Play List

(classical piano list of songs I like to play and/or teach).

These would also be great for just listening, if you don't play the piano.

I'm trying to get a little variety but it's pretty obvious who my favorites are. :) Anything I should add?

Bach Invention Number 8
Bach Prelude in C
Bach toccata and fugue in D minor

Mozart Piano Sonate No. 15 K. 545 1st Movement
Mozart Turkish March (Rondo alla Turca)

Beethoven Fur Elise
Beethoven Moonlight Sonata 1st movement
Beethoven Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement
Beethoven Piano Sonate op. 13 Pathetique 2nd movement

Schubert Moments Musicaux

Mendelssohn Spring Song

Chopin Fantaisie Impromptu
Chopin Raindrop Prelude
Chopin Prelude op. 28, no. 4 in e minor
Chopin Black Keys Etude
Chopin Etude op. 10-3 in E major
Chopin Revolutionary Etude (op. 10-12)
Chopin Minute Waltz
Chopin Waltz op. 64-2 (c sharp minor)
Chopin Waltz op.34, no.2 in a minor
Chopin Waltz op. 64 in e minor (posthumous)
Chopin Waltz op. 69, no. 2 in b minor
Chopin Nocturne op. 9-2(E flat major)
Chopin Nocturne op. 62, no. 2 in E major
Chopin Nocturne op. 72, no. 1 in e minor (posthumous)
Chopin Nocturne in c sharp minor (posthumous)
Chopin Nocturne op.55, no.1 in f minor
Chopin Nocturne op. 48, no.1 in c minor
Chopin Polonaise op. 53 in A flat major
Chopin Polonaise op.40, no.1 in A major
Chopin Impromptu op. 29, no. 1 in A flat major
Chopin Ballad, op. 23 in g minor
Chopin Ballad no.2 in F major

Lizst Liebstraume

Joplin The Entertainer
Joplin Maple Leaf Rag

Debussy Arabesque 1
Debussy Clair de Lune
Debussy Reverie

Brahms Rhapsody op.79, no. 2
Brahms Ballade op.118, no.3

Rachmaninoff piano concerto no. 2
Rachmaninoff preludes (from the pink book I've lent out)

Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker Suite for the piano

Some version of Canon in D- my favorite is the two piano duet my brother and I (mostly him) made up.

(and an unrelated but fun picture from last night)

a note from Ansley

Dear Nice Man at the Home Depot,

Thanks for the balloons! I love them and wanted to sleep with them. (don't worry, my mom said "no").

Love,

Ansley

Chocolate Cloud Cookies

(aka husband catching cookies) from my college friend, Brittany.

3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup soft butter
2 whole eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips (I use less)
8 oz frozen mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped pecans (opt- I don't use)

Combine dry ingredients except sugars and set aside. Mix sugar and butter. Blend well. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine with flour mixture. Add chips and nuts. Batter will be stiff. Take 4 (or less) frozen marshmallows and wrap dough completely around the marshmallows. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased pan. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.

Cream Puffs

Funny story about these cream puffs. Once, in college, I intended to double the recipe but accidentally added four sticks of butter instead of two. . . (1 stick equals 1/2 cup, not 1/4 cup).

The filling is so delicious that sometimes we just eat the pudding. It's fun to pour the pudding in fancy glasses or dishes and top it with fresh whipped cream.

And for the third mini story/note, I got this recipe from my mom. It's one of the few things I remember her making when I was younger and definitely one of my favorite foods as a child and as I discovered giant cream puffs at the Del Mar Fair.

Cream Puffs
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Heat oven to 400f. Heat water and butter to rolling boil. Stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat for one minuted or until mixture forms into a ball. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs all at once. Continue beating until smooth. Drop dough by scant 1/4 cupfuls three inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 35-40 minutes or until puffed and golden (I usually make mine a bit smaller and bake them for less time). Cool away from draft. Cut off tops. Pull out any filaments of soft dough. Carefully fill puffs with pudding filling. Replace top. Refrigerate. Dust with powder sugar before serving, if desired. Best the first day.

Vanilla (or chocolate) Cream Puff Pudding Filling
1 package (3 1/2 oz) instant pudding
1 cup milk
2 cups whipping cream or cool whip

In a mixer bowl, blend pudding and one cup milk. Add whipping cream and beat until peaks form.

* I've only made this with chocolate and vanilla pudding but if you're a huge fan of another flavor, give it a try!
** I don't usually measure, I just kind of eyeball it for the filling.

