Food on Friday: Zucchini Bread

Everybody loves zucchini bread. 

Well, nearly everybody. 

I sure do!

So when my poor neglected garden (it's been a busy, hectic, stressful few weeks) produced this massive thing, I knew exactly what to do with it.

Yes, this is a foot-long zucchini...

I use my mom's recipe. It's my favorite I've ever eaten--and I've tried a lot of zucchini bread in my lifetime!

I brought a loaf with me to the playgroup I go to (not that my son does much playing with other babies yet--he's only 3 months old).

It was a hit. It was still warm when I got there, and two of my friends had some right away. One even said, "This is sooo good! It tastes like a pastry!"

Indeed, it does. 

On that note (and because I love what few followers I have) here's the recipe.

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Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
2 1/2 C sugar
1 C olive oil
3 t vanilla

3 C flour (I used 1 C whole wheat, 2 C all-purpose)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
  
1 C chopped nuts (optional)
2 C grated, unpeeled raw zucchini

Preheat oven to 325.
Combine eggs, oil sugar, & vanilla; beat thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients; add to previous mixture and blend well.
Stir in zucchini and nuts.
Bake in 2 loaf pans (8.5" x 4.5' x 2.5 ") for 60-70 minutes or until done.
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Ridiculously simple, isn't it?! 

Now, I want to know, is your recipe better than mine? If it is, tell me why. I'd love to know, because I haven't found one that even comes close to this one!

Happy Friday!!

Ear Vines

This morning I woke up to this:

What a treasure. 

<3

On to my post for today...

I used to work at a bead shop in my hometown. I loved it there! Anytime I worked, everyone could count on me to be making something for the store to sell. It was such a dream come true while I lived there.

One item I made was inspired by something the owner had seen in a magazine. They were called "Ear Vines" and instead of dangling off your earlobe, they basically wrap up along your ear. (Google it--you'll see tons of different ones.)

The problem is everyone's ears are different. I made one set that fit me but not another girl who worked with me at the shop. Instead, I made some smaller ones that would fit nearly anyone. I've been meaning to make some more, so I'm planning another post or two showcasing some new ones I'll sell in the near future. [Keep your eyes peeled!]

Here are the ones I made back in the day. I still love and wear them often.

One of the cool features about these is that you don't need pierced ears to wear them. Mine aren't pierced, so I designed these ones specifically for me because of that.

I get compliments on these all the time still, even though they're now 8+ years old. 

I love them!

Halter Vest

One of my favorite pieces of clothing to wear is my halter vest.

This is something no one else in the world has. Why? because I designed and made it. As if that doesn't make it unique enough, I used vintage wool that we found in perfect condition in my grandmother's attic after she passed away. (I have a lot of vintage fabric from her attic, and since I'm the one in our family who sews the most, just about all of it went to me. I am perfectly okay with that!)

  

Here are my favorite details about it:

the buttons

the faux pocket flaps 

(I kind of wish I'd made actual pockets in it, but they couldn't hold much anyway--it would be too bulky.)

the cute band across the back

the skinny, little lapels

the lining

Plus, I think it's pretty slimming. I wore this a lot before having a baby, and it's just started fitting me again.

Oh, happy day!

Food on Friday: Attempting Flower-Power Eggs

I was really in the mood to make breakfast yesterday morning. I'd seen those eggs on Pinterest that you cook in a slice of bell pepper so that they look like flowers. I wanted to try it... But knowing me, I did so without really reading up on how exactly to do it.

I figured out what not to do.

[Don't try to flip them... They don't come out pretty if you do.]

And I think next time I'll put a lid on the pan so that the tops cook faster.

I served the flower-power eggs with a left over fruit tart from the breakfast party we went to on the 4th. 

Bob ate his pretty fast.

He also said it was really good. 

[Hopefully it was and he wasn't just being nice to me.]

Happy Friday!!

