It's December!

And you know what that means! It's time to decorate! Uriah dragged our holiday decorations out of the attic today and I couldn't wait to start decking the halls! We still haven't put our tree up but while I was waiting, I wrapped some picture frames in paper and put bows on them! I thought it was a very easy (and inexpensive) way to decorate! I just did a few so it's not overboard. Here's the (semi)finished project!

You can see a couple of our past Christmas cards (one in a frame and one on the top right of the photo). We actually went and picked up all of our supplies today for THIS year's card. We're shooting that tomorrow so I guess you'll all see that soon enough :-)

Merry Happy Y'all!

Abibi Blog!

So being that I'm a regular celebrity now, I've started a blog for JUST Abibi news! You can find it HERE! We all know how awesome I am at keeping up with blogs but I promise to post on there when something exciting happens with Abibi! Like today for example, some pretty awesome stuff happened today in the world of Abibi ;-) Check it out!

See You At The Boulevard!

Well, I have some exciting news! Charlotte locals can now find Abibi Aprons (and etc) at The Boulevard at South End! I'm really excited to be selling my aprons in a store (I mean, how COOL is that?).

Here are some pics of Abibi in the store!!

Setting up! Almost done!

Potholders to match the aprons! Love my Xmas prints :-)

During "friends and family night"! (and after a few sales!)

If you find yourself in Charlotte, you should check out this store! There really is something for everyone and it's open 7 days a week!

Creative Loafing Charlotte Feature!

I should Google myself more often because today I looked up "Abibi Aprons" on Google and the first thing that popped up was an article written about my Etsy shop in JUNE! June, people! This article has been out there for 5 full months and I had no idea.

I was really excited about the mention (naturally) so I'm going to share it with you!

You can read the article HERE! It's a really nice article and a total ego boost. Plus, there's a link to another local Etsian who makes awesome wood cutting boards. Seriously, those things are sweet, you should check them out after you read the article.

Pogi's Home Away From Home

We have been attending a LOT of weddings recently and so Pogi has been spending a lot of time with his best friends over at Camp Bow Wow.
During an average week, he goes there once a week to play and get out some of his extra energy and he has a super time. We love knowing that he is having fun and that the "counselors" take such great care of him. They even have "Camper Cams" where you can watch a live feed of your dog having the time of their life romping and playing with the others.

While we were at my friend Tressa's wedding, they even sent us this photo in a text to let us know that he was having a great "vacation"!

We feel really lucky that we've found a place for Pogi to go when we can't take him with us. If you have a Camp Bow Wow in your area, and a dog that loves to play, you should check it out!

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

I've made this recipe a few times now and it is a HUGE hit! The only problem is that I can't stop eating it. Haha. Ok, that happens a lot but still, this is probably one of my favorite recipes. The garlic cloves are so delicious and make a great spread on crusty french bread. Make sure you make enough sauce to dip your bread in too! It's to die for.

I always half this recipe because it's just me and the husband. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 (3-pound) whole chickens
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 40 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 24 (1/4-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette
• Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Preparation

• Remove and discard giblets and neck from chickens. Rinse chickens with cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat; remove skin. Cut each chicken into 8 pieces. Combine butter and oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken. Add half of chicken pieces to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic; cook 1 minute or until garlic begins to brown, stirring frequently. Arrange chicken on top of garlic. Add broth and wine; cover and cook 25 minutes or until chicken is done.
• Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. Serve sauce and garlic with chicken and bread. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Charleston Anniversary!

Uriah and I went to Charleston, SC a few weeks ago to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. It was so beautiful. We had a great time and ate way too much delicious food. Southerners sure do know how to cook!

I'll just let you enjoy these photos of our adventures :-)

"Rainbow Row" on the Battery. Beautiful old homes!

Enjoying the sunset on our dinner cruise around the harbor

Uriah at the Aquarium

Cheesy self-portrait at the Aquarium

On the boat to Fort Sumter!

