Hollah for Challah!

So, I was inspired by a fellow blogger. She's one of the young women (I'm the 1st counselor in young women). She has started a brownie blog and it got me all excited; I was sending her all kinds of recipes which got me thinking about baking and it just opened the flood gates.
So, yesterday, I decided to make Challah.

Challah is the bread traditionally eaten on the Jewish sabbath. I was always intrigued by the name when I saw it in cook books, so I decided to take the plunge and make it!
It was a little different from other breads I've tried, but it came out really pretty! You actually separate the dough into three sections, roll them out like snakes, and then braid them. After you let it rise for about an hour, you beat an egg and brush it all over the bread.

The result of the egg wash was a nice shiny finish. With the braiding and the shine, it was really a very nice looking loaf. :)

I highly recommend it. If you're interested, here is the recipe I used and it came out great:

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp salt
• 8 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds (optional - I didn't use these)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water (110 degrees). Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, eventually kneading with your hands as the dough gets thicker. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 1 1.2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.
2. Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto a floured board. Divide in half and knead each loaf for about 5 minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep it from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll into long snakes about 1 1.2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from the middle. Grease two baking trays and place a finished loaf on each. Cover with a towel and let rise for one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid. Sprinkle with poppy seed if desired.
5. Bake at 375F for about 40 minutes. The bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least an hour before slicing.

So, yeah. There it is. You should totally try it. Maybe you will become addicted to making bread like I have :)

Swedish Weave and Me

Well, I've started back up at an old hobby again after a long absence: Swedish Weave.

Most of the time when I tell people that I get a weird look and, "What's that?" In fact this little "show and tell" style blog was inspired by a friend of mine asking to see pictures of my newest project. Add that to the fact that I just got all of my off camera lighting equipment, and you get nice pictures :)

This one was my first ever large project. I was 17 years old and it took me 52 hours to complete (I know that because I kept track so I could use it as one of my Laurel projects for my Young Womanhood Recognition Award). It fits a twin size bed.

This one I made for my Grammy :) This is the first one that I made with a backing - it has yellow fleece on the other side. I still have to put a binding on the edge for her, but it is entirely usable. This one is lap quilt size.

This was my first project using this really neat lattice floss. It is actually cut out and graduates in color. This one went from blue to black. Yes, I know, it's Orlando Magic colors, but I just liked the lattice :) This one is also lap quilt size.

This was another attempt to use the cool floss. I had intended it to be a baby blanket - well that would have to be one small baby. I'm not sure why I thought it would be big enough, but it's not. I does look cool though.

This one is my latest project. I started it over a year ago for Justin. I had planned to give it to him for his birthday, and I did but it wasn't finished. Then, it just kind of got put aside and I forgot about it. So, last week I came across the bag it was in and decided to finish it. And finish it I did. This one is a bit bigger than a lap quilt, but still not big enough to wrap up in.

So, Taylor dear, my fellow wielder of yarn, I hope this answers your question. And I have supplied pictures of my newest blanket. It's the biggest one I've ever made. It's as tall as me (5'7") and as wide as my arm span (?") and I'm trying a graduated boucle yarn to give it a 3 dimensional look. It'll be fuzzy :) As far as the pattern, the brown row that is in the middle of this picture will be in between every other line (as it is in the picture) and the teal lines and the boucle lines will alternate.

I know every girl has their craft (I have too many to count now), but you should try this out. I really enjoy Swedish Weave.

Our First (Real) BIG Christmas Tree

Well, I was going to say this was our first tree, but two years ago, Justin bought me a 3 foot tall tree for us. So, this is our first tree as a married couple :)

We have both always known we wanted to do a real tree - both having come from typical fake tree using families. So, we went down to the tree filled tent in Titusville and started the hunt.

I really can't even tell you how happy Justin is about having his picture taken here :)

And I even got the guy who worked there to take our picture with our perfect tree.
I know. I'm a big nerd.

So, once we managed to fit it into the car and got it home, we spent the day covering it with lights and decorations. The result is a very traditional looking Christmas tree.

