Boys Military Shirt Pattern by Heidi and Finn

Recently I tested this Military Shirt pattern for HeidiandFinn.  I ended up being a very poor pattern tester as I was unable to find the the bottonhole presser foot for my machine and couldn't complete the shirt on time.  At one point you would have seen me and the kids trekking down the street hyjacking my neighbors sewing machine so I could finally do those blasted buttonholes!

Warning: Jack's doesn't look this good but I think Lincoln's will!

As mentioned in a previous post the boys thoroughly enjoy soccer and we have been recording the various matches, which are always from the Spanish channels.  So for the military patches on the pattern the boys instead selected two flags that they wanted, Jack chose Brazil and Honduras and Lincoln went with South Africa and Argentina.  Why they chose these countries behovs me but they were somewhat limited since I didn't have a red Sharpie to color with...I fudged the part of the South African flag with a little orange. With those trusted Sharpies and scrap fabric I busted the flags out during "coloring time."

For the most part store bought patterns and me just do not agree well so I get the majority of my patterns as either free downloads or on etsy as pdf files.  However, for every ten girl patterns out there maybe only one is for boys. I was very excited to see HeidiandFinn offer this Military Shirt for boys and then be selected as a pattern testern....which if we are being honest they will never select me again!  The pattern does an excellent job of explaining the pattern with detailed instructions and pictures.  If you sew and have special boys in your life then you should make, the shirt took me about 4 hours but Lincoln's will probably be more along the lines of 3 hours.  The reverse side of a lightweight denim was used but that is only because I happened to have some on hand.  It would be way easier with a more lightweight cotton.  Also, I wanted larger buttons but since I was "suppose" to turn it around fast I just went with these that I already had ...see I was totally prepared for the challenge I just got side blinded by that presser foot!

A little challenge to myself this year is to make all gifts that I give or give handmade items but being more realistic I know there will have to be some gift cards thrown into the mix as well.  This Military Shirt will definitely be assisting in meeting that goal!

Finger Lickin' Good Baby Back Ribs

This post is a special shout-out for all you meat loving carnivores...me, I could do without meat but being a vegatarian in the Rogers family is equvialant to turning tricks at the whore house on dollar night!  YOU JUST DON'T DO IT!

It seems the American way to cook ribs is the straight shooting BBQ.  Being somewhat charcoal challenged I've yet to master the ways of the BBQ.  Maybe this is why...just look at our BBQ?

That's right, we refer to it as THE HOMER

So this is the Finger Lickin' way to make mouth watering, meat falling off the bone, indoor kitchen BBQ Baby Back Ribs.  In our almost nine years of marriage I had never purchased ribs until this winter when they were $14 for a rack of Baby Back Ribs at COSTCO (they still were as of last week).  It just seemed like a good deal and Mr. Rogers is quite fond of BBQ ribs and he was estatic when he was served these at dinner.

Time: 3 hours (15 prep and the rest cooking)
Serves: 4 adults (approx 3-4 ribs per person)

Ingrediants:
1/2 Rack of Baby Back Ribs
BBQ sauce - I usually use half a bottle per 1 rack but you could do less...or more

Supplies:
Large Stock pot
Rectangular Glass Pan (do not use a dark cake pan- foil will stick)
Aluminum Foil

Cover frozen ribs with water and boil for 30-40 minutes.

Once boiled place on foil or in glass pan (use cooking spray first) and brush with BBQ sauce.  Be careful as to not get too much sauce on pan as it will burn.

Cover with foil and bake at 250 degrees for a minimum of 2 hours to achieve the meat falling off the bones effect.  At the end I usually take the foil off and let them bake for another 20 minutes or so but I don't think that is really crucial.

(I forgetfully pre-pared these in a dark pan and the foil stuck...d'uh)

The ribs are very forgiving so if you boil too long or cook to long it usually just makes them more tender.  The only thing you need to watch out for is the BBQ burning.

When I purchase at COSTCO upon arriving at home I cut rack in half and freeze in two separate freezer bags and then use for two different meals.  If we are having company then I cook the whole rack.

Enjoy!

Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo

Everybody who grew up in California remembers what California Mission they did the report and model on in fourth grade.  Mine, Mission San Miguel.  As the American Revolution loomed on the East Coast the California Coast was relatively undisturbed by Europeans until in 1769, seven years before the Declaration of Independance, when Spanish missionaries set up the first mission in San Diego.  Between 1769-1823, twenty-one missions were set up along the coastline to convert the Native American population.  The Spanish had been in the west, and Mexico, since the 1500's moving northward only to established the province of New Mexico and my beloved capital Santa Fe in 1609.  It wasn't until The Gold Rush in 1849 that California experienced a population boom and entered the Union as the thirty-first state in 1850.

Set in the beautiful village of Carmel along the Northern Central Coast is Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, built in 1770 as the second California mission. 

One of my favorite factiods about the missions is that terrecotta tiled roofs came into play in California because of Indian attacks on the missions.  When we built our house it was a MUST that we have a Spanish tiled roof to pay homage to our California history - I'm kooky like that! 

For sentimental reasons my most beloved mission is San Juan Capistrano in Southern California.  Growing up in that area of Orange County it became a favorite that my mother and I frequented quite often until we moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Even when Mr. Rogers and I were first married we would spend many afternoons strolling San Juan Capistrano and visiting the charming shops.  Perhaps it is my Spanish roots or my love of history, but just sitting in their courtyards gazing at the beautiful gardens and watching the children run around and explore is quite satisfying to me and makes for quite a relaxing afternoon.

Robots and Octopii (I love that word plural)

I've been knee deep in making Jack HEARTS Robots and Lincoln HEARTS Octopii tees and onesies today!  Phew...done!

Purple & Pink Birdie Ruffle Bum Bloomers!

Scrumptious!  Made these for a friend yesterday!

Ruffle Bum Bloomers, $22

OR make your own Little Miss Sassy Pants Bloomers PDF Pattern

World's Tiniest Snail...commonly called a baby snail!

This seemingly cute baby snail was found on one of my beautiful John F. Kennedy roses...no doubt to feed on it and wreck its beauty in the name of snail survival!

This is not a snail friendly house, however I always try to capitalize on any "teaching moments" life might provide!  So I let the boys manhandle our little snail nemesis for while.  It slimed its way to and fro along their arms and I felt like a good mom, as they were getting an earth science lesson as opposed to straight up capital punishment .  Jack decided to torture it with water and I approved...if you saw what those snails did to my bellpeppers you would too!

...but it was Maggie who finished it off...there is her foot shortly before her cold blooded snail murder....

(Maggie's pre "sugar daddy" toe nails)

Coconut Curry Sauce ... mmmm!

One of my friends from college writes this great blog, The Bee Hive, and I was reading one of her entries about Extra Virgin Coconut Oil last week.  What can I say, it put coconuts on my mind and although I didn't buy the oil, I did buy coconut milk. 

When Mr. Rogers made a special request for naan and hummus, a coconut curry immediantly popped into my mind as the main dish.  Mr. Rogers and I have always enjoyed a good curry, our favorite being the Japanese curry with pork cutlets we stuffed ourselves with in Tokyo.

While purusing the internet for curry recipes moments before beginning to cook, each recipe kept calling for "curry paste".  Hmmm, not having curry paste on hand left no other option than to wing it but let me tell you this coconut milk curry came out "mmmm, mmmm, good!"  However, everyone in our house was not a fan of it...Jack put himself into solitary confinement while I was cooking and plugged his nose! 

Ingrediants (serves 4):

1 tbsp. Canola Oil/butter (either works)
1 tbsp. Flour
1 tbsp. curry
1 can Coconut Milk
1 zucchini chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 large handful of mushrooms
1 onion
1 shallot (optional -I always buy because I like the name)
1 clove of garlic
salt and pepper as needed

Chicken (I used 4 tenderloins - 2 plain for kids and 2 for sauce)
Rice (2 cups)
Naan (great Indian flat bread to accompany from Trader Joe's)

Make a rue with oil and flour, heat oil and then brown flour on low heat to make a paste.  Add mushrooms and onions (I also threw in shallots and garlic because I had fresh ones on hand), curry and brown. 

Add all other vegetables, in my case carrots and zuccini, as well as coconut milk.  Stir to mix ingrediants and then bring contents to boil.  Lower tempature to a simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce thickens and take off heat. 

While sauce is simmering, brown your chicken and flavor with salt and pepper.  Cook rice.

