Local Bakery Re-Opens

It was my middle child's birthday yesterday.  He turned 15.  I love birthdays and I try to do special things for each of my children on their birthdays.  Yesterday was no exception.  I started the day for my son by making an early morning pastry trip to a new, old bakery - Hans Bakery in Anoka, MN.  I say new, old bakery because it had been closed for a number of years and has now reopened with new owners but with many of the old recipes.  They also serve soup, sandwiches and salads and the Texas Donuts and Beehive/Bee Stings are still on their pastry menu.  The link to the website is:  www.hans-bakery.com

My son loves donuts so I thought I would pick out some special ones just for him.  Hans Bakery was packed at 7:30am on a Sunday morning.  I think that I'm not the only one that was excited to see that it had reopened.

My son was thrilled with the pastry choices he was presented with as soon as he got up!

He was also happy with the iced sugar cookies his little sister made for him yesterday afternoon

and the Dairy Queen cake as dessert after his steak dinner!

He has a bit of a sweet tooth!

"If there's no dessert in heaven, I'm not going."  -Unknown

Embroidery

My daughter has spent the past week at my parents' in western Minnesota.  She had a fabulous time.  In fact, she had so much fun, she really didn't want to come home.  I'm sure she loved all of the attention from two loving grandparents because when she's at home, she has to compete with her brothers!  Nonetheless, I was thrilled to pick her up from my sister's house (half way point from my house to my parents' house).  She was excited to tell me all about the things she had done and she was excited to give a little gift from Grandma.

I need to back up a bit.  Last weekend, I had driven my daughter to my parents'.  Whenever I see my mom, we show each other projects we're working on and ones we have yet to start.  We have shared hundreds of craft ideas and patterns. 

One of the crafts that my mom does that have been wanting her to teach my how to do is embroidery.  I know how to do basic stitches but I wanted to learn how to do this:

These look like they were done on a machine but these were all done by hand.  They are so beautiful!  Last weekend, when I dropped my daughter off to stay with them for the week, my mom and I finally had time to sit together so she could show me how to create these beautiful pieces of art.  I was thrilled to receive the gift of the iron on transfers!  I can't wait to start working on my own creations!

"Sewing mends the soul."  -Unknown
 

A Tasty Sandwich

I've been needing suppers or after school meals that are fast but nutritious.  I dug out this family favorite recipe that I usually make during the summer but I thought it would work well now.  It's a very filling sandwich that goes great with apple slices, carrots and a few salt & vinegar chips.

I started with the bread.  I usually make my own round, white loaf of bread.

Then I chopped about 3/4 cup of black & green olives and put them in a bowl.

To the olives, I added a minced clove of garlic, a small jar of pimentos (chopped), 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of oregano leaves, a tablespoon of chopped parsley, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/3 cup of olive oil.

Then I mixed it well and set it aside.

 When the bread was completely cooled, I cut it in half and hollowed out the "top".

On the bottom half, I layered sliced smoked turkey breast and honey ham.  I've also used roast beef.  Any combination of sandwich meat (equal to 1 pound) will work.

Next I added 1/4 of a pound of sliced cheese.  Any cheese will work.  I used Muenster this time but have used pepper jack and cheddar.  You can also combine multiple cheeses in one sandwich.

Lastly, I added the olive mixture, being careful to spread it out to the edges.

I put on the "top" and wrapped the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.

I did all of this last night so it would be ready for dinner tonight.  I unwrapped it and sliced it into triangles.  

This sandwich was big enough to feed three teenage boys, my husband and me with two slices left for lunch tomorrow!

"Enjoy every sandwich!"  -Warren Zevon

A Cozy/Soothing Gift

My sister in law shared this great idea with me yesterday and I couldn't wait to get the supplies to make some of my own.  Do you ever have a sore neck and would like to apply a little heat on it?  Are your feet freezing at night when you get into bed?  I have a project that will work for both.

You'll need flaxseed in bulk.  A food co-op would be a great place to purchase them.  My grocery store also sells them in the organic food section.

This project also uses hand towels.  Longer, wider hand towels work best for larger people or if you're going to use it as a bed warmer.

You'll need two standard pillow cases.  I washed mine before I used them in this project.

Lastly, you'll need some velcro.

The first step is to fold the towel in half lengthwise with right sides together.

Stitch closed the bottom and the side.

Cut a strip of velcro and sew each piece to the open end.

Turn the towels right side out.

Measure and cut the pillow case a little bit smaller than the towel.

Put the right sides together on the pillowcase and sew the end and side edge.

Pour two cups of flax seed into the pillow case "tube".

Stitch this section closed.  My sections were each 6" as my pillow case measured 24".  You can make your sections bigger or smaller and you can add more or less flax seed.  You can also add dried lavender.

Put the filled pillowcase into the sewn towel.

Press closed the velcro ends.  Now it can be heated in the microwave for a few minutes and then used as a bed warmer, a neck relaxer, a "cozy" for a sick child.....whenever a little warmth is necessary.

