Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I'm a day late, but I was busy celebrating yesterday. St. Patrick's Day is my most favorite day of the year - I think it even outweighs Christmas, though I'm never one to pass up a Christmas cookie (or seven...). In addition to being exactly 1/2 Irish, I think I love St. Patrick's Day because it's not all wrapped up in preparations and pressure. My husband's family is mostly German and Polish, which means we don't have any family holiday obligations like we do most other major holidays (yes, St. Patrick's Day is a major holiday for me!), so we get to have our out little celebration. And it's a welcome break from the winter.

And did I mention the food? I love corned beef. Love it, even though it's more Irish-American than Irish-Irish. I read somewhere that most people in Ireland have never even eaten corned beef - beef is quite expensive over there, and the corned beef is something much more Irish American. Who cares though? I love the stuff and so does my husband. He never had it until we started dating, and I am pretty sure corned beef played a large part in why he married me. :-)

I went a little crazy this year and tried a new recipe from Steamy Kitchen for Corned Beef with Guinness. (BTW, this is NOT my photo). After discovering that Pennsylvania does not sell beer in six packs at distributors, and being unwilling to shell out $35 for a case of Guinness, I was able to convince my husband to stop at Wegman's on his way home, one of the few grocery stores that sells beer in smaller quantities. (And in fact, restrict just how many ounces can be purchased at one time. PA has the screwiest liquor laws, I swear.) But anyway, after getting over the fact that we no longer live in Delaware and have access to a Total Wine on every corner where I can get any damn beer I please, I ended up with the beer I needed for the recipe.

The verdict? It was good. Very good and quite possibly the most tender corned beef I have ever cooked. I started it in the crockpot because I did not have a large enough casserole dish or a dutch oven (shocking, I know, for someone who cooks as much as I do) to do it in the oven. Naturally, I had to head over to Bed Bath to see what they had - uhhh, nothing. Their in store selection is very poor in the way of dutch ovens. Luckily, the TJ Maxx next door had a plain white ceramic casserole with a lid, oven safe to 500 degrees. SCORE! (The $15 price tag didn't hurt, considering it was sitting on the shelf next to a Le Creuset that cost 10x that. At TJ Maxx. Seriously?)

So while the corned beef was good, it was not THE BEST I HAVE EVER HAD, and let's face it, I make some damned fine corned beef. I thought it was slightly salty, even though I rinsed it very, very well. And the Guinness flavor somewhat overrode the corned beef flavor that I love. So it looks like it will be back to the "boiling the bejesus out of it" method of cooking which involves a water change (I think that alleviates the saltiness problem). But we just didn't have the "what the hell happened here?" experience where we look down and discover we've inhaled most, if not all, of the corned beef. (That really has happened)

I would also like to mention at this point that I glaze my corned beef after boiling with a paste of mustard and brown sugar, which is then broiled for a few moments until brown and bubbly. This year, I went with a spicy whole grain mustard that I purchased intentionally for this project, instead of grabbing whatever mustard is in the refrigerator. I pronounce it to be DELICIOUS and a practice that will continue. I incorporated a splash of vinegar which gave it some zip, but wasn't entirely necessary.

I did find redemption in dessert. Normally I make a lemon meringue pie for St. Patrick's Day. I don't know why, I just do. We've had lemon meringue pie for every single St. Patrick's Day that I can remember. This year, I felt like changing it up, and gave my husband a choice of a Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake or Gooey Bread Pudding - The Irish Way. My husband loves bread pudding and will usually order it if it's on the menu. I will order a chocolate cheesecake or any kind of chocolate dessert (except cake - most chocolate cake is too dry). Naturally, he picked the bread pudding and because I love him, I made it.

HOLY COW!!! You should go out and make it, but I warn you - start with a small portion (seriously - like 1/2 cup. You can go back for more), and watch out for that sauce. It is one of the most sinfully good things I have ever eaten. In my whole life. The bread pudding was amazing, and I do not generally care for bread pudding. Did I mention you should make it? Oh yes you should.

I used chocolate chips that I ground up a bit in the food processor. I mixed the chips with the bread and left them in a buttered casserole (not sprayed) overnight on the counter because I like to live dangerously. I also made and refrigerated the sauce last night. If you have a container that locks, I suggest using it because you will be sampling the sauce with your fingers. This cannot be helped. This morning, I mixed up the egg mixture, but I added 2 more eggs and some extra milk, based on some of the reviews that I read (the recipe is also on epicurious.com). I used a mixture of light and dark brown sugar because the recipe didn't specify what kind of sugar, and I added just a tiny bit of cinnamon (maybe 1/8th of a teaspoon because I can't help myself and must mess with recipes).

My oh my oh my. Oh my. And oh yes, that Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake WILL be making an appearance at some point.

But wait.... there's more.

