Feel Good Friday!

Just when I start feeling sorry for myself, my inner "mom" tells me to SNAP OUT OF IT and I throw on some show tunes, pull myself up and belt out my best Ethel Merman impression. That's what today's Feel Good Friday is all about-channeling your own Ethel Merman, Barabara Streisand or Judy Garland . Sometimes ya just got to sing!

 Meet Me at Mikes definitely puts me in a good mood. They have crafts, food and music. I was hooked the instant I saw the Ska and Soul Train videos. They know how to wrap me around their little finger!

 

It's a monkey. In a fez. I don't think I have to say anymore.  Moesewco's stitching is amazing and again, it's a monkey in a fez-I'm dying over here.

I love this pin. They are hand painted and flocked (which I am obsessed with right now). Check out Kitschy Galore on etsy. 

I'll admit it, I love the show Glee-sure it's total After School Special and sometimes they aim for the mark and miss terribly. I say more singing and less story but who am I to judge. Anyhoo, the songs are inspiring and totally make my day when I'm down and self doubting. I strongly advise you to pick up both soundtracks and release your inner drama dork.

Alright all you divas just dying to get out! Don't let anyone steal your spotlight. Don't let them tell you that your voice is too pitchy-get out there and sing your song. Enjoy life and be who you are-whatever that person is, be the best at it (unless you're a jerk, then you might want to invest in being someone less offensive). Live and love life to the fullest-you are worth it.

Be An Angel....

Be an angel and stitch up these sweet little girl patterns. I love that to be an angel, she must go shopping!

 

One More Week!

Hey everybody!
Ya got one more week in the banner contest. It can be any type of medium. Stitched, graphic design, collaged. Whatever your little heart desires!

C'mon! You know you want to! There will be prizes!

Walk the Plank

Last week in Portland the weather was amazing. 60 degrees and sunny. Today, however, the rain came back. In order to keep my feet dry, I decided to put on my pirate rubber boots. They make me very happy and feel like I'm 5 years old every time I splash through a puddle. Which bring me to now. See, I have a weird way to bringing things together. My boots reminded me of pirates, which remind me of my pirate friends and drinking. So I call them up and ask them what are the best pirate drinks. They give me a few and I end the call by asking them if the want to meet me at ARRRRRRRRBY's  for some BARRRRRR BBQ(said in my worse pirate voice), in which the phone goes dead. I have found out that my pirate friends have no sense of humor, which might be the reason they drink. Where was I, oh yes, Tie One On Tuesday and Pirate drinks-so here are few to bring out the swash buckler in all of us and may even help with that scurvy problem.

First....Captain Morgans spice rum-is a BIG NO NO! Do not use it at all!

First up is the Angry Pirate Cocktail. I'm not sure why he's so angry. This drink sounds delicious!

1/2 ounce Peach Schnapps
1/2 ounce Coconut Rum
1/2 ounce Blue Hawaiian Schnapps
1/2 ounce Melon Liqueur
1 ounce pineapple juice
Splash of 7-Up
Pour the peach schnapps, coconut rum,Blue Hawaiian schnapps, melon liqueur and pineapple juice into a mixing glass half-filled with ice cubes. Stir well and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with chilled 7-Up, garnish with lime, and serve.

Say yer looking for treasure matey? Well, here be your Pirate Treasure!
2 ounces Spiced Rum
1 1/2 ounces Whisky
12 ounce Coke or Cola like drink
Combine all in a glass and drink up!

Last but not least, this one is for the pirate that likes ice cream and really, what pirate doesn't?
The Chocolate Pirate
1 1/2 ounces rum
1 ounce coffee liqueur
1 ounce milk
2 scoops chocolate ice cream
Blend ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve in a chilled wine goblet (cause I'm fancy like that)


ARGH mateys! There be yer drinks to warm yer belly. Be careful with these concoctions, they may seem mild but after a few you will be donning puffy shirts, mounting a fake parrot to your shoulder and cussing like a sailor. Come to think of it, I might already be there-I've got the parrot and cussing part down.

Feel Good Friday

 

Special thanks to kind over matter.

I'll admit it-I'm cranky today. Sure it's Friday and yes it's 60 degrees in the middle of winter, but I'm still cranky. I'm hoping to fix that with a little bit of Feel Good Friday.

This sweet little girl was stitched up by revoluzzza. She is too adorable. You should check out her other creations.

The weather may be heating up here but in most places it's still chilly. I love gsakowskidesigns scarf. They won't set you back a pretty penny to look fabulous in the cold weather. It's so hard to pick a favorite.

