little darlings

Do tehle uzasnych, vanocnich ozdob, ktere jsem pred par dny koupila v "sekaci", jsem se okamzite zamilovala :))  Dnes bylo nadherne a tak jsem je mohla "vyvencit" a vyfotit :))

I am in love with these darling Christmas ornaments. I scored them in the second hand store just a few days ago.  The weather was perfect today so I  took them out for a photo shoot :))  

 Do "domecku" se sice nevejdou, ale nekupte ho :) Na fotce to neni vydet ale strecha a strany jsou z dravenych dosek.

They don't fit into this display cabinet, but i had to buy it to :) You can't  see it in this photo, but the roof and the sides are covered with wooden shingles.

A jeste posledni nalez.....
And last but not least....

Po vecerech pletu bezprstove rukavice. Tady jsou dva pary ze vcerejsiho vecera. Sedive jsou presne podle popisu,  hnede trosku upravene.  A tyhle jsem pletla ve ctvrtek.
I am knitting hand warmers. This is such a quick project, I made these two pairs  last night and another one the day before. It is addicting.

Krasny vikend, M.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend, M.

retro circles blanket

Dokoncena hackovana deka podle predlohy a navodu ktery jsem nasla na blogu
 " Three Beans in a Pod "  Musim ric, ze to byla zabava od zacatku az do konce. Zadne takove  " uz aby to bylo hotove, hackuji x-ty ctverec a nudim se " :) Takze dnes uz naposled v plne krase deka "Retro Kruhy"

For the last time.....finished "retro circles blanket" from Tree Beans in a Pod blog. It was fun from the beginning to the end, I newer felt bored making this blanket even though there are many, many many squares and they are all the same :) 

Zvolila jsem trosku jiny okraj nez je u deky podle ktere jsem hackovala.
I made a different border then there is on the original blankie.

Libi se mi tenhle maly "vzorek" ktery vznikne pri sesiti ctvercu.
 I love this little detail which emerged when I joined the squares.

 Z houbami se na zahrade roztrh pytel, toto je jen mala ochutnavka, je jich tam stovky a vselijake druhy. Par jich rozeznam jako jedle ale stejne je nezbiram, oni se o ne zvirata (jak je videt na fotkach) postaraji :))

We have tons of mushrooms in the yard, this is just a fraction. Some I recognize as edible, but I am not picking them . The animals (as you can see) like to munch on them :))

mnam
yummy

Chtela bych si vyrezat nejake drevene ozdoby a tak jsem pozadala  Neila aby me naucil zachazet z lupinkovou pilkou. Takze cvicne, od oka, ze stareho kousku dreva, vznikl tento stromek. Asi 15 cm vysoky, ktery ceka na novy nater.

I would like to make some wood cutout decorations, so I asked Neil to help me with the scroll saw.  We made this little tree, from an old piece of wood. Free hand, about 15 cm tall, that I still have to paint to make it more pretty.

 Mejte se krasne, Monika.
Take care, Monika.

Homemade Nutella

"Prekulil" se dalsi mesic a protoze do vanoc zbyva 47 dni  (jak mi poctive odpocitava jedna z mnoha mobilnich apps :)  pustila jsem se do vyroby prvni vanocni ozdoby. Tyhle sisky okukuji na webu uz delsi dobu, dnes jsem tedy konecne zasedla a  protoze se mi nechtelo prekladat dansky popis  "strihla" jsem  tuhle sisku jak se rika od oka po zhlednuti tohoto videa.  Prekladac google v tomto pripade absolutne zklamal at uz v anglickem ci ceskem prekladu. I kdyz by se clovek jiste "dobral" patricnych vyrazu,  míček = klubko atd.,  me se do toho nechtelo. Ale alespon jsem se po ranu dobre zasmala.  Takhle popis zacina :))  
Musíte použít1 míček. Bavlna Bavlna 8 8/8 velká hnědáHáček 3 ( nebo 5 v případě, že příze Háčkovací manželskou postelí nebo bavlna 8/8)Fiber Fill  ← neni nad to strihnou do toho jeste par anglickych sluvek, hi,hi.....

