Hi there, welcome to my blog! As the title suggests, it's going to be about everything and the kitchen sink. I am as they say, crafty, or artsy fartsy if you will - I make jewelry, I sew, I cook, I write, I do all kinds of cool crafts - and this is going to be my forum for that. The plan is that once a week I will do a post about a new project that I have done. My hope is that "going public" like this will keep me motivated. I wouldn't, after all, want to disappoint my many fans.
Don't you love having friends over for dinner? Not in the Hannibal Lecter way, sheesh! In the wake up and start brainstorming delicious, impressive ways to feed your hungry, stylish, foodie friends way. The take a trip to Pete's Frootique, get all your ingredients, stop by Premier for a bottle of wine and scuttle home because they might be waiting there (in the rain) for you already way. In the gather around the kitchen, pop open that wine and chop, stir, chat, drink, laugh, grill, gossip, saute, sing, way. That way.
Well not long ago, the BF and I had our friend JB over for dinner. It was one of those pretty typical Halifax Spring days, ie: cold, damp, rainy, foggy, so it seemed to me that the best thing I could make for us on that kind of day was a nice, hot soup and sandwich combo.
I can't lie, the whole meal was inspired by, aside from the dreary weather, the recent acquisition of a package of President's Choice maple smoked bacon.
We'd had some for breakfast earlier that week and it was.....well you just have to try it to believe the joy it could bring into your life. The smell! Let me tell you, if I ever decide to become a real estate agent, I will cook a package of this stuff in the kitchen of every house I have to sell, and when people come to view it they'll smell it and just be like, "well honey, obviously we need to live here!" It's that good. The BF and I had also picked up some amazing cheese rolls at the La Have bakery on one of our road trips
and therefore, deal - sealed.
So clearly the soup needed to be accompanied by a delicious sandwich made with the bacon and yummy fresh bread. As I was rambling around Pete's I came across some boneless, skinless chicken thighs and some nice fresh mozzarella. Done. I picked up plenty of yummy veggies for the soup (I'd decided to make Minestrone), made the all important stop at Premier Wine and Spirits and was on my way.
There's something about having some lovely, colorful fresh ingredients spread out before you that is just so exciting. This:
quickly turned into this:
And away I went.
First I sauteed the garlic in some olive oil.
When that delicious smell had made it's way around our kitchen and noses, I added the onions.
I sauteed them until they became translucent and they had let out some of their moisture, then I added the leeks.
When they'd all had the chance to meet and mingle, I let the rest of the gang in.
So they hung out for a while, got to know each other and get comfy. Then we all decided it was really meant to be a much bigger shindig, so....along came some pureed stewed tomatoes!
Followed closely by some long grain and wild rice, and some green lentils and yellow split peas.
We invited some chick peas and turtle and kidney beans too, but they got the invite late and so had to get ready first.
While we waited for them to come, there were all kinds of other things to do.
The legumes finally arrived and jumped right in.
You should have seen how quickly they disappeared into the crowd! THEN it was a party!
Meanwhile, as the Minestrone made merry.....on the other side of the kitchen:
(Please excuse the well-used state of the oven window, never have I claimed status as a domestic goddess!)
I sliced up some fresh tomatoes and red onions, topped the cheese rolls with them, the chicken, bacon and mozzarella and baked those babies until the cheese was bubbling ever so gently.
Finally, I threw on some arugula, the King of the Greens, and PRESTO!
Wasn't that a party? These handsome devils can relate:
Now, as much as this gal loves her rainy day soups and sandwiches, here's hoping (can I get you all to raise your glasses?) that for the next while at least, we'll be more in the mood for a good barbeque, a cool salad and, well some things never change I suppose, a nice big glass of wine.
Today I am going to post a blog that has nothing to do with what I have made or intend to make. Instead, in order to keep myself writing and inspired to write, I've decided this particular post is going to be all about things that I love and inspire me lately. It's important sometimes, I think, to take a look around you and take stock of the good things in your life, the thing that are pretty, make you think, make you want to get up and dance, inspire you to make something.
