The Lady Beekeeper | A refined beekeeping experiment

Paint Night Ladies Night

Posted on May 2, 2016 by lexicolton

Thank you all for asking about the bees and their queen after the bear attack. I don’t have a ton of information because I did not want to bother them on Saturday and it rained today and Sunday. What I can tell you is that the bees were going in and out of the hive as expected on Saturday carrying pollen and there were a lot of defenders at the entrance to the hive. I’ll keep you posted when I check on them next.

On a lighter note, last week I held a “Ladies Night” at my house. In some of my other posts you’ve probably seen that I like to invite friends to get together to paint things. In the past we’ve done ceramics and pet silhouettes on canvas. This time I decided we’d be painting wine glasses! The reason being that I have a ton (25 or so) Nashoba Valley wine glasses that they give you during the tasting. Yes we’ve been there that many times, or nearly. I had read that you could remove the labels of certain labeling processes using Star San. I was pretty sure these met the description so I have several sitting in a mixture of it. Unfortunately it seems be incorrect, or the wrong type of label since its been about 2 weeks now.

So instead I purchased 8 glasses from the dollar store. I then bought 10 different colors of “multisurface” acrylic paint, a set of paintbrushes and paint palettes from Michaels for $25. Combined with paper towels, plastic water cups and some aprons I had on hand we were ready to paint!

Ladies’ paint night!

Look at our cute glasses!

Before painting I like to serve appetizers and drinks. I have been wanting to use these fabulous tartlet pans that I got from my wedding so I decided to make some mini quiches since it would be easy to make them ahead and freeze them. Plus with a double batch of dough I could make ahead and freeze mini galettes for dessert too! Well I ended up getting too busy to make the mini quiches ahead of time and everyone was too full for the mini galettes I had made for dessert, but I have recipes and instructions below in case you want to try for yourself. I made more quiches the next day to freeze and Will & I ate one of the mini galettes yesterday for dessert and it was awesome.

Prep Ahead Ladies Night Menu

Carrots, Celery & Hummus (chop carrots and celery the night before and leave in cold water so they do not dry out)
Mini Bacon Spinach and Cheese Quiches (recipe and instructions for freezing & baking below)
Frozen Mini Hot dogs (Like these from BJs)
Frozen Bacon Wrapped Scallops (Like these from BJs)
Mini Berry Galettes with Ice Cream (recipe and instructions for freezing & baking below)

This is my favorite recipe for pie dough. It is from Williams Sonoma Food Made Fast Baking (I love this book):

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/berry-galette.html

It makes about 3 single crust pies. I always make the full amount and freeze some for later. To freeze take portioned disk and wrap in waxed paper. Place in freezer bag directly into freezer. Thaw in refrigerator the day before using.

To make the mini galettes, follow the steps as above to make the dough and berry filling. When making the filling be sure to use frozen fruit and do not let the filling thaw. Instead of rolling into one large round, form dough round into 6 rounds about 6 inches wide each. Fill with frozen filling and fold up sides as in recipe. I then like to paint the top of the crust in egg yolk and then sprinkle on sugar in the raw. To freeze, place on parchment paper on a baking sheet in the freezer for 2 hours or until frozen. Wrap in waxed paper then place in a freezer bag. To cook directly from freezer, place on parchment paper on a baking sheet and cook in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes or until brown and bubbling.

To make the bacon, spinach and cheese quiches, prepare the eggs, bacon, spinach and cheese from this recipe from Paula Deen:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/spinach-and-bacon-quiche-recipe.html

Using 1/6 of a disk of dough from the above pie dough recipe, roll out your pie dough to fit generously in a tartlet pan.

Press the dough into the tartlet pans letting the excess dough hang over the side. Be careful not to stretch the dough. I do not butter the pans.

For the next step I gently press the excess dough over the side of the pans and push down enough to make an indentation. You’ll see why in a few steps

Add parchment paper in each crust and pour beans or pie beads into the crust to weight it down.

Cook for 10 minutes in preheated oven at 425 or until just barely beginning to brown.

Remove the parchment and baking beads and prick the bottom of the crust with a fork. Return to the oven for 5 more minutes or until the bottom begins to look less opaque and slightly cooked.

Remove from oven, invert on a plate and press down to break off that overhanging layer of crust

Layer quiche with bacon

Spinach

Then cheese

Pour egg mixture over everything being careful to keep it from spilling over the edges.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until quiches are set.

