tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2163752016388306602024-02-19T01:43:27.416-06:00Sasha's Blue CarpetHacking together a home & knitting your way to freedom!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-2845476075896952202014-05-02T12:48:00.003-05:002014-05-02T13:09:54.441-05:00My To-Do and Shopping List Printables<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fM6ZoYMFctj_8QMR_D7YoknMJOYBPWQNuKcJrojtgKjldREvZ6pd6pBSUlRD5HgXc8Pd8Cu1jKY1YKTrgWNZABgM207pb-B9SAIwgwFHlfaNYJyfqmdj5FB0W-DNezXw7hCzSYYNwhxI/s1600/Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fM6ZoYMFctj_8QMR_D7YoknMJOYBPWQNuKcJrojtgKjldREvZ6pd6pBSUlRD5HgXc8Pd8Cu1jKY1YKTrgWNZABgM207pb-B9SAIwgwFHlfaNYJyfqmdj5FB0W-DNezXw7hCzSYYNwhxI/s1600/Cover.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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Holy shmaholy, a 24-hour trip back to the states, reconnecting with everyone and getting baby things in place took a lot out of me. BUT I'M STILL HERE!!! So much for that blog-planning binder, huh? (Actually, it's super-useful in getting me back on track, right now).<br />
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Last time I featured 3 of my favorite
keep-me-on-top-of-things printables created by other bloggers. The really remarkable thing about those
printables is that they work fantastically for me, without any changes or
tweaks. This hardly ever happens! Usually even the best printables are
almost-but-not-quite what I need. Or
they’re perfect and just waaaaaaaaay too pink and cutesy. That’s been known to happen as well. In these cases, I usually just wind up making
my own.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So here are a couple of my own recent printables for you to
download, use or be inspired by. I’d be
thrilled if these worked well enough for you to adopt seamlessly into your
routine. If not, feel free to riff on
the ideas to make your own printables (but give me a shout-out if you do, and
maybe I can share your printables back – there’s plenty of love to go around
here). And if these are
almost-but-not-quite perfect for you, please let me know! I can make versions of these available with
small tweaks as well, or in different colors, if there’s interest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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First up is my <a href="http://k007.kiwi6.com/hotlink/a53s4thetj/To_Do_Printable.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">List of Doing</a> (direct PDF download)! I was inspired by this
almost-but-not-quite-perfect-for-me to-do list printable from <a href="http://www.mommytracked.com/downloads" target="_blank">Mommy Tracked</a> (click for even more great printables).
While it’s a cute, solid printable, I found I didn’t use the “score-card”
section much, and I really needed a running list of longer-term to-dos to help
me keep track of things.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So my list is divided into three columns – this week, next
week and beyond! I pretty much
concentrate on “this week,” tackle some “next weeks” if I find myself with some
time to kill and ignore (without losing track of!) “beyond.” As the weeks tick by, I cross things off of “beyond”
and “next week” and move them to the left as needed. If I complete a recurring task, I’ll
immediately jot it down with its next due-date in the appropriate column, to
keep things trucking along.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YLObZrnyDopBnVZ3UCjPSmLWgOm1wZNwp0kWxR8lSoQVtP9ortLoRkNZlP7cl4qTfpMCSWlPrdircCJGw6fX-si_GBXKrdTjVzByINleK7TKOtJg9F15YxxyJn7oYda6nKN6dRXN-vWt/s1600/Shopping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YLObZrnyDopBnVZ3UCjPSmLWgOm1wZNwp0kWxR8lSoQVtP9ortLoRkNZlP7cl4qTfpMCSWlPrdircCJGw6fX-si_GBXKrdTjVzByINleK7TKOtJg9F15YxxyJn7oYda6nKN6dRXN-vWt/s1600/Shopping.jpg" height="400" width="342" /></a></div>
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Next up is my <a href="http://k007.kiwi6.com/hotlink/na9f4h907r/Shopping_List.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">List of Shopping and Eating</a> (also a direct PDF download). Meal planning has been a life-saver for
me. We eat out a LOT less when I’ve got
a plan for the week, and we eat better at home too. Sitting down on a certain day of the week
with some cookbooks helps me actually get around to USING the cookbooks and trying out some new recipes, keeping us out of ruts and night after night of hotdogs
and frozen spinach (my go-to "screw it, I'm pregnant!" meal). I put my big,
involved meals on the weekends and leftovers or crockpot meals on days I know
we’ll have a lot to do. I also will
make-ahead some breakfast and lunch items during the weekend, if I’m feeling on
top of things (big pots of oatmeal, things like ants on a log, pre-cut veggies
and dips like pesto, sauces to slap on some meat for a quick, easy
dinner). And, of course, I always stay
flexible and alter the meal plan to fit our week as it happens, not the other
way around. Kids, I could do a whole
post on meal-planning ideas!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love the idea of having a meal plan and shopping list on
one printable. I
typically do my meal planning on Wednesday and my shopping on Thursday, so that’s
how the days of the week are laid out here.
I could easily rework this printable to start on different days of the
week, though, if there’s interest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So there ya go! Two
of my most-used printables. Feel free to
use them, share them, make them yours. I
hope you find them as helpful as I do.
And stay tuned for the next and final post in this series of
sanity-saving printables – my vacation packing lists!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-43711525471212066512014-04-05T15:14:00.001-05:002014-04-05T15:27:47.324-05:00Other People's Printables!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_eRTEGBOS3Ta0vKZGccEshx4TGeg4AAP7pfK-t5h6EcCI2Eeg0lGXbfmH384udKYkz4S8-JqYt_PRRhaaHITsdtb69KIWTCLLZKpHqf7hTN1zLKnylEOenhY-Gw5sI5UF7IMVgoToUohl/s1600/Alix+Blog-3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Much beloved and free printable planners" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_eRTEGBOS3Ta0vKZGccEshx4TGeg4AAP7pfK-t5h6EcCI2Eeg0lGXbfmH384udKYkz4S8-JqYt_PRRhaaHITsdtb69KIWTCLLZKpHqf7hTN1zLKnylEOenhY-Gw5sI5UF7IMVgoToUohl/s1600/Alix+Blog-3a.jpg" height="640" title="A few of my favorite lists" width="426" /></a></div>
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When I'm on my game, I'm pretty organized. I'm good with calendars and lists - basically the less I have to keep in my head, the better I function! This keeps me plugging along in a happy, generally on-top-of-things state until something goes insane, and then I let go of...many things, and first on the list is usually my lists. But here's the thing: I find that when I start from a place of being organized and on top of things, then when disaster strikes (pregnancy-induced insomnia, revolution in the streets, the specter and reality of Russian invasion, cancer in the family OR SOME DELIGHTFUL COMBINATION THEREOF) I don't fall as far, I don't crash as hard, I don't actually run out of clean underwear and it's a <i>lot</i> easier to claw my way back to a functional existence!<br />
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Home organization binders and whatnot seem to be all the rage on teh homey intarwebz these days, and I find a lot of the printables out there to be extremely helpful. So over the next few posts, I'm going to share with you some of the printables that are currently helping me wrap my mind back around my life. Today we're starting with three of my favorite printables-I-didn't-come-up-with (that are, of course, free - disposable income or no, we're still cheap bastards around here when we can get away with it)!<br />
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Russia still looms large to the east, but life in Kyiv is, if anything, back to better-than-normal. And we're trying to get back to normal too. Hopefully these will help you out as well, whether you're trying to scale Mt. Holy Crap along with me, or just trying to plug along at a sustainable pace.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBEMZ0041L1sgTCIE-HpX4i3unMG_tThyXIRctLsxUh3nFDD4sC-kqNaeFhvU-1bd_v2VqWC-EW1IK9yoM3WoEjlD5XEGqjKxd1aLUi1Dz56szz7W980q32DYmIZeb9w5jjdxUynr3tSy/s1600/Alix+Blog-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Daily Docket free printable planner page" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBEMZ0041L1sgTCIE-HpX4i3unMG_tThyXIRctLsxUh3nFDD4sC-kqNaeFhvU-1bd_v2VqWC-EW1IK9yoM3WoEjlD5XEGqjKxd1aLUi1Dz56szz7W980q32DYmIZeb9w5jjdxUynr3tSy/s1600/Alix+Blog-13.jpg" height="320" title="The Daily Docket" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Daily Docket</td></tr>
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<a href="http://theartofsimple.net/downloads/" target="_blank">Download here!</a></div>
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First on my list of lists-that-keep-my-life-together is definitely the Daily Docket, from the <a href="http://theartofsimple.net/downloads/" target="_blank">The Art of Simple</a>. This is your basic daily planner sheet, and it happens to work an absolute charm for me with no tweaks or alterations (and I can be pretty picky when it comes to these things)! In particular, I appreciate that the daily schedule and to-do-list are melded into one list. This keeps me from cramming in more to-dos than I'll have time to accomplish in a day packed with meetings or whatever, and helps me to visualize <i>when</i> I'll be able to get certain things done. You can download a couple of iterations of the docket at the link just below the photo above, including a pocket-sized version, and also browse the other great printables by The Art of Simple.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OLrwAisVTdEP262i8PVPo3EYoFMoYF7bDfq-usA4qSUjSY0_kKvAtaTQiwt8v0dvBLqK8ZrNJAL9_kzk92oHHwD8JyCMCtEowr3BnA6EDMd2G315Mz4L2UnAICksY5wf07fPF8QaREsc/s1600/Alix+Blog-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Goal Setting Planner free printable" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OLrwAisVTdEP262i8PVPo3EYoFMoYF7bDfq-usA4qSUjSY0_kKvAtaTQiwt8v0dvBLqK8ZrNJAL9_kzk92oHHwD8JyCMCtEowr3BnA6EDMd2G315Mz4L2UnAICksY5wf07fPF8QaREsc/s1600/Alix+Blog-17.jpg" height="213" title="Goal Setting Planner" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goal-Setting Planner</td></tr>
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<a href="http://danischnakenberg.com/31-days-of-functional-printables-goal-setting-planner/" target="_blank">Download here!</a></div>
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Next up is a neat set of goal-planning worksheets by <a href="http://danischnakenberg.com/" target="_blank">Dani Schnakenberg Studios</a>. There's a lot I'd like to accomplish in the foreseeable future, and I have a knack for launching forward on something guns blazing either to then run out of steam or...direction, I guess. Or realize that this OTHER thing I'd been neglecting needs urgent attention and then drop the first ball entirely. This is a good tool to help you collect your thoughts, plan a roadmap and keep yourself focused. Find the printable at the link below the photo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPefUw85l-J7h9aB9eG6cJOVdj5SDwAUdWY4Kh8hTivZTTVPU61DqTQRl0T-hgUhDVoDciQmzp5z4eJmrzWbxJ0g3NmwopdB19edxFmtNznoW-tu4tOzDJVvqxu-lsXWtiIUfEnzUKUSQ1/s1600/Alix+Blog-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Blog Planner free download" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPefUw85l-J7h9aB9eG6cJOVdj5SDwAUdWY4Kh8hTivZTTVPU61DqTQRl0T-hgUhDVoDciQmzp5z4eJmrzWbxJ0g3NmwopdB19edxFmtNznoW-tu4tOzDJVvqxu-lsXWtiIUfEnzUKUSQ1/s1600/Alix+Blog-11.jpg" height="213" title="Blog Planner" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014 Blog Planner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://www.awellcraftedparty.com/2014/03/06/free-printable-blog-planners-2014-edition/" target="_blank">Download here!</a></div>
