Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Pot Roast

It's fall, which means it's time for hearty meals in my household. It also means I like to have dinner waiting when I get home! Thus, crock pot pot roast is a fall favorite in my house.

To make a roast, you'll need to pull together a couple things:
Eye of Round Roast
Onions
Potatoes (Red)
Italian Seasoning
Worcestershire Sauce
Light Soy Sauce
Optional ingredients:
Carrots
Zucchini
Tomatoes

First, cut off all visible fat from the roast and brown it on the stove, turning the roast so that all sides are browned. This helps lock in the flavor so to speak. Take your browned roast out of the skillet and transfer it to the bottom of the crock pot - I like to layer my veggies on top of the roast to give it flavor.

I then cut small, skinned onions into halves and layer these over the meat. For this roast, I used 5 small onions and thought I should have added more when the roast was done - I can never have enough of these roasted onions!

Wash some red potatoes and put these into the crock pot as well. You can also add zucchini or yellow squash cut into large pieces, whole tomatoes, and either baby carrots added whole or larger carrots cut into chunks.

Once you have all your veggies in the pot, pour 1/4 cup LIGHT soy sauce (cut out the salt!!) and 1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce over the whole thing. Finish off by sprinkling with Italian seasoning and a little pepper.

Cover the crock pot and cook on high for at least 8 hours - don't worry if it cooks longer. If you're at home while it's cooking, you can turn the roast about halfway through so that both sides are juicy, but it's fine to leave it as is! When you open it up at the end of the day, the roast will have cooked out some lovely juices, the onions will have caramelized to a lovely brown and your potatoes and veggies will be infused with flavor. Delicious!

Inspiration Thursday! Vote.

Some of you know that I work in politics. And 'tis the season for us to be hopping busy, which is why there have been some holes in postings of late. For that, I'm sorry.

I don't want to get political here because that often leads to finger pointing and accusatory generalizations. I'm tired of all that. I get that enough at work.

No, what I want to talk about is freedom. Think about it. We live in a country where we're free to express our beliefs. We're free to ask our elected officials questions and hold them accountable. And we're free to vote for the people we think will make good leaders.

This is the last weekend before a mid-term election and you're going to hear a lot of mud slung. But amid the negative this and snarky that try to remember one thing. Freedom.

Because no matter your political position, no matter the volume of your voice, we do live in a society in which we can express our views and vote our conscience. And I'm thankful that even though I might not always agree with what you believe, we live in a nation of people who care enough to have an opinion. And thanks to our founding fathers, we can express them.

And so I urge you: Celebrate your freedom. Vote.

Vintage Wednesday: What is it?

It looks like a mushroom or egg on a stick. It can be painted or plain. It can be long or short. It can be made of wood, stone or metal. What is it?

It's a darning egg!

A darning egg was used to help keep fabric in place while darning to ensure even stitches. It's most often associated with darning socks - a difficult job made easy with a darning egg! Though in today's society we don't often do too much darning, these are still sold in knitting shops. I prefer, however, the old eggs that I find in estate sales and antique shops. I just love the shapes!

And now if you see one, you too will know what they are!

Working Tuesday: New Work!

I've been a busy bee gathering things up to put into the etsy shop in anticipation of the Christmas season. I tend to have things made, but take forever to get them into the shop. I'm always working on refining the photos - finding ways to better showcase the items in that TINY little square you see in etsy listings.

I've probably got 20 more sets of earrings to list, along with probably 5 or 6 more eyeglass leashes. I've even got more necklace sets and glass tile pendants ready to list. I've also just ordered what will be the basis for a new line for the store - I'll preview that line here when the order comes in!! I'm very excited about where things are going with Swoon Studios in the next couple months.

And if you've not heard, all profits from Swoon Studios sales between now and midnight November 20th will go to help build a school for needy children in Kenya. The project is being spearheaded by an organization called One Home Many Hopes - an organization in whose mission I strongly believe!

So keep your eyes on the shop. And if you're interested in getting some early Christmas shopping done, think about helping build a school at the same time!

DIY Monday: Reader Question - Re-grouting tile?

Dear Swoon Studios,

I have an island in my kitchen with a tile top. I've had it for a while and the grout is starting to crumble. I'd like to re-grout the tile, but I'm not sure how to do it. Can you help?

Sincerely,
I Can DIY It!


