Whew....What A Week!

Wow! It has been quite a crazy week around here! It all started last Sunday when I attempted to decorate the Christmas tree. I turned on "Elf", made myself a cup of hot cocoa and happily started pulling out all the ornaments. You'd think that decorating a Christmas tree would be a safe and fun activity wouldn't you??? But nooooo.....not when the Queen of Clumsy is involved! I managed to smack myself right in the eye with a tree branch and scratched my cornea! Ouch! Don't worry - I'm o.k. now! And I didn't let the tree win! I eventually got all those ornaments on it and I won!
Then a few days later little Miss Don't I Look All Sweet And Cute And Innocent decided to jump ACROSS the coffee table and knock over a glass of RED wine. Yup. Red.
The glass shattered and red wine and broken glass ended up all over me, our white sofa, white chair and white ottoman, the carpet, the Christmas cards I was addressing, some paperwork, a silk and linen cross-stitch I was working on and my fluffy white bathrobe. And Emma also got covered in red wine, got scared, ran off and hopped onto our white bedding! And seriously.....the glass was only half full.....but it looked like a full bottle or two had been sprayed over the entire house!

After two days of doing laundry I put the freshly cleaned slipcovers back on the furniture. And Emma immediately jumped onto the ottoman with muddy paws. Shortly after that I locked my keys in the car. First time in my life I've ever done that! Serenity Now!!!

Well, I was trying to look at the bright side. John had been gone all week on a work trip in Oregon and was supposed to get home Saturday morning after catching a Red Eye flight on Friday night. Yay! I'd have my sweetie back home to comfort me! No such luck. Delays and bad weather and flight cancellations have kept him in Oregon ALL weekend. He finally got a flight out on Sunday and sent me this lovely picture of the plane he is taking from Klamath Falls, OR to Portland (the first of 3 flights he has to take to get from Oregon to Florida).....
Ummmmm......seriously dude.....you're gonna get on that plane??? John's a pilot so this didn't bother him in the least. I'm feeling lightheaded just looking at that!

So, after all the insanity of the week I decided to take the weekend OFF! I normally spend the weekends working and doing errands and chores. But instead I had my own little perfect Jenny "Staycation" this weekend. I worked on a quilt that I started a few years......
Yeah....I'm the type of person who starts a project, gets distracted by another project and then finishes the original project a few years later. But, eventually those bits of fabric that were cut into squares two years ago will look like this.....
And I had lots of help with my quilt in the form of Bailey sitting in the window over my sewing table acting as supervisor......
And my sweet puppers, Emma laying at my feet.....
Oh....and did you notice the perfect spot on top of Emma's head??? Yes, Emma is perfect. In every way.

And since my week definitely called for some chocolate and sugar therapy I made these to soothe my wearied soul.....
They're called Candy Bar Brownies and they taste like a fancy Snickers bar! I was gonna post the recipe but it's really long and complicated. If you want the recipe please send me an e-mail and I'm more than happy to send it to you!  So many of you have asked for the recipe that I decided to put it at the bottom of this post.  But be warned.....these aren't easy to make. Four layers.....and each layer involves slowly and carefully melting something.......and you need to let each layer cool/set before adding the next one. Ugh. A lotta work but they are SOOOOO worth it!

I think I'm gonna go have some Candy Bar Brownies for dinner with some red wine.....in a sippy cup! Here's to hoping that this coming week is a little less "eventful."

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Candy Bar Brownies

Ingredients for Brownies:

¾ cup butter softened

2 Tablespoons water

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

Ingredients for Candy Bar Topping:

1 cup sugar

¼ cup butter

¼ cup milk

1 cup marshmallow crème

½ cup creamy peanut butter

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups dry-roasted peanuts

40 caramels

¼ cup water

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

¼ cup butterscotch chips

1 – Heat over to 350.  Line bottom and sides of 13 x 9 pan with foil.  Spray foil with cooking spray.

2 – Melt ¾ cup butter, 2 Tablespoons water and 2/3 cup sugar over low heat.  Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips until melted.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and the eggs until well mixed.  Stir in flour and baking powder.  Pour batter into pan.

3 – Bake 18 – 23 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely (at least 30 minutes).

4 – In a saucepan heat 1 cup sugar, ¼ butter and the milk to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil 5 minutes while stirring CONSTANTLY.  Remove from heat.  Stir in marshmallow crème, ¼ cup of the peanut butter (not all the peanut butter, just ¼ cup of it!) and ½ teaspoon vanilla.  Pour over cooled brownies.  After that layer is firm sprinkle peanuts over top.

5 – In a saucepan heat caramels and ¼ cup water over medium-low heat stirring constantly until caramels are melted.  Pour over peanuts.

6 – In a saucepan melt 1 cup chocolate chips and the butterscotch chips over low heat until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in remaining ¼ cup peanut butter.  Spread over caramel layer.

7 – Refrigerate at least one hour before cutting.  I refrigerate it for one hour and then put it in the freezer for ½ hour before cutting.  Cut bars into 8 rows by 6 rows.  Store in the refrigerator.