Halloween Decorations

This past weekend I started decorating for Halloween, one of my favorite holidays. Here are some pictures of the results.

These lights are colored like candy corn (Michael's $4.99), the little pumpkins are from my Gramme and the plates I got last year in Atlanta at a small home decorating shop.

All of these pumpkins are from Mom and Gramme including the light bulb from Mom that I should have turned on and the string of flickering candle lights (Michael's $7.99) that I also should have turned on.

These are spider web window stickers (Michael's $5.99) that I put on the mirror in the bathroom which is very fun every time I turn on the lights in there I get a little surprise.

These are the window hangings in my bedroom. I put them here mostly because its really bright in there in the mornings and there block out some of the light, also my cat Gourd likes to look out the windows in the living room. From the outside it looks like there's a giant monster looking out my window! I got these two years ago at a seasonal halloween shop.

This is my bookshelf with pumpkins, witch, and cauldron from Mom and Gramme and a cat candle holder from the home decorating shop in Atlanta.

These pumpkins, hat, and card are all from Mom and Gramme too! They are the best suppliers of decorations.

I made these bats by cutting them out of black felt (Michael's $2.99). I used felt mostly because it was actually cheaper than plain black paper. I used double sided tape to stick them to the walls. I actually think the felt bats will work much better than paper. I made them out of paper two years ago for party and tried to save them but now the color has faded and they are all wrinkled.

This is most of my decorations for this season. There are a couple of other little things that I did not take pictures like the light up pumpkin door knob hanger and a few candles.

German Chocolate Cheesecake: Assembly

Saturday morning I ran to the grocery store to buy more icing ingredients and made another batch of icing. After it was cool, I started assembling the cake. This was for sure the hardest part of the whole German Chocolate Cheesecake baking process. 

First, I sliced the cheesecake into two layers. We used dental floss to create the cut and then 4 spatulas to pick the cake up. When you are almost ready to lift the top of the cheesecake off, be sure to have the bottom layer of German Chocolate cake ready with icing on top of it to slide in between the layers. My husband and I worked as a team, split the cheesecake into two layers and slide the first German Chocolate cake layer in between. Then we noticed we had a little problem.

My cheesecake pan is 2 inches bigger than my cake pans!!!! So I smashed the top layer to fit in. Then started cutting the outside of the bottom layer.

 I took the cheesecake off and put it as the center layer in the rectangle cake. The cake recipe makes 3 round cakes. I only have 2 round cake pans so I used a square. We cut the square in half to make two rectangles and made a separate cake with the outer cheesecake as the center layer.

After we fixed our little problem, I covered both cakes with icing. I used most of the icing, probably have less than half a batch left. So here are the cakes:

We invited all the neighbors and their kids over to eat all the cake Saturday night at 7. We hurried cleaning the house to get ready for company, lighting candles and getting plates and forks ready. We had everything set up by 7:15, just to wait around for another hour until anyone showed up!!! At 8 we were just about to close up shop and call it another party where no one showed, when people showed up! I guess our neighbors are just late people. Everyone did end up coming, just an hour or two late. Crazy. But it was a fun party and the cake was a success!

German Chocolate Cheesecake: Day 2

On to day 2! Friday I made the German Chocolate cake and one batch of icing. The cake and icing recipes that my mother-in-law is famous for are not a family recipe as you would think... They are on the back of the German Chocolate bar found in the baking aisle in the grocery store!!! To make either German Chocolate cake or German Chocolate Cheesecake you need 2 batches of icing. Supposedly doubling the recipe doesn't work, so you have to make it twice. And it does take FOREVER. 

First I mixed up the cake.

1 pkg (4 oz) Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup water

2 cups flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, separated

1 t vanilla

1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, add 1 T lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk, let stand 10 min)

Coconut-pecan filling and frosting

Preheat oven to 350. Cover bottoms of 3 (9 inch) round cake pans with wax paper. Grease the sides of the pan. Microwave chocolate and water in large microwavable bowl on High 1.5 - 2 min until chocolate is almost melted. Stir after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition.

Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer on high until stiff peaks form. Gently stir into batter. Pour evenly into prepared pans.

Bake 30 min or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Immediately run small metal spatula around cake layers. Cool in pans 15 min. Remove layers from pans to wire racks. Discard wax paper. Cool cake layers completely.

Sorry I don't have any pictures of the cake process. It's pretty easy and only took 30 minutes. Now on to the icing.

4 egg yolks

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1 1/2 t vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter or margarine

1 pkg (7 oz) flake coconut (2 2/3 cups)

1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Beat egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter. 

Cook on medium heat until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. The recipe says to cook for 12 minutes, but it takes about a half hour. You can tell when the butter browns the icing gets darker. You don't have to stir for the entire half hour, just after the butter is melted it will really start bubbling. Then you will have to stir, stir, stir. Remove from heat. Add coconut and nuts. Cool. I used walnuts instead of pecans, because that is what we had. Here's the finished icing.

Also, I only used half of the bag of coconut for one batch of icing. Kellen doesn't like coconut a lot so I limited it a little. Then I just used the rest of the bag in the second batch. The cake and the icing have to be cold before you put the cake tomorrow. Assembly is next!!!

German Chocolate Cheesecake: Day 1

My mother-in-law is famous for her German Chocolate Cheesecake and makes it for us almost every time we visit the farm. My husband's birthday was this week, so I am attempting to make it for him and invite all the neighbors over for a little party on Saturday. Supposedly it takes 2 days to make, so I started with the Cheesecake portion on Thursday. Here goes nothing.

First I made the Crust.
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 lb butter
Mix it all together and press into a spring form pan.

Filling:

1 1/2 cup sugar

16 oz Philly cream cheese

16 oz Ricotta

1 pint sour cream

1/4 lb butter

3 eggs

3 T cornstarch

1 t vanilla

2 T lemon juice

Cream together one ingredient at a time. Add filling to spring form pan.

Do NOT preheat oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Leave in oven for 2 hours. Refrigerate 10 hours before serving.

After the cheesecake was done, I covered it with press and seal and put it in the fridge until I was ready to put the cake together. First day of German Chocolate Cheesecake complete. No problems so far. Hopefully everything will work out on Day 2.

Another busy day in the burg. Two things went great today for me. Emma went to the groomers and actually looks like the perfect saint again! If I could get my computer to work right you could see her for yourself. And I walked an easy 3 miles without foot pain! So maybe I'll make the marathon after all.

Orlando Life

Well not too much exciting going on down here in Orlando. Yesterday I made a new dish for dinner with orangegarlic chicken and asparagus I boughtat the farmers market near my apartment. The seasoning for the chicken I bought at a local spice store in a little shopping district in my town.

I marinated the chicken in this then cooked the chicken along with orange rind, orange juice, some butter, and asparagus. It ended up being a very good meal for me and I had leftovers for another day.

I also will be starting some knitting projects for gifts for the holidays. Here is a sneak peak at the supplies:

Monday night football

I'm sitting on the couch watching what is turning out to actually be a good game, Saints vs 49ers. Not much crafting today. I cut out two new patterns, but more on that to come. Heat index 113 today, still not fall yet. We had a fire alarm at work today and all got to stand outside in the heat for a half hour, woohoo. At least I might have gotten a little tan out of the deal.

Also got my windshield replaced today. A rock hit the very top of it on the way back to work from lunch on Friday. Not so fun. By the end of work the crack had made it a third of the way down the windshield. This morning it was more than half way down. I guess the glass repair/replace guys were not so busy today, I called in the morning and my windshield was fixed by 3! It looks so nice and new and clean! However, Jesus (the Mexican that replaced the windshield BY HIMSELF) did leave my hood open and I didn't notice until I was DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY! Every time I went over 60 mph my hood would bounce up and down, freaking me out. So I had to stop at a random exit and of course got lost trying to find my way back to the highway. At least I had my iPhone! Windows are still down airing it out in the garage. Rumor is the glue smells pretty bad for a day or two.

