Brightened up my hallway with some felt heart garland.

Salvation Army had a big sale this morning.

Finally found the missing piece to the food processor I thrifted!

I shredded some cheese in it :)

Today I love the..
Smell of: Nothing, I'm sick!
Sound of: Ratatouille
Taste of: Breakfast in bed
Sight of: George
Feel of: Afternoon Nap

Good Things about Today:
- Found a few good things thrifting.
- The piece I order for the food processor came today, and it fits!
- They had Ratatouille at the library.

Lately

Finally sewed myself a Tissue Box Cover! :)

Some fabric "shopping" in my own stash.

Donation karma brought on good thrift finds.

George being George.

The fresh new foot of snow is keeping me a little unmotivated around here, so we'll see how much I end up blogging between now and spring break, which is only a week away! :)

Today I love the..
Smell of: Rotisserie Chicken
Sound of: Cavs game
Taste of: Animal Crackers
Sight of: Pretty fabrics
Feel of: Warm blankets & George

Good Things about Today:
- Cavs pulled off a great win!
- Rented Julie & Julia!
- George has been such a good bunny.

Flickr Favorites

Flickr Favorites, originally uploaded by jenib320.

1. RBQB: Marissa Blocks, 2. Whirly-gig mini quilt, 3. dqs7 progress., 4. red letter day plus quilt, 5. Hand piecing - fussy cutting, 6. Pink/Orange Log Cabins, 7. Lingering: improv, 8. marquee top is pieced, 9. pillow talk x 3
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!

My favorites are still being dominated by quilts and patchwork! :)

Happy, Happy, Mail Day!

Happy, Happy, Mail Day!, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Vintage feed sack and the latest Toast catalog arrived today!

Happy, Happy, Mail Day!, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Vintage feed sack, yum.

A little Thrifting, originally uploaded by jenib320.

I did my little bit of thrifting for this week. I only spent $1.59 :)

Today I love the..
Smell of: Cincinnati chili
Sound of: George
Taste of: Funnel Cake Sticks!
Sight of: Pretty fabrics
Feel of: Warm quilt

Good Things about Today:
- Finally got some good things in the mail!
- School deadlines were pushed back!
- Managed a few good photos despite the rain.
- After dinner nap :)

Navy Bean Soup

Navy Bean Soup, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Finally remembered to soak some beans overnight so I could make Navy Bean Soup. It turned out great! It was super easy and really hit the spot on a cold day!

Navy Bean Soup

1 lb Navy beans
32 oz Chicken Broth (best to use reduced sodium kind!)
1 Hamhock
1 small Hamsteak (cubed)
1/2 an Onion
1-2 stalks of Celery
2-3 Carrots
1-2 Bay Leaves
1-2 cups of Water

1. Soak the beans in water overnight.

2. Combine beans, hamhock, chicken broth, water and bay leaves in a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Let simmer covered on low for 2 hours, checking often.

3. Remove and discard hamhock.

4. Chop onion, celery, carrot and hamsteak and add to the soup. Let simmer for 30 minutes to soften veggies.

5. Remove bay leaves and serve! Enjoy!

This tastes great with a grilled cheese on the side or with bread to dip in it!

A Little Spring

A Little Spring, originally uploaded by jenib320.

A sunny, 45 degree day made me buy this pretty little primrose. I can't wait for Spring! We still have a lot more winter left here in Cleveland unfortunately!

Thrifted, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Found a few more pieces in this beautiful pattern! Just cups this time. I dream of finding a whole set, that would be great!

Navy Bean Soup, originally uploaded by jenib320.

This was soup week. I made Navy Bean soup today and it turned out great! I typed up the recipe here.

Cauliflower Soup, originally uploaded by jenib320.

I made this great Cauliflower Soup earlier in the week. It tastes a lot like the Baked Potato soup from Panera Bread! :)

Sneak Peek for Ellen, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Finished another block for the 3x6 Mini Bee. Four blocks down, two more to go!

Starting tomorrow I am going to be following Rachel and Joslyn's leads and go on a Shopping Hiatus. I am going to be doing this through the end of the semester. I'm just going to outline here the guidelines I'm setting for myself, based loosely on those set by Rachel.

1. Grocery Shopping - Will still be buying food of course, but am going to try to cut back on processed foods and ready-to-eat meals.

2. Gas - I still need to get to school but this will probably go down as I will be going out shopping less!

3. Thrifting - Some thrifting is okay, but I want to keep this to things I really can't say no to!

4. Eating Out / Take Out - As a college student it is hard to cut this out completely so I'd like to cut it to once a week.

