Fruits To Go!

Where does the time go?!  I seem to be asking myself that question every day, sometimes multiple times.  Each day seems to be busier than the last, yet I feel like I'm accomplishing less....

This time of year is always very hectic and busy at work, and generally has me on the road quite a bit.  This year is no exception.  I've been back east twice, and have at least 1 trip to Hawaii (don't worry, it's all work and in Honolulu, which is like Seattle, only humid) in the next couple of weeks, along with a probable trip to Tampa.  I actually really enjoy traveling, even if it is for work.  The downside is the rest of my life slips. My yard is a disaster, with weeds and downed branches taking over.  Inside is even worse.  Tonight I swept a small army of dog hair puppies.  And don't get me started on the dust and muddy paw prints.  That's life with 3 dogs - dirt, dirt and more dirt.  Oh.  And hair. LOT'S of hair....

I'm also back in school full time, working on a Marketing degree. I'm not sure why.  I don't feel like I have the time, but somehow I'm making it work.  Somehow.

But all of these things leave little extra time for "me".  And yes, I'm currently living alone, minus the 3 dogs, which would cause many to say "all your time is YOU time".  What I mean is me time doing things I WANT to be doing.  You know...blogging, baking, canning, crafting, etc. When you have so many projects going at once, it's a little hard to justify standing in front of your stove stirring jam and apple sauce for a few hours.  But it's what I ENJOY, so I'm trying to make the time as best I can.

So that's why Sunday found me once again neglecting my dirty floors, piles of laundry and TWO unpacked suitcases.  Instead I pulled out my handy Singer sewing machine and collection of vintage flour sack towels I picked up from the Picket Fence.  

Awhile back I posted about making reusable produce bags from flour sack towels.  All they needed was the cotton twine drawstring and they'd be done.  It's taken weeks, but I FINALLY got them finished.  I made a few plain white bags in a smaller size (1 flour sack cut in half makes 2 bags) and a few of the vintage printed ones I turned into larger produce bags (simply cut or fold towel in half).  I opted to cut these vintage towels and re-stitch, to ensure the adorable screenprint images were right side up.

These were really simple to make.  Literally fold or cut in half, stitch a straight seam, fold over the top about 1/2" and hem.  String with cotton twine, tie, and voila!  Washable, re-usable, breathable, and adorable, produce bags!

Though they took me less than an hour to complete, it felt oh-so-good to finally do something I really wanted to.  Sometimes the simple act of creating something is the best balm for a frazzled soul.  We should all practice the act of creativity, in whatever form suits us, more often. :)

Bee Happy, Visit the Quil Fair!

Fall is officially here in the PNW.  Summer dawned late this year and was fleeting.  But while it was here it was beyond glorious.  Sadly it has come to a close this week, each day growing cooler than the one before.  And today brought the drizzle.  The ever-present NW drizzle....

But before I become too immersed in my SAD lamp, 'tis the season.  FAIR SEASON!  I love love love fairs.  There is something so all-American and down-home about fairs.  And let's not forget the food.  I turn in to Homer Simpson thinking about fair food.  Mmmmm.....fried fair food goodness.

This weekend dawns one of our state's BEST fairs, the annual Quilcene Fair.  It lasts all of one day, has about 15 crafty booths, a total of maybe 3 food vendors, and a small carnival complete with ferris wheel.  Oh, and a parade!  Consisting of every fire and EMS vehicle in town (maybe 3?), the local school band and small old tractors.  It lasts about 15 minutes.  Seriously.  And I love love LOVE it.  It really is a fabulous time, and a great opportunity to see small town America in action.

Ordinarily I sell my jams at the fair, but unfortunately this year got away from me.  To sell jam in WA state requires a commercial kitchen, permits, licensing, etc.  Too much to pull together this year, and super sadly, I will be out of town for work. :(

But my good friends WILL be there!  Go visit the Picket Fence and Buzzy Bee Creations to see their fabulous wares.  And my best friend Claudia will be there too.  That gorgeous honey you see above?  Yeah, she will be selling it.  Look how cute these jars are:

Ever since I was 5, I've wanted to have bees.  That dream came to a crashing halt after my first bee sting, when we learned I was deathly allergic. :(  So now I live my bee dreams through Claudia and her husband's hive.  Last summer I watched from afar, epi-pen in hand, as they caught a swarm of bees.  And now, you can taste the bees' happy work.  Stop by the fair and grab a jar of the golden goodness.  I can barely contain my Winnie the Pooh tendencies and not drink it straight from the jar.

The fair is Saturday the 17th, starting with the parade at 10:00 am.  Go check out the craft booths, the car show, and all of the wonderful events the volunteers worked so hard to bring together for your enjoyment.  And take some pictures for me! :)

Summer's End

I awoke this morning to a chilly PNW morning, topping in at a whopping 45 degrees.  I've noticed the trees starting to change and mornings starting to darken.  I'm not ready for summer to be over.  It barely started here in the Northwest...

Last weekend's wedding was a beautiful, magical affair.  It was a ton of work, but every minute was so much fun. I'm unbelievably sad it's all over.  This was the perfect match of creativity with the decorations and dessert making, along with my organizational skills and planning and details and checklists.  While I'm not a Type A, I'm probably an A-, or at least a solid B+.  I love this kind of stuff and feel blessed a large portion of my "real" job has some aspects of these things.  I love being creative, but software and technology isn't exactly the same as weddings and special events...

Unfortunately the day of the wedding was so chaotic I didn't get any pictures of the venue (I know, I suck), but the bride and groom's fab photographer will be sharing photos which I will be sure to link to.  And my friend Claud took some snapshots I plan on stealing from her as well. :)  You won't believe the wonderful array of appetizers she put together for the event.  Delish!

Until I snag those photos, I'll share a few from my kitchen, taken along the way.

As you know, I love love love to bake. My style is rustic.  I'm not into "perfection", meaning, the cookie cutter type things you would find in a grocery store bakery.  I'm not all about the crazy cakes shaped into motorcycles and the perfectly shaped cookies and the too too tarts.  Can I do those things?  Sure.  But it's not REAL to me.  For me, baked goods equal hearth and home.  I want my goodies to remind people of the treats their grandmother made for them.  Given the rustic and vintagey feel of the wedding, I knew my baked goods would fit right in.  So naturally I went all out to create a fabulous dessert table, offering a little bit of something for everyone.

The bride really wanted a formal wedding cake, but in chocolate.  I fashioned together a 2-tier chocolate cake with chocolate pastry cream and a white chocolate mousselline buttercream.  This buttercream recipe uses NO powdered sugar and 2 pounds of butter, and takes 2 hours to make a single batch, but it is so dreamy, it's worth every calorie and every minute.  I cannot put into words how amazing it is.  I then decorated the cake with nasturtiums and sugar wafer butterflies, so everything was edible.  I was really happy with how it turned out.  What do you think?

I also made a Mountain Dew Groom's cake, as the groom drinks Mountain Dew like it's the nectar of the gods.  I love the acidy green color of the cake.  And according to all who ate it, they recognized the Dew, so yay for that! :)

And let's not forget the pies in jars!

There were also pumpkin and red velvet whoopie pies, chocolate salted pecan candy, and peanut butter and chocolate crispy cookies.  A little bit of everything for anyone with a sweet tooth.  And now I'm hungry! :)