sneak peek

What happens when one doesn't post in over 15 days?

There's so much to share that it's overwhelming!

But! There are two birthday's this week-end, in our house, my youngest daughter turns 19 on Saturday and then I will turn 29 on Sunday.

Yes, I was 9 when I gave birth to her.

Stop laughing!
I turned 10 the next day! Geesh.



;-) kidding, just kidding!

So the fun has already begun.

As you can see, these yummies:




(Pictures of what was inside coming soon)!

And then these:



Birthday presents and stashing from my BFF Sheri, who knows how to make one feel loved on their birthday.

We also had a pre-birthday lunch at the most unlikely of places.

HOOTERS.

Seriously. We were going to eat at Chucks but it wasn't there anymore, we were on a busy freeway, in the pouring rain and hungry. So it was there, and so we went. And it was delicious. I want to go back!

Had some hot wing chicken strips things that were very good. I did feel a little funny around all the boobage and short pants but our server was very sweet and Sheri got a laugh out of all of the men in the place gawking over one particular gal who was tall, blond, all legs and um, very well endowed. I'm surprised that no one needed a neck brace from the whiplash they were giving themselves every time she walked by. Funny stuff.

Okie dokie then! Will try and post again in between all of the sugar highs, parties, working and fireworks. I have finishes and something picked up from the framers to share too!

Stay safe and have a Happy 4th of July weekend :)

basket a little lighter now

How's this for an old WIP? I should probably be really embarrassed that the date on this is 2002, which is when it was started and then promptly shoved aside due to my boredom with the same color (like it wasn't obvious to begin with, but oh well, I am nothing if not optimistic *snort*), but here it is anyway, lol.

Blackbird Designs Home of the Brave, stitched on 30 ct. Apple Brown Bindy with DMC 221 (2 over 2), finished a mere 5 years after it was begun:



Also finished this week, Ewe & Ewe & Friends Heart in the Garden, another long time WIP...don't ask me why. It was a fun stitch although I am so over Glenshee it's not even funny (at some point around the year 2000 I'd instructed my family to bury me in it but like I say, over it). Stitched on said Glenshee with Anchor threads:



And a recent WIP, only took one month to do as I fit in the two finishes above while it was being worked on, BBD Awake the Dawning Day:



This one was so enjoyable I almost hated for the stitching on it to end. Except for all of those eyelets. that is. Those took me a whole day and when they were over, let's just say it was a GOOD thing.

Thanks for checking out my recent finishes. Hope you are having a great week so far!

fits of domestic bliss

Yesterday I was a pure "Domestic Goddess" thanks in part to making Ree's recipe for chicken spaghetti. I've made several versions of chicken spaghetti over the years, this one beats them all. It was outstanding. The only changes I made was to use chicken breasts instead of fryer parts. We always have some of those frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the freezer, so I just took out about 3, boiled them in plenty of water so there'd be enough to boil the spaghetti in and for mixing in the casserole, as she directs, and it worked out well. I also used only one can of cream of mushroom and then used one can cream of chicken, just because it sounded better. And the only other thing I might change the next time is to saute' the peppers and onions a little before adding them to the dish, because they were a little crunchy (even though I chopped them very finely) and I just don't "do" crunchy veggies unless by crunch, we're talking fried...as in fried okra, fried green tomatoes, fried squash...you get the picture. But no one else complained and in fact, loved it just as it was. Wonderful.

Also made a sheet cake similar to Ree's recipe. Mine is just called Texas Sheet Cake, it's been around for a hundred years and while the recipe is very close to hers, there are a few differences and I like my recipe better, maybe because I've made it forever and know it by heart. So go look at hers, then come back here and use my recipe:

Texas Sheet Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In large bowl, stir together flour and sugar, set aside. In small bowl, beat the eggs a little, add the buttermilk and vanilla, set aside.

Place the two sticks of butter, 1 cup of water and cocoa in medium saucepan. Bring to rapid boil and then pour over flour and sugar mixture, stirring until well mixed. Add in vanilla, baking soda and cinnamon and then quickly stir in the buttermilk mixture and stir until well combined. Pour into large jelly roll pan (or large cookie sheet) that has been greased and floured (I use Baker's Joy spray and just give it a few sprays), spread evenly.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. 5 minutes before cake is to come out of oven, start the frosting.

Frosting:

1 stick butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
1 box confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Melt first three ingredients together in medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add last three ingredients and mix well, until no clumps remain.

Remove cake from oven and spread with frosting while both are still hot.

Wait about 20 or 30 minutes to slice this (if you can) and you will be in sheer Heaven.






In addition to my culinary works of art yesterday, I worked on this a little:



It's a Ewe & Eye & Friends design called Heart in the Garden.

It's from that wicked basket of mine...so small and fun to work on, I don't know why it just sits there, waiting for me...maybe because I have ADD when it comes to my stitching, I just want to stitch everything, lol!

Also helped my little bachelor with a post to his blog, he was down about it because it had been a while since it had gotten any attention and if there's one thing this baby loves, that's attention!



Oh, and speaking of attention, thanks SO much to those of you kind enough to leave me nice comments. I really appreciate and enjoy them so much! You are so kind :)

framing, part two

Here's my Ladybugs and Bumblebees all framed up:



If you scroll down and look at my previous post, you can see a framed model of this near my stitching at the LNS. It's not mine though, mine made it home with me. Anyway, the point is, I saw it framed there and the frame was so perfect and I loved it so much that it's what made me run home and stitch mine up so I could take it in while the model was still there so we'd know which frame it was. My picture doesn't even capture the true color of the frame that well, it's a very dusty light pink, very vintage looking. It's drop dead gorgeous in person.

Speaking of dropping dead. The frame on this cost about what a weeks worth of groceries would for my family, so thankfully we were already pretty well stocked up so none of us keel over from starvation. Hey, at least my walls look real purty, lol!

And here's this one, which for some reason, I could not get a good shot of without cutting off the top part of the frame...maybe it's because i had it propped in a bush and the wind was blowing pretty good and I was just *get the shot as fast as possible before it falls out of the bush and cracks the frame*

It's No Bees, No Honey, by BOAF:



So there you have it. All of my recent frame jobs! I was actually in a funk when I got home with these the other day because that visit was pretty costly! I am trying to take in stuff that's been in my stash for a while (notice the date on the No Bees No Honey...and there's some in there older than that), along with newer finishes, so most trips I am picking things up and dropping off others and so it sure does add up! Left my Quaker Garden there this time, found a pretty reasonably priced molding for it though. Wish framing things wasn't so dang expensive. Guess it's my upbringing, but I just feel downright guilty for spending the money, even though we can afford it and all. Of course I realize that I could just frame some of this stuff myself, which I've done before but it just frustrates me so much that the feelings of guilt are almost worth it, to not have to mess with it at all. The owner of the first shop I worked at was an absolute perfectionist when it came to framing, and she's the one that taught me how to do it. She always pinned and didn't lace. It's not that hard but she always got the lines on the linen to match up with the frame perfectly straight and that's the part that's the hardest for me. And if it's not straight, I can't stand it.

Oh well. Sorry for the ramble. Guess I need to just chill out about it all, sit back and enjoy the results of all those hours I've spent stitching and just NOT worry about it! Life is just too short, don't you think?