Oui! C'Est Tres Bon!!

Alrighty, I am finally posting the yummy baguette recipe you can eat with the great jelly (or jam! :) that I know you all made right away after I posted about it!

I got this from Cooking Light a bunch of years ago, but they don't have this same recipe on their website anymore (yup, you can only get it here folks!).

It's just like being in Paris again.......aannnnndddd

It's super~easy.....just start early since you have to let the dough rise a few times. Thanks again Cooking Light!

• 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (100~110 degrees)
• 3 cups bread flour, divided (I sometimes use half wheat flour and you can barely tell :)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon cornmeal
• 1 egg

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 3/4 cups flour to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface; sprinkle evenly with salt and then knead until the salt is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes). Add enough of the remaining flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to your hands (dough will still feel slightly sticky).

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat the top. Cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm place for 40 minutes or until doubled in size.

After 40 minutes, gently press 2 fingers into dough, if an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough. Punch it down (come on....let's get rid of some of our pent-up anger!) and let rest for 5 minutes.

Divide the dough in half. Working with one portion at a time (cover the other half to keep it from drying out), roll each portion on a floured surface into a thick, 12 inch rope, slightly tapered at each end.

Place ropes on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal (to keep it from sticking.....I also use my Pampered Chef baking stones). Cover again and let them rise till doubled again.

Now preheat the oven to 450.

 Beat 1 egg and brush over the surface (this is optional, but I like it....if you like the dry-er top like the bakeries, then don't do this step), then cut 3 (1/4 inch deep) diagonal slits across the top of each loaf.

Bake @ 450 for 20 minutes or until browned on the bottom and sounds hollow when tapped.

This bread warm out of the oven is great to go with some hot soup or stew and.......

JELLY (or jam :)!!!

Have fun!

Freecycle Friday ~ Christmas Treat Canisters

Happy Freecycle Friday!

And Black Friday too!

Hope you all are having a GREAT time and finding some awesome deals. I actually ventured out this a.m. to.......duh, da, da, Target!! Really just because I NEEDED to get out and I also needed to get a few things.

THEN,

I was forced to go to 7 other stores searching for the supplies for next months Crafter's Club........

WITH

both of my kiddos in tow!!!!!
(actually, they were pretty darn good. I just had to make sure we got "free" cookies from every grocery store we went to and rewarded them with Chik-fil-a afterwards)

Anyhoo, this week I started thinking about Christmas stuff. And the other day I found these two canisters in the depths of one of our cupboards, and when I opened them, they were practically empty.

So.........

I started thinking about the canisters.

Hmmmmmm, what to do with these?

Well, I thought about the pop top cans that I made for "Christmas in July" and bingo!

So,

I took off the labels and here's what they looked like naked.....yuck!

Just be sure you clean these out carefully. I noticed that most canisters aren't water tight, just thick cardboard covered in some thin silver-ish stuff. So, I used a wet rag (wrung out well) with a little soap on it to wash & and rinse it carefully.

So, I covered them both in some purdy paper and added some ribbon and embellishments on each. I even tried using spray paint on one of the lids..........and it worked!!
(just make sure it's on the outside....not touching the food)

The small one I filled with some hot cocoa, and even added the scoop that was already with the canister (bonus!).

In the large one I put some yummy cookies in (after they cooled, of course) but I left the lid off these.

So, have fun with your canisters! Remember all the kinds of canisters you can use.....

• Hot cocoa
• Slim Fast
• Oatmeal (I don't think these are lined inside)
• Baby formula
• Nuts
• Pringles
• Coffee
• And probably more that I just can't think of right now :)

Hope you all scored lots of GREAT deals! I even got a few myself :)

Have fun!

Check me out at:

AND....

Tee Shirt Painting & Some Great Black Friday Deals!

So, are you all as excited for Black Friday Thanksgiving as I am?

Yeah, I guess this is a bad time to be on a spending freeze :(

Anyhoo, I just wanted to post this tute before the Fall season finishes up (since I will be starting Christmas crafts very soon).

