Winter Retreat

We went on a winter retreat with our junior high youth group the last weekend in January. It was so much fun! Our devotional times were about Gods mercy in the book of Jonah. We had fun during free time playing 4 on a couch, the animal game, and even a snowball fight. :) Overall it was a pretty fun weekend.

A few more Trader Joe's signs

Here are a few more of my more recent projects at Trader Joe's...

Trader Joes Non-Organic Gallons Value Signs

 

This is what we affectionately call the "Dan cow" because on the cow's Hawaiian shirt he has a name tag with the name "Dan" on it (after one of our full timers).

Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal and 3 Berry Granola end cap chalkboard sign  

(This is the second chalkboard sign I've done since we've been open, so this one is very special to me :))

This is one of my co-workers holding the "Holmes" sign version 2.0 (the last one ended up falling apart, this one is made of wood instead of foam core). It's an adjustable paint roller handle with paint roller attached inside the box to stabilize the sign.

When we are scheduled as the "Holmes person" we basically walk around the store with this sign in search for people who need help with any questions about the products or just need help finding something. We frequently get asked if we have a question for them... as if we are the Riddler or something. I think it would be awesome if we wore a riddler costume with it and asked trivia questions whenever someone asked us if we had a question for them. :)

I really like my fun job!!!

The last 4 months..

Sorry for not keeping you all posted with what I've been up to for the last few months... I have been quite busy with my new job and taken a bit of a break from blog writing, sewing and bread baking. I'm hoping to pick up blog writing again, but the posts may be fewer and far between.

In September I got hired on as a sign artist for the new Trader Joes that opened up in Omaha, so I've been a little pre-occupied to say the least... This had been a very busy time to help open a store, especially with all the sign changes that happen over the holidays on top of the pressures of opening a new store from scratch!.. So to make this a fun post I'll just show you a few of the many, many signs I've been working on over the last few months...

Ground Beef Value Sign

Steak Value Sign

Deli Template Sign

 Charles Shaw Permanent Value Sign

Barbaresco on Controlled Label Wine Template

New Belgium  Beers on Beer Template

Boddingtons Pub Ale on Beer Template

 Joe Medium Roast Value Sign

Olive Oil Value Sign

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Value Sign

Organic Whole Wheat Pasta Value Sign

.99 Pasta Value Signs

 Egg Value Sign

Peanut Butter Value Sign

 Bake Shop Value Sign

Oranges Value Sign

 Maple Oatmeal on Cereal Template

 Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal on Cereal Template

 Peanut Butter Puffins on Cereal Template

 Well that's all for now folks! Stay tuned for more to come :)

Julie & Artisan Bread - Week 4 - Ciabatta

We made some ciabatta bread (page 37) tonight for dinner and made it into a margarita pizza. I'm amazed how the exact same dough baked in several different shapes will take on the form of many different breads. The ciabatta is more of a flat bread with lots of bubbles inside. When you roll out the dough you want to make it 3/4 of an inch thick, any more and it will be like pita bread.

Since we were making a pizza we decided to add some olive oil and italian seasonings to the surface of the dough.

After the dough cooled down a bit we added fresh basil, tomato, and mozzarella... yumm!!

Julie & Artisan Bread - Week 3 - Batard

A batard loaf is similar to a baguette, except it's wider in the middle and tapered on the edges and is known for it's crumb rather then it's crisp caramelized crust. (page36) This bread tasted pretty much like a baguette, but is an easier loaf to make sandwiches with. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo of it before we ate it.

Julie & Artisan Bread - Week 2 - Aubergine Tartine

This week we tried the Aubergine Tartine; an opened faced baguette sandwich with eggplant, red pepper, garlic, arugula, and brie cheese. (Recipe on page 34)

It was pretty tasty. I think next time I might want to make it a chicken sandwich or use pesto on the eggplant.

Julie & Artisan Bread - Week 1 - Baguette

Since I had the day off yesterday, I made the boule dough (Artisan free-form loaf) in the afternoon, so that I could bake my bread in the evening when my husband got off work. I mixed it up in one of my plastic cambros with a wooden spoon and let it sit for 2 hours to let it rise.

Once it had filled the container I made sure that the lid was on (not air-tight) and stuck it in the refrigerator it for 3 hours so that it's easier to work with. With enough dough now to make 4 loafs that will last up to 2 weeks, I won't have to make another batch for a few days.

The next step was to form a loaf for a Baguette by taking a grapefruit sized piece of dough from the cambro and forming it into a 2" thick log.

Since a traditional baguette doesn't have flour on top I had to brush on come water before making slits with my bread knife.

Then I slid it off on a hot pizza stone in the oven and 25 minutes later we had fresh baked bread.

I have to say, this loaf by far this was the best bread I have EVER made. The bread was light and fluffy and had a great taste even before I added any butter or cheese on top. I can't wait to get started on my next loaf!