Idea Journal :: Bits and Pieces

Some things I found around my workspace the other day- bits and pieces that were in the recycle bin or trash can, forgotten things and other random things. Some paper rounds and baker's twine that had fallen on the floor. Fabric scraps including a pear shaped paisley print (I had made a set of greeting cards awhile back using these pears). Part of a notecard, some magazine clippings, hole punch holes, a zipper packaging, some other fun things and an "H" from a baby shower favor.

Random Catch Up Post

Happy Monday! And Happy Memorial Day to those in the U.S. A random catch up post today. Lots going on around here. My hubby finished up the super crazy semester (yay!). My sweet youngest son seems to be through the colic, pretty much 3 months to the day and it was like day and night-he's much happier and more smiley now. Thankful :)

Still planning and documenting in my Idea Journal. Am loving the pictures some of you have uploaded on flickr. If you would like to share a picture of yours, please go here.

My sweet blog-land friend Katie of Gadanke sent me this super cute {The Little Things} - Listing Thankful Thoughts Journal. Thank you Katie!! :) It is absolutely adorable and I am working on filling it up. It is great to write down all that I am thankful for, and to be prompted to remember/realize things I am thankful for that I hadn't even thought about. More on that later.

I found this recipe for Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread on pinterest and am a fan. A huge fan. And so is my hubby. And so is my Jimmy. Like, it might be a problem - this bread is that good. I ran out of eggs and couldn't make any more yesterday (although you can probably count on me getting more eggs at the grocery today... and making another loaf... or two or three).

Have been planning and rummaging around in my blog - working on labels for posts at the moment. Part of one of my 2011 Goals for my blog and shop.

So about those seeds we planted. Yeeaaaah. Not so much. We ended up buying tomato plants from a local nursery, as well as a jalapeno plant, green bell pepper plants, and herbs - basil, parsley and chives. We (my hubby) made one huge planter box and we filled it with potting soil (no weeds or red clay dirt to contend with). The plants are thriving. I am proud to say that we have 3 super cute tomatoes growing so far. I cannot even describe the pure joy of watching these grow!
And the herbs. They are out of control. I'm having to cut and pinch them back almost daily. Love being able to step out on the back porch and pick out fresh herbs to use for meals.
As far as running goes. Running today. Took a brief (but too long) break after having a massive neck problem from sleeping on it wrong ;) Was way out of commission for almost a week. Could.not.function. Still having trouble with it (3 weeks later?!) but am thankful that I can move.

Working on a few tutorials (I know, it's been way too long), and will be sharing those soon. I will be sharing some more from my idea journal tomorrow. Have a fabulous day!

The One with All the Strawberries

We go to a local "Pick Your Own" strawberry patch every year - one of my fave things about spring. We went once this year and then one of my sweet friends picked us a TON of berries when they went (thanks, friend!). So I had tons of yummy juicy berries. And needed to use them all. Fast.

So I of course made Strawberry Freezer Jam (I use the recipe on the pectin box, yum!), and then tried a new recipe- Fresh Strawberry Pie. It was nothing short of fabulously delicious. A keeper. My hubby, my sis and her fiancee said we need to print out the recipe, laminate it and hang it on the fridge... it was that good. Next I will be trying homemade Strawberry Fruit Leather.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 (9 in) pie crust, baked

1 qt. fresh strawberries, washed and hulled

3/4 cup white sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 Tbsp sugar, optional

Arrange 3/4 of the strawberries in the baked pie crust. Mash the remaining berries and combine with sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pie crust. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

To serve with homemade whipped cream: Whisk whipping cream and sugar together in a small bowl until stiff peaks form. Place a dollop on each slice of pie and serve.

*Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

DIY :: Printable Library, Graph and Notes Cards

*UPDATED: Go here for more printable journaling cards I created :)

I whipped up these cute little cards the other day. A library card, graph paper card and notes card (kind of like a sheet of notebook paper). These cuties are a perfect journaling spot to add to an art journal or on a scrapbook page. Or print a bunch and put them together into a booklet.

