Well I haven't much interesting to talk about lately. That's why I haven't posted. I am going through a "burnout" phase right now, it was to be expected. Sometimes I get so full of ideas I just keep churning projects out left and right. Now I've gotten to the point where I am dwindling on the last few items on my to-do list of craft projects and though I keep buying more supplies because I have even MORE ideas, I am slightly burnt out from all the work I've been doing for the past couple months. Not to mention this slow economy= slow sales and that's not very motivating for me. The aprons aren't selling as fast as I thought they would. I've sold some but not as many as I thought I would.
Maybe it's the price, I thought they would make great gifts. I don't know, I guess it could pick up cause I do have lot of people who ♥ the store. I've also been working in the garden lately. Got my raspberries fed, blueberries, kiwi vines, and rhubarb is coming up! The garlic is coming up and I've got some tomatoes, peppers and eggplant in water cloches outside already.
The temps have been cool for this time of year and I hope it warms up soon. My friend from MyEmmaGrace on etsy is making and commercially selling her salsa in the near future. I've volunteered to grow her some tomatilloes for the salsa. I am ALL organic too, so they will be tasty. I've never grown them but I've read that they are a good producer and fairly easy to grow. I hope they do well! I tried some of Kath's salsa and it's really good. I wonder if she could sell it on etsy? I know she went through the FDA and all that already so she's good to go.
I am going to a new bellydance class tonight. I am a little nervous about it since I haven't practiced much in the last couple years. I used to go to another class with a different group of people but I got stuck in the middle of some girls that were a little intimidated by me or my enthusiasm(I think?) and I shied away REALLY fast after that came to light. So I stopped going, and I flaked out on troupe practice and stopped performing.
This is a new class and while i really LOVED to bellydance before I can't decide if I will be having as much fun or not because of the new people in the class and how they will be. Also just not sure about the teacher, she's about my age and that alone can make things complicated for some. I don't care as long as she's a good teacher and I have fun. It's not till 7:45pm tonight and I am done with work at 3:30om so I will be hanging around town till then. I don't think I should go home since it's a 20 min drive and the gas prices being so high, it seems like a waste. But I don't know what to do with my extra time! It's not like I have anywhere to go or money to spend. This is always cramping my urges to take classes because driving in and out of town all the time is too expensive and time consuming. Not to mention it feels wasteful.
Anyway- that's my blabbing for now. I will post another soon. I've been working on something for a friend and I want to show it to you!
Apr 30, 2008
Apr 18, 2008
Roller DErby Kicks ASS!!!!
Last weekend Jarrod (husband) and I went to the 2nd bout of the Bellingham Roller Betties roller derby. It was the "waste not want not" match and it totally rocked. I've never been to a roller derby before but this advertised beer garden and food so I was all over it! The girls are so cool, all wearing there glam gear and battle make-up. I was really tempted to ask about joining but these ladies break bones on a regular basis so I thought I better not since I am paranoid about breaking things, but it sure looks fun! The beer garden had it's own section on green turf nonetheless and I ran into a bellydancing friend of mine so we all sat together. It was so fun, I really got into and I'm not much of a spectator sport type. I don't like watching sports, I think it's boring. But this is AWESOME!!!!! I didn't have a favorite team so I kept rooting for them both. They all have really funny/cool names and I was so impressed with their lack of self-conciousness. They were all stripped to skivvies, short skirts, and ruffle panties with tights or short shorts and I would say the majority were not waify at all. Not that I think they were "big girls" but they were not beanpoles and I think that is very cool.
For the low-waste part they had all the beer cups made from corn so they are super biodegradeable, and everything in the place was recyclable, even the food! The waste department for the city was there handing out free grocery totes and there were recycling bins for everything all over the place. They had super rad music too. So....if you ever have the opportunity to go to a girls roller derby, I highly recommend them. If you want to look for one in your area, try entering "roller derby" and your state into Google, you are sure to come up with a few hits. :) And have fun!
Apr 10, 2008
I was featured in an Etsy Treasury! Woohoo!
Oh I feel famous already. And it was so perfect because I love this color combo. :) Thank you Bittystar! You are fabulous! For those of you who don't know this means I was on the front page of etsy.com for a short time yesterday.
Apr 4, 2008
Baby Showers, BLECH. At Least There's Good Food At these Things
Last weekend I went to a baby shower of a good friend of mine. No way I could back out. She said it was potluck of desserts and appetizers which I thought was cool, at least I could have some fun making food for this thing.
I hate all baby/wedding showers they are annoying, you play stupid games, everyone talks about stupid things that I could give a crap about. And usually if they aren’t done in two hours I leave anyway. But I was delightfully surprised at this shower. Not only did everyone bring some yummy, healthy foods. But we just sat around and hung out. We ate, the mommy-to-be got a foot soak and foot massage from a person who happened to be a massuese, she opened gifts, we went home.
I couldn’t believe it, no "guess what melted candy is in the diaper" games? It was a miracle, I didn’t even need to sneak alcohol into my drink to endure it. Not to mention everyone at this shower was pretty cool. Also many of the gifts were handmade (quilted baby blankets and such). I left exclaiming "this is the best shower I’ve ever been to!" with a lot of laughs coming back at me. So i may have a new perspective, but I doubt I will be going to any other showers anytime soon. I don’t have many friends in my age group because this stuff annoys me so much.
Anyway- thought maybe some of you needed some good potluck recipes so I am sharing the recipes of what I brought to this shower. The first is not healthy really, but they are so addicting you will eat them all if there are any leftover (good thing I dropped the tray on the floor when I got home). The other recipe is a lightened version of a cake that I like to bring everywhere.
Cajun Crab Stuffed Pepperoncini
Recipe courtesy Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh
36 pepperoncini
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature (i use lowfat and it still tastes great)
8 ounces crab claw meat, shredded
1 1/2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
Chopped fresh parsley leaves
Cut the stem end off the pepperoncini and carefully scrape out the seeds. Set aside.
Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the crab and continue to mix. Add the Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, and thyme and mix until blended.
Place the mixture into a pastry bag and pipe into the seeded pepperoncini. Dip the cream cheese end of the pepperoncini in the chopped parsley before serving and transfer directly to a serving tray.
Cook’s Note: If you don’t have a pastry bag, use a large zipping plastic bag with one corner cut off. Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved
Lemon-Rosemary Crumb Cake
(I usually double this recipe when I bring it somewhere. I cook it 15 min longer, use half splenda
/half sugar and double the servings as well. )1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chilled stick margarine or butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large egg
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
3/4 teaspoon water
Rosemary sprigs (optional)
Lemon slices (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Reserve 1/2 cup flour mixture for topping; set aside.
Combine remaining flour mixture, rosemary, baking powder, and baking soda; add buttermilk, lemon juice, and egg. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until blended. Spoon batter into an 8-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Combine reserved 1/2 cup flour mixture, lemon rind, and water; stir with a fork. Sprinkle crumb mixture over batter. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Garnish with rosemary sprigs and lemon slices, if desired. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge) CALORIES 203 (30% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 1.4g,mono 2.8g,poly 2g); PROTEIN 3.3g; CHOLESTEROL 28mg; CALCIUM 39mg; SODIUM 157mg; FIBER 0.5g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.Cooking Light
, MAY 1998
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)