My new ironing board!

Doesn't that title just reel you in?! LOL! Last weekend I decided that I needed a sewing project that was not baby-related. I've been making a lot of baby gifts for pregnant friends and upcoming showers (posts on these coming soon) and I wanted to make something for me, so I decided on a new cover for my ironing board. A google search produced a link to a lovely tutorial by a lady in England all about how to make your own ironing board cover. On Tuesday I set out to find some fabric for my project and found this lovely red and cream toile. I adore toile!! I would absolutely love to use it in decorating, so here's my first attempt. I suppose an ironing board isn't exactly decorative, unless you sew and iron seams a lot (which I've been doing) and it's easier to just leave the ironing board set up next to your sewing machine than it is to set it up and put it back down every day. (How's that for a run-on sentence?) Red and cream just happens to coordinate with the colors and fabrics in my craft room, so when I do leave it out it will look a little less random.




I love my new ironing board! Think I'll be more eager to iron now? :)

American Idol - Top 7

Another fun-filled week with American Idol! This week's mentor is Mariah Carey...hmmmm...not too sure about this one. I liked Mariah when she first started out and I was oh, 11, but I'm kind of over her at this point. She's a little too sensual and racy for my taste and I haven't bought one of her CDs in years. Oh well, enough about that...let's get to the music!

David A - "When You Believe" - Oh Wow! I love this song - from the Prince of Egypt soundtrack. I love the melody, the message, everything; guess I forgot it was a Mariah song. Actually it's been so long since I've heard it that I think I forgot about the song. He did a good job with it, although I do prefer the original.

Carly - "Without You" - Carly is my new favorite since Michael left last week. She looks great tonight! Rockin' performance y'all! I totally disagree with Simon and Randy (I liked the restraint she practiced at the beginning). Note to self: VOTE for Carly tonight!!

Syesha - "Vanishing" - A good performance. Didn't really wow me or anything, but a valiant effort.

Brooke - "Hero" - Well, I like this song fairly well, but I'm not really digging this version. It needed more instrumentation or something. I feel like the song is too powerful to perform it "unplugged." She seemed really nervous too. I also wish she'd stop talking back to the judges. I've heard other express this opinion too - it's judging not a conversation!!

Kristy Lee - "Forever" - She looks awesome tonight! I don't know this song, but I think that she did a great job with it. So far she and Carly have been the girls who've succeeded with the Mariah songs tonight.

David C - "Always Be My Baby" - Not digging this version. Sorry to say that, as I do like this song and I like David. I guess it was just too different for my tastes this evening. That said, I do think he's the strongest male in the competition right now and can definitely sing. I just didn't really dig this performance.

Jason - "I Don't Want To Cry" - It was okay for me. Not great, but certainly not bad either. I do however wish I was at a luau on the beach!

Should go - Brooke

Will go - After the upset last week, I think it could come up and smack Brooke in the face this week. But I think Syesha and Kristy Lee could be vulnerable this week, too.

Best of the Night - Carly (Despite what the judges said. I'm on the phone voting for her right now!)

A delightful time was had by all...

Book group was wonderful last night! I was really pleased with how the food and the whole evening turned out. Book group is so much fun!


The menu was Shrimp Cocktail Dip with crackers, Garden Veggie Pizza Squares, Cherries Jubilee Cheesecake Squares, Strawberry Iced Tea, and Ice Water. The recipes are below for your tasting pleasure.


Shrimp Cocktail Dip
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 lb. cooked shrimp, chopped (2 cups)
3/4 cup Cocktail Sauce
1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
2 green onions, sliced

SPREAD cream cheese onto bottom of shallow bowl or 9-inch pie plate. Toss shrimp with cocktail sauce; spoon over cream cheese.

SPRINKLE with Parmesan cheese and onions.

SERVE with Wheat Thins Snack Crackers.


Garden Veggie Pizza Squares
1 pkg. (8 oz.) ready to bake crescent rolls
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (4 oz.) dry ranch dressing mix
2 carrots, minced
1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped green bell pepper
1/2 c. finely chopped broccoli
1/2 c. chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out crescent rolls onto large non-stick baking sheet. Stretch/flatten to form rectangular shape on sheet. Bake 11 to 13 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool.

In medium size mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until softened. Mix in 1/2 to the whole package of ranch dressing mix, according to your taste. Spread the mixture over the cooled crust. Arrange carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, and green onions over the top of the crust. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Cut into bite-sized squares and serve.


Cherries Jubilee Cheesecake Squares
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist cherry chip cake mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy cherry frosting
3 eggs

Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, beat dry cake mix and butter with electric mixer on low speed until crumbly; reserve 1 cup. In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan, press remaining crumbly mixture.

