• Blog

    T Tuesday: updates edition

    Welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday hosted by Elizabeth.

    fusion breakfast

    When I took this photo last week I was intending to show you both my Indian/Mexican fusion breakfast and my new journal. Turns out the journal is no longer mine. Mini-me came home and asked if Micheal’s had more like this one but with a J monogram. Lucky for her a whole alphabet of monogram letters came in the back of the journal. Looks like I’m out of a journal.

    You may have noticed my announcement on the main page that I’m working on my site. I’m attempting to make it more user friendly with category pages as well as the main front page to find the newest content. I know I have some readers who could care diddly squat about my garden but came to see crafty projects. Hopefully this change will happen as I imagine.

    Speaking of gardens…

    seedlings

    my seedlings are coming along quite nicely even with the late start they got.  I have them in a large plastic bin with a clear top so that Marvin can’t get to them but they still get the grow light and sunshine from the patio door.

    marvin

    Look at that innocent face while he’s sleeping.

    marvin

    “No I wouldn’t cause any trouble”

    marvin

    Yes, yes he would. He’s definitely still a kitten…just a giant, clumsy kitten.

    I’m off for my usual Tuesday craziness. I’ll get around to visiting eventually.

    Until then….What are you doing today?

  • Around home - Blog

    T Tuesday: meet Marvin edition

    Welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday. Today I wanted to introduce you to a new member of our family.

    Marvin

    After having to make the tough decision to put Miss Gracie down mid- February (no I never mentioned it here) we had a hole in our lives.

    We had talked about getting a kitten…or two and had been actively seeking them. Then we met Marvin at a local rescue.

    IMG_0963

    He’s a curious guy. He literally stops to smell the flowers each time he walks through the living room. He is also a very big boy.

    IMG_0965

    This is the loveseat…easily seats two adults. We believe he has either Norwegian Forest Cat or Maine Coon in his background. He can put his front paws and face up on the kitchen table if that helps reference his size. Hmmm…so we went from wanting a kitten to getting pretty much the biggest cat we could find.

    He is such a lover though. Especially to us girls.

    IMG_0653

    I was curious how he’d be with the kids headed back to school. He loved all the early morning activity such as lunch making. 

    Another busy Tuesday ahead…

    What are you doing today?

  • Blog - Kitchen

    T Tuesday: natural dye edition

    Welcome to T stands for Tuesday. Hope you had a lovely Easter.

    Last week I decided to try a new technique with my natural onion skin dye. I’ve done natural dying in the past and always amazed how different the results can be.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    The only leaf or flower I had on hand was cilantro, so I made do with that.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    I didn’t have a ton of onion skins so I decided on 4 eggs.  I tucked the eggs into the onion skins and filled the pan with water. I also gave a generous splash of white vinegar to the mix.  I cooked the eggs like I would for hard boiled eggs. Bring to a boil uncovered, boil 1 minute, cover and turn off burner. Let sit for at least 20 mins. Perfect eggs every time.  These eggs I let sit much longer…until they were lukewarm since I wanted the dye to have as much time to work it’s magic as possible.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    Oh yeah magic. Look at how dark that color came out.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    They are so interesting to look at.  I want to try this again but with other leaves and flowers.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    I was so mad at myself after I dumped the dye water down the sink. What was I thinking!!! I could have thrown some bits and pieces of fabric and lace in there.  My mind was preoccupied. Good old Murphy of Murphy’s law had paid us a visit. While boiling the eggs I notice the digital display for the oven wasn’t on. Obviously the cook top worked since I was using it. Yep the control board was shot. On the bright side, I hated my old stove. And this lovely news came the day after finding out I have to get a root canal. Nothing like waking up with a swollen cheek and painful mouth.

    There are a few more things that Murphy contributed to over the past week as well but I’m done complaining.

    coffee

    Time for a decadent cup of coffee before moving on with my day.

    What are you doing today?