The Suede Sofa Blog

{Yummy} Apple-Butter

Today I was HoPiNg to be in WeStOn, Missouri at their ApPLe CeLeBraTioN. Weston is a quaint little pre-civil war town in the rolling hills of northwest Missouri with so much to offer. I especially love their apple OrChArDs and PuMpKiN farms where you can pick your own apples and pumpkins. The tractor-trailer ride to the pumpkin patch where my family visited had spectacular views of the RolliNg CoUnTry-SiDe!

Lara and I had wanted to take our families and make a day of it, but due to other obligations we were unable to go. So, instead, I am going to share with you a recipe I came up with InSpIrEd by one of my visits there: ApPLe-BuTtEr. It is so YuMmY and EaSy!! Weston’s Apple Celebration also InSpIrEd me to make ApPLe DuMpLiNgS which are also YuMmY and oh, so PrEtTy, but that’s another post for another day!!

I usually like to get my apples for my Apple-Butter from a nearby orchard, but this year I was unable to do so. Instead I bought them from the store. Because I love GrAnNy SmItH apples, those are the ones I chose. This is a great recipe to make on a Saturday when you’re home hanging out with the family watching football!

{YuMmY} Apple-Butter Ingredients

12 big apples
2 cups sugar (use 1 cup if you want to cut out some sugar)
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 stick butter (you can omit this is you are wanting to cut down on fat)

Peel and core the apples and cut into small pieces. Place in a CrOcKpOt.

Add the rest of the ingredients.

Place crockpot on high. Stir occasionally. In about 4-5 hours VoiLa!!

The apples will break down on their own as they cook. When the Apple-Butter is finished I like to place them in jars, save one, and GiVe the rest away!!

Robynn~

{Artist Alley} Love It!!

I recently picked up these BiRdS at my town’s fall festival a.k.a. {ArTiSt AllEy}. I had been looking for birds for my mantle but just hadn’t been real ThRillEd with what I had seen. Boy, am I so glad that I waited and found these guys. I love it that they are so UniQuE, colorful (the ones I had been looking at were a metal, bronzy color) and that they were made by an ArEa ArTisT who I know!

If you are looking for that “PeRfEcT sOmEtHiNg” for your space, consider choosing a local artist. You may be able to find something unique and OriGiNaL!!

Robynn~

I AM…A Rag Rug Weaver

•For more “I Am…” stories, click here!

•Do you or someone you know have a story that could inspire other women? We would LOVE to feature you! Email us at suedesofa@yahoo.com

Guilt Trip

We’ve been on a few trips in our life and we would have to say, this is the one we enjoy the least. In fact, we don’t think we could use the word “enjoy” at all, because quite frankly guilt trips are down right TorMenTiNg.

In the last week we have been talking about this IsSuE not just with each other, but with other moms.

The discussion goes something like this, we feel GuiLtY because it seems that we are “riding” our kids non-stop, constantly having to correct them, instruct them, discipline them, etc. When we look at our husbands who seem to just get to enjoy the kids, then comes the guilt. “My husband gets to have all the fun. I do all the correcting. I’m not a good mom because I should be playing with my kids. I feel like I am always nagging my kids.”

The truth is, as mom’s we all have DiFfeReNt GiFtS. For some moms, playing with their kids may be what naturally flows out of them, for others, maybe it’s nurtuing. Maybe you love cooking with your kids or reading to them. Both of us are very loving with our kids. We love to cuddle with them. It’s what comes natural to us and as a result, it’s what we do the best at. When they are sad, its mom they come running to. However, instead of FoCuSinG on our strength as mother’s we focus on the area where we are lacking. The result: Guilt. We know better, but we do it anyway. Ugh!!

When we think back to our childhood neither of us remember our mom’s playing with us. Ever. However, we both have very FoNd MeMoRiEs of our moms. They were a very safe place to land – LoViNg and wArm, SeCuRe and sAfE.

So if you’re feeling guilt, ask yourself if it is self-imposed. Sure, there are times we know we should do better, but guilt goes so beyond this.

If you’re struggling with guilt, take a good look at why. Is there a change you need to make? If so, make the change, but then give yourself a break and enjoy your kids by focusing on the things that come NaTuRaL to you.

~Robynn and Lara~

Check out a similar post by Lara called “Mommy Guilt” by clicking here.

