Birthday Card for Katie!

Since Facebook refuses to allow uploading of animated images, I had to put this on an outside website so you could see it. Otherwise, I'd have to email it to you, and then the lepers wouldn't be able to see it.

Much love to you, our sweet friend.


ENJOY!

(PS. You can click on the image to pull it out of Blogger so you can see it better)

Pattern Review- McCalls 6737 Girl's Top

Here is the pattern on the McCalls site: CLICKY

I've only made view D so far, because I love the zig-zag hemline. I'll probably make A or B at some point (or a combination of the two, as I don't really care for how the belly comes up in the middle on view A, but being that this is for my pre-teen daughter, I'm not sure how the frilly sleeves will look on her via view A. We'll see when I get there!)
So for now, I give you view D.

It does appear, in this photo, that I got the point of the front 'skirt' panel a little offcenter. And that could be the case. It's not quite so noticeable when she's not posing for a picture, so I'm not really sure whether it is offcenter or just how she's standing. And to be completely honest, neither one of us really care that much, so it's all good :)

 I've had this adorable western fabric in my hoard for  a long while now. It was just a small piece, so I have been  sitting on it waiting for the perfect item to use it with. The piece was probably a little over a yard wide  by 15-20 inches tall, so an awkward little piece that would only be good for a partial piece of clothing. It fit perfectly for the bodice of this shirt. I actually messed up the front part the first time I made it and had the outer print upside down!! Fortunately I had JUST ENOUGH left to just do a third layer on the front half of the bodice, so now the front half of the bodice has 3 layers, and the back half has 2.

I had another very small piece of this blue horseshoe fabric. Again, it was VERY wide, but very short. I wanted to use it in this shirt, but wasn't sure where. And I wanted something a little fancy where the shoulder straps connect to the bodice. The buttons and tassles here serve absolutely no purpose. They are only for cuteness :) The buttons are vintage plastic blouse buttons, they are blue with gold decoration around the center. After much discussion with my seamstress bestie about what to put on these tassles, we both came to the conclusion that these little buttons were perfect.





I used the length of the blue fabric with horseshoes to my advantage and made the waist tie with it, so that there was more than just the little tassles made from it.



The "skirt" is made from bandanas! I get them for $1 a piece, and I just knew they would be a great addition to this western shirt.

It is 4 pieces, so I used 2 of the same color for the overskirt, which is this cool multi-colored blue/green/yellow, and 1 solid white and 1 solid brown one for the underskirt, which you can barely see the points of on either of her sides.

The shoulder straps are made from a fifth bandana, this one solid dark blue. I cut it down to make wide (probably 3" wide) shoulder straps, then, because the bodice is made from a cotton woven and has no stretch, had to cut the shoulder straps and put snaps on them to make it easier for her to get on and off.

Her little sister wanted to get in on the pictures.

And every time I asked big sissy to turn, little sissy would too.

I made a couple of other items after I got done with this shirt, including another shirt for Sissy that I was not very happy with. My displeasure with that one caused me to come back to this pattern to make her another.

 Sissy is kind of obsessed with horses and all things cowgirl (what little girl doesn't go through that phase? Hers has just lasted for the last 6-8 years or so.) so I bought this knit horse fabric a very long time ago with the intention of making her a bedding set out of it. I never wound up getting enough to complete the set, so along with a lot of my other fabric, it has just sat waiting to be loved.

For this top, I had these 2 beautiful blue bandanas I wanted to use, but couldn't find any other bandanas that complimented it, or the horses well.



So I went back to my fabric stash and pulled out this pink cotton woven with brown rope print.









I used the pink woven for the waist tie, and the underskirt. I had her turn sideways this time to show off the underskirt.







We searched for a while at a few craft stores to find ribbon for the shoulder straps.



I never could find what I was looking for exactly (I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for, but I knew I'd know it when I saw it... and nothing was jumping out at me like I was hoping it would.)


