It seems like quite some time since I’ve taken you on a pictorial journey through the Fagan abode. So, here is a bit of what is happening around our house at this moment…
I hope all of you have a lovely week!
Holistic Living
Kairos
Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
If you are so inclined, share a link to your “Kairos Moment” in the comment section. I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
Sew, A Needle Pulling Thread
With Weather rearing her ugly head the past few days, the girls and I have been scrounging for indoor projects to keep our hands and minds busy. The girls wanted to sew, so sew we did. I had a few pieces of burlap left from a previous project (Here is the other embroidery project we completed), so the girls used those to create the front panel for these pillows.
We then used a bit of left over fabric, sewed a couple of pillows, stuffed them…
and we were done. It turned out to be a nice quick project to showcase their little creative selves.
Winter Adventure
This weekend our family headed for the Northwoods of Wisconsin for a winter adventure. (Take a look at our most recent trips to the Northwoods here and here.) My husband had not graced the winter Northwoods with his presence in twenty-five years, and it was a first for the girls of our family. Although there were absolutely frigid temperatures (let’s just say we woke up to a few mornings where the temperature was -15 degrees), we didn’t let that stop us from getting out there for some outdoor winter fun.
A Year In Review
It is hard to believe that this blustery day in February marks the one year anniversary of Making of a Home. Thank you so much to all of you who have been following my musings over the course of the last year! I am deeply grateful for each of you.
Today I would like to share with you some of my favorite (and your favorite) posts from this past year. Thank you again, and be on the look out for some new and exciting changes and additions to Making of a Home over the course of the next year.
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
Homemade Granola Bars
As I mentioned on Monday, we are prepping for a winter hiking trip, so I’ve been trying to come up with some homemade snacks to bring along. I wouldn’t want the troops to get hungry on our fun, little adventure.
While the girls busied themselves in the playroom yesterday, crafting all kinds of Valentine goodness, I messed up the kitchen a bit and came up with this granola bar recipe. We all sampled the granola bars last night for dinner and agreed the test was a success. Enjoy!
In a large bowl, mix together the following ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons seeds of your choice (I used Garden of Life’s Super Seed, but you could use flax seed, chia seed, etc.)
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened dried bing cherries
3/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
Then, in a saucepan over medium heat, mix together:
2/3 cup honey
1/3 apple sauce
Once the honey and applesauce mixture is combined, remove from the burner and mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Pour the honey/applesauce/vanilla mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Line a 13X9 baking dish with parchment paper. Pour the mixture into the pan and pat down firmly. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Cut into bars. Enjoy!
*A note about all my recipes: I use all organic ingredients, local when available. I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified. All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished. All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.
At This Moment
At this moment I am…
~glancing out my kitchen window, as the snow blows sideways across our yard.
~snacking on a bit of left over pumpkin tiramisu. The recipe for this fabulous dessert can be found in A Year of Pies. Yum!
~organizing volunteers for our church’s Friday Lenten Fish Fry. Join us if you are able…It is always such fun!
~enjoying warm coffee roasted by JavaMania Gourmet Coffee Roastery…one of my favorite local coffee roasters.
~supervising another burlap project, repurposing coffee bags from the lovely people at JavaMania. More on this activity in a few days.
~crafting a few new woolens to bring along on a winter hiking trip we plan to take in the very near future.
~beginning a new book, The Nature Principle by Richard Louv. I have already enjoyed another of his works, The Last Child In The Woods, and hope to be enthralled with this read as well.
~wishing you a wonderful week!
Kairos
Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
If you are so inclined, share a link to your “Kairos Moment” in the comment section. I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
What I’m Into This Week
Whew. It has been one of those weeks. I know you all understand what I’m talking about…One of those weeks where all of a sudden you look at the calendar and realize multiple days have gone by without your noticing. Yes. That has been my week.
I think one reason for the craziness is I seem to have had my hand in a bit of everything this week. So, with that said, here is what I’m into this week…
- My girls had a few friends over and they made some Valentine’s Day ornaments using the “Salt Dough” recipe from Paula Deen’s My First Cookbook.
- I just finished reading Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hayes, and let me tell you, it is a fabulous book! It gave me a whole new perspective on homemaking as a means of ushering in social change. Amazing.
- I also just picked up another book by Shannon Hayes, Long Way On A Little. It contains great insight into the world of eating closer to the source, and also has a ton of great recipes and project ideas. Hopefully you will see some of this in action in upcoming posts.
- It’s not only non-fiction on my reading list this week, I also just started reading Gone Girl for my next book club gathering. It is a bit on the creepy side, but it is definitely a page-turner.
- A dear friend of mine just passed along this link to a great homemade fruit snack recipe. My youngest and I made four batches already this week and they are being gobbled up as fast as we can make them.
- I started a crocheting project with wool from this farm. It is working up nicely, and rest assured there will be a picture of the finished project coming soon.
- I’ve been perusing this thrift store and this one, and this antique mall lately for some new dishes. I’ve come home with a lot of cute sweaters…and not so many dishes…ha.
- My oldest daughter and I are looking forward to making quite a bit of cheese today with our kit from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.
- I want to redecorate our main bathroom, and I’ve been looking to make this project as the focal point of the room.
- And last but certainly not least, I plan to try out two more pie recipes from A Year of Pies, my new favorite cookbook.
Kairos
Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
Making of a Home 