Autumn Curtains and Pillowcases for the Bedroom

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As mentioned here, it was time to get moving on those autumn curtains and pillowcases for the bedroom .... soon the snow will be flying and the quilt will need to be changed out to the winter one!  Yikes, time moves way to fast for me ... as do the seasons.

Last year when I picked up this autumn-themed quilt on sale for only $6.00, I had made a set of pillowcases for it to match and a little nightstand table runner (if you can call it that, it is so small) but the hubster and I use two pillows each so another set of pillowcases was needed as was the curtains.  These quilts are from a big box store and I have picked up one for autumn, one for summer, one for winter and one for summer so far ... I just need one for spring!   They do not come with pillowcases or pillow shams.

My fabric stash is getting out of control and I want to tame and lighten it a bit before buying more soooooo that means I have to find something to sew!  New curtains and pillowcases are a great start.  Since I have to make the same for all of my quilts, it should help reduce the stash a bit.  

Old curtains .....

Found some gingham ....  who doesn't love gingham?  New curtains!

Then I had enough of the gingham (if I added a large matching hem) for the pillowcases.

The autumn set is DONE!  

Now I better get started on the Christmas set ..... that will be here before I know it.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Pumpkin Toffee Muffins with Cream Cheese Glaze

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October is the month for PUMPKIN!!!  I love pumpkin and since we see them everywhere, I just have to eat it .... in many, many different ways.  The following is just one way that I have been using pumpkin.

I found the recipe here but you know me ... I never follow a recipe or a pattern exactly the same.  So instead of Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Muffins, it was Pumpkin-Toffee Muffins!  Mostly due to the fact that I was out of chocolate chips but boy they turned out oh so good.  This will definitely become a staple in our household in October.

Pumpkin Toffee (or Chocolate Chip if you so desire)Muffins with Cream Cheese Glaze

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup applesauce

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups of toffee chips (or chocolate chips)

In a large mixing bowl, mix egg, sugar, pumpkin, vegetable oil and applesauce until smooth.  

In another bowl,  combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

Fold in toffee chips.

Filled greased or paper-lined muffin tins 3/4 full.

Bake at 400 degrees for 16 to 20 minutes or until muffins test done 

by inserting a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Move to wire rack to finish cooling.

If desired, add cream cheese glaze and toffee chips.

Cream Cheese Glaze

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

1 cup icing sugar

Water

Mix cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth.

Thin with water until it becomes smooth enough to drizzle with a spoon over muffins.

Sprinkle with toffee chips.

Now I just need a pumpkin latte .... anyone with a recipe?  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

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Cooler weather gets me in the baking mood.  Having flurries for a couple of days the nesting instinct surfaced.  I needed to clean our home, light some candles, bring out the knitting and do some baking.

I have been searching blogs for new recipes and have been trying quite a few of them.  I am a bread lover....banana, lemon-poppyseed, zucchini, cinnamon, chocolate chip....many, many flavors are my absolute favorite so my recipe box is full....time to try one!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake ...... yummmmm just the name conjures up a warm slice with a hot cup of tea on a blustery day reading a book.

Off to the kitchen I went. 

Molly made this coffee cake look so delicious with her pictures, I just had to try one for myself.  Apparently it originally comes from the Taste of Home cookbook...which *blushing* I own a copy and it sits among the other lonely cookbooks on my shelf.

CINNAMON COFFEE CAKE

1 cup butter

2 3/4 cup of sugar (divided)

4 eggs

3 cups of flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups sour cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Using a mixer, cream butter in a large bowl.  Add only 2 cups of the sugar (set the remaining 3/4 cup aside) mixing well.  Add eggs one at a time, beat until creamy.  Add flour, baking soda and salt.

Add sour cream and vanilla extract.  The sour cream is what makes this coffee cake so delicious (in my opinion).

Mix the cinnamon into the sugar that you set aside.  Stir until it looks like cinnamon sugar.  

Using a bundt pan.......I apparently don't own one....I thought I did so I used a spring-form pan which turned out to be too small and I had a huge albeit delicious mess on the bottom of my cookie sheet (I had placed a cookie sheet under the spring-form pan in case of overflow which is exactly what happened).

After greasing your cake pan, add a layer of batter, then sprinkle generously the cinnamon sugar.  Repeat this process two more times ending with cinnamon sugar on the top. 

Since my pan was too small I used a small loaf pan for the excess.

Place in a 350 degree oven for approximately 50 minutes then begin checking it.  The cookbook says 60 to 65 minutes, Molly said 53 minutes and mine was around 55 minutes.  It needs to be watched carefully to prevent it from burning.  My little loaf pan was ready in about 45 minutes.

After devouring all the little bits that had overflowed onto the cookie sheet, (I just couldn't resist!!!)  I waited for it to cool enough before cutting into the big cake......oooh, delicious!  

Smearing on some butter and pouring a cup of coffee, I sat and enjoyed the warm cinnamony goodness while watching the leaves spin off the trees in the wild wind.

