Lucky Kitty

It's on!

Friday afternoon, my sketchbook arrived in the mail... I was given a theme, a small set of instructions  - stuff like 'don't send back an empty or an entirely different book' - a library card, and the sketchbook itself. 

I'm so excited, my ideas for the book are scattered in ten thousand different directions.  I mostly fear that if I start in one direction and don't like it, I can't turn the boat around and chart a different course... but in the two seconds it took to write that sentence, it's dawned on me that it's perfectly cool for a sketchbook to be anything I want... solid idea or not. 

All in fun, right?  I have trouble saying 'yes' to fun, so, we'll see...

...and away we go!!!

 

Easy bulletin board!

As you know, I'm a big fan of making cute bulletin boards out of cork squares and fabric.  When I moved into my new office, the area between my desk and my cabinets simply screamed for this particular brand of crafty goodness...

 

So, I hit up Target - it was during Back To School madness which meant that cork squares were even cheaper than usual - I got all 8 for under $10 this time.  Whooty whoo!

 
 

For fabric, I did end up splurging a little bit... this particular print came from Troismiettes over on Spoonflower... I simply couldn't resist these peacocks - they're awesome and even better in person!

The result?  Ta dah!!!

 

 
 
I am very pleased with how it turned out - the background of the fabric just so happens to match the wall color - this was not easy to accomplish especially with the 'ordering off of the internet' factor...

My office is starting to feel more and more like mine every day.  Still need some greenery, maybe a terrarium? 

Oh, and if somebody wants to buy me one of these as an accent chair...

...that would be great... thanks!

 

Pocket Project

 

You guys ever heard of the Art House Coop?  I just love these guys.  A couple years ago, I participated in a scavenger hunt art project with them - resulting in an awesome little book, and just recently, I signed up to be a part of their Sketchbook Project 2010 (more details on that soon).

Today, I received an e-mail about a new project they are working on - The Pocket Project. 

Basically, they send you specimen envelopes, you empty out your pockets or purse, categorize into the envelopes, send back, and they make a big giant found art installation of everything that everyone from everywhere sent to them.

Sounds pretty cool, huh?

I'm not the type to have extra stuff in my pockets or purse.  Just a cursory glance inside my purse revealed the following...

 

Wallet, keys, pen, phone, $ .65 cents, sunglasses, lipstick, lipsaver, eye drops, thumb drive, free small Frosty coupon.  All important.  All used on a daily basis (with the exception of the free Frosty... saving that for a special day).

I know some of you out there are not like me.  You have all kinds of treasure in your pockets and purses... Maybe you'd like to join the Pocket Project???

Every winter, when I'm bundled up in 18 layers of clothing, I always complain that I wish it were 107 out so that I could just wear a shirt, skirt, and cute shoes... but 111? Come on. Seriously. Stop it.

I'm ready for our 95 degrees cold front later this week!

Farmer's Market

My son has unnatural love for our vacuum cleaner. 

I know, you're probably thinking that this has nothing to do with the Farmer's Market, but that would be where you're wrong.  We needed to find a vacuum distraction for my Little Man.  A field trip of sorts, but something that I would enjoy doing as well... so, every Saturday, we pack some snacks and water and head on down to the Farmer's Market...

This week, I went with a plan.  I noticed that there were lots and lots of butternut squash, okra, apples, and sweet potatoes.  So, I wanted to make dishes that would incorporate these tasty items.

First up, I made a very simple sweet potato apple sauce for the Baby Man...

 

 

 

Simply simmer your apples and sweet potatoes in a mostly water with a splash of apple juice bath until tender.  Then mash.  I added a hint of cinnamon just to be fancy.

 

Q is entering a picky eating phase, which is awesome, though he did manage to try a couple of bites and seemed to like it,  but preferred to fling it in his Daddy's hair instead...

Next up, gumbo! 

 

Not just any gumbo, chicken and turkey sausage gumbo with lots of okra, corn, bell pepper, onion, etc.  Yummy!

 

For those that count - this is a 5 point meal without rice - 7 points with.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion - chopped

1 bell pepper - chopped

1 celery stalk - chopped

3/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast - cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks

3/4 lb. raw turkey sausage, Italian, cut into 2 inch chunks

1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning

2 cups reduced-sodium, fat-free chicken broth

14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

10 oz. okra- sliced

1 cup corn  

Place the onion, bell pepper, and celery in a slow cooker.  Place the chicken and sausage on top of vegetables; sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning.  Add the broth, tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce.  Cover and cook until the chicken, sausage, and vegetables are fork-tender.  4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

About 50 minutes before the cooking time is up, combine the flour and water in a small bowl until smooth; stir in about 1/4 cup of the hot liquid from the slow cooker until blended.  Stir the flour mixture, okar, and corn into the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high until the mixture simmers and thickens slightly, about 45 minutes.

This yields about 6 generous 1 1/2 cup servings.  I steamed up some rice to go with and I'm glad I did - totally made the dish!

Enjoy!

The Linda and Harriett 2011 calendar went on sale today. Scoop yours up fast - they sold out super quick last year!

www.lindaandharriett.com

... six months later...

Yep, it's true - it has almost been six months to the day since I left my poor little blog for dead. Didn't even come back to check on it, didn't leave an extra bowl of water out - none of it.

I did keep my sad lonely little blog in my thoughts - always hoping that I would return to it someday. 

You see, not to make excuses, but things got crazy. 

I became a mommy.  Not just a mommy, but a mommy with a full time job.  Not just a mommy with a full time job, but a mommy with a full time job and a full time student husband. 

I moved all of my sewing and crafting supplies out to the garage to make room for the high chair in my kitchen.  Now, whenever I want to make something, I have to sneak stuff in the house and make out with it while no one is looking... I'm like the bad babysitter keeping my boyfriend in the shower until the parents leave...

I got a new job - which is amazing - not only because it's the type of job that will grow with me and that I can depend on, but I'm pretty sure nobody wants to fire me because I have to pick my kid up from school... so, that's an improvement...

Needless to say, all of this has quickly and effeciently made sure that I don't have much free time for making stuff, and since my blog is about stuff that I make... well, you know the rest.

So, this afternoon, after lunch I was hanging some pictures up in my new office and it dawned on me that I had created something crafty, fun, and super easy to do... oh, and cheap too!

It's so good - I had to share it with you guys... which I think means that I just might be blogging again...

Alright - to my project... it all started with some cheap Ikea frames - $2.99 a piece to be exact.  I think they're called The Ribba...

Next, I went over to the Snapfish, picked out some pics, made them all Sepia tone, and ordered them for a mere $ .79 a piece.

Finally, I wanted to have more than family photos on my wall - I wanted to have some color and texture too.

I've always dreamed of having awesome vintage wallpaper on a wall, but have always been too scared (or lazy) to ever attempt it. Not to mention, rolls of awesome vintage wallpaper come with equally awesome price tags... but samples of rolls of awesome vintage wallpaper are super dupes cheap - $1.00 for an 8x10 sample to be exact.

Go check out Bradbury & Bradbury to get your wallpaper lovin on!

...and voila!  I present to you a totally awesome homage to my family (and awesome vintage wallpaper) for my office wall for only $34.65 total!

Next project? Making this side of my new office look more like an actual human inhabits it... Stay tuned (I promise I'll be back before it's been six more months)