The Sewing Room

More Trader Joe's signs since March..

2011-07-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some more Trader Joes Signs I've been working on since March...

The Restroom sign

The New Bake Shop Sign

How much do these fruit cost per pound? (didn't end up going up)

Lemonade and Vanilla Waffers

A 4th of July Chalk board

The frozen grilling bunker chalkboard

The Ice-cream bunker chalkboard

Creating a Cowboy costume with thrift store finds...

2011-07-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

My Nephew turned 4 earlier this month, they were planning a cowboy themed party for him, where we all had to dress up in cowboy attire. I picked up these items at my favorite thrift store in town for my husbands cowboy costume.

The challenge to turn this women's suede dress into some cowboy chaps was on....

First I cut the dress down the middle and then at the waist line. There was about a 2 " facing on the underside of the buttons and button holes, so I just took the buttons off and cut around the button holes on the facing (the old facings will now become the fringe on the chaps).

Then I started to cut 1/4" strips on the old facing for the fringe and create a style line on the hem. I also cut off the arms of the top in case I needed the extra fabric (you could also use the top for a women's or child's cowboy vest).

I picked up a cowboy hat at our local costume store and a cap gun to complete the outfit (which fit perfectly inside my Trader Joe's box cutter holster. :) What you don't see is the back which is just a strip of fabric that goes above the knee... the bottoms of the chaps are supposed to be loose and the belt loops are mainly what keeps the chaps on.

I decided that I didn't care for the original welt pockets that were on the waistline, so I cut off the buttons (to avoid unnecessary bulk) and instead sewed on a yoke with yellow bias tape for embellishments.

I also added a fun little button detail on the side, since real chaps have some sort of embellishment on the sides. Then I attached the old suede belt to the front, and belt loops so that they would stay on.

Howdy Partner!

If looks could kill...

There's a Snake in my boot! Perfect timing for the garter snake to crash the party! The kids loved it! Mustaches were also very popular at the party... both men and women wore them :)

The Creation of Annie's Sunshine Cafe

2011-06-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in the last month... one of the major things that has happened in my in-laws life... that has carried over to our lives, is quitting their old jobs and purchasing the equipment for a cafe of their own (which has been a dream of theirs before my husband was even born).

It's located in Lincoln, about 15-20 minuted from their house in an area called Arnold Heights. There is a lot of industrial buildings, a small airport and a small town of residential houses, just outside, the main part of, the city of Lincoln.

My hubby and I have been able to go down and help them with remodeling the restaurant to get it ready for opening day, which has been pushed back a few times, but is looking more and more to be this upcoming Monday June 27th, 2011. We are all really excited for the restaurant to open, and by the look of all the foot traffic, it seems that the locals are pretty excited too.

Here are some fun before and after pictures of the improvements made to the restaurant:

In front of the restaurant:

BEFORE

AFTER

(One of the things I got to help with was cleaning off the windows and making a window sign for Annie's Sunshine Cafe... the next project will be the billboard sign on the side of the building)

The grill and front bar:

BEFORE

(note the pop machine in the background and the broken fridge holding the sodas)

AFTER

Pop machine and broken fridge are gone... new use for the pop machine stand... a beverage center for coffee, iced tea, lemonade etc.

BEFORE

(note the cash register at the corner of the bar... limiting another possible seat)

AFTER

Cash register is no longer at the corner, but now at the end where the fridge used to be... two more spots at the bar for customers!!!

(all of the wooden trim is all painted grey to match the weather beaten styling of the wainscoting)

BEFORE

This doorway leads into the dinning room... Check out the chalkboard!! A blank canvas for the specials :)

DURING

This is just before painting all the wooden trim grey. Check out the new Chalkboard I got to work on for Annie's specials...

(these are also a good pictures to show you the difference with the old paint and the new yellow paint)

The dinning area:

BEFORE

(note the "basement" feel of the room with the lighting and red paint on the walls)

DURING

My father-in-law, the electrician, re-wiring the lighting...

AFTER

The ceiling was raised (since parts we sagging), the electrical was re-wired for new sconces on the walls and the old lighting was taken out. A fresh coat of the same color paint (from the front room) really brightened this room up and makes it feel less like a "basement" and more like a cafe.

The bathroom:

BEFORE

My father-in-law had to gut the bathroom because it was disgusting! When you stepped on some of the tiles water would squirt out... enough said! Needless to say the first thing they worked on was the bathroom...

DURING

They put all new drywall, and flooring and even a brand new **clean** pedestal sink...

which really opens up the space quite a bit!

AFTER

At last, the customers at Annie's Sunshine Cafe can go to the bathroom in peace!

Check out the sign I made for the bathroom door :)

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner!!!

2011-03-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

These are a few of the signs around the store that I have been working on lately for St. Patrick's Day.... enjoy!

The front Easel sign

CAUTION: Leprechaun Crossing

Chalkboard # 8 Irish Oatmeal & Irish Breakfast Tea

... "They're after me Lucky Charms!"...

Chalkboard #9 Simple Life Lager & Honey Roasted Peanuts

Valentines Day...

2011-02-14T16:47:00.001-08:00

In honor of today being Valentines Day... here is my Valentine to the people of Omaha :) Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Some more chalkboards at Trader Joes

2011-02-14T16:21:00.001-08:00

Here are chalkboards 4, 5, 6 & 7 that i've been working on in prep for the flyer drop on the 15th of February.

Chalkboard # 4 Honey Nut O's

Chalkboard #5 Organic Penne Pasta, Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Traditional Marinara

Chalkboard # 6 Organic Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Soup & Oyster crackers

Chalkboard # 7 Tuna Red Panang Curry Sauce, Tuna in Green Curry Sauce & Brown Basmati Rice

Winter Retreat

2011-02-10T09:37:00.001-08:00

We went on a winter retreat with our junior high youth group the last weekend in January. It was so much fun! Our devotional times were about Gods mercy in the book of Jonah. We had fun during free time playing 4 on a couch, the animal game, and even a snowball fight. :) Overall it was a pretty fun weekend.

A few more Trader Joe's signs

2011-01-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more of my more recent projects at Trader Joe's...

Trader Joes Non-Organic Gallons Value Signs

This is what we affectionately call the "Dan cow" because on the cow's Hawaiian shirt he has a name tag with the name "Dan" on it (after one of our full timers).

Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal and 3 Berry Granola end cap chalkboard sign

(This is the second chalkboard sign I've done since we've been open, so this one is very special to me :))

This is one of my co-workers holding the "Holmes" sign version 2.0 (the last one ended up falling apart, this one is made of wood instead of foam core). It's an adjustable paint roller handle with paint roller attached inside the box to stabilize the sign.

When we are scheduled as the "Holmes person" we basically walk around the store with this sign in search for people who need help with any questions about the products or just need help finding something. We frequently get asked if we have a question for them... as if we are the Riddler or something. I think it would be awesome if we wore a riddler costume with it and asked trivia questions whenever someone asked us if we had a question for them. :)

I really like my fun job!!!

The last 4 months..

2011-01-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not keeping you all posted with what I've been up to for the last few months... I have been quite busy with my new job and taken a bit of a break from blog writing, sewing and bread baking. I'm hoping to pick up blog writing again, but the posts may be fewer and far between.

In September I got hired on as a sign artist for the new Trader Joes that opened up in Omaha, so I've been a little pre-occupied to say the least... This had been a very busy time to help open a store, especially with all the sign changes that happen over the holidays on top of the pressures of opening a new store from scratch!.. So to make this a fun post I'll just show you a few of the many, many signs I've been working on over the last few months...

Ground Beef Value Sign

Steak Value Sign

Deli Template Sign

Charles Shaw Permanent Value Sign

Barbaresco on Controlled Label Wine Template

New Belgium Beers on Beer Template

Boddingtons Pub Ale on Beer Template

Joe Medium Roast Value Sign

Olive Oil Value Sign

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Value Sign

Organic Whole Wheat Pasta Value Sign

.99 Pasta Value Signs

Egg Value Sign

Peanut Butter Value Sign

Bake Shop Value Sign

Oranges Value Sign

Maple Oatmeal on Cereal Template

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal on Cereal Template

Peanut Butter Puffins on Cereal Template

Well that's all for now folks! Stay tuned for more to come :)

Julie & Artisan Bread - Week 4 - Ciabatta

2010-09-22T23:30:00.000-07:00

We made some ciabatta bread (page 37) tonight for dinner and made it into a margarita pizza. I'm amazed how the exact same dough baked in several different shapes will take on the form of many different breads. The ciabatta is more of a flat bread with lots of bubbles inside. When you roll out the dough you want to make it 3/4 of an inch thick, any more and it will be like pita bread.

Since we were making a pizza we decided to add some olive oil and italian seasonings to the surface of the dough.

After the dough cooled down a bit we added fresh basil, tomato, and mozzarella... yumm!!

Julie & Artisan Bread - Week 3 - Batard

2010-09-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

A batard loaf is similar to a baguette, except it's wider in the middle and tapered on the edges and is known for it's crumb rather then it's crisp caramelized crust. (page36) This bread tasted pretty much like a baguette, but is an easier loaf to make sandwiches with. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo of it before we ate it.

