Wilflowers from Georgia

I went this past weekend to visit my old college roomate, Rachelle. We were celebrating her recent marriage over BBQ and conversation out in rural Georgia. On the way back, I swiftly pulled the car over and pilfered some beautiful wildflowers from the side of the road. I got some orange lillies (my favorite) and Queen Anne's Lace, also very beautiful. They have been brightening up my home all week! :)

Duct Tape Wallet

I went to Atlanta last week and stayed with my friend Kristi. When I was leaving, I noticed a cute wallet on her counter and commented on it. It was made out of duct tape and she had made it herself. If you don't already know, duct tape comes in many fun colors and patterns (not just your ordinary boring dull gray). You can get yours at Walmart or check your local crafts store.

So, Kristi was coming into town that following weekend and offered to give me a crash course in making my very own duct tape wallet. I got a little to into the project and neglected to take the "demo" pictures I had planned on, but I did take a few. Also, I made another one on my own after she left and it really is just a matter of working with material and learning how it works. I will try to lay out the basics of what to do down below, but if it is too hard to understand, you can always get templates online, or like I said, just give it a go and see what works for you and what doesn't!

What you will need:

• Duct Tape (in colors that you like)
• Good scissors
• Exacto Blade (Rotary Cutter is helpful too if you have it)
• Large cutting board
• Money and library card for measuring pockets

What to do:

1. Start by covering the front and back of a pre-cut piece of cardboard. This piece will be the overflap of your wallet that you will see in the front and that will fasten to the wallet "pocket." Make sure to overlap your tape to create a consistent look and to make it sturdy. It doesn't matter where, but if you do it in about the middle, that helps for visual consistency.
2. Trim the edge off with scissors. Now you will start edging it to cover up the exposed cardboard. Cut a piece of tape (same color or different, up to you) a little bit longer than the sides of your cardboard. Lay it carefully down on your board and use the rotary cutter or exacto blade to cute it in half lengthwise. Put one piece on one side, covering half of the edge. If you center it you should have a little bit hanging off of each end. Use your blade to cut a square corner off (like picture below). Then fold smaller piece over on both ends and finish by folding long half piece over the edge. This completes your side egding. Repeat for bottom and leave top blank (you will edge it when you attach it to your wallet "pocket").
3. Now you will create a large sheet of duct tape that will later become your wallet "pocket." Your pocket should be the same width of your cardboard top piece and double or a little more than double the length (because after the sheet is made, it will be folded in half and edged to create the pocket). Start by laying tape sticky side up and attaching pieces to it (make sure to make it a little larger than you actually need it so you can trim it to the exact size). After it is the right size, finish it by taping onto the sticky sheet sticky side down. Then trim it to size. This will mean you have a sheet that has duct on both sides (no stickiness exposed).
4. Now you can create an inside pocket to hold any cards or driver's license. You can do this by making a smaller sheet (the same way you just made your large sheet for the wallet "pocket"). I usually do mine 4 x 4.5, but you can use your card to measure and make a tighter fit for your card pocket if you wish. It does need to be a little bit large though so you can tape it down. When you tape it into your wallet pocket, you want to tape sides first (with half piece), bottom and then top. When you tape the top you can tape right above it so you have two pockets.
5. Now you will attach the top to your pocket, and edge the sides of your pocket to close it up. Finish by adding velcro for closing and adding any decorative details to the front of your top.
6. These pics below show a little bit of how the edging works.

Above you see me cutting the square piece to pull out of corner. After you do this cut, you do one on the other side to create the square that you are removing.

Corner cut out, now you can fold small piece on each side then large piece (below)

Finished product! Kristi is modeling them for us!

Owl Purse

I found a new purse at the thrift store that I was totally stoked about! Why? Because it is covered in owls! Woot, I mean hoot! :)

Insalata Caprese

Summer is in full fashion here in the south and the gardens are a'growin'! Sometimes you have more tomatoes than you know what to do with. What better way to use them than in a tomato salad. Great summer dish, and it is so delicious! So easy too. I first had a caprese salad when I was backpacking through Italy several years ago with a couple of my girlfriends. I love making it, because it reminds me of that trip and all the mouth-watering produce I devoured while I was there! If you don't have a garden, or don't have any tomatoes ripe enough yet, you do like I did and pick some up from your local farmer's market. For this recipe, I used a combo of yellow cherry tomatoes and big juicy red ones.

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes (1-2 cups cherry or grape and 4 large)
• Basil (about 10 big leaves)
• 1 mozzarella ball
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

All you do is chop your cherry/grape tomatoes in half, chop the larger tomatoes and mozzarella into bite-size pieces, roll basil leaves and chop chiffonade style and add to tomatoes. Top off with a healthy drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper to taste. Yummy!

Owl Pictures

I collect owls. I have lots of them. Probably too many if you asked somebody else, but I think it's the perfect amount! Here are some owl pics I have hanging in my bedroom.

Roasted Leg of Lamb

I admire vegetarians for their dedication and discipline to not eat meat. I can't do it. I love meat! Depending on the day, I might say lamb is my favorite, but I might just as easily say pork. It's hard to choose. I roasted a 2.5 pound boneless leg of lamb for the first time and it came out juicy and delicious (not to mention the glorious smells it filled the house with).

I used this recipe from Martha (yes Stewart, which Martha did you think silly?!) as a starting point. I just altered the measurements and cooking times to account for my smaller lamb and the fact that mine was without bone. I also added some lemon zest in the final step (when you put potatoes and olives in oven). I accompanied mine with a yogurt based sauce that had lemon juice, mint, dill, and salt. You could also use a store-bought tzatziki sauce. I love this recipe because it calls for small red/new potatoes that you don't even have to peel, because the skins are so thin and tasty. I substituted the olives in Martha's recipe with 1/4 pound of mixed Greek olives from my groceries deli section.

The main suggestion I would give if you are cooking a smaller portion of meet or one that is boneless like I did, is to pay close attention to cooking time and temperature...the last thing you want is tough, juice-less meat. Yuck! Martha's 5-6 pound, bone-in meat takes 4 hours to cook. My 2.5 pound, boneless meat only took about an hour to cook off in the oven after the initial sear on the stove. To ensure a juicy, medium rare lamb, I put a digital timer into my meat after 30 minutes in the oven and set a timer to go off at 140 degrees. 140-150 degrees is considered medium rare for lamb. If you don't get your potatoes or olives in the dutch oven (or roasting pan if you don't have a dutch oven) in time for them to cook before you have to pull out your meat, you can always continue cooking them on the stove while your meat rests. That is what we did and the timing was perfect!

Sleeping Luna

Isn't this the cutest bug you have even seen? She feel asleep in my lap! :)