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Aaaaaand of course one of my goals is to build up this here blog into something cool and, um...reliable. So I've started using what I believe is the awesomest blog planner ev4r. Seriously, I looked at a LOT of blog planners, and while there are a BUNCH of very functional and attractive ones out there, this one won my heart and has been working great. This one comes in three styles from the eminently talented <a href="http://www.awellcraftedparty.com/" target="_blank">A Well Crafted Party</a>. You can find all three at the link below the photo. You do have to sign up for her newsletter to get access to the free downloads, but it's not spammy at all. You won't regret it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1l8GH-f2PJliyWTE6ggTtsOTJ8DEhkeXJSTQ7Qg-PoXvUWNgyD22M8ETYJXAhONMJV2BsrWdwkWj_8OCPvJQaD6UFxBhNhHsmcVzWsasMqxfByJeUs2M19Mn3cteDTeNd-Us9G0z_HqvP/s1600/Alix+Blog-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Much beloved free printable planners I didn't make" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1l8GH-f2PJliyWTE6ggTtsOTJ8DEhkeXJSTQ7Qg-PoXvUWNgyD22M8ETYJXAhONMJV2BsrWdwkWj_8OCPvJQaD6UFxBhNhHsmcVzWsasMqxfByJeUs2M19Mn3cteDTeNd-Us9G0z_HqvP/s1600/Alix+Blog-5.jpg" height="213" title="Free Printables" width="320" /></a></div>
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So there you have it. I hope you find these as helpful as I hope I find them myself. :-D Ok, I'm already finding them to be extremely helpful. May we all find some peace and quiet by getting things down on paper where we can safely forget about them for a bit, without dropping any balls.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-53154738931333784422014-03-30T12:16:00.000-05:002014-04-06T23:56:13.150-05:00Easy-Edit Bunting Printable<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVg05xXowS6442RKcLGUmR75nbFXTnor-Qql5ItULLAYroK5pCdK2E6wZf2bzOoAod7Lv-Wgfdl3oO6DB0snLPg5A4ourdqsafWpvIQrVaEBslS008ozk8vVACzJjqgpsw9UL7ULg26n-g/s1600/Bunting5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVg05xXowS6442RKcLGUmR75nbFXTnor-Qql5ItULLAYroK5pCdK2E6wZf2bzOoAod7Lv-Wgfdl3oO6DB0snLPg5A4ourdqsafWpvIQrVaEBslS008ozk8vVACzJjqgpsw9UL7ULg26n-g/s1600/Bunting5.jpg" height="640" width="555" /></a></div>
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I mentioned in my last post how amazing our Ukrainian staff at work has been throughout this difficult time in the history of their country. At work, we decided to thank them by taking over a window in the section and covering it with notes from the American officers letting them know how much their strength and dedication mean to us. We taped our notes up under a big bunting "thankyou," recreated here in my apartment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM28Yonn6QIpD3SzH0lJInHOH3YnvYxNoK9PlA3-uQ3BzUC48BXdRSwRlWHg4-L4dngPHRLhf7agX882Vvv6prCJurU7ZnLWx_I1emtFIOyjccns_4t3GnhAc67IiI3gKLRPWZKk3Y3tq1/s1600/Bunting.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM28Yonn6QIpD3SzH0lJInHOH3YnvYxNoK9PlA3-uQ3BzUC48BXdRSwRlWHg4-L4dngPHRLhf7agX882Vvv6prCJurU7ZnLWx_I1emtFIOyjccns_4t3GnhAc67IiI3gKLRPWZKk3Y3tq1/s1600/Bunting.png" height="400" width="308" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://k007.kiwi6.com/hotlink/fquwwva74w/Bunting.docx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to download the Word document</a></div>
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And as a big thank YOU, for coming back and checking despite my extended absence from the blog, I'm putting up the template I created for the bunting as a free printable. It's a word document, so you can just plug in whatever letters you want on each triangle and go, or you can futz with the fonts and colors to your heart's content!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhrWMVaYQDpw57C2TncBASvhgfpWIOwsYHfT6SL3sl2kiy67Zxj1aAURKLtQzvghgstsTUMQSo7rWlPv9sP0YtzUJHR8Vv0Os-rmGU6gzK6BhopuRd8s61ojpebuFyuNUIElhbNnXur_-/s1600/bunting2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhrWMVaYQDpw57C2TncBASvhgfpWIOwsYHfT6SL3sl2kiy67Zxj1aAURKLtQzvghgstsTUMQSo7rWlPv9sP0YtzUJHR8Vv0Os-rmGU6gzK6BhopuRd8s61ojpebuFyuNUIElhbNnXur_-/s1600/bunting2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Tape your bunting triangles to some pretty ribbon or whatever. I used kitchen twine. Dental floss would probably also work a treat. Then tape or tie your garland up to wherever you want to see it displayed. At work I just taped the triangles directly onto a window.<br />
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Friends, as much as I'd like to get on a real regular posting schedule, I'm not sure when that is going to happen. We're fine, but things remain crazy. (More on that later...maybe). I DO have projects in the works, some of which I actually NEED to get done pre-baby, some basically ready to post but for pictures. Etc. So apologies in advance for the continued sporadic nature of the posts. While I hope to up frequency, I won't tell you to expect a whole lot of consistency for a while. But I do promise I'm not going anywhere!<br />
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Shared on The Girl Creative's <a href="http://www.thegirlcreative.com/2014/04/06/sunday-best-linky-party-2.html/2" target="_blank">Sunday Best Link Party</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-43000124314512351512014-03-10T13:22:00.000-05:002014-03-10T13:22:50.706-05:00Recipe: Easy Eggdrop Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGacu3jwSumxObm4B4KFCh372-laQaisuvkRo9GCDAOhffPvt3D6G5olvrzS7Vkw3OdPSy5HnbK32ftZoag_KdYId-DKzQgUYVO7hZ4rI1rhUunyAwwukGkQOZ1eCulywjPrbmRx9wifv/s1600/eggdrop+soup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGacu3jwSumxObm4B4KFCh372-laQaisuvkRo9GCDAOhffPvt3D6G5olvrzS7Vkw3OdPSy5HnbK32ftZoag_KdYId-DKzQgUYVO7hZ4rI1rhUunyAwwukGkQOZ1eCulywjPrbmRx9wifv/s1600/eggdrop+soup.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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My poor husband, who shall remain nameless, is miserably sick right now with a nasty sinus infection. So soup happened. <br />
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Eggdrop soup has always been one of my favorites. As a kid, it was as ubiquitous and necessary a dish at a Chinese buffet as the fortune cookie, or those ridiculous little fried doughnut-ball things that were covered in sugar (you know the ones). Turns out eggdrop soup is like...the second easiest soup in the entire world to make. Second only to warmed up clear broth.<br />
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So here's what ya do!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Easy Eggdrop Soup </span>(as opposed to the difficult kind, which does not exist)<br />
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Prep time: stupid quick<br />
Cook time: stupid quick<br />
Serves: this is enough to make 2 huge bowls, or 4 small bowls, of soup<br />
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<u>Ingredients</u><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>6 cups chicken stock</li>
<li>6 eggs</li>
<li>2 Tbsp white pepper</li>
<li>2 Tbsp soy sauce</li>
<li>1 dash five spice powder (not too much)</li>
<li>1 slice fresh ginger</li>
</ul>
<u>Method</u><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Dump the stock into a pot, and add all other ingredients except the eggs.</li>
<li>Bring the stock to a boil. While it's heating, beat eggs lightly in a separate bowl.</li>
<li>Once the stock is boiling, reduce to a simmer.</li>
<li>Slowly pour in the eggs, stirring constantly. The eggs will feather out and cook all whispy-like.</li>
</ul>
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<u>Tips and Variations</u><br />
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<ul>
<li>Paleoize it: Soy sauce contains gluten and (obviously) soy. Substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce for a squeaky-clean paleo version. Or for a gluten-free (but still soy-full) version, use tamari.</li>
<li>If I really loved my nameless husband, I'd have snipped some fresh scallions over our bowls of soup. But, well...you know how it is.</li>
<li>You can really use any stock you have on hand. Chicken stock will give you the classic clear broth, but full disclosure: I used homemade goose stock here.</li>
<li>Serve with hot tea - oolong tea is the traditional choice for the classic Chinese-buffet experience. For the sickie, I made Pink Pepper Chai from <a href="http://www.savoytea.com/Pink-Pepper-Chai-p/lltpinkpepchai.htm" target="_blank">Savoy Tea Co.</a> And for myself - Lapsang Souchong from <a href="http://www.taooftea.com/detail.php?pid=95" target="_blank">The Tao of Tea.</a> This last tea hails from Wuyi, China, so it was definitely the most authentically Chinese thing on our table tonight.</li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-90584234230218569242014-03-09T06:21:00.000-05:002014-03-09T09:03:44.414-05:00Слава Україні!Well, it's been nearly a month since I've posted anything here. I know I said I wouldn't be talking about work on this blog, but sometimes the rest of it just doesn't make any sense unless I do. So lest you think I've abandoned this blog entirely, here's a little bit about what's been going on in our neck of the woods.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3iBxazjDOBSTsLiNdEKKIte9zOEhCeouxsGRdbh7YTsArm1cRTv47hO_pXpLnROiHK1pwRnIaj_FLGjhBXPU3Oi6SCcwPICaGjnDysWAz4ENToPjKlrDUfmv1CYdXQH1y6LPe3C1p1KK/s1600/Wellesley+Kyiv-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3iBxazjDOBSTsLiNdEKKIte9zOEhCeouxsGRdbh7YTsArm1cRTv47hO_pXpLnROiHK1pwRnIaj_FLGjhBXPU3Oi6SCcwPICaGjnDysWAz4ENToPjKlrDUfmv1CYdXQH1y6LPe3C1p1KK/s1600/Wellesley+Kyiv-17.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maidan Nezalezhnosti</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If you keep up with the news, you'll know that there's been a good deal of unrest and turmoil in Ukraine lately. (And if you don't keep up with the news, please Google it - it's worth knowing about!) The short version is that the people of Ukraine rose up in protest against a regime that had been robbing them blind for years. The epicenter of these protests was Maidan Nezalezhnosti, or Independence Squre, in Kyiv not too far from our apartment. The protests began peacefully, but escalated to violence before the end, with protesters being kidnapped from their hospital beds and tortured, protesters lobbing bricks and molotov cocktails at lines of riot police sent to clear the Maidan and snipers shooting at protesters from tall buildings not long after we last spoke. Since then, Russia has invaded Crimea, a region of Ukraine with close historical, ethnic and linguistic ties to Russia.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkEkTYV5TEm1o2dOhF9uIsU8_u1qf0UGvmihaRMxSgAK7drSJ9ZuDkWya-BAPFR_sZLFith5ZRCgIzEusU8kjULhlzISamzbgixtNKdmOJ4wOClWQa-BdQuJ_A3DJMshBFCxQ99-vSdvP/s1600/Wellesley+Kyiv-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkEkTYV5TEm1o2dOhF9uIsU8_u1qf0UGvmihaRMxSgAK7drSJ9ZuDkWya-BAPFR_sZLFith5ZRCgIzEusU8kjULhlzISamzbgixtNKdmOJ4wOClWQa-BdQuJ_A3DJMshBFCxQ99-vSdvP/s1600/Wellesley+Kyiv-14.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A line of protesters faces down a line of Berkut riot police, before the worst of the violence</td></tr>
