Pockets, Please!

By now, I think everyone knows that I love sewing. Most of my friends also know that I love to workout as well. Making workout clothes is do-able, (the first pair of workout shorts I made are one of my proudest accomplishment, since they were accompanied my a 60 pound weight loss) but not really cost effective. Unfortunately, the clothes you buy off the racks are sometimes lacking essential qualities, like pockets. Why do men's shorts come with pockets, but women's don't?

I live in the Garden State, run outside and don't really want one of those ipod holders tanned on to my arm!

Where am I supposed to put my phone or keys?

Men's shorts just don't fit right, mostly because they are too long. BRAINSTORM! Just make the men's shorts shorter!

Supplies:
-Men's athletic shorts
(I recommend lined ones.)
-tape measure
-pins
-marking pencil
-sewing machine
-thread
-scissors

Directions:

1. Decide how short/long your want your shorts to be. Mark the measurement with a chalk marker. (My chalk marker is from the quilting department, you can change the chalk color depending on the fabric.) I marked them 4" shorter, making them 5" shorter when I was done.

2. Stitch around the leg of your shorts to keep the layers together. Remember to pull the fabric taunt as sewing.

3. Trim the excess. Leave about 5/8" selvage for hemming.

4. Fold the hem up, twice and stitch down. By folding it up twice, you'll cover the raw edge, giving it a clean finish. I used a zig zag stitch to keep a nice flat finish.

5. Trim the strings, and you're done!

Not bad for a 30 minute project!

On a side note, I don't really like shorts. I would rather wear running capris, a tennis skort....even a swim suit. Why? I don't know. none of those have the options I needed, and are rarely practical if you're taking part in a running group.

Things Rarely Go As Planned

I'm a very opinionated person. I'm very well aware of this.

Dress it up

Sometimes wearing a ski jacket or over sized hoodie just isn't appropriate.



Sometimes it gets cold enough to need mittens.



You always need to look classy and comfortable.

being warm is worth it

I keep seeing adorable asymmetrical hoodies, but can not bring myself to by one. It might have to do with the exuberant price tag, the crazy sizing or the fact I can just make my own. Since I was granted a mini-vacation, complete with some of my very favorite people, I used this as an opportunity to figure it out.

I couldn't find a pattern for this idea, so I had to alter one that I already had.



I used view C as the base, but added a double layer to allow for the pleats. I also added the buttons and snaps.



Snaps are hidden under the pleats for closures, with the exceptions of the two top buttons. The silver and clear gavd it a little glam.



The hood and cuffs are lined with a grey burnout knit to add a little variation to the color.

This is how Winter Should Look

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

This photo belongs to Leda Olmsted

I miss the winter adventures on Michigan. The lady in this picture woke up one morning and huge ice boulders all over the beach near Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Cartoons for Giggles

I had the most magnificent weekend in Chicago with some of my favorite people! Thank you to everyone who was there, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I'm back in New Jersey, attempting to make the best out of a not so great situation.

While I was gone I found some cute cartoons that relate to my life.

Friday's Fun Treat!

According to the news, the weather folks and everyone shopping tonight, there's supposed to be a HUGE storm tomorrow. This is why the two food stores I shopped in tonight were chaos. This is also why Gloucester County is low on windshield wiper fluid. (Three stores, no luck...the fourth place was a jackpot!)

It's been quite the day; water aerobics, pretzel baking, mourning the truck's death, car shopping, learning about inheritance laws, learning about safety deposit box laws and loopholes, grocery shopping and finally making the Friday treat!

Fruit Salsa, with Tortilla chips

Ingredients:

Salsa:
Pineapple
Peaches
Kiwi
Lime or lime juice
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Starfruit (optional)

Tortillas:
1 package of corn tortillas
vegetable oil
salt (optional)

Directions:

Salsa
*Wash your fruit. I'm not counting this as a step because you should always wash your fruit. Do you know how many germs, pesticides and bugs are around? Do you know how many dirty hands have touched it? Wash your fruit!*
1. Dice up your pineapple, I used two. This will be the base of your "salsa", you want it to be a little mushy and a little chunky mixed together. As you dice it up, it'll be messy and runny, you'll want some of the juice. Put it in a nice big bowl.