Dear I Can,

Re-grouting is a lovely way to freshen up your surface and is pretty easy to do. First, pick out the grout that's crumbling. Leaving crumbling grout is like leaving a crumbling foundation - the new grout will not have a stable surface to adhere to and will just crumble more.

Once you have cleared all the crumbling grout, give the remaining grout a good scrub. I've found that hydrogen peroxide and a toothbrush are miracle workers in cleaning grout. The peroxide bubbles down into the porous surface and cleans out all that bacteria, leaving a shiny clean surface!

Let that dry while gathering your materials for grouting: grout, a grout float, sponge, bucket of water and a small, clean towel. I prefer using pre-mixed grout because I find it easier, but I know others prefer the kind you mix. It's up to you. If your seam is 1/8 inch or less in width, use unsanded grout, and if 1/8 inch or more, use sanded. Be sure too to match the color of your existing grout!

With clean water, lightly wet down the area you want to start grouting to help the old grout receive the new grout. Then take a little grout on your float and in a sweeping diagonal motion push the new grout down into the existing grout lines.

When you've pushed as much grout in as you think will go, lightly wipe over where you've grouted with a sponge to clean up the extra grout. Rinse out your sponge after every pass. You want a clean tile and even grout line. I then wipe over the tile with a clean towel to keep from having to clean up stuck on grout when everything dries, but be careful not to dislodge your new grout.

Continue to do this down your counter top working in small sections. When you're done, you should let it dry according to the directions on your grout - usually about 24 hours.

Then comes the most important part - sealing. Make sure you've cleaned off all the stray grout from your tiles. If grout is stubborn, I either use a toothbrush or a razor blade to dislodge it from the tile. Then, using a grout sealer you can find in the grouting section of your home improvement store, seal every grout seam. Follow the directions on the sealer to see recommended drying time and number of layers of sealant. Because this is a high traffic area, I'd seal it with several layers of sealant.

Let me know how it goes! I look forward to seeing the finished product!

Good luck,
Swoon Studios

Weekend Wanderings: A Day in Shenandoah National Park

This week has been crazy busy. I'm tired to my toenails and needed some refreshment. Cue a road trip to the mountains to see some color:




Ahhhhh. Contentment.

Vintage Wednesday: What is it?

Here's another piece used by Victorians to set an elaborate table. Some say it was used as a symbol of hospitality, others say it was used as a status symbol. It can be confused with an open sugar, a sugar bottom, a celery vase or even a tumbler. It's called a spooner.

A spooner was used to hold silver spoons - which probably gave rise to the idea that it was a status symbol since some couldn't afford silver spoons. It seems that spooners were often sold as part of a breakfast set: creamer, sugar, butter dish and spooner. Spooners are generally 4 to 6 inches tall with a beaded or serrated top edge. Tumblers are usually shorter and narrower and celery vases are generally much taller.

Spooners can be made of glass, silver or other metals and even ceramics. The glass spooners can be found in Jadite, Flow Blue and even carnival glass.

I've also read that a spooner evolved from what's called a "spill holder." A spill, splint or taper was used to light stoves, candles or pipes in the 1700s and early 1800s. But as matches became more readily available, the spill holder evolved into the spooner for the Victorian table.

Whatever the history, I've enjoyed my little spooner as it now holds my most prized silver spoons. I especially like it because the swans make me want to Swoon....

Working Tuesday: Etsy Listings

I spent a bit of time this weekend listing some new items in the Etsy shop. I've got quite a few things to put into the shop, but listing them is sometimes difficult. It takes time. It takes creativity. It takes having the piece in front of me to find some inspiration.

You see, writing a description isn't only about listing what the piece is made of and how long it is. It's about telling a story. Explaining the meaning. Telling how and why I gave the piece life. It's trying to share a little part of me through the pieces I make.

So have I been successful? I guess that's up to you dear reader. I guess that's up to you.

Weekend Wanderings: Avon, NC - OBX

We've been very, very lucky to have a little time away at the beach this fall - including my first trip to the Outer Banks. Now I'm going to admit something that may be slightly sacrilegious to the beach lovers in the group: I love the beach in the off season.

My husband, who grew up within spitting distance of the ocean, thinks there's something terribly, terribly wrong with me. He, however, was born with skin that turns a golden brown in the sun. I, on the other hand was "blessed" with Irish skin - the kind that turns a lobster like red when exposed to the sun. I also contend that you get MORE of the beach in the off season - prime spots, open sand, easy parking - you get the idea. And let's face it, it's CHEAPER to go to the beach off season!

