Joyful Abode

So, if you don’t feel like going all out with making delicious meat sauce for your spaghetti, meatballs are a little faster and just as yummy.

Here’s how I made mine:

• 1 lb. of lean ground beef
• 1 egg, beaten
• minced garlic (however much you like)
• 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Mix it all together with your hands (there’s no other way, really), and shape it into meatballs. Then, brown them in a pan until they’re nicely colored on the outside, and mostly cooked through (like the picture above, still a bit pink). Dump in your sauce and whatever else you’d like to add to it (I added mushrooms, olives, Italian seasonings, garlic salt, and cheese) and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Mmmmmm…. simple, last-minute spaghetti and meatballs.

So, since the cherries-and-clementines chocolate fest, I’ve experimented with dipping everything in the house in chocolate, then tasting it. Chocolate covered olives? A no go. But chocolate ritz cracker sandwiches? Quite tasty! They would probably be even better if the sandwiches were dunked in chocolate, so there’s chocolate EVERYwhere. The buttery-salty flavor and airy texture of the ritz crackers is a really nice match for milk chocolate. Mmmm….

Shopping tip: Holiday melting chocolates are half off at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. AND you can use your 20% off coupons too. I got a bag of milk chocolate and a bag of dark chocolate.

The days are getting longer, and your SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) or winter blues should be lifting now. But you can lift your spirits even faster with a few simple jobs around the house.

1. Clean your windows to let the sun shine in unobstructed. When the man and I cleaned all of our windows, we did it together. He did the outsides while I cleaned the insides. We made faces at each other through the windows, and the job was finished much faster that if one of us had done it alone.
2. Next, clean your mirrors, so the light that comes in will bounce around without smudges or fingerprints slowing it down.
3. Now, when the sun isn’t shining, how do you get your light? Probably not candles… is it something that could be dusty or dirty? Getting where I’m going with this? Ok, wipe down your lightbulbs and glass/plastic light fixtures.
4. If you have cloth lampshades, it’s easy to dust them. Some people like to use vacuum attachments, but a much easier, faster, and more effective way to clean them is by rolling a sticky lint roller over them a few times. If you’ve never tried the lint-roller-on-the-lampshade tip, you can thank me later.

With all of that extra light floating around your house, you’ll probably notice other things that need dusting. Go for it! Get a head start on that Spring cleaning.

Cabbage is really overlooked as a vegetable. I know I hardly think of it when I’m thinking of a side-item. Usually I think of green beans, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, or something like that. But cabbage is delicious and full of cancer-preventing stuff, and really low in calories (while being full of vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, and calcium).

Cabbage soup is one of those simple recipes that can be really fulfilling on a cool winter day when you don’t want something heavy like stew.

Here’s the recipe I put together,

• 8-10 cups of chicken broth (I used bullion to “make” it)
• Throw in an onion, chopped
• Add baby carrots, cut lengthwise
• Splash in some Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
• Dump in half a head of cabbage, chopped

Wait until the cabbage and carrots are tender, and then eat it.

So simple, and so yummy. The leftovers reheat well too, but don’t freeze this soup… cabbage gets weird if you freeze it.

Here’s a sweet pattern that might help you with Valentine’s gifts this year. A few years ago, when I was a resident assistant at Winthrop University, I made a pin for every one of my (about 40) residents. It took a while, but I think it was worth it, especially when I saw some of the girls wearing their pins on their bookbags, jackets, and shirts. If you’re a teacher, this is a great thing to make for your students. Or just pull together a few of them for your closest girlfriends.

You Will Need:

• Small amounts of yarn, any weight
• A crochet hook appropriate for your yarn
• A yarn needle
• Pin backs
• Embellishing Glue

To Begin:
Start with a magic ring.
ch 1.
7 sc into ring.
sl st to join.

Round 1:
ch 1. Do not turn.
1 sc in first 2 scs.
[sc, dc, sc] into third sc.
1 sc in next 2 scs.
[sc, 2dc, sc] into next 2 sts.
Sl st to join.

Round 2:
Ch 1. Do not turn.
1 sc into first 3 sts.
[sc, dc, sc] into next st.
1 sc into next 3 sts.
2hdc in next st.
3dc in next st.
[hdc, sc] in next st.
sl st in next 2 sts.
[sc, hdc] in next st.
3dc in next st.
2hdc in next st.
sl st to join.

Finish off. Weave in the ends.

Extras:

• Try adding a ruffled border by working a succession of scs and chs around the edge.
• Add top embellishment by using sl sts to make an outline. Or stitch on kisses and hugs (Xs and Os)
• If sequins and buttons are your thing, the embellishing glue will set those on your hearts nicely.
• Or, try gluing a tiny felt heart onto the crocheted one.

Making Your Hearts Into Brooches:

• Embellishing glue is a lovely thing… it will adhere anything to anything, as long as you follow the directions! I’ll tell you what my glue says to do, but read your glue’s label and double-check to make sure it’s the same.
• Turn your hearts over so that they’re face down. “Draw” a line of glue on each heart where you want the pins to be.
• Here’s the hard part: Wait ten minutes. The embellishing glue will hold the slick pin backs better if it has this time to think about it.
• Now, press a pin back into the glue on each heart, making sure not to get glue on any of the pin back’s moving parts.
• And…another hard part. Wait for 24 hours. Don’t play with the brooches until the glue has an entire day to dry.
• Now… Give hearts to everyone you know. One can never have too many Valentines!

Or Try…

• Adding magnets instead of pin backs. Make your fridge feel loved!
• Gluing a spring-style clothespin to the back of each heart, and a magnet to the back of each clothespin. Turn any metal surface into a message board for love letters.
• Using the hearts to decorate picture frames, your steering wheel cover, your lunch bag, or anything!
• Wear your heart on your sleeve…literally.