Either serve immediately (invert quiche and gently remove from tart pan before serving) or to freeze let cool slightly then move entire baking sheet to the freezer. Freeze on tray for 4 hours or until frozen. Wrap in waxed paper then store in a freezer bag. To reheat from the freezer, bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Posted in Beekeeping, Crafts & Sewing, Culinary Delights, Parties | Leave a comment

The Bear Returns

Posted on April 30, 2016 by lexicolton

I had a terrible morning yesterday. Will gently woke me with a sound slumber to say “I think a bear attacked your hive”. Ugh. He actually offered to try and put it back together because “he was worried the bees would freeze”. My husband really is a cracker jack guy. After his words had sunk in, I sprang out of bed, threw on shoes and a coat and went straight outside to inspect.

The entire hive had been dumped on its side and several frames had been torn from the hive and were missing comb. I was half asleep still and started picking up the frames without thinking that the bees might not be in a good mood. Bad move. The angry bees swarmed me and I ran from the hive. I got stung once. Muttering to myself I went back in to get into my suit (which does not include pants), jeans, socks and gloves. No time for the smoker; it really was cold and I did not think it would help. In my gear I proceeded to pick up the hive and add frames back in. I have never seen bees this angry (rightfully so). I hurriedly reassembled the hive as hundreds of bees proceeded to attack me. Here’s something I hadn’t considered – women’s stretch jeans do not appear to be impervious to stings. Denim is pretty thick, but stretch denim really isn’t. I got stung about 3 more times before I ran to the front yard to try and brush myself off.

I didn’t want to come inside with angry bees all over my suit, but I didn’t want to take my suit off with angry bees all over me so I rang the doorbell waiting for Will. Apparently Will was in the shower and couldn’t hear me so eventually I unzipped my suit and ran inside. I think I managed to leave the bees outside.

So this was a total disaster. I can’t believe that the first time in 3 years that I have a good queen my hive is attacked by a large animal. Now I have multiple things to consider. Is the queen still alive? I really have no idea. The bees were so frenzied that I definitely did not have time to inspect. Will the bear come back? I assume the answer to this is a resounding yes which leads me to my final question. How do I protect my hive?

Posted in Beekeeping | 4 Comments

A Dicey April Give Away!

Posted on April 25, 2016 by lexicolton

I am happy to report that Betsy is laying!!! I am unhappy to report that I had to destroy a TON of brood to open up the hive, since they had attached all the comb to the top cover. I felt very bad about it and hope I didn’t set them back too far.

On the non-bee front, Will and I have been spending the month of April at conventions. We spent a week at the Gathering of Friends and another three day weekend at PAX East. We had SO MUCH fun at both and got to play LOTS of awesome and amazing board games. We’ll be talking about some of those on a Danycast soon, but in honor of our month of board games, I’ve got a board game inspired sewing project for you! Or if you don’t sew (or even if you do) I have an April give away for you (see below)!

Let me show you how to make your very own DICE BAG! Will & I (maybe I more than Will) love RPGs! We’ve tried DnD as well as Mouse Guard and have both taken on the role of DMs. Well I actually didn’t own a dice bag until just a few minutes ago when I finished this one, but I’m sure I will be the talk of the tavern next time I play with this bag. It took me less than an hour (including time for pictures and designing) and less than 1 square foot of fabric. So what are you waiting for? Roll for initiative!

DIY Dice Bag (or Drawstring bag for those who don’t own dice)

What you’ll need:

1 sq foot of your favorite cotton scrap fabric
2 feet ribbon or cord
thread
yarn needle

Cut your cotton print fabric into two 5.75″x5″ squares. It should be 5.75 inches lengthwise.

Cut two rectangles

Right sides together pin your fabric on three sides (leaving the top unpinned). Leave 1.5 inches from the top unpinned. Make sure to mark at 1.5 inches from the top.

Be sure to leave 1.5 inches open at the top.

With 1/2″ seam allowance, stitch along the three pinned edges being sure to leave the 1.5″ opened at the top. Back tack at the start and end to reinforce.

Cut off the corners on the bottom of your bag and turn right side out. Press.

Cut off corners

Turn inside out again and with the seam allowance pressed towards the center of the bag fold the top of each side of the bag down. Make sure the unfinished edge is 1/4″ below where you back tacked (4.25″) . Pin slightly below where you back tacked and stitch each side separately.