Add chicken to sauce and ladel over rice when done. 

Some Naan on the side is perfect ... and much more kid friendly than curry!

I painted her toe nails but I draw the line at pegged jeans!

Don't judge ...but I couldn't help myself and painted Maggie's toe nails!  If you've been around me the past several years you have noted my addiction to nail polish.  Since Maggie has been born it has only been through pure will power that I have not given in to the temptation of painting those little baby toe nails.  Alas, after 15 months a thud was heard in our house as I fell off the wagon.  It's summer!  Her little toes are every so sweetly poking out of sandles every day!   It was too tempting and so I did it....and she liked it!

So, Essie's barely pink 'Sugar Daddy" was ever so gingerly applied to those little toes just to give them a little summer shimmer, while together we read through the latest REAL SIMPLE magazine. Now would  you believe what we ran across as we thumbed through page by page? 

Pegged jeans, instructions and all, seriously?!?!?!  Just like there is something wrong with painting baby nails, no matter how pale the pink, there is also something wrong with inflicting pegged jeans on women across the world!

Heirloom Tomatoes

The tomatoes from our garden are almost ready

to consume but until then I found these

Heirloom Tomatoes at Trader Joe's. 

Mmmm, I like them dribbled with a little olive oil,

balsamic vinegar and topped with chunks of sea salt!

It's quite tempting to save the seeds of these beautiful tomatoes
...quite tempting indeed!

PinkyBleu Shop Hiatus - last week to order!

PinkyBleu is going on hiatus until sometime in the fall, read why here.  That said if you contact me I'm still willing to make things here and there as I am sure I will be suffering withdrawls!

This week is the last week to order stuff out of the shop and I'm doing a little $5 promo.  I'll refund via paypal after the order!

Then one year old Lincoln at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia

U.S. Mint History -- sorry had too...it's the history teacher in me!

Mr. Rogers

One of the things that I love most about Mr. Rogers is him as a father.

Like Sirens to Odysseus ... chocolate temptation!

This past week was spent in pure heavenly nerdom as I spent five consecutive days listening to lecture after lecture as a part of my Teach American History grant...I love it!  McCarthyism, the Korean War, the Cold War, the CIA and the Black Panthers danced like sugar plums in my head!

As I took in copius amounts of rich history I was taunted by a container of chocolate sitting just to the side of me.  You know that once you eat one you just can't stop.  So, I took it one day at a time and I'm proud to say that not one of those tasty chocolate morsals crossed these lips!  Removing it all together would have been ideal but my neighbor was a regular visitor to the candy container, so endure I did!

Heirlom Lettuce Salad Salmon

The other night at our little farmer's market we picked up some heirlom lettuce ...yummm!

It took me a long time to convince Mr. Rogers that salads can be a meal in themselves...he comes from a long line of carnivores!  Perseverance paid off and about once a week a salad is served for dinner.  Although recipes are very helpful mine often evolve as I use ingredients that are already in house, using the grocery money most effectively.  The kids usually eat the small piece of meat (the salad dinner compromise between myself and Mr. Rogers) and then elements of the salad but not an actual salad, per say. 

This is what was in the Heirlom Lettuce Salmon Salad:

1 large handful of heirlom lettuce per salad
1 small piece of broiled salmon (for me too much Salmon is overwhelming)
1 chopped roma tomato
A few pieces of thinly sliced onion
A tablespoon or so of feta cheese
A tablespoon or so of Pinon Nuts (or Pine Nuts for people not from New Mexico, lol)
Some sprinkles of fresh thyme  (as opposed to dill which a lot of Salmon salad recipes use)

A sparing amount of Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinegar (I've always made dressings from scratch but gave into store bought with the third kid)

Other things that are good to add are avocado, manderin oranges, bell pepper, and sometimes I sub a little lemon juice for dressing altogether or used mixed greens instead of heirlom lettuce.

Lincoln's hideout...or pack-rat haven!

An unassuming corner of the living room has held the term "hideout" for quite sometime but Lincoln has gotten extrememly territorial about it lately...as well as pack-rattish!

Sofa cushions form the three entrances but they are more like dams for the onslaught of junk that is packed in there.  Anything and everything is game for the "hideout" and if anyone tries to remove anything, Lincoln unleashes an onslaught of tears.  Is this a middle child thing because I do not know what is going on here?!?!?!

