Happy Twenty Eleven!

Shouldn't we be in flying cars by now? I'd love to breath under water and fly with no equipment! 

This seems like it should be a possibility now that we're well into the 2000's!!!

I seriously trip out on how quickly time flies and

worry about how fast it's gonna go when I'm 80! You blink and a day's gone??

Just in the sharing business...

I'm quite pleased that I got to wear some fun vintage clothing this season. 

I tend to like it a lot... love hunting for it... but don't wear it practically for everyday

kind of stuff, until recently!!! 

Every once in a while Erick just shakes his head when

I come out wearing some ol' polyester "old people smellin'" clothes! 

I gotta laugh, cause I know what he means... but I try to spruce it up a bit! hahah

My daughter got a crochet kit for Christmas (I was delighted)

and started right in. I'm thinking if I do these in red and white

I could have some ornaments for next years tree! :D

Cheers to teaching your brain new tricks. I spent a few hours trying to master crocheting. 

I can't wait to learn some new stitches! 

We had a little New Year's precursor celebration last night. 

We got together at a friend's house for a 40th birthday celebration (Happy Birthday Ruben!)

where they are all "musically inclined" which makes for a fun jam night!

Guitars, piano, bass, drums... and we stayed up til 2am!

That's gonna make for an earlier celebration tonight- wait- naaaa

who am I trying to kid, we'll probably be up super late! :D 

Welcome to 2011 tonight! 

How are you celebrating??? 

xo,

Nicky

Merry Christ mas!!!

From The Stitchy Life to you and your lovely family!!! 

I hope you have a warm and meaningful holiday! And at the very least... get the goodies

you asked Santa for :D

Here are some lil' animal friends that my girls and I made to pass out to neighbors

and family :D I used (yet another) recipe from Fine Cooking- DANG I love their

recipes- not a bad one yet!

Sugar Cookies (with Lemon Zest) Mmmm 

using these super cute "pastry cutters" from Ikea!

PS... there was a little snail too- but I'm not a big fan of the little critters!!! 

14 oz. (28 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 tsp. finely chopped lemon zest
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 lb. 5 oz. (4-2/3 cups) all-purpose flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the softened butter, zest, sugar, and salt and beat with the paddle until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat it in well. In three additions, stir in the flour until blended. Spread the dough out, about an inch thick, on a sheet pan, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm. You can refrigerate the dough, wrapped well, for up to a week.
When ready to roll, heat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment. Allow the dough to soften slightly. You may find it easier to work with half of the dough, keeping the other half chilled; dough that’s too warm won’t hold its shape well.
Generously flour your work surface. Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. Dust off excess flour with a clean, dry pastry brush. Cut out the shapes you want, rerolling the scraps to make more cookies. Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on the lined baking sheets. Bake until the edges turn golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet on a rack before transferring or decorating.

Olivia, my little cookie cutter outter :D

Elsa gives it her best too! :D

C'mon, it's early in the morning... don't hold it against me please- hehe

My little bitties... hard at work! 

Look at the concentration!

Love those spotty jammies! 

I found this awesome card on Etsy- isn't it super cute!?!

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Mary is quite the woman having a home birth in a stable!!! ;)

Merry Christmas!

Some Vintage-y Goodness

I took these pictures to sell this dress... and when trying it on and seeing the pics, 

I kinda wanted to keep it! What to do.... Have you an opinion? 

Promise I won't be offended if you say, "hey, why don't you sell it..." :D

Keep or sell?

And now for a short foodie moment... I've been enjoying some homemade soups from

a magazine called Soups and Stews 2010 (from Fine Cooking).

The two recipes I've made are FANTASTIC- I can't wait to make more...

Here's the chicken tortilla soup that I've made... 4 TIMES- that's a record

for my savvy tastbudded hubby!!! (He keeps asking for it) ;)

(the link will take you to a turkey tortilla soup recipe... everything's the same as the chicken one-

you choose between chicken or turkey) :D

I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

1 Tbs. vegetable oil, plus 1-1/2 to 2 cups for frying the tortillas

1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
1-1/2 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1 quart homemade turkey or chicken broth, or low-salt canned chicken broth
6 cilantro sprigs
Kosher salt
3 6-inch corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 cup shredded or medium-diced chicken
3/4 cup medium-diced fresh tomato
1/2 cup cooked fresh corn kernels (or substitute thawed frozen corn)
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

Garnishes:
1/2 to 1 ripe avocado, mediumdiced
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs. sour cream, or to taste (optional)
1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Heat the 1 Tbs. oil in a medium (3-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until softened and just beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chili powder and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 15 to 30 seconds; don’t let the chili powder scorch. Pour in the broth and scrape the bottom of the pan with the spoon to loosen any cooked-on bits. Add the cilantro sprigs and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, until the broth has reduced by about a third and is very flavorful, 20 to 30 minutes. Discard the cilantro sprigs and season to taste with salt.

