Crochet Nook case

I took advantage of a pre-Christmas sale last winter and bought myself a Nook e-reader.  I still check out good ol' paper books from the library, but I use the Nook when I'm traveling.  (By the way, if you're thinking about buying an e-reader, I suggest spending the extra money to buy the Nook color, because it's better for downloading cookbooks and magazines.  I wish I had known that before buying the black-and-white version...)

After buying the Nook, I didn't want to spend more money on a cover for it.  I did a quick google search and found this pattern for a crochet Nook cover.  I just used leftover yarn, and it was very quick to stitch.  The pattern calls for buttons to secure the cover flap in place, but I left the buttons off because I didn't want to mess with them.  Now when I'm done reading, I just fold the cover around the Nook like an envelope.  Very easy.

Leave the flap on top or....

...fold it inside.

Do you have an e-reader?  Have you made a cover for it yourself?  Would love more suggestions for a homemade Nook cover.

Strawberry cupcakes + a fish tale!

So I'm kind of obsessed with strawberries right now.  I buy at least 2 pints of strawberries whenever I'm in a grocery store, which usually is a couple times a week.  (Yes, I like shopping for groceries.)  I'm also obsessed with cupcakes right now.  I've been stopping at the Ames cupcake shop almost every weekend.  I'm crazy about the buttercream frosting!  My husband, always my biggest cheerleader, said I should try to make cute cupcakes at home.  It's not so hard, he said.

After googling cupcake recipes, I finally decided to try the strawberry cupcakes featured recently on Eat, Live, Run.  The recipe says to puree the strawberries in a blender before adding them to the batter, but I didn't want to break my old blender out, so I just mashed the berries up.  The cupcakes turned out terrific, but when I started to make the buttercream frosting, I realized that I was out of powdered sugar.

Just then, my husband walked in the house after an afternoon of fishing (in the rain).  He told me he was taking over the kitchen so he could start cleaning his catch.

Yes, we have been eating fish all week :)

Anyhow, I didn't want to be anywhere near the kitchen when my husband was gutting fish.  So I drove to the grocery store and bought a can of strawberry frosting.  These cupcakes are only half-finished (or semi-homemade, if you will).  The cupcake part was awesome, the canned strawberry frosting only so-so. But it tamed my cupcake frosting craving, temporarily.

Cupcakes & fish -- Probably two things that should never go together, but oh well!

S'more bars

When I saw these s'more bars on Cookies and Cups, it immediately reminded me of the treats that moms would bring to our Girl Scout gatherings as kids.  I couldn't resist giving this recipe a try at home, and I'm so glad I did.  These bars taste just like s'mores, minus the smoky campfire.  I'm already planning to mix up another batch next weekend for a get-together.  And they are just as easy as making rice krispie bars!  Hope you give them a try.  I had to stop myself from eating the whole pan myself!