Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Got Fabric?

I know I really shouldn't show you this. But here it is.
 I went down there today and started working around the edges. Kind of picking through this and that to see if I could figure out what to do about my fabric. I was hoping that I could kind of whip through there and get things organized enough so that I could start working on a new beach bag and blanket. I saw this really cute big bag at the Gap a couple days ago and I am sure I can figure out the pattern and make one out of a canvas drop cloth and I want to tie dye it. So I was really excited to get started on it. But then when I saw all this...
 You see, I have a lot of fabric. And when I work on a project I just have this habit of pulling out more and more fabric and spreading it all around so I can see what I have to choose from. And then I push it all aside and put it in piles here and there.
 
There is actually a full size pool table behind this stack of bins and bolts. You can see how big my problem is?
 So Big K got home and said I need to just move it all out of there, organize it and box it up, paint, put up some new shelving and then put it all back in. But then she kept saying "How did this happen?"


And I am not making this up: I started stuttering every time I tried to explain. Now I have never had a stutter in my life and at my age I consider this a frightening new development. One that I really should do something about.
 Then she went in the laundry room and announced "You have more fabric in here too you know!"
Yes, I do know. There is a whole wall of fabric in there and she knows it because she does her laundry in there every week and I think she was just trying to rub it in. Or maybe she thinks it's funny to hear me stutter.


Now I know that this looks like a scene from "Hoarders" but believe me, most days you can walk straight through my house without running into a bit of clutter, my bed is made every day, the laundry is folded and put away and the dishes are washed almost every single night. I even tidy up my outdoor room almost every day. It's just this fabric thing.


So I signed up for the September Stash Buster Challenge at The T-Shirt Diaries. She even had a little tutorial for how to organize your fabric. I thought it was really nice but in my case I think investing in a lot more plastic bins is going to be more practical. So if I finish clearing this out tomorrow and bust out the paint I should be all reorganized and ready to go by September. Right?


Or if I move it all aside for now I could get that beach bag made and deal with it later? Maybe I can learn to live with a stutter. Right?

Friday, July 15, 2011

Lemonade! How to Make Real Lemonade

It's HOT! And nothing quite hits the spot like a cold glass of REAL lemonade. The fresh squeezed kind with that real lemon squeezy  flavor.

This is the kind of lemonade that you have to sit down on the patio and relax for a while to really enjoy it. And it is so easy to make. Give it a try next time you need to quench your thirst!

Lemonade
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 4 good sized lemons)
1 cup sugar
2 quarts water and ice
lemon slices to garnish

Pour lemon juice over the sugar in a 2 quart pitcher, add 1 cup lukewarm water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add water and ice to fill the pitcher, mix well, float some lemon slices on top. Serve and Enjoy!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th! My Great American Menu Reveal

Well we got kind of all wrapped up with The Twinkies birthday cake project and I would say it was a big success. Big K was not sure what direction she wanted to go except that she wanted it to be tiered and "over the top cute." We finally decided on a stars and stripes theme, this being 4th of July weekend and all. But we added a colorful twist and I think it exceeded our expectations!
Big K did the baking and the actual work. I, of course, was just a design consultant and go'fer. I cut out a lot of stars and did the toppers for the cupcakes. And washed a lot of dishes. It is amazing how big of a mess you can make just baking a cake. Well, a cake like this anyway. It had 6 lbs of buttercream frosting, 2 chocolate layers and 4 white layers with fresh strawberry buttercream filling. And a whole pkg of colored fondant too.
It was a lot of fun and The Twinkies were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. What 9 year old girl wouldn't think this is something special? That was all we were hoping for!


But today is really one of my favorite days of the year. I am so excited to get the party started, enjoy some great all American food with friends and family and then head down to the park for the big fireworks show!


Here is my Great American Independence Day 2011 menu:
Barbecued Buffalo Wings from Simply Recipes. These look so yummy, can't wait to fire up the grill and get them going!


Bacon and Gorgonzola Sliders. Love sliders! They are small and leave room for a taste of all the other goodies!


Cole Slaw. I like the broccoli slaw mix and I make my own dressing with mayo, vinegar and sugar. Super easy. The cabbage kind is great too.
Boston Baked Beans, this recipe from allrecipes.com looks like the real deal with smoky bacon, ketchup and molasses. 


Key Lime Pie, from allrecipes.com. I have made this a few times and it is super easy and delicious. I add a little lime zest to the mix and I am going to dollop the outside edge with whipped cream swirls and garnish with some fresh strawberry slices. Yummmmy!


And, of course, red, white and blue layered Jello shots! I had a bit of an adventure putting those together. They look awesome, but no guarantee how they will taste, I haven't tried one yet. The layers are Berry Fusion with raspberry vodka, Pina Colada with vanilla vodka, and Blue Rasberry with raspberry vodka. I am pretty sure everybody will love them. I have also have Blue Raspberry "shots" with red gummies for the little people.  I made them with Blue Raspberry Crush soda since we went to 2 stores and both were sold out of blue Jello. I guess I wasn't the only one with the idea of R,W & B Jello shots.


Happy 4th of July from Rainbow Creek!
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Sunday, July 3, 2011

Outdoor Room Reveal!

Time for a peek at what I have done so far in the outdoor room! It is coming together and I am so excited. Now if we could just stop all the birthdays and holidays from taking up all our time I could get some time to paint a few things and pretty it up a little more. Not complainin', just sayin' I have a lot fun projects still to do and the days just keep flying by.


 Remember how I said I got this idea to pull a little bit of junk from here and there around the house to decorate my room? We built the little whitewashed table last year from old fence pickets and I drug the bench from the front porch for a coffee table.

And this cute little side table/bookcase Big K and I put together from fence pickets and old chicken crates a couple weeks ago inspired my theme.
It gets windy here because we live in a canyon, so I had to rip up some scrap fabric to make ties for the tablecloth or else chase it down and retrieve it from the field every day. This plastic table and chairs are not staying, I have another one I am working on, but for now... 
My outdoor daybed is done! This is absolutely my most favorite thing in the world right now.

It was originally one of those old oak school teacher desks. My mother in law had it cut down and put casters on it to make it into a coffee table in the 60's and it has been hanging around in the family ever since. We had gotten to the point where nobody wanted it and I was contemplating just free-cycling it when I suddenly realized that it wanted to be a bed. It will be getting a coat of paint soon as I decide on the color. White or blue? I keep changing my mind.
 This little spot is under cover and shady almost all day. Perfect for lounging away on a hot afternoon. Love my little fence picket and chicken crate side table too!
 I didn't find a twin size futon mattress on Craig's List, so I had to improvise and made a mattress with 9 cheap $2.50 pillows from Wal-Mart. Basically I just stitched up a gigantic 3 1/2' X 6' pillow case and stuffed the pillows inside. And I have always wanted a real featherbed. But who has $399 for one of those. Well, probably a lot of people, but not me. But I do have a really nice down comforter that I had packed away for years because it was too hot and made me cough at night. Actually I don't know if that is true, because we replaced it with a "down alternative" comforter and I still get too hot and cough at night. So, I found a bolt of ticking stripe fabric that I have been hoarding for...umm, about 10 years... and I made a duvet and folded the comforter in half to plop on top of my mattress. I rounded up some pillows from here and there and dug up an old quilt and VOILA! Daybed perfection for a little less than $25. So far that is all I have spent on anything in the room. It really pays to go shopping around your own house for stuff!
My little donkey is still sitting in the weed patch. I feel bad for him. Will see if I can get out there and pretty things up a bit this week so he won't look so sad.


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