Sew crafty.

{photo}

I am hoping to have a crafty holiday season this year. Time permitting. And it got me thinking....hey, I really want a sewing machine! How great would it be to just turn out your own couch pillows and throws?

And this book please.....

Here are some crafts I am thinking about.

I want to make a pouf (I love anything called a poof, except on the jersey shore please.) for my family room and the girlie's room....

{via design sponge}

...and wouldn't this be a great handmade holiday gift?!

{via Martha Stewart}

You can find how to make it here. **Note to friends and family, If I can successfully be "crafty" don't be surprised if you receive one of these for the holidays **

Just what I was thinking about today....Hope you are having a great day! I have something yummy for your cookie jar tomorrow!

xoxoxo

d

Butter is better and one handy hub.

So I thought I would give you all a few updates. The planter is pretty much done, thanks to R who is a modern day Bob Vila. Thanks honey! And I threw together some butter making photos to show you just how easy it REALLY is :).

Looks great thanks to my handy man! I'm so excited to have all these fresh herbs on hand :)



Now the butter: All you need: mixer (hand is fine too if you want to work your muscles), heavy cream, cheese cloth, bowl, and a pinch of salt.

add the heavy cream and salt.Whip til it looks like scrambles eggs, pat the fluffy whipped cream stage.

Strain in the cheese cloth.

I like to put it in a butter dish to mold it into a traditional butter rectangle.

(see how it looks like eggs)



And you are left with beautiful buttermilk. Buttermilk pancakes anyone?

The possibilities for this east butter recipe are endless. You can mix in herbs for herb butter, roasted garlic for garlic butter, honey for honey butter, whatever you fancy. You could also use the mix-ins with store bought butter if you want. What shall I do with my butter now?







urban homesteading...

I am really excited because I just got this book called The urban Homestead. I have been thinking a lot lately of how great it would be to get back to the basics of life, in a home loving yet still glamours way :) . For example we just finished the planter box (I will share pics when I get the planting done) and I am going to fill it with herbs and vegetables. But that is just a minor step in creating and "urban homestead", I'm talking making bread every Sunday for the week, and making homemade cheese and butter (yes homemade!). These things are so easy to do and can save us tons of money each year. Homemade butter is vastly superior to its store-bought equivalent, but who wants to pull out their butter churn(ha ha no I don't have one). This is a churn-free method producing the kitchen staple (and some bonus buttermilk, too) in under five minutes. As I read I will share some more  ideas on urban homesteading. In the meantime here is the recipe for butter:

Ingredients (only two!)

• 16 ounces of heavy cream, chilled
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Basically, you're just beating the cream in your mixer or by hand until it looks like scrambled eggs and separates into butter and buttermilk. After that happens, you'll remove the butter and squeeze out the excess buttermilk (and reserve for making something delicious). Now how easy is that? It's quick, simple, and it'll make your homemade baked goods that much better!

What store bought ingredients do YOU make at home? Lets share in the comment area :).....

xoxo

d