dear cjane

forrest findings of likely and sam (esty shop)

2010-03-04T22:12:00.001-08:00

a month or so ago
i was reading
some paperwork my
midwife gave me
about newborn babies.

in particular
i read about how they
need to have their
little heads covered
for the first few days of life.

ever since i read that tidbit
i've had baby caps on my brain.

my friend likely
has a swedish grandmother-in-law mormor
who makes these adorable
knitted hats to sell in her etsy shop.

i am pretty
sure my newborn
must have one or two
maybe three.

equally,
i am a sucker for a mormor's gnome hat:

because look how cute it makes the gnome:

please excuse me,
--i can no longer delay--
my due date is coming up
and i am off to shop.

quick as a cricket by audrey and don wood

2010-03-03T21:53:00.000-08:00

i have come to a realization:
i don't like a lot of children's books.

some are hard to read
overly silly
or sometimes just boring.

so i am getting picky.

but i will always enjoy reading
the wood's
"quick as a cricket"
a delightfully illustrated book
written in similes.

i love this book.
i love the hot fox
and the cold toad
and the tame poodle.
i love how i feel
almost other-worldly
when i read it.
and i love that it comes
as a board book.

and please, don't get me started on piggies.

(when i was pregnant with
the chief, my writer friends
threw me a party
where they showered me
with children's books
and their picks are among the best
we have to our collection.
it goes to show:
it pays to have
writer friends.)

p.s.
if you'd like to be a dear c jane sponsor
--mostly because it is really fun--
you can email us at
dearcjane@gmail.com

february mother lode giveaway winner

2010-03-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

let me explain something
(because i can't believe what is going on here)
when i do a giveaway
i never, ever check the comments until
the giveaway is over and i have picked a winner.

i usually take a huge breath
get comfortable in my skin,
sort out any lingering issues i have
with the pressures of picking one person
out of hundreds,
come to a zen-ish state of mind
and choose a winner.

(sometimes i use a random number generator
sometimes i use my husband
and sometimes i just pick one with no rhyme or reason)

so this time i performed my pre-picking ritual
and saw in my mind's eye the number 5.

5 out of hundreds
is a bit odd
anyway.

then i clicked to the comments
counted down five
and there was my friend
azucar de la pines.

my friend.
close friend.

and i thought,
i can't pick my close friend.

and then i thought,
why can't i pick my close friend?
she is number five
-the number i settled on before
i picked a winner.

and then i thought
(quite lump-in-throat-ish)
she deserves this mother lode
from me.

she who took on my mother lode
of emotional baggage
five years ago when she became my friend.

she lifted me over infertility,
found me a new house for my family,
fed me and my expanding crew
and checks up on me nightly with emails.

sometimes fate knows what is is doing.

azucar my dear,
you win february's mother lode
(thanks for being my amiga.)

thanks to everyone else for entering.

p.s.
my thanks to the sponsorship inquiries
for dear c jane.
my team of tireless monkeys
are working on responding to all emails.

if you'd like to be a dear c jane sponsor
--mostly because it is really fun--
you can email us at
dearcjane@gmail.com

. . . oreo cookie recipe nie keeps blogging about?

2010-03-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

when my sister stephanie
was a young woman
her church youth leader
made her a batch of
"homemade oreo cookies"
and they were a revelation.

i was not living at home
when the oreo cookies
made their way into my sister's heart
but she sent me the recipe in an email
so that i too could partake.

as you can see
(above)
i still have the original email
(sent in 1998)

if baked softly, they are everything
my sister claimed them to be
soft, creamy, sweet with a
bite of tea time.

though do they taste like actual
"homemade oreo cookies"?
i sometimes wonder.

i'd almost say they were better.

oreo cookies
(a la julie)

1 package of devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
3/4 cup of shortening

blend all together at once.

roll soft dough in small balls
on a cookie sheet.
(don't press down,
keep balls intact before baking)

bake at 350 degrees
for 8 minutes
(don't you dare over-bake)

frosting for the middle:

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 stick of butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 to 4 c. powdered sugar

mix until smooth.

when cookies are cool:
frost backs of cookies
and make sandwich with another cookie.

easy does it.

sponsor launcher

2010-02-28T21:38:00.001-08:00

last month i when thought about highlighting
sponsors on this blog
i had no idea what an adventure i'd have.

three sponsors showed up:
ewillow
vintage pearl
and
little tots, big ideas.

and we had giveaways,
introductory posts,
amendment giveaways
daily bottom-of-post linkings
and
mind if i say it?
love.

pure sponsorship love.

i think the win/win of this sort of deal
should be extended
for new sponsors.

(plus we've got some cool new ideas
for this blog
which might just be
the kick you are waiting for
exclamation point!)

so, this is a call out for new sponsors
for dear cjane.
if you'd like to be apart of the
dear c jane mix
send us an email at our new inbox
dearcjane@gmail.com
for pricing
and sizing
and other general inquires.

otherwise stay tuned for tomorrow
when i answer the question
about homemade oreo cookies.

because we can never have enough
cake mix recipes
on this blog
now can we?

(betty crocker should totally be a sponsor.)

p.s. my very devoted love goes out
to dear cjane readers.
thank you.
so so so much,

p.p.s. monday is the last day
to enter february's mother lode
enter a comment to win
go here!

february's mother lode giveaway!

2010-02-26T00:27:00.001-08:00

february was a sizzling month for dear c jane.

we had our first sponsors
(thank you sponsors!)
had a week devoted to valentines
and only one post which applauded the sticky effects of
ky jelly.

and on top of all that,
i wrote about products i love
some of which are included in this month's
february giveaway:

one: the vintage look of crystal b earrings
only gets better when you find out
crystal b is the nicest woman
on this planet.

two: basa body soaps in three
delicioso tastes
(and for fun, i am going to throw
in a basa body citrus lotion!)
(i know! thank me later!)

three: hello good looking!
from persimmon & pink
8x10 print
and signed.
(and not signed by my son
fortunately!)

four: the ikea ofelia throw
all humankind must own.

five: bari's feather ring
from nyc to you!

six: a fisherman t-shirt
from nostalgic graphic tees.
size three
(cute model child not included
though i wish he were)
(i'd enter).

ok
who wants to win the whole enchilada?

all of these lovelies in one shot?

enter by monday
march 1st
midnight mst.

enter by leaving a comment at the end of this post.
try to hold yourself to one entry.
yes, you.

nostalgic graphic tees

2010-02-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

a lot of dear cjane questioners
want to know about silhouettes
--a favorite look of my sister stephanie--
so i thought i'd pass on this cute etsy shop
nostalgic graphic tees

which are fun t-shirts for kids
designed by graphic designer
elizabeth horton.

i am partial to this
fisherman t-shirt for boys
and extra happy to hear
that proceeds for these shirts
go to the
look good...feel better organization
a public service program
serving cancer patients.

check out the entire shop here.