Good Morning Idea

Easy and Healthy Kale Chips!

2012-01-19T20:23:00.002-06:00

Hey, stranger! It's been a while, but things are great and I'm still trying to be crafty, just not as much as before. It kind of comes in waves for me. But I am knitting a scarf and I'm definitely going to need it soon because winter has definitely hit Wisconsin.

Tonight I experimented with a new recipe: kale chips! I've heard that kale is very good for you, but I find it bitter tasting and I'm not a fan. But turning them into chips takes that bitterness away and they're freakin' delightful!

Start by tearing the kale into big pieces, leaving the stem out. I lined a couple baking sheets with parchment paper to make clean-up easier. Spray with olive oil. Do you guys have one of these Misto things? They're great and I highly recommend them.

Here it is, ready to be seasoned.

My aunt got me these amazing salts for Christmas and I was so excited to use them.

After putting on the oil and whatever seasoning you want, bake them at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. They shrink down a lot!

I could barely wait until they had cooled and you definitely can't eat just one!

San Diego

2011-09-25T22:34:00.000-05:00

It's about 2 hours from our hotel in Pasadena to San Diego so we planned on getting there by lunch time. I found Cafe Chloe through Yelp and it was really delicious.

How cute is my lavender lemonade?

I got a small cheese plate and pomme frites with dipping sauces.

Next up was the San Diego Zoo! It was AMAZING. Dan's first stop was the most important:

I have a lot more zoo pictures on my regular phone, but here's a nice one of the flamingos.

My friend Erin used to live in SD and recommended Pokez for Mexican food. We met up with our friend Jimmy for dinner and it was good! I got potato flautas and they were ginormous.

I'm going to try to hit the hay early tonight. We have an early start and it's a full day of traveling to get back home. I'm sad it's over!

Los Angeles 3

2011-09-24T23:23:00.001-05:00

Oh, man, brunch at Gjelina was amazing. It's in Venice, which I found to be a really cute area. At Gjelina I got the lemon ricotta pancakes with fresh raspberries on top. They were the best pancakes I have ever eaten. They don't look like anything particularly special, but they are incredibly light and also moist - you can see flecks of lemon and ricotta and they add the most delightful, fresh flavor. It didn't even really need maple syrup but I poured a little bit on.

Dan got the Morrocan fried eggs and those were great, too.

I couldn't resist getting dessert; butterscotch pudding with fresh whipped cream, a little caramel drizzle and sea salt. I love salty and sweet!

Then we walked around Venice and checked out shops. Dan tried on hats.

We took a nice long walk on the beach in Santa Monica. The waves were gorgeous and there were quite a few surfers. A bit chilly, though.

Windswept, but happy.

We didn't really need more food, but I just had to try out this place, Harajuku Crepe. It's a cute place in Beverly Hills - isn't the chandelier pretty?

We shared the American Usual crepe - Earl Grey batter for the crepe itself, vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream, strawberries, bananas, nutella, and Pocky!

This is serious.

After this we chilled at our hotel for a bit until dinner at Take A Bao. So, technically, this place is in a mall food court. But it was really good and kind of a crazy fun time. Also, it is a very fancy mall. I got the sweet soy grilled tofu bao and some crispy wonton chips.

Now I'm going to have some jacuzzi time at the hotel! We have a big day planned in San Diego tomorrow.

Los Angeles 2

2011-09-24T11:22:00.001-05:00

Today one of the highlights was lunch at Food + Lab. It's an adorable little sandwich, salad, and coffee shop. I got the gorgonzola dolce sandwich, which has fig compote, honey and pear on toasted raisin walnut bread. It was so, so amazing. I think I should try to recreate it at home.

Dan's chorizo sandwich. Not sure what else is on it.

Dan's coffee drink was served in the same style bowl we have at home for cereal! My mint lemonade was great, too.

After lunch we were ready to hit the Griffith Observatory. This place had spectacular views and some cool things to see inside.

We also went to the Getty Museum. I was sort of iffy on the artwork but the building and grounds themselves are really spectacular.

After all of that walking we had worked up an appetite for dinner. This time it was my friend Vanessa's pick. A vegan Vietnamese place called Vinh Loi. This place was totally cute and the food was amazing. Even Dan was impressed and he's usually really wary of vegan and even vegetarian places. Another great food day!

