Amanitas!

This is a beautiful specimen of Amanita flavoconia (Yellow Patches) that I found in Clarion, Pa this past fall. The cap is yellow & darkens toward the center to an orange tone.  The scales and the stalk are a brilliant yellow.  The flesh inside the mushroom is white, as are the gills and the spore print.

This is another amanita I found in Clarion on the same day.  This one is an Amanita Rubescens (The Blusher)  You can see a button form of the mushroom and a mature specimen. It was a beautiful rust-red color fading to beige nearing the margin of the cap.

I'm in LOVE! with a napkin...

Thank you Dransfield & Ross for taking my breath away via napkin!!!  O H   M Y   G O D!

They have a perfect napkin for every occasion.  They have the perfect napkin for every color scheme.  They have the perfect napkin for every personality.  Okay, you get the point.

And that's just the beginning!  You can set your entire table with their collections... wouldn't you just feel fantastic dishing out something fancy off of this runner?

Asian Salmon Cakes!

This is the best recipe I've created to-date, I'm proud to say & it's SUPER SIMPLE just how Vlad likes it...

The photo's not the best... I got too excited & took a bite before I remembered to snap the pic, but you get the idea - guess I'm no food stylist.

I never actually measure things out, so these are all estimations:

2 -6 oz cans of salmon
2 large eggs
1/3 c. chopped green onion
1/2 red pepper
2 tbs fresh grated ginger
2 tbs wasabi
2 1/2 tbs miso
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
2 cloves grated garlic
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, form your patties & fry 'em up in some veggie oil.  Delish!  Makes about 4 salmon cakes.

I'm also dying to try this with some beans & make Asian Veggie Cakes too :)

"Hoot! Hoot!" Owl Mobile

This is a mobile I recently finished for one of my besties!  She just had a baby boy!
I'm so happy with the way this turned out.

I used vintage fabric for the bodies & vintage flower buttons for the eyes.  The wings, bellies, eye balls & beaks are made of felt.  I sewed little bells into the wings so they make noise when jiggled around.

For the halo, I used a plastic embroidery ring & blanket stitched this strip of felt around it that I had already detailed.  I hope baby will like it!

Avette's First Trip to The Big City.

We took Little Miss on her first trip to The City!  At 9 months old, she was way past due.  We got into town on Sat.  Hello!
Lindsey's garden is looking so pretty this year!  I miss walking down the street to relax in it with her!

We quickly headed over to Ft Greene Park.  The farmer's market was still going on when we got there.  Avette was having so much fun watching all the people & dogs making their rounds.

On Sunday we made our way up to Williamsburg.  I carried her around in our new Sakura Bloom Sling!  We love our sling so much!  Kayleigh & Marj surprised me Friday & brought it over to the apartment - what a great gift :)

We popped in at the Artists & Fleas.  So many amazing crafters there!  I could have perused around all day in the flea market, getting lost in the vintage madness & gorgeous crafts at every single stop!

We also did a little boutique-ing.   Lindsey held Miss Avette while I tried some clothes on.

And the guys relaxed outside, brown-bag style.

Then, to finish off the perfect trip, we did brunch at Olea, one of my most favorite brunchey timey places! They have the best bloody mary's eva there!

We had such an amazing trip!  Little Avette was such a delight, she travels well these days & loves seeing new things.  Nick & I have been trying to expose her to as much as possible in the hopes that she'll become a well-rounded little girl one day :)
We drove home in an amazing sunset & Avette said "sky" for the first time as she pointed her little finger up at it.  What a classical end to a marvelous trip!

Pierre Frey - Serious Inspiration!

I stumbled upon Pierre Frey's fabric collection in the most recent edition of Elle Decor & it's fantastic!  Are you kidding me with these prints?  I want to cover EVERYTHING in my house with them!!!

Here is a link to the rest of Pierre Frey's fabric line.  I'm melting!

First Fireworks!

We took little miss to see her first fireworks this 4th of July!  She was totally enthralled by them!  Nick & I were taking bets beforehand & expecting her to cry, but it turned out we didn't need an escape route after all because she was awesome!

Avette's been crawling now for over a month and a half.  She chaises the dog around the house.  Every time I turn around he's giving her one of his bones & she sticks them right in her mouth, of course!  Yuck!  

