Saturday Synopsis!

Happy weekend everyone!

I hope you all have some wonderful plans for Memorial Day, especially for those of you that have a long weekend.

This Memorial Day weekend, Craftsy will be celebrating by having select classes up to 60% off!  I think I'm going to buy one for my mom's birthday!  More importantly, they will be donating a portion of this weekends' proceeds to benefit a veterans' organization.  Personally, I signed up for Craftsy last weekend and got the Short Rows (knitting) and Metalsmithing at Home classes.  Also, I'm going to check out the free mini sewing classes, like the "Mastering Zipper Techniques" and "Sewing Machine Feet A to Z."  Perhaps, this weekend?

As for me, I'm going to the Patchwork Festival on Sunday.  I went last year to two of them, and they were great!  It will be fun to spy on some crafty people's creations, now that I kind of know how to handle a sewing machine.  :)

Here are last week's posts for you, in case you missed any.

Saturday Synopsis!

Monday:  Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes & Basil.  My twist on a recipe from Smitten Kitchen that I made for the holidays.  Yum!

Tuesday:  My button organization, which I totally love.  :)

Wednesday:  Shopping at a Korean market, eating out, and sewing!

Thursday:  Travel Tip: How to find accommodations abroad, and keep it under budget too!

Friday:  Some seriously cute mini mason jar tumblers with faux chalkboard labels, if I don't say so myself.  :)

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Mini Mason Jar Tumblers with Faux Chalkboard Labels!

This is a project I mentioned waaay back in March, which I've been dying to share with you!

I was originally going to post about it while I was gone on my trip, but as we know, my "Travel Diaries" series was so pic heavy that I had to break up all of my posts and postpone some of the pre-scheduled ones.

In a way, this is better because it's a reminder that I need to break these out soon for all the summer barbecues we have planned!

Here are my mini Mason Jar Tumblers with Chalkboard Labels!

Hey Stitch Once, Rip Twice members!  You're invited to my party!

So, I had 20 of these little mason jar tumblers from a foodie event that I went to in Las Vegas.  There was an alcohol company that was promoting their goods and serving them in these awesome jars!

There were seven of us at the event, and we each picked up 2 to 3 tumblers, mostly because I kept bugging them to drink up and save the containers for me!

They were adorable as is, but I wanted to remove the company logo.  It was printed on really well, so I was a bit disheartened when it wouldn't rub off.  Then, I decided to figure out the cutest way to cover up the logos instead!

I knew that I wanted a label that you could write on, so of course a chalkboard came to mind!  I looked into how to make your own chalkboard paint, but left the project on the backburner until I had enough time to devote to a painting project.

Then, Jen from iHeart Organizing (can you tell that I have a blog crush!) mentioned that you can use vinyl, and chalk will wipe away easily.  Much fast and easier!  So off I went, trying to design the best label to cover the logo using my Silhouette and black vinyl.

Actually, the fourth try wasn't perfect.  There's a hole missing at the bottom of the label, so I had to go back and readjust my cut file.  It took 5 attempts!

Twenty labels later (and a needle for those stubborn stuck-on bits), and I was ready for a party!

Will you join me?

Have you ever recycled a piece of swag?

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Favorite Salad "Recipe"

Unfortunately, I am feeling a bit under the weather today.  :(

Maybe it's a culmination of my travel, eating out so much this last week, or staying out in the sun too long for Mother's Day.  In any case, I had to skip the gym today, which is always a bit worrying.  It's so easy to put off the next workout for tomorrow, or the day after, and so on...

Well, at least I can eat right!

I put together one of my favorite salads ever, which I eat every day, as long as I've been a good grocery shopper and food prep-er.  Yes, I think I just made up a word.

It helps to have a tasty salad ready to go, especially when your fruit drawer looks like this...

Hmmm...  One of these things is not like the other!

Diane's Favorite Salad!
Recipe from My Guy's mom  :)

Ingredients
4 cups Romaine, chopped
1 cup Red Cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup Carrots, chopped
2 Tbsp. blue cheese

2 Tbsp. dried cranberries

1 Tbsp. French fried onions
Olive oil, to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Enjoy!

Really, I have to explain why I love this salad so much.

