Valentine's Treats, Simple and Sweet

Each Valentine's Day I try to do something special and creative for Lil Monkey's school mates. I'd rather do a simple craft with the Lil Monkey than to just buy stuff from a store, because my dad and stepmom didn't celebrate Valentine's Day when I was growing up.

In an earlier post, I showed you heart shaped colors we made for his school mates. Tonight I placed them in bags and added these cute stickers for him to pass out tomorrow.

Well also picked up a variety of chocolate for his 2 teachers and filled cute colorful flower pots with candy, a flower clip and this two-sided note ... 

I love that he scratched out "apple" and wrote in chocolate. Sometimes an apple doesn't make a teacher as happy as some sweet treats!

It doesn't have to be elaborate to be special.

Until our next cup of tea ... 

Accidental Chef: Christmas Gifts of Sweetness

This might be the most important post I ever write ... it's about making Pralines. I don't know much about the other 48 states, but in Texas and Louisiana this is one of the food groups. This isn't my recipe either. My sister-in-law posted it on her Facebook page earlier this month, hinting she'd like some. (Though she didn't want to have to wait until Christmas!!) Since my husband has his third of 4 finals tonight and wouldn't be home until 10 p.m., I thought I'd try a test batch.

*** Note: The recipe was originally posted on I Love Texas Recipes Facebook page in December of 2013. 

It was quite simple ...

Ingredients:

Directions:

I had a lot of fun, despite my 4-year-old having a momentary crisis at the "critical" stage (step 4). The whole process was fun, and except for needing a lot of pecans, I had most of the supplies in my "winter" pantry.

Here's a look at my adventure ...

So really the only thing I changed was using wax paper. There is very little that I use wax paper for because most times you can substitute The Appliqué Pressing Sheet by Bear Thread Designs. While the craft sheet was originally created for fusible appliqué, its non-stick surface has also made it a interchangeable tool for other crafts and cooking.

The Appliqué Pressing Sheet comes in 3 sizes and you can special order a specific size as well. Since my parents' own the company I get leftovers, so as you can see, I have a roll of small pieces. These 3 pieces are slightly longer in width than a butter knife, so I have to us several. 

I spooned the mixture onto the sheet and let them cool for about an hour for the first batch, because I had to make dinner. The second batch was plated after about 30 minutes and sent next door when she brought over Lil Monkey's Christmas gifts we'd been hiding there.

Both batches made 14 Pralines each. When it came time to plate them, they just slid right off. I liked the sheet was study enough so that I could lift it up and check to see if they had cooled all the way though.

Then, I wrapped the extras for my sister-in-law and put them in a container that I am sure she will agree is too small! It only held 8, so I guess I'll put some on a holiday plate for her as well. I'm officially the favorite sister-in-law, at least for now.

** Note: Is The Appliqué Pressing Sheet has been stored rolled, as above, lay it on the work surface with direction of roll facing downward. 

** Note: Once The Appliqué Pressing Sheet has been used with food, it cannot be used on craft projects. 

Until our next cup of tea ...

The Mis-Adventures of the Holiday Travelers

Well, it has been 1 week and 1 day since my last post, and so much has happen. Some planned adventures, and some not so planned misadventures.

I left off with a post about going home the week before Thanksgiving and showing my son where I grew up abnd making memories wiht my grandma like I did as a child. On Saturday, we had an impromptu potluck gathering of about half of my siblings (well 5 of the 12 of us). My dad and grandmother also joined us. It was so fun to sit around, swapping recipes, tell jokes, and watching the cousins play, something my little guy doesn't get to do since he doesn't have any near us his age. (I have 2 cousins in their early 20s, then he was the next baby, about 16 years apart.)

We grilled G-Ma on her recipe and technique for the Jambalaya she'd made the day of our arrival. Getting her to sit still long enough to write down a recipe, so we all peppered her with questions while she sat and watched us finish cooking. I made notes amid the laughter, and with a little clarification later that day, we ended the weekend with one of G-Ma's secrets. Not bad. Now, I just have to remember to send it to all the sisters, sister-in-laws and cousins.

(I think my younger sister, called Moo-Moo by the little ones - is a kid-whisperer. She definitely has a magical touch.)

The Lil Monkey and I came back home on Monday and turned around Tuesday morning and accompanied my dear hubby to Fort Polk, for some Army-related appointments he had for that day. The plan was to drive up that morning, take care of the meetings and get some uniform stuff he needed and some alterations. We had hoped to meet up with some friends and then head back home the same day.

Unfortunately, about 30 minutes from the Army base, in the back roads of Burkeville, Texas, a deer ran out in front of my husband's truck and though none of us were hurt, the truck was damage beyond being driveable. 

