Roman Shades

I wanted to make Roman shades because they require no fabric at the side of the window which detracts from the view out my kitchen window. Plus, I need all the light I can get in this soggy January in Edmonds. Our new house has many windows and even though they are double paned, our heat bill was quite high. I ended up putting a piece of Reflectix behind this shade at night and then just pulling it down so it can't be seen. Much warmer. I followed Terrel Designs instructions for these shades and I read them over and over before I started, plus I watched the video. This is unlike me, usually I just plunge in. Two mistakes I made were: I cut the top seams before sewing, when I should have just folded over 3/4", sewn the velcro on and then trimmed. The other mistake is that I wanted the shade to be 2" higher when it is raised, so all the light comes in. I will fix that by adding another ring. Another mistake was getting screw eyes instead of the cord pulleys, as there is no stop or brake to hold the curtains in place, so now I have them tied to the lotion. I just finished them yesterday, and of course I will show them before I make the refinements.

Millionaire's Shortbread Cookies

I've been married for 6 months, so I'm going full tilt ahead to impress my husband over Christmas... even though he loves me "as is".  I printed off half of one recipe and kept comparing the two, so I got confused.  What part of 8-inch square nonstick pans  did I not understand?  This was on both recipes.  I ended up getting out my baking sheets with turned up edges and it was the wrong size, which is why the edges burned.  Oh, well, this was my first time making this.


 Making the shortbread, I got to use the fondant smoother and the offset spatula which I bought when I thought I was going to make my own wedding cake.  HAA!  I'm glad I did not do that!  I wish I would have spread the shortbread into the sides more as the thinned out corned tended to burn.  I only need 15 minutes in my new oven.


 I put the condensed milk in a BIG mixing bowl in the microwave and was glad I did, for after 5 minutes of microwaving on medium power it started to rise like a big balloon and it was just about ready to blow its lid.   I was so glad I stopped the microwave for a second while it settled down.  I think I should have whipped the condensed milk more, as it is very messy and runny.   This is my first year having a Kitchen-Aid Mixer, and boy was that handy.  Still it tends to splash out a bit and using that hot condensed milk would leave scars.  I think I would let it cool next time.  


This is super sweet but quite fabulous.  Husband approved. 


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/millionaires-shortbread-recipe/index.html

Cork Floors are Green, Sustainable and quiet walking

Husband and I went to Home Depot looking for cork flooring. Home Depot had two samples up of cork flooring and they were in a plank style, as opposed to the cork pattern.  The only sample we could obtain of cork is a muddy color brown.  Holding it up to the sie looks like 3/16 cork, the rest fiber board and the bottom has 1/16th of cork.  This is going for $3.98 a yard and is called Smoky Mineral Plank Cork, although the front has no plank pattern.  It is 5 1/2" Click.  We then went nextdoor to Office Max and bought two laptops.... one for me, one for his mother.  Go figure.


Next stop was Carpet Liquidators.  The had Belgium Blocked Cork FLooring by Pacific Mat.  The thickness of the cork layer on the plank was far bigger than Home Depot and it was also $3.98 (on sale).  It seemed far better quality, but I didn't care for the mosaic and wanted a plank.  It has 3 coat Urethan finish and an MDF core.  The planks were 11 5/8 x 36" for total thickness of 10.5 mm.  It just seemed higher quality.  It was usually $4.99 per sf.