Okay. We'll admit it. We've been keeping something from you all. And, we actually didn't count our chickens before they hatched. We just found our little eggs a henhouse and then they hatched. So to speak. Let me back up a bit. Incoming wall of text to explain some history:

We had a dream that started in high school of operating a small cozy business together. We’ve always loved sewing - from Strawberry Shortcake yarn threading cards when we were 3 to creating a custom black silk cocktail gown for a friend a couple years ago. Even with professional lives we always make time to sew.

When Rachel moved to Beloit in 2011 Quillen’s sewing store was still open, but it has since closed. Alco removed their sewing department, and then closed. A few years ago Stuff n’ Such (a quilting store) in the nearby town of Downs closed, and finding physical, local sewing supplies became even harder. Rachel started to take on custom garment requests and in talking to locals realized a need.

We chose a name for the business and started this blog in 2017 and an Etsy store to maybe someday get a business going. Rachel even ordered business cards with a version of the hen logo in 2018. But, life got busy with other distractions and we left things pretty much dormant.

Meanwhile Kate was pursuing her profession in libraries until 2020 when a recent change in job didn’t turn out to be the environment she needed. The COVID-19 pandemic hit and Kate took the opportunity to evaluate long term goals, mainly moving to be closer to family here in Beloit and start that sewing business we'd been talking about for years.

We thought we’d start the business slowly, out of one of our houses. Kate was getting re-settled in a new job and looking for positions closer to her professional background. Finding retail spaces in small towns isn’t always easy so we weren't in a rush. But a store-front opened up in our budget range (thanks for the tip, Mom!) so here we are. Flying around with our tail feathers on fire, setting up a retail space!

Believe me - we're harried hens already, even if our doors aren't open to the public yet. Setting up a business is not for the faint of heart! We close the contract on the storefront on August 16th, but even before then we'll be hard at work setting up a limited liability company with us as members, contacting state and federal departments to collect taxes eventually, making Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram accounts, setting up bank accounts, talking to insurance people and wholesalers, plus researching point of sale systems and a million other details.

Still, we hope to open our doors mid September. We just need to decide exactly what to fill our space with.

It's not a secret recipe or anything, but even outside of our family, this recipe has always gotten positive reviews. I think I've had it as doughnuts maybe once or twice in my life. Usually it's made into crescent rolls or cinnamon rolls. I've grown up with it, and a Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter without it just doesn't feel the same. 

So when a friend asked for a good roll/bun recipe, this one was the first one I thought of. I had the ingredients and had been meaning to make a batch for about a week, so I decided to take pictures of the process and send them along with the recipe. 

The instructions are mostly as written, with a few exceptions, which I will highlight along the way. 

Some notes about the ingredients:

• It is best to use leftover mashed potatoes - the kind that have been loaded with butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and/or milk. Even a little salt and pepper left in them is okay.
• Also, while I've always used fresh whole milk, Mom sometimes used powdered (and reconstituted) milk.
• Lastly, our family pretty much exclusively uses Hudson Cream Flour. And yes, it does make a difference.

The slideshow above will take you through making the dough. This is a sweetened, enriched dough with a very light texture. 

I usually bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for between 15-25 minutes, depending on how big the rolls are, and how closely they are placed together. This recipe is excellent for freezing and reheating in the oven, especially if you don't let the rolls brown beyond a light honey color.

I've noticed a pattern developing. For two out of the (now) three dollhouse apartment kits I've put together, I've used them as distraction/stress relief while my real-life housing is in flux.

As I alluded to in my last post, some big life changes have come. Namely, I've decided to leave my current job, and move closer to Rachel. It wasn't an easy decision to make, both because of the current pandemic, and because it means no longer working in a library. But I knew once I made the decision, it was the right one.

Life has moved quickly! I will have approximately 20 days between the last day at my old job, and my first day at the new one. In those 20 days, I will need to pack and make moving arrangements, find new accommodations, and do the thousand chores it takes to move house and change address.

So, what do I do first? Finish this kit that I started shortly after completing the last one.

As with the last kit I put together, this one has you make all the elements for the different rooms before putting together the shell and filling the space. First up was the bed for what I deemed the "spare room".

The bed for the spare bedroom, along with the shelf and desk was completed before Christmas. But I still had the rest of the furniture and accessories, along with the shell to finish.

Having this little kit to focus on in the evenings was a great way to keep my fingers occupied while my brain whirred. I began to hope that whatever my new accommodations would be, I would be able to make them as cute and inviting as this kit.

And here it is, all lit up! I think the acrylic dividers do a nice job of giving the illusion of walls and separate spaces without closing anything off. 

The pictures on the cover of the instruction booklet highlight the green and grey tones in the kit, but now that I have it all together, I'm not sure what is the main color theme. Regardless, I enjoyed imagining myself into this little apartment while making it, as I hope you've enjoyed coming along with me for the ride!