembered a pin on pinterest that detailed a woman’s birthday project – she did 38 acts of kindness to celebrate her 38^th birthday.  So this month, to celebrate the big Two Five, I decided to do 25 Acts of Kindness in my community.  Here is how I’ve spent my birthday month:

1. Left a McDonalds gift card for my mail carrier. This one actually ended up being one of my favorites! I bought a gift card early on in the month and let it sit on my counter for days – maybe even weeks. I finally wrote out a note to say thank you to my mail carrier – someone that I have never seen or met – and attached a McDonalds gift card to it. That afternoon when I checked my mail I had the sweetest note from him. “Thank you for the thought. FYI – Today's my birthday. 64. –Frank”. Seriously? The day that I finally put the gift card in my mailbox happens to be his birthday? It was an awesome moment. I’m glad that my birthday project could bless someone else’s birthday!

2. Took fresh flowers to a local assisted living center. I drive past this assisted living center almost every day. At Christmas I wonder if the residents have their own Christmas trees.  On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day I wonder if the residents receive calls and visits.  And this summer I began wondering if the residents had fresh flowers.  So I made sure that they did.  I delivered four potted mums.  Yellow, of course, because yellow is the happiest color.  

The lady at the front desk was surprised to see me. 

You brought us flowers and you don’t even know anyone here?

Right.

Oh. Do you go to Lipscomb or something? You must be a Christian, right?

No, I don’t go to Lipscomb (but kudos to Lipscomb for their awesome reputation in the community). I went to Oklahoma Christian.  And yes, I am a Christian.

The conversation continued with discussions of which churches we attend and the proper way to care for a mum (she did most of the talking on that one).  The secretary that day only works on Sundays, so she had me write a letter to the manager to explain my delivery. She said “You have to write this down.  He’s not going to believe that someone would actually deliver flowers for no reason.”  Sometimes they do.

3. Fed a homeless person. On my way to pick up the mums from Lowes, I was running Random Acts of Kindness options through my head.  How can I help? Where am I needed? And because my heart was actually seeking ways to help, I noticed someone that I never would have noticed before.  There was a man under a tree in the corner of the parking lot trying to catch some relief from the heat in the shade.  He had a cardboard sign with the word “Displaced”.  It was just before dinner time, so I stopped in at the McDonalds just a few yards from where the man was sitting.  As I headed towards the man, I realized that he had a dog napping under the tree with him. So then I ran into the Big Lots and picked up a small sack of dog food.  Because I had my heart open to opportunity, I was able to provide dinner to a homeless man… and his dog.

4. Put children's books in the shopping buggies at Publix.  I purchased educational board books to put in the racecar buggies at Publix to entertain children while parents shopped. 

If you have ever been to Publix with children, you know how hard those racecar buggies are to find when you need one.  I found two in the buggy bin, but ended up just handing a couple of the books out to children in the store.

Note: I never knew that the term “buggy” was Southern until I went to New York.  The other nanny that worked with me called it a “trolley”.  I guess “shopping cart” is the most widely accepted term???

5. Spent an afternoon with elderly woman. I cleared my afternoon schedule and spent my afternoon on a floral sofa listening to stories and looking through pictures and talking about recipes. I learned a lot.  And loved a lot.

6. Paid for the car behind me in line at Starbucks. I paid for the car behind me, but didn’t have the forethought on this one to leave a note. The person in the car behind me was a young guy. I hope he didn’t think it was some sort of “move”.

7. Made a cheesecake for Dad on his birthday. He loves cheesecake, so I made him a chocolate covered peanut butter banana cheesecake. And I made it the real way. Not from a box.

8. Emailed some of my college professors just to tell them thank you. They invested so much into me. They deserve a thank you.

9. Took bread to the park so that the children could feed the ducks. I work very close to the Centennial Park in Nashville, so I eat lunch and exercise there frequently.  Beside our Parthenon replica, we have a pond full of ducks. So on a Saturday afternoon I picked up three loaves of bread, stuck notes on them, set them on the rock wall beside the pond, and walked away.  The park was very crowded that day. I didn’t stick around to see what happened, but I’m sure that there were lots of happy children… and ducks.

10. Baked cookies for the Brentwood Police Department. In Nashville we have rush hour six days a week, not five. We have a Sunday church rush. Traffic is crazy, cars are everywhere, and crossing traffic can be a little difficult.  The Brentwood Police Department directs traffic outside of Otter Creek every Sunday morning, and I am always so grateful to them for that. I usually wave and say thank you, but I wanted to say thank you another way too. With snickerdoodles.

11. Spent an afternoon giving my undivided attention to a precious little girl.  I abandoned my schedule and entered her world of imagination for hours. Worth it.

12. Made a monetary donation to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital – the hospital that stole my heart the moment I started volunteering there last year.

13. Invited several new Nashvillians to go to church with me. Moving to a new city can be intimidating, and it helps to get plugged in to a great group of young adults.

14. Sent a McDonald's gift card to my nephews. Just because I know they love the Play Place.

15. Signed up to lead a group of youth group girls. Growing up, I had so many influential mentors in my life. I want to be able to mentor others in the same way.  I recently volunteered to be a small group leader for a group of girls at Otter Creek and I am super excited about all of the possibilities that this holds!

16. Volunteered to babysit a stay at home mom's kids for free. She deserved it.

17. Sent letters to some of my dearest friends just to thank them for their friendship. I have the best group of friends and it is my mission to make sure that they always know it.

18. Gave a friend a ride home. The best conversations happen in cars.  Sometimes cancelling evening plans to give a friend a ride home can change you.

19. Had a girl's night with one of my favorite 7 year olds. Dinner at Rainforest Café. Build a Bear. A Carousel Ride. Sweet CeCe’s frozen yogurt. Perfect night out.

20. Smiled and said thank you to every single airport employee that I encountered on my trip to Dallas. I can't imagine having a job dealing with predominantly unhappy or rushed people. Smiles really do make a difference. It seemed like every other person said something like "Thank you for smiling. We rarely see that." or "It's nice to see people enjoying their journey." And sometimes smiling gets you an extra scoop of pulled pork on your sandwich and a free fountain drink at airport restaurants. :)

21. Made a prayer journal for a sweet friend. Journaling has always been influential in my spiritual life and it has served to bring her closer to Christ as well. I wanted her to have a personalized journal designed specifically for her.

I included a different leader thought on each page.

22. Baked cookies for the local fire station. I live close enough to a fire station that I hear the sirens regularly, but have fortunately never needed their services. I know that they do so much for our community, so I dropped off some homemade sprinkle cookies to say thank you.

23. Had a dollar ready at a stop light to purchase a Contributor - Nashville’s homeless news publication.

24. Treated a friend to dinner. And then talked for hours.

25. Took flowers to my cousin on her birthday. Everyone deserves something special on their birthday!

These 25 things are small, but they truly are things that I will have forever.  It was a birthday that I will always remember.  Look for ways to bless other people and help out in your community.  When you look, you will see.

Oh, and don’t worry. I did something for myself too. I joined the Y. Woo hoo...