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Needless to say, it's been a stressful few weeks (few months, if we're being honest). We've been working extra shifts at the embassy on nights and weekends supporting our diplomatic efforts, supporting visits of high-level officials from Washington and making sure that American citizens in Ukraine have access to the support they need. We spent a week living in a hotel room with our cats because our apartment was too close to the flash points. We've been riding an emotional roller coaster as every time it seems like the situation is headed toward a peaceful resolution - Russia freaking invades the country or something!!! </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IxEBnTP-rC8326FhmqPDNT2NEfKfbFUt34YAr2lzqEIGQb0eO7t6obJIUSgx7H8rPJaEfXF0_EqEFDVGTwhWn4wkkE8Y7Ml7O0yMrAGpjT24H5SCYY7Wb8u1YvIhDB8UMi2_PzELSdjx/s1600/U.S._Secretary_of_State_John_Kerry_places_roses_atop_the_Shrine_of_the_Fallen_in_Kyiv,_Ukraine,_on_March_4,_2014..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IxEBnTP-rC8326FhmqPDNT2NEfKfbFUt34YAr2lzqEIGQb0eO7t6obJIUSgx7H8rPJaEfXF0_EqEFDVGTwhWn4wkkE8Y7Ml7O0yMrAGpjT24H5SCYY7Wb8u1YvIhDB8UMi2_PzELSdjx/s1600/U.S._Secretary_of_State_John_Kerry_places_roses_atop_the_Shrine_of_the_Fallen_in_Kyiv,_Ukraine,_on_March_4,_2014..jpg" height="330" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Secretary of State John Kerry lays flowers and lights a candle at the Shrine of the Fallen in Kyiv</td></tr>
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We're physically and emotionally exhausted, and our apartment is barely functional. But as rough as it's been for us, it has been an order of magnitude harder on our Ukrainian colleagues. Our local colleagues are a great bunch. They are trustworthy, reliable, fun to work with and great at their jobs. And they held up, and continue to hold up, under tremendous pressure, putting in the extra hours right along side us while their city was literally burning. When it's YOUR country that all this is happening to...that's something that those of us who were born and raised in the U.S. truly cannot fathom.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSJsKktSf2bm3dnbcii1hfS7LmI1c1d3Is0A1VG4O4-nU4Rg2QnAsmm9383awxlNwVGP3jG0cSYuP66VZp33ulFWjaoE8noyEGf6geHBRPs1vnLnFBbpA6S9BHIPr0fU7wYrsTj72_LbW/s1600/Wellesley+Kyiv-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSJsKktSf2bm3dnbcii1hfS7LmI1c1d3Is0A1VG4O4-nU4Rg2QnAsmm9383awxlNwVGP3jG0cSYuP66VZp33ulFWjaoE8noyEGf6geHBRPs1vnLnFBbpA6S9BHIPr0fU7wYrsTj72_LbW/s1600/Wellesley+Kyiv-23.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Maidan barricade on Khreshatik</td></tr>
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Anyway, all that to say that I haven't given up on the blog - I swear! Things are back to a sort of normal in Kyiv, at least. The violence is over, the streets are safe. Really, although several government buildings were deserted when the Yanukovych administration left, there has been no looting whatsoever, which to me says a lot about the honor and character of the Ukrainian people!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBQaoAoXKtm3YyR2HN2YYEpSQabExkIg5qXbskU04r-eGCoaXoNCGv7RTo2DuG9u5Fjdzbz5q_yOI4lKZi5YtgRcOxm0cyBsjLS6dJjeXGuUc2JtNU__8LWY0rHJVB4csYsCEI2JxP2rn/s1600/Wellesley+Kyiv-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBQaoAoXKtm3YyR2HN2YYEpSQabExkIg5qXbskU04r-eGCoaXoNCGv7RTo2DuG9u5Fjdzbz5q_yOI4lKZi5YtgRcOxm0cyBsjLS6dJjeXGuUc2JtNU__8LWY0rHJVB4csYsCEI2JxP2rn/s1600/Wellesley+Kyiv-18.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A young boy at the protests with his parents, before the violence escalated</td></tr>
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I have no idea what will happen in Crimea or in general in the coming weeks. But I do know that it's time to get things back to normal. Time to clean house, time to start cooking meals again, and time to start indulging in my creative outlets - like that knitting pattern I've been working on FOR EV ER, and this blog in general.<br />
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I've got a recipe I'll post tomorrow, some printables I'll put up for download, and plenty of other projects and fun things in the works, as the smoke continues to clear. I hope you'll stick around and enjoy everything that's coming next!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-10259913647029308462014-02-08T10:51:00.000-06:002014-02-08T10:51:45.361-06:00Sasha's Top 10: Valentine's Day Roundup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qcqsyoFuBWNh98eMuI_M4no9Ho6R6oeTqKdnuAecOVN4GDAQbhS2PRW7BK50F5CzUjMRukg8E_KmO4iSEERERzpNHY_a7fQx-HUPBDehzaRrE6GqfaCTiGsp74L7QsGaKZPSQcDz96lu/s1600/Top+10+Template.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qcqsyoFuBWNh98eMuI_M4no9Ho6R6oeTqKdnuAecOVN4GDAQbhS2PRW7BK50F5CzUjMRukg8E_KmO4iSEERERzpNHY_a7fQx-HUPBDehzaRrE6GqfaCTiGsp74L7QsGaKZPSQcDz96lu/s1600/Top+10+Template.jpg" height="640" width="507" /></a></div>
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Valentine's Day is less than a week away, and boy I've been surfing Pinterest like I have a room full of baby furniture that I don't want to assemble! Or something.<br />
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Anyway, I'll be the first to admit, there's a lot about Valentine's Day that makes me gag. I don't go in for artificial sugar, y'know? Food coloring, heart vomit and sparkly, glittery, "LOOKIT HOW IN LURVE WE ARE, SHNOOPY SHNOOPY!" are really not my thing. That said, it can be a fun excuse to show a certain someone or someones in your life how much they mean to you - said someones to include significant others, children, good friends, cats or even thy sweet self. Also chocolate. There is SO MUCH CHOCOLATE lying around this time of year, and that can only be a good thing.<br />
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So I've compiled a collection of Valentine's Day ideas that I actually quite enjoy. I think there's something for everyone here, so I hope that no matter who you are or who you're with, you'll find something you can enjoy here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWc9cbMdAx0Had4zliL02YJQHfmaFov14BSAQBkqpkdZYBnxOdYU2CWf61-reCiWVhtnip3ehW4wF-ZPnYmGEtlUbiooC7ATcw-S1vEeeyVXDwz1i2cV8rN4-u88HR2mRrCHcfiymfvP5t/s1600/Cherry+Cordials.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWc9cbMdAx0Had4zliL02YJQHfmaFov14BSAQBkqpkdZYBnxOdYU2CWf61-reCiWVhtnip3ehW4wF-ZPnYmGEtlUbiooC7ATcw-S1vEeeyVXDwz1i2cV8rN4-u88HR2mRrCHcfiymfvP5t/s1600/Cherry+Cordials.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://lemon-sugar.com/2013/01/cherry-cordial-cupcakes.html/" target="_blank">Cherry Cordial Cupcakes, by Lemon Sugar</a></div>
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These decadent cupcakes are perfect for you, your sweetie or your best friend. They're impressive to look at, easy to make, and Lemon Sugar lays out the whole recipe for you.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCG4yfO6ubTX9aorr2LMHDat3NQO6WvXqdD7fKB5pvI4SbDOVZzwerV9xyHCdjNG1VEIvsRSSPE1AsheSFPd4WqeRI_h74CE2sMXqYrvCcHlppJZY4Ia-9vdWdI9L10TWpZCYAoNKGq24/s1600/Chocolate+Cups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCG4yfO6ubTX9aorr2LMHDat3NQO6WvXqdD7fKB5pvI4SbDOVZzwerV9xyHCdjNG1VEIvsRSSPE1AsheSFPd4WqeRI_h74CE2sMXqYrvCcHlppJZY4Ia-9vdWdI9L10TWpZCYAoNKGq24/s1600/Chocolate+Cups.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://thefrugalgirls.com/2013/02/chocolate-raspberry-cups-recipe.html" target="_blank">Chocolate Raspberry Cups, by The Frugal Girls</a></div>
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Step-by-step instructions on how to create your own edible chocolate cups, to fill with whatever kind of berries or deliciousness you want, really. Or you could spend lots of money for the same thing at Godiva. I vote handmade, of course!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_k1RLY7nV3uI1i2ZpLXn65zB3MMD9s662_kWH5X-73RVy2oTgihFG28SvFnoUAME7JaWiSqvoFW_hztIht-T6ac_KA-LhxDF_RS5MYkj-RjNBOk4A40i2eDi_6uOvXkfsJ7fYsPkc-wK/s1600/Clementines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_k1RLY7nV3uI1i2ZpLXn65zB3MMD9s662_kWH5X-73RVy2oTgihFG28SvFnoUAME7JaWiSqvoFW_hztIht-T6ac_KA-LhxDF_RS5MYkj-RjNBOk4A40i2eDi_6uOvXkfsJ7fYsPkc-wK/s1600/Clementines.jpg" height="320" width="312" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://premeditatedleftovers.com/recipes-cooking-tips/how-to-make-chocolate-dipped-clementine-hearts/" target="_blank">Chocolate-Dipped Clementine Hearts, from Premeditated Leftovers</a></div>
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If, like me, you're actually capable of getting sick of all the ooey-gooey sugary crap you have to wade through this time of year, this simple technique will be just the thing! Easy, and healthy and bite-sized! The darker the chocolate you use, the more anti-oxidants you get, you know.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5I3dZQqglgWaNSKP1BeqySIYQZcUmuRpDjOFy0wth8YV9LSnluOU3p_tgVW3Lc3dqthTExR6E9-H2DkZ4KY8WiN2nFMmpUoHmh_PCHSyVOLCoCNCLjD7ZO3iV9QYtqv9HnmA4ibkkrIK/s1600/Fingerprints.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5I3dZQqglgWaNSKP1BeqySIYQZcUmuRpDjOFy0wth8YV9LSnluOU3p_tgVW3Lc3dqthTExR6E9-H2DkZ4KY8WiN2nFMmpUoHmh_PCHSyVOLCoCNCLjD7ZO3iV9QYtqv9HnmA4ibkkrIK/s1600/Fingerprints.jpg" height="320" width="285" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.restorationbeauty.com/2014/01/fingerprint-hearts-valentines-day-art.html" target="_blank">DIY Fingerprint Heart Print, by Restoration Beauty</a></div>
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An easy, personalized gift - perfect if you have kids, or are in a polyamorous group relationship.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoYaY1-ehT1qwTOq663uOT-yr7hoZbIAvfOIOL6GFTmL-tXOvmNkh0o5YFZGiTngBK3iYHG1RgkuAQoNORzGT-DUMKH4wUS3bNJMLJ1GWboklA3BJ0ZCyTGWY9x0HYOkZjn0spfX669bxi/s1600/Hot+Coco+Bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoYaY1-ehT1qwTOq663uOT-yr7hoZbIAvfOIOL6GFTmL-tXOvmNkh0o5YFZGiTngBK3iYHG1RgkuAQoNORzGT-DUMKH4wUS3bNJMLJ1GWboklA3BJ0ZCyTGWY9x0HYOkZjn0spfX669bxi/s1600/Hot+Coco+Bar.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?post=2254958363&blog=10838967&link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jbGVhbmFuZHNjZW50c2libGUuY29tLzIwMTQvMDEvdmFsZW50aW5lcy1kYXktaG90LWNob2NvbGF0ZS1iYXIuaHRtbA&frame_type=fb" target="_blank">Hot Chocolate Bar, by Clean and Scentsible</a></div>
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Oh man, I would TOTALLY have my husband, who shall remain nameless, wake up to this on Valentine's Day! If Valentine's Day weren't on a workday this year. Instead, I think I shall blunder around trying to put clothes on right-side-out before the sun rises and save this for another year (and the idea for another holiday!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMk9l1OYoLUVHJrU2ls7blw68EFc8N1Ti6zs1ktAZjI1buRpBdvrpqif5Y9RBwBCTSs5LblLyPAcr5FPvPA1XF1bljBSLs8WwLnG4K5ycdL6xWKejX2MaUxWzQRiE7qMRP5h8gkLHmST_/s1600/Lando.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMk9l1OYoLUVHJrU2ls7blw68EFc8N1Ti6zs1ktAZjI1buRpBdvrpqif5Y9RBwBCTSs5LblLyPAcr5FPvPA1XF1bljBSLs8WwLnG4K5ycdL6xWKejX2MaUxWzQRiE7qMRP5h8gkLHmST_/s1600/Lando.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/CastleMcQuade?section_id=14864483&ref=shopsection_leftnav_1" target="_blank">Pretty much the best Valentine's Day cards ever, by Castle McQuaid</a></div>
