Hello Stranger!

Hey everyone! It's been a loooooooong time! After the Blue Crab Festival in May I went on a hiatus. After 6 years in business I was TIRED. Month after month I looked for inspiration, I looked for motivation, I looked for fabric...to no avail. Finally within the last week I have started to get back in the groove. I even managed to find ten yards of my favorite fabric ever, the turquoise paisley (a swatch is seen below)....so, I have been sewing. I am even going to have a booth at the fall festival at the All Saints Anglican Church @1250 Highway 19 South in Palatka this Saturday, November 6, from 10 -4. We are really looking forward to it. Public is invited, so you all come on out---

I am still, after all this time decorating my office and my family room.....my family room is coming together, this week I am listing the old furniture on Craigs List in order to prepare for new furniture that is supposed to be in next week....more on that deal later!

I just wanted to check in and let you know I have not dropped off the face of the earth, I am great and so is my family.

There will be new things on the website and new posts coming on this blog that I have so neglected.


The above orange and golds, are headed to the monogrammers because very shortly they will be bags for gator and nole fans....and the pieces below are the starts of some cute bags for next weekend. (and at the top of this post I couldn't help but include sweet Bessie, dressed up once again as Capt. Jack Sparrow----isn't she darling?)Have a great Monday, and come back soon!
xo

Progress?

Oh yes, definitely progress...however, not really any progress on my office--of course. I suffer from not being able to finish one project before I move onto 100 others!

So, yesterday I painted one of my thrift store finds...did I tell you about that? Ashlie drug me through Gainesville on Saturday morning, and we shopped....but instead of our usual jaunts at the mall, we opted for garage sales and thrift stores. Garage sales and thrift stores. Hello. Anyone out there, what have you done with my daughter? Anyway, I must admit I was a little apprehensive about all of that, but we had a blast! I bought a dresser for Hunter for $15. More on that later....I also bought a couple of hurricane globes that I thought would be perfect for Christmas arrangements for $2.....and at our last stop (our last stop because Karl's truck was SLAM FULL---front, back, and bed of the truck) I vasillated about a sofa table. It wasn't anything I needed, and while I couldn't say I really wanted it, I couldn't say I really didn't. It was $40, and furniture was 50% off that day, so what the heck $20 later it was mine. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that it was made by Thomasville Furniture, and solid oak. It was in perfect condition, so for a few days I thought seriously about leaving well enough alone......but where is the fun in that? so, I painted and distressed it, and oh. my. goodness., does it ever look spectacular! Just look at the pictures.....and it looks a little small in the pictures to me, but don't let that fool you, it is 5 feet long and 12 inches deep. I LOVE IT. Can you tell???

Do you have furniture that you are thinking about painting but your scared? Don't be, it is addicting.....I am really fighting the urge to paint my dining room suit, (Karl would kill me!!!) or even my kitchen cabinets (Karl would definitely have a hissy fit) but who knows.....I will be on the prowl this weekend to see what projects I can find!!!

Tomorrow, you'll have to check back to see what I did to the foyer! :)

Y'all have a great evening~
xo

Still Working on Office Stuff!!!

Yes, I am still actually working on the project from last week....my office redo.
It is so dreary and unorganized, that it was definitely time, and I am happy to report it is coming along nicely.

One of the first things I did was repaint a dresser that was donated to me from my sister-in-law....somewhere I have a before picture, but look at the afters, isn't it cute? Pay no attention to the array of things atop it, I have no idea what will end up there, I'm thinking a mirror on the wall, but maybe an arrangement of white plates. Who knows....

Thanks for stopping by!!

xo

New Designs?

Well, I am once again thinking of redecorating....did you know there are 10,000,000 decorating blogs on the web? I have spent the last few weeks scouring all that I could find in search of the one I truly loved....there isn't ONE I dearly love --- there is at least a dozen.

The question now is where do I start? I, for one, am a terrible procrastinator, and I also leave most of my projects incomplete....the older I get, though, the better I am at finishing, solets start with my office.

For the past 8 years, I shared my office with my step-son, Hunter, whenever he came to visit. Every other week.....the only time it was a real problem was at about 4:15 in the morning, when I get up and want to check my email....then the lights would disturb him. Poor thing. As soon as Tyler moved to his own place on May 1, Hunter immediately claimed Tyler's old room, and well, that left the office to Moi! All to myself, and since I spend a good deal of my time in here on the computer, I wanted it to be more "girlie". A girlie room....but not all pink and fluff....a little fluff, but not tooo pink.....

