One of my favorite items I make for my Etsy shop are the burp cloths. They sell in sets of 2, lined in thick terrycloth and usually match one of my baby quilts. I love to make beautiful things for babies and for their mothers to use. And one of the most used things for a new baby is the burp cloth. There is one either on your shoulder, in your hand, on your lap or under the baby's head. At all times.
I use beautiful printed cottons lined with thick and durable terrycloth and, sure, you can keep them for special occasions, but you can also use them. Enjoy them. Let them cheer you up on a ho-hum day. Despite our fears, these cotton beauties aren't going to disintegrate because your baby droolled on it. Babies aren't the stainers we think they are. Give them a year or two and they'll show ya.
Here's link to my Burp Cloth Section-
Remember when all the cooking shows were on PBS? They are still some of my favorites. I think Lidia is an all time favorite. My very good friend recently had her second child and the little bundle of joy has a touch of the colic. I visited her earlier this week and took the baby for the day and cooked a family dinner. Lidia's braised meat recipe has been in my arsenal ever since I saw her make it on her PBS show. I knew I could get it in the pot in 15 minutes and leave it alone until dinner time.
I can't believe I actually found it on her website to share with you! There is no glamorous picture from me or from Lidia's site but believe me its so worth making. It is simple and honest and almost impossible to ruin. Even if you don't have all the ingredients, as long as you have garlic, tomato and meat, it will be good. Follow the recipe to the tee and it will be amazing. I usually use a mix of pork chop, chicken and sausage.
Tip:
Remember to brown the meat first, take out, then saute the aromatics.
Put everything back in, then simmer on low for two hours.
Have at least one of the meats include the bone.
Three Meats Braised in Tomatoes and Rigatoni
(There are more directions on this link)
For cooking the meats and sauce
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
6 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
2 large onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 fresh bay leaf
2½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 pound chunk boneless pork butt
1½ pound veal shoulder chop
½ teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste
1 cup red wine
10 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand
1 pound sweet Italian sausages, (without fennel seeds)
For Cooking and Serving the Pasta Course
2 pounds rigatoni
1 cup pecorino, freshly grated
OK.. I am going to get right to it. When I learned how to print on fabric using my inkjet printer, it was kind of a life changing moment. My mind started bursting with ideas, concepts, drawings... Anyway, for my first project I made a Game of Thrones Baby Quilt because 1) I am a super fan, and 2) I make baby blankets. I had some tutorials pinned on my Pinterest Sewing Board that were really helpful.
- Indestructibles offers tips for Inkjet Printing on Fabric
- Craftzine Fabric Printing How-To
- The actual HP website lists some tips and resources
Naturally, I didn't have all the materials they suggested so I ended up using some cardstock paper I had for other projects. It worked perfectly. I cut the fabric(I used some leftover muslin) to fit the printer and scotch taped it to the cardstock. Super easy, right?
Game of Thrones Baby Quilt is for sale on my Etsy Shop ZhalaClothing.
TIPS:
-Make sure you tape around the edges so you don't get excess ink smudges.
-After your print on the fabric let it dry for 15 minutes
-When it is dry submerge into tepid water for 10 minutes. I used my bathtub. This is important because it sets the ink permanently.
-Let it dry flat and you're golden!
-I put it through the washer and dryer and it was perfect so no worries.
-I was printing all black so I opened each jpeg in photoshop and cleaned it up a bit with the eraser tool and strengthened some thin lines.
The essence of Luxury is gratitude, simplicity and beauty.
Adding luxury into your daily life is like having good feng shui. It invites good energy and leaves no room for crummy old energy. The essence of Luxury is gratitude, simplicity and beauty. This is the formula for living in luxurious abundance. First: Gratitude. Being thankful for all the beautiful things in your life will in turn attract more beautiful things into your life(remember that health and family are beautiful things too). Take inventory of all your things of beauty, dust them off and display them with love and pride in your home.
Second: Simplicity. I am sorry to tell you this but you don't need a million of everything. This is hard for us Americans and most of us are kind of in denial about this. A few high quality multi-functioning heels is way classier than a bunch of redundant styles tossed on the floor of your closet.
Third: Beauty. I have a rule. Only bring home beautiful things. Appreciating beauty is not shallow. It is nurturing to your spirit. You feel good when you gaze upon a thing of beauty. You're wired to do so. It gives you pleasure and joy.
Luxury is an attitude that through these three elements, you will eliminate clutter, excess and bitterness from your life. You deserve it.
I believe we need more luxury in our lives and this is the first post in a series of Living with Luxury.