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No really, you have GOT to check out this guy's Etsy shop. There are many more cards where these came from, each one as geeky and great as the last! I don't care what you think of Valentine's Day, if Yoda Cupid and Heart-Throb Lando don't make you smile, then man...I can't help you.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhAkUPREwDwPMSox2u6vplxjB8aFSoiu5gvdA3sUtBMuAFuc8txS4D0Go-MH5gKSHJJT7RG1kVWhYIYizpe5HdYYsrVFehgBm5XGrtbspwFzveClVw2boIsqxVNbXC8LG8iIHw4TsFYiG/s1600/Shakespeare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhAkUPREwDwPMSox2u6vplxjB8aFSoiu5gvdA3sUtBMuAFuc8txS4D0Go-MH5gKSHJJT7RG1kVWhYIYizpe5HdYYsrVFehgBm5XGrtbspwFzveClVw2boIsqxVNbXC8LG8iIHw4TsFYiG/s1600/Shakespeare.jpg" height="320" width="195" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.madincrafts.com/2013/02/printable-chalkboard-shakespeare-quotes.html" target="_blank">Shakespeare Chalkboard Printables, by Mad in Crafts</a></div>
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I love these printables. Lovelovelove them! They're cute without being cutsey, they're literary and they really mean something. If you don't know how to express your love, you can't go wrong letting the bard do it for you, with these free printables.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkzo9ipJ6GDJamti3elUo4BqdMtczHAV0wIyXTC7qBqOQkFdFvwhHU9QgZOb8MQ5gIBcy_qgMsbl5PXQhdiopBWceBk-3UYk4w7aA2ikzD-lFOUDAFtTPllElF4V1bYA1RYcgoySwYmO_/s1600/Strawberries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkzo9ipJ6GDJamti3elUo4BqdMtczHAV0wIyXTC7qBqOQkFdFvwhHU9QgZOb8MQ5gIBcy_qgMsbl5PXQhdiopBWceBk-3UYk4w7aA2ikzD-lFOUDAFtTPllElF4V1bYA1RYcgoySwYmO_/s1600/Strawberries.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/recipes/dried-strawberries-ruscalleda/" target="_blank">Dried Strawberries, by The Worldwide Gourmet</a></div>
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Another quick, healthy snack that still gets the "look, we're going for pink things that are vaguely heart shaped and sweet" thing across.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjG4Pf-_jydPxzfNBiluicv6Gj8OBhgY7WALMd4kwTBSCvlxM-BbVK55b-Ic-txhl6dPEAfgEraJ1A3oJJfIdnQx6kh9klqj2z3IYs-nEUL984aAhwHnnR5p9gGxG_AtU-8JXNsv61jTk/s1600/Wreath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjG4Pf-_jydPxzfNBiluicv6Gj8OBhgY7WALMd4kwTBSCvlxM-BbVK55b-Ic-txhl6dPEAfgEraJ1A3oJJfIdnQx6kh9klqj2z3IYs-nEUL984aAhwHnnR5p9gGxG_AtU-8JXNsv61jTk/s1600/Wreath.jpg" height="320" width="127" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/120000651/valentines-day-decor-burlap-wreath-xoxo?ref=sr_gallery_37&ga_search_query=valentine&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=30&ga_search_type=all" target="_blank">Burlap Valentine Wreath, by The September Tree</a></div>
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I love this wreath, because it fits the theme with a nod to the lingering winter. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0W2UD7kcentLJDBNvDKvbrl8wogBN30jXhW4ZtXxh0gtMCHAsBFAdXsrp8mD5l7JtwlH-fjcZcvmJMczlTUIBKj4Cv465kFe8OZ7k1x-aKyWO54zggrD8PLhjtGeNrAO7VxinWzEGVUlo/s1600/Cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0W2UD7kcentLJDBNvDKvbrl8wogBN30jXhW4ZtXxh0gtMCHAsBFAdXsrp8mD5l7JtwlH-fjcZcvmJMczlTUIBKj4Cv465kFe8OZ7k1x-aKyWO54zggrD8PLhjtGeNrAO7VxinWzEGVUlo/s1600/Cards.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.landeeseelandeedo.com/2014/01/funny-valentines-day-cards.html" target="_blank">More Unusually Awesome Valentine's Day Cards, by Landeelu</a></div>
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These free printable cards say things like "You are pretty much my favorite husband," and "You're the one I want to be next to when you're on your computer and I'm on mine." They're awesome cuz they're true!</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-46332872671021155942014-02-06T09:06:00.000-06:002014-02-06T09:10:08.865-06:00Recipe: SUGARY SUGARY BUTTERCREAM!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYuHQX5nKkZoU5VnSy6wfCMZYJHQ5gU0rgkQ0R6mTS0ffDjhHym2nWs5SqDq_r3GK_sONj9__2mY-gEoohhpR9nEPrf_0cFNAo9J9X6U83bhj-Gq_4B4XyHXeXDuan8HaESiwAmUw7Cyx/s1600/iced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Buttercream frosting recipe" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYuHQX5nKkZoU5VnSy6wfCMZYJHQ5gU0rgkQ0R6mTS0ffDjhHym2nWs5SqDq_r3GK_sONj9__2mY-gEoohhpR9nEPrf_0cFNAo9J9X6U83bhj-Gq_4B4XyHXeXDuan8HaESiwAmUw7Cyx/s1600/iced.jpg" height="480" title="SUGARY SUGARY BUTTERCREAM!!!" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Now I'm not saying I'm above eating cake frosting with a spoon out of the can, but let's face it: making your own buttercream is the way to go if you've got a few extra minutes (which you do while your cupcakes are baking). It is stupid simple, all natural and ridonkulously tasty. Here's the recipe I use.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">SUGARY SUGARY BUTTERCREAM</span></b><br />
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<u>Ingredients:</u><br />
<ul>
<li>1.5 cups (3 sticks) butter</li>
<li>3 cups powdered sugar</li>
<li>2 tsp vanilla extract</li>
</ul>
<u>Method:</u><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>Beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.</li>
<li>Sift the sugar over the butter and mix together. Start on low speed so you don't poof a cloud of sugar right into your face, and then increase to full speed.</li>
<li>When combined, your buttercream should be frosty and spreadable. If your icing is more crumbly than spreadable, add more butter 1 tbsp at a time until you reach the right consistency. If your buttercream is still buttery and slippery, sift more sugar into the bowl, 1/8 cup at a time, until it looks how it's supposed to.</li>
<li>Splash in the vanilla extract and mix everything up well.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<u>Tips and Variations:</u></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Your buttercream will be the color of whatever butter you used - likely the yellower the better. It takes coloring well, though.</li>
<li>For some color and added flavor, try adding pureed strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.</li>
<li>For still more flavor (but not necessarily much in the way of noticeable color), try adding some mashed banana or banana extract.</li>
<li>A small amount of beet juice will get you a nice, vibrant red or pink without actually tasking of beets.</li>
<li>A small amount of tumeric will get you a nice yellow color without actually tasting of Indian food.</li>
<li>For April Fools cupcakes, dump in the tumeric and add some curry powder. MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<u>Basic Non-Ugly Icing Technique:</u></div>
<div>
I am not a professional cake decorator, and I do not have children who require Martha Stewart-level birthday confections. I do not own a piping bag, and if I did I wouldn't know what to do with it (ALL those NOZZLES!). But here's a cheap and basic way to ice cupcakes that comes out a bit more polished-looking than haphazard slathering. I also used this technique to create the dots around the base of <a href="http://sashas-blue-carpet.blogspot.com/2009/08/secret-ingredient-is-lurve.html" target="_blank">this cake</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZI_5hEauoGvGkBKsWj2viHmoMOIN9uBAirsxwgvxJO7ZfAEsM2oqBWEnDZ_B-bs6lq_hJ7n9FqLse0CkHdbzyqALT5unSulUxrRxRpA9seYjulIMwHaXnFXl-BwnG4RIg6Y2gh9aFWzdt/s1600/Icing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZI_5hEauoGvGkBKsWj2viHmoMOIN9uBAirsxwgvxJO7ZfAEsM2oqBWEnDZ_B-bs6lq_hJ7n9FqLse0CkHdbzyqALT5unSulUxrRxRpA9seYjulIMwHaXnFXl-BwnG4RIg6Y2gh9aFWzdt/s1600/Icing.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>Let your cupcakes cool completely before icing, or your buttercream will become a melty, runny mess (or at the very least, be hard to spread evenly).</li>
<li>Transfer buttercream into a ziplock bag and snip a tiny bit off of one corner.</li>
<li>Squeeze the buttercream out onto the top of each cupcake in a spiral pattern. If you work from the outside in, you'll be able to form a nice peak in the center.</li>
<li>You can leave the spiral pattern as-is. This will also give you a good, even base if you're inclined to smooth everything down with a butter knife.</li>
</ul>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-61202380831548243352014-02-03T11:00:00.000-06:002014-04-08T09:36:36.434-05:00CUPCAKES!!! With a snazzy free printable.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCoooQRf8Z7T3cCqM_xBi5Emxf7cBR61ScCucJzguldcIwhv5ckfOA5bIv7SMrhU3VL2XWFdRcPmqLhVGcv0cxSHCXBliCmGwQ1Wt45OObDP38eyOmKVUKHzIEDDdwToLTczu2YdDt_RE/s1600/finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cupcakes" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCoooQRf8Z7T3cCqM_xBi5Emxf7cBR61ScCucJzguldcIwhv5ckfOA5bIv7SMrhU3VL2XWFdRcPmqLhVGcv0cxSHCXBliCmGwQ1Wt45OObDP38eyOmKVUKHzIEDDdwToLTczu2YdDt_RE/s1600/finished.jpg" height="400" title="Cupcakes" width="300" /></a></div>
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We're kicking off the busy season at work today. I won't go into details (they're the boring kind, not the "if I told you I'd have to kill you" kind), but the season goes by the acronym "SWT." The "S" stands for summer - not that it's REMOTELY summery here in Kyiv at the moment, but it's essentially us gearing up for the summer.<br />
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So I decided to celebrate the kickoff by bringing cupcakes to work. Cupcakes with RIDICULOUS CUPCAKE TOPPERS!!! Muahahahahaaaaaaa.......<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwp4ApYu0Uywl6uPu2lHxMkojVw_hOiTDYRmCjJmJXG4i6DRC3XB_WswXgnKh10c7FatIcsNibDJaXnB8sUXqn3WmkX64M3Yk7CZpV8889bsx295d9tejRudqqBtDdeH9diI1j2co4zMmo/s1600/OMG+Cupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Free printable cupcake toppers" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwp4ApYu0Uywl6uPu2lHxMkojVw_hOiTDYRmCjJmJXG4i6DRC3XB_WswXgnKh10c7FatIcsNibDJaXnB8sUXqn3WmkX64M3Yk7CZpV8889bsx295d9tejRudqqBtDdeH9diI1j2co4zMmo/s1600/OMG+Cupcakes.jpg" height="320" title="All-purpose cupcake toppers!" width="246" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://k007.kiwi6.com/hotlink/8qqduhjrcs/OMG_Cupcakes.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to download the PDF file.</a></div>
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Folks, this is my first go creating printables, so please pardon the crude design. I rather dig the crude design, actually. I feel like toppers for cupcakes meant to celebrate the insane season at work sort of ought to look like they were drawn in crayon by a 4-year-old. I figure none of you will have much use for cupcake toppers that say "SWT," so I'm just including a sheet of all-purpose "OMG" toppers for download. If you DO happen to be in my same boat, though, and actually want SWT cupcake toppers, send me an email and I will totally hook you up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tGSd6Ndj72vcDYXX9XA7QgVlZXP80S3JM6zjlo40fuOdNm3_j8q-7yc_vfTIQ7ut4kPP3hrNopW42_FAUm50Dlp7qxs5I7OYs6_ohMy_DkzbBtxcK4ka9oGiiVR4Q3yreYdmwtqWFuwG/s1600/cut+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Free printable cupcake toppers" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tGSd6Ndj72vcDYXX9XA7QgVlZXP80S3JM6zjlo40fuOdNm3_j8q-7yc_vfTIQ7ut4kPP3hrNopW42_FAUm50Dlp7qxs5I7OYs6_ohMy_DkzbBtxcK4ka9oGiiVR4Q3yreYdmwtqWFuwG/s1600/cut+out.jpg" height="400" title="All-purpose cupcake toppers" width="300" /></a></div>
