surprises

i should start off with this: I HATE SURPRISES!!!  i especially hate when i know a surprise is coming and i can’t know what it is….christmas presents in particular.  i’m also very good at guessing gifts with a few vague hints.  also, this is the first year i haven’t snuck into christmas presents at my mom’s house (hello…i’m 24, that’s lame!)  so a few weeks ago matthew showed me my wrapped gift- i analyzed the boxes sitting on the dresser and told him to put them in the top of the closet where i can’t reach them.  he told me i wasn’t allowed to look at the bank account and i didn’t.  i wasn’t allowed to ask questions either.

so i know these few things, after looking at the boxes i knew one was a rectangular box, one was flat, and one was long and it didn’t look like a box.  i saw the color of the store bag (grayish blue silver).  tereza told me it wasn’t for sewing.  and matt told me you can count the letters of the gift with 2 hands (so less then 10 letters).  i also knew it didn’t use AA batteries (random, yes).

matthew has randomly said “do you want your christmas present now” and i usually say YESSSSSSS PLEASE.  but he says no.  so last night i told him i know what it is.  to this he replies “it’s not an iphone”.  so my initial guess was out.   i thought they were the iphone, a case, and something else.  so i though harder and bugged my poor husband until i KNEW i had the right guess.  i started feeling really bad for trying to guess my gift so i waited for about 20 minutes to tell him my guess (bickering the whole time!).  i finally said my guess: a camera, a memory card and a battery.  matthew screms “HOW DID YOU KNOW!!!” and runs and jumps on the bed, the bed hits and breaks a vase from our wedding that was full of rice and flowers, and he screams.  so i guess i was right (partially, there was a camera case instead of a battery- duh, the battery comes with the camera!)  we had to clean up the broken glass and rice that got allllll over the floor before matthew let me open the gift.  it’s a little black kodak point and shoot and i LOVE it.  we’re both terrible picture-takers and this camera, no matter the lighting, takes beautiful pictures (in my opinion, i’m not very photo-educated

i wish i could share some pictures from last night but the software won’t download onto the computer right.  so you’ll have to wait!  i took a panoramic picture of all our rooms in the house and it’s like the most exciting thing ever, i’m very easily entertained!  so let’s say a big thank you to my hubby for finding a super door-buster from best buy and shopping without a list and picking out the perfect christmas present   and for not killing me when i guessed the gift and had to open it a week early!  it’s just a special to me today as it would have been next week!

Christmas

maybe this year i’ll write on my blog one more time =)   I’ll share a few pictures of things i’ve sewn/grown this year:

chevron curtains a la MADE that hang in our bathroom.  it matched the shower curtain perfectly.  fabric is from the clearance table at hancock fabrics- $2!

in september my sister and i went to a workshop in nashville hosted by Anna Maria Horner.  we made the proper attire skirt and learned many tricks from AMH and her sewing buddy, Alexia Abegg- they are wonderful ladies!  fabric is AMH’s from the good folks line

in September i also finished this dress from a Butterick pattern.  it was a nightmare to make (started it in april, finished it 5 months later)!  the pattern was difficult to read and something went wrong with the lining.  anyway, it looks OK with a cardigan over it!  fabric from joanns

in february i promised my baby cousin a quilt for her new big girl bed, finally in september i finished it (see a pattern here)!  why am i so slow at sewing quilts?  it’s the reason why i’m not currently making one!  fabric from hobby lobby

cowl by Jane Richmond from ravelry.  a friend i grew up with hosted knit night a few mondays this year and i worked on this project.  it’s unfortunate that the cowl doesn’t look like the actual pattern, surely i did something wrong!  i have on idea what yarn or needle i used- it was the very first knitting project i’ve ever finished and i don’t know all the knitting lingo

ZINNIAS!  we grew some flowers this summer in the side yard- they were so gorgeous.  everytime i cut some down and put in a vase, johnny cat would knock them over and spill water everywhere, that little turd.

garden minus the squash and zucchini, those died early.  the corn was a bust.  the tomatoes were overflowing through october, it was crazy.