Fold top down and pin.

Turn right side out and press again.

Take a yarn needle and thread 1 foot of cord through one side of the draw string opening. Thread it through the other opening to form a loop. The tails should both end up on one side of the pouch. Knot the two cords together close to their ends. Repeat with the second foot of cord but starting on the opposite side of the bag.

Insert ribbon or cord with yarn needle.

That’s it!

Finished dice bag

So how do you win one? Tell me about the best board game you’ve played recently, or a board game you really want to try but don’t own. Or alternatively tell me the best RPG adventure you’ve ever done. Make sure to add a comment by May 15th! I’ll give away bags to my favorites (dice not included). Oh and before I forget, thank you for your submissions for the March contest, lots of great ideas. I’ll be contacting the winner soon.

UPDATE 5/24 – Thanks to all our entries – here is a picture of the prizes that await you!

Posted in Beekeeping, Crafts & Sewing | 14 Comments

Tea Party Bridal Shower

Posted on April 18, 2016 by lexicolton

Last year my brother and my (now) sister-in-law, Erin, got married. My siblings and I always try to get together in one place every year since the three of us are spread across the country. That year we had planned to go to my brother’s home in North Carolina. Well, we were going down there a few months before the wedding so I cooked up this hair-brained idea to throw Erin a surprise bridal shower. Since I love to plan parties I figured we could do everything ourselves and save money. I did realize that I’d have to ship things down or get them the day of the party since we would only have suitcases with us, but that did not deter me.

The tea table

If the party had been up here at my house I would have made all the food myself, but since we decided to make it a surprise and Will & I would be flying down, I had to do things differently. We decided on a tea party theme, so for food I ordered two large platters of tea sandwiches and normal bite size sandwiches from Whole Foods. I also let my brother in on the secret and had him pick up a bunch of different fruit for me so I could make it into a fruit salad. I ordered a cake and scones from a nearby bakery, recommended to me from one of her bridesmaids. The night before I left for the shower I baked several dozen sugar cookies in the shape of Texas with a heart over Dallas, where they would be getting married. (We have had the Texas cookie cutters for years since we have known Erin and had been dying for a chance to use them). These I carried onto the airplane. Finally on the day of the shower we picked up mini quiches, sweet tea and lemonade from Trader Joe’s.

Cookies for the shower.

My brother helped me with the guest list and I hand made the invitations based on a design using doilies that I had seen on pinterest.

Handmade shower invitations using doilies.

For decor, Erin’s local bridesmaids were fabulously helpful. They provided two folding tables and enough folding chairs for everyone! I couldn’t find any blue tablecloths in the color I was looking for so I purchased 6 yards of 60″ polyester fabric for 2.25 a yard from Wholesale Fabric Direct. I cut it in half and hemmed it to create two tablecloths that perfectly fit the folding tables. I shipped down a bulk set of mismatched teacups that I purchased off craigslist to use for the party and one of the bridesmaids borrowed a second set to use. My mom found a silver tea service at an antique store and I carefully packed this in my luggage with some of my pretty serving pieces. My mom had also purchased a couple white teapots for my shower which I combined with a teapot I had created during my pottery painting kick to use as centerpieces. I filled them with inexpensive flowers we purchased at Trader Joe’s and used floral wire to attach the lids like little hats.

Another centerpiece with a teapot I painted at ceramics night.

My sister and the other bridesmaids were in charge of games. They did this cute candy matching game from here, but don’t forget to print out an answer key. We also did the “toilet paper wedding dress” game. Which is always fun. Finally my sister asked my brother a bunch of questions and Erin (and everyone else) had to guess the answers (everyone got multiple choice).

Erin and her seamstresses designing her dress.

Deciding on finishing touches for Erin’s “dress”

All the prizes were tea themed. I bought mini tea samplers from Harney & Sons (my absolute favorite tea producer and mix and matched them with honey and a honey dipper; scone mix, jam and a wooden spoon; or a silly tea fortune telling book. For thank you gifts I handmade tea towels with different heart designs in blue.

Tea Towel favors

Full view of the tea towel

Note the favors on the left

Ultimately the party was a success and despite our elaborate scheme to get her out of the house she still claimed to be surprised. She was most surprised to see her Maid of Honor, who we discretely hid in our hotel room until the shower! What a good sport!