The first order of business in this process is, at least for me, a paint color....yes, I know half of the people say you have to choose an inspiration piece, and choose a color from there, but since when did I do ANYTHING the conventional way? If you know me very well, you no conventionial is the road less traveled, at least around here! :)
I thought after countless hours on the internet, I had decided on some color--a specific color from Sherwin Williams. However, I live in the middle of nowhere, and at 8:00 on a Tuesday night, Walmart is my only option....so after looking at all of there paintchips, I had picked one that I thought would be just right. Not too gray, not too yellow, not too beige, just right.....on the front of the Dutchboy paint chips they do not have a color name, just a number so I stuck it in my purse----took it home, and held it up to my walls in my office (which I might add are the same color as the walls in the rest of my house) and LO AND BEHOLD they are almost a perfect match. Isn't that weird? Especially since I really wanted something different? Ashlie, my Wednesday morning design consultant and oldest daughter, said that I must really love this color....so, I went to the barn and got a gallon of the paint out and just touched up the walls....What I thought would be an entire day of painting turned out to be just about an hour. Already a marked improvement.

If it is true, that I do love Benjamin Moore Golden Straw, that I choose over 8 years ago when we built this house, why change now????

My poor photo couldn't be more pitiful....let's see if I can get it brighter and girlier in the next few weeks....there are slipcover projects, curtains, pillows with button monograms, lots of good things....if I can just stay motivated!

Y'all have a great day, I'll check in soon.
xo,

OK. So, I have listened to Shelby way too much and she is beginning to rub off on me. I thought it was supposed to be the other way around? She was supposed to take after me? Anyway, she is really into "greener" things, recycling, organic food, blah blah blah....

Recently (strictly because of guilt) I started thinking about recycling, and reusing things I already have instead of storing them or throwing them away. After Tyler packed all of his things to move he had a stack of clothing rejects....things he said to throw out. Well, normally I would have just dropped them off at Goodwill, but truth is I bought the old jeans (from Abercrombie and Fitch, no less!) and the shirts.... I couldn't just throw them in the GW pile.....so I did what I do on any given day when I have an ounce of inspiration, I MADE HANDBAGS!!!!

Didn't they turn out cute? I love the one with the vertical stripes and the little flower pin, I am thinking it may be my next bag....I also love the medium sized denim.....the little tiny thing I made really just for display, but it's cute too---with the shirt pocket perfectly lined up on the outside of the bag...

So, I have a few "Green" bags....pretty cool, don't you think?

And for further enjoyment, what is a day without Sandra Dee:
I hope you all are having a great week! Maybe I will have another dose of creativity tomorrow!!
xoxo

Alligator Tears

Well, I have survived the weekend. And, I might add, I survived it without too much of a meltdown....Karl said I was going to have a heart attack----

Anyway, my sweet little tiny baby son, who is somehow almost 19 years old, moved out on Friday. My heart was broken. Although, I know it will be a good experience for him, and he is only 20 minutes away, it still makes me sad. On Friday evening, for the first time in my entire adult life, I had none of my children living at home. I was happy and excited for Tyler, but secretly (well, maybe not so secretly!!) sad for myself.

All 3 have grown up too fast, and so that leaves me with the question of "Now what?" While Jami, my sweet step-daughter is still living at home with us, she is looking for an apartment in St. Augustine. As for Hunter, he is here, but only half of the time. That leaves me and Karl and the three furry girls.....it will definitely be interesting!

As for the handbag business, maybe this is just the boost I need to get me jumpstarted into summer with some new designs. I know my website is in desperate need of updating, and that is such a daunting task to me!!! We'll see. I have signed on to participate in the Bostwick Blueberry Festival on Saturday the 22nd of May from 8am til 4pm......I still can't decide about the Blue Crab Festival....but will make the decision after next weekend.

Hope all is going well for each of you....hope you are looking forward to something wonderful over the summer.
Thanks for stopping by,

Hunter's Hot Jalapeno Beef Tenderloin Bites

Hunter’s Hot Jalapeno Beef Tenderloin Bites

Award Winning:

First Place in Beef Division

Best of Show

As an appetizer, it will feed approximately 15 people, as an entrée it is approximately 6 servings. Total cooking time: approximately 10 minutes.

