Thursday, July 23, 2009

Day 2: Dress Challenge!

BACK VIEW:

I thought I would take a few pics...even though this dress is not completely done. This is definitely one of the "harder" dresses I am trying to make. A lot of ripping out and resewing goes on, especially when there is no pattern. I hope to get it done soon and share some photos with Jocelynne wearing it.
Here are the little bloomers which made this dress even harder to resist making.

This is my inspiration for today's dress...from Chasing Fireflies. There are three dresses from thier catalog which I am attemping to make. Of course most of their clothes are way out of our price range, so I feel very vindicated that the total cost was only $10 to make this dress.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

7 days, 7 dresses...

I decided to give myself a little challenge. This is the first dress I made.

The straps are gathered.

I used some rick rack for trim on the hem. Check back for more tomorrow. :)

The art of Jam Making...

1. pit and chop fruit...in this case apricots.
2. boil fruit with a LOT of sugar...
3. Seal in jars...
well, its not as easy as 1,2,3....but Sharon and I spent most of Monday evening canning apricots. This is the 250lb. tote of the first picking and we didn't even make much of a dent after the 40+ jars of jam!!! Its all worth the effort and satisfaction of a job well done.

Our weekend...

This last weekend was very busy. I went garage saling with Sharon. We also checked out the NEW bistro in town. What a fun place...and very delicious food! Did some boating and relaxing on Moses Lake. Then on Sunday we took a little trip over to Spokane.
A couple gave us the extra bread they had....
So we fed some ducks at the Riverfront park in Spokane...My uncle and his family were also visiting from SD. We spent some time with them and had so much fun! This is my sweet little cousin, Kate. (or Weewa) Such a cute nickname for such a cute little thing, don't you think?

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Wedding preparations...

the flower girl dress for Jocelynne...
is finally done. :)

What is Summertime without...

... Fresh fruit for a yummy fruit pizza!
... Juicy watermelon for a snack.
...some cool shades.
...having some fun in the sun.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

4th of July weekend Fun!

We decided to take Jocelynne to the Point Defiance Aquarium & Zoo. I love the look on her face.
The sharks, fish and otters were facinating to her.
Jay and I were invited to the Erlenmeyers at Morton Lake. What a beautiful place! Jay and I took a little canoe ride before the fabulous firework show started.
Jocelynne had fun with her cousins at a park near their house in Mill Creek.
The park also had a little petting farm. All in all it was a very fun weekend!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Grilled Pizza continued!

Here is the tried and true, best homemade pizza dough ever. There is a little secret for making the dough: Mix all the liquid ingredients, plus sugar and salt in a separate bowl. Then put the flour in the bowl you are going to let it rise in and make a little well. Step 3 very important: pour liquid mixture into flour and knead just until the dough is formed. Leave in the flour and let rise for about 45 min.
This does take some practice... so don't be discouraged if it doesn't turn out the first time.

Ingredients:
1 package of Yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegtable oil
3 cups flour

Grilling: I rolled my dough out on flour (leave pretty thick). Then folded it in half and half again. Slide it onto a cookie sheet. Keep the grill set at 200-250 degrees. Unfold dough and slide onto grill. Turn it over after about 8 min. (or until it is lightly brown on one side) This works best if you use your cookie sheet a spatula to flip the dough. Add toppings. And grill another 8 min or until lightly brown.
Happy grilling!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Summertime Grilling...

I love to grill...especially during summertime. Just a few weeks ago, I tried grilling homemade pizza for the first time. Jay said it was the best I've ever made.
I have to agree. Since then, I have tried grilling a few other things...like meatballs. So good.

Fun at VBS!

Jocelynne was great at her first year in VBS. I was amazed at how well she did. Of course she had a favorite leader as well. (Kelly)
After a busy morning...kind of worn out, but still distracted by all the fun!