jane's apron

salad dressing for busy girls

I picked up this vintage salad book recently.  My vintage cookbooks are generally for fun only but sometimes they have a recipe worth trying.  I know that homemade salad dressing is so much better than those you find in stores...but I'm usually in too much of a hurry to whip up a salad dressing.  This recipe from the book, however, seems like something I can remember (no need to search for a recipe).  The exact words are:

Sometimes, awe guests by mixing dressing right 

in the bowl before adding greens - twice as much 

oil as vinegar (guess), smidgen of mustard, dash 

of salt, freshly ground pepper.

I love a recipe that combines the words 'guess', 'smidgen', and 'dash'...not to mention the word 'awe'.  

summer reading

I'm a sucker for regular stuff packaged for holidays...like these 4th of July Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops.  I put them in the bowl and left them out for my kids.  The candy was completely gone in a couple of hours. 

Summer is clipping along here and we are a little front-loaded on the activities for the season. Lots of work around getting my oldest ready for high school (and taking the step to let him create a facebook page), lots of sports camps, a math program for my other son (that has turned into a part-time math teaching job for me this fall), and a baseball season that never seems to end.  

I normally only read before I go to sleep at night but with swim practice for two kids for 2.5 hours each morning usually followed by at least a few hours at the pool during the day, I've got a lot of free time to kill and always try to have a book with me.  I just finished a book that I thought would be really dumb (and in some ways it was) but I really enjoyed it...Becky: The Life and Loves of Becky Thatcher by Lenore Hart.  If you are a stickler for details of Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, you probably want to avoid this book.  But if, like me, you think it's funny that Tom Sawyer is the father of Becky's oldest son (OK...I just have to say it...Tom Sawyer is Becky's baby daddy) and Becky borrows Huck Finn's revolver to fight in the Civil War then you might enjoy it.  

Like I said, I've got some free time on my hands.  I generally like historic fiction, memoirs, short stories/essays.  Any suggestions? 

picnic + rosemarie

I mentioned my vintage embroidered tablecloth in a post about my favorite cake.  As I look back at the post now, I can't believe how bad the picture is (this is the worst part of the LinkWithin widget...sending readers to a post with a terrible photo...I'm trying to get over it).

The tablecloth is a big one that fits a big picnic table.  It's not like we go on that many picnics but, when we do, I love to use it.  I seriously find something different on it every time.  Some of the embroidery is complicated...

   

And some embroidery is simple but so sweet...

I love the cat on the fence and really, really love the Rosemarie.  It looks like Rosemarie was just learning to write her name...probably a little too shy to put her name in the middle of the tablecloth...it's even sweeter out on the edge next to the pink rick-rack. 

summer sewing

I set a few sewing patterns aside to make some summer clipboards and finally had a chance to put them together this week.  Sometimes when I make a bunch of things (like clipboards), I can get a little tired of the process.  It's been so long since I've made them though that I had fun with these.  Rather than focus on the finished clipboard, I took these pictures to focus on the patterns.  Summer sewing seems to be the best kind...cute blouses, skirts, swim suits....and sunglasses. 

 

This one is a little out of my usual era but I loved the hat along with all of the notes written carefully on the envelope.

Summer arrived here in full force this week.  It's supposed to be 97 today (and we're in St. Louis so there's no such thing a "dry" heat).   I know it's hot when our black cat wants back inside in the middle of the day.  He's passed out on the couch under the ceiling fan.   Sounds like a good idea to me.  

just because

I usually save magazine pages as "to do" items...things to try, buy, paint.  But sometimes I find a page that I just love to look at.  This is one of them (from Country Living this month).  It's one of the few magazines that I still get (and that my mailman bothers to deliver).  Rather than stuff another page in my inspiration book, I thought I'd create a flickr set of my favorite pics...maybe they'll inspire a project.  

summer of independence

I started using the phrase "summer of independence" a few weeks before school ended.   I know that times of transition are a good time to try something new.  And for me, saying "summer of independence" is just a shorter, more succinct replacement for "I told you a million times to either put everything in one hand or put something down to open the door...don't stand there screaming "Mom! Open the door!"".   See?  Isn't "summer of independence" so much nicer?  

