Madrona Road mini quilt!

Over the weekend, I finished another sewing project! The DC Modern Quilt Guild is taking part in a project organized by the Modern Quilt Guild involving a new line of fabric called Madrona Road by a designer called Michael Miller. Each Modern Quilt Guild across the country (and world!) was sent little bundles of this fabric, and each person wanting to take part could make whatever they wanted, as long as they used just this fabric, and no other, other than adding solids if needed. No patterns by any other designer.


Of course I wanted to take part, but I didn't know what to make....I get intimidated at times like this, but pressure is good sometimes, right? So, I decided to make a bookshelf mini quilt, as found here. I've done this one before, and I just love it!  

My little bundle of fabrics:

The quilt top, finished: 

 

 

Finally, finished! It's small, but I love it.

 

 

So, it will hang on the wall in my sewing room, I think. 

 

 

It was definitely fun to take part in this challenge.

 

 

Thank you to Michael Miller for donating these fabrics to the Modern Quilt Guilds!

 

 

 



 

baby quilt finished!

Here is a baby quilt I finished recently, but never posted a photo of! I made this for my friend Mallorie's son Connor, who is such a doll. He'll be a year in April! 

This fabric is called Reunion by Sweetwater for Moda and I just love it! Of course, I am a slow quilter, so Connor finally received it in November, but better late than never, right? :)  I have photo of Mal, Connor and I with it, but I don't want to post that, as I don't think it is right to post photos of children without permission from their parents!

I have several other baby quilts to work on too....one for my friend Stephanie's little Grace, one for Christine's baby girl-to-be (due next month!), and one for Heidi's baby boy-to-be (due in March!). Also, Steve's sister Heather is expecting a boy next summer, so I need to figure out what to do for her too! Grace's quilt is in the works, Heidi's fabric is picked out, but that is it with these so far! I need to get moving....

I think I need to figure out how I can be a stay-at-home quilter  ;)

eeek! a Bellevue Newport giveaway!!!

 

 

Good morning Sunshine! I have a giveaway for you today!

 

 

Have you heard about Bellevue Newport yet? It's a fashion jewelry flashsale via facebook auctions! Monday and Wednesday evenings, beginning at 8pm, EST.

It's so much fun- they will post the picture, description, quantity and price of the item. To bid on the item, you comment on the picture with "SOLD" and your email address.

 

They send an invoice via paypal and payment is due within 24 hours.

Payment is done via paypal only. Shipping is ALWAYS free! 

 

 

These are a few of the goodies I've picked up, all under $20!

Glam earrings (they also come in green!).

Both bracelets, though two different times!

 



Starfish bangle (center) in turquoise with the bow bracelet, also in turquoise.

 

On the far right is a hair tie from Scarlet Threads new Wired {He}arts collection ;)

 

 

Serpeant bracelet!

 

My sister has this one too, so she and I are twinsies!

 

Sometimes there are even crazy sales!

 

 

How to buy:

Bellevue Newport was so kind to offer us a giveaway! These new monogram necklaces come in your choice of navy blue or hot pink, and also a choice of script or block.

 

 

Aren't they terrific?!

 

 

Here's how to enter:

 

 

 

 



a Rafflecopter giveaway

vodka l'orange?

Errr, just the best idea ever! Why didn't I ever think of this!?

Upside Down Orange:

1 large orange 1 small bottle vodka

Remove top stem part of the orange.

With a knife, gently poke insides of the orange to open up the pulps.

Open vodka bottle and insert into the hole.

Rest orange in a small bowl, vodka bottle side up.

Put in the chiller. Wait for 6-8 hours.

When orange has absorbed vodka, remove bottle.

Slice into wedges and enjoy.

Perfect for concerts/drive in movies/football games

Via pinterest, of course. I'm so creative these days, eh?  ;)



nail polish love. again.

In the past year or so, I've been really into nail polish and painting my nails. This must be from birchbox (are you a member? $10 a month and a box filled with beauty samples!) because they've sent several nail polishes over the months. So, in turn, I've been painting my nails, and keeping them painted most of the time! I do try to let my nails go natural for a day or two between colors...that seems like a good idea, right?

Well, thanks to MMS who let me know about a fabulous deal from Zoya, I am now adding a color called LEXI to my collection. It's my name, I had to have it! Look how pretty it is!

 Also! Right now, get THREE Zoya polishes for $10 shipped with code ZOYA2013!!!!


I ordered Lexi, of course, and two others that I won't mention yet, because they are for my sister, and she occasionally reads this  ;)


Also, I recently joined Julep, which is similar to birchbox, but just nail polish! I received my first shipment yesterday, so I will post about that later. 



Do you paint your nails much these days? What are your favorite colors?

hey! that's pin-tastic! garlic pull-apart bread.

As you know, I am very often posting about things I've seen on pinterest, and today I decided to link up with AP's Hey! That's Pin-tastic! I thought this might be fun! I love reading AP's blog, though I don't seem to comment there as often as I should!  If you don't read her blog, you should - her boys are just the cutest. For real. 

One night last week (New Years Eve, in fact), Steve and I roasted a chicken for dinner- one of my favorite meals. He had to work during the day, but I was off, and spent some time on pinterest, natch. I found this recipe for garlic pull-apart bread, and it sounded like the perfect thing to go along with the chicken! 

It wasn't a terribly difficult recipe, though I'd make a few tweaks, I think. Here's the original:

Ingredients:

1 can of refrigerated Grands biscuits (not the flaky layers)
1/2 stick of butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian Seasoning 

Instructions:

1-  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Throw the cold stick of butter in a bundt pan and let it melt in the preheating oven.

2- While the butter melts, cut the Grands biscuits into quarters. In a bowl, toss the biscuit pieces, garlic, Italian Seasoning, and Parmesan cheese together.

3- Once the butter is melted, add the biscuit mixture, sprinkling with any cheese and garlic that gets let behind in the bowl.

4- Bake at 350 degrees for 20- 22 minutes until golden brown. Turn out on a dish and enjoy!

My notes:

I might use less than a full stick of butter next time. It was a lot. 

I didn't use the Italian seasoning either. Steve isn't hugely wild about it. 

Since I had a chicken in the oven, I couldn't melt the butter in the pan while preheating, so I melted it in the microwave. After the butter was melted, I used pre-minced garlic, as I realized I didn't have any full cloves in the house. For shame! Also, I was quite low on parmesan cheese....clearly I did not think this through carefully before I decided to make it! 

So I added the minced garlic and the parmesan cheese to the small bowl of melted butter and as I cut up the biscuits (and I DID use the flaky kind, despite the recipe saying not to!), and I'd "marinate" them in the mix for a few seconds before putting them into the pan. 

Most of the butter mix was soaked up to an extent, but the little bit that I had leftover, I poured over it afterwards. What I didn't realize, was that while baking, it would sink! So, when they came out, the bottom layer was somewhat sopping in butter, while the top layer was just about perfect! So, less butter would be ideal for the next time, I think. 

Before baking photo:

After baking photo: 

Overall, this was a great recipe, and so easy. You could also try other spices too, to switch things up. Maybe rosemary and thyme? I do love rosemary! Another cheese would be fun too. Maybe add some olives and feta, for a Greek take on this? 

How might you change this up?

the best gift

I must confess. I've been a bit out of sorts this Christmas season. At first, I blamed my sister's wedding...since that was Thanksgiving weekend, I never really had a chance to relax before it was suddenly December and I had to be ready for the holidays and all that come with it, but that really wasn't fair of me. I knew her wedding date all year, and of course the date of Christmas doesn't change...so I had plenty of time to prepare. I just didn't.

 

 

So, by saying I've been a bit overwhelmed this month would be an understatement. 

 

 

 

We were in Iowa this year with Steve's family, meaning this was the first year that I wasn't with mine. More on that later.

 

 

 

After my sister's wedding (which I never blogged about, did I?), I had an extra day at home in NH, to relax. There is an antique shop downtown that I love, and try to pop into each time I am home. Steve and I went in Sunday afternoon. I spotted these, and my heart stopped-

 

Chiko and Elena.

 

 



 

My grandmother has a set of these prints on her wall, and has had them forever. She and my grandfather received them as a wedding gift more than 60 years ago. Apparently in the 40's, these were very fashionable, and the "in" thing to have. She has always loved them. In their house, they hung at the bottom of the staircase, and as a little girl, my mother would sit on the bottom of the stairs and talk to them.

 

 

A few years ago, my mother found a set at an antique shop and bought them for herself, and my aunt has a set as well. When I saw them, I think they were marked $12 each. I took this photo, but never bought them. A few days later, I saw the photo again, and wished that I had bought them. I tweeted and instagrammed about them too, and people said to call the store and see if they were still there. I emailed my mother and asked her to stop by and grab them for me. She replied saying that she went to look, but they were gone. Sadface.

 

 

 

This afternoon, after spending the day in yoga pants watching a Law and Order: SVU marathon (Steve and I got back at 2am last night!), we opened a few gifts that my parents sent to us. In doing so, I found this-

 

 

 

Chiko and Elena!

Yes, the very ones. As it turned out, my mother went down to that antique shop the very next day to get them for me, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Now I just need to find the perfect place for them to live in the house!

What was your best gift this year?


Hope you had a most happy Christmas and New Years!

 

 

 

 



and I quote

Well this is awfully lovely.

From pinterest, of course.

Happy New Year, to you and yours!