Heart Day

Valentine's Day is creeping up on us.  I love the hearts and colors of this day, even though it is pretty commercialized.  But you can make it all about the LOVE in your house.  Make something pretty for someone you love this year.  Here's some ideas:

1. Big Valentine Heart Cookies, 2. vday goodie bag 05, 3. I love you Mr. Starbucks, 4. valentine's cupcake, 5. Love Shack for LauraJay, 6. Valentine's Day 2010, 7. valentine table square, 8. Quilted Heart Gift Tags, 9. Its official I am one of those annoying Moms.....

Magazine Love

Have you seen this magazine?  I think it only comes out quarterly, but it's definitely a winner in my book.  I buy food magazines often and most of the time I wish I hadn't bought them.  There are usually a few recipes in a magazine that I decide I want to try but, considering there are probably 50 recipes (or more) in some magazines, buying one is kind of a waste of money.  One of our favorite recipes - Chicken Spaghetti came out of the last issue of Mixing Bowl, so when I saw a new issue at Target today, I didn't even look inside it and put it in my basket.  I am soooo glad I did.  I dog-eared pages that had recipes I wanted to try and guess how many I found?  22!  Almost everything in there looks so delicious.  I can't wait to get to cookin'!  Go buy this magazine!

Oh, and on another food-related note, please, please, if you have green chiles hanging around, put some on your next grilled cheese sandwich.  Apparently, this is a popular thing in this area we live.  Brad made me one the other night and now I never want to have another plain grilled cheese again.

Notebook Covers and Cake

Hey, y'all.  I finished a couple of little notebook covers today that I thought I'd share with you.  Very easy - just cut, quilted, and bound. 

 This one was just for practice so I could make sure I had the measuring part right.  I only had a fat quarter of the fabric I really wanted to use, so I decided I'd do a test-run first.  It's ok - not my favorite fabric choice, but it'll do for now.  Or maybe I'll give it to someone.   

Here's the one that I will use for my stuff.  I reeeeally love this fabric, don't you?  It is really soft and quilted beautifully.  I want to make more, but I don't have a reason to, really.  Cidney wants one for a composition book she has, so I will make that for her and then move on to other things.  Like Brad's quilt that I have been promising him for years.  Years.  That sounds bad, but it's true.  Gotta get that done.

Ok, here's that recipe I promised you.  I don't have pictures of it because, well, it got eaten.  Not just by us - we had help.   But it's the most delicious, cinnamon-y, moist cake you'll ever eat.  And it's even got a vegetable in it!  That's got to be good for you, right?

Zucchini Cake

3 eggs, beaten

1 c. oil

2 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

3 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 c. peeled, coarsely grated zucchini

Glaze

1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. milk

Combine first 4 ingredients; mix well.  Add dry ingredients and mix.  Add grated zucchini.  Pour into greased and floured 10" Bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes.  Cool 20 minutes before removing from pan.  Spoon glaze over cake.

Enjoy every bite!  And remember - it's zucchini.  It's good for you, so have two pieces. 

   

Friday Flickr Finds

I love flickr.  Does anyone else just sit for hours and look at pictures on there?  I do that at least once a week, so I thought I'd share my finds with you every Friday.  Today's subject is quilts.  Love them.  I love the way they look, the way they feel, the warmth they give.  Some are so beautiful I just want to lick them.  Is that weird?  It is - I know. I'm ok with that.  I made a little quilt of quilts for you to look at.  The Dresden Plate is for you, Mother.  Love you.

I'll be back tomorrow with a recipe for you.  Get your Bundt pans ready. 

p.s. Ok, I don't really wanna lick them, just kiss them a lot.

Our iPods have new homes

See what I made?  Two little iPod cases.  Cid's is on the right and mine is on the left.  They turned out pretty cute, I thought.  The pattern came from the Winter 2007 issue of Quilts 'n More Magazine.  My mom was my inspiration for making this (as she is for so many things I make) - she made herself one after she got an iPod, which was before I got one.  Wait, my daughter got one before I did.  Not fair.  Anyway, the pattern was easy - basically it was like making a purse, of which I've made many.  But the thing is so little, it's kind of hard to sew around at the top before you turn it out.  I got it done, though.  They're not perfect, but they'll do their job.  I think that iPhones would actually fit in here, too, as well as smaller iPods like Classic or Nano.  We have the iPod touch and they fit in there just perfectly.  Hope you like.

Hello to You!

Hi, I'm Robin.  I'm 34, a Christian, a mother of three sweet kiddos (Cidney-11, Cort-2, and Conner-5 months), and a wife to a wonderful husband, Brad.  We live in Los Lunas, New Mexico.  I've wanted to start a blog for quite a while now, but just hadn't made time for it.  I finally decided to just do it.  It won't be the best, most beautiful or professional-looking blog, but it will be fun for me to do and a great way for our family to keep up on what is going on with us.

I'm a crafty kind of girl.  I mostly sew, but I like making cards and sometimes make jewelry or a doll if I get a hankering.  I also love to cook and baking has become something I do very often lately (which shows in my waist line).  I love to hear the mmmms and ahhhs while my family gobbles up something I've made.  I try to make at least one new recipe a week and will share those with you when I do (successful or not).  I will also share some of my crafty-ness and hope that you will share your ideas with me, too. 

Are you wondering what the name of the blog means?  My grandmother told me that her Aunt Mary used to say that, when it comes to our husbands, sometimes you have to give them a 'little pat of butter'.  She meant to build up your husband, fluff his feathers, tell him you appreciate him.  I thought it was cute, so I stole it for my blog name.  Silly maybe, but it means something to me.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hoping I become a regular in your daily blog reading.