Salvage a Selvage

Make a pretty chiffon flower with your fabric scraps to decorate a headband, hairclip, cardigan, or blouse!

Top: Salvaged selvage flower. Bottom: Regular scrap flower.

sal·vage

  [sal-vij]  noun, verb, -vaged, -vag·ing.

–noun

1.

the act of saving  a ship or its cargo from perils of the seas.

2.

the property so saved.

3.

compensation given to those who voluntarily save  a ship orits cargo.

sel·vage

  [sel-vij]  

–noun

1.

the edge of woven fabric finished so as to prevent raveling,often in a narrow tape effect, different from the body of thefabric.

2.

any similar strip or part of surplus material, as at the side of wallpaper.

3.

Also called margin. Philately . the surplus paper or marginaround a sheet of stamps: The number of the plate blockappears in the selvage.

I’m talking about definitions 2 and 1, respectively.

Cut off selvage (about 1.5 inches wide, ¾ yd or so).  Stitch along the edge. Gather. Sew in place. Done! (The second flower is made in a similar fashion from a long sort of weirdly triangular scrap.)

A less beautiful, but more instructive view.

A Patriotic Place Setting

I haven't posted much lately.  I've been on vacation. I tend to blog as a fun, sort of stress relieving activity.  On vacation there is little stress to be relieved, therefore I have neglected my blog.

Today is Independence Day, and I'm very glad to be an American.  Don't tax me without representation. Don't tread on me.  

A table always looks nicer when it is set. So, without further ado, please check out my subtle Salute to America in the form of....ceramic, silver, crystal, and linen.

Min-tea. Mint Tea. Minty Tea?

Hello Summer.  Yes, it is quite hot outside.  What's that? Iced Tea? Oh yes please.  Now let me just add a sprig of mint from the garden and I'll meet you out by the pool.

A Healthy Dose of Deception: White Bean Blondies

A Healthy Dose of Deception: White Bean Blondies

I like spy/detective comedies like Get Smart ( w/ Don Adams) and The Pink Panther (w/ Peter Sellers). I like preposterous CIA shows like White Collar and Covert Affairs. I like hilarious detective shows like Psych and Monk. I like getting-it-done-our-way-who-cares-about-the-law-we-are-the-law-and-we-are-also-like-a-family shows like NCIS. Basically, I like (fictional) lies, deception, and secrets!  To satisfy my taste for intrigue and scandal, I’ve hidden a scandalously healthy vegetable….in plain sight (I do NOT like the show In Plain Sight, actually) Better yet, in a place where you would hardly expect it! In….(dramatic pause) A DESSERT!

I’ve tried recipes for black bean brownies before (1 can beans, pureed + 1 box brownie mix= a pretty tasty fudgy brownie….by the way that’s a recipe I learned from a friend’s mom) so I thought it was high time to address a high protein, high fiber, low fat solution to the brownie’s paler cousin, the blondie.  Don’t be afraid. You really can’t taste the beans unless you’re looking for them.  I’m still fiddling around with this recipe, but they were a hit with my family- gone in 2 days! (I thought they were much better warm and on the first day)  I know some of you will think this is disgusting, but if I gave it to you without telling you what was in it….you might just like it! (But of course, I wouldn’t do that to you. So, without further ado, here’s the recipe.  Try it out yourself!  It’s also good with butterscotch chips or white chocolate chips added!

1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar

1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup skim milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup All-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon of baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts, chopped.

 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray 8X8 pan with cooking spray. Mix flour, salt, baking powder and soda; set aside.  Puree the beans in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Mix with brown sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients, mix. Stir in chopped nuts. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Surprise!!!

Also, here's a shout-out to my readers from Slovenia, where, according to the blogger stats, there are quite a few folks reading my nonsense.  I'm not sure how that happened, but you're very welcome here, and perhaps you can send me some Slovenian recipes....

Court's Favorites of the Week!