As I type Mr. Rogers is doing a de-tox of the hideout....all I here is Jaws music in my head!

The World Cup

Friday was the last day of the school year and about half my students were missing…why? Only two words are needed to explain, World Cup. Almost all of my students are of Mexican origin and they, like most people around the world, LOVE their futbol. What is the last day of school compared to the Mexico v. South Africa match ….nothing! The students that were there just did some good old fashion soccer banter and the girls lusted and gigled about their "novio" players.  The only thing I knew about the World Cup this year was what I learned from NPR on Thursday and Friday morning, that a) it was in South Africa and they were relocating all their homeless people to 45 minutes out of town and b) that the English and American Ambassadors had placed a dinner wager over the match today. What are those ambassadors going to do now, as it was a draw, steakhouse or pub????  I can’t even imagine the agony that the poor chap who let the Americans score must being going through.

As for the World Cup in our house....Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are not big fans but the boys love soccer!  Lincoln is half distraught since he had been looking forward to playing all year only to learn that our local league cut three year olds out of the program this year!  As Mr. Rogers coached Jack's team last year, Lincoln sat and pouted throughout each game.  He was so upset that he was forced to the sidelines.  Another year of watching Jack play is going to be pure torture on the little guy...not looking forward to that!

In honor of the World Cup Jack has been drawing the flags of each country participating this year.

-can you tell this newspaper has been continuously toted around the house?

He "X's" them off as he completes each flag.

Can you tell which flag he is drawing in the picture?

Treasury: They Call Me Mellow Yellow

The Call Me Mellow Yellow curated by Imeon Design
featuring the Lemon Slice at MrRogersSupplyShop

Did you sing the lyrics of Mellow Yellow when you read the title?

I did and now it is stuck in my head and now I am going to do the

ultimate cruel thing and get it stuck in your head [evil laugh].

Here is Donovan, a 1960's folk singer, among the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Joan Baez.  The video link of Donovan, a bit past his prime, provides a historical context on the 60's,  a daily dose of free and quite cheezy entertainment, and I'm pretty sure there is a guy in the crowd getting quite mellow as he takes a couple hits from his pipe o' chronic!

• Mellow Yellow by Donovan

More Donovan music on iLike

"...quite rightly..."

Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Cookies

Mmmmm, soooo gooooood! 

Not really a maple syrup fan and I'm still not quite sure
as to why I bought them but they are up there
with Samoas Carmel Delights and Oreo's!

First Treasury for Mr. Rogers and His Supply Shop!

I Must Be Hungry... Curated by Laurence Collection on Etsy's Treasury East

Mr. Rogers has started his own shop to supply the Euro-Suitcases that are used for my PinkyBleu shop. He has not set up all his listings but any Euro-Suitcase used in my shop is available in his!
Mr. Rogers Supply Shop

Also featured in another treasury is the

 Organic Cotton Bird Burpie on Orange Filigree with Purple Stripe
from my PinkyBleu shop!

Could Summer Last Forever... Curated by Laurence Collection

Etsy Treasuries are a wonderful way to show off
Etsy Handmade/Vintage/Supply Shop Owners

check out more Treasuries Curated by Laurence Collection!

A Paper Flower Garden Wedding...

Is this not the perfect depiction of a modified Jane Austen wedding?  Take a moment to reflect on your Jane Austen readings...short engagements, sailors/naval officers, clergy men, strong female heroines and garden weddings...and there it was, the wedding of my dear friend Kara!  In two weeks she, a strong female (in a good way not in a muscular body building way nor in a Lady Gaga type way), planned a wedding to her beau, a Navy Chaplin, in a garden where paper flowers were abundant.

Seriously, paper flowers .... it's genius!  They were so easy to make, no kits necessary, and one can make them in any color one can find tissue paper thanks to this tutorial!  Beautiful white hydrangeas graced the tables but the rest was committed to these handmade flowers.  They were stunning as the boutonnieres, they lined the aisle with the unexpected, and were suspended from tree limbs above the guests and altar.

[peaceful sigh]

Simple and classic with an updated twist....that's our Kara!

Maggie on the move..wait, what's that she's holding?

Could her first jaunt across the room be any more noble?

You make me proud, Maggie!