Julie & Artisan Bread - Week 2 - Aubergine Tartine

2010-09-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

This week we tried the Aubergine Tartine; an opened faced baguette sandwich with eggplant, red pepper, garlic, arugula, and brie cheese. (Recipe on page 34)

It was pretty tasty. I think next time I might want to make it a chicken sandwich or use pesto on the eggplant.

Julie & Artisan Bread - Week 1 - Baguette

2010-08-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Since I had the day off yesterday, I made the boule dough (Artisan free-form loaf) in the afternoon, so that I could bake my bread in the evening when my husband got off work. I mixed it up in one of my plastic cambros with a wooden spoon and let it sit for 2 hours to let it rise.

Once it had filled the container I made sure that the lid was on (not air-tight) and stuck it in the refrigerator it for 3 hours so that it's easier to work with. With enough dough now to make 4 loafs that will last up to 2 weeks, I won't have to make another batch for a few days.

The next step was to form a loaf for a Baguette by taking a grapefruit sized piece of dough from the cambro and forming it into a 2" thick log.

Since a traditional baguette doesn't have flour on top I had to brush on come water before making slits with my bread knife.

Then I slid it off on a hot pizza stone in the oven and 25 minutes later we had fresh baked bread.

I have to say, this loaf by far this was the best bread I have EVER made. The bread was light and fluffy and had a great taste even before I added any butter or cheese on top. I can't wait to get started on my next loaf!

Julie & Artisan Bread?

2010-08-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to learn how to make really good bread from scratch. Whenever I want fresh bread I have always to run to the store... but wouldn't it be great to just whip up a pizza crust or dinner rolls to complete a meal from the comfort of your own home?

In the early married years, and I was not working, this kind of dream might have actually been possible... had it not been for my extremely awful bread making abilities! Now that I'm working part time I definitely have a lot less time to devote to perfecting this skill, and it is becoming less and less of a possibility.

Until I found Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day which is the perfect method for making bread when you only have a little bit of time to devote to bread making. Rather then the traditional way; which requires a lot of time proofing, kneading, covering and rising, punching down and letting double; you start with a wetter dough that will rise on it's own, and store several loaves worth in the fridge at a time. You CAN have bread whenever you want it.

I can't wait to start making bread! I can start up our Wednesday night bread and cheese night again, except instead of store bought breads I'm going to make it from home! Inspired by the Julie & Julia movie & blog, I am going to work through this cook book and make a new recipe for every Wednesday night. I'll be posting about our findings about each recipe.

One of our favorite Lost Characters Jorge Garcia (Hurley) has also gotten into the art of bread making.

Junior High Retreat 2010 - Day 3

2010-08-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

On the last day in the morning we talked about God's perfect solution; we could not live perfectly according to God's standard, so Christ had to come to live it for us and pay our penalty for sin by death on a Cross. For those that believe in Him, His righteousness will be counted on their behalf, and will receive a new glorified body in heaven.

Later in the afternoon we had free time for the obstacle course...

and canoeing or paddle boating....

Then it was time to pack up and go home.

Junior High Retreat 2010 - Day 2

2010-08-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

The next day after breakfast we went to the high ropes course were they had a rock climbing wall...

The Power Pole...

and the Quad...

After getting all hot an sweaty on the ropes courses, we got to cool down in the lake!

The boys played football...

some of the girls played in the sand...

we went on the water slide...

and blobbed each other....

During our lesson and discussion time that day, we talked about how the destination for unrepentant sinners is Hell. We looked at passages in the Bible that showed what Hell is like. We talked about how there is a great separation between Heaven and Hell; once you're there, you're there. Nothing you or anyone else can do can provide relief. Not being from a Christian family, or doing good works or even going to a good church will save anyone. (Luke 16:19-31) Only trusting in Christ's righteousness, His taking the punishment (God's wrath) for sin on the cross and dying in our place and believing that God raised Him from the dead will save you.

That evening before we played capture the flag, we played a game so we could get to know everyone's name better. Everyone had a lot of fun... and were exhausted when the day was over.

Junior High Camp 2010 - Day 1

2010-08-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to Junior High Camp at Timberlake Ranch Camp with our Junior High youth group at church. My husband and I were 2 of 9 leaders that went with the 27 kids present on the trip. There were 2 girls cabins and 2 boys cabins inside a big fort.

The fort and surrounding area served as the perfect location for football in the mornings and capture the flag late into the evening; something that the kids looked forward to doing when the sun had gone down. Some wear black from head to toe, to sneak around members of the opposing team.

We had a lesson each day and time for small groups afterward to discuss the lesson and answer any questions the kids might have had. The main focus of the trip was living in light of Eternity.

The first night we talked about our problem... that someday we will die, and we don't know when that will be. God has numbered our days and we should count each day as if it were our last, so that we might be living wisely. (Psalm 90:12) "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Junior High Retreat 2010 T-Shirt Design

2010-08-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

Sara and I helped design the t-shirts this year using an illustration that metaphorically represented Psalm 90:12. "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Here's a picture of the front of the t-shirt.

The back features a tree with numbers (representing numbering your days) in the branches and in the middle of the tree is a heart of wisdom.

Here is a picture of some of the boys wearing their camp t-shirts.

Seven Days of Salad Challenge...

2010-07-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

For the Month of July I challenged all of my friends to eat salad for dinner every day for one week of their choosing.

The purpose of this challenge was to share seven of their favorite salad recipes with me and other participants, so that I/we could have a bunch of great salad recipes on hand for whenever a summer potluck came up and a salad was needing to be made.

For this challenge, they were to make a different salad every night as the meal... the main course... this time the salad was NOT a side dish. I was looking for salads with dressings that were are homemade (easy to replicate), and should also include some kind of protein in it, whether it be nuts, chicken, tofu etc. to make it a complete meal.

They weren't limited to green salads only, but rather had the option to make salads with grains, beans and lentils as well. At the end of the week they were to send in the recipes with a rating 5 stars being the best.

Here are the seven salad recipes our family made during our Salad Challenge Week:

Eggless Ceaser Salad (add roast Chicken) *****

Recipe courtesy of Rachel Ray

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Chinese Chicken Salad *****

Recipe courtesy of Barefoot Contessa

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Roasted Corn and Avacado Salad *****

Recipe courtesy of Celebrate the Rain Cookbook (pg 95)

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Lemon-Garlic Shrimp with Greens *****

Recipe courtesy of Celebrate the Rain Cookbook (pg103)

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Italian Antipasto Salad ****

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

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Smoked Salmon Pasta Salad ***

Recipe courtesy of Celebrate the Rain Cookbook (pg 97)

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Beef Taco Salad with Chunky Tomato Dressing *****
Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger

Our absolute favorite pick from the week was the lemon-Garlic Shrimp Salad, it was so light and fresh tasting. The dressing was not over powering and it was the perfect compliment to the shrimp.

Omaha's Finest Farmers Market...

2010-06-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

There is an awesome farmers market down town! It reminds me of the one in Montrose or Seattle. Although they don't throw fish here, there is still a lot to see and do. I love connecting with local farmers who grow various organic foods; vegetables, cheeses, honey and even plants! On this trip we took our nephew with us, to give my sister-in-law a chance to sleep in a bit after a long week.

With my trusty TJ bag and nephew in toe, we were ready to find some herbs for the garden and other little goodies.

This "sno cups" cart reminded me of the food carts in downtown LA...

Here we are picking out some plants for "Aunt Julie's Garden"...

I found some parsley!!!

After finding some plants for the garden, we decided to stop for a tasty treat at the... CANDY SHOP!!! :)

Roasting Coffee at the O'Neal's

2010-06-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Spencer has recently taken up a new hobby... roasting his own coffee. (Buying green beans are almost half the cost as buying already roasted beans, and they last up to a year. Once you roast them they last about a week, but are fresher then store bought.)

He wanted to share the first roasting experience with the O'Neals when we were over there last. Here's a few snap shots from the day...

All you need is an popcorn popper (that has slits in the inside to circulate the air), cardboard or metal tube (that sits in popcorn popper opening), metal strainer or stock pot, and a wooden spoon.

The first batch...

cooling the beans...

The girls have a turn :)

The finished medium and dark roasts... Spencer is pleased :)

The Container Garden...

2010-06-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

I love to garden... so I've tried to maximize our back patio/deck to grow as many plants as possible. For those of you who haven't seen our patio... it's small... you can fit 2 folding chairs and a t.v. tray back there comfortably. Here's the garden as of today....

The pinto beans that went to seed when I soaked them in water to prepare for the next nights dinner, but wasn't able to get to them in time before they sprouted. I just decided to plant them instead of tossing them out... well see how they turn out... I've never seen what a pinto bean looks like as a pod. (this is like day 7 or so from when I first soaked the beans)

The eggplant I got from a farmers market downtown...

Blueberries... yes, I actually grew blueberries!!! and they are delicious! I read online that the first year is the most crucial though... so I'm not sure if they will last until next year since we don't have any ground to plant them in. I'm hoping they will do good as house plants over the winter.

Some Spring mix and dill...

Fresh herbs: (Left to right) Tarragon, Savory, Italian Parsley, Rosemary, Sage,

Cilantro, Oregano, Thyme, Majoram, and basil.

and sweet yellow peppers (the kind that are small)

The Fashion Show

2010-05-30T07:10:00.001-07:00

I was able to put together a fashion show for Motherhood, and Friday was the big day.

It was so cool, because everything actually worked out according to plan... and everyone I asked to model for it all came!!!

