Thrift store jackpot

Since I haven't unpacked any moving boxes and we have tons of room (ya right), I decided that I should go to the thrift store and get even more junk! Haha. Monday's are 25% off, so I love going when I know I can get an extra good deal. It was so packed though! I had to park really, really far away and went I got inside there were no carts. So, I thought it would be alright to carry Isaiah around for a little bit, but carrying around an extra 25 pounds is not easy while you're trying to shop. I was getting a little panicky when I first walked in and I found these two beauties.

I had to stalk out-going customers for their cart so I could pick these two up! They are two McCall's magazines from the 1960's. I spent the rest of my day flipping through the pages, reading the adds and looking at the projects. Some of them are really cute, some not so much. There is even a whole section for Bazaar crafts. Let me tell you, I was cracking up reading that article. I guess back then Bazaars were big. Here are some of the things that I thought were so cute.

These are knit and are just too cute. I wish I knew how to knit, but I definitely don't have the patience for it. Aren't they just so springy?!? Does anyone want the directions for these? I'll be happy to copy them for you because I want to see these cute things made!

And then these are made out of felt and are stuffed. They look like a simple project, but isn't that how all us crafters get into trouble? Something like.."hmm, I could make that."

Here are the ideas for the Bazaar. There was another page, but I didn't take a picture of that one. I'll save that for another day.

But these crafts really did me in. I was laughing so hard when I saw these. The McCall's people were probably thinking, "now what could these ladies make to wear to their bridge game?" The title for this page was "Kicky Jewelry."

These are some dresses you could knit or crochet for yourself for those warm summer months. On first inspection, they might be cute, but wouldn't you be sweating wearing them?

And finally, something that I just had to share. I can not even fathom drinking this. I mean, I love Dr. Pepper just as much as the next guy, but seriously, this?

Just in case you can't read that, it says Try Dr. Pepper Hot. Heat Dr. Pepper in a saucepan until it steams, pour into a glass over a thin lemon slice and serve piping hot! You could even write away for special Dr. Pepper mugs. Gross. I dare you to try it. I swear if anyone would do it, they'd get something special out of it. haha!

Did I mention that these two cost .60 each!?!? How exciting! I did walk away with some nice fabrics and trims, but I'll show those another day. Hope you enjoyed a walk back in time. I'll have to share more later.

I'm crafty

I know.. hold onto your chairs.. I'm going to post some craftiness. Since we've moved into our house, I have not had time or space to do any crafting. And now that my Martha Stewart Good Things swap is over and ready to be sent, I now have a lot more crafting time. Yay! So this weekend I was feeling craft hungry. You know those times when you're just feeling filled with creativity and you just need to craft for your own sanity. Friday night turned out to be one of those nights.

During Christmas, we went down to St. Augustine, Florida to visit my sister-in-law. They have great outlets there and one in particular that I know we would all love.... a fabric outlet! Well there's good news and bad news to this fabric outlet. Bad news-it was closing. Good news- everything was $1.99 a yard! 99% of the fabric was home decorating weight, which is great for bag making! Anyway, here is one I picked up and I got 2 yards of it.

Halfway through the Wedding Bells, I had this cut out. Can you tell what it's becoming??

Oh, and a word to the wise. Don't try to cut through eight layers of batting at once. It is not a short cut!! Trust me, I learned my lesson!

Ta-Da! It's March's In Stitches project!

This was my first project from Amy Butler's book, so I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Although I clearly messed up in matching up with tab with the front of the project. When I was cutting it out I thought for sure that it was going to come out right. I guess I didn't account for the tab's seam allowance and the width of the bag. Anyway, even in the wordiness of the directions, it was fairly simple and a reasonably quick project. I have yet to do the flower, so I might add that later. Next time I'll probably do it in a darker fabric. I'm not sure if I like the lighter one, but I had the intention of doing it in this fabric because it was so springy.