While the broth reduces, fry the tortilla strips:Line a plate or tray with two layers of paper towels. Pour 1 inch of vegetable oil into a small, high-sided saucepan (a 6-inch-diameter pan needs about 1-1/2 cups of oil). If you have a candy thermometer, attach it to the pot. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350°F, or until a tortilla strip sizzles immediately when dipped into the oil. Add 8 to 10 tortilla strips and scrunch them with tongs for a few seconds to give them a wavy shape. Fry until the bubbling subsides and the strips are crisp and very lightly browned, about 1 minute. Transfer to the paper towels to drain, and sprinkle with a little salt while they’re still hot. Repeat with the remaining strips.
Divide the chicken, tomato, corn, beans, and tortilla strips between two large soup bowls. If necessary, reheat the broth until it’s piping hot. Pour the broth over the ingredients in the bowls. Garnish with the avocado, cheese, cilantro, dollops of sour cream (if using), and big squeezes of lime juice. Serve immediately.

and a quick snack :D

Avocado, lime, cilantro, white onion, little jalapeno or red pepper flakes, salt and pepper

tried roasting these recently... coulda been better. But... not all bad!

And now for the Christmas festivities! :D

Our friends Mike and Jessica throw a pretty awesome shindig every year for Christmas.

I found a FAB-U-LOUS RED dress.

The most and brightest red I've worn since I was little!

(and guess what.. I dug it- hehe).

Wish I had some better shots... but this is about it.

And finally.... geeze, I feel like a little kid, all excited to share all this.

Here's a Christmas ornament that I'm stitching up for "a secret santa" gift.

I used an old monogram pattern from my vintage embroidery stash! :D

It recommended that I used the "padded satin stitch"

Ha. Ha. Ha! (in my jolliest laugh)- say what???

I had to look it up and might give a tutorial on this later. After doing all this outlining stuff with the good

ol' backstitch, I've started stitching over that. The first layer pads it! More pics to follow ;)

Signing off for now! Hubby just got home, and I've got a Rolling Stones record playing..

time to catch up on the day :D

G'night

Treasury- "Jump Inside My Stocking"

I've created a wish list, if you will, on Etsy called "Jump inside my stocking."

 "Treasury is Etsy's ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery."

There are so many wonderful items for sale on Etsy

that are either handmade, or vintage finds that make great gifts (or heck- a gift to yourself! ha)

Click on the link above if you're interested in any of these items.

If you're not, just enjoy the cute pictures! :D

Happy Monday Peeps!!! 

How Time Flies!

I can't believe this was a year ago! 

I just came across this photo of my friend Courtney and I riding Daisy (my little motorbike).

This was a hilarious ride because she was SUPER scared to get on this cute yellow bike! 

Not sure how that's possible but she shrieked/laughed the whole mile long ride to her house-

I was laughing outta control!  :D

Riding has been slim lately since her hubby recently had to lay his bike down on the freeway late one night after it got wobbly (we think he was hit by a car). 

He did his best to maintain control but got knocked out and came to walking along the freeway just trying to find a phone. 5 miles AND hours later he called his frantic wife! 

Daisy sure is a lot of fun but she does lack "zip" which could

take me out of harms way more quickly! 

Miraculously, her hubby ended up walking away from all that craziness

 with a double sprain on one of his ankles!

Blessed? Lucky? yup.

We'll ride again soon my sweet lil' motorbike.  

Here's a Daisy movie I made a while back!

I sure do miss riding!

My friend Anne and I used to laugh hysterically too about our helmets clinking whenever

I changed gears!!! :D Good times!!!

song

I wanna curl up inside of this song... 

Could listen to it over and over.

This is the only video I could find for this it,

I'd suggest pressing play and walking away from your computer. The video's a bit odd.

And the music at the end is downright disturbing after such a good song!

Hope you enjoy the first 3/4ths of it :D

Holiday shopping made easy...right this way to My Etsy Shop :D

Enjoy!!!

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