Los Angeles

2011-09-24T00:01:00.002-05:00

We said goodbye to the lovely Santa Barbara and hopped on the 1 to LA! The views were gorgeous, as usual. Malibu sure looks like a nice place. Ahh, to be rich. We rolled into Los Angeles just in time for lunch, at Susan Feniger's Street. This meal was absolutely amazing. I started out with a tamarind, ginger cooler and Dan and I shared some of these crazy appetizers:

Think "spicy Rice Krispie treat." There is marshmallow, turmeric, black currant, fennel, and probably some other things I'm forgetting. They were really unique and delicious. We also shared the Kaya Toast, which is toasted bread with coconut jam that you dip into a fried egg that has been drizzled in soy and pepper. A really neat combination of the sweet coconut, that was almost custard like, and the salty soy sauce.

For my main course I got the Banh Mi Baguette which typically has meat on it but I was able to get mine vegan (an option for many dishes here, which was great).

Dan got a cheeseburger and thought it was amazing. Angus beef, Vermont cheddar (seriously, Vermont knows how to do cheddar) a yuzu kosho sauce (?!) and homemade pickles, which I stole. We both left stuffed!

Our hotel is technically in Pasadena but it sure is cute here, too. There are some great views of the mountains across the way. Next up was the MUCH anticipated dinner at Cube Cafe. Dan and I got a cheese plate to share and for my main course I had the black truffle pizza with mozzerella and fried egg. It was fabulous.

The highlight of the meal, however, was the s'more pie. Served in a teacup with a salty, buttery graham cracker crust, melty dark chocolate and gooey marshmallow. It was heaven.

After dinner we zipped over to see old friends before calling it a night. Oh, I almost forgot - Cube was the location of my first celebrity sighting here. Do you guys know Chris Hardwick? He's a comedian and back in the day he had a weird dating game he co-hosted with Jenny McCarthy called Singled Out. Anyway, he was standing outside with his date who had on pointy elfin ears. After she finished her cigarette, they came inside and sat down. A few minutes later another couple joined their table; some guy and another girl with elfin ears. !! Weird.

Santa Barbara

2011-09-22T18:07:00.003-05:00

After grabbing a quick breakfast at our hotel, we headed south to Santa Barbara. On our way we stopped at an In and Out Burger. I told Dan, "I'm like a real person, going to a fast food place!" Uh, as a vegetarian I don't go to any really, but it's probably not something to brag about. Dan got a burger and we both got an order of fries, Animal Style! I guess you have to be in-the-know about their secret menu. Dan figures that the California laws about posting nutritional information has a little something to do with the secret menu. Here you've got fries, gooey cheese, carmelized onions and a sauce that instantly made me nostalgic for a Big Mac (that thousand island-type sauce or whatever it was)!

As soon as we got into Santa Barbara I knew that I loved it. Even the street signs are adorable (some sort of polynesian font! Why can't I find a picture?)! Our first order of business was getting a cupcake from Crushcakes, per Julia's recommendation.

Here is the Strawberry Blush cupcake I ordered:

And here is Dan's pumpkin cheesecake:

We wandered around outside of the Santa Barbara Mission and took some goofy pictures.

We hadn't booked a hotel for this city, and I was a little wary because many people mentioned how expensive it was to stay here, but we found a cute place that ended up being the cheapest place, so far, on our trip! After we dropped off our bags, we walked down the main strip, State St. and shopped. At the end of State St. you hit the ocean and it's just gorgeous.

We had some okay Thai food and then caught a showing of Drive at a cute movie theater there.

Big Sur, San Simeon and Cambria

2011-09-20T22:16:00.000-05:00

After grabbing breakfast at the adorable Mariposa Inn we headed off to Pfeiffer Park to see some redwoods. The views on this leg of the trip were so amazing. I can't even really describe it. We stopped on the side of the road whenever we felt like it, to snap some pics. I know the photos can't even do it justice! For most of the ride, the fog was entirely over the ocean so it felt like we were above a cloud.

