Garage Sale-in' Fools

It only happens once a year folks...the Lakeland Hills Neighborhood Garage Sale and it is fan-freakin-tastic! We always have a very precise plan of attack and move through the hundreds (may be a slight exaggeration, but go with it) of sales with frantic frenzy...ahem...grace. We are armed with a wish list written days in advance, Starbucks, re-useable grocery bags, and a mama mobile sans car seats!

2011's first purchase of the day. The Notebook. A classic. Sarah was pleased! (until she saw one later with hottie Ryan Gosling on the cover. Doh!)

These babies were a dollar each and brought a huge smile to little Carter man's face!

Sarah's loot.

Lindsay's number one wish list item. A kid-sized picnic table: $5.00

Great day!

Summer time fun: $7.00

Best find? Two identical (and brand new) Superman sleeping bags: $1.00 each!

Hannah loves Scooby Doo so Sarah was stoked to find this $2 costume!

Find of the day? Maybe Doug's new Star Wars toy. Vintage for $0.50. It transforms from the ship below (complete with miniatures) into Han and Chewy-bots above.

Sarah's new sangria pitcher! $3!

Love the bowl: $2 and it now resides on top of the fridge. Shiny!

Joyeux Kitchen: Maple-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls are from Ree Drummond, a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman, and as far as I'm concerned, they are her greatest masterpiece.  I'm made them more than a dozen times and every person (EVERY person), after one bite, says, "These are the best I have ever had."  So...what makes them different?  Homemade cinnamon rolls are, in general, fantastic no matter the recipe, right?  You have to taste them to fully understand, but these are gooey, not dense, not too "bready", instead of the middle one being by far the best, each one is a "middle", the maple glaze is certainly a unique and welcome departure from the standard cream cheese frosting....

Warning:  Friends and relatives alike may fall hopelessly in love with you after tasting these cinnamon rolls.  They're the baked-goods equivalent of Old Spice body wash.  ("Helllllo ladies.")

You'll need:

• 1 quart whole milk (4 cups) ... and yes, it has to be whole milk.
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp if you buy the jars)
• 8 cups (plus 1 cup extra, separated) unbleached all-purpose Flour
• 1 tsp (heaping) baking powder
• 1 tsp (scant) baking soda
• 1 tbsp (heaping) salt
• plenty of melted butter (just go ahead and melt a whole box/lb.)
• 2 cups sugar
• generous sprinkling of cinnamon

Maple Glaze

• 1 (2 lb.) bag powdered sugar
• 2 tsp maple flavoring (found on the spice aisle with the vanilla)
• ½ cups milk
• ¼ cups melted butter
• ¼ cups brewed coffee
• ⅛ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover (I use loose plastic wrap) and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough--I use somewhere between 1/2 and 1 cup...it's more of a feeling than an exact science. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven or nine inch round foil cake or pie pan (I use 9 in round foil cake pans). Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans (an easy way to cut the rolls is to use dental floss for nice even slices).

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.  (If you don't want to bake them right away, at this point you could cover and put the pans in the fridge for baking the next day, or put in the freezer for future use.--See step four of the tutorial at her link.)

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls.

This recipe is easy for an experienced baker, but there are lots of steps and it is quite time consuming.  More than once I've lost track of how many cups of flour I put in and just had to wing it.  (Get ready for a shameless business plug...)  If you're dying to have some but don't have a spare six hours-ish to devote to brunch making, I'd be happy to be your supplier :).  Joyeux Kitchen taking orders starting June 1.

Green Bunny: Alki

As promised in a previous post, here is a two-page layout featuring a 12x12 photo. LOVE!

If you are interested in playing with oversized photos in your scrapbooking, you should definitely try Scrapbookpictures.com and Persnickety Prints!

Joyeux Kitchen -- In Business!

Well friends, this post has been in the works for a long time. I love to bake for friends and family, and after doing it for fun for the past five years, it's time to take a big scary leap! I'm excited to announce that starting in June and stretching through the end of August, I'll be offering a small selection of my very, very favorite yummies for sale. Small orders need to be placed three days prior to your event and large orders will need to be placed at least a week in advance. Gigantic orders... well if I get a gigantic order I'll fall over dead of shock and then I guess we'll have a meeting.

Initial offerings at special summer prices:

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes with an ample mound of cookie dough buttercream frosting.

$14.00/dozen

Cake Balls or Pops

$10.00/dozen: custom colored and drizzled

$15.00/dozen: decorated

Glazed White Chocolate Apricot Scones

$8.00/dozen heart-shaped cream scones. Perfect for family brunch.

Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

Have I really never blogged these rich, gooey rolls???  Oh this is HAPPENING this week. Rolls that melt in your mouth with a lick-your-fingers maple glaze.

$8.00/pan (approx. eight rolls per pan)

Joyeux Kitchen Two-Layer Chocolate Cake

This amazing chocolate cake is my favorite from Ina Garten's kitchen. The rich, chocolate buttercream makes it the best chocolate cake you will ever eat. You will immediately want me to make you another. Photos coming soon.

$16.00 (9-inch round cake pan serves 10-12 people)

As if it could get any better, the first official fiftytinytoes contest is coming soon. We will be a drawing a lucky follower's name out of a hat, so make sure to join our followers list to be entered to win a free dessert from Joyeux Kitchen. Be EXCITED and go join our followers list now!

Also, if you've tried any of these treats from my kitchen and post a review in the comment section, I'll give you a half-dozen cake balls FREE. Are you EXCITED now?

If you have an event in mind and would like to pre-order your goodies, there are a number of easy ways to reach me. Leave me a comment here or send me a message at fiftytinytoes@gmail.com! And soon, you'll be able to "Like" Joyeux Kitchen on Facebook and send me your order that way. I've never shipped my baked goods. I'm investigating that process now.

Can't wait to share my treats with you. xo

Happy Mother's Day! (just another day in The Mutha-Hood)

Happy Mother's Day Weekend, readers!  (Hope you all enjoy Anita Renfroe as much as we do :)

Recently I wrote an essay as part of a Green River scholarship application; I ran into some perplexing questions.  I was at a loss, really, as to how to explain my work experience or academic achievement, so here's how I introduced myself (tongue firmly-in-cheek, of course):

"For the past five years I’ve held the position of Chief Executive Officer of a small, successful-though-chaotic enterprise. My responsibilities include but are not limited to: budget allocation and record-keeping, maintenance, meal preparation, buyer (of everything), efficiency expert, health and personal safety advisor (including personal hygiene), and transportation of precious cargo. I am on-call 24 hours a day. In exchange, I receive zero compensation. I get zero days off per year, and (BONUS!) also get zero vacation or sick days."

Then I included an interview I did with the girls about Mommy going back to school:

Here’s what my charges have to say about me:

Q: Would you say that Mommy’s a hard worker?
A: “Yes, when you get home from the gym, you’re always really sweaty!!”

Q: What would be good about Mommy going back to school?
A: “You really need to learn about Jesus, and makeup, and Easter egg hunts….”

Q: Would Mommy be a good nurse?
A: “Yes! You’re great at checking us out with the doctor’s kit!” … “But don’t give any kids shots Mom!”

They crack me up.  Being a mom is hard work.  It's also hilarious, and that's part of the reason we started this blog in the first place--to celebrate the hilarity of motherhood.  Try interviewing your kids today with some questions about you, your time with them, your profession, the world...we'd love to hear their responses.

Check out South Sound Macaroni Kid (one of our favorite sites!) for a list of events going on this weekend in the area.  Enjoy your celebrations, Mommies!

Mother's Day Craft

So if you haven't figured it out yet, I LOVE my kids' hand prints. There is just something so adorably innocent about them. I made these 12x12 pictures for the grandmas last Mother's Day and loved them so much that I made one for myself too. 

I used Crayola Finger Paints, crayons, and some cute 3-D bug stickers I had laying around. I would have wanted this to be more diverse in the color of hand prints (it makes sense for their feet to be green since they are the leaves), but at the time Logan LOVED green and there was no way around it. He was NOT gonna be talked into a red or orange flower! Oh well, I guess I'll always remember how obsessed he was with the color green!

Joyeux Kitchen: Heavenly White Chocolate Apricot Scones

I think I should preface this post by telling you that I don't really like scones.  Even fair scones.  I know, right?!  That equates to blasphemy around here!  Those darn fair scones are woven into the tapestry of Northwest life like sandals with socks.  Anyway, thoroughly unimpressed with them and the whole scone-scene. 

But theeeeeeese are another story.  These aren't just scones--they're little droplets of cream-laden heaven.  And they've been around a while!  Apparently Lindsay made them a couple years ago and brought me one and I snubbed it (because "I don't like scones!")-- Sorry Linz!  So Jenae the scone fairy brought me one a couple weeks ago, just handed it to me, no plate or anything, and stuck around to watch me eat it.  "Oh dear God.  This can't be a scone.  What IS this???" 

She shared the recipe with me, and now I'm going to share the recipe with you.

