Pinterest review-Easy Pistachio Bread

Here's another Pinterest review.  This time I tried a dessert.  Well, a bread actually.

It was incredibly easy.  This is the pin for the Easy Pistachio Bread.  It uses yellow cake mix, pistachio pudding, and sour cream.  The batter turns out a little thick and sticky, which makes it hard to pour and spread, but doesn't seem to affect it at all.  The recipe called for a topping of cinnamon, sugar, and crushed nuts.  I opted not to add the nuts and it turned out fine.  Excellent, in fact.

This is a must do recipe; simple and quick!

Not to mention delicious!  Enjoy!

Julie :)

Pinterest review-Crockpot White bean and ham soup

So, after Easter, what do you do with all the leftover ham?  Or the ham bone?  Well, if you're like me, you turn to Pinterest!

I pinned this post for Crockpot White Bean and Ham soup and really wanted to give it a try.  Super easy to make, all you need is:

1 lb. ham, ham bone, ham hocks
1 lb. dried great northern beans, rinsed and sorted
medium onion, diced
3 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken stock (or 43.5 oz)
pepper
parsley
oregano
salt (if needed)

I added carrots (about 4 diced) and used a yellow onion.  Season to your taste; I did the "oh, that's about right" by sight method.  You put it all in the crockpot...

 ...and cook on low for 8 hours or high for about 6.  The whole house smelled amazing as this cooked all day.

It was ready to go when my husband, William, got home.  Just don't forget to remove the ham bone if you used one.  I asked William to test the soup for seasoning and he said it was perfect.
I have to agree; it was delicious!

The hardest/longest part of making this soup was dicing the carrots and onion.  Love it!  Can't wait to make this again.

Here's the finished product...

Perfect for a cold, snowy or rainy day.

Try it out!

Julie :)

Happy Easter!

I'm hoping you all have a wonderful Easter and get your fill of ham and eggs!  We celebrated yesterday evening and had a fabulous dinner.  My sister, Heidi, made cheesy potatoes, corn pudding, and an amazing crockpot peach cobbler.  It was so good.

Today I'm just relaxing and working on a birthday project for my sister, Jennifer.  Can't believe April's almost over.  Where has the time gone?

Next month I have a couple birthdays and a graduation party to plan.  May will be busy.
Stay tuned for the posts on those projects!

Julie :)

Only in Wisconsin...

So, last week I wrote how wonderful the weather was and posted a couple pics of my nephew, Jeffrey, enjoying the weather.  This weekend it turned cold and rainy.  Yesterday, was horrible!
I woke up to this...

You can't tell from the pic but it was snowing and blowing.  Just miserable.  High was 35 degrees.  And I ended up having a graveside funeral service to attend.  Not ideal.

Today it's cold, 31 degrees so far this am, but the sky is blue and it's sunny out.  Snow is melting slowly.  I'm hoping this is the last of the winter weather until Fall.  I'm ready for summer!

How is it in your "neck of the woods"?

Julie :)

Dreary day and garage sale haul!

While it's a cold, rainy day here, I still went to a garage sale which advertised FABRIC!  That, my friends, is all it takes to get me there.  I love fabric, especially when its cheap.  Remnants are my favorites, but garage sale fabrics are a close second.

I made an awesome haul; got nine different fabrics.  Anywhere from a yard to 2 1/2 yards.  And priced at $2-5 dollars each.

The three fabrics on the left are jersey knit.  The rest are wool blends, polyester, etc.  No cottons though.  They plan to have a couple more sales coming up and will be adding to what they have so I'll definitely go back.

Can't wait to start playing with my new fabrics!

See any you like?

Julie :)

Spring has FINALLY sprung!

Finally we have been getting spring weather here in Wisconsin.  It's been a tough winter. To celebrate the warmer weather and blue skies, here's an couple adorable pics of my nephew, Jeffrey, playing outside.  

Isn't he cute?  He's obsessed with being outside and I have to say, with this weather, I am too.

Have a great week!!

Julie :)

How do you DO that?

Several people have asked me how I make my bags/pouches, or even hats.  Honestly, I just make it up as I go.  I will most likely never post a tutorial because I rarely use a pattern, plus I never make the same item the same way.  If I do use a pattern or tutorial, I'll include the link on my post so you can easily find it.

Basically, I go on Pinterest and do a search on an item.  Anything really.  I pin those that I like.  If there's a tutorial or pattern with, great.  If not, I just use the pin as inspiration.

Then I search youtube.  I search for tutorials on anything I'm not sure how to do.  For example, how to insert a zipper into any bag or making a basic beanie.  Those videos I save in my favorites on my youtube channel.

Sometimes I use graph paper to make a diagram of what I'm thinking of making.  It will have the measurements for the item and any details I plan to add.
Like this...

Then I just make it.  Spend plenty of time sitting and staring at my fabric or a picture too.  Just thinking about how I plan on going about making it.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  If it doesn't, then I have ideas on how to improve it and make it work.  I just keep trying until I get it how I like.  Then I'll make several to practice.  

And there you go... 

Luckily I have lots of friends and family that are willing to use my duds or will be guinea pigs for me.  And they help me think of new ideas to make as well.  

Julie :)