Help Alabama

Hi again,

I have had several of you ask how you can help the tornado victims, thank you. The American Red Cross is a great place start but there are so many organizations helping out, a great list can be found here. I did want to mention that tonight there is a local telethon being hosted, Neighbors In Need, by ABC 33/40. For those who aren't local you can watch HERE.

Leftover Remix: Grilled Shrimp and Roasted Corn Pasta

Yesterday I posted my recipe for Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish.  Well, we had some leftovers and I decided it would be fun to turn them into something new for the following dinner.  There are very few additional ingredients for this pasta dish, but your family will never know they are eating something very similar to the night before.

If you would like to make this dish, but fear you might not have any leftovers from the night before, just plan ahead and make a double recipe of the spicy shrimp.

Leftover Remix:  Grilled Shrimp and Roasted Corn Pasta

Ingredients:

Leftover Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish (pineapple removed)

1 pound cavatappi pasta (or any shape you like)

1 package grape tomatoes

Olive oil

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

Place leftover corn relish, grilled onions, and grape tomatoes on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until grape tomatoes start to get wrinkly and corn starts to get a little color.

Meanwhile, cut up your shrimp into small pieces.  Once you remove your corn and tomato mixture from the oven, add your shrimp to the baking sheet - this will warm them up without cooking them any further.

Drain pasta.  Add all the contents from the cookie sheet into the pasta.  Make sure to scrape up all the little brown bits (this gives the great roasted flavor).  Add your Parmesan cheese and an extra drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper (to taste).

Garnish with additional sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and serve with freshly baked garlic bread.

Now that's practically two meals in one - how great is that?  I love things that do double duty!

Thank You

I just wanted to say thank you for two things. First, thank you for all your calls, texts and e-mails yesterday regarding the tornados in Alabama. We are okay, the really bad tornado missed us by a few miles. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for so many others, including a really wonderful client of mine (they are physically fine which is such a blessing). Also, I wanted to say thank you for all the childcare comments and e-mails. I needed the advice, trust me! To take time out of your busy days to send me the wealth of information you did is really awesome. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and if I have not e-mailed back yet it is not because I am ignoring you, it is because the computer virus that won't quit is still having a blast in my computer.

I hope you have a wonderful and peaceful weekend.

PS- Anyone have any idea what why my right sidebar is not showing up? If you click on older posts it is there but not with the newest posts....

Image found She Takes Flight via Emphasis Added

{ Bathroom Mistreatment }

The Nester was one of the first blogs I ever read, 

and was smitten immediately.

Especially when I saw her category

"mistreatments".

I've been creating my own

no sew

window treatments ever since.

The latest mistreatment was in Jonas's bathroom

I used 2 yards of this bird fabric that I found

at Fabric.com

($15.)

the secret to this valance is this...

a tiny little nail.

I just folded and fluffed, 'til it looked right, 

then tapped in a small picture hanging nail.

No liner, no seams, not even hot glue.

The blue bird is where I pulled the color for the ceiling from

silver marlin - BM

the walls

revere pewter - BM

here's a shot of all the colors together

Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish

A week ago it actually felt like spring here in Chicago (though today, not so much), so I had grilling on the brain.  One of my favorite foods is grilled shrimp and I came up with this spicy grilled shrimp recipe with corn relish that is perfect for those warm weather days.  This recipe may appear to have a lot of ingredients, but most of the spices can be found in your pantry.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Shrimp:

1 lb. raw shrimp, shells on

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Juice of 2 limes

Corn Relish:

1 bag frozen corn (or several ears fresh with kernels removed if in season)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup cilantro

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Extras:

1 red onion, sliced

Pineapple, cubed - fresh or canned chunks

Rice, of your choice

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients under "shrimp" to make a marinade/paste for the shrimp.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade.  Add shrimp to marinade and let sit for 20 minutes before grilling.  You do not want to over marinate shrimp.  The acid from the lime juice will start to cook the shrimp ever so slightly and if you marinate them all day then you can end up with some tough, over cooked shrimp.

Drizzle the remaining marinade over your sliced red onions.

