patience is a virtue...

New post coming soon. I promise. Check back for ornaments, egg nog, and some more holiday cheer!

Happy Creating!
Ashley

p.s. here is one of my Christmastime loves (well just a little part of it)

Christmastime!

one of my favorite times of year (who's isn't it?). so excited about this Christmas. I jumped RIGHT into Christmas-y stuff after Thanksgiving. I'm not letting a moment sneak by me, as I have so much I want to accomplish this year. :) to kick it off, I want to share this:



for a complete list of instructions/supplies/patterns/etc., visit the kicksclub website. it's got all those goodies in download form for you.

heaps more coming from us during this Christmas season. thanks for joining us, we hope you keep coming by!!

xoxo!
candice

a happy heart...

"...and a thankful heart is a happy heart..."

Today is more than just food or friends. It is about being thankful, giving thanks for all the blessing in our lives, whether they be small or large. So today remember as you sit with family and friends to give thanks for the people around you. The good times you have. The things you have received. And for the blessing of life, physical and eternal, that we have been given. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercies endure forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34

Happy Creating!
Ashley

another new post!

amazing that this is already our 12th post. sure, that doesn't sound like many. but with our busy little lives, it amazes me that we've been so regular with updating. :) thanks to everyone who has left a comment or told me 'personally' how much you love the blog. means heaps!

so, as Ashley stated below we're busy working on Thanksgiving projects, a birthday party, and premature Christmas planning (tho I really don't think you can get TOO premature when it comes to Christmas planning!). all of that in addition to our little lives and everything each day entails, large or small, once again. I'm amazed that we keep up with this thing. life is good tho. I'm having a ball.

wanted to post a few photos of our fun little finds of the day. Ashley and I both live in a quaint little 'village' in which there are several antique shops throughout. this, of course, is wonderful for us. today we made a small journey to one of them. we were hoping to finish finding fabric for our Thanksgiving napkins that we're making (as Ashley stated, I found this CUTE idea on The Purl Bee a few days ago. we'd already been discussing Thanksgiving napkins anyway, and I happened to find this. perfect!), and that we did. we left as 'satisfied customers' to say the least.

our fabric pile.


our buttons pile.
who can enter an antique shop and NOT leave with heaps of buttons when they're priced at only 25 cents a sheet. I mean, seriously?!


so, I sit here with a fun little day behind me and a fun little weekend ahead of me.

oh! and that reminds me! a few other things I want to update on. from the KICKS site:

a new, fun little 'viewers submitted' section. we only have one up so far (the crisp that I mentioned wanting to make. I did. I doubled the topping. very yummy!). if you have a recipe you'd like to submit, please do. click to visit the page.

and a few other simple Thanksgiving themed items. visit the home page and watch the flash banner. you'll see. FULL of Thanksgiving fun. :)


xoxo!
candice

gobble, gobble projects and pre-Christmas wishlist

All is going well with the flower center piece but it has been temporarily shelved because I need to work on Thanksgiving napkins. Over at the wonderful Purl Bee blog they posted some instructions for some wonderful cute napkins. So Candice and I have busied ourselves with making some. So after a trip to the local antique shop for some vintage fabric, we finally have everything we need to assemble our Thanksgiving pretties. We are also going to make some placamts that match and I am contemplating a little patchwork turkey to put on the placemats. We also have a birthday party this week and of course pre Thanksgiving baking and such that must be accomplished on top of other non-crafty projects that must be completed this week. Needless to say this week is going to busy and we have a schedule we have to keep.

So of course tonight will be filled with napkin making and also "Samantha: An American Girl Movie". I have not seen but Candice says it's good so I am eager to watch it. We already had some yummy spaghetti sauce, which of course is my favorite food. Hopefully soon we will have recipe up for it.

Speaking of The Purl Bee, they also have a cute shop, purlsoho.com. Actually Purl is two shops in New York, Purl and Purl Patchworks. Anyways their shop has the CUTEST notions and such.



I want one of these so bad. They are retractable tape measures.

