My Attempt at Spaghetti alla Carbonara

While we were in Florence, Italy this past Fall, we found a fabulous restaurant near our hotel called Ciro & Sons. It was a cozy little family run restaurant with mama at the helm (we found this to be very typical throughout Italy). We enjoyed many traditional and delicious dishes at this restaurant. One dish that we especially loved was the Spaghetti alla Carbonara. We had it again while in Florence, but it just wasn't as good as the one that we had in Rome. Since returning home, I've had Carbonara on my mind. Last night, with a recipe from Tyler Florence as a guide, I decided to try my hand at making this wonderful dish.



With heavy garlic breath, I present my attempt at the traditional Italian dish called Spaghetti alla Carbonara. I've also added shredded chicken which is non-traditional and not a part of Tyler's recipe. And although I tempered the eggs with the warm milk, I still ended up with a bit more scrambled eggs than I wanted. But it was delicious just the same. Hubster loved it so I would consider it a success nonetheless. The best part was that it brought back fabulous memories and wonderful conversation of a very special trip that we took together.

On another note...my niece has been waiting on a handbag that I promised her 6 months ago. I lost interest in finishing it and tossed it into my "do it later" pile. I pulled it out yesterday and finally finished it. All that was needed was the inside pocket to be attached to the lining, sewing the lining into the bag, top stitching the outside top edge, and a button closure. It took me all of 30 minutes to complete. I felt like kicking myself for not doing it sooner. As you can see, it's very basic in color and should match most anything she chooses to pair it with. Too bad the poor girl had to wait so long. Bad, bad, Auntie!



Please have a most enjoyable day, everyone. See you tomorrow.

Aloha!


***Don't forget to enter my giveaway. If you are new to my blog, please refer to my post of April 8 for the rules. The month is almost over, so hurry and get your entries in!***

Pincushions--Finis

I know that I have bellyached long and hard about my lack of motivation when it came to working on the tufted pincushions.

Maestro, may I have a drumroll please...



They do look lovely sitting side by side, in all their flowery splendor. Like little cactus flowers blooming in the desert sun. Hee hee...humor me, okay? LOL I cant help it, I'm giddy with excitement!



The bottoms of the pincushions are almost as pretty as the tops are.



The flower center is made for storing sewing needles. I put it together in a way that discourages the needles from infiltrating into the main body of the pincushion. I remember having a red tomato pincushion that I used for many years. When it developed holes and was no longer functional, I took it apart and reclaimed all of my lost sewing needles. You wouldn't believe how many were in there. It was a wonder that I could find a sewing needle when I needed one.



Until we meet again in October, Au revoir my little lovelies!



Have a fabulous day, everyone!

Aloha!

***Don't forget to enter my giveaway. There are only a couple more days to go before we'll be selecting a winner. If you are new to my blog, please refer to my post of April 8 for the rules.***

Pincushions...On the Homestretch

Pincushions are progressing along just like I had hoped they would. The beading is almost complete. Felt flowers will be the crowning glory and then these little gems will be done. They'll be packed away and not seen again until late October. Whew, I can hardly wait!



I finally hauled out the felt and will be starting on the flowers today. I love looking at the array of beautiful colors.

My heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been leaving such lovely comments on my blog. I also want to thank you for all the great suggestions on how to use those fabric flowers from yesterday's post. I'll be sure to keep those suggestions in mind as I create a project around them.

On another note...Before I started blogging, I had been a blog reader for many years. I seldom left a comment, just loved reading and being inspired. Now that I have my own blog, I find it very interesting to see just how many people from cities all over the U.S. and all over the world drop by on a daily basis. My stat counter tells me that the majority of the people who visit never leave a comment even though they pop in daily. Some people even drop by 3 or 4 times a day. So far, this has truly been an amazing adventure. I hope to meet many more of you readers out there. Please leave a comment for me, I'd love hearing from you!

It's hard to imagine that we are already nearing the last weekend of April. The kiddies will be dancing around the Maypole before we know it!

I hope you all have a glorious weekend. See you on Monday!

Aloha!

