Ikat purse

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I've been wanting a new purse, and of course I figured I should just make my own.

My issue is that I wanted something large enough to hold my wallet, phone, small notebooks, coupon organizer, and a book or my Nook.

 

I wasn't actually shopping for fabric for this purse. But when I saw the blue ikat, I thought it would make a cool purse. The lining is a contrasting yellow damask print.

 



 

My sister shared this tutorial with me recently. It was my starting point for the purse, but I decided to add the little (fake) wooden rings and I didn't make an external pocket. I also created gussets on the bottom so it would be wide enough for all my crap.

 

I love this purse, and now I want to go out shopping just so I have an excuse to use it!

The Last Skirt

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This is the last skirt I never got around to sharing. It has an elastic waistband. The fabric was on the thin and slightly see through side, so I lined it with a white fabric. I feel like the top is a little bulky, but overall, I kinda like this. What do you think?

Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls

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Yep, found another recipe on Pinterest. Who'd have guessed?

This one was for Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls. The blog photos are much prettier than mine, but you get the idea.

I really enjoyed the glaze on these. It was almost....syrupy. But like adult syrup ;-)

I used flank steak for mine. I don't have a meat pounder thingy, so I couldn't get the steak very thin, but it worked.

 

Try these!

Chicago Girls Weekend

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Last weekend I joined 7 girl friends from across the U.S. in Chicago for a girls weekend.

Chicago is by no means a new city to me, but I was able to experience some new-to-me things this time.

 

Most of us are big fans of the Divergent book series, and the movie is currently filming there, so we stalked one of the sets. This is the Abnegation housing being built.

Of course we had to visit "the bean" again and walked through Millenium Park.

 



We went to Navy Pier and took a ride on the Ferris wheel, a first for me. This is the skyline from the top of the Ferris wheel.

 After Navy Pier, we went to an afternoon show at Second City. This was another first and was very funny!

 



On our last day, after breakfast at Lou Mitchells, we walked to Daly Plaza and turned the Picasso into a slide. Before we left, we managed to peer pressure 2 guys into sliding too. One of our group had to show them how to do it! So.Much.Fun.

 

 

Arkansas Road Trip

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At the end of April we took a road trip to Arkansas to visit a childhood friend of Brian's.

We had great weather on the days we drove, but it was overcast and/or rainy the days we were there. No matter, we still had a good time.

 

We went to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art one day. The building itself is beautiful. We visited the permanent collection and also checked out a special Norman Rockwell exhibit. This was a very nice museum, especially given the small community.

 

 

 The next day we drove to Eureka Springs, a sort of artsy tourist town tucked way in the Ozarks. With all the cute little cottages, it sort of had a vibe that reminded me of Key West.

 We had lunch at the Balcony Restaurant at the Basin Hotel. It's an old historic hotel that reminded me of the old hotels at Yellowstone. We tried to go up to the top floor to a viewing balcony and ended up crashing a wedding. Oops!

We did some shopping around town, walked through the Crescent Hotel, another historic hotel that is supposedly haunted, and then headed back home.

It was neat to visit a state I probably wouldn't have otherwise gone to had we not been visiting friends.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

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If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, this recipe is for you! A coworker's daughter came up with this recipe and she made them for one of many "treat days" we have at work. I actually didn't even get to taste one the first time she made them, but I heard about them so I asked for the recipe. Then I made some for myself, and oh my!

 

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

 

1 box brownie mix for 9x13 pan

1 bag mini Reeses PB cups, coarsely chopped

1 tub vanilla frosting

1/4 c PB (more or less to taste)

 

1. Mix the brownies according to the box directions. She makes them in a smaller pan, about 6x11 or something like that. I did too. It makes them thicker, but not too thick.

2. Mix half the bag of chopped PB cups into the batter, then bake.

3. Cool.

4. Mix the PB with the vanilla frosting.

5. Frost the brownies.

6. Sprinkle the remaining PB cups on top. I gently pushed them down so they wouldn't fall off.

7. Slice.

8. Try not to eat them all at once!

 

March Reading

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Either I read a lot of good books in March, or I have become more lenient with my ratings. I think it is the former.

 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater ****

 

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta ****

 

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover ****

 

A Shot of Sultry by Macy Beckett ****

 

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell *****

 

Charade by Nyrae Dawn ***

 

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys ****

 

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta *****

 

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater ****

 

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles ****

 

Divergent by Veronica Roth (reread) *****

 

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler ****