Everything but Important

baked apple crisp

2010-10-16T18:15:00.001-04:00

since i recently went apple picking (more on that later) i've been looking for new apple recipes.

this simple recipe looked incredibly cute and yummy....

2 apples
lemon juice
strawberry jam or jelly
2 tbs flour
2 tbs butter, cold and crumbled
3 tbs brown sugar
1/2 c oats
cinnamon
salt

cut apples down the equator. scoop out seeds and core, making a lil bowl. coat inner apple with lemon juice and arrange on baking sheet. drop a small amount of jelly in each apple. mix together all other ingredients and fill apples.
bake for 40 minutes @ 350.

happy fall!

donde esta yessica?

2010-09-26T16:44:00.001-04:00

are you surprised to see a blog post here? me too! what has caused this long pause in my blogging? ok, here i'll make you a list:

{1}

a new job.

this is really where it all began. i hope no one will be disappointed that you will no longer find funny flight attendant stories here.

now that i am not employed by that airline, i feel like i can finally breathe and come clean about that job....i absolutely loathed it. ahhh, what a relief to be honest with you all. i was there for 8 years and they weren't all bad, but the last few years were quite hellish.

God provided me the most amazing job at a wellness center just 4 miles from my house. i don't work weekends or holidays, i have breakfast and dinner with my husband, we get to go to weddings, parties and take a nap on sunday afternoons together.

since retiring my uniform and landing lips on june 1st, its been nothing but blue skies and cherry pies.

{2}

a new addition.

avery ryan kutzner arrived last month. she is beautiful. and perfect. and smothered by all family members around... including her loving little brother.

{3}

the garden.

i can't say i spent as much time there as others, but i tried to get there at least for the picking.

and of course there was the canning, freezing and baking that followed. we even harvested almost 60 pounds of our own honey and by 'we' i of course mean

my dad.

{4}

ireland.

we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on september 13th, so i booked us a short trip to celebrate in ireland. we had a killer time and unfortunately caught the traveling bug again, making us anxious to get out of the country quickly.

{5}

life.

it just gets busy...

like road trips with friends to lancaster...

your husband gets terribly sick, for a week straight...

going to visit friends & their beautiful boy in florida...

bike riding through DC & celebrating independence day...

etc.

all this to say- sorry. i will try harder. i promise...

...and that i hope your summer was swell too.

to do list

2010-05-09T21:18:00.000-04:00

i've been feeling a lack of creativity lately, but these projects have inspired me. i've collected these projects from various magazines and books. look fun don't they?

jersey headband.

stool made from old luggage.

tshirt necklace.

bird house made with a liscense plate.

wooden vase.

anyone else slacking on their to do list?!?

come & get your moonshine

2010-05-03T11:21:00.002-04:00

this post is sooo overdue! a ways back, i made a recipe for peach brandy. the brandy was let sit in our basement for six months....that six months was up in february. opps.

well here is my update for how my brandy turned out.

here where it sat for six months in our cold and dark basement.

ready to try out some homeade liquor.

my test subjects.

overall it was a fun little expirement, but the taste wasn't anything super exciting. if i had bought some peach juice and mixed it with brandy, it would have probably tasted like the same thing. when peachs are ripe this summer i will scout out some more recipes to try.

ps. i still have 3/4 of the jar left so feel free to stop on by for sip.

name dropper

2010-04-23T11:10:00.004-04:00

another question i get asked quite frequently is what famous people i have had on my flights... i can never give any exciting answers. i work for a low cost vacation airline, ain't no celebrities here.
on very rare and seldom occasions i have had run ins with people you might have actually heard of. let's begin...

1. while waiting in the crew line if customs in the newark airport, i noticed mr. busta rhymes aprroaching(nana, that's a famous rapper) i was too nervous to say hello because i couldn't decide just how to address him: 'good day mr. rhymes!' 'what up busta bus?!?' alas i missed my chance and live to regret it.

2. because the singer pink grew up in a town close to me, i really enjoyed the behind the music show on her life growing up. i unfortunately became very familiar with what her family looked like from watching it so often. so when pink's mother was onboard, i made sure to tell her i hale from bucks county and am a big fan of her daughters (a ~~slight~~ absolute exaggeration)

3. i've had two different cast mates from the real world. their names aren't even worth trying to remember. since i'm usually the youngest crewmember on board, so none of my friends even knew what the real world is.

4. about a month ago in cancun while waiting for the hotel van i walked past cheech. again with my keen celebrity eye, i happened to be the only one to notice him pushing his luggage cart and his much much younger girlfriend.

5. our company used to use the owners private jet to shuttle us around to different places when it was too expensive to buy us plane tickets. private jets have their own magical private airports as well. once while waitingin such airport, i saw miss patty labelle. she was adorable in a peach suit, and it made me love her (even though i know none of her songs)

6. about five years ago i was on a short vaca to cancun over spring break. while coming off the beach i saw another two forgettable real world girls. maybe if i had grouped them all in one category, they could make up one legitimate celebrity?

7. the movie invincible is about a bartender from philly who tries out for the eagles and makes it as their quarterback. i had vince, the man the movie was based on and his family onboard about a year after the movie came out. he was a genuinely nice guy.

sooo you can see why i dread that question, my list is pretty pathetic. i'm sorry i can't fake this to be more interesting!

top tres tuesday: spring blooms

2010-04-14T13:40:00.001-04:00

oh you forgot about top tres tuesday? yea me too.
here are 3 beautiful blooms from the property of our farm, and they happen to be in my favorite thrifted vases.

{numero uno}

{numero dos}

{numero tres}

tips to travel

2010-03-25T18:39:00.001-04:00

here i have thoughtfully compiled a list of tips for a more pleasant traveling expirience....for both you and
more importantly, for me.

1) "if you can't sling it, don't bring it"

once long long ago, i was a sweet innocent flight attendant. i would gladly wrestle your 60 lb into an overhead, even if you are healthy capable male, even if you are rude entitled princess, even if you are a CEO. however i changed and this my new motto (along with almost every flight attendant i know) i'm not being mean here, but i know my chiropractor like the back of my hand. give my achin' back a break. who i will still help? a. cute grandmothery elders b. little people, i mean that literally or c. if i see you about to tip me.

2) this is an aircraft, not walmart.

none of my flight are over 5 hours max, so it befuddles me that some people dress like they plan on hibernating for a 12 hour flight. pajamas are not acceptable. what else is not is not acceptable? too little clothes for both men and women. i can't tell you how many times i've had to tell barely exposed women that no, we actually don't have a blanket for you to cover up all your junk with. and besides, they don't make blankets big enough.

3) be kind.

if there is one thing i can tell you about my coworkers, it would be that we stick together. if you were mean to me, then you were mean to us all. if you were kind to me, you were kind to us all. you would be shocked the kind things we will do for you, if you treat us well and presents don't hurt either. some passengers actually do bring us gifts....candy, lotion, etc. those are the people that may get comp'ed drinks, i just sayin'.

4) bathroom advice.

i need to eloborate on some bathroom advice i've already given. there is actually a whollllle system to using the lav germ free.
a. always wear your shoes. you are NOT at home, so don't go walking in there in your socks or bare feet because that is NOT water that is on the floor.
b. use a paper towel to open the toilet seat.
c. how can i put this delicately? let's just say clean up when you are done because i will remember what you did to the bathroom and will be reminded of your poor hygiene while giving you your drink.
d. just like i know if you are the kind passenger that stunk up the bathroom, i also know when you haven't washed your hands.
e. use the paper towel to open the door because 9 out of 10 times, the person before you ignored the previous instruction.

5) the CURTAIN.

have you ever been on a flight, when all the services are done and you go to the back and there is a curtain pulled over?
you may hear the flight attendants back there, you may be curious of the secrets we are hiding back there, but do NOT open the curtain. it would be like if i came into your job and barged through your shut office door. my blood boils when i think of all the times i've been sitting down about to eat and a passenger rips open the curtain, sees that i have food in my hands, and puts their trash in my face and says "here".
ohhhh my word, i have to take a breather, i'm getting worked up again.

anywho....
this may shock some people... but it is completely acceptable to ring your flight attendant call button. i really don't mind. but behind the curtain is break time. got it?

hope this was a helpful starter... i will try to drum up some more helpful hints for your best air travel possible. buhhbyeeenow.

secrets

2010-03-25T06:38:00.001-04:00

i am adding another career to my life. i've been meaning to share it with you. we are getting into....drum roll....the flower business. ta da.

since we were a part of our local farmers market last year, we decided to meet the need for fresh cut flowers that was absent from the market. things just kept falling into our laps... a large seed starter, plenty of help from farmer friends, even land seem to start coming to us in abundance.

this is where it started, an old room at my dad's work. billy, my employee.

our seed starter, given to us by a family friend.

the very first flowers that popped up.

and here we are now... a few dead plants later and a few months down the road.

so if you plan on coming to the lansdale farmers market... we will be there, fingers crossed.

more of our land to follow soon.... enjoy your day!

thrifting booty

2010-03-24T09:27:00.002-04:00

i've had many thrifting expiriences that have been a total bust....but alas this week has been quite a success. check out my treasures...

quilted bag. plato's closet. $8.

vintage glasses. care & share. $.75 each. (i have decided to start a collection of vintage glassware and plates....but all types of pieces. wouldn't that look like an amazing place setting?)

live plant & vintage vase. care & share. $8.

vintage trunk. care & share. $15.

citizen jeans. plato's closet. $25.

joe's jeans. plato's closet. $18.

forever21 shirt. plato's closet. $3.

lust: the garden collection

2010-03-16T15:30:00.002-04:00

ohhh how i have pined for this day... cheap fashion made sustainably. this is my big secret...when it comes to shopping, eco-friendly goes out the window. i've been feeling more and more guilty about it over the past year...but praise heavens for h&m coming to the rescue.

i had read in the news about a eco-friendly line coming to h&m, then it started popping up in the blog world more and more. the garden collection has recieved much praise, although the sustainablity of h&m as a whole is debatable.

so from now on i'm saving my pennies for these little numbers....

my summertime ride

2010-03-16T14:10:00.003-04:00

please try to contain your bicycle envy...

this little beauty, which i am planning to spiff up for summer has been passed down yearsss ago to our family. the original owner is my sweet great aunt that moved to florida, it's been safely stored in our garage ever since i can remember.

i can already picture myself cruising home from the farmers market on this ol' girl.

of course i will be wearing this...

along with my new homeade headband, made from a recycled tshirt.

thank you aunt alice for my new old treasure!

more ugly truth from a fligh attendant

2010-03-15T09:01:00.001-04:00

since my last work posts were recieved so kindly, i decided to give you guys some more. although it is lost on me why this would be of interest, i'm more than willing to share.

1. [ i know what you did in the bathroom ]

what i find funny is that people think they are being so stealth about this.... like "oh, i'll just pop in here real quick, do my bidness and no one will ever know". you are so wrong. while i understand the week long tequilla and burrito diet reaked havock on your innards, you are killing any sense of smell i had left. we carry 'lav spray' around like it's life or death and as soon you trot down the aisle on you merry way, we don our oxygen masks and spray the place down!!

2. [ cup of ~~joe~~ crap ]

Lord help you if this comes as a surprise- there is no good coffee to be found on ANY aircraft. well hallelujah i found this lil french press travel mug and my world has been rocked. so when you slug down your coffee i gladly serve you, you will be correct in noticing my nose go up a little higher as i look down at you.

3. [ ugly pj's]

lucky you...this is an actual picture me before bed on a cancun overnight.

if it's not glaringly obvious, i have on horrid yellow sweatpants. these are actually my husband's sweats. on every overnight, i sneak a shirt or something of his to sleep in. ohhh the things we do for love.

4. [ you are weirding me out ]

i believe my job is pretty simple. the hardest thing i have goin on is whether you said coke or diet coke. just playin, well kinda.
in the one second it takes for you to tell me what drink you want, i have already forgotten and it's actually your fault. here is a list of excuses why i can't remember what you just said (all of them have most definately happened before)
- your are a 40+ year old women and wearing full length pajamas complete with footies.
- you are reading 'mature' material in full view of me and small children.
- you asked me for something i do not have, when i gave you the entire run down of all beverages available to you at this time.
- i'm watching what weird stuff you are playing on your iPod over your shoulder and its freakin me out.
- you crop dusted your whole section and i'm seeing how long my last breath will last me for.

philly flower show

2010-03-04T11:55:00.002-05:00

i can still remember walking around the philly flower shower years ago, enthralled by the beauty of what people were able to create. oh yes, years later i still feel the same way.

yep...completely made from flowers, sticks, leaves.

orchid garden

orchid tree

bamboo forest

birds of paradise

living wall

flower carpet

bill's favorite

my favorite. i wanted to crawl in and die here.

my one and only purchase

i can't be anymore ready for spring....

camera randomness

2010-02-26T13:37:00.002-05:00

i have accumulated many different pictures on my phone, most that i don't know why i don't just delete. i guess i thought i would use some of them to show you all, but they never quite made it that far. such a slacker.

i will share them, random as they may be. enjoy.

Christmas tree skirt i whipped up for our bare Christmas tree.

snow.

shocking....more snow.

a really good fish recipe, i had the best intentions of sharing with you.

proof that the fish is really good-

husband scraping the pan to eat the last bit.

yeaaaa for winter hats!!!

just another tuesday....

our friend goliath, making himself cozy in our bed.

handsomeness.

God's pretty sun set.

old shirt....

beginning to get refashioned.

a birthday present for a sweet lil girl.

quilt i've started for a special someones bridal shower.

plaid and pinstripes from husbands old work shirts.

breakfast from mr. obama.

testing out homemade headbands 1,

and 3.

i wanted this purse out of a magazine. by the time i looked it up online it was gone.

i mourn for the loss of it now by not deleting the picture from my phone.

@ work.

ideas from a book i would like to take a stab at.

micah's birthday. impressive facial hair boy!

the elephant in the room.

8 hour cancun layover.

last family picture for 2 years when baby katy returns to us.

2 gentlemen.

crazy illuminating sushi.

a necklace i will surely copy cat off of.

classic that's what she said.

a shirt from a thirft store, i deeply regret not buying it.

maybe i can sleep peacefully tonight knowing i have finally shared these pictures and can erase them!

too much winter

2010-02-16T08:52:00.002-05:00

how do you know when you've had too much winter? my personal winter barometer is when i see a snow pile that is a good few feet taller than me and when it has a shopping cart on top.

after two of the biggest snow storms of my lifetime in one month, i'm officially over winter. alas it continues to snow even as i write you this post.

the lack of sun and warmth, along with the desire to be eating from my own garden is making me crazy for summer. i made this market bag dreaming of the days that i'll be filling it with fresh fruits and veggies from the farmer's market.

i made it from those coffee bags i have gotten from a friend and have used in the past.

and if you are wandering, someone had a very good birthday this weekend...

get to know me, please

2010-02-09T21:02:00.000-05:00

i saw this post on another blog i was checking out. it seemed like a smart thing to do. you can tell this was not intended for AFTER sunday by question #4.... oh well.

1. How many piercing's do you have?

6. but i only use the standard 2, one in each ear.

however i would love to get my tragus pierced.... my sister & bf is leaving for africa for 2 years. she has it pierced and i think it would be like our own secret way to still be connected.

2. I love the sound of.....?

billy's laugh.

but for music- edward sharpe and the magnetic zeroes & camera obscura.

3. Favorite city?

i loved vancover, nassua & camden, me.

however i have a sweet spot for sellersville, pa that i can't seem to shake.

4. Colts, Saints, or could care less?

i'm obviously a few days behind. i really did hope the saints would win. better uniforms.

5. Frozen yogurt or ice cream?

i know i should say frozen yogurt but i can't. i adore coffee ice cream.

6. Favorite appetizer?

hmmm, this is tough. i would much rather eat a variety of appetizers then have a real dinner. billy has me addicted to hot pepper jelly over cream cheese. obviously with garden of eatin's sesame blues because no other chip can compare.

7. What item in your closet currently makes you the happiest?

these shoes.... $5 thrift store find. love love love em.

8.Favorite facial moisturizer?
green street luxuries 'whipped night face cream' its so thick i've been using it all winter long. i met the owners when they started selling at the local farmers market. sweetest people & amazing products!

9. What are most excited for this week?

cameron's 1st birthday!!! he's so cute, he could've only been born on valentine's day!!

10. Describe the room you are in.

our cozy lil bedroom... the safest place in the world. there is laundry out that needs to be put away, a white ikea chair that is threatening to capsize because someone has piled it high with their dirty clothes and a pair of boots that i have been debating for 3 weeks over whether to keep them or not. that must mean i shouldn't keep them, right?

cupcakes for haiti

2010-01-29T17:18:00.001-05:00

i'm so excited to share with you all a way to.....

1. eat cupcakes

2. support haiti.

the house church that i am a part of, has come up with a way to raise money in an effort to get haitians clean water. we will be baking these yummy cupcakes to donate the procedes to deep springs international.

order your cupcakes at

www.cupcakesforhaiti.com

more raw

2010-01-28T16:35:00.002-05:00

so i must admit, i'm struggling slighty with my mission to go raw. on a good day, i can do about 60% raw but a bad day is sometimes just 25%. it's hard to keep myself motivated when most recipes besides salad and protien shakes, can require hours of preparation (soaking seeds mostly) however i have gotten a few compliments on how clear my skin looks, which i am praying to attribute to all this raw food!

in an effort to try new recipes to keep me motivated, i did try some new recipes....

{onion bread}

this recipe was passed along to me by my good friend, dita. dita is also in the process of going raw and she has been so encouraging! my bread still needs a bit of tweeking, but i am sooo glad i tried it again! it's been really yummy with sliced avocado or on top of salads.

what's great about bread from the dehydrator is it still fits the raw bill. it is only made from raw seeds and vegtables. also dehydrators do not cook the ingridients so that they lose all their nutrional value!

onion purée and sunflower seeds

flax seeds

all mixed together....

in the dehydrator

yummy bread after 12 longgg hours!

