Not Tryin' to Brag...

....well, ok, maybe I am, just a little...but I wanted to share with you all my newest creation! I found this fabric at Textile, which is a great fabric store here in Nashville- they had apparently just unloaded the "glorious designer fabric" truck, and there it was staring me in the eye, the most beauteous Carolina Herrera fabric my eyes had ever seen! So of course I just had to have it- I told my Mom about it, and she was nice enough to make it one of by birthday presents (how nice is that!!???). I promised I'd do her proud, so hopefully I did.....I just made a simple shift dress, which is basically just a rectangle sewed together, with sleeves.

Ok, yes, when I wore this in Vegas, some guy did ask me, "hey, is that a space suit?" But I didn't let it sting me- this fabric is way too cool, and clearly that guy didn't know anything about how glorious Carolina Herrera is!

Don't Fret!

So sorry that I have been neglecting my creative duties- have been on vacay with our glorious friends Cara and Lee, as well as with the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Mantravadi. Cara and Lee live in Salt Lake City, which is such a cool and beautiful place- they were nice enough to put us up for 5 days and take us all around town! Thanks, guys, we had a blast!!! Then it was to Vegas, which is where I am currently stranded, cursing the Southwest Airlines powers-that-be who provided us with the simple explanation- "oops, we oversold your flight, you've been involuntarily bumped" - lovely, thanks so much for that...as if I had nothing to do back at home!! Sorry, so annoyed...anywho, I promise to get back to blogging about food, fashion, and other fun stuff just as soon as I return to real life! Check back soon!

Fraud Alert!!

Ok, so I blatantly stole this super cute idea from my friend Jane, who is a complete craft genius! This is such an easy and fun project and such a thoughtful way to put your own spin on a baby gift- personalize away! All you need for this project is the following:

• Some baby onsies;
• Fabric with which to make your appliques;
• Double-sided iron-on adhesive

Iron on the adhesive to the wrong side of the fabric you'll use, cut into desired shape, and then iron on to the onsies. Taking a cue from Jane, I also stitched these in a couple places, if not all the way around, so that they'll hold up in the washer. Tie them up in a cute little bow, and you have yourself a perfect baby gift! Have fun!

A Tendency to Embellish....

Oh my gosh, do I ever have a tendency to embellish- and now it's not just with stories- With clothes too! Take for example this simple black dress (oh, and meet my dress form, her name is Angela)- I bought this dress at Target off the clearance rack for $17.99....I mean, it's okay for a little black dress, but as one of my sisters would say, "it's BOOOORRRRING me!".....hopefully, if I've done my job here well, by the time you get done reading this, and see the finished product, you'll think it looks a LOT cuter!

So, I embellished the neckline to suit my own style!- Here's how I did it ...I found some old fabric that I had from a previous project and cut it in long strips, and sewed them together to make one very long strip- like 2.5 times the length around the neckline- then I gathered it to make a long ruffled piece (see the Missoni scarf post to see how I gather the fabric to make ruffles)- then I just pinned it on around the neckline and sewed it on! Throw a fun belt around your waist, and you've gone from BOOORRRING black dress, to a bit edgy, different, and definitely more fun!

This project is super easy, super inexpensive, and it adds a very original touch. Altogether, this project cost about $32.99: $17.99 for the dress, probably about $2 worth of leftover fabric, and the belt was $12.99 (from Target too!) You can do this with just about any piece of clothing....a really easy and fun project would be to find an old skirt (perhaps one you bought at Abercrombie & Fitch during freshman year, and now you're thinking to yourself, "how on earth did I ever think this was long enough to wear in public?")- Maybe you don't want to get rid of it, but it's definitely too short- so you add a thick ruffle to the bottom of it- adds length and jazzes it up!

So expensive, designer goods....

....Um, actually, no, not expensive at all! Ok, so here's the deal, like I've said before, my fantastic parents gave me a sewing machine for Christmas last year, and I have been teaching myself how to sew ever since....now, I have to admit, some of the projects don't go over so well- and in fact I have spent up to 10 hours on something before, only to scrap it, as I have no idea what I'm doing- but some, on the other hand, turn out quite nicely. For example- this scarf! Wow, I love this scarf, and was very pleased with the outcome, and the cost of making it.

