She’s here!
The best craft project ever! Finished two weeks ahead of schedule 
She was born on the 24th at 5:18am, weighs in at 6lbs7oz and is 18 inches long. As predicted, she got here before I finished her quilted wall hanging! Hopefully I’ll get it done before she goes to college.
It may be quiet around here for a bit as we all get used to each other, but I’ll be checking blogs when I can, posting endless baby pics to flickr, and planning post baby crafts between
naps!
I know, I promised dress patterns today but there are too many that I love. So I’ll need some more time with that. In lieu of dresses, I’ll tell you that I’ve been really into the C.Z. Guest/Babe Paley quality of the full, formal skirt with a button down or sweet cardigan that I’ve seen around lately:
Brooks Brothers and Vogue, respectively
I love long patterned skirts with lots of volume, and while this might not be the most practical of daywear, it would be fun to recreate to wear out for tea or lunch with a friend who’d appreciate it (or perhaps to a daytime wedding?). I’d probably look for the fabric in the home decor section of a fabric store, seeing as it would take a rather a lot of yardage, plus there are often great patterned silks, satins and glazed cottons in home dec, which might have just the right amount of body for a big skirt. If you’re more into the Little House on the Prairie/Field and Stream look, you could use a calico or a plaid. I’d use this pattern:
The gathered version rather than the circle one, and lengthen it to the floor. For the top perhaps this tailored French-cuff button down, or, if I was a knitter, one of the adorable chunky knits from Wenlan Chia’s new book, Twinkle’s Weekend Knits. I was flipping through and coveting it in Borders but reluctantly left it behind, since I’m always very inspired by knitting books and magazines, but then very frustrated by the actual knitting (beginning with how expensive yarn is!). But there is a fabulous turtleneck sweater pattern in there that would be a perfect compliment to a big fluffy skirt until warmer weather returns.
I’m enjoying coming up with these little fantasy outfits– I hope it is fun-ish for you too! I’d love it if you want to join in– please comment with a link to a post/photo of an outfit you’ve recreated from a favorite movie/painting/magazine (by no means need it be Spring 08!), or if you’d like to comment with a link to a picture/scan of an outfit you want to recreate (in your own style, of course), I’d have a lot of fun picking out patterns for fantasy outfits for people other than myself! So, please pipe up if you want.
In case you haven’t seen me lately, let me assure you that I am officially huge and roly-poly. Moondoggie is highly amused by my walrus-like efforts to get out of any reclined or semi-reclined position (but since he is a wonderful husband always tells me how nice I look and helps me up). Lately, when semi-reclined, I’ve been perusing and fantasizing about the new patterns out for spring from Vogue, Simplicity etc, and thought I’d share some of my favorites with you. I’m not totally delusional– I know I won’t have a ton of time for sewing post-baby, but it is still fun to pick out a new wardrobe by matching up what I’ve been clipping from magazines/catalogs with the latest patterns. If I can keep it going, I’ll do a couple of posts like this and show you a few different outfits I’d make if I had my druthers.
One of my favorites from a recent Anthropologie catalog is this:
Which I would recreate using this Alice & Olivia for Vogue wide-leg pants pattern#1035, and Divine Details jacket/short trench pattern #8480:
I’m really into the wide-leg pant, which doesn’t work for me at all right now (the proportions are all wrong!), but I hope will be kind to me in a few months. I’d probably make the trousers above out of red-striped canvas ticking or dark stretch denim (I refuse to be a slave to the fabric suggestions on the pattern envelope), then add some decorative buttons to the front for the sailor effect. And I do love the idea of a red canvas or twill jacket, though I actually do have a big length of tan twill my mother got for me so I’d probably use that, then perhaps add some red ribbon trim around the collar and pockets.
To complete the outfit, under the jacket I’d wear a white boat neck t-shirt, which most likely I would purchase from Old Navy (the time and effort I’d spend sewing one is not justified for something they do so well and economically!). And I’ve been wanting a pair of soft yellow leather boat shoes, which would be perfect with this outfit, I think. I like these ones by Isaac Mizrahi for Target:
Next up? Dresses! There are a bunch of cute ones I’ve got my eye on…
I have pretty much always been a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. Not so much for the overblown romantic love aspect of it (far too much pressure, I think!), but the fun of reveling in pink, red, hearts, chocolate, doilies and glitter in the dead of winter (well, here in SF it is the beginning of spring, but never mind). I haven’t gone as overboard this year as I sometimes do, but I made wee mailable Valentine treats out of Dover sampler holiday images and opaque inkjet shrink plastic (which I’m still working out how best to use– I think it needs to be varnished).
I packaged them up in tiny Muji envelopes closed with glittery red heart stickers
and hopefully they will make it through the regular mail (tucked in regulation envelopes) with regular postage ok!
And for you, my lovely blog friends, I offer a yummy chocolate chunk cookie recipe. Just FYI if your sweetie happens to be male– I brought these to a Super Bowl party and they seemed to be a particularly big hit with the males in the room. The women liked them, but the men kind of freaked out.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies (adapted from my favorite Fannie Farmer recipe)
1/4 lb butter, softened (or just left on the counter for a few hours)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/8 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup oatmeal
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, cut into 1/2inch ish chunks with a sharp knife (Don’t stress about the size, just chop up the chocolate as best you can, and keep it all, tiny bits and all, on the cutting board until you dump it in the mixing bowl. I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet from Trader Joe’s, and guesstimated on the 6 ounces– I used most of a half-pound block)
Pre-heat the oven to 375 and either grease or line a cookie sheet or two with parchment paper. Cream the
butter, and gradually add in the two sugars, beating until the mix is light and smooth. Beat in the egg
and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda, whisking to make sure it is
well-blended. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet, just until well combined. By hand (with a wooden spoon or spatula), stir in the chocolate chunks and oatmeal until evenly distributed. Drop in rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheets (I use a small ice cream scoop to make it easier), and bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the cookie sheet (they will not be totally set until they are cool). In the meantime, give someone you like the beaters and bowl to lick, as the dough is super yummy uncooked (though, y’know, not for the pregnant or tiny since there’s raw egg in it).
However you feel about Valentine’s Day, I hope you’ll treat yourself tomorrow!
I’m still here, and crafting! Even uploading pictures and stuff, just not posting it all on the blog, mainly because I’m increasingly waddly and sleepy, and concentrating on getting my mess cleaned up and somewhat organized before the wee girl arrives next month.
I’ve been terribly belated in saying something about the truly amazing baby shower my friends threw for me here in San Francisco. I was just blown away, and could go on and on about how wonderful and generous they ALL were. But because this is primarily a craft blog, I’ll show you the crafty bits– mainly some ridiculously beautiful gifts from talented Etsy sellers that make lovely baby things. I am sure I’ll be going back to them once the wee girly arrives!
We had to pass these booties around so everyone could stroke them. They are so sweet and soft I wish they came in my size. Camilla, who was one of the amazing co-hostesses of the party, got these for me after reading about them on Bloesem. They are by Winkel and are a delicious baby gift. I can’t wait to put tiny feet in them!
And my friend Shelly went beautifully overboard in her crafty gift giving too! First of all, she makes the most INCREDIBLE baby blankets– I’ve never seen anything like them, and, again, I wish they came big enough for me. Though it probably is better they don’t because I’d never come out from under them. I told her the theme of the baby’s room (pink, brown, green and birds), and she made a custom satin blanket to match, as well as giving us a trio of wonderful flannel receiving/swaddling blankets
As a member of Etsy Kids and Etsy Moms, she also came across a slew of fantastic etsy sellers who make darling things for babies, like
This outfit from dilly bop designs
Wonderful baby shoes from diddle dumpling, a sweet Waldorf doll from the little nest and a puzzle ball, whose label I lost (chime in if you made it!). And…
A beautiful squishy soft block from hoobaleedoos
I’m not posting all this *just* to show off my awesome loot, but also to give you the scoop on a bunch of great crafty baby gifts and etsy sellers! I don’t know how it is where you are or at your age, but it seems like Moondoggie and I are in the midst of a baby boom here in San Francisco, so it is always great to find unique baby gift sources. On that note, we had the honor of going to the bris of a new baby in our circle. Of course on such an important day, he needed a gift.
Yes, I really, really love the Wee Elephant pattern in Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. This one is made in the tiniest baby-wale corderoy I’ve ever seen. It is so incredibly soft, I think this is my favorite one yet.
I’ll be hanging out with my friend Lauren today, on the first Western stop of her book tour for The Seduction of the Crimson Rose. If you want to meet her too, she will be at M is for Mystery in San Mateo tonight at 7pm! She’ll also be in Houston, Dallas, Nashville and New Haven, CT this week, so check out her site for dates, times and bookstores. Her whole series is romantic, adventure-filled, funny and eminently entertaining. Even if I hadn’t been friends with her since we were 5, I would recommend her books to you wholeheartedly.
Without further ado, I’d like to announce that the winner of the Bead Simple Giveaway is Cindy! Cindy, I don’t think you have a blog (you didn’t enter one in your comment), but I’ve e-mailed you to get your mailing address. If you happen to check back here today, congratulations! And please e-mail me your address at belleepoquewhimsy [!at!] gmail [!dot!] com (omitting the brackets etc).
And because you are all so fun for playing, I also pulled a runner up who will get some other little goodies– congratulations Stacey! I’ve e-mailed you for an address too, but if you see this first, please drop me a line and tell me where to mail your goodies.
Thank you all so much for entering! In my opinion you are ALL winners, who, not too long from now will have Susan’s book in your hands and get to enjoy pages and pages of stylish bead inspiration.
p.s. To make the clean-out of my studio more fun, I’ll be doing a few more giveaways in the coming weeks(fabric, paper, etc) so stay tuned.
Thanks to everyone who has entered the Bead Simple Giveaway, and those who’ve mentioned it on their blogs to spread the word! You have until February 6th, so get to pre-orderin’ and put your name in the hat if you haven’t already.
I’m still participating in the Dinner Challenge, so I thought I’d share two dinners I’ve made recently that are very similar in terms of ingredients, techniques and ease, but end up tasting very different. Moondoggie is my hero in many ways, but I particularly love that he always stops before we dig into a meal together (even when we have guests) and says “Wait! Do you want to take a picture of this?” Could a blogging girl ask for anything more? Each recipe serves 2 people with moderate appetites, so keep that in mind if your usual dinner partner is a big eater, or you’re feeding more. Ready?
Spice Rubbed Pork Chops with Roasted Sweet Potato Spears and Blanched Broccoli
If you want it all ready at once:
40 minutes before you want to eat:
1. Make the rub and rub it on the chops, then refrigerate.
2. Pre-heat the oven, get the sweet potato spears ready and pop them in.
15 minutes before the sweet potatoes are ready
3. Put the water for the broccoli on to boil and pre-heat your grill or grill pan
5 minutes before the potatoes are done,
4. Pop the broccoli in the boiling water, then put the chops on the grill.
5. Everything should be done around the same time! If in doubt when the timer goes off, leave the potatoes in while you take the chops off the grill, then drain the broccoli– extra time in the oven only makes them crispier and more yummy.
The Pork
2 center cut pork loin chops (these are the thin cut ones, no more than 1/2″ thick, often less)
Spice Rub:
1 T ground coffee (yes, really- I use espresso)
1T ground coriander
1/2 T salt
1/2T ground black pepper (I use the pre-ground stuff from a bottle, as my grinder doesn’t make it easy to produce big quantities of freshly ground pepper)
1/2t chili flakes
Mix the ingredients for the rub together in a small zip-top plastic bag and shake it until they’re blended. This makes more than enough for one meal, so don’t put your fingers in the bag when rubbing the pork! Use a spoon you don’t let touch the raw meat, or put a few teaspoonfuls in a little bowl to use for this meal. Place pork chops on a piece of waxed paper that is big enough to wrap them in. Sprinkle each with enough rub to coat and, no surprise, rub it in a little. Flip them over and sprinkle and rub the other side. Wrap them up in the waxed paper (it is ok to stack them on top of each other) and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so (you want to let the rub sink in a bit). Pre-heat your wondrous grilling apparatus on high if you have one (my Griddler is worth its weight in gold), if not, pre-heat a well-seasoned cast iron grill pan, or a regular grill pan for at least 10-15 minutes on medium or medium-high so it is nice and hot. Depending on your pan, you may want to spray it with some cooking spray. Pop those spicy little guys on the grill and either close and grill for 3 minutes total, or if using a pan, grill for 3 minutes on each side. I promise they will cook through quickly and if you cook them for longer they’ll be just like eating spice-rubbed leather, so trust me on the 3 minutes, and if you’re very brave, only give them 2.
The Sweet Potatoes
1 bag Trader Joe’s sweet potato spears (you could always chop a few sweet potatoes up into spears yourself- scrub them to get them nice and clean and then cut them into fairly equal wedges, the smaller the better)
1T olive oil
1t salt
1t black pepper
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Pop your spears into a big bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper then toss with your hands until they’re all nice and coated. Lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven for 30 minutes or so (they should be shrivelly with brown patches when they’re done).
The Broccoli
1 bag fresh broccoli florets (or one big crown of broccoli cut into florets)
Medium-Large saucepan full of boiling water
Throw broccoli in boiling water for between 3-5 minutes (depending on how crunchy you like your broc), then drain.
Eat and Enjoy!
And the second meal to be made with The Other White Meat:
Chops in Asian Marinade with Spicy Sesame Green Beans
For it to be ready all at once:
1. 1-2 Hours before you want to eat-make the marinade, pour it over the pork and refrigerate.
2. 40 minutes before you want to eat–pre-heat the oven, get the beans all saucy and put them in the oven to begin cooking.
3. 15 minutes before the beans are ready, pre-heat your grill or grill pan.
4. 3 minutes before the beans are ready, pop your chops on the grill.
5. If in doubt when the timer goes off, leave the beans in the oven while you finish up your chops.
p.s. Obviously this meal is missing a starch, so add your favorite– I think brown rice would be good (if I could make it turn out properly), and so would quinoa.
Chops:
Marinade:
2T soy sauce
1/2 T rice wine vinegar
1/2 T brown sugar
1/2 T sriracha (Thai chili garlic sauce- the kind I have comes in a squeezy bottle with a rooster on it, and is readily available in San Francisco- I got mine in the grocery aisle at Walgreen’s (!), but you should be able to find it at an Asian market or specialty store if you live somewhere it isn’t common)
1/4 t toasted sesame oil
1/2 t ground ginger (use 1/2 T minced fresh ginger if you’ve got it, it is better)
if you don’t like the spicy, omit the sriracha and include 1 clove of minced fresh garlic instead.
2-4 thin cut (1/2″ thickness) center cut pork loin chops
Put the chops in a resealable plastic baggie and pour the marinade over. Seal and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, if you think of it, turning and gently squishing the bag every so often to make sure that all of the meat gets evenly coated. If you’re in a hurry and not phobic about raw meat, you can leave them in the baggie at room temperature for 30 minutes in the marinade to eat dinner sooner (I do not want to be liable for any food poisoning, so I am not recommending this, just sayin’ that some people do it). Pre-heat your grilling machine on high (or grill pan on medium-high) for at least 10-15 minutes. Once it is nice and hot, spray with cooking spray and put on the chops. Close the lid and grill for 3 minutes, or if using a pan, grill for 2-3 minutes per side.
Green Beans:
1T soy sauce
1/2 T sriracha (aforementioned Thai chili-garlic sauce)
1/2 t toasted sesame oil
1/2t chili flakes
1.5T olive oil (or other high-heat appropriate vegetable oil)
1lb fresh green beans (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)– beware, I can eat a whole bag myself, and these guys are good cold, so go for about 10-12 ounces of beans per person if you feel the same way, and up the sauce accordingly.
1/2T sesame seeds
*If you’re feeding people who don’t like the spicy, you can omit the sriracha and the chili flakes, and these will still taste good.
Preheat the oven to 400. Mix together first 5 ingredients in a little bowl, then pour them over the green beans and toss until they are nice and coated. Spread the beans on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Pop them in the oven until the timer goes off. The beans should get shrivelly and a bit brown– truly, the browner the better, so don’t be afraid to leave them in there for awhile.
*by the way, I think it is recipe standard, but in case it is not:
big T is a tablespoon
little t is a teaspoon
And I like to accompany a meal with what I call the Pregnant Lady Cocktail, since my previous festive drinks of choice has been off limits for many months now.
This is probably something you could think up yourself, but just in case you haven’t yet, it contains
Juice of 1/2 lime
Cranberry juice blend of some variety (I like Cranberry Hibiscus, and Cranberry-Raspberry)
Sparkling Water
Pour lime juice in a pint glass, fill the glass 1/2 way with juice, and the rest of the way with fizzy water. Garnish with a slice of lime and enjoy!
