An exciting few weeks ahead!

I know I haven’t been posting much but that’s because I have actually been SEWING!  Around Christmas my vintage Singer started having issues… then my 9 year old basic Bernina Bernette 90e started having problems too.  This led to lots of cussing and a lot less sewing.  After 4 years of talking about it my husband told me I couldn’t put off upgrading my machine anymore (I will keep and fix both my other machines but orders backed up fast).  Why have I been avoiding it?  Well as much as I sew I have learned to appreciate those pricey machines that many beginners & casual crafters have a heart attack when they hear the price tag… and well even though I had been saving & knew it was coming and was worth doing I still had a cheap attack!  I have been calling once a month to see if they got my dream machine as a trade in with no luck, but when I called in at the end of April they told me that that model was being closed out & marked down!  It was still more then I was hoping to pay at $1699 (yeap, that’s right, more then a lot of small used cars!)but considering it retailed for $2999 and I won’t likely find a used one for years and the new model is almost identical & won’t go on sale below $2499 I finally bit the bullet. I am still in a bit of shock but knowing it’s a good machine that will last me another 20 years (the $200-$500 machines sold now a days will not & cost more to get repaired/serviced then replaced).

So what do you ask did I spend a fortune on?  A Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0.  It has so many bells & whistles that I didn’t know about or didn’t know I would use and love.  It drives like a DREAM and is solid.  Heavy is a GOOD thing with sewing machines, it means they actually have metal inside.  While it has hundreds of stitches in my usual fashion I have used 3? lol.  The pivoting foot is AMAZING and has saved me so much time that it will actually make me money thus it’s paying for it self.  The tie of and thread cutter is also awesome and I love the bobbin sensor!  It has automatic tension that you can manually adjust if needed and with it’s IDT system which is pretty much a built in walking foot I am in heaven.  I have been using it the last few weeks to catch up on all the orders & sewing commitments I had made.   I still haven’t named her but isn’t she a beauty?  She is my 6th child, lol.

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Does a beginner need the $3,000 Mercedes of sewing machines?  NO.  I have slowly upgraded over the years to get to this point.  That being said many of Pfaff’s machines are still made in Germany and the quality is great.  They also have a variety of machines at a variety of price points for all different needs!  I am very excited to have my dream machine though.

So along with catching up with back orders I had also committed to testing some .pdf patterns for Funktional Threads, FooFoo Threads & RedLabel Patterns.  I have finally completed most of those as well and I will post more detailed info on each later but the exciting thing is all 3 are giving me patterns to GIVEAWAY NEXT WEEK TO MY READERS.  There will be at least 7 winners!  On top of the $70 worth of patterns up for grabs I have a few other surprises as well ;) .  So if you haven’t already make sure you sign up for the email list over here —————————->>>>>
to get daily email summaries on days I post and don’t forget to share them with your friends!  I was hoping to start today but I have some business related grown up stuff to deal with before it’s time to have some fun, lol.

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Damsel in Defense Personal Protection & Safety Products, Sale Closes Monday!

 

 

Due to high order volumes a few of their most popular products were back ordered until this weekend so the rep is keeping my sale open until MONDAY 5/20.  Below is a copy of my original post with all the details.images (1)

I am starting to run again training for my 1st 5k in August and one of the big reasons I have avoided it in the past (besides being SO out of shape) is we have some large aggressive animals in out rather rural area. Did you know just zapping a stun gun in the air will turn most dogs & other animals away without hurting animal or humans?

Recently when thinking about this I saw a friends post on Facebook and was able to talk to her about some great personal safety/defense/protection items including their safety features like disabling pins on stun guns (which is a must with small kids) and wanted to share them with my readers! These ship to most* states in the US, some items will ship to all.

I know a lot of my friends mentioned they THOUGHT about looking at this but did get around to actually checking out. When they did they were surprising pleased so I ask you to take a few minutes to check it out! They have great quality self defense/personal protection products from stun guns all the way down to small key chain sized personal alarms that are GREAT for kids & teenagers. I was stunned at the quality of their products as well as the reasonable prices & I can’t wait to get my order! If ordering small items you get your best bang for your buck by getting a few friends to order together. These are great for recent graduates as well as real estate agents & other professions that have you travelling or alone at times. Many of their items also come in black & are great for guys & boys too. I am late to the game on sharing this as she is closing up the sale Monday night (5/20 11pm PST) so please take a look.  If you have any questions she would be happy to answer them!  If you are interested in hosting a virtual web based party she can & will do that for most states across the US!