Has anyone else done some of the projects from this book? I got it for Christmas and I was just in love with all of the things in it. I was a little intimidated by all the directions and the way she has written them, but once I started sewing, I realized the thoroughness really helped. Plus, it's a good way to learn different techniques, at least for this sort of self-taught seamstress. (I say sort of because I'm not sure I can count my sewing lessons from 4-H back in the day! haha)

Now I'm dying to do another project. Maybe I'll go back and do one of the projects that I missed in the In Stitches -along. Hmm.. we'll see. Happy monday everyone and here's to hoping spring will come back (For those who don't have spring now)!

An Interesting start to the day

I fully intended to write my post today about my dinner last night. I'll get to that in a bit, but first a story. My father is one of 6 kids. All of his siblings, except 2 of them, have lived in the same town their entire life. Each has had 2 kids, and we, subsequently, grew up in the same small town, not living far from each other. We always shared holidays and birthdays together and were much more like brothers and sisters than cousins. Two of our cousins are a bit older than us, so we weren't as close to them. I was the first to go to college in D.C. and the next year my cousin Matt went to Univ. of Maryland. I stayed down here because of my husband, and Matt got a job, so he stayed as well. Last year, my cousin Jenna moved down from NY, followed by Matt's brother Sean. We are all so happy to be in the area together again and it is so nice to have my own family here.

So with that background, here's how my day started. I'm up by 7am because Isaiah is awake, get him breakfast, and settle into watching some news (ok, it wasn't real news, it was E!News). Sean calls me at 9 am, and I think, hmm, that's weird, why is he calling so early.


Sean: "Did I wake you up?"


Me: "Are you kidding? I have a small child."


Sean: "Are you doing anything today? I need a really really big favor"


Me: "Sure, what do you need"


Sean: "This morning I go out in the pouring rain, and my tire is flat, so I change it and now my spare is flat too. Can you come pick me up and drive me to work?"


(hmm.. he lives across town, which would be major traffic, and his work is only 5 minutes from here."


Me: "Can you take the metro over here and I'll drive you to work?"


So, I start rushing around, getting Isaiah ready and I stop to think... hmmm Starbucks is near the metro. Great Idea! Get Isaiah dressed, me sorta of dressed in sweats, go and get my much needed coffee, and then off to pick up my poor cousin. Of course, this is happens to coincide with Isaiah's naptime, so he's all cranky until I get home. Anyway, that was an adventure. Later I have to go back and pick my cousin back up, but I don't mind. At least I didn't have to change a flat tire! Actually, I don't think I even know how.


Anyway, here's what I was originally going to post. Last night I made quiche for dinner. I love, love quiche. It's great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and the filing combinations are endless. Here's my recipe, which has been adapted from several cookbooks and my sister-in-law's recipe.

Spinach and Swiss Quiche

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups of heavy cream

1 package frozen spinach

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

8 oz grated swiss cheese

salt

pepper

nutmeg

hot pepper powder, cayenne or ancho

Pie crust, make your own, or cheat like I did and use Pillsbury deep dish crust

Preheat oven to 425. Defrost spinach and squeeze all water out. This is important or you will have a very soggy quiche! Saute onions and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, sprinkle crust with a pinch of nutmeg and hot pepper, so that it looks like this:

Add spinach to onion and garlic and cook 1 minute. In separate bowl, mix eggs and heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper, then add 1 pinch (1/8 teas) of nutmeg and hot pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and then add spinach mixture. Place crust on a baking sheet covered with foil. This is the best way to do it because it will make spills easy to clean and if the crust is getting browned you can wrap foil around the quiche. You can sprinkle a little more cheese on top, then slowly add the egg and cream mixture. It'll look like this:

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the top is browned, quiche is firm, and inserted toothpick is clean. Let rest for a few minutes before cutting in. Enjoy with a glass of wine (unless you're eating for breakfast).

Here are some other combinations that are really good. I'd love to hear yours if you have any!