I really like this no-sew fabric flower tutorial from Disney at Ruffles and Stuff.  I'll be trying this very soon!

Check it Out HERE!

I've made curried chicken salad before, but this recipe caught my eye because of the fruit.  It's also on the list.

Check it Out HERE!

I really like this song...by Hanson. Hanson! You know, the boy-band that was so popular back in elementary school?  Well, they're still making music....and it's pretty great!  This video is sort of adorable.

My friend Jess showed me this Sugarland video the other day, and I have to say, it makes kidnapping look hilarious.  Also the song is pretty cute.

I continue to be impressed by A) Melinda Sullivan's tap dancing and B) Sara Bareilles' voice in this video.

And finally, to close things out, I'm a tremendous fan of the newest Hellogoodbye album.  So, here's one of my favs off of it, "Getting Old." Just listen to it, it's not a video.

And those are my favorites for the week.

Georgia: Just a scone's throw away from the UK, right?

As any true admirer of Jane Austen, I often find myself sipping a cup of tea while reading a favorite novel. In fact, I’ve quite the teapot collection, but that is another story for another time.  Now, as a southern girl my first recollection of tea is of course of sweet iced tea and I must admit that on a true Georgia summer day you’d be hard pressed to find something more delicious. 

That said, hot tea is almost equally delightful and certainly deserving of the appropriate baked good to accompany it.  In an effort to complement my tea with a worthy companion I recently tried my hand at making scones with a recipe I found in Southern Living.   I used white whole wheat flour rather than white all-purpose flour, however.  The scones still turned out quite delicious, I think.  I had every intention of adding walnuts to them but after painstakingly chopping all the nuts I completely forgot to add them.  To make up for this negligence I melted a bit of chocolate to add to their tops so that my dear little scones might not look so unclothed. Next time, I plan on adding dried cranberries and using skim milk, just to see how it works with a bit less fat. Recipe after the picture!

This china belonged to my great-grandmother!

Scones (Southern Living’s “Best Ever Scones”)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup whipping cream, divided

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Freeze 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cream, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

2. Turn dough out onto wax paper; gently press or pat dough into a 7-inch round (mixture will be crumbly). Cut round into 8 wedges. Place wedges 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops of wedges with remaining 2 Tbsp. cream just until moistened.

3. Bake at 450° for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden.


YUM!

It’s a Jolly Holiday with Amelia

**This post got deleted for some terrible internet reason, so I reposted it***

When I was a freshman, I met this girl named Amelia at the dining hall through some mutual friends and then sort of never saw her again.  Until this year (hereafter referred to as “the year of Amelia”) when we hung out bunches, mainly because:

1. I did ISM, and she was an ISM intern
2. I went on a mission trip to Costa Rica…which she led. Or rather, co-led..
3. She is awesome

Anyway, I’m kind of sad that we didn’t hang out since freshman year, but at least we had this year (she told me we’re “legit” friends now; I told her before we were “sort-of-acquaintances”).  Amelia is wonderful, so when she told me she wanted to come over and do crafts with me, I was pretty excited.  Our original plan was to make these adorable animal-puppet washcloth things, but at the last minute I realized I have really let my embroidery skills slide and didn’t have time to learn the chain and satin stitches required for said project. So then we went with making a teddy bear. We made a bear for Amelia and a bird for me.  They look……well….unique.  The bear’s ears are on the side of his head, I’m not even sure how that happened. His weird arm is totally my fault; I was the one doing the sewing machine. My favorite part was when Amelia said “If I tie this ribbon tight around his neck, it gives his head a better shape.”  Poor little bear. I forgot to put a weight in the bottom of my bird so it doesn’t sit up without assistance.  So, while our crafts may have gone awry, it was a morning well spent with a great friend….who is about to pack up and move hundreds and hundreds of miles away.  Amelia and Michael, I’ll miss y’all!

Tea Party. Because my bird can't sit up on her own.

Amelia's bear, named "Courtney Jessica Harrell"

My bird, Named "Amelia Michael Harrell"