Saturday, February 26, 2011

Spring Fever and Sunspots

Winter has been long and some of us are just completely over it!! I mean when it's 10 degrees outside and your fighting the cat for all the sunspots in the house it just has to end....soon....


I'm trying to notice the beauty in it but....


it just makes me cold...


we drank hot cocoa but my heart wasn't in it...

I want green, I want sprouts, I want a warm Chinook, meadowlarks and rhubarb...but the heater just kicked on...


 ...move over kitty!

May warm breezes be blowing your way...soon,
Darcie

P.S. This is one of my favorite Tumbled Trinkets pics because the different shades of blue in this pair of upcycled glass earrings remind me of tropical waters and the lilacs in the background remind me of Spring....

...sigh, I can almost smell the lilacs...
...there goes the heater.



Thursday, February 24, 2011

Chocolate Mint Brownies

I had a request for my Chocolate Mint Brownie recipe so I thought I would share...


...here's what they look like...and they're melt-in-your-mouth good! Don't bother with napkins... 


just lick your fingers or if you're 8.... your nose.


Chocolate Mint Brownies

Brownies:
 1 c butter (not margarine!!)
3/4 c cocoa
4 eggs (I love to use local fresh eggs)
1 3/4 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1 1/4 c flour
3/4 c walnuts (optional, but I always add them)

Melt butter in saucepan (or microwave safe pan) and add cocoa. Transfer to mixing bowl and beat in eggs, sugar and salt. Blend in flour and nuts until just blended. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan (*important note - lick all the spatulas and spoons...try not to get it on your nose) and bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I like mine to be moist so I pull them out a sooner as opposed to later. Cool.

Mint Frosting:
1/2 c butter (not margarine... but I think I mentioned that)
3 c powdered sugar
1/4 c whipping cream
1 1/4 t peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

Beat all ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Spread on cooled brownies (once again, lick all utensils the mint icing touched)! Let sit 15 minutes before adding the chocolate icing.

Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 c butter (no...see above)
1/2 c cocoa
2 3/4 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
3-4 T hot water

Melt butter in saucepan (or microwave safe pan) add cocoa and blend. In mixing bowl combine powdered sugar, cocoa mixture and vanilla. Add hot water 1 T at a time until creamy. Spread over mint frosting and indulge (more licking..if necessary)! Makes 2 dozen.

 I made a torte version for "A Date With Chocolate" contest several years ago and won first place in the business (Tumbled Trinkets) category.

Blissfully,
Darcie 







Monday, February 21, 2011

Wounded Fingers and Hazard Pay!!

This past week I have been cutting glass for a new series of recycled glass pins. So far, I've cut out baby chicks, caterpillars, dragonflies and a brand new design that I can't wait to show you.... you'll have to wait...but here's a clue....

...because I can't stand it when people say, "you'll have to wait,"
....makes me nuts!!

Now cutting glass is not without it's hazards...


...and I have the wounds to prove it!



...and I think I should get hazardous pay but since I'm my own boss and I don't pay myself.... that seems rather unlikely... I'll just go buy more band-aids!

Darcie

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Valentine's Day and Lemhi Lumber - Success and a Mountain of Cookies!

On February 14th I hauled all my Tumbled Trinkets and 8 million cookies to Lemhi Lumber hoping to successfully bring Valentine's shopping into guy territory...by 9:30 I thought this may be the worst idea I've ever had. We had been open for an hour and a half without even a bite (unless you count all the cookies we had already eaten). Then Sherry (one of the employees) came shopping for her daughter...she saved my ego...


She toiled with her decision because she is the mother of a teenage daughter and all of us who have teenage daughters can relate to her plight...we used to be able to pick out things our daughters loved but now when we bring things home they look at us as if we had a third eye...she picked out upcycled pink earrings and a pendant and hoped for the best...and we ate more cookies...



Then two guys from the car dealership across the street came in (one was the husband of my Yoga instructor, Kit... she actually sent him in and told him to bring friends...and he did...God Bless husbands who listen, they have happy wives... with really cute earrings!


Judging by the dorky look on my face I'm not buying whatever Dave (plaid) is saying! 



...more people came in and the day turned into a complete success...

but as the day went on, I began to notice one thing...I had made WAY to many cookies. When I came up with this Valentine's/Lumber Store idea my girlfriend Cyndi told me," make sure you don't run out of cookies"....I took her literally and made 8 million cookies... as the day progressed it became apparent that we were not going to make a dent in the cookies....


...by 11:30, I became a cookie pimp..


...ironically, I made a batch of chocolate mint brownies just in case we ran out of cookies...