We reached Pfeiffer park and I hiked! You guys! Like 3 miles and that is A LOT for me, as you probably know. But I did it, after just a tiiiny bit of complaining. They have a cute little waterfall there so I got some pics for posterity. At this point I feel the need to give a shout-out to my friend, Kate and the Born Susanne boots. Kate is a friend and one of my fashion inspirations, so when I saw her rocking the Born boots I knew I wanted to copy her and get some of my own. I hiked in these and they were awesome. There is no "breaking in" period for these boots. You put them on and they are comfortable for all day wear. It's crazy but I'm SO glad I got them and then bought another pair in black. Ha! Thanks, Kate! I will be copying you more from now on. Twins!

After grabbing a post-hike snack, we headed further south to San Simeon for the Hearst Castle tour. It was really fun and the house is amazing. I wish I could live there. We got to see several rooms inside and spend as much time outside on the grounds as we wanted. The tour guide was so awesome and knowledgeable that it would have been great to be able to see more rooms inside and learn more about the house. I think I saw at least two carpets that look just like the ones my parents have. The outdoor pool was really something spectacular. The tour guide made all of us jealous when she explained that the pool was going to be closed off for an employee swim that evening. Lucky!!

After we had gotten our fill of the Hearst Castle we hopped in the car for a very short trip to our hotel, Moonstone Landing, in Cambria. Cambria! Who knew? It's such a cute little seaside town with a ton of boutiques, shops and restaurants. You could really spend some time here exploring. The front desk lady at our hotel nailed it with her restaurant recommendation. She even called them right up and made our reservation. The place is called Robin's and it was so fantastic. Amazing service and phenomenal food. I'm really glad we got this recommendation because I had done a little research and found a place that I wasn't really excited about.

Moonstone Landing is also another great find. Our room is super nice and has a lot of perks. Technically this place and Mariposa Inn are motels because the room doors are on the outside, but I'm really feeling it. This is totally the way to go because they are super convenient to get in and out of with luggage, are much cheaper than hotels, and come with a lot more charm and perks!

San Francisco and Monterey

2011-09-19T21:43:00.000-05:00

We had a great evening in San Francisco - our friend Lyndsey took us to Shalimar, an awesome hole-in-the-wall, authentic Indian place. After that, Dan and I hit The Utah for a Jonny Corndawg show. The venue was divey and intimate. Jonny put on an amazing show and it was nice to chat with him afterward. I'm really glad we went.

The next morning we headed to Brenda's Cafe for brunch. Their menu of French soul food was really unique and we were super excited. We weren't too stoked about the 40 minute wait for food but my granola pancakes with fruit were delish. There was granola covering the top of the cakes, which gave it a really nice texture.

After exploring some coffee shops, clothing stores, and book shops in the Mission we hit the road for Monterey! We headed straight to the Monterey Aquarium and it was so, so fantastic. One of the best "museums" I've ever been to. The seahorses exhibit was especially fantastic.

After walking around for a while we headed over to check into the Mariposa Inn. This place was totally fantastic - nice big rooms with H20 bath products (my fave!), fireplace and a huge comfy bed. I wish we could bring this place with us on our travels. They have a pool and a hot tub, too. Dan found this place and it was way cheaper than a lot of places in Monterey.

Dinner was one of my finds, Lalla Grill. They have a big menu and the food was really great. Dan got a steak and twice baked potato with crab and gorgonzola. The steak is buried under there somewhere!

I got two small plates, which were really filling. The sweet potato gnocchi and goat cheese ravioli.

I think tonight we'll relax in our awesome hotel and watch some Breaking Bad. Ahhh, vacation!

San Francisco

2011-09-18T19:54:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again, when I turn my craft blog into a travel blog. This time, Dan and I flew out to California to road trip it! We flew into California, picked up our rental car, and checked into our hotel in San Francisco. It was a really long day of travel so, after we settled in, our first stop was the highly recommended, Burma Superstar. I got a ginger lemonade, the burmese samusas, tea leaf salad (aka crack salad), and the Superstar vegetarian noodles. Everything was so fantastic and I wish I could bring this place back to Milwaukee.