{raw baklava}

this another great recipe that meets my sweet tooth's cravings!! i once saw a chef make something like this years ago on a morning show. i scoured raw websites to find the recipe, but never found anything. it's so simple that i just guessed at the exact ingridients.

thinly sliced apple inbetween the nutty filling. i pureed raw walnuts, honey, agave nectar and a dash of cinnamon. i would make this even if i wasn't worried about the nutrional value of my desserts!!

i feel like i should apologize for these raw posts, they may be putting you all to sleep! do any of you out there actually like the raw posts?!?

logan

2010-01-20T15:45:00.003-05:00

my dear friends had a baby two days ago, logan. you may remember the hat a made for him long ago.

at just two days old, this beautiful baby is having surgery for part of his heart that is underdeveloped.

since he and his family are so far away, i feel lost on the best way to support them and show my love. so i made logan this mini tag blanket. it was the first one i made but my nephew gavin has a tag blanket that he seems to love, so i'm hoping logan likes his as well.

after cutting 4x4 inch fleece squares, then sewed them altogether. you can see that i didn't do the best job at matching them up. don't look too closely logan!

the solid brown side and a L stitched in.

i sewed the four corners with ribbons all around.

random acts of creativity

2010-01-13T16:39:00.002-05:00

in no particular order.... ways i've been creative lately.

• headband •

i started with this plain headband.

wrapped it with this fabric, hot gluing it along the way.

I didn't use any fray check, but i like that look.

using the same fabric, i twisted this long strip into a flower shape.

i cut a piece of circle felt and glued it to the inside of the headband.

then i glued the flower to the felt and headband.

and since one is good, isn't two better?

all done.

• necklace •

this is more than just a necklace i made. forever more this necklace will remind me of SEARCHING the floor of joann craft store for the my diamond in my engagement ring! i was just picking out some fabric and then headed to the bead aisle to make this very necklace. on my way home, i realized my diamond was gone. i started to cry, well sob is more like it. my husband came with me to retrace my steps and see if there was any possible way we could find my diamond.

have you ever looked on the floor of a craft store??? it has glitter and beads everywhere! we were almost done scouring the floor of each aisle i had been in, when we reached the bead aisle. my husband later told me he had just asked God to help us find the diamond when he looked down and spotted my diamond!

seriously, craziest story you've ever heard right????

• raw coconut brownies •

still going strong with my commitment to go raw, i was in dire need of something sweet! these are so yummy! i found this recipe at goneraw.com.

ingredients-

4 tbsp coconut oil, melted

3 c raw walnuts

½ c raw carob or cacao powder

¼ c agave nectar

¼ c raw honey

melt the coconut oil by nesting it in another container full of warm water. mix carob and coconut oil thoroughly. stir in agave nectar and blend well. process walnuts alone in a food processor until they become a buttery consistency. add oil/carob/agave/honey mixture and blend well. i choose to drop

them onto a greased plate instead of putting them in a square

baking dish, like traditional brownies.

new years resolution

2010-01-10T09:34:00.000-05:00

i know we are 9 days into the new year already and i am just now making a new years resolution post... oppps.

my resolutions are all things i have been meaning to do, but have never actually started to do them. so here they are, in no particular order:

2010 resolutions

{1. go raw}

i've always wandered if humans were created to eat just plants, vegetables and fruit. did God intend us to kill another one of His creature's? i'm far from equipped to answer that, but i do believe that our bodies crave and thrive on raw food. i believe that it is good for my body on so many levels- mind, skin, energy, sleep, disease.....

i have tried to go 100% raw before, but i only made it a week before i quit. this time i plan on going in stages. for these first two months of 2010 i am eating 1/3 of my meals raw. by march move to 2/3 raw. i don't know that i will ever go the full 100%, but i would like to challenge my body to get there.

some attempts at eating more raw

this a nice little wrap i made with butter crunch lettuce,

avocados, alfa sprouts and ginger

carrot, apple and ginger juice

this was my attempt to make raw bread. a horrible attempt.

from now on i will leave it up to arnold's way.

{2. stop using products}

hair products

i have alllllll sorts of products. i am a total sucker for a cute little bottle that promises to transform my hair or skin. in fact i have 3 to 4 sets of shampoo and conditioner in my shower at all times. many of my products are made of natural ingredients but i still question the necessity of them. i've always wandered, if God created our skin and hair to manage itself. really....

*your hair has OIL in it = you strip away the OIL with shampoo = you put OIL back into it with conditioner.

* your face has OIL on it = you strip the OIL away with soap = you put lotion back on to your face with OIL.

does that seem crazy to anyone else? well i know i'm not the only one out there. just google it and find out!

face products

well i guess thats it...sorry if this bored your face off.

neck warmer

2009-12-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

i'm so sorry its been a ghost town up in here. i had really grand intentions of blogging through the whole holiday season. i wanted to share so many things, but i just couldn't bring myself to make the time.

i am back however and my future looks as if i will have plenty of time to get back to blogging.

today i tried my hand at a neck warmer. i had been partly dreaming it up in my head and partl collecting ideas from others i had seen.

i started with a black jersey dress i no longer wanted.

i cut one long strip.

i pinned the two ends together with a few pleats as well.

i cut up an old red cotton shirt into three strips.

i arranged them into flower like shapes.

i hand sewed each one onto my neck warmer.

my neck is now ready for the rest of the winter.

thrift store jewelry

2009-12-11T16:07:00.000-05:00

while thrifting with two friends this week, i came across some killer cheap jewelry for projects i had been thinking of. score!

this was the first necklace i found.

it was a little too long and i wanted to remove the yucky gold beads.

this necklace was $3.

not too much needed to be done,

but it still looks much better.

this necklace was $2.

i wanted to turn these plain wooden beads into....

this necklace from martha stewart.

sadly it broke in the middle of the necklace.

however i fashioned it into this necklace, which i still love.

craft fair bust #2

2009-12-07T18:14:00.000-05:00

so you know how i did a craft fair 2 weeks ago and it didn't go so hot? well, i tried again.

so hopefull, i diligently added to my inventory and excitedly prepared for the event.

this time instead of making nothing, i made $17. well then you subtract $10 for the cost of the table, so i officially made $7. oh yes that was over 4 hours.

i know we are not hitting our 'target audience'..... but how can i only sell $17 worth of goods?!?!

so i would like to enlist your help..... is it my table? is it my merchandise? just give it to me straight. my crafting career depends on you!

the beginning of the craft fair, so blindly happy

top tier- gift card holders, second tier- barrets,

third tier- headbands (like the one i am sporting), to the right- a variety of bracelets

gift bags

wine bags

our entire table, abby included

top tres tuesday || sweet potatoes

2009-12-01T22:41:00.002-05:00

yes its true. sweet potatoes are my favorite. i really could eat them everyday! plus they are supposedly healthy then their cousin, the white potato. here are my {top tres} ways to enjoy sweet potatoes.

~numero uno: sweet potato fries

of all the ways to make them, this simple recipe is best. i could eat these EVERY day, not joking.

thinly slice sweet potatoes. sprinkle with olive oil, salt and garlic. cook for 40 minutes at 375 or till desired. *try with hiney mustard dipping sauce

~numero dos: apple, sweet potato and turkey sausage bake

this was a recipe i found at a blog i follow, thy hand hath provided. this basic recipe is so yummy and perfect for this holiday time.

1 lb turkey sausage
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
4 apples, thinly sliced
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 c water
*i added a dash of garlic powder and rosemary to turkey sausage

brown the sausage. line sweet potatoes then apples in a greased baking dish. layer browned sausage on top. mix flour, cinnamon, salt and water, pour over sausage. cover with foil and cook for 1 hour at about 350.

~numero tres- sweet potato and black bean burrito

i had these for the first time about a year ago. i was honestly skeptic because it just doesn't sound all that appetizing. i was wrong wrong wrong. they were so yummy and incredibly filling. i made them for our dear friend laura. you may remember her from my posts at work. she is a vegetarian, so this seemed like a good dish.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 chopped onion
4 minced cloves garlic
1 1/2 cans of black beans, drained
1/4 c water
1 tbsp chili powder
1 pinch salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
10 flour tortillas (approximately)
2 c shredded Cheddar cheese

heat oil in pan, add onions and garlic. cook until soft. add black beans and mash. add water, chili powder, salt, pepper and soy sauce. divide bean mixture, sweet potatoes and cheese over tortillas, wrap like a burrito. place on greased baking sheet. bake for 12 minutes at 375.

happy thanksgiving pumpkin pie

2009-11-25T20:25:00.000-05:00

i made this pumpkin pie well before thanksgiving because i will be working (sigghhhh) thanksgiving night and also because its sooooo good. hope you can try it!

caramel pecan pumpkin pie
1 pie crust
2 beaten eggs
15 oz canned pumpkin (i used fresh)
1/4 c half and half
3/4 c sugar
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c chopped pecans
2 tbsp butter

stir together eggs, pumpkin and half and half. mix in sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. pour mixture into baked pie crust. bake for 25 minutes at 375. in small bowl stir brown sugar, pecans and slightly melted butter. pour mixture over pie and bake for another 20 minutes.

top tres tuesday || update crafting

2009-11-24T09:12:00.000-05:00

before i get to my updates, i need to confess something... i've not been motivated to blog. it's like just one more chore that i have to get to. ugh. i'm hoping to be re inspired by the holiday season and the nice new camera i have my eye on.

i know i told you i would be updating you on a craft show i would be selling at, but maybe you can just look at abby's post about it instead? i 1) forgot to take pictures and 2) don't have the energy. it was a flop, but i'm still glad we did it. hopefully it will make us better for whenever we find another craft fair to be a part of.

soooooo back to top tres tuesday. i've been crafting as much as my schedule will allow right now. aka- not a lot.

numero uno- recycling coffee bags (i have friends from one village coffee. they let me have some of their coffee bags for my sewing ventures. i made this apron, which didn't turn out as nice as i would've liked but can't wait to try again.)

numero dos- yoga bags (these are two i just made spur of the moment. i thought about selling them at the craft fair, but didn't. they fit a little too snug around the mat.)

numero tres- bracelets (i made like a ton of these for the craft show. oh yea.... i sold ONE.)

someones birthday.....

