Dessert of the month

Dean got his cholesterol checked and has since been eating low cholesterol and low fat foods. He has been REALLY good the last few weeks. I hadn't made his dessert for this month and wanted to make him something special for his being so good. I thought of something (fairly uninspiring) and then decided to try to find a low fat cheesecake recipe.

I thought finding a good recipe was going to be a huge challenge but I was lucky. After playing around for a short while online, I found this recipe at miss make. I made it and my family LOVED it! (Since I don't eat cheesecake, I'll just have to take their word for it.)



Mine isn't as pretty as the one on her blog, but it disappeared quickly!

Matt had seconds....and thirds...



I followed the recipe but used pre-made pie crusts (to the delight of my family, the filling was enough for 2 crusts.)

I also made a really good southern pound cake . Afterall, I needed a dessert too...but don't worry, I gave half the cake away....

When I cut the cake in half to give some away, here is what the swirled chocolate part looked like....
a TREE!


neat, huh!?

Make It Monthly

Years ago, the big joke in our family was that I had all my Christmas gifts made or purchased and wrapped by September! I would mail things out the day after Halloween!!!!
I did it this way for about 20 years and loved it. Since having the kids though, I've progressively gotten worse....and worse....and worse!
This past year I was hitting the stores the last WEEK before Christmas and didn't start making any handmade gifts until mid November!

My shoulders and hands were soooooo sore. So.......I decided that even if I couldn't go back to the way I used to do it, I would at least start making my handmade gifts early.

My goal is pretty simple: to make 1 gift per month, all year long. If I do it, then I'll have 12 gifts completed by December.

Here is gift one, a crocheted checkerboard. It is the perfect size for using while on a picnic or camping....or on the table in someone's backyard. Easy to carry and easy to clean. I used regular Red Heart yarn.....it is terrific for this type of project.


I made a few checkers too...but they were too light so instead I bought some poker chips, they have a nice weight so they should stay put on the board.



The little bag is perfect to hold the chips and the "board" rolls up nicely. I'm going to put it in a little canvas tote when given and just stuff the top with pretty tissue. Gift and wrap all in one.


I've already got several other projects in mind.....just need to get started.

For me!

Other than ornaments, I am really bad about making things for myself. So for this last weekend of the After Christmas Sew Along, I decided to make this new tote bag for myself.




here is a peek inside so you can see the lining and pockets (I made an extra one)




and key fob....which I've already used.



I am really pleased at how well it turned out....the best part is that I had the fabrics in my stash! I couldn't believe my luck that the two matched so well.

I used the "All In 1 Tote" pattern out of this book...Simple Sewing

here is what the tote looks like in the book

Since I didn't use a canvas or duck type fabric, I bought a really stiff, thick interfacing. Then made another liner layer and sandwiched it between the exterior of the bag and the lining. I thought that would be easier in the long run.
The only thing I had to do differently was shave a bit off the size of the lining to accommodate the thick interfacing. I just did a 1/2 seam allowance instead of 1/4....easy peasy!

Memories

Kaela was looking for photos of when she was a baby for class and pulled these out.......they are from when we lived in Baton Rouge years ago.

Look....Dean had HAIR! He had just given Kaela a horsey ride........



Kaela used to love sitting on the bathroom counter...she would make faces and just laugh! Tweety Bird was her favorite for about 3 years......she adored this shirt and wore it constantly.



In this one, Mojo was just a PUPPY and Matt was a little wee boy!!! This photo was taken when we first moved to Bedford, while we were house hunting in Fort Worth.

I love looking through old photos.....but they always make me weepy....can't help it.....time just moves way to fast for me.

Felt piggie ornament...

I was super busy this past week so decided to kill 2 birds with one stone. I made an ornament for this week's sew along. It isn't a gift...its for my YOE tree....the first month's theme is the pig.
Here is Mr. Pig (with his going to market hat on....)


I love his curly tail and spots!
If you want to join in the craft along or just see what people make for YOE, click here.

December went by so fast that I never got around to posting Dean's dessert of the month. The fact that I made them New Year's Eve doesn't mean I forgot!

Peanut Swirl Brownies (photo courtesy of Barefoot Contessa)



Anyway, Dean and I saw an episode of Barefoot Contessa and he immediately wanted to try these. I wasn't so sure since they had coffee in them...I'm not a fan of coffee.
However, since this was Dean's dessert choice, I made them and they were really good.

