Sourdough Apple Braid

I have read a number of posts recently where ladies have incorporated apples into their recipes. Tis the season for a little apple love. A couple of days ago I decided to make another batch of sourdough with the same recipe I gave you earlier. It's so easy to pull my sourdough starter out of the fridge in the evening, mix in a few things, and leave it on my counter to rise all night. I love that process. The airy, pungent dough greats me with a soft "hello" when I come downstairs in the morning. By mid morning we have the aroma of sourdough bread drifting through the house, and by noon there are loaves cooling on the counter. Surely there is bread in heaven.

For this impromptu recipe I concocted an apple filler, much like you would make the filling for an apple pie. Chunks of pealed apples, sugar, lemon, cornstarch, spices -- you know what I mean. Once again I divided my risen dough in quarters and made two regular rounds (for sandwiches, etc.) and two apple braids. Oh goodness, does it get any better than this? Then I plopped some of that appley goodness in the middle of the dough and braided away. I let all four breads rise once again, and then I made up a little glaze of 1/6 cup honey and 2 Tbsp. melted butter and brushed it on the tops of the braids. Without further adieu all four items were shuffled into the oven. Oh, the sweet fragrance that permeated my house.

Meet my Sourdough Apple Braid...

Do you notice that the appley cinnamon filling is hard to contain? It keeps playing peek-a-boo. Like this...

And this...

I'm beginning to worry about the safety of this loaf.

It may not make it to the conclusion of this photo shoot...

Fortunately, I made two of these.
I can have one fully digested before my husband comes home
and still have one left to share with him.

How's a girl supposed to keep a slim-trim figure
when she reasons like that?

Mmmmmmmm
Generous chunks of smooth, sweetened apples...

And the winner is...

There were many potential winners for this month's Give Away. Most were correct when put the clues together and guessed Gatlinburg, Smokey Mountains or Tennessee! And, yes, we did a little shopping in Pigeon Forge too, so I counted that as well. We had a fabulous vacation. It's definitely a place where we'll want to return time and time again. There's something for everyone -- young and old alike. Now, on to announce the winner.

The winner of this month's Etsy Give Away
 is...

(drumroll please)

Gail @ My Repurposed Life
Gail not only guessed correctly when she said "Great Smokey Mountain," but
for extra credit she guessed Gatlinburg!
Gail may choose any wristlet, travel bag or dwipe from my Etsy!

Thanks to all who participated!

My daughter is visiting this week and we have some fun projects planned 

that we'll be sharing in the next few days!

Etsy Give Away!

Go here to have a chance at winning

any wristlet (clutch), dwipe (diaper holder), or travel bag

from my Etsy! 

You must enter before midnight tonight!

 Best of luck!

 re·mem·ber

 to retain in the memory; keep in mind; remain aware of

Friday's Fabulous Finds...

I spy with my Etsy eye a...

pear.

Clockwise, starting top left:

Notebook Altered Mini Composition Pears

Pears Print

Rustic Pear Tags

Pear Bag

Two Pears Fine Art Print

Have a great weekend!

Etsy Give Away!

Labor Day weekend found my husband and I vacationing with my oldest son and his family. We had a lovely time. Here are some of the sights we saw and some things we did:

• 6 days with nuthin' but grandkids and their parents (the best part)
• traveled up a mountain in an aerial tram
• rode a chairlift and came back down on an alpine slide
• hiked up and through mountains to a beautiful waterfall
• visited an aquarium
• shopped in a long row of gift shops
• experienced a downpour of rain the likes of which I have never seen or heard
• enjoyed these beautiful views from our cabin

 The question is...

 WHERE WERE WE?

Here are a few more clues:

•  our plane headed east as we left Denver
• our cabin was on the perimeter of a national forest
• black bears are a big deal in these here parts!

If you'd like a chance to win a gift from my Etsy, all you have to do is guess where we vacationed last weekend! Only the state or the National Park need to be named, but for extra credit you can name the town. Obviously, more than one person can choose the same place. The names of those who guess correctly will have their names put into a bowl and I will draw a winner. The winner will be able to choose her own wristlet, travel bag or dwipe from my Etsy! It's as simple as that!

No anonymous comments, please. I need an email address or accessibility to a public blog. Private bloggers --feel free to enter, but you'll need to leave your email address. If I don't have any way to contact you, your name will not be eligible. 

This contest will run through midnight on Sunday, September 12th. Monday morning, September 13th the winner will be announced.

Good luck!

Gathered Clutch...

I'm back. I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We had a fabulous time with family in a never-been-to vacation spot. There will be more about that later. This morning I got up at the crack of dawn -- actually before the crack of dawn. It's not even 9 a.m. and I've already read blog posts and made two clutch purses for two little girls who will be celebrating birthdays soon. Meet a couple of my adorable granddaughters. One will be turning five and the other will turn two in the next couple of weeks...

I love the blog "Noodlehead." Anna is an extremely talented lady, and what's even better she shares her talents generously! For months now I've been wanting to make a clutch she designed, and this morning I finally got to it. Because I was making the clutches for two little girls I tweaked the "Noodlehead pattern" a bit and made them for little hands. Here are the sizes -- in inches -- for the pattern pieces that I used:

 This makes a finished clutch that is about 4 x 7 inches.

In addition to the pieces that Anna has in her pattern, I included a strap (the 2"x11" piece). The dimensions for this little clutch are slightly different than those on the Noodlehead instructions, but you construct it the same way, so go to Noodlehead for Anna's fabulous tutorial to find out how to build this cute clutch.

