I Hate Labels But I LOVE Me Some Lace!

I really do hate labels or labeling people or things but I must label myself.  I have had a "recent" obsession with things that are opposite.  Meaning I am one of "those girls" that likes to put a little good in with the bad....like a little bad boy in my wonderfully awesome hubby....like a little yin with my yang.....like a little sun peaking through on a rainy day.  I have to admit that I don't mind a little bad news mixed with my good news.  I know odd eh?!  LOL  I only say "recent" with the quotation marks because you know that this is something that just does not happen over night, it is something you are born with.  Cue the Lady GaGa music......

I definitely don't take myself as a girly girl at all.  The only day in the past 6 years that I have worn a dress was on my wedding day (and it was black and white polka dots....go figure!).  I have bought one skirt during this time and it still hangs in my closet with the price tags on it.  Wait, I did buy another skirt but it was for the fabric so I took it apart.  But I have this obsession with flowery fabrics and lacy, girly materials.  If I see something that even resembles shabby chic, I have to have it.  When my friend Dawn and I go fabric shopping (often), she knows what "Lisa prints" are and I know what "Dawn prints" are.  She is a very mod type of girl and I can pick out a color or print that I know she will just die for.  See, another yin and yang (love ya Dawn!).  

So that brings me to my point, I have this project that I saw out on Pinterest that I really want to make and can't get out of my mind.  It was a bag made of canvas with a beautiful lace border.  Now that I have my embroidery machine, I have the ability to find that perfect lace, make it myself and add it to that bag....YEAH ME!  So check out my pic below...I am making the lace now!!!

Thanks to Mike over at Sew for Less and his Aqua Lace stabilizer, this is an extremely simple job because this stuff will just dissolve to nothingness when I put it into water.  I love it!  Now for the record, I am not being paid to advertise for Sew for Less or endorse their products, I am just excited about this whole new world and the fun tools that have been opened up to me through embroidery.  Sew for Less is a local store and I support local shopping! :)  Here's to hoping I have a finished bag soon.  Dawn....I may need your help on that bag! LOL

Until next time,
Mamalou

My Latest Culinary Adventures

As I can admit out loud.....I am addicted to Pinterest and make zero excuses for it.  I now have officially 99 followers and 25 boards, everything from my love for shabby chic to culinary masterpieces.  So, this week I have tried out my culinary skills on a few of the recipes and I have to say, experimentation is good.  Also, making bread from scratch is not nearly as tedious as I imagined but never, ever choose the hottest day of summer to try it!

My first recipe that I went for was a bread item, namely pretzels.  I honestly had no idea how easy, theraputic, and well, inexpensive it is to make pretzels.  I normally would take a long drive down to Gus' when I have a severe craving for them but this would definitely be cheaper than the gas.  Keep in mind that I did this all by hand and it was incredibly simple.  I used the "Martha Recipe" which consisted of flour, water, yeast and sugar.  That is it!  I know huh, crazy.  They turned out fantastic and were loved by the family.  I even made some little mini pretzels that Marcus could hold on to.  Check out the pics below and follow this link for the recipe I used Pretzels

Twisted

Boiling

Ready for the oven

Different sizes

The finished product!  YUMMM!

Next, I made another bread item but it was for breakfast on Sunday morning.  Of course I had to follow a recipe from Paula Deen that I had pinned for Gorilla Bread.  It was incredibly easy and a nice spin on the traditional canned biscuit Monkey Bread with cream cheese being placed in the middle of each biscuit before baking.  It was good but very, very sweet and rich.....a little too much for me but I tried it and that is what is important. Below are the pics.

patted out biscuit with cream cheese

First layer

Ready for oven

Out of over, ready to be flipped

Flipped and done!

Stay tuned to see what is next cause I have an old clock that has DIY written all over it!

Mamalou