In same bowl, beat cream cheese and frosting with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs until blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumbly mixture.

Bake about 45 minutes (about 42 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until set; cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): In step 1, prebake the crust 10 minutes. In step 3, bake about 50 minutes.

I could've told you this...

You Are Flip Flops

You are laid back and very friendly. Cheery and sunny in disposition, you usually have something to smile about. Style is important to you, as long as you can stay casual. It takes a lot to get you to dress up! You are a loyal and true person, though you can be a bit of a flake. You tend to "play hooky" and blow off responsibilities a lot more than most people. You should live: By the beach You should work: At a casual up and coming company

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Chocolate Cake and a Great Read

Happy Monday! This weekend the weather was beautiful here and the next two days are supposed to be even nicer - hooray! We had a birthday lunch for my sister-in-law to attend yesterday and I was asked to bring the cake. She LOVES chocolate so I was sure to make something full of chocolate. I had a new cookbook from Pillbury that I hadn't made anything from yet and thought I'd try it out. I found a recipe called Chocolate-Cherry Truffle Cake that sounded delish - and it was! I (and my sis-in-law) highly recommend it!



Chocolate-Cherry Truffle Cake

Filling:
1 c. chocolate chips
2/3 c. sweetened condensed milk (from 14 oz. can)
1/4 t. almond extract

Cake:
1 box chocolate fudge cake mix with pudding
1 c. water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 t. almond extract
4 eggs
1 box (3.9 oz) chocolate instant pudding
1 jar (10 oz) maraschino cherries, drained on paper towel, chopped (3/4 cup)

Glaze:
Remaining sweetened condensed milk (from 14 oz. can)
3/4 c. chocolate chips
2 T. corn syrup
1 t. milk, if needed

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees*. Grease 12-cup bundt cake pan with shortening; lightly flour. In medium microwaveable bowl, microwave all filling ingredients on high 25 to 35 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted and smooth; set aside.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, 1/2 t. almond extract, the eggs and pudding pudding mix with electric mixer on low speed about 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. With rubber spatula, fold in chopped cherries. Spoon batter into pan; spread evenly. Carefully spoon filling in ring over batter (do not let filling touch side of pan).

3. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted 1 inch from side comes out clean, top of cake feels firm to the touch, and cake pulls away slightly from side of pan. Cool 15 minutes.

4. Place heatproof serving plate over pan; turn plate and pan over. Remove pan. Cool cake completely; about 1 hour

5. In 1-qt saucepan, heat all glaze ingredients except milk over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in up to 1 t. milk if necessary for desired glaze consistency. Pour glaze over cake, allowing some to drizzle down sides.

6. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

*High altitude - heat oven to 375 degrees

Tonight my book group is meeting at our house to discuss The Quilter's Homecoming by Jennifer Chiaverini. It's a wonderful book that I loved so very much. I have lots to do today to get ready. I'll post pics and recipes for the food I made tomorrow...till then!

Friday Happenings

Just thought I'd share a few things about my day. First of all, I made a major killing at Walgreens this morning. I used a lot of tips and deals from MoneySavingMom to score some major savings. First thing this morning I took probably an hour (maybe more) and planned my shopping trip, printed coupons, and organized my list so that I would be getting the most for my money. Walgreens had an additional coupon for $5 off a purchase of $20 or more today which made my trip that much more economical. Anyway, thanks to sales and coupons, I bought $59.09 worth of merchandise for $9.23. PLUS, several of the items I bought are free after mail-in rebate, so I'll be getting $11.88 back from Walgreens once I get that sent in. I actually MADE money this morning - sweet! I don't think I'll be doing this kind of shopping every week, but it sure is fun when I can work them out! Here's the photo of what I got...



Second, the sun is out!! It isn't awfully warm and we've had some major wind gusts, but at least the sun is shining. Early next week we're supposed to get into the 70s - now that's more like it! So that I won't be accused of only posting bad weather photos, here is one of the sun steaming in and shining on the tulip on my kitchen table...



Apparently I'm not the only one who missed the sunshine...



She's one happy camper this afternoon and so am I. Happy Friday!

Not to sound like I'm whining, but...

...this is what we woke up to this morning. This would be the reason you won't ever hear me declare my love for spring until sometime around late May. Memorial Day maybe. THAT is when it starts to really feel like springtime here.

In mother nature's defense, Tuesday was a pretty nice day. Yesterday it wasn't too bad until about 2:30pm when it started raining (I don't mind the rain so much, but I am done with snow at the point), thundering (yay for thunder!), then drizzling, and finally the moisture turned to snow around 10pm.

I suppose the good thing about cold, wet weather is that I don't feel too badly for spending most of the day crafting. I'm off to get some things accomplished around home and then sew the day away!