Baked mini donuts

So, something you may not know about me is that I do not like donuts.  Mostly I don't like the taste left in my mouth after eating one and the heavy feeling I'm left with. It's great because whenever someone brings donuts to the office, it's easy for me to avoid them! I was on Pinterest, just checking stuff out and saw a recipe for Baked Apple Cider Donuts and I thought "hmmmm interesting". I really had never heard of such a thing and since they are baked I thought it might be good.  I was right!

As it happens, a friend of mine had just bought a mini donut pan and offered to let me borrow it to see if I'd want to purchase one of my own.  I've linked the recipe in case you'd like to give it a go as well.

One thing the recipe says to do is put the batter in a ziploc and cut off the tip - I thought this technique worked really well.  I also did one batch dipped in butter and regular sugar and one dipped in butter then stevia. Both were fantastic! But the stevia had slightly less calories so I tried to only eat those. I entered the recipe into myfitnesspal and it came up with 83 calories per mini donut on the stevia dipped version.

I kind of want to try another recipe without the buttermilk and reducing the apple cider. I saw another recipe that called for apple butter which would probably take care of that step.

Craft happenings

As you can imagine, since I've been busy busy outside I haven't been sewing as much as usual. But! I am still keeping in touch with my crafty side.  I am currently working on a pair of socks, which I have been keeping in my desk at work. I've been knitting 2-3 rows a day, so they are progressing nicely. 

I did get around to sewing up this small notions case, the pattern is by Leigh of ShopLouleigh. I have linked both her website and her etsy. Her website has all the links where you can find her content, which includes blog, podcast, ravelry, and etsy. Anyway, she had been making and selling these little notions pouches and decided to put out the pattern for it. 

I really like the way it came out. It is actually very compact, but does fit a number of sewing or knitting notions. It would also be useful in a purse for chapstick or that kind of thing.

The outer fabric is actually an old pair of pants that I won't be wearing anymore. It's a nice weight though so I chopped them up! The inside fabric is a fun vintage piece of fabric I've had in stash for awhile.

So, in other news I have been working on my diet and exercise. This year I think it really just made sense to me to lose some weight. I didn't have a huge epiphany or anything like that....more of a dawning realization.  I'm 41 and this is not going to get easier. "This" being health, weight loss, aging. I work in the medical field and seeing some of our elderly obese patients and the struggles they had was a big part of that. Thankfully I do not have any of the conditions that come from being overweight - diabetes, hypertension I'm looking at you!  So, I really have been paying attention to what I eat, quantity, hunger levels, cravings and such.

I've always known I have a sweet tooth. So I've been looking for ways to satisfy that craving without going overboard. I was having a little looky-loo on pinterest and found a recipe for baked spiralized apple chips - here is the link. I did substitute stevia and pumpkin pie spice instead of sugar and cinnamon. It makes a nice flavor. I used my food processor which made nice, even chips. The first time I made the recipe I used the spiralizer and they were very thin chips - which were also nice!

In the top left photo, those are peach slices. I would NOT recommend using peaches to make chips. Basically they were really brown dehydrated fruit pieces. Not my fav. But, the apples turned out wonderfully! Also, that aqua bowl was the bowl my Mom used all growing up while baking. She gifted it to me one of the last trips to see her.  I love it!

end of weekend

Oh my goodness, such a lazy day today! Yesterday I drove over to Eagle Point to visit the cemetery.  It's about 1.25 hour or so drive so I've been refraining from going every week like I was for the past year.  But, as I mentioned in my last post, last week was a doozy and I was feeling antsy to talk out my feelings.  Even though I know he's not there, I still feel that need to talk to him.  So I sat there and griped about the week, cried a bunch and then drove home.  So today I was kinda pooped.

I also came across a new podcast today that is absolutely hilarious!  Seriously, I'm so glad that I've found knitting podcasts!  I'm blessed by Tuesday night knitting at my local yarn store but besides then it's nice to hear what other people are working on, learning, and all the silliness that goes on.  As the day went on I realized I'd better get busy on baking these little cakes!  Tomorrow is my friend Karla's birthday and she mentioned once that her favorite cake is pineapple upside down cake!  Mental note taken, my friend.