Since my husband a) doesn't much care for Valentine's Day as he is convinced it is a made up Hallmark holiday and b) had to spend 3 days, including Valentine's Day, in NJ for a work conference, we decided that we would celebrate St. Patrick's Day instead. Yay. Presents for me!!! (I did pack him up a lovely goodie bag of snacks for his hotel and made him a nice steak dinner before he left, so he didn't get completely out of Valentine's Day.) Behold...

A new Vera Bradly On the Go bag in Twirly Bird Navy, my Irish version of flowers- an oxalis plant and a shamrock plant, my Guinness beer, and not one, but two perfumes - Sinner and Saint by Kat Von D. I've already been subjected to shaming by several friends for liking Kat Von D's perfume, but let me just state for the record that I don't care one way or the other about Kat Von D - whatever floats your boat, but I'm not a fan. I wouldn't have even picked them up to smell had I not been intrigued by the Sinner and Saint names. Smelling them was my downfall - I couldn't get them out of my head, and my lovely husband obliged me buy purchasing not one, but both! Let me tell you - that Sinner is some sexy stuff... Ahem. This is most definitely a tradition we plan on continuing. It worked out quite well.

And as your reward for reaching the near end of this very long, ridiculously self centered post, I give you the cutest leprechaun ever...

I took some photos last week to send out some St. Patrick's Day cards to friends who celebrate and to Nick's Grandma and Poppy, and his Great Grandma. Nothin cuter than a little boy in a sweater and jeans. Unless it's a cutie patootie "sniffing" some flowers.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I have a new LNS, and a whole bunch of other things

Yesterday, DH had to be at the hospital early for a test, so while he was having the test done, I was in the waiting room stitching. First, one of the receptionists came over to me and asked what I was doing. I showed her Home by the Sea, the project I brought with me. She was just amazed at the work I had done and asked if it was very hard. I said it wasn't hard once you got the hang of it, but the key was paying attention and rechecking your work every so often to make sure you were on track. She said she would be too anxious and impatient to stitch, and I told her it would probably help calm her down as the repetitve motion of needle through fabric can be quite soothing. She also said I could probably sell my work, but I told her that it takes too long and requires too much effort for many of the large pieces to make it worth selling (not to mention all the copyright issues!) I did say that there are some stitchers that worked on commission, and that many of my pieces are given as gifts, highly personalized to the recipients.

By the way, I must once again plug my Vera Bradley Little Travel Case. Sadly, the piece has been discontinued, but you can still find some on places like eBags, eBay, etc. If you don't have one and you like Vera Bradley, you might want to pick one up. My small size scroll frame fits perfectly, though my medium one doesn't quite get in there all the way. It keeps my charts flat and has plenty of room for my tools and threads. I've used this several times now - down the shore, weekend trips, and waiting rooms, and it's been fantastic. And since eBags has it on sale for $25, well worth it! (the color selection is limited though)

A little later on, another woman in the waiting room came over and asked if I had scissors she could borrow. She was using perle cotton to hemstitch some receiving blankets and had forgotten to pack scissors. She said she did a lot of traveling and got tired of having her scissors confiscated at the airport. I told her she could get a clover cutter, and she said she never heard of one! I told her any sewing store should have one, and if she couldn't find one, needlework shops would have them as well. And since the blade is completely enclosed and can only be used for threads, she should have no problems at the airport. As you can imagine, she was quite happy to know there was a solution to her problem and said she'd be going out to get one ASAP.

After our adventures at the hospital, DH was feeling up to it, so we dropped off a prescription, went for breakfast, then stopped by AC Moore. I wanted to pick up a linen tester that I had seen on several other blogs. A few people have had serious issues when they discovered the fabric they were stitching on was a different thread count than it had been labeled. I used my 40% off coupon, so for under $3, it's cheap insurance that I don't start stitching something only to discover I'm about to run off the end of the fabric.

We also wanted to look at some dollhouse things. Now that we've moved, DH is itching to start the lighthouse dollhouse we bought 2 years ago. When he was younger, he helped his grandfather build a house for his cousin, and has always wanted to do another one. When we spotted this lighthouse at AC Moore, we knew it would be perfect for us. (Now to obtain the keeper's cottage). We're still deciding on paint colors and how we're going to do the inside, but we'd like to keep them simple. This is a New England Lighthouse, after all! I'd also like it to reflect some of the lighthouses we've visited, so we'll flip through our photos and try to pick out details from our travels to incorporate into the light.

