Home Baked Sticky Buns

Some days require sticky buns.

Brown sugar was on sale at Bulk Barn last week so I picked up a generous amount.  Any that didn't fit into my brown sugar jar - I put into sticky buns.  A brown sugar sale is win win!

I make the cinnamon bun dough in my bread maker, but there are tonnes of dough recipes online. Chef at Home has a good recipe for cinnamon buns if you feel like making some too.

After rolling out the dough, I spread generous quantities of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon all over it.  The more the better, I think!  


Before baking the rolls, I make the sticky bun sauce, which is made by combining 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat.  Heat until evenly combined and pour the sauce onto the bottom of a baking dish.  Set the ready-to-bake rolls into the gooey, yummy, sticky sauce, and then bake for 20-25 minutes at 350°F.  Right out of the oven, I collect any sauce from the bottom of the pan and baste the cinnamon buns in even more sticky bun sauce.  It is beautifully yummy!

I even sprinkled a cooked sticky bun with walnuts for an extra kick.  Double yum!

Not Kidding Around

I normally use store brand laundry detergent, but I recently got a super-coupon deal on Tide so I started using it this evening.  The jug said to "fill cap to line 2" for large loads.  I thought I had a pretty large load (roughly all the towels we own), so I filled the "2X Concentrate Tide" up to line 2.

And this is the sight I saw during the second rinse cycle!  Tide isn't fooling around! 

I put the towels through the second rinse cycle again to (hopefully) get all the soap out of them.

So... Tide works.  And almost too well!  From now on I'm filling the cap to Line 1 only.

Awesome of the Week - 02/28/11

This afternoon my Mom called me and asked the following:

"Have you seen the laughing baby on YouTube?"

Followed by:

"Just type laughing baby into YouTube and you'll probably find it."

Little did Mom know, that was the equivilent of saying: "Did you see the funny cat on YouTube?" or "Do you know Joe from Canada?"  My mom is adorable.  With a little more information, I was able to find the particular baby she was talking about.  So the Awesome of the Week is both this super-happy baby and how adorable my Mom is.

Everything is a Photo Opportunity #6

I love this photo.  I think I scooped it from my grandparents collection one day because I thought it was so great.  It is clearly snowing like a bastard, but Sunshine is just around the corner.  What an amazing (and funny) message.  I keep this photo framed beside my desk as a comical reminder that even if it is snowing (literally or metaphorically) just hold on, because you're bound to run into Sunshine soon enough.  It could even be as close as a 1/4 mile away! 

My Psychology and Finishing a Project

I have been hesitant to start a new knitting project, as I still have my outstanding  Knitting Bag of Shame.  For well over a year I've had a half finished scarf project that I had absolutely no interest in finishing.   

Part of the problem was that I just started knitting with a basic idea in my head, but no actual pattern to follow.  Half way through knitting, when I encountered my motivation problem, I think I subconsciously decided that the scarf was too wide and I wouldn't like it when it was done.  So I stopped trying to finish it.

On Monday, I woke up with the freeing idea that the scarf didn't have to be a scarf at all.  With a little tweaking, I could transform the half finished project into something else.  As it was already quite long, I decided to modify it into a door draft stopper.  With a new goal in mind, my motivation instantly returned, and I worked on it non-stop Monday evening.  Nearing completion, I put it around my neck (just to see) and I realized I wanted it to be a scarf again.  It was long enough and I actually liked it.  So I nixed the door draft stopper idea and finished the project as originally intended.  A girl has the right to change her mind, right?

I am now the proud owner of a wide scarf.  If I fold it in half, it becomes a super thick and super warm scarf.

If there is a bitter wind and I need more neck and face coverage, I can wear the scarf at the original width.

I finally finished my year old project and I am really happy it is a scarf.  It matches my hat, so now I have a set.

So the next time I lose my motivation to finish a project, I am just going to relabel it in my mind as something new and exciting and hopefully that will get my ass in gear to finish it.  It worked for me this time!