Provencal Tuna Salad

WOW!!! This is a great tuna salad recipe. Like every recipe in The Splendid Table's: How to Eat Supper, this is so different. It's full of capers, olives, grape tomatoes, dill weed, and fresh lemon juice... fabulous. It's almost unbelievable that tuna can taste SOOOO good. If you only buy one more cookbook in your lifetime, this one needs to be it. This book has caused my blog to appear to be a cooking blog, which it's not (usually!) I just can't seem to help myself - good things were meant to be shared.

****Recipe here.

Butterick B5019 - Girl's Apron Dress

Forgive me for these not so charming photos. It's late and there is zero natural light, so these will have to do. I just finished up this cute little apron dress for Sara Lynn - she's sleeping now, otherwise I'd have her model it for you.

These are fabrics I got on sale at Hobby Lobby (can you believe it?!) I'm absolutely loving the turquoise, pink, and green. Let me start by saying this was a very easy to sew pattern. What wasn't so easy was making my own bias tape for the first time. It took as long to make the tape as it did to sew the dress! But I think the results were worth it. I used this tutorial from Martha Stewart and a Dritz brand 1 in. bias tape maker.

I've shied away from patterns with bias tape in the past because I don't love the solid colored bias tapes that are commercially available. But when I stumbled across the tutorial above, I knew I must take the plunge. Really, it's as easy to finish seams as it is to create and use your own bias tape (in my humble opinion.) But every now and then, it's nice to try something different.

About the actual pattern... I feel I must disclose that it looks ENORMOUS for a size 2 (which is what I sewed.) I know that Butterick patterns run a bit on the large side, but I wonder if my sweetie will have to wait until next year to get any use out of this one. I'll let you know how her first "fitting" goes.

****Here's how the dress fits my little one... I think the length is okay...

But the neck hole is WAY too big for her right now. She's tall and thin. Usually a 2T fits her perfectly, but next time I will definitely cut the neck hole MUCH smaller. Hope this helps you!

ABC's about Me

I was tagged by Varenia to do the ABCs about me. Here are the rules. Tag the ABCs about you. Each player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

A- Attached or single: Attached

B- Best Friend: I know this is corny, but my husband really is my BEST friend!

C-Cake or Pie: Cake. But pie is good, too. I pretty much love all things sweet. Especially CHOCOLATE!

D-Day: Saturdays when we get to take the boat out. I love to be out on the water with my babies. They love it, too. Except the little one really doesn't like the boat motor when it's above idle speed! (We're hoping she'll get over it soon - this is her first "boating season")

E- Essential Item: A pacifier - for the little one, of coarse! Our pediatrician said that it's time to begin "weening" her off of it, but we all dread the process. She's quite attached to it, and quite fussy without it.

F- Favorite Color: Lately? Any shade of blue, especially turquoise. And pink, too. And brown... Oh, it's too hard to pick just one, isn't it?

G-Gummi Bears or Worms: Neither. However, I do like gummy peaches. Although I haven't had one in forever.

H-Home town: Montgomery, Alabama (Yes, I live in my hometown! We've lived other places before, but we love it here.)

I- Indulgences: COFFEE. Starbucks is my favorite, but I brew my own Dunkin' Donuts coffee at home. It's really good, too.

J- January or July?: July. Although, it was a little hard to choose. My son's birthday is in July, and my daughter's birthday is in January. Both months are pretty high on my list. July won out because we can do the boating thing.

K-Kids: Daniel - almost 7 years old, and Sara Lynn - 16 months old

L-Life is incomplete without: my family

M- Marriage Date: May 31st, 1997 (11 years this Saturday!!!)

N- Number of Siblings: one, a younger brother

O- Oranges or Apples: apples

P- Phobias or Fears: Bugs and snakes and rodents of any kind. My husband actually had to kill a snake in the backyard this afternoon. I've had goosebumps ever since!

Q- Quote: The Bible- "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6

R- Reason To Smile: sunny days relaxing on my patio, laughing babies, digging in the dirt, cooking (but not the cleaning it up part), my husband coming home from work, a finished sewing project.

S- Season: Spring and Fall (but I REALLY do love them all! It's such a blessing to have the changing of the seasons. I can't imagine how boring it would be to have the climate remain a constant temperature!)

T- Tag Three: Aima, Lera, and Ann!

U- Unknown fact about me: I'm a sloppy seamstress... I just trim my threads and throw them down. I'll vacuum them up, eventually!

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: Just had grilled chicken and Italian sausage for dinner. Yummy! Love the veggies, too - ate roasted asparagus and new potatoes as well. I guess you could call me a foodie.

W- Worst Habit: Probably the whole messy seamstress thing. Nobody really knows this about me. I'm a total neat freak! I just hate to slow down while I'm in the rhythm of sewing. Needless to say, the door to my studio is usually closed!

Y-Your favorite food: Anything fresh. Asparagus, squash, mushrooms, pineapple, blueberries, baby spinach. I could go on and on.

Z: Zodiac Sign: Libra.