3 pounds beef Tenderloin

½ cup teriyaki sauce

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3 fresh jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced

1 ½ pounds bacon, strips cut in half

toothpicks

Cut beef tenderloin into 1 ½ “ chunks, lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a slice of jalapeno pepper on each beef chunk, and wrap with a piece of bacon, securing with a toothpick. 30 minutes before cooking pour the teriyaki sauce over the meat to marinate.

Prepare the grill. Once coals are ready, place meat on the grill in a single layer, close lid and cook for 2 minutes, flip the meat, close lid and cook 2 minutes. Flip meat and cook 2 minutes. Then, once again, flip meat and cook for 2 more minutes, remove from grill, and ENJOY! Delicious!!

It's Fair Week in Palatka!

The Putnam County Fair kicked off this past weekend with its Youth Bar B Q Cooking Contest...so, of course, Hunter had to enter! He spent several weeks trying different things on the grill, and while most of them were really good, they lacked the "wow" factor. Finally I convinced he and Karl that they needed to do some beef tenderloin bites.
We have had these many times made with venison, but for the contest, the only categories were beef, pork or poultry. No wild game, so venison was out. He substituted beef tenderloin and all I can say is "WOW!"
Hunter won First Place in the Beef Division, and Best of Show. To say his dad was proud, was an understatement. The kids had to do everything themselves, with no outside help or communication. Just a thumb's up occassionally.
If you are looking for something delicious to serve as an appetizer or an entree I suggest you try "Hunter's Hot Jalapeno Beef Tenderloin Bites"! You'll be glad you did!

Hunter’s Hot Jalapeno Beef Tenderloin Bites

As an appetizer, it will feed approximately 15 people, as an entrée it is approximately 6 servings. Total cooking time: approximately 10 minutes.

3 pounds beef Tenderloin

½ cup teriyaki sauce

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3 fresh jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced

1 ½ pounds bacon, strips cut in half

toothpicks

Cut beef tenderloin into 1 ½ “ chunks, lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a slice of jalapeno pepper on each beef chunk, and wrap with a piece of bacon, securing with a toothpick. 30 minutes before cooking pour the teriyaki sauce over the meat to marinate.

Prepare the grill. Once coals are ready, place meat on the grill in a single layer, close lid and cook for 2 minutes, flip the meat, close lid and cook 2 minutes. Flip meat and cook 2 minutes. Then, once again, flip meat and cook for 2 more minutes, remove from grill, and ENJOY! Delicious!!

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THANK YOU!

Thank you. Thank you to everyone who came out to the Open House this past weekend. Once again, I am amazed at the turn-out. I am always thrilled to see my returning customers (the ones who would NEVER carry a handbag made in China!!! They much prefer theirs to be sewn in Bostwick!!!) and equally as thrilled to meet the ones who are new to LFW. It just thrills me that you all come out to support my little business, which in turns supports my growing fabric addiction!!! Hey, I could be addicted to worse things!!!

Our next event will be March 6 & 7 @ the Palatka Azalea Festival. Then we will schedule another Open House at the end of March. After that there is the Bostwick Blueberry Festival on May 22, and if Palatka gets it together, the Blue Crab Festival. So, a busy few months ahead for LFW. In the mean time, there are a few openings for purse parties, so if you are interested in hosting one, give us a call 386.937.9929 or drop us an email, lfwdesigns@bellsouth.net.

Thanks again for all the support and for all the inspiration.

Y'all have a great week!
xo
Laura

PS: Yes, I know the top picture is leaning....remember I am still not a photographer....or picture editor!! :)

Dinner Tonight

So, I know I am horrible at photography. Sorry. However, the only way to improve is just to do it over and over, so I will experiment with you all....and since I was going to make a delicious dinner, I thought I would chronicle it for you all, and practice my blogging and photography techniques all at once. Sounds good.

