Beachcomber Pendants
It was so beautiful today that we went to the beach after school. My poor little buddy kept saying “It’s summer! It’s summer!” Boy will he be in for a shock when it starts raining again tomorrow.
We each picked up a few rocks and shells and bits of things on the beach, and I used wire to wrap a few of them. My ultimate goal is to turn them into the centerpieces of necklaces, but that part will have to wait for another night.
Deep in WordPress
Tonight finds me working on the new preschool website again – for privacy reasons I don’t want to share the link here so you’ll just have to imagine it’s getting better and better! There’s been lots of puzzles to solve, some writing, and a ton of web research to try and get things set just right. I hope that with a few more nights like this I will be closer to being done. Of course, I’m sure I will want to keep tweaking it forever!
Sandwich Bread
I felt like making bread today. I knew there was a simple recipe for white sandwich bread in The Best Recipe cookbook (by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated magazine) so I pulled out the book, checked the ingredients, and got underway.
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| American Sandwich Bread from the Best Recipe cookbook |
Of course since it was a spur of the moment decision to bake bread, I wasn’t entirely prepared. The recipe calls for rapid rise yeast, and I only had regular old active dry yeast on hand. Furthermore, “old” was the operative word in that last sentence, since the yeast packets in the pantry were a wee bit expired. The master recipe also called for using a stand mixer, which I don’t have, so I had to use two of the (helpful) recipe modifications – both for the yeast and for mixing the dough in a food processor. Of course, I went ahead and baked the bread – I just added a little bit more yeast in case it had lost some of its potency.
Mixing the dough in the food processor was so easy; I want to try that again soon. The kids had fun kneading the dough with me; their two rolls are in the picture as well. That loaf will probably last us about a day and a half, so maybe there will be more baking later this week.
Photo Editing from Color to Black and White
Part of my upcoming bedroom transformation will be a gallery style photo wall to display some of our family pictures. I’d like to use all black and white photos for the wall, so that means I need to edit some of our existing images in order to use them. Here is one I did tonight:
Little Girl Sweater Embellishment
I bought my daughter a sweater a few months ago and she has absolutely refused to wear it. Its main offense is that it’s not pink, followed by the fact that its not purple, or sparkly. Lastly, it offends her that its brown. Here’s the sweater:
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| The sweater – before |
Yesterday I was sorting through her clothes to give away things that were outgrown or not being used when I came across the sweater. I told her I was going to give it away since she didn’t wear it, and she said if I added pink and flowers to it she’d use it.
I thought to myself “Ok, great – I can do that!” and got to work on it:
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| The sweater – after |
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| Detail – right lapel |
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| Detail – left lapel |
Tortilla Española a la Meghan
I hard a craving for Tortilla Española (a sort of a Spanish omelet) and I knew I had enough ingredients to make one up, so that was dinner tonight. It turned out great – my 4 year-old took one bite and said “Hey! Can you please make this for dinner every night?” I always feel good when I make something without ‘dumbing down’ the recipe for the kids and they enjoy it anyways.
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| Oh man – please ignore the lame food styling! |
Here’s my loose interpretation of Tortilla Española:
Tortilla Española a la Meghan
(This is mostly estimated – I didn’t use a recipe and didn’t measure out or write down exact quantities as I was cooking. Also, this recipe might not much resemble an actual Tortilla Española for that same reason).
Ingredients
6 Yukon Gold potatoes
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs pimenton dulce (sweet paprika)
1 Tbs pimenton (hot paprika)
1 Tsp California style garlic salt
4 eggs
4 oz. feta cheese
1. Parboil the potatoes in salted water until they are slightly softened but not at all mushy (test with a fork- you should be able to poke the fork in but not easily). Take them out of the water and slice them into 1/2 inch slices – you can remove the skin if it comes off easily, otherwise don’t worry about it – its rustic!
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy (oven safe) frying pan, and once the oil is hot add the paprikas and garlic salt. Let the spices cook for a few seconds and then add the potatoes – there will be more than one layer but make sure the first layer is flat against the pan.
3. Meanwhile, break the eggs into a small mixing bowl and beat them lightly, then crumble the feta into the eggs and set aside.
4. Cook the potatoes, flipping and stirring occasionally, until they are browned and are completely cooked through (this took about 15 minutes). Then dump the egg and cheese mixture on top, and stick the pan into the oven under the broiler (on high) until the eggs are completely set (about 5 minutes).
That’s it! Super simple and delicious. I served the Tortilla with steamed broccoli because that’s my little man’s main veggie right now, but a green salad and some crusty bread would also be yummy.
Crocheted Knot Headband
Today I made a knotted crochet headband, courtesy of the awesome and easy to follow tutorial on Maybe Matilda. I haven’t crocheted in many many years, and I was never a pro back then either, but this was so quick and easy that I’m sure I’ll be making more soon.
I used a bigger crochet hook than she specified in the tutorial, and the yarn is a twisted chunky double strand of wool so it was definitely bulkier than hers, but its comfy and for less than an hour of work I think it turned out pretty well (luckily its not noticeable that I dropped a stitch halfway through and then continued on one down for the rest of the headband – I think that part is hidden in the knot!).
Jersey Knit Infinity Scarf
My cousin was wearing a knitted infinity scarf the other day and it reminded me that I’ve been wanting to make one with some leftover jersey knit cotton I used for a baby wrap when Dom was born.
This scarf was so simple to make: I cut the fabric to about 6 feet long (it was already cut down to about 24″ wide from my previous project), pinned the ends together, hemmed them with a zig-zag stitch, then finished the hem on the other side with a zig-zag stitch to hold the seam down.
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| Please excuse the blurry photo and mildly crazy eyes! |
Valentine’s Coasters
Another Valentine’s Day decoration. Super easy, super cheap (like .24 cents each cheap). Expect to see these for future holidays as well.
The base of the coaster is a .16 cent ceramic tile from Lowe’s, and the paper on top is cut from a Valentine’s gift bag. They’re not totally finished – I still need to seal them with acrylic sealant but it’s too cold outside (or in the garage) to do that tonight.
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