Homemade Harlots take on Embroidery

Melanie and I try to do a fun craft together every week. This week Mel had the brilliant idea to start embroidery. I have done embroidery before but not a lot and when I did do it I really loved it, so I was ready to take on the challenge too.

I am making a folksy looking fish for my kitchen. I love the old folk art look.

and Melanie is embroidering her prayer flags, it looks amazing!

We have learned many different stitching techniques and are having a blast! This has by far been one of my favorite projects that we have taken on. I cant wait to share them when they are done!

What kind of new crafts have you been learning?

-Amanda

Keeping the House Tidy

Among the several positions the domestic artist holds, housekeeper is certainly a big one. Having things neat, dinner cooking, with dessert in the oven- and don't forget about kids being happy- helps every evening to go well.

One of my tidying tricks is to always grab something as I'm walking through a room. Going from the kitchen to our bedroom, I'll check on the laundry and see if anything needs to be transferred or put away. If I'm going upstairs, I'll grab anything kid related, since that's where their bedroom and playroom are.

Picking up little things all day makes the great pick up at the end of the day much more bearable. Some chores are considerably less daunting if you can do them bit by bit throughout the day.

Every day (sometimes twice) when the Roomba's charged, I run around the house (downstairs one day, upstairs the next), and get everything off the floor so Ruthie (that's our Roomba) can vacuum while I'm making lunch and getting the kids settled for naps and quiet time. I have the kids get the toys (we have a no [more like very few] toys outside of the playroom rule, so there's mostly just baby toys strewn about) and I do mostly everything else.

If there's kids clothes or shoes, I set them on the stairs to take up once I have a nice pile.

Before: Super messy kids area!!

After: Here's the stairs (with my 2 year old) and the playroom, after every container in the playroom had been emptied! It took us about thirty minutes to get everything completely picked up.

Right now, the only thing on the floor is the pile of laundry in my bedroom that I'm about to tackle... Which Ruthie just tried to eat. :)

Once you're able to find your cleaning groove, you'll be super pleased with the results!

-Melanie

Divine Chocolate Mint Black Bean Cake *Now with Hot Fudge Frosting*

This cake is amazing. Believe me, but still make it for yourself. I love cutting flour when I can, it makes my joints feel happier, and this has so much protein, fiber, and potassium in it because it has a whole pound of beans!

Preheat oven to 325*

Add the following ingredients to your food processor, as well as 1/4 cup mint and 1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces:

*1 1/2 cup of cooked beans, any kind/color
*5 large eggs
*2 tsp mint extract
*1/2 tsp salt
*6 tbsp unsalted butter OR coconut oil
*3/4 cup erythritol plus 1/2 tsp pure stevia extract OR 1/2 cup honey plus 1 tsp pure stevia extract
*1 tsp baking powder
*1/2 tsp baking soda
*1 tbsp water (leave out if you use honey)
*1/4 cup mint chips
*1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Blend till everything is very well mixed and the beans and chips are totally pulverized, pour into a cake pan lightly dusted with cocoa powder. There is no rising, so keep that in mind when you choose your pan.

 Mix in an additional 1/2 cup mint chips and 1/2 dark chocolate chips, then bake for 45 minutes, or until the center is solid and slightly beginning to crack, and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack.

I'm making the frosting tomorrow, to be used right before serving. Stay tuned!


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My super healthy and sugar free frosting recipe never comes out quite right, so I decided to give a hot fudge kind of frosting a try. It's NOT healthy, but mah gawd is it delicious!

Simply:
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 stick of butter
1/2 bag of dark chocolate chips
1/2 bag mint chips

Melt over medium low heat, whisk till well mixed and thick
Let cool for twenty minutes off the heat, whisking occasionally
Cut cake and pour hot fudge over each piece.

Devour! :)
-Melanie

Mmmmmmuffins

Every first Saturday of the month, I host a little playgroup at my house for moms with nursing toddlers. I always try to have healthy and yummy snacks, and with the holidays, I'm having trouble keeping it healthy. ;) Yummy is no problem though!

This is a "low fat" recipe... if you follow it as it says. ;) This time, I added pumpkin egg nog in place of buttermilk, flax seed instead of eggs (1tbsp flax meal with 3tbsp water per egg to be replaced), a cup of chopped cranberries, and half a bag of white chocolate chips.

Both texture and taste were divine, and they were gone so quickly! I only got to taste one because my 2 year old shared a bite.

Because they disappeared before I could find my camera, I didn't get a final picture! If you bake these, please share your pictures! :)

-Melanie

DIY Picture Frames

Moving into our new house has catapulted me into decorating mode. I'm finally able to do the crafts that I started forever ago, but never finished because I couldn't actually use them in our rentals.

I found these cheap wooden frames at IKEA (3 pack for $2.99!) four years ago, and even though I had plans for them, it never seemed to get finished.

Now that I have somewhere to hang them, and I'm allowed to do it (because it's MY house, bitch!), those frames are getting crafted!

I painted them all with acrylic paints (2 coats) in colors pulled from my couch pillows, and printed up 30 of my favorite pictures in all black and white.

I eyeballed the placement using two existing screws, which I took down. Using string taped to the wall gave me rough measurements for placing the frames in between. They're not all perfect, but I think it's adorable!

I got that little saying from an online store that gives out codes making their items free, you just pay shipping. Stay tuned for my review of the decals, plus a giveaway of one of their other phrases!

I think the frames fit perfectly in the dining room, and I can't wait to get my chairs recovered so it all comes together!

-Melanie

Tuesday Tip: Taste Everything

That's it. Just taste everything as you're adding anything, after it's been simmering for a while, or before you bake it.

If it doesn't taste right, think of what would make it better. Sugar? Salt? Maybe some cumin in a Mexican dish?

Use common sense and get to know your kitchen and pantry. You'll be tossing things in like a pro in no time.

Good luck!
-Amanda and Melanie

Soft Pretzel Recipe

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•  
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• Coarse Salt. Or cinnamon and sugar

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let sit until frothy, I usually wait about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour and add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, and elastic,  about 7 to 8 minutes. Oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into equal pieces. 

Roll each piece into a rope 

and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, 

dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Rub Butter onto pretzels and sprinkle salt on top, if you would rather have cinnamon and sugar pretzels add that after the butter instead.

We decided to enjoy our pretzels both ways! We had the salted ones with some cheddar cheese soup that I had in the pantry, it was perfect! These are so simple and way cheaper to make than to buy from the mall!