Okay.  I have a problem.  It’s a sponge toffee problem.  I’ll admit it, I can’t stop eating it.  There are not many things that I can’t turn away from, maybe a can of Coke, certainly a small town thrift shop and now I have to add this sugary sweet to the list.

All of my life my grandmother has been telling me that her mother used to make the best sponge toffee.  I did not believe her because I was thinking that homemade candy was a myth (you know, just like I how I knew I’d never have a baby when I got those tattoos – when you know, you know!).

Anyway, I had this fun fair themed baby party coming up and I was trying to think of carnival foods that I could make.  Knowing that I didn’t want to rent a cotton candy spinner or snow cone machine, I thought I’d try to find this mythical recipe online.  Much to my surprise, there were several.  Even more shocking was how simple it was to make (and fun).

Sadly, I don’t have any pictures to share since the candy is now living in bellies.  And I don’t care to share a photo of my shame ridden face (but how was I not supposed to finish the jar sitting on my counter).

Click on the image above to grab up the recipe I used.

Just thought I’d share this with you all.  It should have you laughing pretty hard in spite of the poor video quality.  Oddly enough I can’t seem to find anything better anywhere online.

If you don’t watch “Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia” you really should give it a try.  It is really a very funny show.  It took me a while to get past the constant yelling, but I think that’s what  most people enjoy about the whole thing.

The baby party is coming up this weekend.  There’s still lots and lots of prep work to do, and one whole day will be dedicated to baking.  You see, one of the events at the shower will be a good old-fashioned Cake Walk.  I love them!  Every year my public school would host a Fun Fair and I would go running over to the Cake Walk area in hopes of some good luck and chocolate-y sweetness.

This Saturday my tiny little kitchen will be home to the greatest cake bake day it has ever seen.  Sure, lots of baking happens in there (be it successful or not) – but it has never met some many qualified ladies at one time.  If you can’t tell, I’m excited.  Or pregnant.  Or both.

Here’s a peek at some of the sweets we’ll be whipping up on Saturday.

(clockwise, from top left)

Caramel Coffee Cake (recipe from I Like You by Amy Sedaris)

Banana Cake

Apple Cake

Chocolate Seduction Cake

Raspberry Chocolate Bundt Cake

Cookie Cake Pie (via So Fawned)

]]> http://mygirlthursday.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/the-great-cake-bake/feed/ 1 Thursday http://mygirlthursday.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/latest-obsession-regretsy/ http://mygirlthursday.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/latest-obsession-regretsy/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:50:08 +0000 mygirlthursday http://mygirlthursday.wordpress.com/?p=798 ]]>

This is the blog that everyone wanted but was too afraid to create!

Regretsy is terribly entertaining site and somehow a wonderful marketing tool for some of Etsy’s stranger handmade goods.  Already generating huge online buzz, this site draws tonnes of traffic and treats them to quick doses of Helen Killer’s undeniable wit.

Like it or not, this site will be around for a while.  But if you can take a little taunting you may sell that denture key chain in spite of the numerous spelling and grammatical errors in your item description (oh, and the item itself).

Check Regretsy on a regular basis.  It’s already pulled me out of a crappy mood several times in its short life span.

Why?  Why has it taken me so long to figure out how to piece a log cabin quilt block?  I’ve loved it for years and I’ve collected fabric scraps just as long.  But the day has finally come – I’ve figured it out and this pattern has been mastered.  It’s totally simple and such a great technique for beginning quilters.  You can only imagine how many more quilts will follow in a similar fashion.

Okay, you can probably tell that I’m pretty excited about this new skill.  I wanted to take a second to share my newest WIP and my first log cabin quilt.

I blew the budget on photo fabric because this is a very special project.  I scavenged my grandmother’s photo albums and selected 7 of my favourite snapshots.

This week I managed to print my fabric, cut my fabric strips and construct the quilt blocks.  Now I just have to find the perfect connecting fabric and I’m off to the races.  Have a look see at my progress so far!

I have to admit that my head has been in Christmas-land for the last few weeks, but I think it’s finally time to take a break and backtrack to Halloween-ville.  I really enjoy Halloween, but for the past few years I haven’t really had the chance to celebrate (okay, I’ve been lazy too).

This time around I have someone in my life who is very into this holiday.  We’ve been searching the internet for costume ideas, and there certainly is not a lack of them.  I wanted to share one of my favourite costume related sites – WTF Costumes.  It’s full of some seriously strange/funny/disturbing dress up ideas for this, the spookiest of celebrations.

]]> http://mygirlthursday.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/tis-the-season/feed/ 1 Thursday http://mygirlthursday.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/fp-deer-pillow/ http://mygirlthursday.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/fp-deer-pillow/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:36:04 +0000 mygirlthursday http://mygirlthursday.wordpress.com/?p=787 ]]>

Sorry I’ve been such an absentee blogger lately.  I’ve been running in and out-of-town (meaning that I have varying degrees of access to a good internet connection).  The bright and shiny lining of this whole situation is that I’ve had lots of time to make things (Internet fixation?  No I wouldn’t say I suffer from anything like that).

Last week I finished up a little piece of embroidery I’d been working on.  A couple years ago I picked up Aunt Martha’s Baby Animals embroidery patterns, but I hadn’t sat down to work on them until now.  After finally finishing the piece I wasn’t too sure what to do with it, so I turned to everyone’s favourite standby – throw pillow.

The finished pillow is still a little wonky looking.  It needs to be used a bit to pack down the new filling then it should be looking normal.

The border fabric was found at one of my favourite thrift shops in Belleville.  I’m so glad I decided to hand wash the fabric beforehand because it bled like bananas.  I rinsed it again and again, so hopefully it’s all done with this colour shedding nonsense.

This lovely will be offered as a prize at a little baby shindig I’ll be co-hosting next month.  I’m hoping whoever picks her up will give her lots of love and a happy home.

I freakin’ love Bad Bird’s (aka Andrea Zuill) embroidery patterns.  Yes, her illustrations and fibre art are amazing, but there’s just something I adore so much about the embroidery patterns.

I just finished up work on on the mermaid that was offered as the August 2008 free pattern on her blog.  She’s an adorable little sea creature.  Now I just have to decide what I’m going to do with her.  Diaper bag?  Quilt?  Appliqued to the back of a jacket?  I just can’t figure it out quite yet.

Next up on the Bad Bird roster I’ll be taking a stab at Lottie the Dog Face Girl and Siamese Sisters Rose and Daisy.  I picked up these patterns for my next arts and craft project.

I found these really cute vintage stools, but they are in desperate need of new upholstering.  How cute are these going to look on pieces of matching furniture?  I’m really excited to show off a finished product.

Gotto go and get my stitch on!

Grosgrain has done it again!  I’m really digging this tutorial on how to change a regular pair of pants into a stylish pair of maternity pants.  I can’t wait to get some free time and try it out for myself.  My results won’t be quite as pretty because I’m lacking in the serger department, but I’m hoping for a functional pair of that are pretty on the outside.

Have a look-see at the tutorial by clicking the image below.