Fresh Bread

I don't know about you, but nothing beats fresh bread straight out of the oven. That is the only time I really like or really eat bread - when it is still hot that it melts your butter, the outside is still a little crusty, and the inside soft and warm.

It was freezing cold this morning when I took the kids to school and so I thought that today would be a good day to make bread. I found this recipe earlier this year in a Martha Stewart magazine. Leave it up to Martha to give you a great recipe. I love this recipe because it is so simple - I have not messed up yet and I have made it so many times!

For this I use a wheat called Kamut, it gives it a great flavor, slightly sweet, and it lighter that regular wheat.

1 TBsp plus 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/4 C warm water (110 degrees)
3 TBsp  plus 2 tsp honey
4 Tbsp butter melted - I have also used olive oil here
7 C flour ( I use 4 Kamut or whole wheat and 3 white)
2 Tbsp salt

Sprinkle yeast over 1/2 C water. Add 2 tsp honey. Whisk until yeast dissolves. Let stad until foamy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with dough hook attachment. Add butter and remaining 1 3/4 C water and 3 TBsp honey. Whisk flour with salt; add 3 C to yeast mixture. Mix on low speed until smooth. Add remaining 4 C of flour, 1 at a time, mixing until dough comes away from the sides of bowl and forms a ragged, slightly sticky ball.

Knead of floured surface until smooth and elastic, but still slightly tacky. Shape into ball. Transfer to buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap.

Let dough stand in warm place until it doubles in volume - about 1 hour. Butter 2 loaf pans. Punch dough down and divide in half. (I use these little loaf pans because then when my kids want a snack they can just go and get a whole loaf and they do not have to cut the bread and end up with 1/2 inch top and 2 inch bottom slice.)

Shape 1 dough half into a long rectangle. Fold along sides of dough into middle, overlapping slightly. Transfer dough to pan, repeat with other half. Brush each loaf with butter or dust with flour for a rustic look. Preheat over to 450 degrees. Cover loaves with plastic and let stand until dough rises about 1 inch above tops of pans - 45 minutes to 1 hour. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake, rotating pans after 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, let cool slightly. turn out loaves. Let cool before slicing - I have yet to be able to do this step with any bread!

These also make great rolls for Thanksgiving. Maybe next week I will have some Thanksgiving recipes to share. You could use them for Christmas. ;)

Corn Husk Wreath

I saw this wreath over at How Does She? and I fell in love with it. It was that perfectly rustic look without being too much. It was super easy to make. I agree with the gal who made it, using pins was much more forgiving then hot glue, and less messy. (I always tend to get little stringy things all over everything when I hot glue). However, my finger was a little bit tender after all was said and done. This wreath turned out to be very full, I have it hanging on the inside of my door because it will not fit in between my door and my screen and I do not want it just on the screen.

This is just a super easy and cheap way to add a little bit of fall to your home - before winter hits! :)

Linking up to: House of Hepworths, Shabby Chic,craft-o-manic, and

Christmas Tree Skirt

 About 10 years ago I decided that I would make a christmas tree skirt for me and Conan's tree. This was before we had any kids. I was extremely cheap (seeing as we both were in school) and so I used some linen fabric that I got from my mother in law. It worked great. Later that year I was reading a Family Fun magazine in the dr.s office and saw this cute idea of putting your kids hand prints on the christmas tree skirt every year. I was so excited because usually I see these great ideas and my kids are too old or it would not work. I gave birth to Thing #1 later that year and guess what I did at Christmas? Yep, we put his handprint on the christmas tree skirt. And we have been doing this for nine years now, and the kids love it and look forward to it every year. They love to put their hands on past years and see how much they have grown. And in 20 years when all my kids are grown it will be something that I have to remember them when they were little.

But the reason I am posting now, when I made it 10 years ago, is because over at Ucreate for her monthly create with me she is doing a ruffled christmas tree skirt. I had been wanted to add an edge of some sort to my skirt and this was perfect. So I took my coupon to JoAnn's and found some fabric that matched the colors of paint that I had used for the kids handprints and made my ruffle.

Now, I am not that good at ruffles. I used to sew frilly little girl dresses for a living and they had a ruffler machine that did it for you. What I would give to have that for this project, it would have cut the time down dramatically. But I learned a few things and I think that 'if' I do ruffles again it will go much smoother. I am contemplating tea dying the actual skirt part so that it matches the cream of the ruffle, but Conan says to just leave it and it 5 years it will be that color anyway from the kids touching it and playing with it each year.


Linking up to:
Somedaycrafts - whatevergoes Wednesday

Fun Giveaways

Here are some fun giveaways that I have come across that I wanted to share:

Burgundy Buttons they are giving away a $25 gift certificate. And they have some great fabric! Who doesn't need more fabric?

Brown Paper -- Packages is giving away a $50 gift certificate for The Vintage Pearl . They have some very classic and simple jewelry - just my style!

Jen over at Tatertots and Jello is giving away a clean and simple puff quilt from Honey Bear Lane. 
I love the buttons and minky fabric she used on this quilt.

Anyway, there are a few fun things for you to check out! Have a great day, and I have a cute christmas project I will share tomorrow!

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Can I tell you how much I love a good cookie - well I love a good cookie. I got this recipe from a friend about 4 years ago and it is still one of my favorites! Conan likes it too because there are a lot of chocolate chips and chocolate chunks in it. When my friend gave me the recipe I had to cut it in half because it made a ton of cookies. Maybe when all my boys are teenagers I will need the full recipe, but for now half works great because it is not too much.  (I don't use a scoop for my cookies, I just put them all on the tray a little bit messy).

 Chocolate Chip Cookies:
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
1 C butter - I always use butter, no margarine
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 hershey's bar grated up
2 C flour
21/2 C oat flour - I blend up my oats in the blender to get the flour
1 bag of chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars together, add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Mix all dry ingredients together in separate bowl and then add to egg/butter mixture. Add chocolate and mix again. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. (9 is perfect for us). Let cool 2 minutes on pan and then move to wire rack.

They are really puffy when you first take them out of the oven, which is why it is important to let them cool a little bit before moving them.

Enjoy with milk, or just by themselves, which is the way I like them! :)

I am linking up here:

Subway Art

 I have seen this subway art everywhere and I love it. I found one I really liked and now I cannot find where it was. When I find it again I will post it here. I copied most of the words from her, but I changed it a little bit. I did not like the dark background, I like the lighter background with colorful words. I printed it on a creamy vanilla cardstock and them mounted it on foam board so that it could stand up good. I made it a little distressed with some chalk ink around the edges and a little down the middle here and there. If you are interested in one for yourself leave me a comment of email me.

I used it as my table piece for a pie night I had with some girl friends the other night. They all loved it and said they thought I bought it at Hobby Lobby - what a great compliment! I paired it up with some fall leaves and what was supposed to be a table runner, but turned out more like a place mat. I got the idea here. I am going to try making this again but with some copied sheet music for my piano open house next month.

I linked up to: craft-o-manic Mondays &

Camera Strap Cover

I have seen these camera straps all over and I love them. I had to make one for myself, so I rummaged through my fabric scraps and found this red stripe. It was some leftover binding from a past project and was the perfect size! I went and bought some soft minky fabric to match and got started. It was so quick and easy! And I only spent a dollar on it, and I have enough red left to make another strap or something little. :) I love projects like that. I added the ruffle to make it fun and it just completes the look. I did not sew this right onto my camera, because I like the idea of taking it off and changing it when I get bored or what a different one.