Among the ruins of Fort Sumter

Uriah pretends to shuck rice at Middleton Place Plantation

May and June took us on a tour of Middleton Place Plantation

Downtown Charleston at night.

The fountain at Waterfront Park

We really can't wait to go back! Luckily it's only about 3 hours away!

Roasted Potatoes

I realize that I usually only post main courses but, I make these potatoes often and they are always a yummy and welcomed counterpart to just about any main course. They're really simple but they seem fancy.

What you'll need:Small red-skinned potatoes, cut in half or quartered (depending on how big they are)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (just enough to coat the potatoes)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Rosemary (or Thyme)

Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Directions:Put the potatoes in a large bowl. Add all of the other ingredients. Mix together making sure that all of the potatoes are coated in oil and seasonings.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes until they are tender (but not mushy).

All done! Enjoy!

Sweet Bacon-Wrapped Venison Loin

My dad is a hunter and so every year, there is generally a surplus of venison meat in my parent's freezer. This year, my dad gifted me a few choice cuts of meat. The best of which, was the loin. After a little searching online for a recipe, I eventually landed on this one. It looked easy enough and I really didn't see how it could turn out any other way but amazing. Boy was I right!

After marinating the loin in the fridge for almost 24 hours, I was ready to start assembly (which was just wrapping that sucker in bacon... simple enough!)

After pouring the marinade over the delicious looking thing pictured above, I popped that in the oven and cooked it for about 35 minutes, until it was the perfect medium rare.

SO GOOD! This got serious rave reviews from Uriah (and myself). It was even good the next day at lunchtime. I can't wait for next year when, hopefully, my dad will gift me another loin!

Charlotte Food Adventure - Episode 5

I feel like most of our food adventures are to sushi restaurants. We'll have to get some variety going at some point.
Uriah took me to Fuji Japanese Steakhouse for my birthday dinner. I love sushi and this place happens to be in the shopping center across the street! Convenience is key (especially since we went on such an adventure the day before).

We had a great time and had a lot of great sushi (and Kirin)!

Cheers!

Chicken Gabriella

I always have chicken in my freezer and I have grown bored of the ways that I usually prepare it. So the other day, I was looking for a recipe to make that was different and easy. That's when I found this gem on Epicurious.com! It actually took a little more effort than I originally anticipated but, oh man was it worth it! SO delicious! I made it with some roasted red potatoes and steamed veggies. The pan sauce was so addictive. Uriah and I wound up spooning it over our potatoes like gravy. Mmm... I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Want to make it yourself? You probably should, I will surely be making it again!

What you'll need:

1 (3 1/2-to 4-pound) chicken, skinned and cut into small (about 3-inch) pieces, with bone, thighs, and wings left whole (ask your butcher to do this for you or use kitchen shears) 

2 onions, chopped 

Needles from 4 sprigs fresh rosemary (about 1/4 cup), finely chopped

5 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

About 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 

Salt and freshly ground pepper 

1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio 

1 lemon

Directions:

Put the chicken pieces in a 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) with a lid, along with the chopped onions, rosemary, and sage. Stir well to coat the chicken with the onion and herbs. Add enough olive oil to coat all of the chicken pieces, but not so much that it pools in the skillet. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Set the skillet over medium heat. Cook until the onions are very soft and the chicken and onions have turned golden brown, about 20 minutes. If the onion begins to brown too fast, turn down the heat. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer gently until the chicken is tender, about 20 minutes. Squeeze the lemon over, taste for salt and pepper, and serve.

27 - Off to a Good Start!

I had an amazing birthday weekend! We went to The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC on Saturday! We had never been there but I know that we are for sure going to be going back! Loved it!

Uriah and I in front of the House!

Me in the Conservatory/Greenhouse

Wine Tasting! Yessss!

The horse-drawn carriage that we rode on!

