Ringing Out the Year... With A Cowl and a Recipe!

Hey Y'all!

Well. Luckily the dentist was able to see me at 11 this morning. After a few x-rays it was determined that I have some nerve issues going on from clenching and grinding my teeth at night. I also have some Crohns issues going on with my gums. So the good news is that it is not a tooth, but something that is not easily fixable. Today I went and purchased a new night guard (since I chewed through my last one) and I have a few tricks up my sleeve from my dentist to help with  my gum issues. I also visited the natural health food store and stocked up on sulfate free, everything else free toothpaste as well. Drastic times call for drastic measures! So. There we are!

Today I wanted to share a quick recipe and an easy to make cowl accessory with y'all just in case you had big New Year's Eve plans! I have never been a big NYE party gal, but I do like to go out to dinner and then get home before all of the crazy folks get on the roads. NYE is one of those nights where I like to be in my house still admiring my Christmas tree lights.

First up... a Yummy Recipe! I don't know about y'all... but here in South Carolina we take our New Year's Day meal very seriously. You must have black eyed peas and some sort of greens. You also have a few other sides as well. With the peanut/nut allergy that I have had to face over the past few years, I have to be very careful about what I make. One of my favorite things to eat is a fruit salad or fruit ambrosia. But some folks put nuts in that and then I can't eat it! I found this great fruit salad recipe on Pinterest right before Christmas and Mom and I took it to a brunch we were invited to on Christmas day. It. Was. So. Good! Also. I didn't take any pictures when I made this!

For Cherry Fruit Salad you will need...
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (Bonus points if you use the Extra Creamy version!)
1 (16 ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
2/3 bag of  miniature marshmallows
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional.. obviously I DID NOT INCLUDE THIS!)
Directions
First, completely drain the pineapple.Really get all of the juice out. You can save it and drink it later or add to New Year's Day drinks!

Then,  combine all the ingredients except the cool whip and the cherry pie filling. Make sure to mix well. Finally, fold in the cherry pie filling and then fold in the Cool Whip. Be careful not to over mix so the Cool Whip will not fall. Place in the fridge and let the Cherry Fruit Salad chill overnight.
Trust me, it will be hard not to taste this before it is chilled.... but OMG if you wait it is so DELICIOUS!

Note.. this is not my picture... it is from Pinterest. I had my spoon so deep in this concoction that I did not get any pictures!

And... finally a quick cowl for a night out on the town! As I mentioned in my last post, I was very, ahem, creative this Christmas and found a lot of quick to make, great looking presents for friends and family. And this one I promise, even if you are not crafty, you can make!

You will need one ball of Starbella Strata yarn. I found mine at AC Moore. It runs about $6.99 and I had a 50% off coupon and a 15% off teacher discount. This is the Raspberry Jam colorway.

Remove the wrapper from the yarn and pull out three lengths from your nose to the end of your arm extended all the way out. Cut the yarn tube.

Put your hand through the end of the tube like you are stretching out socks or a pair of panty hose.

Stretch the yarn fabric long wise and width wise. Place over your head. INSTANT COWL!

You can make the lengths you measure longer and get a longer cowl. You can get at least 2 to 3 cowls out of one skein of this yarn tube. Nifty!

If you need more help making this cowl... because trust me, I didn't get it at first either... check out this nifty two minute video!

This yarn comes in a few different colorways. I made another one out of the Shipwreck colorway and gave it to my Mom for Christmas.

My Mom promptly went online and ordered ALL of the colors to make cowls for all of her friends!

So that's it for tonight. Go forth and craft and cook! I might hop on tomorrow to do a best of 2013... we'll see!
Tootles!
:) JKP

Busy Times!

Hey Y’all!

Wow. This month has dragged by in some ways and flown by in others! Let’s just say that I am happy, happy, happy that this coming Friday is November 1st!

School has kept me busy this month with all sorts of things. Parent teacher conferences, report cards and a ton of work have kept me on my toes. I am also trying to keep up with my 10,000 steps a day. Some days it is easier than others. I have  few more days to go to make my 300,000 steps for the month of October. It helps that everyday or most everyday afterschool I come home and walk two miles around my neighborhood. Although, the weather has cooled down this week and my ears are freezing. It looks like I will be knitting my self some  hats this weekend!

