Table for 10?

We had company for Shabbos this week, and one of my poor, unfortunate children found themselves seated upon (gasp!) a folding chair.  A small amount of whining ensued.  I blew it off, though, because we're lucky to have guests on a regular basis, and we only have "proper" seating for 8, although the dining room table can seat 10 comfortably...

So yesterday, I was driving carpool and I spied a pair of perfectly sturdy wooden chairs in dire and desperate need of immediate reupholstery. 

  

 Natch, they went into the trunk, and I was lucky enough to have leftover fabric from my last batch of chairs.  This was a speedy recovery---done in less than 40 minutes. 

In other news on the home front, I've been teaching art classes out of my studio.

My guys are happy to sit in. :)

And we have a new resident.  Meet Lizzy, our bearded dragon.

And I finally tried that baking-soda-and-peroxide trick from Pinterest.

Before (left) and After (right).  Whoa.

Rosh Hashannah Roundup

I'm in mega-procrastination mode: so much to do for Rosh Hashannah that I decided to ignore it all and blog for awhile.   But there's been all kinds of good stuff floating around Pinterest for the holiday, and I figured I'd link you guys up in case you'd missed anything pertinent.

For starters, there's this fabulous video that shows three easy-peasy ways to make round challahs.  I've always gone about this the lazy way---either the snail-shell cop out, or the big-round-ball-in-a-round-pan variety---but this year I'll be taking on the 6-braid with confidence.

Here's a mess-free, hassle-free way to de-seed a pomegranate, one of the traditional Rosh Hashannah foods.  My munchkins will fight over the seeds, so it's good to have an easy way to hang on to every last one.

Although we have a stash of apple-shaped honey dishes, I'm thinking of using this trick from Martha this year: (and if it works well enough, maybe I'll get rid of our honey dishes altogether!  Less to store...)

ANd if you're looking to keep your kids entertained for a few hours while you cook, check out this five minutes of fabulousness from Aish.  Warning: Your progeny will attempt, as mine did, to emulate the dancing yeahiva boys.  Hide your couch.

Yeah.  So I'm trying to find some good coconut milk recipes that don't actually taste like coconut, unpacking the stacks of boxes that still line the basement, and keeping the kiddos from killing each other for real.  Raiding the library on a bi-weekly basis, and waiting for the rain to let up so I can spray paint my night tables before it gets really cold.  Grocery shopping with a vengeance and a fury, cooking with slightly less fervor.  Admiring the kid-generated awesomeness that they come up with once they realize that "bored" is not an option.  What have you been up to?

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7678275100356601197#editor/target=post;postID=294656866699564295

       Charlie and The Chocolate Factory---by

Esti

Family Outing

So the plan was that we'd take the kids to Gray's Lake to do tashlich, and then head out to the Pappajohn Sculpture Garden for some education.  Instead...

...we stayed put.

My Creative Space: Where the heck has she been?

I've been flying off the radar these past few weeks, not being very creative at all.

There's been loads of baking---The "Honey Bears" are an annual Rosh Hashannah tradition chez nous, and Shani and Chevi were especially helpful this year.

With all of the preparations for the holidays, I've had ample opportunity to sit back and giggle at the spontaneous cleverness of my offspring. (The tin reads "Salmon (cute fishy drawing and arrow) except dead and baked."  Droll, no?)

: 

There's been sukkah-building, and the inevitable "small-child-with-sharp-object" interlude.

Of course, we've done our share of chicken-wrangling and egg-hunting (Akiva discovered an egg in the water dish yesterday!)

And with the return of the (marginally) cooler weather, there's been some comfort food on the stove.

Pardon my stultifying lack of food styling skill---this stuff was too good not to mention.  Sauteed onion, garlic, and diced tomatoes simmered with lentils and bulgur and a little tomato paste.  Basil, thyme, rosemary and a pinch of red pepper, combined with wholewheat noodles and scarfed down by a notable majority of my constituency.

So, next week, I hope, I'll be a little craftier.  Meanwhile, you can get your fix over at kootoyoo. 

Best. Apple Cake. Ever.

As in, "Oh, dear me!  Whatever will I serve to the guests, having singlehandedly scarfed the whole panful in less time than it took to wash the mixing bowl?" 

Check out Kim's mind-numbingly easy recipe at The Inadvertent Farmer.  Go for the apple cake, stay for the stunning photos, gigglesome tales, and---oh, yeah!---the camel.  (Try her ultra-yum banana bread, too!)

Back to the salt mines...

Ready or Not...

Rubies
Originally uploaded by Dragan*

Rosh Hashannah starts Wednesday night. (The good news is that there's a significant amount of stockpiled food in the freezer from the Bar Mitzvah. The bad news is that I've been so busy gallivanting about that I haven't quite gotten round to doing any actual preparation for the holidays.) Lucky for me, the incredible Carolyn of Juggling Frogs has shared these Really Useful Links to make planning easier. I'll be buckling down starting tomorrow to get things in order here.



Wishing you and yours the sweetest of all sweet things this year...