Pink Peppers » Terri

Monkey Bread

Terri — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:42:27 +0000

We have a terrific give-away starting on Monday that you will want to check out. This one will have FIVE lucky winners!!

In the meantime, I think you should make some Monkey Bread with the kids. It’s fun and easy and really, really tasty.

This is a great do ahead breakfast for Sunday morning. To make Monkey Bread super simple, start with Rhodes frozen unbaked dinner rolls.

Cut the almost still frozen rolls into quarters.

Melt butter in one bowl and have ready, cinnamon sugar in the other. For 25 rolls we used just over a stick of butter.

Dip the pieces in the melted butter and then roll around until coated in the cinnamon sugar. This is where kids could have fun dipping and rolling the dough.

Place the coated pieces in a bundt pan that has been greased or sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, take out of the fridge about an hour before baking. Sunday morning I wander down the hall pull it out, set it on the counter and return to bed.

Bake at 350until done which will vary depending upon how many rolls you used. Check it after 20 minutes and go from there.

My Leather Sofa Repair

Terri — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:48:48 +0000

Don’t forget to check yesterday’s post for Valentine Soap Give Away!

Somewhere in the last number of years and the last thousand people in our home, somewhere along there, my leather sofa received a big ugly gash, kinda like a knifing. And nobody’s fessing up. At first it didn’t look too bad, but as time went on, little fingers became intrigued, fascinated, draaaawn to that gash. It has grown.

I’ve been contemplating buying all new living room furniture all because of this unsightly gash in my sofa. The problem though, is that new stuff means becoming married to the thing: caring deeply about it, obsessing over it, becoming jealous of anyone’s use of it. That’s how it is with new stuff. I hate that. That and I still like my old sofa.

I made about nine calls to upholstery and leather repair shops; some never returned my call; some said they’d have to replace the entire panel of leather; some just owned up and said that though they advertised leather repair, they really didn’t.

So, I went to Saint Google and asked for guidance. I watched snippets on Youtube of tutorials on repairing a leather sofa. Those tricksters on youtube videos demonstrate by applying a patch to a scrap of leather so that they could turn it over to show you the finished patch, BUT that also meant they could access the back and sweetly, gently, firmly press the patch into perfect place for drying. Sneaks.

In the end I bought some leather glue at the local hobby store for $3.99, cut a little piece of leather from a piece lying around, glued the patch, shoved it in the hole, tweezered it into place and pushed on the sofa back hoping that would bond the two together for life. I figured anything worth doing is worth doing poorly, that and I had absolutely nothing to lose, the sofa was already an eyesore.

With the help of a million and three web sites, I landed on ordering two products: Deep Leather Fill for the gouge, and Soft Leather Fill for the finishing layer, each $7.95 for 2 oz. from these folks. I ordered on Monday and the stuff was here on Wednesday! It was sent priority AND they refunded almost half the shipping because they could.

Find the knife wound. This, THIS, is the completed project. I am so proud.

See that sort of circle lightly around the cut? That is from my first attempt to "fix" the cut. Back when Taite had a feeding tube, I thought, anything that sticks to skin like that tape that held her feeding tube in place ought to be able to hold a sofa's torn leather together. Not so well, it happens.

So, what I did first was to put a little leather glue onto a leather patch and shove it in the hole. Then I took some tweezers and cajoled it into place and then let it dry. Thoroughly. I kind of reminded me of a big old scab. And I kept telling my self, "nothing to lose." (You can see the Taite feeding tube tape mark again here)

This stuff is golden. And you can fix an awful lot of holes with 2 ounces of this stuff. The Deep Fill goes on and then I smoothed it over with a putty knife and let it dry. Thoroughly. And then applied yet another layer before applying the Soft Fill for the final top coat. Let dry thoroughly.

The nice thing about this product is that when it dries it has a soft leathery feel to it.

Eventually I had it all smooth and ready for some color.

