First weekend @ fair = success

Howdy! I don't think I had previously mentioned that I would be selling my good at the I10 fleamarket and fair. The grand opening was this past weekend and it was a success. Naturally, still some gliches to be worked out but I am sure it will be super awesome in no time.

I had a great time meeting new people and selling things.

I wanted to highlight not only my area but also a few of my neighbors so you can see

here's some pictures from the booth i am at with my uncle. he makes jewelry, fimo clay things, paintings, and also brought out some of his collectibles to sell.

Across from us in an art school. Your kiddos can try it out for a few bucks and if they like can sign up for art classes or art summer camp.

Another neighbor across is selling his line of clothing "Q'bo" (check out their site here). They have some funny shirts and cute workout clothes.

 (I personally love the style of the back of this top)

and our next door neighbor does metal working. these things are so pretty. he does amazing work!

 this is my favorite piece! it is a planter made to look like a swing set. and it does swing =D

 He has angels made to hold your long glass candles. these are so cute! i love the swirly wings

 he can make these tables for any team, any sport, or even custom orders. they have a trash can and a place for your cold beverage of choice

 my household with own one of these by the end of the month. it is designed to hold your jalapenos upright for roasting in the oven or on your grill. perfect for any stuffed jalapeno recipe!

  and check out these versions of the table he makes. this one is a gorgeous mosaic (perfect for mother's day... *cough*cough*)

 and this one with bottle caps (perfect for father's day)

 If you are one of my local readers feel free to come by and support your local artists.

And if you are one of my distant readers: these guys ship =) I will be sure to get contact info for you. Let me know if you are interested.

I will be at the fleamarket on the weekends now (studying between customers). I did not make it to my sewing class on Saturday but i will start sewing my dress this week and continue next Saturday.

Speaking of my sewing: I was wearing one of my aprons around the swap and got 3 special orders from other vendors! pretty neat!

So here i am, in major crunch time! my presentation (I decided to do necrotizing facitis... yummy) for anatomy class is due this Friday. wish me luck! and finals a week from today... wish me more luck.

then 4 weeks of free time!

hooray!

til then,

xoxoxo

Lily Bean

(ps... thats the apron that got me sales. everyone loved how it looks like a skirt and the pockets hold well)

I was featured! Hooray! (and sewing class update)

Every Tuesday for the last few months I have been adding a link over at a law student's journey. Kitty hosts "Tute Tuesday" where anyone can share a tutorial, recipe, or how-to. At the next week, Kitty names the link with the most hits and highlights a few feautured links.

Go ahead, check it out... i was featured!

it made my day... week... no month. HOORAY!

on to the update of my sewing class:

here are my shorts all cut and ready.

this saturday in class i start assembling the dress and shorts.

i missed last saturday. i had to be in my cpr class which was a lot less fun. but i did not miss much. the other students were learning how to use their sewing machines and sew straight lines and i am already good with that.

so i may be MIA for the next 2 weeks...

here is my end of semester schedule:

this friday: respiratory test

next friday: turn in project (i chose necrotizing fascitis) poster board, powerpoint presentation, and 5 minute speech

monday may 7th: anatomy/physiology final

then i will have a few weeks open before school hits me hard

and i plan on crafting the heck out of those weeks!

wish me luck!

xoxox

Lily Bean

for the love of Christmas!

just got back from Red Skull Tattoo.

I got my bough of holly today!

hooray.

it is burning right now. i always feel like the healing process if worse than the moment when you are actually under the needles

Me with Alex. He is such a cool artist. I am comfortable enough to just chit chat instead of focusing on the pain and forgetting to breathe haha.

i am super happy!

He does amazing work! i can't stop looking at my arm... the shading is so perfect. Really brings it to life!

Thanks Alex =)

I have an appoinment for May 8th to get my candle.

Cannot wait to see what he does with my sketch to make it super awesome!

xoxoxox

Lily Bean

it's a good news kind of day

hello! hello!