This is batch #2, the first one looked a little sparse so I added more batter and the sort of exploded!  LOL!  

I also stitched up a zipper bag for her.  I've been using mine that is out of the same fabric as my sock project bag that I take to work.  And she's hinted a couple times that she really likes it.  So, easy gift for me to make and give!  She doesn't knit or anything but it would probably work well as a toiletry bag for travel.  Or anything really.

Fall is here

I have to confess that this past week was pretty stressful.  The supervisor at the office I work at had given her notice a couple weeks ago and Wednesday was her last day.  Honestly, I've been in a bit of denial about it.  I really like her.  And now, of course, none of us is sure who will take her place and what the office will feel like once there is a replacement.  She was the one there when Scott died and she was very understanding.  It's sad that now I worry about having to tell someone new (possibly) about my situation.  What happens if I have a day where I just can't pull myself together?  Anyhow.  Not the point.  Karla and I decided to make her a gift to take to her new office to remember us.  We trolled around pinterest and found some jumping off points of ideas.  This is what we came up with:

We bought a picture frame, took out the glass and glued in cork board.  Then we added a few accoutrements and voila!  Denise (our supervisor) really liked it, so that was cool.  When she opened it she said, how did you know I like red?  Which I don't think we did - but Karla had that ribbon left over from decorating her sister's wedding and it just 'went'!  We forgot to buy push pins to go with it, eh.

This week has been verrrry Fall around these parts!  Trees are starting to turn color a bit, there is a nip in the air and it's October, which all equals Fall.  Last year I had roasted and pureed a pumpkin, which I still have two 2 cup containers in the freezer.  My inlaws are visiting this week so I thought it would be perfect to make some pumpkin bread with cream cheese swirl.  I made these two loaves last night.  I took one to work today and it was gone before lunch!  

I might be the only one, but does anyone else get nervous when they make food to take somewhere?  I do!  I was fretting about this bread because it baked for 1 hour and 18 minutes!  That's a long time.  So I was worried that it turned out dry.  Also worried because the cream cheese filling got all mixed in with the bready dough part and didn't make a nice cream cheese layer.  Then, I alllllllways worry that no matter how careful and clean I make my kitchen there will be dog hair in something I make.  Luckily, so far, so good.  Unless no one is telling me......uggggg.

But anyway.  In other news I actually blocked my first knitting item today!  Of course I always hear of people blocking their work and how it shapes the item and then it is truly "done".  But, have never actually blocked anything.  Blocking is where you gently hand wash/rinse with gentle soap and then lay the item out to dry.  You can stretch it out to get a desired size, shape, or to open up lacy patterns.  In this case I wanted to make sure the square I made is 12 x 12 inches and square.  The cast on edge was rolling and making a general nuisance of itself so I was hoping to fix that.  I used a square of cardboard from my scrapbooking items to get it perfectly 12" square, pinned it to a towel and let air dry.  It's still drying.

Can I just say again how much I love this yarn?  I love it.  

First Fall weekend

Today is the 2nd official day of Fall, which means that I feel I have used some restraint in waiting a day to make something pumpkin :) grin.  This morning I baked a couple loaves of pumpkin bread with a cream cheese swirl.  I found the recipe last year on Pinterest and made it a couple times.  This year, it's just as yummy!


So yesterday I had planned on going to a scrapbooking thing but it was cancelled.  What's a girl to do?  Hmmm.  Get a pumpkin spice latte from Starbuck's and go to Joann's.  There is a new store opening in town so the old store is having a liquidation sale because they won't be taking any old stuff to the new store.  Which means everything is 75% right now!!!!!  I mean, really, how could I NOT go?  It was packed in there!  I came away with some fun fabric, lots of thread and a bunch of other stuff for like 35 doll-hairs!
I bought some ribbon to finally finish the Steeler's wreath I started last year!  This is actually 2 wreath layered together. 



Went home, finished the quilt top I'm working on. (pics later when said quilt is finished) Today I finished the back and have called it good.  Thursday night I'm going to take advantage of the tables at another scrapbooking event to baste the layers together and then most likely quilt it all up next weekend!