Cube pineapple or used canned pineapple chunks.  If you would prefer to do these as kabobs, just cut your onions into chunks rather than slices.  We happened to have one of those pans that go on the grill (so nothing will fall through) and just decided to go with a deconstructed kabob to make our lives easier.

Defrost your frozen corn and combine all ingredients under "corn relish".  Allow flavors to come together.  This can be made up to a day ahead of time.

Heat up your grill.  Add the onions, then the shrimp and finally the pineapple once the grill is hot.  The shrimp should take approximately 6 minutes (3 minutes on each side), but the onions will take a bit longer.  If you are doing a kabob, just put everything on the grill all together.

Serve with corn relish and rice of your choice (I made some red beans and rice)........my mother always told me to make sure you garnish your plate (something she learned from her mother).  Doesn't that fresh bit of cilantro just make the plate look so much more appetizing?  I think garnishing is worth the effort - it shows your family that you truly care and that the food you serve them is filled with love.

Tomorrow I will show you how I turned the leftovers from this meal into a fabulous pasta dish!

Love The One You're With- Kirsten Krason

A while back I started a guest blogger series called Love The One You're With based on what fellow bloggers love about their own space. The idea behind the series is to take a moment to focus on what we like instead of what we would change in our own homes (which if you are like me is a long and continual list). I also love to take a peek into other homes and see what is going on!

So today I am starting the series again with Kirsten Krason from 6th Street Design School. I am sure you are familiar with her blog but if not be sure to check out her Etsy roundups (although I warn you that you will always leave wanting something you didn't know you needed!

The place I love most in my life is my office. It is such a special gift to be able to have a room all to myself. I love love love walking in here when my son is napping, shutting the door, lighting a candle, turning on my pandora and working on projects. This room signifies my dream of starting my own business. Sometimes I'll just take a moment to look around this room and realize how lucky I am. I love this room because it has my two favorite colors in it. Blue and pink! I like designing spaces for myself that have pink, are slightly girly and very care-free. I love happy colors and fabrics and lots of white. It's wonderful to have my Ikea shelf where everything has a place. I also love having my desk in front of my window so I can look outside and enjoy our wonderful view of the mountains. Thanks so much to Marianne for letting me participate in sharing the room I love!

Oh I love that office! Thank you Kirsten for your post, I love what you wrote about the office signifying a dream come true!

Photography: Jessica Kettle Photography

Sometimes You Forget, Until You Are Reminded

Sometimes you forget how much you want something (which is probably a sign you really don't need it) until something else reminds you again. Take this watch...I have wanted it for a while now but it fell off my radar until the other day when I saw these (which are sooo on my mind lately)...

Which in turn made me think of something that looked a little something like this, bringing me back to the original watch...

Funny how that happens...and leaves you wanting all 3 even more. While looking at this I found a few others that look like lost cousins (all of which I now want, but I would not wear them at the same time, too matchy)

All wedges Tory Burch (any of which I would accept with open arms), All bands J. Crew

{ Library Card Template }

Are these cards the cutest?

You can make your own too at

http://www.blyberg.net/card-generator/

have fun!

check out other
"How To's"
@

Advice Needed Birmingham!

Okay all you people in the 'Ham who know things when it comes to little ones, I need your advice. One day I would like to think I will be put together as this...

But who am I kidding? There is no time to dream right now, I am over half way through this pregnancy and the panic attacks are starting. I need help and advice when it comes to childcare!!!

I am looking for something that is not full time, but at least 3 days a week. I am thinking a nanny share/mother's day out combination is the way to go but I am open to any and all suggestions. Daycares you like, people you have used, or nice, normal, perfectly sane new or future parents who might be in the same predicatment that would want to share child care.

I appreciate all suggestions! If you don't want to leave the information in a comment please e-mail me - mariannestrong@aol.com. Thank you!!!

Dick and Jane Inspired Easter Dress - Bodice Tutorial

In case you missed my guest blog post on  "No Big Dill" about a month ago, here it is...........

