• 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.

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    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.

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    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?

  • Around home - Blog - Kitchen

    T Tuesday: making do edition

    So whats a girl to do when she’s hosting some friends for brunch and suddenly the love seat decides it needs a bit of ventilation.

    T Tuesday make do edition | Halle's Hobbies

    Frantically, search through her totes of fabric to find a slipcover of course.

    T Tuesday make do edition | Halle's Hobbies

    Not too shabby if I say so myself. I’m so happy I grabbed this piece of rich upholstery fabric from a garage sale a couple years back. The girls are nearly here so this will be short and sweet.

    I do have to show you my new pint glass though.T Tuesday make do edition | Halle's Hobbies

    I just couldn’t pass it up. I knew it would be perfect for the Japanese beer I drink with sushi.

    T Tuesday make do edition | Halle's Hobbies

    It had been a while since I made sushi. It was so yummy!!!!!!

    What are you doing today?