- It's colorful!  You know that I love eating all of the colors of the rainbow.  :)

- The ingredients comprise a range of tastes makes the salad interesting to eat, instead of just bland and boring lettuce greens.  The saltiness of the blue cheese and french fried onions is contrasted with the sweet carrots and dried cranberries.  The crunchiness of the french fried onions is also contrasted to the crisp lettuce and cabbage and the chewy cranberries.  Each bite is a different experience!

- I can prep my salad ingredients for a few days at a time because all of the ingredients keep well, even after being pre-cut.  It's probably obvious that I like having quick, pre-prepared items in my fridge.  :)

What's your favorite salad?  I'm always on the lookout for new toppings and flavor combinations.  :)

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Shrimp with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Feta!

Hello all!

I am finally back to cooking!  I haven't washed a dish or pan in about 4 weeks, can you believe it?  Luckily, between all of the walking and hiking up towers, none of the pastries that I ate didn't pack on a single pound!  I came in right at the exact same weight, to a tenth of a pound.  That's crazy!

Still, I'm pretty sure that I'm a bit thicker in the middle and lost some of my arm muscle.  Ick.  So what does that mean?  Back to healthy recipes (and the gym)!

I actually made this recipe before I left for my trip, because it's so easy with most of the ingredients coming from my freezer, pantry, and garden.  No grocery shopping?  Yes!

Shrimp with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Feta

Adapted from here


Ingredients

Olive oil

1 medium zucchini, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound frozen shrimp, thawed

1 Tbsp. fresh oregano, minced

1 Tbsp. fresh basil, minced
Salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 cup water
Feta, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, and garlic to the pan.  Cook about 3 minutes.

3. Add shrimp and sauté 1 to 2 minutes, until warmed through.

4. Add the oregano, basil, salt and pepper.  You may reserve some of the herbs for sprinkling over the finished dish, if you prefer fresh herbs.

5. Stir in the water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

6. Serve immediately and sprinkle with as much Feta as desired.  Enjoy!

What's your favorite go to pantry/freezer meal?

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Black & White Challenge - Final Projects!

The last item that I worked on prior to leaving was the peplum top that I was making for my Black & White challenge.  I have yet to totally resolve the problems involved, but I wanted to share the other group members' progress so far.

Right now, we're deciding on our next challenge topic, so I'll update you as soon as we've picked our next one!

First of all, here is my top!  I'll work out the kinks soon...

Sabrina from Sweet French Toast made these incredible shorts!  Click here for her pattern information and the adjustments she made, for a super cute and modern pair of shorts.  :)

Tiffany of Tiffany's Notions and Knits has a top with a cute piping detail to share right here!

Victoria of Very Blissful made this cute top, but she's going to make some adjustments.  Girl, I feel ya. Read about it here!  :)

Irene of Serger Pepper made a darling tunic complete with a tutorial.  Click here for more!

And now for some bad news...

Poor Kristin of Sew Classic had her sewing machine break, but she made this pretty dress right before it went kaput!

Rachel of Layer, Stitch, Repeat. is moving overseas and had to give away her sewing table and pack, of course!  She did make this great dress for the Mad Men Challenge.  Click here for more!

Great job ladies!  I look forward to conquering our next challenge.  :)



Also, if you'd like to join the group, either e-mail me or follow the link to Stitch Once, Rip Twice and request an invitation.

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Favorite Dessert: Ricotta & Fruit Bowls

My favorite desserts of all time would have to be either a tart or cheesecake loaded with ripe, delicious fruit.  I can't imagine baking every day, so this is something that I like to imagine as a deconstructed version of those desserts!

The way that I came to this recipe was when I was moving out of my last apartment and needed to start cleaning out my pantry.  I was working my way through my dried fruit stockpile, and decided to add dried blueberries to some leftover ricotta from a lasagna recipe.

Delicious!!!

