things - bought and made

I spent more money. But ... I've also been doing little projects, so I think it balances out. I didn't spend too much, and thankfully the month of September is coming to a close, because that means that my September total will (presumably) never hit the $40 mark.


Michael's is conveniently located between work and home, which is disastrously wonderful. Because that means that after a long day at work, I can very easily cheer myself up by buying a thing or two at my favorite happy place.

There was a little silver pail, silver embroidery floss, ribbon, and moss. Yep, a bag of green moss. It's going to get used on one of my architecture models, but I figured it was crafty enough to warrant inclusion. Wouldn't it look darling in that pail with a little something else? In addition to the items pictured, I bought two colors of embroidery floss and more floss bobbins - my collection is steadily growing. Yikes.


I then decided to make myself a pincushion, because I desperately needed one. Since I use needles as pins, when they're laying around on my table (or the carpeted floor) they're ridiculously difficult to find and pick up. I also made a little pouch that I'm keeping spools of thread in and two little wallet/pouch things. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to close them.


I sewed them up differently, trying to see what I liked better. The green one has a cleaner look to it, but I kind of like the "clearly handmade" look to the cream one. Debating between snap, button, and tie closures. This sewing has helped me a lot with improving my control on the sewing machine. I'm improving!

sugar cookies!

My roommate had a review for her studio, so ... I made them (and me) sugar cookies! I went with my go-to sugar cookie recipe, which I still have no complaints about. I found it here and judging by the amount of reviews it has, a lot of other people agree with my positive assessment.


Ingredients:

2-3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter (softened)

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Process:

mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder

separately mix together the softened butter (microwaved it for a while) with the sugar

to the butter mix, add the egg and vanilla

add it all together

form into teaspoon-sized balls on a cookie sheet

bake in oven at 375F for 8-10 minutes (I stuck to about 8 minutes for chewier cookies rather than hard ones)

They come out delish as always. The recipe yielded about four dozen cookies, which was probably a bit more than I should've made. I intended to halve the recipe, but while mixing ingredients, I forgot. And how the heck do you halve an egg, eh?


I ended up just sewing a quick bag, lining it with a paper towel, and stuffing about two dozen of the cookies in there. The rest stayed on our counter. I attached the sugar cookie tag I made a few weeks ago to a binder clip, and then just clipped the bag closed. Looking back, I should have added some ribbon, but guess I was just being lazy. Quick and easy. This week is going to be RIDICULOUSLY CRAZY with tests, papers, and what-not, but at least there are cookies.

shopping spree

That last post was a tad depressing, so how about a happier topic? Buying stuff is always happy, right?


Yesterday I went shopping and spent about $20 on crafting supplies. Yikes! Why the high total? I went out to get some keys made, got lost a MILLION TIMES, had to get my friend to Google directions for me, and once I got there, was told that they didn't have any of the correct sized keys. Oh and it was raining all day. I had been out for over two hours (on what should've been a 30-minute trip), had no keys (which was the main purpose of my trip), and in addition to being stressed out, was wet and sloshy. So naturally I bought stuff, because that's what I do when I feel like crap - retail therapy.


I didn't feel so great when I got home, but the rain really was quite pretty and I normally do like rain. I took this photo when the rain let up a bit and my camera wasn't in serious danger. The white flowers just looked so calm and peaceful against the background ... if only my mindset would match.

remembering mrs. reinhart

Today is September 11th. I was planning on helping with an event this morning, but at the last minute decided against it. This evening I was planning on attending a memorial event, but I'm not going to go. In previous years when I was still active in my organization, I participated in their 9/11 events, but it just makes me too mad and too sad.

It's been eight years since, but I still remember that day so clearly. Today while getting ready to go plant flags in the south mall of the campus, I remembered Mrs. Reinhart, my language arts teacher. I remember exactly where I was sitting in her class when the announcement came over the PA system, instructing the teachers to check their e-mail. It was in her class that the television was turned on, and we watched the towers fall. Mrs. Reinhart was never my favorite teacher and it took me a while to think of her name, but I will probably always remember her simply because of that day.

