De-Clutter Project (Part II)

I really need to do another de-clutter project with my stuff. This time it will entail purging my belongings of useless and unused items. This weekend I'm planning on painting Ariana's room. From there I'll begin getting rid of stuff and organizing what I keep. Okay, now that I've written it down I'll be motivated to get it done.

Hugs-N-Kisses

Here's my first completed project from sewing group.

B&B Apple Berry Cake

I love making this cake because it always looks so pretty (and yes, it is very tasty). Here are my only complaints on this recipe, it takes a while to prepare and I always lose the recipe. I had to go through my old Lewis Laughter's to find the recipe. Then I had to call Mom to clarify a few things. So, I usually spend an hour preparing (looking for recipe included). Anyhow, here it is:

B&B Apple Berry Cake

Dry Ingredients:
3 c flour
2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs baking powder

Wet Ingredients:
1 c Canola oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

4 Granny Smith apples, sliced very thing
1/2 c fresh blueberries

sugar and cinnamon, to taste

After separately mixing the dry and wet ingredients, combine them until smooth and no more. Put half of the cake dough in a tube pan (buttered and floured). Put half of the sliced apples and half of the blueberries on top. sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to taste. Add rest of dough and then layer with the apples and blueberries. Sprinkle more sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Check with bamboo stick for raw spots. Cook longer if needed. Cool ten minutes and unmold. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Okay, here are the variations to this recipe. I usually don't care to use so much oil in a recipe so you can use the squeezable Parkay, or melt one stick butter and add 1/2 cup of the Canola oil. I like to have a buttery taste in my cake. Also, 4 medium Granny Smith apples leaves me with about 2 apples left over. It depends on how thin you slice your apples on how much you have left over. Check the cake with a bamboo stick to make sure it is cooked all the way. I always have to leave it in for another 10 minutes.

Celtic Knot Quilt

I'm so happy that I finally finished my Celtic knot quilt. It has been a time consuming project, but well worth it. I learned how to make the bias strips and then appliqued them. You can see in the detail pictures below.



It was a little confusing when I first began the Celtic knots because they weave back and forth. I have to make sure that the correct strip was on top and on the bottom. When I picked out the fabric for my quilt I just went for colors that matched and figured that it would all work out in the end. I think that it worked out very nicely. This final picture it the material detail from the back of the quilt.


The quilt was machine quilted and then I did the binding myself.

What to Say?

Yesterday I found out that a friend of mine is terminally ill. She's had several battles with cancer, but this time cancer has won. Right now she's not seeing anyone except for her husband and immediate family. She is an amazing girl who always thinks of others before herself. I don't want do say good bye, but I do want to let her know that I love her and appreciate her. I'm glad that she's been in my life. How do I say it though? I've never been one to express myself very well.