2009-11-17T18:29:00.001-05:00

{happy birthday to my very very bestest friend}

*this was our very first photo together EVER. eating dal bhat in nepal.

ugh thats right... its W's birthday! last night we celebrated my husband's 31st birthday.

what were his birthday dinner wishes? to make something i have not even dared before... thai food. i tried to muster all my culinary courage and tackle this meal. here is how it went down.....

tom yum soup (changed slightly from thai table )

3 c water
1 c chicken broth
1 stem lemon grass
1 c shrimp
1 juice of lime
2 tbsp fish sauce
sprinkle of cilantro
1 to 3 chili peppers

bring water, chicken broth and sliced lemon grass to a boil. add shrimp, cilantro and diced peppers. divide lime juice and fish sauce in between the 2 bowls you plan on eating soup from. after shrimp has completely cooked, serve immediately.

red curry chicken (changed slightly from temple of thai )
1 lb chicken
2 c coconut milk (1 can)
3 tbsp red curry paste
1/2 c torn sweet thai basil
2 tbsp fish sauce
salt and pepper
sugar

pour 1 c of the coconut milk into wok, bring to boil. add red curry paste and chicken until meat is cooked thoroughly. add remaining coconut milk, basil, fish sauce, salt, pepper and sprinkle of sugar. serve over basmati rice.

sorry i forgot take pix of the actual meals.

don't throw it out

2009-11-12T16:12:00.001-05:00

i really wanted to show you two yoga mat bags i made today. our camera battery charge has up and left us to some forgotten part of the house. i guess no pictures till then! i created the 2 bags because me and abby are planning to sell our goods at a craft show in lansdale. how excitinnnng! i'll let you have a peak of all the goodies i've made later.

i am reading a few new books. the first is 'don't throw it out: recycle, renew and reuse to make things last' by lori baird. i'm only a few chapters in but here are some ideas i thought i'd pass on from the first chapter:

- to resoften stale cookies, put a slice of white bread in the cookie jar
-if you've over salted a soup, add raw peeled potato to the soup and remove when finished
-bake stale crackers at 250 for a few mintues to make them crisp again
-if you are about to throw out the last bit of a bottle of wine, freeze it in a ice cube tray. use cubes whenever a recipe calls for wine.

and lastly please enjoy this song as much as me. anyone want to join a traveling folk band with me?

quiche me

2009-11-08T11:49:00.000-05:00

i love to make quiches. they are so easy and you can put anything in them. well ya know not everyyyyything, but just about.

here is my favorite.

1 pie crust
6 eggs
1/2 c milk
cooked and shredded turkey bacon (i use about 4 slices)
1/2 c crumbled goat cheese
3 slices of onion
salt, pepper, and garlic powder

bake pie crust at 350 for 15 minutes. mix eggs, milk, bacon, cheese and seasonings. pour into pie crust. bake for 20 minutes. saute onions.

once onions have browned and the quiche has started to firm up, sprinkle onions on top. continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes. enjoy.

gift bags

2009-11-06T14:57:00.000-05:00

i'm finally back to getting some sewing done!
here are a few things i've been working on to prepare for the holiday season....

this one i cannot really take credit for. i received a gift from my friend molly

that was wrapped the exact same way. i use this to wrap

up a gift card.

these i will use for smaller christmas presents.

if your name starts with 'k' and you are

expecting a christmas present from me,

just ignore this!

the fleece bag on the left has a beaded snowflake.

the bag on the right has been made from an old

dress shirt of bill's.

the unhealthy truth

2009-11-05T09:03:00.001-05:00

i don't normally feel compelled by any books i read. i'm typically a fiction kinda girl.
'the unhealthy truth: how our food is making us sick- and what we can do about it' by robyn o'brein has changed me. forgive me if i get really overexcited and fired up when i talk about it, its hard not to.

you need to read this book if.....

a) you have any allergies, food sensitivities or food allergies
b) you have kids
c) you've thought about going organic but are unsure
d) you are interested in how our government controls our food

i read this book thinking i knew a lot to begin with. i watched food inc, big ideas for a small planet, i eat organic and i know why, i've read up on these issues. however this book went to a whole other scarier, deeper level. there is too much information to give you all the horrible details, but try try try to read it!

ok, off the soap box.
thanks for listening.

top tres tuesday || back

2009-11-03T21:37:00.000-05:00

hi.
i'm back.
i've actually been back since thursday...i just haven't written.
sorry.

since it is tuesday.... here are the top tres highlights of my week long trip at work.

numero uno- sunset in turks and caicos

numero dos- sunrise in bahamas

numero tres- a week with friends, while getting paid

i promise to try not to leave you all again for so long.

Everything Important...no butts about it.

2009-10-25T18:00:00.003-04:00

Jessica has been kindly and patiently asking me to "guest blog" for her and thought it would make perfect sense to do so while she is away. I must admit I have been putting this off as I could not think of anything "creative". I first heard of a blog about 5 or 6 years ago and thought, "who the heck would want to read about what some guy ate for breakfast and look at pictures only relevant to him and his". And where did the word "Blog" come from anyway? (I had to look it up as obvious as it may seem, Web Log = Blog). Hhhmm...Well my eyes have been opened to the fact that a Blog can be much more than narcissistic people wanting to feel important. This could not be any more evident than this Blog right here. The posture of humility in the title alone suggests that this is a person who gently opens her life to anyone interested to share in what makes her human. It is fun, interesting, informative, open, loving and creative...all qualities of Jessica. Well I miss Jessica terribly, my wife is the most amazing woman I have ever known and ever will know. Her absence is the only thing on my mind so I shall blog about just that...so let me take this opportunity to try and show why this woman is everything that is important to me and always top of mind:

Jess is...

Fun and Funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0PjJQOdtbo
(must watch)

Cute

Beautiful

Loving

Creative

Intelligent

All these amazing things for some reason she married this guy:

yes, they are D&G woman's sunglasses!

I can NOT WAIT until you come home J, I really miss you!

B-

leaving on a jet plane

2009-10-21T09:49:00.000-04:00

yes that is correct. i am leaving... again. this time it is for work. since my last post about work was received so kindly, i will try to post up this entire trip when i get back.

here you will find the exact details of my trip, in case you want to stalk me of course:

{thur} limo to jfk, jfk to pls (turks and caicos)
    46 hour rest in pls
{sat} pls to nas (nassua, bahamas), nas to jfk to atl (atlanta)
   30 hours rest in atl
{mon} atl to nas (nassua, bahamas)
   29 hours rest in nas
{tues} nas to pls
   25 hours rest in pls
{wed} pls to atl, atl to pit (pittsburg)
   11 hours rest in pit
{thur} pit to phl (HOME)

exhausting right? so needless to say, i won't be talking to you guys any time soon. i am trying persuade willy to give you a post or two, but who knows if that'll happen.

buhhh bye.

top tres tuesday || halloween

2009-10-20T10:54:00.001-04:00

since i am loving this fall season, i thought you would like to know the costumes i've wishfully picked out for halloween. i say wishfully because i don't have a cat, a baby or a dog. it matters not. enjoy....

1. i would so make this if i had a cat to put it on. i would make him where it year round though.

isn't that hilarious? he looks like he is trying to sell you car insurance. if you have a furry friend to dress up, get this at etsy. pronto.

2. major points for creativity.

this sushi dog costume is also at esty.

3. i fell off my chair when i saw this. can anyone let me borrow their kid?

you guessed it, this gnome costume is at etsy!

band of puppets

2009-10-19T14:34:00.000-04:00

i've decided that a good way to spend time is to spend hours in books stores stealing ideas from craft books. i've also decided to get to work on my homeade christmas presents early. here is what i've come up with...