Ok so I am off to craft some more.

Happy Creating!
Ashley

Surprise! Carrot Cake :)

yesterday I made this yummy carrot cake recipe for a friend. the recipe is from my husband's grandma. it was the first time I'd made it, OR carrot cake all together for that matter. I always love trying something new, especially when it turns out. ;) here are some photos, with the recipe to follow.

the mixed icing (notice the heart?)


the cake, pre-icing (once again, notice the hearts? heaps of love goin' on around here!)


the finished cake


Surprise Carrot Cake

3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 cups shredded carrots
1 cup olive oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Filling:
1, 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg

Frosting:
1, 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar


In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Add carrots and oil; beat until blended.
Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to carrot mixture; mix well. Stir in pecans.
Pour 3 cups batter into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan.

In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar. Add egg; mix well. Spoon over batter. Top with remaining batter.

Bake at 350 for 55-60 minuets or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minuets before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For frosting:
In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar.

Once cooled, frost cake and store in the refrigerator.


NOTE:
I did not add the pecans, as the receiver of the cake does not like them.
also, I added a bit of cinnamon to the cream cheese icing. partly because it was SUPER sweet and cinnamon always works well with taking the edge off of supersuper sweet icing. and partly because, well, I just love cinnamon and assume that everyone else does, too. ;)



xoxo!
candice

I heart oatmeal!

one of my [many] food "obsessions" is oatmeal. I love it almost any way, or used with almost any thing. my most favorite cookies of all are oatmeal raisin (go figure). so, this morning (actually, I think it was nearly noon by the time I actually got around to eating 'breakfast') I decided to make myself some oatmeal. what better on a beautiful, crisp autumn day? I never use the amount of water it calls for, because I like mine thick so I can add milk. I added a little dab'll do-ya of butter, a few pinches of brown sugar, sprinkled on some cinnamon and added some dried cranberries. perfectly yummy!



and! just to prove that I'm really NOT all about food (I realize that's all I've posted about so far -- really, I do more than cook and eat!), I'm throwing in a photo of a more recently finished photo album I made. cardboard (sized and cut to what I needed for my photos), felt, and embroidery floss. simple and cute. this is the front. the back matches, minus the heart.




xoxo!
candice


p.s.
I made the crisp (without the raisins) over the weekend. should post about that (and another craft) sometime this week. so stay tuned! ;)

Crafting in my jammies

Hello folks! Today was quite wonderful with just a titch of dissapointment, the Buckeye's lost :(. But nonetheless It has still been wonderful. I got up and pretty much started crafting right away, while still in my jammies. But I accomplished more than just crafting. I did smoe typing which I had ben wanting to do for a looooooong time. And I also helped Candice cook, which was really fun. In addition to all the normal household chores that have to be done each day. Right now we are making some Banana Creme Pie, which is starting to look really yummy, and listeing to some old Switchfoot (Ode to Chin).



This is what I have been working on today. Well just a little glimpse of the process. It will end up being a little center piece for a children's play kitchen. Of course it's all fabric and I hoping that I can make a little fabric tube stuffed with batting as I stem for the flowers. I am not quite sure how that is going to work but I am thinking it through. It also going to have matching placemats.

Well I need to help finish the pie. So have fun and....

Happy Creating!
Ashley

I love you, Saturday.

days like this are the best. around the house, busy with projects such as cooking, baking, sewing, crafting, cleaning, organizing. spending time with friends and family, just living the good life. :)

one of my projects for today was making buckeyes. buckeyes have sort of become a "tradition" for us this fall. they go along great with our college football team (the Ohio State 'Buckeyes'). everyone LOVES when I make them, so I've made them often. :) and now I am sharing the recipe here. if you like chocolate and peanut butter (who doesn't?!), then give them a try!! I can only eat one or two (max!!) at a time, as is the case for just about everyone I know, so these last a while. they're great for get-togethers or parties.