The tiny take down is one of my favorites, it’s small and feels nice in your had but is very effective and road trip auto tool is a seriously a must have for males & females of any age.

TINY_large

ROAD_large

POUCH_large

*NOTE: Stun Guns cannot be shipped to CT, HI, IL, MA, MI, NJ, NY, RI, WI, Annapolis, MD, Baltimore, MD, Baltimore County, MD, New Castle County, DE, Philadelphia, PA or Washington DC

*NOTE: Pepper spray cannot be shipped to MA, MI, NY or WI, or via any air delivery services (Overnight, 2 Day, etc.).

images

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Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

A few months back while on Pinterest I stumbled upon this recipe from Sweet Pea’s kitchen that was published in Cooking Light magazine.  Anyway recipes I find on Pinterest tend to be 50/50 some rock & some suck!  This one ROCKED.  One loaf lasts less then 12 hours in our house so I have started making double batches.  It is quick & easy to make and is flavorful & most when done.  I did change up a few things from the original recipe which I have highlighted in red.  I hope your friends and family enjoy it as much as mine!

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Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
  • 1/4 cup plain or vanilla low-fat yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons dark rum, light rum, coconut rum or apple juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
  • 1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut for the top
    Icing:
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one 9×5 inch loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and juice; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yields: 1-9×5 loaf

Source: Cooking Light, September 2007

Posted in 365 Days of Pinterest, Cooking & Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Damsel in Defense Personal Protection & Safety Products

images (1)

I am starting to run again training for my 1st 5k in August and one of the big reasons I have avoided it in the past (besides being SO out of shape) is we have some large aggressive animals in out rather rural area. Did you know just zapping a stun gun in the air will turn most dogs & other animals away without hurting animal or humans?

Recently when thinking about this I saw a friends post on Facebook and was able to talk to her about some great personal safety/defense/protection items including their safety features like disabling pins on stun guns (which is a must with small kids) and wanted to share them with my readers! These ship to most* states in the US, some items will ship to all.

I know a lot of my friends mentioned they THOUGHT about looking at this but did get around to actually checking out. When they did they were surprising pleased so I ask you to take a few minutes to check it out! They have great quality self defense/personal protection products from stun guns all the way down to small key chain sized personal alarms that are GREAT for kids & teenagers. I was stunned at the quality of their products as well as the reasonable prices & I can’t wait to get my order! If ordering small items you get your best bang for your buck by getting a few friends to order together. These are great for recent graduates as well as real estate agents & other professions that have you travelling or alone at times. Many of their items also come in black & are great for guys & boys too. I am late to the game on sharing this as she is closing up the sale tomorrow night (5/8 11pm PST) so please take a look.  If you have any questions she would be happy to answer them!  If you are interested in hosting a virtual web based party she can & will do that for most states across the US!

The tiny take down is one of my favorites, it’s small and feels nice in your had but is very effective and road trip auto tool is a seriously a must have for males & females of any age.

TINY_large

ROAD_large

POUCH_large

*NOTE: Stun Guns cannot be shipped to CT, HI, IL, MA, MI, NJ, NY, RI, WI, Annapolis, MD, Baltimore, MD, Baltimore County, MD, New Castle County, DE, Philadelphia, PA or Washington DC

*NOTE: Pepper spray cannot be shipped to MA, MI, NY or WI, or via any air delivery services (Overnight, 2 Day, etc.).

images

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Surfer Chic Almost 5 Years Later

For readers who have been following me since the beginning you may remember these adorable surfer chic dresses I made for the twins when they were 14 months old.  They were one of the first dresses I made for that they I simply fell in love with and were made using one of the first patterns to come out as a .pdf and on YouCanMakeThis.com.  I packed them away in their baby boxes figuring there was a good chance they wouldn’t be worn again for 20+ years if that (I was going through a divorce at the time) so it was sheer joy when I found out we were having a girl last year and today almost 5 years later I was able to put one of the same dresses on Kenzie at just 7 months!

