Resolutions?

OK... so I admit this post may seem a little late since we are now mid-January. The whole family has been sick with either a cold, flu, or a combination of the two. I didn't even have time to think about New Year's resolutions or to even look back at my 2012 resolutions and tally up what I did or did not do.

But we are slowly on the road to recovery so it's time to look back and forward.

Last year I wanted to:

1.  Refinish my mom's chair.  Right now it's sitting in my basement, just waiting patiently to be reupholstered.  I know exactly where I am going to put it (in our piano room) but it just needs to get done! FAIL!  I did nothing with this other than buy some fabric and new foam.  But I am thinking of starting it this week.
 
2.  Work out once a week.  My doctor would be appalled that my goal is one day a week...  But really, it's an achievable goal.  Um... I guess it depends on what once a week looks like.

3.  Enroll in a class.  I am enrolled in classes but the classes are for the kids, not me.  So my goal is to enroll myself in a special interest class, or maybe an exercise class.  My sister and I have been doing Sunday yoga classes so I guess that covers #2, 3, and 5!!!!

4.  Go on dates with hubby.  The kids have taken over!  But they will be a little bit older next year and hopefully won't mind if we skip out for a night here and there.   We did try to do this but when I count it out, I still think we went out alone less than 5 times this year.  Definitely an upgrade from 2011!

5.  Start doing a "sisters" or "friends" night out.  Why?  Because maybe by then, the kids will be in the same bedroom and can put themselves to sleep.  Hahaha... in my dreams, right?   This one still needs work!

 This year, I think I need to keep the same resolutions but add two more to the pile.

6.  Take time for myself and not to worry about the small things.  This means exactly what I wrote.  I am juggling a lot of stuff and so I need to prioritize more and spend time on the things I love vs things I don't.  I have been spending less time on social media as it's been a time waster and I don't love it!

7.  Sew things I want to sew!  I've been doing some sewing that is unrelated to my ETSY shop.  It's been good for me to sew for my enjoyment.

That's it for me.  Do you have any resolutions for 2013?

Recipe: Bread in the Slow Cooker - yes for real!

A couple of days ago, one of my friends posted some pictures of bread that she made using this no knead dough recipe from the Simply So Good Blog.  I was all set to make it until I read that I need some sort of cast iron pot.   I contemplated the pros and cons of using basically everything I had until I realized that it wasn't going to work.

But, after sleeping on it, I decided to go back to an old favourite:  Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes or less.  I made this bread back in 2008 when I only had 1 child.  When I made it, I didn't have a baker's stone but did my best.  I even made it once in a toaster oven!  Afterwards, life got busy and it was too easy to go to the Italian Bakery down the street.

Then I saw that that the Artisan bread people made Artisan bread in a crockpot.  I didn't believe it so I had to try it myself. 

I halved their original boule recipe:
1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
1/2 tbsp granulated yeast
1/2 tbsp salt (if you like a saltier bread, I would suggest using 3/4 tbsp)
3 1/4 cup all purpose flour

I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer to quickly mix it together.  It didn't look at all like the 5 min dough.  Theirs is very watery... Mine looked like dough already!   Here's a pic of it under saran wrap.  I let it sit for about 2.5 hours.

After 2.5 hours, I picked it up, made a ball, and placed it in a slow cooker lined with parchment paper.

I was a little nervous about how it would turn out but after 1.5 hours, I noticed that the bottom was crusty!!!  But the top didn't look appealing at all.  The Artisan authors suggest broiling it after it's done but I decided to just flip my bread upside down.

 3 hours later, my bread was cooling on a rack.

 Crusty!  I can't believe it!

Kids had it toasted for their bedtime snack.  I'm off to eat some too!

Happy Baking!

Appliqued Drawstring Pouch

After I made the monkey drawstring pouch for the barrel of monkeys, I made another one using some scrap jersey.   I have a lot of scrap jersey... it's one fabric I cannot part with. I use it mainly for appliques for things like a toddler backpack, or a tricycle bag.   Appliques are my thing...

Instead of folding the straps and sewing them down, I ran them through my new serger.  I am still a little afraid of my serger and used a 4 thread stitch.  I think a rolled hem would have been better but until I learn how to thread it properly, this is what I will do!

The best thing about working with t-shirt jersey is that it doesn't fray so sewing this was even faster!

What went in the pouch?

That stuff is GOLD!  I use Healthy Hands since my hands get chapped from constantly washing my hands in the daytime and sewing with denim at night.

Yay again for scrap fabric!