Holiday Baking

I am oh so happy that the holiday baking season is here... like I need an excuse to bake. It's just that now I do so without guilt because we all know that calories consumed during the holidays don't count, right? Besides, with two weeks off from school Taylor and I have to fill the chilly days somehow. I've been bookmarking recipes all week so that we have plenty of new ones to try. And the warmth from the oven keeps the house's heater from working so hard.

See? It's the just right thing to do.

I don't really have any cherished family recipes or baking traditions from my childhood really, so Taylor and I are making our own. It just so happens that Santa and I share a favorite cookie... crispy oatmeal chocolate chip. We make these fresh on Christmas Eve because Santa also loves them warm from the oven. (I coulda sworn I had a picture of us baking them together, but I guess not. You get this cute picture from baking 4th of July sugar cookies instead :)

Anyway, I thought I'd share the recipe with you all.

First Mixture:

1 c butter 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla

1 c granulated sugar 1c brown sugar

Second Mixture:

2 c flour 1/2 tsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt

Sift together and add to the first mixture.

Add 1c quick cooking oats and 1c chocolate chips (or anything else you'd like in there, like nuts).

Mix together and drop by spoonfuls on a greased baking sheet (important because these are thin and can stick really easily). Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes.

There you have it... easy peasy!

Fabric Garland/Advent... with Tutorial

This year, I decided that we'd countdown to Christmas a little different.... without spending any money! I love, love fabric garlands so I thought that I would incorporate that idea into an advent calendar type thing. I made 25 links, put them in a pretty glass vase, and each day in December one link will get added until it looks like the picture above. I figured out that by the end of the second week, the chain will be long enough to drape nicely. Until then, they will just snake along the mantle.

If you'd like to make your own, here's what I did.

You'll need:

-(25) 4.5 x 12.5 in. pieces of fabric (I went with random scraps, but you could be more coordinated if you are so inclined.)

-(25) buttons (I let my daughter rummage through the buttons and pick them out.... shear 5 yr old girl heaven!)

-You could use a light interfacing if you want, but I didn't.... just starched them well instead.

-Your basics - needle, thread, scissors, rotary cutter, ruler

Once you get your fabric pieces all cut out, iron them in half lengthwise, right-sides together. Then, with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew up the long edge and one of the short sides. Clip the corner and trip the seam allowance. You've made a tube that looks like this:

Then, carefully turn your tube inside out. Be careful about using pointy things when turning, you don't want to poke a hole in your fabric. Once they are right side out, iron them well. To finish the other end, turn the raw edges in about a 1/2 inch and press. Use a teeny seam allowance to close it up. (hint: Start stitching on the folded side instead of the seam side. My machine likes it much better that way.)

Now here is where I had to really overcome a major fear.... buttonholes. If I can do it, so can you! Mine are not perfectly perfect by any means, but they work (glad my machine has good instructions). Here's one before I opened it up. See, not so perfect. I put the buttonholes on the "pretty" end, the one without machine stitching because that is the side you are going to see when you button them up.

Once you have that done, all you have to do is sew a button on the other end!.... Easy Peasy!

This entire project took me a few hours. The bulk of the time was spent choosing, cutting, and ironing the fabric.

Happy Holiday Crafting!!!

Thanks so a group of students at the local high school vo-tech, you can now find plenty of bike parking in downtown Jonesboro. The kids made 21 of these 2-bike racks and one nice mulit-bike rack and installed them all throughout downtown. The project didn't cost NEABC or the City a dime because the class did this as their community service project. However, as a "Thank-You", we presented the kids with a nice check to help cover their costs when they go to the state welding competition later in the school year. I love that we were able to partner with them! We got great racks, the kids got experience designing and building, and the community gets to see what a great program the vo-tech is.

In other news, I am officially a grad student!! I'll be starting my masters in community development in January.

I've also been a little bit crafty... I can't post pictures because the item I made is for a swap. But, I'll be sure to post once the person gets it. :) I've also been trying learn sock knitting. It is very, very, very slow going. I have about an inch (maybe a little more) done of one cuff. Maybe I'll have the pair finished by summer??

The Brass Hussy GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Brass Hussy GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I love Arkansas

This weekend, a few friends and I took part in the first annual Tour duh Sunkenlands.... a tour through the flat-lands and small museums of Northeast Arkansas. It was a beautiful fall day, although the wind was brutal which is par for a warm November day, the traffic was low, and the company was fantastic. The highlight of the ride was the rest stop at The Painted House Museum (of John Grisham fame). The picture above is the barn where they house the movie memorabilia, and the actual house is next door. The folks there were super happy to have us (as all the stops were). They welcomed us with homemade lemonade and brownies and were just as welcoming as they could be.... but, ya gotta love Arkansas.

It's been a great week

I have been in swap heaven this week. I traded lots of fabric and some old inventory for all manner of etsy goodness. I got soap, simple silver earrings, a glass wine stopper, some cute felted acorns, and big ol' batch of note cards. I really should have taken a picture of everything together, but I didn't I'm too lazy to round everything up now. However, I did take pictures from my AREtsy swap gift. I swapped with SimplyStacyJewelry and got these beautiful goodies (Sorry the photos aren't great... I have a whole new appreciation for those who take jewelry photos.):

If all that swappy fun wasn't enough to make for a great week, it was a fabulous week for biking and walking advocacy here. On Tuesday, it was announced that our city would be receiving a $1.7 million grant (largest in the city's history) that will be used to complete the first phase of our greenway!!! This first phase will connect a large park/community center, an intermediate school, elementary school, our one mall, Arkansas State University, a medical center, and historic downtown. It will basically be a linear park for walking and bicycling.

On Thursday, about 50 folks gathered for to take part in a walkability survey of our city where we went out to intersections all over town and evaluated them. It was a very illuminating experience for lots of folks to see just how little pedestrians and cyclists have been considered in past development. The data that was collected is going to be used in a larger presentation to the city which can then be used as a guide for future development.

Oh yeah, I also turned 30... but that was the week before.

Things fall into place

I just got back from a glorious vacation - in two parts. The first was with the mister, little bit, my mama, my little sister, brother in law, and my nephew. We spent four days playing, swimming, reading, lounging, and eating the best seafood ever at Orange Beach, AL. Having my mom and sister there was so great. It really was idyllic... time spent with

my family that will go up there on the best memories ever list.

The second part was just my little clan and it, too, was awesome. After leaving the beach, we headed to Atlanta to take Taylor to the Georgia Aquarium. Not only were the exhibits amazing, we took an almost private behind-the-scenes tour of the shark exhibit. Taylor aspires to be a shark scientist and, boy was this the perfect place for her! We spent well over an hour watching the sharks above (those are 2 of the 4 whale sharks there as well as a giant manta ray).

Ok, so for things falling into place? NEABC got word from the IRS that our application for non-profit status was approved! Yayayay! I got a lovely email from a former professor saying she would be happy to write a letter of recommendation for me and that she was really glad to see all the things I am doing. It may be a little silly, but having her approval really means a lot. I was nervous that she wouldn't even remember me after so long. I also had two other people who I work with enthusiastically say they'd help with letters. And, I was chosen to be featured in Jonesboro Occasions magazine in a segment that focuses on people who give back to the community. Seriously, such an honor.. and such a great thing for my organization.