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Jo-Ann Fabrics is a Scary Place on a Saturday Afternoon

We were out and about on Saturday, so I decided to stop at Jo-Ann Fabrics to see if they had the new Denyse Schmidt fabrics in stock.  They did, and at 30% off too!  I spent some time making my selections and had Pete carry them over the the cutting table.  I was shocked to see that there was quite a long line, but at this point I decided to stick it out and I got in line. 

There was one teenaged boy working the counter, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry.  The people around me in line were all in the same boat and everything was fairly civilized... until the nasty lady arrived.  See, we were all waiting in line like well behaved citizens -- they had a little "take a number" machine, but apparently the guy working the counter wasn't using it.  After all, there was a line and that was working out okay (although slowly). 

This woman comes up after we had been in line for about 30 minutes, takes a number and demands to be taken care of before all of us.  Seriously?!?!  She is going on and on -- making a big fuss.  Talking about systems being in place and how they must be used.  Good lord!  You almost had to feel sorry for her, she was so horrid.  In fact, it was getting very uncomfortable and those of us who had been in line for so long were just trying to ignore her for the most part. 

Eventually I got my fabric cut (not before the guy's price scanner/printer went dead -- it was quite an ordeal).  I love the colors in her new line, and am planning some sort of zig zag quilt which I will hopefully start soon. 

And next time, I think I'll buy my fabrics from Jo-Ann's online.  I don't think I can hack the intensity at the store!

Makin' Ginger Ale

The Sodastream thingy seems to be all the rage right now and having made soda from scratch previously (with yeast and all that), I was interested.  Then I saw the price and size of them.  I'm one of those people who do not like things out on the counter, and there are only so many kitchen gadgets that I can fit in the cabinets.

Then, while shopping at one of my favorite stores -- Williams-Sonoma -- I saw the Twist 'n Sparkle from iSi.  It's smaller -- just the bottle and wand, it uses standard soda chargers, and it's relatively inexpensive at $50.  And since I happened to have a gift certificate in said amount to said store -- it came home with me.

Yesterday I brewed up some ginger syrup, so that I could make my own ginger ale.  All you do is peel and slice some ginger -- I didn't measure or weigh the ginger this time, but rather used the piece I happened to grab at the grocery.  I'm sure it ended up being less than a cup.

I added a cup of sugar and two cups of water and simmered this mixture for about an hour. After it cooled slightly, I strained it and transferred it to a bottle and put it in the fridge to chill.

Don't toss that ginger!  You can use can dredge it in some sugar and put in a cool oven (225º) for a couple hours and you'll have some tasty candied ginger as a bonus!

To make the ginger ale, I took a tall glass, added about 3 Tbsp of the chilled ginger syrup, squeezed in a quarter of a lime, filled with carbonated water -- made in my new toy -- and topped it off with ice.  Very refreshing, and not too sweet.  I'm looking forward to making more sodas soon.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara & GF Chocolate Chip Cookies

We all love the new kitchen and find ourselves hanging out there quite a bit -- not something we did in the old kitchen.  I've also been enjoying my new range -- especially after cooking meals for six weeks using only a microwave, toaster oven and rice cooker.

This weekend I baked up a batch of gluten free chocolate chip cookies.  My recipe is nearly perfected, and I'll be posting it over at my other website soon.  Let's just say that Pete has mentioned that they might even be better then chocolate chip cookies made with regular AP flour, so there you go.

And last night I made something I've never tried before because I thought it was too easy to mess up -- Spaghetti alla Carbonara.  And it was not difficult at all.  Plus, one of the few ingredients is bacon -- so of course everyone liked it. 

I really need to mention the new non-stick pan I bought about a week back.  My old non-stick pan was looking pretty bad -- you know how it is.  It was definitely past it's prime.  After a bit of research, I decided on a Scanpan and I am loving it!  I bought mine at Sur la Table (love this store *so* much!)  It works beautifully, cleans up easily and doesn't have PFOAs, so it's non-toxic.  Oh, and did I mention that the non-stick coating is supposed to last ages -- they have a lifetime warranty.  Crazy, huh?  I'm hoping I'll never have to throw out another non-stick pan. 