This morning we headed over the bay to Emeryville for brunch at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe. The food was fantastic! I got a pomegranate lemonade and the California Blackstone special (toasted ciabatta, tomato, avocado, two poached eggs, hollandaise and chives). It was really cool to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, too. After brunch, we drove up some crazy winding roads to Muir Woods but it was so insanely packed we would have had to walk a couple of miles just to get to the woods.

Next up is dinner with friends at an Indian place and a Jonny Corndawg show at The Utah. The scenery here is amazing, believe me, but I have a feeling this trip is going to be ALL about the food. Blogging might be a little tricky, though because I forgot the cord for my digital camera. For now, I'll have to rely on the sub-par photos from my phone. Maybe I can blog as much as I can on the go (so I don't forget!) and then supplement all of the entries later with better photos, once I get home.

Furoshiki 2

2011-07-10T11:26:00.000-05:00

Here's a more fashion-y pose with one of my furoshiki bags after we hit the town for a fancy dinner at Moto:

Furoshiki Purse

2011-07-07T18:42:00.000-05:00

This project is definitely one of my favorites. It involves the Japanese technique of folding fabric, Furoshiki. It can be used to wrap anything: gifts, groceries, and even wine bottles. My aunt found several YouTube video tutorials for me and my friends and we all picked it up in a snap. My aunt has a legendary fabric stash, so as soon as we decided to make purses, the sky was the limit!

Here's a great tutorial video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC7MH3EzBWM

A stylish handbag with no sewing! What could be better than that?

Here are the three (showing restraint!!) purses I made:

These bags were so easy and quick to make. I can't wait to make more!

Hex Nut Bracelets

2011-06-05T20:12:00.001-05:00

I hosted a little crafting get together at my place today and we attempted this project. I love projects that use things you can find around the house or the hardware store! All you need is twine and small hex nuts. I would have loved to use gold, but could only find silver.

I love how mine turned out! Kind of a Skeletor angle, but you get the idea:

Special bonus "craft" - I tried out a new cocktail, the Diamond Fizz!

2 oz gin

1 oz fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

chilled champagne

1. Pour the gin, lemon juice and sugar into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

2. Shake, shake, shake!

3. Strain into a highball glass (with ice optional and also I used wine glasses?)

4. top with champagne

Braided Bracelets

2011-05-17T10:31:00.000-05:00

A couple of friends and I got together to tackle this project. This is a great craft if you have some old t-shirts that you don't wear anymore. The tutorial was a little confusing, so we looked for a YouTube video and that helped a lot.

Here are all the ones we made piled together (mine are the three in front, olive, gray, and teal):

I normally don't wear bracelets because they get in my way or clank around, but these are perfect and comfortable.

Dress Altered

2011-04-10T20:27:00.000-05:00

I bought this vintage dress from an antique store a while ago and it was too big. It's the first project using my new dress form, Dolly, and it turned out perfectly! I just pinned each side and sewed it up. So much easier than trying to pin on myself!

Today, Milwaukee got a freak 80 degree day, hence my Heidi braids, and we're all hoping it sticks around.

Sewing Help

2011-03-27T22:16:00.000-05:00

My sewing projects have been made possible by very generous family and friends. My grandma is an extremely talented knitter and sewer and when she moved into an assisted living home, I got her gorgeous sewing box, filled to the brim with every sewing notion known to woman. This isn't just any sewing box, though, it's a treasured piece of furniture.

My other most treasured sewing gadget was given to me by my aunt, MaryLee, who supports me in all of my crafting endeavors. This dress form will help so much with clothes making. Dan helped me set all of the dials to my own measurements.

Amy, my good friend and sewing guru, told me that a dress form needs a name, so I chose the name Dolly!

This Hawaiian dress needs to be taken in and I can't wait to get started on it. Starting this project will definitely be made easier with the dress form but also because my friend Morgan was kind enough to offer to take out all of the side stitches for me! In Ellie's world, it takes a village to make a dress. Ha!

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

2011-02-14T20:58:00.000-06:00

I don't cook very much (um, or at all, really?) but I do enjoy baking, when an amazing recipe comes along. Our Tiki themed Valentine's Day inspired me to find a really great recipe. After some research, I found a good one on allrecipes.com.