She's also standing on her own for short intervals.  There have been falls & it's frightening at first, but I keep convincing myself that it's all part of the learning experience...

I can not believe she's 9 months old today!  It is flying by way too fast!!

This weekend we took her on a hike to McKenzie Pond.  She giggled & babbled the whole trip.  She loved tasting the wild strawberries growing by the pond.  The water was warm enough to stick her feet in & she splashed them around.

She points at things & says some words like "hi", "mama" & "eyes".  She waives when we say "hi" & "bye".  This little stinker still cries every time you put a shirt on her - I wonder when that will end...  Not a day goes by that she doesn't make me smile.  I just love this little girl so much!

Hers & Hers Spring Skirts.

I finally finished these skirts for Avette & me, just in time for Easter.
I really like the paperbag skirts, so I decided to use a piece of pink velvet I had lying around to create that look at the top of the skirt.  For the finishing touch, I used a piece of white lace I had lying around and tied it to look like a belt.
For Avette's skirt, I took a pair of pink jeans, cut the legs off & sewed a hemline at the bottom.  The jeans were a few sizes too big, which made the skirt long enough to fit her after I cut the legs off.  Then, I took a piece of the floral fabric & sewed it right onto the pink jeans, like a tutu, just under the elastic waistline.
I can't wait to wear them!

Crocheted Patchwork Blanket

This is a blanket I crocheted for my cousin's son.  It's made of hand-dyed alpaca.  I started by crocheting all the little blue & green squares then I attached them using a chain stitch.  Finally I made rows repeating the pattern dc, ch of the brown/grey color.
I love the way this turned out & the alpaca is so soft & warm.

It's the little things that count.

It's amazing how simple little things can make all the difference.  I made this little colored pencil holder out of an old oatmeal container.

It took me about 10 minutes to make this.  I pulled the paper wrapper off the container & used it as a pattern then I tacky glued the fabric on to the container at the seam & around the edges so the fabric doesn't fray.

And the lid still fits on with my colored pencils inside!

Finger Crochet!

This is a scarf that I made out of alpaca ribbon that was hand-dyed by a local alpaca yarn shop.  It took me less than an hour to hand crochet this scarf.  I repeated a simple pattern of ch 5 then dc 1.  I love the chunkyness of hand crocheting a thick ribbon like this.  The yarn is so beautifully made that it makes the scarf look like a piece of jewelry.

DIY top!

I really liked this top I saw on anthropologie

So I decided to try a little DingIY.
Have you ever been convinced to buy something by a friend & never end up wearing it?  This dress was one of those buys.

It's a jersey knit, so I didn't even sew any hems after I cut the fabric.
First, I cut up the seam to the desired length & then cut around the diameter of the dress.

I ended up with one long piece of fabric, so I cut along the other seam, to separate the front piece & back piece of the dress.  Next I sewed the pieces back onto the shirt.

I sewed the fabric pieces just behind the original seam, so when I pull them forward to make the knot you wont notice the fabric edge.  Finally, I rounded the tips of the fabric for the knot & here's the finished product.

It took me about 1.5 hours to fix this $6 dress up into a cute, fun shirt that I'll actually wear now and it beats spending $68 for it at anthro!

Crochet Triangle Scarf

This is a scarf I made out of bamboo & silk yarn.  I love the way it turned out.  I started by chaining the green yarn until it was the length I desired (108 ch).  The next row was just a repeat of the pattern double crochet (dc) then chain (ch).  After each row I dropped a stitch.  I used that pattern for 2 rows then I did a dc, ch 5 in the third row, dropped a stitch then went back to dc, ch.  I repeated this pattern & alternated colors until the end.  To secure the scarf I sewed this huge button onto one of the ends.

I think it adds a nice final touch.  This little scarf can be worn so many ways.

Under a sweater to look like the fanciest dickie eva or twisted to look like a fun necklace/scarf thing.

Cran-pom Pork Medallions

Last night I made this yummy pork tenderloin with a sweet & tangy cranberry-pomegranate sauce.  It took about 5 mins to make & tasted incredible!  I was in the mood for simple (as you can see from the easy sides) & this hit the spot.