White Chocolate Apricot Scones
You'll need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream (not whipped)

Combine dry ingredients.  Add fruit and chocolate.  Use fork to stir in cream.  Knead on floured board 8 - 9 times.  Divide dough into two flat rounds and cut into traditional triangles, or roll out the dough and use a round or heart cookie cutter like I did.  Bake for 11 minutes at 425 degrees.

The glaze is the only part of the original recipe that I'm not sold on.  I made it for the first batch and it left me wanting....something.  (The original instructions: In a small saucepan, melt together 3 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Brush over warm scones.)  The top picture is sugar cookie glaze on the left and butter/sugar on the right.

Soooooo, given that I'm prone to acts of lavish culinary excess, I decided to try pairing the sugar cookie glaze I used at Christmas with these scones, and the result was nothing short of spectacular.  Does it make the recipe questionably more dessert than breakfast?  Judgement call.  I'm cool with it, but I also think it's justified to eat pumpkin pie for breakfast for a week after Thanksgiving.

Green Bunny: Special Dates Artwork

I saw this project on a blog called a.steed's.life and knew I had to make one. It is a bit more 'graphic design' than I usually do, but I loved the idea of highlighting our family's most important dates.

This was an inexpensive project. I purchased the 12x12 shadowbox frame for $9.99 at Target. I had everything else on hand. I used the Sure Cuts A Lot program with my Cricut. I love this program! It allows you to use any font you already have on your computer with your Cricut...no cartridge necessary. I used the same font as Andrea did: Modern No. 20.

Based on my 12x12 background size, I cut two inch letters using plain black cardstock for our birthdays. To change it up just a tiny bit, I used a black polka dot patterned cardstock for our anniversary.

Doodlebug Design Beetle Black Dot Grid

When I was ready to lay out the design, I drew a smaller box within the 12x12 cardstock using very light pencil lines (1/2 inch in from each edge). I started working from the outside inward placing the four numbers in the corners first. I used the smallest size glue dot available to adhere the number cut-outs.

After I got all the dates on the page, I cut a small heart from glitter cardstock using my basic shapes Cricut cartridge. Our anniversary worked perfectly for placing the heart since the year we got married had two zeros. Otherwise, you could place it in a random place on the page or not at all. I used a foam square to elevate the heart off the page and give some dimension. I also added small, black photo corners to finish it off.

I chose to change a couple things from Andrea's original project. First, I wanted the colors to be very basic so they would always work in our house. Second, I decided to do 12x12 rather than 8x10...just a personal preference. Third, I wanted to put some extra space between our birthdays and anniversary to highlight our wedding date a bit more. And finally, I wasn't in love with the decorative flourish and decided to keep it super simple.

Just a couple examples of how you can make a project your own and really make it work for your life/house/taste...

Holly's Big Girl Bedroom Makeover

Our baby is growing up so fast!!  In March, on a whim, we moved Holly from a room on the west side of the house into the room that was formerly Doug's man cave.  The walls went from chocolate brown to bright purple (her favorite color, we assume, since any time you ask her what color something is, she says, "Purple!").  Since she's still in a toddler bed, I was having trouble deciding between a quilt or blankets; I found a crib/toddler bed sized duvet insert at Ikea but was disappointed with the homely-looking choices for duvet covers.  I found one I liked on Etsy but it was too pricey and the wrong size for the insert I purchased. 

This is the crib duvet cover from Etsy that inspired me to ask Doug's mom if she could design something similar for us. 

Etsy Toddler Sized Cotton Duvet Cover ($49.00)

Doug's mom is a quilting aficionado and agreed to sew one for us if I found fabric I liked (which only took one very exciting trip to the fabric store).  It's lovely--she did an amazing job and said it was a pretty quick project.  If you know someone with a knack for sewing, I think a custom duvet cover is a terrific, low-cost way to spruce up a kid's room.

Holly's duvet fabric is from Carriage Country Quilts in Des Moines, WA.  It SPARKLES!!  Can you tell how much it sparkles?!



Ikea Crib Comforter (Duvet Insert) ($15.00) -- 49" by 43" (larger than the average crib quilt, standard size being 43" by 29")

Doug bought the combination primer/paint for the walls and it covered great, in two coats.  The metallic, shimmery silver paint also needed two coats to avoid looking streaky.  The shimmery silver paint looks great with her sparkly duvet. :)  Thanks to my wonderful husband for doing ALL the painting (and masking, clean-up, etc.). 

Paint by Martha Stewart Living Precious Metals in Tin (ceiling) and Glidden in Orchid Blush (walls).