I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, but I did take a little trip. To Phoenix. To spend the week with Ashley and her new baby.

I had a great time and learned a whole lot about babies. He’s a cutie and such a good baby (well, it seemed like it anyway because he doesn’t cry very much). I actually baby sat - by myself - on Tuesday evening because it was Ashley and Torstein’s second anniversary and I made them go out to dinner. Eyvin and I did just fine - I managed to feed him and change his diaper while they were gone. Swaddling was beyond my skill level, even though I watched carefully when Ashley did it and paid attention when I unwrapped him I couldn’t recreate that trick. Despite my limited knowledge, we did just fine and mom and dad had a nice anniversary dinner. Success!

I took quite a bit of knitting, but didn’t do much of anything. I barely managed to knit a couple of rounds on my Jaywalker. The good news on the sock is that I just finished turning the heel and picking up the instep stitches. As soon as the sun comes up around here I’ll take some pictures and have those for you tomorrow.

I was on a serious baking kick this weekend. I made sourdough bread (but somehow managed to not take a single picture of it - I’ll do that today too), danish rolls, fairy cakes, and pizza on Saturday night.

The pizza is the first recipe from A Year In Bread and I was really happy with it. I made the tomato sauce and used the cheese mixture recommended. I made a meat pizza because that’s what Travis likes - Italian sausage, pepperoni, and salami.

Yesterday I made danish pastries from my new favorite cookbook and I like this recipe. You start by processing the butter into the flour/yeast combo in the food processor. Then you refrigerate it overnight and then do the rolling and folding business. I thought it was simple, although time consuming and the end result was worth the time and effort.

And finally because bread and pastry wasn’t enough for me, I made more fairy cakes.

I really love this recipe. Travis wanted cookies, but these cupcakes are easier than cookies (I know, it sounds crazy, but I swear, it’s true) and I wanted to try a different frosting recipe. Last time I made royal icing, but this time I made 1/2 batch of buttercream frosting. The buttercream was a big hit with Travis and it’s an easy recipe - just butter, powdered sugar, some vanilla, and a little cream. Oh, and blue food coloring.

So, today begins another week. I have to go to the accountant this morning and then get my hair trimmed. It should be a busy day (ha, I know - that really doesn’t sound busy, but…). Have a great Monday and a lovely week. It’s almost April!

But you might be tempted to think that after this post. Yes, it is yet another post about the baking I’ve been doing. Just so you don’t completely lose hope, I have been knitting on the Jaywalker sock, but it looks just like it did the last time I showed it to you, but with a few more stripes. I know I told you the other day about my new cookbook, but I just have to tell you again. Everything I’ve made out of that book so far has been outstanding. Yesterday I made an apple pie - the double apple pie.

This pie is very different from any apple pie I’ve made before. First, it’s made in a springform pan. Second, you use part of the apples to make an apple puree (pretend there’s an accent on that first e) and then slice the remaining apples. Third, the crust has a small amount of cheddar cheese in it that really compliments the apples. I have to tell you that I’ve never been a fan of cheese in my apple pie, but having it in the crust makes it so you don’t really notice the cheese itself, but it adds nicely to the flavor.

The pie turned out really well

A nice flaky crust and the pie wasn’t runny (which is usually my problem with apple pies)

Then, because I was on a baking kick, I made blueberry muffins.

I actually baked these this morning, but last night I measured everything so I just had to mix the liquids into the dry ingredients and bake them. However, I liked them better after they’d cooled, so next time I think I’ll make them the night before. These muffins are very yummy. Lots of blueberries and a nice moist muffin.

I do believe that it’s a good thing my husband has a major sweet tooth and can put away baked goods like most teenage boys. If it has sugar, he’s happy with it. I’m finding, once again, that baking is very soothing and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Next up I believe will be a cheesecake, but I’m not baking it until the pie’s gone. Even Travis would find a pie and a cheesecake too much for him. And speaking of baking, I’ve been thinking about joining A Year In Bread. It sounds fun, doesn’t it.

I know, I missed Eye Candy Friday. But I have a good excuse. I went to lunch and went shopping. I was pretty good - didn’t buy much (I did hit the sale at Gap Body, but what are you going to do). In knitting news, I started a new sock. I have projects that still need to be finished, but a girl has to have a sock on the needles. It’s one of those knitting rules. I’m sure it’s written down somewhere. Anyway, I have finally started a Jaywalker. I know, I’m probably the last knitter in blogland who hasn’t knit these socks, but what can I say. I was waiting for the right yarn and the right time.

I decided on a picot hem and magic loop. The yarn is Cosmopolitan from Yarntini (purchased at Pure Knits) and I’m quite pleased with how it’s striping. We’ll see how it goes from here.

The other thing I did this weekend was play with my new cookbook - How To Be A Domestic Goddess. I love this cookbook! Saturday night I made Fairy Cakes (aka cupcakes)

I also made some banana bread. I wanted to try the recipe because it’s a bit different from my usual, and I like it. It’s very moist and I like the golden raisins in it. Anyway, this is a great cookbook and I’m trying to decide what I want to make next.

I finally finished my lovely knee highs. I’ve been working on these for a long time, and I’m glad that they’re done so I can wear them!

Project Details:

Yarn: Piece of Beauty “Boathouse” - custom dyed for the longer repeat necessary for the knee highs. I used a little less than 3 skeins of the Boathouse and less than one skein of the Boathouse Blue for the heels, toes, and ribbing.

Pattern: A basic toe-up pattern based on Diana’s knee highs

Needles: I started on 2.0mm dpns and finished the second sock using magic loop. I love my dpns, but I’m really liking magic loop too. It made the sock go so quickly (well, the second sock went fast once I dedicated myself to finishing it).

Thoughts: I made these socks with some negative ease so they don’t slide down, and I wore them for an entire day without any sliding. The length of my legs made these socks go on forever; I was sure I was never going to finish. Sometimes being tall is a real pain in the ass.

Besides being a bit depressed and in a lazy funk (I can also throw sick in there so you don’t think I’m a total bum), I’ve been painting. No, I didn’t go get any artistic talent while you weren’t looking. I’ve been painting my bedroom. Painting, while a big project, always makes me feel productive. So, tell me what you think.

Before:

And After:

I still need new lamps and night tables, but I have limited space next to the bed so it might take me awhile to find the right ones. The dresser is my Valentine’s Day present from Travis and does a lot to open up a fairly small room. I need to order a roman shade for the window by the bed, but I’m not putting anything on the bay windows for now because I really never need to block off those windows. Living in the country does have some benefits, and not needing curtains is one of them. I was worried the dark brown would be too much, but with the light quilt on the bed and the light carpet, I think it’s ok. What do you think?

I promise I’ve been knitting and have a couple of finished projects to show you - finally. I’m going to try to get out of my funk and post on this here blog a bit more often. I miss you guys.