the coat:the project

It all started with this coat. My husband was shopping for a winter coat. He lost weight after finding out he has diabetes and all of his warm coats look like tents on him. He was trying on coats, I was hanging around waiting to give my opinion. That's when I spied the faux fox collar poking out from the sea of black and gray. I meandered over just to touch it. I tried it on and looked in the mirror. I was smitten. 

From that moment on I needed a coat like that. I have never worn a light colored coat...ever. It's all black and reds over here. 

My logical (frugal) mind said, "But you do not need ANOTHER coat." OK,  but now I really really want a coat with a collar like this. Isn't it funny how you could have no idea that you "need"/want something until you see it. The advertisers can count on it. I walked away with that coat stuck deep in my mind. 

So, I made a deal with myself. I decided to look at it as a project, a puzzle. I calculated the amount of money it would cost (not to mention time and effort) to make the coat. Way too expensive and thinking about putting in that lining made me sure I wasn't doing it. I began scouring Ebay for a wool camel colored coat. 

 I struck gold with this beautiful vintage coat. I always say that God loves to surprise us with little treats and it's true. I bid on it and waited. Nobody else bid and I got this coat for $7.50!! The original coat had cheap black plastic buttons ( I would have changed them). My coat has gorgeous big wooden ones. It is beautifully tailored, the lining is perfect.

 Now, about that fur collar. Again it was Ebay to the rescue, I found the perfect faux fur. Just what I wanted, it was around $15 for 1/2 yard. Yay! 

I love this coat way more than the one I first had my crush on. It's longer, the fabric is richer, the color, cut and fit is perfect. I don't even like the other one at all when compared. Isn't it funny how fickle we can be? In our instant gratification culture it can be hard to wait for something when you want it badly. Every single time I have waited though it has been well worth it. 

Asian at Home

Do you love Asia food? I do! All kinds, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, you name it, I like it. My husband went on a mission trip last spring to Cambodia, not only did he fall in love with the people, but he fell for the food also. He bought us a Cambodian cookbook so I could try the delicious foods he had over there. We have become very close with some of the Cambodians and American missionaries over there through the wonder of the internet. In fact one of them just visited us last week, it was her first time in NY. I was able to go over my cookbook with her and get some tips on the methods that they use to make their incredible dishes. Of course there are things I just can't find over here, certain fruits especially. For the most part you can get some pretty authentic results if you have access to an Asian market (if not try online). Not only is this type of food super tasty, but it is quite healthy. Lots of veggies, fruits and fresh herbs.  At the Asian stores I can pick up all kinds of noodles, spices, nori, teas, and condiments. Compared to what it would cost eating this kind of food in a restaurant, it is for a pittance. 

Here's my version of the Korean dish Bi Bim Bap. Pickled veggies, fresh and sauteed veg, tofu (instead of the traditional ground beef) and egg all sitting on top of a bed of rice. It is so good! We eat this with Korean garlic chili paste and kim chee. Small amounts of each thing makes this a great dish for a crowd.

A favorite of mine, Vietnamese spring rolls. They are also called summer rolls and sometimes they are all I feel like eating in the summer heat. Veggies and herbs wrapped up in soft rice paper. I like a lot of basil and maybe a little mint, any raw vegs,with lime and garlic in my dipping sauce. This time I rolled it up with some cold shrimp.

 

OK, this is pretty extravegant. Not my usual dinner at home. We got together with a few friends for a sushi party. All the fancy rolls were done by the host, but we all tried our hand at the simpler ones. I don't know how much this would have cost in a restaurant. We all chipped in for a really great time, it's an activity and a meal! 

If you have never tried to make foods that you love because they are from different cultures you should. We have so much at our fingertips, even in "regular" grocery stores. We have every recipe available online. I found my perfect chai on YouTube. I watched an elderly man from India make his chai, I tweaked it a bit and now it is my own.

Sometimes you just can't find something that you need in a store. I have japanese cook books and they often call for shisho. Shiso is an herb in the mint family. I can find the green version in my local Asian market, but many of the recipes call for the red. It is used not only for flavor, but to color the food. I ordered a seedling and grew it myself. That was a few years ago, now it is everywhere! It is quite invasive, being like mint. In the fall it turns from bronzy red to this brilliant burgundy when it goes to seed so I bring it inside to enjoy another facet of it's beauty. 

Really Good Bread

I have been making bread for a few years. I like a French sort of bread, with a good crust and chewy inside. I thought I made good bread. Then I picked up this book at the library, it's called Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish. I already knew that to get that kind of crust you need moisture. I have tried spritzing the oven with water or putting a pan of hot water in with the bread. Whatever I did, it never came out like this. This perfect crust is achieved by baking at a high temp in a covered crock. I must admit, I thought Ken's methods were a bit pretentious at first. In fact I sort of mocked him as I read parts of the book aloud to my daughter (she also shares my love of crusty bread). Ha! I said. "Well, I'll be the judge of that", I said. The verdict is in, Ken is right and his methods produce not just good bread, but really good bread.

those dreaded sweaters-one down!

