Monday, August 4, 2008

Simplicity 3835 and Other Weekend Happenings

I finally got a chance to finish this Built by Wendy blouse. Others whip this up in 2 hours. I worked on it in bits and pieces over 3 or 4 days. I'm happy to say it's done and I like it. It's a plain blouse but I like it. You can see my other version of it here.
I made the neckline slightly lower on this one. Not as much as I originally intended, but I didn't want to cut it down again.
It's feminine and basic. I may just make it up again in the future.
And now for the thrifting report. Can you believe my mom found me this beautiful copy of Mandy right after reading my post on childhood favorites? Thanks, Mom! This is much more beautiful than the copy I had in childhood, which was a modest paperback.
Faith and I had a great time thrifting on Saturday. We hit Bargain Box and found all this, including two striped pairs of pajama pants for Dieter and a dinosaur book--dinos are his current and ongoing obsession.
I love this Mikasa plate--there are two.
Faith found this purse and wallet and the belt there; it's fabulous and tiny, which is what she needs.
Thrifted bowl with rocks.
And our apples are ripe already. I debated various apple desserts, but decided to go with something a little healthier--apple bread. I couldn't really find a recipe for what I had in mind, so I adapted a muffin recipe from this book and lowered the fat and added whole wheat flour. It turned out great, especially warm from the oven. And since I was cutting the apples so small, I found out Rainer really likes to eat apples, so that was a plus.
Apple Bread
Cut up 3 tart apples into little cubes. Stir in a cup of sugar, 1/4 c. oil, and 1/4 c. buttermilk. Let sit for 45 minutes. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside:
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg

To your apple mixture, add:
1/2 c. milk
1 beaten egg

Stir it up, then combine with the dry ingredients. I baked this in a large-ish loaf pan. I started it at 400 but it browned too fast, so adjust accordingly. Keep checking for doneness. It might have taken around 45 minutes, not sure. It's delicious, though, so do try it, especially if, like me, you have apples in your yard.
Next time I may add a higher proportion of whole wheat, maybe even adjust the sugar--sub part of it for maples syrup? But it's great as is, so I may not tinker.

August already, can you believe it? I can't. I'm starting to think in terms of back to school. I have to say I hate to see summer end, but in truth, I've been through this transition before (many times) and it always works out in the end. I do like working and I'm ever mindful of how lucky I am to have a job that I love. On my mind right now: work clothes, mending, lunches, especially minimizing the trash associated with my teens' lunches, getting Jacob off to college, scheduling Rainer's chemo so I can be there most times (e.g. afternoons would work better for my work schedule), etc. etc. Back to school shopping and school supplies are the fun part, so hopefully there will be some of that too.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

The bread looks incredible. And I love the blouse.

Jessica said...

I love that Built By Wendy pattern-the shirts always turn out great. I'm going to have to try this apple bread...we used to have apple trees in our back yard but now at least the neighbor does!

ames said...

What a lovely copy of Mandy! I adore that book, but I also have only the paperback one. I think my favorite part was the room of seashells.

I bookmarked your apple bread, it looks delicious! I'm going to take a ladder down to my apple tree and see if the deer left me any good ones :)

Laura said...

I love the style and fabric of your new blouse!

We just got a box of apples from my parents and I'm looking forward to making lots of applesauce.

Mozi Esme said...

The apple bread looks wonderful!

Happy getting ready for school!

Sarah said...

That bread looks delicious! You are lucky to have so many yummy things growing in your own yard!

Kelli said...

great finds and the apple bread sounds yummr

Its_Lily said...

Super comfy blouse! Must add this to my to-do list. Not the short list though.