Mark and Erin holding a bouquet of ribbons.

Posted in Parties | 2 Comments

Hay is for Horses, Oats are for Goats?

Posted on April 12, 2016 by lexicolton

I’m on a steel cut oatmeal kick. The first step is admitting. Will and I argue about the merits of breakfast – and while I used to agree with him when I was younger I now eat breakfast every day. I used to grab a granola bar every morning, but a couple years ago I completely cut out dairy from my diet (I thought I was lactose intolerant). There is dairy in pretty much every packaged food so I started making oatmeal from scratch every morning (that means no little packages of pre-flavored Quaker Oats). Since I was already making oatmeal from scratch I decided to try steel cut oats. HOLY COW are they an upgrade from regular rolled oats. They have a creamy, nutty flavor to them and a fabulous texture. Honestly I feel like I’m eating a bowl of warm tapioca (I love warm tapioca) every morning when I eat them. (One time I accidentally referred to them as “dessert” to my husband who thought this was quite hysterical.)

Now on to the downside – they sure are a pain to cook. The original recipe calls for boiling them for 25-30 minutes. I used to make the “quick” version (which really isn’t all that quick). They take 6 minutes in the microwave in a GIANT bowl (or expect your entire microwave to be covered in oatmeal) plus time to let them stand. Alternatively you can cook them for 6 minutes on the stovetop (my preferred method) after pouring them into boiling water. But the 6 minutes usually turns into at least 10 with boil time. And I am LAZY in the morning.

A month or so ago after daylight savings time, after my third day in a row coming into the office at 9:30, my co-worker was joking about my tardiness. Luckily I’m an engineer and 9:30 is far from tardy – but I did mention to him about how the clock set backs had thrown my whole routine out of whack, and that I had been skipping breakfast to compensate. I explained my whole breakfast routine and how I love steel cut oats but they take so darn long to cook. Then he made a genius comment, “you realize you can make them in a crock pot, right?” Well I had indeed heard that but I hadn’t tried it myself because my crock pot would hold about 2 gallons of oatmeal and that seemed excessive. I expressed this to him and here is where the real magic occurred. He said, “they have little crock pots”. Well I knew this as well, but for some reason had never really thought about putting these two facts together. And I didn’t have a tiny crock pot.

Well lady luck was on my side that weekend when I went to the thrift shop. They had not one but TWO tiny crock pots for me to choose from. The one I ended up with is Crock Pot brand and holds about a cup and a half of liquid and has two settings (plugged in or not). I think they’re made for keeping dips warm. As a matter of fact I believe it is called the “Little Dipper” and looks like this. It looked like it had never been used before and cost me $3. I was willing to try it. Well it works so great that I have been using it every morning to make my oatmeal. I fill it with oatmeal and water every night and then wake up to perfect oatmeal every morning.

Here’s my recipe:

Lexi’s Crock Pot Honey Raspberry Steel Cut Oats

1 C water
1/4 C steel cut oats (NOT quick cook)
1/4 C frozen raspberries
1 tsp honey

Put water and oats in crock pot. Cover, plug in and let sit overnight.

Add water and oats to crock pot and let sit overnight.

In the morning scrape oatmeal into a bowl and stir in the honey while the oats are hot.

Oatmeal the next morning. Some of the consistency varies a bit since you weren’t stirring it all night. But I promise it is still delicious

Add 1 tsp honey to oatmeal and stir.

Add the frozen raspberries and stir.

Add frozen raspberries to cool the oatmeal down.

Let sit 1 minute while the raspberries defrost, cooling down your oatmeal to the perfect temperature in the process. Eat.

Clean up: It is a bit of a pain to clean the tiny crock pot because you can’t submerge it in water and you can’t remove the tiny crock. What I do is after I eat my oatmeal I pour water into the tiny crock pot and let it sit all day while I’m at work. When I come back the oats stuck to the sides of the pot come straight off with no scrubbing.

Posted in Culinary Delights, Thrift Finds | 3 Comments

The Bees are Back in Town

Posted on April 4, 2016 by lexicolton

My new package of bees came in Friday! The weather was in the low 60’s and I got them into the hive in less than 10 minutes. (Will made me my sugar syrup while I was on the way home. What a great husband!) And then Sunday and Monday it snowed another foot… This is our yard. You can see the beehive way off in the distance covered in snow.