HA! When they saw the hundreds of people we would be going to model in front of, some of them thought they felt the baby coming on... :) Nice try. But we all went out there....

one carrying twins...

one full term...

or just a belly pillow...

(I modeled too) and it was a lot of fun.

So much planning was involved for just 2 minutes of fame... but it was all worth it.

Hannah's flower girl dress...

2010-05-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law's co-worker is getting married in July, so she commissioned me to make her niece a flower girl dress.

I made it out of a brushed cotton and tulle as the base of the dress, and a black satin sash as the embellishment.

This was the first flower girl dress I made, but the second wedding gown I've made with tulle.

Project: Bean Jars

2010-04-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

We were wanting to incorporate more beans, peas, and rice in our diet because we've heard a lot of good things about them... they're cheap, easy to make, they're high in fiber, protein and are pretty versatile in a lot of different foods (chili, soups, stews, dips, burritos, etc.). After realizing how colorful all the different varieties were I thought that they would actually look really nice if they were displayed in the kitchen.

We had a large old-fashioned candy jar that we had picked up at Crate&Barre l back in California that we really liked the look of, but we didn't want to end up paying $20 per jar. Then when we were doing our preliminary "move into a new place shopping spree" we found the exact same jars at Wal-mart for about $4, so we were able to do all the beans and peas we wanted! We also did a jar of brown rice that I forgot to snap a shot of.

We organized these by color... (Black, Red, Kidney, Split Pea, Lentil, Pinto, Chick Pea, Black-Eyed Pea, White and Navy Beans). Now whenever I need some I just take out what we need, put them in a bowl and soak them in water overnight and they're ready in the morning. Not only is it cheaper, but it's better for you, because you get to control the freshness of the beans and eliminate any additives (like sodium or high fructose corn syrup) which some canned beans have.

We also maximized the use of the jar by cutting a piece of foam board to split the jar in two, so we could have more varieties of beans. We decided to use the whole jar for black and pinto beans as well as a single jar for brown rice.

Project: Magnetic Spice Jars

2010-03-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

We were helping clean up the party favors a friends wedding and my husband had an awesome idea to use the jars (from Ikea) for our spices and make them magnetic so that they could stick to the fridge. A year later we were finally able to organize our spices using the jars from the wedding.

We filled all the jars with our various spices, put magnets in the lids, labeled the jar and then organized them by color on the fridge. Some of the larger spices (like cinnamon and bay leaves) required larger jars, so we reused some of our store-bought spice jars.

No more knocking over the spices and trying to hunt them down in the cabinet. It's made cooking with different flavors so much easier!

Day 5: Stretching the dollar... re-using ingredients and a crock pot

2010-02-05T06:21:00.000-08:00

Day 5: Friday
Leftover pulled pork sandwich and prosciutto, squash and potato soup

This is one of my favorite soup recipes! It has the perfect amount of sweetness and saltiness with a bit of kick. Yumm!!!

Prosciutto, Squash and Potato Soup

1 white or yellow onion (cut in half and then sliced really thin)
drizzle of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 -1/2 cup chopped prosciutto (can be substituted for 1/2LB bacon)
1 LB peeled butternut squash, cut into 1" cubes
4 white potatoes, cut into 1" cubes
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4" thick circles
4-6 cups chicken stock (use leftover stock from the night before)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper (optional)

Saute in a large sauce pan the onions with drizzle of olive oil until onions are tender, season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Add garlic, and saute for 1 min. Add prosciutto and saute for 1 min. Add squash, potatoes, carrots and stir with wooden spoon. Then add chicken stock and sprigs of rosemary and cook on medium heat for 30-40 min (potatoes and squash will get soft when ready). Serve hot with leftover pulled pork sandwich (re-heat pulled pork in warm oven before serving on a toasted roll).

Day 4: Stretching the dollar... re-using ingredients and a crock pot

2010-02-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

Day 4: Thursday
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with side salad

Pulled Pork

2 LB pork loin or pork roast
4-6 cup chicken stock (enough to cover roast)
salt and pepper

Set roast in crock pot and cover with chicken stock. Cook on low for 8-9 hrs. Meat should become tender and stringy. Drain chicken stock in a glass bowl/container and save for tomorrow's soup (put in refrigerator for time being). In Crock pot, shred pork with 2 forks so that only small stringy pieces remain. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle/drench with BBQ sauce (either store bought or homemade) and heat on low to keep warm until serving. Serve hot on toasted roll or bun with a side salad.

Day 3: Stretching the dollar... re-using ingredients and a crock pot

2010-02-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Day 3: Wednesday:

Pork roast with snap peas and baked potato

Crock Pot Pork Roast

2LB pork loin or pork roast
1 cup chicken stock

Place pork roast in crock pot with chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Baked potato (or can substitute for roasted white potatoes)

1 russet potatoes (for each person)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash potatoes, poke with fork (to prevent potato from exploding in oven) and wrap in aluminum foil. Place in oven and bake for 1 1/2 hrs. When ready open potato up, and serve with your favorite toppings (sour cream, cream cheese, butter, cheese, bacon bits, chives...)

Snap peas and dinner roll

left over snap peas
1 dinner roll per person

Wash snap peas and place in a steam basket. Steam until soft, but still crisp (1-2 min). Serve rolls hot by putting them in warm oven for 2-3 min. Serve hot with butter.

Day 2: Stretching the dollar... re-using ingredients and a crock pot

2010-02-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Day 2: Tuesday

Crock pot chicken stock into wonton soup (or other favorite) and Chinese chicken salad

There are a number of ways you can make chicken broth, but here are two recipes that I found and liked...

The Alton Brown Way (leeks can be substituted for green onions)
The Barefoot Contessa way

Be sure to check what ingredients you have first and then decide which recipe to use. I've even heard that you can get more out of your broth if you brown the vegetables by sauteing them first before adding it to the liquid, but haven't tried that for myself yet. I usually just take the Barefoot Contessa's recipe and adjust it to my own family's taste (leaving out the parsnips dill and parsley). Depending on how many chickens I have I also adjust the recipe so that it's proportionate to what actually have (cutting it in thirds).

You can also collect the bones from drumsticks, wings and breast with ribs over time and freeze them until you've collected enough bones to equal 3 chickens of you don't want to do roasting chickens.

Chicken Stock (Crock-pot)

3 (5-pound) roasting chicken bones
3 large yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
6 carrots, unpeeled and halved
4 stalks celery with leaves, cut into thirds
15 sprigs fresh thyme
2-4 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

Place the bones, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, thyme, garlic, and seasonings in a 16 to 20-quart crock-pot (If you don't have a large crock pot try cutting the recipe in thirds). Add 7 quarts of water and cook on low for 6-8 hrs. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander and discard the solids. Use desired amount for soup and chill the remainder overnight. The next day, remove the surface fat. Use immediately or pack in containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Now that we have the chicken stock, we can now put together our favorite soup quickly. There are a number of recipes to choose from, but since I felt like making an Asian dish I decided to make Wonton soup and a Chinese chicken salad to use up the left over chicken we had from last night.

Wonton Soup

4 cups chicken stock (more or less if desired)
1/2 cup egg noodles or 10 wonton nodles
Left over chicken
handful of snow/snap peas
leftover broccoli
1/2 can baby corn
1/2 can water chestnuts

In a sauce pan on medium heat put chicken stock and egg noodles/wontons. When noodles soften put remaining ingredients in soup. Serve immediately.

(This recipe doesn't store well in the fridge because noodles get too soggy and veggies too floppy, so make just enough for your family and/or guests).

Chinese Chicken Salad

I head of green/red leaf lettuce
handful of snow/snap peas
remainder of leftover chicken
1/4 cup cashews
2 carrots peeled and cut in match sticks
1 can or 2 fresh mandarin oranges
ginger sesame dressing

Wash and cut lettuce, put in salad spinner if you have it. Combine peas, chicken, carrots, cashews and oranges in bowl with lettuce and either toss with dressing or serve on the side.

Day 1: Stretching the dollar... re-using ingredients and a crockpot

2010-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Day 1: Monday:

Roast Chicken, Potatoes and Carrots and broccoli

Roast Chicken, Potatoes and Carrots

1-2 whole chickens
1-2 white potatoes each per persons being served
3-4 carrots
1 can chicken broth
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, or prepare crock pot. Wash and cut white potatoes into 1" cubes. Peel about 3-4 carrots and slice in 1/4" circles. Place in 9x13" roasting pan or crock pot and drizzle olive oil to coat veggies. Season with salt and pepper.

Place Chicken in roasting pan or crock pot and season. Put 1 can of chicken broth in bottom of pan/crock pot so that the chicken stays moist and tender as its roasting and prevents it from burning. Season chicken with salt and pepper and either thyme and rosemary or cayenne pepper.

Cook in oven at 400 degrees for 1 hr 10 min or 20 min per LB or in crock pot on low for 8hrs or on high for 4 hrs.

A prefect side to this dish is Alton Browns blanched broccoli. Not only does this cooking technique preserve the vitamins in the broccoli, but it also gives it a nice flavor with the perfect amount of crunchiness.

Hybrid broccoli with butter

1 head of broccoli
1 Tbls butter (optional)

Cut stalks off broccoli and save. Cut florets into bit sized pieces and stalks into thin 1/4" slivers. Arrange stalks in the center of a large frying pan, and place florets on top of stalks. Put enough water in pan to cover the stalks, without touching the florets. Cover.