Click here and it will take you to the recipe...btw, I halved it because it makes enough for a crowd.

Gunter and the mole...

This past weekend was a busy one, especially for the kids youth group at church. They did babysitting and served breakfast to earn money for their summer trip.

Poor Kaela needed a nap to recharge....and Gunter snuggled in to keep her warm.



Then yesterday we went to see Ghost Protocol and did our toy drop while there....



We dropped Mr. Mole outside the Beauty and the Beast theater.

I hope someone found him......

After Christmas sew along.

Monday while watching Bama beat LSU, I was beating the stuffing out of Danny, my dammit doll.
Bless his little heart, he endured the beating with a smile...


I decided that this week, I would make a bunch of dammit dolls for the sew along. They make great gifts for upset football fans.
Here they are in a little bowl, ready to get their poems attached. I decided to make different faces...much more entertaining that way. I have a lot more to make still but these will get me started.

this guy is hoping if he doesn't look at you, you won't whack him...


this guy is simply waiting for the whacking to begin....


this guy is hoping he is so cute you won't actually whack him...


this guy is sad because he knows the truth....they are ALL going to get whacked...


and this guy is just flat out worried about all the violence!


I haven't attached the little poem yet but here it is:

When you want to climb the walls or need to scream and shout,
Heres a little dammit doll you cannot do without
Just grab it firmly by the legs
and find a place to slam it
And as your whack the stuffing out yell
Dammit dammit dammit!
If dammits not a word you say then twist its little neck
And grumble out repeatedly
Oh Heck oh heck oh heck!

Gunter to the rescue

Over the holidays, I came home from work one day to this:


I walked in and asked Gunter what he was doing and he said "Nothing, I'm stuck."
I asked why he was at the top of the tree and he said he was on a rescue mission...that the pretty snowflake fairies needed rescuing. Especially the one at the top of the little tree.

He then got snippy and said that it was VERY difficult to climb a Christmas tree, even a tiny one, without arms or legs.
He went on to inform me that after dragging himself up the tree by his beard to save the trapped fairy, she told him she didn't need rescuing.

Then as he tried to get down, he got wedged between the tree and the wall.
Poor Gunter....I think he needs a girlfriend.

spa for cats....

Leo and Suki both LOVE to cuddle up amongst the Christmas village I put up each year. I run a set of lights under the houses so I don't have to plug in a ton of individual houses. This is pretty and gives the cats a warm happy spot...like going to a kitty spa.

We took these photos (and a ton more) over the holidays....not the same day.

As soon as those lights turned on, the cats were up there.....whoever got there first won the right to sleep with a warm tummy.
















The bad thing is it is always knocked over and the fluff is pretty much destroyed if they leave in a hurry.



Oh....and when Suki plays CatKong and knocks them over on purpose!


I can just hear the villagers now! AHHHHHHHH CatKong!!!!!

After Christmas sew along.

I joined an after Christmas Sew Along thinking it was all about getting a jump on this year's gift making.

WRONG! I didn't read it...just joined. So then I find out (after actually reading the rules) that we are supposed to make stuff for ourselves!
Since I READ all this Wednesday, I decided to make something I could whip up quickly.

Lucky for me, I had an agenda that needed a cute cover! Since I didn't want to reinvent the wheel, I used a tutorial at craftblog.

The pictures were very helpful and I made this quickly. That bakers twine isn't part of it...but I'm too lazy to take another photo...



inside...with pocket and place mark...



I had some precious polka dot ribbon for the place mark but not enough so I used a teeny satin one for the time being...easy enough to change out later though... see?

and it looks (and works) just fine for the time being...

The best part is that the fabric was in my stash and the planner was a freebie.

Family.....

We had a nice visit from some of Dean's family over the holidays. His mom came as well as one of his sisters and her family.

We mainly hung out at home. I did a lot of cooking and visiting while the boys did things like going to the playground and walking the dogs.
The boys ADORE our dogs so they lavish them with a lot of attention. Believe me, it was a special treat for the boys to hold the leashes!
They took several walks through the woods and actually got "misdirected" one day (Dean never uses the word LOST) and ended up somewhere outside our neighborhood! oops...hit a dead end!
two boys walked faster than the others!


shadow play...



They got to play with sparklers and some fireworks New Year's Eve
Sometimes just hanging out with family is the most fun of all!