buy a bargain...fix a feast?

better cookbooks for better cooking for better cooks. from better homes and gardens.

 also from savers. 99 cents apiece was a pretty good bargain in my opinion.

bringing the total of vintage better homes and gardens cookbooks up to 8.

don't understand the appeal of the "fluffy fruit mold"...

who knows. maybe it's tasty after all. :D

hehe can I have a party like this sometime? everybody is required to dress like this too.

all the meals in this section were made with meat. "old-time favorites" apparently. 

this is the first children's cookbook i've seen from this era.

very useful...but why the "food" store?

(posted by Chloe)

Dinner ;)

So we had this recipe for dinner! :) So good. but.. probably not very good for you... :D

The Knights and Princesses of the High Kings Of Ireland

Well, we have been so busy with rehearsals these days, that we haven't blogged for almost two whole weeks!!

Tonight is our last rehearsal before the show. It has been such a great experience and I hope to do many, many more shows. Here is the awesome  AWESOME poster!! :)

(Posted by Mia)

Neville is Sleepy! :)

Magnolia

Quilts - Finished!

As you may remember, I was making a quilt for Marie Madeline Studio's Joplin project. They also sent me some squares to sew into another quilt!

Here's the 9 patch quilt:

And here's the Around the World quilt, made from the lovely squares sent to me!

These will be sent off soon!

(posted by Chloe)

The dog.

He says he's very tired. The end. 

(posted by Chloe)

Introducing: Neville!

 This is Neville. He is a red agouti Angora rabbit. He's five months old and absolutely adorable. :)

  

Eventually, his fur will start to shed; then I'll gently remove it and spin it into yarn!

He likes to eat timothy hay. 

(posted by Chloe)

Bunchy Bunny PATTERN!!!!

Yayyy! ♥

Supplies: Worsted weight wool, tapestry needle, 4.25 (G) mm hook, small amounts of white, brown and pink wool roving, needle felting tool. 

Body:

Round 1: 6 single crochet in magic loop.

R 2: 2sc in each sc around - 12 sts.

R 3: *sc in 1^st st, 2 sc in next st* rep around. 18 sts.

R 4: *sc in next 2 sts. 2 sc in next st* rep. around - 24 sts.

R 5: *sc in next 3 sts. 2 sc in next st* rep. around - 30 sts.

R 6: *sc in next 4 sts. 2 sc in next st* rep. around - 36 sts.

R 7: *sc in next 5 sts. 2 sc in next st* rep. around - 42 sts.

R 8: *sc in next 6 sts. 2 sc in next st* rep. around - 48 sts.

R 9-12: sc around.

R 13: sctog, sc in next 21 sts, sctog, sc around. 46 sts.

R 14: sc around.

R 15: sctog, sc in next 20 sts, sctog, sc in next 19 sts, sctog. 43 sts. 

R 16: sctog, sc around. 42 sts.

R 17: *sc in next 5 sts, sctog* rep around. 36 sts.

R 18-19: sc around

R 20: *sc in next 4 sts, sctog* rep around.  30 sts.

R 21: *sc in next 3 sts, sctog* rep. around. 24 sts.

R 22: - 25 sc around. 

R 26: *sctog, sc in next 2 sts* rep around. 18 sts.

R 27: sc around

R 28: *sc in next st, sctog* rep around. 12 sts.

R 29: sctog once, fasten off. 11 sts.

Leave an 8 inch tail.

Ears- make 2:

Round 1: ch 6, sc in 2^nd chain from hook, sc across.

R 2-6: sc across.

R 7: sc in 1^st st, sctog, sc in next 2 sts. 4 sc.

R 8-10: sc across.

R 11: sc in 1^st st, sctog, sc in next sts. 3 sc.

R 12: sctog, sc in next st. 2 sc.

R 13: sctog. 1 sc.

Fasten off. 

Finishing:

Felt all pieces, preferably by hand. Stuff the rabbit and sew the small opening shut. (If you hand felt, you’ll probably still have an opening. You may run into trouble if you use the washing machine; but who knows. Experiment!)

Fold the ears at the bases and secure with a stitch. Sew on the ears where the neck begins to form. 

Needle-felt details using the white, pink, and brown roving. To make a cute little cottontail (wooly-tail?) make a small ball with the white. Gently attach it to the bunny’s bottom. I really only felted it around the edges, keeping the center puffy and fuzzy. 

(posted by Chloe)

P.S. This pattern is also available on ravelry.com as a free PDF download. :)

Sally Gator...

