A Trip to Ikea...

My husband and I had a great day on Saturday...believe it or not he suggested a trip to Ikea. This Ikea in Connecticut is an hour away and we've never been. We spent 4 hours in there. They are a smart company though...they have a restaurant in there. Their motto must be "feed them to keep 'em shopping". It worked!!!




We came home with a new sisal rug for the family room. It's about 7' x 11' for only $149.00!! This is Hallie who made a new home under the coffee table on the new rug as soon as we laid it down. She started to pick at it like it was a scratching post, but I sent her running upstairs when I screamed at her. She came right back though...hasn't picked at it since.



These are a few other things that we didn't need, but the price was right. Little juice glasses, apple slicer, cork hot pads, candles, tin containers, mini cupcake papers and finger puppets. (The puppets are for a future post, so stay tuned!)

I also purchased a little adjustable chair for my new sewing table (which isn't finished yet...more to come with that too. You can see a little peek behind the chair there)

Oh yeah...they also sell hot cinnamon buns on the way out of the store. I guess they think we needed a sugar rush to make it home. They are $1.00 each or 6 for $4.00. Couldn't help myself. There's only the 2 of us at home too. What was I thinking. We each had a low fat frozen yogurt ice cream cone for the ride home and left the buns in the back of the car. Too tempting to have them up front.

I looked at the label when I came home. Yikes. What was I really thinking. Do you see the serving size? HALF a bun. Who on this planet eats HALF a cinnamon bun. If I ate the whole thing it would be 480 calories and 14 grams of fat. "IF" I ate...not if. I already did. It was yummy!

They're big too.

Also bought my first jar of Lingonberry Preserves. Should have bought more of this. It's now my absolute favorite. Just thought of something. How bad would it be if I spread some of this on a cinnamon bun? Maybe we shouldn't have gone to Ikea...my pants aren't going to fit any more!

Have a great day,

~Karen~

Mod Podge Strikes Again...

I bought this little side table a long time ago at TJ Maxx. Up close, it's a mosaic tile of broken china plates. I love it and it's moved around from room to room...but in different colors.




This is when it was pink and red to match the fabric in Courtney's room.




This is the black and white version from my sewing room.



Now that I've added a little red to my sewing room, it's time for another Mod Podge make over!

It's so easy to change the look of something quickly. Just spread a layer of Mod Podge over the top...

add your fabric to the wet glue and then add another coat of Mod Podge.

The top coat acts as a sealer.

Now I'm all set for a cup of tea and a little hand sewing or maybe just reading my new catalog from Hancock's of Paducah. I have a gift certificate I have to use too.

Have a great Sunday,

~Karen~

Pressing Board Into A Lap Desk...

Hi Everyone...I was cleaning out the nightmare of a mess I have going on in my sewing room/office and I came across this cut and press board. I don't use it much anymore in my sewing room, but it is great to take to a class.

Here's the padded side for ironing



Here's the other hard side for cutting.



Here's what I gave to my husband to use under the computer he uses when he's in my sewing room with me.

Ever since I added that big comfy chair from our bedroom, he's sits with me at night while we're both on the computer or watching TV. Great to have him in here when I'm sewing.

If you have a cut and press board or something like it, use it for a lap desk while you're not using it for sewing. It's the perfect size for a laptop computer.

Off to finish cleaning the mess. I'll have pictures of a few things when I'm done.

See you soon,

~Karen~

Oldie, But A Goodie...Homemade Donuts

I made these yummy donuts when the girls had friends over one night this summer. Our house is famous for these donuts. Their friends ask for them ALL the time. Not the healthiest snack, but a great once in a while treat.

I remember my mother always making these when I was little too, so I know this is an oldie, but a goodie!

For hot fresh donuts, all you need is a tube of these biscuits...Pillsbury (the camera flash kind of blocked out the name) or any store brand buttermilk biscuit. Sorry for the dark pictures...my kitchen is in the center of the house, so there's not a lot of natural light.




I use the top of a salt shaker to make the donut hole.



Separate all the biscuits...

Press the salt shaker top into each.

and here you have one donut and one donut hole!

