Quiet Toys

It was a totally new concept to Honey.

 I don't know that I felt the *need* for quiet toys

quite yet, but this was too cute 

not to make.

I'll link where I got the pattern.

The only thing I would do differently is, 

she suggests you make each piece double thickness.

I wish I would have thought to make the 

second side a different color.

I may make some new eyes with 

lashes and maybe some heels?

Oh the possibilities!

http://jocelynandjason.blogspot.nl/2011/11/mr-potato-head-quiet-book-pages-10-11.html?m=1

Butternut Squash & Parsley Penne

From Rachel Ray.

 Costco has these way cool 

pre-cut butternut cubes.

I love them!

I love butternut squash and I love not having to get my 

hands all orange and filmy from whatever

is in those things that

leaves my hands all orange and filmy. 

So I am always on the lookout for 

recipes that incorporate them. 

This one was a winner

and aslo, plague approved!

I'll link her recipe but here are the 

areas I digressed from the recipe as written. 

I used corn pasta 

(wheat is baaad, very bad),

half a red onion

(because that's what I had),

and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

(because I'm a heat weenie.)

OK, next time I'll take it down to

 1/4 teaspoon. 

I'm a BIG weenie.

Oh, Costco also has copious amounts of 

corn pasta. 

Guess we are not the only ones who think wheat is 

baaaad.

(It's also GMO free, but let's not go there. Yet.)

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=5599

SteamPunk Frame

Steampunk is a subculture

Maggie explained to me. 

I had seen a girl with this way funky hat

in Valpo and asked her if I could take a picture of it.

I showed it to Maggie and 

she schooled me.

She also advised me only nerds were 

Steampunk. 

So, I'm a nerd too. 

As best I can explain, it's a subculture, 

that derives it's identity from 

kind of futuristic Jules Vern 

sort of stuff. 

Like around the era of steam power.

Kinda. 

But here:

The 

widgets, 

whosits, 

and 

whatchamacallits

make this Streampunk.

I had been wanting to try the technique

on the base of the frame.

The explanations all have you using glue

to create the raised pattern. 

I felt the fabric paint

would give me better control because of the 

fine tip and the paint would flow easier than glue.

It did. 

Once it's dry you just spray paint the whole thing. 

But I never leave good enough alone.

Necklace Rack

Yep, wine corks.

Frankenpants

Maggie taught me the concept. 

You take bits and pieces of existing clothing to 

make something new.

 I had these great pajama pants but due to 

a company policy that demanded employees wear pajamas to work, 

the bottom of this pair of pants got so beat up from outside wear

 that no amount of bleach was ever gonna fix them. 

And before you get all, what a great gig, 

you get to wear PJs to work,

it gets old.

Oh, and it was a pajama store.

Cute.

Gag.

Anyway, not one to throw anything away, 

one might recognize bits and pieces

(or long strips)

of Maddie's First Birthday dress.

Not taken from the dress itself, just the 

bits and pieces I had left over.

WaLa!

Energy(?) Bars

A friend of mine shared a "recipe" with me for 

Larabars. 

I am not familiar with them but why would that stop me?

I also did not have all the ingredients she suggested

but again, 

why would that stop me?

So, here you have my interpretation of 

a knock-off of a Larabar. 

They are just 

dried apricots,

(or any dried, no sugar added fruit)

dates,

raw cashews and/or almonds, 

unsweetened coconut 

and a hit of vanilla.

All in about equal proportions

(except the vanilla)

I used about a cup of each.

You mash it all into submission in a food processor.

Then press it into a parchment paper 

lined loaf pan, chill and slice.

They are a plague approved food.

As in, we are fighting cancer here :)

What I Did Today

I have been VERY busy. 

Two things were the catalyst for my productivity.

1- The weather, as in much snow and 

much cold.

And

2- A month-long self-imposed hiatus from

Facebook.

You're going to have to keep coming back if you want explanations.
I'm looking at you, Mom and Big ;)