I have some “things” in the works.
Fiber Fervor will remain up for the time being. I still need to transfer some posts (patterns, tutorials, etc…)
I would love for you to visit me over here: beknitpicky.blogspot.com
It’s probably not surprising at all that I am on Ravelry.com at least once daily. I can easily get sucked into the site searching for new patterns, designers and/or yarns. I just love seeing what others are creating! A couple of days ago I stumbled upon Veera from 100% Rain (Ravelry Link). Her patterns are gorgeous and I just love how most of them are made all in one piece. Just my style….
My favorite just might be her latest pattern, Hooray Cardigan. I think what draws me most to this pattern is the neckline and 3/4 length sleeves. Also it’s made with a lighter weight yarn (DK), so it’s not as heavy as it appears. If I didn’t have a gazillion other projects going on right now, I would totally cast on for this immediately. However, I am currently practicing self control (must finish projects of needles first!!) and will refrain for the time being. Although, this cardi would look super cute with a baby bump peeking out…
For those of you who know me personally, you know that my mind wanders constantly. Here is my take on ‘Random Tuesday Thoughts’.
- I noticed on the tag of my underwear that you should “iron on low”. Who irons their underwear? I don’t even own an ironing board!
- Hunter scrunches up his nose when he gets mad. I told him that if he keeps making that face, it will stay that way. He’s still making the face.
- Found Hunter’s 17 week ultrasound photos and I was right, Hunter and Baby K have the same nose.
Hunter, 17 weeks
Baby K, 20 weeks
- OK, OK, it’s hard to tell. I am going with Mother’s instinct on this one.
- Friends of ours are due with their 2nd baby within a couple of days of us and are having a boy. Their boy name is the SAME AS OUR BOY NAME. We are keeping the name as it’s been picked out since August. This could all be moot, as we will not know if we are having a boy or girl until March!
- I want to decorate for Christmas already.
- It’s funny when a knitting friend mentions a pattern and I know what the pattern is without actually looking at the pattern. Does that mean I am obsessed?
- Yesterday, I discovered an AWESOME online yarn store to buy Malabrigo at a redic price. Is it bad that I don’t want to share because I don’t want all of the yummy Malabrigo to get scooped up? **OK, OK, I’ll give, it’s MrYarn.com Go ahead, go scoop up all of the yummy Malabrigo!!!!
- I think I changed my mind about my career again. Still involves getting a Master’s degree, just a different one.
- These pregnancy hormones make me all sensitive and pissy. Watch out people – don’t cross me or else.
They really do make it look SO easy on Project Runway. Sewing is hard, especially if you are a newbie. Making a “simple” dress is hard, especially for a newbie. Sewing in an invisible zipper is hard, especially for a newbie. Here’s the dress, minus the sash and sewn hem line.
It’s safe to say that this dress got the better half of me today. At one point, I wanted to burn it on the spot. On the bright side, I learned a LOT of new things while sewing this dress:
- I like to knit a LOT more than I like to sew.
- Working with fabric other than cotton is tough to get used to at first (fabric is dupioni silk).
- Zippers take patience.
- Sewing good, takes practice.
- I need more practice.
- I need more patience.
- I like to knit a LOT more than I like to sew.
I am glad I made this dress though. My niece is so damn cute that no one will even be looking at my sewing skills. Plus, the sash is going to cover up some of my “mistakes”.
PS – I am done with my projects for my sister’s wedding and it feels DAMN GOOD.
Alright, so you have your ingredients, let’s fire up the stove. You’ll need a stock pot or my favorite, a cast iron dutch oven. On medium-high heat and with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, simmer the diced onions until they start to sweat. Next, toss in the jalapeño, red bell peppers and garlic. Continue cooking for a couple more minutes being careful not to burn. Poor in the chicken stock and add the tomatoes. Season to taste with the cumin (approximately 3 teaspoons), paprika (approx. 1 teaspoon) and chili powder (0.5 teaspoons). Throw in some salt too – about 3 teaspoons or to taste. Add the seeded, dried peppers. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.
At this point, you will put the whole chicken breasts in the soup. Continue simmering until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Set the chicken breasts aside and let cool. The soup should have been simmering for approximately 45 minutes by this point. Toss in the bag of tortilla chips. Let simmer until the chips have dissolved. (Another 15 minutes or so.)
Once the chips have dissolved, add the cilantro. Here comes the messy, but necessary, part. Break out your blender. Using a ladle, fill up the blender about half way (ONLY half way – since the soup is super hot it can explode in your blender and you may burn yourself, so be super careful here!) with your soup. Pulse for about 30 seconds or until the soup is blended. Pour blended soup into a large bowl. Repeat this process until there isn’t any more soup left in your pot.
Pour the soup back into the pot and set on low to keep hot. Now is the time to prepare your garnishes. Slice the avo, shred the cheese and shred the chicken. You are now ready to enjoy your super yummy chicken tortilla soup! Enjoy and let me know what you think!
A couple of years ago my husband introduced me to the awesomeness that his chicken tortilla soup is. Today, I shall share how to make it. It’s a long process but SO worth it in the end. Trust me on that. It’s also a bit spicy, but not overly. The consistency is heavenly and well, I could keep going but you will just have to try it out for yourself. Did I mention my husband is a chef at a swanky restaurant? Yep, it’s gonna be a good day.
