5 Minute Doodle: Little Treasures

The topic over at The Five Minute Doodle this week is "Little Treasures". It didn't take me long to decide what to doodle. There is a Robin nesting under our deck. Every day I tip toe quietly out there, get on my hands and knees and squish my face between the wooden slats of our deck's floor to check on the eggs. There are two, perfect little blue eggs in her nest. A few years back another Robin nested in the same place. One afternoon I heard a huge bird-ruckus. I flew to the window to see a Crow destroying the eggs on our driveway. It was heartbreaking. Worse yet, the sweet Robin sat there all day chirping a sad, mournful song. I get that it's all part of natural selection and all, but there is a part of me that wishes I could give this year's Robin a comfy Robin-condo with a nice, solid, locking door.

Weeklies#5: Back Burner Burnout

Hi there. This month has been crazy and if anyone has visited here in the past few weeks, you've noticed my lack of posting. Sorry folks. I'm knee deep in project-ville, which is a good thing but I'm going non-stop. I hope to get back to regular posting again soon, and to get this blog off the back burner! Soon I can do a little show and tell, but until then it is nose to the grindstone time.

On my plate...In the past few weeks, I made Bakers One Bowl Brownies. I love to bake, but when it comes to brownies somehow I always make them from a box mix. Back in 8th grade my dad and I decided to taste-test every brownie mix on the market. We did our 'research' over a few weekends, and were surprised that the Krusteze brand was the best. Anyhow, that's why I'm probably into to box mix brownies. I mean, why throw away all that painstaking, highly scientific research? But this recipe could change my mind. They were really good, and easy. I left out the nuts and added mini chocolate chips instead. Part of the recipe reads "Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs." The phrase "fudgy crumbs" has been stuck in my head ever since.

I also made the Martha Stewart Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies. A.K.A the "cover cookie" from her new cookie book (thanks mom!). In true Martha style there were a few too many steps for my taste (chilling the dough twice for example). I also took some shortcuts like substituting mini chocolate chips for the hand chopped chocolate "cut into 1/4 inch chunks"( yeah whatever Martha) and powdered ginger for fresh. The cookies were tasty. I made a double batch, because after all that work you really should have more than 24 cookies to show for your efforts. This made for some very happy neighbors, and friends.

In my bookmarks...

My friend Gwen turned me on to these awesome print and assemble pinhole cameras. So cool!

In my ears...

I'm in love with these five songs. I heard the M83 song on the radio and my first impression was that it was some kind of awesome electronic movie score. Listening to it makes me want to run along the beach all Chariots of Fire style or something. The Bjork song, "Bachelorette" isn't new to me but I just love the melody and the words, and her voice. Bjork rocks, so dramatic! Iron and Wine blows me away. I could listen to them over and over. This song is no exception, there is something reminiscent of Crosby, Stills Nash and Young in this one. Love it. And yes, there's more electronic loveliness in "What Else is There?". Love the melody here too. If I were an aerobics instructor this would be my nifty "cool down" song. Feel the burn, ladies! "No One's Gonna Love You" by Band of Horses is a catchy, sweet song about loving someone though hard times. Love these lyrics: We're reeling through an endless fall / We are the ever-living ghost of what once was / But no one is ever gonna love you more than I do/ No one's gonna love you more than I do.