On a side note, I had bought a book on cd on a whim at the library book sale and have really enjoyed listening to it while sewing!  Now I know why hubs likes the audio books so much.  Talk about multi-tasking. 

a swap and some bread

I have a couple fun things to share today.  First off, I signed up for a swap on Swap-bot that was a whimsical fat quarter and something handmade out of whimsical fabric based on our partners profile.  I checked my recipient's profile and was a little stumped at first on what kind of colors, themes, etc that I should go with.  I finally noticed that she put that she likes owls, so that's the theme I went with!  I'm still digging mug rugs, so thought I might try a little applique.  I'm happy with how it turned out, and best part is that she really liked it too! 

back view:

I just did a meandering swirly quilty pattern - I imagined that those were they "flying lines" of the owl before it landed on the mug rug. Hee, hee :)  And it also kind of mimicked the lines from the fabric I used on the back, which is an Alexander Henry print that I love!
The other fun thing is that I tried a new recipe for pumpkin bread and it turned out fabulously!  I have been finding all kinds of cool stuff to try on Pinterest, which is a website where you can browse all sorts of images that also have a link to a website that might have a tutorial and such.  I was right about to sign out the other night when I saw this loaf of beautiful bread, I clicked on it and it had a link to a recipe for pumpkin cream cheese bread.  Oh man!  Amanda, from the blog Modern Marigold, had posted a "pin-did challenge" for people to actually do the things that they pin.  I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try it out and I'm so glad I did because it turned out sooooooo good. 


That lighter area in the middle is a ripple of cream cheese! yum. I will definitely be trying this again!
In other news, I did not finish the book that I was sure I was going to finishe this weekend, The Mercy by Beverly Lewis.  I really, really wanted to keep reading -but- I thought that this week was book club and I had not read my chapters yet!  So, I buckled down and read to chapter 8.5 in that even though I'm pretty sure we were supposed to get to 11 (?), then I checked the church website in search of a phone # to confirm that book club was indeed tonight and it said November 1st.  Whooo!  :)  So, I still have time to catch up.  Good thing.  This weekend is the scrapbook retreat and I'll bring it along because sometimes my brain just needs a break from scrapbooking!

chillin

So, yesterday all day was spent at the Ladies's Lounge with the other scrapbooking ladies.  I did not scrapbook the whole day, I brought a couple of other crafts to work on.  Lately I get burned out just doing one thing the whole time.  So, I started a new Steelers wreath and did some crocheting along with scrapbooking.  It was nice.  We always go somewhere close downtown for lunch since it's like a block away.  It turned out to be a nice, relaxing day.
Today I woke up too late to go to church.  I was sort of bummed, but I was also super tired!  Once I woke up I worked on my bible study homework and decided to make some zucchini bread.  I love the way the house smells when it's baking!  It was raining out this morning so it was quite cozy. 

Tomorrow, it's back to work so today I'm just taking it easy.  I'm a little apprehensive about a recent change at work, a lady just left and I'm wondering what the dynamic will be now.  I'm sure I'll find out pretty quickly which way it will go.

holy catching up batman!

I feel like I have been "radio silent" for a little while, guess I didn't really feel like I had anything to say? Not that I've thought of anything profound, trust me - but thought maybe I'd stop neglecting my little blog. So, what's new?

Last week Thursday my "sister" Jeannette, her husband Nate, and kids came to visit just over night. It was great. Jeannette and I have been friends since I was in 3rd grade, so by now in our 30-somethings it feels more like we're sisters. I was seriously cracking up at her kids, they are pretty much hilarious! I don't have kids so the things that might be mundane kid stuff to parents are frickin hilarious to me! Like their fascination with monkey bars, my couch, the penguin game, pop tarts and pretty much everything.

This weekend is the baby shower I'm giving for Kristin. I just hope that it's not a flop. I will post pictures as long as it actually looks cute and not cuckoo! I'll just say that it's going to be very colorful! I am baking cookies for it that I seriously can't wait to try! Friday is baking day this week, cupcakes and cookies. mmmmm, delish.