Some of the commenters there made some modification suggestions to the recipe and I followed them. I used a Pineapple Supreme cake mix and followed the directions on the box to make the batter. There's a heavenly sauce that goes in the greased muffin tins first - a mixture of 1/3 C melted butter and 2/3 C packed brown sugar. Spoon some into each cup and then it's time for pineapples.

My muffin tins make kind of small muffins so the pineapples had to be sliced to fit. If you have the bigger muffin tins you could probably fit a lovely pineapple ring in the base. Spoon the batter over the pineapple and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Get your cooling and rack and tinfoil ready for the flip!

Run a knife around the edge of each muffin to loosen them. Place the rack on top of the muffin pan and flip it!

Beauties! When I made the first batch for the party, I thought they smelled a lot like Twinkies, which surprised me! Are Twinkies pineapple cake?

Top with some boozy, rum cherries that you have on hand. Oh, wait, you don't have rum-soaked cherries on hand? Damn, you really need to meet my friend, Suzanne.

Put some Perez Prado and Harry Belefonte on the stereo and it's Tiki time!

Sprucing Up a Welcome Mat

2011-02-11T18:25:00.000-06:00

A couple of years ago, I got a cute welcome mat from Target. It had a pretty, aqua colored damask design on it. Over the years, all of the paint came off so I decided to spruce it up with a new design!

See, you can kind of see it on the edge, but it looks pretty sad.

I started with two coats of aqua blue.

I enlisted the help of my husband because he's really good at drawing. I know this because he also helped me with my button animal silhouettes. Look how cute the seahorse turned out!

Here it is all cut out!

A couple coats of white spray paint was all it took. Not too shabby! If the paint wears off of this one, we can just do another design. I love a project that involves rehabbing something I already have using things I can find around the house (you know me, spray paint is pretty much a staple in this household). I finished it just in time for the tropical themed Valentine's Day party we're throwing tomorrow! Aloha!

Apron for Jane

2011-01-29T22:42:00.000-06:00

This past holiday season, my friend Jane sent me a package full of goodies, including this Butterick apron pattern. It was just the thing I needed to get me back into the sewing swing of things!

To return Jane's kindness, I wanted to make her one. I thought version A (the pink one) was the cutest, but I made a few changes. I used this great, wild print fabric that my mom gave me for Christmas. Here you can see it close, on one of the straps.

I used bias tape for the first time. It's not perfect, but I think the green trim is cute. I thought it was pretty serendipitous that I found some in the sewing box I inherited from my grandma, in just the right shade and just the right amount for the pockets.

Here it is (wrong side) all spread out so you can get a sense for the shape. Four straps, two pockets, and one solid main piece.

And here is Jane modeling the final project!

Hawaiian Print Pillows

2010-11-22T20:13:00.000-06:00

This fabric is one of my absolute favorites. After making this dress, I knew I'd have to do something with the leftover scraps. So, I whipped up a couple of pillows for the bed! I love quick and easy projects, even if it does involve a little bit of the dreaded hand sewing.

Speaking of quick and easy, here's a recipe for Ellie's Minty S'Mores that will change your life:

Ingredients: two graham crackers, 2 Andes candies, 2 marshmallows

Directions: Break the graham crackers in half and place on a microwave safe plate. Top two of the halves with an Andes candy and a marshmallow. Microwave for 12 seconds - watch the marshmallows puff up! Place the other graham cracker halves on top and dig in. They're freaking delightful!

Giraffe Skirt

2010-11-01T19:47:00.000-05:00

I finally finished my giraffe circle skirt! Check it out:

I followed the same pattern as my black and white checked skirt, except this time I added some ties on the side.

Join Me On Pinterest!

2010-10-19T11:41:00.002-05:00

I recently found out about an awesome new website called Pinterest. It’s a really simple, pretty website that collects images and links for you and puts them in “boards.” You can decide what theme your boards have, and can set up as many boards as you like. Some examples of my boards are Places I'd Like to Visit, Tutorials to Try, and Eat! Set up an account, put a Pinterest button on your web browser toolbar, and with a few clicks, you can add new material to any board in seconds. You can even pin something via email.

My Google Reader is a great tool for gathering things from all over the web, but I like Pinterest because I can group them the way I want and see them all at once, with a link back to the original source. There's also a great community on there - I've found so many cool people posting inspiring things. I also never realized how many tutorials I've held onto in my Google Reader over the years. It's crazy!

