Our dog Dakota, whom I know call Frau Kota in honor of my sister-in-laws family…(well actually it might not be an honor, but I’ve started calling her Frau and it has stuck) is doing very well with baby Elias.  Pre-baby she would beg to go in one of the back bedrooms each night to nap, now she will not leave the living room since that is where Elias is.  How cute!  Frau Kota gets a lick in when she can, but other than that she really minds her “p’s and q’s.”

Here’s a future re-make project that I am really excited about.  This piece was left in our house when we bought it and I have held on to it because I think it has some fun potential.  I am going to paint it white, put some paper or fabric along the back paneling, and put some new knobs in.   ohhh, I think it will come out swell!

And how much fun are fresh cookies with a mug of milk?!  Someday Elias will enjoy warm cookies when he gets home from school…because that is just the way it is supposed to be right?

Tony has been craving popovers for the last few days, so tonight I gave it a whirl.  Wow!  Maybe it is beginners luck, but they turned out fabulous!

Here’s the recipe thanks to Ms. Betty Crocker.

-heat oven to 450 degrees.  throw your pan in the oven to get it nice and hot.  (I used a dark muffin pan since I don’t have a popover pan.)

-mix 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 tsp salt.  just mix until smooth…don’t overdo it.

-take your pan out of the hot oven and grease well.  (an extra tip if using  a muffin pan–try to use every other cup to allow for lots of air flow.)

-fill the cups half full and bake for 20 minutes.

-reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for 20 more minutes.  Popovers will be dark golden.

-Remove from pan right away and serve hot.  yum!

You can make these ahead and then just warm them up before serving as well!

A friend brought over a pork loin and a jar of homegrown green beans yesterday, so we dined well tonight.  This jar just makes me crave summer and the gardening season!  It will come…

This is a pillowcase I made using the pattern just last week.  After the little guy’s diaper leaked a bit on this one, I decided I better have a back-up.

Handmade Pillowcase Pattern

Use 42-44” wide fabric.  Use a ¼ inch seam unless otherwise noted.

2/3 yard fabric for base of pillowcase

2 ½ inches for accent strip

1/3 yard fabric for header of pillowcase

1. With right sides together, place accent strip on header fabric, sewing down the long edge.  Side edges may not match—that’s ok!
2. With right sides together, sew base fabric to accent strip along the long edge.
3. With the right side facing up, roll up the base fabric and then match the raw edge or your header material with the seam that you made when you sewed your base fabric and accent strip together.  Pin in place.  This will form a tube with your base fabric lying inside.  Sew ¼ inch seam along the edge you pinned.
4. Pull the base fabric out of the header.
5. Fold the pillowcase in half with WRONG sides together.  Trim side edges even.  Sew across down the side and across the bottom using a scant ¼ inch seam.  Turn wrong side out and press.  With right sides together, sew a 3/8 inch seam making sure to cover the raw edges of the previous seam.  Turn right side out, and press seams.  Enjoy!