Gone

I don't quite know what to do. Obviously my blogging has been paralyzed... see how all my photos have disappeared? It happened due to a misstep on my flickr settings and I don't know how to get them all back. I am completely un-motivated to write new posts due to this problem.

I have since corrected the setting but the path was not then found. Anyone know how to make this right without having to reload EVERY PHOTO?

help me internet people.

Beef Stew

For those of you in a slightly different climate you might think I was a bit nuts for making beef stew in May. But, last weekend here in Colorado we had rainy days in the 50's, which were just perfect for some beef stew. This is also the reason my photos are kind of yellow looking - no sunlight, boo.

I had pinned Pioneer Woman's Beef stew with Beer and Paprika and was itching to give it a try with some of David's home brewed Scottish Ale. I have to say the result was delicious! This recipe has a deep flavor and the larger cut veggies reminded me more of eating a Sunday roast with gravy. The end result doesn't have much broth/juice since it is a stew, but just enough to mash up your potatoes as you eat them.

Be sure to give yourself some time for this recipe because it does need to need to simmer for at least an hour and a half to two hours.

Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika

adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 1 pounds Stew Meat
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can Beer, 12 Ounce Can
• 4 cups Beef Stock (or 4 Cups Water + 4 Beef Bouillon Cubes)
• additional water as needed
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Sugar
• 6 whole Carrots, Washed, Unpeeled, And Roughly Sliced
• 6 whole New Potatoes, Quartered

Preparation Instructions

Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown meat in batches if necessary, setting aside on a plate when brown. Cut larger pieces in half, down to bit size. Set aside.

Add diced onions to the pot. Stir and cook for two or three minutes until softened, then add garlic for another minute. Pour in beer and beef stock, then add Worcestershire, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add beef back into the pot. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.


Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook for an additional 45 minutes or longer if your veggies are still crisp, but at least 45 minutes. (If stew gets dry, just add a cup of hot water at a time to replenish the liquid.) Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

My main adaptations from the original recipes were that I used less meat (1 pound instead of 2) and upped the veggie content a bit. Also I added the veggies part way through the simmering so I wouldn't have to wait an additional half hour - it was already 9pm and I was hungry! The photo above is a double recipe, most of it went to some friends so they could enjoy their new baby and leave the stove alone.

So give this recipe a try and let me know what you think or what changes you make.

Back to the Blogging World

Hey look! I still have a blog! Hi there folks.

I'm back at work which might mean I'm back to blogging for you all - with baby free lunches and break times there is a chance.

I have learned that time flies once babies enter the picture. The times are amazing, just fast. I started back to work the end of April and though the transition wasn't "fun" I think it has been good. Anna comes to the office with me twice a week for the time being - that is the plan for the month of May. But on the days she isn't with me I have to say, it is really nice to be so excited to see my baby girl at the end of the day when I get home from work.

Crafting, cooking, sewing, and knitting have been a lot slower to fruition these days, but they are all happening. Since SO MANY people I know are having babies (honestly, 5 born in the last 2.5 weeks!) there has been much baby knitting - including a couple things for Anna. I'll share just a few of the many items - Above: Daisy Stitch Leg Warmers, Below: Fiona, Victorian Lace Shrug, and Puerperium Cardigan)

Just this week I finished sewing up some birdies for a mobile that I hope to finish soon. Also, there are plans in the works to refinish some dresser handles and finally attach them to a dresser. And better yet, I have plans to cook up some beef stew this weekend and maybe bake some scones.

I'm hoping all these plans will make for some (at least semi) interesting blog posts and, of course, I will be sharing some fun finds from Pinterest.

So, please stick around. I can't guarantee a post everyday, but I'm shooting for at least once a week! I will confess, there will be some baby info/photo/update posts - hope that's ok with ya all. I mean, don't you wanna see this face around here?

And here is a little of what has been on the needles...

9 months

It has been almost 8 months since my last post... there is a reason for that.


I hope to be back in this space again soon- ish. Due date is February 6th... I'll let ya know.

Shelf Re-Do

As many of you know I enjoy a good thrift store. It seems I don't often buy clothes, but usually stuff to decorate or organize our apartment. So when Claire and I were browsing around a shop in Fort Collins and I saw this I began to think about its bathroom potential.


Our bathroom doesn't have any extra storage it, besides the vanity, and there are somethings I prefer to leave out so I thought the $4 shelf might be a good investment. As you can tell from the photos is it s bit beat up, but I like the interesting detail of the front - I'm almost certain this shelf started out as shiny gold in the early '70's.


All of our bathroom stuff is a mis-match of bright colors so I decided that a sunny yellow would look quite nice. And after all, if I don't like it I'll just spray paint over it!

I wiped it down and hammered out some the dents and then did one coat of the spray paint. And voila! About $7 later I had this cute shelf hanging in my bathroom.

Mustachio

Finished these up awhile back, but never got them posted. They seemed to fit best in our guest bathroom... it was either that or the hallway. I suppose now when our guests trim their facial hair they will have various examples to choose from.


I picked these frames up in Illinois for $5 when we were home for Christmas . They came with some strange prints of angels and flowers in them, but I was able to get those out and just use the cute frames. I am super happy with how they turned out. This was my first venture into cross-stitch... I don't think I'll be doing it again any time soon, but I'm considering selling the PDF pattern for these 'staches in my Etsy shop.

Gifts for Baby Norah Grace

I have wanted to make applique onesies for a long time now, and the new arrival of our friends' sweet little girl gave me the perfect excuse.