Hello

We're still here, just taking summer a bit slow. (and having the nap fight every day. So far it's me 0 and Ansley 5.) We had company and visited family and friends in Utah for a day. Here are a few favorite pictures:















Anyway, the sewing machine is back on the kitchen/dining room table. I sewed up a few more circle skirts, this time with a knit foldover waist band. If it's not too windy (which it rarely is here!), I'll have to get a picture of the pink one on me. I also made a black one for someone else. . . (it's a surprise!).

Please Vote for Me!

if you want. :) I'm number 8 here. Thanks!!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Honey Whole Wheat Bread from the Gold Medal Whole Wheat bag

2 pkgs regular active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-115F)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups very warm water (120-130F)
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 3/4- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1. In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside. In large bowl, mix honey, butter, salt, and very warm water; cool 5 min.
2. To cooled honey mixture, beat in 3 cups of the whole wheat flour with electric mixer on low speed, scraping bowl frequently, until moistened. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Beat in remaining 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and dissolved yeast. With spoon, stir in 2 1/4- 2 3/4 cups of the all purpose flour until dough pulls cleanly away from side of bowl.
3. Place dough on floured work surface. Knead in remaining 1/2-1 cup all purpose flour; continue kneading 5 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening or cooking spray; place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80-85F) 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
4. Generously grease 2 (8x4 or 9x5 in) loaf pans with shortening or cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate; divide in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough with rolling pin into 18x8 in rectangle. Starting with one 8 in side, roll up dough tightly, pressing with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal; pinch each end to seal. Fold ends under loaf; place seam side down in pan. Cover; let rise in warm place 30-45 min or until doubled in size.
5. Heat oven to 375F. Uncover dough; bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350F; bake 10-15 min longer or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

I halved this recipe b/c I didn't think my mixer would handle it and b/c we only have on bread pan. It is SO yummy!

Of Course, I Had to Make Her One Too

I loved this dress so much, Ansley needed one too. I changed the sleeves/strap by adding elastic at the edge on both sides of the strap. Next time I'll make the strap a little bit wider.















Hilarious Outtakes:





Jessica, I hope you don't mind that I keep using your button:

My New Favorite Skirt

Last week I helped my friend, Katie, sew a beautiful blue circle skirt. I had to make one for myself with the most gorgeous fabric! It's the prettiest Amy Butler sheet set that I bought on clearance at Bed Bath and Beyond (plus I used a 20% off coupon, which don't actually expire btw).





Note the less awkward pictures once Ansley is around. :)





I'm planning to make Ansley a matching dress, but we won't have to wear them at the same time, all the time. ;) Maybe I'll make a second one, since it's just that awesome. Then I can wear one while the other is being washed. (Does anyone else buy multiples of clothes they like that fit well?)

Even though I have enough skirts, I might need to make more. . . .

Presents for Ansley's Friends

A baby blanket for Ansley's friend's new brother (same method as these ones):





And an Ice Cream Social Dress (awesome tutorial by Jess on her pretty blog here) for Ansley's friend's first birthday:

Those Clothes Look Better on Her

I wanted to make Ansley a dress like my new favorite dress. Unfortunately I don't have a little cap sleeve shirt to trace for her. Fortunately I have a few shirts that aren't super flattering on me and that Tyrone doesn't wear.

Here's the first version. I traced a shirt with proper sleeves and tried to mimic one of my cap sleeved shirts. The shape was alright but it was a little big.



More pictures of the dress, b/c she's cute.







Here's the second version. I used the blue dress as a guide, taking in the sleeves at the armhole and the edge a bit. I like how it looks in some of these pictures but it looks tank toppy in other pictures (which is probably partially due to having never washed the brown shirt). Maybe it's b/c there isn't a defined cuff at the edge and/or the fit is a little off? I don't want to make them too much smaller b/c I don't want the dress to be difficult to get into.











Here are some sketches of how I made these:







Tips:
Prewash your shirts! The sleeves on the brown dress were cuter before I shrank them. I'm not too sad b/c it was a practice run anyway.

Stay stitch around your sleeves, if necessary. I definitely had to one the brown one. I sewed a medium long stitch near the edge of the sleeve. The stitch gave it more stability so I could fold it under twice to finish the edge.

You might have to adjust the neckline a bit if you want to keep the original finished neck edge (like on the blue one).

Try not to cut your knits too soon before you can sew them. Some knits curl in a lot.