If you follow me on instagram (kayemkay), you make have seen this lovely soup a few weeks back. It is the only soup which I have followed a recipe for each time I make it. I rebel against recipes for most cooking adventures, using taste and smell as my guides, but this is a healthy and filling soup recipe that I have used again and again. Also, you can make meat eaters happy by browning some stewed beef with the carrots and celery. (Only brown for 5 minutes still, it will cook through when it boiling.)
Ingredients:
3 cups veg. broth
1 cup carrot juice
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup minced celery
1/2 cup barley
1 15oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions:
In a large pot on med-high heat, add oil and saute carrots and celery for 5 minutes.
Add broth, carrot juice, barley and beans and bring the pot to a boil.
Stir and set to simmer, covered for 30 minutes.
Add tomato sauce, and spices and return to a boil.
Boil for 15 minutes, uncovered, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. Taste and season to your liking (I add parsley and rosemary as well).
I also like to thicken this soup by putting 3-4 ladles of soup in the blender, then adding it back in.
Deanna asked me to customize my heart cut out dress for her to wear to her cousins wedding and I'm so happy she did! I love this orange paisley fabric and am tempted to make this for myself for the autumn.
Thanks so much for sending along a photo, Deanna. You look fantastic!
I finally got around to baking that chocolate avocado cake I've been hearing about. I found the recipe on Joy's blog and didn't modify it at all. It was super easy, even for a beginner baker, like me.
Because I'm not vegan, I would definitely swap out the avocado icing for my favorite cream cheese icing. Thing is, the icing really tastes like sweet avocados where the cake just tastes like a regular dense cake. So, unless you're vegan, I say skip this icing and make your favorite one instead. You can still dye it green if you want. ;)
It's definitely a recipe to make for a party. This is certainly no boring chocolate cake!
I went on another frenzy of getting my act together today. I even dusted the top of the frames that hang on the wall. I mean, who does that?
It is a sad truth that I am allergic to dust (rather, dust mites, I learned) and that I create an awful lot of dust everyday.
Once, in ninth grade, I went on a weekend church retreat where we made apple butter. Basically, to do this you take turns stirring a witches cauldron full of apple sauce for over 24 hours. At the end of which, you blow your nose and the soot is all that comes out. And you think you might die of lung cancer on the spot because that has to be the equivalent of at least a million cigarettes... You're a tad anxious.
Well, risking the graphic mental image that I actually have mucous (sorry, i do.) I blew my nose today after cleaning and it reminded me of that retreat. Hahaha. And you thought you wanted to get to know me.
Anyway, my office is clean again and it feels SO good.
A little over a month ago, I read a post from a fellow handmade clothing blogger, Teaka where she had an ADORABLE handmade label. After a bit of back and forth for figuring out how to make it sturdy, I gave it a try.
When I first purchased labels, I did it with the help of a Swedish friend through a website that only ships to Sweden. She was just days away from going home when we ordered and so the timing was perfect. It, of course, no longer is. Ha.
They were efficient, but not terribly attractive and not at all in line with my brand. So, it was time for an overhaul. And I am soooooo pleased with the results.
If you are a handmade gift giver, this is such a cute idea for the upcoming holidays.
I purchased acrylic craft paint, a customized rubber stamp and twill tape. Search your craft store's scrapbooking section to find cute labels that read "handmade" or make your own stamp from premade letters and a stamp block.
To make the labels:
First, use a foam brush to lightly dab the paint onto your stamp. Make sure to use as little paint as needed to cover so that you don't get gobs of it on your stamp.
Press on the twill tape and repaint stamp for each label.
Once dry, use an iron to heat-set the paint.
Snip labels apart with pinking shears to limit fraying.
When attaching, it's important to sew all the way around the label because your label won't unravel past the stitch.
Last night I had a grown up slumber party. This is where you drink wine instead of chocolate milk, talk about boys RARELY and make crafts that don't involve popsicle sticks. (Unless you're planting a garden, then the sticks are welcome!)
I must say that I LOVE teaching my friends how to sew. I think part of it is the desire that they will fall in love with sewing and I'll have someone to make jokes about presser foots with. The other part is watching the pride on their faces as they admire their work.