I downloaded this countdown app for my phone today :) It is November already and there are 48 days left till Christmas so I decided it is time to star making some new Christmas decorations. I had my eyes on these pine cones  for a while now and I finally  made one. The pattern I found is in Danish and in this case Google translate totally fail (lots of gibberish that didn't make any sense) so I just improvised after watching this video.

Trošku šišatá ale vzdyt je to prece šiška :))
Slightly lopsided :))  

Vcera jsem zhackovala ctverce deky a ted musim dokoncit jeji okraj. Zbyva mi po jednom klubku sede a tmavsi modre vlny a tak budu muset vymyslet nejaky vzor a kombinaci barev.

I joined the squares yesterday and now I just have to do the border to  finish this blanket. I only have 1 skein  of grey and the darker blue, so I have to think about the design.

Uz jste si nekdy zkousely  udelat Nutellu? Ja  posledni dobou pouzivam jen tuto domaci, protoze presne vim, jake se v ni "ukryvaji"  ingredience. Snazime se vyhybat bilemu cukru a necitelnym chemickym latkam a i chutove se ji kupovana vubec nevyrovna. A jak na to? Recept je velice jednoduchy:
Do trouby vyhrate na  190 C dame  na 10-12 minut oprazit 2 hrnky (500ml) liskovych orisku.

Did you ever try to make homemade Nutella?  One reason why I started making it at home is because  we try not to eat white sugar and also to eliminate preservatives in the store both food. This recipe is very easy:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts out on a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until dark brown and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Keep a close eye on them, as they can go from perfect roasted to burnt in a short amount of time.

 Po vychladnuti by se slupka mela lehce sloupnout. Me tam vzdy jeste najaka zustane ale to vubec nevadi. Orisky dam do mixeru, pridam asi pul hrnku medu, dve lzice bio kokosoveho cukru, trosku vanilky, spetku himalajske soli a tri lzice kokosoveho oleje. A to je vse, rozmixujete do kremovite  konzistence a muzete konzumovat. Ja ji mam ulozenou jen tak ve skrince, nema se cas zkazit (žluknout) protoze se po ni vetsinou jen zaprasi.

Once the hazelnuts are cool enough to handle rub the skins off.  Process the hazelnuts in a food processor with 1/2 cup honey, 2tbsp. organic coconut sugar, splash of vanilla, dash of Himalayan salt and 3 tbsp. of coconut oil. That's it, you can store it  at room temperature for up to 1 month, but  it never last that long at our house :)

 Vyzkousejte, nebudete litovat!
Try it, you will not regret!

✿

Takhle pokracuje detska deka......toto jsem fotila vcera a dnes jsem pridala jeste jednu radu a obhackovala vsechna kolecka. Barvy jsem definitivne vybrala az z postupem prace, takze mala zmena od puvodniho planu. Pribyla jeste blede modra.

Baby blanket in progress......since I took this picture yesterday, I added one more row and finished all my squares. I  changed the color scheme slightly when I started working on it and I like how it's turning out so far. I still have hours of work ahead of me joining the squares and crocheting the border.

Priprava dynove polevky. Delam ji pokazde trosku jinak, jak mam prave naladu a hlavne co mam po ruce :) Tentokrat porek, mrken,dyne, paprika, cesnek a bylinky pripravene do trouby.

Pumpkin, leeks, carrots, pepper, garlic and herbs ready to be roasted for pumpkin soup.

Po upeceni vse putovalo do hrnce z kurecim vyvarem a kouskem zazvoru. Po rozmixovani jsem vse zalila kokosovym mlekem....byla to mnamka!

Roasted veggies ready to be put into chicken stock with piece of ginger. After a bit of cooking I purred the soup and added coconut milk....it was gooood! 

Dalsi houbarske vypravy.....tedy oni nam vlastne rostou primo v sousedstvi :)
More mushroom picking  in the neighborhood.

Boruvci  a hroznove vino se krasne barvi.
Blueberry and grape vines turning into gorgeous colors.

Az se zima zepta....
Getting ready for winter....

Mlhave rano.
Fogy morning.

Preji vam vsem krasny vikend a posilam alespon virtualni kyticku.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend, here is a virtual bouquet from me to you.

chalk paint table makeover

Muj prvni kousek nabytku, kteremu se u nas (a mozna i u vas) rika shabby chic. Stolek jsem koupila uz pred casem  a  presne vedela, co snim chci udelat. Jen jsem se k tomu proste driv nedostala.

I bought this little side table a while ago and I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.So I finally got to it and here it is.

Takhle stolek vypadal kdyz jsem se pustila do prace. Pouzila jsem tak zvanou "chalk" neboly sadrovou barvu. Jeji vyhoda je, ze se muze pouzit na drevo, ktere neni predtim nijak pripravene a barva drzi a neloupe se. Nemusi se pracne brousit nebo chemicky odstranovat stare laky a barvy. Tuto barvu jsem si namichala sama ale original si muzete koupit treba zde. Uz prez dvacet let ho prodava Annie Sloan.

This is the table before I started. I used chalk paint which is a really, really  great product. No sanding or stripping just apply it on your piece and it will stick to it!! I made my own after I researched the internet. It is really easy to make, but if you want to buy it,  Annie  Sloan  is the original "inventor" of this paint.  

Prvni nater vypadal dost pochybne ale nenechte ze zastrasit.   Kocka Maja si samo sebou nemuze nechat nic ujit a podle ni se nejlepe  spi u cerstve natreneho stolu.....

First coat didn't look that impressive, but don't let that scare you.  Our cat Maja had to be there when I worked and decided that sleeping next to the freshly painted furniture was the best :))

 Barva schne velmi rychle a behem 15-30 minut muzete nanest dalsi brstvu. Po dalsich dvouch naterech....
 This paint is drying really fast and you can usually apply next coat within 15-30 minutes. I put two more coats on......

Potom prislo na radu brouseni aby stary stolek opravdu vypadal jako stary. Takze hrany a mista, kde se normalne nabytek vetsinou odre a poskrabe se proste jen vic "zdurazni"  Nakonec jsem nanesla ( hadrikem vetrela)  tri vrstvy vosku. Prvni bezbarvym voskem a dalsi dve s troskou tmaveho pigmentu.

After that I distressed the table. It is fun and it is a big  part of this look. Finally I applied three coats of wax. The first one clear and two more of dark wax. 

 A to je vse. Jse moc spokojena a pani, ktera si ho koupila take. Napsala mi dekovny dopis, jak perfektne  stolek "zapadl" do jejiho dekoru .  No a na mne  ceka dalsi kousek nabytku.

And that is it. I love it  and so does the lady who bough it! She emailed me thanking, and saying how perfectly  this little table fits in here space. I am so happy and ready to tackle the next piece.

 Na me Pinterest nastence   najdete spoustu inspirace.

Sadrova barva se micha takto:
1 hrnek matove ( ne leskle)  latexove barvy
2 1/2 lzice sadry
1 lzice vody
Sadru poradne rozmichame ve vode a potom pridame barvu a spolecne dobre promichame.

Jestlize pouzijete tento navod a techniku, prosim, budte tak hodne a uvedte me jmeno (blog) a tento prispevek na svem blogu a pozadejte sve ctenare aby ucinili totez a ke svym vytvorum ci sireni teto techniky pridali muj link. Dekuji!
Jestly mate nejake dotazy rada se s vami podelim o mou zkusenost s touto technikou.

Zde se muzete podivat, jak si "upravila" stolek ma dcera.  Maji ho uz od brezna,  vnoucek mu dava pekne "zabrat" (auticka po nem drandi o sto sest :)) a barva se ani nehne! Jeji recept: 3 dily barvy 1 dil sadry.
At uz pouzijete muj ci jeji recept, doufam, ze se vam bude dobre pracovat a nezapomente mi poslat fotky. Zdravim, M.

p.s. pro ty kterym se protaci panenky nad tim, ze jsem natrela dreveny stolek (Neil me tvrdil, ze si ho nekdo koupi a prvni co udela odstrani barvu a zrenovuje ho dopuvodni podoby) privrete ocka a prijdte zase na navstevu :))

 You can go to  my Pinterest  Chalk Paint board for more info and inspiration.
This is the recipe I used:
1 cup latex paint (eggshell)
2 1/2 tbsp. plaster of Paris
1 tbsp. water
Mix water and plaster of Paris thoroughly,  add into your paint  and mix  well.