Beth did her part by eating so many that she spoiled her lunch...she came back complaining that she ate way too many cookies but she ate more just to help the cause (along with a brownie)...what a trooper!



...no one was leaving without cookies...now mind you, these are REALLY good cookies and the brownies can make your heart sing so everyone was willing but the numbers were just to staggering...


...I took cookies to the nursing home, my friend Debbie, my daughter's friends, teachers, Russ's work (where I saved Mardi from a bag of dry Captain Crunch with a mint brownie), my friends Rhonda, Jenn and Patti... the list goes on and I still have some left...so the moral of the story is...sometimes you can have TOO many cookies which up to this point I would have never dreamed possible...


...if your in the neighborhood please stop by for a cookie.

Darcie

Thanks to everyone who made this day a success, especially Fred and Lemhi Lumber who let us run with our crazy idea!!



P.S. Sherry's daughter came in after school and picked out different earrings...God love Sherry for trying!!
.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

She's Only My Dog When The Mixer Turns On

Remember the 8 million cookies I needed to make for the Valentine's Day sale at the Lumber Store...I 've made over 12 batches and I can't take it anymore, neither can the dog. We're both getting chubby. Here's our story...


Let's face it my dog really isn't MY dog...unless she hears the mixer turn on....


...when she hears the hum of the Kitchenaid she silently appears and I become her most true and dear companion...


...she loves me for my cookies and she will hover in the kitchen until the last batch comes out...


...she wants to make sure I know she's there...

...yep...still there....

...pay no attention to the cat...

...she's not really worthy of cookies... 

Now, I could be offended by her fleeting love for me but truth be told I have loved just about every cookie I ever had a relationship with so I understand her plight...sometimes we girls just have to stick together...


and go buy bigger pants!!

Darcie

P.S. It's getting down to the wire for Valentine's Day shipping and dazzling upcycled glass earrings are ONE SIZE FITS ALL... hallelujah!! 

I like these...


and if you have to spell it out these Scrabble earrings should do the trick!!





Friday, February 4, 2011

Valentine's Update - Tumbled Trinkets, Lemhi Lumber and The Mayor

I said I would keep you all updated with the Valentine's/Lumber Store saga so this is Part II...The Radio Ad.

Now, last time I introduced you to Fred, the lumber store manager...


...and one thing I have learned in the short time that I have known Fred is that he DOES NOT like to talk on the radio...

...so this week he introduced me to the Mayor.

Leo Marshall is the mayor of our fine town and a broadcaster for our local radio station...


...so Fred and I decided to pay him a visit. Leo always reads Fred's radio spots for him but we all thought it might be a nice change if I read the ad...I had no idea what this entailed but I was willing to give it a shot and Fred certainly wasn't going to do it!! From the moment we walked into the studio Fred was making sure Leo wasn't pressing any buttons that might make our visit a live broadcast. So at 8:30 the next morning I went to the radio station to record the ad that I fretted over...


Yikes...in 3, 2, 1...


I was hoping the ad sounded clever as opposed to corny....but corny works AND I got to chat with Leo...


...about all sorts of things...like multitasking, balance, the town of Salmon, and this bit of broadcasting trivia: in the old days of broadcasting the record "Hotel California" was considered a safe bet if you had to use the latrine because the song was at least six minutes long...who knew (a bunch of old broadcasters that's who)! 

We didn't solve any of the world's problems but today I met someone not as the "Mayor" but as a neighbor and I'd like to think we both were better for it ...and besides, I learned all kinds of new things.

Keep learning,
Darcie

P.S. If you don't live in Salmon and can't hear my clever/corny radio ad you can always grab a great pair of upcycled glass earrings off our website....


...I like these...

and these...



and this! 























  


Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Birthday Breakfast - Carrot Cake, Conversation Hearts And A Cat!

Today is my birthday and my children made me breakfast, Ethan set the table...

....and no, we don't usually have conversation hearts for breakfast but Ethan thought it was necessary.

The original plan was to eat carrot cake with cream cheese icing AND a big glass of milk....



 ...but after careful consideration I decided we better balance it out with some scrambled eggs...


...after all, I like Ethan's teacher and sending him to school with just cake for breakfast would be rather unkind...and I like to think I'm a nice lady.

So,we all proceed to happily devour our breakfast and go about the task of getting ready for the day...we left the cake unattended.... this was a tactical error on our part...


... we have a cat....who is a TUNA!!


The cake originally looked like this...


It now looks like this...

At least we caught him early, he's a very fast licker...I guess everyone likes cake for breakfast!

Darcie