cookoorikoo

renegade prep - week 4

got new colors of silk. made more yoyos. made a list of things to do, like trying to figure out the logistics of getting our stuff to sf. ordered more supplies. slept very little. its going to be a crazy couple of weeks. but i am a little in love with this little ditty. the color is luscious.

stunning

 

lorie, the woman in this picture, recently bought the partly sunny necklace from me. she contacted me to let me know she'd blogged about it. she loves the necklace and gave me a nice shout out. she even admitted she thought about making it herself but just decided clicking twice was easier. honestly though, it was all about this picture for me.

i love seeing my jewelry in action. and seeing my jewelry in action, professionally photographed... pretty great. kinda made my week.

oh and you should check out ashley forrette's photography website. she's pretty incredible. the pictures from the wedding lorie was attending are fanastic.

dear shop,

i love you. i know that seems obvious since you know, i made you and all. but some days, like today, you make it so easy to love you by looking so perfect.

keep up the good work.
xo,
me

i scream

so my mom told me that i needed to pick out something extra special since shawn's gift (a gas smoker) was so rockin' this year. i mulled it over a bit. i don't need much. i want stuff but eh. then it hit me. an item i've coveted for YEARS. an item that although not necessary will probably greatly improve my life and the life of those around me. an ice cream maker. i sent my mom an email with a link to the one i wanted and sunday she gave it to me.

when we came home from father's day, i cooked up the creamy custard goodness that would become our first batch of ice cream. last night i dumped it into the maker and let it work its magic and let me tell you, tasty and easy as pie.

so, here's the recipe, slightly revised from alton brown's:

• 4 cups half-and-half
• 2 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons apricot preserves
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 tablespoon mexican vanilla

mix all the ingredients in a large (lidded) saucepan. place over medium heat and stir occasionally until the temperature reaches 170 or until you see the first bubble. do not boil! remove and let it cool a bit. put lid on pan and refrigerate overnight. pour into your ice cream maker and churn (following your maker's instructions.) and enjoy!

step what?

i case you didn't know, i consider myself a lucky, lucky girl and my dad is one of the reasons i think that. he married my mom when i was 5 years old. he took on the role of dad with the greatest of ease. he was there through everything. brownies and marching band. purple hair dye and questionable boyfriends. teaching me to drive and walking me down the aisle. he loves shawn. he loves my mom. and he loves me.

two years ago, i had to have surgery to remove a lump in my breast. i held off telling my parents until the surgery was actually scheduled. i was fairly certain it was nothing and i didn't want them worrying about me for weeks. i told my mom first. she said she'd tell my dad. when she did she explained that it was probably nothing and that we don't have a history of breast cancer in our family. he started to argue with her and pointed out that his cousin has breast cancer and what about so and so... my mom, puzzled, just looked at him. he had completely forgotten that we're not actually blood related. i know, right? best. dad. ever. both my mom and i are lucky, lucky girls.

renegade prep - week 3

ok, i'll admit it. i'm freaking out a bit. there is so much to make and do. my to do list is a bit like a hydra - for every item i check off, two more pop up in its place. so i sew. and sew. and sew. and i try to be like water. which is, you know, easy. especially when everything i'm making looks a bit like a swimming pool.

earrings for everyone!

I was putting earrings on cards for renegade and as they started to pile up i thought they looked awful pretty. i especially love those pink silhouette playing cards i use for earrings and bobby pins. i wish i could get 10 more decks!

my first (beer) love

    when we lived in austin, this was my favorite beer. it was from a local brewery and it was the beer that taught me that beer could be better than old style or budweiser. you can smell the citrus when you open a bottle. its wheaty and has the faintest taste of cloves and coriander. its the perfect beer for a hot summer day or paired with a spicy hot meal. i fell in love with this beer.
    soon after we left austin, celis brewery was bought by a large beer manufacturer and shut down. oh, the heartbreak. we couldn't get it in chicago but i looked forward to drinking it on visits.
    when visiting austin a few weeks ago, we stopped at the whip-in for beer for the party caroline and greg were throwing for us. while browsing the cold cases i saw something i thought i'd never see again and let out a squeal. its entirely possible that i just stood pointing.
    there it was... a beautiful 6 pack of celis white. shawn pulled it out of the case and began to examine it. "bottled by michigan brewing co." i'd lost all hope. my dreams of celis white had long since faded. but there it was. and it was soon going to be in my belly.
    had we driven, we would have brought some back but i figured i'd just check with my friendly whole foods beer guy and he'd hook me up.
    um, no. beer guy told me today that he asked all his distributors and no one had heard of it. he looked like he wanted to give me a hug. i may have looked like i needed one.
    i'm not giving up hope though. also, shawn said it wouldn't be so crazy to drive to michigan for beer.

renegade prep - week 2

being trapped at home for the entire weekend with no car was helpful. many yoyos were sewn. i've made some necklaces in new color combos but mostly i've been concentrating on making many of old favorites like this one:

etsy (summer) love

striped summer dress by janebonbon

mason jar lantern by allysaettinger

dinosaur mail stationery by donovanbeeson (perfect for letters from camp!)


double cicada lines necklace by sudlow

organic garlic dill pickled okra by sardineandanchovy