Play.

LB got her kitchen! My Dad has been making this for her since before Christmas. He works ridiculously long work weeks and doesn't have much time to dedicate to projects such as this. B didn't know the difference. I think she was just happy to receive something so special. She keeps asking me if her Pawpaw Dan and Mawmaw Pam made this for her. They really did a beautiful job. There is a stainless steel sink, with working knobs, a stove with four eyes and knobs that turn, as well as one for the oven. Speaking of the oven, it has a window for viewing the contents, an oven rack and a pizza stone. There is a two-shelf cabinet under the sink and a shelf that runs across the top. Pegs on the top shelf hold pot holders and cups. There is also a small shelf for her salt and pepper and a clock with moveable hands. Every single piece of it was hand-crafted. Some of the knobs are even made from burled wood found on my grandparents' farm. How cool is that?

So the 10-day challenge is winding down. There has been a mostly positive response to the experience on the part of the participants, although there is some concern that it is too long. On the whole though, we have all enjoyed it, although we will also enjoy a break from the constant listing and blogging. So, without further ado, here is my listing for the day:

Sincerely Monogram A (Thank You Card Set)



Today I am featuring L Whelan designs, one of the challenge participants with an awesomely bright shop. I love her motto: "It's not perfect. It's perfectly handmade." Who wants perfect? That's what machines produce! Give me handmade any day. Lynn makes accessories and paper goods from Lily Pulitzer fabrics, giving her shop an extremely colorful palette. Here's her most recent listing:

Think Pink Card



And my current favorite:

Nautical Tags, Set of 2, Great For So Many Things

Strawberries, Ceiling Fans and Etsy, Oh My!

I know I'm weird, and I think that makes it okay. Doesn't it? We've just wrapped up a wonderful weekend here in L'ville. We had some family visit and enjoyed their company. We also were the beneficiaries of their expertise in a couple of areas. Pam, my stepmother, helped me with some sewing and then repotted all of my house plants. My Dad, Danny, wired in a ceiling fan in our bedroom and wired our generator. It wasn't all work though. We went to a local used/remaindered bookstore and spent a long, long time looking at books, reading said books, including many to LB, and, today, went to visit my sister. She lives out in the country and has a nice garden, so she offered to let us pick strawberries. Yum! Brennan tasted her first warm strawberry fresh off of the vine (my sister didn't use pesticides on the plants) and was hooked. The pic is of the strawberry juice running down her leg. She had it everywhere, her face, hands, shirt, legs and feet were covered with stains. She had a blast!

So I've been barely making it each day with the 10/10/10 challenge. Here I am again blogging at 11 PM. I did list earlier in the day in the hopes of getting more traffic. I haven't had any sales yet during this challenge (The last time I did one, I had four sales.), but have had more traffic and received some hearts. It's been fun, despite whatever sales it might generate. That said, I should move on to today's item.

Small Thank You Note



Today I am featuring jemily, who has a gorgeous etsy shop full of bright and cheery cards that I would definitely enjoy receiving. Here's her most recent listing:

Thinking of You Card



And my current favorite in her shop:

So Thoughtful Card

Nostalgia

(I couldn't resist including a picture of my garden. I love it so.)

I know that is an odd title for a blog post. However, it relates to the seller I am featuring for the 10/10/10 challenge. Her shop makes me nostalgic for a time that I didn't even experience. Cool, huh? Scroll down to see some of her work.

Here's my listing for the challenge:

Cheery Birthday



Today I'm featuring Percival Road Designs, a shop offering collaged and handmade paper goods. You'll find a wide variety of items in a plethora of styles.

Here's the most recent listing in the shop:

Two Elegant Vintage Girl Gift tags - Sun Burst



And here is my current favorite item:

Sweet Greeting Collage Card - First Flowers of Spring

Just in Time

Ack! I almost forgot to list my challenge item and update the blog. It's been a crazy day, but a good one. My parents are here visiting and LB has really been wound up. My dad made her an awesome kitchen for a Christmas gift, but didn't quite finish it on time. He brought it with him this visit and that is basically all she did all day. It's absolutely beautiful and I am so psyched that she loves it so. I'll post pics tomorrow. For now, here's what I've been up to:

Leaves Fall from the Tree



And here are the items I'm featuring from Pinky Creations, one of the other challenge members:

The image below is of her most recent listing.

