Ashley Akers

Flowers and Cookies

2012-02-01T10:11:00.000-06:00

I'm still enjoying my Quince branch as the blossoms open.

I moved it to the window sill by my desk and it looks so much like Spring.
It still feels like Spring here too. On the news they were calling it June-uary.
I can't believe it is February already. Time flies.

I worked in the floral department at work last Friday and really loved it.
The ladies are all lovely and sweet. I hope there is more floral work in my future!
I brought home these Kanagroo paws to enjoy.

Tomorrow we are taking Karlie Rose to the Stock Show to see all the animals. I'm hoping to catch the Rabbit show in the afternoon. I plan on wearing my new boots that I got for Christmas. You gotta dress the part, right?

I had my mind set on making the Blueberry and Cream cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar that I made several winters ago. Once again the shopping list took me to four stores! Joann for the glucose, work for dried bluebberries and white chocolate and two others looking for plain 'ol non-fat milk powder. I think I threw a box of it away after it sat in my cupboard for a couple of years. I guess I should make these cookies more often. I make the Milk Crumbs last night and quadrupled the recipe. I will double the cookie recipe and freeze the extra milk crumbs. I'm trying to think of other baked goods that they could go into as well. Need to use up that milk powder!

I'm hoping that Karlie likes these, but if not there will be more for us. They are seriously worth the effort, so good.

My first handknit

2012-01-31T09:36:00.020-06:00

I finished my first real hand knit item.
I'm not counting my washcloth or two that were made for practice.
I really feel like I have the hang of it and am so pleased.
I'm trying not to be overly confident and take on a bigger project than I can handle. That's difficult because I see so many patterns that I would like to make. I browsed through 5 or 6 knitting magazines at the bookstore this evening and resisted the urge to bring any of them home.
I'm slightly obsessive, I think that has been established here.

Totally off subject, but look how green my eyes look next to this teal scarf.

I had seen scarves like this around, and there are quite a few patterns. Pattern and details are here on my ravelry page. I think the pattern I chose is pretty vague and I'm all the more impressed that I pulled this off!

Even as a beginning knitter I think it is faster than crochet. I actually had this finished last week, but couldn't find a yarn needle to weave in the ends. I could have been done much faster but just worked on it here and there. There are also tons more patterns available for knitting and it uses less yarn that crochet. I am not saying that I won't crochet anymore, I will.

Yay me for conquering my fear of knitting and sticking to my resolution to learn.
I will be knitting for years to come, I'm sure of it.

A Winter Favorite

2012-01-30T14:45:00.001-06:00

I made a Navy Bean soup last winter that we loved. Even Frank loved it and he is skeptical of navy beans for some reason. I saw a similar soup on a blog recently with Spanish Chorizo in it and decided on a second take. Two weeks ago I attempted to cook a pound of navy beans in the crockpot in preparation for this soup and they turned to mush and subsequently got me off track with cooking. Last week I got it right. Five and a half hours on low was just right for my 1.25 pounds of beans. You could definitely use canned beans, but this is more for your money and easy peasy once you know how long to cook 'em.

I topped the soup with a generous amount of grated parmesan
and served with hot from the oven homemade bread.

If you aren't on the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day bandwagon you are truly missing out.
So easy, so good.
Crisp and crusty exterior, soft and delicious inside.
Mmmmmm

I didn't use a recipe for my soup, but just winged it. Here is what I did.
1 small yellow onion
3 Carrots
2 Stalks of Celery
3 Cloves of Garlic
2 small links of cured Spanish Chorizo
2 cans (drained and rinsed) or 3 cups of cooked Navy beans
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 Cups Chicken Stock
1 bunch of Kale, I like the Lacinato or Dinosaur variety
Salt, Pepper and spices to taste. I used Smoked Sweet Paprika, thyme and oregano

Dice your veggies and saute until softened. Add salt and pepper and diced chorizo. Cook until chorizo releases it's oils, your veggies will turn red from the chorizo. Add can of crushed tomatoes, cooked beans and chicken stock. Add your spices, I just did a generous pinch of thyme and oregano and maybe 1/2 teaspoon or more of paprika. I highly recommend the Smoked Sweet Paprika in this. Let simmer so the flavors can come together. Add the chopped kale towards the end and cook just til tender.
*I had extra cooked beans so I drained and froze them in a freezer bag for a future batch of soup or other recipe.

Serve topped with grated parmesan. Yum!

I hope you like my soup as much as we do. It doesn't feel like winter at all right now, more like Spring. It was cold and rainy last week when I made this soup. Though Texas weather is notorious for wild swings in temperature, it has been especially mild this season. I am selfishly enjoying the sunny, warm weather, though I fear we will have hell to pay come summer. I heard that the long term forecast is for our summer to be as bad as last year. Noooooooo

Ikebana Tablescape

2012-01-25T10:14:00.000-06:00

I have been craving flowers for the house lately. Most days at work I make up simple arrangements in my head while staring at the floral department. I always talk myself out of buying flowers at the end of the day.

I needed something on the dining table and snagged a little quince branch yesterday.
It's probably not truly Ikebana, but the simplicity of this little "arrangement" reminds me of that and I truly love it. I swore I had a flower frog somewhere, but haven't located it, so I just set the branch in a little ceramic bowl and it worked.

My Ikebana Quince branch is keeping my gorgeous new table runner that Gretchen made me for Christmas company.

I had a boyfriend in college who was Buddhist and had either studied, or more likely absorbed via his mother the art of Ikebana. I would come home to unusual arrangements of flowers, or branches in my room. It was very sweet, but comical because he had always clipped them out of some unsuspecting neighbor's yard without asking. The rule follower in me was wary, but I enjoyed the arrangements none the less. I broke my rule yesterday and snagged this little guy from someones yard. I hope they didn't see me and I know they won't notice it missing. I made myself laugh thinking of Henry and his Ikebana arrangements.

Speaking of the floral department at work, I am going to be helping them out on Friday morning and am so excited. They need extra help leading up to Valentines and I'm hoping that I can get more time in.

The Scarves

2012-01-24T15:36:00.001-06:00

I mentioned before that I made eleven scarves as gifts for Christmas but neglected to photograph them. I made them all from flannels, with two exceptions. I was inspired by Anna Maria Horner's figure eight scarves. Though I would love to have and to make them from her gorgeous velveteens and voiles I could not afford to use them. Another factor is that I don't think Anna Maria's patterns and colors would have worked for everyone on my list, which included four nieces and two nephews. Joann flannel fit the bill and I was able to make each scarf with a half yard each of two coordinating fabrics. Some scarves used the same color or print, so there were repeats, but most of them were different. Two of the nieces and the two nephews got matching scarves, cause that's how they roll.

Gretchen was kind enough to take a picture of herself in her scarf, which was one of my favorites. It has a mustard yellow quilting cotton on one side and a gray and white flannel print on the other.

I think I'll do a tutorial of how I put these together. They really make an easy handmade gift and are super cute and cozy. I am wishing I had made one for myself, so I just might have to do that soon.

Gretchen and I at our house.

Winter Walks

2012-01-19T10:29:00.000-06:00

We have been on only two Winter Walks. Days with sunny, warm weather and both Frank and I being off work have not coincided enough. It has been a typical Texas winter so far, switching rapidly from highs in the 40's to the 70's. You know what they say, if you don't like it just wait a minute. Two days ago I woke up to morning temps in the 60's and thought, oh it's a perfect day for a walk. Within an hour the wind blew in from the North and the temps dropped into the 40's. Oh well, there is always another day, and this coming Sunday is supposed to be warm so hopefully we will get out and explore again.

Walking on the trinity trail.

Our first visit to Sansom Park on Lake Worth

I grew up exploring in the woods and always feel better when I'm out in nature.
In fact, just looking at these pictures makes me feel good.
The sun being out makes me happy too.
I hope we get to take a lot more walks this winter.

Shrimp Scampi-ish

2012-01-18T09:51:00.000-06:00

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen yesterday. I made bread dough and a batch of Salty Caramel Ice Cream, the best one yet I think. After forcing myself to go to the grocery store I came home hungry with a bee in my bonnet to make homemade pasta. It didn't work out so well. I used a Jamie Oliver recipe but didn't let it rest long enough and tried hand rolling (no pasta machine). I knew it was too thick but cooked it anyways and then proceeded to cook some penne to go with my delicious Shrimp that I had cooked in the mean time.

So on to the shrimp, the good part.
I was inspired by a customer at work who mentioned a Shrimp/pasta/lemon combo that sounded great plus a picture for a recipe in my Mad Hungry cookbook. I loosely followed the recipe. Here is what I did.

5 Cloves Garlic chopped
Juice of 1/2 of a large lemon
1 Tablespoon of lemon zest
2-3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Shrimp, I used maybe 3/4 lb and could have used more but that's all I had on hand
1/2 chopped flat leaf parsley
Lots of fresh grated parmesan
Salt and Pepper to taste
Crushed red pepper to taste

Saute about 5 chopped cloves of garlic in olive oil on low until aromatic. Don't let the garlic burn. You can add some black pepper and crushed red pepper at this point. Add the shrimp in one layer and flip when they are pink on the bottom. When they are pink throughout turn the heat down and add the lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper to taste and the parsley. Add cooked pasta with a little pasta water and stir it around good then take off the heat and serve with parmesan on top.

This is just a simple recipe that would be easy to improvise on. I think adding some steamed broccoli or broccolini to the dish would be spectacular. I don't know if this is what Shrimp Scampi really is or not, I've never had that before. All I know is this dish is a new favorite and I will be making it on a regular basis.

I'm so pleased that we are planning our meals, and have only eaten out once or twice so far this year. In the long run it really saves money, and stress, and is so much healthier. I hope to keep this habit up throughout the year.

This morning I'm cooking Navy beans in the crockpot for soup and baking a loaf of bread to go with it for tonight. Better go the timer just went off to put the bread in the oven....

Learning to Knit

2012-01-17T12:25:00.001-06:00

I'm doing it, I'm really doing it!
My mom's best friend Kathy had taught me the basics of knitting a couple of years ago.
I made a washcloth or two and practiced on big needles and yarn but just never felt comfortable with it.
One of my New Years resolutions was to finally learn to knit. I think I've made great strides in just four days of practice. That's really what it's all about is practice.

I decided to follow a simple pattern for my first project.

I have seen these scarves around and always thought they were cute.

I was inspired by Angry Chicken's recent post about knitting small projects that are not overwhelming. She also talks about how she always felt like a knitter who didn't knit. I can relate to that. I have felt for a while that I should be able to knit and was quite frustrated that it wasn't coming naturally to me. Of course I just wanted to pick up needles and make something complicated. Washclothes weren't doing it for me.

Well, I'm starting smallish but this project is interesting enough to keep my attention.
I'll be honest, all I really want to do is sit on the couch and knit all....day....long.
I can't do that, there are too many other things to get done.
Bun I'm so excited that I'm knitting!
Don't get me wrong, I'm still not completely comfortable. Knit is easier than purl at this point and I'm totally winging it at some spots, but I'm doing it and I'm thrilled.

* One thing that has helped me as a crocheter, is switching from English to Continental knitting. Do you other Crocheters find Continental style easier? I was taught English, with the thread in my right hand but it never felt right. Continental is the way to go for me.

I have the instructions (which are vague) and a knitting book at the ready.

I'm off the couch now and doing my chores.

Flexshaft...Check

2012-01-16T10:09:00.000-06:00

My sweet dad got me a flexshaft for Christmas. I got it set up this weekend by adding a block of wood to the ledge of my workbench, and I'm up and running now. I hadn't used one since college and I graduated in '99. My poor dremel tool was well used and falling apart.

Frank and I had the day off together yesterday.
I didn't accomplish everything on my wish list, but we did do a lot.
We had coffee and waffles for breakfast.
I practiced Knitting.
We spent time outside with Lucy at the dog park.
Frank fixed the leak under our sink where our dishwasher drains and we set up my flexshaft.

My other wishlist items included, going to the movies, the bookstore, cooking/prepping dinners for the week, excercising, and sewing. Those things didn't happen, but there is always tomorrow.

I am teaching myself to knit, and that's final. I practiced quite a bit this weekend. I'm attempting to follow a simple pattern today. I have a little more time before I go to work.

In my absence

2012-01-13T19:54:00.000-06:00

In my absence from this space I have been working and spending time with my niece Karlie on my days off. She, mom and I went to the Japanese Gardens to feed the "fishies" last Friday and this week Frank and I had her overnight Wednesday night (for the first time) and I kept her yesterday for the day. We had lots of fun, our primary activity was making sugar cookies. She loves to help and was involved with every step of the process. She really is a great helper.

Last Friday at our beautiful Fort Worth Japanese Gardens

We had done the sugar cookies at Christmas, rolling the dough that I had previously made and cutting with cookie cutters. They were my favorite Sugar Cookies I had ever made and I will continue to use this recipe from Glorious Treats again and again. We topped the cookies with this frosting and then sprinkles.

This time Karlie helped me make the dough. I measured, and she poured.

This time I rolled the dough into balls and flattened prior to baking.
As I expected, they weren't quite as good as the Christmas batch as this dough is meant to be rolled, creating an even thickness.

She loves sprinkles.

She also loves Lucy.
Unfortunately it was too cold to play outside yesterday.

