White Wool Socks

Wedding Socks are completed!!!! I had thought it would be neat to knit some pretty lacy socks for the wedding but that attempt was full of fail. So, I just did what I know how to do - basic socks. The wool is lovely and soft and I am sorry I couldn't better showcase it with greater skill, but I am just not there yet. It is nice to know I will have something that I made and it was good to have a project for the wedding that I find calming

Dobra Tea House

I had stopped into Dobra Tea House in Madison once but was somewhat overwhelmed by the selection and underwhelmed by the comfort so I ended up not staying. However, a friend of mine and I had wanted to meet up for an afternoon of tea and chatting and she recommended this place so I gave it another try.

My problem with it originally was that I don't like rickety tables - they seem unwelcoming and the wicker ones provided looked like they would topple over if my clumsy self looked at them funny. So, we tried one of the little nooks filled with pillows and small lap table. This was much more cozy when I sort of snuggled up in the corner and I think is the way to go in the future.

The tea selection was still overwhelming (they give you a book for a menu) and it wasn't really organized or navigated well but my friend pointed me the right direction and I ordered the Masala which was a nice spicy blend and some pita bread covered in cinnamon, sugar, and butter (anything that involves those three elements has to be awesome right?).

Much better experience when I actually gave it a try but I think the key is having good company to spend it with.

We also managed to hit the "free" section of the library book sale and each found some really great young adult fiction (young adult fiction is awesome because it isn't afraid to explore things - it never seems limited by unused imagination). All in all the day was a win.

Reading...

I recently found a used copy of a Sharon Shinn novel I have been looking for only to discover it was the third in a series rather than an independent novel so I of course needed to buy the first two just to say caught up - obviously. I believe these are classified as some of her young adult novels but they were just as magical and captivating as always.

I am not sure what it is about her writing that draws me in so much. I was once reading a novel of hers that on the service wasn't really very good but I still couldn't put it down. I devour every page wanting to see where the story takes me and sad when it ends and I have nothing left to read.

In updating my Book list I discovered there are 3 or 4 new ones I haven't read yet - I feel so behind! Sadly, I need to wait until after the wedding or I will never get everything done.

Flowers

One of the things that was important to me for the wedding was the flowers - I knew I could never afford to cover the entire place in flowers but I had some specific requirements for the bouquet. I wanted my bouquet to incorporate flowers that remind me of people in my life - irises are my favorite flowers and they remind me of my dad, daffodils remind me of my mother (my dad brought them to her every spring), red carnations are my maid of honor's favorite flower, calla lily's for the groom's mother, and roses because a lot of people said those or couldn't pick a flower (I picked peach because those are my favorite). However, as with everything wedding related, the price of the bouquets was more than I expected. I discovered I could make what I wanted myself for less.

Pear Pudding: Budino di Pera

Pear Pudding: Budino di Pera

In an effort to use up eggs, I thought I would try something a little outside my comfort range. I am not generally a fan of custard but I was intrigued. They are a little fussy to make. The only alteration I made was to crush some oatmeal to coat the sides of the ramekins with rather than bread crumbs which was a texture thing for me - I am not a fan of the taste of soggy bread.

Veggie Quiche

I have a ridiculous amount of eggs that needed to be used up and since we are going to a grill out tonight (and I hate coming empty handed) I thought I would make a quiche.

I am not a big fan of quiche actually so I don't know much about them. I also didn't want to buy a lot of extra ingredients so I looked online at different recipes and ratios and came up with this.

Favorite crust recipe of your choice
1 large onion
2 cups diced peppers
1 cup assorted mushrooms
minced garlic
8 eggs
2 cups milk
2 Tbsps mustard (I only had yellow but dijon would probably be better)
1 + cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsps Parisian Herbe blend (dill, parsley, chive, and some other stuff)
seasoned salt
black pepper

1. Prepare, roll out, and spread your pie crust in the bottom of pie pan and bake in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 or 375.

2. Saute onions, garlic, and green peppers in either olive oil or butter until soft. Add mushrooms. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Spread these in the pre-baked shell.

3. Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and spices together until fluffy. Fold in cheese and pour over veggies. Bake in oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and set.


I think this actually makes about 2 quiches. I have both leftover veggies and goo. I tried to turn the egg goo into some sort of pan fried thing but the milk ratio just made it boil and get sort of lumpy. That was not a good idea. I think I am going to add tomatoes to the veggies though and make a pasta sauce for work this week.

Anyway, it looks tastey. I haven't tried it yet. We will see how it goes over tonight.

Crafty Updates

Not a lot has been going on in the crafting front. My flowers died about a week or so after posting those pictures so that was timely. Not really surprising but always disappointing.

I seem to have lost my steam with the craft projects. I think part of it is that I have a lot of knitting projects that require my attention so I can't knit when I usually do which is while I am watching a movie or something and I have been spending my Fridays with the boy rather than going to knit nights. I started working on the blanket of many colors again as that is something mindless that I can do while watching television. I am debating whether or not I just want to finish the present skein of yarn or add one more to it. It is really long but not very wide. It is endlessly pet-able though which was its original purpose.

However, after visiting my favorite knitting store yesterday while my mom was in town visiting (that place really is shangri-la to me) I was inspired to get my projects off their needles and cast on something new. So I finished the first of my slippers and started working on the last part before the toe decrease on the second of my bulky socks. I was also somewhat frustrated by the general lack of organization in my yarn stash so I went through all my stuff and updated my ravelry stash to reflect it. And I think I want to make some wrist warmers out of the beautiful yarn my mother bought me yesterday so I have to get other stuff done before I can start those. I also need to stop purchasing yarn and start using what I have to finish the projects currently in my cue - socks for the boy, more dishtowels, flower wash cloths, some more baby socks out of my leftover sock yarn for the multitude of newborns amongst my general acquaintances, etc. I really want to try the February Lady Sweater at some point and doing so means I need to get my other projects done.

I have also delayed the wedding planning entirely too long so I have been working on that a bit too. I am slowly gathering all the materials for my bouquets and I had the first meeting regarding menu planning. There is a lot to do but I think we can get it done. Oh and my fiance's vest - I MUST START WORKING ON THAT!!!

And as a fun bit of nonsense I picked up a couple kits below that I thought might be fun. I really enjoyed them and want to get the rest of the series. I think they will look really nice on my tree this year: