Inspiration

I really need to take the time to blog more often. My goal was weekly, but as you can see... it's been a couple of weeks since my last post.

Lately I have been working on Le Bebe Nest and deciding where I want to go with it. I have my first craft show two weekends from now on June 10th. I'm quite excited for it, but also anxious to see how it turns out. I have a whole lot of inventory at this point in preparation for the show!

After the craft show, I'm going to shift from the baby items I make now (a variety of things from pacifier clips to blankets to onesies) to quilts, blankets and gift sets (like burp cloths and bibs or burp cloths and a cute onesie). Maybe I'll throw in some nursery decor too... like buntings and wall art. :)

I have been SO inspired by all of the quilts I've been seeing in the blogs that I read. I've always admired quilts, more recently though, I've fallen in love with the more modern quilts. I am a huge fan, and have just started my first real quilt. When I say real quilt, I mean the ones that are more than just square blocks, like some of the ones I've had for sale on Le Bebe Nest in the past. Those are pretty simple, and though pretty, not all that complicated.
I love fabrics, so I'm really looking forward to designing my own quilts and getting to coordinate the fabrics. I adore fabric stores... I'm like a kid in a candy store! Check out some of the great quilts below for my inspiration!

Blog: Don't Call Me Becky

Blog: Red Pepper Quilts



Blog: Film In The Fridge


Blog: Little Miss Shabby

Breakfast for dessert?

I am a HUGE fan of breakfast- especially french toast! When I came across this recipe for Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream on foodgwaker.com, I had to try it! It is originally from Tracey's Culinary adventures.

I have to admit, when I read the directions, it seemed like alot of work. Much more complicated than the chocolate J-ello pudding ice cream I make on a regular basis (inspiration from the ice cream sold at Coldstone Creamery). But, I was up for a challenge (and a messy kitchen!).

It wasn't as complicated as it sounded... it actually went pretty smoothly. And it turned out DELICIOUS!!

I made a few tweaks to the original recipe below. This version calls for regular, thick-sliced bread. I happened to come across "french toast" bread at my local giant- it's the store brand, and it is delicious! I used that instead. I also used skim milk.

Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream
2 cups whole milk
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
5 slices firm white sandwich bread
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon molasses
1 cup heavy cream

Combine the milk and cinnamon sticks in a 2-qt saucepan. Bring the milk to a boil, then turn off the heat and cover the pan - allow to steep for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300 F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Cut 3 slices of the bread into 1/4-inch cubes and transfer them to a medium bowl. Pulse the remaining 2 slices of bread in your food processor to make bread crumbs. In a small bowl whisk the melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together. Drizzle about 3/4 of the mixture over the cubes of bread, tossing to coat them evenly. Transfer to one of the prepared baking sheets, spreading the cubes in a single layer. Add the bread crumbs to the remaining butter mixture and stir to coat. Spread on the second prepared baking sheet.

Bake the bread cubes and crumbs for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Stir occasionally and rotate the pans from top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Leave on the pans and set aside to cool. Once cool, transfer the bread crumbs to a heatproof bowl.

Bring the milk back to a boil and then pour it over the bread crumbs. Let stand for 10 minutes, then pour the milk through a fine-mesh strainer into a saucepan. Press on the solids to extract as much milk as possible. Discard the solids afterward.

In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks, granulated sugar, molasses and a pinch of salt together. Bring the milk to a boil once again. Slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (it will register between 170 and 175 F on an instant read thermometer).

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl. Cover and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fold in the bread cubes once churned, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Perhaps I was just being a little slow, but I was very confused by the instructions as to what exactly to do with the milk and bread crumbs. I had to ask my husband to read it and try to figure it out. The dilemma was that I put all of the bread- cubes and crumbs- on one baking sheet instead of two sperate sheets, like the recipe calls for. This is what stemmed my confusion. One part of the directions say "discard all solids" and then later in the directions it says to mix in the bread cubes. If I discarded all of the solids... there would be no more bread cubes to mix in!

To clarify: the milk goes poured over the bread CRUMBS, which then get discarded. The cubes are a seperate entity (and should be on a seperate sheet apparently) and just get mixed in at the end. Whew.... it took me a good 15 minutes of analyzing this before I gave up and asked my hubby! So, hopefully it's clarified for any of you that are confused!

Enjoy!!

CW

Mother's Day

Well, Yesterday was the day for mother's. I am not yet a mother, but I can celebrate my friends and family that are! And what a gorgeous day to do so :)

 My mother isn't big into family gatherings, she's quite a simple woman- a card and a phone call will suffice. I, on the other hand, would love to host a big lavish get together for every occasion (I say that now, however, after all of the prep and clean-up I may feel differently!). So, we went middle of the road and went over to my in-laws to spend some time with my lovely mother and father-in-law.

