Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Cookies galore

This year for Christmas our family will get a pretty unusual gift. Our little baby boy is due to be born around Christmas. And even though being pregnant and creating a little boy feels like plenty for me, I have a feeling people still want christmas gifts this year.

And so, to avoid the better half, the little one, me and the big belly having to fight the crowds for gifts this December, I have decided two things: If you can get it online, it is a good gift, and all my gifts will be bought way before the month of December have even thought about beginning. That way I can enjoy the month of December laying in my couch with my feet up, while the mailman carries up all our christmas gifts to the 5th floor where we live ... no lift, thank you very much.

In keeping with my decisions, I have already ordered the first gift. Monday afternoon it arrived, and let me tell you I am in love. I think it is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

To understand my excitement a little more I guess it helps to know, that I have a great love for play food. I think it is one of the most amazing things in the world. My dream for the little one is a little wooden play kitchen, miniature pots and pans and overflowing with play food made in fabric and wood. See, that is what happiness is in my world.

When my better half and me saw these lovelies on etsy, I nearly passed out:



How cute is that? It is crocheted chocolate chip cookies.

I got me a nice little selection of cookies; some oreos, some chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal cream pies. Erhmm, when I say me, I actually mean that it is for the little one. It is part of his christmas gift.

All the cookies were wrapped in little cellophane bags with a little ribbon tied around it.



Chocolate chip cookies



Oreos



Because it is a gift I didn't want to unpack the cookies completely. That is, I really didn't mean to, but I just had to see how it looked and felt in real life. I hope the little one will understand.



In the evening we had our weekly craft night. I absolutely forgot to take any sort of picture, but let me just assure you that we had a great time.

My sister worked on a quiet book for the little one, which will probably be one of the funkiest things he is ever going to get, my little sow-elves repaired all my clothes (they did - my list of things to repair is completely crossed out. Pure happiness) and I continued working on the felt mobile for the little one.

This is how far me and the 21 (and counting) felt balls have come:



And I am still excited about it. I like the colors, I love the material and it is going to look trendy and fun, but you know what I can't help but think about? A mobile made out of those chocolate chip cookies? It would be cool, I'm just saying ...

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Racing in style



Recently I've been reorganizing my crafting room. And as I've opened drawers, boxes and bags I have long forgotten all about I have come to realise something. That is this simple truth: I start a lot of project - and I don't finish that many!

The result is that I buy a lot of material which is then never used. And all those materials add up, and not in a good way.

So I made a list of this last years planned-but-not-completed-projects and I am now making my way through that list. Because I also found a bag of clothes that had to be repaired I made a list of those and I now try to fix one thing a day.

So far both my lists have been a great succes. I love lists by the way, love, love, love them! They make me happy. And when I can cross something off a list, it makes me really happy.

My husband have had items returned to him that he had forgotten all about, now with a button sown in, toys have been fixed and the little one is very content with that outcome and I even repaired a babyblanket so it's ready for the tiny one to come.

And my projects are also doing quite well.

The little one got this fabulous scooter a few months ago, and I felt it needed a little something.



It needed a little basket in front, that could hold some of his toys as he ventured out into the world.

And so I got me a big piece of really thick orange felt to make him a basket. The color in itself is cool, and I think it works well with the color of the scooter.







The basket consists of three main pieces; a bottom, back and a side/front. I cut out all the pieces with a little craft knife. The bottom part is rounded and here I used my fabric scissors. I also cut out two straps so it could be attached to the scooter with velcro. I made the pattern myself, first in paper though. It was super simple and didn't take me that long and making the pattern myself also enabled me to fit the proportions of the scooter.

I decided to just glue the basket together with a hot glue gun, and then I am going to reinforce some of the weaker points with thread. The straps and the velcro was also glued on. The velcro didn't stick to the felt, so I had to sow that onto the the basket using ordinary thread. Because the felt is so thick it took me quite a while, and I am glad I didn't set out to sow the entire thing.

I am quite excited about the little basket, I think it looks really modern and fun. It is nice to create something from scratch. And I am very excited about crossing a project off my list.

I've already started working on my next project which is a mobile with felted balls that goes over the little ones bed. And then I only have 8 more projects to go.

