Catching Up on Some Baking Adventures

Caleb bought us a deep fryer, which was a super delicious decision, though perhaps not a very healthful one.

I tried to make doughnuts. The ones pictured below were my first attempt. They tasted good, but they were too dense. They were a very cakey doughnut, and I wanted a light yeast doughnut.

My second attempt was the Pioneer Woman's recipe. They were so good, I didn't even get a picture of them. :)

In sort-of-related news, here's Chloe's birthday cake from this Spring. I've been experimenting with different piping techniques to add some variety to my cakes.

I really like how this one turned out!

Love and Sugar,

Leah Joy

A Mario Baby Quilt

This may be the coolest quilt I've made yet!

I found this amazing fabric for the back:

Closer view:

I bound the quilt in yellow, as it was the only non-white color that went with both the front and the back. It's a super cheerful border!

While the center section is all composed of 2" squares, I did use larger pieces of sky blue for the tops and sides. Once quilted, though, it looks much the same.

I found this quilt surprisingly soothing to piece and press. Even the back of the quilt top looked so tidy and neat.

This quilt is for my nephew, my brother's baby.

Love and 8-Bit,

Leah Joy

Final Christmas 2017 Round-Up

Not at all overdue....

The following two items were part of Chloe's gift (my fellow Hufflepuff).

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I made these potholders for my mom. I love how they turned out!

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And here's a picture of our first Christmas tree in our new home!

Love and Candy Canes (Strategically Placed Just Outside a Toddler's Reach),

Leah Joy

New House Tour: Micah's Room

Micah's room was already painted a light teal, which was nice as it's fairly gender-neutral. (When we moved in, we didn't yet know if we were having a boy or a girl.) The previous owners already had curtains up, which were quite poorly made, but are functioning okay for now. I have fabric all ready to make new curtains for this room.

My mom (and Jo) helped me decorate in this room, too. We put up these paintings you may remember from Jo's room at our former home. Almost everything on these walls was strategically placed to cover any holes or imperfections (since we don't have any extra paint of this color).

Above the crib, we put the Mario wall stickers (also from Jo's old room).

I also hung this mobile I finally put together from the Mario characters I made for Jo years ago.

This is an ABC print Caleb and I found at Salvation Army while I was pregnant with Jo. It never made it onto her wall at our old house.

This is a print I had in my room when I was a kid.

I do have plans to paint the trim white at some point, but that's a project for another year.

Love and Goombas,

Leah Joy

A Dinosaur Quilt for Micah

After making a quite intricate herringbone quilt for a cousin's baby, perhaps I might be expected to do something equally intricate (if not more so) for my own offspring. Nope. I went super easy-mode on this quilt for Micah. Partially because I was 8 months pregnant. Partially because I found some adorable prints that featured better in larger pieces.

The front of the quilt is all flannel. It's so soft and cozy!

I found the perfect binding fabric! It has all the main colors of the quilt in it.

I used this adorable regular cotton print for the back:

Love and Flannel,

Leah Joy

A Josephine Doll for Josephine

Many moons ago, a friend sent me a link to The Josephine Doll pattern on whileshenaps.com.

I decided to make this doll for Josephine to give to her when Micah was born. That way, we'd both have a baby to take care of.

She named her doll "Dolly", proving that she's just as good at naming things as I was at her age.

Jo takes good care of her doll. She reads to her, changes her diaper, and gives her tummy time.

I sized the pattern up a little bit, so the finished doll is about 7" long.

Love and Pink,

Leah Joy

Herringbone Baby Quilt

This is a quilt I made this past winter for my cousin's baby.

I had so much fun picking out the fabric for this quilt.

I'm so pleased with how it turned out!

It was really fun to piece this quilt together and watch the pattern grow.

I even quilted it with the herringbone pattern, so I think the back looks just as cool as the front:

Love and Babies,

Leah Joy

Cinnamon Roll Couronne

Any other fans of The Great British Baking Show?

I was fascinated when they made couronnes, and wanted to make my own. I found a recipe for a cinnamon roll version, which sounded way better than anything they made on the show. I mean, come on. Cinnamon and sugar... Mmmm....

Once I got it into a ring, I took a picture, just in case it turned out horribly. I wanted to be able to see that it had been pretty at least at one point. :)

But it turned out beautifully!

And it sliced into beautiful cinnamon rolls.

While it was a lot of work, it's a beautiful result, and I would definitely consider making it again for a special occasion.

The only thing I would do differently is make some sort of rim around the edge of the baking sheet to catch all the oozing butter/sugar goodness. A lot of it dripped to the bottom of the oven and made the whole house smell like burnt sugar.

Mmmm....

Bonus picture of some football brownies I made for the Super Bowl. The laces were piped with a powdered sugar icing in a zip-top bag.

Love and Cinnamon,

Leah Joy

Christmas Truffles (2017)

And now for an out-of-season Christmas post!

Many of you may be familiar with my 'Cookie List'. It began in high school, as a way to give something to my friends, even when I couldn't afford a gift. It has since morphed into a way to give gifts to co-workers and church friends. (Read a better description here.)

Last fall, Caleb started a new job. At his previous job, he had a very clearly defined department, and it was easy to bring in a box of goodies for each person in his department. In his new job, the office is a very open space, and bringing in a box for just a few people would be, well, rude. Not wanting to make up boxes for all 30-something people in his office, we decided on a truffle buffet! (I know, right!)

Jo helped me bring in and set up a beautiful display of truffles. (It was also a great chance to meet some of Caleb's co-workers.)

Jo got to try one, too. Mmmm....

We also brought in a bunch of little paper-board boxes so they could pack some up to bring home. It was a big hit, and we plan to do something similar this year!

Love and Chocolate,

Leah Joy