Speaking of knitting, my needles have surprisingly been clacking away. I have had several baby hats to knit up for friends. Last Saturday, I put these cuties in the mail to Columbia. There is a girl explosion right now!

 

I have also fallen in love with knitting fabric scarves. These are so easy to do and I use a crochet hook. I can make one of these scarves in about 30 minutes.

I have sold several already for holiday gifts! I just love all of the different patterns that they come in! Also, they are light and airy and not as heavy as traditional yarn scarves. With our beach weather that is a plus!

Also, here is some news that made beyond happy. Remember all of the classes I have been taking to gain my Online Teaching Certification? Well, the State Department of Ed finally got around to adding it to my certificate. I am official!

Of course, I celebrated with a cupcake!

Well, I am off to run some errands, catch up with laundry and maybe switch out my closet today.  I also have some knitting to do. Good thing there is a Good Witch movie marathon on the Hallmark Channel today!

Tootles!

JKP

I Wanna Be a Cowl Girl.....

Hey Y'all!

Wow. These past few weeks have been a HUMDINGER. How about for y'all? Let's just say I am more than ready for summer breezes, flip flops on my feet and summer freedom. Yes. I know it is only the beginning of February. But, sometimes you need a little light at the end of the tunnel!

To help me get through the doldrums until Spring, I have been knitting. Mainly cowls, because they are easy mindless TV and movie knitting. In my last post I showed you a picture of the Three Hour Cowl. I enjoyed making that one so much, that as soon as it was off of the needles, I casted on for another one! This new cowl was knitted in cotton yarn too. The colorway is Moondance. I just love that name. It made me feel very calm while I was knitting it! I made this one a little bit longer than my first one.

Recently I have come across a few new knitting blogs that I have enjoyed reading. One of them is by Fiber Flux. She has a great blog and I just love her free and easy knit patterns. Most of the the yarns she uses in her patterns I already have somewhere in my stash. Friday night during Blue Bloods I casted on the Spice Cowl. After knitting a few rounds I called it a night. Then during an encore presentation of Necessary Roughness on Saturday morning I finished the cowl. It was such an easy and fast knit. It is really just a four row repeat. Add in a chunky yarn and size 15 needles and BAM. You have a cowl!

Yesterday I visited some of my favorite thrifting spots and scored some cute things! Today I lucked out at Goodwill and came across a precious set of Correlle Ware. I'll post some pics tomorrow of my finds.

I have some Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos in the Crockpot and it's dinner time. I am not much of a Super Bowl person unless I like a team in the game. This year Pitty Pat and I are going to watch a movie instead of the game. Although, we did catch the Puppy Bowl earlier today! It was precious!

I hope y'all have a good Monday!
Tootles!
:) JKP

3 Hour Cowl... YAY For Knitting!

Hey Y'all!

For most of this morning I was glued to the Inauguration coverage. The pomp and circumstance was neat, but I kept thinking about how all of that money could have gone to such better use. I bet a lot of hungry and cold people could have been fed and kept warm with that expense. But. That is just my thought!  I mean, it is his SECOND Inauguration. They could have scaled back a bit. Anyhoo.

Today I finally finished the 3 Hour Cowl that I have been working on since Friday. My back felt much better today and I was able to finish the cowl quickly this afternoon. Today was our last sunny and warm day for a while, so I tried to make sure Pitty Pat and I went on as many walks as possible. That is why I didn't finish up until late this afternoon!

Here it is!

This was all of the yarn that I had left after binding off... YUP. I kind of cut it close! I used a ball of cotton yarn with 95 yards and I think I used at least 93 yards! I made a quick trip to the evil empire today to get another ball just to make sure I would have enough at the end. Turns out I did, by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin! :) Now I can make another. These colors just looked so pretty and springy together. Believe it or not, I have already casted on to make another on in another color way. These are just too cute!

Well, let me run. It is a school night AND tomorrow is my early morning duty day, so I need to get ready to go to sleep. I so enjoyed having a long weekend! I won't have another one until March, which is spring break. Oh my.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!
Tootles!
:) JKP