Leaving on a Jet Plane. . .

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My Mom, sister, and I are off on vaction to St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.  We will be celebrating my Mom's 60th Birhtday.  I can't wait to escape the cold, snowy Winter and soak up the sun.  This will be a computer-free vacaton, so I won't be in blogland for awhile.  I'm looking forward to not being attached to my 'puter!
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Last year at this time, we were in Cabo.  Here are a few pictures from that trip:
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Me, World's Cutest Brother, and Baby Sister:
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See you in March!
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Best Granola in the Whole Wide World

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I love this granola.  It's good - very good.  It's delicious with milk, but it's also great on yogurt.  And the recipe couldn't be simpler.
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Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 cup turbinado sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 2 cups of any combination of dried fruit (I used dried cherries & golden raisins)
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First, heat oven to 325 degrees.  Have two large rimmed baking sheets ready to spread out the mixture.
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In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, combine oil, honey, sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Stir frequently, until the sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes.
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When the sugar is dissolved, the mixture will look like this:

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In a large bowl, combine the oats and almonds.
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Add the warm honey mixture to the oats and stir until entire mixture is coated.

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Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheets.  Bake for 25 minutes, stirring a few times.
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Remove from oven and cool completely. 

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Once cool, place granola in large bowl and add dried fruit.

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Granola is finished. . .enjoy!

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Granola will keep in an airtight container for a couple of weeks.
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Granola recipe come from my Mom who found it in the Grand Rapids Press a few years ago.
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And now, a side note on my favorite vanilla extract.
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Several years ago I worked on a few projects out in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.  I had to travel there several times over a two year period.  I fell in love with a shop called Charles H. Baldwin & Sons.  They have been making vanilla since 1888!  Their vanilla is so strong and flavorful, and so much different then anything I had bought before.  I also have their almond and lemon extracts, both of which are also very good.  They have an online shop, so even thought I don't have to travel to the Berkshires anymore, I can still enjoy their amazing vanilla.  I highly recommend a visit to their shop if you are ever in West Stockbridge, Mass.

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Neck Pillows

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Finally - a new post!  I had to travel this week for work and it really interfered with my blogging and blog stalking this week!
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I made these neck pillows last weekend for my Mom and sister for Valentine's Day.  They are filled with rice and can be warmed up in the microwave and feel really nice and cozy around your neck on a cold, Winters night.
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Supplies:
- Fabric (12" x 34" piece for each pillow)
- Rice (approx. 48 oz.)
- Lavender (optional)
- Coordinating thread for sewing
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Place fabric right sides together, pin, and sew along edges.  Leave an 2" opening on one end.
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Turn right-side out.
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Fill with rice:
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(*I ran out of rice and added flax seed to fill out the pillows.  Originally, I thought that one 32 oz. bag of rice for each pillow would be enough)
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And then with lavender (I used approx. 1 cup of lavender per pillow):
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Slip stitch the opening:

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After I finished the slip stitch I decided to add two seams to the pillows so that the rice and lavender wouldn't all fall to one end.  By doing this you create 3 separate compartments and the rice and lavender will be evenly distributed.
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Here's what the finished pillow looks like:
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I folded it up into thirds and tied with a ribbon:
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A perfect little gift!
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Microwave 2-3 minutes and the neck pillow will be nice and toasty and warm you up on a cold, winters day!
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There is a salon in town that gives these to you to use while you are there.  I've been meaning to make these for a really long time.  I'm glad I finally did - now I just need to make one for myself!
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I'm linking up here:
Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello
SNS @ Funky Junk Interiors
Making the World Cuter Monday

Hearts Aflutter. . .

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I got the idea for this project this week after seeing it on Ali Edwards blog.  It's such a cute, easy project and practically free!

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Here's what you need:

- Frame (mine came from Target a few years ago for $2.50; I just knew I'd use it at some point!)