I use an electric skillet, so I can control the temperature of the oil. Vegetable oil usually set at 350* - 375*.

Cut all the biscuits while the oil is heating up.

Carefully slide in the donuts 5-6 at a time. Too many at one time cools the oil down. Cook 1-2 minutes on one side and...

Carefully flip over and cook for another minute or so...until lightly browned.

Take out and drain on paper towel for a second then pop them into a paper bag filled with sugar. I used a bowl of sugar so you could see them.

Toss in white sugar, cinnamon sugar or sprinkle with powdered sugar. We've also used Nutella, the chocolate hazelnut spread. Those are yummy too.

There's a trick with the donut holes. Carefully place them in the oil. Let them cook for a second or 2 and them flip them over even though they are not browned yet.

If you fully cook them on one side first, they puff up so much they won't turn over in the pan.

Keep turning them until both side are golden brown. See that little one in the picture all by itself. That little devil wouldn't turn over so one side stayed lighter.

Here's a quick and delicious plate of donuts. An inexpensive treat, especially great for the cooler temperatures coming up this fall.

It's a MUST that you eat these warm with a big glass of cold milk!

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Enjoy!

~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday...Pie, Paper, Plate Organizer

Say that 10 times fast. Ok, don't...I'm spitting all over my computer screen just saying the title out loud!

Do you have one of these plate holders or is it a pie rack/server? If you don't, I'm sure you've seen them in yard sales, consignments shops etc. Well, bring them out or go out and get one, because today we're using it for paper organizing.



I changed my sewing room/office around a bit. I'll show that in another post. My desk is a big butcher block table with only one little drawer for pens and pencils. So I needed vertical storage and this plate rack is the answer.

I used key rings and those little round tags to label what's on each shelf.

Why do I label everything...so my whole family knows where the white card stock is, not just me!

These are the three paper products I use the most at my desk, so that's why they get the extra special place. Everything else is in paper organizer case hidden under my desk.

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I even have a label for my labels...Ok, that sounds crazy. Maybe I need to be medicated.

Easy access and pretty too.

Remember the Tool Time Motto...always think outside the box.

Look at something not for what it was MADE for...but what it could be USED for.

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Oh, that's a good one. I just made that up. That needs to go on a button or something LOL!! I know...I'll go take my medicine!

Happy Tuesday to all my blogging friends,

~Karen~

Cutting Brownies The Easy Way...

Brownies! We all love them and we all eat them (maybe not all of us. I eat them, I prefer a large platter of nachos with cheese, salsa and sour cream, but that's another story) I know one thing, I hated cutting them until about 10 years ago.

When you cut brownies with a metal knife, the brownie sticks to the knife, it pulls the brownies instead of cutting it and the edge are all torn up.

Well, not any more. See that knife in the pan...that's my secret weapon. A plastic knife. Some of you may already know this, but if I can save one person out there from a brownie nightmare...my work here is done!!!



See how it cuts without pulling.

Perfect.

and now for a close up.

Who knew a cheap little piece of plastic could work wonders

I made 2 batches of brownies, 2 batches of the cream cheese cup cakes and 2 batches of the peanut butter cup cakes. The girls each needed things brought up to them at school that they had forgotten, so we packed up some goodies they could share in their dorms.

It's only been a week, but we miss them to pieces. We stayed with each of them for a little bit and fixed things in their rooms. They both are doing great and have made friends in their dorms, so it's easy to leave knowing they're doing well.

and they call and text too...usually when they need something, but a text none the less!!

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Have a great Sunday,

~Karen~

We Have a GO!!! Winner...

First, I would like to thank everyone who entered this give away. There were so many wonderful comments and new followers. That was my favorite part...meeting so many new people. I would also like to thank the Accuquilt Go Cutter company for giving me my own Go cutter and for generously giving me another to give away. I said this before in other give aways that I've had...I wish I were rich so everyone can receive one, but unfortunately there can only be one winner. So with out further ado...the winning number is 372 who is Norma from...

Petit Design Co.

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This is a new to me blog and it's wonderful...so pop over there and visit this great blog. Give her a big congrats too!!

Thanks again to all,

~Karen~