Usually, I buy a fresh pineapple and core it myself, but the nice gentleman at Shoprite offered to do it for me. It cost a dollar, but my time is worth more than that sometimes. It is fresh, I promise!
2. Add some peaches! I leave the skin on, if you're really adventurous you can skin them; I'm lazy and I'm okay with that. I used two tree ripe peaches, pretty rips and juicy.

3. Strawberries are next. Slice and dice them up. I judge how many to use by how colorful the mix is getting.

4. Time for the kiwi. You'll want to skim these, a paring knife works well. Usually I use 2 kiwis per a pineapple.

5. Mix in blueberries and raspberries. just toss them in and stir.

6. If you're using real lime(s), this is the time you should juice them. Roll them on the counter before cutting and juicing. Or pour about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of juice. The sour flavor of the lime combine with the sweet flavor of the pineapple is delicious!

7. If you want to garnish it with some starfruit, slice it up and add it in now. This is more to garnish then eat, but it still tastes good.

8. Stir everything together. If you're lazy like me, put the lid on the container and shake it up. (Shaking is more fun.) Refrigerate! If you let it sit for a bit, everything had an opportunity to mix and marinate. You can add other fruits too, melons, nectarine, pomegranate....sometimes even some green onions or cilantro to add some spark.

Tortillas
1. Heat oil in a skillet.

2. Cut corn tortillas into the shape/size you desire.

3. Put tortillas in oil and fry. Flip over and fry a bit more. when the oil is hot they will take about a minute total.

4. Remove from pan and add salt. Set aside to cool.

The first time I made this it was for my former roommate's grilled dinner. (Remember folks, I'm a vegetarian.) He really wanted some kind of fruit thing to put on his slab of fish. I grilled up a portabella mushroom, and added it too. Delicious! We had a tiny bit left over, so out came the chips...and this became one of our house hold treats. Eventually we started eating it on waffles and french toast. It was a great alternative to syrups, heavy dips and weird sauces that have mysterious ingredients.

Pretzels from the mall, without the mall

My blog has accidentally turned into a record of my cooking experiences, oops! It's okay, I love to cook and bake. I also love to sew, knit, crochet, draw, draft, color, glitter, paint...ect, ect, ect. Cooking seems to have the best turnaround.

I make something, we eat it.

Combine my love for cooking with my grandma's love for Auntie Anne's Pretzels and the magical find of the homemade mixes, and there's an instant Christmas present. (Okay, I think it was her birthday gift, but it's the same day.)

She's been asking to make these pretzels for weeks! 
(I gave them to her on Christmas/her birthday.) 
I'll end up doing most of the cooking, mixing and baking, but she tried to help. 
Oh, she does do the dishes!

Kneading the dough!
Added bonus, Mi-Mi used me DSLR camera, and got a pretty good picture of what was going on!

Salted.
There's only one in a pretzel shape, it's not my strong suit.

Mi-Mi adds the butter and sugary mix.  She always asked why I had a basting brush.

Cinnamon and Sugar

Salted

Finally done!  She approves!

Through the whole ordeal Coakley wanted to jump on the counter. 
He finally sat in the chair and supervised.

As with anything homemade based off of a chain restaurant, it wasn't exactly the same. This is probably because I'm not that great at kneading dough, or making pretzel knots...and they make the mix a tiny bit different, but the turned out great!

What's Next?

Here's how I see life:
You're born, you do some stuff, you die.

Make the most of what you have, do everything you want to do and don't forget who you are while you're doing it.

Yum, Yum, Yum

I, like most people in America, have a job.  I work a pretty regular schedule, which includes one night a week....always Friday nights. Basically, having the chance to do all those things that John and his friends (or anyone else, for that matter) want to to on Friday evenings is pretty much non-existent. This had lead to numerous attempts at treat, peanut butter cups, cakes, fudge....and chocolate covered pretzels. Some of my co-workers seem to love it, they have favorite snacks and I try to accommodate that. At one guy's request this is pretzels, chocolate covered pretzels, with a twist.

