Foodie Friday

Cajun Shrimp and Rice

1 pkg    (8.8 oz) ready-to-serve long grain rice
1 lb.      uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 t.       Cajun seasoning
1 T.       olive oil
1 T.       butter
1 1/2 t.  minced garlic
1/2 lb     fresh snow peas or sugar snap peas

Cook rice according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute shrimp and Cajun seasoning in oil and butter until shrimp turn pink.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Add peas and rice.  Cook 2-3 minutes or until heated through and peas are tender.

Make-A-List Monday

Make-A-List Monday

The week of August 20, 2012

(in review)

1. Organize my sewing rooms. I am just about done going through all my STASH and most everything else is organized.  I have been saving quilting magazines since 2007. 

 My thought was that if I ever needed a pattern I would be able to go through them and find just the right one.  In reality, this method does not work.  Now I am going through these magazines and tearing out the patterns that strike my fancy.  I am dividing them into three binders:  throw and bed sized quilts, baby sized quilts, and miscellaneous patterns such as bags, table runners, etc.  Hopefully now if I need a pattern I will be able to narrow my search to a specific binder.

2. Start working on a special gray, yellow and white quilt for Shea's new apartment.  All the organizing left little time for sewing this week.  

This is a picture of the pattern and some of the fabric that we chose together.  

As you can see, I haven't made a dent in this project yet.  Maybe this week...

3. Work on my Quilt Square Quilt Along blocks for the month of August.

This was the one sewing project I was able to get to this very busy week. I love the way they turned out.

4. If time permits, I hope to finish the Quilts for Kids quilt I started last month.   I did not get to this again this week.

The Week of August 27, 2012

1.  Complete the quilt I am making for Quilts for Kids.

2.  Work on the two blocks I need for PQW Saturday Sampler.

3.  Start working on my friend Kathy's Memory Quilt for her friend's daughter's first birthday.

The blocks are done.  Now I have to put them all together and quilt it for her.

4.  Shop for an embroidery machine.  I did a little shopping this past week for an embroidery machine and I have it narrowed down to three: 

 the Bernina 830, 

the Brother Quatro 2, 

 and the Baby Lock Ellisimo Gold. 

  I like all three but am leaning toward the Baby Lock because I love the preloaded designs by Nancy Zieman.  Hopefully I will choose one in the next week or two.

5.  Finish quilting my Farmer's Wife quilt on Annie.  

6.  Make a whole bunch of bean bags for a game to be played at my friend's wedding reception.  As I write this I realize it sounds a little odd, but I am excited to see exactly what they have in mind for these bean bags. 

Hmmmmmm?

This should be a busy week!

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Make-A-List Monday

Make-A-List Monday

The Week of August 13, 2012

(in review)

1. Help my Dear Daughter, Shea, move into her first apartment. 

Here are Shea and Maureen with their dads the day of the big move.

This is Shea with her big brother JT.  He was able to help his sister with the move and even build her Ikea dresser for her all while battling a cold.

Here are some pictures of Shea's gray, yellow and white room.

This is the IKEA dresser JT built.

This is Maureen's room.

                                                   This is Lauren's Room.

We managed to move three girls, paint walls, build two dressers and two beds and make a trip to Ikea and Target all in one day.  

Sending best wishes and much love to the three girls in their new apartment.

XOXOM

2. Watch my beloved Mets play the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Our 12 hour road trip to Cincinnati began last Monday with a lunch stop at Cracker Barrel.  

We arrived at our hotel, The Cincinnatian around 6:30 PM. 

After settling in to our room we went in search of dinner.  It seems most of Cincinnati shuts down at 7PM on non-baseball game nights so we had trouble finding a restaurant.  Eventually we found Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery and went inside.  Much to our surprise we found three Mets relief pitchers waiting for a table.

I was able to get a picture of Jon Rauch and Bobby Parnell.  

As I was busy texting everyone I know about our exciting discovery, who should walk in but David Wright, Josh Thole, Ike Davis, Mike Baxter, Jason Bay, Josh Edgin, Rob Johnson and Justin Turner.  I was STAR STRUCK!  My husband had the presence of mind to actually speak to them but I was much too tongue tied.

This was definitely the coolest part of the trip for me.

On Tuesday we ventured out to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

It was slightly overcast but a perfect day for the zoo.

Here are some of the animals we saw...

two white swans,

a giraffe,

a polar bear paw,

a majestic lion,

deep in thought (??)

a cerebral white tiger,

and a sleepy gorilla.

  After the zoo we went back to our hotel and went in search of a quick lunch.  We stumbled upon 

Tom + Chee  

                                                                                    

I never knew there were so many varieties of grilled cheese sandwiches.

Cincinnati is known for over 400 "Flying Pig" statues throughout the city.  At a later date I will post pictures of some of the pigs we saw.

On Tuesday night we went to the first baseball game of the three game series.  It was my first time at The Great American Ball Park, so I tried to capture the essence of the ball park through pictures.

Unfortunately The Mets lost the first game but we still had a lot of fun.

On Wednesday we celebrated the Ascension of Mary at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral.

This is a very pretty church.

After mass we went on a FARTing trip (Fabric Acquisition Road Trip)  

Here are the shops that we visited...

I love finding new quilt shops to explore.

The Mets played again on Wednesday night.  We had great seats for all three games.

Unfortunately, the Mets lost again.

On Thursday we decided to go to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory.  

This was so interesting and I'm glad we made the trip.  We were able to get little Ryder a personalized bat for Christmas.  

After the factory and museum tour we were able to squeeze in a few more quilt shops.

We thought it would be a hoot to eat at KFC while in Kentucky...haha.

Later that night the Mets played the final game of the series.  The weather was threatening and actually did start to rain in the 8th inning.  The Mets were able to get a win to prevent the sweep.

All in all,  a fun and eventful vacation.

3.  Work on some bindings on quilts that have been finished for a while.  I was able to finish two quilt bindings in the car to and from Cincinnati.  

Not much sewing this week but a very productive week none the less.

The week of  August 20, 2012

1.  Organize my sewing rooms.  Now that Shea has moved most of her belongings to Hoboken, I plan on using some of her abandoned space to spread out my quilting hobby.  I expect this will take a few days to organize.  

2.  Start working on a special gray, yellow and white quilt for Shea's new apartment.  We went to PQW last week and picked out all the fabric.  I will post pictures as I get into the project a little bit.

3.  Work on my Quilt Square Quilt Along blocks for the month of August.  

4.  If time permits, I hope to finish the Quilts for Kids quilt I started last month.  

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn