Wednesday Pick-Me-Up #8

{Confidential} - October Project Board

Yikes - I only crossed off two things from September!  {Full disclosure - I didn't even make those two things.  I decided they weren't going to get done so I tabled them until next year.}  The good news is that I've already crossed off two of these this month!

{P.S.  I know the photo is not great.  I'll try to do better next month}

{Not So Confidential} - September in Review

Please come in and have a seat.  This looks like a good spot.

{What I made} Craft Projects

         

         I need September to be a couple of days longer.  I've been working on one big project         

         all month and it still isn't finished.  {Insert sad face here.}

{What I made} Yummy Eats

• Corn Chowder from The Dinnervine - I started the month with this delicious chowder.  I couldn't believe how light it tasted.  This went straight to the top of my lists of favorites.
• Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes from Tracey's Culinary Adventures - I made these, ate one, and froze the rest.  I just have to pop them in the toaster for a quick breakfast.  They are nice and fluffy and yummy.
• Peach Cobbler Scones from Annie's Eats - More breakfast goodies for the freezer.
• Corn and Chicken Chowder from Buns in My Oven - Yep, I made corn chowder twice this month.
• Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with a Lemon Sage Brown Butter Sauce from Proud Italian Cook - I've never had butternut squash before so I didn't really know what to except.  This was really good.
• Apple Toffee Blondies with Brown Sugar Frosting from Cookies & Cups - This frosting rocks.  Oh, and the blondies are pretty good as well.
• Skillet Pork Chops with Rice from Tracey's Culinary Adventures
• Baked Chocolate Doughnuts from Lara Ferroni - If you love doughnuts {or donuts}, you must make these.  They are awesome!

{What I'm watching} The new television season has started.  Yipee!  I love How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls, Castle, Parenthood, Glee, The Good Wife, and Revenge.  What are your favorites?

{Homemade is Better} - Crockpot Applesauce

Last Saturday was the first day of fall.  To celebrate the occassion I made applesauce.  In the crockpot.  It was so easy that I'm still wondering why I've never done it before.  I am no stranger to homemade applesauce, however.  My mom has always made applesauce and it is one of my all-time favorites.  So, inspired by the change in seasons and this recipe from Skinnytaste, I made this very simple and delicious applesauce.

I peeled, cored, and sliced ten apples {I used Honeycrisp along with a couple of mystery apples from my refrigerator}.  I put the apples in the crockpot with a couple of squirts of lemon juice and two cinnamon sticks.  I set the crock pot on low and let it do it's thing for about six hours.  {The aroma is heavenly.}

Then I gave it a stir and removed the cinnamon sticks.  Since it was a little chunkier than I like, I used my stick blender to make it nice and smooth.

I divided the applesauce into several small containers and put them in the freezer, except for one which I enjoyed with my dinner.  The applesauce was so yummy and so easy to make.  I plan to make another batch soon with some other apple varieties.

{Why is homemade better?} Compare to the ingredients in Mott's Applesauce:

I am sharing this easy recipe here.

Wednesday Pick-Me-Up #7

Book iPhone Dock

{Pinterest Challenge}
My dad hates the internet.  He made this declaration while we were making this book iPhone dock.

He asked me where I got the idea and I told him the internet {more specifically Pinterest but he didn't need to know that little detail.}  To him, the internet is the place I find all kinds of crazy ideas and then ask for his help in completing the projects.  {like this one}  I didn't originally intend to involve him in this project but his help was definitely appreciated {as was his drill and knife.}

Like I said, I found this tutorial by Little Lovies on Pinterest.  Being an avid book reader, this project was practically screaming my name.  I even knew of a great place to get some old books perfect for this - my parent's house.  They had a collection of Reader's Digest Condensed Books gathering dust in one of the bedrooms.  With my mom's permission, I selected a couple of books {my criteria was mainly color but I also considered the titles a little.}

My dad got roped into helping because I was there getting the books and it just made sense {to me, probably not so much to him.}  And his number of drilll bits is significantly larger than mine.

I would say this project was a little more involved than I had anticipated and patience is a definite must.  But I am very happy with it.

What do you think?

I am sharing at these parties.

{Popsicle of the Month} - Watermelon-Lemonade Ice Pops

Even though summer is fading away, the popsicles are not.  {Fading away except for Tuesday when it was 95 degrees.   What the heck was that all about?}

This watermelon-lemonade ice pop from Bon Appetit reminds me of the popsicles my siblings and I made when we were kids.  Our popsicles were simple - lemonade in a dixie cup placed in the freezer.  For some reason my mom frowned on our method.  {Something about them spilling in the freezer I think.}  We didn't bother with popsicle sticks and sometimes we didn't even let them freeze solid - instead opting for a slushy.

Do you have any fun childhood popsicle memories?