Turn on high heat for 3 minutes, water will boil. Turn off heat and leave sitting, covered, for 3 minutes. Take broccoli out and use remaining water in pan. Melt butter in water to make sauce and pour over broccoli (Optional).

Watch him in action as he scientifically cooks the perfect broccoli.

Stretching the dollar... re-using ingredients and a crock pot

2010-02-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

I love cooking all sorts of food! Trying new recipes can be really fun and delicious to try, but can sometimes be a little pricey when having to buy all new ingredients. I've found that stretching the dollar some weeks for inexpensive, healthy meals can allow me to buy some ingredients that I wouldn't normally buy (like saffron).

This is one of my favorite weeks worth of dinner ideas I've had in the past to maximize your dollar with only a few ingredients some of which you can re-use and using your crockpot (to make cooking a bit simpler).

Shopping/Ingredients List For The Week

1-3 Whole chickens (depending on what chicken bones you have already saved and how much broth you want to make).
1 can chicken broth
4-5 large yellow onions
2 bunches of carrots
celery
fresh thyme or dry
fresh rosemary or dry
Cayenne pepper
1 head of of garlic
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
Broccoli
1 Can baby corn (can be substituted for your favorite soup ingredients)
1 Can water chestnuts (can be substituted)
1 - 2 LB snow/snap peas (can be substituted)
Wonton noodles or pack of egg noodles (can be substituted)
2 heads of green or red leaf Lettuce
1/4 cup cashews (optional)
1 can or 2 fresh mandarin oranges
1 bottle ginger sesame dressing (or make your own)
2 - 2LB pork loin or pork roasts or 1 cut in half (smaller families)
BBQ Sauce (or make your own)
6-10 Dinner rolls/sloppy Joe/hamburger buns
1/2 LB of bacon or 1/4 - 1/2 cup prosciutto, chopped
1-2LB butternut squash
1 bag of small white potatoes
Russet potatoes (1 per person)

You can do your shopping either on the weekend if you plan on making the first meal a crock pot meal or on Monday morning since it will only take a couple of hours in the oven.

Updated Nusury COMPLETED

2010-01-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I realize that I haven't posted the updated nursery room, even thought the project has been done for a couple of months now... so here it is...

Before (August 2009)

After (January 2010)

Before (October 2009)

After (January 2010)

Before (October 2009)

After (January 2010)

Emeril's Homemade Baked Beans...

2010-01-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

I've made this recipe for a dear friend's birthday party last year and it was a definitely a crowd pleaser! We served a few different BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with these homemade baked beans as a side and there were several of us who where happy to take home the leftovers :)

I tried this recipe again the other day and instead of cooking it on the stove I cooked it in my slow cooker instead. Usually it takes most of the day to cook when you cook it on the stove, and you can't just leave it because it could burn, so you have to watch it carefully. Since I had to work in the morning I decided to adjust the recipe to crock-pot it so that it could cook on low all day. I served it with some BBQ chicken and a side salad and corn on the cob would have been icing on the cake.

I only wish I had a photo to show you what they looked like, but never had a chance to get a photo before I froze them. We move up to our new place on Feb 1st, so I'll be taking the beans with me as a quick and easy side dish, since all our kitchen stuff will be in boxes.

It's a small world after all...

2010-01-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Color photo found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46355638@N00/2142122437

I was working one wintry day over the holidays and in walks this girl who I recognized from the church in California... and she looked at me and immediately said upon recognizing me... "This may sound strange but are you from California?" And said "Yes" and she said, "Are you SPENCER'S wife?"... "Y-eeeesss?... It's Shannon right?....O'NEA-llL?" "Yes, and my husband is Sean! Do you live in Lincoln???" "Yes we just moved out in August." "Wow, we just moved out Last August!"...

So come to find out they actually live about 3 blocks from our house, so we exchanged info to get together for dinner after the holidays. It's crazy that while living in California, we hadn't actually gotten to know the O'Neals, even though we had the same circles of friends... so when we went over to their place for dinner it was strange to see pictures of people we knew from Grace hanging on their walls.

We have since gotten together again for crafting/sewing days, and it's really refreshing to have a friend and fellow believer close by again... something I really miss having at my fingertips, like I did while at Grace.

It's so amazing how God puts together certain groups of people together when HE wants them to be put together... perfectly orchestrating everything in HIS good timing, so that we find new friendships when we least expect them, and need them most. PRAISE GOD!

Favorite Christmas Memories of 2009...

2009-12-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

This year there was a lot of snow that was keeping us from getting up to my sister-in-laws place the day after Christmas, so we postponed the trip until the following day (Sunday). When we first got there we started unloading the car full of presents and placing them under the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the room just off the side of the living room.

The house was so cozy and warm where my husband's grandparents were waiting inside. There were many little simple decorations that made it feel like Christmas (such as the holly berry wreath hanging on the front door which I really like!)

And the table was all set with beautiful and tasty treats; scrapple meat, Strada's, muffins and fruit... cinnamon buns and fruit tarts.... yummm! The perfect Sunday brunch!

This is one of my favorite pictures during the meal... it looks like something out of a Dr. Seus book :)

Then it came time to open the gifts. My nephew had fun passing them out to everyone...

... and we had fun watching him.

My nephew loved the Tractor, Dump Truck and Tractor movie that his great-grandpa got him, and wanted to play with them the whole time we were opening gifts.

This year one of the big gifts I got Spencer were his Vibram Five Finger shoes which he has been loving! He wears them every chance he gets... even in the snow! They make pretty cool impressions in the snow... it looks like there's either someone running around without their shoes on, or Bigfoot is on the loose. I guess it's only a matter of time before he realizes this and decides to prank the elementary school kids (being that a school is right across the street from our house).

This is the great hat that my mom and dad got me for Christmas, and the tuque I got for Spencer as one of his stocking stuffers.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all you readers out there, from our family to yours!

Cold One Day Snow The Next Day...

2009-12-09T12:45:00.000-08:00

On Sunday afternoon, we went out to brunch and there were a few little snowflakes here and there, nothing too big, but by dinner time we had about 1 inch of snow. We had my nephew over, so Spencer and I took him sledding a bit, but the snow wasn't sticky enough to make a snowman.

Since Sunday evening, it has since snowed so much more then I was expecting, in such a short time.

The Tuesday morning I went to the post office to drop off a package... only a few blocks away, but I got stuck coming out of the parking lot, going up the hill... a very slight incline. I ended up having to go down the hill, and go all the way around to drive on the compacted or main streets that were a bit flatter. I made it home safely, but I'm not planning on going anywhere I don't need to.

The weather report had said on Monday that there was going to be a blizzard in the evening on Tuesday, so my hubby and my in-laws decided to stay up in Omaha and get a hotel up close by where they work... because you really don't want to be out in that kind of weather, you have little to no visibility.

By morning I could see how much it had snowed.... a good 6 inches on top of what had already fallen!!! So this morning I had my work cut out for me to clear the snow off the driveway, walk, and car. It took me about an hour to unbury our car and shovel the driveway. I'm planning on leaving an hour before I'm scheduled to work in case I get stuck in the snow... our little car doesn't have to much weight behind it, so it has a tough time in the snow. I'm also planning on bringing the snow shovel and scrapper should anything happen.

We are definitely getting a white Christmas this year!

Thanksgiving...

2009-11-20T05:46:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving Spencer's youngest sister Becky and her Fiance came to visit. I was working for most of their time here, but it seemed like a really nice visit. At one point during the trip they got to go to the capital building and learn about the history of the town.

Thanksgiving dinner was so good... I wish I could have eaten more, but I had already filled up on the crackers and dip earlier in the day. Turkey, green been casserole, stuffing, canned cranberry sauce, and gravy... yum.

One of the more memorable parts of the trip was the pumpkin swirl cheesecake that Becky made... especially because Gianni has hyped up her cheesecake making skills earlier that day. It was memorable not because I love cheesecake, and it's my favorite dessert, but because she mistook the jar of salt on the counter for a jar of sugar... and used a cup of it. Needless to say, we went with out the pumpkin cheese cake :(

What a nice visit!

Halloween...

2009-10-31T04:50:00.000-07:00

On Halloween my mother-in-law and I got to carve some pumpkins...

And our favorite of them all... the one where I try to match the pumpkin's expression.

If you are wondering why I'm in those ridiculous overalls, it's because they're my painting clothes, and I was finishing up painting the upstairs nursery room while my in-laws took care of the trick-or-treaters who came to the door. We've been remodeling for a few months now, in order to get the house ready to put on the market (will post a picture soon). It's improved so much from what it was before.

My 2 yr old nephew made such a cute tiger this year. He stayed out longer then he did the year prior, and by the end of the night he was asking his mommy and daddy to "stay, I be right back" as he saw the other kids going to the door on their own, and he wanted to follow too.

We had discovered at Nikki's birthday party, that he was freaked out by eyeballs falling out of his grandfather's head... even though it was just a little piece of paper that had a circle printed on it... it still freaked him out. So for Halloween, I picked up come chocolate covered caramels that had eyeball printed foil to see what he would do. His grandmother decided to play the trick on him... she put the candy up against her eyelid and hit the back of her head to make it fall out and roll towards him. The best part is the look that he gives you, a sort of disgusted and not sure what to do about it look. He picked it up and gave it back to her, and she pretended to put it back in her eye, when she actually put it back in the candy dish. :) This age is so fun.