Dinner tonight started out as the recipe I copied out of the Florida Times Union years ago (when I still lived in OP, so it had to be at least 8 years ago. They had written a story in the Food section detailing what the sailors eat on the USS John F. Kennedy. The title of that article was "Feeding a Floating City"....anyway the recipe was for Shrimp Scampi, something that they prepared for the 5000 onboard for special occassions. I have fixed that recipe two other times, and really liked it.....but tonight, I found it hard to stick to the recipe, so I created my own. It was delicious.....So here is what I did:

First, preheat the oven to 350*. I decided that bacon makes everything better, so I chopped up 4 slices of bacon....I put that into my trusty Lodge iron skillet (which is my favorite cooking item at the moment!) and stirred it around for a few minutes on a medium-high heat. Then I added 1/2 stick of unsalted butter and 1 chopped medium onion. I cooked that for about 4 minutes, just until the onions were tender, then I added 2 teaspoons of minced garlic...the kind that comes in a jar with a little olive oil----it is found in the produce section of most grocery stores. Next I added 2 tablespoons of dried parsley, then the 1/2 of stick of remaining butter looked lonely, so I through it in the pan as well. Can you ever have too much butter? I stirred that up, then chopped 2 medium tomatoes, throwing them in the pan along with a tablespoon of dijon mustard, a splash of lemon juice and let all of that simmer for about 5 minutes. At that time I tasted it and added salt and pepper (and just a few red pepper flakes!!!). I had already peeled and rinsed 1 1/2 pounds of large shrimp, so I stirred them into the pan, adding 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs on the top, then into the oven for 15 minutes. Served it over steamed white rice, with crusty French bread and yummy San Sebastian Vintner's Red Wine, and it was a meal made in Heaven!!!

Once again I apologize that the photos are all after the text.....like I said, I still haven't mastered any of this.

Here is the list of ingredients for MY Shrimp Scampi:

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 stick unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 t minced garlic

2 T dried parsley

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 T dijon mustard

1 t lemon juice

sprinkle of red pepper flakes, more if you like it hotter!

salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined and rinsed

Saute bacon over medium heat for 3 minutes, add 1 stick of butter and the chopped onion, stirring constantly while cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Add minced garlic, parsley, tomatoes, mustard, lemon juice, simmer for a few minutes, tasting and adding salt and pepper (and the red pepper flakes) stir in the shrimp, top with the bread crumbs and cook in oven for 15 minutes. Serve over rice. Delicious!

If you all are interested in the original USS JFK Recipe for Shrimp Scampi, here goes:

4 T butter

2 t minced garlic

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 t lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 c bread crumbs

Melt butter in a largeskillet over med-high heat. Add garlic and parsley and saute for 3 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and lemon juice. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and place in the bottom of a 9 inch glass baking dish. Pour tomato mixture over the top, sprinkle bread crumbs and bake for 15 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings.

Happy Cooking!

It's a Beautiful Morning!

Aren't these little chiffon flowers adorable? They will soon be pins adorning the handbags. (some may even make it to a tee shirt or two! I know who will be claiming all the orange ones!!)
These actually came from a woman in Turkey, and it took several weeks to get them, but they were certainly worth the wait!



On the cutting table today is the following fabrics....it is my goal to get at least 6 bags finished...if I do I will post! This is Summer Soiree:
This, obviously, is the Giraffe Print:This, Graysy Daisy:

This is Olive Lavendar....I love it!Orange Damask:

Gotta run, I will let you know about my progress! Have a good day!

Welcome 2010!

It was a wonderful year. 2009, that is. 2 highschool graduations, 1 college graduation, 1 wedding (and the 10 million festivities that went along with that)....and all the regular things that happen in a year. It could not have been better.

Happy 2010...today was the first day in my studio, in quite awhile, except of course for the last minute orders I agreed to get out before Christmas.

I was in a zebra sort of mood....cute beach bag, don't you think? Fringe adds a nice touch too.

I had a to-do list for today with 10 things on it. So far I have only accomplished 7.5 of them. However, after reading the January issue of Real Simple, I feel much better, they say to never have more than 7 things on a daily to-do list. Who knew? 7 things is the average persons limit. Any more than that and you are setting yourself up for failure.....so the other 2.5 that I left undone must be moved to tomorrow's list, along with 4.5 more!

Gotta run, it is time to make dinner: Potato Soup and Mexican Cornbread. A perfect meal on a freezing cold evening like tonight.

Y'all have a good evening.....
Laura