Pink Oleander

My oleander is in full bloom - I wish you were here to see it! All I can smell is Spring when I walk out my door in the mornings. This is my favorite time of year. But then again, I say that every Autumn, too.

God sure new what He was doing when he made the seasons change. I think it keeps us in awe of His creation. How boring it would be if it were always hot or cold, or even in between! I just adore the first few buds of Spring, or the changing of the leaves in Fall. It never gets old, does it?

And on a sewing note, I just got a new ruffler foot that I'll be trying out on my Kenmore 19233 today. I'll let you know how it goes.

Fresh Produce

My dear sweet neighbor invited me to enjoy some of her garden's bounty. During Sara Lynn's nap yesterday, I was able to get my hands dirty picking these beauties: onions, radishes, yellow squash, and zucchini.

I've been contemplating planting a garden of my own this year. I finally talked my husband into helping me get the ground ready. I'm hoping we can get started this weekend - woohoo!!!

More Britches and Bloomers: Cropped

As promised, I made some more of Jackie Clark's Britches and Bloomers. I'm loving this simple little pattern. This time I took a few inches off the length and made cropped pants for Sara Lynn.

I had the HARDEST time getting pictures of that girl today. She's lightening fast. Most pictures turned out blurry like the one above.

I realized I had to be resourceful if I was going to get good shots. All it took was a little ice cream.

Yummy! She just had to hold the spoon herself.

Rolled Hem Presser Foot Review

I've had this rolled hem foot (aka hemmer foot) for a while now. Unfortunately, I have yet to master the art of the rolled hem. Try as I might, I can never seem to produce consistant hems with this foot. I end up with fabric peeking through, or either I don't roll enough fabric through and the hem comes loose.

I really want to be able to use this foot. It is MUCH faster than doing a narrow hem (so I'm told.) I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've spent a total of 90 minutes fidgeting with the fabric and the foot trying to figure out where I'm going wrong... and I still can't produce a consistant hem.

See what I mean? Sometimes it's beautiful, and sometimes it's not. I found a great tutorial here that explains how to use this foot. I hope you have better luck with it!

Souper Supper

Not a day has gone by that I haven't had The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper in my hands since it arrived on my doorstep. This is the best cookbook I've ever read - and I have lots of them. It reads like a good book. Full of facts, tips, and stories, this book begs you to keep reading it. I sat down for 2 hours the first night I had it and made a grocery list a mile long.

Every recipe in this book makes my mouth water, and they're completely doable recipes. I mean normal, non-chef human beings can make these meals. Lynne and Sally put a modern twist on old recipes from around the world when creating this cookbook. I gotta say, it's a keeper! They encourage fresh, organic ingredients when possible, and use flavor boosters (they call it umami) that really bring out the flavors in these dishes.

Umm, Mmm... We're having Soup of Fresh Greens and Alphabets for dinner tonight. (I used tiny shells because I didn't have alphabet pasta, and I used baby spinach instead of escarole.) It's absolutely divine.

Whose kid is that?

Today was Sara Lynn's last day of preschool before the summer break begins. I was blessed to be able to spend the day with her and her little friends. But I gotta say, she acted so silly with me there! It's fun to see them and their reactions when their routine is a little off.

She must have pulled that stinkin' pony tail down 1000 times! At one point, I was so tired of putting it back in that I let her walk around looking like Cousin It (remember him from that old show The Adam's Family?) And if you'll notice, there's no diaper cover on her. She dirtied it as we were walking out the door this morning. It's always something, isn't it?

And as if she weren't already being silly enough, she claimed the blocks bucket and wore it as a helmet for the remainder of the morning. She had to have worn it for at least an hour. It was so funny! She walked, and talked (gibberish, of coarse), and played with the bucket over her head.

She even put blocks in it and then tried to wear it that way. I just love little ones... especially that silly little girl right there.

Old Alabama Town

I recently had the opportunity to join my son and his class on a fieldtrip to Old Alabama Town located in dowtown Montgomery, Alabama. This is the neatest place - it's like taking a step back in time. Old Alabama Town is actually a few blocks worth of fully restored homes and businesses from the 19th and 20th centuries.


There was a real blacksmith who showed us how his craft would have been practiced over 100 years ago. Everything was authentic: his tools, clothing, and shop were exactly as they would have been back in the late 1800's.

Our tour guide was particularly knowledgeable. He took us through the process of getting cotton from the fields and into the gin. He showed us how corn and wheat were milled, and we were able to see how wool was spun into yarn by a little old lady using a spindle. Very interesting stuff.

I've never seen a flower this color before. There's no telling how old it is... it was behind one of those big historic homes. I believe it is a camelia. It was so bright, it appeared to be glow-in-the-dark flourescent orange.

I think these boys experienced information overload. As soon as the tour ended, we hit the playground which is right behind the camera. I hate I didn't snap any pictures of the playground because it's really awesome. It's one of the best playgrounds in Montgomery, and I never knew it was there. We'll definitely be going back. If you're in the area, this place is definitely worth checking out.