Glitter Market!

It's time for another fabulous Glitter Market!

Not only is Cindy Winters the proprietress of Paper Crown (my favorite scrapbook and paper artistry store!!) which is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, she is the organizer of this fun event! She has an impressive team of supporters (like Jackie!), and I just adore her.

I will be vending along with many others who are incredible artists. Charlotte Perez will be there with her breathtaking jewelry. Jackie will be there (no doubt with her throngs of faithful followers!). Linda will be there with her stunning art, as will Bobbie! My fellow North Texan, Ann-Denise will be there with miles of gathered crepe paper and paper clay creations (she really is something with paper clay!). Colette is coming from the far north country of Canada to share her art with us (we are SO very lucky!). I can't wait to see sweet Holly's hand drawn and painted watercolors and jewelry. Medeah's art is always thoughtful and eye catching too.

What do I have up my sleeves for this spring event? You'll have to come to see for sure! I have been working in the little snippets of free time I find (teething has taken it's toll on me and sweet Charleigh!) and I don't have as much done as I had hoped I would have. I have some vintage items from my recent studio reorganization, wallpaper and vintage ephemera collections, my typical and regular jewelry pieces and soldering project kits. I also have a few large pieces that are almost done and I hope to have them with me too.

Something brand new for me and Glitter Market is... I'm bringing my husband! This will be his first artsy thing to attend with me.  :) How I do love my cute boy!  I am excited for him to get a first glimpse at what it is that I love about Oklahoma (especially after detesting the glorious state for so long!) and the creative women that live (and travel to!) there.

So, if you're in the Oklahoma City area this coming weekend, stop by Glitter Market! Heck, if you're not in the area, get yourself there! It's fun, the women are awesome, the other artists are inspiring and the air is fresh!

What's Cookin...

I have grand hopes and plans about getting back into blogging. It was a challenge with only one child, but having two has thrown me for a loop. Truly. I thought we had sleeping through the night down. 

 I thought. Really I did!

I was wrong.

 

Our current challenge has been my sweet daughter cutting teeth. Good times. She is adorably delightful though. And, 7 months old today! Clearly she has us all wrapped around her little fingers!

Time is flying right on by. I'm trying to savor the sweet moments and forget the not so sweet ones. I know this time won't last long. And, quite honestly, staying home with my kids is WAY harder than going to work every day. Even working 75+ hour weeks. I know it is (and will be even moreso) rewarding, but man is it HARD.

Enough with the emotional rambling, the very least I can do is share our recent menu plan wins.  It's always nice to find a recipe that someone else liked and would recommend. Here's what we've been eating:

• Baked Chicken Nuggets, Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing and mashed potatoes
• Braised Beef Brisket, Hashbrown Casserole, Baked Beans, and Rolls
• Cuban Beans & Rice (ala American's Test Kichen Pressure Cooking cookbook)
• Asian Beef & Rice (also ala America's Test Kitchen Pressure Cooking Cookbook) 
• Grilled Chicken and pasta
• and lots of grilled cheese sandwiches and quesadillas!

What are some of your cooking wins?

Things I Love - Part 1

I always think of things I want to blog about, and then realize I don't have applicable/appropriate photos or even more likely... no time. So, the post goes by the wayside.  I have SO much respect for professional bloggers who post awesome content on a daily (or even several times a week) basis. It's just not in me.

So, for February... I'm taking a page from the book of the incomparable Margie Romney-Aslett. She's fabulous (in case you didn't already know. And... if that is the case you are SO missing out!) and hilarious. Pee your pants hilarious! Margie is posting about things she loves in February. Love the idea... totally snagging it too.

So, as I get time... I'm going to focus on love.. and share things that I love during February. There isn't any rhyme or reason to my loves. No plan. No preconceived notions (other than they'll be things I love!). No expectations (other than to just freakin' post!).

Right now, today, I have to say I am LOVING online art classes.

Terri Brush is a ROCK star! I highly suggest her soldering, paper mache, silver smithing, or any of her other courses (especially if you can't get to where I'm teaching!!). I've taken quite a bit of soldering classes and jewelry making classes over the years (duh of course... how else would I teach them!), and she is a CLASS ACT. She goes way above and beyond to share her knowledge and skills. There isn't anything she keeps to herself. We share a like mind in that we want our students to know everything they need to know (including sources, skills, techniques) by the end of class.  She is personable and a joy to spend time (I only know her online so far!) with. Attending one of her art camps is on my bucket list!

