My April Snow

I recently found My April Snow's etsy shop, which was 100% the inspiration for the earrings I made, (posted this past week). I had forgotten where I found this treasure, but I just remembered that it was from this fantastic giveaway!

My April Snow GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Yay for Grosgrain. Always inspiring!

Problem... solved.

I was home, holding down the fort this morning, while my dad took my mom and brother to the airport... I made a nice little lunch and the kids then had a nice little dessert of vanilla wafers with leftover whipped cream on top. Seeing that the canister was nearly empty, Nathan had the sudden urge to shoot it with his pellet gun and witness the foreseen explosion. He forthwith took his pellet gun and target outside, and all the little one watched as the can fulfilled his expectations.
The girls who hadn't liked the idea to begin with, set up a loud wail, crying "He wasted all the whipped cream!" Bethany even went so far as to say "I could have made a meal out of that!!" *sniffle* ...and believe me, they were serious... crying over spilled milk? The figurative idiom was manifested quite literally before my eyes.
I figured the best solution would be to let them burn off some steam, rather that beat them over the head with common sense. However, as the boys continued to play outside in their midst, the girls found sufficient fortitude to carry on for quite some time.

Now I thought to myself, "Is a tablespoon of cream such a precious resource? We have sitting in our fridge at least a quart of the stuff, with no immediate purpose."

I then poured a tablespoon of the heavy whipping cream from our fridge onto a pretty little saucer and called my resentful little sisters inside, saying, "Here on this plate is the same amount of cream that was 'wasted'. Eat it, then go outside and play."

Problem? Solved.

What to do on a free day...

On Thursday of this week, I had a day at home with no little siblings, or parents... only free time! I sat down to make some jewelry, greatly inspired by looking through My April Snow's etsy shop, and these are what I came up with!

The curly-que is made from an unwound and rewound paper clip...
The chain is a segment of necklace chain...
And the beads and earring hooks are just out of the supplies that I've accumulated over a long time.

What do you think? Would you wear them?

An apple pie a day, keeps the doctor away...

Yesterday I made a candy apple pie. And today I made another candy apple pie! They are super easy and one of the best recipes for our orchard apples. I'm sure I will make a few more this apple season.

These apples are fresh picked straight from our orchard!

Apple corer, peeler, slicer. Thank goodness. Such a time saver.

Dripping with cinnamon sugar. (measurements for about 8 apples - aprox. 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon)


Topping Ingredients:
1 cup Brown Sugar (I used white sugar with molasses because we didn't have brown)
3/4 cup Flour
3/4 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Butter (one stick), melted

I also like putting some cinnamon in the topping.



Mix these together thoroughly and spread evenly over apples in a 9x13 pan.


Bake for 1/2 an hour at 400 degrees.


You will end up with just such a beautiful dish of goodness...


Though I have to add... that one of the best parts was my dad's homemade vanilla ice cream... nothing compares.

Rich & Vivid

When I think of Fall, I think of breathtaking freshness and crisp clean air. But most of all I think of rich, vivid colors. This is my aunt's chrysanthemum, which is probably left over from summer, come to think of it, but the richness of it's hue is inspiring to me. I can't wait for fall...

Photos: Cloudy and Bright

Yes, an oxymoron. But sometimes the days with cloudy skies (in a most literal sense, no drama implied) have a brighter sort of feeling to them! You must at least agree that the light has a whole different aesthetic.

That being said, my title was referring more directly to the brightness of the beads in comparison to the aforesaid cloudy day.

Hopefully I will do this 'photo-that-I-randomly-decided-to-capture' thing more often for you, my blog. (I really have been thinking about you, even though I was silent for a little bit of a long while...).

Hope you enjoyed these!

Tuesday Dinner

This Tuesday evening, there happened to be a mere 4 Kauk's at home. After whipping up some Macaroni for the two youngers, my big brother and I got creative for ourselves. As he began to cook up a pot of couscous, I figured it would be one of the easiest things to dress up a little... like so:

• I first added some lorn bell peppers who desperately needed eating, but who looked extremely handsome in our dinner...
• Then I finished off a bag of sundried tomatoes, which added yet another bright color and tangy flavor...
• I then spied an appetizing tin of peanuts, and beamed just thinking about the crunch they would provide...
• Lastly my brother, with a taste for the exotic, pulled down a lovely looking red spice (which really didn't have any flavor to speak of, but was exceptionally pretty). After serving up our portions into nice little bowls, he garnished the top with this redness.

The product of our efforts was one of the prettiest meals seen by myself for some time. Not to mention the fact that it was delicious. You really should try it sometime.

Bobby Pins

Today my littlest sister, Mackenzie, and I made colorful beaded bobby pins! She loves creativity, but its often hard to find things that are easy enough for her to learn and do without too much help. This project was perfect! She made her whole pretty rainbow hair pin with just a little bit of help and she caught on right away.
While she did an orderly pattern, I went for the random scheme (is that an oxymoron?) but now, since we used the same beads, we have a matching set!

Isn't she pretty?

Hap Birth t M !

Ok, that's a ridiculous title, I know. But... It's suppose to be half of "Happy Birthday to ME!" because today is my half-birthday! lol I sort of forgot about it but, my big brothers called me into the kitchen and there was a brownie in a cup with a candle. But, oh! this cup. haha. Jared just bought it in NYC and it is a half of a coffee cup! It has a handle and one side is curved out, and one side is flat. Very Alice-in-Wonderland-esk, like someone cut it in half, and it says sarcastically on the flat side "You asked for half a cup of coffee..."
Then they all sang happy birthday, but halfway through the song Adam said "Stop, thats half of the song!"
So happy Saturday to you and

Hap Birth t M !

And, here is a couple of pictures I took the other day for your viewing pleasure:

Let not the sun be vacant from the sky

The sun too quickly took its place

Behind the silhouetted peaks.

I followed it with desperate gaze

And mourned the warning late to keep:

Let not the sun be vacant from the sky

While yet within you harsh impatience lies;

For reckless words will pierce into the heart

But reconciliation grows

From pure and righteous blessings of the wise

This is a lyrical idea I laid down this evening. I already had a musical idea to work with, which always makes it easier, but this is also something I have wanted to express for some time. May it bless you.

-shiloh