Spinach and feta: Follow recipe as above, substitute feta for swiss, add 1 teas oregano

Broccoli and Cheese: Add 4 slices of bacon crumbled, 1 head of broccoli, chopped and cooked with onions. Use sharp cheddar cheese instead of swiss and 1 pinch of red pepper flakes.

Italian style: Slice 1 large roma tomato and let rest on paper towels. Add a combination of good quality parmesano-reggiano cheese and asiago cheese to bottom of crust. Layer tomatos and fresh basil leaves. Add italian herb mix to egg mixture.

A trip to the "Candy Shop"

(some more springy goodness, nothing to do with the post!)

My husband and I went to college not far from where we live now. We have been living out of this area for a little over a year and I'm so glad to be back here. I do, however, miss the abundance of craft and fabric stores near where my in-laws live. When we were in college I took many, many trips to Hancock fabrics, which at the time, was the only place I could find around us. So, now it's almost 7 years since the start of my freshman year, and guess what, still the closest fabric store to me! I'll have to do some more investigating when we get more settled.

A couple of days ago, I got the itch to buy some more fabric. Well, I went with the excuse that I needed some still interfacing for March's InStitches project. I happened to look up the sales flyer for that week before I went, and lucky me, interfacing was 50% off! And we all know how it is, you get there and a few things catch your eye, and you end up leaving with more than you went there for. Anyway, searched through the remnant bin and found these two beauties. Each is a little more than a yard, plenty enough to do some nice projects.

Best of all, McCall's and Butterick patterns were .99 each. I picked up a few, hopefully I will actually make one of these. I have about a million patterns that are unused. Part of that is not my fault though! I sweat! Blank's fabric, a huge warehouse store, was moving locations a few months back and everything was 75% off. My mother-in-law, being the sweet lady she is, bought me about 20 handbag patterns. She had gone there to buy patterns for a sewing school in Nigeria that she visits about 1-2 times a year. Anyway, maybe I'll cut into those sometime soon. Here are the one's I got a few days ago.

I don't know how those got turned and I don't know how to fix it. I hope you don't get a crick in your neck looking at them! Gosh, is it friday yet!?!?

Spring has sprung?

Jealous of everyone in blogland's pictures of spring, I am happy to report that we have had 3 spring days in a row. Yay for 70 degree weather! I've been working in the garden a lot, which is an interesting experience because I've never had my own garden. When I was a kid, one of my weekly chores during the warmer months was to weed and water the garden. I can't tell you how much I hated that! Now I'm excited to have my own garden, to plant the things I want, and to reap the benefits of a vegetable garden. Check back in a few months to see if I still feel this way! Ha! Anyway, the interesting thing about inheriting someone else's garden (that being the previous owner of our new house), is that you're never sure what they planted or where. Like for instance, the daffodils in the middle of my backyard. Picture this:

-me pushing Isaiah in the stroller out to the back yard, huge shovel in hand

-me digging a huge hole in the ground to transplant the daffodils to the front yard

-me running to the front yard, bulbs in hand

-Isaiah screaming bloody murder because he is in the back all alone

-me looking around to see if my new neighbors are about to call CPS on me

Luckily all parties survived and the daffodil has a new home in the front yard for everyone to enjoy. The daffodils are sharing their spotlight with these beautiful pansies too!

I was wondering if there we any avid garderners out there that could maybe identify this little thing. I have about 3 of them in my yard, and I'm not sure if it's a bulb or something I should just pull up. I know the picture's not great, but that's the best I can do.

And finally, some crafting was accomplished! It's for my Martha Stewart swap (if you're my partner look away!). I know I said I was going to wait until the swap was over, but it's so cute and springy I just had to share. It's still a WIP but this is a fun, easy project! Just flour sacks from Target, buttons, and a little embroidery.