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You'll find cupcake topper printables online in perfect cirlce-shapes or even scalloped flowerdy-shapes. These require a special paper punch to cut out neatly. I do not own a special paper-punch (I'm a scrapper, for sure, but I am Not. A. Scrapbooker). So I designed these to be cut into squares on straight lines between the suns. Like with scissors. You're welcome.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWF2CcIfF2O31hXGEp5nPK08qjRBNjx3ZfBXK26xfqCTzjfWfPQ_9RLWRhYoNZokZrrojS1IYR4VgBWrK6G227yfhu8MLl7SMQ_jPsa7hC1AmcKlZihFFLm01Dk7vnx3wHIUBdoQ0LPTCI/s1600/Q-tips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cutting Q-tips for cupcake toppers" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWF2CcIfF2O31hXGEp5nPK08qjRBNjx3ZfBXK26xfqCTzjfWfPQ_9RLWRhYoNZokZrrojS1IYR4VgBWrK6G227yfhu8MLl7SMQ_jPsa7hC1AmcKlZihFFLm01Dk7vnx3wHIUBdoQ0LPTCI/s1600/Q-tips.jpg" height="320" title="Q-tips for cupcake toppers" width="240" /></a></div>
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A lot of people tape these to lollipop sticks. Some people tape them to cut-up popsicle sticks. I figured I should be able to find toothpicks at the grocery store, but I was WRONG!!! I've seen them at restaurants, I looked in all of the logical places, but the score wound up Kyiv 1, Sasha 0. Fortunately, decapitated Q-tips will also do, in a pinch.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Shared on...</div>
<center>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-71892310132593687982014-02-01T09:41:00.002-06:002014-02-01T09:43:18.649-06:00I miss blogging!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYFnbRYFCO8rmv7X3j3nhrdFp3BobBgoWXISjnI-ZwQqHuIG0CrGrLdeySGx4xNypAasPh5Rr5SpIh10DKEG4xdhYrsA1MOpfGaejBnR9lXkybgsc27BNy1S9CaJ3bUpRLl1kHV99LJ_f/s1600/A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sasha returns!" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYFnbRYFCO8rmv7X3j3nhrdFp3BobBgoWXISjnI-ZwQqHuIG0CrGrLdeySGx4xNypAasPh5Rr5SpIh10DKEG4xdhYrsA1MOpfGaejBnR9lXkybgsc27BNy1S9CaJ3bUpRLl1kHV99LJ_f/s1600/A.jpg" height="265" title="Well hello again!" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm back!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve been thinking lately about reviving the ‘ole blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I dunno, I miss it, it was fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it gave me a neat impetus to keep doing
creative things, whereas left to my own devices (and now that I like…have a job
and stuff…), procrastination can really take over (remember that quilt I
started 5 years ago?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, it’s still
going).<o:p></o:p></div>
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So here’s what’s changed since last we met:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1) <span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I am no longer a poor, broke grad student.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I am now a comfortably middle-class
diplomat.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Before I had a flexible
schedule and my program, frankly, was not a good fit, so this blog was a much-needed
distraction that I was able to make time for.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Now I have a 9-5 job and will need to be more disciplined if anything is
to come of this.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Before I was crushingly
poor – which frankly was part of the fun of the blog, trying to find ways to
live the good life on a shoestring.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Now
I have, like…disposable income and stuff.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It’s still somewhat disconcerting.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQq7CMRtGy6uQry1OwPoAihmfFg7kiY4yVXNqEKh3pcxgFQoJzVu5baS9JAKR5da9jHkOMrVFqNIhJ-PUBJDavJIx8KlrKqP0a0CN3UWcD-IEhUSfKAQ-D0WHZjJAyZOL4oqboOXT1GbOO/s1600/1513325_10104046917037750_1897951522_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kyiv, Ukraine - St. Volodymyr's Cathedral" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQq7CMRtGy6uQry1OwPoAihmfFg7kiY4yVXNqEKh3pcxgFQoJzVu5baS9JAKR5da9jHkOMrVFqNIhJ-PUBJDavJIx8KlrKqP0a0CN3UWcD-IEhUSfKAQ-D0WHZjJAyZOL4oqboOXT1GbOO/s1600/1513325_10104046917037750_1897951522_n.jpg" height="265" title="St. Volodymyr's Cathedral" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2) </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I no longer live in Madison, WI – or the U.S.
for that matter.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Soon after we last
spoke, I spent a wonderful couple of years in Ottawa, Canada and I’m now living
in the utterly fascinating, if somewhat more grim and gritty, Kyiv,
Ukraine.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">And let me tell you – as
wonderful an experience as it is being here, there will be times when this blog
will be a welcome distraction from all of that.</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">3) </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I am pregnant.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Ayup!</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Expect baby projects.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">But I promise they won’t ALL be baby projects.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFXBuEdPFH7qFVJCZSX7kF7MDbUJPlrOXM5VcltAwj8RbZekxCulbVc-vYl_HBUH6Jk7b5pgEttgdh_NwQe0Fs6KRxiTEyrW1gtUgL8QRA5zWfViGxpe5hgTJLLeGlRa93U5ED_S9L2H1/s1600/photo+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Subversive Cross Stitch" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFXBuEdPFH7qFVJCZSX7kF7MDbUJPlrOXM5VcltAwj8RbZekxCulbVc-vYl_HBUH6Jk7b5pgEttgdh_NwQe0Fs6KRxiTEyrW1gtUgL8QRA5zWfViGxpe5hgTJLLeGlRa93U5ED_S9L2H1/s1600/photo+(3).jpg" height="300" title="Subversive Cross Stitch" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">4) </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I actually haven’t been knitting a lot
lately.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Lots of people knit in Ukraine,
but there’s not the sort of yarn culture like there was in Madison – no yarn
stores cum coffee shops…in fact no yarn stores at all, that I’ve found.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Most folks buy their stuff online, which is
just not as fun.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I’ve been dabbling in
cross stitch, cooking up a storm and have some simple sewing projects that I’ll
be blogging about soon, but I promise there will also be plenty of knitting (stay tuned for a new free pattern and giveaway coming really soon!).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFkT6utlJ5kO7gxe3hjteuQ2Tlfued5D_IfM8WdpygWqcQcZasnoY1JrROZ1t5bhO8lVNG3dmdeCJvDxoX98ZebnG2Gi-C6MlWt4GMeMfIgpJHV_D_6uNHUe6ymCyS9j2WUaNLIQjIWdO/s1600/Z+Bday-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Paleo birthday cake" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFkT6utlJ5kO7gxe3hjteuQ2Tlfued5D_IfM8WdpygWqcQcZasnoY1JrROZ1t5bhO8lVNG3dmdeCJvDxoX98ZebnG2Gi-C6MlWt4GMeMfIgpJHV_D_6uNHUe6ymCyS9j2WUaNLIQjIWdO/s1600/Z+Bday-13.jpg" height="266" title="Paleo birthday cake" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">5) </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">We went Paleo.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Yeah, yeah, I know.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">And I’ve
actually been super bad about it since getting knocked up (I’ve been having a
hard time gaining weight, so my only real option here is cake,
know’m’sayin’?).</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I promise to keep this
blog 100% Paleo-evangelism free.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">But you
will, from time to time, find some nifty gluten-free recipes and stuff.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I like to say my approach is “Laidback Paleo;”
for instance coming soon will be a post about The (now not-so little) Blonde
Lightening Bolt’s amazing grain-free birthday layer cake topped with SUGARY
SUGARY BUTTERCREAM!!! (And yes, that is an ice cream bowl made of dark chocolate in the background. Don't worry, that tutorial will totally happen).</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">6) </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I have given up my feminist ways and accepted my
husband, who shall remain nameless, as my lord and master.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Kidding.</span></div>
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So what hasn’t changed, I hope, is the general ethos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Better living through makin’ stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Punchy, irreverent feminism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Occasional references to swords.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may not have a hilariously negligible
budget to contend with, but living the ex-pat life offers its own hurdles to
creatively overcome, so you’ll all be privy to that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I may not have blue carpet anymore, but I
sorta like to think that I’ve traded that in for the more metaphorical blue
carpet of embassy-issued furniture (about which more later).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fundamentally, here at Sasha’s Blue Carpet,
we’re still all about living the good life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And as any good crafter/grad student/ex-pat will tell you, the only way
to live the good life is to make it from scratch!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-59496401209961484242010-05-24T15:37:00.001-05:002014-01-28T08:16:31.349-06:00The obligatory Oakwood post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMndB9knjkVTFY-wDGgYjKYPEmbTljGrWpr6_iyrtcdc1ivINsIeqyCMLTFM-QHhC4pKwjrUy0VBRCT7WTAxYLK0GP_0WEc3jOwHZt6EqOCbi-ua3ss_4DPZ7Qj1fVK4cYBy9uyGh4Kbmz/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMndB9knjkVTFY-wDGgYjKYPEmbTljGrWpr6_iyrtcdc1ivINsIeqyCMLTFM-QHhC4pKwjrUy0VBRCT7WTAxYLK0GP_0WEc3jOwHZt6EqOCbi-ua3ss_4DPZ7Qj1fVK4cYBy9uyGh4Kbmz/s320/photo.jpg" /></a></div>
So I've been here in the DC area with my husband, who will remain nameless, for about a week now. We're staying in Oakwood furnished apartments (the mothership, in case any of you reading this are familiar with the Foreign Service - and if you're not, it's where the FS puts up employees while they're in training). It seems the "thing to do" is to complain about Oakwood - and to be fair, it's hotel-like, temporary and I've heard some legitimate horror stories from other locations.<br />
<br />
