cookie jar cookies

it's been a drizzly couple of days here.  you know, the kind of days where you just need to bake.

it's also so humid that the house feels damp, and of course the oven helps dry it out, right?

plus i got a cookie jar i've been wanting for my birthday.

the concept of a cookie jar on the counter is like the coolest thing ever to my kids.

they can't understand how i could possible allow it to be empty.

so they've been begging me to fill it with cookies.

and i have to say, this recipe is perfect for filling your cookie jar.

it makes a ton- like you might want to half it.

just a simple oatmeal cookie recipe, but it's simplicity is what makes it so yummy.

the cookies are soft to bite into, but dense enough to hold their shape.

i've decided you can't go wrong with a cookie that calls for equal amounts of butter and sugars.

if i was the only person eating these cookies, i'd trade the chocolate chips for half craisins half white chips.  but then i'd be the only person eating the cookies since i live in a house of picky eaters and that would not be good either.  happy rainy days!

resolving to resolve

january's almost over and i haven't blogged once?  so much for my resolution to blog more.  however, it's almost a new month and i have a new resolve to actually do it.   plus i hear that if you tell people about your goals, you're more likely to achieve them.  so my new-for-february-2012 resolution is to blog 3 times a week.... even if i only have a picture or something 'boring.'  wish me luck!

i spent a lot of january working on a little something new for my etsy shop that i am so excited about!  hopefully i will finish it today so i can get it out this week.  for now, here's a sneak peak. stay tuned!

what are you doing new year's eve?

more ideas than time... thanks to pinterest!

Source: thirtyhandmadedays.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: dreamers.marthastewart.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: blogs.babble.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: ohhappyday.com via Sara on Pinterest

a gingerbread village

i know christmas is over, but i just had to post about all these gingerbread houses!

(and the reason i made a house from scratch)

this year i was asked to be in charge of our church christmas party decorations. 

the theme we came up with was "home for christmas."  so we tried to do something around that.  i wanted to do something that cost little or no money from our limited budget.  i wanted to get as many people involved as i could.  and i wanted to do something different. 

so i came up with the idea to ask people to sign up to bring gingerbread houses as our centerpieces.  we started announcing it right after halloween so people had plenty of time to get ready.  although i'm pretty sure nobody made their houses until the week of the party. (me included) 

honestly, this idea caused me more stress than it should have!  i found that people either loved the idea or hated it.  and these texans were not afraid to let me know. 

the night of the party i was stressing out about having enough houses to fill all the tables, but in the end we had exactly enough houses.

i made little award ribbons that we gave to every house.  everyone was so creative!  a  Y mountain?  seiously?  how cool is that?  the nativity is a gingerbread house kit they remodeled into a stable.  so so cute!    

oh! hello december!

it's been a crazy few weeks around here!

i dropped off the last few packages at the post office this afternoon, so i think i am now ready to sit back and enjoy what's left of december.  and i plan to do that by staying home with my favorite people and enjoying the most decorating i've done all year. 

one of our favorite family traditions is building a gingerbread house together.  it's been 7 years since i made a house completely from scratch (we always buy a kit) and this year I did it!  i'll have to post the details of why and how it all turned out.  but i have to say, it was quite the undertaking.   

i replaced my favorite quilt on the ladder with a christmas quilt.  yes, the binding is only half sewn on.  that's what happens when i look at it once a year.  last year it didn't have any binding at all.  considering this quilt was a class i took about 4(or 5?) years ago, i'd say i'm doing pretty good.   

another tradition we love: paperwhites!

the mantle. 

as much as i don't like about this rental house,

it's fun to make our decorations work here so it feels more like home. 

thank you pinterest for getting me hooked on book page wreaths.  this one sat on my table for about 3 weeks and took forever to finish!  also thank you pinterest for getting me hooked on those bottlebrush trees.  someday i'll get around to dying them like the vintage ones.

we weren't about to go to the trouble of hanging lights (remember we're renting)

 but i love how classy a single candle in each of the windows looks. 

we were also classy enough to tape the candles right to the windows. 

whatever works, right?

and there you go.

merry christmas from my house to yours!

vintage inspired table runner tutorial

i made a table runner for a baby shower i hosted last week and thought it was too simple not to share.

so if you're looking for a little something pretty for your thanksgiving table, here's a fun idea.