( test pig, mouse & lizard )

since these finger puppets are going to my nephews that are 8 months and 5 months old, i am not in jeopardy of them finding out their gifts.

hope you will join me in the anxiety of the impending holiday...wooohooo.

this bread is bananas

2009-10-16T04:56:00.000-04:00

i know there are many banana bread recipes out there....your aunt gerty's, mrs benner's, your cousin's ex husband's friend.... but this one is really good. every time i make it, its comes out perfect.

from taste of home:

1 package softened cream cheese

1/2 c softened butter

1 1/4 c sugar

2 eggs

1 c mashed bananas

1 tspn vanilla

2 1/4 c flour

1 1/2 tspn baking powder

1 tspn baking soda

1 c chopped pecans

2 tbsp sugar

1 tspn cinnamon

in large bowl mix cream cheese, butter, and sugar. add eggs, then bananas and vanilla. gradually add flour, baking powder and baking soda. put in greased baking pan, then sprinkle on topping mixture. bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.

aw pumpkin

2009-10-14T19:06:00.032-04:00

i seriously can't get enough pumpkins right now. i'm enchanted with all the possibilities they present. i heard a chef talking on npr today about her favorite pumpkin dish. i tried a similar version.

1 7 to 8 lb pumpkin
1 1/2 c milk
1 to 2 c chicken broth
1 c cheese ( i used 1/2 c cheddar and 1/2 c parmesan)
1 c diced onion
3 diced cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
bread (either served as croutons or baked right into soup)

cut the top off pumpkin and remove slime and seeds. add all ingredients to inside of pumpkin. cover the cut off top with tinfoil, put on top of pumpkin. cook at 350 for about 2 hours on a baking sheet. when finished cooking, scrape the soft inside of pumpkin into the soup.

*next time i will try a regular orange pumpkin, swiss cheese and baking the bread right into the soup.

the pumpkin i carved earlier, already rotted. booooo. i replaced it with these two. i used a little scotch tape and spray paint magic.

celebrity husband

2009-10-14T12:58:00.000-04:00

thats right, my husband is a celebrity. eh well kinda.

parable painting has a killer article in philly magazine home edition.

ethos has a really good shout out as well.

check it.

maine.

2009-10-14T12:45:00.000-04:00

we are backkk. we had an amazing week in maine.

i tried whittling down the pictures i wanted to share, but i still have so many.

fall in maine.

funny that.

i may have eaten exactly my body weight in seafood.

aw willy. camden hill park.

stopping for lunch.

adorable portland.

bubble pond, acadia national park.

oh i miss my blog.

trail around the pond.

i seriously didn't pose for this. seriously.

haha, he is so cute.

favorite glasses....broken. tragic.

mt. pemdic, acadia national park

temporary farewell

2009-10-06T15:58:00.000-04:00

i am leaving.

everyone, do not freak out. keep your composure.

my amazing willy is taking me on vaca for a whole week. uh, thats not even the BEST part.

i have NO idea where we are going! he has planned our entire anniversary honeymoon and not given away any hints (he is terrible at keeping secrets, so this alone is amazing) so while i am gone, don't forget about me and this little blog you visit every now and then. i will be back and i'm sure i will have stories to share.

but for now here is a granola bar recipe from ina garten i made for our trip.....

2 c oats
1 c nuts (i used raw sunflower seeds, but slivered almonds is recommended)
1 c shredded coconut
1/2 c wheat germ
3 tbsp butter
2/3 c honey (i used 1/3c honey and 1/3c agave nectar)
1/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tspn vanilla
1/4 tspn salt
1 1/2 c dried fruit (dates, apricots and cranberries is what is in the orginal recipe, but i just used cranberries)

toast oats and coconut for 10 minutes at 350. mix them with wheat germ and nuts in a large bowl. bring butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to a boil in a small sauce pan. pour over dry mixture. line a 9 x 12 baking dish with parchment paper or tin foil. spread mixture in baking dish and press the mixture down. bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 300. let sit for 2 hours before cutting and serving.

soooo farewell everyone and see you next week!

fruit chips

2009-10-02T13:47:00.000-04:00

i'm still in the midst of using my 20 lbs of apples. not wanting to let them be wasted, i pulled out our dehydrator. not something i would normally have on hand, but our thoughtful friends ed & mary gave it to us for my bridal shower.

in luuuuve with this machine!

just started with apples...

then on to kiwis...

to pears...

finally strawberries.

its a loonngg process, but they taste so yummy when finished. dehydrating allows you to save the fruit without cooking all their vitamins and good stuff out.

please come borrow my machine. i won't be jealous when you fall in love as well.

remake soccer mom sweatshirt

2009-10-02T13:37:00.000-04:00

seriously, how many times can you remember as a kid seeing a mom in this get up? she usually has the matching sweatpants with the elastic band around her ankle? the hanes her way special!

when i saw this jewel

at target for $5.49 i already had big plans.

simple plans. nothing flashy. no bedazzling here.

cut from shoulder to shoulder.

-voila-

keep on falling

2009-09-29T15:58:00.002-04:00

what can i say? i'm just digging fall this year, so i will just keep on posting about it. you like?

i bought these two pumpkins today at a local farm.

this one is being left as is and will be my kitchen table center piece for awhile. in a celebrity pumpkin contest this one would win.

i gave this one an upgrade by cutting out all the stars.

from that pumpkin i toasted the seeds with some salt and oil. highly addictive.

the next few come from the farmer's market.

these lil f'ers are so dang cute!

this may just look like a super adorable gourd, but its so much more. once it dries up, i will cut a hole in it and the birds will eat the insides. after they've eaten all the inside they can move right in to their new gourd home. i.love.it. its sitting pretty next to the mum my dad just got us.

top tres tuesday || apples

2009-09-29T01:27:00.000-04:00

we picked apples this weekend, ohhhh yes we did. 19 1/2 pounds of apples.i just couldn't help myself, they all looked like the perfect apple.

hopefully you would like to know what my top three ways are to use all these apples.

1. donate apples so your friends can slave away making a pie. devour it.

2. make apple sauce. chunky style.

3. make a trusty idiot proof apple bread. triple the recipe to share.

1 1/2 c flour
1 tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn salt
1/4 tspn nutmeg
1 egg
1 c sugar
1 1/2 c peeld, diced apples

mix dry ingredients in bowl. mix all other ingredients in bowl, add dry mixture. bake at 350 for 55 minutes in greased loaf pan.

welcome onboard

2009-09-26T13:35:00.003-04:00

i've been thinking that maybe you would like to come with me on a flight? get to see the laughter, the tears and maybe someone getting arrested? sounds like a ball right? ok here it is then....

welcome onboard flight #110 september 26th.

driving in on the blue route, wearing my sweet uniform.

park the car, ride the bus, go through security and enter into the crew room.

time to get on da bird.

this where me and my friend laura will be working. the back galley.

i have literally spent hours and hours of my life here.

its almost sentimental, eh maybe not.

laura is getting to work.

i am such a efficient worker that i am doing laura's work after i finished mine.

i have my one village coffee with me. i share with laura. duh.

we board half the plane in philly, take off and pick up the rest of the darlings in baltimore.

so we are in bwi, awaiting our pax. the cops come on board. {YES!} they have

a sketch! who still uses a sketch!?!? they take this women off for questioning.

sorry to dissappoint but she does not get arrested and they let her go on her vaca.

i have NO idea what it was about.

we are boarded and i am moving crap around. because i can.

we take off. start setting up the cart to sling beverages.

breakfast time!

*greek yogurt and mango granola

i do this a lot on the plane.....strettcchh. my flight attendant friends gawk at my

flexabilty. they don't think it looks natural. whateve.

btw, my hair is NOT touching the ground because

that would be nnnnnnasty!!!

we all land safely in punta cana, domincan republic. finally.

laura talks to the pax.

here is the airport. people love to take pictures of it.

