SNOW DAY!

After a week of snowflakes appearing and disappearing on our weather apps last week

the snow finally arrived ~ somewhat unexpectedly. 

It came down hard and piled up fast however it didn't last long. By morning it was starting to melt but it was fun while it lasted. 

Warm Winter Wishes for your Wednesday, 

the Hawaiian Mu'umu'u Challenge

What's a girl to do with her fun Hawaiian Mu'umu'us once she no longer wears them? They are too sentimental to sell or give away but it is too cold here to wear them most of the time and there is no enjoyment to be had if they are stored away in a box or in the back of a closet. They eventually become out of sight out of mind and then easily forgotten. Well, my sister had a similar dilemma and came up with a creative solution. 

She asked me if I might be able to repurpose her Mu'umu'us and turn them into Pillowcases. What a brilliant idea! Repurpose them into something useful and enjoyable. It was perfect. I love a challenge so I said yes as soon as she asked. Then she gave me her two mu'umu'us and I got to work.

I started the project by taking out the seams and hems and then figured out how to use the odd shaped pieces so that they would work. It required a little piecing on the back panel however the tropical prints hide the seams fairly well. 

Since there was barely enough fabric for the body of the pillowcases I used some fabric from my stash for the trim and cuff. 

To make the inside really nice I finished all the seams with french and flat felled seams. That way there are no raw edges where I had to piece it together to make it the right size. I love my serger however I prefer these seams for this project.

Here is a better look at a couple of the seams on the inside of one of the pillowcases.

The dresses were made of different fabric. One was rayon and the other cotton. While I was taking them apart I decided the tags and labels would come in handy so I saved them. The instruction tags I sewed to the inside of the pillowcases for reference when washing. 

I am happy to report that leftover scraps of fabric did not go to waste. I was able to use most of them for fun Face Masks.

And, I had just enough for a cute Little Wallet. 

And, matching face masks.

As for the wonderful labels, I could not let them go to waste. I sewed one on the fitted face mask.

The other one I stitched inside the Hawaiian Little Wallet. 

All the projects were so much fun to make. 

As I folded the pillowcases and prepared everything to give back to my sister I decided it would be fun to tie it all up with some of the serged edges of fabric I had cut off and saved. It made a sweet little matching ribbon. 

To finished it off I made a tag to tie on top and a card to slip into the Little Wallet.

I do have one nice sized piece of Hawaiian fabric left which I am holding onto because I have another project in mind that I am hoping it will be perfect for. If all goes as planned I will be back to share. 

Aloha!

Blueberry Donut Muffins: ---------------------------------------------- an old classic with a new twist --------------

These muffins have been a family favorite as long as I can remember. Our mother used to make them for us growing up and of course I make them for my family. Needless to say they are a favorite here too. We love them. So why mess with something that is already so good? No reason really, except that I wanted to try something new. 

It also happens that this month I have been on a frozen blueberry kick and trying to find new ways to use some of the fresh blueberries we picked from our garden last summer and stored in the freezer. So Saturday I decided to try using some to make a topping for my muffins.  Once I mixed up the muffins and put them in the oven to bake I made a very small batch of blueberry sauce. A little test batch for only a few muffins just in case it did not work or we did not care for the taste.

Once the muffin were finished baking I let them cool a few minutes so that they were easier to handle. Then, instead of dipping them in melted butter I dipped them instead in the homemade blueberry sauce and then the cinnamon sugar. The result was wonderful. 

They were so good. In fact, a friend stopped by to have coffee with the hubs shortly after I had finished making them and while they were still warm. I was told he chose the blueberry topped version. Apparently he commented on how much he liked it so I'll consider that a thumbs up and will have to do it again the next time I make a batch of donut muffins. 

Happy Monday!

Beef Shanks for Two

We tried something new for dinner this week. Miss E has been telling me she is eager to try a new recipe that calls for beef shanks so I shared that with the hubs since I knew he would be interested. It turned out he was more than interested, he was all over the idea and the next thing I knew he had been to the store to pick some up. 

Neither of us had cooked them before however Mr. Wonderful had them once at a nice restaurant in the Philippines and said they were amazing. Now his goal was to recreate what they had served. 

