It's official!

I am now a board certified registered nurse in the state of California! It's been a long, stressful, yet rewarding 2 years - but it's finally over.

I graduated from nursing school in May, and passed my board exam in June. Since then I've been diligently looking to find a nursing job. It's hard to find one as a new-grad with no experience, but I'm not letting that discourage me from my dream. I trust that I will find the position that is right for me. Until then, I will continue crafting away and hopefully blog more often. Here's a few of the things I've made recently (not the best pictures).

A yarn wreath with felt and fabric flowers. (I put one of the pink ones on Izzie too - so cute!)

A wine bottle vase for the bathroom.

And homemade play-doh with the boys I watch - they loved it!

Oh and another thing that I've recently tried is tissu - aerial silk classes!!

(Picture from here.)

That's obviously not me in the picture - maybe one day I'll be that good! Amaaaaaazing workout!

Carrot Dill Soup

There's something about the fall and the cold weather that makes me CRAVE soup! I could eat it every day! I made two this weekend: Tomato soup Florentine and Carrot Dill. This carrot soup is truly a winning recipe. It's both my husband's and my favorite of all the soups I make. 3 hours later and our house still smells amazing from it. Super light and flavorful!

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter (I've also used margarine, or less than 4T and both are still great!)

1 large onion diced

2 1/2 pounds of carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribs of celery diced

8 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

1/4 cup fresh dill chopped

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

Melt butter in pot. Add onions and cook on low heat for 10 minutes until onions become wilted. Add the carrots, spices, dill and broth. Bring to boil then lower heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Puree the soup with either a hand blender or in batches with a stand-up blender. Serve warm. Option to garnish with sprigs of dill, red bell pepper and a dollop of creme fraiche.

(Recipe from The New Basics Cookbook by Rosso & Lukins)

Plates galore!

Why hello there blog world, long time no see!

Just thought I'd share some pictures of one of my recent craft projects. I jumped into the world of plate decorating, and I don't think it will end anytime soon! So many fun options to explore!

These are hand-painted silhouettes.:

The background pattern on these is done with lace and spray paint:

The entire floral collection, and the paired up plates.:

Some of my friend's plates - beautiful for the fall!

Love the colors in our work space:

It was such a fun mental break from the endless hours of studying. The best part about them is that the designs are all done on the backside so they can be eaten on! Hand wash only of course. You bet I'll be using them all the time for dinner parties. Let me know what you think!

I need a favor

Hello friends, I know it's been a while but I need to ask a favor of you...

I had to make a video as a school project and the group that gets the most views in 2 weeks gets extra credit!!! Please help!! Help us get the extra credit and all you have to do is watch us make fools of ourselves on YouTube... yay! ... you may learn something too!... double yay!

Our topic is Iron Deficiency Anemia and I promise you, its not too boring. You must watch it till the end in order for the view to count. Watch as many times as you can and spread it around. Mute it and keep it running while you read blogs if you must! =P Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cLR9YocqKU

Thanks you!!!

Picture This!

It's been a really long time since I posted the teaser picture from one of my latest projects. Those of you who guessed it was a quilt... you were right! The pattern is called "Picture This" and it's supposed to look like a movie strip. I'm thrilled with how it turned out, and my husband loved it. He had no idea what I was making him for Christmas, I was actually able to keep it a surprise (for once), and get it done in time!

(the back side is a brown minky fabric - so soft!)

The picture fabric was really neat! I literally put it through my home printer to create the pictures, I didn't even know that was possible. Now, my first real quilt is officially done. I did have some amazing help though, and to her I'm very thankful. We got it done in 3 days!

I miss you blog world!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our home to yours.

Wishing you a joyful and prosperous 2011

A work in progress...

Her'es what I have so far, laid out on my coffee table. Can you guess what I'm making?? Shh... don't tell my husband. I'm trying really hard to get it done in time for Christmas, although with everything I have to do to get ready for 2 parties, it doesn't look likely =(

What's your guess?

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

If you love soups like I do... you've got to try this recipe! I got it from Taste of Home's Healthy cooking (one of my favorite magazines) and it is just delicious!

Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash (about 3lb)

1 medium onion chopped

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 Tbsp curry powder

2 garlic cloves minced

2 tsp fresh gingerroot minced

1 tsp salt

4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

4 medium pears, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

balsamic vinegar and snipped chives for garnish

1 cut squash in half, discard seeds (I roasted mine with olive oil and salt, yum!) place face down on baking pan and bake on 400 for 40-50 minutes or until soft. cool slightly, scoop out pulp and set aside.

2. in a pot or dutch oven saute the onion in the oil until tender. add the curry, garlic, ginger and salt; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, pears, and squash. bring to a boil. reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.

3. in a blender (or using a hand-held one like I did) process the soup in batches until smooth. Return to pot, add cream and heat through. Top with balsamic (highly recommend this, it complements the flavor really well) and snipped chives if desired.

Here's a picture of the soup on our Thanksgiving table:

Trust me, you will not be disappointed!

Nutrition facts (in case you're curious): serving = 3/4 cup. 190 cal, 8g fat, 18mg cholesterol, 527 mg sodium, 29g carbs, 7g fiber, 4g protein.

My First Quilt

A while ago I mentioned that I was making a rag quilt. I'm really behind in posting these pictures, but had to share the final result with you:

Whatcha think?

In other news... I was featured in an Etsy treasury: Holiday Shopping Free People Style!

Coming soon: recap the past few months, a look into the life of a 1st semester nursing student, and a delicious fall soup recipe.

I've missed you!!

Hi bloggers!

I've missed you oh so much! This is (unfortunately) just a quick post to share my newest listing with you, and then it's back to the books for me =( Only 3 more very intense weeks to go until Christmas break!! I cannot wait! Remember this hat? Well here it is again!

Now onto the cute baby.....

Isn't he just precious?!? The beautiful baby boy belongs to my friends Lindsey & Peter. They live on the opposite side of the country from us now and I hope to meet baby Brohm someday! Thanks Linds for letting me use the pictures for my listing, which can be found here. The amazing photography is by Teal Tree Studios Photography and Design.

Until next time...