I made these a few months ago with some other moms for my daughter's field trip to an apple orchard near us.

They make these at her school each year for the kindergarteners, and the moms volunteer to decorate them for each field trip they go on. That way, at the end of the year the kiddos have a great keepsake of their kindergarten year.

Supplies

• White quality T-shirt (I got these at Old Navy for $5 bucks each....Target has them for around the same price) 
• T-shirt paint (I used tulip soft paint)
• Freezer paper (or vinyl, if you have some)
• Iron
• Paint brushes or small foam brushes
• Some scrap cardboard
  

So, you should always pre-wash your shirt......it gets the sizing off and helps the paint stick better.

Then, cut some freezer paper down to 8 1/2 x11" and put it in your printer. You can print your design onto the (non-waxy side) of the paper and then cut it out using a craft knife. If you use vinyl, cut it out and weed out the inside to create a stencil.

Now, apply the stencil to the front of the shirt (or back). If you're using vinyl, apply like here. If you use freezer paper, iron it onto the shirt, waxy side to the shirt.

Cut an empty cereal box down and put it inside the T-shirt to keep the paint from bleeding through (yeah, we love our "Honey bunches of oats" as you can see in this post too :)

Use your paint brush or foam brush to paint on 2-3 thin layers of paint, letting it dry in between (it takes around 30 min.-1 hour to dry enough to apply another coat). If you want to layer the paint (ie. like a worm on the apple), make sure the paint is completely dry (and heat set, if it needs it) before applying another stencil on top.

Remove the stencil and heat set if your paint needs it (the kind I used, only needs to air dry).

Ta Da!!

So cute!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now.......on to the drooling!!

Have you heard of Dittany Baby? They are an awesome boutique that carries stylish accessories for mom and baby. A few examples:

A-Dorable tights for your little cutie!

Contoured Mei Tai (uummmm, looks comfy, do they make 'em for adults too?)

Ca-ute baby pouch slings!

I recently found them and go to their site to drool almost daily ;)

And, they're sending me one of their pouch slings to try out, Yipee!!! (it was already on my X-mas list.......several times!) and since we won't be bringing our little one home till Jan., I'll just have to offer to babysit for my friends a bunch till then!

And.......

they will be hosting a GIVEAWAY on my blog very soon!!

So stay tuned!

But, if you can't wait.....

They are having some AWESOME Black Friday deals and Tell A Friend Rewards!

And, if you are lucky enough to NOT be on a spending freeze.....feel free to add my e-mail address in the comments box when you check out........I won't mind :-)

But, act fast, these are GREAT deals!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, be sure to stop by Scribble It.......Cammie's been busy adding new stuff for X-mas......and you'll have to have it all!!!

Really, I don't know how she does it!

Have a happy Thanksgiving.......and Black Friday too!!
Remember me as you get up at 3a.m. and score tons of great deals (I'll be home......probably cleaning)!

And........We're Back!!

Hello all! 

We made it home safely from Russia with only a few bruises :)

We got home right before midnight on Sat. (yes, we were 10 hours ahead and ended up getting home the same day we left Russia). BTW, if you ever lose your luggage on an international flight.....it's better to lose it on the way home, that way it doesn't really matter if it takes a few days to get it back and it's way quicker to leave the airport as soon as you land :)

We spent all day Sun & yesterday resting & getting over jetlag (26 hours or so of traveling, ouch!) and having some quiet fun with the girls. We missed them sooooo much! We also owe my mom a HUGE thank you for staying here with them while we were gone!

Anyhoo, our trip went well, and all of the people involved in our adoption were SO helpful and nice. Our coordinator Tanya was so awesome and ran around like crazy a few times to make sure we got our paperwork turned in on time and got to the courthouse to see the judge.

We got to see our little Kira (yes, we decided to name her Kira Svetlana), 4 times and loved every minute!

But, it was super-hard to leave her each time and especially when we saw her for the last time on Friday (sniff, sniff).