INTRODUCING ROBYN CARUSO {JERSEY GIRL}

We would like to introduce to you, RoByN CaRuSo. She has been a guest writer for us and starting TODAY, she will be a regular writer on the Suede Sofa. We are excited about her joining our team! Robyn will be writing on WeDneSdaYs and on the weekends from time to time. Her posts will be signed “JeRsEy GirL”. Here is her story:

Jersey Girl

Growing up in the suburbs in New Jersey I had three goals:

Be a high school cHeErLeAdEr (as corny as that may sound)!
Teach 1^st grade
Be a sTaY-aT-hOmE mOm

Although the road to success wasn’t easy (see my Suede Sofa I Am…A MOM…FINALLY post). Check, check, check…I did it!

So now what do you do when you are in your early 30’s, living your dream, but have no new goals in mind? That’s just about when Lara and Robynn came into my life and got my CrEaTiVe wheels turning!

An avid EtSy shopper, I met Lara simply because I was constantly purchasing blocks from her Letter Block Shop. Reading about her success was enough to jump start my own Etsy shop, RoByN’s NeSt. I have always been crafty and opening up a small business has proven to be a rewarding experience in so many ways.

Next…in comes Suede Sofa. My blogging began with my I Am post and shortly after Lara and Robynn asked me to be a guest writer. My FriEndShip with Lara and Robynn is unique in that we’ve never met. What’s stopping us? How about the fact that there are five states between us! We’ve recently set a goal to somehow meet within the next FiVe YeArS; until then there’s always email, texting, and of course the Suede Sofa!

I currently live in VeRoNa, NeW JeRsEy a small suburb about fifteen miles outside of New York City with my husband Rob. We have two children named Nicholas and Abby. Nicholas is ALL BOY and keeps me on my toes! Abby is a GIRLY GIRL and oh do I love her to pieces! Before having my children I was a first grade teacher for 8 years. Sometimes I think teaching a classroom full of 1^st graders may have been easier than being a stay-at-home mom; but I wouldn’t trade it for the WorLd!

Thank you for letting me share my life with all of you!

Visit my online shop www.etsy.com/shop/triobyn

~Jersey Girl~

What a Relief!

Don’t you appreciate it when someone is completely HonEst with you about a situation you have been secretly struggling with? As soon as they open up, you immediately think, “What a relief! I thought I was the OnLy oNe dealing with that!”

When you get in those situations, do you return the FaVor by opening up to them, or do you AcT like you can’t relate because you don’t want to admit your faults in fear that it could ruin your reputation of appearing PerfecT?

You can’t expect to GaiN a lot from others if you aren’t expecting to open up with them in return. People that open a door and “hear crickets” are likely to not open that door again. So next time someone ShaRes a deep thought, at the very least, show empathy or appreciation for their honesty. ExPress to them that their openness helps you with your own personal struggles and gives ComFort in knowing that you are not the “only one” that goes through stuff like that!

~Lara

Use The Resources You Have

If you’ve been following our blog you may have seen me talk about dealing with an “All-Or-Nothing” mindset. I struggle with this thinking and am diligently working to change this crazy TrAiN Of ThouGht. Here is one thing that is helping me out a GreAt dEaL. I recently have adopted the thinking, “Use The Resources You Have”. I actually say this to myself and Lara & I talk about it often. This gives me “PerMisSiOn” to continue on even when the situation is not “PeRfEcT”.

So what, that I’ve MeSsEd uP, had a rough day, got off to a bad start or things just aren’t going like they are suppose to go? I ReFuSe to have the mindset, “May as well throw in the towel for today. I’ll start again tomorrow.” I won’t mess up the rest of my day with that notion. Instead I’ll use the resources I have. In this case, it is the ReSt oF tHe DaY – completely free of mistakes and disappointments. Who knows what good thing may be just around the corner?

What are you lacking in? Time, inspiration, money, education, energy, health, a good childhood, etc. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is what you Do HaVE.

I don’t know if this advice will help you, but it sure has helped me. Do I have this MaSteReD? No, but I’m a work in progress. A LittLe At a TiMe.

;)

Robynn~

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

HI Suede Sofa readers!

Bare with us as we may look like a couple of Geeks while we figure out how to run a video on our smartphone :) Check out our BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

~Lara and Robynn

DON’T THROW THAT AWAY!

I found this ChAiR left out for garbage on the side of the road and decided to refinish it into a FloWeR PoT HoLdEr. When I found the chair it had a brown stain. I spray painted it with a DaRk rEd color to match my house and then got to work.