The Best Wheat Bread

My husband bought me a bread machine for Christmas.  Unfortunately, the first loaf bread I made was immediately thrown in the trash.  Along with my second, third, fourth, until finally I ran into this recipe.  It was a huge hit! It is light, fluffy, and beyond yummy! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!  You can make it with wheat flour or white flour.  Warning if you make it with white flour it will turn out huge! You might want to split it into two loafs. 

1 1/2 C. Warm water

4 Heaping cups of wheat flour

1/4 C. Honey

2 Tbsp Sugar

1/2  tsp Salt

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 1/4 tsp Fast rising yeast

My bread machine instructs me to add the water first; then the other ingredients on top of the water.  Making sure that the yeast doesn't touch the water or the salt.  

I put in the water and layered the flour over the top

After I added all of the ingredients the yeast is safe in the middle of the flour  andthe salt is in the top right corner

I then set my bread machine to the dough setting. It takes about an hour and half with my machine. 

This is what your dough should look like when it is first mixed.

This is what the dough will look like when the machine is done :)  I don't cook my bread in the machine I take it out and knead it by hand one last time.  (If you wanted to cook it in your machine it would be just fine but I think it turns out better in the oven)

I usually take my time kneading the bread to get all of the air pockets out of the bread.  I then grease a bread pan and let it rise covered for 40 minutes. 

The last ten minutes of rising I start my oven preheating to 350 degrees F. It will then go straight in and bake for 28-30 minutes.  I like the top crust to be just golden brown and not too crunchy. 

Strawberry Pie

Today I made my first fruit pie!  I bought a bunch of strawberries and as always my husband and I weren't eating them fast enough.  Therefore, they are now in a pie form so we will gobble them up.  It turned out great! Here is my recipe.

Crust:

Preheat your oven to 400 Degrees

1 C. sifted flour

1/2 Tsp. Salt

1/4 C. Shortening

4 Tbsp. Cold Water

1 egg white (optional)

Sift the flour and salt together.  Add in the shortening cutting it in until it forms crumbs.   I then switch over to my hands to mix for the last step I add the cold water one tbsp at a time until the dough flexible. I then roll it out onto a floured surface until it is a little larger than my pie dish. 

Sorry I didn't start taking pictures until I had it in my dish. I try to cut crust so that it is hanging off of the edges enough to fold  under once. I then used my fingers and pinched a scalloped edge.  Then take a fork and poke little holes to prevent bubbles.  Here is a hint for you to get a glossy finish on your crust brush it with an egg white :)

I then took two pieces of aluminum foil and gently pressed it into the center of the pie. I then filled it with black beans.  This keeps the crust down. I cooked the crust for about 10 minutes on the middle rack with the  beans.  After that I moved the crust to the bottom rack for 6 minutes.  When the crust turns golden brown remove the foil and beans.

My crust turned out like this :)

The Filling: 

1 Quart of strawberries

1 C. sugar

3 Tbsp of cornstarch

3/4 C. water 

I took half of my strawberries fresh strawberries and covered the bottom of my crust.  Because I didn't have a full quart I supplemented my strawberries with some whole frozen strawberries.  I put a cup of the frozen strawberries and the cup of sugar in a small pot on the stove. On medium heat I started to smash the strawberries and mix them together with the sugar.  In small bowl I slowly added the cornstarch to the water once it was well mixed I slowly poured it into the strawberries on the stove. With a whisk I blended it together on a simmer until the mixture became nice and thick. It took about 5 minutes.  

I took my sauce and poured it into my crust. finishing the pie I placed the rest of my fresh strawberries.  Put the pie in the fridge for about 4 hours to let it solidify together.

 Before I served the pie I topped it with whipped cream :)

Believe me it tasted wonderful!!! I loved the Crust <3

Space Savers for Small Bathrooms

Living in tiny spaces has become a way of life for me.  As a designer I can't help but want my spaces to be beautiful and not cluttered.  My mom always said the first step to cleaning is eliminating the clutter.  I was watching Studio 5 the other morning and it gave me some inspiration to look for ways to keep little spaces cute, organized, and useful. 

For most people the bathroom is one of the smallest rooms in their homes.  It is also a room where you need a lot of little tools.  One of the easiest ways to add space is custom shelving.