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE Christy Tomlinson's online art courses. She is so stinkin' cute! I honestly just watch her video's to learn her techniques, and listen to her chatter. (It cracks me up because I'm the same way!). She really strives to make sure that her students understand the techniques she uses, and shows them to you over and over and over. Her store is a dream to shop at (hello fabulous art supplies!). The canvas's I've created from her classes are some of my most favorite pieces to display in my home. They're me, match my decor, and just make me happy.

I have loved Jeanne Oliver's clothing for a few years... I have a few pieces that she created several years ago (a muslin dress and two skirts) before she had her now infamous clothing line. I've LOVED my bags for as long as I've had them and get compliments on them too (I had to retire one of them because it was loved almost to death. I wore it EVERYWHERE and sadly it finally almost wore out. So, now I only use it from time to time). Anyway, she has several wonderful and uplifting courses that I've enjoyed.  I really, REALLY enjoyed Creatively Made. It was though provoking and uplifting. I created several pieces that I adore. Recently, Jeanne created an online community that is blossoming into quite the hot spot! It's a wonderful place to meet others with the same artistic interests and dreams.

Of course, I cannot forget Margie and her fun Spark Online courses. Margie is... pee your pants funny. She also has fun, short online courses designed to help you prepare holiday decor for your home. Currently, she has a great class called Love.Love.Love. I enjoyed it SO much last year! This year, as I set out this years Valentine decor, I pulled out the projects I completed and loved on them some more.


I think that's about it for my current loves... at least for art classes!

Have you taken any online art classes that you're just LOVING? Who are they taught by and what are they?

Cooking: Pork Chile Verde

There's a chain restaurant here in town called Rosa's. Over the Christmas holiday, I decided to pick up dinner and took a chance and ordered their Chile Verde.

It was SO good. Seriously good. So good, that I went back two days later and got it again. (I rarely do that!)

Steve really enjoyed it too, and so I began a quest to find a good copy of it that I could do here at home.

And... I have SUCCESS! Steve even likes mine better than theirs. Hooray! 

One problem with the recipe I found (the main one, mine is a combination of several), wasn't discovered until I started making the dish. It made enough for 20 servings. I really should read the instructions and details in their entirety before shopping for ingredients. 6 pounds of pork should have set off an alarm of some sort. But, it didn't. :) 

Here's my recipe, portioned down to feed 6 adults. Enjoy!!

(The pictures is from my phone, courtesy of Instagram.)

Ingredients:

2 pounds cubed pork stew meat

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large yellow onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tablespoon sea salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 tablespoons ground cumin

1.5 quarts chicken broth (you probably won’t use it all)  

3 fresh poblano chile peppers

1 fresh jalapeno pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 pound fresh tomatillos, husks removed

½  bunch cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

INSTRUctions:

1.      Wash the tomatillo’s and quarter them. Trim the stem end off of the jalapeño’s and cut them into two pieces. Put them both in a large saucepan with 1c of the chicken broth. Cook them until they’re soft.  

2.      Cut each of the peppers (poblano’s and bell) in half and deseed them. Broil them in your oven until the skin is blistered. Remove them from the oven, and place them into the saucepan with the tomatillos and jalapeño’s. Using a blender stick, process until smooth. (If you don’t have a blender stick, you can use a regular blender.  (You can also put the peppers into a closed bag or container so that they steam, and then remove the skins. I don’t.) Keep the sauce simmering.

3.      Lightly flour the pork. Sear in vegetable oil until golden brown in a large stock pot. Remove the pork from the pot. (It took me several batches to get it all done)

4.      Add the chopped onion and garlic, in the pot, in the reserved oil until onions are tender. Season with cumin, then stir in pork.  Add the pepper sauce and stir. Add 1-2 cups of chicken stock. Simmer the sauce for 2-3 hours, or until the meat is to the tenderness you like and the sauce is thickened to where you want it adding more chicken broth to thin it to your preference.  (Mine has been simmering for 4 hours.)

Serve over rice or with flour tortillas. Or... both!