Circle Thank You Card



And this one is my favorite item in her shop.

You Are the Light of My LIfe



How cool is this card? It's such a unique idea and executed so well. She makes being green appear so elegant. Check out her shop for some great ideas such as this one, as well as some beautiful gift tags.

This and That

I've been doing a bit of this and that today, laundry, reading, sewing, listing, blogging and on and on. I'm sewing a rag quilt bag for my stepmother for her crochet supplies. She enjoys taking her work along when she travels or just goes to the doctor, so I thought it would be nice if she had something nice to take along with her. This was supposed to be a birthday gift in March and then a Mother's Day gift this month, but, as usual, I am woefully behind. Although, fortunately, I am not full of woe. I am feeling jealous this week. My sister/brother-in-law and niece are at the beach. LB hasn't yet been and I would love to take her. However, we've dedicated all of our vacation time this year to camping and home repairs, renovations. We still have yet to finish the stairs or the playroom. We've been doing a lot of work outside and neglecting the projects we began inside. This is normal for us; we are easily distracted. We are planning to go to Blackwater Falls for our camping trip this month, Mammoth Cave in July and Cumberland Falls in August. We love Blackwater and would move to Davis if we could, but haven't yet been to the two other places. BTW, the picture is of Paige, Jeff and Mea at the beach. Paige is seven months pregnant and looks at least 10 times better in a bikini than I do right now! Mea loves it and is often heard screaming, "I love the beach!"

On to other news...the 10/10/10 challenge is going really well. Everyone seems to be sticking to the parameters. I have really enjoyed getting to know some of the members of the Etsy Greetings Street Team and seeing all of their work. There are so many people on etsy that it is impossible to view everything. I posted my item of the day this morning:

Fabric Thank You Cards



Today I have decided to feature Cara's Scrap 'N Stamp Art. She has a huge selection in her shop, with a variety of products. This is her most recent listing:

Baby's Christening Card



And this is my favorite listing in her shop:

Premade Baby Boy Onesie Scrapbook Album



Please take the time to check out her shop, as well as the shops of the other challenge participants!

10/10/10

Ten Etsians for Ten Days with 10% off...

That's even more dramatic, don't you think? Some of us in the challenge have decided to offer ten percent off. You'll need to see the original shops for details, as everyone is handling it a bit differently. I'm giving 10% off any of the cards that I list for the challenge to anyone who posts a comment on this blog. Just convo me on etsy and let me know you have done so. Since the challenge runs through June 3, I'll honor this offer for anyone who comments by midnight on June 4.

Here's today's item for the challenge:

Repeating Congratulations



I also want to point you in the direction of another challenge participant, "Scrapbook Completed." This seller is also offering 10% off on the items she has listed during the challenge and has a section for these cards on her front page. Here is her most recent challenge listing:

Flower Girl Card



This is my favorite item in her shop:

2 Card Collection, Spring Trees



Check her shop out!

New Challenge - 10 Etsians/10 Days

Does that sound dramatic? I was imaging music from Star Wars or was it Star Trek? I don't know, it was one of those star movies. Anyway, ten members of the etsy street team, Etsy Greetings, myself included, have decided to list at least one item for ten days on etsy.com. We will then post a link to that item on our blogs, as well as a link to an item of one of the other participants. We're going to be holding each other accountable, so we'll also be checking each other's shops and blogs daily. Whew! Sounds like a lot of work, huh? All in the name of marketing! Links to the etsy shops of each participant are to your left. From there you can find information about their blogs and other etsy shops (if they have either, not all do). I'm offering 10% off on the cards I list in the challenge to those who comment on this blog. This offer expires on June 3rd.

Here's my item for today:

Blue and Orange and Brown...Mmmm (Blank Greeting Card)



This is the challenge member I am profiling for the day:

IsabellaFlora Elegant Greeting Cards
By a Father and a Daughter

Isabella and her ninety-one year old father find inspiration from flowers and botanicals. Together they make classically beautiful greeting cards. Isabella is a watercolor artist and her father is the photographer. Below I posted links to both her "item of the day" and my favorite item in her shop.

Pink Petticoats Card



Oak Leaves Card



Please check out her shop, as well as those of the other challenge participants!

What Do Vegans Eat?