From theinspiredroom.net

There are a few options when thinking about shelves. You could go with the photo above adding free floating shelves are awesome.  They look clean and sharp.  If you do incorporate shelves make sure you add cute baskets and different textures.  Baskets are great tools for keeping all of your bathroom necessities together.  I would make a shaving basket, basket for soaps, ect. Try not to clutter the inside of your baskets!!! 

One problem you might run into with shelving like this though is they might only be able to have the shelves stick out a few inches.  This makes storing towels difficult.  If they make the shelves in this picture too big you might have the back of your head hitting the shelves when you are using the toilet. Before you throw shelves just any where in your space map it out. make sure when you sit you won't bump your head.  Also, make sure you leave a cleared area for your door swing. Nothing like throwing your door open and having it smack into your shelves.


Here are a few other shelving ideas:

 shadow box shelves:

target.com

Standing Shelves:

Standing Shelves are wonderful.  I utilize a standing shelving unit over my toilet.  These can be extremely useful for storing extra towels, soaps, and what I like to call the "pretty things".  The storage space tends to be wider as well as more sturdy.  Now I hate to bring it up but there are certain things that you need in the bathroom that you just don't want everyone to see.  If you live in a house with no linen closet or bathroom vanity. (My bathroom only has a pedestal sink).  It can pose a problem to camouflage some things; which leads me to the option below. 

 Add a free standing cabinet into your bathroom. I put one just like this one in behind my door in my bathroom.

Found at target.com

I loved that all of my bathroom necessities are hidden behind simple white doors.  I decided I wanted a little bit of color with the simple white so I went into the kitchen area and found shelf liners. Here is a link to show you what I'm referring to.  They have so many different styles and textures it was fun to pick out what I wanted. I choose a bamboo looking shelf cover and covered the interior shelves with the protectors and I cut a piece to fit the top of the cabinet. In my bathroom I also have custom shelves above the little cabinet.  I still need to paint those shelves once I finish those I'll post a pic of my own personal bathroom. 

Here are a few items I love for bathrooms:

From Potterybarn.com

From Potterybarn.com

I thought it would be fun to have different colored ruffles at the bottom if I ever decide to make my own ruffly shower curtain.















I know of a cute tutorial on how to stain glass jars like with food coloring here is the link to it :)

target.com

  


Mirrors are wonderful to add the illusion of more space.  They also help reflect light :) In a tiny dark bathroom throwing a mirror in the mix will make a dramatic difference.

Log Cabin Design

So the last few nights I have noticed some great ideas for my future house.  Let me know what you think :)

This photograph was copied from this website http://www.locatiarchitects.com/interior-design--2/ontario-residence--2

I love this window arrangement.   Allowing natural light to enter a space promotes health and happiness :).  I think the cabinets and the walls being the same wood and stain is a nice touch in this room as long as there are some contrasting colors incorporated.  In this particular picture they added sunflowers, I would suggest to the client to add something a little more permanent that added color.  Possibly some fun canisters.. like these..

I found these at Target.com

I found these cushions, I think they would be so great in front of a fireplace or in a child's room. I'll put a link on here for the pattern too :)

This picture was taken from

From theochrelephant.wordpress.com

You can find the pattern for these cushions here.


For all those designing a space if you have a lot of one texture or color in a space add a little pop of color to set off the space! It will wake up your brain and get your eyes moving.

The Past

I thought I would begin by introducing myself.  My name is Nicole I grew up in West Valley City, Utah and currently live in Logan, Utah.  My upbringing wasn't anything too unique my father was and is a postal carrier and my mom worked and still works as a phlebotomist.  I am the youngest of five children; three brothers and one sister.  

When people asked me what it was that I wanted to be when I grew up I came up with all sorts of ideas.  Landscape architect, photographer, and my favorite go to; I want to own my own craft store.  When it came time to go to college and actually commit to one of my dream professions I found myself majoring in Interior Design at Utah State University.  I remember one of my first days of class my sophomore year in Mr. Mansfield's class.  He wanted us to do the classic tell me something about yourself and why you want to be majoring in Interior Design.  As he began to go around the classroom I had a good while to think about my answer.   When it finally hit my turn I stood up and introduced myself and the only thing I could answer was "I felt like this is where I need to be."  That was it.  It seemed like a simple answer at the time and it felt like the right answer.  I have never forgotten that moment staring into the man's eyes that would ultimately control my life for two of the hardest school years I ever endured.  I didn't sleep for more than five hours a night my sophomore year of school.  Partially due to having 9 popular roommates and a steady dating life,  but mostly I spent hours working on interior design projects, looking at the internet for inspiration and working in the program Autocad. Finally, at the end of that year I was tired of looking at interiors. at the end of finals week I had only slept for 3 nights out of the five and what sleep I did have sometimes was on campus cuddled in a little arm chair on the fourth floor of the library.  I would sit in what was called "The Studio".  I would stare out of the big glass windows and yearned to be outside.  I felt like I was being suffocated by computers and by my big white architectural table.