If you need to clean it, just remove the insert and wash the towel.  (If you try to wash the insert you'll end up with gummy flax seed!)  I very soothing gift!!

"For fast acting relief, try slowing down."  -Lily Tomlin

Style/Clothing Website

I'm on my way to my parents' house for the weekend.  My daughter is going to spend her spring break with her grandma and grandpa.  On the way to their house, we made a pit stop at my sister and brother-in-law's home which is about our half-way point.  We spent the night last night, giving my daughter a chance to hang out with her cousin and me a chance to have some much needed sister time.

My sister and I can talk about anything and everything......books we're reading, who is in our brackets for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, our children, our husbands, vacation spots, good deals we've found on clothes and accessories......  It's this last topic that really peaked my interest this morning.  She told me about a website that has become very popular at her work and one that she has taken part in.

The website is called Stitch Fix.  Here is a link:  https://www.stitchfix.com  This is a unique clothes styling website.  For $20, you can have a stylist pick five clothing and accessory items for you.  These items will be sent to you at your home where you can try them on with your own accessories and shoes.  You can keep what you like and return what you don't like.  You are not obligated to keep any of what they send you.  The $20 fee is applied to any of the pieces you keep plus you get an additional 25% off of your total purchase.  The boxes come once a month and you can cancel at any time.

I signed up this morning with a little help from my daughter.  There are a number of questions you need to answer in regards to size and how often you wear different types of clothing - business casual, casual, dressy, etc.  You also get to see a sampling of clothes in each style category and you can choose if these are styles you love or would consider trying.

When you get your box, it comes with a prepaid return label for whatever you choose to send back.  You also get little cards with suggestions on what to wear with each item.  I can't wait to get my box!!

"In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity."  -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Another Good Book

One of the things I just love to do is read.  I don't really have a favorite genre.  My degree is in English and over my four years in college, I had to read everything from Science Fiction to James Joyce.  I didn't like every book I read but I could appreciate good writing and the work that goes into the creative process of writing a book.  I have a book of my own started  but have had writers block for......a few years now!

What is really exciting to me is when someone I know writes and publishes a book.  I have a couple of high school classmates who are published authors.  The most recent of these books has made it to round two of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.  The title of the book is Inedible by Melissa Nelson.  For my Ortonville, MN readers, Melissa grew up on a dairy farm outside of town and graduated from high school a year after me.

Here is a snippet from her book page on Amazon.  www.amazon.com/dp/148128181X/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_piAktb1R22R43HND

"Dr. Jessica Bergstrom only wanted a good paying job to free her from student loan payback hell. Little did she know taking a job as a veterinary medical officer at the largest beef packing plant in Minnesota would plunge her straight into workplace hell. She can stomach the crummy working conditions, but her spineless, self-interested boss and a sleazy plant foreman are proving a bit too much to handle.

The plant owner's political wrangling, her agency's political waffling, and the plant manager's booming drug running trade combine into a crazy train that's bearing down on Jessica. She's hog tied to the tracks by rules and regulations. She'll need her wits, luck, and determination (and her best friend, Shana) to outmaneuver a supervisor determined to destroy her by any means possible and an equally determined plant foreman who wants to kill her for what she knows."

This is definitely a book I will be checking out soon - one to add to my every growing pile!

"Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them."  -Lemony Snicket

Painted Nails

What do you do with a little girl who is home sick from school and feels pretty miserable?  You pamper her by doing her nails of course!

My daughter had seen a You Tube video by Bethany Mota on how to paint marble/tie dye your nails and she has been waiting for me to have time to help her.  I watched the video once and then she and I gave it a try.  Here is a link to the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grI-QM32nyM

Here is how we did it:
Step 1 - we painted my daughter's fingernails white.  I used really inexpensive nail polish.  I got it for $.94 at Target.

Step 2 - we choose bright colored nail polish from my daughter's collection.

Step 3 - I put lukewarm water in a little bowl.  We used a bowl that we could either throw away or use again when do this technique again.

Step 4 - my daughter put tape around her nails to keep the polish off of her skin.  This doesn't have to be perfect as you can clean off the excess with a dab of polish remover when the nails are dry.

Step 5 - pour about 3 little drops of polish into the bowl of water.  We used 3 to 5 different colors at one time.

Step 6 - my daughter took a wooden skewer and dragged it through the colors to swirl them together.

Step 7 - this step is a bit awkward.  My daughter had to lay her finger into the polish, being careful not to dip it into the polish.  (Using a larger bowl would have made this step a bit easier.)

When she pulled her finger out, it looked a bit messy and all ten fingers looked like our experiment didn't work!

BUT.......after my daughter took the tape off, they looked a little better.

After cleaning them up with a cue tip and nail polish remover, they looked great!

The last step was to polish them with clean polish to help keep them from chipping.

My daughter loves her new nails and I think the pampering helped her feel a little better.  Now I can't wait to do my own - maybe in some soft colors with a little glitter?

"I don't like plain nails.  I get sad."  -Zooey Deschanel