A Little Sunday Fun

Who doesn't love homemade bath and beauty products? Well, it is really one of my favorite past times. I have kind of put it on the back burner recently because I have been sewing a lot so, I thought it was time to whip something up.

My hands are always so dry. It seems no matter how much lotion I put on my hands still feel dry. I guess it is partly my fault because I don't wear rubber gloves when cleaning and doing the dishes, shame on me! I really like salt and sugar scrubs which seem to moisturize my skin nicely.

There is a website that I love where I purchase my supplies, From Nature With Love. Their products of course are all natural but are of great quality. They have really great melt and pour soap bases which is one of my favorite things to make.

I messed around with a few scents and came up with a mixture of orange blossom, chamomile, and lemongrass. I wanted a summer scent and it smells really good! I also used grapeseed oil, which is a great base because it is not really oily and concentrated like some other oils. I also added jojoba and avocado oils.

I decided to make this batch a fine sea salt scrub. So after I added the oils and essential oils, I poured it in.

Then I stirred it up really well and...poof...a homemade body scrub!

I can't wait to take a bath!

Little Fabulous Vintage Coffee Mugs

I have had my eye out on ebay for vintage mugs from Japan. I was having such a heck of a time finding them. One day I went over to my mom's house to sew, she was showing me how to use her serger, and we decided to make coffee. She has the best coffee she gets from Salado. So, I ground it up and brewed it. She said we should drink out of fun mugs and got the most fabulous mugs out of her very top cabinet. I absolutely had a fit over them because they are the exact same mugs I have been searching for on ebay!! Look at the wonderful colors and design. Those little birdies are the absolute best! These mugs are perfect for my 1950's kitchen. I am sooo excited.











I could not believe it. My mom being the fantastic mom she is gave them to me because she said she never used them. She got them in a little antique store in Mountain View when she last visited my sister in Arkansas.






So since I now was in possession of these terribly coveted mugs, I searched and searched and searched on ebay until I found some more. Honestly they were not nearly as cute as the ones my mom had, but they would go great with the collection so....I bid on them and of course won because no one else was interested. It was great because they came with a fantastic vintage mug holder.































Although, I soon realized the fantastic mug holder was not so fantastic. I just barely tapped it and tragedy struck........



















My beautiful mugs...broken and chipped. But...at least they were not the fantastic mugs with the beautiful bird design!


Well that is all folks! I just had to share these wonderful vintage Japanese mugs with you!

Cheers!

Happy Anniversary

This past Tuesday, on the 26th, was our 8 year anniversary. I find it so hard to believe that it has been 8 years. The time really does soar by. What was I doing 8 years ago? My goodness, I was so young, just a mere 20 years old. I was still in school at UNT studying physical therapy...since I am now a social worker...that really was a long time ago! I knew Jeff for a few weeks before we decided to make it official. He came into Coffee Haus where I worked with his cousin and I like to say that he sought me out. Well, he did really :-). He got my number and pursued me while I played hard to get. He won't admit that though, hehehe.

Well anyhoo, on Tuesday our anniversary started off with Jeff getting me the most beautiful flower arrangement...and they were not roses, good job Jeff! Don't get me wrong I love roses but they are not my favorite flower. My absolute favorite flowers are gerber daisy's...and well...I love comos too. The arrangement he got me consisted of lily's and daisy's (I actually had a hamster named Daisy when I was 4 but now that I think of it, I probably named her after Daisy Duke). The vase the flowers came in is really pretty. He also got a bottle of Pinot Noir and a nice card.

After I got off work we had a few glasses of wine and headed to Piranha's Killer Sushi. It was wonderful. I went there for the first time with friends this past Saturday, you can read about it here if you fancy. I am not a big sushi eater but this stuff was fantastic! Jeff loves sushi so we made reservations for Tuesday night.

I ordered the veggie roll and Jeff order the crab and eel rolls. Delicious!

I also had a naughty asian martini and helped Jeff finish off his saki. We had banana spring rolls with red bean and green tea ice cream for dessert which was to die for. I would have taken a picture of it but Jeff was getting really embarrassed that I was taking pictures.

I was, however, lucky enough to get this picture of us...but you can see the embarrassment on his face, hehehe. The people next to us brought their children and the kids kept breaking stuff, at least we were not being that embarrassing!

All in all, it was a really fun night and I want to go back and have more sushi. Is it possible to be addicted to it? Although, for me I think it is largely due to the atmosphere there. I have had sushi at other places and have not liked it very much. This place feels like you are sitting in Manhattan or San Francisco, not little ol' Fort Worth Texas! Hmmm...I wonder what we will do next year.

Cheers!

What's For Dinner??

I have posted in the past about my struggle with the grocery store. I just can't bring myself to go sometimes. So, today Jeff and I decided to divide and conquer. We split the grocery list. He got half of the groceries and I got the other half and we met at the register. I think it only took us about 30 minutes! Little does Jeff know but...this is how grocery shopping will commence from now on!




I want to start eating healthy again, which was the main reason for the grocery trip. I was really good about eating healthy in the past but I fell of the wagon when I started school again. Now that it has been nearly a year since I graduated I have no excuse to not to start! I like to pre-prepare food so I can have things easily on hand to eat. After we got home from the store I started cooking. I think I cooked for almost 4 hours! I love coffee in the morning but it is not good to drink just coffee for breakfast. I have a great recipe for sausage and veggie breakfast cups. So I made 8 of those. I freeze them and heat one up in the microwave in the morning to have with my coffee. That always gets me off to a good start! They are like little quiches without the crust. Just eggs, reduced fat cheese, turkey sausage, onions and bell peppers. Oh so yummy!