 

a felt flower hair clip that i made for amanda for christmas…don’t worry, she has already seen it and i’ve already worn it for her

 

little rings given away at the sojourn women’s gift exchange

 

a december turkey, free from work!

 

this years christmas tree, yes, it is crooked.but perfect.

2010 has been a good year.  we bought a house, we paid off all our student loans, matthew finished more classes at SBTS, johnny got cuter, the sewing room was used a lot, we made new friends, enjoyed old friend, visited family, vacationed, welcomed lots of sweet babies into the world (friends babies, not our babies!), i took a wonderful new job.  we have been so thankful for it all, but most of all for the love and grace the Lord has shown us all year.  yay for getting to celebrate jesus’ birth!

2010

Happy New Years!  I might start blogging again this year.  Since we’re buying a house, I probably won’t be blogging a lot.  Today was a “free” day.  Matthew and I had no plans for once!  I put pockets in my jacket…

Tomorrow is Matthew’s golden birthday, he’ll be 24 and the 24th.  We just had a hard time figuring out what age we were when we got engaged and married….ehhh we’re old, already forgetting things!

How cute are these boots?

and again…

my cat…again

kitty cat

Preshi cake.  I don’t like cake but I WILL make this for the next cake I make.  Wouldn’t this be a hilarious birthday surprise?!  I’m not good enough to keep a surprise so cute.  Or maybe I am…

Free patterns from STC Craft.

I’m currently watching my cat sleep right next to me.  He is purring really loud and his bottom lip is quivering while I can see his purr-box vibrate his neck.  If my camera was near I would video tape this to show y’all but it isn’t close!  It would make you want to steal my Johnny cat. ….  I just grabbed the camera so you could hear his LOUD purr.  It is so cute.  Sorry the video is upside down, I’m not very camera savvy.

Hope it works  

Johnny was trying to catch a bug on the wall.

Matt rolls John up in a blanket – it’s pretty cute and funny but then I start feeling really bad for our baby.

A good nap!

This whole post was about our cat.  I just can’t get over how cute he is.

Happy October 1st!

Happy Birthday month, MOM!  Big 5-0!

Jaime’s Guest Bedroom Suite

My sister, Jaime, somehow talked me into making her a quilt and pillow shams (umm, and cover a lamp shade, make curtain tie backs and some other stuff.)

This is the quilt front- it’s totally random.  I kinda wish I would’ve made more of a pattern to this- it’s almost too random.  It is sitting on the end of her bed so the pattern isn’t what matters!

This is the back.  The little surprise in the middle in my favorite Anna Maria Horner fabric.  Matt asked why it wasn’t centered, haha.  The quilting is just lines on the seam- it was pretty tedious and I probably won’t do that again.

The binding is preshi stripes.  All the fabric is from JoAnn Fabrics.

This is one of the shams…4 inch squares…

And the other shame…more strips…

And the back of the shams are both the same.  I’m not going to show you how they close because it is ugly.

Ans this is our sweet Johnny boy being acrobatic.  He crazy.

No other news.  I visited Nashy this weekend and had a lot of fun.  Now it’s back to work and hanging with my hubs.  Off to get a back rub

“What has Tara been up to?”

…you might ask?  Well, this is what:

Being PROUD of Matthew…for stacking 3 golf balls, and going back to school

Making fish…with Ritz cracker crumbs

Cuddling…because there is nothing better than a good cuddle

Babysitting these cuties…and letting them meet our kitty

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies…Recipe from Amanda

Johnny’s grass…He got a new place mat

Also, Amanda started a blog at amandaveneman.wordpress.com.

Kitten

We got a kitten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“uyyyyyyynnnnnnnnnm”…a message from Johnny, he was typing.

Guacamole

This is the post where I tell you how I make my guacamole.  I got the recipe from the Oprah Magazine and then altered it to my taste buds which means I took out the onion, cilantro, and garlic. =)  For a class in college I had to do a food demonstration and I chose to make guacamole.  I have a really pretty color coordinated recipe that I printed out for the class that I wish I could share with you!  Instead, I took picture (sooo Pioneer Woman) and will explain the steps.  This will also help me be able to find my recipe quicker since all my recipes are in a stack of paper in the front of a cook book very unorganized (anyone want to fix it?)