Now, let me step outside of my photos for just a second to tell you what you must not do. You don’t need to because I did it for you. Do not go into your shoe polishing kit and get some brown shoe polish and smear it on the patch. Trust me, it won’t work. And then you might want to take a little black India ink and kinda smear it in too hoping to get the perfect brown. Don’t. It will look like you took shoe polish and mixed it up with black India ink. Cheapskate.

No, rather you must buy spray paint specifically for leather. Okay, it’s for shoes, but it works. Just $7.99 plus about $6 shipping. And because it’s “liquid, perishable, flammable, dangerous,” it will take forever and a day for the good old government postal system to deliver the stuff to you. When you have lost all hope, it will arrive.

The tought thing though is to match your particular brown to an online color chart. I ended up getting "Russet" on Taite's advise. She was spot on.

That’s it. I am now open for business. You may fly me out and I will come with my little leather supplies and it will save you in the end the cost of a new sofa, (see finished sofa photo above).

Rambling Beige

Terri — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:35:18 +0000

Long, loooong ago when we were house hunting in Miami it seemed every house we looked at was muted colors, tan, light brown, coffee, chestnut, hazel, beige, toast. The realtor opened one more front door walked in and said, “rambling beige,” and forevermore I’ve remembered that term. And I thought, “I will NOT have a rambling beige house.”

In the market for a couple of chairs, I pretty much fell in love with orange ones:

yep, orange. Definitely

Or turquoise, yes, maybe turquoise.

turquoise in leather...

But here’s the crazy thing; I think I love orange chairs; I think I could go a little wild with turquoise and then I take a look at my handy Pinterest board where I put my whole look together and it is totally rambling beige. I am shocked, but picture after picture confirms it; I like monotone. I am boring.

I know, I know; I could bring out some color with pillows, throws, a tchotchke. But I won’t; I mean take a look at those pictures, no color. Even the tchotchkes are muted.

I have rambling beige pieces showing up for my living room this week, no orange, no turquoise, no purple; just beige. Maybe there’s enough color in my life that I don’t need it in my living room. Yah, I’m going with that.

If You Give A Man A Gun

Terri — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:49:20 +0000

Have you read the children’s books, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, or, If You Give a Moose a Muffin? The story starts with a simple little cookie given to a mouse, but as soon as that mouse gets a cookie he’s going to want a glass of milk to go with it, and chances are if you give him the glass of milk, he’s going to want a mirror to make sure he doesn’t have a milkstache, and after that he will notice that his whiskers need a little trim and he’s going to ask for scissors…

Well, if you give Andrew, Jarrett and Matthias a gun, they are probably going to want another gun to keep it company. And chances are they will want a membership in a gun club to go with them.

After that they will notice all the empty rounds they’ve spent and they are going to want some reloading equipment to go with it. And if they get the re-loader, they will realize they need a caliper to measure to the thousandth inch for perfect calibration.

After that they will look around and notice they have no bench for their reloading equipment so they will ask for a bench and then they will look around and notice that they have nowhere to sit so they will need some stools. They will go to the kitchen and take the stools so they can sit and reload.

The trouble is the mom of the house will miss her stools and when she goes looking for them she will find them in the basement and ask that they be brought back to her kitchen.

But sooner or later those three men will steal the stools again…

I am in the market for new kitchen stools.

In a way it's only fair, that they use my kitchen stools because I bought them in the automotive department

So, I have decided I need new ones in the kitchen and they can keep my others. I still love industrial. Looking around I have narrowed it down to a few:

I love the idea of a back on the stool.

But I am afraid that there might not be enough passage way if I opt for a back

These are probably a little too modern for my kitchen but they are the perfect combo of back/backless

Maybe a tad too farmy for my house

I am kinda leaning towards a backless style again so it can completely tuck under the counter when not needed.

So….. should I stick with industrial? I really love it.

Hearty and Hale Winter Breakfast

Terri — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:20:07 +0000

Winter is a great time for a breakfast with a little more substance. Zac and Caitlin introduced us to this humble breakfast kicked up a notch with a little bed of arugula . Yes, it is definitely for those watching their weight as it will stick with you almost until dinner. And even if it doesn’t; it is good for your soul; it is comfort food. And it’s still winter.

First a bed or arugula topped with a freshly made biscuit. You might think that lettuce will do just as well. It will not.

Top the biscuit with sausage gravy made with a surprising simple combination of whole milk, flour, salt and pepper.

Multiply that by the number of people.

Then gently poach an egg in just under boiling water with a little salt and vinegar thrown in to help the egg keep its shape.

As a late breakfast, this will just about keep you full 'til dinnertime.

Come to Where the Flavor Is…

Terri — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:56:28 +0000

I picked up a 1969 copy of Time and Life magazine and was bowled over by the advertisements. I didn’t realize how brainwashed I’d become to recoil at the site of a cigarette ad or an alcohol ad, never even mind being told to go ahead and eat WHITE sugar. Criminy!

Anyone remember when smoking meant men were fit and outdoorsy sort of man's man?

Men who smoked were good looking and faithful to their wives- the wedding band says it all, never mind that come hither look in his eyes.

The audacity! A big old pack of cigarettes!

Alcohol in a magazine, just seems weird.

Maybe this one should be brought back, an ad trying to convince you that white sugar is okay, really.

Wowsah! Reliable and Sexy all in one. And take a look at the price!

Yes, children, it's true; people used to be treated like human beings when they flew.

Perfect Creamy Richness

Terri — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:45:40 +0000

Never say, “die,” Erin decided that really there was enough time to do one last crafty thing. Understand, we had just, as in, Erin and Tim were still in the car returning; we had just returned from our New Year celebration almost four hours away with Caitlin’s family. We had been sledding, shopping til we dropped, coffee shop lounging, and staking claims on mines, when Erin called still en route and wanted to have Meghan teach us to oil paint just real quick before dinner on Tim and Erin’s last night here.

They were not packed, they had a plane to catch at 5 a.m., it was now 5 p.m. and Erin wanted to do one last craft, not paper and scissors sort of craft, we’re talking oil painting, for Pete’s sake!

Uh, sure, Erin.

At this point I decided that if I was going to be oil painting while it was dinner making time, we needed to buy pizzas. Andrew was out gun shopping and then off to get groceries for dinner. I hi-jacked him and told him to just pick up some pizzas. He whined, “I don’t want pizzas, I don’t want food that someone else has made, I want to make dinner; I feel like making food for people.”

I wondered, “what did you have in mind?”

He thought maybe a standing rib roast, another prime rib…

“NO! That is too much clean up, I will be creating a masterpiece and do not want to clean up all the mess from that dinner.” He then settled on a chicken fettuccini with an alfredo sauce and a green salad with store bought French bread. “Well, okay.”

I know it must sound mean, me keeping this poor guy from creating amazing meals every night but someone has to save him from himself! The meal was stupendous, the white sauce the absolute perfect consistency; not too runny, not to glorpy, perfect creamy richness.

Jarrett took Tim and Erin to the airport at 4 a.m. and life went back to how it was before Christmas and I cried to think it was really already over. All day I went back to look at the terrific photos Meghan took, and remember the familial mayhem, the uproarious laughter over a dumb movie, the deep conversations, the crazy skit, eight small grandchildren whose Christmas memories are just beginning, the amazing meals made by various family, the sight of all my family down that long dining table… And I already have plans for next year to make it better.

Then, then, when Taite and Matt were off seeing TinTin, and Jarrett and Andrew were off at work, I opened my freezer and lo, a can of soda had been put in there… and exploded… absolutely everywhere, everywhere! It was on every item in the freezer, it was on every surface of the freezer. I thought I might post to facebook to find out who had done this terrible thing, but then I thought, ‘no, don’t air dirty laundry.’ So I kept it to myself and cleaned the mess… and left the exploded can in the sink to remind me to gently ask around and find out who might have done this thing, (he promises to never, ever put a can of soda in the freezer again.)

