Mother Nature is messing with us!

It was gorgeous last week...flowers blooming...grass getting green...warm temperatures. People in shorts, riding bikes, skateboarding, walking barefoot.

Today....






Ice/snow/rain mix. Only 39 degrees. Sunday is predicted to be 70 degrees. Go figure!

Wedding this weekend. I'll try to remember the camera!
Enjoy!
Babs

Bunny Bark

It's a cinch to make!

Craftiness

Got some spring flowers in the making! These are super fun to make. I could do these all day long.



Going to make some Bunny Bark today! I'll show you that a little later!
Have a great day. It's nice and sunny here. Should hit high 50’s. Perfect for getting yard work done!

Coffecake Muffins Worth Writing About

In my post of yesterday, I shared a photo of the muffins I made for Saturday morning coffee. This was the first time I made them. They were wonderful.  Wonderful enough to share the recipe with all of you. Trust me, they will not disappoint!




Coffeecake Muffins

½ cup pecans
¼ cup (1¾ ounces) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and softened
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons water

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon until the nuts are the size of sesame seeds, about ten 1-second pulses. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the food processor bowl and transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and set aside.

3. Return the bowl and metal blade to the food processor, add the flour, granulated sugar, and salt and process until combined, about five 1-second pulses. Sprinkle the butter evenly over the flour mixture and process until the butter is the size of oats, about eight 1-second pulses. Remove ½ cup of the flour-butter mixture and stir it with a fork into the reserved brown sugar mixture until combined to make the streusel. Set aside ¾ cup of the streusel for the muffin batter and the remaining portion for topping the muffins.

4. Add the baking powder and baking soda to the remaining flour mixture in the food processor bowl and process until combined, about five 1-second pulses. Whisk together the sour cream, egg, and vanilla in a 1-cup glass measuring cup and add to the flour mixture. Process until the batter is just moistened, about five 1-second pulses. Add the remaining ¾ cup of the streusel to the flour mixture and process until the streusel is just distributed throughout the batter and the batter looks crumbly, about five 1-second pulses.

5. Using a large spoon sprayed with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking, divide the batter among 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle with a scant tablespoon of streusel on top of each muffin, pressing lightly so that the streusel sinks slightly into the batter. Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with several crumbs clinging to it, about 18 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Avoid overbaking. Place the muffin tin on a wire rack and allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 2 minutes. Using the tip of a paring knife, loosen the muffins and gently transfer them from the tin to the wire rack. Cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

6. If glazing the muffins, place a sheet of parchment paper beneath the wire rack as the muffins cool. Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and water in a medium bowl until smooth. Spoon about 2 teaspoons glaze over each muffin, letting the glaze run down the sides of the muffins. Serve warm.
Makes 12.
(Source: Baking Illustrated)



Watch the time. My oven runs a little hot so I baked mine for 16 minutes.
The whole batch was eaten....thats a good sign.  Let me know if you make them!

I found this recipe at www.thebrowneyedbaker.com
Babs~

Saturday Coffee at Mothers

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I'm Spinning

There is so much to do. Creative, fun things, that is. I see so many ideas out there and I am so good at " I can do that!"  And, of course, then I want to give it a whirl.  That has happened this week and I have about five projects in the works.

Of course, my last post you saw the market bag. That's project number one.  Yesterday, I was at a department store and saw a really cute pillow covered with felt flowers. Took a picture of it with my phone, stopped at JoAnn Fabrics and bought felt and started the felt flowers yesterday.
My blogger friend, Penny, posted about the cutest burlap flowers she made and now I want to try those.

 

 My friend, Lynne is making clay tags, I'm sure I'll get into those.

I just can't keep up with it all. I'm suppose to be helping Richie with the camper. What's not to LOVE about retirement.

Oh, and I should be working on the Easter Egg garland made from paint chips.  Oh, and I saw a darling felted easter bunny garland for Joslyn!.

So much to do.,,,,,,,,,
You know I'll have a great weekend....hope you do too!
Babs~~

On the needles

Market bag. I love the color. An easy knit too.



Mindless knitting.

Lovin' Life.

Today is in the 70’s. Lynne and I are having coffee together at Starbucks. Just sitting outside and moved in so we could see our iPads.








Just wanted to let you know what I am up to!
See ya!

Spring Arrives Early

Spring officially arrives tomorrow. It actually arrived early here in Michigan and we are loving it. Today, we were outside all day long. Cooked steaks on the grill for supper and now I am sitting on the deck composing this post.

