A Pioneer Woman Supper Club

We are in an informal supper club, which consists of four couples who like to cook (girls) and eat (boys and girls). Since we all share the common denominator of being in love with Ree Drummond, her quirky writing style, her fabulous recipes, and her infectious attitude, we decided the theme this month would be...the Pioneer Woman! Denise was hosting this month, so we started out in her kitchen. Here is Denise sampling the cooking and Sarah trying to avoid being photographed! Suckaaaaaa :)



So here's what was on the menu for the night.
Denise delighted us with coq au vin for the main entree, plus wine.
Sarah contributed spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, plus wine.
I whipped up some creamy mashed potatoes, plus wine.
Ann made the oreo/peanut butter pie, plus wine.

Are we booze hounds??



Whilst we were slaving away in the kitchen drinking the drink of booze hounds, the boys were relaxing and catching up. Helloooo boys!!!! (They have it so easy)



Because each of us worked hard to bring the Pioneer Woman's individual recipes to life, here's a close up of each. I am adding the links because I know you want to be just like us, and I'm just here to make it a little easier for you.

The spinach salad with hot bacon dressing!!!!!!!!!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/the-best-spinach-salad-ever/




The coq au vin! With noodles!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/08/coq-au-vin/




The creamy herbed mashed potatoes! I take the easy way and leave the skin on. I think you get more...um, fiber or vitamins that way. The secret ingredient to mashed potatoes is Lawry's seasoned salt...which, I am ashamed to say, I didn't even own when I first made this recipe. Now I quadruple the quantity any time I use a recipe that calls for it!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/




The peanut butter pie! As PW says, "If you don’t like peanut butter, step away from this recipe. I’m serious, man. You’re in the wrong place at the wrong time." It was delicious!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/another-pie/





All assembled, the heavenly dinner looked something like this...why is there so much salad?? This must be Sarah's plate!




The happy diners. Can you guess which one is my husband??



I'm not sure where Ann was, but here's the girls!

Lengthen those Drapes

My friend Denise bought some incredibly cute drapes at World Market. But given the height of her ceilings, she decided she wanted to add on about 18 inches in brown linen to the bottom of the drapes. I say great idea! It's an inexpensive way to take mainstream drapes and make them custom design and custom length.

Denise had first tried to use what they call hem tape (something like that) but the thickness of the brown material she was trying to add on was really too substantial to be held by tape.



First, I trimmed the width of the brown fabric to correspond with the pre-sewn drapes. Then I ironed. One of the delightful evils of sewing is you always have to have an iron out and ready; it's a necessary evil I must tolerate if I want to sew, and is usually the only time I ever iron my dear husband's shirts.

I hemmed the sides in, then I went for the top. I wanted the unattractive, turned under top of the brown fabric to be hidden.



Then I pinned it to the back of the drape.



Then I sewed that sucker on! Take care to use a thread color that will not show up on front of the fabric. I know there's a way to sew where it won't show, but I haven't figured that out yet. So I just go search for the right thread (HINT: Always pull out the actual thread and lay it across the actual fabric. You'd be surprised how much the color changes from the roll to the individual thread. This is a fool-proof method of getting the right color. You're welcome.)



All that remains was to hem the bottom evenly. Since Denise wanted it as tall as possible, I didn't have to conform to 84 inches, or 96 inches. I just made sure it was even and voila!



Please excuse Wild Thing, he doesn't like to be left out.

Father's Day Card

Because I think Hallmark cards cost too much, and because I wanted to make a card for all the fathers and grandfathers in our lives that was a little more personal, we did foot print and hand print cards this year for Father's Day. Unfortunately, it wasn't as much fun as I'd envisioned, given the fact that Hilton acted as though I was amputating his foot when I plunked it down into the ink pad. It took me and Will to overcome the sheer will of an 18 month old.

The hand print was even more difficult. You wouldn't believe the places a toddler wants to stick his hand once it has big bad blue paint on it, or black ink. I though I'd try acrylic paint to mix it up a bit, and I would not recommend it. Unless it's painted on very thinly, and who has time to monitor how thick or thin paint is when you're trying to do it with lightening speed, it wound up being one big blue blob. The ink did turn out a little better.



