July Photo Challenge

Last month, my sisters, Mandi and Kelly, and I decided to embark on a little photography fun.  In the last few days of June, each of us came up with a list of things to be photographed.  Mandi threw this list into a hat and randomly selected each days challenge.  Each day we posted our photos to Facebook.  We had a lot of fun doing this and our friends on Facebook really enjoyed seeing our pictures each day!  We’re planning another challenge for September and one for Christmas!  Here are all thirty-one of my July photos!

Perhaps the best cupcakes ever?

I made cupcakes this weekend.  Lots of them.  It was actually a process that started on Wednesday with making marshmallows.

Mmmmmarshmallows and a really big powered sugary mmmmmess!!!  I’m still trying to determine if the mess is worth the outcome.  I think I’ve washed my countertop six or seven times since Wednesday and it’s still kind of sticky.

The marshmallows were for the Hot Chocolate Cupcakes.  A recipe adapted from this Fine Cooking recipe.  Adapted only in that I made cupcakes instead of a three layer cake so the cooking time was different.  I also made the very most awesome Margarita Cupcakes from this recipe.  I think they are my favorite cupcakes ever.

I had to buy a cupcake tree.  And I made cute little nametags for the cupcakes.  Those are lemon lime Jelly Bellies on top of the Margarita Cupcakes.

Mmmmgood!

Obsession?

I realized today that I have eight cutting boards.  I got the eighth one today.  Each one has a different purpose.  Some folks think they need every available kitchen gadget.  Apparently my need is for cutting boards.  At least storage is simple.

A little one I got for my birthday because it is green.  I use it for a quick single vegetable or single serving meal chop.  Like for a salad for myself or something.  Or when I don’t feel like using the larger ones because for some reason the bigger ones make me feel like I’m using more dishes just because it’s bigger.  Whatever.

 

Formerly the vegetable board.  Now it’s the onion and garlic board because I can no longer wash the onion smell out of it.  I worry that the onion smell or taste might contaminate my other vegetables.  Contaminate?  Yes.  My onion board holds the same rank as a raw meat board.

The shiny new bamboo vegetable board!  Haven’t used it yet but I love it already.  Onions and garlic will never know the magnificence of this board.

The raw meat board.  Enough said.

The cooked meat board with drainage ditches for the juices.  I call them drainage ditches because I have no idea what the correct term for them should actually be (but I’m pretty sure it’s not drainage ditches).  You can tell this one has been well used.  I got it from my mom.  Daddy carved many a Thanksgiving turkey and everything else on this board.

The extra special Jankowski Seal of Approval.

 

The bread board.  Also enough said.  And another hand-me-down from my mom.

 

This one also bears the Jankowski Seal of Approval.

 

The pastry cutter or dough roller/kneader board.  Daddy had this one made at the plant where he used to work as security guard.  This one is  HEAVY!

 

The enormous board.  Also for pastry dough, really large sheets of pastry dough.  Or anything else super sized.  This one is such a hassle to get out of the cabinet, hence leaving it there for its photo shoot.

My favorite day of the year!

Happy AUTUMN!!!  It’s the first full day of Autumn.  Finally it’s here even though it’s going to be hotter than 40 blazes today.  I baked some pumpkin tarts last night to celebrate.  And this morning on my daily walk around the neighborhood I brought the camera along to take photos of Jupiter and the Harvestest Moon!!!  I think Autumn brings out my inner Pagan.  Not the best pictures since it was the little bitty digital one and not James’ super duper SLR.

Made this batch with half as much sugar as the recipe called for and they are delicious!!!  I’m considering this pumpkin mix as the filling for my Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie this year…

I wonder how many other people got to see the Harvestest Moon this morning at 5am…

 

An hour or so later at 6:15am.  Jupiter is hiding behind the trees now and I love the slight color change of the moon.

I think this one is my favorite.  I love the trees in this one.

James and I were on the front porch last night so he could set up the camera for me to take as decent as possible photos in the dark.  This little guy was perched on the railing until James walked near then he (the frog, obviously, not James) hopped to the celosia (which came back this year as I was hoping it would, with more vigor than it did last year!!).

Progress…

BVD has half a bed (no mattress yet) and a changing table.  Among other various things.  But the bed is the most major one for me.

 

New found sewing machine skills helped me make that cover for the pad on the changing table, and the drawstring medicine bag too!  The bunny already has a name: Pantoufle.

 

BVD’s ever expanding Halloween wardrobe!

BVD already knows great music!

A very cute charged battery onesie and an even cuter personalized onesie made by Aunt Mimmie!

I has a happy!

My happy is slowly shaping itself into a little human.  Holy hat, I’m pregnant!  Three months gone and it still feels really awkward to say, type or think those words.  I’m pregnant.  o.O

It’s not been hard keeping it from the greater population of NC for two and a half months.  And my unemployed life has not been nearly as boring as James and I have let on since I’ve had baby stuff to do and think about.  I have three whopping registries that are nearly complete (all we have to do is find out if it’s a boy or a girl)!  I painted the baby’s room sometime in July, or maybe August!  And we already have names picked out!

October 8 is the day we’ll find out if we’re having Julian Leif or Anouk Danger.  Until such time, it is our BVD – Baby Van Dyke!

A picture at 13 weeks for your viewing pleasure!

Here’s our 8 week ultrasound where the doc felt compelled to label that thing as “BABY!” because I’m pretty certain someone would have mistaken it for a lima bean with itty bitty limbs.

A Hairy Post

Before.

After.

Getting smacked in the head with a cooking spoon by an 11 month old.

SNOW!

IT'S GONNA SNOW!!!!

I Made Bread!

I made my first ever loaf (or disc) of bread. Macheesmo No Knead Bread. It didn't change my life yet, though. It's tasty, but I was disappointed in the shape. I think the shape may have happened because it was actually too wet, despite what Nick says in his recipe. When measuring my flour I was forced to choose between 4 cups of flour OR 500 grams of flour. I couldn't have both, so I went with 500 grams which was less than 4 cups. I think next time, I'll go with 4 cups and forget the scale to see if it turns out differently. The reason I think this is where I messed up is because when I "poured" the dough onto my floured surface, it wouldn't hold the "ugly ball" form. It just continued to ooze. And after rising again for another 2 hours, it still oozed when I poured it (because it oozed too much to pick it up and transfer it) into my dutch oven. I'm going to try and try and try again until I get that "ugly ball." I have high hopes for life changing bread and being able to use it as sandwich bread!

Now, about the dutch oven. Oops. I forgot to wrap the handle on the lid in foil to keep it from melting. James came downstairs and said it smelled like hamburgers. o.O Right.

That ugly round blob of crust there, that's where a little bit was still hanging on to my ugly towel when I was pouring/dumping the dough into the dutch oven.

Real, unsalted butter. YUM! And this is one of two of Mom's and Daddy's old cutting boards I have. Both of which have very distinct range top stove coils burned into one side. And that's my butter bell James got me for Christmas!!

With this post I've learned how much I think I hate adding more than one picture to a post.

Overall, I'm happy with the results but there will be many more attempts at bread making.

Edit: I'm not sure if it can be seen outside of being logged in as me, but the size on some of my font is smaller than it should be and I can't make it larger. I mean, I can, but when I view the post, it's not any bigger. BUGGER ALL!