I'd been told that Sun Realty was the way to go when searching for a rental and they worked well for us - friendly staff, very helpful after hours and they have offices EVERYWHERE it seems. We found a lovely (Corgi friendly) condo in Avon, NC just steps from the Sound. The view was incredible! We spent an entire morning watching a pelican diving for fish and another morning I walked Corgi-girl to the dock where we watched a school of fish just under the water. It was just lovely!

We were able to travel the length of the Outer Banks and I think Hatteras was my favorite part. It's wilder there - more natural. And the scenery is incredible. I also enjoyed meeting the people of Hatteras. I met a local seafood store owner who "retired" to OBX, but who is working harder than he did before he retired. We had an interesting political discussion.... I loved talking to someone who so obviously loved where he lives and what he does - how refreshing for someone living in DC!

I'd say overall that if you want a get away that brings you close to nature, away from the bustle of tourist attractions, with incredible views, Avon or Hatteras on the whole might be for you!

And I hear the kiteboarding winds are killer.

Foodie Friday: Exploring the Pomegranate

I'll admit it. I was 40 years old before I, with my own hands, opened up and explored a fresh pomegranate. I'd seen the Pom juice, had pomegranate seeds as an ingredient in foods served in Mediterranean restaurants and I'd even read mythology where the pomegranate played an important role in Persephone's life. I'd never, however, opened one for myself.

I mean, come on. I grew up in the middle of WV. Exotic was Long John Silver's Seafood Shop. And I'm not kidding.

So what do you look for in a pomegranate? I had to be educated. First, look for red. Red means ripe. Then, look for plump - some say the fruit looks almost square at the sides when the seeds are at their ripest. Finally, make sure there are no cracks in the skin. Ok, got all that?

Now it's time to open this baby up. When you do, you'll find seeds hidden in membranes. Some suggest you cut the fruit in half and bang it on the edge of a bowl so that the seeds just pop out. That's not been my experience. I've had to poke the seeds out myself, but you can run your finger along the membrane and they come out pretty easily.

What then? Well, some love to suck the seeds and spit them out. Being more dainty than that, I like to put them on salads and eat the seeds completely. They are especially lovely on Baba Ganoush - one of my FAVORITE ways to eat eggplant. But that, my friends, is a recipe for another day!

It's pomegranate season again. They're available right now in grocery stores. Go ahead. Try one. I'll bet you like it!

Inspiration Thursday! Attitude Adjustment.

When my brother and I were little and acting ornery, Mama used to tell us she was going to give us an "attitude adjustment." That signaled that she was ~this~ close to changing our behavior for us if we couldn't do it ourselves. But that was when I was young.

As I've gotten older I've realized that to a great extent I'm responsible for my own attitude adjustments. I have a choice in life. I can wallow in my sorrows or I can count my blessings. And remember that song Bing Crosby sang in White Christmas called Count Your Blessings? I sing that to myself every so often:

When I'm worried and I can't sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

So as we enter into an election season where candidates are telling us how bad things are and as we try to weather the economic storm, I think a lot about this concept. And I constantly remind myself (and sometimes hubby) to count our blessings. If you have a job, a car, a home, pay your bills on time, can put food on the table for your family or even have family that's helping you get through, you're incredibly blessed. Finding the joy that comes with the realization of those blessings can literally change your attitude - leaving more room for inspiration.

Vintage Wednesday: Finding Out of Print Books

I think I officially started collecting books somewhere around the age of 6. Mama jokes my first word ought to have been "book!" And I have a few authors whose work I gravitate toward, not only because the writing is good, but also because they tended to work with certain illustrators.

For example, Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote one of my favorite books as a child, The Little Princess. There were two copies of the book at our local library - both with illustrations by Tasha Tudor - and I think I checked out each copy at least 15 times. I loved the story. I loved her writing. I loved Tasha Tudor's illustrations.

As I got older I realized that she's written more than The Secret Garden, Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Lost Prince. In addition to her childrens' books, she'd also written many books for adults - including several serials that were published first in installments and then bound in one volume for sale together.

In my quest to collect her books, I found The Head of the House of Combe and realized there was a sequel to that book called Robin. For many years I searched antique shops and book sellers looking for this book to no avail until, in the first days of the Internet becoming a resource, a book seller told me about Alibris. Before Amazon started collecting dealers with caches of antique books, Alibris was making the model work. It's a consortium of book sellers who've put their stock online. I actually think this is the best resource for finding out of print books as I've had more luck with Alibris when looking for the obscure. Another book collecting friend recommends ABE Books, but I'm still a fan of Alibris.

