Cookbook jackpot

We have a bit of a cookbook obsession in our house. Each birthday and Christmas is marked by requests for several new ones, mine often focusing on baking, and Matt's often highlighting pork or making basics (bread, sausage, cheese, etc.) from scratch. This Christmas, I was excited to receive two cookbooks I'd been eyeing for quite a while: Momofuku Milk Bar and Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook: Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond from New York’s Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant. We've already tried a few recipes from each, and they've all met with huge success. A few weeks ago, Matt made the pancakes from the Clinton St. book, and they were fantastic. This week, he made their chili, and take it from a Texan, it was amazing.

I'd been waiting for an occasion to try one of the cookie recipes from Momofuku Milk Bar, and our friends' Super Bowl party this weekend proved just right.

I'd long ago decided on the cornflake-chocolate chip-marshmallow cookies, which start with making the cornflake crunch. It's basically a mixture of cornflakes, powdered milk, sugar, butter, and a little salt that's toasted in the oven. It's got a very unique flavor and is totally addicting all on its own.

But when you add it to the cookies ... heaven. These cookies spread out nice and thin and have the most amazing texture — crunchy almost like brittle on the edges and super chewy in the middle. The pockets of gooey melted marshmallows are fabulous.

This turned out to also be a great recipe for a new mom, as each step can be done separately and in a short amount of time — perfect if you don't have much time between feedings. I made the cornflake crunch one day (which has to cool completely before being added to the cookies), then the dough the next day (which has to refrigerate for at least an hour before baking), and then baked the cookies the day of the party. The baking actually took the longest because you can only fit about six cookies per sheet (they spread a lot), but it wasn't bad.

I'm really hoping this streak continues and can't wait to try our next new recipe.

A few little things

This weekend, I finished off a few more small projects I've had on my list. First up, a soft block for Beckett. (Please forgive the dark photos; it's been cloudy around here the past few days.)

I used this great tutorial, which I pinned on Pinterest some time ago. It's a great project for using up scraps of fabric and ribbons. I used fabric on four sides and leftover batting on the other two for a different texture. I also cut fabric for a second block, but I'm out of polyfill for the stuffing, so it'll have to wait a bit.

I also realized I had an extra hand towel chilling out in my fabric stash, so I whipped up another burp cloth for Beckett because, honestly, you can never have too many burp cloths, especially big, absorbent ones. It's already become our new favorite.

I'm also excited to be starting several new, big projects. First up, I'm taking my first shot at the Go Anywhere Bag pattern I bought from Noodlehead (aka, Anna Graham) last fall. So far, so good.

The fabric's all cut, and I started on the lining, but sadly, I'm having to pause until the hidden snaps I ordered arrive.

I'll tell you about the other big projects in another post. Until then...

Happy birthday to the love of my life

Today is Matt's birthday, and I couldn't let it pass without a little tribute to the love of my life.

Who knew when we were set up six years ago that things would have turned out as wonderfully as they have?

These have been the best six years of my life, and I'm so thankful that God brought you into my life.

You are an amazingly thoughtful and loving husband, and now I see those same attributes in everything you do as a father to Beckett. He adores you, and so do I.

Thank you for making my laugh, smile, relax, enjoy life, and live it to the fullest. Happy birthday, my love!

Beckett's a fox

I finished another small project this weekend. Baby steps, baby steps. Beckett's middle name is Fox (his paternal grandmother's maiden name), so I've been wanting to make him a fox-themed onesie for a while. When I found the Fox Trails collection on sale at Hawthorne Threads, I had to snatch some up.

I plan on making him some pants and who knows what else with most of the fabric, but I thought I'd start with a little onesie.

I added the wording using the freezer paper stenciling technique (which I've used on a few other projects before, like this one), and it worked like a charm. Dana from MADE has a great tutorial if you're interested.

Then, I just appliqued the fox in the middle, and voila, a cute new onesie for my little fox.

I think he likes it. :)

Heading to the office

Ever since I finally finished my mother-in-law's Kindle sleeve the other day, the sewing itch has returned in full force. I still haven't had much time to work on projects, but I've been trying to squeeze in a little. Like this:

I've been wanting to jazz up some of Beckett's onesies for a while, and I kept seeing these cute tie appliques all over the blogs and on Pinterest.

I knew it would be a quick and easy project, and I banged it out in no time last night.

I used the tie pattern from this tutorial on Crap I've Made, and it worked great. The fabric's from Hobby Lobby, and I just secured the applique with a straight stitch in white. Easy peasy.

Now Beckett's ready to head to the office.

Yeah, I'm gonna need you to come in on Saturday...

A new year, a new Kindle sleeve

My mother-in-law got a new Kindle for Christmas, so of course, I offered to make her a sleeve for it. She picked out the fabrics (Dots in Cream and Crosshatch in Lime from Timeless Treasures' Fruit Punch collection, both purchased from Hawthorne Threads several months ago) from my stash while she was visiting us before the holidays, but because of the craziness of the past weeks, I wasn't able to finish the sleeve until last night (finally!).

I used my Kindle sleeve tutorial, adjusting the size to accommodate the new, smaller Kindle 4. (I also added a note to the tutorial to explain how to adjust the sizing to fit your device. The original tutorial was written for a Kindle 3.) I'm dropping it in the mail today, so she can finally start enjoying it soon.

And it seems the tutorial has been pretty popular recently. Check out these other great Kindle sleeves made using the tutorial:

Tanya from The Sampler Girl recently had a post on her blog about the sleeve she made using the tutorial. Isn't the Valentine's fabric cute?

And Joan from the Stitching Squad made this sleeve for her daughter's Kindle. I love how she added a pocket to the front — so clever!

Have you used the tutorial? I'd love to see and hear how it worked out.

Beckett's two-month update

 Beckett, you're two months old today!

 You've had another great month. You're growing like a weed! You had your two-month visit at the pediatrician's office yesterday, and he said you looked great. You're up to 13 lb, 1 oz (75th percentile) and 23 inches (50th percentile), and your head is 40.5 cm (about 16 inches, 90th percentile -- that's a big noggin'!).

You're right on track for where you should be growth-wise and developmentally. Unfortunately, you also had to get your first shots, but you were a real trooper and did very well, and you even got Tweety Bird and Scoobie Doo bandaids!

You're getting better and better at lifting your head up, and you're starting to really like tummy time (in small quantities). You've even rolled over a few times!

You're also focusing on things better every day, and you love to make faces at mommy, daddy, and everyone on Skype. You smile all the time, and we even got a laugh out of you at bath time the other day.

After a failed attempt at getting you on a schedule (you're just too young), we've learned you sleep best in your swing during the day. You're almost sleeping through the night on a regular basis, and you sleep great in your crib at night. You also love looking up at your mobile and talking to all of your animal friends.

This month, you had your first Christmas, Hanukkah, and trip to church, plus we've ventured out to stores a few times with mixed success. And today you had your first snow!

You still love your walks (though sometimes it takes some work to get you to fall asleep), either in the stroller or the Moby, and we're going to start using your sport carrier soon.

You had fun hanging out with your Grammie and Grandpa for Hanukkah, and you had a rockin' new year's with Papa and Nana so mommy and daddy could go to dinner with some friends.

Beckett, you amaze us more and more every day, and we're having such fun watching you grow and learn. We love you!