Sometimes, I swear that it almost tastes like cheesecake if I concentrate hard enough.  :)  This is going to be a lot like last week's "recipe" of yogurt and fruit cups, and just like that recipe, I eat this almost every day for a quick, light dessert!

Ricotta & Fruit Bowls

Ingredients
Ricotta, whichever fat content you prefer
Sweetener of choice*
Fruit of choice*
"Crust" of choice*
Optional extras that you'd like to mix in (i.e. - Protein powder, Fiber powder, etc.)

*See below for what I like to use!

"Directions"
1. Mix the ricotta with any extras that you would like to use.

2. Mix in the amount of sweetener, to your taste.
* I like using agave nectar or honey.  Other good sweeteners to use are maple syrup, mashed persimmons, date sugar, etc.

 3. Top with your favorite fresh or dried fruit!
*I used fresh peaches, but this works well with strawberries, blueberries, mango, and everything in between.  Even dried fruit works, like my favorite, dried blueberries!

4. Top with your "crust."
*I use fiber cereal most of the time, but feel free to use other cereal, broken graham crackers, or anything to mimic a tart crust!

5. Enjoy!

This is light and simple dessert that satisfies my sweet tooth with a bit of fiber and nutrition thrown in.  It tastes good and it's good for me?  Yes!

I'll promise to stop sounding like an infomercial by next week's recipe.  :)

What is your favorite dessert to make at home?

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Tip: How to Hull Strawberries Without a Fancy Gadget

Disclaimer: I don't claim to be a chef, a food expert, or have extraordinary knife skills.  That means everyone will be able to find this a helpful tip!

When I first started to cook for myself after college, I loved buying and using every gadget that Bed, Bath, and Beyond had to offer.  However, when I was growing up, my mom always said "Real chefs don't use gadgets."  At first, I didn't understand what she was talking about, but then I was introduced to the wall of gadgets with an avocado slicer, the cherry pitter, and mango splitter.

Chances are if the name of the gadget contains a specific food, it's a unitasker that Alton Brown would abhor and can easily be thrown out with the proper use of a knife.  I have since made my mom proud and brought my kitchen items down to the basics.


Last week during Valentine's Day, there were tons of dishes using strawberries and one of my pet peeves surfaced everywhere.

This!

Do you notice the little piece of stem and a lot of the tart, white part (the hull) on the prepped strawberries?  No one wants to eat that!

Check out the picture of someone slicing through the strawberry to remove the stem.

This person removed all of the stem, but a portion of delicious strawberry is removed as well!

Here's a diagram so you understand what I'm saying.

Credit: Foodie in Disguise

You can buy a strawberry huller of course, especially if you're making copious amounts of preserves or pies.

Credit: here

However, most people will only eat a few strawberries at a time.  Also, gadgets take up precious drawer space and cost money!

Here's how to hull a strawberry with a simple paring knife.

1) Insert the tip of your knife at the point where the red and white parts meet.

2) Keeping the knife steady, turn the strawberry slowly in a circle.  Voila!

Seriously, it's only two steps and worth knowing how to do.

Check out the lovely strawberries minus the tart hulls, and the green tops without any yummy strawberry goodness attached!

Bon appetit!

What is your most & least favorite kitchen gadget?

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Pattern Organization!

You may remember from yesterday's post that I bought a few patterns, which I love love love!

So now to the process of organizing them, which would be terribly boring for most people, but I have a system that I love!

First of all, I do not have a huge sewing/craft room, so everything that I need to sew has to always be immediately put away.  Also, I do not have space in any rooms or closets to store my patterns, so no filing cabinets like in the stores.  Of course, I dislike spending money when I don't need to, therefore it needed to be free or close to free.

After putting my thinking cap on, I came up with an awesome pattern organizing system for small spaces!  I'll go through the steps of how to replicate my system and what you will need.  Let me warn you that this may not work if you have an especially large collection of patterns, but may ever expanding pattern stash is growing and growing!


What you will need:
- 3 ring binders
- Sheet protectors
- Plain paper (optional)
- Dividers (optional)
- Ziploc bags - quart & gallon sizes
- Storage boxes, shoe-boxed sized or larger
- Time!

