recipe review - dinner rolls

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i have no idea why, but i am the world's worst baker. this cannot be the first time you have heard me say as much. recently i decided i to master bread of some sort. easy for you perhaps, quantum physics for me. actually, quantum physics i do get.

all attempts have been failures. not always salvageable either. i believe, after tasting the last loaf, manylman suggested we buy pizza for dinner.

imagine my surprise tonight, when i successfully made the above pull-apart dinner rolls! feeling a bit dizzy, are you? well sit down my one & only reader, because there is more. that (blurrytakenwiththehobbit'sitouch) photo up there? that. is. mine. i know! it's as if a more together version of me has taken over. it's pod-kat!

they were quite delicious, in case you were wondering. the only thing i changed was the type of flour; i used organic unbleached all-purpose. i don't like whole wheat. i'd like to try them with garlic powder & parsley added to the dough. yum.

these rolls are baked in muffin tins. i want to make tiny ones, in my mini tins, but am not sure of the baking time. for smaller rolls do i bake them less? how much less? i'd love advice from you people who do manage to successfully bake on a regular basis.

~peace.

a-b-c spells oops

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little ones love stamps, & mine is no exception. this past christmas, santa gave elfling this beautiful alphabet stamp set . he also, like his mama, loves letters, so santa made elfling quite happy with stamping letters.

as you can see from this photo, the wooden handles are covered in ink - proof of his love. what that photo does not show is santa's wee goof. he did not pay attention when affixing the stickers to the tops of the handles. i am sure he meant to, but was probably so busy on christmas eve, that he did not give a second thought to which way the stickers should face. had he done so, words would not look thusly:

oops.

~peace.

making the mundane pretty since 2012

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photo :: property of ormolou

this gorgeous old tray reminded me of something about which i'd been meaning to chat - my trash station. 

after too many years spent complaining that something liquid found its way into the trash, causing a leak that i (of course) stepped in, i did something about it. 

i took an old rectangular tray that had barely any silver-plate left, jumped for joy that it fit the spot where i kept the bags, then jumped even higher for joy that two paper bags fit perfectly on the tray.

the lip of the tray keeps any leaks contained, & is easy to wash/dry. that should be the best part of this, but it isn't. the best part is that it looks ever so pretty.

i would photograph the trash station for you, but that would mean i would have to first clean the kitchen. or that part of it, at the very least. 

how do you make the mundane pretty?

~peace.

before you yell at me for using paper bags - for most shopping i use cloth bags, however, i re-use the paper bags from one shop to make shipping envelopes. i also use them for collecting trash in the kitchen. i know it's best to use cloth bags for all shopping, but this way i am getting a second use for the bags, replacing the need to buy things that would get only one use to begin with (trash bags, shipping envelopes, doodle pads).

used book shop - chapter two

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& now for the treasures i mentioned yesterday! this first one is a 1965 copy of punch & judy, illustrated by ed emberley. the cover is gloriously faded & tattered, & just look within:

i was telling manlyman how i never much cared for illustrations from the 50s through 70s, until now. there must be a hormone that is released, when one becomes a certain age, that makes us crave the things we saw in our youth. (i am not a child of the 50s or 60s mind you, most of my books were used even then.)

the other treasure was an old copy of the night before christmas, illustrated by leonard weisgard.

the original was done in 1949, but my copy has a print date of 1978. i nearly walked past the book, as i am not in the habit of buying holiday items once a holiday has passed, but something made me take a peek. oh am i glad i did!

the illustrations are beautiful in their simplicity, & (unlike the cover) there is not a smudge or tear to be found within. i think i need to start a holiday book bin. i imagine the books would last longer were they not stuffed in the bins with their respective holiday decorations. anyway...

do vintage books get you all swoony too? what are some of your favorites?
~peace.