What the crochet?

So I haven't done a ton of blogging lately, because I have kind of been side tracked with crocheting! A few other things here and there too, but mostly crocheting. Even my baking and cooking has taken a back seat ( I'm sure Mikes not too thrilled about it!). Like I mentioned in this post I have been crocheting for a long time. Occasionally I think about making some type of business but then I think I might not like crocheting after a while. So I keep it a hobby and if some one here of there wants me to make them something I am happy to. So what have I been making lately? Let me show you....pictures are way better than words right? Well my pictures aren't anything amazing but they are there! A few of these things I have found on pinterest, a few I have just made up as I went. I will try to give credit where credit is due!

I made this hat up as I went using basic concepts I have learned from other patterns. I made up the horns completely and I was really happy with how it turned out!

I just love how cute she is! I could take a million pictures of her!

I found this pattern here, but I made them a little bigger so that they could fit Aubrey. I still need to add a button or something to them but I just haven't found the right ones yet!

I found these tiny baby booties here, and then I just made the hat up as I went.

I didn't have a model small enough to try these on so I found Aubrey's bunny!

I love these little ones so much and they kind of make me want another baby! Shhh don't tell!

I made this scarf from an old t-shirt and a similar tutorial is found here!

I can wear mine double up or really long.

I made these boots from this pattern, and I absolutely love them! I need to see if I can figure it out so I can make some in my size!

I love them so much they need a few pics!

This is an old hat of Aubrey's that I revamped with a new flower. I changed the pattern a little but you can get the basic one here.

This little snake was also found off pinterest. You can find the pattern here.

I made these hats for a friend, I won the patterns from Inner Hooker, you can purchase her patterns on Etsy.

I will be trying a lot more patterns in the next little while. I have loved finding so many fun projects on Pinterest!!!

Extra Dough?

Do you ever have a bunch of extra cash lying around that you just don't know what to do with? Ya....me neither!!! :) But sometimes I do have extra dough....as in pizza dough!

I feel like I have a bit of a gem of a recipe and it is only fair to share it right? This pizza dough whips up so quickly I don't know why anyone would use another one. And it is good too! I have had this recipe book for a long time.....I don't even remember exactly where I got it from but it has some great recipes in it. The recipe book is called Back to Family Time.

I couldn't even tell you where to get a copy. But I will share with you a recipe from it. You can tell a cookbook is well loved when it practically falls open to the right page. And just so you can see how loved this book is.....

take a good look at that! That was always how I knew to find the good recipes in my mom's cookbook! The pages were well worn and often had oil spots!

But back to the actual recipe. It is seriously so easy!

Pizza Dough

In a medium bowl combine the following ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp. instant yeast

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp sugar

Add:

2 tbsp oil

1 cup warm water

Mix this up with a sturdy spoon and incorporate a little flour at a time while kneading to make a smooth ball. Roll out dough to fit your greased pizza pan or cookie sheet. Allow to rise in a warmed oven for 10-15 min. Place desired toppings on crust.

Bake for 15-20 min at 375˚F.

A few notes about this recipe. The dough is okay to be a little sticky still, too much flour will make for a denser drier dough. I like my dough to hold its shape but be a little sticky because it makes the dough really light and fluffy when baked. This will make enough dough for one round pizza pan or a really thin crust on a regular cookie sheet. The recipe also doubles really easy and this is where I have extra dough....I do it on purpose!! After you have devoured your pizza you can use extra dough to make this........

Heaven I tell ya!!

I divide the extra dough into 2 equal portions. Then roll them out into circles. On one layer I spread some melted butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon and white sugar. I place the other layer of dough over top and seal edges. Then spread a little more melted butter and cinnamon and sugar over the top. You can use your judgement here on how much butter and cinnamon

and sugar you use.....I won't tell if you use a lot....

Now to get the pretty twists use a pizza cutter or a knife and make slits in the dough (but not all the way to the center) around the pizza. So it looks like a sun. Twist each section 2-3 times and then bake it in the oven for 10-15 min. This needs less time than the pizza because you only need to cook the dough not all the toppings.

When it comes out of the oven drizzle with a glaze made of icing sugar and milk and then devour warm!!! It's good cooled too, not that it usually lasts that long!

Is it just me???

Am I the only one with this problem or does it happen to you too?

I am talking about the head band that does not stay on your head. Mine always slips up and defeats the purpose! I kind of always credited it to cheap headbands (hello Dollar Store) but Mike went out and bought me a cute Lulu Lemon one that is supposed to stay in place......except mine doesn't! :(

Do any of you have this problem or is it just me? What do you do to fix it? I think headbands look so cute!!! I want to wear them more!!!

I realize it doesn't look that bad in this picture, but trust me this isn't where I put it!!

Pleasant Surprises!

I would like to believe that I have great kids! I might be biased, but I think they are amazing! What parent doesn't though? On top of that though, I have had other people tell me that I have good kids(maybe they are just being nice)! We try to teach them good manners and to be nice and say nice things, we teach them to clean up after themselves and let Mike or I know if they need help with a mess. But some things have just come with out being asked and it is awesome!

One morning out of the blue Mason came running into my room and said "MOM, guess what I did? I made my bed all by myself!!!"

