Project Update!

I am pleased to say that I finished some of my projects!! My darling husband took WM out for a few hours yesterday to do manly things (Home Depot and lunch at Roy Rogers) so I could bond with my sewing machine which I sadly had to disassemble and put back together once it started messing up stitches.

My top priority was #5 and I am happy to say I finished it three days before my goal date. But...I can't share the finished project because the wedding isn't until next weekend and I don't want the bride to see it in advance!

Project #2, new burp cloths, was next and that is when the sewing machine drama happened, but I finished!

And finally, I did start project #3 but haven't put the snaps on yet so I will wait to share those. All in all, a productive afternoon!!

Zucchini Pineapple Bread

You read that right: Zucchini Pineapple Bread. In Maryland, everyone's zucchini are growing like mad and a family member gave us a few of his. On top of the ones we have, we can't eat them fast enough and last year's freezing didn't go so well so I decided to try something new.

I don't usually bake from scratch and I was reminded of some of the reasons while prepping this recipe. I had to use two bowls, one for wet ingredients and one for dry making more to cleanup. I also had to use my hand mixer and used my food processor to shred the zucchini so I had to clean an addition two tools. It wasn't as bad as I thought since it went in the dishwasher, but it sure did take up alot of space!

I used this recipe from Cooking Light because hubby doesn't like nuts in bread and most zucchini bread recipes call for nuts. We love pineapple and I was hoping it would make the bread a little sweet. Since I had all of the ingredients, I made this on a whim and am happy I did!

Here are a few "process" photos:

I was debating about halving the recipe since it yields two loaves, but I decided that if I was going through all the trouble of making it, I was going to make two...one for now and one for later! It came out tasting great and I would certainly do it again. Here are some photos of the process. Let me know if you try it or have suggestions for a garden overrun with zucchini!!

Time Out Tuesday

Helping Daddy celebrate his birthday!

We were very pleased with how well WM behaved at Brad's birthday dinner. He was asleep when we arrived and made some noise once he woke up so I sat him on my lap and he fell asleep again sitting up! Once he woke up when our food came, he played in his stroller and then helped Daddy with presents and the brownie sundae. He was in such a happy social mood...it was perfect!

Projects in the Pipeline

Right now I have several projects in the pipeline, but none completed to share :(. Surprisingly, or not so surprising if you know me, they all involve fabric. Here is what I am working on so you can hold me to it:

1. Three new pillows with contrasting corded trim for our living room (Goal: on the couch Labor Day)
2. Burp cloths for WM. All the fabric is purchased, washed & ironed (Goal: before 7/26)
3. Bibs for WM. New idea since I saw it on Creative Mommas and decided WM needs larger bibs, but the next size up in store are huge (Goal: When I finish the other projects :) )
4. Burp cloths as gifts. Two friends recently had girls and I want to make them some gifts! (Goal: Mid-August)
5. Wedding gift for a July 30 wedding (Goal: MUST be done by 7/24 eekk!)

Baby Food in a Flash

Today we went to a farm in town that has pick your own produce. We went for the peaches (only $1.49/pound!), but left with peaches, blackberries and a dozen zinnias for my dining room table. My husband doesn't eat peaches so I decided that even though I only picked 7 today, I'd make my first batch of baby food. W is still only consuming breastmilk, but in the winter, he will have "fresh" peaches!

Since the peaches are organic, I scrubbed them good with a produce brush to get off most of the fuzz. Then I cut large cubes and put it all in a steamer pot. I brought the water to a boil and kept it boiling for 10 minutes. Then, I let the peaches cool and tossed them in the blender. What makes this even easier, is that my blender has a Baby Food setting which I was finally able to use! I pureed it down until it wasn't chunky at all.

I have these 1oz silicone trays from my baby shower which is a bit easier to use than an ice cube tray (also 1oz) because it is flexible silicone. I got thirteen 1oz portions and they are in the freezer. Tomorrow I'm going to pop out the cubes and store them in a labeled bag in the freezer so I can use the storage tray for my next creation.

For the price I paid, not only is this a cheaper option, but it is also healthier for our baby boy!

Baptism party {the food}

Back to William's party!!

Typical of me to start with dessert first ;)
From the beginning I knew I wanted to do cupcakes rather than a cake. Granted I would have purchased the cake which would have been less work than making cupcakes (maybe), but I didn't want to have a bunch of leftover cake. I made cupcake toppers to make the cupcakes for festive. I designed the emblem with a cross and the words God Bless William in Powerpoint and printed two dozen. I did buy a scalloped punch, but when I used it, it worked in the reverse way that I needed if that makes sense. So, the individual trips to Michael's and Jo-Ann's and $30 spent didn't help. I resorted to cutting out each circle individually with scrapbook scissors. Same idea, more work. I used a drop of hot glue to adhere the toothpicks to the cutouts before adding a blueberry and topping each cupcake.

For the first time I finally decided to make a watermelon ice bucket! I saw this idea a long time ago (or so it seems) and I finally had a reason to do it. I used the watermelon on the fruit kabobs, which is why I had it. I hollowed it out with an ice cream scoop on Saturday and then kept it on the counter overnight covered in saran-wrap because I was worried about it smelling rotten. Well, it stayed fresh, so I filled it with plain ice cubes and special blueberry ice cubes I made. 

Sadly, this is the only food shot I have and it doesn't capture it at all. The party started and ended so quickly, and everyone was so hungry, that I didn't get the shot I wanted. We had beef brisket, pulled pork and hamburger sliders. Tossed salad, fruit kabobs, cheese and crackers, pasta salad, etc. I also made a few different drinks and put cute little tags on the pitchers to identify them. Stay tuned for the recipe for Fruity Mint Tea which was a hit!

God Bless William: Baptism Party {decorations}

As noted in my latest Time Out Tuesday, William was recently baptized which was very special for us. Following the service at the church, we had about 16 adults and 4 children (of eating age) over for lunch. I began thinking about this party weeks and weeks in advance since everything is a bit more complicated now that we have a baby around, and here is what I decided.

My nice blue and green handmade table runner would stay on the table because I was inspired by its colors as well as William's birth announcement which was baby blue and kiwi green. The green is perfect for summer and a bit unexpected since typically it is blue and white that is used (or at least what I have seen).

A few weeks ago while on vacation, I visited Dollar Tree once the little guy was in bed to hopefully find papergoods. Well, I did! I purchased light blue dinner plates, kiwi green dessert plates and dinner napkins and napkins that were green with white polks dots. I ended up wrapping the clear "silverware" in the polka dot napkins, tying them closed with white curling ribbon and standing all of them upright in a square glass container from our wedding:

The train napkins were leftover from another party

At Dollar Tree I also found blue/green/clear glass marbles which I purchased for a vision I had. I have a small glass globe vase as well as one that is a cylinder and I wanted to put the marbles in the bottom surrounding a candle. I also bought plain white candles (in glass votives) at Dollar Tree to prevent wax from dripping on the marbles. It also made assemble quite easy. Place candle in container and surround with marbles...done!

My mom added a few twisted streamers in our dining room with white curly ribbon at the corners to add additional color. Everything came together great!

I hope you'll come back in two days to hear about the food!!!

Thrifty Home

Independence

A new ode to some of the young soldiers and Veterans in my life.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

Brother-in-law Justin on the far left

And to the republic for which it stands,

Eric, husband of Stevie (Matron of Honor at my wedding)

One nation, under God, indivisible,

My cousin Christopher who is an angel among us

With liberty and justice for all.

My cousin Gideon, 3rd from left in the back

THANK YOU, I love you :)

See this post on Veterans in my life from 2010.