'OH MY GOSH. its a grass roooooof!'

ugh.

we pose for you.

the domincan cleaners come on board. hi guys.

i always feel like they are talking about me, but i can never be sure.

the pilots hang out, jeremy and paul. borrrring.

laura shows you what the overhead bin looks like with her stuffed inside.

aw thanks laura.

its humid outside so the airconditioning fogs the place up.

people freak.out. over this stuff.

i tell them its sleeping gas.

i'm ready to be home when some guy in a torn up camo shirt and jean shorts

asks me "hey are you american!?"

i get bored during the flight because we ran out of cups and can't do our second beverage service.

the flight is 3hour 40minute....really long when you are bored.

i may or may not have drawn this during that time.

laura and i, still bored, show you our angry we don't care flight attendant faces.

jk, we just have bad modeling faces.

we land in bwi...again. go through security and get back on the plane to fly home.

only a few people are going on to philly.

i am hungry and don't have anymore of my healthy food packed.

i am happy to see my good long lost friend, pizza combos.

eat half the bag and feel like poop. darn you pizza combos!!!

we land in philly. catch the bus and get in our cars. this kinda day takes about 12hours.

but i am away from my house for about 15hours.

hope you liked going to punta cana.

peace out.

top tres tuesday || recycled

2009-09-22T10:56:00.000-04:00

welcome welcome welcome to my very first {TOP TRES TUESDAY}

i thought it might be a good idea to start something that would make me post at least once a week. to be honest, its not a completely original idea but i think it'll work. if you are wandering, i picked tuesday because i am usually off and spending my day hanging around the house with this charmer...

for my first tuesday, i picked three {recycled} items i am pining for. i will most likely attempt my hand at that a some point.

numero uno

this {recycled} wine bottle chandlier comes from pottery barn. if i just collect the wine bottles and figure out how to run the lights through the center, my dad would probably be able to make all the metal parts at his shop. seriously they are charging $399 for this bad boy!

numero dos

this idea comes from martha stewart's whole living. she {recycles} men's button down shirts into napkins. its very simple, but i love the look of variety you can get.

numero tres

i love trixiedelicious. i found her on etsy. i just love the old school dishes that she has {recycled} with snarky words and sayings.

check out my bling

2009-09-21T22:16:00.000-04:00

a year ago B and i went to the pa renewable energy festival (btw, he was a speaker there this year. what what!) while looking at all the vendors, i saw these two girls peddling their handmade jewelry. they had the most amazing wire wrapped jewelry. i loved the natural stones and how the wire was wrapped with no symmetry. so why not add one more craft to my life?

these are some cheap tools, beads and different size wires that have come from joanne's and michael's (my best friends)

i started with a ring. i watched a few how to videos i found on the world wide web, ever heard of it?

its a bit small on these sausage links, but better luck next time.

why not add some earrings? turquise is my all time fave ever. ever. (sorry for the messy hair)

seriously so easy i may never buy jewelry again. just playin.

bad, bad blogger

2009-09-21T17:56:00.000-04:00

ahhhhh blogger guilt. i'm so sorry its been a ghost town up in here. i had a busy week flying college football teams around. alas i am back, so cheer up buttercup.

i only have one little apron to show you today. because i am so indecisive, the majority of this project was picking out the fabric.

after that this project was easy rider. i mean its an apron, how crazy can you get? i still love love love its simplicity though.

so i'll hopefully be back tomorrow. buhhhh bye.

killers

2009-09-15T14:33:00.000-04:00

our anniversary dinner..... are you picturing some amazing restaraunt, wine, candles? how about me and b staring dreamily into each others eyes, remenscing about our wedding day? or maybe watching our wedding video, tearfully enoying seeing ourselves a year ago?

well you are wrongggggg my friend! we were killing our dinner. knowing how much i love crabs, b brought home live ones for us to feast on. whats more romantic then boiling live sea creatures? ahhhh, right nothing.

let me just tell you these guys were pissed at us. i could see it in their eyes.

b leading them to their death.

RIP crabs, sorrry my husband is just that wonderful.

no longer newly weds

2009-09-13T13:53:00.000-04:00

really, a whole year already gone? me and willy are already celebrating our one year anniversary. he asked me the other night how i would sum up this year. i said overwhelming. he said growth. i think its a good mix of both, we have grown together through the craziest year i can ever remember.

here was where and who we were one year ago......

i've always wanted to be someone's old lady

2009-09-10T09:52:00.001-04:00

i apologize if that title gave you the impression that this would be a really funny post, cause it's not. after billy called me his old lady last night, i responded that i've always wanted to be someones old lady. he thought i should use it in my blog. he has a lot of ideas for my blog, he might think about it as much as i do. maybe i will let him have his own appearance on here soon.

anyway, after making the frog beanie last night for baby inverso, i realized i should make something for taylor inverso! how can i leave this cutie out?

so i made her this apron. i haven't seen her in forevaaa, so i hope it will still fit her!

in other random news, billy picked a bean the is bigger than his head....

and last but not least, jay z's new album... crazy good. please at least go support him, we can't have his wife walking around in walmart people! he does not disappoint.

uh thats it for today.... all so random, but hope you enjoyed! kthanksbye.

little gifts

2009-09-09T16:09:00.000-04:00

after spending the weekend in avalon and ocean city with my hot husband, i am still drowning in a sea of laundry and housework. i should tell you it bores me, but i kinda like keeping a spiffy house. however i did make time today to make something fun, these tiny gifts.

this pencil holder is for my sister in law, jackie.

this frog beanie is for my very dear friends the inverso's. they are expecting

a baby boy. hopefully this will fit his little noggin.

i plan on making more of these

for all the babies i know.

making moonshine

2009-09-03T16:43:00.000-04:00

i'm not really making moonshine, but thats kinda what making peach brandy felt like. i've been awaiting summer peaches in hopes to make this recipe. i've never had brandy, so i'm not quite sure what to expect.

i found these cute jars being sold at a stand along the road. perfect for my project not to mention adorable.

5 cups of mashed/diced ripe peaches.

1 1/2 cup sugar

a bottle of brandy

the glass jar needs to sit for 4 to 6 months in a cool dark place. i planned on giving it a good shake every so often since the sugar may need help dissolving. looks yummy though doesn't it? i think i will wait exactly 5 months, so expect a report of my peach brandy on february 3rd 2010.

gardening in the dark and other goodies

2009-09-02T21:54:00.000-04:00

my new love in the garden is picking string beans. hate to eat em, but looove to search for them. its like hide and go seek. whats even more fun is picking them at night, good thing willy's got a headlamp for such the occasion. we also picked a super cute lopsided watermelon.

and here we have some fun old school advertisements from the thrift store today. i haven't decided what to do with them yet, i had to get them right?

so easy its shocking

2009-09-01T21:03:00.000-04:00

yep this is how surprisingly easy it is to make a headband.....

(thanks gavin, good job)

i am on a real sewing kick now. i didn't have a whole lotta time today, which is why i choose the simplest project for my time. i don't have to tell you how to sew a strip of cloth together to make a head band, that is most likely wayyyy beyond you smart folks out there. i just love how creative you can get.

here is just one more hat for good measure. i don't look great in hats which is why i cut my face off this picture, but you get the idea.

warm me up

2009-08-31T17:20:00.000-04:00

while cruising through etsy yesterday, i came across a lot of clothing items that had been upcycled from old unwanted clothing. great idea, because i have two full baskets of old clothing in our garage. i need to convince my husband that i am going to use them eventually so he won't kick it all to the curb. we've had a very lively discussion about leaving my crap there because i am planning on having a garage sale or using it. is lively discussion the right word, billy? love you, muah.

so here is what i came up with for some old sweaters i have had forevaaaaa. i can't wait to perfect them with some other sweaters and add some details. here i come cold weather!

my favorite things: apartment

2009-08-30T13:26:00.000-04:00

i love our apartment. it is absolutely perfect for us.

when billy and i first looked at it we were only dating, but i knew he was looking at it for us...it gave me butterflies. it looked completely different to the cozy little place we know now. billy struck a deal to repaint it all, in exchange for rent, along with some other much needed renovations the owner took care of. eventually i will put up the 'before' pictures so you can see how far it has come.

here are my favorite things in our {home}

*i made this pillow in my first sewing class, b was so proud of me.

*i found old local postcards from an antique store and framed them above our coat hanger. they were used so i love reading the notes on the back people wrote to each other.

*billy and i met on a trip to nepal. friends of ours went back and gifted us this painting from nepal for our wedding.

* i've been meaning to introduce my fish, mordecai. he is terribly shy.

*above the sink~ mordecai, pictures of the nephews and us getting engaged at sunset in grenada.

*shells in shadow boxes from grenada.

*glass on the left holds sea glass, shells and rocks from all of our journeys. glass on the right holds wine corks, dated and the names of who we enjoyed the bottle with. i told billy, if there is a fire please don't leave these behind. i adore them.

*sewing desk. place of joy and tears.

*one of the four original windows like this one. this window is in the office/sewing/keep our crap hidden room.

*we also have three of these mini crawl spaces. they remind me of the doors for the munchkin's homes in wizard of oz.

*our bedroom with more original windows and hard wood floors. my favorite place in the world.

*billy's nightstand. our wedding picture and bamboo i bought him.

*a little cut out in our bedroom.

*we have a door that connects us to the owners side of the house. their kids made signs for all of the doors in their house. this is the sign they made for the door that leads into our apartment. adorable.

*original wooden windows.

*from our deck, the catholic ukrainian church next door. their bells ring every hour. i will miss this so much when we go.

*original door handle.

*our first garden. b's pride and joy.

* no matter where husband and i go, it feels so good to be {home}

one small success

2009-08-28T23:36:00.000-04:00

i have had a love/hate relationship with sewing. i love that i can be creative, that i can make usable items, that i can repurpose old items. i hate that i am not as good as i sometimes believe myself to be and that i am so easily discouraged. last week, i tried to make just a simple tank top and i ended up nearly crying and telling my husband, i am not good at anything!!! you see i want to be good at these things, but i want to be good at them NOW. when i get discouraged and aggravated at myself, i won't come back to my sewing machine for days.

after talking to our friends who often feel the same about their creative endeavors, they encouraged me to just keep failing. with every failed tank top, i eventually get closer to a successful tank top. i felt ready to try again. friday i was able to make a halter that was not even close to perfect, but at the end, i wasn't crying and i was excited that i am getting closer.

present from dad

2009-08-25T17:06:00.001-04:00

willy and i went to my dads for dinner last night. he had just picked up some of the best sweet corn we have had all summer! he gifted us 14 ears....woohoo.... corn party! i took some time decided on how best to use my new gift. i decided i would freeze a few bags to use later and use a couple ears on something fresh. i used some in this killer crepe recipe i've been waiting to try out!