Say hello to my binders!  I use one for the pattern envelopes of dresses and the other for everything else: coats, tops, skirts, shorts, pants, bags, home decor, and crafts.  You can adjust your binders according to your needs.

The way I sort my patterns is by having the projects I want to accomplish first towards the front (usually more fun items or patterns I haven't sewn yet).

You could arrange it by season or style as well, especially if you have a larger collection.  Here's how I maintain mine!

First, take your newly purchased patterns and place the instructions and pattern paper in the quart-sized Ziploc bags.  Maker sure the pattern number is visible without having to open the bag.

 

Voila!

 

For larger patterns, like Vogue or printed patterns, you can use the gallon-sized bags.

Sort the items by pattern company, and then arrange them by number.

 

All the patterns are sorted and stacked in my soon-to-be labeled tins, which I purchased from IKEA a million years ago and were empty at the time.  Each label will signify the pattern company and number range, just like in the store!

Ignore the pattern envelope, only patterns in Ziploc bags are placed in each tin!

The empty pattern envelopes are placed in sheet protectors and placed in the binder, in the appropriate section.  I like to have a piece of blank paper behind the pattern so they are stabilized in the middle, and it makes everything look very neat!

Lastly, I stack my boxes (6 in total) behind my closet door, so they do not become clutter but are easy to get to.  You could also place each box on a bookshelf, under a bed, wherever you can find space!

I love this system because I have my two binders full of pattern envelopes handy and it's very easy to look through, like a lookbook.  Then, when I find the pattern I want, I simply grab the appropriate tin and it's super easy to find!

How do you store your patterns?

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Weekly Wrap-Up: Valentine's Dinner, Anthropologie, Deals & Patterns!

Finally a normal weekend!  It seems that as soon as I started these weekly wrap-ups, my life started to get more interesting!

Book events, celebrity run-ins (here and here), sporting events, concerts, trying out new sports, restaurants (1,2,3,4,5), warehouse sales, exploring around town, trips to New York and Nashville, planning a huge trip to Europe, and about a million donuts (1,2,3,4)!

Luckily, life is back to normal with just a few fun things along the way.  This week, the high points were Valentine's dinner with my man, shopping (Anthropologie, Off 5th, Banana Republic Factory), buying fun food items at Mitsuwa marketplace, cooking up three new recipes, pattern shopping, and getting a big chunk of travel planning done.

Wednesday

Valentine's Day was casual for my guy and me.  We decided that it is crazy to fight for a reservation at a fancy restaurant and be surrounded by tons of people who are doing the exact same thing, all in the name of a holiday that can tend to get out of control with decor, food, etc.  I'm not saying I'd turn away a pink cupcake though...

We went to Simmzy's, which I went to about a month ago for the first time.

To start we shared the Goat Cheese Tapas which doesn't look like much, but it was perfect!  Goat cheese with apricots and honey!  I'm in.  :)  I was majorly hungry and barely saved any for my guy, but then again he had his beer flight!

I got their Simmzy's Burger and added roasted Shiitakes.  So yummy!

The close-up shows off all the amazing goodies stuffed inside!

For dessert, we shared the apple pie donut which I ordered the first time around but he wanted to try.

Yep, just as good the second time around...  The slightly crunchy and tangy apples with the soft pillowy dough are perfect with the sweet vanilla ice cream.  The salty pistachios and salted caramel drizzle provide a perfect contrast to the whole thing!

And a complimentary chocolate covered strawberry for Valentine's Day.  Sweet!

Thursday - Friday

Finally a chance to catch up with my DVR!  I'm still behind on Downton Abbey so no spoilers please, and my guy is finally back on track with The Walking Dead so we could watch Sunday's episode together.  :)  And I don't care if it's passé, but I still love me some Project Runway.  A garden & hardware store challenge combined?  Awesome.

Saturday

I whipped out three recipes, as well as prepping the week's meals.  Busy, busy!  I'll blog about them later, but I made smitten kitchen's buttermilk roast chicken, Handle the Heat's Curried Red Lentil Soup, and modified a healthy banana bread recipe for some overripe bananas and leftover cream cheese frosting!