So we settled on this 5/8" turquoise grosgrain with little brown polka dots to compliment the brown horses with turquoise hearts and horseshoes on the bodice.

Now that it's on her, I actually wish I had made the shoulder ribbons much longer, so the tails from the bow would hang down, but it works. I also think I would have liked the waist tie to have been a bit longer. I do not remember how long I made it for the first shirt. I most likely followed the pattern on the length for that one, but for the second one I just measured 18 1/2" x 2 1/2" for each strap. I probably lost 1/2" on either side of the tie instead of 1/4" like I was hoping for, so it just made it a little shorter than I was hoping for. I may or may not go back and redo the ties. I have plenty of fabric, but I am going to see how much it bothers me over the next few times she wears it.

All in all this was a very easy pattern. Using fabric or bandanas for the skirt worked great. The bodice is 2 simple pieces you cut on the fold, and you can get creative with the shoulder straps to suit the shirt to your liking. I generally prefer her to have wider shoulder straps, so I don't like to go any more narrow on my ribbon than the 5/8" and even then, I wouldn't do just a single strap going across her shoulder. I prefer the bows to make the shoulders a bit more interesting.

McCalls 6744 With Maternity Alteration

It just doesn't work.
I'm so bummed. I even cried for a little while after I put this dress on. It's SO horrible.

 

So this is a crossover, pullover, maxi dress. It's very loose and flowy, and the waist is easy to move up and down. So I decided to try moving the waist up above my big belly... and it just.. ugh.. so sadly did not work.

 

I think I just don't like that the waist is above my belly, then there's just nothing under... it makes me feel fat instead of pregnant, and I hate that. I didn't realize I would feel this way until I put this dress on this morning.
I was already a little anxious about the bodice on this, because I am desperately uncomfortable in crossover tops. I hate low cut tops, and my boobs ALWAYS fall out in crossovers.. I even have a safety pin in this one. I considered sewing the top to the bottom, but I wanted to figure out a way to be able to open it up for nursing once Octo gets here. So some kind of itty bitty sew on button or hook clasp is going to have to be in order... I'm not sure.

The shoulders remind me of the 1970's. -->

They have encased elastic on the top. I've never worn anything like that, so I do like that part.

I just threw on the belt because I made the elastic around the waist too loose, so it really needed SOMETHING to sinch it down a little more... cause without it, I just felt like a moo-moo wearing a mumu.

I don't believe a wide belt would work with this dress, even without the maternity fit, but definitely not with the maternity fit. There's just not enough room between my boobs and belly for a wide or stiff belt.





All in all the dress was fairly simple to make, 6 total pieces. It's a bit difficult working with BIG pieces, but the bodice was a piece of cake.
I'm disappointed in how much I don't like the way this dress looks on me, because I'm so in love with this fabric. The photos don't do it justice. It's such a vibrant pink.
Grand total I invested about $32 in this dress. 3 yards of pink fabric at $4.95/yard, 3 yards of lining fabric at $3.95/yard, and .99 for the pattern.. then add tax, elastic, and thread.

On a skinny girl it should look like this:
  McCalls website
or even this:
mimi g

But it just doesn't work with the maternity alteration :( So I'll probably put this one in the back of the closet until after Octo is born.
My other idea was to use a smaller waist elastic (like 3/8" instead of the 1" I used) remove the skirt, cut it to where it stops just a couple of inches under my belly, and make that a full circle instead of the 'wrap overlap', thereby transforming it into a maternity shirt I can still keep and wear as a nursing shirt.

It's so funny.. I made the majority of this last night, went to bed, then got up early to finish it. The finishing included attaching the skirt to the bodice. I just realized as I was taking these pics after wearing the dress ALL DAY that I put the wrong flap on top on the skirt!! LOL Ah well :)

Monday's Juice

So I haven't been completely following the recipes I printed offline.
I've actually been having a lot of fun just being creative and throwing things together!