Then I was thinking that I would need a good snack. I tend to be a stress eater and as a social worker things get kinda stressful. So a good healthy snack is in order! Last weekend I went to the Botanic Gardens for the annual Herb Festival. I go every year with my mother. It is absolutely wonderful! This year my sister and niece were in town and we all went together. Once it stops raining here (it has been raining for about a week!) I will post pictures of my garden and the herbs I got from the festival. Well anyhoo, there are the most wonderful ladies who have a business called Our Thyme Garden. They are at the festival every year. They make culinary goods, oh sooooo yummy stuff. They taught me how to make a laventini, a lavender martini! For those of you who do not cook with herbs I can see your face crinkling now! But, trust me...lavender has a great flavor! I will have to make some lavender cookies soon and post the recipe. Okay...back on track....the wonderful ladies... I purchased a rosemary garlic infused olive oil from them. I have been just itching to use it so I tossed the oil in with a package of pecans, a little salt, and a little dried thyme and roasted them in the oven. Oh so yummy and an healthy treat (if I remember not to eat all of them at once!). It is very simple to make your own infused cooking oil... may have to do that this weekend!



For dinner I made a marinade of Chianti, soy sauce, oregano, and thyme and soaked steaks in it for about 2 hours (would have been better to marinade overnight). Then I broiled them. I also made a medley of sauteed onions, bell peppers, and steamed snow peas with a balsamic vinaigrette glaze. Then a yummy side salad! I tossed together romaine lettuce, chopped walnuts, and feta with a homemade strawberry vinaigrette dressing. The dressing was fabulous and probably my most favorite part of the meal! It was so easy peasy that I have to share the recipe...that is if there is anyone that actually reads this thing :-) !




Strawberry vinaigrette dressing:

1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup of strawberry preserves or jelly (I used sugar free preserves)

3 tablespoons of olive oil


Add the ingredients into a container (I used a mason jar) and shake vigorously.




I love those little beer bottles with the little lid that clasps shut. I have no idea what they are called but I sometimes ask Jeff to buy them because I save the bottles afterwards for things like oils and vinegars. They work really well not to mention look neat. I actually doubled this recipe because I am planning on eating this salad a few more times this week so I stored it in one of these nifty little beer bottles.







Well that is all folks! Hopefully I did not bore you too much!









Cheers!

Hello Jordy!

Ah, the jordy bag. So cute, so practical, so...perfect. I like to carry a small purse around with me because there is not much that I put in a purse. Now, if I am out and about with various knitting projects, I have to have my big bag with me but...for everyday errands and outings...a small bag will do just fine. I love love love purses and bags...well... and shoes too, but I have not figured out how to make those yet. There is a fantastic tutorial for this quaint little jordy bag over here.

I had a lot of fun making this and plan on making more. This one was a prototype because I had to have instant gratification and whipped it out to see what it would look like. It turned out so well and I am so happy about it. The next time...and there will most certainly be many more next times...I am going to use interfacing to make it more durable and sturdy. I may even put these in my little Etsy shop when I get that going. If you like this little bag, there is also the mother load of purse, bag, and wallet tutorials here.

Since I have this cute little bag...it was only fitting that I make myself a little zipper pouch, like the pouches I made for mother's day, to keep my credit cards and lip stuff in. I liked the way it turned out!

Also...for those of you who are organic farm girls at heart...check out this new book from Mary Jane Butters. She is such a neat lady. My mom gave my sister her new book for mother's day. There so many projects and cool ideas in it. She is the queen of apron making too. One of these days I am going to make one of her fabulous aprons. My sister is visiting from Arkansas and right now she is having dinner with my parents. She left the book on my coffee table. I think I may go snatch it up and soak up some new ideas!

But....for now....time to get ready for Heros!!

Happy Mother's Day

I was sitting around the other day trying to think of what to get the mom's in my family for mother's day. Then, I realized, why get them something when I can make something. So the ideas started racing. I decided for my mother, grandmother, and my aunt I would make lined zipper pouches and handmade soap to put inside. For my sister, who is a a fairly new mom, I made a zipper pouch and a matching hobo bag. She has been admiring the one I made for myself so it is just
perfect!



Here is the hobo bag I made. They are so easy to make it is ridiculous, not to mention a lot of fun to make too! My little Bernina has been working overtime!

These are the zipper pouches. I have never sewed with zippers before. It was really easy. I wonder what took me so long to try it? I can't imagine anything without zippers now :-)! I like the way these turned out so much that I am going to have to get busy and make a pouch for myself. Jo Ann's was having a great sale on some of their home decor fabric the other day so that is what I used. I love all the colors in the different fabrics...so vibrant and happy!

The soaps I made in my wooden soap mold. The base is Shea butter and the scent is warm vanilla sugar, the bath and body works scent. I love the way it smells. I have a friend who wears it...it is basically her trademark scent...so when I smell these soaps it reminds me of her. There is a great company called from nature with love where I purchase my soap making supplies. They have a ton of their own original scents and make a lot of the bath and body works scents too. Now I just need to think of a way to wrap them up and put them in the zipper pouches!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Cheers.

A Little Crafting And A Super Quick Post

I recently made some earrings for a craftster swap. I really liked them so I whipped up a few for myself and my sister. I love jewelry and especially making it myself. They take no time at all to make, so I thought I would make a few for myself to match a few of my outfits. I am obsessive compulsive like that ;-) . I think that I may sell them in my Etsy shop once I get that up and going. My friend and I met this Saturday to discuss getting things going for our Etsy shops, hopefully soon we will have everything worked out and our very own shops! I am very excited about this! Now it is time to get going on crafting for mothers day. There are sooooo many mothers to craft for!

Cheers!