Fat Cat Quilts

Foodie Friday: Cinnamon Roll Cake

Yup. You read that right. Cinnamon Roll. And Cake. Together as one. It's like they just loved each other so much they got married or something. I think I just swooned.

I found this little miracle on Pinterest one night and didn't waste any time making it. And seriously, it lived up to the hype, as so rarely a recipe does. Right out of the oven, it was warm and gooey and dripping with melted icing, and after a 20 second hit in the microwave the next morning, breakfast was just as blessed. 

This recipe is a keeper. This recipe is one I will make and take to work. Because I'm not above bribing others for their love with warm baked goods. This cake will make you Queen for the day, and really, who doesn't need that little boost for their self-esteem? Trust me. You want to make this today. 

I found the recipe HERE, after finding it pinned on Pinterest. But for those of you who aren't the meandering type...

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cake:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted

Topping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

While warm drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Enjoy!

 

 

A French General Valentine

My friend Alicia, of Fandango fame, was eyeing the Valentine runner I made Chamaine, so I got to work on one for her as well. She decorates with a lot of browns and reds (girl after my own heart), so when I ran across this heart print, the wheels started turning. It's actually part of a Christmas line of prints for Lecien, featuring mushrooms, hearts, stars and little primitive houses. I thought it was an odd little collection of prints for Christmas, but it worked out well for me with Valentine's Day. Plus, since it was after the holidays, it was on sale. Bonus. The colors in it reminded me of French General fabrics, so much so that I was initially a little surprised to find that it wasn't. And being similar to French General fabrics also meant it was difficult to match in color, as they tend to be in their own arena there. The hearts were the only prints in the line I wanted, despite the fact that the mushrooms were adorable and would have made great conversation. So I wandered over to the Rouenneries Deux display, and wouldn't you know it - perfect match! I also threw in a couple pieces from Fa La La La. And check out that adorable selvage on the Lecien prints. How cute are those little birds?

I wanted to keep the center simple, so a bowl of fruit or something on the table wouldn't distract from the overall design. So I went with a kicky little checkerboard and some appliqued hearts on each end. It's sweet and simple and I love how it turned out. I think it will fit perfectly in her kitchen.

Note to self: Remove pesky little strings and lint before taking pictures. 

And just because I liked how neat all the little stitches lined up, I had to take a picture of the back.

 

Spring Has Sprung!

Fandango. For the Last Time.

Remember the Fandango quilt? 

I really dragged my feet on it there for a while. But both the large bedspread, and the little baby quilt made with it's scraps are finished. As in quilted, binded and living with their new owner. 

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get a decent picture of the little baby quilt. I took this one in the evening with poor light, but wanted to snap a pic before I sent it off to Alicia's home. Maybe she'll get a better picture of it in the nursery.

 

Happy National Quilting Day!

And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This is the only quilt of mine I could find that had a lot of green in it. That explains why my green stash is so out of control. It's not getting put to use. Better get right on that...

Picking Back Up...

...where I left off before I publicly declared my love for Utah.

After the wedding in Seattle, we decided to make a quick run to Disneyland. I know, it makes perfect sense since Washington is so close to Southern California. And by quick, this is what really went down: we enjoyed New Years in Kerry Park and made it back to the hotel by around 2am. Got up at 6am January 1st, packed, checked out and were on the road by 7:30am. Drove 24 hours straight through Washington, Oregon (brief stop to visit my parents!), and pretty much the entire length of California. Pulled into the Disneyland parking lot at 7:30am January 2nd, a whole 24 hours later. Disneyland opened at 8am. Wearing the same clothes we had on, we shoved toothbrushes in a backpack and spent the next sixteen hours at the Happiest Place on Earth. We were exhausted and fueled on sugary gingerbread cookies, hot chocolate and sheer adrenalin, but we were sure happy. We had a blast. Then, back to our hotel at 1am, and back on the road by nine the next morning to make the twelve hour drive to Utah.

And that is what I mean by a quick trip down to Disneyland. 

Back in Utah, after catching up on my sleep, we went to see the UP! house

and I met Dawn from Survivor: South Pacific. She was the kindest, most gracious woman. What a gem! 

I have quilty things to share too! Promise. I was a busy little sewer (ha! Please read that sew-er and not soo-er) while down south and have much to show for it. 

Have a good weekend! Sun's out here. Trains are moving in the yards. Feels like Spring!

 

 

Home Is Where the Heart Is

I'm home now. Well, in Alaska anyway. I think I left my heart in Utah. 

Utah and I have had a tenuous relationship in the past. I'm a born and bred Californian, and when I moved to Utah in 1994 to go to school, I decided on principle that I should dislike the land of milk and honey out of nothing but respect for my home state. No offense, of course, to those who love Utah. After all, it wasn't Utah's fault that they weren't California. And most Californians can attest to the fact that we're taught from a very young age to devote all our pride and love to our own land, much like Texans, only a little less "we want to be our own country". Stay with me here, this story has a happy ending for Utahns.

I cried when I had to change my plates on my car. Mostly because, at the time, Utah didn't allow seven digits and I couldn't switch over my vanity plates with DZNYGRL. And even more so, because now that I was sporting the Utah plates, people were going to think I was FROM here. A real, bonified Utahn. And no one could say it better than Alicia Silverstone...as if! I felt like I was betraying the mother ship.

Being from California, of course I was met with the new-found challenge of driving in the snow. And being from California, of course I was cocky and stubborn and thought those who slowed down for a few fluffy white flakes were put in my path to try my patience. As I often do, even still, I learned my lesson the hard way when I took to the snowy roads faster than a speeding demon and went right through a fence and hit a parked helicopter. That is NEVER a phone call you want to make to dad. Trust me.