Out with the Old and In with the New -- Printer, that is.

Ooooh!  My new HP Envy printer just arrived and I love it!  It's so little and wireless and sleek!  I'm already loving the fact that I'm not pulling the printer cable from one printer to the next.  It was a pretty long cord, but still.  And the fact that I can print from my iPhone (and soon, my iPad) is pretty exciting too.

Bye-bye, huge, non-wireless printer.  You served me well for many years, but it's all about wi-fi and you just can't compete.

(No, HP did not pay me, or give me a printer or anything like that to say nice things about them.  Heck, that sure would be nice though, wouldn't it?)

Fun Family Game

It seems like every holiday season we get a new family game to play and this year is no exception.  Last weekend while doing some holiday shopping, we picked up FITS by Ravensburger -- a tetris-like puzzle game which works equally well for 2-4 players.  Heck, you can even play it by yourself as a kind of solitaire.  It's easy to understand and set up, and you can play an entire game in about 30 minutes.  Definitely a winner!

Another Holiday Gift Suggestion!

Maddie has ThinkFun Rush Hour and loves playing with it -- and I have to admit that I enjoy it too! A great puzzle game that kids can play on their own, plus it has different difficulty levels, so they can work their way up.

It's an Amazon Cyber Week Deal right now, but even at their regular discount, it's a great buy.

Old School Video Games -- Mario Style

Here's one for all you old school gamers! Mario is 25 years old this year and Nintendo is releasing Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii. It's a limited Edition game that includes four of the old games: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, & Super Mario Bros. 3.

My daughter has been playing some of these games which she downloaded from the Wii Shop Chanel and she's loving them, so they are definitely not just for us old folks.

If you are an uber Mario fan, Nintendo has also released a Special Mario Edition DSi XL and a fancy Mario themed Wii!

Speaking of Harry Potter

A great gift for the Harry Potter fan who doesn't have the movies yet -- Amazon.com has a (pre) Black Friday deal! You can get all 6 previous movies on Blu-ray or DVD for cheap!

Holiday Kid Gift Guide

Maybe you are like me, and you have lots of kids to get gifts for each holiday season.  But what to get them?  I'm going to give you some of my ideas, in case you are struggling to find the perfect gift.

DVDs are always great, and this year the big kids movie is Toy Story 3, which is perfect for all ages (and entertaining for adults too!)

Speaking of movies, the latest Harry Potter movie is out in theaters, and while you won't be able to get it on DVD for months, there are some great Harry Potter toys. We love LEGO in our house and they have lots of fun new games, including the LEGO Hogwarts Game.

Sometimes during the holiday craziness, it's nice to sit quietly and work on a puzzle. We love the quilaity of the Ravensburger puzzles and their Ravensburger Friends and Family Puzzle let everyone join in the fun. The puzzle is broken down into separate sections with different sized pieces -- a great idea!

I have lots more ideas -- especially when it comes to books and video games, so I'll write separate posts on each. And if you have a specific age range you need ideas for, let me know. I have nieces and nephews ranging in age from 3 to 25, so I probably have an idea for you!

The License Plate State Game

How do you pass the time on a long car ride?  We had about 32 driving hours to kill on our vacation, and while I drove most of them (Mainly due to car sickness -- it's much better when I drive and much worse when I'm a passenger.  And don't even think of sitting me in the back seat!), it was still boring after a while. 

Enter the License Plate State game!  Each of us made a guess as to how many states we would see -- cars and other passenger vehicles count -- no semis!  Maddie kept track, thus learning her state abbreviation.  On the drive down to South Carolina I won, so I got a prize:

I use my Le Creuset French Oven and Stockpot all the time, so the Le Creuset Soup Pot it was!  A bit smaller than the French Oven, which is perfect for our little family of three.  Thank goodness the Le Creuset outlet was open early Saturday morning when we drove past!

