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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

WIP Wednesdays: Week 4

WIP Wednesdays with Tami's Amis:  

Status quo here.  I did not get any knit/crochet work done this week.  I was too busy prepping for Babygirl's first birthday party.

I did pull my Mistake Rib Vest out of hibernation though.  I'm hoping to finish up some of the UFOss I have hanging around.  It's a nice mindless knit so I'm hoping it will be good for the evenings.  My knit group meets Friday so I promise to have something for next week :)

Monday, February 27, 2012

Busy Busy!

It's been busy around here!  Little Miss Monster celebrated her First Birthday, we had family visiting for the party and we celebrated Daddy's birthday as well.  Posts about the party will be coming shortly.  Right now we are trying to get back into the swing of things.

I've got two reviews and giveaways coming up within the next few weeks.  Make sure you're following the blog so you can enter!

Now that the party is behind us, it's time to start planning the garden.  Do you garden?  What do you plant?  Can/freeze anything?  I'd love to hear about it.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

WIP Wednesdays: We've almost got a hat!

Week 3:                                                           Tamis Amis

Still working on Bellatrix Socks by Monkeytoes. (Ravelry link) I'm using my own Dog Gone Yarns, colorway Vampy. Frogged back to the beginning of the leg.  Now working on 00s.  I've done about 2 rows since last week. 

                                                                        

Concentrating on this for Babygirl.  Almost done, just have to knit the buckle and weave in the ends.  Babygirl will be sportin' this hat come March 1st!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Healthy Eating: French Onion Pasta

The first time I got Little Miss Monster to eat pasta!  (Of course it was the pasta that Daddy made =)

Both hubs and I are trying to lose weight.  He's on Weight Watchers and is doing very well.  Me...not so much.  I do well when we eat together (dinner).  It's  during the day (breakfast/lunch) that gets me. Instead if eating meals, I'm picking, or grabbing whatever I can on our way out the door.  Not good, I know....I'm working on it.

Anyway, here's a recipe that my husband came up with the other night:

French Onion Pasta

4 cups cooked whole wheat pasta
1 large onion (red or white) sliced thin
16 oz no fat beef stock
8 slices turkey bacon
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt, pepper, thyme to taste
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (lowfat part skim)

Directions:
Crisp turkey bacon in pan and remove from heat.  Cook pasta to just before al dente.  Add oil and onion to bacon pan.  Saute until transparent.  Tirn up heat and add stock.  Drain pasta and put in pan.  Do not rinse pasta before adding to pan, the starch helps thicken the sauce. When the sauce coats the pasta it is done.  Add salt, pepper, thyme to taste and portion into four bowls.  Top each portion with 2 oz mozzarella cheese and two slices of chopped bacon.

8 points plus per serving

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Bzz Review: Ristorante Pizza


My husband and I enjoy having pizza for dinner.  Sometimes we make it, sometimes we order in, but when we are really short on time we reach for the frozen kind.

I was invited to the Bzz Campaign for Dr. Oetker Ristorante Pizza.  In exchange for my review I was given coupons for two free pizzas (to review) and some $1.50 coupons to share with my friends.

My husband and I tried Pizza Speciale and Pizza Vegetale.

What we loved:
*the pepperoni was not greasy
*the thin crispy crust
*the vegetables tasted fresh.  We were impressed how the peppers and tomatoes held up.
*The pizzas cooked quickly!  Great, since we were having a rough evening with a teething baby.

What we would have liked:
*a little more cheese on the vegetable pizza

My biggest concern: the price.  The pizzas were $5.99 each in my area, a bit more than I'd normally pay for a frozen pizza considering we need two for dinner.  For that price I could order a pie, get it delivered and have leftovers.  However, since the taste was so great I will keep an eye out for coupons so I can get a few of these to keep in the freezer for a quick meal that tastes great.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

WIP Wednesdays: Take Two!

Week 2: Jumping in on the fun hosted by

Tamis Amis

Still working on Bellatrix Socks by Monkeytoes. (Ravelry link) I'm using my own Dog Gone Yarns, colorway Vampy.  More frogging than knitting this week.  I turned the heel and started up the leg only to find it was way too wide.  Not surprising considering all teh pattern notes I read on Rav.  I frogged back to the end of the heel and took a trip to my LYS with a friend.  Picked up some 00s but haven't gotten back to knitting yet.

Started this for Babygirl.  Hoping to have it done for St. Patty's Day so the socks are going to take a back seat for a while.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Love Is In The Air

Babygirl and I attended her first Valentine's Day party.  Most of the other kids there were around three, but there was an eight month old for Babygirl to play with.  They were very cute.  The two of them just kept crawling to each other and touching each other's faces.  Interesting to watch.

Everyone was supposed to bring homemade Valentine's.  Seeing as Babygirl has limited crafting ability these days, Momma got busy making these You Make My Heart Glow Valentine's by the Teacher Wife. I forgot how relaxing coloring is. I am seriously considering picking up a coloring book next time I go out =)

This week we've been reading all Babygirl's books about love.  Today we are hanging with some friends and then will have a quiet dinner with Daddy to celebrate our first Valentine's Day as a family.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

WIP Wednesdays!

Jumping in on the fun hosted by 

                                                                        Tamis Amis

This week's WIP is Bellatrix Socks by Monkeytoes. (Ravelry link)  I'm using my own Dog Gone Yarns, colorway Vampy.  Knitting these days is slowgoing.  I'm still on sock #1 at the heel right now.  I've made some changes and am doing the sock toe-up instead of cuff down as the pattern is written.  Toe-up is the only way I will do socks at this point.  I started these February 1st or 2nd.  I'm hoping to have them done by the end of the month.  We shall see.



Picture will be posted later.  Apparently my computer and camera are not on speaking terms this morning :(

Monday, February 6, 2012

Mission Accomplished!

Babygirl is now the proud new owner of a winter cape!  While surfing the net I stumbled upon this tutorial.  It was just what I needed. In order to make it a bit warmer for our (normally) cold New York winters I doubled the fleece.  And successfully used my sewing machine without cursing and having to call on my sewing guru neighbor ;) Please excuse the funky fabric, it's what I had in the craft closet.  I plan on getting some girly fabric and making two more for LLM.  Another one which is doubled, with a hood, and a single layer one for the Spring/Fall.

First step: Cut 2 40x40 pieces of fabric (based on LLM's measurements and the fact that I wanted a double cape.)



Next step: Following pattern directions fold the squares into quarters, measure out and cut.



This next step was a bit tricky because I had a helper....
Line up the two fabrics and pin together. 





Finally: Sew the fabric pieces together.  And WA-LA, babygirl has a cape!




I am planning to attach Velcro as a closure but am waiting to get a better idea of fit.  I made mine large enough so that we can also use the cape next year.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

First FO of the New Year: Little Miss Monster's Poncho

Crochet hook and yarn to the rescue!  After attempting to make a carseat poncho out of fleece and failing miserably I pulled out some yarn and a crochet hook.  I needed something NOW for LLM to wear on top of her fleece jacket when we take her out.  Yarn and needles/hooks are my friends, fabric...not so much.  As stated before I will get back to the fleece poncho, but it's going to take time for me to figure it out.



I was able to crochet a poncho for LLM rather quickly to give her an added layer of warmth when she goes out.  I used this pattern and Lion Brand Suede yarn.