8 crepes
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 small peppers, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 1/2 cup sweet corn
1/4 cup cream cheese
parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper
garlic powder

saute veggies in olive oil, stir in chicken, seasonings and cheeses. wrap mixture in crepes. serve immediately or freeze for later.

getting ready for fall

2009-08-24T11:32:00.000-04:00

its hard to believe we are already getting ready to do cold weather crops! while we are still getting a lot of fruits and veggies coming in from our garden, we still need to be getting ready for the fall. saturday billy and i spent a lot of time thinning out our garden and planting new stuff. we have already started kale, spinach, red sails and buttercrunch. we will hopefully add bok choy and whatever cold weather crops i can find.

b working very hard

we normally compost or recycle egg crates, but we found a new purpose for them

herbs tied and ready to be dried out

war of the sauces

2009-08-21T16:40:00.000-04:00

green tomatoes, bad idea

i came home from work monday night to an amazing smell in our place. my husband had made tomato sauce with ingredients from our garden. we tried his sauce over whole wheat pasta at midnight, i was in heaven. i always thought i was fine with preggo, i was wrong. it was fresh and perfect. tuesday i decided to make some sauces of my own. i planned on making a green and red sauce. neither turned out well. i thought i am a good cook, how could this happen? so i interviewed my husband to find out his secrets!

j- hi will, its me your wife.
b- hi wife.
j- are you ready for your interview?
b- yep.
j- you had a recent success in the kitchen, can you tell me about it?
b- i put an heirloom tomato, onion, minced garlic, and a habanero in our food processor and put it in a sauce pan. at first it was pink then turned to red. i put the lid half on and half off to thicken it. i then mixed in salt, pepper, olive oil and brown sugar, a 1/4 cup at most. then added some garlic powder and seasoned salt. let it continue to simmer on low heat for awhile. then my wife came home. oh wait! i forgot i added oregano, basil and parsley.
j- so why did my sauce fail?
b- you are not generous enough with spices. you used green tomatoes and you needed to let it simmer longer. you need to let the tomatoes do the talking.
j- ok thanks. so does this mean you'll be cooking more?
b- um, its a time factor. my mental state keeps me from cooking. i hope to at minimum cook dinner for my wife.
j- well then, whats your favorite meal your wife makes?
b- the one i always make noises for when i eat it.
j- you do that at all your meals.
b- i forget, there are too many. i'll have to get back to you.
j- i think you liked the chicken kiev and cashew broccoli.
b- oh yea, that was really good. awesome combination.
j- anything else you would like to add?
b- {i will do you a favor and not tell you what he said}

the red mess

mini terrariums

2009-08-20T16:23:00.000-04:00

i feel like its been an eternity since my last blog! many times after a bad sewing experience, i feel the need to redeem myself creatively. i made a horribly disfigured shirt the other day, which is why i went mad today with mini terrariums. i first got the idea from a artist on etsy. like most things i see and pine for, i convince myself that i can make it. it is my curse and my blessing. i had tried a few months ago to put some moss i found in a graveyard (ah spooky) into a terrarium i had found. it was slowly dying when i came across a book at the library 'the new terrarium'. i was reinspired to try again.

the whole point of a terrarium is that it makes a basically self sustaining atmosphere. after the initial creating and watering, it should take care of itself! it requires very little water, if any at all. it prefers shade with little sun. it will need to be trimmed hardly ever. ah, so basically you can't kill it! aren't you convinced you need to make one by now!?!?!

i first started with four glass jars i found while shopping at some local thrift store (aka my new favorite past time)

then i lined the bottom with a mixture of small stones and charcoal (charcoal helps the soil from going bad)

i put in a small amount of potting soil

the i arranged each one. there are a variety of plants and flowers you can use, but it is best to make sure they are able to live in this way first. here i used moss, a dwarf fern, some sort of pink flower thing, and pin cushion. i also made a little stone path in one of them.

garden update

2009-08-12T16:51:00.001-04:00

yes i am avoiding sewing at the moment if you've noticed. there is no ac and little airflow in that room, where all of my equipment is. hot and cranky jessica does not make inspiring or even good work! so i will update you on the progress of our garden! i feel our veggies were off to a slow start as a lot of stuff is just now ripening. we were able to eat our first tomato! we put it in some salsa that billy made for our house church and then i put some on his sammie for lunch today. its a really good tomato, but not as flavorful as smaller ones.
here is the plant it came from. billy has been restaking it a lot since it is toppling over its tomato cage.
our watermelons, squash and beans are going crazy. they are all intertwined, i guess bad placement on our part.here is the first acorn squash, cutie eh?

finally some little tiny watermelon fruits! how ridiculously cute is that?

this an just odd. i have been getting a ton of GREEN peppers from this plant and today i go out to pick a few and there is this......

and lastly some of our green striped tomatoes are ready! i only know this because we asked a farmer friend of ours how you know when they are ready. he said they start turning a bit yellow and obviously feel softer. i'm so curious to taste these lil guys!

9 hour layover vs. 7 years

2009-08-11T10:36:00.000-04:00

this is me laying under the palm trees in punta cana yesterday.

you might be thinking.... so what she goes to these places all the time? or you might be thinking, such an easy job! just hand out a few cokes, then go lay on the beach all day. well shame on you! yes this was an amazing day on a secluded beach with just one little crab, but you need to know what i put up with first. you see i've been with my company 7 years and have only been on a great layover a handful of times. so 7 years vs. maybe 25 hours! i've broken it down to help you understand better:

7 years of:

waking up at 2 or 3 am to go to work
countless missed holidays
being thrown up on
cleaning up a 5 year old peeing in the galley
being pushed in security by an old man
having to tell countless americans what their citizenship is
repeating the drink list countless times so that they can ask for something i don't have, like say a pina colada
having to smell the lavatory when people have been sick all week in punta cana
breaking up fights
being blamed for the weather and the delay
explaining what exactly it means to have the seat belt sign on
telling people not to change their baby on the tray table, its unsanitary!
having to ask people to take care of their children, its their job not mine.
chasing after loose pets
dealing with drunk people- kicking them off the plane, stop serving them or taking away the liquor they are trying to hide for me
dealing with needy pilots
listening to people complain that no one at their hotel spoke english... they were in mexico
countless other things, but hopefully you understand

25 hours of:

secluded, beautiful beach

sunday fun

2009-08-11T10:15:00.000-04:00

since i had a rare sunday off from work, bill and i made the most of it. we stopped by two farms and got so much great stuff. so much stuff i dont really know what i will do with it all. besides fruit and veggies, we were also given some cold weather plants to put in our garden. later that night we had a friend dave over for dinner. billy made an amazing salsa, i made whole wheat pizza, red corn and peaches for dessert.

our bounty from overbrook farm

cute lil red corn

b's salsa

pizza with tomatoes, basil, garlic and onions on a whole wheat crust

dave and b

fat and ugly

2009-08-07T18:19:00.000-04:00

i want you to know that even though i call this post 'fat and ugly', i am filled with joy and pride. as dwight shrute would say, its the money beet. we got our tomato plants from a good farmer friend of ours. they were young, small and depended on us, just like lets say children?! i was impatiently waiting for the first sign of an actual tomato fruit on our plants... it took what felt like forever. finally finally, this little baby tomato appeared. i watched it grow and to my surprise it just kept growing. it grew to be a very fat and not so attractive tomato, but of all my garden goodness that i have right now, it holds the spot light in my heart.

garden dinner

2009-08-06T21:16:00.000-04:00

here is our first dinner that our garden has made an appearance in every dish! besides peppers and basil, everything has been taking its sweet time ripening up. that is the hardest part of waiting for all of our own food, patience. i don't have much of it. but i was psyched when we were able to have a little from our garden in every dish tonight.

first i made this really yummy broccoli dish from www.allrecipes.com, with our very own broccoli. i had a lot less broccoli then the recipe calls for so i made adjustments.

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli
1/3 cup butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped cashews

Place the broccoli into a large pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 minutes, or until tender but still crisp. Drain, and arrange broccoli on a serving platter.
While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews, and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

then i made chicken keiv, so easy and quick! i had made the herb butter from our own herbs last week. i don't follow a recipe for this because its so basic.

lastly we had an amazing salad, using our own greens. we have butter crunch and red leaf here. billy added this amazing garlic tofu he prepared. it really didn't even need dressing.

i am just so thankful God meets our needs in the most basic ways. you plant, it grows and you are able to eat.

wristlet and bag

2009-08-05T16:18:00.000-04:00

after a failed attempt at granola bars yesterday, i felt i needed to redeem myself. i was in our office/sewing room sweating profusely and getting frustrated, but here they are! finally finished!

my first creation was a small wristlet i was going to give my mother in law for her birthday. it didn't come out quite as well as i planned so i will make another attempt.

my second project was a messenger bag. there are a few things i would change but i am much happier with this bag than the other i blogged about.

happy birthday

2009-08-04T17:09:00.000-04:00

A Dad is respected because he gives his children leadership.
A Dad is appreciated because he gives his children care.
A Dad is valued because he gives his children time.
A Dad is loved because he gives his children the one thing they treasure most - himself.