Independence Day Deliciousness

We are invited to 2 parties to celebrate the 4th. One is a breakfast party in the morning and the other is a barbecue in the evening. Both are potluck, so we're bringing something to eat to each.

After hemming and hawing over what I could possibly bring, and after looking at our budget, which made me get up off my lazy backside because we can't afford to simply buy something to take (plus, I really do like to cook and bake and this new blog here added to my motivation), I finally decided on a couple of different treats to make.

For the breakfast party, I made fresh fruit tarts. I used Paula Deen's recipe (so you already know it's delish!) and modified it for individual sized tarts.

For the barbecue, I went with the simple pretzel buttons we've all seen on Pinterest by now, and dressed them up to be red, white, and blue. They're so easy and super yummy!

Happy Independence Day! 

How are you celebrating? Leave a comment--I'd love to know!

Tulip Sleeves on a Formal Dress

I've made and altered countless bridesmaid dresses. I've altered several wedding dresses. As a member of the church I belong to, modesty is very important for girls and women. It might sound silly to some, but it's something personal and even sacred to me. With that in mind, I am so grateful for Stephanie's decision on her bridesmaid dresses. She took us to David's Bridal and let us choose whichever style of long dress we wanted, as long as it was available in the right color. It was great for us bridesmaids because 1: We could actually pick a formal dress style we like and will wear again, and 2: We could make it as modest (or immodest) as we wanted.

None of them were modest up to my standards, but that's okay. I'm a seamstress. I chose a dress that would hopefully be slimming (since I'm still carrying some of this leftover pregnancy flab) and easy enough to alter. I went with this one.

Now, I love tulip sleeves. They're wonderful for formals and wedding gowns because the usual cap-style sleeves or short sleeves can restrict arm movement a lot when they're made from a woven fabric.
A quick lesson on woven fabric, if you're unfamiliar with how it's made.

The threads used to make a woven fabric cross each other at right angles.

Unless it's made with Spandex, it won't stretch. 

However, if you pull it at a 45 degree angle, it has a little bit of a stretch to it. 

That 45 degree angle is called the bias.

Tulip sleeves make use of a woven fabric's bias, which adds a little more give than regular sleeves have, and is why I love them so much.

So I took some measurements, made some pattern pieces, opened up some seams on the dress, and put the custom made tulip sleeves on.

And here's my favorite shot of the sleeves on my dress.

Well, it's actually my favorite shot of my husband and I enjoying a romantic moment on the dance floor at Stephanie and Justin's reception. But you can see the sleeves I made too!

(Thanks again, Weston Bennet, for letting me use your photos!)

Stephanie & Justin's Wedding

My dear friend Stephanie got married over the weekend. Let me just say, the wedding was fabulous in every possible way! As a bridesmaid, she put me in charge of decorating the event. She consulted with me about her beach theme, her flowers, and how the ceremony and reception would be set up. And then she left the rest of the decorations up to me.

The ceremony was simple and beautiful. 

The day was filled with joyful tears and tender moments.

And Steph--she made a stunning bride! 

At one point during the reception, Stephanie hugged me and told me that when she was a little girl she always dreamed of what her wedding would be like, and the decorations and the entire day were spot-on with that dream of hers. I couldn't have been happier for her or more pleased with how everything turned out. All of my stress and anxiety over the decor was well worth it just to make the day as perfect as it could be.

And remember the guestbook tree tags I posted about? Here's how the tree turned out:

Here's my husband, Bob, signing it.

.

The photographers were amazing too. Weston Bennett took so many fantastic shots, some of which I've used in this post. Check out his Facebook page. Talk about talented! Also Coco Jeannine did a lovely job as well. Look at her Facebook page too.

Congratulations, Stephanie and Justin! You make a perfect couple in every way. I'm excited to see all of the adventures your future together holds!

Lanterns were ordered from Just Artifacts (and they're super inexpensive!).

Tulle was ordered from BB Crafts (also really inexpensive!).

Other various items were bought at Joann's Fabrics and Crafts and Micheal's Arts and Crafts.