Real Quick

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day!

 

My blogging has been pathetic of late.  That's not my intention, but the unstoppable hurtling-on of life is more than a match for me at the present. =)

 

So, in between everything, I'm swinging by to share a picture of my darling mother and I at a banquet I attended last Saturday.

I graduated last year, and to all intents and purposes am in the class of '10, but I'm going to be having a ceremony this year with the class of '11 as my family were too busy to do so last year.  I'm excited.

 

  And best of all, I finally had a special occasion to wear my green dress - the graduation banquet!  I think I'll be donning it again for the actual ceremony in June... I don't want to loose a chance to bask in it's loveliness;)

 

A dear friend's mother wore it as her wedding dress in 1949.

 

 

Look for more pictures soon!

 

Have a marvelous Monday, my friends!

Merry Month of May

Yes, It's me. =)

I am stopping by the blog in the middle of making a great big pot of lentil soup and cornbread for lunch to feed to the hungry gardeners working in the greenhouse.  It's a lovely rainy day, and weeding underneath that canopy of warm, thick plastic is quite fun:)  The outside world looks like a watercolor painting through the rain droplets streaming from the center of the hoop house.

• I am amazed at the undeniable fact that my graduation ceremony is a little over a week away!  I am looking forward to that with the utmost excitement.  

• My mother sprained her ankle two Sundays ago and has been experiencing pain and a great deal of swelling.  Praise the Lord, she seems to be slowly recovering, but we would appreciate prayers for her to be out of pain and fully recovered soon.  And thank God for essential oils!

• 4-H archery is going splendidly.  I am hoping to get a recurve bow of my own here soon.  Very fun.  (Here a friend kindly gave me the use of theirs:)

• A gorgeous swallowtail butterfly paid us a visit...

I have very big, very exciting plans both for my near future and this blog's!  I can hardly wait to show you what is in store. . . finding time to make these plans reality in the midst of a full, hectic summer will be interesting;)

Well, that's all for now - y'all come back now, you hear?

Love,

~Kellie~

P.S. I am very fond of wall tents.

Out of the Blue

 

Quite unexpectedly, I am heading out of town today (yes, my family is rather unexpected;) with my Dad to go down to Ca. to help him with some work he has down there, then, I'm heading up to Oregon to visit my Aunt and help her pack her home in preparation for moving!  I do not know as of yet just how long my journey will extend. . . 

 

• Bible
• Pith helmet
• 1 pr. white gilt, 1 pr. blue w/ rhinestone hearts sun glasses (yep, I'm a sunglass hog;)
• little green suitcase
• Sense and  Sensibility, Biography of Andrew Jackson & embroidery (for the car)
• Polka-dot a pron. . .

. . .I'm ready. ;)

 

So, I'm here to bid you all a hurried farewell, and the request that you pray for me as I embark on this new adventure.

Lord willing, I'll return to you in a few weeks!

 

Much love,

~Kellie~

 

 

P.S. I'm homesick  - and I haven't left yet=(

Nancy Drew Fashion Week {Day 7}

 

Hello, there!  

 

Here I am, one the last day of the delightful Nancy Drew Fashion Week. 

This week has been a whirlwind for me, and in fact several more things have come up that are going to entirely change the course of next few months for me. . . I'll elaborate more on that later=)

 

However, I planned all along to enter the fashion week by the skin o' my teeth - thanks, Lilly, for tromping around in the rain with a camera for me!  And here I am, just in time to share an outfit - though it might be more of a Helen Herriott inspired ensemble... the rain was not fitting company for most of my vintage/Nancy-ish clothes;) My hairstyle looks rather 1930s to me. . . that could be either Helen or Nancy:)  I'll take that as it comes.

 

Enjoy!

 

P.S. Don't forget to enter the Nancy Drew button badge giveaway I'm sponsoring at Bramblewood Fashion!

 

~ Nancy Drew Modern/Farmgirl ~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm making a rather strange face here, but it was the only picture with my dear doggies in it;)

 

 

~ Rose Jacket - Falconable, thrifted

~ Fair Isle Sweater - Tiara, thrifted

~ Rose print Tee - thrifted

~ Green Coururoy Skirt, Lands End, gift from a friend

~ Italian Leather Belt - thrifted

~ Navy Wellingtons - Northerner Max, State Line Tack

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

 

They're fluffy, golden, sweet. . .

 

 

And completely delicious.  

Did I mention that they are baked, rather then fried, making them infinitely more healthy (and easy to prepare) then the average fried doughnut?  Not that I can honestly call these healthy. . . but it sounds very good just to mention.

 

 

Recipe found at Honey & Jam.  An absolutely wonderful and breathtakingly beautiful cooking blog, by the way!

 

Baked Doughnuts
From Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni

(a book that looks quite deliciously and fatally tempting, by the way;)
makes 10-14 doughnuts

 

1 egg
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 cup whole milk, heated to 115F
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided, plus more for kneading

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

for topping:
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup superfine sugar + 2 tablespoons cinnamon (more or less, depending on your taste), mixed together

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg and sugar on medium speed until blended, about 1 minute. Add the milk, yeast, salt and vanilla, and stir to blend. With the machine on low speed, add 2 cups of flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until the dough is thick and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Switch to the dough hook. With the machine on medium speed, add the butter one piece at a time, and beat until no large chunks of butter are left in the bottom of the bowl, 3-5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add the additional flour until the dough gathers around the hook and cleans the sides of the bowl. It will be soft and moist, but not overly sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl.

Transfer the dough to the bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and roll out to 1/2 inch thick. With a doughnut or a cookie cutter, cut out 3 inch diameter rounds with 1 inch diameter holes.

*(My doughnut cutter is in storage at the moment, but I used a mason jar lid and a small bottle lid to cut out my doughnut shapes.  It worked splendidly!)*

Preheat the oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the doughnuts at least 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot until nearly doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

Bake until the doughnuts are light golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes, being very careful not to overbake them.

Immediately out of the oven, dip into butter, then directly into cinnamon sugar mixture.

Best eaten fresh and warm.  

 

Oh yes.