I've even taken it a step farther.  When my son wanted me to tell his swim coach that he had a headache and needed to leave, I sent him to tell the coach himself.   Of course there was a lot of resistance but, within a few minutes, I saw him talking to the coach.  Everyone probably has a crazy story about helicopter parents (like attending job interviews with their adult children) and I hope some of the stuff I make my kids start doing this summer leads us all down a more independent path. 

I need a little work on the independence thing myself. Even as I look at the picture of the girl putting the pie in the oven, I can't help but think "Let me do that!", "Don't burn yourself", etc.

The phrase has spread among my family and friends and I joked about having a "summer of independence" blog.   But then, duh, I already have a blog.  So, if you feel you might benefit from a little independence of your own, I created this small pledge that simply states:

Where age-appropriate and within reason, 

I pledge to help my kids 

develop their independence

through practical activities that are 

directly related to life skills

  

I created a button (thanks to lu lu at home for the perfect picture at the perfect time) that you can take to include in your blog or mail to friends.  Either cut and paste to your desktop or download it here (and link back to this post ).

yellow dot paper dress

Just hoppin' online for a minute to share a little something I made this week.  The paper dress was inspired by a cute dress in a Boden catalog I got in the mail a month or so ago.   Yellow is still going on at A Year of Color and I'm trying as much yellow as I can.

Keep sending comments to the "zipper idiot" post...believe me, I'm laughing with you, not at you (and so happy that I'm not the only one).  I'll pick a winner on Friday.

And what's with the "summer of independence" button to the left?   I started something with my kids that might resonate with others too...back with that later this week.

zipper idiot

Zipper foot?  Not a problem.  Sewing the zipper?  Got it. Deciding to trim the end of the zipper after it was sewn into the pouch?  Oops...guess I was supposed to sew that end of the zipper before cutting it off.  So much for sewing without cussing.   

And that briefly explains why there was a delay getting the placemat zipper pouch done (thanks to Julie for the tutorial).  I'll be making more of these now that I understand the workings of zippers.  If you try it, I'd suggest using a 16 in. zipper because it's a little easier to get around the zipper pull.

I wanted to give the pouch to a reader and then decided an empty pouch is not that fun...so I filled it with a collage and a few vintage sewing goodies including about a yard of some vintage brown embroidered gingham.   Just leave a comment and I'll pick a winner on Friday (June 12)...any comment will do but how about sharing a big sewing/crafting "oops"?

Thanks everybody for the great sewing stories...so, so glad it's not just me.  The winner of the giveaway is Belinda at bea's blabber who shared this...

I once sewed a performance dress for a friends daughter. The fabric was thin, stretchy stuff. Horrible to work with but got the dress done. Then realized that I had done the entire dress with the wrong side of the fabric on the out side. OyVey!

yellow flowers

I finished my tutorial for A Year of Color last weekend.  I knew it would be an altered book, I knew I would use lots of yellow, and I knew that I would add lots of "pockets" to the book to hold something.  Other than that, I didn't have a plan...it turned out to be a kind of flowery note holder but could easily hold photos, garden plans, or tear sheets from magazines.  I promise to share a tutorial because I'd love to make another one.   

I picked the color yellow because it was the most challenging for me but I am starting to like it.  Sunny, summer-y, happy.   

a recipe worth repeating

We picked strawberries this morning...not the prettiest berries but those are usually the best. The boys did fine but Ellen and I sprouted a few extra freckles and turned slightly pink despite our sunscreen.  Summer is here.

A couple of years ago when my blog was still pretty new, I shared my first "easy bake" recipe.  I think it was the first time I ever had a big response to a blog post and I think the recipe is worth a repeating.  It's my grandma's strawberry pie.  I have so many other things that I'm supposed to do today but I'm going to bake a pie crust and put this pie together for dessert...even if I get nothing else made for dinner.  Summer is definitely here. 

edit:  OK, we picked a lot of strawberries.  The pie is made and I've moved on to a simple strawberry topping from an old Martha Stewart Living Magazine.  Combine 2 Cups hulled and sliced berries with 2 Tbsp each sugar and fresh lemon juice...good for ice cream or shortcake.  According to the recipe "this topping freezes beautifully in an airtight container for up to 3 months".  Next up...freezer jam.