Obsession

I am kind of obsessed with my new hounds tooth ruffle pillows. I want to surround myself with them.







And of course hand drawn birds are so fun to create.






Of course you can view these items in my shop. And did I mention free shipping? Ya, a little bird told me....

Vegan Lentil Soup

This thick and hearty soup will keep you full all day from the protein, and have you coming back for seconds at the same time! Packed full of carrots, celery, potatoes and spices, lentils have never tasted so good. It freezes well so make an entire batch for tonight and enjoy the rest next week or in a month.

Ingredients – see below for notes

• 2 cups lentils, rinsed and looked over


• 6-8 cups of vegetable stock or water


• 1 medium yellow onion


• 2 cups of chopped yellow potatoes


• 2 garlic cloves, chopped or tablespoon of garlic powder


• 3-4 carrots, chopped


• 3-4 celery stalks, chopped


• 1 tablespoon dried basil


• 2 tablespoons dried parsley


• 1-2 bay leaves


• salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot pour your water/vegetable stock. Turn stove on high heat. Add rinsed lentils, carrots, garlic, onion, potatoes, herbs and some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer (medium-low) and cover for an hour.
Check often to make sure water level is not too low, adding small amounts at a time.
The end result should be a thick and creamy soup, with the lentils being broke down and soft. Taste to make sure it is seasoned the way you like it, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
Serves 4-6

Notes -

• Use yellow, creamy potatoes in this soup. I used 5-6 fingerlings - I HIGHLY recommend them! You can also use Yukon gold.


• I used garlic powder instead of whole cloves.


• Add more vegetables for more soup yield. I would have loved to see more vegetables in my soup – next time I will adding double!

Enjoy!

Patchwork Pillows + 3 Little Birds

New pillows in the shop - enjoy!

Playing Favorites

On Friday I like to play favorites. These are items from various sources that have caught my eye. I love promoting other small business owners - we really do put a lot of love, energy and time into our creations.

Enjoy!

Eco-chic Handmade Vegan Flats in Grey

Mod Car Quilt

Wise Craft

floral nesting bowl set

Green Vintage Storage Jars

Fine Art Polaroid- Summer Love- Alicia Bock,

Hello Sunshine - 8x8 Fine Art Print

Yo Yo Time

I started making yo-yo's when I was about 7. My Great Grandma, who taught me everything there is to know about sewing, had me start making yo-yo's when I would visit her during the summer months. I was fascinated by them! I still enjoy creating these little circles of joy to this day.

Vegan Banana Bread Muffins

Banana bread is comforting with its warm cinnamon and nutmeg flavors. Now you can enjoy them all wrapped up into individual muffins. Serve warm with Earth Balance spread.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil OR 1/4 vegan butter like Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup organic raw sugar
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
• 1 cup unbleached organic white flour and 1 cup organic whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 360 degrees
Cream sugar/oil with sugar. In a separate bowl mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add bananas to butter and sugar and mix well.
Now add the dry ingredients to the wet, making sure to scrape the sides and mix well. Stir in nuts at the end if you plan to use them.
Spray cooking spray in a muffin tin and add dollops of batter into each slot – 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins.

Vine Pillows II

More pillows added!

Vegan, dairy free, pancakes

Oh, Pancakes. How I love you. You are soft, luscious and irresistible.

I love making my my pancakes from scratch - no box mix for this lady.

You can sub the whole wheat flour with any kind of flour you prefer – this is a wonderful kitchen staple for vegan, dairy free pancakes!

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (1 1/4 cups if using flax meal)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons flax meal (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon oil, vegetable
• 1 teaspoon organic raw sugar (optional)

Mix the dry ingredients together, sifting if possible. Add milk, oil and whisk to make batter. Thicken by adding a little more flour, or thin by adding more liquid.

Heat pan on medium heat. Pour desired amount of batter in pan. Once you see bubbles that are starting to pop, flip gently. Cook another minute or so. I found that mine were pretty thick and they needed to cook a tad longer.

Top with syrup, fruit and nuts and enjoy!

Organize me!

I have always wanted to make organizers but never fully understood how to actually make them. You will quickly learn that I am horrible with patterns. I just cannot understand them for the life of me. But what I can do is take a project and visually tear it apart and lean how it was made. From there I make my own custom pattern. It may seem like a lot of work but in the long run it saves me headache and frustration.

I finally had enough detailed images to create my own version of a daily organizer - I love the edges and the custom appliqué I added to each one. Every one is unique, personable and stylish.

Cherry Blossom Organizer

Shabby Floral Brown Organizer