Back In Business...Almost

I am working on spinning yarn for my Etsy shop. I decided a few months back that I would make my Etsy shop all thing fiber to narrow my focus a bit. Plus, it gives me a great excuse to spin yarn! So I have been replenishing my roving supply and purchased roving from Corgi Hill Farm.

The one to the left is "waltz" and the one to the right is "gecko"

My package also came with a nice little surprise of candy and a little bit of bonus wool!

So, I got to work and spun up the Gecko in a double ply. I will be posting this in the shop soon. 

I have a trip to Santa Fe coming up in June and plan to stock up on even more roving then. I hope to take a little side trip to Taos too! They have the best woolies there! 

Food Blog Post Again

OK, we are going on 3 days in a row of food blogs which is not my forte but...this one is worthy of it! I used the pasta from the Farmers Market and a recipe from their website (winter tomato). Honestly, this recipe was fantastic. I have not had pasta this great in a while. It was healthy, light, and did not leave me feeling heavy like pasta can do to me often. 

I just boiled whole wheat pappardelle and added tomatoes in oil, red pepper flakes, and parmesan. That is it and only it takes about 10 minutes tops to prepare! To go along with it, I also made a goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette tossed salad, and whole wheat sourdough (which I also got from the Artisan Baking Co.) garlic bread toasted in a cast iron skillet. Paired with a glass of red wine you might even think you are in Italy!

I will be returning to the Market this weekend for more pasta!

Cheers! 

Mmmmmmm, Tacos!

Well, 2 days in a row of food titles. Yep, I like food. But, I also like to keep it healthy. Who says healthy food can't be good? That is why I subscribe to Cooking Light magazine. Nope, this is not an add and nope I am not trying to sell you anything, even though that is what things are summing up to sound like!

These Ancho Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream were delish!

They were very easy to make and you can find the recipe here so make it! :-)

Cheers! 

Have I Mentioned I Love Omelets?

Well, I am sure I have. I usually don't cook breakfast during the week because it takes all I can muster just to get out of bed and make it to work on time-ish. But, on the weekends I love to make breakfast and typically this consists of eggs mainly in the form of an omelet. You can stuff an omelet with so much, the possibilities are quite endless. 

My sister has guinea's and chickens and she left with me a bunch of their little hen eggs. I love the pale green guinea eggs. They are so stinkin' cute! I would love to have a few hens and collect their eggs but I am not certain if Jeff will agree to that! 

 This egg in particular I think is very smart. It is pointy at both ends! Now that is an egg! 

So, I decided I would use that little pointy egg and one other to make my morning omelet (and of course one for Jeff too, I don't starve him too much).

I also used some of the goat cheese from the Farmer's market to stuff the omelet with and also sauteed up some sliced turkey meat to stuff in as well. Oh, it was yummy. I love goat cheese, especially in an omelet.  

Sometime this week I am going to try the handmade pasta I picked up at the market too. I really need that kitchen aid pasta maker attachment because I would love to learn how to make pasta myself. My sister has a pasta maker and she loves it! Stay tuned for how the pasta turns out. I am going to toss it with olive oil, red pepper flakes, and sun dried tomatoes. Yum! 

I enjoyed my omelet and coffee while furthering my gardening education with my new favorite book, Grow Great Grub.

Now, I am off to spin some yarn. I am getting geared up to have my Etsy re-opening in soon!

Cheers and Happy Weekend! 

Marching Around Town

This morning I woke up bright and early for the March of Dimes March for Babies. Some of the girls from work and I decided we would walk in honor of a friend who's baby died in September. It was also nice to walk for my own family who has experienced the loss of a little one. It is amazing how many premature babies are born everyday. I guess I am more aware of this now since I work in a NICU. What technology, doctors, and nurses are able to do for these little tiny people on a daily basis never ceases to amaze me. There was quite a turn out, tons of people. All the girls I walked with have amazingly long and seemingly quick legs. Me on the other hand, not so much. Short legs here with a very short stride. They smoked me! So, my sweet intern stayed back and walked with me as I moved my short little legs as fast as they could go! She has long legs like the rest of them but I guess she wanted a passing grade from her field instructor so she did not mind staying behind! :-) But, I feel refreshed and am glad that I was able to walk for a great cause. It was such a  beautiful morning!