And FINALLY, my new LNS. I was sad to leave The Strawberry Sampler, as they always had a ton of great stuff there, and an incredible staff, but the 90 minute drive to visit them can really only be done occasionally, especially with the price of gas. I had to find something closer, and to be honest, the selection at the mass market stores like Michael's and Joanns has been disappointing. Sure, for DMC and some tools, they're great, especially with sale prices and coupons, but their selection leaves much to be desired. And the stores closest to me only have a bare minimum of the bare minimum. I have to go 20 miles to get to a half decent selection at a Joann Superstore as my local Joann's seems to only carry sewing items (fabric, patterns, notions) and seasonal decor. Their cross stitch stuff is some DMC, needles and Aida fabric. I don' think they had even 1/2 dozen charts in the store.

Anyway, short of ordering on the internet, the situation is somewhat dire, but we stopped by Just Cross Stitch in Royersford. It's on the small side - basically 2 rooms in a former house converted to commercial space, but they have a fantastic selection and the store is well organized. Everything is accessible, and while there's a lot to look at, it doesn't feel too crowded. And they have all the specialty threads I need, and a HUGE selection of fabric. Even better than the Strawberry Sampler had, plus they will cut and serge the fabric you need for a chart on the spot, a service the Strawberry Sampler didn't offer.

The woman working there was also quite friendly and helpful (I wish I could remember her name!). Apparently the owner just had knee replacement surgery that morning, so two of her friends were actually volunteering to keep the shop open for her - and being paid in charts and discounts instead of a salary. She also clued me in to a few local stitching groups and said that the shop sponsors a big "stitch in" in the fall at a local park that always has a good turn out and is a lot of fun. The shop doesn't have their own website, but they do have an email list, so I signed up for that, of course! And I picked up a grab bag of odd cuts of 28 ct. fabric in assorted colors. One of the pieces in the bag appears to be a hand-dyed piece in a gorgeously soft linen, so I am looking forward to finding something to stitch on that. It was $7.50 for the bag of about 10 pieces, all about the right size for ornaments / fobs / small pieces, so I think it was quite a bargain, and it will help me branch out a little with colors.

So it looks like the voting is coming down to the My Big Toe Designs piece and the Bent Creek "I Do". I hadn't mentioned it earlier, but DH picked I Do as his favorite, and it looks like I'm leaning towards that one as well. But I still really love the Big Toe one, so I ended up buying that one yesterday for my stash. The I Do wasn't in stock, so they're going to order it and let me know when it comes in.

Vera Bradley on Sale

I know how much my fellow stitchers love their Vera Bradley stuff, and I just ran across a sale on ebags.com that you might be interested in. They have a few discontinued colors - I picked up a couple things in Nantucket Navy, but there are limited quantities of other discontinued colors and styles as well. Definitely worth checking out - the prices are GOOD!

Also, if you shop through Ebates.com, you can get an extra 6% cash back on your purchase. I've been using ebates pretty much since they started about 8 years ago, so I know they are VERY reputable and you don't have to worry about signing up with them. They have a ton of stores, and while the percentages don't seem like a lot, they do add up, and even 2-3% is better than 0%, right? And the nice thing about shopping through them is that you can also use coupon codes in addition to your cashback discount.

If you click through this link, you get $5 and I get $5 for referring you.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: You DO NOT need to download the MoeMoneymaker toolbar. All it does is check where you are and remind you to shop through ebates if they have a discount. I always check ebates before I start shopping, so I do not use the toolbar. IMO, I don't particularly care for this kind of software anyway as I find it intrusive and cumbersome.

Better get these done... SBQs

1/3/08: Are you starting something new to celebrate the New Year or participating in “Guilt Free January?” If so, what are you planning on starting?

I didn't really start anything new (no BAPs or super special pieces) for 2008, though I am doing 2 ornament SALs. One is the Christmas Ornament SAL which I've taken over (along with Barbara) from Nicki. I did a little redesign on the site and added some new ideas, so I'll count that as starting a new project. The other is my Bride's Tree SAL, something I've been wanting to do for a while, but never quite got to. I did start my first ornament, a 3D House by Meg Evershed. In fact, it's one of the set of houses from the front cover of this book.


12/26/07: Did you receive any stitching-related gifts for the holidays?

My MIL paid to have a piece my husband stitched professionally framed for us, and I bought myself a new stitching case for my birthday with money from my grandmothers-in-law. It's a Little Travel Case by Vera Bradley, and it's perfect for stashing my small scroll frames and necessities like scissors and needles. Nicole had it posted on her blog and I was inspired to pick one up for myself. Luckily, they're on sale at Vera Bradley, but my favorite pattern is Nantucket Navy, which is now retired, so I went to eBay and VOILA!!! A Nantucket Navy travel case at the sale price AND free shipping. Woo-hoo! I bought it, and 2 days later, I am the proud owner of a stitching case. I'll be taking it with me to show my grandmas what lovely taste they have in birthday gifts. :-)

Speaking of Vera, have you seen the new colors yet? I have to check them out in person, but I am really liking the Raspberry Fizz and the Yellow Bird.