 I had to, of course, make dessert to bring along. A quaint little orchard near my in-laws sells these amazing fruit tarts and ever since I tried the first one, I've been trying to find one to match it... I'm still looking. But this is the one I tried yesterday:

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

• Fresh strawberries and blueberries

Glaze:

• 1 (6-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

The filling was great- fruit is fruit- the crust wasn't my favorite. I think I would prefer a confectioner's sugar version, like the one below:

Crust:

•  1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened and sliced

 I'll have to try this one next time- I'll let you know how it turns out!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, I know I did! Enjoy the beautiful weather this week :)

CW

Creativity on a Sunday

So my husband has come up with this idea... I was facing a dilemma regarding shipment of cupcakes from The Baking Bar and he said, "Well, what about inside out cupcakes? Put the filling in the middle.

He is not from Lancaster County, so he wasn't aware that he had essentially just described a whoppie pie, gob... whatever the term is that you use. However, he did have a good thought and I liked it. Especially since whoppie pies usually don't get that outrageous with flavors. I think the most creative combination I've seen is oatmeal pies with vanilla filling. So, inside-out cupcakes it is! Let me tell you... my brain has been reeling with ideas of flavor combinations!

Dark Chocolate cake with strawberry meringue buttercream

Graham cake with honey cinnamon frosting

Devil's Food with peanut butter frosting

White Chocolate with oreo frosting


I made my first combination today. Almond cakes with lemon infused vanilla frosting. Oh, they are so good! They are nice and light- so refreshing!

Lemon Frosting:

4 Tbsp. butter, softened

3 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

3 Tbsp. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Zest and juice from half a lemon

Mix butter until smooth. Add 1 1/4 c. confectioner's sugar, beat until combined. Add 3 Tbsp. milk and remaining confectioner's sugar. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla and zest and juice from lemon. Beat until smooth.

This is a great summer baked good!

 Until next week,

 CW

UGH!

I was so ready for the rain to be over and the sun to be out... but this humidity is killing me! It's hot and humid, but I don't want to turn on the AC since the weather is so unpredictable at this stage in the season. Oh well, at least my garden is enjoying it!! I just planted my strawberries and beans today. Perhaps a bit too early... but hopefully the weather will continue to be warm.
So, for Easter I usually make my caramel apple crunch pie, but this year I found a new recipe I wanted to try. Strawberry Shortcake cookies- I found the recipe on Bakegirl.

They were as delicious as I had hoped! They taste just like strawberry shortcake (ya know- the kind you make out of the box). However, they need to be eaten pretty much as soon as they are baked-even just hours later they aren't as good- the fresh strawberries are what make them delicious, but also make them quite gooey the longer they sit. Perhaps next time I'll try refrigerating them ;)

May is quickly approaching. That means crazy sleep schedules for work (getting up at 3am to have an hour drive, and get there an hour before screenings start to get everything set up). This is the first year I'm taking part in the health screenings, but I imagine I'm going to be low on energy. So, I'm trying to get as much done for Le Bebe Nest as I can before all of that starts, since my first craft show is on June 11th! I'm quite excited for it. I've hit up target and got some cute tin buckets for displays (thanks 50% off Easter sale!) and hit up the dollar store for a table cloth and some other random items. I've also been mass producing items like wipey cases, onesies, blankets and onesies to get ready for the show. Items to be posted shortly on etsy!


YUMM...

<3 CW

Please forgive me

You'll have to forgive me. I'm still getting used to the routine of posting a blog weekly. Life just seems to go by so fast and before I know it the day has come and gone!I will say, it's quite a full time job running two small buisnesses. I couldn't imagine if I was overwhelmed with orders. I wouldn't know what to do! Oh wait, maybe I could find myself on one of those posts in "Quit Your Day Job" on etsy! ((Dreaming)).

It truly is a lot of work though, today I ordered the bakery boxes for The Baking Bar and made a template for the tag I'll be using- I still need to find a stamp to use for the tags... the shop I previously ordered from "On Your Mark" stamps is on vacation... figures! They have great products though. Check them out at onyourmarkstamps.etsy.com.

I also started preparing for my first craft show. I got a bright pink table cloth from the dollar store (love that) and an aluminum tub from Homegoods for a display. I still need to figure out how to hang my onesies.... I need some sort of vertical display. My brain is still working on this one!

Craft Show Information: Skippack Summertime Festival
                                         Saturday, June 11th 10am-5pm
                                         Victorian Carriage Shops located in Skippack, PA

I spent my afternoon trying to stock up on inventory for Le Bebe Nest... I started six onesies and two wipey cases. I still want to make more wipey cases, swaddlers, burp cloths and blankets. Perferrably before May when my work schedule gets super hectic. It's time for "biometrics" aka blood work and health tests for the 2,000 employees at work- coordinated and run pretty much by me myself and I.

I also looked into payvment on facebook... apparently that's an online storefront. I figured the more I get out there, the better my chances of actually having one of my shops take off :)

What to bake this week.... I have so many ideas, I have no clue where to start! I think I'll whip up some of my grandmother's whoopie pies :)

Meanwhile... my poor little Lillian Grace will still wait for her bath (I told her I would give her one today... but the day ran short).

