To Do List

Bagels

I am in a baking class right now.  It has been a super fun experience and I am learning a ton.  On Friday my Kitchen Scale came in so now I can start making all the yummy recipes from my baking class.  Last night I took a stab at bagels and they turned out wonderful.  These bagels are different than the ones you would buy at the store because they form a hard crust when you bake them (similar to french bread).  I think they are so tasty!

Here is the recipe in weight:
High gluten Flour 19.9 oz
Water 11.1 oz
Yeast (dry) 1 3/4 tsp
Malt syrup, Honey or brown sugar 1/2 tsp
salt 1 tsp
1 gallon of water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2-1 cup of corm meal
Hand full of ice

Preheat oven to 450
Activate the yeast in the water with the malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar.
Mix the flour and the yeast/ water/ sugar mixture until moist.  Add the salt.  Kneed until the gluten it activated (about 10 min by hand or 6 min in the mixer).  Form into a nice ball and proof on top of the warm oven until its doubled (about an hour).
Once proofed begin boiling 1 gallon of water and the half cup of sugar (food for the yeast) then form the bagels. Split into 3 oz balls.  Tucking under the ends and making the top nice and smooth.  Poke a hole in the center and twirl fingers around to make a nice even hole.  (you will want to make you hole bigger than you would want because it will rise.)
Once formed let stand for ten min.
Four at a time place bagels in boiling water/sugar mixture for one min on each side using a slotted spoon to flip. Bagels will do most of the rising in the water.  It is pretty cool. Then place on a towel.
After about 5 min or when the bagels are dry
Sprinkle corm meal on a baking sheet with parchment.
As soon as you put the bagels in the oven throw a handful of ice in the bottom of the oven to create steam.
Bake Bagels in the oven for 20-25 min.
Enjoy!

Here is a similar recipe with more pictures and by volume http://bakingbites.com/2007/06/homemade-bagels/

The Perfect Hostess Blog

I have started a new blog!  It is all about event planning and planning everyday parties. I will be keeping up with this one a little more for now. So please feel free to follow my new blog and this one. The new blog is: perfecthostessblog.blogspot.com. If you have any questions or would like to sponsor or do a guest post on it you can email me at perfecthostessblog@gmail.com. Come check it out! I will be doing some really great things. There might even be a prize when I reach 50 followers! 

Birthday Party Designs

Next week is my birthday.  For as long as I can remember I have had a birthday party. They are usually extravagant and fun mainly because I love planning parties hence why I am going into PR to be an event planner. This year will be no different. I plan to invite about 40 people to come enjoy a hot chocolate bar and games. Really, I just wanted a reason to plan something and design.

Here is a little sneak peak of what I have been working on. The first one will be cup labels or cupcake toppers and the second will be food labels. I am pretty proud of what I have learned and created.  I have really found a love for designing so if you have a party you would like to have free or partially free printables made for please let me know.  I want all the experience I can get!

Where it all began...

Three years ago today a tall, skinny, quirky boy who had never had a girlfriend or really any interaction for that matter with girls asked me to be his girlfriend. Little did I know I would be spending a lot more time with him than I ever though. I am so grateful for that quirky boy. Here is how he asked (a pretty cute story)...

We were sitting on my parents big comfy couch watching the happiest millionaire. I had no idea he was even interested in dating me even though we had spent everyday for the past two weeks together and he had gotten rid of three different creepy boys for me in those two weeks. I was a creep magnate because I would say yes to anyone because I felt bad. He was the first boy who made me feel like I did not have to fix anyone but myself and I had a lot of fixing to do. He could see I needed someone to love me for me and not someone who I needed to change so I could like them. 

He had told me he had liked me a couple of days earlier, but I did not think anything of it. I had promised a friend I would not have a boy friend until I moved to Idaho for school in a couple month... Well obviously that did not happen. 

While we were on the couch our hands touch and he quickly pulled his away. It was then I realized I wanted to hold his hand and I might actually like this weird boy after all. (No wonder I wanted to spend all my time with him. Ha.) Then I got a text from a friend of mine who I thought I liked at the time asking me if Dennis and I were dating... It had never crossed my mind.  Dennis just blew if off.

Then it finally happened.... with our hand only centimeters apart Dennis leaned over and said:

   " You know with your hand right there and my hand here I think we would be a lot more comfortable if we were holding hands"

So I grabbed his hand and said yes i guess it would. Then he asked:

"Does this mean you will be my girlfriend"

And I said:

"Of course"

(Did I really just say that? )

Then he asked:

" I guess I should have asked this first, but does this mean you like me?"

And I said:

" I guess it does"

(Isn't he so cute...and awkward, but that's one reason why I like him)

We continued watching the movie and when we finished  and he was leaving for the night I went to give him a hug and he asked (being the naive to this dating thing):

"So what will change?"