Then I moved to Alaska, on a whim, really. And I love Alaska. If I had two hearts, one of them would be entirely devoted to the majesty and grandeur of the Great North. As it turns out, I only have one heart, and I think Utah stole it away from Alaska this winter. You could say I was converted. Ha ha. Maybe it's because I'm getting old(er) or maybe I'm just having an early midlife crisis, but for the first time ever - and I do mean EVER - I fell in love with Utah. It's not green. It's not lush. It's nothing like Alaska. But everyone I love is in Utah, and that trumps everything else Alaska, or even California, has to offer. So coming home was definitely bittersweet. As I drove off the ferry and down the familiar streets with amazing views, I couldn't help but feel a little empty and more than a little sad. Yes, I definitely left my heart in Utah. Just don't tell California.

 

 

 

 

New Year's 2011

On our trip to Seattle, we got together with a bunch of other friends from Alaska to go to the wedding of two friends who met while working up in Alaska for the summers. Their reception was on New Year's eve. It was fun to see other Skagway summer friends in a different venue.

After the reception, we went to Kerry Park, above the city, to watch the fireworks shoot off the Space Needle. We shared the park with thousands of other people excited to welcome in 2012, but the views were unparalleled. The fireworks were awesome, and the company was top notch.

All of these pictures were taken by Chad, because let's be honest, even though I have a fancy camera, I don't do diddly squat with it. Maybe my new year's resolution should have been to dig out the mammoth manual that came with it and read up. Hmmm, there's something to think about. Big thanks to Chad for documenting a great night!

 

Seattle and Then Some...

The last week of December, a couple friends and I took a road trip to Seattle for a friend's New Year's eve wedding. Since I had just driven from Seattle to Utah the week before, I was elated to do it again in reverse. Read into that sarcasm, please. At least this time, I was sharing the driving with two other people, both of whom drive fast, so we escaped Officer Smiley's interest. We made lots of stops along the way, so it was a fun, sort of leisurely pace. Plus we were blessed with some horrific snow on the pass in Washington, so not being in a hurry really afforded us the luxury of taking it down a notch to fret over the safety of the roads ahead of us. Thankfully, the snow and ice were just on the pass, and Seattle welcomed us with sunshine and blue skies. We had arrived early for a few days of sight-seeing and enjoyed all the usual Seattle suspects - the Space Needle, Whidbey Island, and Pikes Market.

We took the ferry over to Whidbey Island early one morning and spent the entire day driving to Anacortes. This was no doubt my favorite day in Washington. I would move to Whidbey Island in a heartbeat. It was gorgeous. Totally reminded me of the waterfront scenes in Sleepless in Seattle. (It wasn't. We googled it after we spent the morning driving around looking for Tom Hanks' houseboat.)

If you're ever in Anacortes, do yourself a favor and go to Gere-A-Deli for lunch. It was fantastic food and the atmosphere was fun.

Do You Pinterest?

I do.

Exorbitantly.

I need a Pintervention.

I am pinterested in everything these days. Subsequently, I can waste spend hours upon hours browsing through gorgeous, albeit unrealistic dream home ideas, compile a myriad of home decorating must-do's, and add to my already burgeoning lists of crafty/quilty projects that I want to start. This is not good for my UFO's.

If only I had 36-hour days.

Chamaine and I have set up camp in Pinterestland and have been more than busy wiling away our winter afternoons, not just perusing and salivating, but actually tackling said list of fun things we absolutely must do. One day.

Chamaine has three little girls. They keep her super busy, and they keep me super amazed. Amazed at their unsinkable enthusiasm, their never-ending well of energy, and their complete and utter need to respond to anything with an earnest "why?" I love them to death. Hands down. Especially the littlest one who is blissfully oblivious to the fact that I have irrational fears of slobber and boogers, and melts my heart every time she looks around the room just to make sure I'm still there. I'm not going to lie, it makes me feel like a million bucks. And then while I'm lost in thoughts somewhere along the lines of "maybe I could do this someday", she sneezes and shoots a stream of neon green across my arm. It's awesome. Just awesome.

Much of our Pinterest devotion runs towards fun craft projects and holiday-themed decorations that appeal to the toddler set. There are usually multi-colored pom poms involved, and lots of glue. Fortunately, for Chamaine, she's steered clear of the glitter-based projects for now. I look forward to the day her girls enter Kindergarten and learn of this sparkly wonder all on their own. Not only will life be grand, but it'll be shiny too!

We made quite a production of Valentine's Day. For the amusement of the girls, Chamaine strung together these nifty strings of pink, red and white pom poms and hung them from her dining room windows. It was positively loverly.

 

And then she decked her door with this adorable pink floral wreath. Quick, easy, and cute to boot! And I love that it works so well for Valentine's, but will be just as charming for Spring.

While Chamaine and the girls were stringing poms and doilies, I hit up the local quilt shop (more on that later) and went to work on some Valentines table runners for both Chamaine and her sister Mesha. I used one charm pack of Deb Strain's Always & Forever, a little yardage, and my resident go-to Little Charmers runner pattern.

With a little bit of yardage to make a few more squares, I was able to get a twofer from the one charm pack. Light pinks and white with red stars, and dark pinks and red with white stars. I couldn't decide which one I liked more. Good thing they're with friends, so I can have visiting rights every February.

And just in case the cuteness factor wasn't already through the roof, we made these adorable little fishbowl Valentines for the girls to pass out to their friends.

You totally want to make these now, don't you?