Sweet and Simple Apron

While Blair was here, I decided to make her and Sweet P aprons. This post is about Blair's apron because I haven't taken pictures of Sweet P in hers (and honestly, I just finished it last week!). This was such a simple sewing project (remember I am NOT a seamstress) and I love the way it came out (and I hope Blair loves it too!).

The fabric is leftover from the sling Auntie Rosita's friend made for Sweet P when she was born. It's a thick, sturdy fabric and I love the print. Blair chose lime green ribbon for her tie. I followed this tutorial (without the fabric crayon embellishment) and adjusted the measurements for length. The other measurements actually turned out perfect. I used the same measurements on the waist, neck and arms for both Blair and Sweet P. (I'll talk more about Sweet P's in her post).

The ribbon loops around the neck and ties in the back. You could sew the ribbon down if you wanted, but since I hoped the aprons would grow with the girls, I left them unsewn.

I made the apron double-sided for sturdiness. I also added a pocket for spoons, a towel or other cooking or craft supply!

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the progress, just the finished product.

What do you think? Isn't she the cutest? And that apron is pretty darn cute too!

Cherry Cobbler

Don't you love cobbler? Right out of the oven with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top? Well, that's exactly what Gammie made with some of our pie cherries from our berry picking adventure. I don't have a picture of it because really and truly I forgot, but trust me (and the Farmer), it was delish.

The Recipe: Cherry Cobbler

What you need:

2 c pitted pie cherries

2/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tbsp butter

1 store-bought pie crust (or homemade)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cherries in a medium mixing bowl with sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss with your hands until well coated. Grease a 2 qt. baking dish. Pour cherry mixture into dish and dot with butter. Cover with pie crust. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

So simple, right?! Yum! And don't forget to top it with vanilla ice cream!

Featured Crafter: Gammie

Today's Featured Crafter is none other than our very own Gammie!

Crafting is OH so much more fun when you have people to do it with. While Gammie was here, we set out to work on all sorts of projects. Pillowcase dresses weren't on the list, but when I pulled an smaller one of Sweet P's out of the fabric pile (it was in there to be used as a template), Gammie's crafty gears started turning. She made not 1, not 2, but 3!!! dresses while she was here. 2 for Sweet P and 1 for Blair.

I wish I had a template for you, but she just used a dress we already had and adjusted the length and armholes.

Each dress took her about 30 minutes from start to finish. She used about a yard of fabric for each dress and 1 yard of ribbon for the arm ties. I think they turned out pretty darn cute, don't you!?

Love my girl's face in this picture.

Strawberry Muffins

Are you tired of strawberries, yet? I didn't think so!

I made these for Sweet P and Blair loved them! There's not a lot of sugar in them and the strawberries make them nice and moist. These are a perfect snack for your toddler on the go or as a quick breakfast in the morning! We love ours with almond butter. YUM!

The Recipe: Strawberry Muffins

What you need:

1 cup organic whole wheat flour

1 cup organic oats

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 flax egg (1 tbsp flaxseed + 3 tbsp water)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup plain organic yogurt

3-4 tbsp honey

3/4 cup plain organic soy milk (or regular milk)

1.5 cup fresh chopped strawberries

1 tsp cinnamon

Place 1 tbsp flaxseed and 3 tbsp water in a small bowl, allow to gel (approx. 5 minutes). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add honey, yogurt, olive oil, soy milk and flaxseed egg. Stir until wet. Fold in strawberries. Spoon into mini, regular or jumbo muffin tins.

Bake for 18-25 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test. Makes approx. 30 mini muffins, 12 regular and 6 jumbo.

Strawberry or Cherry Popsicles

Another recipe from our trip to Berry Patch Farms: Strawberry and Cherry Popsicles! Nobody ate these, but Sweet P and while they may have been a bit sour, I'd say they were a hit with the popsicle loving toddler.

Like our other popsicle recipe, these are SUPER simple and quick to make. They also freeze well in about 2 hours (with our freezer anyway) so you can make them before naptime and have them ready when your munchkin wakes up!

The Recipe: Strawberry/Cherry Popsicles

What you need:

1/2 c plain yogurt

1/4 c pureed strawberries or pie cherries

1 tbsp honey (for cherry popsicles)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze for at least 2 hours. Serve.

This recipe may need to be adapted depending on the size of your popsicle molds. Ours are really small equaling about 3 to 4 tbsp of whatever you're putting in it.

