So I have made the move back to the Caribbean, but am still waiting for my sewing machine to show up. That means no sewing for now. But I intend to find some fabric stores here and make some purchases. I want to get started on some Christmas gifts asap so I am not rushing the last minute.
The eating clean is going well, before I left I made a great dinner for my parents. The roasted pork with apricots tasted great. I will be making it again soon. It was very easy to make, and really didn't take too long for prep, maybe 20min. I am sure that if you had more practice it would be faster. I highly recommend it. I got the recipe from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook. Even my Dad liked it and he is a grumpy eater. I tried to get him to eat flax once and he wasn't hearing it. He doesn't like "rabbit food". I also made my first lasagna with tofu today. I can't wait to try it out.

Here in the Caribbean pumpkin is a major staple, and I have never really cooked with it before. I mean we all have had pumpkin pie from the can, and hey don't forget Halloween. But as for actually buying a pumpkin and cooking it... well no. So I braved a new world guided by my trusty eat clean diet book and made my very first pumpkin soup. OH MY GOSH! IT WAS GREAT!! I had to modify the recipe quite a bit because I didn't have all of the ingredients but it turned out great. So here is my modified eat clean pumpkin soup recipe.
Pumpkin Soup
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups chicken broth (or veggie)
1/3 cup unsweetened evaporated milk (optional)
1 cup fresh cubed pumpkin (peeled and seeded)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup sweet potato
1/2 cup apple (peeled and seeded) approx 1 large apple
1/2 cup baby carrots
1/2 tsp of celery salt
1/2 Italian seasoning

Method
1. On a cookie sheet spray Olive Oil Pam (or other low fat cooking spray). Place cubed apple pumpkin, carrots, and sweet potato. Roast at 350 F until golden.
2. While roasting, add olive oil to a small frying pan and saute garlic and onion until soft and translucent. Then add broth and bring to a boil. Add celery salt and Italian season. Simmer on med for 10 min.
3. Add roasted veggies to broth and let simmer for 15 min on med-low heat
4. using a hand blender or food processor puree soup mix. For a creamy taste add evaporated milk or cream.
5. Serve HOT!

You can also freeze this for later or add squash instead of pumpkin.

The Blouse

Can you believe I have only been at this for 2 1/2 weeks? Can you say duck? can you say water? I think you can!! Well I can anyway. And I have to tell you I am having a great time. I even went out and bought myself some pinking sheers! I know I know crazy stuff. I swear I have spent too much money on this hobby. But I am getting some real fun out of it. there is something to be said for following some directions (and not screwing it up aka- Dad's pj pants that we so big that 2 of him would get inside--and then slimming them down too much so now my sister-in-law has them- PS that was a 4 yard of fabric disaster! But now my nephew and sister-in-law have matching pants, and maybe my other nephew too!) BUT once you DO get the idea right, you have some nice pj pants and the wear with all to go out and do something daring! And when it all works out and you read and follow and measure twice and cut once, you have dare I say it... A BLOUSE!!
A Genuine Honest to God some what stylish blouse with darts and everything... and can you believe that I finally got a strait line on there! YUP! OMG I am crazy. So I found this fabric on sale... I am big on the sale fabric. And I loved it, I liked the way the flowers just exploded! I immediately thought skirt, but while looking through my new sewing bible, i thought blouse! and measured out the sleeves so it would have flowers flowing from my wrists. It kind of reminds me of the 70's. But I love it. An of course when you have the open neck the big flowers show through, a little ribbon detailing and VIOLA! I am a sewing goddess, and for real this time! Now the goal is to perfect the skills. I can't wait to make one of these for my friend Jen and more gifts for others. Now I just need to find some things to do with left over fabric.

Yoga Bag

So by now your wondering who is this girl? Well obviously I am not going to put up some profile that says my name, shoe size, long walks on the beach, yadda yadda yadda. But I am going to give you a little more. I am turning 30 soon. I am hyperventilating thinking about this. 30! And by soon I mean in April, but still I have all these dreams of places I thought I would be when I was 30, and I am not even close. So I have made myself a little pact. This year, well it is about making me better. Lighter(by 10lbs), healthier, craftier, smarter, and by the end maybe even debt free. To that end I have started to do things that I have always wanted to do. Write (aka the blog), scuba (so amazingly fun), and learn to sew and cook. But not just do these things, but do them well. So to that end here is my beginning.
This is the only "real" picture of me I plan to put up. But this was my first dive and I have done many since. I happen to live in the Caribbean during the year, so I am privileged to be able to indulge in this great sport. And believe me it is a sport! when that current hits! Wow!

