Fun Finds

I just love to discover new little off the beaten path fooderies (not sure that is even a word) and here are my latest two finds:

A friend of mine told me about this new cupcake shop called "So Cupcakes". I'm not really sure what the name means except that it is just all about cupcakes. You have to know exactly where you are going to find it because it is in an obscure location at the back of a mostly empty office building. The shop itself is darling: very pink and frilly and it smells just heavenly as soon as you step in the door. I heard about it Friday night so I had to check it out on Saturday. I was having family and the Elders to Sunday dinner so that was my excuse for indulging. I got to the shop about 4 pm on Saturday afternoon and I was actually afraid that I was too late and that it would be already closed. Not so. The little shop was bustling. There are several tables and chairs for in-shop eating and most of those were full. The line infront of the cupcake display cabinets had about 5 people lined up. The 2 women in front of me were requesting so many cupcakes I was getting nervous there wouldn't be any left for me. Their total came to about $120! While this was going on up front, people were streaming in the door behind me. By the time it was my turn, I'll bet there were 12 or 15 more people in line. I was thrilled to be able to chose a variety of cupcakes: Chocolate Peanut Butter; Cinnamon Sugar; Carrot Cake and RED VELVET -- my favorite! They pack them up in these really substantial card board boxes that have an insert with individual holes for each cupcake so they don't roll around or tip over in transport... very thoughtful. I was pretty happy when I walked past that long line with my cute cardboard box and was all ready to treat my guests. I should have transfered them to a plastic container when I got home since I was not serving them until the next day but still they were delicious. I hope this shop can survive and thrive. I know I'll be going there again.

Then Monday evening Cam and LaRane took Paul & me out to dinner to a fun pizzeria that I have been wanting to go to for a long time. It is called Settebello and it is in downtown Salt Lake. They have an authentic wood burning stove direct from Naples, Italy and they specialize in Napolei-style pizzas -- the ones with the super thin crust and crushed tomatoes as the sauce and fresh, fresh toppings. Paul ordered a pizza with arugala and it looked more like a salad than a pizza -- he loved it! The pizzas are intended as individual servings and they are seriously about 14" in diameter. No worries, most us were able to pound them right down. They were fabulous! If you get chance you should definately treat yourself.

Blonde, blue eyes and matching blue sweater

Back in the fall of 2003 I started knitting. I stumbled into a lovely yarn shop in Friday Harbor, Washington and fell in love with the unique yarns. The easiest project to begin with was knitting a scarf. Once I got back home I found another very unique, delightful yarn shop called "Soul Spun" and I was hooked. As soon as I finished one scarf I could hardly wait to begin another one. I made scarves for everyone for Christmas that year. After about 12 scarves, I decided maybe I could move on to something a little more difficult so I started a sweater for Collin who was about 9 or 10 months old then. Turned out that was a bit too ambitious and I quickly learned that I should really stick to scarves.

But I wasn't totally ready to give up on this yarn obcession. I just needed to switch to a crochet hook instead of knitting needles. I have done crocheting for many years and felt quite confident in my skills. I found the cutest swester pattern and some bright, spring colorful yarns and decided to crochet a sweater for Quincy who was about 3 years old. This project turned out to be very enjoyable and I thought the sweater was very cute when I finished it. I was excited to take it to Quincy and see how it looked and fit on her. Well, she wasn't very impressed. She absolutely did not want to try it on! I tried every day we were there visiting to get her to try it on and she would just run away like I was trying to force something really terrible on her. Finally the last day I was there I talked her into putting it on just long enough for a quick photo. She accommodated me but WITH an attitude. The sweater came off immediately after the picture was snapped and I ended up bringing the sweater back home where I stashed it on the top shelf of the closet in my sewing room. (Really sweaters in Phoenix aren't very necessary especially in April).

Fast forward 4 years... I happened to notice the sweater this evening while digging out my knitting supplies for Katie (she has suddenly developed a passion for knitting and has FAR surpassed any of my pathetic knitting skills). I pulled it off the shelf and decided to see what would happen if I tried to get Aspen to wear it. Much to my delight, Aspen immediately fell for it. She put it on and started reciting all the colors... she especially likes blue! She wore it the whole evening and even went home with it on and I expect we'll still have some sweater-weather here for a while.

Note to self: Stick with quilting!

Torture time?

I have always wanted a photo with me and my sweet grandkids so while Heidi's family was in town we set out to capture a precious scene...that was the dream... here is the reality. The kids are all still so sweet but they look like they are being punished rather than participating in a treasured moment. Much coaxing and bribing was involved along with singing, clapping, snapping, whistling and suckers. (Kristy: I think we need a "baby wrangler" next time) Still, all in all, I really love the results.

Quilt of the Week

I guess I should really call this "quiltS of the week" since I am featuring 3 quilts. It has been many weeks since I posted about a quilt so I decided to show more than one this time -- and they all are related as well.

Back a few years ago the Church was commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Prophet Joseph Smith's birth. Several quilt patterns were produced at this time by various quilters. I decided that I wanted to make a quilt as my way of participating in this special event. When I saw the companion quilt pattern for Joseph Smith's wife, Emma Smith, I knew I had to make that quilt as well. Both quilts are not very big. They are only about 29" x 30" but I think they are very sweet and I loved making them. The Joseph Smith quilt is titled "Hail to the Prophert" and the Emma Smith quilt is titled "Faithful Companion". The quilt pattern was designed by a local quilter named Jodi Warner. She has many, many quilts in her line. I love that each block is symbolic of some aspect of Joseph and Emma's lives.

The third quilt was designed by Jodi also. It features Brigham Young. I started this quilt back in 1997 but only worked on it off and on and finally finished it Jan. of 2001. It is a small wallhanging as well. It measures 32" x 36". I named this quilt "Think of the Pioneers". All three of these quilts use applique and traditional block piecing as well as a special technique called paper foundation piecing where you actually sew the fabric on to a piece of paper that has the design printed on it. Then you tear off the paper after the block is sewn together.

Paul and I have new "house guests" moving in with us tomorrow so I hung these quilts up in the basement where they will be living for the next 12 to 18 months (both the quilts and the Elders!). Yes, we will be priviledged to have 2 young men, missionaries for our Church, living with us. I love a good reason to get out my quilts and put them on display!