Hope everyone out there are busy creating something fun! Happy creating.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Sunshine soup - or potato-leek soup

In our house we eat a lot of soups. Soups are great - they are cheap to make, very filling, easy to make, you can use all those lonely vegetables laying at the bottom of the fridge, they are normally healthy, my little one likes soup, the variations are endless, they keep well and make excellent food for a few days and, let me just mention it again. They are cheap and easy to make!

What is not to love about soups?

So the other day, as I wrote about in a earlier post, I had a quiet house, sun shining though my window and lovely vegetables waiting, hoping, longing to be used in my fridge. And who am I to disappoint vegetables?

Okay, you start out with onions. All great things start with onions ... or bacon!



I used 3 red onions which I finely chopped along with 1 clove of garlic. You can easily use more garlic, but since my better half claims he doesn't like garlic I try to be a little careful with my use of garlic.



Put it in the pot, add 2 tablespoons butter and let it chill there for a few minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Look at that ray of sun right there in the pot. How can that not make you happy? It is the simple pleasures in life.

Anyway, back to the cooking.

While the onions and garlic are slowly getting a little bit of color, get out your vegetables. This day I had these lovely potatoes that my better half and the little one got at the farmers market.



They are new potatoes and not as starchy as could have been preferred but since I wanted to leave some nice big chunks in the soup these worked out great as they kept their shape and texture even after 45 min of cooking. I also had 2 leeks that I halfed and cut in small pieces.



But you can add whatever vegetables that rock your boat. I made a mushroom, potato, onion, sellery, carrot soup the other day that was to die for. The sky is really the limit, when you make soups. See, another reason to love soups.

When your onions look clear and maybe even a tiny bit browned, it is time to add some stock to it. I normally use half vegetable stock and half chicken stock, but feel free to do whatever you prefer.

Because I had cut up quite a nice amount of vegetables I used 1½ liters of stock (6 cups). After I added that to the pot, I turned up the heat a little and admired my vegetables soaked in sunshine.



Yes, I might need help with this sunshine obsession.

I then added all the vegetables to the pot, added salt, some lemon pepper and put on the lid and went to take a little nap while the contents of the pot slowly turned into a lovely, tasty soup.



Right after I added the vegetables. It just doesn't look that interesting yet.

After 30-45 minutes I returned and took the soup off the heat. Right before we were about to eat, I took half of the soup and put into my blender. You can also use an immersion blender, but I think you get a nicer and creamier result with a normal blender. Just be careful not to fill up the blender and not put the lid on completely, as the warm soup can ... ehmm, I am not quite sure how it happens, but it is something to do with the pressure inside the blenderpitcher. I know what if you fill it up all the way with warm soup and put the lid on completely, you will end up with warm soup all over your kitchen. Personal experience! Don't try that at home.

So be patient and take it slowly. Rather that than finding dried up soup on your walls several days later.

In our house the time right before we eat is pretty hectic and so I didn't get any pictures of the whole blending proces. But honestly, how exciting is that anyway? Besides I have this fancy chrome-blender where you can see every speck of dust and every fingerprint on, and I wouldn't have been bothered cleaning and polishing it to look nice in a photo shoot.

I know I wrote that soups are healthy, and so this step is completely optional. However, I am pregnant so I don't really worry about minor details like weight gain right now, and so I went for it.

I think you should too. Add cream to the soup. Just do it. It does nice things to the soup.

I finally heated it up. Because I had only put one half of the soup through the blender, the other half still had some nice chunks in it. I like to have a little something to chew on in my soup.

Check the seasoning and add more of whatever you feel like. I often add a little lemon juice at this stage. Since I also have a serious crush on nutmeg, I also add some of this. Just remember to let the soup boil, after you add nutmeg, to really get the flavour out. Ahh, the lovely, lovely smell!

Because I love bacon, and the crispy salty bacon goes so well together with the creamy texture of the soup I fried some bacon, and served it on the side.



This is my plate right before I am about to start eating. The sunshine was gone, the family was hungry and the light was not good. But don't worry, it taste so much better than it looks. If you want to jazz it up a little, add some chopped flat-leaf parsley. That will go well with the taste, and make it look really yummy and fresh.