To me, the "Dick and Jane" books are the epitome of retro, children's storybook classics.  The images in these books bring me such comfort.  They remind us of simpler times, they remind us when life was slower and more easy going.  I often wonder if I was born during the correct time period because it seems that everything vintage always has a soft-spot in my heart.

I personally did not grow up with the "Dick and Jane" book series, but my mom grew up learning to read from "Dick and Jane" books.  The books contain simple words with simple images, perfect for the new reader.

One of the most enjoyable parts of looking through these old classics are the illustrations of the children's clothing.  If you've ever been to my blog or etsy shop, you know that I love classic children's clothing so this time period is right up my alley!

I chose to do a "Dick and Jane" inspired look because I love sweet, classic, feminine dresses on little girls which is what Jane is all about.  So I guess we could say I came up with a "Jane" inspired look.

This entire dress (aside from the notions and the lining) was made from a $1.49 full-sized sheet that I found at my local thrift store last weekend.  I was waiting for some inspiration for this look and the sheet did the trick.  I love the pretty floral as well as the vintage feel I get from the sheet.  The scalloped edging was another vintage touch that I thought would be perfect for the "Jane" look - I can just see her wearing this dress in one of those books.

The above picture is the sheet prior to being turned into the dress.  It had this fabulous border across the top and little flowers on the rest of the sheet.

I thought I would show you today how to embellish the bodice of a dress.  You can take any tank dress pattern that you love and change up the bodice to make it your own.  If you don't have a bodice pattern that you really like, you can print my party dress pattern HERE and use that pattern.

The main, featured trim on this dress is this pink picot edge trim.  You can buy this online or you may be able to find it in your local fabric shop.  Since the lines of this dress were very classic, I wanted to make sure the trims were as well.

Cut four pieces of trim that are the same height as the bodice.  I like to cut mine a little longer just to be safe.

Next, grab your Wonder-Tape.  You all are probably so sick of hearing me talk about this product but it is one of my absolute favorites!  This is a double-sided tape for fabric that disappears in the wash.  You can use it to secure any trims that may be difficult to pin or where pin marks might show.  I find it holds trims with much more precision than pins - I use this on my piping as well.  You can definitely pin if you don't have this product, but I think this makes life SO much easier.

Apply your Wonder-Tape to the back-side of each piece of trim.  When you are ready to put your trim in place, remove the paper backing.

Apply your first two pieces of picot edging with the scalloped edging pointing outward.  Stitch down each piece of trim in coordinating thread.  I stitched close to the scalloped edge because your second piece will end up catching the other side.

Next, place your second piece of picot trim on top of the first.  Make sure to line it up perfectly so you can't see the plain edge of the first piece.  Stitch down the side close to the scallop edge.

Take a piece of coordinating fabric to use as your center focal point of the bodice.  I used two pieces since the sheet fabric was fairly thin, but you could definitely just use one and press the edges under.  To use the two pieces, measure the distance between your trims and add enough to account for your seam allowance - I used 1/4".  Stitch both pieces of fabric together leaving the top and the bottom open.  Turn right-side out and press.

Place your fabric in the middle of your trims and stitch into place.  You can leave the top and bottom edge raw because that will become concealed once you add your collar and bodice lining.

Stitch very close to the edge of the fabric - about 1/16" or 1/8" seam allowance.

Do all the embellishing on the bodice before you start sewing the dress.  That way your lining will conceal all the stitching on the bodice and you will have a beautifully lined top.

I did three pin-tucks on the skirt of the dress.  You can do this by adding an inch per pin-tuck to the length of the skirt.  So for this skirt piece, I added an additional 3 inches. 

I used petite piping in the collar.  You can make your own piping or used a packaged variety.  Click HERE to view my piping tutorial and HERE to find out how to make your own custom piping.

I think its in the little details that make the difference between a nice dress and a truly special and unique dress.  Back in the 50's and 60's, parents definitely valued quality over quantity when it came to clothing.  It's fun to take the time to make something special for our little ones - they deserve it, don't you think?

I think "Jane" would have been proud to wear this dress and Savannah loved wearing it on Easter!  She told me, "Mama, I look like a beautiful angel." - what a sweetheart!