Project: Baby Quilt 2

I guess I'm kind of on a baby quilt kick! I used the leftover project from the bunting project that I did. I was so in love with the fabrics. I think I get way too attached to all the baby blankets I make! I wanted to try the hand tying method. I think it looks pretty cute. What do you guys think?

Project: Mini Quilt

I'm working on a big quilt for our king-sized bed but had some leftover scraps of fabric so I decided to make a baby quilt out of it. I didn't have too much of a plan going into the project so I just made adjustments as I went along. The black border on the front was completely unplanned but was a last minute necessity if I wanted this blanket to actually be able to cover a baby.

I really loved how it turned out. I kind of feel like I should keep it since I'll have a big quilt that matches it (whenever I manage to finish that one). I also realized that I love making baby quilts because it's a pretty quick project.

Project: Baby Quilt

One of my friends is going to have a little girl (any day now!) and I thought it would be great to make a quilt for the baby. Not that I've ever quilted before. I bought a kit from Joann's and figured that it would be difficult to mess up on with a kit. I think it turned out really cute. I liked the fabrics that were included in the kit and the directions made it easy enough. I've actually really gotten into quilting now. I started on a quilt for our king sized bed and finished another baby quilt (pics to come).

OOTD: Alpine Dreaming

I have to admit that I have an unfair amount of love for my Anthro pieces, probably because I don't own that many of them. I loved this skirt the moment I saw it, even though I'm usually not drawn to light blue. The deal was made even sweeter since I scored it when it went on a second markdown. I can't wait to style it for the fall and winter, particularly since it is a billion degrees here.

Odille Alpine Dream Skirt

White ruffle tank - Gottchalk's (from years ago)

OOTD: Wednesday

I've been meaning to get into the habit of posting my outfits but truthfully I've been awful about getting dressed. I have zero motivation to get dressed when I don't have to be anywhere.

Here's what I wore out to dinner.

Random top from Anthropologie

Levi's Boyfriend shorts

Project: Bunting

My friend Myra asked me to help her sew a bunting. After I figured out what it was I was more than happy to help. I think it came out pretty cute. I'm thinking of making some holiday themed ones for myself.





-Krystin

Oh My Apple Pie!

After watching "Good Eats" the other day, my husband requested that I bake a pie. Of course I was up for the challenge, even though I've never baked a pie before. The result was fantastic! Both the husband and I had to have second helpings immediately. I threatened to not let him have a second piece and he threatened imminent divorce if I kept the pie from him. 

I googled looking for a crust recipe that didn't contain any shortening. I've never used shortening before and didn't want to buy any. I finally found a recipe that only used butter...a lot of butter! It's called the Perfect Pie Crust Recipe. I was sold on the title alone. 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Cut up the pieces of butter into small squares. Stick 'em in the freezer for a few minutes. 

Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of your mixer. 

Throw the butter in and mix some more. 

Slowly add the ice water by tablespoons until you get a nice mealy texture. I ended up using about six tablespoons. 

Dump the mixture onto a clean work surface and kneed a few times. 

Shape into two discs. 

Place into ziplock bags and chill in refrigerator until ready to use (but at least for 1 hour!). 

For the filling, I used Grandma Ople's off of Allrecipes and adapted it slightly. It had great ratings and I figured over 3,000 people couldn't be wrong. 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 4-6 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced (I used 4)

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour to create a paste. Add water and sugars, mix well. Let mixture simmer for a few minutes. 

Roll out your dough for the bottom of the pie and arrange your apples inside. I added half of the sauce mixture to the apples, then I put the lattice crust on. Then, pour the rest of your sauce evenly over the entire pie. 

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes. 

Let cool for a few hours, otherwise, it'll be a big soupy mess! 

Enjoy at your own risk! 

What's Cooking: Steak Salad

I made a delicious stead salad yesterday night for dinner that was so good I forgot to snap any pictures! It's a super easy recipe and I highly recommend for summer dinners. It's so refreshing. 

Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp salt 

pepper 

Place all of the ingredients in a sealable container and give it a really good shake! 

For the steak salad, you'll need: 

Steak - cooked to desired doneness 

Salad mix 

tomatoes

olives 

blue cheese crumbles 

avocado 

I like to mix the salad with the salad dressing and then put the steak on top. I'll be sure to take a picture next time. 

Have a great day everyone! 

xoxo

What's Cooking: Honey Soy Glazed Salmon

I usually just grill salmon on the BBQ or bake it in the oven, but wanted to try something different today. After a lot of perusing online, I found a recipe for Honey Soy salmon. I modified the recipe a little bit since I didn't have everything on hand. It came out beautifully! As an accompaniment, I served french green beans with caramelized onions and some soba (buckwheat) noodles in a soy/sesame oil sauce. This was such a great, light, and summery meal. I'm definitely making it again. The plus side is that everything was ready in about 20 minutes.

Honey Soy Salmon
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp of rice vinegar

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. Place salmon in a resealable plastic baggie with half of the sauce mixture. Let marinade for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Turn on the broiler of your oven.

Place marinaded salmon onto foil covered sheet pan. Broil for about 6-8 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

Green Beans w/ Caramelized Onions 
1/4 of an onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp oil or butter
1 pinch of salt
2 cups green beans (I used frozen b/c it was all I had on hand)

Heat pan over medium heat. Add oil and onions into the pan. Add a healthy pinch of salt and periodically stir onions until they're a nice dark brown.

Add green beans, stirring to combine well. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 5-6 minutes. Flavor with salt and pepper as desired.

Soba Sesame Noodles
1/4 cup of soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1-2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tsp of white vinegar
red chili sauce

Adjust all the amounts to your liking. Some people may like it a little sweeter

Mix above ingredients well and add to cooked soba noodles.
Add some scallions and sesame seeds if you want to be fancy.

Writing this post is making me hungry again!

Happy Father's Day!

I just wanted to wish my Dad the happiest of Father's Days. I'm so proud to have such a smart, courageous man as a father. 

Happy Father's Day to all you other dads out there!