I won on the way home too -- so I guess I have another prize coming.  I think I'll combine two of my loves -- video games and knitting -- and purchase Kirby's Epic Yarn for the Wii when it comes out next week.

Tomorrow I show off my recently completed quilt!

Went to IKEA...

... got a BRÄDA...

... like it much. 

Of thrifting and kitchen gadgets...

First let me just say that last weekend was not a very good thrifting weekend, however, I did find this great Jamie Oliver cookbook called Jamie's Kitchen for only $1.  I'm a sucker for beautiful cookbooks and this one is that, but it also has some great, doable recipes.  In fact, last night I made a pasta recipe from it using my own homegrown Amish Paste tomatoes and it was easy, quick and super delicious. 

So, what I'm trying to say, is that what my thrifting lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality.

I also have to mention the awesome Italian Tomato Press I picked up yesterday (and used last night to make the pasta sauce!)  Last year I spent way too much time peeling and seeding plum tomatoes by hand.  A task  which I did not enjoy in the least.  This nifty gadget separates the seeds and skin from the tomatoes and spits each out into it's own bowl.  *So* much easier!  And it was very easy to clean the press which is a plus.  Great investment for me for sure. 

Okay, singing the praises of the tomato press totally makes me think about the other awesome kitchen gadget I bought this year -- a gadget I love and am so happy I purchased -- the Oxo Corn Stripper. Maddie has braces and this has made life much easier! Quick, easy, so much less messy than cutting sweet corn off the cob with a knife -- plus the thing is very easy to clean.

Yes, I have a sickness. I am completely unable to resist a good kitchen tool. What are your favorite kitchen gadgets?

Toying with the idea of getting a MacBook

I have this plan -- I want to create an iPhone app.  Something craft related most likely.  Basically I want to get familiar with programming on a Mac -- using Objective-C and their iPhone SDK.  Trouble is, I don't have a Mac.

So, I'm wondering... do you have a Mac?  Do you love it?  Hate it?  Please give me your thoughts. 

Up by Pixar

Another Amazon deal -- Up for only $13. And you don't have to battle the Black Friday crowds to get it :)

Black Friday Deal

I found this awesome deal at Amazon while I was looking at their Black Friday Deals. Basically you get the Nintendo DSi pre-loaded with 5 games for $15 less than the plain DSi with no pre-loaded games. (This is of particular interest to me since my DS lite finally gave out after years of daily play.) So just wanted to pass it along in case this is on the wish list of someone you know :)

Orla Kiely & Target -- I am weak.

I could not resist -- well, actually I did resist a bit because I could have bought everything they had easily. I didn't see all the things at my Target that I've seen around the blogs, but I did find some goodies. I purchased a pear placemat for Maddie to use in the family room, some napkins, the cute flower tablecloth -- which is too long for our round table so I can cut it down and get some extra fabric -- and the towel hooks which are probably my favorite of all. You place the hooks over the top of a drawer or cabinet door, close it and instant towel hook! I loved the canisters, but couldn't justify they cost. And I didn't see the storage bins and such at my Target, but we have 2 other Target stores quite close, so if I'm feeling weak I may go check out their selection.

Little Luxuries

With the economy as bad as it is, pretty much everyone I know is cutting back. I'm a very frugal person in general -- quite fond of saving my pennies for a rainy day -- but there are some things that I indulge in. So I'm going to try to list a few on the blog from time to time.

 

My first indulgence -- and it is truly a daily indulgence -- is Intelligentsia Coffee. While a pound of beans from here might seem pricey, if you are brewing your coffee at home, you are going to end up saving in the long run. And this is *awesome* coffee. I've seriously never had any better coffee form anywhere else. (Starbucks pales miserably by comparison.)

So, what is your little indulgence?

Superbuzzy -- new crafty Japanese import shop!

