Handmade Christmas

Now that the gifts have been bestowed . . . I can show some of my handiwork.

Christmas Decorations

Day After Thanksgiving Shopping

Toys-R-Us = $345
JoAnn etc. = $65
Krispy Kreme = $13
donut glaze all over a happy little 2-year-old boy face = priceless

The McWedding Dress

on the menu this week

Pancetta Risotto
Roasted Chicken & Tomato Cream Pasta
Santi's
Turkey & fixin's for some friends

mmmmm good!

recent baby gift creation

little toile burp cloths and a snugglie blankie! . . . . for baby Morgan who is scheduled to make his/her debut next summer.

Touches of Fall

even though I'm gearing up for Christmas (as evidenced in previous posts), I really do enjoy the fall/autumn season as well. here are a few of the fall touches gracing our home these days.

Green Christmas

this year I'm trying to wrap all my gifts with the abundance of products already in my house. I'm also trying to find and recycle other items I might normally throw away. for instance, I recently ordered some clothes for Joseph from Children's Place (great sale by the way) and the shorts came tied up in this fun string. it was reused on a present . . .along with some leftover gimp from a sewing project.homemade gift tags are also a great way to use up scrapbook paper leftovers!

ahead of the game - part 2

the pile of presents is growing!

This week's projects

This week has mostly consisted of alterations that I needed to get caught up on. Currently in the "done" pile are 2 dresses and a cashmere coat. In the "working on pile" is a suit. In the "to do" pile - a bridesmaids dress.

Next week - window seat cushion and pillow cushions and the beginnings of a wedding dress. (As per usual - you'll see pictures of the wedding dress after the wedding.)

knitting - hat & scarf

Christopher's Nanny made a Christmas sweater for Joseph this year. She gave me her leftover yarn to make a matching hat. I ended up making this hat & scarf. For pictures of the entire ensemble go to our family blog - Swearingen Crib.

The benefits of having a McClellan construction crew at your house

in no particular order:

1. they still love you if you're totally busted in your jammies at noon.
2. they bring their fryer and boil things in the backyard
3. on tuesday they gave you 6 quarts of boiled peanuts
4. today they boiled shrimp
5. today they invited you to come outside for lunch and bring cocktail sauce
6. today they brought all the leftover shrimp inside as a gift
7. oh . . . and they're fixing your house and building an additional bathroom

happy things

I've been tagged! Dawn tagged me with this fun, short little list of things that make me happy.

6 things that make me happy (in no particular order):

1. Snuggling with Joseph on the couch in the mornings
2. knitting (thanks to Nanny for the lessons and Dawn for the some great patterns)
3. Santi's
4. Snuggling with Christopher on the couch in the evenings
5. my sisters
6. great friends (who enjoy being made happy by Santi's with us)

and now I tag:
Christine
Sarah
Rita

Autumn decorations

I've been feeling a little bit crafty between projects for others and these new autumn decorations are a result. I made the wine bag out of a burlap Jamaican coffee bag that Aunt Janet gave us after a recent vacation. I want to make more so yesterday I visited my favorite local fabric/audio/visual store and picked up a 2-yard burlap remnant for $1!

ahead of the game

. . . . as in . . . I just wrapped 6 christmas presents. And, got a christmas package together to mail to Indiana to await our arrival.

Chair #4

here is chair #4 (actually chair #3 of the project I was hired to do) . . . and it is complete! finally! this was probably the most challenging one. i'm so glad it's done.

new and improved chair

my chair

I just wanted you all to see a picture of this chair. I picked it up at a garage sale in 1996 for $10. The next time you see it, it will look vastly different.

Shetler burritos

Since we are heading to Nashville again later this week for another whirlwind weekend trip for wedding and family reunion . . . I've been trying to get by without going to the grocery store. So far I've done it . . . except that we're out of eggs and COFFEE! yikes!

So - last night's dinner was a family favorite. Legend has it that my mom had a pound of hamburger thawing one Sunday after church and had no idea what to do with it so my dad whipped up the following recipe. I think we've probably been eating this for about 25 years or so.

Shetler Burritos:

1 pound hamburger
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1 can dark red kidney beans
cornstarch
salt, pepper
shredded cheddar cheese
butter
tortillas

So - you brown the hamburger and add in the onions and bell pepper. Add in the kidney beans with the juice and let all simmer together. Add seasonings to taste. Sometimes I also add a few canned sliced jalapenos and a little of the juice. Although I do this less now that Joseph also eats this. Once everything is cooked, thicken it with a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a little water.

To Serve - put a pat of butter on your tortilla then layer with meat mixture and shredded cheese. Fold up the bottom of the tortilla and then fold in the sides. Yes it does sound a little weird. But it's delicious. Ask any of the men who have married into our family. And before you get any ideas that it might taste better with sour cream or salsa on it. . . . well, it just doesn't. You can't mess with pure Shetler perfection.

tagged again

Christine tagged me - so here we go!