Here is my daughters table makeover. She painted this table in March and our grandson is playing on it with his toys all the time. The paint is holding really well :))  She used this mix ratio. 3 parts paint, 1 part chalk.
Have fun if you use this technique, whatever recipe you use and send me some pics if you tackle a project. Cheers, M.

p.s. for all of you who think I ruined the wooden table ( as Neil puts it, someone's going to buy it just to restore it to the original) have mercy and come back to visit :))

Sweet potato cookies

Nejen pro Ellu a Daju ale pro vsechny krere maji zajem, doplnuji recept k minulemu prispevku. Tady je :

Susenky (cookies) ze sladkych brambor.

1/3 hrnku  masla
2/3 uvarenych, rozmackanych sladkych brambor (yams)
1 hrnek burakoveho masla ( recept zde )
1 1/3 hrnku kokosoveho cukru ( nebo pul na pul krystal a hnedy cukr)
2 vejce
1 lzicka vanilky
2 hrnky celozrnne mouky
1 hrnek ovesnych vlocek
2 lzicky jedle sody
1/4 lzicky soli
 2 hrnky posekane cokolady
(1 hrnek = 250ml)

Maslo, burakove maslo a cukr naslehame v mixeru. Pridame bramborove pyre, vejce a vanilku. Potom pridame mouku, ovesne vlocky a jedlou sodu. Rucne zamichame nasekane kousky cokolady.
Na plech klademe hromadky, trosku je rukou nebo lzici zmackneme (zplostime) a peceme v troube vyhrate na 175 C  10-12 minut.  Dobrou chut!

For all of you who were asking about the cookie recipe from my last post. Here it is :

Sweet potato (yam) cookies

1/3 cup butter
2/3 cups sweet potatoes pure
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/3 coconut sugar ( or half and half  sugar and brown sugar)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal (quick or old fashioned oats)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups chocolate chunks

Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar in a mixer. Add eggs, sweet potato pure and vanilla. Mix. Combine the flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt and add to the cream mixture. Add  chocolate chunks to dough and mix by hand. 
Using a cookie scoop (or just a spoon!) scoop dough into balls (about 1″) on a cookie sheet about 2″ apart. Just slightly flatten dough balls.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!

October

I kdyz ukladam fotky do pocitace a mam naplanovano se s vami podelit o stripky z naseho zivota, posledni dobou to nejak hrozne rychle leti a ja uz zase peknou dobu nic nenepsala. Pocasi je nad rijnovym normalem a tak vyuzivame kazdeho slunecneho dne a uzivame tento necekany "darek" Posledni tyden byly po ranu mlhy ale k poledni uz bylo zase krasne. Tady par fotek z mych rannich vyletu nasim okolim.

Even though I am saving photos in my computer and planing to blog about bits and pieces from our life, the time just fly and it is already October! Unexpectedly beautiful one, above season temperatures and  lots of sun. We are totally taking advantage of  this "gift", spending days outdoor as much as we can. We had lots of fogy mornings and I take my camera with me going for walks in our neighborhood. Here are some of the shots.

Pozdni rano a uz zase vyleza slunicko....
Late morning and the sun is coming out....

Ani po vecerech nezahalim,tady je "ochutnavka"  rozhackovane deky :)
Iam not procrastinating, here is a sneak peak of  chrochet blanket i just started  :)

Predu a barvim. 
More spinning and dyeing.

 I kdyz je stale krasne, v nasem jidelnicku jsou ted vic a vic tak rikajic "comfort food"
We have more and more comfort food on our table regardless the nice weather.

 Bochanky se sladkych brambor, kruti prsa plnena houbovou nadivkou a cokoladove susenky z testa ze sladkych brambor.

Sweet potatoes biscuits, mushroom stuffed turkey breast,  sweet potatoes, chocolate chunks cookies.

 

Verim, ze si take uzivate podzimu,zdravim, M

                                               I hope you are enjoying  fall as well, xo M.