 (i layered mine with my favorite table runner from here and a homemade polka dot table cloth)

 my runner took about 1 hour, start to finish, including unpicking!

You will need:

2/3 yd. fabric

6-7 yds. trim

(The fabric I used is called Sophie Nosegay by Chez Moi for Moda. 

The trim is also from Moda, a crocheted ricrac.)

First, cut your fabric into two-12" strips.

Next, trim the selvages off.

Sew the two strips together along the short side to create one long piece, about 12"x90"

Press the seam and finish the raw edges.

You can trim the strips down to be a shorter runner depending on the size of your table.

Finish the edges of the runner. 

I did a rolled hem on my serger, but you could also turn the edges under and stitch if you don't have a serger.

Sew the trim to the top of the runner

as close to the edge as possible. 

I used a zig zag stitch with red thread so it blended in with the crochet trim.

On the corners I folded the trim together and kinda bunched it up

then stitched it down so it would turn nicely and lay flat(ish)

When you get all the way around your runner, just stitch the edges of the trim together and you're done!

A pretty vintage inspired runner to dress up your table!

how about a bagel?

bagels.  from scratch.  why had i not thought to try it before? 

 well, i tried them, and i'm in love

and i may have found a recipe to rival my happy husband bread

because these were a huge hit at our house.

 

sprinkled with sea salt or asiago cheese (our favorite),

 these were chewy and delicious fresh out of the oven

or in lunches with wedge of laughing cow the next day.

  i store mine in paper bags so they don't get soggy.

and i'd love to try other toppings. 

cinnamon, poppy seeds, onion flakes?

or maybe we'll just stick with cheese. 

it was sooo delish!

i think i have it figured out where you can print this recipe and it'll be a half page,

but let me know if you have problems...

always time for a quilt

november already?  didn't mean to skip blogging for so long, halloween left me with no time to blog.  but there's always time to quilt, right?

this is a quilt i made a few months ago as a gift for a 7 yr old boy. 

i have had my eye on this darling quilt by film in the fridge which inspired mine.

and i wanted to make something like an 'i spy' quilt with a more grown up style.

also, i just love the 16 patch square.  love it.  so simple, but so eye catching.

 every block is the same but no two blocks are exactly alike.

most of the fabrics i used were by etsuko furuya, all ordered from superbuzzy.

then i filled in with random prints from my stash.

the backing was a great black/cream dot i found at joann's.

the gray sashing is also from joann's.  it's a kona cotton but i can't remember the name.

as for the pictures, they were taken in missouri(?)  we took a roadtrip last summer and the scenery was amazing as we drove up the middle of the country.  we pulled over just before the fireflies came out and snapped a few pictures on the side of the road.  it got dark fast, so we didn't get many pictures, but i'm so in love with how these came out.  i give all the credit to that random farm and the gorgeous sunset that day. 

best. smell. ever.

onions and garlic sizzling in a hot pan.
definitely on my top ten list of smells i love.

fall = cooking, baking, warming up my home through my kitchen. 

that's all i want to do these days. 

book love: reader's digest complete guide to sewing

this book has been for a long time and still is my all time favorite sewing book.  it was actually a textbook for a few of my sewing classes in college.  i pulled it out the other day to look something up and remembered how great it is!
here's what i love about this book.  it explains everything you will need to know about sewing(not quilting) with detailed pictures and written steps.  the book also uses methods that will produce a better product in the end.  i have found that if i want to make a dress or something, i can cut out my pattern pieces and completely ignore the pattern instruction papers if i have this book as a reference.

did you know that pattern companies most often print their pattern directions according to what's easiest to print, not nescessarily what may be correct?  when i found that out it was like a light went on as to why all my early sewing years projects did not turn out.   however, if you are only interested in quilting, this is not the book for that.  i have a couple favorite quilting reference books, i'll have to share... but if you want to make clothing, slipcovers, pillows, curtains, bedding, zippers, etc.  this is my favorite book!