Grandma's New Guest Room

My aunt, who was living with us upstairs, as recently moved to Florida. So the guest bedroom is becoming a guest bedroom once again. This has been a pretty big task and it's about 3/4 of the way there.

Maybe even 7/8.

Basically everything is done BUT the crafting table part. This transference has been pretty exhausting for me emotionally for some reason. I mean...I really liked my little setup downstairs and it took me a lot of thought and planning to get it that way. Thats just how small spaces are. And now I am doing it all over again, as well as trying to incorporate Grandma's needs/stuff into it. One thing I need to realize is that no amount of planning is going to get an A+ from Grandma. There is going to be something that should have gone here or there, etc. So I will just do what I can. Meanwhile, here is how the rest of the room looks. Not bad for using nothing but stuff she already had and a few bucks for paint and dye. I know I already posted some of these pics but... this is as finished as I am going to make it. And it feels good to have it done. Pictures don't do the feeling in the room justice though, so that's too bad.

Thanksgiving Breakfast Menu: Apple Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I have been working all day on the food for tomorrow's big family meal. But what about breakfast?? As if I want to do more cooking right? Ok...maybe I am crazy... It's completely possible. But I think this breakfast is just good enough to make the day special and just easy enough to keep us all sane. 

Especially me. 

This recipe comes right from this recipe by Recipe Girl, which I saw on Pinterest. 

Oh man how can you NOT eat that???

There are a couple of other recipes I have seen for cinnamon roll pancakes but what I really liked about this one was how she took the filling and made that fabulous swirl, just like the rolls. It tickles me fancy and so she wins. 

I hope mine look that good tomorrow! /drool

I am making this gluten free AND easier on myself by doing a GF pancake box mix. win. (This recipe is also a win because I may have possibly gotten a little carried away and over poured on the brown sugar for my yams....ooopsy ... what to do with brown sugar that happens to have cinnamon and nutmeg mixed in with it.... hmmm....)

I am also adding some cooked apples on top (it just sounds yum and its kinda autumny yes?) and serving it with some bacon and apple cider. Have a great Thanksgiving all!

Here is the recipe from Recipe Girl:

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Yield: 4 servings (4 pancakes)

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 10 min


An absolutely decadent morning treat...
Ingredients:


PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

CINNAMON FILLING:
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:

1. Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).

2. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. You don't want this to remain super-liquidy. It's best if it becomes a consistency similar to toothpaste.

3. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl- heat butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth; whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract; set aside.

4. Heat large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.

5. When ready to serve, spoon warmed glaze onto the top of each pancake.
Tips:

*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place!
*It's best if you pour the batter onto your skillet, wait a minute or so and then swirl the cinnamon onto the batter. That'll give it a chance to set a little before you add the swirl.
*If your baggie of filling begins to get too thick, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up again. On that same note, it shouldn't be too runny. The consistency of soft toothpaste is perfect. If it's melty and runny, it will tend to run all over your pancakes. Once you micro it, let it sit on the counter at room temp for a while until it thickens slightly.

Winner Winner Vegetarian Dinner!!

Guess who just found out she WON something! Thats right, this gal. And for what? This recipe for Vegetarian Mango Chili in the crock pot. I didn't even have a picture for it! I enter linky parties on pretty rare occasion these days, I have just been so focused on getting balanced again. I am lucky if I get a blog post up. But when I saw The CSI Project was linking up crock pot recipes I took the time to link up and now I am all excited to be a winner.  Check out the entry, give it a shot and let me know what you think! Its good chili weather out :) Oh and if you are interested in the other winners go here. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving everyone!

"Make Time To Cuddle" Pillow

I have still been recovering from my meltdowns. Which boggles my mind, seems like I have been resting at least 2 weeks now (compared to what I WAS doing) so shouldn't my eye twitch be gone by now? I guess the body needs what it needs. Anywho, I have been wanting to post this for a while now so here it is, half assed, because I am exhausted. 

It's pretty simple. 

Find a light colored pillow. Doodle on it with some pencils. Grab some sharpies in the colors you want. Color. Done. I dunno how washable it is. 

This is my husbands favorite pillow, I am not even joking. He uses it to send me secret messages. Usually something about cuddling.... 

A T-Wrecks Tote Bag

My nephew is two and a half year old walking demolition derby. 

It is super cute. He just destroys stuff, smiling all the way. It's his way of exploring :) But look! He helps clean up after!

Anyway, I found this tote bag and thought it would be fun to personalize it for the little guy. Well...more like for his Daddy. 

 Pure. Love. 

His sweetness just glows from him, doesn't it? I don't know how anyone could ever want to neglect or harm a child, ever. But we won't get started down that road. Just know that if you knew the story here, you would think this was beautiful too and you would value how special this love is. Its worth fighting for.

*sigh*

yeah....so...tote bag...

Again with the free hand drawing. Fabric pens. 

Google a T-Rex Silhouette. Download. Size. Print.

Fabric Glue. 

Decided solid was too....solid. Drew some stripes on there with the fabric pen.  And I wrote T-Wrecks with fabric pen too. And...done. 

Magnetic Chalkboard Wall for Grandma

As you know, it's my job to take care of my very lovely grandma.  She is pretty amazing. And as I am sure most of you can attest, family have their "things" such as certain foods they all grew up (Aunt Linda's Sourdough Biscuits, Grandma's Beans, my Mom's Roast Ribs) with or certain made-up/augmented holidays (like St. Crispin's Day...yeah I'll tell ya later...). One particular staple everyone on my mom's side of the family grew up seeing was my grandmother's picture board. At the top of it was the senior photo of every one of her 11 children and then it progressed down to more recent pictures accumulated through the years showing the family tree growing on into grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren. Grandma is going to be 90 this year and she'll tell you herself that her hands don't work like they used to. Tacks are out of the question, especially with her blood thinners. Wouldn't it be nice if she could use magnets instead? And wouldn't it be nice if she didn't have to reach up so high to put up those pictures? And she needs the chalk board handy too....

Wait whoa what?! there's a crafting need??? like i'm not gonna take that on. A plan was born. let the make-over begin.

{Grandma's Photo Wall}

Just the magnetic primer so far

Putting up the Senior Pictures of her eleven children at the top

Button Tacks

Twine for clipping the photos to, like clothes on a line

Fun Magnets

Turkey, Brie and Apple Tea Sandwiches

Going to a tea? Try this combo! It got a lot of compliments, much tastier than the cucumber on rye sort (which seem to be quite dry, honestly) Recipe is at the end!

Turkey, Brie and Apple Tea Sandwhiches

White Bread
Turkey (I used deli because I was on a budget but I think it would be more divine with higher quality)
Apples (I used green, for a bite :) but to each their own)
Brie
Honey
Mustard
Sour Cream

You're gonna hate me but I didn't measure. Sorry. I was in a HUGE hurry! I was really late AND other people were trying to use the kitchen. Which is tiny. It was pretty fantastic. Besides, if i told you the actual measurements you would be making enough for 30 people! If you ARE making it for that many then it took about a half loaf of bread, 2.5 apples, a log Brie which could have been less honestly, and a packages of turkey.

The Spread: I melted down the brie and then added honey and mustard to taste. To cut the brieness (because it was overwhelming the apple and turkey) I added the sour cream, gradually, which made a LOT more spread than needed, so obviously could have started with half the amount there. Yes, I used the rind because it was this baby brie log thing, it said you could just eat the rind. I dunno. I would have cut it.