Some random stuff

Sometimes there are these little random bits and pieces that I want to blog about, but either I forget, or I have other more interesting stuff to blog about, or it just doesn't seem like enough to warrant it's own post. I have some tidbits from the past few days like that.

One of our friends graduated from college this past weekend, and his family threw him a party. I woke up on Saturday morning and was all "OH CRAP" because I forgot to get him a gift and make a card. We suck. I made this one really quickly (font is JF Ringmaster) and we gave him cash tucked inside. I'm guessing since he's going to dental school that's what he's going to need more than anything.

I punched hearts from scraps using an old EK Success paper shaper punch and then just cut off the tops to make the flags on the bunting. There is linen twine sewn to the card by hand, so the stitches don't show, to make the connecting string.

I've been working on this bunting off and on for about a month now. I started by making the base flags from two different patterned papers, then punching circles from coordinating card stock to make the scalloped edges. There's a smaller triangle of solid card stock in the center of each flag, and the top has a border made from solid brown card stock that I punched using a Martha Stewart border punch. The pleated circles are pages from an old dictionary that I cut down, stuck together in long strips, and folded by hand. That part was the most tedious! I topped them with a circle of patterned paper and each flag got a Basic Grey chipboard letter (these were my favorites and I'm running out! boo hoo) that had been covered in platinum Stickles. This is the best way to cover chipboard with glitter, if you ask me, because you don't get all the glitter fallout everywhere.

As I was sticking the embellished pleated circles to the flags, I began to panic because I was one flag short. After looking everywhere and counting and recounting, I realized that I only made six flags to begin with.

That's right folks. I apparently have no idea how many letters are in my last name.

It wasn't just a matter of making another flag either, because of course, I was out of the pattern I needed. Even worse, this paper is several years old, (I believe it came out in Fall 07) which means it is no longer available for sale anywhere. After a frantic posting session on Facebook, I managed to find someone who had 2/3 of a sheet of that paper and she said I was welcome to have it. Thank goodness I know people who hoard paper like I do!

I stuck an oversized orange eyelet on each end of the brown strip, and then tied the flags together using green twill tape. There is orange rick rack on the ends. This came out way bigger than I had intended it to be initially, but I think I like it.

One of these days I'm gonna patch that nail hole in the wall above the mirror, I swear.

I have a friend who's daughter is in the ag. program in her high school. She read my post where I was griping about the cost of organic eggs, and told me that she had the hook up to buy good eggs for a really reasonable price, if I was interested.

Yeah, didn't have to tell me twice. Bubba and I headed down to the high school today and got an 18 pack of eggs. We got to meet the chickens who laid these eggs, and he got to feed them carrot tops. They're honest to goodness hand raised, cage free hens, so I'm happy that my eggs are coming from a good place now.

They also have a little garden back there, but since school is almost over, it's pretty much abandoned. She pulled up this bunch of baby carrots (REAL baby carrots, not the fake chlorinated crap they sell at the grocery store) and I got those for free too, along with those teeny tomatoes. I cut most of them up, and sautéed them along with an onion, a whole bunch of garlic, and half of an enormous zucchini that a neighbor gave me. (She knows someone with a garden, so I get little presents like that from her occasionally.) I tossed in some chicken, and when it was done, I combined that mixture with some quinoa and loads of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. It was really good, and besides, how fun to think that part of my dinner was in the ground that morning?

I took the other half of that zucchini, along with the second one that she brought me, and made some zucchini bread after dinner. Bubba helped, of course. I used Jaimee Rose's recipe, because it calls for the zucchini to be pureed instead of grated. Not only is this so much easier to do, it doesn't leave the little green flecks in the loaves that will freak out your zucchini-hating husband. I plan on taking a few mini loaves over to my neighbor to thank her for the squash.

You can see my ice cream maker in the background next to the knife block. I had some blackberry sorbet going in there. Blackberries were on sale for 88 cents a pint! I used Chloe's strawberry sorbet recipe, only substituting three pints (or whatever those little containers they come in are) for the big container of strawberries and using fresh squeezed orange juice.

And finally, I've been playing this online. It's so gross and terrible, yet I'm hopelessly addicted. I suppose it doesn't hurt that I have the sense of humor of a twelve year old boy sometimes.