So if you're looking for a book that's out of print or difficult to find, see if Alibris can help you with your search!

Working Tuesday: Eyeglass Leashes

I've got a brand new batch of eyeglass leashes for the Etsy shop. It took me FOREVER to figure out what these are called, but I finally found the proper name. I started making these a couple years ago for my mother because although she doesn't wear necklaces (because she doesn't like her neck of 70 years), she constantly wears eyeglass leashes. She liked them so much she encouraged me to make some for the shop. And so I have!

Because she likes quite a bit of color, I used Millefiori beads as the base for determining the colors in each of the leashes. I then made her several colors so that no matter the outfit she always has something that coordinates with her outfit.

I've learned, however, that you can't just attach the plastic eyeglass holder directly to the strung beads. Invariably the plastic part breaks or stretches out to the point that it's unusable and the whole thing has to be re-strung. This is where the lobster clasp comes in handy! String a lobster clasp on the end of your beads and then use the clasp to attach the plastic eyeglass holder to the end. If the plastic part breaks, just clip on another!

Many of the leashes you see use seed beads as the main type of bead. I prefer, however, to use larger beads. The more substantial beads make it look more like a necklace and Mama always knows when she's lost one end of her glasses.

And now you know... the rest of the story!

DIY Monday: Reader Question - How do I send cake?

Dear SwoonStudios,

My son and daughter-in-law are approaching their first year anniversary and I want to send their cake top to them. I've saved it in my freezer the entire year to surprise them. Do you have any ideas of where or how to do this?

Sincerely,
Proud VA Mama

Dear Mama,

Why YES! I do have ideas of how to do this. Find a place that sells dry ice and get some - locally there are some grocery stores that sell it in their freezers. Then find a sturdy box and some bubble wrap and wrap up the cake topper, carefully including the dry ice. Remember NEVER to touch dry ice with your bare hands as it will give you a nasty ice "burn."

Then Fed Ex or UPS your carefully wrapped creation to your dear son and DIL. Keep in mind there could be restrictions on using dry ice for air transit. I know Fed Ex requires special labeling because dry ice changes from solid to gas carbon dioxide as it "melts." Be sure to let them know it's in the package.

I hope this helps and they enjoy tasty morsels of their wedding cake while celebrating their first year of marriage!

Swoon

Foodie Friday: Spicy Roasted Kale

Here's another quick side dish that's super healthy: Spicy Roasted Kale. You'll need some kale, some cayenne pepper, olive oil and some salt and pepper. That's all!

Heat your oven to 375 degrees and pull out a casserole dish. Pile in 4 cups of kale - I used the quick and easy bagged kind for this recipe, but you can cut up kale leaves if you'd like to do that work. Pour about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over the kale and mix it up so that the oil covers most of the kale. (The olive oil is good for your hands!)

If you like spicy things, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cayenne over the whole mixture - use a little less if you're not a spicy person. Then sprinkle salt and pepper over the kale as well. Mix this together again to spread out the spices.

Pop it into the oven and leave it for five minutes. The picture to the right is how it looks after having cooked 5 minutes - about half the size of what you started with. Take some tongs and mix it up a little to stir up the spices. Pop it back in the oven again for another 5 minutes and you're done!

Inspiration Thursday! Let Yourself Go...

Not much for words today my friends. Just listening to the wisdom of an oldie, but goodie:



Let Yourself Go

As you listen to the band don't you get a bubble?
As you listen to them play don't you get a glow?
If you step out on the floor
You'll forget your trouble
If you go into your dance
You'll forget your woe
So:

Come
Get together
Let the dance floor feel your leather
Step as lightly as a feather
Let yourself go

Come
Hit the timber
Loosen up and start to limber
Can't you hear that hot marimba?
Let yourself go

Let yourself go
Relax
And let yourself go
Relax
You've got yourself tied up in a knot
The night is cold but the music's hot
So

Come
Cuddle closer
Don't you dare to answer "no, sir"
Butcher, banker, clerk and grocer
Let yourself go

Vintage Wednesday: What is it?

It's made of glass. It's full of holes. It sits at the bottom of a container. It holds flowers. What is it? It's called a frog!