Reading the "Passionate Vegetarian" got me in the mood to post some recipes I have been planning to share for a little while. I made this meal last week. It's a favorite in our household and isn't difficult to make. The tempeh recipe comes from the Candle Cafe Cookbook by Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza. The Candle Cafe is an awesome restaurant in New York City that Tim and I were obsessed with while living there. It was small and sometimes required a wait, but it was totally worth it. The seitan chimichurri was our absolute favorite. It's out of this world. If you're ever in NYC, be sure to check it out. The recipe I used from the cookbook is "Cornmeal Crusted Tempeh" and can be found on page 121 of the cookbook. I also made steamed kale and smashed sweet potatoes, which are my own very simple recipes. The recipes for all three are at the bottom of this post. Yes, I ate that much kale. I love kale, but probably not as much as my friend Erin. She rhapsodises about kale on Facebook frequently. She's headed to Tbilisi next month. I hope she'll be able to find plenty of kale while there.

Update on "First Darling of the Morning:" I've read two chapters and it is breaking my heart. I had to make myself put it down.

The etsy challenge is almost to an end, but, alas, there is no reason to worry. I'm starting a new challenge Monday with quite a few of my etsy street team, etsygreetings, members. We will all be posting items every day and keeping our readers updated every day. We will also be featuring items from one another's shops. Here's my item of the day, just posted in my etsy shop.

A Gift


Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh (Serves 4)

2 8-ounce packages, tempeh, each cut into thirds
1/2 c shoyu or tamari sauce
3 T maple syrup
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 slices of fresh ginger
1/2 cup medium-to fine-ground cornmeal

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teasoon ground cumin
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

2. Place the tempeh in a baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the shoyu or tamari sauce, 1/2 cup of water, the maple syrup, garlic, and ginger and pour over the tempeh. Cover and bake for one hour. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Drain and cut the tempeh into halves or triangles.

3. In a large shallow bowl, mix together the cornmeal, red pepper flakes, thyme, oregano, cumin and sea salt. Dip the tempeh pieces intot he cornmeal mixture to coat.

4. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Cook the coated tempeh until golden brown, about a minute per side.

5. Remove from the heat and serve at once.

Steamed Kale (Serves 4)

2 bunches of kale, cleaned and chopped
1/4 cup of water
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
oil and crumbs left at the bottom of the pan the tempeh was fried in

1. Place the kale in a large pot with the water and cover. Steam on medium heat, turning often with tongs. You must watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn.

2. As it begins to wilt, add salt and pepper.

3. Once the kale is fully wilted, drizzle the oil and crumbs over the top of the kale and serve.

Smashed Sweet Potatoes (Serves 4)

4 medium yams or sweet potatoes, quartered
water
soy margarine to taste

1. Fill a large saucepan with water and add sweet potatoes. Cook over medium-high heat until fork tender.

2. Drain potatoes and smash, using a pastry blender.

3. Add butter and stir until well-combined. Serve.

Books I'm Reading

Yes, I'm reading a cookbook. I love reading cookbooks generally, but this one is full of stories that are associated with each recipe or section of recipes. Most of them relate to the origins of the recipe or to the small town where Crescent Dragonwagon once ran a Bed and Breakfast and developed many of these recipes. I haven't read enough to justify a full on review, but, so far, the book is really entertaining and the recipes look wonderful. Most of them are simple and don't require specialized ingredients. I can't wait to try her version of wilted lettuce! Here's an excerpt from the publisher's comments:

"Introducing a new voice in vegetarian cooking. Packed with 1,000 recipes that are seductive, sexy, and utterly delicious, Passionate Vegetarian covers all the bases of meatless cooking, from east (Stir Fry of Asparagus with Black Bean-Ginger Sauce), west (Talk of the Town Barbecued Tofu), from the Mediterranean (Swiss Chard with Raisins, Onions & Olives) to the American South (Black-Eyed Pea Ragoût). You'll find lush lasagnas, plump pierogies, bountiful burgers, beans, and breads, pleasing pasta and pies. You'll spoon up soups and stews, and delight in desserts from simple to swoonworthy."