Here are a few such things for me, in no particular order:
These books. Sorry about the quality of the photos here, some are a little blurry:
This one is a photo book containing amazing rings by incredibly creative and innovative designers and makers. Check these pages out!
And this one is, of course, a book of the works of the late, great Alexander McQueen. I've spent hours just marveling over the pieces included in the book, which also happen to be the pieces that were in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's show of his work last year. For a better look at these stunning works of art: http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/objects/
Flowers! How could something that occurs in nature and is so beautiful not be inspiring? The colors, the shapes, the smells. I love the spring time especially, where the city is bursting at the seams with tulips (my favorites) and the smell of apple blossoms wafts through the air, but any season and any flower will do:
The view from my apartment. Recently I was enjoying my building's roof top patio with two of my dearest friends and fellow wine enthusiasts. We observed how unreal this view appears, almost like a facade, a movie set. But it's real and it's what I get to see from my livingroom window every day. I love this view! The downtown core, one of the prettiest streets in the city (well the one side of the street anyway), all the bustle. It changes by the minute, day, season, so here are a bunch of photos I've taken since I moved in.
My shoes. This sounds silly and I suppose grandly materialistic, but I can't lie: I'm obsessed with shoes. I often plan outfits around them and have several pairs that I enjoy so much that if I'm out shopping I ask myself: would this dress look good with the [insert shoe reference here]. I have classic styles - the black patent leather pump; unusual, eye-catching ones - the Stewart tartan wedges with ankle strap; ones in which I can only sit or stand and look pretty since walking could be treacherous - the five inch leopard print stiletto; and ones that I can wear with anything - the adorable black Mary Jane. Recently the BF (kind, patient man that he is) and I viewed a documentary about my obsession that made me not feel quite as guilty - or at least not as alone in the wide world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dk66xz8te0
And finally, The Tunes:
Left to right, top to bottom: Kalle Mattson - Lives In Between EP / Jack White - Blunderbuss / Dustin Bentall - Streets With no Lights / Steven Bowers - Homing / Dale Murray - Dream Mountain Dream / Joel Plaskett Emergancy - Scrappy Happiness / The Derek Trucks Band - Soul Serenade / The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You / Kev Corbett - Son of a Rudderless Boat / Paul Simon - Graceland / Norah Jones - Little Broken Hearts / the Allman Brothers Band - Eat A Peach / Matt Costa - Mobile Chateau / The Kills - Blood Pressures / Mary Stewart - Chances Are I Like You / Xavier Rudd & Izintaba - Koonyum Sun
Where would I be without my tunes? Curled up in a corner somewhere, silent, sad, colorless and hungry, wishing for the end. Wouldn't you be, too?
So yeah, there you have it, a few of the things that make me tick. Tomorrow it might be something entirely different, but for now these do the trick nicely.
There has been a critter living a half-life in my sewing machine for over a month now.
Kind of macabre in a way, the machine needle remains pierced through Critter #3's eye like some bizarre, creepy gothic ornamentation, awaiting the finishing touches on said eye and the addition of a second. I haven't been feeling like critter-ing (just made that word up if you can believe it) lately, but have been making some nice jewels and am working on a couple designs for dresses I dream of making/wearing this summer.
