Handmade Headpins

{handmade unpolished sterling silver headpins}

So, I bought a torch back in February with the intent of making my own headpins but I never got around to trying it. This post inspired me to go for it and now I'm hooked (thanks, Stephanie). It is so satisfying watching the metal get red hot and curl up into a ball (my husband built a forge a few years ago and it's fun watching that process too...this is kind of a mini version).

See how mine are kind of bumpy and not totally uniform? I suppose that's not the perfect way to make them, but I like the organic look. I also think I'll leave them unpolished since I oxidize my sterling silver pieces anyway for an antique look.

I will definitely be using these in my earrings from now on...

The Creative Family Giveaway

I've been wanting to read this book since I've noticed it around the blogosphere, but now that I've started my effort to organize my books I've been trying not to acquire any new ones. Fortunately Simple Mom is giving away a few copies of this book. Maybe I will win one of them (or maybe you will)!

Farmer's Market Squash Saute

{image from kraft foods}

I made Farmer's Market Squash Saute last night for dinner (with some rotisserie chicken and rice pilaf) with zucchini and yellow summer squash from our little garden. Quick and yummy...I think we'll have it again tonight with hamburgers. I cooked the squash a little longer than the six minutes called for in the recipe, so my only change to the recipe tonight will be to add the garlic about a minute before the squash are done. That way it won't get too brown and toasty.

The Winner

Congrats to Sarah who was lucky #17 and won the giveaway for a pair of earrings!

Thanks to everyone who commented...I had good intentions of replying to everyone, but I know I missed some people. Just want you to know I appreciate your visits!

Felted Flowers

I got these cute natural wool felted flowers from Vermont Fairies on Etsy. Emily (who is sixteen) also makes darling little felted hummingbirds in nests, fairies, and beads...and the wool comes from their family farm...how cool is that?

I haven't decided for sure what I'll do with my flowers, but I think they would make cute barrettes for my little nieces.

Blackberries & Ice Cream

Earlier this week at a family party, we had some great homemade raspberry ice cream. Our aunt that made it told me it had sweetened condensed milk in it so last night we tried this recipe for Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream. It's super simple, (just 1 quart half and half, 1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk, and 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla). It doesn't have the smoothest texture, but the flavor is so good you'll still want to lick the bowl. We topped ours with blackberries that were tossed with a little sugar and left to sit until they were soft and syrup-y. Yum.

Just a side note if you try this recipe: I poured the whole recipe into my Cuisinart ice cream maker and it was a little too much...it was coming out the top when it started freezing so I had to remove some and put it in the freezer to let the rest finish churning. Next time I'll probably just make it in two batches.

A Few Dairy-Free Recipes

{image from martha stewart}

B had an appointment this week with an allergist to have some updated testing and it seems he is no longer allergic to milk. He was on cloud nine! The Dr. said to just introduce things to him and if he tolerates them we can just work them into his diet. He was talking all the way home about trying cheese, yogurt, etc. This will be quite a change for us, especially as far as making meals is concerned!

The bad news is that his peanut allergy is more severe (he is also still allergic to walnuts and cashews but they are not as bad as the peanut allergy). I will need to make sure we always have an EpiPen. It's scary knowing that something he eats could be life threatening.

Over the years I've collected some good dairy-free recipes and I thought I would share a few that are quick and easy...these are "keepers" even if you can have dairy!

Blender Lemonade

3 large lemons
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Scrub lemons and cut into eighths. Put lemons, sugar, and water in a blender and pulse a few times until the lemons are coarsely chopped. Strain through a fine sieve and add an additional 6 to 7 cups of water.

I like to add crushed raspberries or strawberries to taste to this lemonade (I add the fruit after straining the lemon mixture because I don't mind chunks of fruit and seeds in my lemonade, but you could add them to the blender with the lemons and strain).

Mexican Black Bean Dip
This has been a home lunch staple for B along with corn chips and carrot sticks.

1 15.5-ounce can black beans
1/3 cup medium-hot salsa
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish (optional)
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (I use lime)
l small garlic clove, minced

Drain and rinse the black beans. Combine the black beans, salsa, cilantro leaves, lemon juice, and garlic in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
Yummy with fruit (my favorites are strawberries, pomegranate seeds, craisins, or apples) and green or red leaf lettuce. Add red onion slices if you like them, shredded swiss or mozzarella if you can have dairy, and almonds, pecans, or walnuts if you can have nuts!

3/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons poppy seed

In small bowl, mix all ingredients with wire whisk. Store covered in refrigerator.

Coconut Macaroons

1 14 oz. package coconut
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 teaspoons almond extract (I use vanilla)
1 package (8 squares) Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate (skip this step or use your favorite chocolate for the dip...I don't think I've ever used Baker's so I don't know the ingredients)

Heat oven to 325°F. Combine coconut, sugar, flour and salt. Add egg whites and extract; mix well. Drop by tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto greased and floured baking sheets.

Bake 20 min. or until edges are golden brown. Transfer to wire racks. Cool.

Melt chocolate. Dip cookies halfway into chocolate. Let stand until chocolate is firm.