My disclaimer is this: this is a somewhat messy project. Be armed, don't be outnumbered, and be ready to wash hands immediately afterward, or your stove will be "personalized" too! :)

A Tisket a Tasket

So my dear friend Suzanne and I decided, being the fabulous new moms that we are, our equally fabulous boys deserved a homemade Easter basket. Suzanne had heard of a woman selling baskets for $25 or $30, but she thought we could definitely make them cheaper and cuter. So off we went to King's Hardware and Tuesday morning; she purchased a pink basket and I bought a red one. ** Mistake #1, just buy one in white for goodness sakes! Suzanne was able to cover the pink with some white spray paint, but 3 cans of paint later, mine was a runny red still!

So off I went to Michael's, and found the perfect white(!) basket for $5. I got the seersucker fabric monogrammed with Hilton's name, and voile la!

Next we laid the fabric down in the basket and put cans in it (to make sure the fabric was truly filling out the basket). Then I cut the fabric to the appropriate length and sewed it inside out and finished it off with some ties. I wanted the cloth monogrammed so I pinned it so it would be centered (approximately). You will notice I was fitting this for my larger red basket - I had not yet gotten the reality check about painting white over red; thankfully, my new white basket was comparable in size and I am practicing not letting perfectionism get the best of me, so there. It fits close enough.




All in all, when Suzanne and I totalled out what we'd spent on our little craft project, it was more than having the lady do it for us, and obviously less work. But, you know, sometimes craft projects just take longer than expected, cost more than you'd bargained for, etc. But I am a big believer in doing some things yourself (not including laundry, ironing, and yardwork), and Hilton will have a sweet little Easter basket to enjoy!

A Purse and a Dress

Part of me always hopes my husband reads my blog, even though I know he doesn't. If by chance you are, though Will...dearest Will, I would really really love to own these two items. The first is a fabulous dress by Ella Moss, super comfortable, with pockets and a really fun slit in the back. My sister in law wore it to go to the pool, she had it in orange and white stripes, but it's just a great summer dress!

http://www.revolveclothing.com/DisplayProduct.jsp?product=ELLA-WD793&c=Dresses+-+Casual&s=C&sc=Short+Sleeve&currency=USD&source=shopstyle

Below, is a new purse by Tory Burch, also inspired by my sister in law (man, do those girls have a wardrobe! :). I had actually seen it first in Village Taylor (terrific boutique in Oxford, MS), and then saw it in person. It's so fabulous draped across, as the gold really stands out and it's just beautiful.

http://www.toryburch.com/toryburch/browse/productDetail.jsp?icProduct=20109821&icSort=&icCategory=cat70012

Kate's Baby Bedding

I will start off by saying baby bedding is something you only make for someone you really love. And so far only my little niece, Kate Hinderberger, qualifies. My sister saw some bedding she loved, ironically called Kate's Collection, on Serena&Lilly.com (http://www.serenaandlily.com/Bedding/Bedding-Nursery-Kate). We decided to duplicate it for less than half the cost that it retailed for, and I must say I think I like our version better!

I did not take step by step photos, because it was just too involved, but I will include the photos I did take.

First, what we were trying to replicate, which retails for $389...



Now here's what I created. I sewed everything but the crib sheet. I even had to make the pink cording for the bumper pad, so all the pinks would match. It was all very tedious but so worth it in the end!

Yet Another Reason to go to Target and Spend Money

Here's another reason to go to Target and spend my husband's money...like I needed one!! I love Target for a myriad of reasons, I love the option of getting a white chocolate mocha to enhance my shopping experience (most times I don't get one, but I like to know I can); I love that it's similar to Wal-Mart in the selection but you don't have indignant workers to deal with; I love going through their home decor aisle, though it's not nearly long enough; I love the little sandals I bought Hilton for $14.99.

But I've never bought clothes there. I was always the girl who could compliment another girl's jacket and ask her where she got it from and she'd say Target, and then I would muse that I've never found anything cute there, then I would admit to myself it's because I've never really shopped through their clothes. This Monday was no different, I was just minding my own business walking by the women's department, and I saw this terrific little aviator jacket and I just had to have it. It came in off-white, black and brown; I thought the brown looked the best by far, but unfortunately they didn't have a medium. I decided it wasn't meant to be, and left the store. Two days later, however, I was in there again and would you believe they had my size?! Well that, my friend, is just destiny! For $29.99 my wardrobe was a new wave of trendy!

I looked for a link online, because I believe in sharing great finds, but I guess these are only in stores. Good luck!