February Recipe of the Month!

Are you looking for that perfect bite-size sweet to woo your Valentine? Even those of you who feel that you are all thumbs when it comes to baking, you can make these brownies!

With this simple and easy recipe from FoodNetwork.com, these Red Velvet Swirl Brownies are a breeze!

Click on the picture below to download our recipe!

Some tips from me on how to make them just right!

1. Don't be afraid to "over-swirl". There is no such thing as over-swirling. You can make the top of your brownies as swirly as you want! I didn't swirl my first batch enough and was incredibly disappointed with the way they looked after they had baked. But, I swirled my second batch to my heart's desire, and they turned out beautifully! For proof, look at this picture on the right.
2. Don't be afraid to bake them longer than 30 minutes. The recipe tells you to bake for 30 minutes. I used a glass 8x8 pan, and at 350 F it took between 34-36 minutes for each batch. Now don't set your timer initially for 34 minutes! Still stick with 30 minutes to start with, your oven most likely bakes differently than mine, but don't be afraid to put them back in for a few more minutes. If you get it to where a toothpick comes out almost completely clean, then you will have a dense, moist, fudgy, and YUMMY brownie to enjoy!
3. Cut the 8x8 pan of brownies into 36 small squares. Yes, a full sized brownie is delicious. But these are really rich, so a small bite-sized piece will do just fine. Plus, they're so much cuter in mini form, don't you think?

Good luck and enjoy this delicious treat!

Super Bowl Sunday Snacks

Do you find that every Super Bowl Sunday you're either the hostess or being dragged off to someone else's house and asked to bring some food? Well, we know the stress and the pressure that it can bring. So! We have a recipe that is delicious but also helps cut back on calories.

Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

This pizza does take a while to make, but it is worth your time and effort! Pizza is always a popular food item during the big game because it is easy to pick up, eat, and never take your eyes off the TV. So if you want to try and sneak in a serving of vegetables into your husband's daily diet while he's distracted with football, then this pizza is for you!

Doesn't that look so good? If I looked at pictures like these too long then I'm pretty sure I could eat two pizzas. All by myself.

The ingredients for this tasty dish are quite long, but most of them are things that are usually kept in stock in the average kitchen.

For the recipe with directions on how to make this dish, click here.

And if you wanted to extra creative for Super Bowl Sunday, you could even arrange the chicken sausages and vegetables to make a little football! I bet the guys would be impressed.

For other great ideas on game day finger foods, click here.


And if you don't have anything to do on Super Bowl Sunday... come join us here at The Parish for our "Soup"-er Bowl Sunday Celebration!
We will be serving soup and featuring some workshops! For more information call us today at (253)531-4309.

Valentines, Valentines, and More Valentines!

Well, although we have already been blogging about Valentine's Day the past few weeks, it's just too fun to stop! 

This week I was thinking about how fun it was for me to sew with my mom as a little girl. I loved feeling like I was good enough to help her with a project. And then a thought occurred to me: a valentine's quilt doesn't have to be fancy, or intricate, or covered in hearts. It just needs the colors red, pink, and white! 

So here is my suggestion.

Get your children who are interested and/or old enough to understand and tell them they're going to make a Valentine's Day Quilt for Dad. "What to use for fabric?" you may ask. Well, go to your stash and pick up all the red, pink, or white scraps that you have. Any red, pink, or white fabric will work! Since you're working with your children, you don't need a fancy pattern. Just sewing together squares will be perfect.

Have each child help a little at a time. Maybe if they don't want to use the machine, let them pick which square goes next or how big to make the squares. Once the quilt is finished take them to the store with you to pick out the backing. You don't need binding (unless you want it). A simple envelope-style quilt will be perfect for this project.

Sew the layers together, flip the quilt, stitch the hole shut, and enjoy your finished project! 

This homemade quilt will be a tender gift for your husband. After all, a dad's sweetest Valentine on February 14th is his daughter.

Warm Your Cold, Winter Feet

If you are anything like me, then you hate to have cold feet. However, I think my husband might hate it more when I have cold feet because they always seem to gravitate towards him when they're in ice-cube state. Strange how that happens.

And again, if you are anything like me, you find that winter days where you are stuck inside tend to drag on and become quite boring. So I thought to myself, "Well. What can I do to fix both of these problems?" And Martha Stewart gave me the solution!

Stephanie's Sewn Felt Slippers

Aren't they so cute?!

Not only are these slippers cute, but they're easy to make!

All you need for this project is:

Slipper template (download by clicking here)
18-by-18-inch piece of 3 millimeter wool felt (you can purchase some online by clicking here)
Chalk pen or pencil
Thread, such as silk or heavy-duty polyester
Sewing supplies

These slippers will be soft, warm, and perfect for lounging around the house! You can sew them up as gifts for a spouse, grandchild, friend, or relative. 