OMG!  Mariko and Kelly just opened a new shop called Superbuzzy!  It's got imported Japanese fabrics and trims with more stuff soon to come!  They even have the great ribbon I got at Stitches (for less than I paid -- argh!!) in both the red and black.  I already placed an order for some fabric.  Can you guess which ones?  I got two.

Habu Silk Yarn & Japanese Linen Ribbon & Thrifted Buttons!

What a busy weekend!  On Friday, Maddie & I headed out early and went to the Joliet Farmer's Market to pick up some fresh fruit.  I got some lovely peaches and blueberries -- fresh from Michigan.  Then we hit Starbucks and any yard sale we could find on the way back home.  All we found was an old copy of Richard Scarry's Going Places for only 25 cents which Maddie thought was a very funny book!  Friday night I pulled out my King Arthur Baking Book and made a peach cobbler, which was really yummy!  So far that book hasn't let me down.

Saturday morning found Theresa, Bonne Marie & I at Stitches Midwest.  I think one of my favorite booths was Habu, where I picked up this orange, slubby 100% silk.  They only had 4 cute little balls/bails -- whatever you want to call them.  I love them because they are neat little center pull balls and they have a nice piece of tissue in the middle that you pull to get the starting thread out.  How clever! 

But I digress. . . So they had 4 balls in this perfect orange color and I decided that I'd just make a shrug.  So far I swatched and the texture is quite nice due to the slubs.  Hmmm. . .

My other favorite booth was the ribbon & button booth -- Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods in RI -- where I got this super-cute linen ribbon.  It's a japanese import and it cost way too much, but I had to have a yard of it.  She also had lots of vintage buttons that were not matching but went well together and were carded together.  Not sure I'm explaining this well at all, but they were so wonderful!  I could have just spent the day in this booth.

And since I was thinking of buttons, I took a picture of the buttons I got from Goodwill a few weeks ago for 99 cents.  They were all taped up in a bag and you couldn't see what was inside, but I figured I couldn't go wrong for that price! 

Sunday was spent at the river for my sister's birthday.  The water was wild!  We took my mom's boat up the river to a restaurant and just had a nice afternoon, but everyone was exhausted from their various weekend activities so we weren't a very lively bunch. 

This week is for organizing.  My office is a mess and it's time to take control!

Button of the Month Club!

Another club!  Laural has started a Button of the Month Club.  How fun is that?

Pocket Journal

I bought this pocket journal from seedpod's etsy shop and it is so cute in real life!  It arrived quickly and safely and I highly recommend her for all your journal purchasing needs. 

Just thought you should know!

I only spent $2, but look. . .

. . . what I got!

Aprons!  Aprons!  And even more aprons!

Spike had to get into the photo.  He thought this was actually a cat toy -- or at least the apron strings!

Gotta have a fancy one for the holidays.

Can you even stand this one?  I just love this owl so much that I want to frame it and hang it on the wall. 

So even though this was all I got in our trek across town (we visited three different shops), I felt pretty darn lucky.  And how can you beat the price?  I saw aprons that weren't even this nice at an antique fair last summer going for $10-15 each.  The nice ones were fetching even higher prices and I saw nothing like my darling owl!

I *heart* thrifting!

$20 Thrifting Challenge

About to go out and hit the local thrift stores! Let's see what this $20 gets me. I'll report back later today!

I'm so chatty!

Post #2 today!  Can you tell that my migraine has decided to let up for a few hours?

I first wanted to point you to something I'm coveting. . . The Jordana Paige Knitter's Satchel (in grape, please  :)

And also a review of Starbuck's new Cinnamon Dolce Latte -- yum!  Too sweet for me, but I usually ask for less syrup in my latte.  The cinnamony taste is so good though!  I'll be ordering them throughtout the winter to keep me warm for sure.

I also worked a little more on the office organization.  Hopefully I will have an update for you on all of that soon! 

Like a kid at Christmas. . .