So even though I was awake at 4:30 this morning, I decided not to go. I don't think I would have been able to take it. I was still planning to go to the event tonight, but due to rain, they've moved it inside to an auditorium. Indoors, I'd feel suffocated and would probably end up running out crying like I did a few years ago. Then they'd all look at me with their sad eyes. And then I'd get mad that they didn't seem sad. September 11, 2001, changed everyone and everything, but you would never guess it walking around campus - is that hopeful or depressing? As I passed by the display of flags that I was supposed to help with, I heard someone ask about their significance.

In short: I'm better left alone today, because otherwise I might either cry or yell at you.

one week later

It's been one week since my last post. From now on I'll probably only post about once a week because, well ... I really don't have much to post about. I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. As I mentioned previously, my sister came to town and we did sisterly things, like eat and shop. It was so great to see her again. Good Austin-y restaurants to try: Blue Dahlia (on East 11th), Chuy's (on Barton Springs), and Woodland (on South Congress). I definitely need to go back to Woodland because their meatloaf sandwich was ridiculously delicious.


We went to the Farmer's Market at 4th and Guadalupe on Saturday morning, where we tried some very yummy samples and bought figs. I had never had figs that didn't come in a newton before, so I was completely shocked when I first bit into one. YUM. So sweet ... so lovely. The picture is of the very last fig - right before I ate that little piece of heaven.

On Labor Day I went to a friend's place for a get-together she was having. To thank her, I made her some oatmeal cookies and gave them to her yesterday. They actually turned out really good. I halved this recipe but still ended up with a few over two dozen 2" cookies. The ingredients list below is for the full recipe, so if you want a smaller batch, just halve it like I did.


Ingredients:

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I increased this a bit)

3 cups quick cooking oats

Process:

mix together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar

add the eggs and vanilla to the mix

in a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon

add the two mixtures together and add the oatmeal

form little balls of dough (about 1" in diameter) onto a cookie sheet

bake in oven at 375F for 8-10 minutes

I haven't had a chance to make those reusable cookie bags, so I just used a plain ol' ziploc with a piece of ribbon and tucked in a note. I left the cookies on her desk yesterday morning and got a voicemail from her thanking me later on. This is why I love giving cookies - it just makes people happy! And it makes me happy for making others happy! All in all, very happy. I also finally managed to give my friend X her birthday pillows. More happiness!

But ... apparently my sister thinks I'm tired all the time because I eat too many simple sugars. Yeah yeah, probably true. I just happen to really like bread, muffins, and cookies. Is that so wrong?

busy busy me

First post of September! Life is so busy right now, in a frantically wonderful way, that I feel compelled to share everything with the world (but edited as to remove anything that could be remotely identifiable). Posts and projects are probably going to become a bit more sparse, but oh well. School is starting to pick up, and good golly, all that homework - sheesh! Anyway, I still have quite a bit of free time, so I had been looking for a job. And I found one! YES!


I celebrated by going to Michael's and buying myself stuff. Only spent $3.89. The picture came out showing everything as blue, so I tried photoshopping it to the correct shades of purple. Eh. Ribbon was an odd texture, but the spool was only a dollar. Then I got a skein of embroidery floss because I was running low on #333. And ... I bought myself the magnificent disappearing-ink pen that I have been craving for years. I first used one in high school and found them to be simply magical. They're not expensive, normally $4.50 (or $2.25 with a 50% Michael's coupon), but I could never bring myself to buy one, until now. YES!

Also, last but definitely not least, my darling sister is coming to see me. Well ... I don't know if "darling" is the right word to describe her. But I'm so excited! And then of course, Monday is Labor Day. Don't you just love holidays? This means I can be lazy (and catch up on sleep) since I won't have school and I won't have work. YES!