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  • 06.11.2009 Side Note, Literally
    6 Comments

    First, in case you haven’t noticed, I put a link to my Etsy site over there on the sidebar. If you are so inclined to browse or buy–then bring it on! I have kept a small but steady stream of orders, not so much from Etsy as from friends asking me to do little projects/baby gifts for them. I am, unfortunately, nowhere near ready to buy that nightstand, but I do check on her most every day, and she is still waiting patiently 🙂

    Second, I just added my email address to the sidebar as well. I did that because several of you have sent emails asking if I would embroider things you already have (pillowcases, bloomers, long-sleeve shirts…), and I am HAPPY HAPPY to do that too. Just so that we’re fair and I don’t tell one person one thing and one another (because I tend to do that), AND so that you will know before you email me, what kind of monetary commitment you are making (it is so hard for me to talk about money, I am cringing right now), I am thinking $12 if you just want a picture and $15 if you want a picture with a name. Does that sound fair??? Plus, don’t worry about shipping, because I figure we’re even–you ship to me, so I ship back to you.

    Lastly, I have not put my email on the sidebar before now for several reasons…MOSTLY, I have every intention of turning this blog into a memory book for my family one of these days (I think it’s only fair since I have given up making baby books in lieu of the blog) and I WANT YOUR COMMENTS TO BE PART OF IT. If you start emailing me your thoughts, then I won’t have them til the end of time like I will the “comment section” (always count on me to be dramatic). Another reason I haven’t listed it before is because I am horrible, horrible, horrible about returning emails. Part of that is (honestly) procrastination, but part of it is the paralysis that comes over me whenever someone gives me a big gift that I don’t know how to thank them enough for. Kind words are the biggest gift anyone could give me, and a lot of times I look at emails over and over, and have panic attacks at random times (like when I am in the grocery store) about ones I’ve received–thinking thoughts like, “CRAP, Lindy-Lou sent me that sweet note and I have STILL not worked out what I want to say to thank her!” (Are you reading this Gail??? It was you I panicked about in the store today)

    So anyway, I love your comments, and if you need to email me something personal that you can’t bear to post, then by all means email me (and give me a nice little grace period for responding). If you want to order something not in my Etsy store, then email me. But otherwise, please keep those comments coming so that I can save them up forever…Just this morning I went back and read some of the comments from when Mom was so sick…priceless.

    [Today is my sister Caroline’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lina Jane!]


  • 06.10.2009 I May Not Be a Baker BUT…
    7 Comments

    I do love a fresh scone with softened butter. In these old, English books I read, little housemaids are always running off to throw together a quick batch of scones for tea. That always irks me. Surely a person cannot just whip up SCONES. It’s bread-like; it’s a delicate consistency, and they’re shaped like TRIANGLES for heaven’s sake. Surely they take hours of preparation and loads of skill and some kind of special “triangle tray” that I don’t have. Well I am here to tell you that they don’t require any of those things. It took around a dozen times of watching my friend Lauren (across the street) make them for us before I was willing to try it alone. However, I promise you don’t even need that if you will trust me when I say they don’t have to be perfect–as in you don’t have to fret over even consistency. And you also need to hear that a FRESH scone tastes nothing like what you buy at Starbucks. Those things have been drying out for days. When you bite into one of these scones–still hot–they are soft inside and melt in your mouth. I have not made them once when that first bite did not produce a spontaneous WOW, from my lips (and Jeremiah’s).

    Ok, let’s get started. First, this recipe came from the Birmingham Junior League cookbook, Tables of Content. If you have that, then just flip to page 37 (and ignore the part where it says you need a “pastry blender.” What the heck is that? The KitchenAid worked just fine. I also leave out the lavender…a little too weird.) If you don’t have that cookbook, THEN YOU NEED TO ORDER ONE. It is my favorite cookbook, hands-down. The brunch section…ummmm, you will want to slap your Mama 🙂

    Ingredients: 2 c all-purpose flour (sifted–and this is one of the few recipes where I do actually sift), 1/3 c sugar, 1 Tbl baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 6 Tbl unsalted butter cut into small pieces (don’t panic. I just take it straight out of the fridge, cut it into normal slices and then quarter those slices. It will stay separated in your dough but that’s what gives you those yummy butter pockets. I know you people, like me, with OCD are fretting over that consistency BUT IT IS OK), 1/2 c heavy cream or whipping cream, 1 egg beaten, 1 Tbl heavy cream, Sugar to taste.


    Preheat the oven to 400. Combine flour, 1/3 c of sugar, the baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix well. Cut in the butter until the mix resembles small pebbles. Stir in 1/2 c cream and the egg. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth (I do this step for all of three good kneads. It seems a little pointless because it comes out smooth, but I would be scared to tell you to skip it since it is bread…and who KNOWS what happens if you skip steps :))

    Place the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet and shape into an 8 in round. Cut the round into 8 triangles; do not separate the triangles on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with 1 Tbl cream and sprinkle with sugar to taste.
    Bake for 18 to 20 minutes (this is the hardest part for me, because you want them to stay moist and not over-cook and you really need them to cook all the way through. I always under-bake my cookies, so that they’re gooey, but you don’t want a gooey scone. SO, I guess just stick a toothpick in the center of one until it comes out clean)

    Serve with plenty of soft butter. Have a cup of tea, and bring them over to my house so that we can talk about whatever book you’re reading 🙂

    [I have also served these, as dessert, with fresh cut strawberries and homemade whipping cream. Talk about a tasty twist on strawberry shortcake!]



  • 06.09.2009 UPDATE!!!!!
    4 Comments

    I just wanted to let you know that, just like the last blog title, you DID HELP me find my camera!!! In all seriousness, I have been looking for it since Thursday; I just read the two comments–one of which was a prayer (thank you Andi) and the other suggested I let her know where I find the camera…so that maybe she (Melissa) could find where her son hid the remote. The remote comment got me thinking. I had checked the “box” where our remotes are stored twice (Pace once and me once) but that comment got me thinking I should look just one more time. HALLELUJAH! Our prayers have been answered, and I’ve got my camera! Thank y’all 🙂 and Melissa, I hope you find that remote 🙂

    [Pace snapped this shot of us…the forgiven child 🙂 You can see she was REAL concerned. Don’t you love our friendly neighborhood skeleton in the background?]