Gonna stretch this post out over two days and then probably combine later. We have a busy day planned (remember how I said I HAVE to make a flower girl dress this weekend?) and I may not have time to update the actual process until tomorrow. Also, the FROGS are on this afternoon and the husband has friends coming over to watch the game.
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Serving Size – Not sure. Maybe 12? With leftovers. Depends on how many servings you have!
Grocery Store List:
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 5 tomatoes (hubbie likes to use roma), diced
- 2 jalapeño, diced
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 guajillo dried peppers *, seeded and torn into pieces
- 1 pasilla dried pepper *, seeded and torn into pieces
- 1 bulb of garlic, diced
- cilantro, picked
- 2 tablespoons of lime juice and some extra for drizzling as garnish
- 1 bag of tortilla chips
- cumin
- chili powder
- paprika
- 2 or 3 big cans/boxes of chicken stock (I like the box kind!)
- 1 lb of skinless, boneless chicken breasts, shredded
- 1 avocado,sliced, for garnish
- queso fresca cheese for garnish
*good chance I am not spelling the names of these peppers correctly.
This recipe can easily be made vegetarian. Of course then it would really be called “Tortilla Soup”. Just replace the chicken stock with veggie stock and don’t add the shredded chicken.
Up next: Let’s Cook!!
Fall has finally arrived to the lower half of the US. With this cooler weather comes a sudden urge to KNIT. If only I could spend the day on my couch, knitting away under a warm blanket. OK, so it’s not that cold here yet! So no blanket then. The little dude asked me yesterday if I would make him a hat. A black hat to match his “spider” jacket. (basic black Spider brand jacket).
Here’s what I am thinking:
Thorpe using Berroco Peruvia Quick. Eventhough he said black, I am thinking more of a black and charcoal grey stripe with a pom-pom on top. I love this pattern and have used it several times. Knits up super quick with the bulky yarn. I may even try out the fair isle design in lieu of the stipes. Thoughts?Photo and pattern: by Kristen Kapur from Through the Loops
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As for me… Not really sure yet. I could probably use a Thrope of my own. In fact, I have a nice little stash of Malabrigo Chunky in Paris Night (YUMMY!!). 4 skeins to be exact. I also have two skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Polar Morn just begging to be made into a hat and matching scarf. Tough choices… What’s your favorite scarf pattern?
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Random question… Do you think it’s totally nuts to try and take an online class next semester? Baby is due March 8th and the class is from Jan. 18th to May 16th. Since it’s online, it’s somewhat at my own pace. I’ll have deadlines of course, but they will be spread out.
**Updated to add: At 11:45am I officially ended my pity party. Thank goodness. That was dreadful.
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Yet I am not really going anywhere. About every year or so, I repeat this same cycle. The lack of forward momentum is nobody’s fault but my own. I hit roadblocks and become sort of stuck. I lose track of my vision which only makes me question if my vision was really legit to begin with. If you truly want to make a change, then shouldn’t you have no problem sticking to it?
And so the curse continues and my wheels are still spinning…
A couple of days ago now, a cold sore the size of Texas took up residence on my upper lip. Having not had a cold sore in well over a year, I did not see the warning signs. I’ll blame the absent-mindedness on pregnancy. Although, they do say that pregnancy changes the way your body reacts to certain ailments, so maybe this is just another one of those. So the cold sore, or rather SORES – yes, I have multiple going on – they are awful. Quite possibly the worst I have ever had. Normally I am not a vain person, but damn, these things really make me look hideous.
I actually stayed home from work yesterday. My upper lip was all swollen and it just plain hurt to talk. Being home, all by myself, was weird. Nice weird, but I still felt like there was someone I was supposed to be taking care of. I cannot tell you the last time I had time all to myself, without responsibilities. It was a nice recharge. In fact, I could use more of those days.
This cold sore situation has brought forth a new medication treatment plan. Abreva and Campho Phenique (both of which are safe during pregnancy!). This combo works wonders. After a solid day of hourly application, my little cold sores are doing much better. Last night as I was laying in bed, my husband said out of the blue “You smell like camp.” He went on to tell me that when he used to go to Boy Scout camp they would give them Campho for all sorts of things…bug bites, burns, etc… Thanks honey! Perhaps I overdid it on the meds yesterday?
As the oldest nephew, my son will be the ring bearer in my little sister’s wedding. He’s pretty excited about this task, although I am pretty sure he has no idea what it all entails. Walking down an isle with a bunch of people, whom he doesn’t know, staring at him. Should be interesting! May have to do a little bribing. We’ve been practicing at home and on our recent trip to Florida, he even got to practice at the venue itself.
Well, we can officially mark another project off of my “to make for Erinn’s wedding” list. When my sister first announced she was getting married, I immediately asked (after a congrats of course!!) if I could pretty please make the ring bearer pillow. She agreed and I started searching for a pattern. I knew what I wanted, yet could not find the perfect pattern. However, I did find a chart that I just LOVE. It’s by Eunny Yang and the pattern is her Venezia Pullover from the Winter 2006, Interweave Knits issue. I incorporated the chart into simple pillow pattern and voila – ring bearer pillow!!
I lovelovelove (sister’s signature saying btw!) it when a vision comes out exactly as planned. Now, time to practice with the little ring bearer to be…
Raveled HERE.
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