I have 1 apple and 1 carrot with each juice, and then throw different veggies in. I want to make sure that I get my daily apple in! Plus it and the carrot are very sweet, which knocks out any odd flavors from the veggies. I've found a new love for cucumbers as well thanks to juicing.

With our baskets we got these Oro Blancos, which is a type of grapefruit.

I hate grapefruit.

And oro's are even more bitter than a ruby red.

But I have, since I was a child, always heard that there's something about grapefruit that is so crazy healthy for you and benefits weight loss.
Now, I cannot eat a grapefruit. There's just not enough sugar in the world for me. And by the time I even TRY to add enough sugar, then what's the point of eating the fruit in the first place?

I was thinking that I would try to add them to my juice, thinking maybe the veggies and other fruits will negate the flavor of the grapefruit.

So this is what I came up with:


Monday's Juice

1 clove garlic
1 thumb ginger
1 Oro Blanco
1 apple
3 romaine lettuce leaves
1 handful spinach
1 beet
1 cucumber
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
5 grape tomatoes

Now, I knew it would happen.

I knew that it would eventually happen.

This juice

This juice right here.

Was DISGUSTING.

I tried SO hard to add enough produce to mask that awful grapefruit bitterness.

And it didn't help.

It SO didn't help.

I couldn't drink it.

I gave it to the dogs.

And I've sworn off grapefruit.

Forever.

JUICE!

Thanks to Bountiful Baskets I have become interested in juicing!


They offered juice packs last week so I got a couple, because I have a juicer that's been collecting dust for the last several years.

I did some googling and found some "recipes" and learned that what I was thinking about juicing was pretty different than what 'real juicers' think about it.




So I bought 3 juice packs from Bountiful Baskets and have decided to have at least one glass of juice per day.




I was reading that the old saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" is pretty true. People who eat an apple every day are healthier than people who don't. My kids eat apples every day because they love them. I only do occasionally. So I add one apple to my juice every day.






I have tried adding kale and spinach to my juices and I guess my juicer is too old or not powerful enough to properly juice green leafy veggies. So I stick to more solid veggies like carrots, cucumbers, beets, celery, and tomatoes.







I also read that juicing actually removes all of the fiber from the produce, which makes sense because it seems that most of the time the peel is shot into the garbage dispenser in my juicer. Again, it could just be my juicer, but it does make sense. Maybe better juicers are able to keep more of the peel/fiber in the juice, I don't really know... still researching.



So for now I will add about a tbsp of ground flax seeds to my juice (to the glass of course).


Eventually I would love to get a new juicer. And I figure if I keep my juicing up for 1 month then I can start looking.

I actually googled my juicer, since I got it about 5 years ago off Craigslist, and found out that it is made and sold in UK and not even intended for USA or 110v. I have no idea how it got a USA 110v plug, but that could explain why it doesn't work super great. Weird.






I found this 'arthritis soother' recipe that is supposed to be full of anti-inflammatory properties, which would be helpful to me with my spondylitis and allergy to ibuprofen. So I tried it.
I was a bit nervous about adding EVOO to my juice to be honest. I've only ever cooked with EVOO, so I don't actually know what it tastes like!
But I'm so glad I did! It was delicious! And for at least 2 hours afterward I had this very sweet, oily taste on my lips. It was awesome!

I have decided to leave the greens to healthy smoothies, at least until I get a new juicer. But I'm so far very happy with my green juices!

Christina's Chili

I love chili on a cold day. The funny thing about Montana is that you get used to being in the mood for chili pretty much any time of year. Even in the spring it's still cool enough that chili isn't insane to eat. So far, since we've been in Texas, it didn't actually get cold enough to eat chili until after Christmas. Unfortunately, life has been crazy since the beginning of December, so I wasn't in any kind of mood to make a menu (or even think much past what I would do the next hour). But today was a chili kind of day.
Chili is easy and takes very few ingredients.
Last week I made hash brown tacos and had some leftover ground turkey, ground pork, and chorizo. So I tossed those in a skillet and cooked them up.
Back in Montana I did some label reading on cans of red kidney beans. I learned that there are basically 3 different types you can get- regular, no salt, and organic. Back then I didn't even look for organic items, so I compared the regular to the no-salt. I could not believe how much crap (including HFCS) is in no-salt beans. Really? Really!! Why can't it just be beans without salt? I have no idea. In the regular beans there are beans, water, and salt. I decided that I would take the extra salt over the HFCS and other ingredients I couldn't sound out (they cost the same!)

