Deer Tote

I seem to have lost my camera cord, (I know...no one is more annoyed with my irresponsibility than I) so these pictures were taken in the harsh fluorescent lights of my work space. Please ignore the giant piles of paper in the background.

This is a quick little tote I appliqued over the weekend. I had the canvas tote in my stash, I think I had bought it for a reusable gift bag at some point, but then it ended up being to small for the intended present. I found the applique pattern here. It's not terribly big, but was perfect for bringing in my lunch this morning. And, as it turns out, would make a perfect reusable gift bag. Perhaps I'll have to make another to give away.

Autumnal Cooking-Vegetarian Chili

(Picture taken before simmering for 30 minutes. End product has much less liquid.)

There has been a chill in the air, especially in the mornings and even though it isn't officially the fall yet, I can tell that summer is coming to an end. In my kitchen, fall = chili. I am by no means a vegetarian, but do eat a lot of meatless meals. Last Fall I never did find a vegetarian chili recipe that I really loved, so I combined a few concepts and came together with this. I love the way it turned out!

Emily's Vegetarian Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil 1 red bell pepper, chopped 2 medium zucchini, cubed 8 oz mushrooms, chopped 1/2 of an onion, chopped (A note to onion haters: I hate raw onions, but have found that they are an important aromatic and add a good depth of flavor when cooked.) 3 carrots, peeled and chopped (If you like celery, feel free to add some of that. I have gotten of my onion hatred, but still working on celery. Don't like the texture, taste, or lingering smell.) 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 tbsp chili powder 1 tbsp cumin 1/4 tsp cinnamon 2 14 1/2 oz cans of diced tomatoes-not drained (I used one regular and one southwestern flavor.) 2 15 oz cans of black beans-drained (you could use what ever bean of your liking, I always use black.) 1. In a large pot, heat oil on medium heat. 2. Add vegetables and garlic, stirring until softened (about 10 minutes). 3. Add seasonings and cook for about 5 more minutes. 4. Add tomatoes (with juice) and beans. 5. Heat for 10 minutes over medium heat, turn down heat, then simmer for at least 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. The heat in this recipe is very mild. (I like spicy food, however, my sinuses do not!) You could add a chipotle pepper with a couple of tablespoons of the adobe sauce if you wanted to kick it up a notch. Or just add a few dashes of tabasco sauce. This would be great with corn bread. I had it for dinner over brown rice.

Ceramics 101

For the past 10 weeks, I've been taking a ceramics class. After what seemed like a long wait, my instructor finally was able to do the glaze firing. The pick up was delayed last week by Hurricane Irene (what wasn't delayed??). Finally, tonight we were about to retrieve our masterpieces! Take a look.

The piece de resistance-my first mug.

Serving tray. With sort of an unintended 80's vibe. Guess I'll go with it. Bird shaped plate with lace imprint. Might try this again with a lighter glaze. The glaze masked the lace.

Small blue bowl. Plan on using this for paper clips at work.

Planter. (Has a hole at the bottom that I neglected to photograph.) Probably my least favorite, but useful.

The Bracelet Making Continues....

I'm going through a bracelet phase. It's true. I have always loved accessories, but for some reason the bracelet is where it's at for me right now. Not only have I enjoyed wearing them, I've also equally enjoyed making them.

I am not one to frequent Wal-Mart, but I found myself by one the other evening and needed some basics, so I begrudingly went in. I managed to pick up a few things at unbelievable low prices! Perhaps I should frequent them more often. At any rate, in the accessories section of Wal-Mart, I did manage to find these really inexpensive bangles. 2 for $3.00.

A few weeks ago, I picked up these beaded ribbons at the going out of business sale at Borders. At the time, I thought I would use them in a regular ribbon way, to tie onto a present. But they are so pretty and sparkly... And just like that, two more bracelets for my ever growing collection. All I did was hot glue the end of the ribbon to the inside of the bracelet, wrap the ribbon around, hot glue the other end. Too sparkly for day wear? I can't decide...