Meg and I made folded zipper pouches with straps using bits of fabric, a zipper (of course) and some leather scraps. I'm really proud of our results!
Anyway, this morning, in a matchy-matchy moment of genius I made a coin pouch.
I don't store coins in a separate pouch though, as I have one built-in on my pocket book. But you need one, right?
All you need to do to snatch this nautical coin purse is leave me a comment and make sure I have a way to contact you! (either leave your email or make sure your blog is linked)
When we moved in and found we had absolutely no storage space we pushed things into the linen closet. All those little boxes for stemware, the full box set for our 8 piece dinnerware and our completely unpacked china set were all shoved to the bottom of the closet. Then, as shelf space ran out, we just piled on top of the boxes. Then it became so bad that there was no point anymore and we didn't even fold throw blankets before shoving them in there. You know in cartoons where they open the closet and the whole mess falls out on them? It was like that. Except that in real life, things settle and when you pull something in the stack out, everything around it stays just as it was. (evidence below: gaping hole between afghan and pillow) This is how you make an igloo, or how you burrow in our linen closet. Important life stuff. You're welcome.
Before
After
So, after 13 months and 24 episodes of Hoarders (moral support), I did it.
Tips for when you clean your own closets:
1. If you have movable shelves/wood planks, move them! By bringing the very top one down one notch to make a mega wide shelf, I was able to store all the boxes up there as high as my heart desired AND create a barrier for the chaos.
2. Learn how to properly fold fitted sheets. Check out this video for the how-to. Though, even with this know-how, I will never be able to fold a sheet as well as him...
3. If you have baskets available, it will make your life easier. I had 1 ghetto pink crate, but my bulky afghan blankets are living the dream in it.
I thought once I had done this, I would feel like our apartment was in good shape. Sadly, we are just coming out of a bout of sloppy. So, the only place that is now organized is our linen closet. Gah. I want a maid.
Starting on Monday August 27th, use the coupon code BACKTOSCHOOL to receive 20% off your purchase! Coupon is entered at checkout. Please let me know if you have any questions prior to purchasing.
Some dear friends of ours threw a party on Saturday complete with 3 different potato dishes, endless fried chicken and deep fried oreos. I am proud to say that I did not gain any weight this weekend. Yessss. Though I do believe I would have if the oreos were out before I gorged myself on a cranberry walnut salad.
Welcome to the danger zone
Onion Rings
I'm kind of bummed I didn't take photos of the actual spread or how fantastic the yard looked with twinkle lights. It was gorgeous. Becky and Tony are fantastic hosts!
Wow. That was a lot of work. When thinking about photo shoots, I seem to only remember the result; photography on my website. But there are LOTS of other parts to them too.
Thinking about cohesiveness, ambiguity and my own aesthetic is the PITS. I'm still working on this. It's a real struggle for me to want to have a "look", and yet not be defined by that. I love vintage silhouettes AND the tribal prints AND neon colors AND asymmetric lines. I'm sorry. I'm having my cake and I'm eating it. That's the point of cake.
So, where I've landed on this is that if I'm going to go throwing everything out there at once, I might as well help out my viewers by keeping it simple. Someday I will be decisive enough to end this design dilemma. But today is not that day.
For now I chose a blank wall in my apartment for ease, comfort and simplicity. I used a friend who is a much smaller size than me to model because I wanted to show that a variety of sizes can call look awesome in the same design. And I styled the items simply. It's important to allow a girl to pair her own wardrobe with what you're making; allow her mind to add the statement piece.
Anyway, this is what being an indie clothing designer has been like for me. It's hard to not be swayed to think that I must have a strong point of view. There are loads of successful businesses who swear by it; saying the only way to succeed in business is having your crap together before you show it off. But I don't have my crap together. I know what I would wear and I make it.
I was fearful about starting a business with no experience and a somewhat weird fashion sense. But you know what? Here I am. I'm nearly 3 years and over 700 garments in and it's okay. Learning is a success that's fulfilling even in failures.
I suppose my point is this: Be okay with slow growth and unsure steps. It hasn't failed me yet.