We have even started a tradition over the last few years of collecting ornaments form all the places we go. This picture shows some of them off nicely, including the conch shell angel we got in the Bahamas just 6 weeks ago.

The dog has been very curious of the tree (I know, he looks really creepy in this picture). I kept having to make him get out from under it while I was putting the lights on. Now that it's up, he rather enjoys having another bowl to drink from :)

All in all, he's fine with it now that it's up and he can lay on the tree skirt - which is a flannel blanket. The only thing he's unsure of are my cute-sy snowmen that I have on either side of it.
... He doesn't trust them. Plus I'm afraid he will eat them, so I've had to place them up higher.

We are both very happy with our tree, and we can't wait to get all the other decorations up so we feel really festive throughout the month :)

Megan's California Adventure!

I was lucky enough to be able to visit two of my best friends, Heather and Kevin, in Los Alamitos, California for a week! Isn't my husband nice ;)

I had lots of fun, despite what Heather says. The two of them were getting over colds, plus Heather has reached the "horrifically uncomfortable" stage in her pregnancy (ok, she didn't say it was THAT bad, but she was uncomfortable), so we didn't want to be traipsing around everywhere the whole time. We had a really fun time just hanging out which we haven't been able to due since they moved and abandoned me in Florida.

Heather helped me catch up on some movies I have missed - by the way you should so see Dan in Real Life if you haven't yet. It's amazing. We went to Seal Beach Main and shopped in all the quaint little shops. We had some terrific food throughout the week, including the most obscenely large slice of chocolate cake I've ever witnessed at a place called Claim Jumper. I even got my In and Out Burger fix :)

One day, we went to the Los Angeles Temple, which was really neat. It's such a big temple! It's also amazing how quiet that area is when the rest of the city is so loud. And how cool is it that I was able to go with a good friend of mine :)





Then we drove around Beverly Hills and saw a lady on a power chair with the most blinged out leopard print jacket I've ever seen. One day, we went out to Seal Beach and took some maternity pictures for her little girl that is due some time in the first week of December.

The week culminated with Heather's baby show thrown by some friends of hers at church. It was really a nice party.

And, no Heather isn't throwing up into that gift, I just couldn't resist posting this one ;) Sorry Heather. It was too good.

This is Heather with her mother in law and sister in law.

This is our one picture of the two of us together :)

And this is a sampling of the crowd from the shower.

I really did have such a good time. From the weather to the relaxation - it was everything that a vacation should be. Plus, I got to hang out with two of my favorite people. What more could you ask for? I loved California and I can't wait to take Justin back sometime. Plus, I need to meet that baby! :) After all, I helped build her swing.

Cruisin With The In-Laws

So, we just got back form our 4 day cruise to the Bahamas with Justin's family. It was the two of us, his mom and dad, his sister Jessica and her boyfriend Adam, and his Aunt Dede and Uncle Barry. We were quite the brood, but we had a lot of fun. We went to the Atlantis Hotel and looked around, the beach, and the straw market in Nassau.

I will admit, we didn't take many pictures ... hey, we were on vacation!

Happy Birthday To Justin!

Yup, Justin turned 24 on September 30th (now I am no longer the "older woman"). I asked him what he wanted as his cake and he said a chocolate swirl cheesecake. I had made regular cheesecakes (with much success, might I add) but I had never made a chocolate swirl one. I was told by Justin that it came out great :) Isn't he sweet?

For his birthday, I got him a bunch of computer related items that he wanted :) So, one more year down, and many more to come! Happy B-Day Baby!

He Can See!

Well, Justin finally got his eyes zapped and now he is a huge fan of Lasik surgery :)

We went in on September 25th, and he was out in 15 minutes. No wonder the Doctor has his brand new bright orange Lamborghini parked out front :) I got to watch it all on a tv screen from the lobby. I saw 4 surgeries in all before Justin was finished and came out, and he could see on the way home!

This is what his eyes looked like that night.