I came across Attic24 through another blog and fell in love. The pictures are brilliant and Lucy's style of writing makes you think you are reading a letter from a long lost friend or sister. Her words sooth as her pictures make you smile.

 

FUZZY JACK RUSSELL! 

Okay, that last picture pulled me out of the grumpy mood I was in. How can you not be happy when you have cute puppies?
I hope everyone's weekend is as fab and you enjoy resting, hanging with friends and being good to yourself.

A Little Birdy Told Me

These little birds are so adorable. Of course my favorite is the stitching one. 

 

  

Happy Stitching! 

Design Me a Banner Contest!

Hey all you talented peeps out there! It's time to strut your stuff and design a banner for your favorite blog (yes, that's this one!). I will be setting up a flickr group for you to upload your banner ideas to and then all the readers get to vote on the best one. What's in it for you? You mean beside the prestige that you get to design a kick ass banner and get my undying love? You get prizes! A 20.00 gift card to a store or etsy shop of your choice and this cool book

 Now here's the details!
What: Design me a banner contest
Dimisions: Must be 692 pixels wide
When: Feb 17-March 3rd
Voting: March 4th-11th
How: Design a banner and upload it to this flickr group
Prizes: 20.00 gift card of your choice and a super cool book

Good Luck!

Let the Good Times Roll!

Yahoo! Mardi Gras is here! Before we prepare for Lent, it's time to dawn plastic beads (please don't tell what you did to get them-WINK),pull out that accordion and strike up a snappy Zydeco tune. How do you get the party started? By mixing a few cocktails of course!

The drink that made New Orleans famous, and the one you must have when you go there, is the Hurricane. Think of a spiked fruit punch. A really, really extreme, burn your eyebrows off, spiked fruit punch.

The Hurricane
2 oz light rum
2 oz dark rum
2 oz passion fruit juice
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 tbsp simple syrup
1 tbsp grenadine
Garnish: orange slice and cherry
Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a hurricane glass. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

And what better way to celebrate Bourbon street than with a Bourbon Slush.

Bourbon Slush
2 tea bags
1 c. boiling water
1 c. sugar
3 1/2 c. water
1 (6 oz.) can frozen orange juice (thawed)
3/4 c. bourbon
1/2 can frozen lemonade (thawed)
Steep tea bags in 1 cup boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove bags and stir in sugar until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Place in container in freezer until slush. Spoon into glasses and mix with 7-UP.

The last cocktail on our party route is the Ramos Gin Fizz also known as the New Orleans Fizz. Harold Ramos invented this drink in 1888 and it was kept under lock and key until the 1920's during prohibition.

Ramos Gin Fizz
2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp confectioners sugar
2 oz cream (or half and half)
2 drops orange flower water
Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a Collins glass.

Now that you've had your fill of yummy "gras" grog (or at least planned what you're going to get sloshed on), it is time to give thought to what you're going to give up for Lent. One thing I know, it sure isn't going to be a tasty beverage. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Feel Good Friday!

 Thank you Tad Capenter

Pat yourself on the back! We did it! We made it through another week with style, sass, and giggles.This Feel Good Friday is devoted to Love. Awww yeah....I know you're feeling it. You're picking up what I'm throwing down. Let's see what kind of trouble we can get into-shall we?
 

So, you're thinking what to get that sweetie of yours. You don't want to  go out to the local 7-11 and pickup some hack roses, do you?  How about going old school and making a mix tape. This time honored tradition will not fail you. Ladies love the mix tape-just saying guys. It's like 80's dance parties to us-we can not resist.

Nothing says loving like a stealth ninja coming at you. These cute little guys definitely won me over. Soraia_bejinhos rocks. 

The Rikrak Studio is such an awesome blog! It is so inspiring, uplifting and just pretty! Dont' forget to check out the handmade olympics!

Say you need a little good luck charm to get your mojo going again. This necklace from JMankin Design will defintiely help!

Are you feeling the love? Well, if this doesn't push you over the edge, nothing will! A little note to my sweetie

Mark-

I promise to be your wife, your best buddy, and the Bonnie to your Clyde, the Abbott to your Costello and the Elsa Lanchester to your Boris Karloff, for as long as I'm trapped on this physical plane. You are my life, my soul. The English Language has not yet come up with the words that describe how happy you make me happy. I love you.

Alright, alright...I know-I'm a big softy!-but if you're not crying over that, then something is wrong with you! Now go on you little strips of bacon, get out there and get your sizzle on!

Awwww....A Little Kitty Love

Now before you guys get all excited thinking I'm gonna start smooching, settle down! I found these cute little kitten patterns and couldn't resist sharing them with you for Valentine's Day.

