Sewing project(s)

I remember once hearing an interview with Katarina Witt after she had won a medal at the Olympics. When she was asked what she had done that day in the Olympic village her reply was, "I bought some dress."

Today I decided to make some dress. I bought some nice fabric and pattern on sale and got to work as soon as I got home from Joann's. The pattern envelope said "1 hour dress". I'm not sure what that meant...it took me about 1 hour to cut it out and then probably 2 hours to do some sewing before trying it on and realizing that it didn't fit. ANNOYING!

Then I moved on to the next project: a pouch. Last week I got this book. I'd been patiently awaiting for it to be published. I've been sewing for years but was intrigued by the title and this woman has one of the coolest craft blogs I've seen so I knew the book would be filled with really cool projects (and it is).

So...tonight I made some pouch. And it fits perfectly.

Late night lemon bread

I got the recipe from a friend's blog. Just did a taste test; it's delicious.

Incidentally, this is my 400th blog entry. Blog city.

Dresses

My sister-in-law made these origami dresses for me and framed them for my birthday gift. They are so cool! She made three others that I would like to frame. She loves making things. Years ago I remember her saying that she'd make shoes if she could find a pattern!

A story

My friend has a dog.
Her dog ate two socks.
Then he threw up two socks.
After that she had to shake his head so he would let go of the dead rat in his mouth.

I don't want a dog. The end.

Me famous?

Click here. 'Nuff said.

Colorful quilt

Today one of my coworkers came into my office and asked if I wanted this round tablecloth/quilt that she didn't want any more. Uh yeah! It's beautiful. I love all the colorful fabric. Now I need to think of something fun to do with it.

The Ellen Patton Packet

If you move into the Arlington Ward there's a good chance that you will get a visit from me and a copy of The Ellen Patton Packet. The packet includes some great articles about Boston (most are from the Boston Globe), brochures of places to visit in New England (there are LOTS of fun things to do in New England), and 3 of my (beautiful) photocards.

I visited a new couple early this afternoon and enjoyed getting to know them.

Just like all the others, they were pleased to receive The Ellen Patton Packet.

Happy 97th Birthday, President Hinckley!

Check out my friend's blog

And she's got a free giveaway!

http://www.thisweekfordinner.com/

Book Club

I enjoyed this book!

The title is "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards.

better brownies

Remember last week's brownies with the burned edges? Forget those, these are way better! My friend emailed this recipe to me yesterday with this note: my friend brought these brownies over on friday and they are oUT OF THIS WORLD!!! i thought you might enjoy making/eating/sharing them!


I got my latest installment of chocolate chips tonight for daily blogging. And, tonight I made these brownies, ate them, and shared them! They are OUT OF THIS WORLD!!












Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies (Gourmet Magazine, September 1992)

6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt the bittersweet chocolate and the unsweetened chocolate with the butter, stirring until the mixture is smooth, remove the bowl from the heat, and let the mixture cool until it is lukewarm. Stir in the sugar and the vanilla and add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in the salt and the flour, stirring until the mixture is just combined, and stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into a well-buttered and floured 13- by 9-inch baking pan, smooth the top, and bake the mixture in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Let the mixture cool completely in the pan on a rack and cut it into 24 bars.

Happy Birthday to ME!

One of my coworkers heard it was my birthday yesterday and called me. When she asked how old I was I said, "how old do you think I am?"

Her reply was, "twenty six".

In case you were wondering, no, she is not legally blind (that would be the first question Robes would have asked).

I was twenty six about twenty one years ago. I'm glad I don't look my age.

I need more candles

Father's Day

Here is a picture of my dad with the three oldest (sorry Chuck!). I'll try to dig one up of the whole gang but I'm not sure I'll be able to scan it tonight.

I hope it's been a nice Father's Day for everyone.

Happy Father's Day, Bob (Dad)!!

Cousins Club

These baby girl cousins are three months apart! Lucky!!

Chatterbox

No quilting or baking tonight just a lot of talking.

Remember film?

I shot 5 rolls of film while I was in Florida and I love love love this picture of my 12 year old niece and I miss miss miss her.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

I tried a new recipe tonight. I'm not sure why the entire edge burned. I turned the fan on and opened my big window for fear a smoke alarm would go off. At 11:30 at night (not good). When I cut the brownies up, they looked good and tasted good. So, I'll go ahead and share the recipe.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Real Simple Magazine

2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
8 large peanut butter cups, cut into pieces

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter and chocolate in a pan over low heat. Using a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy. Lower speed and pour in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Mix in the flour and salt. Fold in the peanut butter cups. Scrape into a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake until the tip of a knife comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

*I used Pam instead of butter and regular salt which may be why I nearly had a kitchen fire. :)

The birthday quilt

This is what all the late-night sewing was all about. I made my sister-in-law a quilt for her birthday and hand delivered it to her over the weekend. It didn't take too long to make and my friend Julie helped me choose fabric (she's great at that), cut it out, and put the front and back together (spray adhesive is a nifty invention) once I finished all the sewing. She even let me use her fancy walking foot to do the quilting part, which keeps it from puckering (a good thing).

Now I want to make a million quilts. They are super easy and I just love how they look. I'm addicted. I have plenty of fabric in my stash so I need to get busy!

Goodbye Adrienne, Jamel and Ian

Mission Is Possible

Ian gave a great talk today in church (though interestingly, made no mention of his upcoming mission to Argentina!) and we had a fun Open House (ooops, I mean "family gathering") tonight with lots of friends, desserts, and sushi. He's got 17 days to get his hair cut and shave his Grisly Adams beard.

FLA

I arrived in Florida this morning. It's a quick and easy flight from Boston (I slept most of the way after getting only 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night). The weather is beautiful and it's good to be here. Ian has grown since I saw him last (01/06) and is nearly 6'5". Yikes; that's tall! I took some family photos at the beach tonight (the boys loved it...hahaha!) and here are a few of my favorites.

Pomp & Circumstance

Happy Birthday to you!

My sister-in-law's birthday is today. I left her voice mail earlier and will hand carry her hand made gift when I fly to Florida this weekend for my nephew's missionary un-farewell. Here is a picture of her when she was here a few weeks ago. We met in the college dorms many many years ago and have been good friends since. We would talk late into the night (after studying, of course) and I distinctly remember thinking that we would always be good friends, though I never thought she would marry one of my brothers. It will be fun to see her again so soon. It will be a quick trip but we'll find time to collect shells at the beach and I'm going to take some family pictures before Ian goes to Argentina.

Happy Birthday, Kim!!!

Commencement countdown

I took my camera to work today and took photos of Killian Court while they were setting up for Commencement which is on Friday!

The good stuff

Wilson Farms in Lexington sells some good chocolate milk.

I'm back!

I'll spare you the DSL Drama of the Day and just say that I'm pleased that I'm back on-line at home even if I do have cords stretched all over the place!

big and little

I went to visit two new baby boys last night. Baby A weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces and Baby W weighed in at 11 pounds 6 ounces. Guess which is which?!

They are both beautiful and fun to photograph.

Blog-a-holic

I'm without the internet at home...until Monday.

I'm Ellen and I miss blogging and reading blogs...

Two A.M.

I started working on a new sewing project last night. Then I visited Neighborly Neighbor for a while with two other friends; we enjoyed root beer floats and then said goodbye (snif, snif). When I got home (at midnight) I decided to continue working on the aforementioned new project. Until two A.M. I'm excited that it's partially done but WHO SEWS UNTIL TWO IN THE MORNING???

I do, that's who.