craftopia

5.30.2005

see how our garden grows

Our little garden is doing great here's a before

and a now....

The angle is opposite in this photo but look how it has flourished! mmmmm fresh herbs!

I'll post an update on the community garden too...it is kickass!
We had great fresh lettuce from it the other night.

colorful sky


There was a great sky last night that we soaked up as we ate our leftover burgers! I am trying to savor being outside as much as possible, I know the impending doom that Nashville calls "summer" is on it's nasty way. The cool nights and lack of humidity will soon come to an end. I am determined to enjoy it while I can.
Here's our lovely dinner...

Green Beans A la Rob

Heat 2 tbl oil in a wok or large saute pan, over med heat. Saute 1.5lb chopped fresh green beans with salt and pepper for approx 6 min. In a small bowl combine 2-4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp worcherstire, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp ground ginger.Stir into the saute pan and let cook another 2 min. Place in 250F oven to hold while waiting for hamburgers to be ready!!!ha

computer sachel

I made a computer bag for my lovely new friend....my mac. :)

here's a view of the flap up and the liner bag which actually hold the computer next to it...



and here's a closer look at the liner bag...it is quilted and extra thick as is the bag.



the quilting design I did on the sewing machine freehand.

I think this would also make a great daiper bag with a few size and pocket variations.

5.29.2005

BBQ

Last night we had a little gathering...our first BBQ of the summer! We had a blast, Elizabeth made this great asian slaw...(I need to ask her for the recipe) Jenna made a salad with the bounty of our community garden! Fresh lettuce is so yummy!
We had burgers and spiked lemonade, blackberry crisp with vanilla ice cream and lots of laughs. The mosquitoes were fended off by yard spray. The dogs next door were quiet. The weather was cool but not too chilly. All was right with the backyard BBQ gods!
Here's the view from the back of the yard...Rob took this one.

here's some recipies

Jenna's Dressing
1/2c olive oil
1/3c balsamic vinegar
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2tsp salt
1 tablespoon fresh herb(take your pick...chives, basil, thyme, parsley)

Combine! Great on lettuce with dates and walnuts!

Blackberrry+Blueberry Crisp

1 1/2lb frozen blackberries
1/2lb frozen blueberries
juice of one lemon

2 sticks butter
1 1/2c flour
1 1/2c sugar
3/4c oats
1 tsp cinnamon
-Preheat oven to 375F.
-Combine first group of ingredients in a 13"x9" glass baking dish and set aside.
-Melt the two sticks of butter in microwave.
-In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredientsand stir.
-Stir in the melted butter and combine thouroughly. This will form a clumpy dough.
-Crumble the dough evenly over the fruit and bake for 40-45 minutes. Until the topping is a light golden brown.
Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream
Serves 12

Coming soon...Elizabeth's asian slaw.

vintage vogue

I just finished making this dress for a gal to wear to a wedding this weekend, it was from this pattern

and it was really fun to make. The vintage patterns are cut, sewn and finished quite different than patterns today.

what a cutie!

birthday shocker

We had a fun night out with my family for my birthday last week, sushi

at Ken's and cake at Fido.
My parents completely shocked me with a computer for my birthday. I am so thankful for this gift because I will need it for School in the fall and our computer is on it's last leg. And I can blog wirelessly now!!! which means a lot more posts! Rob got me these amazing chocolate truffles from this new shop in franklin called the chocolate tree, they are made fresh daily an I never knew chocolate could taste so good! He also got me an awesome business card case, it looks vintage 50's chrome and I love it, and last but not least I get a fun day out with my sisters for my birthday to shop for a new pair of summer shoes.

We also had a fun night out with the Henderson's on my actual birthday. We went to RuSans and had way too much sushi! I love their food, but their menu is insane. It is about ten pages of options, all of which look deliscious....not good for someone who wants to try a little of everything. Thankfully no one gave away to the waiter that we were celebrating my birthday....I have seen the torture inflicted on others and it's not pretty. The hendersons got me a very cool tetsubin teapot. I have already broken it in with some nice jasmine tea.
mmm tea....time to put some water on....

5.26.2005

let them eat cake

Tom had fourty cakes at the boil to celebrate linda's birthday (#40)
I made a mosaic cake...lemon cake with lemon/raspberry filling and lemon frosting with marzipan tiles.
It was so much fun to make!

mmm crawfish

well the crawfish boil was a blast...lots of fish, spuds etc...and plenty of beer! A great spring party, the weather was almost awful, but it turned out to be a really nice night...clear and cool.
My parents had some friends in from out of town here's a photo our friend Frank took



looks appetizing doesn't it!
Looking forward to next year.

new purses

we had a show a few weeks ago and here are some of my new designs....


and some more


the show went fairly well, the weather was nasty so we had less of a turnout than we expected, but overall it went well.
I have been working on a ton of new jewelry as well I'll post some of that too!