Motherhood Maternity...

2009-10-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

During the initial interview, Suzette prefaced the interview with "We don't really even consider any applicants who don't have any retail experience, but since you have a background in fashion I wanted to give you a shot." Praise God! Also, the Motherhood stores usually "don't get very busy over the holidays... Easter and Mother's Day are the busiest times of the year," so it awesome that they even considered me over the holidays (since we'll be moving up to Omaha in January to be closer to my hubby's work, and church).

On top of all that they were looking for someone to do the morning shift because they had a lot of closing shift people.... which was perfect because I was looking for a morning/afternoon position so that I could be home to make dinner for my family, and get any chores done before they got home.

Motherhood sounded like it was going to take a long time to go through the process, so I wasn't sure if it would be quick enough before I got hired at the other places, but I really wanted to work there of all places. I just prayed that God would place me where he wanted and it was really amazing to see God's hand working in all this. Suzette the manager was really great at keeping me posted all through the process so I wasn't left hanging. She also warned me when the upper-level manager from Kansas was going to be calling for my phone interview so that I was prepared, I thank God for that!

Praise God!!! I got the job at Motherhood Maternity! Totally an act of God... the other two jobs that I applied for seemed to be on a roll, and then after things were looking good with Motherhood Maternity, the other two places seemed to drop off the face of the earth. They were talking about their pressing need to get people placed before the holidays and we were talking about scheduling, background checks and such but they never called back since the beginning of last week (when all the Motherhood interviews started).

More acts of God to come I'm sure...

Putting the house on the market pt. 2...

2009-10-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

As some of you may already know, my in-laws are trying to do some improvements to the house before they put it on the market. One of the projects my husband and I have been helping with is the small middle room upstairs. This is the update from my previous post about the progress made on the room... Now we have the ceiling finished and are now working on putting up the textured wall paper that you can paint on. (the white side is with the wall paper).

It's beginning to look like a fresh canvas again. I can't wait to see a fresh coat of paint on the walls, carpet pulled up and furniture in the room.

The walls are going to be a greenish blue color and the baseboards and trim will be an off white (kind of close to what it is now, but reversed).

Fall is Here!!

2009-10-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

Once the temperature starts to get a bit cooler (which this year was Oct. 10) the leaves change colors and start to fall. If the temperature gets too cold all the leaves will fall off and everything looks dead, but if it warms up a bit after the cooler weather, the trees change beautiful vibrant colors before falling and it wont fall as quickly. This week has been really nice and warm, so the leaves look so beautiful and vibrant.

I've been wanting to take pictures of the trees around here while there is still leaves on them... so I finally was able to. Here are some pictures of some of the trees a few blocks away from our house.

In preparation for the fall I've reduced all items in my etsy store $2-$70 off original prices. And I'm also offering a 2 pack special for belly bands. Please feel free to look around and tell your friends about the fall sale.

Happy Autumn everyone!!!

Nikki's Birthday...

2009-10-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

My sister-in- law had mentioned to me at Thanksgiving that she had wanted to find some baking stone dishes. Later in the week, after searching on craigslist I stumbled across some pampered chef baking stoneware that had probably never been used. Since I knew that my sister-in-law had wanted them, I was able to make arrangements to pick them up.

On Sunday when we came to the party I had Spencer hide the gift outside behind the patio chair, and I had brought a "fake gift" of a children's coloring book wrapped nicely with a pretty bow on top. When she opened it up with a disappointed look on her face everyone cracked up as she said "oh........ thanks." Then I brought out her real gift and said "here's your real gift." She seemed a lot happier this time. Spencer likes that he's rubbing off on me :)

My in-laws got her a Le Creuset pot but they put it in a box filled with shredded paper (in hopes that their grandson would get into it. Sure enough he did...

Once he got in the box he got a lot quieter...

Once he got a cookie and was in his sugar coma, he didn't care what we did to him after that....

Canadian Thanksgiving pt. 2...

2009-10-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

We are so thankful for our family, and all that the Lord has blessed us with this year. Spencer's job is one of our biggest praises, as well as God's provision for our family since we moved out here. Though things might not have happened as speedily as we had wanted them to happen, our sovereign God had an even better plan in His own perfect timing. Praise God that He has our best in mind!

This is one of the pictures of the fries and the winter vegetables before I put them in the oven. The fries are in a ziplock bag, so that they can get evenly coated with olive oil, salt and pepper. The winter vegetables are just cubed carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes with salt, pepper and about 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

The ladies were in the kitchen cooking, while the men were playing Boom Blocks on the Wii.

Since it had snowed earlier that morning, our nephew also got to go play outside in the snow for a bit before dinner.

Over all it was a very nice Thanksgiving. The poutine was a nice compliment to the chickens as well as the yummy green bean casserole and winter vegetables. I ended up forgetting to make the stuffing, but we were ok with out it. Since we did chickens instead of turkey our left overs only lasted us until Sunday afternoon. I was able to make chicken broth from the bones, and now stored in the freezer in 1 and 2 cup bags portions for when I need them.

Early Canadian Thanksgiving and First Snow Fall of 2009...

2009-10-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up and noticed a bit of a white reflection coming from outside the bathroom window. After further investigation I quickly ran back to our bedroom to wake up my husband... "Honey.....(nudge).... honey.... (nudge, nudge) .... there's SNOW outside!!!"

Here's my nephew, he was looking out at the snow as I was snapping a few pictures. He really wanted to go play in the snow when he woke up this morning.

Today we are celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving (which is actually on Monday).... I can't wait to try all the yummy foods! I'm trying the Alton Brown way of cooking the turkey (or in our case chicken, since I couldn't find any turkeys)... where you soak the turkey in a brine over night. It should be interesting. Instead of mashed potatoes this year we are going to try poutine (with shredded mozzarella cheese instead of cheese curds). My sister-in-law is bringing a traditional green bean casserole and then for dessert we are having one of two pumpkin cheesecakes I made... (one pumpkin-banana with a graham cracker crust, the other is a pumpkin with a ginger snap crust). YUM!

Happy early Canadian Thanksgiving and first snow fall everyone!

My hubby's first day of work!

2009-09-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

Praise God, this day has finally come! Today is my hubby's first day of work. Which also means that this is the first day that it's just me and Moby, the dog. I'm going to miss being with my hubby every day, but I'm glad that he now has a job to bring home the bacon :) It's been a grueling month and a half of applying for jobs everyday with little or no response back from places. Praise God, that He is sovereign and controls all things and He always provides.

Since my in-laws work at the same place, they will be carpooling together while I stay home and manage the house. They drive an hour drive to Omaha to get to work, so they have to get up while it's still dark. This morning it was raining too, so it added to the excitement of today. I'm a very proud little wifey :)

My bible passage of choice for the day:

- Psalm 34 -

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 O taste and see that the LORD is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the LORD, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they do not seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD,
12 Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers.
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the broken hearted
And saves those who are crushed in the spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Photo shoot for Sprouts maternity...

2009-09-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we finally got to take photo's for my etsy store!!! We drove up to Omaha early Sunday morning so that we could make it to the first service for church. In between first service and the church picnic we went to my sister-in-law's to snap some shots of the fall line for my maternity shop.

While we waited a little bit for my sister-in-law to get prepared for the photo shoot, I was able to sneak out to adjust the settings on the camera for better lighting. Then we were all set for the photo shoot... we first started with the grey french lyocell dress and looked for places with yellow back drops to photograph. Here's some of my favorite shots from the day:

One of my favorite shots was in a near by corn field. I know, I know, it's pretty stereotypical for Nebraska, but the photos looked great. We just had to pay for it with bug bites.

One of the nice things about Nebraska is that there is a lot of nice scenery pretty much anywhere you go... it's really easy to find a nice place to photograph. I really liked this scenery for this dress especially, it looks very classical with the ivy in the background.

Next we went on to photograph the silk/linen upcycled top. I chose more of a woodsy landscape so that the colors in the top really popped in the photographs. I really liked this series of photos... when my sister-in-law turned her head away from the camera and was in a forest setting, she could almost pass as Evangeline Lily, the character who plays Kate Austin on LOST. What do you think?

This is part of the series of belly band shots, I just liked this one because of the contrast in colors with a few changing leaves in the background. I love the fall!

Here's one of the photos for the purse which I think looks pretty nice as both a dressy, and in this case, a casual look with the green silk and brown linen top. This picture was taken just outside the corn field... I like how the yellow in the field seems to brighten up the picture a bit.

Here's the cover shot pose for an album. Love it!

Here's a fun one... I wanted to show that the jacket was fully lined so this is what we came up with. This was one of the last shots at my sister-in-law's place and it was getting close to the time we needed to leave for the picnic. The following two shots were taken at the picnic with my sister-in-law, her husband, and their son.

Such a cute family shot! In case you can't see, my brother-in-law is wearing the "espresso bean daddy bag" which is a diaper bag that even men can carry. With a racing strip in the front, this bag could almost pass as a men's messenger bag.

Here's another cute shot of the family... my brother-in-law at the bottom of the slide, sister-in-law at the top of the slide, and my nephew is going down the slide...

