Thanks for the kitty love. Mr. Cat has been hanging out with us a lot.
I woke up this morning with a horrible sharp pain under my right shoulder blade. UGH! It’s been gnawing at me all day so I have been trying to relax today and take it easy. I had wanted to paint, but sitting at my table seemed to be making maters worse, so I lounged on the sofa, my little guy and his cat climbing off and on me, while happily looking through my new books. Eeeeks! They are so awesome. I tried not to drool, but they are completely delightful. Books + good food = the perfect remedy for a sore back.
1. A homemade Life: Stories of Recipes from my Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg. This book makes me want to eat potato salad every day with banana bread for dessert.The chocolate chips in the banana bread with ginger is killer. I’ve made it with chocolate before, but the ginger makes it over the top good. I used one of my vegan banana bread recipes and added the extra yummy stuff. I was only halfway done with the book when it was called back to the library. So now I have it on reserve again! I should just buy it. It’s a really yummy little book.
2. The vegan Scoop: 150 Recipes for Dairy-free Ice cream that tastes better than the real thing by Wheeler del Torro. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had real ice cream but I have to say this stuff is pretty dang delicious. We’ve made a list of everything we want to try. The variations are amazing. Some classics, fruity and some very daring and interesting variations. We tried the mint chocolate chip first. Sooooo good. I only put in half the peppermint extract that the recipe called for and it was VERY minty, but in an incredibly yummy way. I also spent a few extra bucks for high quality peppermint extract, so maybe that is why.
3. Handmade Home: Simple ways to repurpose old materials into new family treasuures by Amanda Soule. Amanda’s book is so beautifully done . So many great projects for me to do on my own and with my little guys too. They have already thumbed through and picked out several things they like. I love the beach blanket, wall pockets, treasure bag and bath mat. I am making a list and it is HUGE!
4. Bend the Rules with Fabric: Fun Sewing Projects with Stencils, Stamps, Dye, Photo Transfers, Silk Screening, and More by Amy Karol. I love the quirkiness of Amy’s book. Lots of good ideas and great explanations. I am particularly interested in the screen printing method and painting fabric. I love that watercolor look. LOTS of fun stuff.
5. The Awe-manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder by Jill Badonsky.It’s a lovely little twist on the Farmers Almanac providing daily inspiration and awe-inpiring tid-bits. And since I am into all things inspiring and creative right now, I thought I’d grab it. It’s such a happy little book and I love it.
Now off to bed I go with a hot pack on my shoulder.
I love that last one, one to remember i think. Hope your in less discomfort now, if not try tapping x
I hope your shoulder is feeling better. I’ve read a couple of those books and I completely agree with your reviews! I need to get my hands on that last book-it looks like I would just love it!
What do they use for the ice cream? we have a dairy-free kid, but try to avoid soy with him, too. It would be fun to make really good homemade ice cream for him!
Also, I’m sure Handmade Home is gorgeous and inspiring, like her last book, but do you feel like you’ve seen it all before? I haven’t read it yet, but that’s how I felt with her last one – like if you read crafty blogs, you’ve seen most or all of those projects before. This one is more intriguing to me, though.
A lot of the recipes call for soy creamer but I used almond milk in this recipe. The soy creamer is used for it’s thicker consistency but you can get the same result by simmering almond milk to “evaporate” it. You can also use coconut milk and rice milk. I have a container of oat milk I’m thinking of trying. We don’t have any issues with soy, but we try to use it in moderation with everything else. I am definitely going to experiment with the ingredients. It’s not as rich and creamy, but very tasty. Oh, and there are lots of sorbet recipes I’m going to try too.
The books look yummy…
I hope you feel better soon…
Handmade home is on my amazon list, not I want it even more. May pop over and buy it this minute:)
Thanks for sharing the books you are reading. They look great, particularly the Awe-manac. I’ll have to check that out.
I’ve got the Awemanac…..love it!
Makes me feel better to know I’m not the only one who didn’t finish Molly’s book the first time. Actually, I’m on my third or fourth request for it, I never knew I was such a painfully slow reader! But it’s a great book, I may have to buy it for my Kindle and then I’d have the recipes forever.
Feel better soon, my friend. Pamper yourself.