The rules of the tag are as follows:
1.Post the rules on your blog.
2.Write six random things about yourself.
3.Tag six people at the end of your post.
4. If you are tagged, JUST DO IT, and pass the tag along.

1. I am a crier for all things sappy. . . . weddings, movies, tv shows, etc. the tears are also triggered when I surprise someone or see someone really happy.

2. I could not squeeze out a single tear at my own wedding.

3. I've had 4 injuries to my right leg . . . . big toe was splinted after wagon incident, 48 stitches in foot after tent post accident, knee surgery from torn ligaments, 14 more stitches in foot after stepping on broken bottle in back yard.

4. When I was a senior in high school my family hopped in a car (6 of us) and drove to Acapulco, Mexico. It was about a 55 hour trip. Oh - and we drove straight through.

5. I have 56 first cousins on my dad's side of the family and 34 first cousins on my mom's side of the family. Most of them are married and have children. A few of them are already grand-parents. My paternal grandmother was a great-great-grandmother when she passed away.

6. My first pet was a pony named Kristy. She eventually went blind and would eat the grass in circles in the front yard. If she got too close to the road, we'd go and bring her back a little closer to the house. Before you think this is horrible . . . we lived waaaaaay out in the country and had very little traffic on our tiny dirt road.

Ok - who to tag now. . . . I can't think of 6 . . . . how about Katie L. and Michelle M.

the little things

this morning i am thankful for my coffee. i am always thankful for coffee . . . . . but i am really dragging this morning.

last night i was thankful when Christopher came home and, seeing that dinner was still being defrosted, suggested that we save it for later and order pizza. it was delicious.

i'm also thankful for the sweet little snuggly boy that i hear over the monitor beginning to wake up.

finished chair #2

chilly day = soup

I love coming up with soup variations in the winter. Something about a crockpot full of something hearty is comforting. Since we experienced a brief "chill" yesterday - soup was on the menu last evening. Potato & Sausage! I make this a little differently every time. . . because who can remember exactly how you made it the last time?!
Some of the ingredients (some because I probably can't remember them all):

Red Potatoes
Hot Sausage
Onion
Celery
Chicken broth
sour cream
shredded cheese blend
potato starch
chopped green chilis
assortment of spices

I gave in to peer pressure

Actually there was no pressure - more like mild curiosity on my part. I saw this on Sarah's blog and then on Christine's. I'm pretty sure that mine will be far from accurate since I share music with Christopher. Or, more accurately, he shares with me . . . and has the majority.

So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool


Opening Credits: "The Bridge" - Kathy Mattea. . . . . hmmmmm. . . . ?

Waking Up: "I Want You" - Elvis Costello. . . . . does it refer to coffee?

First Day At School: So - this actually ended up being a sermon on "Hiddenness" by Tim Keller.

Falling In Love: "Sour Girl" - Stone Temple Pilots . . . yikes!

Fight Song: "Sometimes" - The Psychedelic Furs . . . (btw - how many of these are Christopher's do you think?)

Breaking Up: "New Sensation" - INXS . . . . interesting. . .

Prom: "A Murder of One" - Counting Crows. . . . this must be why I never went to Prom.

Life's OK: "One Little Victory" - RUSH

Mental Breakdown: "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" - Billy Joel

Driving: "How Great Our Joy" - Point of Grace . . . somehow, I don't think so.

Flashback: "Big Fat Money" - Van Halen

Getting Back Together: "Sweet Meat" - The Soup Dragons. . . . . um, yah. . .

Wedding: "Moon Over Bourbon Street" - Sting . . . . it was more like "Bridge over the cumberland river"

Birth of Child: "A Better Idea" - Diamond Rio. . . actually somewhat appropriate since it's about God creating man.

Final Battle: "Lessons" - RUSH . . . . and I'm actually surprise RUSH has only come up twice. . .

Death Scene: "She Talks to Angels" - Black Crowes . . . . . weird.

Funeral Song: "It's Probably Me" - Sting

End Credits: "How Could You Want Him" - Spin Doctors. geez.


So - now I'm thinking that maybe I better just do this with my playlist on the Ipod. Stay tuned for try #2.

Mama's hat

After knitting hats for Daddy & Joseph, I decided Mama also needed one for the "cold" weather we'll have here in . . . oh, January. . . maybe a little of February. Thanks to Dawn for this pattern!

finished chair

I am officially 1/3 of the way finished with my chair re-upholstery project. If you want to check out the beginning - click here. Here are pictures of the finished first chair. I'm sure you are questioning the "matching" fabrics. The piece on the chair back was from a remnant left over from the original chair. They knew it wouldn't be enough for the whole chair but they still wanted it for sentimental reasons.

recently made meals . . .

This week I made the following 2 recipes from the Publix cookbook. Both were a hit. I especially loved all the veggies in second recipe.

Carne Asade with salsa & zesty pinto beans
Mediterranean Scallops with Artichoke-Mushroom Pasta