For further information on any of these items in my fall line for 2009, please feel free to check out my etsy store at www.sproutsmaternity.etsy.com

To Nikki and her family; thanks for all of your help with the photo shoot. I had a lot of fun coming up with the different poses with you!

Leaf or bug?

2009-09-12T05:38:00.000-07:00

Nebraska is full of various bugs and creatures that I'm not used to seeing in California. Since we leave our windows open on the warm nights to allow for air flow, we have been able to experience some of these creepy crawlies up close and personal.

This morning we woke up to find a leaf next to our bed, or was it? After closer examination I found it to be a bug. It almost looks like a grasshopper with a leaf on it's back.

Getting the house ready to put up on the market...

2009-09-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

My in-laws are planning on putting the house back on the market this month, so we've been working hard to get it ready to show. We've gone through boxes of stuff, put things in storage and one of our more recent projects has been re-doing the small upstairs bedroom.

It used to be my husband's younger sister's room when they were growing up, but until recently it's been a catch all for random stuff, and it was where we were storing our boxes of stuff that we moved out from California.

We rented a wallpaper steamer and found ourselves peeling 4 or 5 layers of wallpaper off the walls before getting to the plaster. (It kind of reminded me of our time in Spain because one of the projects some of the guys did to the blue room).

We found a part of the wall that looked like it had at one point been a window before they added on to the house, and they had patched it up with a different kind of plaster then the original walls (notice the slightly lighter color and sheen to the patched up wall above). On the same wall someone had written their name and the date most likely when they patched the wall, or put wall paper over it. This is a very old house, among the others in Lincoln... it's neat to see little pieces of history in even your own house.

This is how far we got... my husband and father in law are putting up a new ceiling with drywall because the old plaster ceiling had cracked in an area and was starting to come down.

I can't wait to show you what it looks like when it's all done. We are going to convert this room into a nursery/toddler room which will be perfect for our little nephew when he comes to visit.

Kayaking with my hubby...

2009-09-07T05:18:00.000-07:00

My in-laws have a Kayak that they like to take out on the lake from time to time. Today they let us take a turn. There are many lakes to choose from in Lincoln, but we chose Holmes Lake for this expedition... So we loaded up the car...

And off we went....

It was a really nice trip! The lake was beautiful. We got to see some turtles... one dead and 3 little ones on a log. There were a lot of areas with reeds in the lake, perfect for maneuvering around with a kayak.

Just as we were loading up the kayak, we noticed these people fishing, as many people do at this lake... what are they fishing you might ask?

The wind had blown their chair into the lake and my hubby had offered one of the kayak straps with a hook on it, so they could fish it out.

Fall is here...

2009-09-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

It seems like as soon as September came around, we were hit with fall weather. We've had quite a few cold and rainy days here in Lincoln this week, but nothing a nice cup of hot tea and soup wont cure. I've used this as an excuse to make my favorite soup recipe again...

Potato, butternut squash and prosciutto soup

- 5 cups Chicken broth (homemade or ready-made)

- 5-7 red or russet potatoes (cubed)

- 1/2 a butternut squash (peeled and cubed)

- 2-3 long carrots (sliced in pieces)

- 1 fresh scallion/green onion (thinly sliced)

- 1 Tbls Cayenne pepper

- 1/2 brown/yellow onion (sliced very thin)

- a few sprigs of fresh rosemary

- a handful of sliced Prosciutto (1/2 " wide strips)

- Salt & pepper

- Drizzle of olive oil

1. Saute the onion in a stock pot on medium heat in the olive oil and season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper

2. Add the carrots, and potatoes when the onions start to get slightly translucent, stir. Cook for 2 min.

3. Add the squash, prosciutto, chicken broth, rosemary, and green onions and simmer for 20-40 min, or until the potato is soft enough to eat, but not over done.
4. Serve hot with salad, sandwich, bread and/or crackers.

This is the perfect mix of sweet and spicy for a cold fall day.

For dessert we are having some yummy and healthy Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I found the recipe on foodnetwork.com courtesy of eatingwell.com. It uses apple butter instead of butter, to make it a bit healthier, and it makes it taste like apple crisp.

Enjoy!

--Proverbs 31:10-31--

2009-08-31T08:02:00.000-07:00

10 An excellent wife, who can find?

For her worth is far above jewels.

11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,

And he will have no lack of gain.

12 She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.

13 She looks for wool and flax

And works with her hands in delight.

14 She is like merchant ships;

She brings her food from afar.

15 She rises also while it is still night

And gives food to all her household.

And portions to her maidens.

16 She considers a field and buys it;

From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She girds herself with strength

And makes her arms strong.

18 She senses that her gain is good;

Her lamp does not go out at night.

19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,

And her hands grasp the spindle.

20 She extends her hand to the poor,

And she stretches her hand out to the needy.

21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household,

For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

22 She makes coverings for herself;

Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is known in the gates,

When he sits among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them,

And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,

And she smiles at the future.

26 She opens her mouth in wisdom,

And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

27 She looks well into the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children rise up and bless her;

Her husband also, and he praises her, saying;

29 "Many daughters have done nobly,

But you excel them all."

30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who fears the LORD, she is to be praised.

31 Give her the product of her hands,

And let her works praise her in the gates.

(emphasis added)

This is my bible passage for this morning since I do a proverb a day, and then I went on to Genesis... notice how in Genesis it was Eve who took the first bite of disobedience, and God slaughtered the animal to make coverings to cover their nakedness...

--Genesis 2:16-17--

16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, "from any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die,"

--Genesis 3:6-7--

6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and it was a desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

--Genesis 3:21--

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

I thought it's interesting how it's generally women/wives who enjoy making clothes or are usually the ones who are interested in shopping for clothing, and in our fallen state, we even pervert this gift of covering our sinfulness by dressing immodestly for our own vices. By nature, woman sinfully use their nakedness or immodest dress to try to gain attention, power and control over men, but a Proverbs 31 woman is praised for making coverings for her family, to cover their nakedness.

Dressing modestly, and a willingness to submit to her husband and the will of the Lord doesn't come naturally, it stems from the new desires of her heart, placed there by the Spirit of God. When a Proverbs 31 does all these things for her household, she is doing them not as an independent woman who is wanting to over-power her husband, but as a helpmate to her husband who is willing to submit herself under his leadership and come alongside him as she ministers to the needs of their household. She is someone he "trusts in" and "praises her" for them as "She does him good and not evil all the days of her life."

My new sewing room in Lincoln :)

2009-08-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of sewing in preparation for my fall sprouts maternity line on etsy. Our bedroom, on the second floor has become the new sewing room. We set it up with our kitchen table, sewing machine and dress form. It has a lot of natural light, lots of space and hardwood floors, so it's been making sewing a breeze when it comes to clean up! It's proven to be the perfect room for dress making.

Here's a sneak peek into the sprouts maternity sewing room, with out giving away too much before launching of the fall line...

This is a maternity hooded sweater jacket that is near completion...

A good part of the line is finished already, but I might be able to get a few more items done before the big photo shoot... in a few weeks. :) Can't wait!

The butterfly garden...

2009-08-24T05:07:00.000-07:00

My favorite spot at my in-laws house is their tomato garden off the side of the patio. Surrounding the garden are these beautiful flowers where butterflies like to come and drink nectar.

The run-in with the bat...

2009-08-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

A couple nights ago my husband and I were woken up by the sound of laughter and loud shouting at 5am... it was my in-laws trying to apprehend a culprit that had broken into the house and was flying into the ceiling fan... a BAT!!!

My father-in-law was trying to create a barrier using a pillow, so that the bat wouldn't go upstairs to our room, and called for my husband to come down to help him get the bat out of the house... while my mother-in-law laughed hysterically at this charade.

My husband came down and after my father-in-law whacked the bat down with a pillow, my husband sandwiched it between a t-shirt and the pillow, and got the bat out of the house.

The next morning we found the bat where my husband had put him... we thought he was dead because he wasn't moving, so my husband picked him up with a plastic bag on his hand and took him out to the alley. He was still a live but injured, so when my husband put him down on the ground and used a stick to turn him over, so his head wasn't in the dirt, he wasn't happy and he hissed at us.

Bats have been the topic of discussion in the house since the incident...

Moving from home... to home...

2009-08-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's now the middle of August. The ground is wet. The air, cool, and I smell some of the flowers in Elizabeth's garden just as the afternoon humidity sets in. About 2000 miles away from the place we used to call home, and two time zones ahead, we have finally made it to our new home in Lincoln, Nebraska.

We made the move about 19 days ago after sad goodbyes with family and friends. It was bittersweet getting together with all of our family and friends. We would not get to see everyone for a while. What would it be like when we see everyone again? Some would have (more) children, others would be married, and the kids we knew are growing up so fast... would they even remember us? It was sad to think that we wouldn't be there to see everyone all the time, but at the same time looked forward to future ministry opportunities with more people.

The Lord is our strength and we must trust in Him always. We continue to look forward to the direction God is leading us in...

Our mission trip to Spain (STM09 - Part 4)...

2009-07-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

These are some of the projects we were able to finish at the bible institute in Toral, Spain:

The blue room... before...

...during...

...after.... scraping, re-plastering, painting, and varnishing.

In the library... before...

...during...

...after... cataloging each book, building bookshelves, creating an online database from scratch, and plugging in all the books.

Our short term mission trip to Spain (STM09 - Part 3)...