Chocolate Pretzel Bites
Ingredients and Supplies:
-Pretzels, I used "Snaps", the circle ones or knotted ones would work well, too -Hershey kisses, unwrapped. I used both milk chocolate and the hugs variety. -M&M's -Cookie Sheet -Parchment Paper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and unwrap the kisses.
2. Put a layer of the pretzels on the parchment covered cookie sheet.
3. Place a kiss on top of each pretzel.
4. Place in oven for about 4 minutes, or until the kisses are melted.
5a. Remove from oven and place a M&M on the kiss, press down.
OR
5b. Remove from oven and place another pretzel on top, press down.
6. Allow to cool.
7. ENJOY!

Unwrapping these silly things takes forever so I brought some help!  Thanks Mi-Mi!  (She ate a few as she was going.)

The Hugs gave them a little flair!  I'm putting the M&M's on top here. Oh, and Mi-Mi took his picture, all by herself, with my DSLR camera.  SHE LEARNED HOW TO USE A DIGITAL CAMERA!!

Finished project!  I got a little chocolate on the M&M's, but I think it's okay.

If you out another pretzel on top instead of M&M, it's more like an sandwich.

There's another definite bonus to this treat making bonus. I get to hang out with my grandmother, Mi-Mi! She's not a big fan of cooking or baking, so when the treats are easy to make, she's happy to help.  She also took a picture of my working with my digital camera.  She's not very technology savvy, so this a amazing!

Adventure #1 of 2013

Adventure Seeking 101:
Find something you want to do and do it.

Tonight's adventure was Barre3. It's a fitness class, using your core muscles combining aspects of ballet, yoga and pilates.

I'm not so sore right now, but tomorrow I'm probably going to need some time to stretch. I'm probably also going to have to do this about 15 more times to really get the hang of it.

If you get the chance, try it. It's worth it.

Everyone Deserves a Present

I've never been much of a Christmas fan.

What is the holiday all about now? First there was baby Jesus in a manger getting presents from some wise men. Next there was a fat man, named Santa, in a red suit. Now there's an Elf on the Shelf. The last two seem to revolve around greed, and that's something I'd rather not add too.

My grandparents wanted me to have something to open on Christmas morning, so I bought myself some fun boots. (It was not even close to the pile of things my cousin opened.)

I love my boots, probably the best $35 I've ever spent at Marshall's this year.

Glitter Your Glasses

I love glitter.  This may stem male dominated hobbies, the fact that most of my friends are guys or that it's just shiny and pretty. A little bit of sparkle can go a long way.

My love of glitter, a few posts on Pinterest and some experiments later, I've decided to glitter some glasses.

(Originally when I did this it was for my Cousin's Christmas gift; glitter encrusted wine glasses)

You will need a few supplies:
Glasses (I got mine at Target, in the Dollar Spot at 70% off (yep, $.30 a piece!) The Dollar Tree, TJ Maxx...ect ect all have them.
Mod Podge
Tape, I used painters tape on this one, electrical tape and masking tape work too.
Paint brush, I use the foam find
Glitter, the finer the better. Mine came from the scrapbooking section of Michael's.
Acrylic Spray
Plastic wrap

Directions:

Use the tape to make a design on your glass.

Apply a layer of mod podge to your glass. You want the layer to be as even as possible.

Sprinkle on the glitter!
*I usually do my projects over newsprint or parchment paper. It's easy to pour the extra glitter back into the jar this way.*

Carefully remove the tape and set aside to dry for 24 hours.

Check your glass, use a damp paper towel to wipe off excess glitter and allow to dry.

If you need to touch up the glitter, this is a good time to do it. Use your brush to apply a very thin coat of the Mod Podge to the necessary spots and cover with glitter. Let it dry again.

Use the plastic wrap to cover any spots on your glass that you don't want to cover with acrylic spray. (If you don't want to use plastic wrap, you can use a plastic shopping bag and tape.) The spray is not intended for food surfaces and it is flammable before it's dry.

PLEASE read the label for the full instructions!

Set the glasses aside to dry.

My spray space is in my basement.  It's an old cabinent covered with plastic shopping bags.

When the acrylic spray is dry, remove the plastic wrap. If you need to tidy up any over spray, you can do so with some nail polish remover and blade or a craft knife.

Mi-Mi is trying to model the glass, it almost worked.

Now you have glittery pint glass ready to go!