I think she needs a bow. 

(posted by Chloe)

Bunchy Bunny

Don't you just hate it when bloggers take an unexpected break for 2 weeks? Yeah, me too.

Anyway, this is what I've been working on....

Isn't he cute? 

I've had a few requests for the pattern, so I'll try to get it written up in the next week or so.

See his little wooly tail?

(Cue : awwww....)

Bunny was made out of some of my tea-dyed handspun. The tea-dying didn't work out so well, seeing that it mostly all rinsed out and stained the shower floor...

He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be… 
-The Velveteen Rabbit

(posted by Chloe)

P. S. He needs a name. Any ideas?

A Friday Picnic

One of my close friends and I had a picnic today! Ok, it wasn't outside all the way..... :) We actually had it on my friend's (Macie) screened-in  deck! The weather was perfect! Also, the pictures I took turned out really well! Here they are!

YUM!!!!!

(posted by Mia)

Quilting for Joplin

Marie Madeline Studio is collecting fabric scraps to make into quilts for the people of Joplin, Missouri.

So, I decided to turn some of my odds and ends of fabric into 9 patch quilt blocks. I'll be sewing these squares together into a quilt top and sending it off to the Long ladies to be finished and sent on to those affected by the tornadoes. 

I just need to add some muslin sashing around each block. 

If you are interested in contributing fabric or piecing together a quilt top, visit their post!

(Posted by Chloe)

Moby's First Sleepover!

About two weeks ago Chloe, Liam, and I spent the night at our Grandma and Grandpa's house. But this time, Moby came along!!!! Here are some pictures!

                                                               (posted by Mia)

THE ROBINS HAVE LEFT THE NEST!

It was really hard to get up close to the babies, so the second one is a really, really bad photo!

(Post and pictures by Mia)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIAM!

Last night at ten o'clock, Liam turned 10! Double digits, woohoo!!! For his birthday party, he had a magician put on a magic show. It was awesome! I love you, Liam!

(posted by Mia)

Breaking News!!! :D - The Robins Have Hatched!

The baby robins are alive and well! My friend Macie and I named them: Robby and Roberta jr! Sooo cute!

( Posted By Mia )

Olathe Youth Symphony- Year II

I am trying out for the Olathe Youth Symphony again this year. My auditions are today at 4:48 p.m. My friend next door is also trying out today also!! I hope that we will both get in!

Here is a picture from last year:

(posted by Mia)

Happy Mother's Day, Mother!!!

                                                             (Picture taken by Mia)

A Spring Nest

In our front yard we have a short little cherry tree. Just the other week I looked out, and a robin was building a nest! Now there are two beautiful turquoise eggs in the finished nest. All this week the mother robin has been sitting on her eggs. I can't wait to see them hatch!

(Photos (taken with phone) and post by Mia)

Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's!

(Pictures and Post by Mia)

Trilogy Summer Show

This is the show that Chloe mentioned in the post before! I CANNOT wait to begin practices!!!!

(Posted by Mia)

Books With Pictures, Books With Words!

As quoted by Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast.

This was my first musical! (Not counting elementary school shows.)

I loved it soooooo much! It was super fun and everyone was awesome!

I'm still quoting lines around the house, and I think it would be hilarious to quote them at school, but not many people would get it. So I won't. But anyway... here's a picture.

Oh, and I had a microphone in the first scene, so when it came time for mic checks, I had to say my (one) line about 12 times. 'Is he dangerous?" Is he dangerous? I said, IS HE DANGEROUS?!?!

So one of the others kept asking me 'Is he dangerous?" So funny.  Also, there was a running joke about how I was a terrible mother. (My part was Lady with Babies.) In the first scene, I'm herding my child around the marketplace. Later on, I'm dancing and drinking in the tavern. (Gaston was the song, you may know it...) And then, off I go with a pitchfork to try and kill the beast! (Mob Song... ah, good times. Trying not to trip over my long petticoat was the main focus there...)

I had to curl my hair for a week - going to school with ringlets was interesting. 

But I got lots of compliments! :)

Oh, and Erin was in this one too. (See this post. She was Miss Warriner.)

There are more pictures on Trilogy's website, if you'd like to see them!

(posted by Chloe)

PS. I'm in another musical - one of Trilogy's summer shows. It's a combination of most of the Disney princesses. I'm Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Mia is a maiden. 

Fun! 

A Few of My Favorite Spring Things!

Trees with leaves on them

Fresh strawberries

Lemonade

( Posted By Mia )