2009-07-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

And then it was back to work again on Monday... sanding and varnishing the window frames...

... plastering the walls of a room where there was humidity damage...

... painting the camp stairways...

... and catologuing the books for the library...

all before lunch in the cafeteria and siesta time :)

One of the evenings we all went to a Bodega (a wine cellar converted into a restaurant) for dinner as a thank you to the staff at the camp who prepared our meals. A couple of guys on or team used this as an opportunity to invite a couple of ladies that they had met on Sunday at church.

The food was amazing! This is one of the many ham (prosciutto) and cheese varieties that we got to taste while in Spain.

I was so glad to experience it all with my hubby! :)

The the new church in Leon (STM09 - Part 2)...

2009-07-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Our good friend and pastor Gus, his wife and two children are planning on moving to Toral, Spain next year to aid David and his team there at the bible institute. It was really neat seeing the city that they will live in, and the church that they will be a part of. It was really strange to think about how this will be the place that Cael (Gus and Melissa's son) will call home, and will soon forget what it was like to live in the States. He will grow up playing with David's two girls and the kids at the church in Leon... probably at the new church location.

What new church you might ask? Well, (continued from the last post)... David took us to the site where they are planning on building the new church. This new location would allow them to grow as a body, have fellowship groups and have a place to do local outreach.

This is the church building they have had for over 100 years...

As you can see, it's very small and has very little room for church growth or fellowship groups. This is the main room and there is a small room upstairs for the nursery. And this is the new location... wide open and full of possibilities.

There are a lot of new apartment buildings in the area, which in one aspect is amazing because they could be making money on the land, but instead gave it to a church (that was not catholic; the main religion in Spain), and in another aspect it is an awesome opportunity to have local outreach.

The current church has a baptism, but they only use it about twice a year whereas at the new church lot there is a river that they could do baptisms in on a more regular basis.

Manuel was able to finally get the deed to the land after relentlessly attending city meetings to inquire as to when they would be given land to build on rather then to the catholic church... the city finally gave in and gave the church the land free of charge with the stipulation that they had to have something started by 2011. God has been so gracious to this humble church all these years, and is now providing a means for the church to grow.

There are a number of ways that you can help the Gus and his family and the church in Leon:

1. Pray for the church; financially, for building permits, for volunteers/missionaries to start the building project, for local outreach and an impact on the community...

2. Pray for Gus, Melissa, Cael and baby on the way; financially, learning the language and adjustment to the culture...

3. Organize a short term missions trip together from people within your church group to aid in the construction of this church. This church has very little resources and needs anyone who can come and help (especially people who have had experience with construction or operating machinery)...

4. Commit to giving financially to the Pidal family so that they can move out to Spain and make an impact on the ministry there...

5. Commit to giving financially to see the building of this church through...

Thank you, we really appreciate your support!

If you would like to get involved you can contact Gus directly by emailing him at thepidalsinspain@gmail.com

Our Short Term Mission to Spain... (STM09 - Part 1)

2009-07-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

This past July my husband and I had the pleasure to join a short term mission trip that went to Spain for 10 days. On this trip we were planning to go to Toral, Spain and assist the missionaries at the institute and youth camp, as they needed help with painting, cataloging their theological library and setting up an online database for the library.

This was the first time that my husband had traveled oversees, and this was my first mission trip ever. We were both very excited to go, but at the same time it was a very humbling time, because we had double the money to raise for airfare and construction/library supplies, in addition to the money we were also saving for our up and coming move to Nebraska.

We trusted that the Lord would provide the funds if he wanted us to go, and we began sending out support letters, fundraising and saving for the trip. We had a couple yard sales, which we sold a lot of our furniture and stuff that we couldn't move with us (to NE) and had a bake sale. The rest of the money was raised from the support letters, and boy did God ever provide! My husband and I raised all of our money plus some.

We got to the LAX on the day of the trip and only had one minor set back... someone had forgot their passport... but it all worked itself out and we were soon on our way to Spain. I slept on the plane almost the whole way there so the long flights didn't phase me. We got to the institute late at night and went straight to bed.

The first day one of the missionaries showed us around Toral, a small town of about 500 people, that has some really old buildings dating back to the 1500's. This is little house was right behind a wall on the same street.

This is another really old building whose original builders used various dirt and rocks to create the walls. The brick may have come later, or it may have been the brick that they had at the time. You would see a lot of patch work buildings in the area, because where ever a wall fell down they would just re-build it with whatever building material they had at the time... rocks and mud, brick and cement.

That evening right after siesta time we got to start work on cataloging the library, and painting. This was what used to be called the conference room, but was soon going to become the library.

They had a very different schedule there because the sun comes up later in the day... breakfast was at 9am, lunch at 2pm, siesta time 2pm-3pm, and dinner 9pm. I have to say, it was really nice taking an hour nap mid day. There were a lot of meals that the ladies of the camp made with only a few of the same ingredients... this was one of our many meals with ham, and fried rice with leftover ham pieces from breakfast.

On Sunday we were able to go to the church in Leon, Spain.

Our team leader was preached in Spanish, and since my husband and I speak very little Spanish, some of our other team members so graciously translated for us... the entire trip! :)

After church they had a pot luck lunch, but they needed to set up the room with the tables, so we all went down the street to this one little cafe that sells these soft potato chips and small glasses of either orange juice or grape juice. They eat a lot of "patatas" in Spain in a number of different forms... we had tortas a lot (which is a potato egg cake sort of thing). After the pot luck we walked around Leon a lot!!! We saw the cathedral...

a wall that was built by the Romans...

some beautiful buildings and street corners...

and took a pit stop at one of our favorite places... the ice cream and cafe parlor

to be continued....

Update: what's been going on for the last 4-5 months...

2009-07-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

I just realized the other day that I haven't really sat down to post on my blog in a while, so I thought I would update you all...

In march we took a road trip up to WA with some close friends of ours so that we could make it to my husband's old roommate's wedding.

My husband was one of the groomsmen :)

In April my husbands parents and sister and nephew came to town for our family Easter gathering where all the relatives in the area get together and do an Easter egg hunt and BBQ.

One of the days they were here we got to go to the beach.

In May we moved out of our first apartment together and into my husband's grandma's place so that we could save up for our up and coming move to Nebraska.

In June my husband and I went to the Resolved conference...

but for me I had and impromptu visit to Canada to be with my grandpa who had a heart attack the day the conference started. He's doing better now and is able to get up and around on his own again, but is unfortunately not saved. Please pray for his salvation.

God's timing and provision was perfect! On the trip everything worked out... from affordable airfare, to a place to stay (my sister's), and time available.

The day after I got back from Calgary, my husband and I were off with the rest of our team to Spain on our missions trip. I'll post more about this in my next post, but it was an amazing trip!

the fall/winter wedding dress project...

2009-02-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been a while since I last posted about the progress on the wedding dress... but I thought I would update you all with some of the picts I was able to capture over the project duration.

Layer 1: Lining

Layer 2: Bustier

Layer 3: Crinolyn

Layer 4: Bridal Satin

Layer 5: Lace

Layer 7: Tulle & Ribbon

Last step: Bustling

______________________________________________________

THE FINISHED DRESS

Skirt alterations...

2009-02-14T10:06:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a lot of alterations recently... mainly taking in and/or hemming skirts and dresses...

This is one of my recent projects... it's my husband's co-worker's skirt. It had to be taken in around the waist for a better fit. To do this I had to take it a little from each panel at the waistline. This project required the client to come over so I could fit the skirt, as well as a fitting after the skirt alteration was completed, to ensure fit.

My other skirt alteration was from a friend of mine. With her skirt the invisible zipper had broken, so I had to replace a new one for the broken one. This project required no fittings, just a simple fix.

Sprouts is going green...

2009-01-31T17:29:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, I have a couple of shops on Etsy. One of which had an identity crisis, and became the hub for random vintage and handmade items. This shop has now become more focused on bridal, and special occasion. I have taken out some of the random stuff and have added a few things items for Valentines.

My second shop was getting very much neglected, but now is very much the shop I want to invest more time in. Sprouts maternity now has a slightly greener appearance and will mainly feature maternity clothes made from organic or upcycled materials.

Here is the new banner and avatar to my sprouts shop I just made today. I was going for something more a little bit more organic and simple. I really like the concept of "sprouts" featuring an organic brand name to go with the organic clothing. I can't wait to get started.

What are your thoughts... ideas?

The Lost Season 5 Premiere Party...

2009-01-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

As many of you know last Wednesday my husband and I hosted a Dharma themed party in honor of the premiere to the 5th season of our favorite television show, LOST. Here are some fun picts of the evening.

("Dharma" on the front door)... could this be another mysterious hatch?

Luggage scattered all over the room with various Dharma food, clothing and medical supplies.

Attached to the luggage around the room were Oceanic airlines luggage tags for the "Oceanic 6."

Snack foods and beverages were decked out with Dharma initiative food labels.

Dharma chili and Dharma chips were served for dinner...

... and for dessert, the ocean full of Oceanic 6 survivors :)

What a fun evening it was. We can't wait for the next episode this Wednesday!!!

Throwing a Lost Season 5 Party...

2009-01-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

Next week my husband and I are throwing a Lost party for the season premiere of Lost Season 5 (one of our favorite shows).

This year I think we are going to do a themed cake, serve yummy snack foods, and of course have lots of foods and props with Dharma Initiative labels.