I just can't bring myself to. I swear to God, every time I sink into those down pillows at night and pull that fluffy, white comforter over my shoulders, I feel like a goddamned princess. Here I am in this place with everything I need - FOR FREE - and I've done nothing to deserve it (ok, I guess I passed the OA, which is what my husband did to deserve it, but my employment hasn't kicked in yet, so nyah). We have a <i>couch! </i>I can't believe I ever used to nap on my bed! We have a dishwasher that we can afford to run! The kitchen is small, but we have so much more counter space than I can use in the preparation of one meal! We have a maid! That's disconcerting, but lovely! We have a pool, and a hottub, and a bank of grills, and a playground and free yoga classes and more stuff than I have had time to take advantage of (stupid rain)!<br />
<br />
And I don't have a job, and my knitting is in transit, and I am bored out of my skull. But let me tell you, this government-issued 1br apartment still seems to good to be true!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-13558575160227441232010-05-11T11:40:00.000-05:002010-05-11T11:40:15.258-05:00Homeless<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuc_GfHWipW1FIQxfqAWs7_JIqidIgjGpYFzGNDin79HpVkZnC7pkDX6R3xEuKZM__Xioop6hhRQGqt1TsWAL6Ny-ixMS5pN-gOwW2fackEdRhMflAesjERhaxWUq49SMRiZ0Qj2IN0UP0/s1600/photof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuc_GfHWipW1FIQxfqAWs7_JIqidIgjGpYFzGNDin79HpVkZnC7pkDX6R3xEuKZM__Xioop6hhRQGqt1TsWAL6Ny-ixMS5pN-gOwW2fackEdRhMflAesjERhaxWUq49SMRiZ0Qj2IN0UP0/s320/photof.jpg" /></a></div>Not really. I mean...I have a place to stay. Hell, I even still have an apartment, it's just empty and unbelievably sketchy. But here's what's true: Last Monday, movers came and emptied out our apartment. We stayed in a hotel with the kitties until last Friday. My husband, who shall remain nameless, took the kitties to DC and I went on a trip with a friend and spent the weekend sleeping on the ground in a tent. Now I'm sleeping on the floor in a friend's house for the rest of the week. I'll be in a B&B this coming weekend, and then - only then - will I make it to DC, where my husband, who shall remain nameless, and my kitties await me. So for now, I do feel a bit like a vagrant.<br />
<br />
I'm so tired. It's disconcerting not having my own space for so long. That apartment was no great shakes, but at least it was a consistent place. It had my creatures in it. Bouncing from floor to floor is exhausting.<br />
<br />
But lemme tell you, crashing in a sleeping bag on my friend's floor is a damned sight better than crashing on the floor of my sketchy, empty apartment (that was my first plan, which my husband, who shall remain nameless, wisely vetoed). Her place isn't sketchy! And it's not empty. I'm an introvert - I do pretty okay by myself. But usually "by myself" at least involves kitties. It's nice having another soul in the house, y'know? And it's nice not to have cigarette smoke wafting through the bathroom vent and pot smoke creeping up from downstairs and neighbors screaming at each other, and wondering when the really sketchy people will figure out that you're 105lbs and all alone....<br />
<br />
Thanks Becca! :-)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-27237866035899882272010-04-18T18:41:00.000-05:002010-04-18T18:41:46.958-05:00It's time to play: Finish! That! Quilt!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRS2Ga5Li1T6uY_tuFq4NzAO3-o50OZtu4EVo2XY8_o450Zy_gamKtihfgyOJmyMVTmTJUvBb5hu5uDIN4IoYrGx9kdbPMOUQ9-Ats1b-u5Lk8KhCl9K_q8jfJ0gh6DN0swQxN5_JEpFpD/s1600/D's+Quilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRS2Ga5Li1T6uY_tuFq4NzAO3-o50OZtu4EVo2XY8_o450Zy_gamKtihfgyOJmyMVTmTJUvBb5hu5uDIN4IoYrGx9kdbPMOUQ9-Ats1b-u5Lk8KhCl9K_q8jfJ0gh6DN0swQxN5_JEpFpD/s400/D's+Quilt.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
This quilt was made for my husband, who will remain nameless, by his grandmother when he graduated from high school. It's a wonderful quilt - comfy, and it fits my nameless husband to a T. And when this quilt replaces our big comforter on the bed, I know it's really Spring.<br />
<br />
It's also seen better days - there's a tear in the top that I'm not sure I can adequately mend, and it's starting to wear down. So we need a new quilt. What a coincidence - I need a project to document on this here blog to keep me posting regularly, and delusions of Knitty grandeur are keeping me from sharing my current knitting project, for the time being.<br />
<br />
So I'm taking bets: How long will it take Sasha to finish that quilt that she started...um...over a year ago? :-DUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-59061450380237636222010-04-04T13:08:00.000-05:002010-04-04T13:08:08.096-05:00Good to be home.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOX4xTSlGQy4UvHjlZyAISD6L0rbP4fonm4VhP2wV8C7wI_NVCkF990q10clfrTiY95Yrs2U9p1j8gBNuBcugYAeJbcEPYiU_t522G53dgGHZMAfxiA1QiH065vJTI5Sf4q7B7AjcSo-8/s1600/bread2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOX4xTSlGQy4UvHjlZyAISD6L0rbP4fonm4VhP2wV8C7wI_NVCkF990q10clfrTiY95Yrs2U9p1j8gBNuBcugYAeJbcEPYiU_t522G53dgGHZMAfxiA1QiH065vJTI5Sf4q7B7AjcSo-8/s320/bread2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I have had such a stressful whirlwind few days. On Sunday, I flew to DC for the Foreign Service Oral Assessment - a grueling day-long series of exercises and interviews that is the final step in the selection process for Foreign Service Officers (ok...not counting security clearances and all that). I won. So in a few months, barring some unforeseen catastrophe, I will begin training to be a US diplomat. But oh my dear sweet lord, was it ever a long, rough few days surrounding that.<br />
<br />
So I've spent the past couple of days at home recuperating. I've been taking it nice and slow, spending time knitting and baking. Bread and granola and (not pictured) onion soup and asian-style coleslaw. Maybe crackers and granola bars today. And there's a ridiculous bete noire in the fridge, compliments of my husband, who shall remain nameless.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZ8MTo4Euj70-YavsBp2-nMFL5wq6TcglGdrH3s220oCQIKxmE_ndb35FYltUqjRfqx_ZYGzG9ku9-LllznXRSdpNFHwRK5LPwTz0_dVBuUF_T1ljsynn2gjyiuIb_Vqd0Lhpp-1T4PAJ/s1600/granola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZ8MTo4Euj70-YavsBp2-nMFL5wq6TcglGdrH3s220oCQIKxmE_ndb35FYltUqjRfqx_ZYGzG9ku9-LllznXRSdpNFHwRK5LPwTz0_dVBuUF_T1ljsynn2gjyiuIb_Vqd0Lhpp-1T4PAJ/s320/granola.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I'm home with my kitties and my person and my kitchen and my yarn, and I'm going to be a diplomat. Everything is good today. :-)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-22245899070047220082010-02-07T21:18:00.000-06:002010-02-07T21:18:34.661-06:00Ceres Winners!Congratulations Diane and Kat! You've each won a free copy of <a href="http://sashas-blue-carpet.blogspot.com/2010/01/ceres.html">Ceres</a>!<br />
<br />
Since so many people entered my giveaway, and all of them with helpful, well thought-out responses to my question, I decided to give two copies away, instead of one. Spread the love. For those of you who are interested, able and <i>didn't</i> win, Ceres is available for you to purchase through my blog and through <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/stores/sashas-blue-carpet">Ravelry</a>.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for more patterns, and more giveaways!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-81798797427651698272010-02-05T12:24:00.000-06:002010-02-05T12:24:18.524-06:00Giveaway Glee!Jeez, kids, if many more of you enter my giveaway, I might have to give out <i>two</i> copies of Ceres! :-P<br />
<br />
I'm really enjoying the responses to my <a href="http://sashas-blue-carpet.blogspot.com/2010/02/ceres-giveaway.html">Ceres giveaway</a>! Some of it's stuff that really hadn't occurred to me, like buying patterns the moment you're ready to knit them. All of it's helpful. Thanks to everyone who's entered so far! For those who haven't, you've still got a couple of days left to enter and win a free copy of <a href="http://sashas-blue-carpet.blogspot.com/2010/01/ceres.html">Ceres</a>!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-89091047871325762952010-02-02T09:59:00.003-06:002010-02-02T20:58:12.664-06:00Brown Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29JnbyT-VDJuvugNIHogVeEYZqarxjKptFqey59nKmFfVdYngrrmLLJI5XmVlmPfkwR8BHs2m-ViLJoyp3QtqYhYw0hja087Adooagt8RSygxrHNPbKe4SmRqN2uyY0a6kOUqKFKVq9c/s1600-h/chai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29JnbyT-VDJuvugNIHogVeEYZqarxjKptFqey59nKmFfVdYngrrmLLJI5XmVlmPfkwR8BHs2m-ViLJoyp3QtqYhYw0hja087Adooagt8RSygxrHNPbKe4SmRqN2uyY0a6kOUqKFKVq9c/s400/chai.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I was supposed to go to a sort of folk-harp masterclass on Sunday morning. So I grab my harp, hop into my car, get horribly lost and miss the class. As a consolation prize, I took my husband, who shall remain nameless, to <a href="http://knitandsip.com/">The Sow's Ear</a> for yarn and chai, both of which he enjoys. Did I win the nameless husband lottery or what?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMdyRP2DX88X3U5TAFd8jjMNtPgAe6gkc3TiYwXexaWBT46ZiDTpj9C3sMHt5568rNzZ7jXjgnNX2H1cCjUAGXkHerpkBDF4ppDT0CgUPkF6iF6MK0_Zitt-bjPcmGrjFEEwdkfu75JY/s1600-h/brown+yarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMdyRP2DX88X3U5TAFd8jjMNtPgAe6gkc3TiYwXexaWBT46ZiDTpj9C3sMHt5568rNzZ7jXjgnNX2H1cCjUAGXkHerpkBDF4ppDT0CgUPkF6iF6MK0_Zitt-bjPcmGrjFEEwdkfu75JY/s320/brown+yarn.jpg" /></a></div><br />
So I spent the $30 that I didn't get to blow on the class on yarn. Nice fall yarn, unfortunately, and I'm knitting something devastatingly simple, so expect a rather unseasonal free pattern to emerge before long. :-) I'm going to be nice to myself, knit for myself calm and easy before getting back into the "knitting for publication" groove. I have ideas, but I'm not going to push them out just yet.<br />
<br />
I finally bought yarn. Oh, that feels good. And what yummy yarn it is. Merino wool, alpaca and silk. <a href="http://www.mirasolperu.com/sulkayarn.htm">Sulka</a>. Yes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-62353617983360596432010-02-01T10:00:00.006-06:002010-02-01T10:00:06.703-06:00Ceres Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-08LgAukLzDQr4zJQSvP-By8kUpSAXoji37UiPami6ghqgvlH881xIfckHEOmFcHdVsEf-4gVt5kIYyymLp2hy5sbmsPDYHVPOsP7I9GOtXA7OEg1LSZUfXA34eVnqS0h_RWzJ9fAvuaK/s1600-h/small1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-08LgAukLzDQr4zJQSvP-By8kUpSAXoji37UiPami6ghqgvlH881xIfckHEOmFcHdVsEf-4gVt5kIYyymLp2hy5sbmsPDYHVPOsP7I9GOtXA7OEg1LSZUfXA34eVnqS0h_RWzJ9fAvuaK/s400/small1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Like Ceres? Want a copy of the pattern? Don't wanna pay $5.00 for it?<br />
<br />
I rather enjoyed the last giveaway I did. I think perhaps I'll make it a habit to do a giveaway each time I release a new pattern. So here's what we'll do, we'll conduct some market research while we're at it, maybe get an interesting discussion going.<br />
<br />
<b>To enter:</b> post a comment answering the following question: What, if anything, would make you willing to pay for a knitting pattern? Comments entered before 8pm CST on Sunday, February 7th (that's next Sunday) will be entered into a random drawing. One winner will be drawn and posted that night.<br />
<br />