And I said:

" Let's just play it by ear"

Isn't he just so adorable! We spent everyday for 2 months together. And then I left for school in Idaho....

That is a story for another day.

This is our first picture together: Halloween 2008

We dressed up as prom dates. 

Our first Christmas together

The day he proposed at the Mesa Temple

Our one year anniversary of dating

I would have never thought that the boy I met in the singles ward choir who I thought was strange and quirky and honestly weird would one day be my eternal companion. 

I love him so much and we have been so blessed in our life.

Babies Everywhere! Crocheted Burp Cloth Tutorial

This month I have been invited to four baby showers and I will probably be invited to at least 3 more before the end of the year. Everyone is having babies! They are everywhere. I guess that is what I get for living in a college town going to BYU-Idaho.  All these babies are so fun, but it is a lot of gifts to buy/ make.

Over the summer my mother-in-law taught me to crochet around flannel burp cloths. These burp cloths have been a life saver not only as baby shower gifts, but also they have kept me busy in my new job. I have had a hard time finding new stitches to use and I have had a lot of people express interest in learning how to make these burp cloths so I decided to make a tutorial. This is a fun and inexpensive way to make a special gift for a friend or family member. You can also do all of these stitches around a flannel blanket as well. 

I am a beginner at this whole crochet thing, but I have really loved learning to crochet. 

Supplies:

I had 2 yards of flannel fabric. 1/2 yard of each print- this makes 8 burp cloths. (you can get 2 cloths out of 1/2 yard, 4 sides.)

burp cloth pattern found here

tread to sew

a wing needle/ hemstitch needle- $3.00 at most fabric store

crochet hook-size 4 

crochet yarn- size 10 or 3. (10 is easier to find)

Tutorial:

double up fabric 

a good pattern for the burp cloth is found here

Wing stitch needle (it is wider to make a bigger hole to crochet into).

You will want to put your sewing machine on double zig zag. On my machine it is letter "P".

 This way the needle will stitch in the hole twice. You can play around with the length, but I like putting it on the longest stitch length. ( less holes to crochet in).

Stitch along the edge of the fabric. There is no need to worry about raw edges because they will be covered with the crochet. 

Sorry no pictures on how to crochet, but there is how you do it.

Start with a slip knot. You will be doing half double crochet around the whole cloth.

Put your hook around the slip knot and the put your hook through the first stitch on the burp cloth.

Yarn over and put the hook trough the slip knot. Pull though. 

Yarn over put the hook through the stitch in the cloth. 

Yarn over and then pull through all 3 loops. 

You just did a half double crochet.

(I hope this is good enough. If you have any questions let me know)

It should look like this when you are done. 

This one is the 

scallop stitch

After you half double crochet around the whole thing you can make the scallop stitch.

Skip first 3 stitches. 

Yarn over. 

Pull through first crochet.

Yarn over again. So you now have 3 loops on the hook. 

Yarn over and pull though the first loop.

Yarn over. Pull though two more. 

Yarn over again. Pull though two more. 

( I believe this is a double crochet.)

Do this 7-10 times in the same hole. 

Skip 3 crochets and single crochet into the 3rd crochet to stitch down the scallop.

Continue in the same hole with the scallop stitch.

( once again this is my first time. Let me know if you have any questions.)

This is a

Ruffle Stitch

This one is very simple. 

After you half double crochet around the whole cloth single crochet into the first crochet. 

Chain 3 and lock it down by single crocheting into the next crochet. 

Do this all the way around.  

Once again I am a beginner at all of this. I really wanted to share what have learned with all of you. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions on how I can make my directions better. I hope you enjoy making these as much as I do. You can also do all of this around a blanked if you want. 

Good luck and happy crocheting!

Elder Spencer Olsen

My "little" brother who is not so little just left today. He left his home, his family, and all of his worldly possessions to go serve the people of Honduras for two years. He left to go serve the Lord, to act in the name of the Lord and to give his all to him to help the people of Honduras for two year.

I am so proud of him for making this decision. I am so proud of him for getting his act together to go out.

My brother and I have never really got along. He drives me crazy and I usually could not stand to be in the same room as him for more than a couple of minutes. You could imagine what our 14 hour drives to California or the 25 hour drives to Canada we used to do when we were little were like... But despite our differences and our irritation toward him I love him and I am proud of him. He is the oldest for 4 boy and I am so proud of him for setting this great example for his younger brothers.

He will do a great job out there and I know he will be able to serve the people of Honduras.

The advice my husband would give him would be "Don't be Stupid".
My advice is follow the rules, read the scriptures, and rely on the Lord and all things are possible!

Love you little bro! Good Luck!