After my walk I was famished. Funny how walking makes me hungry. All I could think about was food. Maybe I could have moved faster if someone was dangling food in front of me on the path. Hm, come to think of it, whale watching makes me hungry too, I needed a steak after that! I guess there is a correlation with outdoor activities making me hungry. But, anyhoo...since it was a bit too early for me to have a steak, I wandered over the the Black Rooster Bakery to pick up a fun little lunch to take home. This is a fantastic bakery. You feel like you are right smack in the middle of a French bakery. Not that I have ever been to France before but when I do go I imagine that this place is what the bakeries will look like there! The people in the bakery are so nice too and it smells wonderful! Ah, fresh baked bread in the morning. This place could be addicting for me. After I picked up the sandwiches (turkey, Gruyere, and marinated tomato) and the pecan pie bar I could not resist (but I burned like 2, 000 calories walking so what the heck right?), I went over to Zoe's, for fresh fruit and pasta salad to go along with the sandwiches. I also got some hibiscus tea for myself. I absolutely love hibiscus tea!

 After I had all the necessities for lunch I slipped in to Barnes and Noble to get a copy of Grow Great Grub by Gayla Trail. She has a blog too. My sister had this book with her when she came to visit and I love it! It's an easy and fun read about urban gardening. Just looking at the cover of it makes me happy for some reason. It is very inspirational. 

Now, speaking of hibiscus tea, I made a pot of my own. This is the real stuff too. I have Jamaican Hibiscus flowers that I got this past summer in New Mexico. It has a bit of a more earthy flavor too it, if that is at all possible, but it wonderful! 

So, all I did was boil some water and dump in the flowers...

...let it simmer for a verrrrry long time...

...and then poured it into a little tea pitcher, added ice, and viola...enjoy! This is really good stuff!

So, other things I did today was set off my house alarm. I set  the alarm when I laid down to take a nap after my walk today. Then, I got up, turned on the music for a little house cleaning motivation, and let my dog out. The sounds from the music muted the alarm beeping to my ears. So, meanwhile, I am outside watering my garden and playing with Millie while inside my phone is ringing several times because the alarm company is calling to check on me. I walk inside the house, hear the alarm freaking out, run to my phone to see missed calls and messages from my alarm company, frantically call the alarm company to tell them I am an idiot but, they tell me they already dispatched a police officer (which is johnny on the spot customer service if you ask me!). I asked to cancel the dispatch but, unfortunately, not in enough time because seconds later a rather lovely cop shows up to my house to ask if I am OK. At this moment I am so frigging embarrassed while standing on my front porch in my pajamas (which fortunately were very cute) telling my little story while very apologetic to the lovely little cop for my idiotic lapse in cognitive ability. But it is nice to know, if I need to be rescued for whatever the purpose, the cops will show up in exactly 3 minutes! Now that is service!

Maybe I should go back to bed. Obviously my brain is malfunctioning! 

Cheers!

In The Moment

Flowers for Papa....

You are always in my thoughts. I can hear your voice just as if we are sitting in the same room talking...

Happy Things

The Fabulous Beekman Boys! They make me so happy! I love their show and is pretty much the reason I live for TV on Tuesday (well aside from Glee anyway).  I love their llama, Polka Spot. She has so much personality. Oh, and the goats and Farmer John! Farmer John is so great! You can actually watch their goats on a goat cam. Check out their website where they sell all their wonderful things. The Fabulous Beekman boys, watch it on Planet Green. It WILL make you happy, I guarantee!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Every spring I really enjoy perking up my gardens. I have one in the front yard that is mainly a shade garden and then one in the back yard underneath my kitchen window is full sun. It takes a lot of work but lately I have found much joy in it. It allows me to think or not to think. It is just a great time to de-stress. So, over the past few weeks I have been getting the soil prepped. I have a pesky ant problem but a bit of diatomaceous earth fixes that problem in just a few days. So, I laid down a layer of diatomaceous earth in both beds. Then a few days to help my soil out a bit I added fish emollient. Now, this stuff STINKS! It smells like a dirty fish tank. Blah! But, this dirty fish tank smell works wonder for the soil. I planted new plants and moved a few others around to keep things fresh and healthy. Then a few days after that I laid down a layer of Moo-nuer and cypress mulch on top of that. 

This weekend my sister and I went to Jo-Ann's because they were having a good sale and they tend to have cute yard ornaments. I was able to get 2 nice wind chimes and a few other cute little decorations for the yard.  