There's no shortage of free knitting patterns on the internet, and there are a lot of people who stick exclusively to those. But there <i>are</i> people who purchase patterns for money - either in print magazines or individually online from sources like <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/">Ravelry</a>, <a href="http://twistcollective.com/2009/winter/magazinepage_01.php">Twist Collective</a> or individual blogs like mine. I'd like to get a better idea of what people expect and hope for in a knitting pattern that they're willing to shell out cash for. What makes a pattern worth paying for? (For the record, "nothing," is a perfectly legitimate and informative answer). What about the patterns you've paid for made you go, "Oooooooooooh..." and then buy the pattern? I ask this not just to boost sales, but to really make sure people get what they're after when they buy a pattern from me. So what tips you over the "I'll buy that" edge, and what do you expect when you go there?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-38685700942780790962010-01-31T19:29:00.000-06:002010-01-31T19:29:55.771-06:00Ceres<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttWIC9fGkHXsM9VLwUCjtCRNJCWocbIxYujM0UZvpcxTIsaEXpMarYyirC_CpeZuGFHqNwlM9xDGu7pQEqnCjpuIM3P_e6g6fWoAM7ornaVHasDCwtB4SjOiSA7upfvEzfBecfluzNlcH/s1600-h/small4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttWIC9fGkHXsM9VLwUCjtCRNJCWocbIxYujM0UZvpcxTIsaEXpMarYyirC_CpeZuGFHqNwlM9xDGu7pQEqnCjpuIM3P_e6g6fWoAM7ornaVHasDCwtB4SjOiSA7upfvEzfBecfluzNlcH/s400/small4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">$5.00 - pattern for hat and mitts</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/sashas-blue-carpet/29461"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Finally, it's done. :-)<br />
<br />
Ceres is a simple top-down beanie with a narrow, rolled brim and matching mitts. Its main features are the colored ridges, which are created using exposed stranded colorwork. The specific stranding technique creates the illusion that the strands are braided together. Knit in the colors shown, this piece brings to mind a plaited grass crown, or grass peeking through a light, early-winter snowfall. Hence its being named for the Roman goddess of agriculture, whose mourning brings on the winter each year. Ceres works well in a variety of colors, however, and looks as good on a man as it does on a woman.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbfwJf_bk5kpLQHSPoazKUnlQfuPsp5SaeFcv_3_ye9xJ18NLlOL2yPyg5PnigWzQ-0V3s3nhY0n6t6oz063wZTKIzQMBqzxsSief3a0qBnPbUf68qKSWbVGJc-31QMVe80F8a9PW7T91/s1600-h/small2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbfwJf_bk5kpLQHSPoazKUnlQfuPsp5SaeFcv_3_ye9xJ18NLlOL2yPyg5PnigWzQ-0V3s3nhY0n6t6oz063wZTKIzQMBqzxsSief3a0qBnPbUf68qKSWbVGJc-31QMVe80F8a9PW7T91/s320/small2.jpg" /></a>Sizing: garments will comfortably stretch up to a couple of inches over the measurements given here.<br />
Small (child) - 4" around wrist, 18" around head<br />
Medium (woman) - 6" around wrist, 20" around head<br />
Large (man) - 8" around wrist, 22" around head<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Shown in medium</div><div style="text-align: left;">Skills: knitting in the round, stranded colorwork, simple increases. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SYlf_x1ANMpNvLzsNBqJxZ7q1H3BRaJJ6cKn1eU3-z_frr7iMvT5Gclpj6zZVMUDXMXOz921ZFwE8U7O1UR9vxEpCungetbRfqhRHPCnIkp-d6qWZnhselKIDAVR_8vXUAyRIimlRicY/s1600-h/photomitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SYlf_x1ANMpNvLzsNBqJxZ7q1H3BRaJJ6cKn1eU3-z_frr7iMvT5Gclpj6zZVMUDXMXOz921ZFwE8U7O1UR9vxEpCungetbRfqhRHPCnIkp-d6qWZnhselKIDAVR_8vXUAyRIimlRicY/s200/photomitt.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>Big thanks to my husband, who shall remain nameless, for the photography. Thanks also to acucena, curiouskate, mugginsquilts, schokolilo, lnupermom and truki of Ravelry for testing the draft of my pattern. They were extremely helpful, and I love how their projects turned out!<br />
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You can purchase this through <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ceres-2">Ravelry</a>, or just click the "buy now" button at the top of the page. If you have any questions, <a href="mailto:%20sashas.blue.carpet@gmail.com">email me</a> or check out <a href="http://sashas-blue-carpet.blogspot.com/2009/03/questions-i-would-imagine-would-be.html">About the Patterns</a>. <br />
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Bluebonnets is <a href="http://sashas-blue-carpet.blogspot.com/2009/03/copyright-notice.html">copyright Sasha Evans</a>, all rights reserved. By downloading this pattern, you agree not to redistribute it or to use it for commercial purposes, unless you ask me very very nicely and I say yes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-77689536334199892482010-01-30T11:12:00.000-06:002010-01-30T11:12:02.746-06:00Fly LadyIt is with...mixed feelings...that I admit I have discovered the <a href="http://www.flylady.net/">Fly Lady</a>. For those of you not familiar with this impossibly chipper force of house-cleaning-and-organizing nature, she's developed a system of practices and habits designed to keep the the dirt and clutter in your home under control. She breaks daunting tasks into easily manageable chunks and sends out emails with reminders and encouragement each day to those who sign up for her email list.<br />
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These emails drive me freakin' crazy (but don't worry, we'll end on a positive note). First, there are approximately eleventy billion sent out each day. I suspect this is a clever, Fly Lady ploy to get you to organize your email inbox. The sheer volume of email from her list alone forced me to create a system of folders and automatic filters for my Blue Carpet email that's also helped me keep reader comments and pattern correspondence straight as well. So, um...thanks, Fly Lady.<br />
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The next step in my filter system is to filter out any of these emails that contain the word "testimonial." Easily half of these emails are forwards from users gushing about products - either the cleaning products she sells in her shop, or some cleaning product she's agreed to push for another company. Seems fake, gets old. But hey, the good stuff's free, and a girl's gotta make a living, right?<br />
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The Fly Lady claims she's talking to everyone, that her system can work and her emails are intended for any type of person - stay at home mom, single working mom, single working dad, wantonly childfree student, gay, straight, Christian, Pastafarian, whoever. And yet, though outwardly open, I get the feeling that her head is stuck quite firmly in the "middle-aged Christian woman with kids" mindset, and that's who she writes to. Every time she mentions a "God Breeze," I roll my eyes, heathen that I am. And dude, just look at her site. Not so much my aesthetic.<br />
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And yet...in spite of myself...after reading a few of her emails, I'm left with this bewilderingly warm and comforted feeling. It's the same kind of bizarrely calming feeling you get when you stumble blearily into the bathroom in the morning, and it's all shiny and clean, or when you flop into bed and the sheets are clean, and the kitty's curled up on it but not getting cat hair and kitty litter all over your sheets because it's <i>made</i>, and who cares if there's some cat hair on the foot of the comforter? It's like...this shouldn't make me feel good...but it <i>does</i>.<br />
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Most importantly, her system really works. And if she's subconsciously gearing it toward middle-aged women with kids, and it <i>still</i> works for Little Ms 20-Something-Cynicism, then wow. It's not a lot of work. Targeted cleaning happens in 2 or 15 minute chunks. Things get clean calmly, over time, and they <i>stay</i> clean through establishing habits. These habits are quick, simple, time-saving things that make you feel better about your space and yourself, which keeps you from throwing up your hands in despair like I, um...did...a few months ago...when we moved. :-\<br />
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Her system will take some adapting, but it's adaptable. No, Fly Lady, I will not put my face on every morning when I wake up or pretty much ever. But I guess I <i>can</i> brush my hair every morning...instead of just pulling it back into a bun so tight no one sees the tangles. And I really do feel like less of a schlub when I do that. So, um...thanks, Fly Lady.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-58053251188725512822010-01-25T12:56:00.000-06:002010-01-25T12:56:18.348-06:00I'M NOT DEAD!!! Yet.When last we left our heroine, she was tending to an incredible blonde lightening bolt while her boyfriend, who shall remain nameless, was tending to the estate of his mother, who had just passed away. Then she fell off the face of the planet.<br />
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It's been a crazy set of months, hence the no blogging. Or knitting. Seriously, I like...tried to knit a <a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer07/PATTwisp.html">wisp</a> while I was sick, and it didn't go well. That's pretty much been the extent of my knitting lately. And I'm way too broke for yarn. It's a sad state of affairs.<br />
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There have been many changes. I no longer have blue carpet. I now have ugly beige carpet in the most sketchy and dilapidated part of town I could find (but it's cheap). This has, in fact, been a huge contributing factor to the lack of blogging. It's hard to get revved up about domestic bliss when you're stuck in an apartment with mold in the basement, cigarette smoke wafting through the inoperable bathroom vent and boxes of still-unpacked stuff blocking your way to anything. We don't even know how long we'll be here. We've become transients, of a sort.<br />
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I also no longer have a boyfriend who shall remain nameless. I have a HUSBAND who shall remain nameless!!! (Hence the move away from the blue carpet). The incredible blond lightening bolt is now my stepson! And my husband, who shall remain nameless, is going to be a diplomat! (Hence the transience - we'll be moving to DC soon, we just don't know when). So things are looking up. They're just looking up from a long way down.<br />