Here’s the recipe:

4 avocados

1 tomato

1 jalapeno

Juice of 1 lime

1 T ground cumin (T=tablespoon)

1 t salt (t=teaspoon)

Pinch of pepper

OK, let’s start with the grocery store.  Pick avocados that are almost all the way purple but have a little green to them, rather firm if you’re planning on waiting a few days to use them or just a LITTLE squishy if you’re using them today.   Get a small tomato and a regular ol’ jalapeno.  Instead of a fresh lime I like to use lime juice since it lasts a lot longer.  Ground cumin is found in the spices aisle and isn’t really cheap but it goes a long way.

Now, wash your fruits/veggies because you don’t know who touched them in the store.  Then cut the avocado lenghtwish all the way to the seed.  Open up the two halves by twisting.  To remove the seed, slam your knife straight into the center (be careful!)  Then twist the knife and the seed should come out.

Scoop out the green flesh with a spoon- you can scoop all the way to the skin without the skin breaking.

Now smash the avocado with a fork so it stays clumpy.

On to the tomato:  cut it in half, then in half again and again and again until you get something that looks like that one in the picture.  Cut the juicy seeds out because those make the guacamole too juicy.  Dice the tomato and add it to the avocado.

Then add the lime juice.  I use 2-3 T of the juice from the bottle if I’m not using a real lime.  Also add the cumin, salt and pepper now, too.

And since I forgot to buy a jalapeno =( we had to use hot sauce in this batch.  I love jalapeno way more than hot sauce but this works.  If you have a jalapeno, you can remove the seeds to remove a lot of the heat or you can keep half the seeds or you can keep ALL the seeds!  I can never do that because Matthew has acid reflux and his throat hates really hot things.  Dice the jalapeno REALLY SMALL.  Stir it up really, really good

Taste it with a chip.  Add whatever you think is missing.  I usually add more cumin.  Some people think that adding the seed to the guac keeps it from spoiling faster but that has never helped me.  To store it, I use tupperware and cover the surface with plastic wrap and then cover the bowl with aluminum foil and then put the lid on.  It helps the top from going brown so fast.  I don’t mind eating brown gaucamole but Matt hates it!!  We’re having our friends Patrick and Hannah over for dinner and I’m going to make some…hope you all like it   Hannah has just learned how to sew!! YAY!

Sewing updates

Since we’ve moved, I got a new sewing area!  It is much bigger and better than the corner of the guest bedroom in Owensboro.  It’s in the sunroom which gets really hot during the day but it is very well lit!

For our 1 yr anniversary I made a photo album of “hands” pictures.  Every year on our anniversary we will take a new picture and watch our hands age! (this was stolen straight from Chelsea’s 1 yr anniversary present to Tim. hahhahaha thanks Chelly!)  I already had the photo album but I made the little polka dot cover and embroidered the letters on.  Easy peesy.  (The fabric is from the Cake Rock Beach line by Joelle Hoverson of the purl bee.)

Our lamp shades were $5 from Wal-Mart!!  I spruced the up a bit with some Anna Maria Horner Garden Party fabric.  It’s so beautiful.

And the project I finished today is another dress!  The fabric is from Hobby Lobby clearance- $2/yd.  The pattern is Simplicity 3538 minus the sleeves and plus an elastic waist, elastic arm holes, and pockets.  It was a pretty good challenge!!  Matt’s grandma helped me put in the pockets.  The armholes without the elastic were way too big because they are made to have sleeves.  Since I left the sleeves out, there was a lot of extra room.  That’s where we decided to try elastic!  It worked really well.  The I tried the dress on and it was really super baggy so I put some elastic in the waist and TA-DA, my dress fits   Matthew and I are going to Indianapolis, IN for our 1 yr anniversary this weekend so I’ll probably wear it to dinner and feel really special.

There are two more blog posts coming soon.  1) how I make guacamole and 2) the apt. tour also found on facebook.  But now I have to go to bed so I’ll be able to wake up for my big girl job.  Night night.