And if you want to put a Valentine's Day Spin on them, fill them with candy and hand embroider a heart on the back of the slipper!

For instructions on how to make these, click here.

So lets stop the freezing feet and dragging days of winter, and make these ADORABLE slippers!

May your bobbin always be full,

Taylor

Free Shipping... Say What?!

Yep, that's right! From January 16th - 31st we are offering you FREE SHIPPING on ALL ONLINE ORDERS. Shop our online store right now!

Fun Valentine Craft!

With Valentine's Day coming up in a little over a month, now is the time to start on all of your sewing projects! And if you don't have any ideas for a fun project that brings the happiness of Valentine's Day into your home, we have one for you!

Heart Shaped Pot Holders from Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts

These adorable pot holders will not only decorate your kitchen, but they will be functional as well! 

To complete this project (1 pot holder), you will need:

1. Heart shaped pot holder pattern template, which you can download by clicking here.

2. Approximately 1/2 yard cotton batting, cut into three 12-inch squares.

3. Approximately 1/2 yard cotton fabric, cut into 12-inch squares.

4. 1 yard bias tape. 

 For instructions with pictures of the steps, you can click here. 

To get the cute look of these hearts, you will need half-yard cuts of a few red, pink, or white fabrics.

Here at the shop we have a GREAT selection of fabric that would be absolutely perfect for these! Come visit us soon so that you can get your fabric and get started!

January 2012 Recipe of the Month!

We are doing something new (and exciting and tasty!) for all of you with our Recipes of the Month!

Starting on Monday, January 2nd we will have our Recipes of the Month in the shop for you to sample! The recipes will arrive at 1:00 pm, so come visit us on the first Monday of every month to try out our recipes! 

For January, we will have Peanut Butter M&M Cookies!

If these cookies don't look delicious and tempting, then I don't know what does!

A Fun and Easy Treat!

Are you having a New Year's party with lots of friends and family? Well these candies are quick, simple, and fun to make! 

You only need three things:

A bag of Snyder's of Hanover Pretzels (the square ones)

A bag of Hershey's Hugs, Peppermint Kisses, or Plain Kisses

A bag of M&Ms

Preheat the oven to 175 F. Place the pretzels on the cookie sheet. Place an unwrapped hug or kiss on top of them. Bake for 5-6 minutes. Pull them out of the oven and place an M&M into the middle of the hug or kiss and push down. Sprinkle with red and green (or other coordinating colors) if desired.

Chill and enjoy!

Fun Ways to Reuse Wrapping Paper Tubes!

Well it seems as if the Holiday Season is upon us! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did! My family came into town and we spent the entire Thanksgiving weekend enjoying being together. It seems it was only minutes after Thanksgiving dinner was over that talk of Christmas started to push through our conversation. And now Christmas is just 18 days away!

With all of the wrapping of gifts that is bound to happen, you will be left with tons of empty wrapping paper tubes. Typically, or I would imagine, you would just throw them out like I do. However, I came upon this website that has fun and creative ideas for re-using your wrapping paper tubes!
Things like making a tribal kazoo, an instant megaphone, maracas, and many more fun craft ideas to do with your kids or your grandkids can be found on the website. Click here for the link.

My niece will be with my family for Christmas and at the time she will be almost 2. So I know I'm going to sit down and cut up an old wrapping paper tube, and make a kazoo! I'll post pictures of our amazingly fun times with kazoos later.

And for some fun ideas on how to make beautiful holiday decor out of these empty tubes, click here.

With the holiday season on my mind, I just want to say how much I love this season! People are so friendly, kind, warm, and wrapped up in the spirit of giving. There almost seems to be a tangible happiness floating in the air, that if you merely think about the holidays, it wraps you up tightly. It's almost as if you are wrapped up in a warm, cozy blanket with a cup of hot chocolate. I have often thought how wonderful it would be to have this feeling all year! Amanda Bradley, a very successful poet and Literature professor shares my same feelings!

She said, "Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!"

So once the holiday season of 2011 is gone, and the new year of 2012 is upon us, lets make sure that we celebrate every day as if it were a holiday, and carry a warm and kind spirit with us wherever we go!

May your bobbin always be full,

Taylor

December Recipe of the Month!

I know... this is the second cheesecake recipe... in a row. Can you tell I like cheesecake? 

Well for this month we have a delicious recipe from Food Network as our recipe of the month! 

Chocolate Cheesecake Candy Cane Bars

Don't those look DELICIOUS?! Well, they are. Trust me.

Visit our website and click on the button that says, "Click here for your FREE recipe for Chocolate Cheesecake Candy Cane Bars".

May your bobbin (and stomachs) always be full!

Taylor