~ Author Unknown

coolest vases

2009-07-31T16:03:00.000-04:00

i would try to pass this off as my efforts to be green, but the truth is i would like it if it was green or not! i've been using beer bottles as flower vases, so i'm not recycling.... i'm upcycling! its obviously not the most amazing thing in the world, but its still pretty cool. i also included on small vase i found at a thrift store for $2.00.

summer's perfect drink

2009-07-30T15:37:00.000-04:00

i was inspired to try to make my own cucumber lemonade after i tried some from a local raw restaurant. it was the best drink i have tried in awhile and so perfect for summer! mine doesn't taste exactly the same, but i am stoked about my version!

1. juice one large cucumber.
2. combine juice of 3 to 4 lemons to cucumber juice.

3. stir in 4 cups of water and approximately 3 tablespoons of agave nectar or honey.

4. garnish with cucumber and lemon slices.

the air up there

2009-07-26T17:53:00.000-04:00

while at work this morning, i kept thinking "what can i blog about next?" you see my sewing machine is not sewing correctly (something with the tension, i think) and i will not have time to do any really fun cooking..... so what else is there? then i remembered a question i am constantly asked, a topic that people never tire of! my job as a flight attendant. over the past 7 years, i've had plenty of funny things happen and i am always asked about them. i have a very short memory, so this is just a list of the stories that stick out.

in random order, funny stories from a flight attendant:

1. one of my dear friends was about 7 months pregnant when we got a layover in cancun. as young spring breakers would pass us by on the beach they would do a double take. she decided to yell after young men to their shock and amazement 'be careful! this is what happens on spring break!'

2. i am particularly fond of seniors, so i feel a little guilty telling this one. one elderly woman realllllly had to go number 2. she could not possibly wait in line for the bathroom up front, so she walked to the vacant lavatories in the back. she however did not make. she left a pungent aroma through the whole cabin and left droppings all the way down the aisle.

3. a few nights ago i was doing the beverage service and i asked a girl about 6 years old what she wanted to drink. very politely she responded "i will have some french fries please".

4. a senior male flight attendant was talking to a few passengers about the beautiful beach they would soon be arriving at. he told a busty looking woman about the "titty blue water" instead of the "pretty blue water". the owner of our company was sitting right behind her.

5. one of the flight attendants was about to leave on a voluntary furlough. on her last flight as we welcomed our passengers to their final destination, we also announced that she was leaving us to go on tour with david hasselhoff as his backup dancer. the passengers took it very seriously and all congratulated her on their way out.

6. one trip down to cancun was loaded with young spring breakers. one row had three college linebackers packed in together. the guy in the middle got incredibly sick and needed more than just his sick bag, he needed more of a large trash bag. being fairly new and being simple minded, i began to laugh so hard that i couldn't even speak. luckily another flight attendant was able to take care of him.

7. before we had a safety demonstration video, we had to do it manually. one of our favorite activities was trying to get the flight attendant out in the aisle to laugh since the are facing the back and everyone else faces forward. joining in on the fun, newly hired jessica started shaking her butt and dancing like a fool to get the flight attendant to laugh.....completely unaware that all the passengers were now turned around looking at her instead.

so there is my list for now. i have plenty more stories to tell, but how many can you really take? maybe some of my friends have stories to share???

our garden

2009-07-25T10:25:00.001-04:00

well here is our very first garden together! i have to say we become prideful of our garden. since this is our first attempt, we have learned a lot and are already anticipating next years garden! we've met some great farmer friends that have given us a lot of organic plants to start with, making the process a lot easier.
our garden contains: red leaf and butter crunch lettuce, habnero peppers, tollie sweet peppers, a variety of herbs, peas, green stripe and heirloom tomatoes, watermellons, cucumbers, white ghostbuster eggplant, yellow squash, broccoli and onions. a few things that didn't make it.... RIP carrots and arugala.

one hot husband, cutting back the tomatoes

one small broccoli head, one bigggg plant

the amazing basil

one heirloom tomato that is literally as big as my hand

farmer bill

lettuce still growing and some herbs

and last but not least, our homeade composter! we bought a large rubbermade and drilled holes into it. we have really cut down on how much trash we throw away due to how much we are able to put in our composter. we've also periodically put in worms. they help compost the materials quickly and they produce amazing fertilizer for your garden! i found some helpful information at www.howtocompost.org

peachy

2009-07-21T14:14:00.000-04:00

i really would've liked to blog more about our garden and show off with some pictures, but rain is preventing me to do so. you will have to settle with this amazing recipe i just tried. bill and i received some delicious white peaches at the lansdale farmers market on saturday. i had seen this recipe a few weeks ago and was waiting for fresh local peaches to try it out. this dessert has only slightly over 100 calories and 2 grams of fat! enjoy! 1 peach 1 tsp butter 2 tsp sugar 1/4 c ricotta 1 tbsp honey cinnamon sprig of mint melt butter and sugar in skillet. divide peaches in two, remove pit and place cut side down into skillet. cook for about 2 min until slightly caramelized. in small bowl combine ricotta, cinnamon and honey. spoon mixture into peaches, garnish with mint.

lansdale farmers market

2009-07-19T13:38:00.000-04:00

yesterday was the third lansdale farmer's market. this is so close to my heart because we have seen this market go from a meeting of four people in our living room with a vision to an actual market! all those months ago i could've never imagined how truly great it turned out to be.
yesterday bill and i started by riding our bikes to the market at seven. the weather could not have been more perfect, sunny with a light breeze. there were already vendors setting up and lots of volunteers on hand to help them when we arrived. you could already start to smell the fresh herbs, produce and baked good. there is a genuine sense of community from the vendors, to volunteers and to all the shoppers. at nine am the market officially opens. out of all the wonderful stuff that happens at a farmer's market, the thing i love the most is really supporting the local farmers and their work. letting them know that we are committed to helping our local farmers is so important. this summer is a great time to search out your local farmers, you willmost likely find better much betterproduce. every dollar you spend is changing the way food is produced in our nation....its so powerful!

first bag

2009-07-17T12:24:00.000-04:00

this is my first real bag! even though its not perfect and might not get a lot of use, it was great practice. since i am terrible at following patterns, i like to do things freehand. i also did my first button hole, i feel so accomplished!

i also just made some fresh pesto...so good and easy! the basil in our garden is huge, we've just had so much that i've been making batches of pesto and freezing them. i make mine based on taste not measurements. just blend basil leaves, olive oil, garlic, salt and parmesean cheese. i put the pesto into ice cube trays and freeze them. when i need them, i can just grab out a cube at a time. i found this nifty idea on my friend's sisters blog.

where to start?

2009-07-16T21:44:00.000-04:00

i've never even considered blogging before. if you ever should return to this little blog you will undoubtedly realize that i am a terrible blogger and you will hopefully remember that i warned you! i guess i wanted a way to document all of the little joyful things that happen in my life. things like our garden, photographs, my new pet fish mordecia, my sewing projects, good food, projects, anything that may inspire me and everything but anything that is really important. ah, you get it now?

Everything but Important

baked apple crisp

donde esta yessica?

to do list

come & get your moonshine

name dropper

top tres tuesday: spring blooms

tips to travel

secrets

thrifting booty

lust: the garden collection

my summertime ride

more ugly truth from a fligh attendant

philly flower show

camera randomness

too much winter

get to know me, please

*cupcakes for haiti*

more raw

logan

random acts of creativity

new years resolution

neck warmer

thrift store jewelry

craft fair bust #2

top tres tuesday || sweet potatoes

happy thanksgiving pumpkin pie

top tres tuesday || update crafting

someones birthday.....

don't throw it out

quiche me

gift bags

the unhealthy truth

top tres tuesday || back

Everything Important...no butts about it.

leaving on a jet plane

top tres tuesday || halloween

band of puppets

this bread is bananas

aw pumpkin

celebrity husband

maine.

temporary farewell

fruit chips

remake soccer mom sweatshirt

keep on falling

top tres tuesday || apples

welcome onboard

top tres tuesday || recycled

check out my bling

bad, bad blogger

killers

no longer newly weds

i've always wanted to be someone's old lady

little gifts

making moonshine

gardening in the dark and other goodies

so easy its shocking

warm me up

my favorite things: apartment

one small success

present from dad

getting ready for fall

war of the sauces

mini terrariums

garden update

9 hour layover vs. 7 years

sunday fun

fat and ugly

garden dinner

wristlet and bag

happy birthday

coolest vases

summer's perfect drink

the air up there

our garden

peachy

lansdale farmers market

first bag

where to start?

cupcakes for haiti