Place the tenderloin (TL) in your roaster & then fill the roaster with cranberry-pomegranate juice so the juice comes up about halfway to the top of your TL.  Salt & pepper the TL then put a hefty layer of brown sugar on top of it (approx. 2 TBS/lb).  Then cook, serve & enjoy!  I cut the TL right in the roaster & rubbed the pieces in the syrup that the juice reduced in to.  So scrumptious, so simple.

For a sweet Baby girl on her way

I have a niece on the way in July i made this blanket not knowing wether she would be a girl or a boy so there is a blue white and yellow one just like it in the works.

love the little scalloped edge so sweet 

 :)

so who's going to give me a reason to finish the boy one?

teddys

First attempt at teddy bears . made from donated shower curtains at work. One for Avette and one for Scott. <3

Ginger Squash Spring Rolls

Ginger Yellow Squash Spring Rolls

2 Shredded yellow squash (skin them first)
1 1/2 tsp ginger
6 Tbs brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste
1 package spring rolls

Cook squash, ginger, brown sugar, salt & pepper in a pot.  Simmer until most of the liquid from the squash has cooked off.  Wrap the filling in the spring roll wrappers & cook as directed.

These delicious rolls are a perfect finger-food, party treat!  And so simple to make.

Leftover Holiday Stew!

Well, if you're like me and always wind up with wayyy too many left overs after the holiday, this soup is a great delicious way to get rid of some of those potatoes that never got mashed, apples that didn't make it into the pie or cooked ham that no one ate! It's easy, full of flavor and only takes about 30-45 mins to prepare. Here's what you'll need for about 4-5 servings:

1. 5 peeled potatoes, cut into bite size chunks.

2. 3 apples, also peeled and cut into bite size chunks.

3. 6 cups of chicken broth

4. 1 1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger

5. 1 tsp. of pepper

6. 2 Tbs. brown sugar

7. 1 tsp. cinnamon

8. 2 Cups grated cheddar cheese

9. 1 Cup of leftover ham and/or turkey, cut into bite size pieces (I used both & feel free to add more than a cup if you have a lot leftover!)

10. Flour/water mixture (about 2 parts flour to 1 part water) to thicken soup base

Bring the chicken broth to a boil, add the ginger, pepper, brown sugar, cinnamon, potatoes and apples. Let it simmer for about 10-15mins until the potatoes are tender (just poke 'em with a fork to check!). Then, to the boiling soup add the flour/water mixture - you'll need to whisk the mixture in just a little at a time (if you add too much flour/water too fast, it will form clumps, so you have to whisk fast and add slow!) until it's thickened to a consistency you like. Then add the cheddar cheese a small handful at a time so it melts in your stew. Finally add your ham/turkey leftovers and serve!

Lovely Origami Window Hangings

I've always loved origami. Usually I make it and just leave the little objects lying around the house until they disappear or one of my cats decide it's their new play toy. About a month ago, I was on an origami folding kick! For a few weeks, every morning with my coffee I would fold a crane or box, or some other little thing up. They really only take a few minutes. Anyway, my origami pile kept getting larger and larger and I didn't know what to do with them all!

Finally, one day I came across some little yellow glass beads I had from an old necklace and I came up with this idea to string all the origami I made up with the glass beads and put them in the window so the sunlight can hit them.

I'm really happy with the way these turned out and they were so easy to make. Here are the steps:

1. Fold your origami shapes - you can find simple origami patterns online and you can use any square sheets of paper you have to make the origami. For mine, I made three strands and they each had seven origami objects hanging from them.

2. String your origami with thread and glass beads - I tied a knot in my thread, poked a needle through the origami piece, pulled the origami down thread to the knot & tied another knot above the origami. Then I tied a new knot about 2-3inches from the origami and strung my glass beads onto the thread, pulled the beads down to the knot and tied a new knot above the beads. About 2-3 inches from the beads I then tied another knot for a second piece of origami and repeated this step until all 7 pieces of origami and beads were strung on the strand.

3. Hang them up! - I tied a small hoop in the top of the thread and hung it above my window with a tack.

Here are a couple of closer shots of them, they look really nice when the sun is coming through the window. I often leave the top window pulled down just a crack, the air moves into my apartment from outside and the little oragami strands come to life and are constantly spinning around They are really too cutesy!