Such a great day! I definitely felt special (and isn't that the point?) :-)

Birthday Weekend Has Begun!

My birthday is on Sunday! Yay! If you ask me, Sundays are the best days to have a birthday because you can milk it ALL WEEKEND (which is what I intend to do)!

It officially kicked off around 1:30pm today when I got a mystery package delivered to my door from Amazon.com

I didn't order anything but, it was addressed to me so, I opened it to find THIS!

And THIS!

Pastasaurus - Pasta server (I know, I know, you're jealous)

Both of these amazing items are from my crazy best friend, MJ Kelly. Seriously, I opened the box and laughed out loud. They are so awesome and I can't wait to make ninja cookies. I might make them for every holiday and just ice them in festive colors. Halloween Ninjas? Of Course! Christmas Ninjas? Why not?! It's going to be great. Just you wait.

Uriah and I have a fun weekend planned so, I'm sure you will hear about it sometime in the near future :-)

Charlotte Food Adventure - Episode 4

Uriah and I were looking to go out to sushi so we called to make a reservation at our favorite place, Yama Asian Fusion, but as it turns out, they were renovating and closed "for at least another 2 weeks". Bummer! Well, this gave us the chance to explore and find a new place! And what a new place it was!

Nakato Japanese Steakhouse was amazing. The atmosphere was on point and I felt like I was walking into medieval Japan. To sit at the hibachi tables, you have to actually take your shoes off (so make sure you don't bring any stinky-footed friends). Also, make a reservation because the wait for that was 45 minutes. Lucky for us, we just wanted to sit at this awesome circular sushi bar with a little moat around it carting around little sushi boats. So fun.

We ordered far too much sushi (as is par for the course for us) but we ate it all somehow. It helped that it was deeeelicious. They had a lot of rolls that I had never seen before. We ordered one with jalapeno in it. It was so good. We also ordered one with fried squid in it (aka calamari).
Here's a picture of 1/4 of what we ordered. You can see the GIANT Kirin Ichiban that I got in the corner. It was great :-) I can't wait to go back again.

Set the Scene

For Christmas! Can you believe that? Christmas! Normally I wouldn't be working this far in advance on ANYTHING holiday related but, evidently I have a friend who's friend is obsessed with Christmas. So much so, that her upcoming bridal shower is a Christmas-theme.

My friend asked me to make a set of placemats, napkins, stemware slippers and dishtowels in Christmas fabric. I think it all turned out really nicely :-)

Stemware Slippers

I recently went to the Outer Banks, NC to spend some time with my Aunt, Uncles and their families. It was really fun and I felt so lucky to have gotten to go.

Part of the fun for me for the OBX is shopping! While out with my Aunt, she just kept looking at things and saying "I bet you could make that" and she was often right. Most of the stuff I loved I just tucked away in my brain for the future. One thing we didn't find that my Aunt said she would love to have were little stemware coasters that slipped over the bottom of the glass. I knew exactly what she was talking about and when I got home, I got on making her a set. I think they turned out nicely and I plan on making a bunch and putting them in the shop (which has been horribly neglected this summer).

Bag it up!

My girlfriends from high school and I get together every year and participate in a gift exchange. We used to do it around Christmas time but we've since moved it to summer because the holidays are way too hectic. Especially dealing with shared holidays with every one's in laws and what not. It's a secret santa type gift exchange. So it's really fun and we've actually gotten pretty good at keeping it a secret who we have.

This year, we decided that all of the gifts would be home made. It was amazing and everyone was so creative. I was very impressed with every one's gifts. Everything was so thoughtful and some were even hilarious. It was great and I  hope this is a continued tradition.

I got our dear friend Rachel. She's a self proclaimed hippie as well as a grad student at UVA working on her PHD in Neuroscience. Being the hippie-type, she's always carrying around what I like to refer to as "sacks". I decided to make her a more adult (but still very Rachel) bag. 