- Heart punch

- Scrapbook paper

- Adhesive dots (The ones I used are 1/4" x 1/16" thick)

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Punch out hearts using a variety of patterned paper and line up on a sheet of background paper.
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Attach hearts with adhesive dots and frame.  That's it!
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The adhesive dots add a nice amount of depth, so make sure you use a frame with a double mat so that there is enough room for the hearts.
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Isn't this the cutest little project?  I like how it works for Valentine's Day but doesn't scream Valentine's Day.  I also think this would look lovely in a little girls room or a nursery.  It would also be fun to make using other punches - maybe butterflies, leaves, or flowers.  I haven't hung this yet, but I think it might find a permanent home in my craft room.

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I was having so much fun punching out hearts that I kept on punching and made Valentine's Day cards using the same technique.

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I am linking up here:
Remodelaholic's Anonymous @ Remodelaholic
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple
Finished for Friday @ Lit for Laundry
SNS @ Funky Junk Interiors
Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello
We Did it Wednesday @ Sew Much Ado
Make it Yours Day @ My Backyard Eden

33

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Today is my 33rd birthday.

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Wow. . .33, how did that happen? If you had asked me 10 years ago, I would have told you that 33 was old. But you know what? It's not. I don't feel old at all. This isn't what I pictured my life to be like at 33, but it's still a pretty darn good life. I like the sounds of 33. . .I think it's going to be a pretty great year.
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Weekend Kitchen: Pasta con peperoni e salsicca

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If you ever find yourself on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, do yourself a favor and go here.  You can thank me later.  My sister and I spent a day at Mamma Agata's cooking school and it was amazing {side note: no one in our class believed we were sisters!  We don't know why - they kept referring to us as "black & white!".  Haha, we think it's pretty funny.}
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Here we are:
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And here is the beautiful view.  Can you imagine looking at this out of your kitchen window every day?  The gardens you see on the hillside are Mamma Agata's.
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This weekend I made one of our favorite pastas from the class:  Pasta con peperoni e salsicca (Pasta with peppers and sausage).  Unfortunately I can't post the recipe because it isn't published anywhere online and it doesn't seem right to give out Mamma Agata's secret.  She did, however, just come out with her first cookbook.  If you feel like dishing out a whole bunch of Euros, you can purchase it here.  I wish they sold it on Amazon!  I'm going to have to break down and get it because I know everything it is probably amazing.
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Back to the pasta - I searched high and low online to find a recipe that was similar.  This one is the closest that I could find.  The ingredients are similar but the technique is not. 
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Here's a few pictures from my pasta:
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This pappardelle pasta was good - it's a little wider than fettuccine.

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I canned tomato sauce this summer using Mamma Agata's recipe.

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Here's everything simmering together:

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All finished!

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Sorry about this post without a recipe, but I wanted to talk about Mamma Agata's!  I'm going to have leftovers right now. . .

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Amy Butler Quilted Potholder

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I promise, this is the last time this Amy Butler fabric will show up on my blog.  But I still had scraps left over from this and this and I couldn't bear to let a single scrap of it go to waste.  I decided to make a quilted potholder.

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I started with a 4" square for the center and used 2" wide strips the rest of the way around.

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Here are the strips all cut and laid out in a log cabin pattern.

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Sew from the center out until all the pieces are attached.  Iron seams flat to make the quilting easier and neater.

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When the top is finished, make a quilt sandwich.  Cut a piece of fabric for the backing and use two layers of batting for the padding.

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Line all four layers up, pin, and start quilting from the center.  I decided to quilt a simple square pattern starting in the center.

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Once your quilting is finished you may need to trim the edges to make sure things are all lined up.

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Next, attach seam binding.  I made mine by starting with a 3" strip of fabric, long enough to go all around the edge of the potholder.  Make the seam binding by ironing strip in half, opening, and ironing each side toward the center.

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For a helpful link on attaching seam binding, click here.

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Attaching seam binding:

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All finished:

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Here's the back:

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This is a really easy, quick project.  I think a couple of these cute potholders would make a nice little gift.

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I'm linking up to:

Remodelaholics Anonymous here!

SNS @ Funky Junk Interiors here!

Make it for Monday @ Cottage Instincts here!

Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative here!

Making the World Cuter here!

Make Your Monday @ Twice Remembered here!

We Did it Wednesday @ Sew Much Ado here!

Make it Yours Day @ My Backyard Eden here!

Friday Fun Finds @ kojo designs here!

Be Inspired Link Party @ Room to inspire here!