Settling

We’re settling in here in Louisville.  I passed my test so now I’m officially a Registered Dietitian.  I’ll be consulting in different nursing homes for my first job!  This week and the next few weeks, I’ll be in training.

The move has gone really well.  We are almost finished unpacking and organizing.  It has to be finished tomorrow because I’m hosting Sarah’s Bachelorette Party and have some guests for the weekend!  Sarah and Dave are getting married Sunday =)

Other than working, going to SC, and unpacking, I haven’t done much!  I finished this shirt tonight.  The shirt I gave Amanda was this pattern but I made a few changes so it wouldn’t be as baggy.  It’s Anna Maria Horner Good Folks Fabric with solid orange from Nana’s stash.  I like it so much!

Apartment tour coming soon!  Peace.

FYI

Hey Friends!  I haven’t blogged in a little while because Matthew and I moved to Louisville this weekend!!  We just got our internet set up yesterday.  And our A/C window units were installed today….thankfully!!!  It’s been a hot few days without AC!  We have an attic fan but when it’s 90 outside, cool air doesn’t exist.  Well, we are happy in our new home!  I’ll show pictures later and I’ll start sewing again next week in the new sewing room.

This Friday I take the Dietetic Registration Exam and if I don’t pass, I can’t start work, so I won’t be blogging anything for that reason!  Hopefully next time I blog I can write Tara Thomas, RD, LD.  Until then, say a prayer for me.  I’ve been studying!!  I also have a job, in case you didn’t find out otherwise. =)  I start Monday as long as I pass this test!

We’re going to South Carolina this weekend to celebrate Mema’s life.  She passed away last Monday night and we are going to miss her so much.  Mema is Matthew’s Great-Grandma and she was REALLY Great.  We are excited to see the Thomas family and hear even more great Mema stories.

Have a great weekend, we’ll see y’all when we return!!

Quilt #2

The 2nd quilt I’ve ever made is finally finished!  When I think about it, I feel like I’ve made ~100 quilts because I look at pictures of other peoples quilts so often.  But then I remember that I’ve only made 2.  This quilt, as you may remember, was inspired by the picture Amanda painted me for our birthday.  I only bought the batting and like 1/2 yd of fabric and the rest is from the huge stash of fabric I’ve acquired.  I used Warm & Natural cotton batting.  The quilting is just free motion squiggles with a few hearts thrown in when I got bored.  The binding is just pieced from random fabrics.

Full size quilt

Quilting a Full Size quilt is a BIG task.  I had such a hard time getting my sewing machine to work right- it finally straightened up but I’ve concluded that no matter what I set the tension on, it’ll do whatever it pleases.  Whatev, machine, whatev.

I almost like the back more than the front!

The back is from the stash, as well.  Here is the detail:

Sailboats and anchors

Matt said it makes it look like a 3rd graders quilt…haha.  He really does like it and he doesn’t want it to go on the guest bed, he wants it on our bed!  It won’t fit but that is OK since we hardly ever make the bed.

Binding

“Why am I finding safety pins all over the house?!” -Matt.  It’s because I randomly find safety pins in the quilt and I just take them out and put them on whatever ledge is closest.

Will you pray for Matthew’s great-grandma Faye (Mema)?  She is in her nineties and had a heart attack today while eating out.   She had another while at the hospital.   She is the sweetest little lady and has the BEST stories.

K, gotta go to bed.  Peace, love, gymnastics.

Fixed!

Whatever was going on with my machine while quilting is now fixed!  I did a lot of different things- 1) Changed the needle plate in case it has spurs thinning out the thread 2) changed to Gutterman thread 3) oiled the whole machine 4) changed the tension to right under 5 instead of right over 5) cleaned out the bobbin case (there was nothing in there) 6) kissed it.  One of those 6 things made my machine able to quilt without breaking thread!

Last night, we went bowling with some friends.  It was sooooo much fun.  My grandma used to bowl on a league and it brought back memories from going to play with her.  I obviously didn’t pick up on her techniques since I scored 106 and 48.  106 is pretty good but I think it was just luck?  Matt is a really good bowler- it was out first time bowling together- he’s cute.  And we witnessed our friend Wes score his first game over 200.  I would consider him a bowling pro.