Little Lola Highlight!

I love Little Lola dolls (shop for them on Etsy)! I have purchased a couple of them! They have such darling vintage flair and sweet timelessness. When I saw this cutie I was drooling over her red riding hood and cute fabric choices. I had to highlight this delightful doll!
Check out the other cute dollies she's made here on her Flicker collection!
This doll was made especially for her daughter, what a lucky girl!
I commissioned (she takes special requests) one for my daughter with special requests for dress and hair color which was fun, but I love the one I bought 1st, without choosing any colors. All of them are soooo adorable.I also had to show off the fabulous sculpted sculpture I got from her!
She has such talent! Check out some of her other lovelies here!

baby blanket

Okay...
what do you think of this blanket?
One side is that soft fuzzy minky stuff and the other is satin and smooth. It is very cuddly.
The edges are done with a pleated chocolate brown fabric.
I brought it home because of the robin egg blue/green color.
What do you think. Should this blanket stay for our baby or should I take it back?

Cookie Train

Saturday my girls and I put together our annual Cookie train.
I remember making this with my family growing up. I am not sure were my mom picked up the idea... I never have asked her. One of my favorite memories was when as a kid the electricity went out and dad built a fire in the fireplace and we sat around it in the dark eating the the cookie train!
This year I only had my hubby bring home the graham crackers and powdered sugar. I didn't want to spend money on lots of store cookies. We made our wheels with chocolate spritz cookies you press out of a cookie press. The Log car has peanut butter rice krispie bars covered with chocolate. (Yummy we eat them faster then we can save them) Then we made gingerbread men that have face from left over Halloween Dots candy. We also used these for hubcaps and tail lights. All the extras are from my eldest daughters school party (the chocolate candies and canes.) We made a snowman manger scene in front of the train. Jesus is made with mini marshmallows of course.
We had lots of fun sprinkling on colored sugar we colored ourselves over the Royal frosting I piped out to decorate and adhere cookies with!
We celebrated the the completion with Hot cocoa and Pizza!
I love annual activities!

WE 3 Trees...

Burgundy&GOLD

This is our tallest tree at 7 feet and this year we decorated it in the traditional or our original color scheme from when we first were married.

PINK&White
This tree I bought for our Master bedroom so I could have Christmas there too.
This year my sister LJ and I put it together and decorated it all in pink and white ornaments.
I have it on display on top of my dining room table with a nativity in front of it on one side and Santa's Sleigh on the other end of the table.










SANTA&SNOWMEN

My third tree is in our family room. I call it the Kids tree because most of the ornaments are not as breakable. It was a great deal for only $30 dollars from Target last year. I have a pretty big collection of Santas and Snowmen as well as Gingerbreadmen on this tree. I also try to put up ornaments with my kids pictures inside of them.

Okay here it is! Doughnuts...

Doughnuts!
1 pkg. yeast
1/4 tsp Sugar
1/2 Cup warm water
Sprinkle Yeast and sugar over warm water, sit

5 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar (I like to have more sugar 1 Cup)
1 Tblsp spoon Salt
Sift these together in a large bowl.

2 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup butter
In microwave safe bowl (I use my Pyrex measuring cup)
warm milk to melt butter
coll slightly and beat in eggs.
3 eggs

Add milk a little bit at a time to flour. Add the dissolved Yeast. Knead (I use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook) until smooth. Add remaining liquid knead until smooth. Add additional flour until it pulls away into a ball. On the counter knead in any additional flour to make it soft and elastic. Fold it over several times to allow air to enter dough.

Place dough in an oiled bowl to rise for 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours.
Let double in volume Punch down and let rise again
divide dough in half to roll out (it is more manageable this way, you can save the other half in the fridge until tomorrow too)
roll out with a rolling pin to 1/2 inch thickness on a floured surface
cut out doughnuts with circle cutter.
I place them on a sheet of wax paper to rest-rise for 10-15 minutes
You will have around 4 dozen

Pour enough oil into a heavy sauce pan to reach about 2 inches
I heat mine over Med-heat until a test piece when dropped in has little oil bubbles racing around it when it goes in and it floats back up quickly. If it just sits on the bottom with no bubbles it is too cool still.
Cook until light golden brown turn over once. They puff up and start smelling sooo good!
I drain on paper towels.
Then I either dip them into a powder sugar glaze (sugar with milk to thin into a glaze)
or drop them straight into sugar. The chocolate glaze has powder sugar, cocoa powder, 2 Tblsp softened butter and a little milk.
Good Luck! I want to see how your yummy doughnuts turn out!

Doughnut tradition

Yumm. I think I will grab one!

I always cut the recipe in half and still have about 4 dozen doughnuts!

They are the best warm and soft right after they get glazed!
Yummy yummy in our tummy!

Super Gift Giveaway!

Okay here is your chance (and mine) to win a personal portrait from artist and illustrator Merrilee from Mermag! Go to her blog Mermag & make sure you comment before the 17th for you own chance to win!

Super cute Flannels!

I am excited to buy some of these snugly flannel prints!

Urban Flannels by Valori Wells
You can get them at this great shop Quilt Home.com

Okay baby blankets, burpers, stuffed toys...
Let the sewing begin!

Lets say Thank You

I thought this was a wonderful idea and so important
I wanted to post this so you too can participate!

Let's Say Thanks to our troops!
This web site lets you send a card designed by a child, with your words of thanks. They print them and send them to our troops. Isn't this a wonderful thing!
Especially at this time of year when many are away from home and need a cheering word.
Go say thanks!

winter watercolors

winter watercolors by R.L. Crouse check out his art here.

I saw these prints on a local magazine. they sell cards here

I wanted to share them with you.

They invoke such memories as my grandpa pulling our sleds behind his tractor, and family fun in the snow!

Calling all Moms

Today I have confessions to tell....

our coming boy

I am having a baby and I am scared.
I have 3 little girls already and never have I experienced such a great amount of anxiety.
So today I am turning to you my fellow sisters in blog land for your grains of advice.

So far I haven't found a book for mothers expecting there 4th baby just ones for the 1st and maybe a second. I have more worries this time around. How will I keep up with a newborn and the still make life for my other children and their needs?my hubby reading to my youngest girl

My other fears I recognize as a result of a having a miscarriage prior to this conception.
Will everything go well for this little boy? Will I carry him properly full term? Every day I count his little rolls and nudges to make sure he's alive down there. I never was this crazy with my baby girls. Yikes somedays I feel tremendously frightened that I will never meet him.

Then here is yet another fear.
He is a boy and I have never had a boy before! Will he be different do I need anything special to take care of boys? I know I am in need of boy clothes but is that all? Do I need to teach him differently than a girl? I know I am a bit neurotic here.

page from seven silly eaters book

I come from a family of 9 children I loved the unity and happy chaos of my life growing up with a big family. I have to give my mother a shout out because she really made it look so easy every time she had a baby. Being that I was baby #1 I remember nearly every time mom brought home a new baby. I only missed my sister #9 because I wasn't at home, being 22 years old and a missionary for my church. So how come I can't seem to get any comfort from her experiences right now? I suppose because it is a very different world today....me and my sisters

So Moma's spill forth your wisdom!
Especially if you have many kiddos. Plus tips from mommy's who have lots of girls and then a boy would be fabulous. Even advice from a mom who was scared of losing a baby into the the 6th month?

Thank you Thank you!!!

Creamy Broccoli Spinach soup

Creamy Broccoli Spinach soup
Delicious had to share!!!

Ingredients with directions~ I tend to modify all my recipes depending on what I have on hand this one turned out really well so here is my modification - recipe
1-2 Large heads of fresh broccoli chopped to bite size pieces (or two bags of frozen)
2 cups baby spinach
1/2 Cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup diced onion
3 cups water
- In your favorite soup sauce pan, boil/steam broccoli and chopped onion in 3 cups water for about 10mins or until broccoli starts to soften. For the last 4 minutes toss in spinach and mushrooms to wilt down and soften.
- Take 1 cup of steamed broccoli set a side in a soup bowl (I reserve the flowers and not the stem pieces)
-take remaining broccoli water mixture, pour into blender and mix until broccoli is smooth. Blend it with 1 cup water the water in the pot usually has evaporated. set a side

2tblsp butter
2tblsp flour
- in the bottom of currently empty pot, melt butter... then add the flour. Stir constantly until bubbly and light brown.

2 cups chicken broth
- While waiting for the butter to melt, put 2 cups broth together and warm in microwave.
- Add broth to to butter/flour rue. Bring to a boil for about 5 mins. Return blended broccoli to pot and reserved whole broccoli pieces

1 tsp seasoning salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tblsp Salt
& Pepper to taste
1 Cup whole milk or heavy cream
- Add nutmeg, seasoning salt, salt, pepper and heavy cream to broccoli. Stir it up until green and creamy!
- Let simmer with a lid for a few hours until thickened.
Make sure you taste it to check for seasoning Perfection I even added a 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper which enhanced the flavor!
Crumble crispy bacon on top and eat it with your family!

My children loved it!!!

Cute clothes

Check out this cute shop for baby clothes!
Jellybabys
They are very snugly cute. What do you think?