L'Abri Strawberry Scones

I spent some time in Switzerland at L'Abri Fellowship six years ago and I somehow managed to walk away with their amazing recipe for strawberry scones. While the original recipe was to make a huge batch of 75+ scones--I've whittled it down to a recipe for about 25. The measurements are a bit wacky because of this, but it works. I made a batch for some friends that came into town and they disappeared quite quickly. Add some strawberry jam and whipped cream and they become irresistible.

To make about 25 scones you will need:

4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup and 1/8 cup butter
1 1/4 cups strawberry yogurt
A wee bit of milk

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Using your fingers, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles a crumbly texture. Add the yogurt all at one and mix briefly to form a soft dough.
•  On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1 inch in thickness. Dip a 3 inch cutter into some flour and stamp out the scones. Place scones 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Brush tops with milk. 
• Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until risen and golden brown. Best served freshly baked.

 

Caramel Snickerdoodles

I saw this recipe over here and almost immediately whipped up a batch.

Just wrap up some caramels with 2"x2" crescent rolls. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Eugene Celebration Parade

 Family Nudist Park

Giant bike

Dino bike

Flamingo bike

Camel

Giant slug

Oregon Country Fair

Converse Shoe Revamp

I have an old pair of Converse shoes that I can't seem to get rid of. I decided to give them a good revamp--all with some fabric paint! Oh, and some good ol' elbow grease.

Stumbled On Favorites

This ghostly woodworking video is AWESOME.

This picture is really mind boggling...it is all one shot!

A lace map?? WOW.

Love this quilt.

Cute. 

Love this tumbler...Bookshelfies!

My husband sent me this to try to entice me into getting a dog. I think it is working...

These look deeee-licious. 

Cloud Hair Clip Holder

I have the cutest niece ever...seriously. I wanted to make her a little something so I made her a ribbon hair clip holder to hold all of her barrettes. Turned out pretty adorable, if I do say so myself!

On the Mackenzie Pass in Oregon

Map Journal

My husband is a map guy and after four years of being married... I'm hooked on maps, too. We have a whole wall of maps in our house. It always surprises me how many map themed objects and projects we have. When we were first married, we started highlighting every road that we had ever been on together--all in one atlas--and we just never stopped. Now after any road trip, we update our atlas! I flipped through the atlas today and so many memories came rushing back. Some states we have a lot of lines, and others just a little corner that is highlighted. It really is quite a motivator to get out there and travel those roads!

Here are a few of our more impressive states...

And we don't even own a car!

We did have a car in Michigan...

City Biking Truth #25

(Somewhat) Skinny Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

I don't often go for the double chocolate treatment but something caught my eye about this one when I saw it over here. Probably the lure of something being delicious but not TOO bad for you...

To start things off, preheat oven to 425. 
Prepare a muffin pan with nonstick spray. 

Mix together:

3/4 unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 large egg whites or 1 large egg
3/4 cups greek yogurt
2 teaspoon vanilla

In a separate bowl, mix together:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Combine both bowls--making sure not to over mix. Stir in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.

Fill up the muffin tin--should fill 12 nicely. 

Bake for 5 minutes at 425. While keeping the muffins inside, lower the temp to 375, and bake for another 13 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sunday Self Portrait

SUPER Amazing Cream Cheese Cake Cookies

Let's just start this post by saying...these cookies are amazing. I made these for a visitor that is arriving tonight and I immediately ate four when they came out of the oven. I've been holding back ever since. I may need to wire my mouth shut to make sure they last until her arrival. Ok, that might be a little strong. But just a little.

Cream Cheese Cake Cookies

You need:

1 box cake mix (any flavor..I picked yellow)
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1/4 cup butter, (room temp)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add egg & vanilla. Mix well. Stir in cake mix. Once mixed, add in the chips. Bake for 10 minutes on a lined cookie sheet.


Enjoy!

Original recipe is from here.

Painting: Three Admired Objects

I began this painting in 2008, I believe. I've always really enjoyed the three objects, but I was never happy with the background. So last week I pulled it out and started giving it a new background. And so far, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. We'll see how I feel about it in another 5 years...

Three Admired Objects, 12x16

Painting: Untitled

I've been painting up a storm this past week. Here is a finished one!

untitled, 11x14

Stumbled On Favorites

Couldn't stop watching these 275,000 dominoes as they fell. 

Teach yourself to dance in 365 days? Cool.

Bread sculptures. Whoa!

I love this sandwich book!

This quote struck a chord with me.

I want this hanging on my wall.

Green roofed buses...awesome.

Love Bill Murray and Wes Anderson.

Updated book covers. So cool.

Amsterdam bike seats. Fun idea.

Brown County State Park

I spent some time at Brown County State Park in Indiana recently with my family. We had a great time connecting, spending time in nature, and eating good food. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of the beauty that surrounded us.

Easy Styrofoam Finger Puppet

I'm seeing my adorable nephew and niece this week and I am so excited. I wanted to make them something silly and fun so when I saw this I knew I wanted to whip up a couple.

I was cracking myself up while taking these pictures. Can't wait to play with them with them!

Just for Fun Egg Faces

The one on the end reminds me of the character from The Goonies. And now I want to watch that again...

White Bean Salad with Tuna and Parsley

I've been loving the cold salads I've been making recently. They make for the perfect lunch.

Mix together:

1 can (15.5 oz) white beans (rinsed and drained)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
black pepper & salt (to taste)

Stir in: 

1 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 (5-6 oz) can of tuna

And that's it! Should last for a couple days in the fridge.

Enjoy!

DIY Polka Dot Wall

We don't have many blank walls in our apartment. I'm somebody that moves in and throws every painting and frame I own up on the walls within a couple days to make it feel like home. But somehow, oh somehow, we ended up with a very plain kitchen nook. And we can't have that!

So, I decided to add some polka dots to it!

I basically just cut out circles and taped them up.  A cute temporary decoration!