That's it! Seriously. I used honey with the cherries because they are pie cherries, which means they are SUPER sour. Because of the tartness of plain yogurt, I was afraid it'd be too sour for Sweet P so I added the honey. She made a few "this is sour" faces, but gobbled them up.

Strawberry or Cherry Bread

While Gammie and Blair (my 11 year old 2nd cousin) were visiting we went to Berry Patch Farms to pick strawberries and pie cherries.

It was so much fun, but OH so hot. Sweet P did a great job picking cherries and dropping them in the bucket, but didn't contribute much to the strawberry pile. She was too busy eating the fruits of her labor!

Note the strawberry remnants on her chin!

We came home with 10 (yep 10!!!) pounds of strawberries and close to the same amount of cherries. After we finished washing 20 pounds of fruit, we got to work. I found a strawberry bread recipe at Cate's World Kitchen and made a few minor changes. This recipe can be used with strawberries or cherries and it is delish!

The Recipe: Strawberry or Cherry Bread

What you need:

2 organic eggs

1/4 c plain yogurt

1/4 c olive oil

1.5 tsp vanilla

1 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c all-purpose flour

2/3 c sugar (use 1 c for cherry bread)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 c fresh strawberries or pie cherries (cut into pieces)

1/3 c + 2 tbsp chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs in a small bowl until well combined, but not fluffy. Add yogurt, oil and vanilla and stir until combined.

Pour in flours, sugar, baking soda and baking powder and mix until moistened.

Fold in strawberries/cherries and 1/3 c walnuts. Pour into a well-greased loaf pan.

Sprinkle 2 tbsp of walnuts on top. Bake for 50 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Allow to cool (or don't) and dig in!

I used 1 cup of sugar with the cherries because they are so tart, but I'm sure 2/3 c would be fine if you want to avoid too much sugar. I can't wait until we have our own strawberries from the farm and I'm hoping to go pick blueberries with Sweet P once this heat dies down!

Recipes to look for:

Strawberry muffins

Strawberry and cherry popsicles

Cherry Almond Scones

Cherry Cobbler

What do you do with your strawberries?

Wordless Wednesday

Ok so it's not so wordless, but whatever. I sort of figured out the picture situation, at least enough to post about all the things we did while Gammie and cousin Blair were here last week. Hoping to post a few new recipes (from strawberry and cherry picking!) and some fun crafts! I also have a few Featured Guest Crafts (Blair and Gammie) you won't wanna miss! But for now, check out this cutie-cute pic of Sweet P drinking from the dolphin, err water hose!

Gimme a minute...

Taking a slight hiatus while I figure out what to do with our current computer sitch. Mine (previously Auntie K's) is broken (or has a hardware problem) and we're trying to figure out if it's worth fixing or if I should just buy a cheap netbook. I realize I could use the Farmer's computer, but I'm unable to load pictures because it doesn't have enough memory to hold the 700 pics (or the 400 I deleted at the start of the week) that are currently on my SD card (whoops). The other comp has a card reader so I didn't have a reason to upload them (not that you care about any of this).

Anyhoodle, all that to say that I'll be taking a slight hiatus until we A) get a new computer, B) fix the old computer or C) dig out the external hard drive and do some moving of pics.

Now get out and enjoy your summer while it lasts!

Every Good and Perfect Gift...

is from above. ~James 1:17

I suppose it's time I come out with it. If you've seen me in the past several months, you already know and I sneakily placed it in this post (but only Auntie Rosita and another friend saw it).

If you've been reading awhile, you know that we had a miscarriage in November. It was a very difficult time for me and on June 6th I debated writing a post. It was my due date, but I couldn't bring myself to write it. I don't know the exact reason, but part of it is that as much as I wanted to be sad and dwell on the day I should've been holding a baby in my arms, I knew our sweet unborn baby was in His arms instead. And how can I be sad about that?

It was a very bittersweet day because as I longed to hold our angel baby, I could feel our unborn son kicking, hiccuping and punching my uterus and I had to thank God for all that has transpired in our lives in the past 26 weeks.

I don't know why we lost our baby in November and like I said before, we may never know. But I do know that God is good and "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." ~1 Corinthians 2:9

Happy 4th of July & MTM

Happy 4th of July from my family to yours! Hope you have a wonderful day full of being outside, enjoying family and watching fireworks! God Bless America!

Flag: Stars - blueberries and shaved coconut, Top stripe-strawberries, White stripe- plain yogurt, Bottom stripe- tomatoes