Look freshly fallen snow in April! Off in the back left is the beehive covered in snow.

Look at this freshly fallen snow in April! Off in the back left is the beehive covered in snow.

This is my 4th time hiving bees from a package and I don’t want to sound pompous but I’ve become pretty darn good at it. I will eventually go back in and add text because you can’t hear everything I say, but my video editor is having issues at the moment. I have the whole video on youtube here:

These bees are from a new beekeeper. After 4 bad queens from the other beekeeping supply, I found a supplier that has a QUEEN GUARANTEE! I really hope I don’t need to use it! Like the other supply, they also get their bees from Georgia but from a completely different apiary. Anyway, they are called “Barker’s Bees” and the owner lives up to my assumption that all beekeepers are amiable, downright nice people. And he builds and sells really beautiful hives! Oh and did I mention its 30 minutes closer each way? Here’s me with my package upon pick up:

Me with my new package of bees.

And I decided to give my new queen a nice “American” name. Betsy. Not a queenly name you say? Well I’m not picturing the elegant dainty queens of Europe. Forget those. I’m picturing a down to earth woman of formidable stature and some birthin’ hips.

Posted in Beekeeping | Leave a comment

You Pick March Give Away

Posted on March 31, 2016 by lexicolton

So you may have noticed (or more likely didn’t notice) that I haven’t done a March give away yet… Well, with hours to spare, here it is!

Come up with a sewing or craft project that you’d like to own and post it below. It must be something that can be completed in an evening and cost around $10 (or less). I’ll pick my favorite, make it and ship it to you!

You can look through my previous projects for ideas about what I’ve made in the past. And if you know me outside of the blogosphere you probably have ideas about other things I’ve worked on but haven’t blogged about.

Oh yeah – and you have until April 17th to post a request. Good luck! I hope to get some great entries!

UPDATE: Easy stuffed toys, pillows, costume hats, simple clothing, jewelry, clothing or curtain dying, and modification projects all fit the bill. Things that don’t fit the bill are things like large woodworking projects, curtains (honestly this is depending on the type – dust ruffles are okay, panels are not okay). You can post multiple entries and I will let you know if each project fits the bill or not!

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Yoga anyone?

Posted on March 28, 2016 by lexicolton

For the last few years people at my work have been asking the gym for a yoga instructor. This year they’ve finally started to give in and have been scheduling weekly trial sessions with different instructors to find the right fit for our workplace. I have really been enjoying the sessions. I’ve described my yoga experiences as a workout where “I don’t really feel like I’m doing much of a work out during it, but the next day I am sore all over”. I consider that a good work out. Like when I run I feel awesome after I am done with yoga. It’s not that endorphin induced runner’s high but more of a sense of inner calm – similar to when I’ve just finished meditating. Yoga may be my new favorite thing.

The one awkward thing about yoga is that you have to wear the right clothing or you end up flashing people or showing them a little too much rump. Luckily my mother in law bought me an awesome lululemon work out outfit a few years back that is absolutely perfect for yoga. The pants are similar to these:

Lululemon Groove Pant III

And let me tell you they are fabulously comfortable and they have this VERY HIGH waistline that prevents any accidental mooning mishaps. AND they are so clever that they have this built in little pocket in the waistband so you can tuck in a key or ID in case you need it.

Well guess how much this well-designed pair of pants costs? Drum roll please… $98. Yikes. $98 of pants I’m going to roll around on the floor in and get sweaty in! My normal pants don’t cost half that!

Alright I’m just being frugal. They really are very nice pants. If you have the dough definitely invest in some; they will be your new favorite pair of pants. I don’t want to cough up the money to invest in another pair but I am greedy and want another pair. With Christmas so far away I decided to attempt my own. Below I give you my copycat version of the lululemon Groove Short II. Note that sewing stretch knits is tricky so unless you’re like me and are just doing this for some practice you won’t want to conquer this as your first sewing attempt.

Here’s how I made them:

Copycat Lululemon Groove Short II

You will need:

1/2 yard “performance quick dry fabric”** I bought a yard just in case – you can make a second pair with the other half later.
Pattern below – I am around a size 6 and these fit comfortably. You’ll also need to cut 2 pieces of 4×6 fabric for the pocket. See the bottom of this article to understand how to print the pattern! **
Priscilla of cillastitches.wordpress.com was kind enough to send me her version of the above pattern in PDF form! It is here. She says to make sure it is at 100% size when printing, and use the poster option. Thanks Priscilla!!!

**The lululemon pants use a proprietary blend they call “Luon” which I assume is a play on the words “lululemon & nylon”. It claims to be: 87% Nylon 13% Lycra Spandex & 40% Nylon 42% Polyester and 12% Lycra spandex. The stuff I bought is 100% polyester but it feels very similar to the other pair of pants I have. Basically just get something that is stretchy and breathable.

Cut out your pattern pieces – be sure to pay attention to the marks I made on the pattern for the grainline. Though the fabric will stretch in both directions you’ll have the most give in the crossgrain direction. In case you don’t know – the grainline I have marked should be aligned parallel to the selvage. I did not include seam allowance in the pattern. I recommend adding 1 inch seam allowance so you have some wiggle room on the length.
Add one inch seam allowance to pattern pieces
Pin front pieces together at center front. Pin backs together. Pin backs to side fronts.
Pin back pieces together up to marking on pattern. Pin back pieces to side fronts.

Pin front sections together on center front up to marking on pattern
Sew each seam together using a straight stretch stitch being sure to stop at the marks I made on the pattern. You’ll insert the crotch piece here later. I’m debating if instead of doing a straight stretch stitch I should have done a plain old running stitch baste but I’ll let you know next time. Make sure when you sew knits (like you are here) you use a ballpoint needle.
After straight stretch stitching the seams together trim the seams down to 1/4 inch. Fold the fabric to one side of the seam and slant overedge stitched over each seam.
Stitch over trimmed seam allowance.
Sew the inner seam of thighs using a straight stretch stitch.
Insert a 3×1″ eye shape (plus 5/8″ seam allowance) into crotch area using straight stretch stitch.
Trim seams in 5&6 down to 1/4 inch and again stitch over each seam as in step 4.
Take pocket rectangle and sew along the two 6″ sides in a straight stretch stitch.
Sew sides of pocket.
Turn the pocket inside out and sandwich it between two pieces of waistband as shown. Pin along top of waistband until you come to the pocket then pin one piece of waistband on each side forming a pocket.
Insert pocket in front waistband.

Make sure to pin the pocket opened.
Stitch as pinned with a straight stretch stitch. Open out, pin seam allowance to one side of pants (this will now be the inside) stitch close to the fold, leaving the pocket open. Reinforce the pocket at either side. Trim seam allowance.
Repeat steps 9 & 10 on the other half of the waistband omitting the pocket.
Open out both waistbands again and pin them at side seams. stitch. Make sure inside matches inside.
Fold band in half and pin to waist of pants. Stitch.
Put the pants on and decide where you want the length to hit. Fold under the appropriate amount of fabric and stitch.
Finally I trimmed where the waistband meets the pants and slant overedge stitched along this line to hold the fabric in place.

That’s it!

One yard of fabric cost me $10 and I only used half of that! Grand total… $5. That’s 10% the cost of the shorts on their website! Not too shabby. Next time I want to make a fun colored waistband or something but Joann’s selection was limited to grey and black.

**A Note on printing the pattern:

Priscilla of cillastitches.wordpress.com was kind enough to create a pdf version of the pattern (here: https://www.ladybeekeeper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/lulu-shorts.pdf), which then can be printed using Adobe Reader (available here for free: https://get.adobe.com/reader/).

After you have installed Adobe Reader, download the PDF above and open it with Adobe Reader. Select File->Print. Select “Poster” and Tile Scale “100%” so it will print correctly. Then you can reassemble and tape together the pages into the pattern after you print them! Make sure after you have printed it that the 2″ square is indeed 2″ all around. I f it is not please check the Tile Scale factor and make sure it is 100%. See picture below.

Posted in Crafts & Sewing | 29 Comments

Magnet Mayhem

Posted on March 22, 2016 by lexicolton

I’ve been busy recently with some other ventures (to be discussed in an upcoming post) and thus haven’t had much time for other crafts. My list is growing though so I’m going to have some fun things to show you in the coming weeks. Today I decided to whip up a solution to something that has been on my list for a long time.

The freezer.