So I have gone out and bought a yoga kit! But what cute yoga girl can walk around without a yoga bag! I made this bag fairly easily and I made it so that my water bottle would have it's own compartment. Now who is going to be as cute as me? I tell ya, now if I can just manage to look as put together doing the yoga as I do when I am dressed for it, I would be pleased. I seriously look like someone in the midst of a seizure when I am doing yoga, everyone else is so coordinated, and I look like the I am dancing the funky chicken.And I am not even doing that well. It is sad. But I am trying! Eventually I will do better? Right?

My Wrap Skirt

Today I made my first skirt. Thank you for your applause. I used the pattern from my new book, and I think it worked out quite well. This was my first time using a pattern (and fudging it to make it fit). I think that the secret to sewing is knowing when and where to fudge a pattern. Well, that and sewing a strait line (still working on it). The pattern called for 2 1/2 yards of fabric. I only had 2. So rather than cutting out 6 skirt panels, I only cut 5, and reduced the length, increased the waist. If you buy the book you will see what I mean. The bonus of this is that I am short and this can easily be done, if you are tall, then maybe not. I still have to hem this skirt, but over all I am pleased with it.

Of course never being one to take the easy road, I used a plaid fabric with Lycra in it. Not a recommendation. I won't do that next time. I think I would use a simple cotton. But I loved the colours and I just had to try it out. This will be a great work skirt, and super comfy in the hot, hot weather.

Recycle

Going green is fun! Well I think it is anyway. I have been looking for a good recycling project to add to the blog. I found one! I once had a boyfriend who had this super great pillow on his bed made from an old sweater. His mom made it for him, and is was so soft. I loved it! Alas I did not love the boyfriend and we parted ways, but I will always remember the pillow! (What a sad commentary on my love life.) But I digress, my mom had this old white sweater that had seen better days, and had shrunk a few times in the wash. I few cuts with my handy dandy rotary cutter and some white thread and presto! One comfy cushion for her chair, completely washable, very soft, and eco-friendly! No zippers, this envelope pillow is great, and a proud testament to my new hobby. Now because this is made from a sweater, I didn't quite follow the pattern I have linked. In fact I used three separate cuttings from the sweater, one 12" across and the other two (the back part to make the envelop) 7" across. I did this to fit the pillow and because of the sleeve placement on the sweater. It worked out great!

Orange

My Nephew (he is three) is obsessed with the colour orange. EVERYTHING must be orange. My sister-in-law, loves his enthusiasm, perhaps is a bit tired of the colour. So when I made my first attempt at a basket (which turned into a bag) it HAD to be orange. In thoughtfulness to my sister-in-law I made sure that it was not ALL orange. So I chose this orange and brown fabric, with orange lining. The bag works out well and my nephew calls it his purse! How cute, I love three. Now above being obsessed with the colour orange, he also wants to help, cooking, dishes, you name it. He loves putting on his "apron", which is basically a dish rag with a clothes pin holding it together. Enter the sewing auntie. Inspired by my newest book purchase Weekend Sewing- by Heather Ross I made him an apron. Now I didn't actually use her pattern, because the pattern was designed for an adult, I simply looked at the basic format and adapted my own. But without her book I could have been stuck. Also there are great patterns in there that I intend to try out as the blog continues. But until I can sew in a strait line I think I should continue on small projects. I used up leftover fabric from the baskets and ribbon to tidy up the edges a bit. The pocket is for his little people who follow him places, or perhaps an orange spoon.

There are a couple of new additions to my sewing materials. Things after searching the net and reading a few books I discovered I needed. I am super pleased with them too! My new rotary cutter, cutting pad, and book. The book, as mentioned above has 40 great patterns in it, sewing ideas galore! My new cutter was a steal at $10, and my cutting board another steal at $17. Hey I love a sale. Not to mention the board matches my machine. Not on purpose but a cute thing none-the-less. Also in the picture I put an embroidery project on to show that I can do it! Also that eventually I hope to get better at this stuff. Happy sewing!

Project #2

Okay project #2. I thought napkins were too easy and this great basket project looked useful. But before I ran out and spent cash on some great fabric (I foresee me being a fabric whore) I though I would use some fabric remnants to try is out, it worked but the project was VERY small. But after trying in 3 more times I got it to work. My Nephew loves it and carried his legos in his orange "purse" but it is a basket. A few helpful tips I discovered... keep the 8cm seam. Unless you want a nice BIG base, keep it to 8 cm. Also, if you sew the two pieces (the lining and the outside) together at the base, not only does this make things neater, but it also makes the lining stay put when you flip it. I also put in a piece of cardboard to keep the base nice and flat. when I asked at the store what "stabilizer" was.. she told me I didn't need it... no matter what anyone tells you, use stabilizer, otherwise you do end up with a purse. =) Overall this was a great project and I hope to have pictures soon. But I will leave you with my prototype photo... excuses the ghettoness of it again only my second time using my machine!