Ready, Set... Go!

Today feels like one of those days
     So far
           That I am on top of things.

My husband is off to a day at work (Yay for a new job!!)
Following a good breakfast.
     Eggs with cheese on toast
            His topped with massive amounts of ketchup

The dishes are all clean.
      (Yes, this is a big deal!)

Everything is even prepared to make bread.


Yeast proofing
Cornmeal mixture cooling
and ingredients measured out and ready to go.

All I need to do is add hot water to my daughters oatmeal when she wakes up. 

     Even considering that my coffee isn't hot anymore, and I just noticed that my KitchenAid paddle attachment has a chip in the enamel, I think I am going to stick today in the "Win" column.

We are going to storytime today, and I have to do
some more work in the studio.
     Rings
     Earrings
     Gifts

Even more designs are floating about in my mind, and I am getting excited to make more fun pieces, which most often means kinetic.

I will admit it, though.
It still is really hard to balance studio time with a kid and a home.
There are always dishes to wash
     laundry to do
     meals to cook
And when nap time comes around, it seems more important to take care of those everyday things, so as not to take away from family time with the people I love, then to sit and work in the studio doing something I love.
None the less, this is life, and it's a good one.
So I do take the time to get to everything, somehow.

Cheers to new projects.

   

Play kitchen!

It was nearly a month ago.
Time has apparently flown by, faster than I thought.
I woke up one morning and decided that it was the day.
The day to make my daughter a play kitchen.
She already had the pots and pans
and the (somewhat mismatched) tea set
She should have her own, proper kitchen, too.
One that I won't be upset putting out with the recycling when she gets bored of it and I decide it is taking up too much space.

So I plugged in my glue gun
Retrieved my x-acto knife and cutting board
and I began to measure and cut.

She got kinda mad at me, since I wasn't really playing with her
And she didn't understand that I was making something for her to play with.
Finally, when she went for her nap, I put the finishing touches on her new kitchen
I stocked the cabinets, put cupcakes in the oven,
and waited for her to wake up.

It was pretty great, if I do say so myself!

Just because it looked good, doesn't mean I don't have plans for the next one.
Let's just say the next one will be a little sturdier (I didn't think too much about the direction of the corrugation of the cardboard!  OOoops!)
The next one will also probably be a different size so it fits in our kitchen nicely, and we can cook at the same time!

Ahh, kids are fun.

The hardest secrets to keep...

The hardest secrets to keep

Are usually the best kinds.

Platinum and Freshwater Pearl

A friend of mine was going to be getting engaged, and I had the honor of designing and making her engagement ring.

That is what I had in the works, and it was so difficult not to talk about it.
I was so excited about this ring-
Not to mention the fact that she seemed so very happy when she talked about her boyfriend!

It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to share in people's lives
To create something for them that they will wear as a symbol of love.

Pretty amazing.

Excitement All Around

1.  We recently got back from a little vacation to Vermont.

2.  We got a great new car!!

3.  Our daughter says alpaca.  (So stinking cute!)

4.  I just gave the ok that I would like to work on some interesting metal pieces.

5.  I have some repairs to do.  They are for my mom, but they are still repairs, and I think they are fun. 

6.  I have some new jewelry projects to work on.  (Sneak Peek.  Don't worry, they are always prettier in my head and once they are done than they are on paper!)

7.  I started working on a jewelry course curriculum.   It has quite a way to go, but I think it is a great start, and I am really excited about it.  

8.  We picked our own strawberries a few weeks ago, and my husband made really delicious jam with some.  I think raspberries are almost ready for picking... I CAN'T WAIT!

That's all I've got for now.  

Cheers!

Whoops!

Oops! #1
I have had so many ideas, and thought so much about posts that I want to write, that I didn't think it had been so long.

Oops! #2
I was starting to become worried that toys or other such things were acting as voodoo dolls.  This SUPER FUN pull car was broken the same day the radiator went in the car that I drive.

The difference is, I could fix this car myself with some superglue.

(And I did.)

I am hoping there is nothing else going on with my car- I have to clean up some of the super glue on this yellow one.

In other news:

I am still very excited about some jewelry that I am working on.  I can't wait to share it once it is done!

Also, I think I am going to start working on writing up a metals course that I would like to teach.  I am not sure where I will start, but this is exciting, too!

And... Still working on the job search for my wicked smart, super talented and amazing husband.  Ideas are welcome.

Parsley Pesto Pasta

We had (still have) an abundance of parsley in the garden out back.  It was getting to the point where I was concerned for the well-being of my young radishes, beets and lettuce.  So, my parsley got a haircut. A big ol' chop chop. And then I had this.

 A lovely, fragrent bouquet.

Which took up space in my fridge. 

So I thought I would try something new, and make some parsley pesto.  

I chopped up some garlic cloves and a chunk of parmesan in the food processor, then added a little pool of olive oil to the mix.  I threw in some pecans too, though I suppose I could have tried almonds.  

Pulse, pulse.

Add the parsley.

Chop until it looks good and ta-da!

It took longer to cook the spaghetti.

But boy, was it good!

I will be tinkering with carving wax soon.

I have to clean off my bench first. Ug.

Raspberry Gelato Trial

Hiding in the depths of my freezer, below the frozen pizza dough and rings of red "Sweet Heat" peppers, I found a treasure.
Raspberries.
Frozen in pristine condition.
Perfect for some springtime raspberry gelato, made with my new ice cream maker.
I got all of the fixings at the store and they sat in my fridge as one day blended into the next.  Mother's Day, the day I really wanted to make a nice dessert, was just too busy.  Plus, I hadn't read the recipe fully before.  It was supposed to sit in the fridge for at least 6 hours...  We went out for ice cream.

Today, amid the chaos of my life, I decided to make the gelato.  As my daughter ate her lunch, I pureed and strained the raspberries, then beat the eggs and heated the cream and sugar mixture.  I just didn't heat it enough.  I wasn't thinking.  So a little cream mixed into the egg just fine, and that mixture went into the rest of the cream fine too.  But it wasn't hot enough, and slowly, I noticed that I had broken the sacred rule of custard making.  *Don't scramble the eggs.

Google, Help!
Some nice lady named Sarah with  Baking911 had the answer.
Immersion blender.  Ohthankgoodness, I have one of those.
So after a bit of a fright, I ended up with a fine custard.
 Seven or so hours later, after the raspberries were mixed in and the ice cream maker worked its magic, we had some pretty great homemade raspberry gelato.




Additionally, I have some jewelry projects in the works, which I am very excited about.
One of which is fixing a pair of my earrings that my daughter was enjoying playing with.  She got them from my bedside table and sat in the hall playing with them.  As she saw me walking up the stairs, she happily said "Diam-boonds." (They're really only silver.)

I do like repairing jewelry.