Home Sweet Salsa Home

I went home to Indiana to visit my parents at the end of September, my favorite time of year there. Just a weekend trip. It was perfect, the weather, the company, the activities... all of it.

Standing on the parents back patio. (My dad's tornado proof shed)

hydrangeas still in bloom...

The only kids that are still at home.

On the way home from the airport we stopped at the American Countryside Farmer's Market. Beautiful! It's made of beautiful wood and has 3 floors of restaurants and shops full of home made items and home cooked goods (including a lot of goods from the Amish community). We had buffalo burgers for lunch, Yum!

Photo from here

There was a shop in the farmers market called "Sew Cute by Janet Bradburn", where I got this AMAZING purse.

It is machine washable, reversible, can be worn as a satchel purse of regular on the shoulder purse, and the POCKETS ARE TO DIE FOR! There are all kinds of fun prints, I went with a classic look so I could wear it with anything. Seriously favorite purse I've ever owned. When you pick it up, the straps automatically shut the top tight so nothing falls out and no one can see in your purse, when you set it down, the straps loosen and open the top.

A look at the inside. (Sorry, Didn't want to empty it out just for a picture) They use a whole pair of size 9 or larger jeans for the inside of the purse. There are pockets all the way around that are super deep. Everything has a compartment, the only thing in the big section is my wallet and glasses, no more digging for 5 minutes just to find my chapstick. Keys can be hooked on a belt loop. I have everything but the kitchen sink in here. LOVE IT!!!!

Then we were headed home to make salsa. Dad's famous salsa! I'm drooling just looking at the pictures.

Freshly blanched tomatoes, ready for peeling and slicing.

The master Chef himself, making some mean salsa.

Me and dad, hard at work. From 12:30 pm to 9:30 pm

Have I mentioned one of my favorite all time favorite snacks is Chips and Salsa- Good salsa.

The Salsa made it home safely on the airplane. Friends family and co workers who have sampled the salsa we made are begging me to share some more. I called Dad the first day back and said, "Well, the good news is, it's delicious! Bad news is, it's not going to last very long at all!"

Next: Can you guess?

Home Made Freezer Jam. Fresh berries. Flavors: Marion Berry, Iverness Berry, Raspberry.

Yum. Stocked up for the year. I'm already getting requests from those who tasted last year's jam we made.

Then we were off to visit Amish Acres! A fun attraction with shops, games, restaurant and theater revolving around the Amish culture.

The Inn at Amish Acres- wouldn't this be the coolest hotel stay?

The Round Barn Theatre. Dad said the shows in here are good.

Of course we visited all the shops at my request :)

I bought an Amish doll similar to this for my house, Notice how they don't have faces on them? Amish don't put faces on their dolls.

Everything was so country. Loved this-

And this-

You have to stand back and toss the ring that's hanging on the string and get the ring on the small hook on the post. Dad did it- I was amazed!

An after church picture. I was told I looked "very Floridian" with the huge-'ol flower in my hair.

Nothing quite like going home...

Landslide

At Kevan's company meeting after the dessert competition judging was done. They announced the winners. "And First place was a landslide, second place wasn't even close. KEVAN LOWE'S FRUIT PIZZA"

He won! New kid on the block took first place! There were about 30 people in the competition. The owner of the company commented to him, "Fruit Pizza huh? You won the whole thing with fruit pizza?" with a smile.
Husband got me these as a thank you for helping him.

Mama Mia!

I went with a girlfriend to see Mama Mia! the movie. It was a much needed break from my busy life. It was cheesy but in alot of parts the cheese was meant to be humurous. Very entertaining. I must say, I can't get the "Mama Mia! Here I go again! My My..." song line out of my head. I found myself tapping my feet and wanting to dance to a few songs, especially Dancing Queen! The "good movie" killer for me was Meryl Streep and Peirce Brosnan's attempt at singing. Bad. I'd give it a 2 1/2 star rating. I didn't walk out saying, "that was amazing", but left entertained and wanting to sing ABBA songs.

Open

Lovin' the typography of this sign. Sleekest looking Neon sign I've seen, that's for sure.

I snapped the sign pic at Pei Wei (Pay-Way). Kacey told me about this place. I LOVE and I mean LOVE P.F. Changs. Pei Wei is by the great powers that brought us pf changs. More casual, lower prices but same great taste. Love their beef and broccoli!

David Cook

This is who I was rooting for, since the top 10 or so. All around talent, his songs don't sound the same every week. The man can sing anything and do wonders with songs. Other favs- Always be my baby, Billie Jean, Music of the Night.

My favorite: All I Really Need Is You

White, It's Our Color

Both cars we have are white, so our goal was to choose another color (we like black but it gets too dang hot in Florida in the Summer), but the white civic looked the sharpest. So we are the proud new owners of a white Honda Civic. We have 50 miles on our car and the fuel gage still reads completely full. For that sheer fact alone I'm in love with this car (other reasons too). Reading more about them, there is practically no maitenance. THANKS for all your input on my previous post!

On kind of a funny note: When we drove it off the lot I asked hubby:

"Do you just LOVE your new car!?"

He replied, "Eh, I like it", moment of silence.

Me: "What?! We didn't pay this much money for you to "Like" it."

Hubby: (refferring to his 1993 BMW we traded in for the civic)

"I just gave away my baby, I loved that car, I will love this one, I just need time."

tehe. tehe. made me smile :)

Wicked!

