Applesauce Adventure

Homemade applesauce is so yummy and one of the many reasons Autumn is my favorite time of year.  On a good day it would have been so easy.  One can never predict the sort of day you will wake up to with a toddler in tow.  Mason enjoyed the first five minutes of putting the cut apples into the bowl.  After that he was done.  So I had to make the applesauce in-between dinner, bath and bedtime.  Hence the lack of any really good photos.  

I'm done with this applesauce making business.

San Diego weather was unfavorable for apples last April so many of the U-Pick places were closed this season which left the few open to run out quality apples quickly.  We didn't make it there in time.  Plan B:  farmer's market organic apples.  A dozen or so apples yielded two quarts.  Not enough to go through the hassle of canning, so I used leftover Mason jars to store the sauce.  What we don't eat or give away in the next few weeks, I will put in Ziplock bags and freeze.  

I de-cored the apples, threw out the cores and left the skins on.  I put the apple slices in a large pot with some water and low heat.  Stirring occasionally or whenever I made it back to the kitchen.  Then I blended the mushy pieces, adding cinnamon along the way (no sugar needed if you use a variety of apples).  The result: warm, yummy, cinnamon-y goodness.  Now to find some lucky neighbors who will help us eat two quarts of homemade applesauce... 

Mason's Grommet Valance

As Mason progressed into a toddler bed (where did my baby go?!?!), I have slowly transformed his room from a baby room to a toddler room.  The biggest project so far has been making him a window valance.  I had purchased material to match his bedding when he was born, and I sort of just strung it up over the window, not feeling the need to spend any more time on it.  A year and a half later, I am ready!  After throwing around a handful of ideas on what to do with the material, I decided to keep it as a valance but make it a more permanent fixture.  If you have been to my house, then you know I am a fan of grommet curtains: classy, modern, easy.

I took on the project with tons of motivation and, although it took a few weeks to finish (sometimes nap times are for mommy naps too), I am very pleased with the outcome.

First I lined the material to make it darker and more durable.  Then I had to sew two long pieces together for the width since Mason's window is 72 inches wide.  I hemmed the material and made a four inch header.  Using an extremely helpful video (click on video to view) and website (click on website to read) I measured and traced the grommet holes.  I then reinforced the grommet holes with some zigzag stitching (not as easy as it looks) so I could remove the grommets and wash.  Then I cut out the grommet holes.  Almost done!  To test my zigzag hem, I washed the valance.

Since I hadn't sewn perfect circles, and the circles were a little smaller than the actual grommets, this helped fray the edges up to the grommet hem.  It made snapping on the plastic grommets a piece of cake.  I purchased the grommets at JoAnn Fabrics, but after some research found them cheaper online and at Walmart.  I didn't return and buy online (click on online to see grommets) because I was in a hurry to see my project completed.   These grommets were super easy to install and did not require any other tools.


Craigslist had a cheap wooden rod with finials for sale, and I snatched it up.   I roughed them up with sand paper, sprayed white primer spray paint on them, and then painted them navy blue to match the rest of Mason's room.  I purchased one of the sample paint containers that are three bucks at Home Depot.

Bed, Bath and Beyond had some off-white sheers with branch cut-outs on them.  Perfect!!

Here is some artwork I made before Mason was born.

Now to find a nice reading chair for my little man since the only toys in his room are books.  It forces him to read, and it is working. ;)  He loves books.