purses and pleats

My lotion exploded, so I had to make myself a new purse.  Always finding excuses to sew!  I'd been holding off using this cute blue canvas, but I finally had the right project to use it for!  Paired with the pink I think it is quite a fabulous little bag.  French seams and box corners for the bottom (like the grocery bags) and the top is folded over (similar to the top of a pillowcase) so no exposed seams, without adding a lining.  Sounds silly, but I'm pretty proud of it, especially since I just made it up as I went along.

But on to more important things.  Kids Clothes Week!  To go with the toys theme, the fabric is covered with drawings of fairy princesses.  And what does Cupcake love to play with?  Fairies and princesses, and she loves to draw.  The fabric (which was actually a couple of pillowcases) suits her perfectly.

I've been wanting to make the Pleated Square Tunic from Shwin & Shwin since I saw it well over a year ago.  I really like square necklines, and the pleats are adorable (and not too complicated to figure out!).  Bonus of no closure!  Basically, just a fabulous little top to whip up in an evening or two.

I'm not sure how much more I'll get done for KCW.  If nothing else, I'll get started on her Easter dress - The Pinwheel Tunic by Oliver + S.  I already made over 10 yards of bias tape for it!  Then there are a couple of nightgowns for Cupcake and her cousin Kitty before our trip to Idaho in April, and eventually I'll start on a few quilts too.  So much fun to look forward to!

Recipes 2016: January

After completing my 100 Recipe Challenge last year, I wasn't sure that I would be eager to do another one right away. But I got my slow cooker for Christmas, and with our current church schedule, we have started having Slow Cooker Sundays.  So I'm at it again.  Instead of doing a separate list for this year, I'll be adding my favorite recipes to our master recipe list, and calling it good.  But so you have an idea of what's going on the list, here's what I made this month.

Our first Sunday meal was Sweet and Sour Sauce on Slow Cooker Ribs. A fabulous meal to break in the new slow cooker.  The meat was amazing and the sauce worked great. We bought a huge can of crushed pineapple (hence all the other pineapple recipes), and made a large batch of sauce, so we froze a lot of it.

Apple Chips - I had apples and was about to return a borrowed dehydrator.  I really need to make these more often, because we were given a dehydrator, and I ate them up fast. Great snack.

Had to use up the pineapple so I made Pineapple Pudding Whip, Pineapple Chicken Salad, Layered Lime Tiramisu (from Company's Coming: Mexican Made Easy), Sweet Carrot Salad, and Pineapple Meatballs (Company's Coming: Slow Cooker Meals).  Pudding was yummy, with a different texture. We made the tiramisu for a friend's birthday and would happily make it again (if you are interested in the recipe please ask).  The salads were alright, but didn't hit the spot for me - maybe in the summer.  The meatballs were okay, but not a favorite.

Greek Yogurt Pizza Crust - we make pizza often at our house, and since our breadmaker died, this is definitely going to be our go-to crust recipe.  Two ingredients (or technically four) is perfect.  And it is delicious. We made some slow cooker pulled pork and it was AMAZING on a pizza.

Almond Milk Pancakes - We found almond milk for cheap and bought a lot, so we were finding ways to use it.  I usually prefer French toast to pancakes, but these were delicious. We made them three times in one weekend.  The small batch is perfect for the three of us.

Avocado Lime Ice Cream - We just happened to have all the ingredients for this (we don't usually have fresh limes), so I was happy to try it out.  MUCH yummier than the plain avocado ice cream recipe from last year. I would happily make this again.  Aaron also made a huge batch of Raspberry Frozen Yogurt, but didn't follow a recipe or write any measurements down, but it included almond milk, greek yogurt, raspberries, and a little sugar.  It goes great with the lime.

Oatmeal Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt - the first time in forever that I didn't have a banana in the freezer (or anywhere!) so I used an avocado instead and added extra honey.  Didn't turn out horrible, but not amazing either.  I'll eat what I made (with the addition of chocolate chips and coconut) but won't be making it again.

"Tasty" shares a bunch of quick videos with fun recipes on Facebook, and we've tried Apple Fritter Rings and Honey Garlic Chicken.  The apples were deliciously crunchy. Such a fun little dessert.  We enjoyed the chicken too, but I prefer potatoes and carrots with red meat.