He prepped everything and then started in. The first step was to brown the shanks.

Once they were slightly brown he removed them and then cooked the vegetables until very soft and golden. Next he added some red wine and then tomatoes and broth. He brought that to a boil and then returned the beef shanks to the pot, covered it with the lid and put it in the oven for several hours. 

The prep was fairly easy and it was nice to have everything cleaned up before it was finished. While the shanks were cooking the hubs went out to the garden and snipped some fresh thyme and sage which he minced and then set aside.

Once it came out of the oven we removed the shanks to see how they turned out. They were so tender it was difficult to lift them without the meat falling off the bones which is exactly what it should do. The Beef Shanks he had at the restaurant in the Philippines were served whole with the sauce on top however we took the meat off the bones and added it back to the sauce. Then he stirred in the minced thyme and sage. 

We decided to serve ours over penne pasta.

Next time we might try it over polenta. 

It is hard to believe we have not cooked every cut of meat but there are still a few we have yet to try although we can now move Beef Shanks off the list because it has been added to our favorites.

Happy Saturday!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Last summer we had a bumper crop of blueberries. We were diligent about picking them regularly, eating some, of course, because what is better than a handful of warm, fresh picked blueberries from your own backyard? Once we had our fill we put the remaining berries in bags and put them in the freezer. 

Our summer blueberry tally is unknown because we did not keep track but I can assure you there are many quart bags full of them in the freezer. They make for an quick and easy snack but also are wonderful to bake with. 

The past couple weeks I had been in the mood to bake something fruity so finally decided on some quick Blueberry Crumb Bars. 

They are easy to make and a favorite here so they are going fast.

That is always a good thing. It also means it will soon be time to bake again!

Happy Thursday!!

cold and cloudy with a chance of SNOW!

January is the perfect month for snow themed chalkboards. 

The forecast here is calling for {a chance of } snow at the end of the week and my chalkboards were in need of a change so of course they had to be all about SNOW.  Our family is nuts about snow so even the mere mention of it gets us excited and on the ready. 

The hello snow was pretty quick however the snowman chalkboard took a little more time and both were drawn freehand in the wee hours of the morning. 

Hopefully we will see snowflakes by the end of the week but until then we can enjoy snowflakes made of  chalk!

He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth'...

Job 37:6

Blessings!

Chocolate Chip Dump Cake

Last weekend my sisters and I were headed over to our parents house so naturally I wanted to make a sweet treat to take and share with everyone. I had not planned ahead so needed something quick and easy and ran across this recipe that my mother had given me a while back but had never gotten around to making it. 

After giving it a quick glance I knew I had all the ingredients on hand and that it would be ready in time so I gave it a try. 

After preheating the oven I put all the cake ingredients into a big bowl and mixed thoroughly. This could be done with either a stand mixer or hand mixer. 

The next step is just layering the batter, the cinnamon mixture and chocolate chips. Easy, peasy!

Then pop it in the oven for 30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean and your cake is done. 

It really is just that simple. If you need a quick dessert you might give this a try. 

print recipe

CHOCOLATE CHIP DUMP CAKE

http://thegrandsurprise.blogspot.com

by Jennifer Stull

Ingredients

• CAKE BATTER
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
• 10 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• CINNAMON SUGAR MIXTURE
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• CHOCOLATE CHIPS
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray
2. In a large bowl combine all cake batter ingredients and mix until well combined, 1~2 minutes.
3. In a small bowl stir together cinnamon and sugar until well combined.
4. Spread half of the batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the top and half of the chocolate chips. Repeat with remaining batter, cinnamon sugar mixture and remaining chocolate chips. 
5. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until golden brown and tooth pick comes out mostly clean. Be careful not to over bake. 

Happy Baking!

Happy Sunday

In the mood for pineapples recently and sketched this one while journaling last week. Then decided to add a little color. 

from my list of one thousand gifts:

:: family :: Holidays :: safe travel :: family time :: health :: friends :: Duber :: random acts of kindness :: afternoon walks ::  

Blessings!