Okay, so I haven't officially started this book, but I'm going to start today. It looks really good and I haven't read something like this in a long while. I'll try to keep you updated as I get into it. Here's a publisher's comments excerpt:

"First Darling of the Morning is the powerful and poignant memoir of bestselling author Thrity Umrigar, tracing the arc of her Bombay childhood and adolescence from her earliest memories to her eventual departure for the United States at age twenty-one. It is an evocative, emotionally charged story of a young life steeped in paradox; of a middle-class Parsi girl attending Catholic school in a predominantly Hindu city; of a guilt-ridden stranger in her own land, an affluent child in a country mired in abysmal poverty. She reveals intimate secrets and offers an unflinching look at family issues once considered unspeakable as she interweaves two fascinating coming-of-age stories—one of a small child, and one of a nation."

I just started this one yesterday. I love Heather Armstrong's blog, "dooce." She's irreverent and goofy and doesn't hold back on any subject. The book is a collection of essays she edited. She asked other bloggers to write about fatherhood. Some wrote about their fathers, others wrote about their experiences as fathers and the remaining ones wrote about their husbands as fathers. I think many of us tend to forget that fatherhood is a journey and an adjustment for the new father.
I'm not so much reading this book "Bend the Rules Sewing" as I am perusing it intently. I have many projects marked, but we'll see if I get to any of them. Hopefully, I will! I'll let you know if I try any. I suggest anyone with an interest in sewing check out this book. It is full of relatively simple projects with clear instructions.

I am sticking with my challenge, thanks to my husband. Last night close to midnight he photographed three more cards for me. Whew! Here's today's listing:

Grumpy Owl on a Branch

Remixed 10- Day Challenge Item

Here's my item of the day:

thank you.



I barely made it....

Tomorrow's Item

This is the card I just posted for the challenge. It is actually for tomorrow, but I am going to Lexington for the day and won't have a chance to list it. I'm going to go see my brilliant and beautiful friend Erin who teaches at UK and, later in the day, my equally brilliant and beautiful friend Sameena and her sweetie-pie husband will join us on their way to Milwaukee. LB is psyched. She must sense the amount of attention she will be getting tomorrow.

Quilled Flowers Birthday Card

Challenge Revision

At the last minute, I invited the members of the etsygreetings street team to join me in my challenge. It was too late for most of those who responded, so I have decided to revise my original plans so that more people can participate. I know, I know, I'm so kind, huh? Anyway, for the rest of this week, I'm going to try to stick to my original plan and post an item a day. However, I'm not going to freak if I don't. In the meantime, I hope many etsygreetings street team members are preparing to officially start the challenge next Monday. I'll also have a giveaway during those 10 days, so keep an eye on us! I'll be posting links, as well as my faves from the challenge participants throughout the week. Please check out their blogs and shops, if you get the chance.

Here's today's item:


Gratitude Blooming

10 Day Etsy Challenge

I'm embarking upon another self-challenge. Beginning today, I'm going to add one item to my shop each day. The last time I did this, I barely made it, but I've already posted today's listing.

Dad's Day




I also posted two other items this weekend, but I'm not counting them toward the challenge.

my Dad



Father Tree

Day Three

I MUST go to bed. I just wanted you to know that I listed my item for the self challenge on etsy. Here it is:




http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22658719

A Bit Earlier...

Well, I'm a bit earlier tonight than I was last night. I still owe quite a few "real" posts though. My day was a challenge to say the least, so I am wiped. Here's my item. This challenge may result in my hospitalization.



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22574483

Day 7

I'm going to try to post a real entry later this evening. However, I wanted to let you all know that I am still on track with the self challenge. I just posted my item for the day. Check it out at: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22475625

Day 8 (still counting backwards)

I made it...just in time. My item of the day was just posted in the shop. Warning: It's rather cutesy, but it IS for Easter, so I think it is appropriate. Woohoo! Three days down and only seven to go. Check out the full listing at http://www.littlebbunny.etsy.com

Day Nine

Okay, maybe it should actually be Day 2, but I'm counting down! I just posted my listing for the etsy 10-day challenge (BTW, I am the only participant!).

Check it out!



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22374211

10 Day Challenge

I just added a new card to the shop. I've decided to challenge myself to put up something new every day for ten days. Today is day one. One down and nine to go. Here it is:





It's late, so I'm not going to say much. Tomorrow I plan to post about some of the work we have been doing around the house this weekend. I'm going to share photos as well. Goodnight.