Sunday Stash #82

Birthday goodies from Rene'. We both adore cats, so we have a little inside joke going on. Meow.

Our guild is collecting fabric and quilting supplies for an auction to suplement our education fund. We had a pre-sale at Sew Day yesterday. I donated a box of stuff and only came home with half a box of stuff. Progress, yes?

Cheesy Goodness

Orlando Modern Quilt Guild gals with Carolyn Friedlander at Bok Tower in central Florida. The ornate musical tower is part of a 50-acre garden donated to the American people by Edward Bok. Carolyn's gorgeous quilts were on display in the visitor center and a group of us met up to socialize and tour the gardens. We had a delicious lunch at the cafe and walked the grounds. So many beautiful flowers and plants. The gardenias were so fragrant. I told my bush at home to get with the program or I was getting my ax.

I popped into Whole Foods to get a few things. I wish we had one closer to my house. Central Florida is getting a couple Trader Joe's and I'm excited. They won't be close by either, but I'll make the trip for fun groceries. The blood orange soda was really good. RIP dill plant. Three days, people.

I bought $900 worth of cheese.

Only spent $200 on olives. I felt like I was shopping in France. It was Memorial Day weekend so Whole Foods was hoppin'. I still managed find all kinds of fun foods.

This was dinner for me one night. Might be lunch today.

Lightening struck our neighbor's tall tree last weekend. We were sitting inside and heard the loud strike. What a mess. Blew that tree to smithereens. We're expecting more storms this afternoon.

I tried this spinach, tomato egg bake this morning.

Delicious! It's easy and you can bake it until the eggs are to your liking. I like them runny.

May Sew Day

 

Catching up around here. Nothing like a holiday weekend to pack in the fun. Hollywood made me the cutest basket of kitchen stuff for Mother's Day. She knows what I like! The little cups under the anti bacterial bottle are actually silicone measuring cups. So cute and colorful. I used the tongs today, but I've kept the basket in tact because it was so darling.  I'll dust it off next weekend.

Sew Day for our guild was a blast as usual. The block of the month was so much fun I made two! The block pattern is called Anita's Arrowhead and is a cinch to make. Our color scheme was green and gray.

 Look at all the quilters!

Cara is making a gorgeous quilt for her husband. He's been waiting patiently for a quilt of his very own. I believe he's going to flip over this beauty. We were all drooling over her fabric choices.

Pat had a fun one going up on the design wall. Some of my favorite colors too. It's going to be king size. No biggie. Pat ain't scared. These guild gals awe me all the time. Quilt warriors, all of them. 

I played around with a Red Riding Hood charm pack. I added in a few squares to round it all out. A few borders and it will make a cute baby quilt. Our guild is making them for a local organization.

I was also able to get this pinwheel quilt top basted and quilted at Sew Day. Look how close my batting is! It was a spare piece that barely fit. Worked out fine. I pieced this quilt back in the day and unearthed the top for our guild's UFO challenge. The Pinwheel Baby Quilt is a Moda Bake Shop pattern from 2009. It's a fun pattern and suitable for beginners. The edge triangles are prairie points, which were really easy. I don't always let my tops age...oh, who am I kidding. I just prefer the piecing part. At least it hadn't yellowed. 

And it's finished! I got it bound during a thunderstorm. Here it is before its bath.

A co-worker is having a baby, so this one has a home. The mom was a week past her due date when we left work Friday, so I'm hoping baby girl cooperated and decided to meet the world over the holiday weekend. It's a first baby, so lots of excitement. 

Julie helped me figure out quilting the border at Sew Day. Simple, but it got the job done. 

Happy Mother's Day!

I whipped up a salsa to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Garlic, dried peppers, red onion, jalapeno and roma tomatoes.

I found some grape tomatoes too and grilled everything on my stove top grill pan. It would have been better on the grill, but I didn't have time to light a fire.

Whir evertyhing up in the food processor. Add a squeeze of lime juice and a pinch of salt. Fresh and yummy. Nothing like the jarred stuff.

Last week's roasted chicken was gigantic, so I made a batch of chicken salad. It made so much we got sick of it, but it was really good the first day or so.

Since it's Sunday, I'll show you my latest stash acquisition. Amy Butler organic goodness. So girly and bright. I can't wait to hack it up for something.

Our friend and his twin sister celebrate their birthday with a big seafood feast each year. There are always steamed crabs, which are my favorite. I didn't pass up on the clams, shrimp or oysters either.

There's always a big spread of food. Buffalo chicken dip, corn, gumbo and rice, cheeses, salads and desserts. Inspector Gadget signed me up to bring the Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread, which he loves. We made two huge loaves. I'm not going to lie, we ate for six straight hours. They are our Italian family and that's how Italians celebrate.