Scheduled a golf lesson tonight! Sunday morning I will be golfing... The guys at work convinced me that I should be part of the scramble they are having next weekend. One of them gave me their wife's golf clubs and shoes, so I couldn't really say no. I want to get a  lesson in so I'm not absolutely awful even though all the guys are saying it's no big deal. I guess you get to take the best hit out of your team, so maybe my skill level won't show too much. Let's just hope. It should be fun. I'm going to go shopping Saturday for a golf skirt! Hopefully they will have something cute!

Pajamas: Shorts and tank

Hope you had a fun weekend! We just relaxed around the house most of the weekend. While watching football today I made a new set of pjs: shorts and a tank top. These are for sure my favorite kind of pjs to lounge around in on the weekend when it's hot out. Here's the pattern, Simplicity 2317.

I made the tank and shorts in the upper left hand corner. I will definitely making some night shirts this winter. Here's the finished product:

I used teal jersey fabric and bright pink thread. I trimmed and added details with a zigzag stitch. After the basic tank and shorts was complete, I still wanted to add a little character. I tried fabric flowers for the first time. Here's a quick and easy tutorial:

Here are the first two flowers. I have seen other tutorials about handstitching the flowers, but 1) I'm not the best at hand stitching and 2) I'm lazy so I attempted on my sewing machine first and am actually surprised it worked!

First, you want to cut strips of fabric. The strips for the smaller side flowers were about a foot long and 2 inches wide. You don't have to be exact on these measurements at all.

Next, take one corner of the fabric strip and place in the center of where you want the flower to be. Forward and back stitch to knot the fabric in place.

Lift the pressure foot and twist the fabric. Put the pressure foot back down and sew in the center of the twist. I used pink thread again, but you can't tell at all. The thread will be inside the twist and you won't be able to see it.

Start to curve the twist in a circle around the starting point. Keep sewing on top of the twist, lifting the pressure foot to turn the fabric when needed.

The beginning of the flower is the hardest part. Once you make 2 circles, it will be much easier to rotate the the garment and you won't have to lift the pressure foot anymore. You might have to push the flower itself and get your fingers very close to the needle. Be careful, I got hit by the needle holder a couple times.

When you get to the end, position of end of the twist underneath the previous circle and sew to the end.

Hope this was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions!

Wool skirt makeover

I can't believe it's fall already. At 105 degrees outside, it certainly doesn't feel like it. But I'm still getting excited for plaid wool skirts and boots! I found a great new skirt pattern by Simplicity, #2451.

Last year I searched and searched for plaid wool fabric at Hancock fabrics and Jo-ann's with no luck. I was at Salvation Army the other idea and guess what I found? Plaid wool skirts! Of course, they are definitely not the style I would have made, but the fabric was there! Here's one I bought:

You can't really tell by the picture but it's grey, plum, teal and black. The waist was teeny tiny and it was way long. So first I took it all apart. After a good amount of time watching tv with a seem-ripper, here's what I got:

It had pockets! Who knew. I don't think they were functional but still cute. Next I cut out the pattern pieces, trying to fit everything I could. Some of the pieces were a little tight. But as long as I wear spanx, I should be ok.

Putting them together, brand new skirt!

It might be awhile until I get to wear it, but we'll see. The weather could change any day!

Welcome!

Hi! I'm Abby! Welcome to Free Range Chic and Peeps! My mom (Pam), my sister (Rach) and I started this blog to share our days with each other and whomever else wants to read. We are hoping to post every time we have a new craft, activity or recipe that is too fabulous not to share. Look forward to lots of pictures and fun ideas. We are new to the blogging world, so please stick with us as we get the hang of the whole process. Hope you enjoy reading and following along!