Yummy Treats

I promise I will show some craft projects as soon as I'm done with this swap. I have barely found time or space to do any crafting since we moved into our house. It is nearly impossible to get anything unpacked with Isaiah running around. Last night he was up from about 12-3 am for some reason. He never does that so I'm wondering if he's getting sick. Now I feel like a zombie, thank goodness for coffee!

When Isaiah was first born, my dear friend Meg sent me a cookbook called The Petit Appetit Cookbook by Lisa Barnes. It's a great book and contains recipes for babies and toddlers. All the recipes are organic and list all the nutrional information as well. You can find more information at here site here. Yesterday I whipped up a batch of the Mini Banana Apple Bran Muffins. Let this picture tell you if Isaiah enjoyed them or not.

I should add a disclaimer to this picture though. If you let your child eat, oh say 5 of these muffins in a day, you may be in for some heavy duty diaper changing.

And they're not just for kids, I found them mighty tasty too! They are so easy to just pop in your mouth and are easy for Isaiah to hold in his hand. You can also make larger ones as well. I added some cinnamon and nutmeg, you could also add some Apple Pie spice, or whatever you have. The recipe didn't call for it, but I think it needed it. I also made another batch where I pushed the banana down into the muffin and I think that worked out better. The recipe is simple, easy, and best of all, doesn't require a mixer! Anyway, here's the recipe.

Mini Banana Apple Bran Muffins

1 cup organic whole wheat flour

1/2 cup organic oat bran

1 teas baking soda

1/2 teas salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup organic applesauce

3 medium bananas, 1 mashed and 2 sliced

1/2 cup packed organic light brown sugar

2 organic eggs

Preheat overn to 375. Grease 24 mini muffin pans or 12 regular cups. With a fork, combine flour, bran, baking soda , and salt in a small mixing bowl. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in a microwave for 25 seconds on High. In a large bowl, combine melted butter, applesauce, mashed banana, sugar, and eggs. Mix together with a rubber spatula. Add flour mixture to applesauce mixture and stir until just blended. Batter will be lumpy and very moist.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling two- thirds full. Place banana slice on top of each muffin. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Cool muffins in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before turning out muffins.

whoooeee look what got done!

(Watch out, long winded and lots of pictures ahead!)


So last night, after much thanks to my husband, I (we) finally finished the dresser. I'm so happy to have it done so that I can now start organizing all our clothes that are all over the floor. It looks really good, but now I'm a little disappointed that it clashes with the window seat dresser that we refinished from the thrift store. I guess it's not really that bad, in fact, my husband was getting really mad at me last night for even mentioning it. Guys are so funny. Anyway, here's the finished dresser, after 3 days and a few beers.

Another thing that got done this weekend was some organizing, sorting, and folding of my fabric. I used Happy Zombie's method, except I didn't have a ruler, so I cut one out of cardboard from one of the millions of boxes we have. So, here's the stashformation, as she says.

And finally, since I got some things cleaned up yesterday, I went to the thrift store, sans child. It was nice to go early in the morning alone and get first dibs on the items. My sister-in-law and niece have been reading the American Girl books, and they had 20 there for .60 each. That was such a bargain. More importantly I found some nice fabrics. The fabrics always come in bunches at the thrift store. The blue and green is my favorite and the reason I bought the bag in the first place.

Since I just organized my fabrics, I thought that I'd give away something that I don't need or won't use. I'm not sure how many people read this blog, but I'll give it a shot. Anyway, this Easter Egg fabric was in the bundle from the thrift store. It's cotton, and I think it's about 2 yards, maybe a little less, I didn't measure it. Leave me a comment if you would like it, if there's more than one person wanting it, I'll do a drawing tomorrow or the next day. BUT.. if you get it, I want to see how you used it! I have no idea what I'd do with something like this so I'm offering it to any takers. Have a good beginning to the week. It's supposed to be 70 here today!