If you don't know what it is about, it is about the life of the "Wicked Witch of the West" from The Wizard of Oz. The story of her life, how she came to be called the wicked witch. Her and Glinda were friends, she was a good person, there are some other great twists, definitely some "Ah hah!" moments, like how the tin man and scarecrow came to be, where she got her cool Witchy hat, etc.

I LOVED this play!! The best I've been to so far. A 2 1/2 hour play has been known to lull me to sleep. Not this one! I loved the story line, the music, the set was outstanding, and the costumes, all of it! The lead singer, Carmen Cusack gave me chills on several of her numbers. I loved the songs "For Good", "I'm not that girl", pretty much anything that "Elphaba" sang.
KC was good enough to invite me to go with (she can do killer impressions of Glinda :)). An experience of a life time for sure, it's sooo hard to get tickets. Thanks for the invite KC! My rating? 5 stars of course, go see it if you can.

How to Choose YOUR Perfect Sewing Machine

(my machine pictured above)

A little over a year ago I bought this amazing Machine. It's the Scandanavia 200 from Husqvarna Viking. It is computerized, but basic. It is considered a "work horse" because it was handmade in Sweden, with high quality parts, but doesn't have all the extra buttons and things I didn't think I would use. I've never had a problem with it and it's always sewn like a dream! It was a long process, deciding what to get. Here are some tips I learned: (I might be biased cause I LOVE the machine I got! Taking time to decide paid off!)

Some Things to remember when choosing your sewing machine:

Do your homework!
1. Where was the machine made?
Made in China usually means poor quality. Every brand has a lower end machines which =lower quality. One step up from that usually ensures better quality. For example, Bernina is made in Switzerland and Husqvarna have lowerend lines of machines that are made in China, and higher end lines that are made by little old men in Sweden. Higher quality parts= longer lasting machine. You need to do your homework to determine which line in the brand bumps the machines to higher quality.

2. Where can you take it if it breaks or you have a problem?
Buying your machine from a dealer located near buy eliminates headache. I can drop my machine off and they take care of everything, and I pick it up- that simple! It is worth eliminating the headache of finding a repair shop and finding someone that knows your brand of machine.

3. Ask people who sew if they like their machine.
If you ask an older, more seasoned seamstress, what kind of machine they have and if they like it, You'll get a more honest answer then from a salesman at the shop that is trying to push their product, and what's even better- chances are they've had more then one machine to compare brands and quality. Which worked best for them, what would they recommend? I got great advice from these ladies!

4. What do you want from your machine?
Are you expecting to sew clothes? quilt on it? I wouldn't use the embroidry much, so I opted out. I would however use lots of decorative stitches. I do more quilting and home decor then clothes, so it was important to me to have a quality stitch with out much hastle. A lot of machines come with bells and whistles to make them look exciting. Often times you have to choose which bells and whistles you want and would use most. Cutting out the things you won't often use can cut down greatly on the cost.

5. How much are you willing to spend?
Go in with a budget in mind. Determine the highest amount you are willing to pay and stick to it. There is always the "one step up will do these extra features". You can one step up it $7,000 worth of a machine, so be prepared to be strong. To get a good quality machine these days be prepared to spend at least $500-$800. That is for a good quality machine, that will last you for many many years. When you buy a machine for a couple hundered, it will last a few years, the quality of stitch and product turn out won't be as good, and you will have ALOT more frusteration. I've known people that learned to sew on a crappy machine, and in turn hated sewing. When placed on a basic, good quality machine, learned that sewing can be easy and LOADS of fun! Bottom line: It's worth it to pay more for good quality, you'll be a million times happier with your machine and every time you sew. p.s. A lot of dealers will set up a payment plan for you so you can get the machine you want and make payments to slowly pay it off.

6. A good deal
A good deal includes extras. Extra sewing feet or kits. After buying my machine I went in a few months later to buy a "walking foot" for quilting, and about had a heart attack. It was $120!! Ask about free sewing classes. At Husqvarna Viking free sewing classes are included. They teach you how to use all the features on your machine. Very cool!

7. Try it out!
Be wary of a place that won't let you try the machine. Most places who are confident in their machines will happily give you a demo of what the machine can do, and even let you set down and give it a whirl. Do just that! Try it out, does it feel right? Is it easy to use? Watch them thread the machine too(I picked up some good tips by doing that).

8. Take your time!
Do a little research on the internet reading the history of companies and reviews from users, visit multiple sewing studios. You'll be happier that you did, and in the end, go home with a machine you love and will last a long time!

Hope these tips help! It was a huge learning process for me to go through these steps!

Project Runway

I LOVE the show Project Runway. They have interesting challenges and fresh ideas on style. The first picture is the designer and the next two are a sample of their designs. To see more go here. The winner. Of the final collections, the one I thought had the most overall best designs was Rami. I would wear most of his.

Jillian-Love her dress too!


Rami


Christian

Give my regards to Broadway

I went to this Broadway Play the other night. It was good. It was set in 1928. It is a story within a story. The narrator tells the origins and story of the play. It comes alive in his living room as he listens to the music. He is very commical, though sometimes he makes inappropriate inuindos which I could do without. The cast was VERY talented, and boy could the leading lady sing! It was funny, and the music was good but not the kind that you walk out with the tunes stuck in your head, making you scramble on itunes to download your favorites.