As you know, I am a frugal spender in pretty much every department. Why buy something for more, when you can pay less? (I think that might be TJ Maxx’s motto.) The same goes for food. Every week the grocery store will feature different meats on sale. So its either – eat what is on sale that week, spend more money on what is not on sale, or freeze a bunch of what is on sale to make at my leisure. Thanks to our big freezer we usually do the latter. I also stock premade meals that I’ve made when I have spare time like soups and stocks, sauces, ravioli and chicken pot pie.

All this is well and good, but when I ask Will to get something out of the freezer he gets all concerned. He doesn’t understand my logic. He also can’t tell the difference between pork and chicken or ground turkey and ground beef. I can’t blame him. My labeling scheme is half-assed at best. I do put every meat type together in one area to make it easier to find, the problem is Will just can’t identify frozen meats. So here’s what i have been planning for a while – some sort of labeling system on the freezer door so we don’t have to open the freezer and poke around in there. I thought about using little pictures of things, but let’s be fair – how do I draw a chicken thigh?

Instead I settled on creating little chalkboards that I could move around and erase. For example I currently have no beef in my freezer and the portion of the freezer usually devoted to beef is full of homemade pies and things. Some times of the year I have fish. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with fresh veggies that I have frozen. This mini-project cost me literally nothing because I had the chalkboard paint leftover from the little chalkboard in my kitchen and the magnets came from a few of the extra 50 save the dates we have leftover and magnets we got in the mail.

Since I was dealing with magnets I also decided to make a couple of magnet souvenirs and a magnetic pin cushion since I’ve acquired way too many pins for my other magnetic pincushion.

Here’s how I made the magnetic chalkboards:

Refrigerator Magnet Chalkboards

foam roller brush
flat refrigerator magnets
chalkboard paint
chalk

For my other projects you’ll notice I gathered E600 glue, a saucer and some other wooden things I wanted to turn into magnets (taken from the íslenska hamborgarafabrikkan from our trip to Iceland a couple years ago). And as another side note, aren’t our save the dates cute? Our friend Caldwell (a professional comic artist and illustrator) made them for us!

Cut magnets into desired shapes.

Roll chalkboard paint onto magnets using several coats. Wait 30 minutes between each coat. Let dry overnight.

Season the chalkboard with chalk by rubbing the side of a stick of chalk across the face of it then wiping it off with a dry paper towel.

Write whatever you want!

Oh and here is my super cute pin “cushion”

Posted in Crafts & Sewing | Leave a comment

Random Vegetable Soup

Posted on March 14, 2016 by lexicolton

Will was out of town during the last couple weeks and I resorted to bachelor eating mode. For a few years when we were first married I was traveling for several weeks at a time and Will would have to fend for himself when the frozen meals I made for him were out. He would get pretty inventive. It became a joke with my co-workers “what did Will eat while you were gone this time?” My personal favorite is the time I asked Will what he had for dinner and he replied, “pasta with red sauce but don’t worry for protein I added cut up pieces of bologna”. That is a whole new take on pasta bolognese.

Well I’m not usually quite that bad, but this time I was feeling VERY lazy. I finally decided it had gotten out of control when I realized (after skipping breakfast one day) that I had eaten hot dogs and baked beans four meals in a row. I decided to actually cook something with real vegetables rather than eating processed meats and canned vegetables for another meal but I didn’t want to go to the grocery store. This is what I came up with out of the random fresh root vegetables, herbs and frozen veggies I had on hand. It is delicious, quick, uses a single pot and resembles minestrone soup which is why I’m posting it here today. It lasted me several meals including a couple with Will when he got back!

Lexi’s Random Vegetable soup

carrots, diced (the more the merrier, around 5 or 6)
parsnips, diced (half as many as carrots)
celery, diced (2/3 as many as the carrots)
half a red onion, diced
half a vidalia onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15oz can hunt’s tomato sauce
6 chicken boullion cubes
1/2 C cherry tomatoes from a jar, halved
3 potatoes, diced
frozen peas (about a cup and a half)
chopped fresh parsley about 2 Tbsp
1 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves

Saute the first set of vegetables through garlic until soft, adding the garlic about halfway through. Add tomato sauce and enough water to cover the vegetables (I used around 8 cans of water). Bring to a simmer add boullion cubes, tomatoes, potatoes, peas and herbs. (Next time I may double the oregano.) Simmer 25 min or so. Don’t eat the bay leaves.

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