Tasty Tuesdays-The Times They Are Changin'

I'm going to admit that my idea of sharing how I was going to start writing consistently pretty much fell on its' face as soon as I left the starting block. I have no excuses but lots of reasons~ oh yeah, lots of reasons~ with photos even!

If you follow me on social media, you'll see I'm much more likely to be posting things. Why is that, you may ask (as if I think you may actually care)? Well, I'm happy to tell you anyway. It's a whole lot quicker to pop in a pithy quote or quick update or photo than it is to sit and do a blog post. Yep, that's about it. No huge revelation or new theory. Just easier and quicker is all. 

And why is this significant? Because I have been busy with the Quiltopia Quilt Show, my Etsy shop plus my new job at Whitlock's Vac & Sew, that's why as well as trying to spend time with Brian plus do my various projects here at home. And, while I am absolutely loving all this, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time- or at least not a whole lot of time to sit down and blog. 

So there you have it- my excuse reason for not keeping up writing at Mangia Mamma. The only problem is, I have a habit of posting things on social media with the promise that a recipe, craft project, idea or some other thing that a few people may actually want to know. Not wanting to lose any friends- as that's usually who says things like, "Sounds yummy. Want to share the recipe?", I am now feeling a bit convicted about keeping up with the blog.

Okay, it's time for me to stop beating around the bush and share what's really been going on!!

1) Quiltopia was a great success! It's a three-day show at the Willamette Heritage Center the first weekend of October. I had the opportunity to be the social media coordinator for the event plus I was able to demonstrate the HandiQuilter the whole weekend on behalf of Whitlock's- which is a great segue to 

Can you tell I love my new job (and Janome sewing machines!!!)?

2) My new job!!!! I've been hired at Whitlock's which is a terrific sewing/quilting shop that also sells vacuums. I had been planning on teaching kids' classes, but they've decided they'd also like me to work on the floor helping customers find the sewing machine of their dreams as well as all the notions and extras to make their sewing dreams come true! I love working there and being part of the team!!

3)Part of my sewing dream to come true is my shop, Piccolo Di Luce. I have been so excited about getting to make pocket oratories and rosary cases for so many wonderful customers since I started. This week I was actually asked to be part of the Zelie & Co. Auction as one of their guest artisans! 

Check out my shop page on my blog as I'm going to be adding a few new items in the next month.

4)With the busyness, I was so grateful to be able to get away with a group of old and new friends this past weekend. The "Cabin Girls" have been meeting at a cabin in lovely Rhododendron, Oregon for 24 years now, and this year was just as fun as when those of us who first starting coming were all a lot younger!!

5)Recipes. Yes, I had promised recipes on the blog then didn't come through. I know there are a bazillion blogs on the internet, but sometimes I still like to post recipes that I think are fun, or quirky or just really yummy. Today's is no exception. With all of the pumpkin spice craziness, I thought I'd weigh in my take on pumpkin spice creamer. It's totally delicious and simple to make. So, with friends Lynsi and Annette first and foremost in my mind, here is the recipe plus a few variations!

PUMPKIN SPICE CREAMER #1

2 cups half & half
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice mix

Whisk everything in a small bowl. Once well blended, pour into decorative bottle and store in refrigerator.

PUMPKIN SPICE CREAMER #2 (doesn't use real pumpkin, but has a great pumpkin flavor!!)

2 cups half & half
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup pumpkin spice syrup (like Torani)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice mix

Whisk everything in a small bowl. Once well blended, pour into decorative bottle and store in refrigerator.

Variations:
~For Pumpkin Maple Creamer add 1/4 cup maple syrup to recipe #1
~ For Vanilla Cinnamon Creamer, use 2 1/2 cups half & half, no pumpkin, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon instead of pumpkin pie spice

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Extended Edition

   {pretty, happy, funny, real}                          

                                      

It's Thursday, so I'm linking up again with the terrific Like Mother, Like Daughter. As we celebrate Mother's Day, a number of birthdays and a couple of marriages in our family this month, I thought I'd share a few bits about my extended family that are {pretty, happy, funny, real}. 

My beautiful niece, Jeanette looking {pretty}

This pillow made me {happy}

Unfortunately, circumstances would not allow me to be present, but I spent the day of the wedding working on their gift and spending the time praying for their marriage. I came up with this idea of a pillow using linen and a photo from their engagement pictures. I'm so happy with it that I will probably be listing custom made pillows like this on my Piccolo Di Luce Etsy Shop soon. 

More {happy}

The quilt top

I also got the chance in the last few weeks to make a baby quilt for Thomas More College professors, Mr. Andrew and Mrs. Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs, who are expecting their first baby next month. As they teach The Way of Beauty course, and Mrs. Thompson-Briggs is an artist, I thought I would make a vintage style red-work embroidered quilt. My mom had given me a large container of vintage, hand-stitched strips, so I used those for the sashing and binding. I wasn't sure what color to do the border, so I sent a photo to Mary at school. She suggested mustard which was seconded by Sylvia, the owner of Greenbaum's Quilted Forest. I took their ideas and then machine quilted the whole thing before making the label. The best part was being able to pray for their family and especially the new baby as I worked on this {happy} quilt!