Not to get into the long story of it all in this post, we ended up having to stay overnight at the base - totally unprepared for that adventure. When we finally were able to find a rental car and come home the next day, I realized that we'd have to get creative sharing my Tahoe until his truck was fixed. That meant that blogging was put on the back burner because he has law school finals starting next week and has to study at home instead of the library now, so I have to entertain (and distract) our 4-year-old. 

We did have some adventures which I will get posted this week, barring any more surprises, to include a trip to the Christmas Tree Farm, a Pinterest (Almost) Fail and more.

Thanks for visiting The Teacup Collector's Cottage.

Until our next cup of tea ...

If I Could Choose a Super Power ...

My son and I had a discussion their other day about super heroes and he asked what super power did I want. At the time I went with something that he could thing was cool like blowing like the wind or laser eyes, but in reality, I want to have a super power that slowed time. All of me would chose that super power for selfish reasons, but depending on the day, they purpose would change. Slowing down how fast he is growing is one powerful reason that most any mom would want that ability, but at times when I am overwhelmed and have a to-do list so long I want to sit in the corner and cry, I'd like to manipulate time so that I could have a little "me time".

Well, now you know why the blog has been quiet for a bit. I have a long list of things that I'd love to get posted, but alas, life has gotten a bit hectic in the last 2 weeks.

Although the the Fall Issue of TEAinTEXAS is still on the newsstands for another month, we are already putting together the Winter Issue, which will feature Texas Antique Shops, Holiday Home Tours and (my favorite) a Holiday Gift Guide.

Then about 10 days after the Winter Issue goes to print TEAinTEXAS has a booth at the International Quilt Festival, which is not only the largest quilt event internationally (as far as I know), but we also decided to get a double sized booth this year versus the regular size. So we won't have the usual down time to compress and start brainstorming the Spring Issue. (OMG, we haven't even had Halloween and I am already talking about Spring!!!)

I also volunteered at my son's new school to help organize the Fall Festival, but that has turned out to be a bigger project than I had signed up for. I agreed to head the Marketing Committee which was something that I do every day for TEAinTEXAS, but then the volunteers in the Ticketing and Volunteer Coordination teams dropped out and my team of two was given some of their tasks. AGH! Of course, life wouldn't be as exciting without a few bumps in the road.

The actual event takes place the weekend after the International Quilt Festival ends, so I am going to be running like a crazy person through the second week of November, just in time for Thansgiving!

So, all in all, its been pretty hectic, but ... that doesn't mean I don't have time for a creative project or two. Especially a quick and easy Quiltsmart project! I made another banner, this one for my tea cup cabinet. I'm not going to sugar coat it, I'm in a burlap and lace kind of zone right now. 

 

 

It was so easy! I used a soft burlap-style fabric to make the banner then a white-on-white fabric for the letters. I found a pretty, natural linen ribbon and a spool of same sized lace and sewed them across for the ribbon tie. 

 

Well, its a beautiful day here so we spent the morning at the beach after I met some of our partners in Galveston. I'll post pics of our adventures soon, but while the little one is resting on the sofa with a movie, I'm going to sneak over to the sewing machine where another Quiltsmart projects awaits!

Until our next cup of tea ...

 

 

 

 

Batter Up! Time to Rally Around the Home Team!!

Well our little Monkey has just finished his first season of Little League Baseball and it was an experience for us all! He was one of only 3 4 year olds, all who barely made the cutoff age by a month or so. The other 8 kids had played both Sping and Fall of last year in Instructional T-Ball and are moving to T-Ball.

Oh, was fun it was to watch him play, though most of the time he was dancing, practicing to be a Ninja Turtle or Superhero or picking clovers. The three of us moms were assured that all of the others did the same thing at this age, so hopefully next year will be more actual playing.

He was great at hitting and fielding, but once he was bored, other interests took over.

He did swim for about a year (you'll see that in previous posts from 2011) and even spent six weeks in soccer (the coach spent all her time on her phone and we had a lot of "breaks" where the kids sat around.) I decided that I should probably start a scrap book for him with photos and stuff because if I wait too long, it'll just be overwhelming. So I spent a few hours pulling out scrapbook paper I'd collected, sorting through digital photos and ordering prints and gathering notes of what I wanted to do. Finally I was ready to start!! Let the fun begin!!

Here is the first page for baseball. I wanted to get all his team info on there because I'll never remember. I can't even remember kids from his preschool class last year, much less any of his teammates years from now.

Well, I'm off to get some more pages done while he is running errands with Daddy. Ah, the life of a crafty mom!!

Until our next cup of tea ...