For Christmas last year, I was gifted a subscription to InStyle magazine, and since then I bought a Groupon for Elle Canada for a $5 year long subscription (!!). Now I have something to look forward to in the mail, something other than the usual ATTENTION, YOU OWE US MUCH OF YOUR HARD EARNED PAY! which is clearly much less fun. I have, for many years now, been a hardcore magazine junkie. I love perusing them for ideas on how to put new, interesting outfits together and for inspiration for making new jewels or dresses or bags or what have you. According to all the mags, this year once again, the delightful maxi-dress is all the rage. I have a couple in my closet already but I'd love to make one. Here are a few that got my wheels turning:
A while back I came across a dress at Biscuit that was basically my dream dress - long, very flow-y and soft, with a nice subtle leopard print (those who know me know I am a sucka for leopard). Sadly it was almost $200 and off my list of things I could afford to treat myself to, so I drew up a few designs inspired by the Biscuit dress and some I'd come across in my beloved fashion mags. Then I took a trip to Fabricville. Though I was unable to find the perfect leopard print, ie: the one the Biscuit dress was made from, I did come across this one:
It's a bit purple-y (you can't really tell from the photo, but it is) which I think will allow me to wear it with more accessory options, plus it makes it a bit more unusual, which I like. We'll see what it actually looks like in dress form soon enough I guess. I just know that it feels realllly soft and I know it'll be one of those dresses that flows out behind when you walk. I'm excited to get started on that. I also found this lovely stuff:
It's black, I know, nothing too exciting, except it's Indian silk, feels like heaven and was almost cheap! I made this dress last summer:
....or maybe the summer before, not sure. The idea for the crows applique came from the old poem that goes One crow sadness, two crows joy and so on. I wanted to make a happy, joyful summer dress and I have to say, I do quite love it. Anyhoo, I am going to duplicate the style (but no crows) in this fabric and probably wear it pretty much every single day. I love the idea of a black dress in this style because I see it as being the most versatile thing in the world. I could wear it with big wooden beads, flip flops and pig-tails or pearls, patent leather heels and...well I rarely put much effort into my hair-dos but you know what I mean.....and everything in between. Over the last few months I have been on a crazy shoe buying kick and need something I can wear with all of them in order to make their existence in my hallway worth it.
My hope is that this dress will do the trick!
In other fascinating news, a few weeks ago the BF and I planned a date night around the recently released documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
The film was great. Being a bit of a food nerd I love shows and movies about chefs to begin with, on account of the inspiration they can provide, and this one also had the benefit of being beautifully shot, full of lots of mouth-watering close ups of the amazing sushi this man, Jiro, creates. The BF and I have been wanting to try our hand at sushi making for a while now and this movie, as well as finding these yummy looking cookbooks recently, have us excited:
We viewed the film at the Oxford and upon the rolling of it's credits, bee-lined across the street to the new Wasabi House for some sushi, only to be told that there was a half hour wait at least. I guess our bright idea wasn't just ours after all. So we headed back downtown and went to Fujiyama, which is my personal fave anyway.
As it turned out, that particular Friday was to end up a pretty thoroughly Japanese themed night. When we got to Quinpool that evening, we, by some miracle, managed to find a parking spot on the street, directly across from the Oxford!! After we parked we noticed a cool store called The Ikebana Shop and since we were a little early, having assumed finding parking would be much more nightmarish, we decided the right thing to do would be to go inside and check it out. I'd recommend it. It's filled with super cute little bags and beautiful silk scarves and ceramics and little trinkets and - dun dun dunnnnnn - origami paper.
Now what you don't know is that just a few days prior to this fateful event, I, through the power of YouTube, learned how to make origami cranes! I was using squares I cut out of an old H&M mag, which looked ok since there are plenty of nice, colorful photos. After a messy couple of tries I got the hang of it, and after a few more I could do it without rewatching the video. Now I'm an old pro and I've decided to make enough cranes so I can string them all together in a kind of garland. SO it was destiny that on that night, I should find, by chance, a sweet cache of gorgeous paper made specifically for this ancient Japanese art form. Though actual origami paper is pretty expensive and I surely will not be making all the cranes for the garland with it, the decision to buy a pack that night was made all the more simple on account of the piece on the outside of the package, the one with the bunnies. Those of you who know me will understand.
Anyhoo, I've only gotten this many made so far, so I still have quite far to go.
I find it's something I can do while doing something else, like watching tv for example. The BF and I recently started watching Dexter, so the cranes are a nice, peaceful counter balance to all the murderous rage. Haha.
Riiiiiiiight. So there you have it, a few of the things that are going on right now. I'm trying to get better at this, and if it makes anyone feel any better about my sporadic posts, I feel a constant sense of guilt for not being more prolific. I really think the coming summer will boost my creativity and I'll get my arse in gear here more often. Wish me luck, friends!