My craft before dinner.

Every Last One of Us!

Terri — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:00:04 +0000

I am so excited about these photos. Everyone present and accounted for. Matthias’s friend and neighbor took our photos after Meghan set up the tripod, and fixed all her settings. Zac T. did a great job of making sure everyone was looking at the camera and smiling, no small feat.

Fox, Anwyn, Aileen, Jason, Matthias, Valiant, Tim, Erin, Atlas, Andrew, Terri, Athanasius, Zac, Jude, Caitlin, Freyja, Jarrett, Taite, Eric, Canon, Meghan

Let's name them again! Freyja, Fox, Anwyn, Aileen, Jason, Valiant, Tim Erin, Atlas, Mattias, Terri, Athanasius, Andrew, Zac, Jude, Caitlin,Jarrett, Taite, Canon, Meghan, Eric. Now that wasn't so many really, was it??

Now you try. No cheating!

The Sheer Magnitude

Terri — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:38:47 +0000

The sheer magnitude of twenty-one people for Christmas celebration can not adequately be captured on camera. In a single moment there could be five daughters sitting around a table playing Settlers of Catan, six men out in the garage completely enveloped in smoke from their cigars as they discussed their reading, three boys locked in a bedroom building ninja like things with Legos, two little girls playing with the doll house, and three sleeping babies. (Ok, I kinda hijacked the post and added some different pictures. So if the pictures look different from the last time you saw the post, it’s not your egg nog, they did indeed change- Meghan)

Jas was the mixologist for the weekend keeping Christmas merry and bright for all of us.

Little Valiant had some baking lessons from Aunt Beenie.

Thank you, Valiant, the cinnamon rolls were wonderful.

It just wouldn't be Christmas without some "assembly required".

Licking the bones clean, except that dinner has not even started yet. We are a family of serious pickers.

The dinner wines.

Of course the king and queen of the table.

We must not forget the visit from Little Nemo as our post dinner entertainment.

Everyone loved the show...

except little Jude.

And here is the aftermath.

Close But No Cigar

Terri — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:57:48 +0000

Well, it’s happened again.

Erin always has a very interesting trip across the country and it seems mostly to end with her almost getting here.

One year she was stuck half-way here sleeping in an airport for 48 hours, calling occasionally to cry and exclaim how her vacation days were slipping away.

Another time she was diverted to Seattle due to weather and there the plane stayed. We jumped in our car, drove to Seattle, pulled up to the airport curb, she jumped in and we took off for home.

This time it all seemed so hopeful. And added to the fun was that Erin’s family would be traveling from San Francisco to here having coincidentally booked the same flight as a friend of ours.

Alas.

Jarrett and Matthias were off at band practice and then off to a pub with the band; they would meet up with us at the airport. Taite was lounging around dreaming of finally getting her hands on those two little nephews. Andrew and I were reading and trying to stay alert until 10:39 when we’d whisk off.

And then I got a text: “V just threw up in the food court.”

Oh no! And they were still hours from getting here. Then she called. They were possibly going to get bumped and wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow. She’d let me know.

Another call, yep, bumped and happy to go to a hotel for the night, give poor little V. a bath.

I texted (verb, right?) Jarrett. He texted back, “Figured something like that would happen.” Taite slumped a bit further into the sofa and then revived when she remembered she was heading off to a sleep over.

As I write all this, I am just wondering if this sounds totally normal that a big brother would take his thirteen year old brother to a pub for the evening, that a girl would begin packing for a sleep over at 9:30 PM after she had a quick nighttime snack of three hard boiled eggs with toast. It wasn’t until I actually typed that out, that I realized we might not be normal!

At any rate, we can not wait to see Erin and family this morning!