 

  

  

I love that she is wagging her tail at him. Naughty! Aren't those the cutest little valentines? Now if you are really lucky, you still might get a little kiss from yours truly-just cause you're so cute! 

Isn't It Lovely?

I'm not sure if you know it-but there are some new ladies in town and man are they saucy! Maureen and Katie of Sew Lovely Embroidery make fabulous patterns with amazing detail. Did I mention that they are the sweetest? Check them out!

Tell me about Sew Lovely Embroidery?
Sew Lovely Embroidery began on a whim one summer day in 2009. After embroidering for months with other iron on patterns, we wanted to embroider something more detailed! After one crazy night of brainstorming and epiphanies, Sew Lovely began. We wrote down hundreds of ideas for patterns and possible business names and began the next day researching and sketching designs. Once we saw our first pattern in print (Pin-ups) we knew that this was what we wanted to do! We currently juggle our day jobs and Sew Lovely during the day and into the wee hours of the night. Maureen spends hours sketching and inking the designs and I spend my time researching and brainstorming new ideas and of course embroidering! Someday we hope to do this full time, and create a few patterns a month. We are so happy to be doing what we love, and hope you love what we are doing!

What inspires you?
Over the summer we went camping almost every weekend, being out in nature and away from everything inspired us to make this all happen. The ideas just kept pouring out of us! Sitting by the pool and river, stitching up all afternoon without a care in the world are the fondest memories of the beginning of sew lovely. We get inspiration from all things vintage! We get so much motivation from the flickr embroidery pool and the craft community in general. Seeing so many great projects and tutorials every day, makes us want to create more and more! It’s so exciting to see everyone in the craft community constantly creating new and different things, and the best part is everyone is SO nice and supportive (especially you and Jacquie from Mafiosagrrl, we love ya) ! Everyday we wake up and think, what’s next?

 

 

What does the future hold?
More patterns! Hopefully a stitching book! We are figuring out the best way to do custom patterns, we want people to be able to stitch anything that their heart desires!  We dream of opening up a stitching store someday in our favorite neighborhood in San Francisco, filled with walls and walls of thread and hoops and stitching everywhere! Here are a few custom examples that we did, this was for granny, she loves Frank and Ella and so do we!

Any words of wisdom for the fans out there?

Don’t ever think a project is too hard for you! Just go for it! The possibilities are endless with thread. Stitching is so fun and you can learn how to do anything. Also, if you find something you love to do, never give it up! If you keep trying you can make it happen.

Do you have a blog or website?
Yes, our etsy is SewLovelyEmbroidery.etsy.com and we just started to blog on sewlovelyembroidery.blogspot.com!

 

 

Bonus Question?
Favorite pin up?
Maureen~I love Candy! Who doesn’t!!!
Katy~ Daphne! The lines are so simple yet elegant. She looks so dreamy!


EEEP! Pin ups! Are they not the cutest ever? Maureen and Katy are so inspiring! I wish them the best of luck and next time I'm in San Francisco-we are so going out for cocktails! 

Love is in the Air.....

 

Awww yeah...it's that time of year again. Time for a little lovin'. You want to make your special friend a little dinner, bring on a little romance and dazzle them with a sexy, saucy cocktail. Well never fear you little love bunnies. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve that will have them eating out of your hand and begging for more.

This drink will make your date giggle like a school girl (which might be a little creepy if your a husky male.) I can't resist the name or champagne.

Pink Flirtini
1 oz.  Raspberry Vodka
2 oz. Champagne
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
Combine vodka, Champagne, and pineapple juice in a highball or collins glass filled with ice.

Say you're having trouble even GETTING a date. Well, mix this one up at your next party and you are guaranteed a little smooching under the moonlight.

Love Potion #9
1 oz strawberry, vanilla or clear vodka
1/2 oz white crème de cacao
1/2 cup ice
scoop of vanilla ice cream
Pour the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. If the mix is too thick, add berries or milk; too thin, add ice or ice cream.

So, you've won them over and wedding bells are ringing. What a better way to celebrate than with a little cake.  (For the record-this sounds a little vile to me, but  I'm sure someone out there will love it-they say it taste like wedding cake-I'll take their word for it.)

Wedding Cake Cocktail

3/4 oz gin
3/4 oz Amaretto
1/4 oz orange juice
1/4 oz pineapple juice
1/4 oz cream

Blend ingredients with ice, and serve in a highball glass. 

 Now, aren't you feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside? That's not love my friends, that the alcohol talking to you. So, get your liquid courage, tell that special someone how much you love them and enjoy cupid's arrow hitting ya in the tocks!  Bottoms up~