This is one {funny} little girl

My mom and I headed down to southern Oregon last weekend for a bridal shower for another niece and to celebrate Mother's Day with my sister. Normally, I wouldn't have gone, but since my kids are all at school until next week, I thought it would be fun. I was so right! One of my other nieces was visiting from Virginia with her little one, Zephora. She is so {funny}, and they were a great joy to be with during the weekend. The best part was they needed a ride to the airport in Portland, and a place to stay for a couple of days, so my husband and I got to host them during that time. While they were here, I took them up to Mt. Angel Seminary to visit Joshua and have a little tour. We ended up not only having coffee and walking around, but he invited us to join him and the other seminarians for lunch. My niece, Jael, loved it plus the baby was awesome!! I then took them to Fordyce Farms for the first strawberries of the season, and then we came home so I could teach Jael how to bake bread before they headed off early Tuesday. We also got to feed ZuZu (her new totally cool nickname that Unky Brian and I came up with and got the mom approval) her first taste of rice cereal. She wasn't sure about the spoon or the texture, but I'm pretty sure she'll be liking it a lot in just a little while. What a blessing it was for us to open our home and share the love and mercy God has given us!

{real} Gluten Free Banana Bread

So I mentioned the kids will all be home next week- did I mention how totally excited we are?!?!? 

Both Brian and I are looking forward to them being home for a number of reasons. I am sure he'll be glad to have others to do chores plus someone other than just me to talk with. To be honest, the talking thing works for me too- just keeping it {real} here, folks. As part of the preparing for them to be home, I did a little baking today. Now, for any of you that have read any of my posts, you may remember that we have a wacky eating family- I have one child who is celiac, one with a tree nut allergy and one with lactose intolerance plus I have to eat low sodium. Thankfully, Brian and Joshua don't have any food issues, so that makes it a bit easier. With that in mind, I made a couple loaves of banana bread, being sure to mark them well before popping them into the freezer. Since so many of you have a great recipe for regular banana bread, I thought I'd share this Gluten and Lactose Free version. I did make some with regular flour and no nuts for David, so everyone should be happy. Here's my G/F Banana Bread for you to try. Oh yeah, it tastes {real}, so don't be afraid to try it!

                                                        {REAL} BANANA BREAD

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (roughly two medium bananas) 

2 eggs

1/4 cup oil (I use rice bran oil, but use what you have) 

1 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar 

1 1/2 cups G/F baking mix   

2 teaspoons baking powder 

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1 cup walnut pieces 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray 9" loaf pan with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, beat the mashed bananas with the eggs, oil and brown sugar till combined. Add G/F baking mix, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; beat until well combined. Stir in the walnut pieces.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread evenly. Stud the top with some extra walnut pieces, if desired. Bake on the center rack for 55 to 65 minutes, if necessary, until the center is done (a wooden cake tester should emerge clean).

Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on rack.

Eat right away or wrap in wax paper and foil and freeze for up to a couple of weeks.

Makes one 9-inch loaf

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you are having a wonderful month so far. Be sure to stop by Like Mother, Like Daughter to see what everyone's up to today at {pretty, happy, funny, real}.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Green Edition

Since today is the Feast Day of St. Patrick, I thought I'd do a "Green" edition of this week's {pretty, happy, funny, real} link up with Like Mother, Like Daughter. I'm not Irish, but part of my husband's family is from Donegal, Ireland. You can read more about St. Patrick's life here.

{pretty}

We've had so much rain in the Mid-Willamette Valley this winter that our whole yard is blooming including plants that most people think of as weeds. So much green everywhere! We have one space in the backyard where these yellow flowery plants grow. I'm sure they are weeds, but the green and yellow make for a very {pretty} area.

{happy}

I was very blessed to be invited to coffee with my dear friends, Annette and Cristina on Tuesday. I had been wanting to have a reason for making this green scarf, so I got up early and stitched it up. Annette graciously picked me up since I'm still not supposed to be driving. We had been going for just coffee, and Cristina ended up making us breakfast {happy}. We thought we'd be there for a short while and ended up finally leaving after 4 1/2 hours. What a {happy} time we had being able to talk and share our journeys as wives and moms.

{more happy}

My oldest son has had a great experience at Mt. Angel Seminary taking part in so many cultural celebrations/feast days since the students are so diverse. He's shared about how the only group that hasn't done anything special are the anglo community. After talking with some of his fellow seminarians and getting the okay from the staff, he decided to head up at St. Patrick's Celebration. I decided to make some {happy} cookies to help the party- Whole Wheat Celtic Knot Sugar Cookies & Green Sparkle Sugar Cookies. I love that he planned everything from talking to the chef about making Irish food to being part of an Irish Band. Even though I haven't gotten the chance to talk with him, I am sure it was a {happy} success!

{fuuny}

Last week I shared about our {funny} cats. This week the {funny} is about Solomon the cat. I think it might be due to not having kids at home. I refuse to believe it's because I'm turning into a crazy cat lady!
So this weeks {funny} cat photo is Solomon loving on my sewing machine. He enjoys coming upstairs to my sewing room and sitting on my desk to look at the birds and the green leaves outside. The other day, I realized that Solomon also likes to rub his face all over my sewing machine. He doesn't touch the thread, so I've decided I am okay with him taking a like to the machine. I've decided I want to make a little quilt for him to lay on next to the machine. I just hope this isn't another indication of the crazy cat lady thing.

{real}

Wednesday nights from 9-10 will find me at our parish, St. Joseph Catholic Church, for my hour of Adoration. During most of the year (Ordinary Time on the Liturgical Calendar), the chapel is fairly empty, but as soon as Advent or Lent starts, it can sometimes be even standing room only. I am always so grateful to see other people come and join my husband and I in adoring the {real} presence of Christ. It just doesn't get any more {real} than this. If you haven't been to Adoration lately, consider going as many times as you can during the upcoming Holy Week. I will be praying for all of us that we can be sure we are keeping it {real}. 

Check out other {pretty, happy, funny, real} blogposts 

by visiting the link-up at 

Like Mother, Like Daughter.