White Chili for the chill

Oh my goodness! It's not going to be 104 degrees today?! Break out the scarfs, mitts, and warm chili, because it's in the 70's my friends. Hooray!
Seriously, isn't it funny how after it's been hot for a really long time, like weeks long... make that months long, 78 degrees feels like winter. I'm sure that all of you whom are from the really cold regions just laugh at us Southern Californians with our knitted scarfs and crocheted beanies on when it's a chilly 78 degrees outside.

In anticipation and celebration of Autumn, below is one of my favorite recipes to make, which is White Chili. Not only is it a favorite for Autumn, but it's also a favorite dish I make for friends that are in need of a meal, be it a new baby, recovering from surgery, or just an excuse for a sweet visit. I must say (and I'm not braggin here), that I'm always asked for the recipe after someone tries it for the first time. I'm just sayin. Plus, my Great Aunt Josie whom I haven't seen in some time (lives in Arkansas), reads this blog and really liked my chocolate blueberries recipe post. My mom told her I have a good white chili recipe that she may be interested in. So, Aunt Josie, "This ones for you."

White Chili
It can be made in a pot, dutch oven, or the slow cooker (my favorite).

• 1/4 cup of Margarine or butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 4 cups of chopped chicken (I like to slow cook 3 to 4 big chicken breasts with 1 can of chicken broth. Once the chicken is fully cooked, I then shred the chicken with a fork and add all of the ingredients for the chili. Slow cook for at least 1 hour after that.)
• 3 cups of chicken broth (or 2 cups if you used 1 cup for cooking the chicken)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon of dried basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons of chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cans of great northern beans, undrained
• Tortilla chips and/or rice (optional)
• Cheese (optional)

1) Melt margarine and cook onion and garlic over medium heat (stir occasionally). Cook until onion is tender and clear.
2) Add remaining ingredients except cheese, chips, and/or rice. Stir.
3) If you are cooking the chili in a pot or dutch oven, bring chili to a boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 1 hour. For slow cookers, the longer you slow cook the better it will be.
4) You can serve it with tortilla chips or rice. My kids love it poured on top of white rice. Add cheese if you please.

If you are making it for kids you may want to leave out the onions and basil. My kids freak out when they see "leaves" floating around in their chili. Or, like the other day when my 3 year old asked me, "Mom, why you eat weaves?" I was eating a salad. I wuv weaves =)

Enjoy!

Jamie

Giveaway winners!

And the winners are (via random.org)...
Renee G - Rosie Dot Blue (Sept 21st @12:07 pm)
Wendy - Birdsong (Sept 21st @ 5:08pm)
Crystal - Centerpiece (Sept 24th @ 8:10 pm)
Winners, please email your shipping address to apronstreet{at}yahoo.com
Thank you all for entering the giveaway and for your funny, honest, and insightful comments regarding colorful tights. Here's my compromise...


Not too bright. Yes, it is a bit too young, but you only live once. When I'm lying on my death bed at a ripe old age I don't want to be thinking to myself, "I wonder if I ever could have pulled off wearing colored tights?" So here's to no regrets. However, the thought just occurred to me that possibly later in life, my kids may pull up this post and show me this picture with a what where you thinking look on their faces. Yes, then I do believe I may have regret.

Oh well =)

Cheers,

Jamie

A fabric giveaway hooray!

9/25/09 - Hello everyone! The giveaway is now closed. I will announce the winners on Monday. See you then =)

How about a Phat Fabric giveaway? It's been much too long since my last giveaway, so to make up for lost time there will be 3 winners randomly selected for this giveaway.

The details...
This giveaway is for 1 yard of any fabric at Phatfabric.com. International friends are welcome to enter.
3 winners will be randomly selected via a random number generator.

How to enter...
Leave a comment with the fabric of your choice AND (there's always an and) answer the following question: What do you think about the the trend of brightly colored tights worn with skirts and dresses? I'm 50/50. I like them on other people, but on me they add about 5 pounds and make me look like one of the munchkins from The Wizard of Oz. I find myself resisting the urge to sing The Lollipop Guild Song when I wear them. I should stay away from horizontal stripes shouldn't I?

Anywhoo... the giveaway will close on Friday the 25th of September 2009. I will announce the winners on the following Monday.

3, 2, 1, let the giveaway begin!

Jamie

The giveaway is now closed. The winners will be announced on Monday. Happy weekend to all!

I am what I make

Lets see... we have 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (if you count the polka dotted tulle) different fabrics going on here. Eclectic, craziness, spontaneous, fun - kind of like my week =)

It is funny how that works. I tend to make things that look very similar to how I feel. This past week I have had crafting A.D.D. I can't focus on one thing and instead I've started a whole bunch of projects. Throughout the week I divide my time between them all. This is strange for me, because I normally pour everything into one project until completion and then move on to the next idea. However, currently I am working on a couple of long term projects, which is probably the reason why I've started other quicker projects. I need those "little" victories throughout the week. But this week, I over estimated how many "little" victories I could complete, so here is my one victory. Hooray! I like it =)

The fabrics used in the apron are: Centerpiece, Nosegay, Vintage Dot (out of stock), and Oxford Stripe. The apron pattern... The Pretty Ditty Apron pattern. Can't forget that.

For those of you who have the pattern and would like to add the 3 tier ruffles, here is how you do it...

