NumberNineteen

Baby Cards

In the past few months, there has been a flurry of babies born to my friends & relatives.  Though I haven't been crafting much in the past few months, I made these baby cards, one for boys & one for girls:


I'm really happy with how they turned out & it was such fun to make something again.  I'm currently working on a little Halloween themed project...have I mentioned that I can't wait for fall???

Sunniest Rain(er) Trip Part II

If you've spent any time hanging around this blog, you know that I *heart* Boston.  If you ever lose me, DC, you'll know where I've gone....

....specifically to this house in Melrose, MA, a suburb of Boston.  You had me at the kitchen....
 
Though the dining room nook & built ins come a close second (and, do you see those inlaid floors???)....

And the yard...can you see that outdoor fireplace in the corner? Even Glenn was all about that.

Nevertheless, I'll be here in Virginia for the time being, so let me move on to my actual trip to Boston, as opposed to my fantasy life there....

My sis & bro in law live in a close in town called Somerville, which is full of all kinds of funky & wonderful places.  These 3 establishments were all in a row:


Cupcakes, Ice Cream & Fresh Bread...how did they know that I was coming?

We happened to be in one of the hubs of Somerville, Davis Square, while a farmer's market was in progress:

Terri & I both purchased soaps from these folks, Urban Kitchen.  Their products smell amazing.  I got the Shea Butter & Silk scent, which has actual silk threads in it.  The vendor told me that they act as a gentle exfoliant.

One day, we headed to downtown Boston for our yearly photo of Hope on the ducks....
 
And then we went on the Swan Boats, which have been in operation since the 1800s!  I've been to Boston several times a year for over 10 years & this is my first time to ride on one.

While on the swan boat, we saw an actual swan:

While we were there, we even saw a rainbow...

Is God trying to tell me something? :)

The Sunniest Rain(er) That I've Ever Known

We just got back from spending five days with my sweet, sweet, precious nephew, Rainer. I knew that I would love this child, but I just didn't know how much.

He looks a little fussed in this photo, but that just meant that he got some extra cuddles.

Here we are, getting to know one another.

Hope is absolutely thrilled to be a cousin.

And, to see my sister & brother in law with him...well, they just glowed.  Warm golden love just pours from them to Rainer.  Here they are, singing to him.  He was entranced.

And, of course, Rainer lives in one of my favorite places, Boston...Part II of the Sunny Rain(er) visit to come next....

Wacky But Good

Have you ever had Wacky Cake?  It is one of my favorite easy homemade desserts, especially in the summer.

I love to eat it after it's been covered in buttercream frosting & chilled in the fridge for awhile. Mmmm...yummy....

The thing that is wacky about the cake is that the batter is mixed right in the baking pan.  Apparently, the recipe was developed during World War II, to create a cake that could be made without scarce butter & eggs.  That bit of fun trivia makes me love it even more, as I'm fascinated by anything associated with the homefront during the Second World War.

I learned this version of the recipe from my Mom, who was given it by her mom:

Wacky Cake

3 C. Flour
2 C. Sugar
6T. Cocoa
2 T. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt

Sift the above together, straight into a 13x9 inch baking pan.

Make 3 wells in the flour mixture.  Place 3/4 C. vegetable oil into the first well, 2 T. white vinegar into the second well & 2 t. vanilla into the third well.

Pour 2 C. of cold water over the entire pan & mix well with spoon.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

I often cut the recipe in half & bake it in a 9 inch square or round pan for about 15 minutes, give or take.

I found these interesting bits of info on Cook's Country:

• The cake relies on the last-minute combination of vinegar and baking soda for leavening. The reaction between the two causes the batter to bubble vigorously, and thus, rise.
• The cake has to be prepared in its baking pan; otherwise it doesn’t rise nearly as well. Make wells in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients—oil, vinegar, and vanilla—to the wells, and then add water and stir quickly (but not too much) to blend the batter just moments before you put it into the oven. Streaks of flour should remain.

 It doesn't last long at our house :)

The Madness Returns

Uh Huh, it's back. 

The finest looking, best written, most riveting show on television in a long, long time.

I feel like I can't miss a moment of this show.  The characters are so complex, that missing a scene might mean missing something vital.

And, if the costumes, sets, manners, hair & makeup aren't perfection, then I don't know what is.

After the end of last season, I couldn't wait to see what happened next.  For you fellow viewers out there, were the last few episodes amazing or what?

The first episode of this season was good, very promising.  Though, I wish that they would have acknowledged some of the turmoil of the last episode of the last season.  There were such huge things going on at the end of last season, to not pull some of that in seems to leave a hole.  Maybe it will come up again later this season?

What do you fellow Mad Men fans think of the first episode?

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All photos & logos in this post are from the AMC website , the network on which Mad Men airs.

The Clock, Before & After

 
Remember this? You may recall that I spent $1.50 on it.

Now, it's this...


It cleaned up quite nicely and immediately started ticking away the moment that I replaced the battery. I dithered for some time as to what I should do on the right side of it. I originally thought of something with an 'F' for our last name, but nothing that I had in my stash really looked good. I played around with my rubber stamps and patterned paper & this is what I came up with. I quite like it, especially with the greens in our bedroom. I'm also thinking that I can easily change out the motif should I get bored with it.  A really twirly monogram might also look nice, mounted on patterned paper, don't you think?

Big Girl Bike

Looky who got a big girl bike!  Pink, with white tires, streamers & even a little zipper pouch on the front for her goodies. I would have just about thought that I'd died & gone to heaven if I'd had a bike like this when I was little!

I'm not sure if you can tell in this photo, but her helmet is purple with pink fairies on it!

Her grandma on Glenn's side let her pick out a bike the last time that she came to visit & Hope is getting to be quite good at it!  She even stands on the pedals to get up the slight inclines (ahem, I mean hills).

Watch out world, here she comes!

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bread

MMmmmm.....I have a friend who always bakes some kind of yummy sweet bread or muffins or some kind of goody every Saturday morning.  Isn't that the coziest thing? Inspired by this, I pulled out a recipe that I've been meaning to try...mmmm...Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bread...All members of our family gave this one a thumbs up!

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bread

1 cup white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1/2 c. skim milk
1/3 c. plus 1 T. peanut butter
1 T. canola oil
1 t. vanilla
3 T. egg substitute
1/2 c. chocolate chips

In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugars, baking powder, salt & cinnamon. In another bowl, combine mashed banana, milk, peanut butter, oil, vanilla & egg substitute. Add to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into greased regular sized loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Number of Servings: 12

Fun With Hope

Hope & I went to the park today while Glenn had to spend a few hours at work.  I pushed her in our jogging stroller, which gave me the opportunity for some much needed exercise!  Exercise for Mommy, playing for Hope --everyone wins.  In typical Virginia August weather, it was HOT & HUMID.  This is the time that I start to longingly think of fall weather, pumpkins, tights & wool skirts.....

Hope found a great idea for a kid project in her High Five magazine....
 
Playing with colored shaving cream!  I love it when she wants to do a project & I can say "Yes! We can do that!"  High Five is a great magazine for the 2-6 set.  It has a lot of fun/educational games and easy but fun projects for kids. Its so fun for her to get mail of her very own as well.  My mom discovered the magazine & now has a subscription sent to her every year.  Nana is the best!