The whale and the "n" are my favorite!

Mexico City with iEmpathize

I have been promising this post for over a month, uh make that two months (the date on this post is when I started writing it), to various people so I am finally getting this done! Having this post half done for so long has kept me from blogging many other things. This post is going to end up a bit long, but for the skimmers out there I promise a lot of photos. For the rest of you, grab a cup of tea and have a read.

As many of you know in March I took a trip down to Mexico City with iEmpathize. If you haven't heard of iEmpathize before now please take second to follow the link and read about who they are and what they are up to.

When I volunteered for the trip I really had not a clue what we would be doing, but I knew I wanted to get involved with this organization and I was feeling called to commit myself to the trip.

Our team, composed of 7 people - representing 7 local faith communities - came together, meeting as a group for the first time when we all arrived at the airport. We left the US on Monday, February 28th and returned on Sunday, March 6th. We spent some time getting to know each other on our way down to Mexico City and getting settled in at the hotel.

That first evening, Brad, the President/Founder of iEmpathize, shared with us the "plan" (in quotes because when one is traveling a plan is always tentative) for the week. We would be taking the iEmpathize multimedia exhibit to various locations through out the city and, on the side, trying to lay out some plans for upcoming summer trips.

The exhibit itself (shown above) is designed to provide information and a personal connection to human trafficking... to move people from sympathy to empathy. This is done by having striking photographs, artifacts from the lives of those who were trafficked, and an a video discussing the real issues. The video features the story of a rescued girl, and Mexican congress woman Rosi Orozco explaining hte current human trafficking issues in Mexico.

That first evening Brad also shared with us Psalm 10. It really helped my mind and heart come to a place where it could grasp that idea of what we were fighting for that week in the name of Christ's love and justice. Please take a moment to mediate on that passage, read it slowly, understand it.

Our first full day in the city we headed to the Mexican congress to set up the exhibit. iEmpathize works closely with Congresswoman Rosi Orozco, who started the safe home for girls rescued from sex trafficking, Camino a Casa. She was first an activist who decided she would be most effective in helping children by running for congress. This is the safe home that iEmpathize works to raise funds and awareness for in Mexico City.

It was important to share the exhibit at congress at this specific time because new laws were being proposed regarding sex trafficking. Rosi was working to pass laws that are more effective in prosecuting pimps and traffickers and keeping them in prison. The good news is the bill has passed their senate and moved on the house.

The exhibit was opened with a press conference and a ribbon cutting. Present was the First Lady of Cancun, the First Lady of Tijuana, the head of the Council for Tourism, Congresswoman Orozco, and one more person I am forgetting (sorry, that is why I shouldn't wait over a month to write this stuff up).

The iEmpathize exhibit was up for a day and half in the entry area of congress. We also sat in on a meeting where the former First Lady of Columbia explained how harsher human trafficking laws have taken effect in in Columbia and what that looks like now and how they are enforced.

We also spent a day at the Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General's Office works with the girls who want to prosecute their pimps and helps them fight their case.

I found the press conference that Congresswoman Orozco had at the Attorney General's Offices to be very interesting. She walked through the exhibit with the press explaining the stories behind nearly each artifact and photo.

The last two days our exhibit was up for the congregation from Casa Sobre La Roca to view. They had a conference that weekend and their weekly Sunday gathering. This organization works closely with Rosi and the safe home, but because it is so large it can be difficult to communicate to all the members. Seeing the exhibit helped to bring greater understanding and more information to this congregation.

During the week we also spent time with the girls from the safe home, ate wonderful food, and spent time getting to know the directors of the home. We worked on looking at hotels for next month's trips and did a little site seeing down town.

I feel the need to have a nice of wrap up for this post, but I don't have anything profound to say. Human trafficking is wrong, awful, and it DOES happen - more than most people are willing to recognize, and yes, even here in the US. You, reading this, have the ability to help fight it - whether with prayer, donating your time, donating your abilities, donating money, or educating others. Get the word out, we need to speak up for those whose voices are being silenced.

Sneak Peak: Facial Hair

Just so I can say I actually posted in March, here's a peak at a project I am working on. Finished product and details to follow (soon, I hope!).

Mittens

A knitter should not be without comfy mittens. At the beginning of the winter I was all set, but since that time I have worn through one pair and gifted another. So, to remedy this I knit up these mittens from some merino wool hand spun. The pattern is called "Emma's Mittens" so I simply titled these "Emmy's Mittens".




please graciously ignore the fact that the finger tips don't match. when things are for me I'm just not that picky.

Brewed, now bottled.

Herringbone Cowl

Since everyone around this country seems to be freezing their faces off I thought you all might like to see the snuggly knit I recently finished.

This is the Big Herringbone Cowl by The Purl Bee. As soon as I saw the this cowl I had to make it. And it just so happens that same day (as I went hunting for yarn) I found this amazing Baby Alpaca/Bamboo mix - Mirasol Qina - on clearance (follow that link because it still is on clearance)! The yarn is incredibly soft and warm, words cannot describe it.

The structure of this knit is simple but many people find the herringbone stitch to be obnoxious. I didn't mind doing the stitch, but I found that I didn't have has much freedom to correct my mistakes as I do with traditional knitting. I could tink (knit backwards) on a row, but I could not drop stitches down to fix a problem.

On my Ravelry page you can find my knitting notes, a few more photos, and links to other people's projects. So what do you think? Doesn't everyone need a cowl?