I am *so* impatient!!  I keep looking out the windows every 5 minutes -- literally.  UPS tracking says that my new computer is on it's way.  My current computer is rather old (and pretty grimey -- believe me, you don't want to see the keyboard -- ewwwww!) by computer standards.  I think we bought it 3 or 4 years ago.  Lately it has started to act a little cranky -- giving me out of memory warnings and malfunctioning every now and then.  Since I am completely dependent on my computer to run my businesses, and since tax time is coming up and I could use another deduction, I decided to take the plunge and order a Dell.  The computer geek in me can't wait to see it!

Where the heck is UPS, it's after 5PM!

Gift for the animal lover / reader. . .

I love Mutts!!  I have lots of the books, a couple shirts, several prints, a few buttons and I even belong to the book club and the fan club.  I *love* Mutts!  So how could I resist this book?  It's called The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell. 

If you aren't familiar with Mutts -- it's a comic about a cat and a dog who pal around together and the strips McDonnell draws are often heart warming or thought provoking as well as funny.  I can't recommend this book highly enough!  It is perfect for anyone aged 4 to 104!

You can find out more about Mutts at the muttscomics.com.

Now I'm off for a day of shopping with Theresa.  I'll report back on any cool finds!

More gifties!

Another great gift idea -- Philosophy Greetings from the North Pole.  Have you ever tried Philosophy lotions and potions?  They are so nice and very gifty.  I gave my sister this gift set last year for Christmas.

Another gift idea!

I love L'Occitane!  So I was very excited to see the L'Occitane Gift Soaps tin when I was at their store last time.  I picked up a few for gifts, but I may go back and get one for myself.  Oh, and their lemon verbena products are incredible!

Fun Saturday!

Sometimes you just need to get out and do something fun with good friends!  On Saturday Theresa & her husband John met Pete, Maddie & me at Intelligentsia up in Chicago.  We went on the roasting tour which was very cool.   

After that it was off to the DIY Trunk Show which was in the old field house in Pulaski Park.  Lots of cool stuff to be seen.  I had to bring home this hand-made book:

It's a soft cover with hand sewn signatures.  Here's a view of the spine:

This book was made by Emily of Orange Beautiful.  I'm hoping she opens up an online shop soon because I loved her stuff!  I'm a sucker for handmade books.  Theresa and I have even taken a few classes on bookbinding at Paper Source together. 

Which is a nice segue for a gift I received in the mail from Freecia. . .

A cool box kit from Paper Source!  Thanks Freecia!

And finally I leave you with proof that I have been knitting.  I received this cute book last week:

It's New Knits on the Block by Vickie Howell.  I'll try to get my act together and post a full review over at Two Friends Collect Books sometime soon!  It's has a bunch of cute designs for kids.  Including hats:

I'm making the princess hat for princess Madeleine!

Other new knitting books I receied in the last few weeks and haven't had a chance to review:

Handknit Holidays
Wrap Style
Yarns to Dye For

I'm on a bit if a knitting book buying spree I'm afraid  :)

IKEA Purchases

Maddie and I had a great time at IKEA today.  We started with lunch -- swedish meatballs for me and mac & cheese for her.  Then it was time to shop.  Maddie had to sit on everything, check out every bed and visit every playhouse.  She wore me out!  But then I got to drop her off at the kids play place -- one hour of child free shopping.  How cool is that?

You can see that I got a nifty apron (a little wrinkly in the picture I'm afraid) that is complete with loops for your dishtowel and utensils.  I couldn't resist the pillow -- it matches my cute lamp from this post.  And what about those dishtowels -- aren't they great?  One or both might become an apron.

I also bought 24 plates -- real ones! -- for only 50 cents each.  I can't stand throwing out all the plastic plates whenever we have a party and now I don't have too. 

Other things were purchased of course -- a couple small pillow forms, some lingonberries and swedish pancake mix, dishes for Maddie just like the kids' ones they use in the IKEA restaurant, etc. . .

I'm so happy the IKEA is close by and I'm sure Maddie and I will both be visiting there often!

New IKEA

I'm off to the new IKEA!  Pictures of purchases when I return!