Food!

Sunday's all about food in Casa Chat Fancy.

I like to bake a special something for breakfast (if I get up early enough) and this Sunday was Jiffy Cinnammon Rolls from my trusty Company's Coming recipe book. These books are great! I love the easy recipes that you can do, well, in a jiffy...It is possible to bake something very easily even on a Sunday Morning!

Another good thing is our lunch, we like to cook our own meal on Sunday (and that was even before the difficult economy) and one of our favorites is homemade pizza. We buy a couple of packages of pizza dough at our grocery's store bakery, roll it out and then we top them with our favorite ingredients.

We usually make one with tomato sauce, ham, pepperonni and a mix of mozzarella and gouda cheese. As a big family we need two pizzas to get satisfied and the second pizza will always have some pineapple in it. We looove pineapple in our pizza. Our Hawaiian pizza has tomato sauce, ham, pinneapple, coconut flakes and cheese. Another good one is made with BBQ sauce instad of tomato, shredded chicken (usually leftovers, better if the chicken was grilled) pineapple and cheese...hmmmm yummy! These pizzas are much better than take out, and with the prepared pizza dough they are at the table in about the same time they would deliver them.

After all that eating I still have to think about food, because Sunday is the day I plan the menu for the rest of the week. This has been a proved time and sanity saver as I shop only for the things I need from a list, and there's no what's for dinner rush at 5:00 in the afternoon.

And what would be dinner in a typical Sunday at my house...well, cold cereal. Of course!

Scrap Sheets

As a designer I am always attracted to things and details that show beautiful combinations of color and design.

The other day, while shopping for school supplies for the kids I stumbled upon these beautiful scrap sheets and just couldn't get enough of them. I came back home to search the Internet for more and found out that they are very rare, and there is only one big publisher of those in England: Mamelok Press.(that is were these came from)

My mom remembers playing with scrap sheets or chromos-as we call them-when she was a little girl and my sister in law says she had a big box full with those lovely images (too bad my husband thought they were junk*gasp*and threw them away in a sibling rivalry fit)

I know I don't have much readers just yet, but if someone stops by and knows where I can find a source of these lovely scrap sheets in the U.S please, please let me know!! Shipping from UK costs 10 pounds, and as much as I love this beautiful reliefs, I don't think I want to pay that much....

In the meantime I will go back to my local store and get many more of these!!!

How to make a Valentine's Garland

Three years ago I was going through a difficult time with my health. As Valentine's approached I decided I would celebrate the "glue" that held me together: the love of my family and friends.

Here in Costa Rica we don't do much of a celebration for Valentine's, and nobody decorates the house for that day, but I decided I would make myself a simple garland to show at the front door and celebrate my feelings.

I just cut up some heart shapes in different coordinating fabrics and sizes and I embroidered some words in a couple of muslin shapes.

I sewed the pieces right sides together, leaving a space for turning, stuffed them, closed the opening and attached ribbons so they would hang at different heights.

My sewing skills were not very good at the time (they still aren't!) , but I appreciate the imperfection of the piece, knowing that love is never perfect, it comes in all shapes and sizes, and it always gives you joy and peace, no matter what's at the door for you.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S!!!

Organization

I remember when I was a teenager I had a sign on my door: A tidy bedroom is a symptom of a sick mind. It had a big fat Garfield in it, and I thought it was hilarious.

Well, how do things change in 20 years!!

I wouldn't say that now I am a control freak, but I like my things organized because if they are all in its place I won't spend my scarce and precious time looking for them.

That's why I loved the Bella Dia list of free tags

I chose the ones made for canning goods and I organized my spice rack. I don't like to throw away my money, and as a child who learns from her mom (my mom even saves aluminum foil when she sees that is reusable) I buy most of my spices in packets and I use those cute jam and jelly jars to keep the bigger spices such as cinnamon sticks and anise stars, and the long skinny olive jars for the leafy spices such as sage and rosemary.

All of them are different jars as you will see, but they seem to tie in all dressed up and pretty with those labels, don't you think?

Books and tools and fabric

My name is Vanessa and I am a fabric-book-tool-oholic...

I just can't resist them!!!! Even living where I live, where supplies are not as easily available as you can get in other countries...

Oh no, there is no Jo Ann's or Michael's one stop shopping here! I have to pay about $5 for a yard of fabric, can you believe it? and it's not even of the latest collections, I can only have what is left over from them...There is always the Internet, but I hate waiting...

To buy books I have to go to Amazon, which I love, by the way...But I can't go through the pages of a book before I buy it, and so many times I have been disappointed of what I got.

Even so, I just can't resist going into my local fabric store and browsing and finding treasures, so many times I have bought something just because I liked the feel and color of it...For example: I don't even crochet or knit (I have tried several times, but I just can't get it) and I have a full range of needles and yarn and patterns just in case I finally learn how to do it, because I love what people do with yarn!

There's this book I got from Amazon: Stitched in Time...I loved it! My husband asked me What are you reading? and I answered that a book from a person that could be me...

Anyway, I just finished my first project, and I want to show it to you. I will give it to my sister Guisella who is one year younger than me and I am very close to. I was pretending to give it to my niece, but she already told me that she wants it for herself, so this one will be for you from yours truly

First!

This is my first attempt as a blogger, I am no computer nerd in any sorts, so I hope this comes out fine...

I have been working in some projects and while looking for inspiration I found so many "twin souls" out there...that's how I was inspired to write my own blog. There is so many people that share my passion for handmade things, and good cooking and domesticity.

I have always been creative, and I keep my own journal the old fashioned way, but I think technology really helps out a lot nowadays...Being able to enrich what I am saying with pictures is great! Better if so many people can get a look at what I am thinking, feeling and doing...

The project I have been working on lately is my "Felt Food Restaurant" I am attempting to create some nice things I have found in the Internet so I can give as gifts...I am so tired of plastic! Everytime I shop for presents at the store is the same old same old! One of my new year's resolution is to choose handmade whenever possible, better if it is handmade by me!

Now, as for how to keep a blog, I don't know much yet...but I am sure I will learn soon.

Please, keep with me as I go.