An unconventional workout

If you've ever put together a piece of Ikea furniture, you know that it can be a trying experience. Usually I love the challenge of putting things together, but there is something to be said about putting Ikea things together. Now seeing as this is what the mess of my bedroom looks like and the lack of storage we have, we opted for a large dresser.

I should have known when it came in 2 boxes that this was going to be quite the feat. But, as I said, I'm always up for a challenge. So yesterday, during Isaiah's nap, I was feeling quite ambitious and decided that I could put the thing together myself (even though there is a clear picture of 2 people doing it in the directions). I opened both boxes and out came about 200 different pieces. Case in point:

It wasn't long before I broke into a sweat, literally. You have to use about a million screws on each side and then tilt the piece up and down about 3 times. I mean, this is a pretty big piece, it comes up to my chest. Not to mention you have to use an allen wrench for everything. Those things really hurt your fingers. I felt like I had gone for a really brisk walk. I'm sure I wasn't looking too pretty either. Be glad I didn't document any pictures of myself!

The worst part about Ikea furniture is the directions. I hate just picture directions, but I also hate just word directions. They could have made my whole life easier by just printing both! Hell, I would've tried to read Japanese if they printed that.

Of course, the best part of Ikea is the price. I know they save cost by making the consumers feel like they just worked in the factory putting it together. So when it comes to sweat over saving money, I'll take saving money.

So finally the core is done, but I had to stop when I had to make each drawer. I'll leave that to be today's project. Here's what's finished so far. Wish me luck and have a great friday!

Thrifting and something crunchy

I had written this whole elaborate post on Isaiah's birthday party, but when I went to post the pictures, they didn't show up. I figured, what kind of post would that be, so I'll save that for another day. Instead here are some little things that I picked up at the thrift store while I was shopping for my Good Things swap. This is by far the best thrift store I have ever been to, they always have great things, and fabric! These plates I just thought were so cute. It was one of those things I had passed on at a previous trip to the store and figured that if they were still there, that I was meant to have them. Luckily, they were still there, and it happened to be a monday which means 25% off everything, so for a measily 60 cents, this is what I got.

Also, as mentioned in my organzing rant, I have a million margarita glasses. So what does one need to make margaritas? Fresh lime juice from my very own, very cute $1.81 juicer. They almost always have great fabric too. One special trip I picked up this sample pack of fabrics for less than $2.00. They are perfect for making wristlets and pouches.

And for 40 cents, I found two old issues of Cooking Light magazines, one of which had a very great recipe for some yummy granola. Recipe Here. I didnt have some of the ingredients, so I substituted for what I had. Instead of orange juice I used apple, and I added a small amount of Maple Syrup for the vanilla. I also didn't have any flaxseed, but I didn't miss it. As for the nuts I used almonds and hazelnuts and added a handful of coconut. Oh, and added a tiny bit more cinnamon than the recipe called for. De-lish!

For a little laugh

Since Isaiah decided to wake up at 2:30 in morning last night and inexplicably cried for 2 hours, I thought I'd post a video of him at 7 months that makes me laugh everytime. I have probably watched it about 100 times. No kidding. At least when I watch this, I can remember that he's not always this whiny and difficult ;).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heJE1a3VbiY

And don't think we're mean parents... he actually loves them (still)!

The joys of moving

So after two days of sitting under boxes and Isaiah pulling things out of them (and ripping them apart and eating them), I decided it was probably time to start unpacking. I should have started with some kind of game plan, but I didn't, and now I'm kicking myself for it. I started with the kitchen stuff, much of which is still in it's original packing because they were never unpacked from our wedding shower. It's almost like having another wedding shower as I get to look at all the "new" things again. I have decided that we have entirely too many glasses. I counted at least 17 wine glasses, 10 margarita glasses, 9 small drinking glasses, 7 larger drinking glasses, 4 pub glasses, 1 other sort of beer cup, and 5 shot glasses. Looks like will be doing a lot of drinking! Now I had organized the kitchen a couple of weeks ago before Isaiah's birthday party, and thought to myself, "this is not too bad, everything fits." Well, this was before the second round of boxes had arrived at our house, and I realized that half of them contained kitchen things! Of course, my husband wants nothing to do with this, as he has no patience and worse organizational skills than I do. I need to be on Mission Organization!