I'm so thankful for such a loving, sweet, and fun little niece. Frank and I both adore her and cherish the time we spend with her. We are lucky that she loves us back.

Today I caught up on jewelry, temporarily hooked up my new flex shaft and used it for the first time weeeeeeee! I have to figure out the best spot for it to live on my workbench and rig up a deeper ledge for the stand to attach to. I'm so excited to really see what it can do.

We have been staying on track with meal planning and grocery shopping and it is nice to not have to stress about what to cook and eat. It never made sense to stress about that since we both love to cook, but it happens to everyone at times I suppose.

I have no lack of ideas for things to talk about here, just a lack of time. I have been sewing a little and am almost finished with a dress that I started in the fall. I took an Indian cooking class on Tuesday and plan to share recipes soon. I will try to post more regularly.

Have a great weekend.
xoxo
Ashley

Off to a Good Sart!

2012-01-03T10:10:00.000-06:00

Three days into the 2012 and I'm feeling good about what I've achieved so far. It didn't hurt that I had these three days off!

Sunday Frank and I took a hike a Sansom Park, a park on Lake Worth that is popular with Mountain Bikers, but was hiker friendly too. We had never been before and though it was not as secluded and awesome as the Fort Worth Nature Center, it was closer, free and still beautiful. We made Turkey Chili in the crockpot with enough for leftovers and freezing portions. We also made a list of potential meals. Half the battle is always thinking of something to cook. I figure I can refer to the list when planning my grocery list for ideas.

Yesterday I went on a deep cleaning spree of our nasty utility room. I desperately want to redo that room, paint, new linoleum and new shelving. If we had the cash I would love to put in a tankless hot water heater and turn the closet into a pantry. That would require fixing up our garage for storage of what's in that closet, my whole art show booth contents. Anyways, back to the cleaning. Our dryer has been broken for quite some time and we hang everything to dry. It's fine for now but we will probably want to get the dryer looked at to see if its fixable at some point. I vacuumed ten years of lint from under the dryer, I know, major fire hazard. I also found these treasures under there.
Probably fifteen guitar picks, a few bucks in change and a bunch of pebbles from my pockets.
Cleaning feels good.

Yesterday I also installed, in about five minutes, new lighting over my workbench.
My old lighting was terrible and I've had this light strip for at least two years. I felt so silly after installing it so quickly and seeing what a huge difference it makes. Now to clean my bench area and set up my new flex shaft. Did I mention I got a flex shaft for Christmas? Time to bury the poor old dremel and give it a proper send off. I can't believe I finally have a flex shaft after sixteen years of making jewelry. Thanks mom and dad!

Here's to making 2012 the year of finishing unfinished projects.

Gretchen and Eric's Blanket

2012-01-02T10:38:00.000-06:00

I've given you a couple of sneak peaks of this project, but I didn't want to give much away to the recipients. This was the only Christmas gift that I started early, I actually started it in July and then put it aside because it was too hot on my lap as it grew.

This is the Granny Stripe Crochet pattern, more details on my Ravelry page. I've used this pattern before and love it, it's easy, fast and the results are lovely. The yarn is a new favorite, Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Washable Ewe (available at Joann stores). It dyes up beautifully and all of this yarn is hand dyed with Kool Aid. Some are overdyes of gray, purple and yellow yarn, but most are on white. This was my first time really trying out overdying with Kool Aid and it really expanded my color palette. Purples are quite limited with Kool Aid, but overdying really helped to solve that problem! Gretchen had told me that her favorite colors to decorate with were Yellow, Purple and Orange, so I created this palette based on her preference. I love the results, and it was actually really hard to gift this gorgeous blanket.

I suppose one of my New Years resolutions should be to finally crochet a blanket for us. I have some of this yarn left over and might just start on something for us. I really need a scale so that I can weigh my yarn and know how much each stripe takes and I'm not running out of a hard to match color mid stripe.

Handmade Gifts (Part One)

2011-12-30T10:36:00.000-06:00

Karlie (our niece) got the Selena Mermaid from Wee Wonderfuls, my third project and gift for her from the book. I enlarged the pattern by 150% to give her a little more impact. She turned out super cute and is a pretty quick project.

Karlie also received her very own "Packpack" made by me from this Made by Rae pattern. The main fabric and yellow strapping are from City Craft in Dallas, I love that store! I put vinyl on the fabric to make it more durable. I also added the outer pocket, though I messed up and had to sew the velcro to the flap after I had put it together. Not that big of a deal though. Over all I think it came together really well. It is not nearly as hard as you would think, or as I thought it would be anyways.

Sorry these pictures are sideways, they are from my mom's camera and flickr stream.

It fits perfectly!

I also made her a scarf, one of eleven handmade scarves that I made as gifts and neglected to photograph. That's what happens when you do everything last minute. Oh well. I'll share more handmade gifts with you next week.

We have good friends coming over tonight for dinner and since we have no New Years plans we will probably cook a nice meal and watch some netflix tomorrow night. Unless any of you want to invite us out for New Years.
xoxo
Ashley

Post Christmas Catch Up

2011-12-29T09:52:00.001-06:00

I have caught up on sleep, recovered from the stress of work and sleep deprivation and thoroughly enjoyed Christmas Eve, Christmas day and the two days off that followed. I'm sorry I have been so absent here, I'm not going to lie, the weeks leading up to Christmas were quite stressful for me. Waiting til the last two weeks before the holiday to shop, bake, make and wrap gifts was just too much this time.

We were able to see our Cervantez nieces and nephews two nights in a row.

Frank got the idea to learn some Christmas songs on guitar so that he could play with and for the kids. At first they all said they weren't going to sing but they really got into it.
We sang Jingle Bells, Rudolph and Feliz Navidad multiple times.
I think we have a new tradition!

We repeated the singing at my parents house.
Karlie loves to sings, and is always singing.
Yes, a new tradition for sure!

Karlie and cousin Thomas

We took our usual walk with Karlie to see the horses after Christmas dinner.
I love that she loves to be outside.

On the way back she was running a good while and saying "I run fast!".
I want to find joy in running like that.

My mom posted this picture that I took of Karlie with the caption:

I hope all of you are running off joyously into the New Year where there are lots of blessings and good things waiting for everyone.

I like the sentiment of that quote. I am trying to do those things both literally and figuratively. Running (or walking) for health, counting my blessings, and finding joy in the new year.

I have several handmade gifts to share with you, though I neglected to photograph the ones that I made the most of. I guess I'll have to bribe my gift recipients to take pictures of themselves wearing my scarves.

I have plenty of New Years resolutions, as always, I want to start anew.
Mostly they come down to being more organized, planning ahead and having healthier habits.
More specifically:
*Better meal planning, with my wacky schedule it is hard. Planning better will also lead to healthier eating habits.
*Exercising regularly. We want to join a gym but so does the rest of the country right now.
*A repeat of my goal for this year that didn't come to fruition: de-cluttering the house, going through all closets, drawers and cabinets to clear out excess and deep clean the house. I also want to paint and reorganize our utility room.
*Add more personal touches to both our home and my wardrobe. Basically being more thoughtful about my style and what I live with.
*Learn to Knit, finally!
*And start preparing for Christmas early next year. But that goes along with better planning in general.

If you don't see me before next week, I hope you are all safe, happy and surrounded by the ones you love as you ring in the New Year. We don't go out on New Years, but I still love it and it feels like a fresh start.

Happy New Years!
xoxo
Ashley

Cookie Plans

2011-12-13T13:10:00.000-06:00

I usually do a Christmas baking marathon with mom each year. We use the cookies for gifting, hostess gifts, etc. My schedule is preventing that from happening this time around, but I still plan on baking at home. I suggested we each make extra cookies and do an exchange. I'm planning on making Ginger Burst cookies. They are selling them at Central Market right now and they are To*Die*For. There was a contest in our local paper for cookie recipes and it won. New favorite Christmas cookie? Maybe! Seriously, if you love ginger you have to make these. They are chewy and just right.

I found some images from previous Christmases to get me in the spirit.

There are also two lemon cookies that I have pinned on Pinterest. This one and this one. I guess I want to try a lemon cookie, who knew.

After looking at my Christmas cookie post from last year for inspiration I feel a bit better about my lack of preparation. I'm actually a bit ahead of schedule if I compare dates. However, last year I was self employed and this year I have a work schedule. Ugh, darn work gets in the way every time, doesn't it?! Speaking of work, I see a lot of great food gift ideas come through my line. A couple last night was going to make spice rubs for the men on their list. I think that's a great idea.

I'm off today and spent the morning catching up on Etsy orders. I have a plan for decorating our ficus tree that I think will add some Christmas excitement around here. I'm off to prepare my grocery list for baking and do some errand running. Have a great day.

Craft-aster

2011-12-10T15:08:00.000-06:00

So much to do, so little time. I know everyone feels that way this time of year.
I'm almost finished with one big Christmas gift that I have been working on since summer. The only one that I started on in advance.

I made cupcakes for two friends birthdays that we missed last month and they will be delivered this evening. I used the Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache filling from Bakergirl and the Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting from Glorious Treats. I had the idea to top each with a blackberry, so I colored the frosting violet. After they were piped I decided the blackberry would ruin the pretty swirl. However, I just taste tested one with a blackberry on top. Yum! These cupcakes and frosting are both favorite recipes that I will use for years to come.

I cut out Selena Mermaid from the Wee Wonderfuls book last night. This will be the third, and I think, easiest project that I have made from the book for Karlie. Bonus, I didn't even have to buy any fabric for this project. There are only four pattern pieces. I enlarged the pattern 1 1/2 times to give her a little more impact. If you don't already have this book and you like to sew for kids, you should definitely get it. The book, as well as the projects make great gifts.

I learned a new term today from my mom (not sure where she got it). Craft-aster. That's what my house is. A disaster created as a result of crafting. My dining room is definitely a craft-aster, and the rest of my house has been neglected lately as well. I want to decorate for Christmas, but with the mess on the craft table aka dining table there seems to be no point. It will probably be one of those last minute, friends are coming over lets pull out some decorations type of things that I have done the past few years.

I also want to do my usual Christmas cookie baking with mom, but my schedule isn't looking too good for the coming weeks. We shall see.

The Christmas Crafting will continue. I'm considering something like Anna Maria's Figure 8 scarf for gifts. What are you making for gifts? Are you buying handmade this year?

I'm still making and selling my jewelry too, by the way.
Enjoy your weekend!
xoxo
Ashley

Crafty

2011-12-09T10:11:00.000-06:00

These colors are making me smile.
More yarn dyeing and yarn drying.
Prewashed fabrics, ready for crafting.
I added the Selena Mermaid doll from Wee Wonderfuls to my to-make list for Karlie.

A Lovely Day

2011-12-08T11:20:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was lovely.
One of my birthday requests was to go fabric shopping in Dallas with mom.
We do it a couple of times a year together, hitting up the outlets on Harry Hines and a new favorite City Craft.
We were up early to take my brother to the airport. It is unusually cold for early December in Texas.

Sunrise through icy car windows.

Mom bought me these gorgeous fabrics at one of the outlets.
Soft, soft cottons and courduroys for no more than $4 per yard. Score!

I found this Kokka fabric at City Craft for Karlie's "Pack Pack" which will be made from this Made by Rae pattern. I am also thinking of making her a hooded cape. Maybe with this pattern? Though I'm having trouble with their website when trying to purchase it. I love making things for Karlie!

Frank and I enjoyed a wonderful performance by one of my favorite bands My Morning Jacket.
It was awesome!
I know that my concert photos always look the same. It's all lights and you can't see the band.
I still love them though.

I love the holiday season but it seems more overwhelming than usual this year.
As always, I'm asking myself, why didn't I start crafting gifts months ago?
There will be crafting. There will be baking. There will be time with wonderful loved ones.
I'm trying not to panic, not to pressure myself to make everything and to just slow down and enjoy the season day by day.
Aaaaaaaah, off to craft, decorate, shop, make lists, visit loved ones, and on and on.
xoxo
Ashley

Some Color for a Gray Day

2011-12-05T08:00:00.002-06:00

It has been a gray and rainy few days and is supposed to continue like this for a few more.
I'm dyeing Kool Aid Yarn and crocheting.
The colors are helping to brighten my days.

Some details of my mom's fiber work. These colors make me happy too.
She needle felts and stitches scraps of fabrics to create new pieces of fiber.

Kool Aid Yarn. You can see how dark it is in here from these pictures.

My Fall Palette

2011-12-01T10:37:00.001-06:00

Remember this? The Colette Fall Palette challenge that I started.

I had a few weeks of sewing obsession, completing three garments that don't fit perfectly.
A pair of pants that I muslined and once completed there was extra fabric under the but? Not cool
A top that I LOVE but the neckline is too wide and too low.
Another top that I kind of love but isn't constructed too well, my first time sewing with organza.
And a half completed Black Chambray Shirt Dress which I really do want to finish.

Anyways, I was looking at my closet and realizing that I am wearing my fall Palette colors and loving them. Some I was wearing already, some I have added since creating my Palette.

My sewing mess stayed out for several weeks earlier this fall and then got packed away when company was coming. I have a small sewing table in my room with bad lighting. A big dining room table with slightly better lighting is where I like to sew. I pulled out my machine last night and finally fixed this skirt. I will attempt to take some modeled photos of all these pieces soon so you can see what I'm talking about.