So who else is going to see Eclipse opening weekend??? Jan bought tickets today for a group of us, I can't wait! There is a midnight showing her the night it opens, but not only is it already sold out but I have to work the next day so we're going that Saturday after it opens.

Okay, so confession time: I gained 4lbs!!!!! Gasp. Shocking, I know. I didn't make it to spin or the gym at all last week and dang have I been diggin on the sodium! I'm back on track now, though (the shower is exempt I've decided) so it's all good. I've realized that where I am now weight-wise is where I was like ummm 5 years ago and realized I had a problem and started going to Weight Watchers. Then, my Grandpa passed away and I'm a comfort eater.....life got stressful, yada, yada, yada gained 35 lbs....oops! So, what I lost was just really the extra, extra junk in the trunk. Now, the real challenge begins I think. I'm up for it though, because one of the things on my bucket list is to be comfortable in my own skin! I just did a very interesting swap bot swap that was an email swap of 15 things from our bucket lists. A little early to think of it, I know. But, really having to think of the things that I want to do that could be tangible was kind of a renewal of my resolve. In honor of that I went to spin last night and tonight even though pretty much I would have rathered to go home and watch Lost.

Okay, confession #2: I am a little bit addicted to the show Lost. Perfect timing since it just ended, right? Hee, hee. My friend Savannah has the first 4 seasons on DVD so I've been watching them all consecutively. I've decided that's really the only way to watch a series. Who wants commercials and a whole week in between shows?? Oh, yeah and since I don't have cable it's kind of the only way I watch shows :)

Cookies, swap and fun!

Okay, so over the weekend I made two big batches of persimmon cookies, and they turned out great! When I was in elementary school I had a friend named Wendy who was from Alaska and lived with her Grandmother and one time when I was over at her house her Grandmother served persimmon cookies. They must have been really delicious because I have remembered alllllll this time how much I loved them and wanted to make my own. So, a couple weekends ago while I was visiting my mom I found some almost ripe persimmons at the store and bought like 8 lbs of them! I will say that persimmons take a loooong time to reach the perfect ripeness. It's worth the wait though because these cookies are the bomb diggity! I found the recipe on allrecipes.com, it's a good resource. I did not, however add raisins, just walnuts and I liked the flavor with those.

And swoon! Friday I trekked to a teeny little outlying town to check out the quilt store and found this fabric that I absolutely had to have a 1/2 yard even though frankly I have no idea what I'm going to do with it! and let me tell you part of the fun was that the bolt was wound around not merely plain cardboard like normal bolts of fabric but metallic gold! It just looked so pretty! And whimsical. and fun.

And next up is another swap I participated in on Swap-bot, "Bakers Dozen Ribbon Swap." the first picture is what I received which was from Jeanne, a very generous package of fun ribbon!

this second picture is the package that I sent out to Katie, I had fun putting it all together. Katie had mentioned in her profile that she scrapbooks, so I just put in a few little brads that she might could use with the ribbons. I like to do that with some of my scrapbook pages.

mish mash of weekend stuff

I tried out one of these journal covers, not sure that I completely followed the directions (what's new?) but I think it turned out well anyway. I didn't really pay attention while I was sewing that the lining fabric was sewed upside down. But I figured that was just fine since it is on the inside. So the fabric on the outside I found at the thrift store, and loved it. I decided to use it for this project because I wasn't actually covering a journal but rather a composition book that I use as my idea book. And, I felt like the print was sort of creatively ispiring. The inside is part of a vintage sheet. I love the pen holder!

At the office I work at we have two Debbies. One we call Little Debbie because she is short and the other Big Debbie because she is tall. I prefer to call Big Debbie, Tall Debbie because she is quite thin and Tall Deb fits her better. Anyways, Little Debbie brought me a huge bag of apples on Thursday from her apple tree! Today I peeled and cut them all up. I put two big ziplocs in the freezer with enough apples for two pies. I'm deciding whether or not I'd like to make apple sauce or apple pie with the other ginormous bag?