New Banners & A Mini Giveaway

Wahoo! On Saturday I updated my etsy, site, and blog banners to match my business cards and boxes.

And I just noticed it's my 200th post so I think I should give away a free pair of earrings (any pair you'd like from the shop).

* To enter, just make a comment on this post by Friday, July 25
* I'll draw a winner on Saturday, July 26
* No anonymous comments...I need to be able to contact you if you win

Cookies 'n' Creme S'mores

On the 4th of July my brother-in-law made Cookies 'n' Creme s'mores over a campfire. We made some last night in the toaster oven...

line your graham crackers with Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme squares (or milk or semisweet chocolate if you want the regular kind of s'mores) and mini marshmallows


broil until the marshmallows are puffed and golden


and the chocolate is melty


press together and enjoy

Just a fair warning...these are super sweet. And check out Caroline's yummy sounding s'mores combo on her blog.

Homemade Carpet Spot Cleaner

Years ago a friend shared a "recipe" with me for homemade carpet spot cleaner. I don't know where she got it, so I'm not sure who to credit, but it really works and I use it all the time. I say "recipe" because it's simply a mixture of warm water, vinegar, and baking soda and my friend didn't give me any proportions. So, I usually don't measure anything when I make it, but last time I mixed up a batch I measured it just to give you a starting point.

Homemade Carpet Spot Cleaner

4 cups warm water
1/2 cup vinegar
2-3 Tablespoons baking soda

Add the vinegar and baking soda to the warm water in a large bowl. Stir slightly and watch it fizz and foam. Dip a scrub brush into the mixture and scrub those spots in your carpet away. Let dry and then vacuum.

Notes:

* I have even used this on the carpet and upholstery in my car and it's fab.

* I haven't tried adding essential oils to the mixture, but it might be a fun experiment.

* This works for my carpet, but I don't want someone to try this and end up with problems, so please do a spot test first!

Rachel has a recipe for a stain remover for clothes that I want to try. If you have a homemade cleaning product you love, feel free to share it here...

Favorite Things from Liz

I received such a pretty package of goodies from my swap partner, Liz. Thanks so much, Liz, I love everything! It was truly Christmas in July for me!

{everything was so beautifully packaged...love the green, brown, and grey together}


{yummy rosebud salve}


{vintage image postcards}


{can't wait to read this book}


{there are so many things to do with a Moleskine sketchbook...I love them!}



{all the goodies}

See other swap packages here.

Cassie's Mini Books

I had to show you these photos of mini books made by Cassie of Gifts for Nonnie using some ideas from the mini book downloads on my site.

{Thoreau mini book}

{inspiration mini book}

{a mini book page of favorite things}

Thanks for sharing these, Cassie!

Goodies in the Mail

I won a Love Boxes giveaway and got this sweet handpainted angel doll, the book Better Than Beauty: A Guide to Charm, a flower pin, and some lovely greeting cards and postcards in the mail. Thanks, Tiffany! I love everything!

No Cook Recipes

{image from Cooking Light}

It's been in the high 90s here and will be that way throughout July, so I'm trying to make no cook, stove top, or grilled recipes to avoid heating up the house. I'm realizing I don't have a lot of no cook dinner options, so I put together a list of links for when I'm looking for some new ideas.

These are searches for no cook recipes that you can refine by course, cuisine type, etc. on the left or at the top of the page:

My Recipes

Epicurious

Real Simple

These are lists of no cook recipes:

Mayo Clinic

Domino Magazine

Food Network

Martha Stewart

Food & Wine

A Little News

I'm very excited to announce that we're expecting in November and...

{image from Anja Boretzki}

That makes three boys for us, each nine years apart (really I never planned to have children so far apart, but it's just the way things have worked out, and we're so grateful to have this one on the way).

I would love to hear your favorite names for boys...we need suggestions!

Garlic Spray for Gardens

{image from Martha Stewart}

I planted flower and vegetable seeds in May and something was munching on them as soon as they sprouted...not good for tiny little plants. I found some guilty-looking snails nearby. Although I think snails are cute (really, I do) I didn't want my garden destroyed so I decided to try some garlic spray which is supposed to work as a snail and slug repellent. I made some garlic spray years ago to get rid of aphids on some house plants (it worked well), but I no longer had the recipe so I decided to try this one. So far, so good...the plants are doing quite well now.

Here are some garlic spray tips I found from various articles:

• Test on sensitive plants first...spray one or two and wait a few days to spray the rest so you can make sure there's no damage
• Don't spray in the heat of the day, try early morning or late evening
• It looks like this could be harmful to smaller beneficial insects, so I wouldn't use this if you can see ladybugs or other helper bugs on your plants
  
• Mix a new batch every time you want to spray since the garlic spray has no preservatives
  

Hopefully I can work on attracting birds and toads to my garden since they natural enemies to snails (I guess snakes are too but I'll pass on those). I would feel better about an animal having a little escargot snack than trying to get rid of the snails in other ways.

Etsy Finds

My Little Pearl Earrings were featured in today's Etsy Finds email by Elizabeth Williams (who has a gorgeous shop). Thanks so much, Elizabeth!