Quit your day Job!

This couple, the creators of littlesaplingtoys were able to quit their day job by starting their own line of toys that they sell through etsy! I found this story VERY inspiring! and Wanted to share, here's the Link!

Presto it's Pesto!

It's that time of year when things are beginning to cool down and with temperatures hovering in the 60's we realized our time with our home grown produce is coming to an end. Thus we decided to make some pesto this Labor day from our Basil Plant!

We used Mario Batali's recipe and our food processor attachment that goes with our blender.

Makes 1 cup:

3 table spoons of Pine Nuts

2 cups of Fresh Basil

1 clove of Garlic

Pinch of Salt (I used two pinches of sea salt- to taste)

1/2 cup of Olive oil

1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano cheese.

You blend, or pulse, the basil, salt, pine nuts and garlic together.

Then take it out of the blender and dish it into a bowl for the remainder of the making.

Drizzle your olive oil over the pesto-ish mixture and stir. Continue to add the olive oil drizzle at a time and keep mashing it up. Once the olive oil is all poured and mixed add your cheese one table spoon at a time. And TASTE! (here is where I added another hint of sea salt I think my "pinch" wasn't generous enough on my first go around).

And PRESTO you have PESTO! So tasty and smells fantastic.

We mixed it with chicken and pasta and finished it off with more parmigiano. Enjoy!

PS-if you are making a lot of Pesto you can store it in ice cube trays in your freezer, than pop them out of their trays and store them in a ziploc bag in your freezer. Then you can have pesto whenever the mood strikes! Or if you are going to use your pesto in the near future- ie within a weeks- Put the pesto in a jar and pour olive oil on the top and seal and store in your fridge, use within a week.

a little P.S. on the blanket front

I meant to include this in the wedding blanket post, but completely forgot...

Here is Millie hanging out on the blanket while I knit one end and Cameron knit the other end of Amelia and Alex's blanket (don't worry we have a very clean dog) And I got the hint and am now taking the leftover yarn from my sweater and I will felt Millie a blanket for the cool fall months ahead!

A Wedding Blanket

For my Cousin's wedding in England this August Cameron and I decided to knit them a cozy blanket.  We used the eco wool from Peru that I used  for my gray sweater (see other knitting posts). It's amazing, smells nice and sheepy and comes 478 yrds to a skein!!! we used 4 skeins!

Here are Amelia and Alex opening their gift the morning after their wedding.

Here is the blanket. I used a tree pattern that originally was for a 6x6 inch square. Thus we multiplied it by 4 to enlarge it... of course some things are bound to pop up during this process and as a result some of the branches got a little wonkey and had to be improvised! 

I chose this pattern because Amelia and Alex were married in my aunt and uncle's apple orchard.

I would love to give a shout out to my sister in law who saved my butt by helping me knit the border the night before we flew to England, as well as many previous knitting counsel sessions through out the summer! I learned a lot along the way and can now cable! hooray!

Congratulations to Amelia and Alex for a lovely wedding that will indeed lead into a lovely marriage!

millie & henry

My brother and his wife are visiting this labor day weekend and they brought their Italian greyhound- Henry. He and Millie always have fun together and manage to tire each other out, which is great for everyone involved...

ART Festival!

I was accepted into this picnic arts and musical festival in Portland Maine. Here's the flyer and here's the link. Spread the word, hope to see you there!

Fruit flies- how to eliminate them

We came back from England this week to find our kitchen swarming with fruit flies!

Honestly we had a few before we left but NOW they are really, really out of control!

So I went ahead and looked up how to get rid of them and I thought I would share it with my blog audience.

Use a soda bottle, or a bowl, and fill the bottom with a combination of vinegar (cider vinegar) and water with a touch of dishwashing liquid. Then cover the container with cling wrap and poke a few holes in it with a fork or a knife. THEN the fruit flies will fly in and get stuck and poof your own home made trap!

They also recommend cleaning out cabinets and eliminating any possible breeding areas. Old potatoes, your drain or disposal, compost bin, spills and the cracks between appliances and cabinets.

Good Luck. I'll let you know how we fare with our little trap!

UPDATE!
Our traps worked incredibly well! It's really gross how many fruitflies we had, which we didn't realize until we cleaned out our traps and set new ones.

What I learned: The addition of liquid dishsoap is helpful but not necessary. It helps to trap them in the bubbles. The cling wrap is a MUST since it keeps them inside the cup or bottle. We used Juice bottles, cups and even bowls and all worked equally well. I also heard that besides cider vinegar- that balsamic works well as does wine, or scotch. But work with what ever you have around- in our case cider vinegar.

A Sneak peek at upcoming posts!

I've been in England for the last week attending my cousin's fabulous wedding, thus posting has been put on hold... Until this week!

I wanted to give a sneak peek into what you can expect on my blog coming up in the next few days and beyond!


Pictures from England- my Aunt's amazing garden and some shots of the wedding!

My studio makeover- the "after" picture to complete a previous post.

The completed room I helped redo in my friend's house.

The blanket I knit for a wedding present for Amelia and Alex.

A future to do list for upcoming knitting projects (including a felted dog blanket, and Maine fall essentials).

My completed trash can project.

Reviews of products and local places around Portland...

ETC
ETC!

So stay tuned!