It's been way too long...

I know, I know. I said I was taking a break for the month of January... and I'm just getting back into the swing of things in April! The house has consumed my life, more than I thought! I live for trips to home depot now... wondering what new project we can start. We have started many, let me tell you.

Things are finally settling down, not many projects left at this point- just things to buy!

One of the first rooms to be finished was my craft room. Do you remember the pictures from a few posts ago? Click back if you don't- check out my previous make-shift craft space.

Now... Check this out!

My haven. I love just coming in here to do random things... currently, before writitng my blog, I was planning the menu for next week. Don't give me too much credit... usually I do it on Fridays. I'm usually not this much of a planner! My first purchase for this room was the cabinet you see sitting in the corner. A craigslist find... $65 in Philadelphia. I painted it white, then sanded it down to show some wear. It's a gorgeous piece.. the glass is original... you can see the piting and all... love that!

Probably one of my most rewarding projects... at least in my craft room. This was a country bumpkin butcher block table that we found on craigslist for $50. We took off the legs and bought new ones from home depot- pub height, which I... brown washed? I found the color brown I needed, but wanted to show off the grain of the wood. So I painted the color on and then wiped it off right away. It worked swell! We (myself, my husband and my dad) then sanded down the table top and I white washed it. The side panels were originally white-washed to match the table. I wasn't impressed. I wish I could say the following brillantly creative idea was mine... but it was my husbands. He suggested covering the sides in fabric. AH! I knew I married him for good reason!

My sewing station.... still need to put some shelves in the space to the right in the closet. Yes... that's a closet. We took off the doors and I just put up a tension rod and curtains to cover the ugly track. That desk look familiar? It's the same one I used in the apartment for my sewing machine.. reuse and recycle! A big thank you to my big brother for running the electrial in the closet for my sewing machine!

Gingher scissors... a MUST HAVE for any avid sewer. They are my favorite. And, yes, I splurge and buy the limited edition ones because they're pretty. What can I say... I'm a girl!

A flea market find... this light is amazing... see the little light on the bottom? It's great for detail work and I can switch the lights on or off, depending on how much of the chandelier I want to utilize. I  just spray painted it silver to match the room- simple enough! Another thank you to my brother who ran the electrical work so that I could hang this. :)

I am in love with antique mason jars... did you know ones with the number "13" stamped on the bottom are very rare? Apparently, people were very superstitious in the old days and they would break them to avoid bad luck. I'm on a mission to find one...

My dad made me this great scrapbook paper station. I saw one in a magazine that was ridiculously priced- so I recruited my papa to make one from his wood pile. The slats the papers are on even pull out for ease of use!

That is my little love under the table... lillian grace. Isn't she too cute :o) Oh, and the chair... got it on clearence at IKEA- 60 bucks!

LOVE it :)

So, what's new in my life... well not much at the moment for normal, everyday things. The husband and I have decided to mix up our eating habits a bit... a flaw of mine is that I tend to eat the same thing... I think he was a little tired of eating similar meals every week :) So, once a week, we try a totally different meal. Last week we had goat cheese and asparagus pasta. I  never would have thought I like goat cheese, but, YUM. This week is beef tips with noodles.

Le Bebe Nest hasn't been keeping me too busy lately. I had a huge inventory of items for a bit, so I decided to stop creating and make some room in my storage space! I did liquidate a lot of inventory at a little vendor sale that my mother's work was holding. I've also signed up for my first craft show! It's this June in Skippack- the Summertyme Festival, to be specific. I'm pretty excited about that new endeavor.

I've also started a new etsy shop... The Baking Bar. It's quite a lot of fun, and I get to enjoy creating by doing the other thing I LOVE to do.  I love getting to try new recipes, as well as create my own. Not long ago I created the perfect peanut butter frosting. Uh... salivating just thinking about it. I could serioulsy eat it off a spoon- and I am not a huge icing fan. It's sweet- but not sicky sweet, and packs lots of peanut butter flavor! Hopefully one of my shops will become wildly successful and I can quit my day job :) Dreaming? Maybe... but that's what I like to do!

Well, that's all for now folk's... time to watch my DVR'd shows!

It's been a long time...

Moving into our new home has consumed most of my life these days... but things are just about situated so I'm back... and with another etsy shop!

I love Le BeBe Nest and everything it entails, but it's such a narrow group of cosumers that I reach- so I decided to use my other passion... baking as another etsy endeavor!

I started The Baking Bar this past week... check it out at http://www.thebakingbar.etsy.com/ :)

This is just a little update for now... I'll be back on Sunday or Monday with pictures of my new craft room! I can't wait to show it off. Such a great improvement from the island I used in our apartment. A big thank you to my husband who insisted that I use a spare bedroom for this space that's all my own. He is the greatest!

Be back on Sunday!