Have a mentioned what a bad shopper I am? I think I talked about this before. I have good taste, I like fine fabrics (or at least natural fibers) but I'm cheap. Those things don't go hand in hand. So I have been thrift shopping more. Thrift shopping requires a big time investment, and sometimes the clothes also need to be altered, more time there. But it's cheap and finding treasures is a fun.

I added my Aquarium Grass Earrings to my Etsy shop last night and plan to add more pieces soon.

I'm not feeling the Christmas spirit at all, are you? Maybe decorating would help.
I like to make gifts but am not sure how much of that I will have time for this year.
I have ideas though. I need to make a list. Lists always help me get my act together.

I chopped off my hair....again

2011-11-30T15:58:00.000-06:00

In keeping with my hair maintenance habits, I got my yearly short hair cut. I love it.
My girl Sloan did a great job. As always I hope to maintain it, but knowing my habits it is doubtful.
I will enjoy it while it's short though. No more pony tails!

My inspiration was this picture found on pinterest.
I know my hair isn't that curly but I think it translated my idea well.

Source: bumbleandbumble.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Thanksgiving was good

2011-11-25T09:46:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving was good.
Karlie (our niece) thought the desserts meant it was Aya's (me) birthday again.
She sang Happy Birthday to everyone, I think.

Frank and I love to bug her and she loves us.

We got her!

Karlie rode the train that Poppy made her (twice) to see the horses on the other side of the neighborhood.

We fed the horse that came to the fence.

Karlie and I both have sparkly shoes.
I found them both at a thrift store on the same trip.
She Loooooves shoes.

The desserts were great, though there were way too many.

Lemon Curd, you are sinful. My first time to make you will not be my last!

Millionaire's Shortbread was shared with family friends that we visited, more will be shared tonight and some will be frozen. It goes a long way.

Frank's smoked Turkey didn't come off the smoker until 2 AM yesterday but it was well worth the wait. He did a great job!
I slept for eleven hours last night and I think I have recovered from Thanksgiving at Central Market. Good thing since I'm back to work today.
Have a great weekend.
xoxo
Ashley

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T11:22:00.000-06:00

Wow, yesterday nearly did me in at work!
The degree of business and mayhem has steadily increased since Saturday. Monday afternoon I simply couldn't fight the crowd to do my own shopping when I got off work. I finally got it done last night. I came home so tired, but got a second wind and made two desserts last night. I baked a pie pumpkin for the first time and used it for Pumpkin Cheesecake. I used this recipe because I liked the proportions of crust to cheesecake. It isn't a rated recipe so I'm a little nervous how it will taste.

It sure looks yummy.

I also made Millionaire's Shortbread, sort of a super indulgent and rich homemade Twix bar. I used the Salted Caramel and Chocolate Ganache that was left from my birthday cake. I made the shortbread layer and then just melted and spread the caramel and chocolate. I chilled it in the ~~fridge~~ freezer because I had to taste it last night. You don't need much, and this filled a 9 x 13 pan, so we will be sharing with friends. The inspiration and shortbread recipe came from this recipe in my Baked book. Though I'm sure the results are different since I used Martha's caramel and chocolate ganache.
Either way it's delicious!

My friends know how much I love to cook and bestowed me with some seriously awesome cooks tools for my birthday. I got these gorgeous handmade cutting boards, made by family friend Justin, a Cast Iron Grill Pan, an Enameled Cast Iron Skillet, and not pictured, new measuring cups and spoons. I love cooking tools and gadgets!

My birthday flowers. The sunflowers outlasted everything else, so this was actually the second arrangement that I made with them.

I still plan to make a Lemon Almond Meringue Tart from the Baked cookbook. I have to get my act together and do that before work. Tomorrow I will also make that Scalloped Sweet Potato and Sweet Onions with Cheddar Cheese thing that I mentioned before, yum. Then I relax, eat, hang with Karlie, etc. I have almost survived my first holiday at Central Market, but I feel like I need a few days of sleep to recover and that is not going to happen.

I'm a bit scared to go to work today, only slightly kidding. I close tonight. Yesterday there were employees from all over the store and even from the district offices in to help bag groceries. I was on a busy register most of the day and it was just non-stop. If you have to shop today I would go early (too late) or late. Wish me luck!

Happy Thanksgiving to you.
I hope you are spending the day with people you love.
I am thankful that my entire family will be together for the holiday.
It is and always has been my favorite holiday and I don't think the mayhem at work can ruin that for me.
xoxo
Ashley

Happy Birthday Gretchen!

2011-11-18T10:07:00.001-06:00

Today is my friend Gretchen's birthday. We have celebrated each others birthdays for twenty one years, along with Christmas, graduation, weddings, etc. Gretchen is my oldest friend and I love her to pieces. She is one of the most talented and driven ladies that I know. I have talked about our friendship beginnings and her talent before.

I shared an old photo booth picture of the two of us with her earlier this year and she said, "I wish we had done that every year of our friendship". Well, we didn't do a photo booth picture each year but I was inspired to find pictures of us from each year since 1990. I did find almost all of them, I'm only missing four years out of twenty one.

Some of my favorites.

1993 Visiting Gretchen in Austin

1995

1997 Visiting G in Santa Fe

2004 At mine and Frank's wedding

I love you G!
Happy Birthday, I hope it's a great one.
xoxo

Birthday Desserts

2011-11-17T09:38:00.000-06:00

I haven't seen much of my friends and family since I started working at Central Market. I got the notion that I wanted to have a birthday party so that I could get everyone together in one place and cook and eat lots of good food. I have to admit it was a lot of work, but Frank and mom helped me out with the cooking and preparations and it was well worth it in the end.

We had a crowd, so like I mentioned last week I went a bit overboard with desserts.
I chose this Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake from Martha Stewart. The recipe is a keeper!
I also made my Tres Leches cake, doubling the recipe with whipped cream and berries in between the four layers (I split two layers into four this time). I opted for the Italian meringue topping like I did on the cupcakes, but didn't have a torch to brown it. You can see where I attempted to use a lighter and gave up. I was over being in the kitchen at that point.

Since lots of kiddos were coming I also made Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting. Delicious! Unfortunately kids seem to like to lick icing off and throw away a perfectly delicious cupcake. They don't know what they're missing!

Believe it or not almost all of that cake was eaten by the end of the night!

I received some lovely gifts from my generous friends but my most precious gift was spending time with my favorite little girl in the whole wide world, Karlie Rose.

I had a wonderful birthday and really enjoyed my party. I think I have the birthday party bug out of my system for a few years though, and will stick to entertaining smaller groups of friends and family. I will be back to share our dinner recipes soon. We did a taco and salsa bar and it was delicious!

Grandmother's Necklace

2011-11-16T10:02:00.001-06:00

I was commissioned to make a Grandmother's necklace with eight birthstones.
The stones are Emerald, Sapphire, 3 Opals, Diamond, Garnet and Ruby. We decided to arrange the stones by birth order and I think it worked out nicely.
I'm thrilled with the outcome!

I'm off to the zoo today with my brother and niece. I have finally recovered from my birthday weekend craziness and will post pictures and recipes soon.

The Thanksgiving craziness has already begun at work. Monday was busier than normal and I'm sure this weekend will be busy too. I have no idea what next week will have in store for me at work! It should be interesting. I need to plan out my shopping list now and not be shopping in the midst of the madness next week. I am in charge of desserts but think I want to make the Mad Hungry Scalloped Sweet Potatoes with Vidalia Onion and English Cheddar that I made last Christmas as well. What are you planning for Thanksgiving dinner? Are you trying any new recipes?

Feist

2011-11-11T11:46:00.001-06:00

I love Feist! We got to see her perform in Dallas on Tuesday night at the Majestic Theater.
We had a great time.

The first time we saw Feist perform she had a visual artist on stage with her creating backdrops for the music. If you are a fan you should check out this documentary about The Reminder Tour. As a visual artist I appreciated her dedication to the visual aspect of her show as well as her collaborations with the artists she worked with.

I might have gone a little overboard with the birthday baking. I just did a second batch of these Vanilla Cupcakes ending up with almost four dozen (they're perfect and will be topped with strawberry cream cheese icing). I have already baked the cake and made the caramel for a Chocolate Salted Caramel cake and plan to do a Tres Leches cake too since I didn't get to make by brother one for his birthday last month. Um, I think it will all get eaten, or taken happily as leftovers, but yes I may be crazy! I'm looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the company of friends and family tomorrow night.

Quinceanera

2011-11-10T10:24:00.000-06:00

I attended my first Quinceanera last Saturday night. The Birthday girl is Frank's youngest cousin. She is a beautiful and talented young lady, and has always been so sweet and cute. The first time I met her she was about to turn three and was so adorable. Bri Anna gave a thank you speech and said that she was the 25th grandchild on one side of her family and the 35th on the other and that she was the youngest grandchild on both sides. I thought that was pretty impressive. Frank's dad is one of eleven siblings and family functions with the Cervantez crew are always a blast. We had a great night.

Bri Anna has been dancing in a Ballet Folklorico troupe since she was six years old. Her dance group did two performances at tht party and that was my favorite part. It was the first time we had seen her perform.

The birthday girl is on the right in blue.

I wish I had gotten a picture of her in her ball gown, it was purple and very regal. She looked like a princess, which she was that night.

Speaking of birthdays, mine is on Saturday and we are having a little celebration. I started the baking and preparations last night. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for cooking and baking for my own party but it is something that I love to do.

Don't forget, my Birthday Sale is still going on in my Etsy shop through Saturday. 10% off with the code HAPPYBIRTHDAY

Birthday Week

2011-11-08T09:24:00.000-06:00

My birthday is Saturday. I will be baking cake and cupcakes to share with friends and family. I can't share them with all of you, but I can offer you a discount in my Etsy shop so that you can celebrate with me. Receive 10% off your purchase through Saturday with the code HAPPYBIRTHDAY at checkout. I will have aspirations to list new items in the shop this week as well, but I can't promise anything.

Frank and I always joke that it is our birthday week or month and we like to keep the celebration going more than just one day. This week is a bit hectic, so it doesn't feel like my birthday week so far. We will get to the fun part soon enough though. Speaking of birthdays, I attended my first Quniceanera last Saturday. It was spectacular fun and I will share pictures soon.

Enjoy your day,
xoxo
Ashley

Welcome November, I love you!

2011-11-01T11:37:00.000-05:00

It's November, my favorite month of the year. November has a lot going for it, it's my birthday month, the month of my favorite holiday and has the best weather that we get around here.

We fully enjoyed October as well and spent the last days of it with our nieces and nephews around a campfire with s'mores Saturday night, walking on the trail Sunday and soaking up the sun on the hammock yesterday.

Saturday night we told ghost stories, well Frank did, that I think will stick with the kids for a long time. His story ended with fingers in the butterfingers (to which our youngest niece replied, I don't even like butterfingers) and eyeballs in the blowpops. The kids got a kick out of it and the youngest among them reminded them all not to eat the butterfingers last night, to everyone's delight!

Sunday's sunset walk. We try to get out on the trail at least once a week.
I wish we could make it everyday but my work schedule and earlier sunsets get in the way of that.

I did some relaxing when I got home from work yesterday.
I have a hard time just relaxing but the weather just called me outside and I couldn't help but enjoy it.

Welcome November, I will love every bit of you!
I'm planning on having a Birthday sale in my etsy shop so that you can celebrate with me, so stay tuned for details.
I'm still obsessing over recipes, as usual. The pulled pork turned out great and is going on our party menu. I will get that recipe up soon. I'm working on a Grandmother's necklace with eight birthstones that I am really excited about. I'll be sure to get pictures before I rush it out to it's new owner.
xoxo ashley

My Morning

2011-10-27T11:58:00.000-05:00

I baked the Cake part of the Tres Leches cupcakes before I went to work yesterday. It is such a beautiful batter, light and airy with whipped egg whites folded in. They domed up beautifully!

It was a bit hard to get the Tres Leches into the cupcakes. I made little holes in the top and poured it in but the dozen cupcakes only soaked up 1/4 of the Tres Leches that the recipe makes. I opted for Italian Meringue for the topping because the whipped cream topping that I used on the cake wouldn't be sturdy enough to pipe on. It was my first time making Italian Meringue and it wasn't too difficult. The piping bag was light as air and I had a lot leftover. I torched the tops and these might be the most beautiful dessert that I have ever concocted! Taste will be determined later today. I'm thinking they won't be milky enough, and they are lacking the fruit and whipped cream filling that I loved so much in between the cake layers. I may go with a cake instead.

Why do I have to get so carried away and feel the need to make life complicated by making so many different desserts for one party? I have no idea, but I am fully enjoying the process, if not the temptation of having them around. I will be forcing these on friends later today! I think I would enjoy being a recipe tester and a pastry chef in a second career.

The second recipe being tested today is Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder in an Achiote marinade. It will be cooking away all day. I've seen several versions of this recipe and went with the one in my Rosa's cookbook. I will post the recipe for you later if it turns out as great as I'm hoping it will.

Soup weather has arrived! We made Chicken Caldo for dinner last night. It is a staple, so super duper easy and beyond delicious. We used homemade chicken stock that was in the freezer and the rest of a chicken that Frank had smoked earlier in the week. That was his best yet smoked chicken, I do believe. He didn't have a beer on hand so he basted it with some limeade that we had in the fridge. Yum!