It was quite a big hit with the little one. I think he managed to eat 3 plates that evening.

We had soups for 3 days, so I guess this portion could feed 8 people or so. Probably more if you served it with bread or added meat to the soup.

And now, go forth and make soups! Enjoy.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Food in the sunshine

I made soup a few days ago. The sun was shining through the windows, making everything seem more alive, more yummy and more fun. I think the sun should shine through my window everytime I cook. It is more interesting that way.

The little one was enjoying his midday nap and so I was completely alone. The silence is such a lovely thing. I grabbed my camera and made sure this lovely sunny day would not be forgotten.





The soup was lovely. I am sure you could taste a little bit of the sunshine in it!
I'll post the recipe later. The little one and me ate till our stomachs were nice and full. Because I had gotten a little carried away while I made the soup we repeated that process twice more, once with my sister joining us and once with the better half there too.

Yesterday I made soup again. The little one has a cold and a nice creamy vegetable soup seemed like the right remedy for it. It wasn't. The little one was not impressed and left the table after having eaten 2 spoonfulls.

You know what, I blame the lack of sunshine yesterday!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A playhouse

Recently the little one and I made a playhouse under our dining table. With the use of several blankets and duvets we made it nice and cosy.

The little one brought some of his toys and played in his little playhouse. He also got a kick out of crawling in and out of the playhouse.



We also sat up some bikelights because it was pretty dark in there. Here you see the little one putting up the light - notice the look of pure concentration on his face.



We had a great time playing in there and I felt pretty good about my creativity in building a little playhouse that provided so much entertainment for us. Later, however, I saw this website on etsy. Oh dear! Talk about creativity.

I am so in love with her playhouses and I can fully imagine the little one playing in here among all the sweet little animals





Or maybe decorating a cake from this bakery. *Sigh* I am so in love!





So many good ideas for hours of play. Just see what the lovely creator tells about this playhouse:

"This playhouse is extra, extra special because it comes with FORTY removable/replaceable pieces! All of the sweets can be moved around, and the decorations on the cake can be changed, too! There are even three cupcakes that can be "decorated"! You can even remove the teapot and teacups and pour your guests a cup of tea! And, as always, there are 4 special letters to put in the mailbox, and a cute little watering can for watering the flowers in the window box. The window has a sparkly striped awning, and the tables have sparkly "marble" tops. The fancy chalkboard lists the daily specials under the name of your Cupcakery! This is not your average bakery!" - I'll say!

Go look at that website. You'll feel like a child again, a happy content child ... I am even wanting a bakery playhouse myself. I think it would fit nicely over my worktable. Hmmm!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Thursday, September 10, 2009

I've still got it

This weekend I called my friend at 7.30 am. I was wide awake, the little one was running around in circles, pausing every once in a while to try to get the phone from me. I knew my friend would be in a pretty similar situation, wide awake and little people running around in circles. And right I was.

One of the first thing I ever did with this friend was to spend a week in Beijing, China. I actually think all friendships should start with a trip to China! Since then we have travelled quite a few countries together, experienced a lot of strange things and made many good memories.

Time has passed. Now we celebrate birthdays in childfriendly cafes, call each other at 7.30 am on a Saturday not worrying that we'll wake each other up and we discuss child raising strategies, potty training, and how to teach children tablemanners. I feel old now.

But you know what? Deep down inside behind the breadbaking, diaperchanging and mommy-ness I am still cool, still living a little bit on the edge. And I even have proof. See what I have.



I've got pirate toiletpaper. That's right, baby! That is toiletpaper with sculls on. You just can't fake that kind of coolness.

I've still got it.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Hoisin sauce

We are super fortunate to live in an area with a lot of ethnic restaurants. We have enjoyed a wide range of different cuisines, but it seems that we always returns to our local thai restaurant. Their food is always fresh, tasty and is served 5 minutes after you've ordered. What is not to love?

One of my facorites there is their springrolls with hoisin sauce. I could eat that stuff with a spoon. Actually I am pretty sure that I have eaten it with a spoon!

It just never occured to me that it was actually something I could buy myself and eat all day long, just me and my spoon. Fortunately, a few days ago I saw a cooking program online where the cook was making thai food, and she showed a tub of this delicious sauce. Heaven on earth!

