Save the Date - Save the Day - Save the Recipe

Summer doesn't mean slower days, I guess, as it seems we're busy as ever.  The only difference is we are adding into our days so many more outdoor activities.  So every weekend we try to "play" one day, and "work" the other, with Sunday as our resting day (although there's still plenty we do on Sundays!)  We are so fortunate my Mark has Friday's off, and I am usually able to sneak away from work as well. 

Last Friday we drove through the Rogue Wilderness, on U.S. Forest Service logging roads.  What a blast that was with the top off our Jeep.  I couldn't stop looking UP at the beautiful tall trees, so majestic.  We did make our way down at one point to the Rogue River, and got a chance to talk to some of the people rafting and camping the river.  Also, it was...mighty hot!  We got to go through the Rogue River Ranch,  which has a museum and more.  Oh, it was...mighty hot! 

We sat under a huge old black walnut tree and ate our lunch.

Our lunch included tuna sandwiches, made with home canned tuna.  Melissa and I had spent a day or so earlier canning tuna, after Mark cut and filleted about ten large tuna fish.  We can buy them right off the boats here on the coast.

Back to the Rogue River Ranch...

I loved the table and bench set inside, I think it was made of madrome wood....

I also loved the shade of red they had painted the main house, with the white trim....

Back home....I realized how much cooler we are here on the coast, even on our "hot" days!  The next day we were splitting firewood, after an hour or two (with me at the wood splitter), I said, "I need to stop and go play in the kitchen!"  Off to the kitchen to make something!  I made a yummy sour cream pound cake, and then a batch of cream puffs. 

When it came time to fill the cream puffs I whipped up the whipping cream in my KitchenAid, as I always have, but it just would NOT whip.  That was a first for me.  As a quick stand in we filled a few of them with canned whipped cream---I know, not very Martha-Stewartly.  Have I ever mentioned we don't live close to grocery stores?

The sour cream coffee cake recipe I use is included in my "Taste of Oregon" cookbook.  I *highly* recommend this cookbook. 
















Here's the recipe for you to try out.  I made mine in a round bundt cake pan, but you can use any cake pan you have.

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder.
    TOPPING:
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    3 Tablespoons brown sugar
    1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Cream together the sugar, butter, and eggs.  Add the sour cream, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking power; mix together.  Combine topping ingredients. Pour half the batter into a greased tube pan. Cover with half the topping.  Add the rest of the batter and top with the remainder of the topping.  Bake at 350F degrees for 1 hour.  Cover with foil for the last 15-20 minutes to prevent the top from getting too brown. 

Serve warm or cooled---great either way...

I've been having fun painting some "SAVE THE DATE" signs for Etsy buyers.  I needed a photo of a couple holding my sign, to show as an example, but only had Mark and I to use.  I laugh everytime I see this photo, as we're holding the SAVE THE DATE sign and we've now been married over 30 years.  We still save OUR date as one VERY SPECIAL DAY!

Blessings!   ~Heidi

(EDITED to change the recipe name.  It was sour cream coffee cake, not pound cake as I originally had written in error!)

Summer Days

Summer days are the best...

Early morning just outside our front door...the swing just waits for the grand kids to come over...

My clothes can be hung on the line...

Watering the berry garden, tasting the raspberries. Unfortunately we are still working with the deer--they also want to taste the raspberries...

My parents and other family members were here visiting...

Playing around Pinterest way too much, but getting some great ideas, such as this wonderful dessert (chocolate chip cook dough cheesecake bars)....

(this is the pan before baking, they were really-really-really good!)

This is the photo I saw on Pinterest...

Hiking the wilderness...

Painting signs daily....thank you all for the order!.....

Hope you are also enjoying your summer!

Hugs, Heidi

Love is sweet.... forever and ever....

Oh my goodness there must be a lot of sweet stuff happening at weddings these days.  I continue to sell more "Love is Sweet" signs than any other sign currently.  Some of the girls tell me they are buying it for their wedding reception candy bars.  I have to admit, I wish I could follow along with the sign straight to the candy bar, I'm a candy lover.  

Some of the brides are buying them for their cake tables, or cupcake tables.  Some for other areas of their wedding.

Last week I painted a custom rustic "Love is Sweet" sign with the wedding date and last name.  This is really getting fun now:

I just wish I had more hours in the day to paint all the wonderful ideas regarding "love is sweet".  I do love to paint these custom signs!

Wedding and Pinwheels

We had a great time at the lake over the long 4th of July weekend.  I'll have to share pictures soon of the biggest trout I ever caught!  We caught a lot of other trout, too, enough to freeze for meals later.  That's a treat.  The big plus was we had sun all 5 days! 