When we went grocery shopping this week, it was late at night- a few hours before closing time- so many shelves were empty. I guess because of the cold weather other people had the idea to also make chili, because most of the red kidney beans were gone. And name brand or not, I wasn't buying "no-salt".
So I found these organic ones!

Beans, water, salt. AND organic! Awesome. $1.50 per can, which is almost twice the price of the "Great Value" brand, but since I'm breaking my WalMart habit (only been once since Christmas and that was to do a return!) I decided that it was worth it.

Sometimes I drain the beans, sometimes I don't. Hubby likes his chili with a little more liquid, and since I bought organic, I felt safe about using the liquid in the can.
I also like to put the beans in the crock pot before I put the meat in. I stir them up, but since the beans are uncooked and the meat is cooked, I'd rather the bottom most layer be beans, not meat.

After the meat cooks, I drain it, then put it back in the pan. I add some spices - salt, pepper, chili powder, oregano, paprika- then let it cook more. I do this because firstly, ground meat lets off a lot of grease/juice/fat when you cook it anyway, but chorizo is like 10x worse. So any seasoning I put in initially is just going to cook off. So I add it afterward so it cooks on the meat.

So there's basic chili. 

Now to make it goooooood chili.

1/2 an onion-diced, a clove of garlic-minced, some grape tomatoes (cause that's what I have on hand), carrots and celery.

 

One trick I learned about cutting onions is to rinse them under cold water after you cut them. I do this after I cut it in half, then into quarters.

This keeps the juice from making you cry.

I cut the tips off the celery and carrots (tossed those ends into the blender for the dogs) and as I was working a little carrot thief came in and stole one, so I went to the other fridge and grabbed 2 purple carrots to replace it, and decided to grab a stalk of kale and a bag of spinach.




 Have you ever seen a purple carrot?
They're actually a yellowish color on the inside.
They don't taste like an orange carrot either. They still taste like a carrot, but a bit different flavor than an orange one.


I'm steaming the carrots, celery, and kale. After they soften up I put them in the food processor with the raw spinach and grape tomatoes. Once this mushes up to a pulp, I will pour it into the chili! Added nutrition with no added flavor!

 I also decided to dice up a bellpepper and throw in there. 

Cause I love bellpepper.

I grew up eating bellpeppers.

They are so yummy.

 

Another fun little tool I got when my mom moved- her garlic press!

I use it a lot!

I'm not actually sure if I'm using it completely properly, but it works way better than chop/dicing the garlic, so I keep using it.

I put the rougher stuff left in the press after I squish it in the blender for the dogs.

Garlic is very good for dogs.

 

 After I added the veggie puree, I decided I needed to split the chili into two slow cookers, as it was too much for 1.

And I know I should probably retire my mom's old Crock Pot (that lovely avacado green one on the right there) because it probably uses twice the wattage as my new one on the left, but it cooks the food, and that's what matters to me!

I noticed the puree made the chili kind of thick, so I decided to add my one little can of Beef Consomme to thin it out a bit. 

I bought this for some recipe that I can't remember cause I lost the menu sheet.

It worked well.

Don't that look perdy?

Tasted perdy darn good too!

I let them cook on high for 2-4 hours. It tastes better the next day though, no matter how long you cook it ;)

If I had some cornbread that wasn't moldy, or had time to make the bread bowls, it would have been the perfect consistency. But we were stuck using crackers, so it was a little bit runny. Mmmm... bread bowls....

