6/30/2008

Okay, nobody faint...

... I added some new items to my etsy shops. Gasp! I know I haven't done it since the move, but I think I've finally got my shnickerdoodles in order and I want to see what I'm capable of. It's not much, but I made some new little lacey bracelets that I just adore!

I was inspired by this post at Bitter Betty and this one from Angry Chicken. And shortly after I made these Futuregirl posted this tutorial for similar ones. Great minds think alike, as they say. There's 3 of each kind for sale at Oh the Cuteness! Also, I'm finally selling that little green apple lunch bag I made last summer. I know I said I was going to keep it, but I was so afraid that I would get dye on it that I never took it to work. I think it needs to go home with someone who will use it. There's a few fun new Japanese supplies for sale over at The Slug as well. Hope everyone's having a good day!

6/15/2008

Misery Pie

So this was, truly, one heck of a crappity crap weekend. Edit: Okay, so I'm not that miserable, just happened to be blogging whilst in a bad mood. Must remember to not do that, lol. So I find it's best in these kinds of situations to... Bake a pie. Heals all wounds in my opinion. So I scraped one together from things I had on hand because I haven't had any money for groceries since I bought my new bike 2 weeks ago. It's been a lot of noodle cups lately, which didn't help my mood I'm sure. I hope I snap out of this soon; seems like it's been going on since I moved into my new appartment, maybe it's bad feng shui or something. It just feels like I've lost a bit of my spunk, and my ability to get much of anything done. I'm trying to truck along and keep going, but sometimes one needs to have a self-pity day, stay in bed till 7 p.m. and get up and watch 3 straight hours of Monty Python's Flying Circus while eating peanutbutter and chocolate chips, then bake a pie at nearly midnight and consider eating the whole thing. Anywho, here's my recipe for Blackberry Peach Crumb Pie, hope it helps when you're feeling miserable.

Pie Filling:
1 can blackberries
1 can peach halves
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
juice of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain 1/2 of each can's liquid into a small saucepan and add the sugar and corn starch. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and darkens to a pudding-like consistency. To keep it from burning easily I like to hold the pan a little above the heat. Remove from heat. Discard the rest of the liquid from the cans and add the blackberries and lemon juice to the saucepan and stir to coat. Pour filling into a frozen piecrust and push the peach halves into the blackberries.

Pie Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped almonds, plus extra whole ones for the top (optional)
2 tablespoons cold cubed butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Put all the ingredients into a bowl and knead with your fingers until it becaomes a nice sandy consistency. Sprinkle over the top of the pie and pat down evenly. Add extra almonds to make it pretty and fight off misery. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is brown. Stay in the kitchen and enjoy the smell, that alone makes one feel better. Try not to eat the whole thing.

6/08/2008

Chalkboard Update!

Here's the chalkboard we've had going for a while now, click on it for a larger view. It's finally full so we can erase it and start over! This is one of the best ones yet, so may inside jokes, lol! Angela and I noticed that it's kind of like our joint diary in pictures. Hope someone out there gets the salmon mousse joke. No one is going to get any of the other ones without further explanation, which I just don't have the energy for right now, lol.