hanging with my bff

I actually got to meet the Amy Butler last night! There was a book signing at the quilt shop (Quilt Beginnings) near my house. She really is as nice as everyone says she is. I wanted to get a picture with her, but between my shyness and my kids being ready to go home and eat supper, it didn't work out.

I picked up a copy of her new book and oh are there awesome patterns in here. I almost can't wait for friends to get pregnant so I can have an excuse to sew! There are a few clothing patterns, toy patterns, and an awesome pattern for a crib bedding set. (So Evelyn, I'm waiting for you to give me some happy news so I can get to sewing!)

I also picked up some fabric from Amy's (we're on a first name basis now, haha) new line daisy chain so I can make some dresses for some sweet twin girls down in Texas. It took a long time to pick out fabric because it was all so beautiful. I guess that means I'll have to go back for some more to make some outfits for Matilda!

more yummy food

Once a week or so the husband and I cook dinner for just the two of us after the kids go to bed. This week I made something that I used to make a very long time ago, and now I just can't understand why I ever stopped making it. It's baked feta stuffed tomatoes. It's a very light but filling meal.

Easy Feta Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe

Ingredients
2 tbsps oil (can use olive or vegetable oil) .
1/4 c breadcrumbs .
grated parmesan cheese (to taste) .
4-5 oz feta cheese, crumbled .
salt & pepper .
1 tbsp sliced fresh garlic (can use about 1/4 tsp dry garlic powder, fresh is better!) .
4 large firm tomatoes, scoop & reserve pulp .
2 tbsps dried parsley .
3-4 tbsps onions, finely sliced (can use more)

Directions
Step #1 Cut the tops off of the tomatoes; carefully scoop out & reserve the pulp (try not to slice into the tomato skin when scooping out the pulp).

Step #2 Chop the pulp & then mix with the onion, pepper, bread crumbs, salt, dry parsley, oil, garlic & feta cheese (except the Parmesan cheese) in a bowl.

Step #3 Carefully stuff the tomatoes with the breadcrumb/pulp mixture (be careful not overstuff & tear the tomato skins).

Step #4 Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.

Step #5 Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 mins (can bake longer if desired).

Step #6 Serve hot.

Enjoy the Easy Feta Stuffed Tomatoes recipe

*I didn't add the onions and may I suggest perhaps adding spinach. Very yummy!

lights out

In case you haven't heard, Ike got us all the way up here. Last Sunday we had a huge windstorm in Columbus and the surrounding area, knocking the power out to thousands. We lost power for only 24 or so hours. I thankfully hadn't done the grocery shopping for the week yet, so we lost some milk and veggies, but that was about it. It was actually quite peaceful to have no electric humming in the whole house. Jason and I read by candle light, and the kids and I pretended to be camping.

There was also another form of lights out in our household. The big surprise that I mentioned is a bust. I was working on opening an online store to sell fabric and patterns, but have decided not to go forward with it. I have my reasons. Yeah, I just linked myself twice. I'm just that cool!

Easy Blueberry Muffins

3 ripe bananas
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
3/4 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries

*Preheat the oven to 350

*In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with the oil and sugar and mix well.

*In a small bowl, sift together the salt baking soda, and flour.

*Add the dry mixture to the banana mixture and stir by hand until the two are thoroughly combined. Fold in the blueberries.

*Pour the batter into a lined muffin pan.

*Bake the muffins for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.


I got this recipe from here. We've had them twice already and loooovvveee them! I also added walnuts to them once, which was extra yummy!

exploration

I'm in the middle of a "life revamp." I got so wrapped up in doing so many things for other people, that I neglected to do anything for myself in a long while. In order to enjoy my kids, my husband, my hobbies, I've decided I'm not doing anything for anyone unless I really enjoy it. Selfish? Nope! Healthy? Yes!In the past few weeks, I have simplified my life a lot. It's great! I was so stressed for a while that I suffered great fatigue for about a month. I'm talking about slurring words fatigue. So to de-stress myself, I've dropped all obligations and such except being Mommy and wife and just me. I love it!

As part of being Mommy, the kids and I have decided to explore Ohio a bit more every few weeks. So today we went to Granville. This is the most adorable town I've been to in a while. We had a picnic at this great park. It was a beautiful day, and the kids had a blast.

On another note, I've been reading some great books. I'm working on a few book reviews for the blog just for fun. I'm also working on another pattern review for a dress that was really, really fun to sew.

pattern review: bubble dress

This is another Oliver and S dress, of course. I was scared to start this one at first, but once I got into it, it was easy peasy and really fun to make.
Pros: -Instructions very thorough
-Great for advance beginner/intermediate sewers
-Can be made with or without scalloped sides (which are easier than I thought)
-I learned a new, easy way to gather
Cons: -Bubble dresses aren't that great for 6 month old babies (would look cuter on someone who can actually walk
-Finishing the seam allowances where the bodice and skirt meet is kind of awkward.

All in all, great dress and easy to sew. The finished product fits well and looks neat.

still working...

I'm obviously not great at time management. It takes a little longer to redo a basement than I thought. It's mostly because we can really only work on the weekends. We're done with the painting though! The color looks great. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a few lovelies I found.

The earrings above are from this etsy shop.

I also found this cute shop. I love the bird necklace.

More later...

under construction

I'll be gone for a bit. Perhaps a week or so. We're renovation the basement/sewing studio! I'll post before (ugh) and after (yay) pictures.