On another note, I am participating in the Martha Stewart Good things swap, over on Craftster. I am enjoying this a lot, but it's awfully hard to get to my crafting supplies, and find a spot to do them! I can't wait for my partner to get my things, so that I can post them and she can enjoy them. It has been a lot of fun already. Anyway.. lots of rambling today. Have a nice and hopefully springy day, even though there's no signs of it here!

Martha x 2

I often wonder what's it like to be organized all the time. I have my moments, but for the most part, I am a very mess person. Especially when it comes to crafting and sewing. My husband and I recently moved into our new house. We had been staying at my in-laws in the basement, which is literally bigger than our new house. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to have our own place, and love not living under someone else's expectations, but I do miss my lack of crafting space. Right now I am sitting under piles of boxes, overwhelmed in finding a place for it all. I took so many pictures of Martha's crafting area on her set. I was so envious of how neat and tidy it was. Of course, no one was using it, and it has to look neat, but it's Martha, and I bet her house looks like that too.

I am especially jealous of this crafting table. I only wish that I could find enough room in my house for something like this. It would certainly solve the storage issue. There has also been many posts by other bloggers, like Heather's, who have the most beautiful studios. If only I had that decorating/organizing gene in me!

This is a wall pocket that was on the side of the flower refridgerator. It held all the gardening tools and seed packets. Now I really want to make one of these!

Well, now I'm off to unpack and try to find places for things. Any suggestions on storing fabric in a small place? I have a ton!

Martha Martha MARTHA!

Yesterday was a big day for me! Not only did I get to go to NYC kid-less, but I was also lucky enough to go to a taping of the Martha Stewart Show. I am still in shock that I even got to go and that I was literally feet from her. Here's how my day went:

My mother-in-law , sister-in-law, and I left Baltimore by train at 6 am. We arrived in NYC at around 9 am. I should point out, that I grew up in Hyde park, NY which is about 1 1/2 north of the city. I miss the city a lot!! Anyway, we walked around for a bit while waiting for my aunt to arrive. We then headed down to W. 26th street to the studio where Martha is filmed, and got in line with a bunch of other excited women who were waiting for their tickets as well. Although, now that I think of it, I was much more excited. I am such a nerd! So, shortly after this, a nice young girl came out, took our names and gave us a ticket. It was so simple! We then had to be back an hr and a half later to go into the studio, so we went down the street for brunch. At 12:30 we went got in line, went through security, and enjoyed yummy chocolate chip cookies while filling out questionaires. By this point, I was so anxious to just get up to the studio. I couldnt wait for the show to start taping!

Then, we were all called into the studio and started filing in. There were about 5 different people directing us to our places. Somehow, we were seated right on the floor, eventhough there were plenty of other people there before us. My sister -in-law and I were right in the front row, next to where the greenhouse is on the set.

They go through a whole lot of directions with the audience, how to clap, when to clap, etc. Then the warm up guy, Joey, entertains for a while, until it is time for Martha to come out. This is the staff preparing the swaps outs for the food. I wish this wasn't so blurry!

Then they say... 10 seconds to go...ahh.. my heart starting racing, I turned bright red... I couldn't believe she was going to be right in front of me! It was so surreal, like watching it on tv, only we were actually there!

I must say, Ms. Martha is amazing at what she does. She only made one mistake the entire hour. Can you imagine that? She was also very funny and prettier and skinnier in person. My sister-in-law and I were staring at her very long, skinny legs through the whole show! We didn't get to meet her, but it was just as amazing to be at the show. I'll have to write more about the actually show later, it has taken me so long just to write this post.