Fall Like

2011-10-26T11:07:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I played around with wool.
The "cold" front that is coming is making me want to pull this project back out and putting me in the mood to make soup.

I took my second cooking class at Central Market last night. It was Baking With Cheese, taught by Nick Malgieri. I already had his cookbook Bake and really enjoyed the class. He made, and we tasted: Cheese Souffle Toasts, Ricotta and Red Pepper Tart (which I want to make), Cream Cheese Scones, Lemony Ricotta Pie, Apple Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (similar to the apple cake I made by adapting my carrot cake recipe), and Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Parfaits. Nick had great stories to tell, and the class was a lot of fun. I missed taking a class in September but do hope to take one per month.

I am thinking Tortilla soup for dinner tonight. I also have some recipe testing to do for a party that we are planning. Achiote Pulled Pork from my Rosa's cookbook, Peanut and Arbol Chile Salsa from Saveur and Tres Leches Cupcakes are on the list. I'll let you know how they turn out.

My Morning

2011-10-21T10:50:00.000-05:00

With company sleeping on our couch my mornings have been spent with coffee watching Chow Channel in bed. I love Chow Channel! The only problem is they don't add new videos very often so I have seen everything on there now.

I decided to gather my Mexican and Grilling cookbooks and do some menu planning.
My kind of morning!

I'm off to work soon.
Have a great weekend!
xoxo
Ashley

Cupcake Quest

2011-10-20T10:28:00.001-05:00

I'm slightly obsessive, I'll admit that. I'm on a quest for a perfect birthday cake flavor combo. This is for my upcoming birthday, so I'm being a bit indulgent on top of obsessive. I love to bake, so it's not hard to see why I would want to bake my own birthday dessert. I have favorite recipes for Carrot Cake and Tres Leches Cake and those have been the birthday go to's for family and friends. I was wanting something different. After the Salted Caramel Ice cream with chocolate cake for an August birthday I am digging that flavor combo. I thought about the Sweet and Salty cake from the Baked Cookbook (which I have), but thought cupcakes would be easier. I'm not sure that's true but I'm going with it. So I obsessed some more and thought about this recipe for caramel filled chocolate cupcakes, but it seemed like too much work. I settled on Chocolate Ganache Filled Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting and I tested the recipes yesterday. We had company coming, and were going over to a friends house so I figured that was a good time to make cupcakes and not have them sitting around here tempting me.

Four people, including myself will vouch for their awesomeness!

This was my first time frosting something will a frosting tip. I bought the huge 1M wilton star tip. A lady at Joann told me I could use that and the coupler with a ziplock bag. It worked, but not perfectly, I still want to invest in some pastry bags. Check out this post on Glorious Treats for Cupcake frosting how to info. Isn't that picture so pretty?!

The Ganache settled to the bottom, you can kind of see it here.
It also sort of melds in with the cupcake making it super moist.

I think these cupcakes would go great with lots of different flavors of icing. Strawberry, raspberry, coffee, cinnamon, almond, peanut butter, mint, coconut, etc, etc. You could even add flavoring to the ganache, I think. I'll have to experiment some more.

I'm using pinterest to keep track of recipes, among other things. I love it, it really makes bookmarking things so much easier. I'm totally a visual person, so it works for me.

On a side note I was goofing around at CVS last night with the nail polish. I never paint my nails, but am considering it now. I need to take better care of my hands. They get so beat up with gardening and jewelry. I trimmed my cuticles and put lotion on but they are still rough. I need to take an Omega 3 supplement, I know that would help my skin out a lot.

Etsy Metal Treasury

2011-10-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

Another lovely Etsy Metal treasury that my Pebble Rings are in. Don't forget to use the code ETSYMETAL to receive 20% off your purchase in my Etsy Shop through Saturday!

discomedusa $20.00	Experimetal $78.00	LivelyHood $82.00	wildflowerdesi... $20.00
ashleyjewelry $80.00	cynthiadelgiud... $50.00	UnderDistressJ... $36.00	alisamiller $160.00
erinaustin $55.00	Inbarbareket $75.00	markaplan $77.77	bcyrjewelry $80.00
SimplyAdorning $139.00	shirleegrund $135.00	silentgoddess $53.00	MetalRiot $62.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Happy Anniversary My Love

2011-10-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was mine and Frank's seven year wedding anniversary. I forgot to ask off work. Oops!
I'm not used to having to plan so far ahead for a free day.

Here we are with our family and wedding party.
It was a beautiful night. We married under a tree in my parents backyard surrounded by our friends and family. We were so happy, and still are. I love that man so much, he is the best.

He picked me up from work and we picked out flowers. Central Market has the most beautiful flowers but for some reason I always talk myself out of buying them. This was the first time that I have taken flowers home from work. I'm hoping to change that habit because fresh flowers in the house make me happy.

Etsy Metal Anniversary Sale

2011-10-16T13:19:00.000-05:00

I'm participating in the Etsy Metal 5 year anniversary sale! Today through Saturday receive 20% off your purchase in my shop with the coupon code ETSYMETAL.

I am so grateful to be a member of this wonderful group of artists. I consider my team mates my friends, mentors, peers and more. I love Etsy Metal! I would not be where I am today as an artist without them.

Custom Birthstone Rings with Garnet and Emerald

A few of the participating shops.

Experimetal $36.00	shirleegrund $360.00	discomedusa $85.00	KarlaWheelerDe... $50.00
silentgoddess $50.00	alisamiller $100.00	AdobeSol $151.00	MicheleGradyDe... $80.00
Inbarbareket $40.00	markaplan $188.88	wildflowerdesi... $135.00	mariagotijoyas $147.00
lajoailliere $125.00	hartleystudio $175.00	bcyrjewelry $62.00	SimplyAdorning $94.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Click here to see a list of participating Etsy Metal members.

Soaking Up The Sun

2011-10-14T12:04:00.001-05:00

These gorgeous treasuries remind me of the beautiful days we have been having.
I just want to be outside as much as possible.
Yesterday I was chasing Monarchs around the yard and finally caught a couple of them enjoying our Abelia shrub in the front yard.

This morning felt so good.
I sat in the sun on the hammock with my coffee.
Lucy sat on the back steps.
Soaking up the sun always reminds me of Malta. She loved to lay in the Sun.

The days are getting shorter but we are still enjoying the trail.
Frank wasn't feeling well last night but he went with me anyways.
I jogged with Lucy and felt the stress float away.
These days are few, and I am soaking them in while they are here.

I will post the details of the Etsy Metal Anniversary sale either later today or tomorrow.
We have a full weekend ahead with my work and having our nieces over.
My mom had surgery this morning to remove her Gallbladder and all went well, thank goodness.
I love this time of year. I hope you are enjoying Fall as much as I am.

Fall Gardening

2011-10-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

The weather is perfect.
The Monarchs are migrating through.

We got much needed rain earlier this week.

Perennials are coming back to life.

The Bird Bath filled up.

My Veggie garden is sprouting.

Fava Beans

Snap and Snow Peas

Rainbow Lights Swiss Chard

The mature veggies are producing.

The Okra pods are drying to save their seeds.

The bees are pollinating.

I LOVE this time of year!

Etsy Metal Anniversary

2011-10-12T12:16:00.002-05:00

Etsy Metal is celebrating Five Years of being a team this month. In honor of that, many of our members will be offering discounts in their shops from October 16th through 22nd. Stay tuned for more info, and a list of the participating members. The gorgeous treasury above was made by Rebecca Bogan of Adobe Sol in honor of our Anniversary. She included my work as I am one of the early members of the team.

Attempting to Model

2011-10-11T11:14:00.000-05:00

I mentioned that I scored some great stuff thrift shopping with mom and that I haven't wanted to photograph myself wearing my new duds. Here is part of the problem. I haven't had batteries for my camera and have been snapping everything with the hipstamatic. I can't put the phone on a tripod or the hipstamatic on a timer, so here I am attempting to photograph myself in this vintage skirt.

Didn't work out so well.

I LOVE this skirt. It is 100% cotton, a sort of mustardy yellow/green with a gorgeous print and it's from India. It was about $3 I think.

It's too big, and too long.

It was a circle skirt, which I loved about it.

I had to cut the length out of the top so that the print wouldn't be cut off.

What I didn't take into account was that the waist would now be about 3 x's wider!

I will still be remaking this skirt, but sadly it will no longer be a circle skirt. It will be a gathered full skirt. I'll take "real" pictures when I get it done. I do have batteries for my camera now.

I am home this morning and close at work tonight. I was there early the past three days and kind of liked it. Day time seems to go by faster there for some reason. I'm noticing that when I'm home I get overwhelmed by all that I am behind on. Household chores, paperwork, jewelry, my sewing pile that is a big mess, yard work, etc. When I'm at work at least I'm not thinking about all that. Sort of ironic, isn't it?!
Frank and I were able to go out on the trail and jog (!) with Lucy last night. It felt great. For whatever reason I felt like jogging on the trail was easier than concrete or a treadmill. I felt quite empowered, but desperately need new running shoes. The weather was perfect, the sunset beautiful and I felt good!
I turn 36 a month from tomorrow and am not feeling too good about that. I feel out of shape and am ready to feel better about myself and my health. We are considering investing in a juicer. Anybody out there juicing? Any tips?

Our Weekend

2011-10-07T11:32:00.002-05:00

I realize it is already the weekend again, and I'm just now getting around to sharing our wonderful long weekend with you. I ended up with 4 days off in a row and Frank had three. So we played, relaxed and enjoyed those three days to the fullest.

Saturday

We did waffles, coffee and PBS cooking shows, my favorite way to start a Satruday.

We did some flea market browsing but didn't find any treasures.

We shopped at a local Mexican market and discovered this treasure, a hidden Panaderia, one of the nicest I've seen around here.

Saturday night was capped off with that Flank Steak and Chimichuri recipe that I linked to in my last post, as well as some Rick Bayless recipes, Garlicy Shrimp and Aguacate and Cacahuate Salsa. By the way, the new season of Mexico One Plate at a time is great. I love Rick Bayless!

Sunday

We picked up our three nieces and took them (and Lucy) to the dog park, Marshall Grain (my favorite feed store) a park and the Trinity Trail. When we asked if they wanted to go to a park or the trail they all chimed in "park!". They of course, enjoyed the trail just as much if not more than the park. They all dug tossing rocks into the creek and were intrigued by the three boys fishing and "noodling" in the slimy water. I grew up a country girl, playing in the woods behind our house, but these girls are full on city girls. It felt good to get them out in nature and expose them to things that they may have never done before. We need to find time to do that more often.

We had the girls for about four hours and were totally worn out by the end of the day. We also got to talk to Karlie on the phone, and though she was busy in a play kitchen, she told us "Gaga (Frank) I cooking", and "Aya (me) I love you". That melted my heart and made my day.

Monday

By Monday I felt lucky and indulgent to have so many days to do what I wanted. The weather was perfect for us and we got outside again at the Fort Worth Nature Center. It took me probably six years of living here to visit this place, and then another two to go again. It is only twenty minutes away, but with so much to explore you really need a whole afternoon to devote. It was a bit warm in the sun but we hiked for about an hour and a half and saw a frog, an armadillo and a deer.

It was just what I needed.

This is a CCC relic, built during the great depression. My Paw Paw was in the CCC, so I always feel connected to him and to history when I visit a place that the CCC constructed.

I spent Tuesday catching up on emails, jewelry and working on paperwork. I was ready to go back to work by Wednesday, believe it or not. And now the week is almost over again. It sure went by fast.

I mentioned that I grew up a country girl. I was actually born in Houston and lived there for 9 years. We moved to the country after that and I have always felt best when I connect with nature. I've been in Fort Worth for ten years now and love it. I love being so close to all the things we need and not having to drive twenty minutes to the grocery store. There are lots of conveniences here for sure. However, with my parents moving away I have a dream of moving to the country outside San Marcos. Reading Soule Mama's blog makes me yearn to be a country girl even more.

Only time will tell if I will return to my country girl roots, for now I will day dream about raising animals, keeping bees and preserving food for the winter.

Ready To Play!

2011-09-30T10:23:00.000-05:00

Lucy is here to tell you that we are all ready to play this weekend!

Lucy is always ready to play. Don't let her naps fool you.

Ashley and Frank are so looking forward to a weekend together, with beautiful weather in store.

A to do list has been made, as there are so many things to be done, fun things.

Coffee, waffles and cooking shows on public television are first up.
Some form of junking, perhaps flea market or garage sales?
As much time outside as possible, a trail walk, a state park, both?
Catching up with friends.
A trip to the bookstore and catching a movie.
Making Pretzel Buns and Chimichuri are also on the agenda.
A bit of outdoor coking and perhaps some yard work will get squeezed in there.

Is that ambitious enough for a weekend of fun?

I can't wait, only eight hours of work stand in my way!

Sight For Sore Eyes

2011-09-29T12:26:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned that the Summer of 2011 was the hottest on record here in North Texas? It was basically, scratch that, totally miserable. I felt especially bad for people who work outside for a living, including my husband. I was grateful to get a new job in a nicely air conditioned grocery store. We are all glad that the Summer of 2011 is behind us, and will no doubt often refer to this Summer in future discussions about the heat. Summer of 2011 is the new Summer of 1980 around here.

I wasn't able to water my perennial beds enough this summer. They were looking so, so good in Spring but that just couldn't last. It is a wonder anything survived. I lost a few plants, some plants need time to recover, but some of my little troopers are out there smiling with their Fall blooms right now! The Salvias, Datura and Creeping Plumbago as well as the Flame Acanthus are all happy as can be. That makes me happy. I think there will be some yard work done amongst the rest and play this weekend.

A Rain Lily popped up under my Okra plants


The Zinnias basically took over the veggie garden.

In other news, I scored big time on thrift shopping yesterday! I'm so glad mom came down to hang with me, we had a really good time. I got three tops, two skirts, some teal velvet pants and two pairs of jeans. I have some alterations to make, but most of it fit perfectly. I need to go thrift store shopping more often. All these new clothes, plus I've been sewing and have finished three pieces for the Fall Palette Challenge. I just can't bring myself to take pictures in these clothes though. I guess I don't like posing for the camera. I'll try to get pics of some of my new clothes though, especially the handmade ones. I've noticed with clothes that I've made in the recent past and don't wear, that I think they need certain shoes, or accessories that I don't have, or the sleeves are just a bit too long, etc. I'm trying to remedy some of these things and actually wear more of what I have spent my precious time making.

Okra

2011-09-28T10:46:00.000-05:00

The okra is finally going strong, like where I have to pick it everday or it gets way too big to eat. I have been freezing the okra all summer for lack of recipes. I'm thinking something Indian, and probably Gumbo, and maybe just a simple saute with tomatoes and onions. Any other okra recipes would be appreciated.

I'm starting to think about my Fall and Winter garden and making a mental wishlist.

Fava Beans
Spinach
Carrots
Chard
Kale
Garlic
Onions
Peas
Parsley
Nasturtiums and Violas
Beets?

I'm sure there will be more on that list. Fall and Winter gardening are so much easier here than summer!

I'll be on my 6th day of closing at work tonight, with two more days after that. Then I have a three day weekend, woo hoo! I feel a lot of pressure to have this perfect weekend, which is silly. There will be time spent outside for sure, the weather is supposed to be perfect. There will be cooking of good food and eating dinner before 11pm, and hopefully catching up with some friends who I have not seen since starting my job. I hate that my work schedule is opposite of all my friends. I don't get to see or talk to any of my ladies these days and it makes me sad.

Today mom is coming down to go thrift shopping with me, something that Frank always rushes me through. Looking forward to it.

Have a great day!

Pad Thai

2011-09-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

Frank and I had a craving for Pad Thai a couple of weeks ago and I was determined to find an authentic recipe. I found this one, which is more of a guideline than recipe. I had trouble finding the ingredients at work or anywhere else around here, so we trekked over to Haltom City to a Vietnamese grocery store. Of course they had everything we needed, and I loved looking at all the interesting ingredients there. Central Market was out of Rice Noodles when I needed them, but this store had a whole row of them! We will definitely be going back.

They even had Durian, the stinky fruit that I have seen on many food travel shows, but never in person.

I had never cooked with fish sauce, so we asked a sweet lady at the store, who asked her mom to recommend one and she said the crab brand one was best. I think the flavor is an acquired taste that I haven't quite acquired yet. I liked the outcome, but next time may do less fish sauce and compensate with the soy sauce that Pim mentions. We used whole Thai Chile peppers and I didn't feel like they imparted enough heat to the dish even though I sautted them in the oil as it heated in the wok. Next time I may try the chili powder in the sauce. Another thing I would change, I bought tamarind paste and had to soak and strain it. I didn't realize until later that I could have bought it already soaked and strained. All in all we were thrilled with our Pad Thai. We used Shrimp, by the way. I will make this recipe again and I'm sure I'll concur the learning curve eventually!

Happy Fall!

2011-09-23T15:39:00.001-05:00

Today is the first day of Fall and I think everyone around here is happy to say goodbye to the Summer of 2011. The weather could not be better and I've been trying to get out on walks and enjoy it while it lasts. Apparently we are set to have a hot and dry Fall and continue in drought conditions into next year. Here are some images from our recent walks.

Tuesday on the Trail with Frank and Lucy

Yesterday Lucy and I saw this poor beautiful Blue Jay on our walk

Today on our first day of fall walk. The sun felt intense and the breeze cooled us.

It was lovely.

We made our way down Camp Bowie and inspected this soon to be Bakery. Not that I need to eat more sweets, but it makes me happy to see new small businesses opening up in our neighborhood.

I hope you are enjoying the weather where you live and that Fall treats you well.

Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo

ashley

Treasury Love

2011-09-20T09:36:00.000-05:00

My work is in some lovely new treasuries on Etsy. Click on them to check out all these lovely items.

It feels good to be loved!

Twelve Years of Togetherness!

2011-09-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

Frank and I celebrated twelve years of togetherness this weekend. I, of course had to work both Saturday and Sunday, but luckily got off at 3:30 yesterday. We had a delicious El Salvadoran meal at a local favorite Glorias. I have to learn how to make Chimichurri at home, I'm a bit obsessed.

We took a walk after dinner with a gorgeous stormy sunset and spent the rest of the evening just chilling at home.

I've talked before about how awesome my man is and how lucky I am. We met through mutual friends in 1998 in Denton. Our first date was September 17, 1999 and we have been together ever since. We are both lucky to have found each other. I love that picture above, we look so young, and we were, and Malta was so young too, not a white hair on her face.

Love you babe, thanks for being the wonderful man you are!

Fall Palette Challenge Obsession

2011-09-13T17:51:00.000-05:00

I mentioned the Colette Fall Palette Sewing Challenge the other day in passing, thinking that there was no way I could find time to participate. Well, I became obsessed with the idea, as I tend to do, and created a palette and inspiration board. I have two patterns cut out and plenty more in line. I have no idea how many pieces I will have time to actually finish in the next 7 or so weeks that are left in Colette's time frame. It doesn't really matter though as I need clothes, have lots of fabric and patterns in my stash, and will simply sew when I can find the time.

I'm still narrowing down my fabric and pattern choices, and will get back to you on those. The ones that I have cut out so far are Simplicity 2250 View A in a black and white polka dot cotton pique and 2305 view d in a lovely plaid pima cotton. Both are Cynthia Rowley patterns, which I have been pleased with in the past.

Of course I had a hard time narrowing down my color choices and ended up with 8. The Anna Maria Horner print in the middle was my inspiration and though I wanted to make a blouse with it. It will likely be a skirt since it only comes in quilting weight cotton and not the sumptuous Voile that I have come to adore. A few of the colors are already in my wardrobe and I won't have to make anything new with them. I also have pieces that I have sewn and never worn, which I plan to integrate into my new wardrobe. Some need hemming, letting out, or were just out of season by the time I finished them.

I used Pinterest to gather inspiration. I love that site and you can find my pins, including all of these pieces, here.

I'll share my progress soon!
Back to work on jewelry for now....
xoxo
Ashley

Crazy for Ice Cream

2011-09-12T11:44:00.000-05:00

~~Last week~~ A couple of weeks ago (I've been meaning to post this for a while)
we went a little crazy in the kitchen.

I may have lost my mind, evidenced by homemade waffle cones. We scored the waffle cone maker half off retail at Tuesday Morning, and armed with a recipe from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream I couldn't resist. My technique needs to be perfected but they sure were tasty!

We made our third batch of Salty Caramel Ice Cream and our first batch of Banana, both Jeni's recipes as well. I don't have her book yet, but received a packet with a good amount of recipes in the class that I took. Here is the Banana base with delicious Vanilla Bean seeds.

We also made homemade shell toppings. First I attempted the Caramelized White Chocolate that I had tasted in class on Banana Ice cream (it tastes like Dulce de Leche). I burned it, and burned my hand badly, leading to a ginormous blister that is finally healing after a week.

I was out of white chocolate that night after burning the first batch so I used dark chocolate. I prefered that one after all, and it was much easier to make, only having to melt it and not caramelize it.

Despite preferring the dark chocolate, I was determined to get the Caramelized White Chocolate right. I burned it a second time but finally had success and no more burning myself on my third try. The trick is doing it on the lowest heat, stirring constantly and using a thick bottomed pot.

The inspiration for all this craziness was sharing ice cream with my family, which we did last Friday night.

Karlie getting some chocolate topping

My Salty Caramel Cone with Dark Chocolate Shell Topping

Silly Ice Cream Face

I am in love with the Salty Caramel ice cream and we have served it with this Chocolate Cake (as a single layer/half recipe with chocolate ganache instead of icing, highly reccommended) for a friends birthday a few weeks ago and now with Dark Chocolate coating, both divine!

I don't have time to type out these recipes, so here are some links:
Caramelized White Chocolate Bombe

Banana Ice Cream
Salty Caramel Ice Cream

For the rest of the recipes you'll have to purchase the book!
Hint, dark chocolate shell coating recipe is the same as the white chocolate only you just melt it over low heat and it's done. Try it, you'll love it!

A Late Summer Walk

2011-09-08T10:47:00.000-05:00

After a miserable summer, we North Texans had a reversal of fortune this past Sunday. Gusty winds blew in a "cold front" turning temps from blast furnace to perfect, practically overnight, dropping highs by twenty degrees. Morning and night are cool and breezy, in the heat of the day it still feels great. This isn't even normal September weather for us, it is cooler like October and November. I know it will get hot again, so we squeezed in a walk on the trail. We hadn't been out on this trail since we lost Malta. Lucy walked mostly off the leash, and behaved herself for the most part. Times like these give me a sense of calm and happiness. They are too few and far between.

Just off the trail we found this little nest like fort structure. I wasn't sure if it was created by neighborhood kids or homeless people. Regardless, it was cool and reminded me of mine and Elliott's childhood forts. I don't think we have any pictures of them, but they were super cool and kind of like this in a circle of trees.

I love those sunset colors. I have been thinking about color a lot, more than usual I guess. There is a Fall Pallette Sewing Challenge going on over at Colette Patterns and I so wish I could find the time to participate. My relationship with clothing is a difficult one. I don't like most of what is in my closet, am too cheap to buy new clothes (I always talk myself out of purchases) and don't have time to sew all the sewing patterns that I hoard. I think this sort of challenge would force me to think about what I wear and be more purposeful in my clothing choices.

Homemade Ricotta and Flatbreads with Honey.....Or Yum!

2011-09-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

I had some leftover whole milk and heavy cream from making Ice Cream and was inspired to make homemade Ricotta Cheese. I had seen recipes pop up in magazines and on blogs recently but only remembered this one from Smitten Kitchen. I love that blog and she never steers me wrong.

I didn't have quite enough milk and cream for the full recipe, and attempted to adjust accordingly. However, I think I ended up with more lemon juice proportionately and it was a bit too lemony. I also added a tad too much salt, but once it was served with other ingredients that wasn't noticeable. I will definitely be making this again, and couldn't believe how easy it was. Seriously about 5 minutes of active work in the kitchen. You can't beat that!

I made these flatbreads, also from Smitten Kitchen, to serve with the Ricotta. I left out the cheese, salt and thyme just making them plain for this purpose. They didn't last long, but were delicious the first and second day. After that they tasted stale and I tossed the rest. I would probably freeze leftovers next time and I'm sure they would take no time to thaw.

Honey and Ricotta on Flatbreads, seriously to die for.

I stocked up on organic whole milk at Central Market, taking advantage of their Moo Monday special. You get three half gallons for $6 when you spend $25. So more ricotta and ice cream will be made around here. I have to join a gym, or get out and enjoy this gorgeous weather and work it all off!

Have I mentioned that I want a new camera? I know my hipstamatic images of food aren't always the most appetizing. I adore the photography over at Smitten Kitchen and reading her info on her camera equipment has me seriously jonesing for a DSLR. Another favorite blogger, Alicia of Posy gets Cozy just started using one and her photos are amazing as well. I know, I know having a fancy camera does not make a good photographer, but I have some skills already and definitely have an interest in photography, plus I have to photograph my jewelry. I'm talking myself into it, aren't I?!

The Party

2011-09-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

Our niece Karlie's Second Birthday celebration was last Saturday and we all had a blast, especially her.
Here she is working hard at rearranging the balloons.

She was so excited when she saw the cake and she was singing Happy Birthday quietly to herself.
She loves to sing, it's so cute.

She helped fill the HUGE tweety bird pinata.
She wants to help with everything and do everything by herself, such a big girl!

This is my favorite picture of the day, taken while we sang Happy Birthday to her.
She was so happy.

Here is what I made her.

The doll pattern is Little Miss Storybook from Wee Wonderfuls, and the dress is Simplicity 2320.

I sort of guessed on what size to sew her in the dress, and I think I did okay. She hasn't tried it on yet, but mom measured her this past weekend and I had made it one size above what she is now, so she will have room to grow. I loved coordinating her doll with her dress, and I'm in love with the little brown Moda print. I hate that Moda only does their fabric design runs for one season and when they are gone, they are gone. They have so much cute stuff that I miss out on. I had a little trouble with the yoke on the dress. Since I added the piping it rounded the corners, making it harder to attach to the dress front, but I persevered and it turned out fine. The doll is from the Wee Wonderfuls book that I made her Kitty from. I made a few changes to her. I made taller boots, left out the cape, turned her apron into a removable skirt, made the dress fabric into the body leaving off the second layer of body fabric and seaming it at the neck. I love the way she turned out, not even sure what my favorite part is, I just had fun with the whole project! Of course Karlie loved those shoes the most, and didn't pay attention to the doll or dress. I'm sure they will grow on her though.

Birthday Fun

2011-08-26T17:01:00.000-05:00

My favorite little girl in the whole wide world turned two last weekend. We celebrate tomorrow at my parents' house. Frank thinks I'm crazy, but I made sugar cookies for party favors today. I attempted to color the dough pink and purple, but that was really lost in baking. The sprinkles are pretty though. I discovered Martha Stewart Paper Tape at Joann. I know, I know, its a copy of the Japanese stuff that has been around for a while. My excuse is that I could never afford to invest in the Japanese tapes, and I used a coupon on this. I decorated the cookie bags and Karlie's gift box with it. I love it! Might have to get some of the Japanese stuff now.

I so giddy for a two year old birthday party!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

xoxo

Ashley

Smiles All Around

2011-08-25T09:56:00.000-05:00

These were our fortunes from dinner last night. Not so much fortunes as true statements about myself and Frank. If you have ever met Frank you know his smile is infectious. He can turn a sour mood sweet with his smile, so this "fortune" for him couldn't be more spot on. I happen to think mine is pretty accurate too.

Speaking of smiling, this picture of Lucy smiling totally cracks me up and puts a smile on my face.

With Lucy being an only "child" now she is even more spoiled than before, if that is possible. She definitely gets more treats than ever.

I finished Karlie's birthday gifts and think they are the most adorable things that I have ever sewn. I will share them with you next week.

I made homemade waffle cones last night, yes I may be a little bit crazy, but we scored a waffle cone maker at Tuesday Morning cheap (they have more). We only have a one quart ice cream maker, so we can't make enough for the whole birthday party. Instead we are making Salty Caramel and Banana Ice creams tonight to share with my family tomorrow night.

I'm also considering making sugar cookies for the party, depending on how my day goes tomorrow. I get obsessed with the idea of making something like that and just can't let it go. Good thing people generally appreciate homemade goodies!

Have a great day, I'm off to check groceries.

xoxo

Pesto and Caprese on my Mind

2011-08-23T10:28:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to share this Pesto recipe with you for a couple of weeks. We have now made two batches with our Basil from the garden. I'm not sure this recipe is any different from others, aside from one thing. The current issue of Saveur has a big story about Pesto. I always enjoy that magazine and love how they obsess over one ingredient, region, etc. We made the Pesto Genovese, which is the classic Basil Pesto. What this recipe does differently is blanch the Basil leaves in boiling water and plunge them in an ice bath. I swear it makes a difference, and this is by far the best Pesto that I have ever made! Here are all twelve of the Pesto recipes from the story, we used number nine.

Pesto and Goat Cheese with Parpadelle and Zucchini


Caprese Salad

Another current favorite is Tomato Caprese salad. Yum! It's so easy, I don't know why I haven't been making it every summer of my life. Slice Tomatoes and Buffalo Mozzarella, layer and place a Basil leaf on each slice of cheese. Drizzle with Olive Oil and Salt and Pepper. Delish!

Two more wonderful stories from the current issue of Saveur, on Salsas and Ice Cream (about Jeni Britton Bauer who taught my Ice Cream Class at Central Market).

Is Summer Over Yet?

2011-08-22T10:49:00.000-05:00

My Datura is Surviving and thriving in this crazy heat, but I'm no sure I am.

Yesterday morning I was sitting in the living room with the back door open. The Wrens that make our back yard home were active and chirping, the Squirrel who is not scared of us was collecting pecans and I noticed my Datura blooming. My poor garden is sorely neglected. It was beautiful this spring, but with the crazy summer we have had it is really looking pathetic. I try to water a bit here and there but just can't keep it all looking good. I couldn't believe that this plant was blooming! It made me smile.

Another thing making me smile is this pile of coins that Lucy is admiring. I mentioned to my dad that I was saving my pennies for a used flex shaft and he sent over a huge coin jar that they had been saving up. Isn't that so sweet?! My parents really are too good to me.
I will be getting my flex shaft soon now! Thanks mom and dad.

Mom and I did our crafty shopping on Friday and I am freaking out on how cute Karlie's present is going to be. Can't wait to share.

I survived my first Hatch Festival weekend at Central Market.

Hatch Fest is all things Hatch Chiles, which come from Hatch, New Mexico.

There are:

Hatch Brownies

Hatch Tortillas

Hatch Coffee

Hatch Cheese

Hatch Burgers

Hatch Scones

Hatch Foccacia

Hatch Chicken Salad

And on and on and on!

There are lots of good things to taste and the store was NUTS this weekend!

I could have slept all day today but have to catch up on my etsy orders and work this afternoon.

One side effect of working at a grocery store is that I don't want to do my own grocery shopping. When I get off work I just want to go straight home and put my sore feet up. I'm sure I will get used to it and get in the groove before long, but we have been eating out too much in the mean time and my meal planning and desire to cook have waned. I also haven't gotten used to the odd eating times, I have mostly worked the mid shift so I eat lunch at 3:00 pm and dinner late with Frank. Another side effect is dreaming about checking and bagging groceries all night long. That is my least favorite side effect, and is quite frustrating. Saturday was unbelievably busy and that night I slept poorly and dreamt about work, which was no fun.

Well, I hope you have a wonderful week!
xoxo
Ashley

My Next Project

2011-08-17T21:05:00.000-05:00

My niece Karlie turns two in a few days.

I'm going to make her another doll from Wee Wonderfuls.

This one:

You may remember the Kitty that I made her for Christmas from the book. She was so cute, but unfortunately got lost. I still think that is the cutest pattern in the book and will have to remake it for her someday. For now its a dolly though. Mom is coming down for a day of craft shopping and lunch on Friday, my day off. I will get all the cute fabrics for the doll then, I can't wait!

Here are some more of my Kool Aid yarns. I have entirely too much fun with them. I am so cheap that I only buy the yarn with coupons at Joann's, so I can't ever get as many skeins as I would like to at one time. I will be in there a lot until this projects' yarn is fully supplied.

Have I mentioned how exhausting cashiering is? I worked my first two cashiering shifts over the weekend and was just beat. It was a crazy weekend because I had my Ice Cream class Friday night, worked Saturday and Sunday, had a friend over to celebrate his birthday Saturday (for which we made Chocolate Cake, Salty Caramel Ice Cream, Pesto Chicken, Pasta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Veggies and Caprese Salad). We had to do all the prepping Friday night, but it was worth it. I will attempt to share recipes soon. We have finished off the Salty Caramel Ice Cream, so I guess I'll just have to make another batch so I can take a picture!

Kool Aid Dyeing Again

2011-08-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time since I did any yarn Kool Aid yarn dyeing. I found the new Washable Ewe yarn by Debbie Stoller at Joanns and just couldn't resist. Superwash wool is my favorite yarn to make afghans with and I have a project in mind. I made up this swatch card for dyeing inspiration.

Here are the few yarns that I have dyed so far. I have so much fun with the dyeing part, and love the end result! There are some limitations with using Kool Aid however, and I may try either cake icing dyes or invest in some "real" acid dyes for wool. I just can't get much variation with purples in the food coloring dyeing.

Strata Treasury

2011-08-12T08:35:00.000-05:00

As always, this tresury by Su of Quercus Silver is gorgeous!
I'm so pleased to have my Stacked Pebble Pendant included.
Thanks Su.

Project Runway Challenge Week Two

2011-08-11T15:27:00.001-05:00

It's week two of the Etsy Metal Project Runway Challenge. I got done and took real photographs on time this week! Here is the challenge from the Etsy Metal blog:

Episode 2: "My Pet Project"
Air: 8.4.11
My Lifetime, Thursdays, 9pm PST.

The Project Runway Challenge:

In this episode, the challenge was to create an outfit using pet store supplies. They were allowed to use muslin as well, but were encouraged not to.

For our EtsyMetal Translation:

Yup, you guessed it. The EM challenge is to make a piece of jewelry using pet store supplies! Try to limit your time in the pet store to 30 minutes. You may use some metal in the piece but try to use as little as possible. Make it work!

I was inspired by the plastic aquarium plants and actually wanted to bring a lot more of them home! I had a really hard time making a decision but ended up with this green grassy plant. I was able to take a piece off in the store without hurting the product and I could immediately see what I would make with them. I had second thoughts at home and wished I had brought home the others that I had my eye on instead, but I persevered and love the outcome!

I think these earrings are elegant, despite being made of plastic grass, and I think that is the whole point of using uncommon or found objects in a new way. I think you will be seeing more plastic plants in my work.

Don't forget you can play along, even if you are not an Etsy Metal member. Just check the Etsy Metal blog each Friday for the challenge instructions and to see all the entries.

My Trusty Dremel Tool

2011-08-10T13:34:00.000-05:00

I have prided myself over the years on the work I have been able to create with such a small studio and minimal tools. Don't get me wrong, I have a loooong tool wish list and lots of techniques that I would love to add to my repertoire, but I'm on a tight budget and always have been.

Enter my trusty dremel tool. This guy has been with me since at least 1999, and I'm pretty sure my parents got it for me. I didn't need a flex shaft, oh no, my dremel tool worked just fine.

Looks innocent, enough, right. Maybe a little worn in...

Or maybe a lot worn in!

Or maybe completely Melting!

Yikes!

This has been happening for a while, but I'm sure our few days of no air conditioner and indoor temps near 100º didn't help.

I hereby nominate myself for an upgrade to a proper metalsmith's tool, a flex shaft. I will be pricing and comparing, the choices have always overwhelmed me when I have looked at them. Perhaps the next time I send in my scrap silver I can get myself a flex shaft. In the mean time, its sticky fingers around here after using my trusty old dremel.

My Jewelry in San Fransisco!

2011-08-10T10:16:00.013-05:00

I should have told you about this a while back. I sent a collection of my fiber jewelry to Perch in San Fransisco back in June. I love San Fransisco and am so thrilled to have my jewelry shown there! I've never been to this store but have heard great things about it. If you are in the area go check it out and let me know what you think.

I just found a site that has Perch as the winner of Best Homegoods store in San Fransisco. With such wonderful shopping options in the city, this must be an awesome place!

Dots Treasury

2011-08-09T10:15:00.000-05:00

Another lovely metalwork treasury by Tana of City Rustic Jewelry. I obviously love circles and dots and these pieces are all beautiful. Thanks Tana!

Etsy Metal Project Runway Season Nine Challenge

2011-08-05T10:26:00.007-05:00

I've never participated in the Etsy Metal Project Runway Challenges, but have always wanted to, and have admired the work that came out of them. It's sort of ironic that I chose now to participate, now that I have started a new job and am working most days and my jewelry making time is severely limited. Because of that and the fact that our main air conditioner, the one that cools my studio, went out two days ago and it's been around 110º everyday, because of those things I'm all the more impressed that I finished this project.

Here are the instructions for playing along, and a description of this week's challenge. This challenge is open to non Etsy Metal members, so if you would like to participate just check the Etsy Metal blog each week to see instructions.

Here is my bench mess that I was able to pull materials and inspiration from.

My piece under construction

The finished Ring

I used a Lace Agate stone from my Paw Paw's collection. I have a bunch of his rocks and this is the first piece that I have utilized, but hopefully not the last. My accent stones are Labradorite and Sunstone. This is one of the most complex pieces that I have made in a while and I'm really pleased with the outcome. I will take better pictures of this ring soon, but have not yet decided if I will offer it for sale or keep it for myself.

I needed this challenge to inspire me and deadlines always get me motivated! I hope to keep playing along and I hope you will too, if you are so inclined.

Enjoy your weekend!
xoxo
Ashley

Horchat-ahhhhhhh

2011-08-03T08:00:00.002-05:00

In the current issue of Sunset magazine there is a recipe for an Indian spiced Horchata (a Mexican rice drink). Frank loves Horchata, so I decided to make him some. I didn't have cardamom, and know he doesn't like it anyway, so I just made the Mexican version with canela. I never realized how easy it is to make at home, and on these crazy Texas days with temps reaching 109º this is a seriously refreshing drink. I never really liked the restaurant versions that I had had because they were too sweet, but that is easily fixed with a homemade version.

To make Horchata:

Grind 2 cups of long grain rice in your coffee grinder a little at a time
Soak covered in the refridgerator overnight in 7 cups warm water with a 2" piece of Canela (Mexican Cinnamon)
Strain through cheese cloth, you may have to do this step a couple of times to get out all of the rice
Add about 3 cups of milk, or to taste
Add about 1/2 cup of sugar, or to taste
Sprinkle in a little extra ground cinnamon, you will have to use a whisk to break it up.

Serve over ice and enjoy!

Pebbles and Stones Treasury

2011-08-02T10:28:00.004-05:00

Another gorgeous treasury on Etsy featuring my Mossy Pebbled Path Pendant. Click on the image above to see the treasury and all these beautiful items on Etsy.