Here are a few little things popping from the yard:



Pussy Willows and daffodils. I also picked some purple hyacinths in full bloom. Their fragrance is magnificent. The scent greets us the minute we walk in the door.

Oh, by the way,mthe picture was taken on my iPad 3. Great camera I might add. I also had my first Facetime's this weekend. It was great. My mother is going to take my former iPad. I'm so excited. How many 91 year old folks are out there using an IPad, I wonder. My mom is so hip!

Enjoy the wonderful weather, I sure am!
Babs

Happy St. Patrick's Day

May your troubles be less, your blessings be more,

and nothing but happiness come through your door.

~Irish Blessing

It's Friday Again!

My the weeks just fly by!  Particularly when the weather is awesome.  Yes, it's true....it's been so spring/summer like here.  Birds are a chirping, my pussy willow tree is in bloom.  I saw kids walking barefoot, skating on boards, wearing shorts, etc.  It's been 70'ish and the weather is predicted to be much the same for the rest of the week.

Needless to say, I have not been inside much.  Posting has been delinquent...sorry!

I made a batch of Granola yesterday.  My friend, Lynne, made a batch and gave me a bag of it at coffee the other morning.  It is so good with yogurt in the morning for breakfast.  Nice to snack on during the day also.

I think I'll dig into some serious cleaning this weekend.  Everyone is abandoning me!  Maggie and Phil are tending to jobs, Richard is up north.  It's just me and.......my new Ipad!  Oh, did I say I was going to do some cleaning?  We'll see!

Happy St. Patty's Day.  Drink Green!
Babs!

Estate Sale Goodness

I am so going to do this!

via Pinterest

I'm visualizing collecting these little vintage planters and using them for serving h'or douevres or you could do a little candy bar with various candy goodness in each.  On the hunt now.  In fact, there are two estate sales in our area this week; one being today.  Must look for cute trays.  I have tons of linens and various silver utensils.  Must obtain more silver though!  How fun will this be!

I'll have you over when the mission is complete!  Wish me well on my hunt!

Weather is fabulous!  Sunny....high in mid 50's....60's and into the 70's predicted for next 7 days! WOW!

The Promise of Spring

Forsythia Buds

Hyacinths

Tulips

Lilac Bush

Rhodadendrum

Crocus

Knitting Chair on deck

Enjoyed a nice stroll around the estate today!  Photos from the yard.  I know Spring is right around the corner!

Sunday dinner in oven:  meatloaf, roasted carrots and mashed potatoes!

New Ipad Sleeve

I had to make a fun stylish sleeve for my new iPad.

I love it!  Just waiting for my new iPad to arrive. 
Tutorial for ipad sleeve here. See her sidebar.
Babs~

And Another Belated Birthday Present...Yes!

Today, it was finally announced!

The iPad 3.....being released soon.  My wonderful Mother is buying one for me for my birthday!  I currently  have the original iPad.  Now I will be upgrading to one with a camera and FaceTime!  Yes!

Anyone in the market to buy a used iPad?  Thank you Mother!  You're the best~

Happy Belated Birthday to Me!

My sweet sister, Maggie surprised me with a wonderful, creative craft for my birthday! She delivered this "Garden Totem" to me over the weekend.

She scoured the thrift shops, my Mom's basement, her cupboards for wonderful vintage clear glass, cut glass, and decorative plates and vases.  She placed a mercury glass ball on the very top.




It will look awesome in the garden with sun light bouncing off the crystal and when the rainwater drips off the edges. I'm so excited.  Come on spring!

Thanks Maggie for your creativity!

Good Weekend Visit

Our little Joslyn came to see us this weekend.  My brother, Phil, refers to her as "Chicago Jo"!

We all had our time with her.  She was passed around and around.   It's been four months since we've seen her.  So many changes:  crawling, pulling herself up, clapping, kisses, holding her own bottle, eating food, baby chatter.  Wow!

 
  Jackie brought us a special treat from Chicago.

 Richard, Don and Leah enjoyed their little one as well!

Oh, and we had a quick drop by from Jake for Saturday morning coffee and donuts.

It was all about family this weekend!  We all love each other so much!  We even were able to get a face time in with Mike and Marlene this morning.....our Florida family!
Looking at the pictures above you would never know she crawls and stands up!
No one gave her too much of a chance to do that....we all wanted hugs and squeezes.  And, she played so hard she had to get a few naps in!
Time to tidy up the house.....

Babs~

Chicago Here

My favorite girls came to stay for the weekend. We're playing and having fun.