A key ingreditent to success in pulling off something that is designer (but not really) is finding a fabric store that sells actual designer's fabrics, and then you make a litttle something out of it on your own. I am obsessed with Missoni- don't know why, just love the family, love the fabrics, love it all! So when I found this authentic Missoni fabric at Muna Couture (best discovery ever! For those in Nashville, you must check it out- Muna has AMAZING stuff!) I knew I had to have it! The great thing is, Muna gets her fabric years before it hits runways and stores, so when she has stuff on sale because it's "last season," it really is like 4 years away from even showing up on Anna Wintour's desk. So here's what you do- buy up as much of it as you can, and make as many cool things out of it as you can (and give some away as presents, but be sure to keep some for yourself too).

I don't care who you are, if you have access to a sewing machine, you can make this scarf. Simply cut a long rectangle, fold it long-ways down the middle, so it's inside out, pin up the open side. Sew a stitch up the pinned side, and turn it right side out. Find some trim that matches your designer fabric, and cut it the to the proper length (as in, the distance from the rest of the scarf to the edge) and about twice as wide (which will be parallel to the short edge of the scarf). Take a needle and thread and weave it through the trim piece loosely, with about 1/2 in between each stitch- then pull the loose end to make the fabric gather. Do this with the trim for the other end as well. Then stuff the gathered end of the trim into the open end of the scarf, and pin it closed. Then just run it through the sewing machine. Do this for the other end, and you're done! I mean, you can say it's a Missoni scarf- technically it is- sorta. Close enough, right?

It Ain't No Secret, Folks...

....Cedar plank-smoked salmon is fabulouso!!! Ok, I'm not gonna lie and say it's like this super easy thing to make for dinner; however, it is super delish, and definitely a crowd pleaser (oh, and it's very healthy!). So here's what you do- get yourself a cedar plank, such as Fire & Flavor brand, or any other at your fav grocery store- soak it in water for at least 2 hours- it must be completely submerged for the entire time. Also, pick up a lemon, slice it very thinly, and a bunch or fresh rosemary. And of course, the salmon!

Heat your grill on high heat for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, coat the top side of the cedar plank with some olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the cedar plank on the grill, and allow it to warm up in the grill for about 7 minutes. Then, place the lemons in a single layer, covering the plank, then place the rosemary sprigs on top (6 sprigs should be sufficient). Then, after seasoning the salmon with salt and pepper, place them on top of the lemon and rosemary-clad cedar plank. Close the grill lid and leave it closed for at least 12 minutes (opening it to check the fish frequently will only make it take longer to cook). After 12 minutes, check the fish- it will be flaky when it's finished- every piece of fish will be different in terms of size, and therefore the cooking time will be different too. Once the fish is cooked, remove it from the grill (have a bucket of cold water standing by for the cedar plank to be plunged into as it might be on fire at this point).


The cedar plank-smoked salmon is great to serve on top of Toasted Pine Nut Couscous (Near East brand)! And then, for the finishing touch, roast some jewel vegetables, such as zucchini, red onion, and grape tomatoes tossed in olive oil, balsamic, and salt and pepper on a cookie sheet in the oven at about 350 for 20 minutes. This dish looks beautiful, it's healthy, so delicious, and it costs about $14! Enjoy!

Pizza ParTAY!

Ok, so one of mine and my husband's new favorite meals is homemade pizza.....now, making homemade pizza can be pretty scary as homemade crusts, and even some store bought pizza crusts can turn out to be mushy disasters; however, they're delish when you use Boboli or something similar. They make these crusts in "thin" now, which I love! So another fun spin on the homemade pizza is the pizza party- the grown up version of when you used to go to Noble Romans and were invited into the kitchen to make your own pie for your Birthday- we've substituted the plastic Noble Roman's crowns with wine- much more fun, by the way. Anyway, this is a great, easy way to entertain friends and get everyone involved in the creation. For this party I bought a few crusts, and assorted toppings (this gets really easy when you buy those pre-chopped peppers, onions, tomatoes, and whatever else you like). My new favorite topping is grilled Cajun chicken- I just seasoned a couple chicken breasts with Tony's Cajun seasoning (so good!) and threw them on the grill and chopped them up (this can be done earlier in the day, or even a day before). Really, all you need is the crust, some sauce, your fav topping, and cheese- oh, and friends and wine! I love this concept as I have found that when a group is over at a house for dinner, despite that fact that you have really comfortable chairs and couches about 10 feet away in the next room, people always gravitate toward the kitchen, even if it means they have to stand- so you might as well put them to work as pizza chefs! So much fun! Enjoy!