And so ...



this is standing in my fridge right now!

And I used it to make these raw rolls with shrimp and fresh vegetables. They are super easy, taste divine and are even healthy! Life is soo good!

Fall is in the air ...

I put these wall stickers up less than a week ago, and now the leaves are falling off. The stems are coming undone too, and I've even seen one of two petals do the same.

IKEA, I trusted you! I spent so much money at your stores, and this is how you repay me?







I love these flowers. They look so cool. I am not ready to take them down already! I don't think I can find anything just as nice. What do I do?

Friday, September 4, 2009

The little ones new room

As mentioned earlier - once or twice - we have been working on making a new room for the little one.

My amazing sister and I put down a new floor. This is my sister in her work-skirt.



Afterwards the walls were painted. Well, I was away during the painting part so all you got here is the "completely ready for painting"-picture.



Then we cleaned up! As you can tell, the little one was very eager to help me. Naturally it also helped that the vacuum cleaner is currently one of his favorite toys. I just need to figure out how to actually make him vacuum and not just play.



Afterwards we tested how the bed felt in there. The little one approved!



And finally we moved everything in and decorations came up. Here you see me putting up wall stickers.



Lo and behold, the little ones room.



These flowers took quite some negotiations with my better half. The idea of the little one having "girly" flowers in his room was too much for him and his normally very tolerant self. I finally sold the idea due to the fact that it wasn't girly flowers but cool retro-flowers. I am not sure why that was a convincing argument, but we ended up getting them, and I have to admit that I am totally in love with them now. From Ikea.
In the back we put up the little ones nametag and one of his little blue chairs. These were originally made by my uncle for my siblings and I, and I love both the look of them, my memories of them, and the idea that my uncle made them for us.



To make the little one feel safe and secure we also put up the little sheep that had been watching over him in his old room. They look so cartoony and goofy that they always make me smile, and the little one is very fascinated by them. And if he can't fall asleep, I guess he can always count them ...



The little ones teddybear Bill also moved in. I made him more than a year ago when I saw how the little one liked to lay up against a blanket or something like it. So I needed something pretty flat that curved nicely up against him and so Bill was born. He wasn't an instant hit, but the little one now normally falls asleep with his head up against Bill.



And finally the measuring chart from Panduro. He has a separate playcorner in the livingroom with all his toys, so we decided from the start not to use toys for decorations here in his bedroom. But we needed something to liven up the white walls. The wall stickers turned out really well for us.

We still need to make it completely homey and get up a few more things here and there, but the little one feels at home.

Now I just have to get used to him not being in my bedroom anymore. I am excited - And I really miss him!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

How lucky can one girl be?


My sister

Yesterday evening as I walked through the door to our appartment I passed through a newly painted room with a beautiful wooden floor. The room was completely empty and as I walked in I could hear the slight echo of my footsteps.

I had just been to a teory class and as I walked home I called a super friend I haden't talked to for a long time. I was enjoying every moment of the conversation and I was very caught up in it. But as I passed through the door and stood in this white room, one thought came to me. How lucky I am to have such a wonderful sister.

Today as we put on panels and made everything ready so the little one can move in, I thought the same thing over and over again. How lucky I am to have such a wonderful sister.

Not only did she get out of bed early Saturday morning to come help put the floor on. She also returned Monday after work for the finishing touches on the floor. As we were admiring the finished floor, I commented on how nice it would look if we also painted the walls. My sister promtly replied that she was a little busy this week, but she would love to do it, since I, the pregnant lady really isn't supposed to paint.

Yesterday, two days later, she came over after work to babysit the little one while I was at my theory class. My morning babysitter was still there and as she put the little one to bed, I got ready to leave, and my sister changed into her work clothes and got to work with paint and brush.

Oh, and today she came by for an hour before she had another appointment in town, and she helped me put up this big wall sticker on the door.



Tomorrow we will move the little ones bed into his new room, thanks to my amazing sister.

Oh, and did I mention that she also figured out a perfect way for us to place the furniture so there is more light and air out in his room?

She is like the fairy goodmother of DIY and interior design.