Jackpot! Look at the mustard on my crab. You're supposed to avoid it, but it's a rare occurrence and a true delicacy. Now off to Kobe to celebrate Mother's Day. I may need stretch pants tomorrow.

Happy Mother's Day to all

Quick Week

Oh my gosh, this Sun-dried Tomato Cod with Greens, Asparagus, Gold Potatoes was a real hit around here. The original recipe calls for collard greens, but those scare some people around here. I substituted spinach and left out the corn. After nearly 30 years, the Inspector is just getting used to eating green stuff. Stubborn much? Anyway, it's a quickie dish that you can whip up in no time. I have a love affair with little potatoes. These are the Honey Gold variety.

Did you watch the two minute Kentucky Derby? Horse racing makes me nervous, but I watched. None of the horses wrecked, so that was good. One of the gals at work made these Kentucky Derby cupcakes which had chocolate chips, walnuts and bourbon in them. This recipe is probably similar. They were so good. I don't usually eat sugar, but they corrupt me at work.

After a week of rain in Florida, today was gorgeous. Cooler, clear skies, gentle breeze. I love the rain, but it's nice to see the sun too. I wish I could tan, but my dermatologist is such a bubble buster. He's really pale too. Doesn't look healthy.

This guy was probably happy to feel the sun today. My first snake spotting of the year. I bet it won't be my last. Why do they love me so much?

This week's roasted chicken. I never get tired of it. I grilled romaine to go along with it. That freaks Inspector Gadget out, but then he remembers he likes it. I threw some avocado and cotija cheese on the romaine too. Kind of like this recipe but minus that killer tomatillo sauce. I'll be making the full recipe once I score some tomatillos.

Never being much of a pizza fan, I've gone nutso over this Rustichella pizza from our local pizza joint, Tartini. Put pancetta, roasted grape tomatoes, ham and arugula on pizza dough and shove it in my face. Oh, and I'll have a runny egg right in the center of the pie. So good. Let's go right now, I'll drive.

I'm Probably at Work

I started this paper pieced block at Sew Day and finished it up at home. I may have an idea of where to use it. I started a Mary Engelbreit baking themed quilt a while ago. Now to unearth that little project. Our guild has a UFO (unfinished object) dare for members. I haven't had the heart to fill out my list, but maybe I'll take a day to document my attention span of a gnat. Or maybe I'll just start a new project. : P

Look at the pretty fabric from the Modern Quilt Guild and Michael Miller. It's their "Petal Pinwheels" collection. I really like it, such great colors. Citrus is my thing. The challenge is to make something quilted. By July 25. Doable, even for a slow poke like me.

Julie gifted me a bag of gorgeous selvages at Sew Day. She loves Kaffe fabrics more than me if that's possible. There are some Brandon Mably and and Phillip Jacob lovelies in there too.

I used a few to make Julie a coaster. The rest went into my collection. I just love playing with them. It's about time for a bigger selvage project. I have four selvage string blocks made, so maybe I'll just add to those.

Whipped up a little pouch while watching a movie. The jellybeans are getting low, but I bought the "kids" Target clearance candy since the Easter Bunny stiffed them candy wise.

Hope your week is happy!

Happy Sunday!

We loved these Turkey Sriracha Meatballs. Just a few ingredients and then pop them into the oven to bake. The sauce is the bomb! I made brown rice to serve them on and broccoli slaw with peanut dressing. Yummy! The photo doesn't show fresh ginger. I keep my ginger roots in the freezer to store them longer. Always hated finding those dried out ginger roots in the crisper.

Bones turned 14 April 12. I had to get his "birth certificate" out to double check the date. Loved reading his relatives' names. His dad was Snoopy and his grandfather was Festus. Grandma was Sprinkles. Great Grandma was LuLu! That's what I call my Hollywood! Funny! Bones is pictured with some bearded gentlemen who used to be my little boy.

We didn't have a party for Mr. Bones, but he did get a container of Mighty Dog for dinner. He loved it! He normally only eats dry food. Don't feel sorry for him, the dry stuff is usually topped with meat and broth from our meals. He may be spoiled.

Last Saturday was Sew Day for our guild. I had Friday off, so it was a perfect weekend to get the chores done early and goof off the entire weekend. Greek layer dip was my potluck dish. It's easy and quick.

There's hummus on the bottom, feta cheese, scallions, olives, cucumber, tomato, and parsley. Serve with pita chips. The dip can be made ahead of time or served immediately. I love this stuff so much.

I finished the CatVent quilt Sew Day. Yay! I like how it turned out. The blocks were fun to make.

The back is a mess, but I was determined to get rid of that mottled gray fabric from my stash. I have no idea where it came from. There were just a bunch of wide strips.

I hope your weekend is wonderful. What's everyone up to?