This was the very first bag I've ever made as well as my very first time using interfacing. It came out really well. I didn't follow the instructions to the letter because the pattern for this had some pretty ugly embellishments. I decided to keep it simple. I might even make one for myself :-)

hello long neglected blog

Hello! I'm aliiiiiiiive! And I made a new style of apron today for my Etsy Shop! You can find the listing here but here's what it looks like :-)

You like? We'll see how it goes. It's a lot more simple than most of my other styles but some ladies are less frou-frou and I don't want to leave them out!

Light and Lovely Shrimp Pasta

I have made this dish a lot in the past but it had been a while since I whipped it up. It's great to use up your leftover veggies from the week and I always have frozen shrimp at the ready :-)

Yummy! Wanna make it? Follow my terrible directions below :-)

What you need:
(Sorry for being vague about quantities. I actually don't measure things unless I'm reading a recipe)

Spaghetti (or the pasta of your choice)
Shrimp (about a pound? peeled)

Asparagus (about 12 spears cut into 1 inch pieces)

Onion (1/2 a medium yellow onion sliced)
Mushrooms (about 10 button mushrooms sliced)

Garlic (3 large cloves chopped)

Italian Dressing (about 1/4 cup?)

Grated Parmesan Cheese (to taste)

-Boil pasta as directed on package.

-Meanwhile warm up 1-2 Tbs of the dressing in a large skillet. Add veggies and garlic and saute until crisp-tender

-Add in shrimp and cook until pink and done

-Drain pasta (do not rinse) and return to boiling pot. Toss in your veggie/shrimp mixture (juices and all). Add a few good shakes of Parmesan, and a couple squirts of dressing. Stir it all up well!

-Plate and sprinkle with more cheese if you'd like. You're done!

It's fancy looking but it's really easy and takes no time to make! Prep takes a minute of two but that can be done in advance and then just throw it together when it's dinner time!

Happy Birthday Pogi!!

Today is my favorite furball's 5th birthday! As something special, I baked him up some extra special doggy oatmeal cookies/treats. He really likes them. I got the recipe HERE and then I halved it because it seemed like it would make too  many. I was right. Half the recipe made 12 really good sized treats.

They're not the prettiest looking things but, Pogi doesn't really care about aesthetics ;-)

I think it's safe to say that he's having a good day (as evident by the photo below)

Charlotte Food Adventure - Episode 3

Uriah and I have lived in Charlotte for over a year and we hadn't had ANY Thai food (GASP!). Now, we had a spot in Florida that serves the BEST Thai food... ever. Hands down. No contest. That is probably why we hadn't had any in Charlotte yet because we knew that nothing would ever match up.

There is a Thai place called Siam Garden pretty close to our house and we always throw it in as an option when we're trying to figure out what we should have for dinner but we never pick it. Until yesterday, when I got a coupon in the mail for this very place and it was kind of like kismet.

The best news? It did not disappoint!

Uriah ordered Thai Iced Tea (which is not something that I enjoy) and he raved that it was better than the Thai Iced Tea at our old Florida place. We took this as a sign of amazing things to come and we were right!

Appetizers! Tom Yam Soup (hot and sour soup) and Crab Rangoons

That soup was the most amazing soup that I've EVER tasted. I may have said "I would bathe in that" and I don't think that I was exaggerating.

The Full Feast! Chicken Phad Thai and Beef Fried Rice

The Phad Thai was different that I'm used to but it was still deeeelicious. We got it "mild" for fear that their spicy would be insanely spicy but next time I think we'll get a little spice added. And the beef fried rice was so good. Almost exactly like our favorite from Florida.

In general, this was a great find! And with the coupon, we got $10 off our bill so that was perfect.

Hippity Hoppity Easter's On It's Way!

So, today I spent under 30 minutes and under 3 dollars and created this lovely festive door decoration!

I actually found a tutorial for this online but evidently I didn't save it to my computer (just to memory) so when I went looking to find it to link you to it... fail.