Frogs can come in different sizes, shapes and colors. Sometimes art pottery vases came with matching frogs. I've seen several examples of Van Briggle pottery that include matching frogs. One is a basic tulip design, but one is a lovely Indian maiden gazing into a "pond" and the matching "frog" is what looks like a frog sitting on a lily pad - complete with holes for flowers!

I enjoy the variety of colors and sizes. I find that having a variety on hand comes in handy depending on the size of the arrangement. Although modern arrangements often utilize marbles, tape or even fruit to help stabilize the arrangement, I find these old-fashioned frogs to be just as handy.

You can often pick up frogs in antique shops, thrift stores, estate sales or even ebay. They're pretty easy to find and I often find them for $1 to $2 each. Examples like the green frog to the right are sometimes a little more expensive because of their collectability via another means - i.e., vaseline glass, depression glass or milk glass or as art pottery described above. They're weighty little things, which is actually good in helping keep your vase weighted so it won't tip over.

In all, it's worth owning one or two of these if you're a flower person like me!

*Click on the Van Briggle photo for photo credit!

Working Tuesday: Pearl Flowers

If you've followed me on Facebook, you know I've been doing quite a bit of work turning pearls into flowers with Swarovski crystal centers. The key is finding pearls that look like petals and then dreaming how they should look.

The diamond shaped pearls remind me a lot of periwinkle flower petals. The keshi pearls with their irregular shapes are like rose petals. And the potato pearls are almost perfectly rounded like the crocus flower. I've already put a couple of these combs in the Etsy shop, but I've still got to attach the diamond petaled flowers to silver hair pins that have yet to be made.

I'm still experimenting with the different shapes and numbers of petals, but I love how these are turning out. They combine two of my favorite things: pearls and flowers! It's almost like making something out of nothing....

DIY Monday: Call for Questions!

Fairly often I get calls from friends asking me DIY questions. I'm going to start posting the answers to those questions here. But what about you? Do you have a DIY question? Do you think I might be able to help?

If so, email me with your question. I'm happy to help. The only catch is that I'll ask you to photograph your project as you fix whatever you're fixing so I can post the answers on the blog! Just imagine it... your project... immortalized! Don't worry. I won't use your name if you don't want me to.

So, do you need help?

Weekend Wanderings: Crafty Bastards!

Milk Money Designs creator Kathryn Ewing and I spend Saturday morning perusing the work of other Etsy-ers at the Craft Bastards! Arts and Crafts Fair. It's a fair sponsored by the City Paper and I believe also sponsored by Etsy. I was very surprised to actually speak to someone who WORKED for Etsy - interesting considering I think of Etsy existing somewhere out there in that nameless place called cyber space.

The show had a huge number of vendors spread out on the grounds of the Marie Reed Learning Center in the Adams Morgan section of DC. Among the vendors was a DIY section for the kiddies to take home a craft they'd made. And I spent most of the fair trying to spot featured artists from Etsy mailings. I even got to meet one of my favorite Etsyers - one I'd used several times in my Treasuries called Rebound Designs.

I noticed a huge trend toward screen printing. I also found it amusing that many of the fonts and designs are reminiscent of the 1970s and early 1980s... wondering if many of the people wandering the booths had even been BORN then. Guess I'm feeling old.

In any event, keep your eyes open for this show in the future. It's a great way to meet local artists, see new design trends and even pick up something handmade just for you!

Foodie Friday: SUPER easy side dish - Tomato Mozzarella Salad

I know this is probably the easiest side dish in the world and most of you have figured it out, but for those of you who haven't here you go.

Gather:
Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh Tomatoes
Balsamic Vinegar (I used white for this dish)
Salt and Pepper
Basil is optional as is olive oil

I think this dish is best in the summertime because fresh tomatoes are more delicious, but vine ripe tomatoes will do in a winter pinch.

Slice your tomatoes in about 1/2 inch slices and lay them out on a serving dish. Slice the fresh mozzarella in the same thickness and lay one slice per tomato. If you like basil, put one basil leaf on top of the pile.

I then liberally pour balsamic vinegar over the whole thing and allow it to sit and marinate for 5-10 minutes. The cheese and tomatoes tend to soak up the vinegar with yummy goodness. I use white balsamic vinegar because it has a bit of sweetness that I enjoy, but regular balsamic is good too. Some people add olive oil, but I don't think you need it. I do, however, finish up with a little salt and pepper - I prefer sea salt and fresh ground pepper, but tonight mine are still in the bags that went to the beach and haven't yet been unpacked!

And there you have it my friends. The easiest side dish in the world that can also be a meal!