5. Sewing / Quilting - No fabric purchases. Purchases for absolutely needed supplies is okay (thread, batting, needles).

I think that's it for now. I may try to update on my progress here to help keep me honest and motivated! :)

Today I love the..
Smell of: Soup
Sound of: Spongebob
Taste of: Brownies
Sight of: A sunny day!
Feel of: George

Good Things about Today:
- Pretty flowers!
- It was warm and sunny!
- A clean kitchen.

Possibilities

Possibilities, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Thinking about how to cut into this stash. Thinking about Map of the States.

Quilting for Peace, originally uploaded by jenib320.

De-stashing and sewing a quilt for Wrap Them in Love before working on other projects.

Pizza, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Homemade pizza.

Today I love the..
Smell of: Waffles
Sound of: Spongebob
Taste of: Pizza
Sight of: George
Feel of: Warm Blankets

Good Things about Today:
- Blogging already at 8:30 am!
- Everything is pretty with fresh snow
- Feeling a productive day coming on!

Baking Bread

Bread, originally uploaded by jenib320.

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry". - E. B. White

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Hexagons

Hexagons, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Decided to sew a hexagon flower to a plain t-shirt.

Hexagon T-shirt, originally uploaded by jenib320.

I really like how it turned out.

PS - I was inspired to add patchwork, namely hexagons to clothing by these cute patched capris over at all buttoned up.

Flickr Favorites

Flickr Favorites, originally uploaded by jenib320.

1. Dresden Testing, 2. Handmade Baby Elephants!, 3. Dresden Testing, 4. patiently waiting to be shiny, 5. the dresden, 6. 37.365 (Sunday Stash), 7. Mermaid Pillow Front, 8. susan's quilt, 9. dresdan2
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!

I have fallen hard for dresden plates. I love seeing such a classic design with fresh modern fabrics. The perfect combination. I don't have too much homework this weekend so I'm planning on doing lots of sewing :)

This is my 100th blog post! I started this blog last February! I just peeked into the archives, my first post was February 9th, 2009 :)

Wintery Wednesday

Sewing Board, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Finally made a board for my sewing area.

Dresden, originally uploaded by jenib320.

I love dresden plates. And my new dresden plate template.

Polaroid, originally uploaded by jenib320.

You can never have too many Polaroids.

Pie, originally uploaded by jenib320.

Baked a cherry pie for Mike's birthday. In my pink Pyrex pie plate of course!

George, originally uploaded by jenib320.

George loves his Pyrex.

Snow makes me lazy. We have about 2 ft so far, and it's been snowing all day. I have been watching (500) Days of Summer, I still can't decide if I like it! I do like the soundtrack though. I made pumpkin (sweet potato) waffles today. Will post photos sometime soon :)

Today I love the..
Smell of: Waffles
Sound of: (500) Days of Summer Soundtrack
Taste of: Waffles
Sight of: My new sewing board
Feel of: The fur behind George's ears, so soft

Good Things about Today:
- Finally called a few places about internships, no luck but at least I called!
- Finished doing all the dishes
- Finally uploaded some photos
- Going on a date to Cornerstone with Mike :)

Favorites

Favorites, originally uploaded by jenib320.

1. Work in progress, 2. 01/25/10 - Day 25 of 365, 3. 3 x 6 Swap: For michellesews, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. Doodle, 7. hey geese!, 8. Untitled, 9. Peg Bunnies for the show
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!

Happy Friday!

Wednesday

Spring Blossom Green, originally uploaded by jenib320.

I have been participating in a lot of Pyrex swaps on Flickr lately. It is a great way to de-stash and get new pieces at the same time! The most recent trade brought these lovelies to my door. When I first started collecting I was not particularly into this pattern. I kept finding it super cheap and couldn't pass up a few pieces here and there. A month or so ago I realized that it has become one of my favorite patterns! It's funny how things work out. I don't have many of the larger casseroles so I was really excited about this swap!

George, originally uploaded by jenib320.

George has been great lately. He's such a happy rabbit. This morning he was jumping around doing the happy rabbit dance. He's always flopping over for me and giving me kisses. So sweet. And SUCH a good roommate! :)

I just finished off my second loaf of homemade bread tonight. I have a full batch of dough in the refrigerator ready to go, I think I'll make some on Friday. I had a toasted piece with strawberry jam on it. There is nothing better than homemade bread with homemade strawberry jam on it. Yum.

Today I love the..
Smell of: Toast
Sound of: 30 Rock
Taste of: Strawberry Jam
Sight of: A clean kitchen
Feel of: Comfy fleece blanket

Good Things about Today:
- Finally cleaned the kitchen, all the dishes are done!
- Got some needed photo taking out of the way
- Strawberry Jam
- Pyrex came today!

Pink Butterprint

Pink Butterprint, originally uploaded by jenib320.

In the words of Robin, happiness is pink Pyrex!