A New Hobby and Some Exciting News!

Hello Everyone! I apologize for my disappearance these past few months but I do have good reason. I'm so happy to share that I am 5 months pregnant! And these past few months I just haven't been motivated to bake, cook or blog so I took a brief break but now I'm doing better and can't wait to get started again!

I just recently bought a new book Simple Sewing for Babies by Lotta Jansdotter and after a few weeks of perusing the pages I finally got up the courage to tackle a project. It has been about 3 or 4 years since I last sewed so this first project took me a little longer than I anticipated but I absolutely adore the finished pieces and can't wait for my little one to wear them!

There is a discount fabric store near my house called M&L Fabrics and my mom and I took a trip there and I was overwhelmed by all the fabric choices! They have a large offering of Amy Butler, Robert Kaufman, Alexander Henry and so many more. I limited myself to about 5 different fabrics and then came home to see what I wanted to make first.

I decided on the simple dress with matching bloomers and though mine does look a bit different from the pictures in the book, I am so happy with how it turned out! Now that I know how easily these can come together I plan to make quite a few of them. So my little girl will be running around in lots of adorable dresses!

Front of dress with pocket and button

Close-up of pocket with button to match the back

Detail of fabric and back opening with button

Adorable bloomers

Well, I have to go and sew a few more things on this beautiful, rainy day in Southern California! Hope you are enjoying your Friday!

Vintage Goodies and Tasty Treats

Do you love amazing vintage finds? And delicious desserts? Then you must come to "The Attic" this Sunday, October 11th. My friend Rachel is having a sale of tons of vintage goodies and trust me, you will want to be there! And I will be providing some sugar to keep everyone happy while shopping. Email justaspoonful@gmail.com for more details!

The reasons I am looking forward to Autumn.

1. Road trip from Seattle to California with my sisters (image via deviantArt)

2. Packing my bags and travelling to New York (image via Anthropologie)

3. Walking through Central Park while in NYC (image via Town&Country Travel Magazine)

4. Making lots of delicious soup

5. Wearing sweaters, scarfs, jeans, coats, boots, hats, the list goes on! (images via Anthropologie, Oscar de la Renta)

6. Drinking copious amounts of tea, hot chocolate and coffee.


7. Listening & watching to the rain while sitting on my couch, sipping on something hot, reading a wonderful book. Or watching Breakfast at Tiffany's.


There are so many more reasons to enjoy Autumn and I just can't wait! What are you looking forward to?

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Dobos Torte (Daring Bakers)

When I first found out about this month's challenge I was so excited about all the possibilities. I immediately thought about the different shapes, flavor combinations and other variations that would be delicious with this cake. I kept the basic cake recipe but I decided to go with a peanut butter-chocolate layered torte and some caramel shards for topping.

The layers of sponge cake were alternated peanut butter buttercream and chocolate buttercream and were either frosted with chocolate or peanut butter buttercream. The two flavors of rich buttercream combined with the light sponge cake was delightful. My husband said it reminded him of a wafer cookie and claimed that it was his favorite cake. Not too bad! I also enjoyed it but it is definitely best when served on the same day it is made or the next day. I will definitely try this recipe again with even more flavor variations!

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Complete Recipe can be found HERE. My variations and additions are below.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

Ingredients

Makes about 1 cup

2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Fine salt (optional)

Directions

Cream peanut butter and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on high speed. On low speed, mix in sugar until combined, then beat mixture on high speed until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add salt to taste, if desired. Use to frost outside of cake and to alternate layers with chocolate buttercream.

Chocolate Buttercream

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter (1/4 pound), softened, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate

Directions

Using a mixer, cream the butter in a large bowl until soft, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low, gradually add the sugar. When all the sugar has been incorporated, add the vanilla and salt. Increase mixer speed to high and cream the ingredients until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Melt the chocolate and the remaining butter in a double boiler over gently simmering water. Beat into the buttercream mixture until well combined.