Luckily, I know how I made it so I can give you general directions (if you feel like you have time on your hands this weekend)

Things you will need:
Cardboard box to cut out your wreath-backing (I used a sturdy clothing box and double layered it)

Glue Gun and Glue

Plastic Easter Eggs (I got a giant bag at BigLots for $1.20)

Easter Grass (again, BigLots for $1.00)

Ribbon to hang it when you're done

Instructions:
1- Cut out your wreath backing - I used various sized mixing bowls to trace the outer and inner circles on my cardboard. Then I had to glue my 2 wreath bases together because my cardboard was flimsier than I would have liked

2- Glue your eggs to your wreath backing. Really, just go for it making sure they are as close together as possible. I had to rip a couple of mine off and reattach them. Oh well.

3- Fill in the open spaces with your Easter Grass. I hot glued it and shoved it into the nooks and crannies using a wooden skewer (trust me on this, use a skewer... hot glue is HOT and I have a little finger burn to prove it).

4- Give your grass a "haircut" so that it doesn't look totally unruley.

5- Tie on some ribbon and hang it up! All done. Super easy

Herb Update 3

Uriah killed my Cilantro. I went away for 4 days and asked him to water my new little plants. I even gave him a tutorial on it. You'd think that the fact that they are sitting on the windowsill directly above the sink that he would see them and remember. You would think, but you would be wrong.
I didn't take a photo of the initial carnage. Uriah felt very badly and was very confident that we could revive them (even though the cilantro looked very, very dead and brown). Well, the Basil seems to be doing alright but the cilantro is struggling... hard.



Sad, Sad Cilantro

Basil going strong



By Any Other Name ...

I'm sure you've all seen little fabric rosettes on everything imaginable (mostly headbands). They are so sweet and I went on a hunt to figure out how to make them. As it turns out, It's super easy! I found a lot of tutorials online but found this one by "Our Best Bites" to be the most helpful.

My iPhone didn't capture the full cute-ness of these (no surprise there) but, trust me when I say that they are a-dore-a-ble. I have a ton of fabric already cut to make more of these and I can't wait to attach them to all sorts of things.

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

I tried something new today and it was a HUGE success! So much flavor! The bonus? It's super healthy!

View the recipe and nutrition info HERE and view the yummy finished product below :-)

I just ate mine with some steamed veggies but I cooked up some white rice for Uriah and he poured the remainder of the pan sauce over it (I had spooned about a Tablespoon of the "sauce" over each of our chicken pieces). His immediate reaction? "Mmm Hunny, this is delicious". That's my favorite kind of reaction!

This chicken would be AMAZING over some spring greens as a salad. Next time I'll have to remember to make some more so that there's leftovers ;-)

** In the recipe I omitted the final 2 tsp of garlic because, well, I didn't think that it would need it and also, I seasoned the chicken in the middle of the day so I figured the seasonings would have had plenty of time to make an impression**

All American

I'm not a huge fan of pie but Uriah loves it so, back in the fall, I made an apple pie. The recipe was super easy and I'd like to think that I racked up some "good wife" points while I was at it.

The recipe is on the Pilsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust box and not having to make the crust is key in it's simplicity.

It turns out lovely and tasty! Just top it with some vanilla ice cream and you're in business!

Herb Update!

Last week I posted an entry about the $1 herb grow kits I bought at Target. I bought Cilantro and Basil.

If you recall, last week the Basil was showing no sign of life but the Cilantro was growing a little bit. Well, the Cilantro is still going strong:

Whoa! Check that out! I bet I'll have some fresh Cilantro in no time!

As far as the Basil, well....

Holy Moly! Just when I thought there was no hope for it, Ta-dah! Just goes to show that you shouldn't give up!

So I guess now you can say that I have an official "Herb Garden" even though it's rinky-dink, I'm going to go ahead and dub it legit!