She is sooooooo tiny and developmentally seems to be the age of a 3-4 month old. She can roll over and push herself up (when on her tummy), but her legs and core muscles are so weak still and whenever we sat her up, she couldn't fully hold her head up yet.
She doesn't babble or talk or even really make any noise. She fussed once while we were there, but that was it.
The saddest part was that she didn't seem to know how to smile, just a sort-of half smile, but super-cute, none-the-less! We did get to see her 4 little cute teeth, too!

We aren't worried, though, 'cuz we know that once her super-talkative, super-helpful big sisters spend enough time with her.......they'll get her up & movin' in no time :)  And talking too!

She also really liked hubby's hair....she kept looking up at it and trying to grab it :) Come to think of it, our other 2 were always really interested in daddy's hair when they were babies, too. Hmmmmmmm :0)

I REALLY want to post pics of our sweet girl (you can tell because I spelled "really" in caps and bold type), but we are so close to bringing her home, that I don't want to do anything that might make the judge deny our adoption. But, I super-pinkie swear to post TONS of pics once we get her home for good.

Here are some pics of my other 2 adorable girls, having some Fall fun, to tide you over till then :)

 

Also, I want to thank my awesome friends for the fun adoption shower they threw for me tonight.
It was super top-secret and I didn't have a clue since they handed out invites the week I was gone.
(ok, I had a tiny inkling that there was some funny-business going on :)

But, it was SO fun and I had a great time (and got some adorable baby gifts!).
It's really nice when your sweet friends make you feel so important (here come the water-works again).
I am truly blessed to have such a great support system!

Have fun and stay tuned!!

And We're Off........

Hello all.....

Sorry for the lack of posts and return e-mails this week, things have been CRAZY busy getting ready to go to Russia.

We'll be back soon and I promise I'll be back to posting regularly :)

But for now, wish us luck and I'll take lots of pics!

Have fun!

Today I'm Guest Blogging Over At "I love these products"

Hey there!

Just wanted to let you all know that you can find me over at "I love these products" talking about some of my favorite crafty tools (Drool)

But, you guys know I will always come back to you lovely readers. So, go see me there and then stay tuned for more craftiness!

Have fun!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl.........

Hello all!

Just wanted to post that today is our new little baby girl's birthday!

She is 1 today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE ONE!!

We can't wait to see her soon and hold her.....

I'll keep you posted!

Freecycle Friday ~ Cute Tool Carryall

Happy Freecycle Friday!

Well, since we are still not buying stuff (including no thrift store or garage sale shopping :(....I had to dig into my stash of thrift store junk that I still haven't gotten around to yet.

(I think you all know what I mean :)

So, I discovered 3, yup 3 of these babies at a nearby Goodwill......and snatched 'em right up!

So, since it came unfinished (1 less step for me since I didn't have to sand down any ugly paint), I took 1 and painted it white.
I was feelin' lazy trying to save time, so I used spray paint.

Then, I traced each side out onto the back of my purdy paper and cut it out.

After that, I adhered the paper onto each panel and sanded the edges all around.

Next, I dry rubbed brown paint on all the edges, kinda like inking the edges of paper. I took the sponge and dipped it into the chocolate brown paint. Then I dabbed as much paint off that I could till there was barely any left on the sponge. Then I lightly rubbed the edges.(p.s. these makeup sponges are super cheap and a great tool to have around for inking)

Then I embellished and added some of the tools I use often!!

Here's a close up of the front.

This will be great for taking to crops away from home or even just for when I end up crafting or scrapping at the kitchen table (so I can watch my shows)!

The paper I used was from Chatterbox called "Chateau Upholstery" and the chipboard letters are from We R Memory Keepers "Urban Windows, Restoration Alpha."

Yay! Another trash to treasure moment!!

Now go make your own!

BTW: We are extending our little experiment till after we get back from Russia. After the initial shock (of not being able to buy stuff :(  wore off......I actually started feeling pretty good about it! My errands take WAY less time to complete, and since I'm not adding anymore to the clutter in our house, I feel less weighed down.

Have fun!

"Be" Blocks Are Now Available!! Yay!