Click on the image above to enlarge and save. **EDITED: For those having trouble clicking on the image-- try right clicking and then selecting "Open in New Tab" and then save. Print on heavy card stock. The black crop marks are the cut lines, so the blue lines all bleed off of the edges. Each card is approximately 3.25" x 5.25".

Please note that these are strictly for personal use only and should not be printed and/or sold in any way. Thank you!

Brown (and White) Paper Packages Tied Up with String

My sweet son is almost finished with his first year of preschool! He has absolutely adored it and loves his teachers. They have loved him, impacted him, and helped him so much over this past school year. My son is such a sweetheart and "always happy", but very active, talkative and busy. So grateful for these special teachers! In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we bought them some fun goodies and put them in a basket. The challenge was wrapping them up. I was going to purchase some of that clear cellophane stuff, but decided to recycle some tissue paper and brown kraft paper and add a decorative touch with string, washi tape and (of course) paper. So happy with how they turned out and Jimmy and I are excited to give them to his teachers :)

Reading :: The Current List

So a confession. I am obsessed with books. Love. Books. I recently purchased a few new ones (Who knew "1-click ordering" meant that your order was complete by simply pressing the button once. Whoops. ;)) and am enjoying reading them when I have a free second.

The current list:

- Beard on Bread (James Beard) - An old-school 1970s paperback book, full of amazing bread recipes - from before the era of bread machines.

- My Idea Journal - Am filling up the pages of this quickly. Enjoying looking through my ideas and expanding on them.

- Handmade Home (Amanda Blake Soule) - a fabulous book full of ideas and projects for repurposing items and materials and turning them into beautiful treasures for your home.

- Guide to North Carolina Vegetable Gardening (Walter Reeves)- My go-to book (one of them, at least) for our little garden that is now growing tomatoes, peppers, herbs and some other veggies.

- Crafting a Meaningful Home (Meg Mateo Ilasco) - I have Ilasco's book Craft, Inc. and love it. Just received this book yesterday and am already enjoying it. Full of fabulous pictures and projects, I can't wait to get started on some of these some day soon.

- Bend the Rules Sewing (Amy Karol) - love Amy's blog Angry Chicken, and thought I'd go ahead and purchase her book. Love it. Fabulous sewing projects for a novice seamstress like me.

*As with all products I share, I am not compensated in any way unless otherwise stated.

Food: Korean Beef Rice Bowl

Happy Monday! And Happy May! Sparse blogging lately- my apologies, my sweet baby is still struggling with colic and has needed lots of mama time. Praying my sweet boy has relief. Soon.

I've been trying out all sorts of amazing recipes lately- including a lot of Asian dishes. The other night we had this amazing beef dish- Korean Beef Rice Bowl. I found the recipe here - its definitely one of our new faves -- a great flavor and not spicy. Yum!

Korean Beef Rice Bowl (recipe from Steamykitchen)

2 cups raw rice
1 pound flank steak
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks (or 1 cup matchstick cut carrots)
1 small zucchini, diced
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

directions:

1. Cook the rice according to package instructions.

2. Cut the steak into very thin slices ACROSS the grain. If using other steak: Cut the steak into very small cubes, about 1/2-inch. If using ground beef: leave as-is.

3. In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and brown sugar. Add the beef and toss to coat. Let marinate while you prep the vegetables. Steps 1 and 2 can be done ahead of time up to 1 day before.

4. Heat a large saute pan or wok on medium heat. When hot, swirl in the oil. Add the onions and saute for 1 minute. Turn the heat to high and give it just a few seconds to heat up. Add in the beef, spreading the beef all over the surface of the pan, tossing with the onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes until just barely pink.

5. Add in the carrots, zucchini and toss. Cook for 1 minute. Toss in the spinach and cook for an additional minute. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with rice.