A New Treasure

2011-08-01T11:42:00.000-05:00

My parents came down for Fort Worth yesterday, which is always a treat. We had a delicious Mexican breakfast at a favorite spot, then escaped the heat at Barnes and Noble (mom and I also snuck over to Anthropolgie to window shop). When they were leaving dad said he had something for us. He pulled this wonderful hand carved wood and antler back scratcher out that he had made! I can't believe he carved it and everything, so cool. I love it as a back scratcher and as a table decoration.

Thanks Dad!

Treasury Love

2011-07-28T14:04:00.003-05:00

Another fabulous treasury by Su of Quercus Silver. Thanks Su for including my earrings, I have found some new favorites here as well!

And a couple of other beautiful treasuries that feature my work:

Unrelated:

I have had two days of work at my new job and I love it. It is exhausting because I'm not used to being on my feet all day, and my legs are sore from lots of squating and lifting, but I think it's going to b a fabulous place to work!
I'm going to sign up for my first cooking class at Central Market. It is Splendid Ice Creams at Home with Jeni Britton. Jeni has ice cream shops in Ohio and a new book out, and she is also featured in the current issue of Saveur magazine. I'm really excited about this, it will be my first cooking class and students get a copy of Jeni's book to take home too. She is teaching at several of the Central Market stores, so if you are in Texas you should check it out.
I'm spending today catching up on orders, errands and chores.

Creamy Green Salsa: Version 2

2011-07-26T21:14:00.001-05:00

I have attempted before to recreate this creamy HOT green salsa that I love from Pollo Regio. My previous attempt did not replicate the original but wasn't bad. In my ongoing quest to make this salsa at home I tried a new recipe. It also isn't like the original, in fact quite different, but quite delicious! This one will stay in my arsenal for sure.

Cilantro, Avocado and Green Onions

Tomatillos, Garlic and Serrano on the Stove

It's definitely green!

And delicious!

Lucy sure thought it smelled good!

This new recipe is quite tangy from the Tomatillos. I only used one avocado, so a second like the recipe calls for may cut down on the tanginess, but I still love it. I also had to add a little water to get it to all blend up. Try it, I think you will love it too!

I have done some research on the original green slasa from Pollo Regio. There are people on forums obsessed with it like I am and they talk about theories and recipes. I have seen mention of Aji Amarillo, a Peruvian pepper, Mayo or Crema based salsas like my last recipe, and oil blended with peppers. So far nothing I have made comes close to the original, but I will continue my search! Apparently the Pollo Asado in this style is from Monterrey, Mexico and is typically served with this salsa. Anyone know what the salsa is called or how to make it? Here is another one to try.

Cooking with Squash Blossoms

2011-07-25T12:12:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I cooked with squash blossoms from my zuccinni plant for the first time. I have always wondered what they tasted like but had never tried them. I made scrambled eggs with a couple of the flowers that I chopped up. I loved the flavor, it was very bright fresh tasting. Of course that was the same day that I pulled up my squash plant. It had squash vine borers, which I always get. It had gotten big and was a vigorous plant, but never produced any squash. Now I'm wishing for more squash blossoms to cook with.

If you are growing squash or have access to the flowers here are some recipes that sound good:

Luxurious Rustic Griddle Baked Quesadillas from Rick Bayless

Squash Blosom Pizza from Saveur

Squash Blossom Saute from Saveur

Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms from Epicurious

We had a wonderful but CRAZY busy weekend! I had training for my new job on Friday evening in Southlake. I baked a triple batch of carrot cake for a friends' birthday party Saturday. That is, I made a double batch Friday night into a double layer 9x13 sheet cake and decided that wasn't enough so I made another single batch Saturday morning. I was in a hurry so I iced the second cake before it was completely cooled and the top layer slid off in the car! I was able to patch it up though and everyone loved it. Saturday night we smoked chickens and made Charro Beans for Frank's mom's birthday lunch Sunday. To top it all off we saw Sade in concert last night! I'm beat, trying to recover from the weekend and prepare to start my new job tomorrow. I have a long to do list for today and so far I'm off to a slow start.

Have a great week.

Ashley

Garden Bounty

2011-07-21T10:30:00.000-05:00

Zinnias always make me so happy, it doesn't feel like summer without them. I am fascinated by all the forms of Zinnias. These were all volunteers this year, and the ones I planted from seed didn't take. I was a bit disappointed that I only have pink this year, but love them none the less.

There really hasn't been much harvesting from my garden this summer. I pick and freeze the okra as they are ready, because there aren't enough for a meal all at once. The cherry tomatoes are slim pickings and I have to compete with birds who pick at them before they ripen. The zinnias are the stars for now. I'm hoping all the plants will survive the summer and produce in the fall. We shall see.

I got a new job! I start next week at our local gourmet grocery store, Central Market. I'm starting out as a cashier, so if you shop there you may see me when you check out.

I think I'm going to love this job. I probably won't be blogging as regularly, but will have lots of new recipes and food knowledge to share, so I'll try to keep the blog updated. Of course I'm not abandoning jewelry altogether, this is a part time job so I will be juggling both.

We have two birthday celebrations this weekend so I'm doing a double batch of carrot cake again. Yum!

Saying Goodbye to my Pebble Studs

2011-07-20T12:18:00.003-05:00

I have decided to discontinue my Pebble Stud Earring Design. I will be listing all of these, the last of my stock, in the Sale section of my Etsy shop over the next day or two. If you ever coveted a pair of these, now is the time to get one.

On top of the sale price you can also use the coupon code SUMMERSALE in my Etsy shop through Sunday to save an additional 10% off your entire purchase!

Looking Back

2011-07-18T11:11:00.006-05:00

I found these images of my first art show recently. It was Art Antiques and Auto, a show in my hometown of Denton, Texas in either 2000 or 2001. I did that show for several years, the last one I did was in 2004. I got Best in Show this first year, and won a cash prize! It's crazy to look back on my booth and my small amount of inventory and see how far I have come.

Some of these pieces still stand out in my mind and I think they were good, solid designs. The pendant on the top left above is one of my all time favorites and I would be proud to create it today. It had a Sea Shell, Fire Agate, Amber, Peridot and Carnelian. All the stones were bezel set and connected by jump rings so that they moved. I remember the lady that bought that from me, I hope she still has it and loves it.
I wish I could get my hands on some more affordable Fire Agate now!

I remember lots of people asked about that little ikebana bud vase, I had gotten it at my job at Home to Garden. I also learned early on that if you put a dish of candy out people will grab a piece and not even look at your work!

Also crazy to see how low I priced my work then! Of course silver was much, much cheaper, but I don't even think I was taking the cost of the stones and my labor into account. I just didn't know how to value my work.
Oh well, I had great support from family and friends, and I learned a lot at these early shows. This was all pre-etsy and when I had no website. I intended to learn html to build a site, but of course that never happened. Things got so much easier when etsy came along and also artist website services like Other Peoples Pixels that just let you plug in images and text.

More of those pendants. I need to bring that design back, it is similar to the Sun Moon and Stars Pendant that I recently showed you, but much more simple.

Dad in my booth. Both of my parents have been so supportive of my creative endeavors from the beginning! I did have an ez-up, black table clothes and the same mirror I have today, but my booth sure has changed a lot. Check out my booth at my last show.

I have really great memories of these early days of jewelry making. I remember creating these pieces in my first duplex in Fort Worth. I was pretty fresh out of college and in a newish relationship. I had my workbench in the kitchen of that little duplex and I was doing what I loved. Frank was always very supportive too and would come help out at the shows, and he still does when he can. I think those little small town one day shows are a great way to get started, especially if you have a built in audience of people that you know. I got a letter in the mail the other day from this show wanting me to participate again. I don't think I would now, it is more focused on the Antiques and Auto than the Art, and I think I have priced myself out of being able to sell my work there, but I certainly am grateful for the experience I gained there.

Congrats to b-dette

2011-07-16T12:58:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to b-dette, you are the winner of my jewelry giveaway based on a random number generator! I don't have an email but I think I know who you are and have contacted you through facebook. Thanks everyone for playing! I am going to try to have giveaways more often so stay tuned.

My first Prong Setting!

2011-07-15T13:33:00.004-05:00

I didn't always like the look of prong settings, so I hadn't found the need to learn to make them. I did try once, unsuccessfully last year to set an opalized clam shell in a prong setting. I'm digging the more contemporary look of thicker gauged prongs, and after seeing a tutorial by Joanna Goldberg in the current issue of Art Jewelry Magazine, I wanted to try again.

A friend wanted me to come up with a setting for her turquoise cabochon. Her husband gave it to her for her birthday, but the bail came unglued and it needed a new setting. I thought prongs were the perfect choice, since they show off as much of the stone as possible and had a similar feel to the original idea of just the stone hanging from a bail.

I didn't have the soldering brick that Joanna recommends, where you can push stuff down into it. It's on my list now! I used this honeycomb brick and made it work by pushing the wires into the holes, but that might not always work depending on the spacing of the prongs and the gauge of the wire.

I'm thrilled with the outcome!
I see lots of possibilities with this new technique that I've learned. I'm so happy that I'm enjoying jewelry making and having fun playing around and learning new things. Of course its not perfect, but its pretty good for a first (well second) try.

Mossy Path

2011-07-14T18:46:00.004-05:00

I was leaning towards the name Mossy Path for the pendant that I posted earlier. When I searched for images with that name they totally evoked what I had in my mind. Walking a pebbly, mossy path in light dappled woods. I like it!
I'm so bad with names and descriptions, so it really makes me happy when I come up with one.
What do you think?

~~I'll get the pendant listed on Etsy this evening or early tomorrow.~~
Now availabe here.
Have a great night.
xo
Ashley

The Mossy Pebbled Path Pendant

2011-07-14T15:20:00.005-05:00

In my ongoing quest to get ALL my work on Etsy and my website (that part is going slower) I have a newly photographed pendant to share with you. I'm so bad at naming my work. The inspirations in this piece were pebbles and texture. The piercing reminds me of a pebbled path, or a river bottom. The stones are mossy greens. ~~I don't know what to call it, can you help? I'm thinking something with pebble and moss would be good but that's all I have.~~

We have a name, The Mossy Pebbled Path Pendant, now available in my Etsy store here.

Speaking of my website, I am making changes and updating it slowly but surely. I put one of the portraits that Jill Johnson took on the front page and changed the background to light gray from black. I think the images in my portfolio show up better against the lighter background. I also updated my bio, which is to the right of my picture on the home page. Check it out and let me know what you think of the changes.

I'm also the featured artist on Etsy Metal's about page! That was the motivation for writing a new bio, and I'm so glad I did.

One more thing, my jewelry giveaway will be coming to a close soon, so if you haven't entered for a chance to win hurry up and do so!

A Modern Folk Tale

2011-07-13T12:20:00.002-05:00

I'm loving this treasury by Quercus Silver. It is summery, bright and fun! Thanks so much Su for including my earrings in your lovely treasury.

Happiness!

2011-07-11T11:10:00.004-05:00

It was a busy, but fun, weekend of preparations and celebrations at my parents house, my childhood home.
My brother and his girlfriend got married and we all had a blast.
This was a casual backyard wedding, the fourth and final wedding at this house for us. Family friend Shari married there, as did my dear friends Susan and Matt, followed by Frank and I and now Elliott and Celeste. I'm so glad they were able to do this before my parents move to the Hill Country.

Mom, Shari and I did the flowers on Friday and that is always my favorite part.

I baked the Mexican Wedding cookies, which were delicious, made salsa, guacamole and 6 lbs (!) of Charro Beans (with Frank's help). You wouldn't think beans would be a much requested recipe, but they are so delicious and got rave reviews.

I wore a dress that I finished Saturday afternoon, but of course did not get and good pictures of. I didn't get many pictures at all actually. My camera died right after the ceremony started, and even though I changed the batteries after I was having too much fun to take pictures.

Someone was really tired.

They have been a family for almost two years now, but are now officially husband and wife!

With all our love and blessings, we wish you two nothing but happiness in this life together.
We are so lucky to call you our family.
xoxo

Celebrations need cookies

2011-07-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

I'm off for an exciting weekend of celebrations.
My brother and his girlfriend are getting married tomorrow!
We are all thrilled and can't wait to feel all the love that will be surrounding them.

One of my contributions to the party is Mexican Wedding Cookies. I tested two recipes and this one won. I use finely chopped pecans in place of ground almonds. They are very tender and yummy. I made them small, tablespoon size, and it made 30 for a 1/2 recipe. So I'm doing a double recipe and that should be plenty. There will be cake too after all.

Mom and I will be doing flowers and decorating and all that fun stuff.
I'll take pictures so you can see.

Have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Ashley

Photos by Jill Johnson

2011-07-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

These photos were all taken by Jill Johnson for the story in 360 West. Jill was fun to work with and really put me at ease. I love the portraits as well as the detail shots of my materials and workbench. Thanks for sharing these Jill!
Be sure and check out her website, she has some great stuff on there.
Jill even photographed a book called Kitty Wigs, it's really funny and cute.

I also have to give a big thank you to Judy Wiley who wrote the story. I could tell it was going to be a good one because Judy was really curious about my design process, materials and the actual work that goes into creating jewelry. Judy was also great to work with and I have received nothing but positive feedback about the story.

Here is the story on the 360 West website in case you missed it the other day.

Sun Moon and Stars Pendant

2011-07-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

I have listed another One of a Kind piece in my Etsy Shop, the Sun Moon and Stars Pendant with Turquoise and Labradorite.
This is another favorite piece of mine, and I would love for it to find someone to love it as much as I do! Check it out here.

The Weekend of Cooking

2011-07-06T08:50:00.003-05:00

It was a weekend of cooking and eating around here!

Saturday night was a pizza dinner with friends.
We made three pizzas with our favorite dough recipe.

Saturday morning we made it to the Farmers Market and I picked up some Eggplant. I have been looking forward to using the ones in my garden for Baba Ganoush, but ran out of patience. I needed to test the recipe after all! We roasted the eggplants on the grill, and used this recipe. I left out the sesame seeds and probably added more olive oil than that (didn't measure). I made a double recipe with 4 smallish eggplants. I will definitely be making this again!

We also made homemade pitas on the grill. My pictures didn't turn out well of this meal, so you just have to imagine how good it was. I used the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes master recipe and Pita instructions, but we cooked them on the Pizza stone directly over the fire. It is just too hot to turn on the oven.
Our Grill cooked pitas did not puff as much as they should, but were still great.

This meal also included Grilled Greek Chicken and Salad with feta and Kalamata Olives.
It was DEEE-LISH-US!

Monday we felt like having something more All-American for the Fourth, hamburgers on the grill.
I got the notion to make homemade buns and found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen (love that blog). They were great, and easy. I did turn on the oven for these. Next time I would make 10 or 12 buns out of this recipe. That is so hard to gauge, but some of these seemed way too big. I froze the extra half dozen buns and we will be using them for Pulled Pork sandwiches and more.

So I think I have finally recovered from our weekend. We were so busy there wasn't much relaxing, but we did enjoy it.
I think its back to salads now!
That was too much bread for one weekend.

360 West Feature

2011-07-01T09:55:00.004-05:00

I'm featured in the July issue of 360 West Magazine! I haven't gotten my hands on a paper copy yet, but you can read the story here. I had great fun doing the interview and photo session and I love the outcome, I hope you enjoy it too. The photos of me, including the one above, are by local photographer Jill Johnson, who was so fun to work with. The images of my jewelry are all mine. I'm so excited that they used the image of me sitting on my workbench, I think it is so much more fun and lighthearted than a serious portrait. If you live in the DFW area pick up a copy of this magazine and check it out.

Giveaway! Win a Pair of Earrings and a Necklace!

2011-06-30T08:45:00.001-05:00

It has been quite a while since I had a jewelry giveaway.
I am giving away a set from my Bubble Collection.
The lucky winner will receive a pair of Double Bubble Earrings and a Ring of Bubbles Pendant both pictured above.
Retail value of these two pieces is $97.

There are several ways to enter, and you can enter multiple times. Just be sure to post a comment for each entry on this post. Also be sure that you leave a way for me to contact you so that I can get your address in case you are the winner.

Ways to enter:

1. Follow my blog. If you are already a blog follower you are eligible as well. The button on the side bar to the right lets you sign up for this.
2. "Like" my Facebook page.
3. Tweet this giveaway and post your tweet in the comments.
4. Sign up for my Mailing List, you will receive emails about Sales in my Etsy shop, Giveaways, and shows that I do. There is a box on the side bar for this also.
5. Blog about this giveaway and post a link to your blog post in the comments.
6. Post a link to this giveaway on Facebook.
7. "Like" my Etsy Shop on Facebook.

Don't forget, for each chance to win you must leave a comment and your comment must have a link or a note about how you entered. Also, be sure that there is a way for me to contact you.

This giveaway will be open for at least a week, please be sure to tell your friends.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend and be safe.
xoxo
Ashley

A Path Back to Creativity

2011-06-29T11:20:00.005-05:00

I have been in a creative rut for quite some time now. I have, what I have heard fellow metalsmiths call creative ADD. I want to make all kinds of things, not just jewelry. I want to work in the garden, sew, make my house look nice, crochet, bake, etc. I just have to make things, but staying focused on making jewelry is difficult at times. This month I think I have done better and am slowly, but surely finding my way back to being inspired and excited about jewelry.

I have a ton of inventory, much of it not yet photographed or listed on etsy. I work hard getting ready for big shows, but I don't do enough shows to keep the momentum going year round. Also, much of what I make for shows is the production work that is easy to sell, and more afordably priced. What I really enjoy making are more complex, larger pieces of jewelry, but these are hard to sell. In all honesty, how well my jewelry sells is a great factor in how motivated I am. It is ironic, that the more new work I make and put out in the world, the more of it will sell. When shows and/or online sales are slow I lose motivation. It is a bad cycle, and I hate the fact that my joy in making jewelry can be so tied into whether or not it is profitable. The work I make is not for everyone. It is kind of funky, pretty modern and does not have gold or diamonds for the most part. I use non-precious materials often and the value lies in the design and craftsmanship of the pieces, more so than the materials themselves. Not everyone appreciates my work, nor do I want it to be appealing to the masses. That said, and I hope I haven't over shared, here is how I am finding joy in jewelry making again.

I started some new pieces, these earrings are one of them. I made these polymer pieces last year, and made this ring from the batch. The design of these earrings is deceptively simple, yet the construction is somewhat complex and a bit time consuming. I made a copper box for each earring with silver tabs on the ends. I could have, no doubt, finished these already, but have worked on them little by little when I'm at my bench. I think they will be great when they are done, but they are certainly not instant gratification.

So I moved on to playing around with new ideas.
This one didn't work out, but all is not lost. I will still make something of this ring.

The ring above and this little sample were for experimenting with fishing line. I have seen this done before and am not the first to melt the ends of fishing line to capture beads. In fact, I have hesitated to try it because two of the people that I have seen do it are peers and friends. They have used this to great effect and I did not want to be seen as a copy cat. Both of these designs could incorporate balled up silver wire in place of the fishing line, but I don't have the right torch for that. I think there is a bit of a learning curve with the melting of the plastic here, and I was not as crazy about the process or the outcome as I thought I would be. Oh well, I learned what didn't work for me and had fun trying something new. And for the record, I really want one of those Smith Little Torches!

In the midst of playing around and working on the polymer earrings I came up with a new earring design. I have done something similar before, but these were less planned, and therefore I think more fun. I don't know why, but these simple little studs make me so happy. I think it is because this is a new design, which I really like, and I am enjoying making jewelry again!

These are available here in my etsy shop, if you are interested.

Another way that I have been feeling motivated is by photographing and sharing all that inventory that I mentioned. It will take me a while to get everything photographed, but I'm working on it. I unapologetically enjoy getting feedback from my peers on my work. I don't think it is vanity, but just a need to know if others can see the beauty that I do in some quirky thing that I make. I think it also helps for me to see my own creativity in photos. I am proud of the work that I have made, and it is easy to forget what I am capable of when I am in a creative rut.

I am sure my creativity will wane again, I think that is just a part of being an artist and putting your work out there in the world. I hope that I can remember to play, have fun, and learn new techniques in order to keep joy in my work.

If I am feeling low on creativity in the jewelry department I need to:

*Look at images of my work to remind myself that I am indeed creative.
*Play around with materials and have fun, no expectations.
*Sketch ideas for new designs and/or look back through old sketchbooks.
*Try a new technique or material, currently wanting to use etching, wood,
mother of pearl, and clear glass cabochons in my work.
*Work on projects that were started but never finished.
*Expand on current designs and lines to come up with something new.

What motivates you, how do you find and keep your creativity?

The Importance of Gardening

2011-06-28T16:39:00.004-05:00

I didn't have a vegetable garden last year or this past winter. The last time I am sure that I had this garden planted was summer of 2009. I am so happy that I planted my veggies this year! I love all of my gardens, but I think this one brings me the most joy, satisfaction and tangible rewards. Here is the vegetable patch less than a month ago.

Gardening, and especially growing vegetables is in my blood. Both sets of grandparents grew veggie gardens, but my maternal grandfather Pawpaw was the best at it. He grew everything from seed, I believe, and saved seeds from his crops. I can vividly picture his little jars of hand labeled seeds and his tomato seedlings growing outside under the covered patio in their Houston backyard. His tomato plants got so big that they were caged with sections of chain link fence! He grew cucumbers, onions, blackberries, pomegranates, tomatoes, okra, and I'm sure there was much more that I'm forgetting. He was always outside in his garden or garage no matter how hot and humid it got, and it did get hot and humid. I can understand why. Though I don't spend too much time out in this 100+ degree heat, I do feel calm and relaxed in my garden. I love to check on the progress of my rapidly growing plants and vegetables. I feel a great deal of pride and joy watching my babies grow. In this heat, that we will no doubt suffer under for the next two months, I am so glad that I have a drip system for my vegetable garden. We all have to stay hydrated, plants and people alike!

Here are some of my babies, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

A basil seedling

The first tomato

Cherry Tomatoes

Zucchini, which still hasn't produced. I never have luck with squash, always get squash vine borers, which this plant had but I killed. The plant is thriving but the female flowers don't open, so they just fall off and die.

My first successes with cucumbers. They are really good!
I believe the variety is called Tender Green.

First success with Eggplant as well! This guy is growing so fast. I noticed it at the end of last week, it was just barely swelling up. By Saturday I could see the purple, and it has grown even more since then.

First time to have success with Bell Pepper as well!

Tomato blossoms

Watermelon seedlings

Cucumber flowers

And Zinnias, always have to have Zinnias!

I'm also growing Okra, and Poblano and Serrano Peppers.

I hope I haven't bored you with my enthusiasm for my garden. I know now that I must have one each year. Luckily we can grow veggies year round here, so I am already plotting my fall/winter garden. I am also determined to start my own seeds next spring (and maybe this fall). Though I don't have much invested in plants here, maybe $15, I could get a jump start on the season as well as have more varieties to chose from.

I grow vegetables because:
I am carrying on a family tradition and it's in my blood.
It is good for my health, both the veggies and the stress reduction of being in the garden.
It brings me great satisfaction and joy.

In the shop and on the bench

2011-06-27T10:40:00.004-05:00

There are some new items in my shop:

Bull's Eye Cuff Links

Green Turquoise and Coral Earrings

Reindeer Moss Ring

And on my workbench:

These are Longhorn Horn tips. I bought them at a flea market from a couple who polishes and mounts the horns to sell. They said that when the pair of horns differ in length they cut off the longer one to match. I love the color variations in these and can't wait to get them to a state where I can utilize them in my jewelry designs. I plan to slice and polish these and use like cabochons. I have had success cutting and sanding, but haven't figured out how to get a high polish yet. I normally use Zam for my polishing compound, but it got down into cracks in the horn and darkened them. Any ideas what I could use that wouldn't do that?

Looks Like Summer

2011-06-24T14:48:00.003-05:00

I cut and brought in my first bouquet of Zinnias from this years garden. I added Artemesia and Dusty Miller and put them on my dining room table on top of a piece of crocheted lace that my Great Grandmother made. I'm loving the look! The lace contrasts nicely with our dark table, which I have been leaving open lately. It closes up to be a square and we used it open this spring for dinner with friends. I thought it seemed too big at the time, but decided I like it open. I think I will take this bouquet to a friends that we are visiting tomorrow.

For some reason all of the Zinnias that are blooming so far in the garden are pink. I like pink, but need some variety. I hope its not too late to get some more seeds going. I don't think it is as long as I keep them watered, I have had a few come up and then die off this year.

This little bouquet is in my kitchen window and really makes me smile. It is in a little antique jar from my collection and I put in the Dusty Miller stems that were too short for the other vase. Looks like summer to me!

Have a great weekend.
xoxo
Ashley

An Etsy Metal Treasury

2011-06-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Check out this gorgeous treasury that my Tidal Pool Ring is in. Thanks Cynthia for curating this and including my ring with all these beautiful pieces!

Blackberry Pie

2011-06-23T14:40:00.004-05:00

I made a Blackberry Pie for the Father's Day dinner that we prepared for my parents. I haven't made many pies in my time, well at least not with from scratch crust. I liked it, and Frank loved it, but I think I can improve on this recipe. The recipe calls for mixing the berries with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. There was quite a bit of that mixture that did not coat the berries and I went ahead and poured it on top of the berries even though I thought it was strange. Well, you can see in the second picture that I made a paste and though it wasn't super noticeable it did bother me. I think adding more berries and using a bit less sugar and flour would help. I have seen another recipe that used cornstarch instead of flour and I think I might like that better. I guess I need to try again, I'm sure Frank will taste test for me.

I used the Pie Crust Recipe from Baked. It is very simple and though I'm no pie crust expert I thought it tasted good. It was nice and tender, maybe not as flaky as I expected:

3 Cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 Cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
3/4 Cup ice cold water

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt together.
Cut the cold butter into cubes and toss the cubes in the flour mixture to coat. Put the mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse in short bursts until the pieces of butter are the size of hazelnuts.
While pulsing in quick, 4-second bursts, drizzle the ice water into the food processor through the feed tube.
As soon as the dough comes together in a ball, remove it from the food processor and divide it into two equal balls. Flatten to a disk and wrap each disk first in parchment paper and then in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the disks until firm, about 1 hour. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before proceeding with your recipe.)

Tidal Pool

2011-06-23T11:25:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited to finally have my Tidal Pool Necklace listed on Etsy! I also took new photos of my Tidal Pool Ring. I'm liking my new photo set up and style, it seems fresh to me for some reason. I hope you like the images and the pieces too!