***Don't forget to enter my giveaway. If you are new to my blog, please refer to my post of April 8 for the rules. The month is almost over, so hurry and get your entries in!***

It's Raining UFO's

Since I'm still knee deep in tufted pincushion goodness with nothing new to report, I shall leave you with a glimpse of yet another UFO (unfinished object). I'm going to turn them into something, exactly what that something is, I have yet to figure out. I started out with one idea, that changed to another, then another, then it just got tossed into that I'll get back to it later pile.



Piles and piles just a sittin' and a waitin'.

Hope your day is filled with inspiration and creativity.

Aloha!

***Don't forget to enter my giveaway. If you are new to my blog, please refer to my post of April 8 for the rules.***

When Motivation Goes Awry...

It all begins with a good idea. Once started, adrenalin begins to flow and your concept starts to take shape. You carry on, cutting fabric like a mad woman. Then the sewing begins. You bottom out. You realize you passionately hate putting in zippers. Everything is packed up and put away, never to be seen again. Out of sight, out of mind.



I've said it before and I'll say it again...I am the Queen of Unfinished Projects. I am here to prove it to you once again. These are coin purses that were started early last year. The majority of the work has been done. In fact, a few have already been completed. The majority are still waiting for their zippers to be installed.



Unfinished projects clutter my mind, lay a guilt trip on me, and hamper my creativity. I know this, yet I frequently toss things aside when the frustration level rises. Somehow, I am going to find the motivation to complete these coin purses before years end. There, I've said it and it's almost as good as a promise. Almost. LOL

I hope you all have a fabulous day.

Aloha!

***Don't forget to enter my giveaway. If you are new to my blog, please refer to my post of April 8 for the rules.***

Pencil Pocket, A Simple Solution!

My husband is one who cannot live without a calendar on the fridge. I don't care to see anything hanging out on the face of my fridge. The solution for us was to put the calendar on the side of the fridge. You cannot see the calendar from the dining room which suits me and it makes my husband happy because he is able to view the calendar if he walks to the side of the fridge. Easy solution that pleases both of us.



Finding a pen or a pencil to jot something onto the calendar has proven frustrating at times, especially when I need to record something right away. Well, I've come up with a fabric pencil pocket with a magnetic strip on the back so that a pencil will always be handy. I've been using mine for many years and it works like a charm. Simple things like this can make life easier.



I have to admit that I hesitated to post that plate lunch picture yesterday simply because I wondered if you all would think that I eat like that every day. Or maybe think, gasp, she eats that, gross!!!! Well, it's nice to know that Hawaii isn't the only gastronomical artery-clogging place out there. Now I feel less guilty about having eaten that plate lunch. Yes, really...sort of.

I plan to park my bottom in front of the television today to watch the Pennsylvania primaries and work on my pincushions. It should be a very entertaining day!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Aloha!

***Don't forget to enter my giveaway. If you are new to my blog, please refer to my post of April 8 for the rules.***

Heart Attack on a Plate

From Grace's Inn...Chicken katsu, 2 scoops rice, 2 scoops macaroni salad, chow fun, kim chee, katsu sauce, and gravy over everything. (The kim chee is missing from the photo). This is what islanders refer to as a Plate Lunch. Eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it is still called a Plate Lunch. I only eat a couple of plate lunches a year at the most because it's so full of fat and calories and plainly not good for you, especially the way I enjoy it. You can make better choices than I do and enjoy a plate lunch much more often, but I'd rather give up quantity for quality, if you can call it that. LOL As time goes by and these drive-in's change owners (largely purchased by Asian immigrants) the old-time flavor of the food changes too. Graces, Rainbow's, Diner's, Ige's and Tsukenjo's still retain that old-time local flavor. Many islanders who make their home away from Hawaii, dream of the day that they can return home to have one. Upon their arrival, it is not unusual to head straight from the airport to a drive-in for a plate lunch. Yes, plate lunches are that good!



Aside from eating terribly this weekend, I feverishly worked on my pincushions. I have set a goal to complete all pincushions by the end of this week. I totally dislike stuffing things because it gets pretty challenging trying to get stuffing through a very small hole. I believe that is what was holding me back and why I lost interest in completing this project. Now that the worst is over, I feel motivated to finally get them done.

I hope you all have a great day. Gotta get back to those pincushions if I plan to reach my goal!

Aloha!

***Don't forget to enter my giveaway. If you are new to my blog, please refer to my post of April 8 for the rules.***