Of course we gave him praise and said he was such a good boy(we aim for a lot of positive re-enforcement)! The most impressive part to me though was that I have never once asked Mason to make his bed. I make mine every morning and I go into the kids rooms and make theirs. I guess he noticed! It was such a pleasant surprise! The best part is that this has become a regular occurrence now! Almost every morning he says the same thing "Mom, guess what I did?" To which I reply "Did you make your bed all by yourself! You are such a big boy! Good job!" Sometimes when he is really ambitious he will make Aubrey's for her too.

You can't expect perfection, and it you are to look at the beds you might not think they are made. That comes with practice and I don't want to discourage him from doing it by telling him he did it "wrong/not good enough".

Mason is not the only one learning by example though. Miss Aubrey is a big copy cat! She loves doing anything and everything that Mason does. Which sometimes isn't good, but usually works to our advantage! We have taught Mason he needs to clear his plate after dinner and wash his hands and face. Aubrey now takes it upon herself to do all of this by herself too! She actually gets mad at me if I try clearing her plate. It is so cute to see her toddle into the kitchen and practically throw the dishes in the sink! We will stick with plastic with her for a while!

I hope that I can always set a good example for my kids to follow and they will not pick up all my bad habits, but stick with the good ones! I sure think they are great though!

A Little ALARMING!!!!

More than a little alarming actually......quite loud and very alarming. Our buildings fire alarm went off last night. We aren't talking the little beep beep beep beep of most regular house alarms. We have one of those in our apartment that goes off when something from the stove starts smoking. No this is a really loud, wake you up out of a dead sleep, make you children start screaming, loud whooop whoooop whoooop sound. It lasted at least 5 minutes.

At about 3:45 last night it went off, and shortly after fire trucks started arriving. Not quite sure what to do, not wanting to yank the kids out of their beds if I didn't have too, hoping it was a false alarm, I sent Mike to head downstairs to see what was going on. I tried to keep the kids

from crying while I also ran around finding pants and coats and hats and mitts, and some of our

most important things like all our identification. I kept checking out the window there were at least 3 fire trucks. Right after Mike left for downstairs they announcement came over the loud speaker to stay calm and wait for further instruction!

I called Mike about 2 minutes later and he told me

there was no fire that they were aware of and that it was a false alarm.

Now we were left with a family of four unable to get back to sleep. Mike stayed with Aubrey for a good 45 min before she fell asleep, Mason was still awake when Mike came back to bed at 5:00am. I was awake that entire time and remained awake for a little while after. Thankfully my kids slept until 8:00 this morning!

I am glad that it was only a false alarm and that we still have a house, but it sure made for a long night!

This is the lovely sign we have plastered on the inside of our door!

Hats for the Kiddos!

A few months ago I entered a blog contest over at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. And I won!!! Yay, that like never happens! I was able to choose 3 patterns for crocheting hats! I picked my patterns and then kind of forgot about them! I have been crocheting since I was like 12!!

I used to go to my Great Grandmothers house after school

and she would teach me how to crochet and play crib! Those were definitely special memories for me. And it has been a skill I have kept over all these years. I have made several blankets and a few other small things. Last spring I learned how to crochet some hats for my kids, and they love them.

The contest this fall was for great patterns from Inner Hooker

(don't you love the name). She has a shop on Etsy if you are interested. When I saw all the cute patterns offered by Inner

Hooker I was so excited!! The only problem was after I won the contest I realized I would have to go buy all my crocheting stuff again. I left all mine back home in Alberta!!

I finally got around to getting some yarn and hooks and I whipped up these hats for the kids in a few hours! I was so happy with how they turned out! Aubrey especially loves hers, she was wearing it before I was even finished!

I really like them and I am pretty sure

I will be making a few more

in the near future!

I think this little Owl is my favourite though!!

Tres Leches Cake

So I said I would do another post about Mikes cake.....I had every intention of doing it the very next day....but suddenly I turn around and over 10 days have passed! I am not sure where all of January went...but it is almost gone!!

So for Mikes birthday I wanted to do a special cake for him. I always like doing special cakes for birthdays. I have played around with fondant a bit and this was his cake a couple years ago.

Yup his 26th birthday!!

I do not claim do be a fondant professional....but I enjoy doing it. This was probably only my second cake...so don't look to close at the imperfections!! Mike asked for a fondant cake again this year....but I told him I had something else in mind.

When we went down to Mexico last January Mike couldn't get enough of this one cake. He didn't know what it was called so he called it water cake....because is was sooooo moist. He ate multiple pieces every day!

I had to get a picture of him enjoying his favorite dessert!

So imagine my delight when I came across a recipe on pinterest for Tres Leches Cake. I figured this had to be it! I was going to keep it a surprise from Mike, but I also didn't want to disappoint him when he didn't see a fondant cake. So I also asked him what fruit he would like to have served on top. He picked 2 fruits I wouldn't have thought of so I was glad I asked him. We topped it with kiwi and pomegranate This was the finished product! It was a huge success. Mike loved it and that was what I was hoping for. I would definitely make this again! Thank goodness for pinterest!!!

It was super yummy...like REALLY SUPER yummy!!

The reason it is called Tres Leches Cake is because after you bake and cool the cake you poke it with holes and pour a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaported milk and heavy cream over top. That is what makes it so moist, but not soggy!!! If you wanted to give if a try the recipe is pinned from this site! I hope you enjoy it too!