#1 reason to live in South Louisiana

My mom, sister & I drove to New Orleans to pick up my sister and her friend this morning.  She's in town visiting us this week.  It's funny, all of our activities this week are planned around where we're going to eat.  She claims the food in DC pales in comparison to the food here..  I tend to believe her.

We went to Elizabeth's Restaurant in New Orleans for brunch.   Everything we tried was BEYOND delicious!

Praline Bacon

Blue Cheese Fried Oysters

Seafood Stuffed Mirliton with Green Onion Sauce

Fried Chicken Livers with Elizabeth’s Pepper Jelly

Duck Waffle
Sweet Potato and Duck Hash on top of a Corn Bread Waffle with Pepper jelly

Grillades & Grits
Smothered steak with Creole gravy

  Red Neck Eggs
Fried green tomatoes with Poached Eggs and Hollandaise

Eggs Florentine
Creamed Spinach, Fried Oysters Topped with Poached Eggs and Hollandaise

And we ate in ALL!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend! 

Souvenir Giveaway

Souvenir Giveaway: "Use your imagination ;)"

Garden Birthday Party

What a beautiful day for a birthday party!  Sarah thought she was a princess in her tutu.  The caterpillar cake...well, it was ugly but at least it was yummy!

Weekender Tote Sew Along - Week 2

OK, I got a little carried away and did a few more steps than I was suppose to.  It just started taking shape and really looking like a bag.  I'll try to stay with the group, but I can't promise anything! 

Once again I was confused by some of the instructions.  I'm a new sewer so I'm not surprised that I don't understand all instructions.  I had to ask my husband several times, now what does this mean?  What are they asking me to do here?  Does this look right?

Here is the Time line...
Gather Fabric and supplies- - - - - - April 17- May 1 (2weeks)
Cut out the pieces - - - - - - - - - - - - -May 2- May 8
Outer Shell Pleats - - - - - - - - - - - - -May 9- May 15
Straps and finish Outer Shell- - - - - -May 16- May 22
Pockets and Magnet Clasp - - - - - - May 23- May 29
Lining and Finish the Tote- - - - - - - May 30- June 5

She's Crafty

This week I've been working on the February Lady Sweater that I started a year ago. I only
have one sleeve left! I'm positive it will be ready for my friend's birthday at the beginning of July.











This afternoon I made garden fairy tutus for my nieces. I think they're going to be adorable on the girls, especially with the butterfly wings I bought them. Sunday we're having a garden party for the youngest's birthday - she's turning one next week. I'm making a caterpillar cake and picked up the cutest decorations at the Dollar Store. I used Plumtickled's tutorial for the tutus.




And finally, for my niece's birthday present I'm making my first quilt! I found Moda Bakeshop's tutorial for the Snuggly Layer Cake Throw. I actually found the Hunky Dory by Chez Moi Layer Cake that they used in the tutorial at Fabric Krazy Quilt Shop (and they're having a sale this weekend!) In about 3 hours, I cut all the material, pieced it together and sewed it! I'm hoping I'll be able to finish it before Sunday!

Rainbows!

They arrived! Such a pleasant surprise to come home to a package from Rainbows (Sandals). A couple of weeks ago I sent my 5 year old pair off to California hoping that they honored their guarantee. Instead of fixing the straps (the stitches started to unravel), I received a completely new pair of sandals.

Weekender Tote Sew Along - Week 1

Ok, so Week 1 didn't start out very good. I was confused by the instructions. For some reason I only purchased 1/4 yd of the purple floral fabric (main fabric) and I managed not to purchase any fabric for the pocket. I did get everything else cut out including the interfacing. So it's off to the fabric store tomorrow for more fabric! I also did not understand what to do with the pleat template - the Flicker group helped me out and I was able to finish cutting while my husband cooked dinner.

Weekender Tote Sew Along

I'm going to try another sew along - Sew Spoiled's Weekender Travel Tote. I've picked out my fabric and am just waiting to start cutting tomorrow! I'll post progress pictures throughout the project.

Here's the timeline:

Gather Supplies/Fabric - April 17th - May 1st

Cut out the pieces - May 2nd - May 8th

Outer Shell Pleats - May 9th - May 15th

Straps and finish Outer Shell - May 16th - May 22nd

Pockets & Magnet Clasp - May 23rd - May 29th

Lining & Finishing the Tote - May 30th - June 5th

I'm thinking about giving it to my sister as a diaper bag & making a baby blanket for her youngest in the same fabrics.

Beautiful Blooms

I'm so excited! The irises we relocated to the backyard are beginning to bloom! I guess they did not get enough sun in the front yard. Now if only we could finish relandscaping the backyard...