The wedding I helped out with on Saturday turned out beautiful.  It was park-like setting and a gorgeous day.  The details I helped with were the pinwheels.  We had pinwheels up and down the main isle the wedding party used.  (There was an isle runner added after this photo.)    

Then we placed various heights of pinwheels around the reception tables.  We tried to set them up in groups of three, with the three main colors:  pink, purple and orange.

The center pieces for the 20 tables were vases filled sand and then the pinwheels.

Just a few days before the wedding I said, "Let's make pinwheel straws for the kids to use!"  Funny thing was, the adults were using them too, and at the end several kids came up to me asking for more pinwheel straws.

 

The friend who made the cake for the couple used more pinwheels we made as the cake decoration.  It was really cute.  The cake was yummy, too.  I always taste wedding cakes!

I made a bunch of felt pinwheels for the flower girls and bridesmaids to wear in their hair.  After making the pinwheel I just used the end of the thread to tie them on the clips.  For extra security I added a dab or two of hot glue.

This was a colorful wedding and it was a treat to make the pinwheels.

I also made a few rustic signs which we staked out in front of the facility.  The  bride asked the date be painted on the back of "WEDDING", so that she could hang their names and the wedding date in their new apartment.

Blessings, Heidi

(linked to Between Naps on the Porch Met. Monday)

red white & blue

How in the world can a month pass by so quickly?  Where'd June go?  Why can't JUNE be as long as January?  Now it's almost JULY!

(from a project I made several years ago....it was a "bits and pieces" board)

It's time to celebrate our country!  Happy Birthday America!!!!!  All things red, white and blue!  Our flag flies high and proud, we are a free country. Thank you to those who serve to keep our freedom.

Here's some clipart you can use in any projects.  Just "Save as" on your computer:

 

We'll be spending time at the lake this weekend. 

Can you relax?  Can you eat fun foods?  Can you just enjoy summer?  Can  you just read a book?
Yes, I can do all that!

Breakfast on the deck?

Fishing?

Fireworks over the lake, watching from a boat....so fun!....

Watching the ducks and sailboats go by....

Happy 4th of July!

Hugs, Heidi

Linked to "Red Wednesday" here.
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PS  For more 4th of July inspiration (crafts, food, decorating and more) go to Pinterest.com and type 4th of July in the search bar.  Oh, you'd better have some time on your hands, the picures are endles!

(july.tipjunkie.com via Pinterest)

(july.tipjunkie.com via Pinterest)

Pinwheels (Pin Wheels) for a wedding!

A sweet friend of ours is getting married in a couple weeks.  Her wedding will be in a beautiful park setting.  This sweet girl loves color and selected pinwheels as a way to bring color into her wedding.  The challenge was to figure out how to make these colorful pinwheel in all sizes, and how to get them pinned onto dowels (or sticks).

I played around the ideas for a days.  I tried pins, push-pins, tacks, nails and more, but just couldn't make them stick without the fear of them popping off in an outdoor setting.  Then one morning as I was running the light bulb in my head went off.  (It seems my best thoughts and ideas come when I'm on my run!)  Use my nail gun!

I used the smallest finish nail my nail-gun would shoot.  Then I stuck the dowel, or sticks (we're using both), on the crack of our deck boards, shooting the nail into the top, so that it goes through the other side, but doesn't actually get nailed to anything!  Perfect.  Now just make the paper pinwheels!

To make the paper pinwheels we used various sizes, 12" squares down to 4" squares.  I fold them corner to corner, and open them back up.  This gives me a line to use for my cutting.  I cut down to about an inch or two from the center. 

Then fold one of each tip into the center. Set this on top of the nail and push through.  Now on the nail I put a pearl or bead, then take a pair of pliers and bend the nail back down onto the bead.  This holds it all in place. 

Because we used so many kinds of papers we often doubled up the thinner papers, which also gave contrasting colors and patterns. To make sure the papers didn't separate I just dabbed some glue on the corners of the papers.  For the smaller ones we used straight pins, with white heads.  Using a pliers I cut off the ends and curled them so a skewer stick could be used.  Then a dab of hot glue to make sure they stay attached.

The bride will line the isle of the ceremony chairs with pinwheels.  She'll also use them all around the reception.  Then as centerpieces on the tables, we'll have vases filled with sand and 5 pinwheels in each vase.  The pinwheels will be used on the cake and food tables, too.  Should be colorful and fun!

   Have a great day!  Blessings, Heidi

(Linked to Between Nap's Metamorphosis Monday here,and Tip Junkie Homemade Projects Tuesday here.)