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Anyway. The links for the pattern PDFs have been fixed (seems the file hosting service I was using stopped existing). I've emailed the pattern to those of you who left email addresses. Those who didn't, try the links again - they were broken, but they should work now. I'm not abandoning the blog any more than I'm abandoning knitting, but it's definitely in hibernation. I'll pop back on when I can and try to get it going again. I need to stop thinking of my place as "the shit-hole" and work to make it nicer. It is somewhat crucial to my mental state. :-\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-20045790093708927912009-08-17T09:39:00.006-05:002009-08-17T09:50:39.520-05:00The Secret Ingredient is Lurve<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpfmKx-CG7jx6YhjzxTUKf7C0jrV-K_BIgvavphyrcHqw8RgF2_ThMz6_a7pqBjoFp4J8R97Eff0dOUwVkv9_WPIEvefYGw10amWJxNJhDp_bIHy3gY9uIxR3lq24oAu8geShKUomv9nu/s1600-h/Mew+Cake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpfmKx-CG7jx6YhjzxTUKf7C0jrV-K_BIgvavphyrcHqw8RgF2_ThMz6_a7pqBjoFp4J8R97Eff0dOUwVkv9_WPIEvefYGw10amWJxNJhDp_bIHy3gY9uIxR3lq24oAu8geShKUomv9nu/s320/Mew+Cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370945121340424674" border="0" /></a><br />The incredible blond lightening bolt turned 9 the other day, and he wanted a Pokemon cake. In addition to the fact that his father, who will remain nameless, and I are broke, said child is allergic to red dye! So it was looking grim.<br /><br />Then we came up with this. He asked for a lemon cake with strawberry icing - easy, just add lemon juice in place of vanilla to a basic white layer cake recipe and mush up some strawberries into plain buttercream. It came out pretty much the shade of Mew, so we let our imaginations run from there. The incredible blond lightening bolt came up with pretty much the entire facial construction, and I did the tail. How lucky was it that we had this perfectly-shaped cutting board (which ordinarily looks like a swan)?<br /><br />Not much knitting at all has been going on, I'm afraid, but I'll update you on that shortly all the same.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-37688914241270781842009-08-06T08:45:00.002-05:002009-08-06T08:53:36.331-05:00There is no snappy picture for this post.I'd meant to have Ceres published by the 1st of the month, but clearly that did not happen. Instead, we (my nameless boyfriend, the incredible blonde lightening bolt and I) got a phone call, packed our things on a moment's notice and drove down to Arkansas where his mother has been battling cancer. I was going to give her a voodoo doll shaped like a brain tumor, but she's been unconscious since before we arrived.<br /><br />Last night, she passed. Her son, who will remain nameless, was with her. The lightening bolt is here with me, playing obliviously with a robot monster on the couch. He's fed, he's bathed, he's dressed, and he won't find out until his father gets home. I have no idea when that will happen. And I have no idea <span style="font-style: italic;">what</span> will happen when that happens.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-83538903474884853812009-07-26T15:24:00.006-05:002009-07-26T17:11:56.961-05:00Other People's BabiesOver the past month, I received news that two of my friends (ok...four, two couples) were expecting. They're all wonderful people and great parents. Both couples already have sons of about the same age, though they don't know each other, and both boys would make great big brothers. Both couples very much wanted their pregnancies, although one hadn't been sure it was possible after a bout with cancer, and everyone was excited for them.<br /><br />Then, within the span of about three days, I received news that both couples had lost their babies. I am now much closer to understanding what the word "heartbroken" really means. It's shocking how something so absolutely and energetically <span style="font-style: italic;">good</span> can just vanish. And it's frustrating not only because I have no idea what they need right now, but because even if I did, both couples (one of whom I'm <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> close friends with) are in Texas. There's only so much comfort that can be sent over the internet, and...it just doesn't seem a gift-sending occasion, so for now, I'll stay my knitting needles. I am, I think, going to mark the passings by lighting a candle...or something...in my own fumblingly pseudo-religious way. I don't believe that life begins at conception, and I certainly don't believe you have to be loved to have a soul, but...I think perhaps it may speed things along. These little people were very loved during their brief time in the world, and they still are.<br /><br />In considerably happier news, my boyfriend (who will remain nameless) and I will be picking up his son from the airport next Saturday! He'll be with us all month, and we've decided to spend most of our time at my place, with a detour down south to the family farm (his family, not mine, but they're great). This has meant kitting out the "guest room" in the basement into something a little more kid friendly and less, well...basement-like, which has been a lot of fun! It's also involved a couple of new projects. Last summer, the incredible blond lightening bolt was quite attached to his army of stuffed animals. This summer, my boyfriend, who shall remain nameless, speculates that he may not have room in his luggage for any, as he's flying alone for the first time. Thus, currently, there is a pile of knitted, unstuffed rabbit parts. Soon there will be a rabbit. I figure if he thinks it's lame, I can foist it on my 8-month-old roommate. :-)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSRICGUwF6lck1IK4YElDgfnnmMq5v6c1bpzFUj39797sLHNmAA12KewvOQQcTsHAs7_U58JS0aqJ6dx9h7TPmp9H7ekaPXZln8zA7hDIN0IH5CsNgdt7ln1MKXWNR2radaXMJa-Toqgr/s1600-h/Harlot+quilt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSRICGUwF6lck1IK4YElDgfnnmMq5v6c1bpzFUj39797sLHNmAA12KewvOQQcTsHAs7_U58JS0aqJ6dx9h7TPmp9H7ekaPXZln8zA7hDIN0IH5CsNgdt7ln1MKXWNR2radaXMJa-Toqgr/s320/Harlot+quilt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362894168127172274" border="0" /></a>There is also (very nearly) a quilt (pictured above with <span style="font-style: italic;">my</span> baby, Harlot)! I must admit, I'm making this quilt for myself because I absolutely hate my comforter. But it's occured to me that when my boyfriend, who shall remain nameless, and I finally get around to shacking up, it'll probably wind up on the incredible blond lightening bolt's bed. The overachiever who lives in my rian thinks I can have this done in time to put on his bed in the basement. The sane person who cohabitates with the overachiever in my brain is not so sure, but isn't worrying since there's more than enough bedding to go around...it's just not quite as snappy and hand-made. At any rate, it's coming along really nicely, and we'll just see when and for whom it comes out.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-47082720107397970892009-07-15T08:00:00.001-05:002009-07-15T08:00:00.345-05:00The Best Bread<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHoS6GgDnC6wGMvVvaDOJmKovrRPRuAETRRsPBrIjFaf4EWs5h6De0iVLMjjJoVgRmJxqQnQD3HoW9lHuCEgdALll6TnFAO-RV7PhZhUG0Wk2DHrB442NuiF6TSmTfGcwd0AXZgbbcJTP/s1600-h/bread.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHoS6GgDnC6wGMvVvaDOJmKovrRPRuAETRRsPBrIjFaf4EWs5h6De0iVLMjjJoVgRmJxqQnQD3HoW9lHuCEgdALll6TnFAO-RV7PhZhUG0Wk2DHrB442NuiF6TSmTfGcwd0AXZgbbcJTP/s320/bread.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358513138739411474" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here's the bread recipe I've been promising you. Since discovering the idea of no-knead bread, I literally have not bought bread from the store. For months, I have enjoyed a steady supply of fresh, healthy, home-made bread. The secret is making a large quantity of dough that keeps for up to two weeks in your fridge. When you need more bread, you break off a hunk of dough, let it sit for an hour and a half, and then pop it in the oven. That's it. No kneading, no carefully timed rises. It's brainless, and involves about 5 minutes of actual work per loaf.<br /><br />And it's GOOD! Crusty with a nice, moist crumb, this bread has the tiniest hint of tang, reminiscent of sourdough (though it's not a sourdough). The addition of wheat bran and germ round off that tang and make it a little bit rustic. I've looked and not found a recipe that works like this that involves whole wheat flour, so for now the bran and germ make it healthier than white bread. Well, that and the complete lack of additives of any kind. Unless you...like...wanted to add them...for some reason...then you could.<br /><br />Here is the recipe. Try it and marvel at how insanely easy (and cheap!) it is to have fresh, crusty artisan bread on hand at all times.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Makes dough for three loaves</span><br />1 1/2 Tbsp yeast<br />1 1/2 Tbsp salt<br />3.5 cups warm water<br />1/2 cup wheat bran<br />1/4 cup wheat germ<br />6 cups all purpose flour<br /><br /><ol><li>In a large bowl, mix together the yeast and salt.</li><li>Add the water.</li><li>Mix in the wheat bran and germ.</li><li>Add the flour, mixing thoroughly until all lumps are gone. This is most easily done 2 cups at a time, stirring between each addition. The dough will be quite wet and sticky, and not entirely smooth, but there should be no pockets of dry flour when the mixing is done.</li><li>Cover, but not with an airtight lid, and let sit for at least 2 hours and as many as five.</li><li>Bake now, or store dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.</li><li>When ready to bake, break off 1/3 of the dough (per loaf), and place in a greased and floured bowl (a cereal bowl will do fine).</li><li>Sprinkle liberally with flour, and let sit for about an hour (up to two, if dough has been refrigerated). It's ok to be very approximate with this time.<br /></li><li>Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.<br /></li><li>Let bread stone warm to temperature as oven preheats.</li><li>Carefully transfer the dough from the bowl to the hot stone. The dough will still be very loose, but arrange in a nice, round mound. Slash the top three times with a sharp knife (this will be easier the more flour you dusted it with earlier).</li><li>Bake for 35 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when thumped.</li><li>Cool on a wire rack until it's just cool enough not to burn you.</li><li>Slather with butter and devour while still warm.</li></ol>Hints and Variations:<br /><ul><li>This is a great recipe to add stuff into. Nuts, seeds, garlic, olives, mushrooms, cheese, dried fruit, diamonds...mix it in before you start adding the flour, maybe a handful per loaf.</li><li> This bread can also be baked on a cookie sheet or in a greased loaf pan, but the baking stone really enhances the crust and the shape of the loaf.</li><li>On a related note, these would probably make great dinner rolls. One slash on the top, maybe brushed with an egg wash. They'd need to be baked for a shorter time than a full loaf. I shall experiment and report back!</li><li>When you're done stuffing your face, wrap the still-warm loaf in a cloth napkin until fully cool, then store in a zip bag. The warm bread will not become stale as it cools, even overnight, but it will become soggy if it cools in anything airtight.<br /></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216375201638830660.post-72078817350520087542009-07-14T14:34:00.002-05:002009-07-14T14:36:54.893-05:00Vive la France!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmDMWzWSbnT8HMqkKsL3V59M81vPdJQmj8DfpTafNlJ_6yBlWKrqId3-As4OHJIYL8UGhSefWyvr2BcX6Br-fBD-JihECsACXzTc6tqXglonPBcQxs0X8GtAfj5wtEIDF1JdKV25ASMjM/s1600-h/Bastille+Day.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmDMWzWSbnT8HMqkKsL3V59M81vPdJQmj8DfpTafNlJ_6yBlWKrqId3-As4OHJIYL8UGhSefWyvr2BcX6Br-fBD-JihECsACXzTc6tqXglonPBcQxs0X8GtAfj5wtEIDF1JdKV25ASMjM/s320/Bastille+Day.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358401879644929570" border="0" /></a>And now, a few useful formulae:<br /><br />scone + strawberry jam + whipped cream + strawberries = strawberry shortcake<br /><br />scone + blueberry jam + whipped cream + blueberries = blueberry shortcake<br /><br />scone + strawberry jam + whipped cream + blueberries = BASTILLE DAY SHORTCAKE!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1