Husband Valet

Ok I know I am a little late posting my husband's Vday present but I have been busy. I did actually give it to him on Valentine's Day,  just now posting it however. Better late than never and not only that but you could make this for any occasion. I had more exciting plans but as I have mentioned, little Clyde had plans of his own :) So we decided to just make each other something. I got a really sweet acrostic sign with my name, so cute! So here is what Bryan got; the Husband Valet. I wanted to give him a place to put all of his "stuff" (seriously guys should have to carry purses too!).

You need a 1/2 of felt, a piece of cross stitch plastic, some regular thread and embroidery thread

Start with the cross stitch plastic. Cut it into 5 pieces, the bottom of the valet, and the 4 sides. Here are my dimensions:

Next, you need to cut a piece of felt out for the top and bottom of each piece. Cut each with extra felt because you will be sewing around the plastic inside so you will need the extra fabric. I started with the bottom - for the sides I folded the felt over so it was less cutting for me. Also on the bottom piece, I personalized the inside with a little embroidered heart. That is optional but definitely do it before sewing because it will be too thick with the plastic inside.

Layer all of the pieces together (felt-plastic-felt) and pin them together to get ready to be sewn. Pin them as close to the piece of plastic as you can. You will sew right along the edge of the plastic.

It doesn't matter if the edges aren't straight on the fabric for this step because they will be trimmed later. Now sew the plastic sandwich together. Remember as close to the plastic as you can get your needle!

All of your pieces are done, now you have to hand sew them together with embroidery thread. Trim each piece so that there is only about 1/4" of fabric on the edge. Use that 1/4" to sew the valet together. I started with the long sides to the bottom then the short sides to the bottom. Then I sewed the sides together last.

There you have the husband valet, which my husband actually uses by the way!

 

Tropical Fruit Salad

Hello blog, how I have missed thee! I have had a crazy past few weeks, hopefully everything is back to "normal" or as normal as possible with my boys. So earlier this month, I was supposed to help host a little Baby Shower Brunch with some of my sorority sisters. I was in charge of the decorations and the fruit salad. Poor Baby Brunch. They were decor/fruit salad-less because I went into labor that morning. So needless to say, my balloons deflated and my husband and Finn ate the fruit salad. I thought I would share my Tropical Fruit Salad secret so it wasn't a total waste. It is so simple and everyone always loves it.

My secret "sauce": Fresh Lemon and Lime Juice with a teaspoon of honey

Cut up your fruit, I change it up depending on my mood but this time I added; strawberries, bananas, nectarines, blackberries, kiwi and pineapple. Then is a separate bowl, squeeze 1 lemon and 1 lime and add a little honey. Wish that together then pour onto your fruit. It also helps the fruit keep its color. So sad I didn't even get to taste it.... but Clyde was worth it!

Look who came 4 weeks early...

Meet Baby Clyde! He is happy and healthy and we love him so much!! Finn loves his bay-bee! Posting will be a little lighter than usual for the next few weeks so I can soak up the newborn days before they are gone :(

I had so many crafts planned before the end of the month but Clyde had plans of his own! I did manage to make something for my Valentine so I will post that this week. Happy Valentine's Day!!

Fabric Labels

Fabric labels oh Fabric Labels.... I have been online researching these babies for months! Finally I found a good (cheap) solution, a tutorial to make my own. This idea is genius!

Laurraine from Patchwork Pottery has the whole tutorial on her blog here. She has a ton of other great stuff too, so you have to check it out. They were really simple to make and I love the way they look on the twill tape. Also, I didn't spend a fortune which is always a plus! I made 1/2" and 1" labels. I have already made a few bibs and added labels to the back, I feel so professional now hehe :)

In other exciting news, I think I am going to buy a serger soon! I think I am going to get this one... any thoughts, opinions, reviews??

El Cid Chili

OK, so this past weekend in Houston it was in the 70's and I wore capris. Apparently we could see snow flurries by the end of this week! So to celebrate the cold weather (because yes, I like cold weather in winter - call me crazy) I decided to make some warm Chili. I have this cookbook that I love called Celebrate! by Shelia Lukins, its awesome! It's set up by occasion like Easter, Vday, Mother's Day... so this recipe for Chili came from the "Superbowl" section. It's called El Cid Chili and its Amazing! It doesn't call for any beans or extras; just the meat, tomatoes and spices. Add some shredded cheese and green onion on top and you are ready for these "Houston Snow Flurries".

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound ground beef
12 ounces chorizo sausage, casing removed, cut into 1/2 cubes ( I used sausage not chorizo)
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 (14.5-ounce) cans beef broth
2 (14.5-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
2 green jalapenos, slit lengthwise 3 times each
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garnish with Cheddar and sour cream, if desired

Directions:

Place oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Brown the sirloin in batches. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add ground beef, chorizo (or sausage- I'm not brave enough for chorizo) and onions to the pot and brown. Make sure to break up the meat. Return sirloin to the pot.

Stir in remaining ingredients, except for garnishes.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally, breaking up tomatoes. Before serving, discard cinnamon stick, bay leaves and jalapenos.

Garnish, if desired