LOTS more pictures of heart brooches are in my Flickr.

Click here for my other patterns.

Chances are, you know a young girl. And chances are, at some point, you’ll want to buy or make her a gift. Well, one girl I know is my adorable niece, Dorsey. She’s in first grade, and is reading like CRAZY. Seriously, I showed her my (handwritten, scribbled, partially crossed-out and edited) rendition of a holiday song, and in seconds she was giggling. I didn’t think she could have possibly read it in that time, but she had! She read it out loud to me with no hesitation when I asked her to.
In any case, the girl is a reading machine.

For Christmas, I decided to get her The Daring Book for Girls, which is awesome. If you haven’t seen it before, check out the link. You can read part of it at the amazon.com website. It covers all sorts of girlie topics, like 14 games of tag, making daisy chains, spying, sleep overs, building a campfire, and wayyyy more.

A book by itself isn’t much fun to open at Christmas when you’re 6 years old, no matter how fun it is when you’re reading it, so I decided to make her a girl kit with some of the essential gear listed in the book.

I found the little papier mache suitcase box at Jo-Ann, took it home, and painted it. Then I filled it with a bandanna, some rope, duct tape, a whistle, and a compass. If the girl you’re gifting to is a bit older, a pocket knife would be a great addition.

So back to the reading thing. I thought that this would be a book Dorsey would need to go through with her mother (my sister). Instead, within minutes, she was reading one of the pages seemingly effortlessly.  Very amazing. Go Montessori education! Of course, I’m sure my sister will still go through the book with Dorsey.
Think she liked it?

If you’re looking for some stylish gifts for your favorite happy homemaker, posh mama, domestic goddess, or talented teacher, these unique aprons may be just the ticket.

I’ve been adding lots of aprons to Joyful Abode @ Etsy,  so be sure to check them out. This batch has several vintage aprons, including a little sheer organza number, a utilitarian clothespin apron, one with a kawaii camping print, and two Joyful Abode full-style originals with D-ring adjustable neck straps.

If you stock your pantry and fridge like I do, you probably have some shredded cheese in the fridge or freezer, salsa, a can of olives, and a partially full container of sour cream. I think most people (not usually me) also have ground beef around, in the freezer or fridge, and lettuce is pretty common too.

So throw them all together into a quick taco salad one night. You can use a taco seasoning mix, like I did, or make your own.

The reason I’m writing about taco salad though, is not because you wouldn’t think of making taco salad, but because I think the way you layer the ingredients is kind of important.

PERSONALLY, I have the lettuce on the bottom, then the cheese must go under the beef. This is because the hot meat will make the cheese melty. Mmm. What could be better?

So, so far we have lettuce, cheese, beef. Then comes the sauce type stuff… sour cream and salsa (or fresh tomatoes). Then, sprinkle the olives, because they’re pretty.

If I’m eating it with tortilla chips, I like them on the side, so I can scoop with them and they stay crispy. The man likes his chips on the bottom, so they get soggy and he can eat them with a fork.

How do YOU layer your taco salad ingredients?

Over the holidays, yayanana gave me her old bread machine, so I decided to try it out with a loaf of chocolate bread. It’s not a desserty brownie type thing. It’s more like a normal bread-texture with a cocoa flavor, not too sweet. It’s great warmed up, with a schmear of butter on it.

Next time, though, I think I’d use the “sandwich” setting on my machine, which supposedly makes a bread with a softer crust. The crust on this one was pretty crunchy, and didn’t match the flavor of the bread.

So here’s the recipe for ya!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tablespoon yeast
• a little less than 2 cups flour (all-purpose, or bread flour)
• 1/3 cup of cocoa
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon (which is 4 1/2 teaspoons) oil
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cups water

Add everything into the bread machine in the recommended order. For most machines, I think that’s liquids, dry ingredients, then yeast. My machine has a little container for the yeast, and it releases it at the correct moment. Set your machine, and wait until it beeps, “I’m finished!!!”

It’s pretty yummy right out of the machine, but it’s a lot easier to slice once it cools.

Try it out and let me know how you like it!

Lately, I’ve been super-busy at Joyful Abode. I have been trying to determine a plan for 2008  (which almost satisfies my never-ending love for making lists). The plan includes new products, new apron styles, more publicity (or “putting myself out there”), and hopefully more…people…noticing me. Of course, this will happen bit by bit, so don’t expect world-shaking changes all at once!

One thing you may have noticed is that I’ve switched out the ugly and boring google adsense ads in the right sidebar for sponsorships. I’d much rather give other independent crafters and artisans a place to promote their businesses! So, if you have your own business, blog, or even a favorite charity you’d like to support, please consider sponsoring Joyful Abode.

One thing you probably have NOT noticed is that Joyful Abode has been more heavily traveled of late. When someone comments on an entry, I get an email about it no matter what. BUT if it’s a new person who has never commented before, I must approve the comment before it’s posted. Well, I’ve been getting lots of new commenters lately. Welcome, all you new people! Also, the number of subscribers, unique visitors, and pageviews have been inching up quite a bit. It’s pretty exciting!

I am also part of a new team on etsy called Homefront. I’m heading up the development of a blog for the team, and if you take a peek, you’ll see there isn’t much there yet. I’m pretty excited though, because a lot of etsy teams are location-specific, and that doesn’t work out too well for military families who move often.

Besides all of that newsy stuff, I’ve been sewing baby blankets and hand-appliquéing little pictures in the corners. Pictures will come soon, I assure you. They’re VERY cute, and definitely worth all of the time that goes into them. They’re made out of 100% cotton flannel, and the batting is something like 97% cotton (the website says 100%, but the store says 97%). They’re warm and snuggly without being suffocating. Keep an eye out!