Over the past few weeks I have collected an assortment of veggies and herbs from the farmers market and Home Depot. So, now in my Kitchen window garden, which has been my main focus, I have growing daisies, rose geranium, tarragon, mums, and red hot pokers...all from years past. New things I have growing are diva cucumbers (I need to make a trellis when they start growing), parsley, strawberries, bell peppers, jalapenos, and palmer tomatoes.  

So, here is my backyard "kitchen window' garden re-vamp:

can you see Cedella peeking out the window at the ornament? 

The back yard is still a W.I.P.  My plan is to spray paint the patio furniture and I would love to screen it in! But we will see about that! 

I can't wait until my veggies start growing. There is something so satisfying about being able to cut something from your garden to cook with!

I don't have pictures of my front yard garden because I am still working on it. The plants in that garden have been their for years. I have rosemary, thyme, sage growing along with an assortment of bulb flowers, dusty miller, and columbine. I had the most wonderful lavender plant growing but it died during the winter storms we had here in February. Ah, my heart breaks over it! So, I am on the search for another lavender plant and some basil! 

Cheers everyone and happy gardening! 

In the Moment

Her favorite spot in the house. Her little perch where she can watch the birds and squirrels. I wonder what she is dreaming about? 

Happy Cupcakes

I love cupcakes. Probably more so than cake. Cupcakes are happy little tasty pieces of heaven! They come in all sizes, flavors, and colors. Not to mention the endless possibilities of decorating them! I also love going into cupcake stores. That makes me happy for some reason. The cute little box they come in and packaged all sweetly. We have a few little cupcake storefronts here in Funky Town. One of them is J. Rae's. Lucky for me, it is right next door to my salon! I makes me happy just to walk past it and I don't even have to go in! Even luckier for me is my sister visiting and making cupcakes. Oh man...talk about heaven!

Cowtown Farmers Market

This morning my sister and I ventured out to the best little farmers market in town! She wanted to find a good farmers market in town and honestly I had no idea this one existed. I have seen a few markets here and there but now one like this! This market reminds me of the market we go to in Santa Fe. There were handmade cheeses, breads, homegrown herbs and veggies, home roasted coffee, and soap products! We were in heaven! 

The vendors at this market are so friendly and more than happy to give you pointers and tips on veggies and growing them. They are truly a bunch of happy people!

We stopped at every vendor's booth and everyone had something unique to offer. This market is strictly all home grown Texas farmers. No imports are allowed. So, you know when you are purchasing something from this market you know you are supporting your local farmers. 

We picked up some of the best goat cheese I have ever tasted from Latte Da Dairy.  Of course we could not resist buying some bread too from Artisan Baking Co. He has some of the most wonderful breads and the aromas were amazing. This bread we picked up for my Grandmother. But next week we are getting some for ourselves! 

We also got tomato plants and I got 2 cucumber plants. 

We met the nicest man at the Wildflower Soaps booth. His bath bombs were on sale and I am a sucker for bath bombs! My sister also picked up Too Shea, it is a shea butter salve and smells and feels fantastic. 

Then, we found the Hot Tamalez booth. Folks, if you live locally you better get over to this market next Saturday. These tamales are AWESOME. And, the best part is, she has samples to try! We got the chipotle beef tamales and black bean and corn tamales for my parents who are avid tamale lovers!

So far, today has been a very happy day. It is a beautiful day outside. I think I may go get my plants in the ground now. 

What a great market. I will be back next week!

Cheers! 

In The Moment

So, following once again in my sister's footsteps, I have decided to make Friday my "In The Moment" blog day. Even when I was a kid I wanted to do anything she did. Seems that at the ripe age of 32 I am still doing that! Don't get a big head about it now sissy! 

Anyhoo, I recently purchased the same camera that my sister did along with the same accessories. You see, I have been wanting to purchase a Cannon EOS but it was a different version than my sister wanted so I decided to go ahead and continue to be her Twinkie. So, yes, there is much validation that even at my ripe age of 32, I still want to do what she does! I am so silly! Ha! So, I introduce you to my new camera, oh how I love it! The Cannon EOS Rebel XS:

Now, with that said. I have taken my "In The Moment" picture with my new camera. So here it is....in the moment.

This picture was taken at the cemetery where my Papa is buried. We had a picnic there the day after his funeral. It was a beautiful day and very peaceful.

Cheers!