You have to be logged in to use Pinterest right now, and since they’re still in beta, you need an invitation to get an account. I have five invitations* at my disposal, so leave a comment on this post and I'll send you one! Let's all join!

You can also put in your request for an invitation.

*UPDATE: I still have 2 invites left!

Fabric Roll Call!

2010-10-08T17:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to generous family members, I have accumulated quite an impressive fabric stash. I like having options for sewing projects down the line (this is similar to my library book situation - must always have at least one back up!).

The next project I'm going to begin is a circle skirt using this whimsical giraffe and palm tree print! I plan on making it fuller than my black and white check wool circle skirt. I kind of wish I had made that one fuller, too, but I still love it.

I love this old pink geometric shape print. I'm thinking it would look nice for a full, short skirt.

I also might make a short skirt out of this one, but I'm not sure yet. The fabric is kind of stiff and coarse.

Here's the good ol' Anniversary Fabric. I started using this one for a full, short skirt but got discouraged and it's on hold. Should I make a longer circle skirt with it? A circle skirt is just so EASY and you get fullness and a lovely shape without having to worry about pleats or darts or anything like that.

This is an old pillowcase that I wish I could use for something. Any suggestions? The sheets to match might soon be too worn to use so, I could potentially have a lot of it. It looks a little washed out in this picture. The background color is aqua.

I also have some leftovers of this floral print that I used to make my sewing machine cover.

And this silky, floral fabric is very special. I'm thinking I should make a top out of this. I found a couple patterns that I like.

I like this pattern a lot; specifically the one on the left.

Or this one, but it looks like it could be difficult.

So, there you have it! I'd love to hear any suggestions or comments you have!

Circle Skirt

2010-10-03T17:12:00.000-05:00

I think this circle skirt project was just the thing to to take my mind off the two projects I have halfway completed (short skirt made with Anniversary Fabric and the red and white Hawaiian dress). With some gorgeous wool, black and white check fabric from my aunt and some help with construction from sewing-guru, Amy, I was able to whip it up in mostly one evening.

We used one of Amy's circle skirts to cut the shape out on the bias of the fabric:

I sewed up one side of the skirt, then held it up to my waist to see where to sew it up on the other side. Some of the fabric at the top had to be cut off so it would fit around my waist. Then I sewed the other side, stopping approximately seven inches from the top to allow for the zipper. After that was in, I added a waistband.

After a little hand-sewing to touch up some areas, I pinned it to a length I liked and hemmed it with the steam-a-seam stuff and it was done!

It's the perfect length and weight for fall and winter!

I'm thinking of making another, fuller one with the Anniversary Fabric. What do you think?

Minocqua for Labor Day

2010-09-06T19:56:00.000-05:00

Dan and I spent a nice little weekend in Minocqua, WI for Labor Day. We attended a fabulous wedding and then explored the town the next day. In the morning, we grabbed some donuts from Paul Bunyan's Cook Shanty!

We found record heaven in Gaslight Antiques. You can sort of see the red and white Hawaiian print dress (made in Hawaii!) that I bought, too. It's a little big, but I'm going to take it in.

I have never seen records like these before. I wish they all were like this:

Bike Pack Cover

2010-07-24T19:21:00.000-05:00

I haven't found the perfect pattern yet for my new fabric. I will get to it, though! In the meantime, I whipped up a little something tonight. It's a cover for the pack I have attached to my bike.

I started with this cute fabric from Hobby Lobby (or Hobby Lobotomy, as my husband calls it).

I cut out a circle-ish piece for one end and a long piece for the cylindrical part. I didn't bother with being too careful about the look of these pieces. All of the ends would be tucked in anyway because I used only topstitching for this project. The end with the zipper I just left alone. It's easier that way.

Despite my best intentions I completely forgot to take ANY pictures of my steps along the way. I guess it's good that I was really in the zone.

I sewed the two pieces together first. Then I cut a slot on the end because there is some velcro there, which runs along the side of the pack. I left this area open as well. Then I sewed all along the edge by the zipper so it won't come off.

Buttercup is ready to hit the road in style!