I am looking forward to planning it all out this week.

If you have any suggestions, they are welcomed and very much appreciated. Thanks! :)

A Sneak Peak At Kathrine's Dress...

2008-12-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

My friend's wedding (who I was making the wedding dress for in a previous post) is just around the corner, so I thought I would show you a sneak peak before the big day...

These two photos show the lining, crinoline and bustier (with boning).

Here's the bridal satin layer on top of the lining/crinoline/bustier layers. More layers to follow :)

Stay tuned to see the final wedding dress...

Bridesmaid Dress Alterations...

2008-12-27T19:35:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I was working on some bridal alterations for an old co-worker of my husbands. She was a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding and in her sister's wedding. Here is the dress for her friend's wedding. With this particular dress I hemmed what was once a calf length dress to make it a tea length dress, and needed to be taken in on the side seams.

For these kind of alterations I would typically charge between $25-$35 to hem the dress depending on the type of fabric, and $20-$40 to make any other minor alterations to the dress.

This particular dress had boning in the side seams, so it required a little bit extra work. In the end, this dress cost about $60 to alter.

This is the third referral from my friend at church who used to do this kind of thing, but is now too busy with school and work.

Aprons make the perfect gifts...

2008-12-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Over the summer I gave my friend one of the children's aprons I made earlier this year for her bridal shower. Her friends liked them so much that they requested them too.

These 100% upcycled women's full length aprons are values at $30 each or $50 each for full length reversible.

Aprons make the perfect gifts for those family members or friends who enjoy baking. Check out my etsy store www.jnsweeney.etsy.com for more aprons. (Childrens full length aprons (for $20) and Mommy and me sets (for $40-$50) are also available.)

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Mixes in a Jar...

2008-12-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

Publish Post

This year my husband and I have decided to make cookie mixes in a jar to give as gifts. We were able to find inexpensive or free quart sized wide-mouth mason jars as yard sales (in about August or September) and asking some of the women at our church who don't do canning any more if we could have their jars. One of the recipes we decided to go with was a basic Chcocolate Chip Cookie Mix. You will need a tamper for each layer to achieve maximum results. Here is the Recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
2 1/4 cup flour (cut in half)
1 Tbls Baking Soda
1 Tbls Salt
3/4 Cup brown Sugar (Cut in half)
3/4 Cup Sugar (Cut in half)
1 Cup of Chocolate Chips (Toll house) (Cut in half)

(Picture shows up to layer 7 with tamper)

Layer 1 - Scoop half of the flour in the bottom of the jar with the baking soda and salt, tamp with tamper.
Layer 2 - Pour in half of the chocolate chips, tamp with tamper.
Layer 3 - Scoop half of the brown sugar, tamp with tamper.
Layer 4 - Scoop half of the white sugar, tamp with tamper.
Layer 5 - Chocolate Chips, tamp.
Layer 6 - Brown sugar, tamp.
Layer 7 - Sugar, tamp.
Layer 8 - flour, tamp and put the lid on and secure tightly.

Then you can either write by hand or print the recipe card that will be attached. Recipe card:

Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 Jar of Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
1 Cup Butter (softened)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs (Makes 1.5 dozen cookies)

Preheat oven to 375˚F.
Beat butter, and vanilla extract in a large bowl, add eggs one at a time.
Gradually mix in cookie mixture with a wooden spoon.
Drop by round tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2 min on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Celebrating at Disneyland...

2008-11-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Last year, my husband gave us seasons passes to Disneyland as my wedding gift from him. This year for our one year anniversary, we were planning to go down to Disneyland on Sunday after church got out, since my husband wasn't going to get off work on Monday.

We got there and headed over to Disneyland to pick up our "Happy Anniversary" pins, and then went over to California Adventure to get on the soaring over California ride (one of our favorites). It wasn't before long that my husband decided that he should go back to the car and pick up our dinner. I didn't expect him to be long, so I agreed and decided to stay around the Hollywood street.

Neither one of us expected the tram to break down, and wouldn't let them get off until another tram could come and pick them up (which they were only about 50 yds from the parking structure). When he finally got to the car he drove it over to the Grand Californian hotel and had the bell service take our bags up to the room while he checked in. Then he unpacked everything and headed back to where I was. While he was gone I had called him several times to find out where he was, but the whole time I thought it was just the mis-hap with the tram (so in the end it worked to his advantage).

He came back after 1 1/2 hours later with only a salad and told me that the bottles in the back of the car broke and that my gift had been ruined. At this point I was really disappointed, because I had been waiting so long for him to some back, and a good part of the day was already wasted. I also thought he had spent more thought in our dinner plans, since he had made a special trip to Trader Joes the night before to pick up the snacks and food that we would need for the day at Disneyland (which took him about 2 hours... this should have been my first clue).

Ok, I thought to my self, "well, at least he is back and we can spend the rest of our anniversary together." I took one quick visit to the restroom and when I came back he said that the park had called him and said that they had found his wallet and that he needed to go get it. So he ran off, and came back after 20 min. (when in reality he had left the car in the front of the hotel for over an hour, he decided to forgo the plan to self park when he found out it was 3 blocks away, so instead he had them park it in valet, so that he could get back to me quicker). Finally we were together again and enjoyed the rest of the evening, together!

As we were heading out, we decided to pick up some kettle corn (another one of our favorites), and couldn't seem to find any that were open. Then my husband said "well I guess I should give you part of your gift now." He pulled out the key card with my name on it to the hotel, and said "let's stay here tonight, instead of driving all the way home."

Boy was I surprised! He had decorated the hotel room with rose petals, and had unpacked everything. Indeed he had packed thoughtfully afterall, as he had not only packed the salad, but the breakfast, lunch and snacks for the next day... and yes, he had Monday (our actual anniversary) off. :)

Celebrating Our One Year Anniversary!!!

2008-11-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

This time last year I was walking down the isle to say I-do to the life long commitment to love and serve my husband-to-be. I can't believe it's already been a year, the time has really flown by. It seems only yesterday that my husband carried me over the threshold of our first place together and getting up early to open all the wedding gifts waiting for us in the living room, as if it were Christmas morning.

It was nice to look over our puritan marriage vows and be reminded of the commitment that we made to each other a year ago today...

I, S.H.,
covenant before God and man
to you J.S.
to be your loving husband and to lead you,
to protect you, and to provide for you in the fear of the lord.
I vow to love you as my wife even as Christ also loved the Church,
To lay down my life for you,
To wash you with the water of the Word,
To love you as my own body
and to nourish and cherish you even as the Lord does the Church,
To render unto you the affection owed you,
knowing that I do not have authority over my own body but you do,
To dwell with you according to knowledge,
giving honor unto you as unto the weaker vessel,
and living together with you as heirs together of the grace of lif.
You alone will be my delight as the wife of my youth.
I will fight for you, for our sons, for our daughters, and for our household.
The lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts you and me.
I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want,
in times of sickness and in times of health,
in times of joy and in times of sorrow,
in times of failure and in times of triumph.
I pledge to you my life as a loyal and faithful husband.

J., repeat after me:

I, J.S.,
covenant before God and man
to you S.H.
to be your loyal wife and to submit myself under your headship.
Just as the Church is subject to Christ so will I be to you in everything.
 I will live first unto our God and then unto you,
loving you, caring for you, obeying you,
and ever seeking to please you as my earthly lord.
I will be your discreet, chaste, keeper at home,
diligently, industriously, and faithfully caring for the affairs of your home
so that your heart may always safely trust in me.
  If the Lord chooses so to bless us,
it will be my delight to be your fruitful bearer of children,
and I will help you diligently teach them the commandments of the Lord
as we talk of them in your house, as we walk by the way,
when we lie down and we rise up.
Wherever you go I will go
The Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death part you and me.
I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want,
in times of sickness and in times of health,
in times of joy and in times of sorrow,
in times of failure and times of triumph.
I pledge to you my life as an obedient and faithful wife.

I'm so thankful for God's grace to uphold our commitment to each other this past year. It's been a wonderful first year of marriage getting through various trials and enjoying fun memories together. It's been great to see how God works it all out for His glory and our own good. Praise God for my husband! Praise God for our marriage, and for many years to follow!

The Joy of Baking With The Family in Autumn...

2008-11-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

Autumn is finally here! It's time to start dusting out those turkey roaster pans, gravy boats and fine China, that have been pushed to the back of the top shelf, ladies, because you have a thanksgiving meal to plan.

For those of you who have planned Thanksgiving at your home before, it's no easy undertaking... it involves "fall" cleaning and decorating, shopping for the meal and new clothes for the whole family, pulling out the fine china, silverware and extra chairs.

As family and friends start to arrive it's the hostesses job to make sure her guests are comfortable as they gather in the living room to watch the Thanksgiving day parade and/or football game while at the same time preparing the turkey, and all the fixings... while still maintaining her stylish hairdo and keeping her new autumn attire free from turkey grease. Ladies, tie those apron strings tightly, you have your work ahead of you.

I love this time of the year!

Whether it's cooking for Thanksgiving, or baking with your girls, these holiday aprons and mommy and me apron sets are sure to make this holiday special with a splash of vintage. These upcycled aprons recycled from vintage linens are just some of the cute stuff featured in my etsy store.

To check out more aprons visit my etsy store: www.jnsweeney.etsy.com