1) Cut 2 strips of fabric as you would for the ruffle in the directions. I wanted a wider ruffle on top so I cut it wider than the bottom ruffle. Finish the edges (I used a rolled hem stitch).
2) Gather the bottom ruffle as you would in the directions, but gather it along the top and not the middle.
3) Sew the top edge of the ruffle to the apron.
4) Sew the tulle above the bottom ruffle (see pic).

Note: When I attach the tulle, I just pinch it together and sew. Once the tulle is sewed on, I trim it to the desired length.

5) Attach the top ruffle the same way you did for the bottom ruffle.

That's it - not complicated at all! Just pure crafting fun and happiness.

This apron will be available in the shop this afternoon.

Cheers,

Jamie

Yoga... relaxing? Pfff!

And I wonder why I don't find yoga very relaxing. Yes, this is where I attempt to find a happy place while doing yoga. The only staging done here was moving the machine gun off my mat to take the picture. To add to the serene environment, my 3 little shooga boogs often sit on the couch and evaluate every yoga position I attempt to do from my Firm yoga DVD. The other day, while in some ungodly yoga pose, my daughter asked me, "Why do you always do the beginner's way?" My oldest son followed with, " Yeah mom! You can do better!" And before I knew it my kids where hooting and hollering, "Come on mom you can do it!" And chanting, "MOM-MEE! MOM-MEE! MOM-MEE!" All the while, due to my upside down-ness at the time, I noticed all of the dirt scattered throughout my tiled living room floor. Then there's the faint peaceful music playing in the background with the yoga instructor saying things like, "Focus on your breathing" and "you'll thank me later for this."
*Sigh*
I just can't seem to find that quiet, serene, happy place when attempting yoga =)

Jamie

I can remember...

...my husband calling me on the phone that particular morning and telling me to turn on the news.

I can remember all of the American flags that hung from the overpasses over the 5 freeway as I drove to my mom's house.

I can remember my husband calling a good friend of ours and asking if his family was OK. Our friend told us they couldn't get a hold of his brother who worked in the Twin Towers.

I can remember going to a football game the weekend after 9/11, and when they sang the national anthem... it had new meaning to me. Since 9/11, singing the national anthem is one of my favorite things to do at a football game.

I love my country =)

Jamie

My shirred skirt

"It looks very Vera Wang" said the sales lady at Anthro. Which means I missed the mark, because I was going for Anthro when I made the skirt and if a sales lady at Anthro tells you it looks Vera Wang then...Vera Wang it is =) I'm not very familiar with Vera Wang, but foxes, birds, and a shirred waistband aren't what I imagined Vera Wang to be. However, I do know this - she meant it as a complement and I'll be darned if I'm not flattered by any complement.

About the skirt...

Like I mentioned before, the waistband is shirred.

Pardon the sweater fuzz =)

I made the mistake of double lining it with Kona cotton black fabric and shirring the lining as well. The fabric is much too thick for what I was trying to do, but the thick fabric paired with thick tights will work great for the winter. I like winter skirts!

I think the pom poms are my favorite thing about this skirt. I like the fabric and all, but the pom poms are just pure happiness.

The fabric is Echino Leaf in black, which I'm not sure if the picture quite conveys the bright colors in the print. The hot pink and blue are borderline fluorescent. I am told by my nephews and niece that the 80's florescent colors are in.
I wonder if Vera Wang knows this?

Cheers,

Jamie

A not so scary Halloween apron.

Butterflies and cobwebs make a friendly Halloween combination. And what's a Halloween apron without tulle! Lots and lots of black tulle.

There's tulle for the bodice, tulle for the trim, and tulle for the waist ties.
Craziness!

So if you have the Pretty Ditty apron pattern, you too can make this Halloween apron. Simply follow the directions for the non-reversible apron, but instead of using fabric for the bodice piece, use 2 layers of black tulle. You can baste the layers together to prevent them from shifting. For the waist ties, cut them the length and width as indicated in the pattern. Gather one end of each waist tie and insert the waist ties into the waistband opening. For the tulle trim, cut the tulle the same width and length as indicated in the pattern for the ruffle trim. You can sew the tulle onto the apron the same way you would for the ruffle, or you can sew the top edge of the tulle to the back of the apron.
The great thing about working with tulle is that you really don't have to be precise. It just gathers up and hides any mistakes =)

The fabric is Echino and it's called Cobweb (link).

The Halloween Delight apron will be up in the Pretty Ditty shop this evening.

Happy Labor Day!

Jamie

Update: The apron has already sold. I may make another one, because I am addicted to that tulle.

Craft or crap?

The other day, I decided that we (my youngest and I) would take a little trip to Michaels craft store and stock up on some beads, embroidery floss, buttons, and other little crafty things. The following was my conversation with my little guy (3 years old)...

Me: Hey, lets put our shoes on and go to Michaels.

Little guy: We going to Michael's house?

Me: No, we're going to Michaels the craft store.

Little guy: A crap store???

Me: No, no, no! A crafffft store.

Little guy: Oh! What is in a craP store?

Me: It's craffft store and they have paint, paper, color pencils, and all sorts of crafts.

Little guy: They have crap there?!

Me: It's craaa..... You've been talking to your father haven't you? I bet he told you to say that about my store didn't he? Come on. Let's go buy some crap.

Jamie