 Me and my roommies

All of that lead to a decision.  I would walk daily through what is known as the TSC at my university it was where major events would occur.  Some days I would score free ice cream or see what social events were taking place.  One day I noticed the summer job fair was in full swing. I decided to take a break and wander through the different pest control jobs advertising for all of the bilingual return missionaries wandering around the university.  I thought at best I could make a new collection of free pens and possibly score a new mouse pad or water bottle.  It was walking through the maze of tables and posters that one caught my eye.  It was exactly what I was looking for.  Big blue sky, huge meadows filled with flowers, and three men dressed in pearl snap shirts, leather wrist cuffs, and large brimmed tan hats.

 One of the pictures I saw on their sign

The Bar T 5 Covered Wagon Cookout.  All I saw was freedom at looking at their booth.  Located in Jackson Hole Wyoming.  I walked by their booth five or six times before I finally signed up to have an interview for their job. I honestly had no qualifications for their job opening as a cook; and was half way thinking they are out of their minds if they actually hire me.  Honestly though, I wanted that job more than I had wanted any other job in my life thus far.  I went home and began to get ready for what would be my job interview with them.  I looked through my closet and all I saw was dresses and my vast collection of American Eagle and Hollister clothes.  I tried on at least six different outfits I remember trying to look nice but like I belonged out doors.  Thinking back I remember curling my long red hair into my pretty barrel curls, wearing tight jeans, and wearing 4" high heels.  I walked back into the TSC and looking around for the corner they tucked themselves into conduct their interviews.  I found one of the men who was conducting the booth he greeted me and introduced himself as Joe.  Me and Joe sat together while we waited for the previous interview to finish.  He wasn't talkative, in fact he actually pulled his dirty cowboy had down further onto his head and tried to fall asleep while we were waiting.  Finally the boss Jeff rounded the corner and welcomed me over for my turn.

Something about the look in his eye told me that I could relax a little bit as I sat down.  We went over my work history and as we were discussing my different jobs I had had in the past (hostess, computer consultant, airport employee, ect.)  I was thinking my chances were pretty bleak.  Jeff then broke down and began to talk about the job openings that they had.  He explained that there were two sections to their operation one is a night show where twice a night they load up wagons full of people and pull them up a canyon in Jackson Hole and conduct a night show with all you can eat food and live entertainment.  The second part of the business is the mountain crew where you leave on Sunday night and go up into the mountains.  There a bus full of guests come up and you escort them to three different camp grounds in four days they would travel by horse back and by covered wagons to each of the camps.  My job would be to be a dutch oven cook for either of these two sections. Then they asked the defining question. Which operation would you like to cook for? For me the answer was obvious the one where I spent the most time outside.   I wanted to be a cook on the mountain.  I think they were surprised that this skinny redhead who looked like she never spent a day getting dirty wanted to live in the mountains with them.  They asked a few unnerving questions following my answer.  Have you ever shot a gun before?  Would you be alright sleeping in grizzly bear country?  Fortunately I have shot guns, in fact earlier that month I had shot at least three different types of guns at a very unfortunate teddy bear trying to impress guys that were interested in my roommates.  Uncannily enough they hired me to be a mountain cook.    

Me and My mom when I was working

This was my job was my first taste of being a "Cowgirl".  I did whatever I could to envelop the culture and I loved it. I even figured out he whole dutch oven cooking part.  So in this blog hopefully I can share some great dutch oven recipes :).

  So I did all of this a few years ago. The summer after I came home from Jackson and continued my Interior Design degree I married my husband Michael.

We have been married for two and half years now.  I have had a few jobs around town here in Logan but my most recent job is mommy.  I just had my first baby girl in the end of January.  Her name is Riley!

This is her in her Easter Dress ready to go to church. Well anyway now you know a little about your author.  I hope you have fun reading my blog and will now understand a little bit about me!