I'll be putting every bit that's in the old Crock Pot in the freezer, so when I use it again I will make bread bowls since I won't have to cook the chili!

Oh and the water that's left from under the veggies after I steam them- I don't let that go to waste!

It's very hard to see in a photo, but it is tinted green from the kale and veggies.
When I put the veggie scraps in the blender for the dogs, I have to add water, so I just use THIS water to puree the veggies!

All blended up, it's pretty thin, so I just pour it over a bit of kibble and it's instantly healthier and tastier for my pups!

Menu Day! Part 4- Creating the grocery list

After selecting my recipes, it's time to decide which ingredients I'm going to have to buy and make the grocery list.
I do this by using a blank sheet of paper for my list, and my inventory lists as well. I need to know how much of each item I wind up needing so that I will know if I need to buy more.
For example- I currently have 2 onions on hand. I need 1 for chili. So I make a mental note that I only have 1 onion left. As I go through the next recipes, when I find another one that needs an onion, I make a mental note that 'now I am out of onions'. So any other recipes that need onions I will have to buy more.

I also try and keep in mind that I want to do freezer meals this week. So I want to make extra of certain meals, including chili.
Normally I use 5 cans of red kidney beans and 1 lb of meat. This time I will use 6 or 7 cans of red kidney beans and 2 lb of meat.

 

 This is my grocery list post-shopping.

For my own brain dead reasons, sometimes I have to write next to the item why I am buying that item so I know which one or how many to buy. Hence the words in parenthesis. Otherwise I might forget why I have Craisins on the list, think I'm just buying them for a snack, and not get them to save money. But since I write on there (chicken salad w/flair) I know they are for a dinner and I must get them.

Unfortunately the HEB Plus we went to was out of ground turkey and serrano chilis, so I'm going to have to go to back later this week to get them (which I hate. I will wait until I am out of wine and have to go back. No woman should have to wait until their shopping day for their wine.)

I spent almost 3 hours at the grocery store on this dang list.
I read label after label.
We took the kids to the bathroom 3 times.
I had no idea there were so many options for EVOO now. Italian, Greek, Californian.. oh my. Even some cheapo stuff from about 4 different places. I was actually really torn on buying the Italian vs the Californian. I believe the Italian is going to be more authentic, but Californian is buying local...  I wound up going with Californian. Since I've only ever bought EVOO once before, I'm no connoisseur, so I'm not going to know the difference between olive oil from California or Italy when I'm using it.

Along with these items on my list, I bought things I forgot I needed, stuff I just wanted for breakfasts/lunches/snacks, and a few things that were such a great deal, it would be stupid to pass up!
Quinoa (organic weeee), butter (NOT margarine! HA!), ketchup (hfcs free!), whole grain pasta ($.98 on sale!!), a fly swatter, baby wipes for hubby to take in the truck, paper lunch bags for Bountiful Baskets, Dawn, some Hot Shot flying bug spray (cause the ACV is helping with the gnats, but it's sloooow), a pack of scrapers ($1! And I could finally throw away the ones I inherited from my mom that were half melted and warped!), nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, shampoo, M&Ms (for hubby. He's an M&Maholic), cream of tartar, vanilla beans (cause I've had two in vodka for about 8 months now and it's still too much vodka, so I needed to add more beans), a shower pouff for DD, and laundry soap (on sale to boot! I usually make my own, but since we've been in Texas I can't find everything I need OR a good deal on baking soda).

My budget comes into play while I am shopping. I wanted to stay under $200, and had I stuck to the list it would have been easy. I spent $225. Had I not strayed from the list, I would have spent $142. But I'm ok with $25 over my intended budget for what I got.

So, shopping is done for the next 2 weeks. Recipes will be posted as I create them!
Hope you enjoy making your menu, and hopefully something I have shown you will help you do so. Feel free to ask me any questions, I will do my best to help :)