Normally, we try to give gifts for birthday presents for our little grandkiddos, but this year nothing was coming to mind for these little lovelies, so I decided to make these little clutches and put some cold hard cash in them...

That way they can have their own little shopping spree. Even a two year old can appreciate that. A lot. 

They take after their grandmother and don't mind a little loose change swooshing around in their purse. Dollar bills are even better. Let's just say the apples don't fall far from the tree and leave it at that...

Have a nice day! 

Linked to:
Featuring you Friday @ Sassy Sites!
A Crafty Soiree @ Katie's Nesting Spot

Hookin' Up with HoH @ House of Hepworths

Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans
Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple
Get Your Craft on Thursday @ Life as Lori

Friday's Fabulous Finds...

I spy with my Etsy eye...

the last days of summer.

Clockwise, starting top left:

Sea of Pink Vintage Necklace
Three Delicate Flowers Photograph 
Large Hair Flower Rose
Dusty Rose Earrings
"I Love Paris" Photographs

Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend! 

I'm falling for it...

September 1st. Even the sound of it puts a smile on my face. I love fall. Vibrant earth-toned leaves ::: Cool mornings ::: Curtains billowing in the afternoon breeze ::: Sunflowers reaching for the sky ::: Golden wheat swaying in fields ::: Cerulean skies with puffy white clouds. The colors and textures of autumn speak to me.

 

I do believe that's why I fell in love with this gorgeous hand-painted linen pillow found at Pottery Barn. It screamed "autumn" to me one day as my daughter and I were browsing, but after picking it up to give it a good examination and looking at the price, I put it back down. I erroneously thought that I could make it for much, much less. Now, y'all know I can slap two pieces of fabric together and make a pillow. What I didn't take into account is that I am no artist. (The realization of that hit me later that day.) We ended up exiting the store without a package in hand, but that pillow kept coming back and obnoxiously knocking on the door of mind for the next few days.  I even went so far as to print a photo of it and place it on my couch...just to see how it looked in the room. It looked good. So good that the pillow went from my "would like to have" list to my "necessity" list. Fortunately, when I checked online they were featuring free shipping that day and the deed was done. A few days later she arrived.

It has become very obvious to me that my love for fall has influenced the colors that I surround myself with in my home. My family room is a good example of this. It is full of earth toned colors and textures...

I can't wait to do a little fall decorating in a couple of weeks! I'm also anxious to share with you some decorating ideas that are percolating in my mind...

I haven't been a very good blogger of late. Last month was filled with visitors and this month is filled with travel. However, I have managed to fit in a few projects over the last couple of days that I will share soon. Also, on September 22nd I will be guest hosting over at "Eighteen25" for their Spooctacular September series. They plan to have a month full of Halloween fun, including ideas for home decor, recipes, tutorials, traditions, crafts and giveaways. Make sure you check their blog daily! And just to set the record straight, this is another thing I love about Fall...

Bloomin' Tuesday...

My Bloomin' Tuesday posts are getting few and far between. Today I disposed of the rest of my container plants and started preparing the yard for the big Fall clean-up. Soon we'll be blowing leaves into big colorful piles, but today I'll enjoy a few more shots of summer. One thing that screams "Summer" to me is the sound of a sprinklers. I love the sound of the chchchch -- pshewwwww of a rotating sprinkler. Here's one last shot of my delicious impatiens being given a drink...

Knowing that Summer is coming to a close my morning glory decided to pour on the steam. They are beautiful right now. Such a welcome sight every morning.

One last shot of one of my volunteers. Don't you love volunteers? They creep into your garden to the delight and enjoyment of all...

To visit more Bloomin' Tuesday posts,

go to Ms. Green Thumb Jean's.

Friday's Fabulous Finds...

I spy with my Etsy eye something...
winter white with a splash of summer!

Clockwise, starting at top left:

Dandelion Felted Whimsy
White & Green Enameled Earrings
Petal Bud Vase
Custom Wedding Cake Topper
Air Plants
Lollipop Bowl

Have a fabulous weekend!

What's Your Creative Style?

I love to take blog quizzes that determine aspects of my personality by asking me questions about cookies, 17th century heroines or interior design style. Today I visited a favorite blog of mine and was forwarded on to another site that helped me determined my creative style. I must admit this online quiz was quite accurate. The questionnaire concluded that I "Communicate through Creativity." That is an accurate assessment. The rest of the paragraph wasn't too complimentary, but truth be told it does describe me with some accuracy. (Perhaps a spot of self-analysis is in order.)
Here's what "the experts" had to say about my Creative Style...

You think of art as a means of reaching out to others but, at the same time, you use it as a shield to some extent. It’s a way of participating in society, in a community. It’s the way you communicate with others and the way they can communicate with you. Seen in this light, creativity provides the basic materials to build a bridge between you and other people, so you can’t think of it as something that lies outside your relationship with others. You like the attention and good opinion of others. When you show people what you’ve made — a birthday cake, or a piece of music you’ve written — it’s your baby, so you are very sensitive about any criticism. You need to be able to distance yourself from the result, and allow others to enjoy it and feel part of it, without it reflecting on you alone. Your creativity allows you (or would allow you) to feel part of the world. You’ve got an inner exhibitionist and you think that this strengthens your relationships. You prefer to get on the stage than stay in the wings analyzing your inner life (although you do that, too). So let the show begin, but make sure your life doesn’t depend on the applause.

They could have done without that last sentence...geesh. Still ... it was rather fun! Go here to take the quiz for yourself!

Enjoy your day!