It's a Blizzard - Lets Eat Some Muffins!

Haha, I know my titles are terrible...but they are accurate! A few weeks ago I was on Pinterest and occassionally I see some really delicious things show up in my main feed. I just so happened to see some pastry dishes which got me thinking: Can you make muffins with strawberries? I'm no chef, so I don't know these things. But I was curious so did a Pinterest search. And lo'! You can! I found one for coffee cake strawberry muffins. Seeing as how I'd frozen some strawberries from a farmer's market outting earlier this month I decided to give it a go. :)

 This was my batter. I used my mom's KitchenAid stand mixer for the first time. Let me just say it made things go faster! (It took me 3 hours to make these darn muffins though...ugh). I am a VERY slow baker. Actual prep time is something like 10 minutes with 30 minutes being the total time for these muffins. I doubled the recipe and altered some of the ingredients so this could be why my time was much longer. If you're more experienced it will probably go faster.

 Next came chopping up the strawberries. Mine were thawed but still very cold from the freezer. I used A LOT more than what you see here. (About 2 cups worth I think).

I spooned approximately 1 tablespoon worth of batter into each cup. The recipe said it made 18, but that would never last in my house! I actually ended up having extra batter so I had to spoon what was left into loose cups to bake after the first large batch was done. I had 4 extras, plus the 30 I did first. I did go back and spoon extra mix into some of the cups. My muffins never come out evenly...

 And here are my finished muffins! They actually look quite close to the photos from the recipe I'd found. And I am told by my brother they're very good too. I'm holding out until after dinner before I try one. But they do smell amazing so that was a hard temptation to fight. :)

I had a few susbtitutions for the recipe. it originally calls for milk and large eggs, but we only had jumbo eggs and I always use soy milk (organic) instead. I think because of that it caused the cook time for these to go from the estimated 18- 20  and spike to be around a half hour.

If you'd like to give the recipe a try you can find it here.

And if you want to see more delicious recipe ideas check out my Pinterest Board: Yummy Snacks. I put more than just sweets there!

I pin lots of nifty things I find, lots of handmade but on occasion when I see other things that catch my fancy I pin them too! So be sure to follow all my boards. :)

Last little thing I wanted to share with you all was the gorgeous snow "storm" we had on Saturday starting in the very early morning. I was still up around 3:30am so I snuck out to bask in the glory of it. I just love how super quiet it is during and just after a fresh snow.

 My front yard looked so serene! There weren't any animal tracks to be seen yet and aside from the neighbors front lights being on there was no sign of anyone around. It was truly amazing. :)

I also couldn't help but to snap some photos of the two prominent trees in our yard. There was at least 4 to 6 inches of cover by the time I got outside. And it was still snowing and coming down harder while I was out there. :)

Anyway that's all I wanted to share. We are also expecting more snow this Monday through Tuesday. We may get something like 2 feet worth. I honestly can't wait! It just hasn't felt like winter until the snow came.

If you're going to get hit by the blizzard stay safe and maybe make some muffins while it snows outside.

Have a great week. :)

Whimsical Photography

As an artist I appreciate many aspects of art. I have always been more into drawing and within recent years creating handmade items like jewelry and accessories. But one thing I have a huge respect for is photography. It has always been an art form that has somewhat eluded me in the past. As time has gone on I continue to improve especially now that I must take crisp, clear photos of my jewelry and vintage items when I list them in my online studios and social networking sites.


I admit, I envy photographers that sell prints because it is something I have always wanted to do but never had the true talent to achieve. But this doesn't stop me from looking through shops and "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing over photos that grab my attention.

I really adore whimsical, and fantasy based or inspired artwork. But sometimes I can be pleasantly surprised and taken by imagery of very real life things or people.

At the end of the day though it always comes back to nature and animals.

These images are just the very tip of the huge cache of gorgeous prints that Photographer and Artist Danny have to offer in their Etsy shop named Maximonstertje.

But she doesn't just offer prints. She also has a beautiful selection of jewelry, postcards, and even iPhone cases.

I am continually inspired by the artwork she lists and I am always eagerly awaiting her Facebook updates so I can catch sneak previews of her newest print.

Be sure to check out Maximonstertje Photography on:

Facebook

Blogger

Etsy

Flickr

I hope you all find her work as inspiring as I do. I am hoping to get a print or two from her to hang on the walls of my studio here at Threaded Chains.

And for the month of July she is offering FREE WORLDWIDE shipping! That's such an awesome deal. :) Just enter the code FREESHIP at checkout to get free shipping on your order.

May the rest of your day and week be filled with wonderful art, inspiration, and love.

~ Remmie