Buckeyes

4 cups peanut butter
4 cups confectioners sugar (you may want to use more, depending how gooey or stiff you want them)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening

blend together the peanut butter, confectioners sugar, and melted butter. cover and place in fridge to chill for about 20 minuets.

remove dough from fridge and roll into balls (about 1 inch). chill in freezer 20-30 minuets.

in double boiler, over medium heat, melt the chocolate chips and shortening until smooth. reduce heat (I usually turn it all the way down).

remove half of the peanut butter balls from freezer and using a toothpick, roll in melted chocolate. place on wax paper until cool (I usually stick them in the freezer for a few to make sure they're good and set before I remove them from the wax paper), then store in refrigerator. repeat this with the remaining half of the peanut butter balls. make sure you stir your chocolate every once in a while while you're doing this.

store finished buckeyes in the fridge until ready to eat. then, enjoy! :)


xoxo!
candice

Corn Chowder!

oh, yum. wonderful during this cold weather. I made corn muffins to go with it. perfect!



Corn Chowder

1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp butter
3 cups potatoes, pealed and diced
2 cups water
1 can cream style corn
1 1/2 cups half and half
Salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in pot and add water, bring to boil, and then turn down to medium heat. Meanwhile, sauté onion and green pepper with butter in skillet. When finished, add to potatoes and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minuets.

Once potatoes are tender, add creamed corn and half and half. Simmer until warm. Season to taste with salt and pepper.



To thicken your corn chowder:
I didn’t thicken mine when I originally made it, but next time I make it I’m going to because I like it thicker than this turned out. Here are a few thickening options:

Option 1:
Melt 2 tbsp butter in saucepan. Remove from heat and add 2 tbsp flour. Stir until it becomes smooth. Slowly stir this into the soup. Allow to thicken a bit. If you still want it thicker, repeat the process.

Option 2:
After sautéing the onion and green pepper, stir in 2 tbsp flour and cook about 1 minute, and then add to potatoes as directed above. If this isn’t as thick as you’d like, follow option 1 until it’s reached the thickness you prefer.



some of the things I want to try within the next week (and hopefully post about!) include home made granola bars and apple & raisin crisp. we shall see!

xoxo!
candice

mmmm ginger thins

I would love to have something crafty to post on here but due to my great ability to start a project and then having to push myself to finish one I currently do not have a finished project to post.

But I am working on a cute little dinosaur stuffed animal that I want to put on the store. Right now I am trying to perfect the pattern but I have pretty good idea of what he is going to look like. I hope to have him started some time next week. But I have to help Candice finish her shirt and I have to cut out little dresses for some friends for Thanksgiving. And of course the many other things that have happen before crafting can even be done.

Speaking of Thanksgiving., I am pretty excited about it this year because this will be the first year where I can really help cook and such. Also Candice and I are planning some stuff that we want to do, cooking and crafting. So of course we are both happy about it. And of course I have Christmas on my brain also. I think I am one of those people who dive into the Christmas season with much enthusiasm (shh this is a secret. I am listening to some Christmas music already. Yeah I am obsessed a little.) Anyways so I am thinking about Christmas cards and the like. I have some ideas brewing but I can't tell you that yet. I might post some instructions if my ideas work so maybe in about a month or so.

Anyways I soon as Candice and I finish the shirt we are making for her I am going to post some instructions on how to take old skirts and big shirts and use them to make something different. Especially how to make them work for a store bought pattern. So keep checking back for that. and I will leave you with a little video to help get your creative juices flowing. So have fun and...

Happy Creating!
Ashley

more coming soon!

corn chowder and HOPEFULLY a post from Ashley coming soon! :)



xoxo!
candice

Thanksgiving Countdown + Apple Muffins

this week has been busybusy preparing updates for the KICKS website. here are two of the things we did this week (and there will be more to come throughout the month).

Thanksgiving Countdown Calendar


Apple Muffins with Cinnamon-Sugar Streusel Topping


for full lists of instructions/supplies, visit the KICKS Site, www.kicksclub.org once there, go to "Fun Stuff", then "KICKS Kitchen Recipes" or "KICKS Crafts".


xoxo!
candice