Take the time to bake up some yumminess soon....you won't be disappointed.  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Getting Some Stitching Done

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I have been working on this table runner which seems like forever but I am finally starting to make some progress on it.  Once the stitching part of it is done, I would then like to add some patchwork to the back and quilt the whole thing.  I think that would add quite a bit of character to the overall look ... but until then, I stitch away.

Hubby wanted to add another couple of coats of varnish to the old, front steps and deck.  It gets a lot of use and was badly banged up this past winter due to scraping off the ice that had accumulated after some ice storms.

The weather was sunny and pleasant so I grabbed my stitching, a bottle of water, sat and enjoyed a little time visiting with him while he worked and I stitched.  See those two black dots in the sky?  Those were two Canadian geese...they are starting to band together for their long flight south.  

Soon we will not be able to sit outside and soak up all the natural Vitamin D that Mother Nature so generously provides.  Soon the days will be dark and gloomy and the clouds heavy with snow.  Soon the winds will blow, the plow truck will need to be primed, gassed up and ready, scarves, mittens and snow pants will be dug out of the back of the closet.  Soon the the television will be permanently tuned to the weather channel so we can keep an eye and ear for storm updates.  Soon candles, the generator, extra blankets, and board games will be placed in Luke's bedroom for easy access in case a storm hits....but for now, just for now, I will enjoy visiting while sitting, stitching and watching my hubby pluck away at his chore list.  

Have a great weekend and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Apple Pie Bread

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Now that the weather is cooler, it is time to bake around this old homestead.  I search for new recipes all summer long .... in magazines, on blogs, on websites ... wherever I can find one!

I love the smell of goodies baking in the kitchen.  The smell wafts through the house and makes it seem all cozy and warm.  On those days that are cloudy and dreary, there is nothing better than a cup of tea and a fresh baked goodie.

I have bookmarked quite a few newbies this year and could not wait to start trying them.  Well this weekend was the perfect time for some homemade goodness.  If you are going to try something new this year ....... you just have to try this recipe!  I think I gained ten pounds just looking at it sitting on the counter!

This is the ultimate in goodness.  The taste of apple pie in a bread!  Can you just imagine the yumminess?  Not sure if that is even a word but it was definitely yummy!  I am a bread-loving type gal so this one is just perfect for me and with having an abundance of hand picked apples from a neighbor's tree, well this recipe was a perfect one to try.

You can find the recipe here.  Julia has created this masterpiece and what a masterpiece it is.  The center is a cream cheese/icing sugar delight and the crumbly apple pie/brown sugar topping is 'the icing on the cake' so to speak.  

Since you now have the recipe, I will leave you with pictures to entice your taste buds.  Try it, you won't regret it!

Remember to give your loved ones a hug .... and a slice of apple delight!

Gardening and Giveaway

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Today was spend bringing in the garden...very long and tiring day but we are expecting rain and quite a bit cooler temperatures over the next few days so it was time.






The weariness of the busy day spent in the sun is beginning to settle in my body but I wanted to tell you about my first giveaway! I will post a picture tomorrow of the items. I want to thank all of you who read my blog so regularly and post the lovely comments, I really appreciate them.
My 'fall giveaway' is my way of saying thank you! So make sure you check back tomorrow. Off to make myself a cup of tea and watch the evening news. I have to make sure the forecast hasn't changed to snow! :)

Some Preparing for Winter and Planning for Hunting Season

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EEEK!! I saw this today!





See that little tiny tree in the middle of the picture? Do you see the colors of the leaves!!! Yellow!! They are yellow!!

Panic has set in....fall is officially here. So while working in the garden this afternoon and after seeing that little tree with the bright foliage, I began to think of what is to come.

Halloween, Thanksgiving, hunting season, and Christmas....but the snow is what I am most worried about.

I walked around the yard, picking up items and putting them away either in the storage trailer or in the sheds that are no longer needed for this year. When you start seeing leaves change in Northern Minnesota, you have to work fast at getting ready for colder temperatures...it can literally happen overnight.

I managed to clean up quite a bit and was satisfied with my accomplishments so I decided to take a meander over to the deer stand to see how it is holding up for another upcoming hunting season.



I noticed some of the tarp is falling down a little so I will have to make sure either Luke or Bob takes a hammer and nail to it before hunting season begins. Can't have those deer seeing you through the slits! That wouldn't work.




As you can see the stand is quite high up in a tree. Bob built it for Pasie a few years ago and it is used alot. In the winter it is fun to climb up and be able to see for miles once all the leaves have fallen and there is snow on the ground.

It is fun to climb up on a star filled night and feel that you can almost reach out and touch them... some nights it seems like you really could.

With the approach of hunting season comes lots of baking and cooking. We usually have alot of family here that I need to be prepared for. Now is the time that I begin to bake and cook so I can freeze everything. When the men arrive...all I have to do it pull something out and a nice, warm meal is ready for when then head in after night falls. It saves my sanity to be organized. :)

Well, off to make my list. I have already received requests for cabbage rolls, swedish meatballs, and taco dip. It will be a busy time once again but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Give all your loved ones a hug tonight. :)