Hi there!

Well, I'm so happy to let you all know that Cammie from Scribble It will be taking over selling my "Be" blocks vinyl for now (YAY!)

I feel so bad that I can't sell these right now, but you have all been SO understanding.

But, you don't have to wait any longer. Just click on the button on my sidebar to go to her awesome website to order.

She will be selling these as kits, so now you don't even have to cut your own blocks!

She said she should have these up on her site this weekend, so just check back if you don't see them at first.

Have fun and thanks for all of your e-mails and comments!

Homemade Freezer Jelly (And Jam Too!)

Happy Fall everyone!!

We all know that Fall brings yummy apples and juicy pears.....but what to do when you have 9 lbs. of those juicy pears?

Well, make freezer jelly, of course!

We went to one of the awesome apple orchards near us a few weeks ago and picked a HUGE bag of luscious pears!

And, since I had gone to a RS class a few months ago about how to make strawberry freezer jam, (and was hooked!) I knew what I wanted to do.

You can get that recipe for the strawberry freezer jam here. It's SO easy and yummy!

So since I really love apple jelly, I thought I would whip up some pear jelly with our bounty of fruit. So I went to the Sure Jell website and found this recipe for apple jelly.......and since pears and apples are pretty much the same, I used it (minus the cinnamon).

So, since we had all those juicy, sweet pears, I decided to try my hand at juicing them for my pear jelly (I also want to try it someday with apples).

So, start with 3 1/2 lbs of pears (or apples) and cut off the stems and blossom ends. Then, cut them up into small pieces, but don't peel or core them.

Then, bring them to a boil with 3 cups of water. After they are boiling, cover the saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and crush or mash up the pears and then cover again and simmer for 5 more minutes.

While that finishes cooking, layer a few layers of cheesecloth in a large bowl. Then once the pears are cooked, pour them into the cheesecloth and tie it closed. Then, let it all strain out and gently press the rest of the juice out.

(this pitcher is a little over a gallon)

We got TONS of juice out of ours (I had enough pears to do 2 batches of juice) and it was SO yummy and sweet! After I used most of it to make jelly, my girls gladly drank the rest :)

Then, use this recipe to make your jelly.....it's really quick! I did use slightly more Certo than the recipe called for to make sure it jelled a little firmer (so, it ended up being about 1 1/4 pouches of Certo). I got 4 batches out of all my juice, with plenty left over :)

Use any airtight container to store these in the freezer, but I like the purdy glass ones......and they make great gifts!

Onto another related subject.....Peanut Butter (what's more related to jelly than PB?!)

Anyhoo, I wanted to get on my soapbox a little about PB.

I LOVE natural PB!

We've been eating it for years and my family never complained. And I don't feel guilty about feeding my kiddos all that extra sugar and hydrogenated oil. Nowadays, I don't even like the taste of "non natural" PB.......it tastes too sweet and not as peanut-y.

Well, I bring this up cuz a good friend of mine, who's a nutritionist btw, just wrote about PB here on her awesome blog. Go check it out....she even did a comparison taste test on a few brands (but not the kind we eat, though.....Adam's. You can find it at WallyWorld for around $2.44-ish for 16oz.)

K, so now all you need is the bread (I'll post about that soon), and you have the fixin's for a wonderfully balanced meal, like the ones my kiddos eat at least once a day (sometimes twice if I don't feel like making dinner when hubby is working ;)

Have fun!

My Little Characters

Ok, so we all know that the REAL reason we have blogs is to show off cute pics of our kiddos.......

So here are mine, all dressed up (and sugared up.....thanks neighbors :) and ready to go trick-or-treating.

I got my oldest's awesome costume at DI for $12 bucks! And my little one's on Ebay for $20 (that dress is normally around $60 at D-Land and it was in perfect condition!).

And now they can add them to their dress-up collection and play with them year-round!

I just let them run around while I took pics, but I barely got a few non-motion pics, they were so crazy!

I suppose I'll just let you all guess what they went as........

Hope you all had a great night!