I was so excited to try it on that I didn’t even bother ironing it first!  I still love it just as much today and since I was able to track down some more of the fabric I may just have to make her one of her own in the next size up.  Anyway I just thought it was neat to look back at the pictures, it’s crazy to think the twins were 7 months older when they wore them!  They will fit Kenzie for a while but they were in the 25th % for height & Kenzie is in the 60th, lol.  While I do keep some hand me downs I had gotten rid of nearly all the twins baby clothes when I got divorced other then their baby box stuff and most of what I kept is the wrong season since they were spring babies, so it’s not often I get to see her in her big sisters clothes.

Kenzie Rae 7 Months April 2013

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The twins just shy of 5 years ago from the original blog post at the age of 14 months

Miss Carlie Paige!

Miss Baylie Ann!

Baylie on the left & Carlie on the right.  They LOVED sitting in their 2 bum ‘time out’ chair.

 

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And the winner is….

winner

Anina Duren says:

I’ve used a bunch of their stuff before, but haven’t made anything with the cowboy print yet!

 

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Anina will receive:

1 copy of ‘Baby Essentials Made Easy’ from Babyville Boutique. This is a 60 page book with over 30 projects using all different Babyville supplies as well as techniques and how to instructions with tips for using specialty items like PUL and snap pliers. This does NOT have a diaper pattern.

2 21″ x 24″ cuts of PUL fabric (red and white)

1 roll pink BBoutique Easy Adjust Tape

1 12 set pack of BBoutique EZ Adjust Tabs in boy & gender neutral colors (these are precut so the edges don’t fray as bad as most types of velcro)

1 2ct pack of sew on appliques (roses & pretty girl)

 

Thank you to everyone who entered!!!    Don’t forget to check out www.babyville.com or like their facebook page for the most up to date information on all their products!

Check back soon as I have more giveaways lined up including PDF pattern prize packs, fabric, craft supplies & more ;) .

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Thick 3 Bean Beef Crockpot Chili

With a little bit of research as well as trial and error (which makes my husbands stomach happy, lol) I have come up with this pretty simple crockpot/slow cooker chili! It goes together fast, is easy to cook and makes a great thick chili! Meat lovers can add 2lbs of meat and 3 cans of beans instead of 1 & 5, or bean lovers can add 6 cans & leave out the beef. You can also use Turkey instead or mix up the peppers adding half each or red, green, orange & yellow.  My family loves it with some freshly shredded cheddar on top and my 2 year old goes nuts if we say it’s ‘chilly’ in the house thinking we have mama’s CHILI, lol.

Kymy’s Thick 3 Bean Beef Slow Cooker Chili

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Minutes to Prepare: 30
Minutes to Cook: 480
Number of Servings: 32

Ingredients

      1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef (may substitute with ground turkey)
      1 Red onion diced
      1 Green bell pepper diced
      1 Red bell pepper diced
      2 Jalapenos diced
      2 Tbsp Garlic minced
      3 15oz cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
      1 can tomato paste
      2 15oz cans red kidney beans RINSED & DRAINED
      2 15oz cans white kidney beans RINSED & DRAINED
      1 15oz can black beans RINSED & DRAINED
      2 tsp Tabasco Sauce
      3 TbspChili powder
      1 Tbsp Ground cumin
      1 tsp Salt
      1 Tbsp Dried parsley
      1 tsp Dried basil
      1 tsp Ground black pepper
      1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
      1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika

Directions

In frying pan brown the grown beef.

Toss meat, onions & peppers in the crock pot with minced garlic, DRAINED & RINSED BEANS, diced tomatoes tomato paste and all the seasonings, mix to incorporate.

Cook for 8-10hrs on low in a 6qt crockpot. Best the next day ;)

Serving Size: Approx 1/2 cup servings

Number of Servings: 32

Nutritional Info

  • Servings Per Recipe: 32
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 178.9
  • Total Fat: 3.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 9.8 mg
  • Sodium: 928.2 mg
  • Total Carbs: 20.8 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 6.5 g
  • Protein: 11.1 g
Posted in Cooking & Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment