The Chaos that is My Life

It's been a while, yes it has. However, in that time I have been very busy! All kinds of floral cards have been made, a wedding, bridal showers, an engagement, vacation, and so much more! Yep - this is the chaos that I call my life right now (and I love it hehe). So, now I am going to take a moment and slow down to document some of my projects.

 

Yeah, so you can tell I have had some time on my hands (haha). Hey, I had to do something while David was working nights, right? I'm not going to lie, some of the designs I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull off, like the red orchid above. but somehow with enough fiddling and glue it came out pretty decent. Everyone that I've given them to seems to have favorites, like David's dad liked the bird of paradise one the most, I think. I feel like I've had the most fun using differently made roses the most on the cards. They are one type of flower I have been able to reproduce in multiple methods and I like each method's look in the end. But anyhow, those are some of the cards I have been making :)

 

My brother recently has gotten engaged (YAY!) and they asked me to make them something special, with love, but also personalized for their engagement. They asked for a guestbook since they don't have many peoples physical addresses or phone numbers, so I was tasked with the mission to come up with a personalized guestbook that represented both of them within it, made with love and care, and as many colors as I could. And of course I like "shiny's" so I thought - why not bedazzle it?! Do I got out my glue gun and gems (not really, but the image is close to what really happened) and got my craft on :D

I have to admit, this wasn't a solo work - I did phone a friend and brought in a talented local artist hehe who helped me draw out the cover art. Then I took over on the bedazzling end and personalizing it for my brother and his fiance. I am pretty happy with what came out of this effort - I only hope they like it. AND since I don't think any of my family really reads this blog (haha :P ) I feel safe in including a picture here at this time.

 

 

Shiny, right?

 

And of course with our recent heat wave I had to bake something, as if it wasn't hot enough haha. Yes, that's me. That crazy lady who bakes when it's 90 some degrees outside and her air conditioner doesn't really cool anything off. That's me. It's cool - I'm also that lady with BAMF pizza rolls too. In my mind, if I put up with some heat to get in the end some pizza rolls when I have been craving a good pizza - then it's a no brainer. David on the other hand doesn't always agree with me. Poor him. But don't feel too bad for him, he happily scarfs down the pizza rolls. Don't let him fool you!

 

I decided to try and make them two different ways to see which would work out better. So one sheet pan got them all rolled up, and the other pan got to hold the pizza 'buns'.

In the end both were just as messy as each other, so that experiment was an epic fail in that regard. However, in flavor I achieved a big success! We ate through many of them that night haha. Only a few made it to the freezer for later. Speaking of . . . I think I need to get a snack about now haha! Now I am hoping that it doesn't take me another 3 months to post again...

 

 

 



 

Sesame Noodles

To me the smell of sesame is warm and inviting and makes me smile, but David likes it even more than me! So, while "Spring" continues to toy with my emotions (come on warm weather!), I felt like this would be a perfect meal. I didn't have a specific recipe, but I read a bunch online, so I decided to combine a few  and I was so happy that it turned out so tasty :) Also having everything for it already that had its perks too. Here's the recipe to try if you're interested.

Peanut Sesame Noodles

Adapted from Gourmet, June 2002

Makes 6 side-dish or 4 vegetarian main-course servings

For peanut dressing

·         1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

·         1/4 cup soy sauce

·         1/3 cup warm water

·         1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger

·         1 medium garlic clove, chopped

·         2 tablespoons rice vinegar

·         1 1/2 tablespoons Asian toasted sesame oil

·         1 tablespoon honey

·         1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes or a splash of the hot sauce or chili paste of your choice

For noodles

·         3/4 lb dried soba noodles (dried linguine fini or spaghetti will work in a pinch)

·         4 scallions, thinly sliced

·         1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips

·         1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips

·         Half a seedless cucumber, thinly sliced

·         1 cup firm or extra-firm tofu, cubed - optional

·         3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

1.      Puree dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 2 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl.

2.      Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain in a colander, then rinse well under cold water.

 

3. Add pasta, scallions, bell peppers, cucumber and tofu to dressing (I skipped the tofu!), tossing to combine. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

 

**On a very different note, I have been dipping my toe carefully in the pool of Indian cooking as of late. I am really enjoying it, unfortunately David can only take so much, so I am slowly working through the recipes I've gathered. Some he has agreed are "keepers" so I am aiming for producing more of those so we can eat it more often! :D

 

My Winter Blues

With winter in full swing (most of the time) here and me being half frozen during it, I of course started thinking about fun winter gear. Then I stumbled across this fantastically entertaining craft. The tutorial seemed easy enough so I decided to go for it. While out shopping David and I picked up the fleece and I set to work. Since I'm no expert with sewing (is there anything below amateur? That's me.) I didn't expect much on my first attempt. So, armed with my handy dandy seam ripper (aka my best friend) I started cutting the pieces out, pinning them and sitting down to try and figure out how my sewing machine works. Once again. After two hours Soon I had the machine set and ready to go and for the most part it was super easy. I got the 'extra' pieces to embellish it with ready and the sides all sewn up. All I had left was closing the top. Here, here is where I met my arch nemesis.

I think I ripped the seam about 3 times before I got it right. First I misunderstood the instructions and thought I was fixing it, but then I realized that it was wrong the second time too. Finally I did what I should have done in the first place. I sat and looked at it and then thought about what made sense. Then I had it!

Now did a happy dance because I had an adorable finished hat :D

 

Valhalla!

I just thought this was the cutest thing EVER. So cute in fact I couldn't resist making a couple more haha.

(I like to imagine the bear saying "Wassup?" all gangster like)

David especially appreciated this one. This little dude is a stylin' dinosaur!

 

Yes. I know. A bear wearing a bear hat? Redundant maybe, but still adorable.

 

And here's a polar bear one!

 

OK OK. Maybe this craft got a little out of hand...maybe. :)

And since several of our friends are having/have new babies I have people I can give these hats to and that way I won't be that weird lady that makes little hats for no reason and hordes them. Yay! for not being that lady.

The Mortal Instruments Movie Trailer

This is one book series I've read, enjoyed and re-read. Now I find out there's a movie coming out in August 2013! Yes - it is a series found in the teen fiction section in the library, however, I do not care. I'm a suck and I enjoyed every moment while reading each book. The plot twist may be weird, even creepy if you really try to put yourself in the characters place,  but just don't think about it that closely. It fixes itself in the end anyways. Sit back and relax and enjoy this treat!

...AND We're Back

It's the start of a new year, and the cycle has begun again with new resolutions and new projects in store for me. One major undertaking that I am participating in with several friends is the Pittsburgh Marathon Relay! So, our winter/early spring will be filled with running and practicing. David has already started telling me "DON'T DROP THE BATON!" So supportive :D
Go Running Gels!

Another project I've been entirely engrossed in is card making. Before Christmas I mentioned that I had gotten interested in quilling, or paper filigree, and I was lucky enough to receive several gifts that would aid my card making hobby. I've already begun making several birthday cards that I'm quite pleased with.

Yesterday David and I decided we wanted to take the day and put off work and chores, and instead spend it doing enjoyable things and relaxing. So, I spent most the day working diligently on them and was able to make 3 beautiful cards. Yes, I know. Nearly a days work spent only making 3 cards doesn't seem very productive, but I'm willing to sacrifice quantity for quality. They're really cute for some of my first quilled cards if I do say so myself.

I'm enjoying the time spent making these little butters immensely, the only problem is now I have 3 boxes of craft items instead of 1! We may have to move into a bigger place for more reasons than one...

OH! On a side note (I know I've been all over the place in this post, but I have a lot to catch up on with you ) David and I have discovered steel cut oats and oh my goodness we have oats coming out our ears! I've begun making breakfasts on Sunday night for the past few weeks and every time I ask David what he wants me to make, his reply is OATS! While I am a fan of them because they have more texture (or chew like David says), as opposed to rolled oats, I'm more looking forward to incorporating them into savory dishes. I googled several recipes online and came up with suggestions like adding them to breads, muffins, and even frittatas. But I also have a recipe for a steel cut oat polenta dish. VERY intriguing! I think they're wonderful because the texture they lend to the dish reminds me of Koljavo (whole wheat pudding) which is served at his family's Slava celebration. Which reminds me - I need to learn how to make this from his aunt....

A Rafter of...Turkeys?

My sister, Sara recently visited me for a long weekend and she brought me a very festive surprise for November - a rafter of turkeys!! You may be wondering what the heck a rafter of turkeys is, and I'm not being weird. A group of turkeys is technically a rafter, like a herd of sheep or a gaggle of geese. Here's my cute rafter:

They were so cute I almost couldn't eat them. HAHA. Like that could happen, of COURSE I ate them. My people would be proud. Our learning what a rafter was took place while we were all out to dinner and it involved some adult bev's, an i-phone and lots of laughter.

I thought this thoughtful gift was very apt with Thanksgiving fast approaching. Liang and I are planning a joint effort on a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal, which I'm sure will be posted whether on here or on our joint blog, Nerds with Aprons.
Well, with that big meal soon to occur I have been trying to scurry and get all my other little things done so I don't feel SO overwhelmed :) This included making a shopping trip to Costco to get items to make a trail mix for snacks and lunches. Yes, I know I could buy a bunch of pre-mixed stuff. And yes, I know they're just as available at Costco as the individual ingredients. However, I actually have a great time putting my own mix together and changing it up. I doubt whether it's healthier (except maybe lower in sodium depending on what I add into it) but it makes me feel good. So I do it. This time I made 4 batches of my homemade granola, which I have put in earlier posts. I did omit the nuts in the recipe since I'd be adding lots of them into the trail mix. After shopping for almost, peanuts, M&Ms (everyone needs a little chocolate in their lives), and raisins I set up my assembly line. I lined up the nuts with a 1 oz serving scoop (aka shot glass), a spoon for the granola, digital scale, and a small scoop for the candy. I grabbed my snack bags and I was ready to start the magic. With each snack bag of trail mix I created with 1 serving of each ingredient, and ended up with 4 3/4 oz trail mix bags. Since I was using a scale to be consistent I could rely on my math and was able to calculate that with the total cost of the ingredients and the 44 trail mix bags I ended up with, each only cost 76 cents! David kept commenting on how happy I looked, and I had to then explain how much FUN I find putting things like this together and figuring out the breakdown. I know, I'm odd. I'm okay with it :)

Top Restaurant Picks

Spice Island – Burmese fare, Oakland area

·         Liang and I were walking around the Oakland area a little while ago and decided that it was time to introduce me to Spice Island. I had never been there but she had told me a lot about it. I was intrigued to try some new things, but we couldn’t decide on one dish to order. So, instead we ordered lunch size dishes of multiple things. One I want to make note of is the Mango Pork – WOW that was delicious. The Mahinga soup (fish soup)  was good, and we also got some samosas and a garden salad. Everything was tasty, serving sizes were nice. This was a neat little place to eat at and I definitely recommend them.

The Porch – Bistro style place, Oakland

·         David and I came to first eat at this place a while ago when after church we had an hour to kill before the library opened and it was really cold out. Seeing this new place we thought it was a fancy coffee shop so we figured it’d be nice to go get some hot chocolate while we wait. We walked in and it was so homey and the waitstaff so friendly we just couldn’t leave once we realized it was a restaurant. Their crispy taters and curried ketchup was delicious. Normally I hate ketchup, but this was new and very different. While it’s a little pricey for brunch, the dinner prices are good for dinner sized entrees that you get. If you’re looking for a nice night out I recommend this place for sure, and if you just want to do brunch it’s still good but it’s a little more expensive.