Well, I did it. I machine sewed this sweater together and so far I see no ill effects. Actually it came out much nicer than when I do it by hand. So, thank you ladies who encouraged me to throw caution to the wind and do it. It was quick, it was easy and it fits great.

I had some leftover yarn so while watching a few episodes of Pippi Longstocking with my girls I knitted up a whole slew of flowers. The idea is from Louisa Harding's Knitting in the Details. She put the flowers on one side of the sweater only, but since I made so many I decided to use them all. I just have to find the proper buttons for this one. In the mean time I have begun sewing up sweater #2 from the dreaded pile.

Treasure Hunting

I have been trying to curb my thrift store browsing now that my daughters are loving to thrift as much as I do. I just can't handle anymore dust mite stuffed animals. When we have a legitimate reason, we go. Last Saturday we were on the hunt for brown hobbit pants.  My older daughter is assembling a Bilbo costume and before I buy fabric and start making from scratch I like to see what can be salvaged. We did find the perfect hobbit pants. They just happen to be 7 times too big, but I can work with that.

 I also came away with these little klompen. Stamped on the bottom it says, "made in Holland". I went to Holland many years ago and I regret not buying a pair while there. I even went to a tiny shop where a man was hand carving them. There were shoes of every size lining the shelves and it smelled wonderful. Now I have these little ones to remind me of Holland even though I bought them right here.

I also found this adorable tiny food scale. The actual width of this thing is less than two inches.  For 99 cents how could I resist? I thought it was a child's toy from the 50's. When I got it home my daughter informed me that it said "Official Weight Watchers Scale". That just added more kitsch to it, I like it even more. And it really works!

Ahh, the skirt. Sure there is snow on the ground and it is freezing here. But, as soon as I spied this skirt I thought "barefoot-summer-fairy-skirt". I grabbed it. Besides the gold threading throughout, it is hand embroidered with copper metal wire and glass beads so it really sparkles. Conjures up images of soft moss under feet and plenty of sunshine.

 I really should have stopped here but...

I didn't, AND I broke my own rule. My daughter quickly brought my own words to my attention...

"NO more dust mite stuffed animals!"

 I felt it needed rescuing. I just couldn't leave it in that jumble of brightly colored plush madness. Though I do really like it, I hope it will be worth all the aggravation it will cause in my future. I will be forced to hold my tongue when my daughters fall in love with thrift store animals. How can I enforce a law that I can't keep myself?

The Almost Sweaters

Today was a day made for books, tea and knitting. The snow was gently falling, the girls were busily occupied reading and making things. I began pairing up yarns with patterns. Then I saw it. The dreaded pile. Those three almost sweaters, just lying there begging to be made into proper sweaters. Ugh.

I love to knit. It's relaxing, it's fun. Even more fun is the excitement of planning and playing with the colors.  For me, sewing sweaters together is not fun. It is work. 100% chore. Today I decided that I will finish at least one of these sweaters before I start a new one. I am toying with the idea of running them up on the sewing machine. I know it is unorthodox for hand knits but I really, really dislike doing it the "right" way. I will let you know how it works out. Then I might just start some socks. At least with socks when they're done, they're done!

Christmas and the Vitamix

I have been hemming and hawing for years about getting the Vitamix blender. Each year I talk about it's virtues, and there are many! I say I want it, then as Christmas draws nearer I chicken out and say I definitely do not want the Vitamix! I guess I feel like if it is not a necessity I just can't justify the price. Last year my in-laws even wanted to chip in with my husband to get it for me. That was great, but then I chickened out once again. Well, this Christmas my husband didn't listen to my "I really don't NEED it", "It's just too expensive" kind of talk. He surprised me with the Vitamix under the tree on Christmas morn. He said, "It's for the health of the family", knowing that I would feel better spending that money on "the family". Of course I was thrilled, shocked, and yes, a wee bit nervous that it wouldn't be all I hyped it up to be. But it is. It really IS worth it. Within the first three days I made: pizza dough, sorbet, ice cream, dressings, soup, coffee drinks, waffles (the best I've ever made!), salsa and gluten free bean cookies. I don't think I could have gotten the beans that pureed in a regular blender. Since then I have made much more. I use it every day, usually twice. I stored away my food processor and gave away my juicer.

Do you like those cute kokeshi dolls? They are actually measuring cups! A gift from a friend, the heads and bodies each a different size standard dry measuring cup. So cute!