Next up today I am going to bake some cookies for Jan's girls night! Ya-hoo! I have a recipe that takes boxed cake mix and makes cookies. So, I'm doing German chocolate and I think I might even frost them! mmmm good.

Tomorrow there is a scrapbooking crop! I'm looking forward to making my Thanksgiving page to put in the frame that I change out. I put out most of my Thanksgiving decorations, but don't really have too many places to put things in this other house so can't use them all. I'm trying to think up what I can make to put a display together on the little shelves above the stove.

Oh yeah, and I also got my swap packages sent out yesterday for the vintage sheets as fabric swap I participated in. I'm not going to post pics yet though until they've gotten them. I didn't think anyone actually read my blog except Jennifer, but apparently for the scrapbook supply swap my partner got a sneak peek! Which is totally fine, but it may have ruined the surprise?

weekend

So last night and this morning was the Beth Moore simulcast. I'm still digesting everything, but it was totally AWESOME! I wish that I could truly explain all the little cool things God has done even just this weekend that I've experienced and observed. He is so in the little things, the details and also all the huge stuff too. I know I am being vague, can't help it :) I honestly feel like my life shifted this weekend though and I'm so excited to see what will happen.

For the rest of the weekend I am planning to bake again. I have a ton of zucchini to bake into bread, which I am going to freeze for future use. Not going to do the pickled zucs this weekend as I am out of jars!

I know I say this every Fall, but I am falling in love with plaid again! LOVE IT. Last year I bought some fun brown/orange plaid but never did anything with it, so I might be doing some sewing also. I rec'd the new LL Bean ladies catalog and I am totally loving this skirt (in chocolate) and this sweater(in sugarplum)! Loving it. So, if I can find a close enough print I might be making a skirt, then will have to find a sweater. I finished the knitting I was working on, I'll post pics with the pattern later.

Sweet Sunday

So Sunday ended up being my baking day! I baked 3 apple pies and a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. See, I HAD to bake 3 pies b/c I had meant to take one into work but you can't just take one into work and not have one for home. And you can't leave hubby out either, right? Therefore, 3 pies. The first two kind of turned out ugly and the third, which I took into work turned out better. I need to really work on the crusts, I'd really like to have them turn out pretty. With the cookies I found that turning the oven down to 350 degrees instead of 375 helped keep some of the chewiness. I personally do not like peanut butter cookies, but hubby said they turned out great!

I also worked on some knitting. No pics of that b/c it is a gift. I am charting my first ever picture onto a cloth. Once I get it made to make sure it actually looks like what I want it to, I will post the pattern. I have to get it done between now and 11:30 tomorrow morning :) Nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?

So, one of our patients brought in a TON of veggies from his garden today and I am totally inspired to definitely do a garden next year!!! There were green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, onions, and the BIGGEST cabbage I have ever seen in my entire life! It was seriously bigger than a basketball. I wish I had had my camera with me to share a pic. I am going to make a minestrone soup in the crock pot either tomorrow or Saturday. Most likely tomorrow. And, frankly, how awesome would it be to be able to can up my own veggies??? Oh, I have big plans in my head already! When we first moved here I had dreamed up a pumpkin patch, and thought how cool would it be to be able to have kids/families from church be able to come out and pick a pumpkin and we could even set up hay rides :) But, I was a little naive about how much work to clean out the dirt it is. I'm thinking that with the tractor we could probably set up the rototiller attachment and maybe my gardening dreams will come true. Then, the only other thing is the deer - we will also have to build a fence to keep them OUT! And the bunnies.

Tomorrow night is the Beth Moore simulcast, and I am so jazzed about it! I went to the one here in town last year, and it was great. Naturally, I was already planning to go this years, and come to find out that it is FREE! The church that hosted last year is doing it again this year, but this year they are not charging, just going to pass a donation basket. I think that's great, a lot more ladies will have an opportunity to go.

My to do list for the weekend is this:

1. Simulcast

2. dress alteration for little Debbie

3. bake TONS of zucchini bread and freeze it

4. minestrone soup in crock pot

5. possibly make pickled zucchini and can it

6. KNIT