More travel planning and then early to bed.  I was pooped!

Sunday

First thing in the morning, I stopped by Anthropologie to return a gift.  I usually never return gifts, but I received the Sewing Basket apron below which wasn't my style.

It was $38, so I had time to poke around and find something new!  I was looking around when lo and behold, the same lace I used for my green lace UFO yesterday popped out at me!

 

In real life, it is a slightly darker shade of green, but exactly the same otherwise!

Then, I spotted a dress that slightly resembles the Colette Hazel in the front...

and has a surprise in the back!  I love the color, the fabric choice, and the back detail.  I'm not excited about the length, but otherwise this will be an inspiration piece soon.

A bit of inspiration for my upcoming trip.  :)

And then I found the apron I spotted a year ago sitting on the rack.  It was the last one, so I did an excited dance inside my head and got ready to exchange my present.

Then, I had a wonderful surprise.  It was on sale for $9.95, so I had $30 more to spend!  I could have easily bought something cute to wear or items for the kitchen, but I wisely put it away for the future.  It's burning a hole in my wallet as we speak!

I'm not even going to bore you with my purchases at Off 5th, just a winter hat and a French Connection dress both for 50% off and paid using a gift card.  Free!

Then, I met my man at the Banana Republic Factory Store.  Ironically, he walked out with nothing and I had a bag of goodies at the end.  :)

This dress was originally $140 and I got it for $20.99!  It fits perfectly because I actually found it in the petite section.

This dress was on sale for $10.47 from $109.99 in the factory store, so it was even more in the regular store!

Wrinkly (should have ironed it before photographing), but cute!

This textured skirt (which doesn't photograph well) was originally $64.99 at the factory store, and I scored it for $4.87!

Nubby, textured, and red!  Ooh la la!

Next, I headed to Mitsuwa marketplace to buy a couple of items.  I love a pickled cabbage salad, and these are the best!

Then, I bought a couple of fun items as well.  A package of strawberry Yan Yan for old time's sake (although I usually had Pocky growing up).

And a package of four fugetsu do mochigashi.  I forgot to snap a picture beforehand, but this package is pretty similar to what we got.  When people ask if I want mochi, this is what I want!  Not that ice-cream filled stuff.  It's okay, but this is so much better!

Credit

For dinner, we went out for sushi at our local place coincidentally.  The rest of my family had already decided, so it was an all Japanese cuisine kind of day!

Monday

We had the day off, so my friend and I planned a bit for our trip and actually booked our last accommodations!  Yes!

Then, we celebrated by heading off to Jo-Ann's for their Simplicity pattern sale.  I was initially just going to stay home or just help her out, but I couldn't resist a few cute ones!

*After writing this, I realized that I might sound like a Simplicity pitchwoman, but I'm really just sharing the patterns I loved and bought!*

I love the Peplum top from Simplicity 1699 and even when it goes out of style, it's still a classic silhouette that flatters me and I will continue to wear!

View E on Simplicity 1693 looks like such an easy top to wear in a 1960's-ish silhouette!

The flutter on the skirt of Simplicity 1697 is so pretty.  I'm not sure if it will be very flattering, but I'll give it a try!

Simplicity 1688 is such a simple dress, but going through my collection, I actually didn't have one similar to it!  I also have to give it to Cynthia Rowley for almost always having spot on fabrics and styling!

The full skirt, piping, and contrast welt pockets are just super sweet on Simplicity 1687!

Lastly, I bought Simplicity 2444 which I think has been out before, but didn't seem to notice.  Very retro-inspired and could do well with the right fabric!

Tuesday

I was going to catch up with my shows and catch my breath, but I spent nearly all of my free time yesterday putting together an awesome, awesome Excel spreadsheet for my travel budget and future travel expenses!  I will share it when I figure out the best way to do so because I'm sure someone will be able to benefit from it when planning a future vacation.  I know I will!

Does anyone have anything fun planned for this weekend?

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