I have had a pretty good day

for starters, i had to retake my placement tests for school. my appointment was at 0830 for math and essay. i started work at 0615 because i wanted plenty of time to be sure my brain was awake and to eat a good breakfast. i was so nauseated while waiting to be sat in the testing room. i paid extra attention to my essay since i had previously scored too low when i tested in February. i followed all the tips that my friends, family, and tutor had given me and i am proud to say

I PASSED!

i could have cried when i found out! i had been so nervous

so now all i have left  is my CPR class this Saturday then i can see my counselor next week to complete ranking for my degree plan. i start this fall and graduate june 2014

also, i checked my bank online and see that my tax refund is scheduled to be in my account come tomorrow morning. i will first pay for tuition and put some aside for school books but i have some left over after that. i contacted my tattoo artist and will see him tomorrow to discuss my next 2 tattoos and set appointments.

i hope to get one on friday (if he has an opening) and the other in 2 weeks. i will keep you posted, of course!

so i finished sketching out the 2 tats just now. let me remind you: i am no artist. good thing is, my artis is good at taking what looks like an 8 year old drew it and making it awesome.

first i want to get a bough of holly. i will have it colored green and red, naturally.

i will put this on my right forearm just in front of the crook of my elbow

 and then in 2 weeks i want to get a candle burning at both ends. i have reserched the meaning behind different colors and decided to color this piece blue. i will put it on either arm just below where the elbow bone sticks out. i am pretty scared of the pain in this area. wish me luck!

 if you are wondering why i chose blue it is to remind me that while i am often burning the candle at both ends more often than i should, i need to remain:

calm, relaxed, loveable, optimistic, lively, joyful, calm, warm, giving, approachable, feminine, (like) water, tranquil, stable, strong, healthy, and dependable

and since i have uploaded cell phone pictures that i took today, i decided to include this picture of my sweet hearts sleeping in a heart formation

arent they so cute!

xoxoxo

Lily Bean

how i love these STRIKING tacos

last night i was able to cook for the first time in a long time. not just whip something up since it was the weekend and i promised to be the weekend chef.... really cook something.

i have always loved the way my uncle made these yummy tacos. whenever these are for dinner, i scarf until i feel i will pop with the next breath. so i decided it was time to learn how to make them myself.

* a small backstory to these tacos i learned while chit-chatting in the kitchen yesterday: my tia used to make these back when my tio was on strike. they were not made to be yummy but made to stretch the meat they could afford to feed 4 hungry, growing boys. *

so here is the recipe for the tacos i adore

you will need:

about 4-6 good size potatoes (washed. i prefer to keep the skins on. feel free to peel them.)

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

spices for meat

corn tortillas

oil or lard for frying

and toppings of your choice (lettuce, cheese, tomato, sour cream, salsa, avocado, etc)

first put your potatoes to boil until soft when poked with a fork.

(i was being instucted by by uncle on this recipe and he insisted on me putting all potatoes whole. i found no reason why they cant go in cubed so they cook quicker and smash easier. i just asked why he did not have me cube them and he said he had never thought about it and always did whole since his mom always did whole.)

once they are boiled, remove the potatoes

drop the heat to medium and add your ground beef. do your best to keep the ground beef in a big chunk. this will help keep your meat from draining with the water later.

once the beef is browned on one side, carefully flip the chunk of ground beef over to get the other side cooking

 the water will look kind of icky at this point but that is normal. when the other side looks browned you will carefully flip it one more time to make sure  there's no pink on the outside. once the outside is all browned, remove the chunk of meat and discard all the water and it's contents.

Place the meat back in the pot and begin to break it up. you may see some pink on the inside and that is okay because you will cook it still on medium heat as you break it up and that will finish browning it all. at this point you will add your spices and seasonings. i added a dash of salt, pepper, and a good shake of mesquite seasoning.

once it is browned you can turn the flame off

 next you will add your potatoes a bit at a time and mash mash mash

dont worry about mixing the meat up with the potatoes yet

just mash

once all potatoes are mashed up you can mix the meat and potatoes up well

 set your meat and potatoes aside and warm up your tortillas.

 stuff your tortillas with your meat and potato mix. be sure to pack it well into the middle. you do NOT want to risk any meat or potato falling out why you are frying

POP!

i found out the hard way

 and now to fry

in my home we use lard

i put a decent sized scoop into the fryer. it melted into the perfect amount

 take a cookie sheet and lay down some paper towels then place a wire rack on top. this will let any excess oil drip off your tacos

 carefully place 1 taco in to fry at a time. by only frying 1 taco at a time you allow your oil to keep its proper heat. it only takes a few seconds on each side. flip carefully and when you are ready to remove taco, gently shake excess oil off before placing on wire rack

 once they have cooled enough on the wire rack, you can add your toppings

o0o0o0oooooooooo.... tacos!

enjoy!

I ate most of them myself

oink! oink!

Lily Bean

sewing class adventures week 1

well, FINALLY my sewing class started today

hip hip hooray

hip hip hooray

hip hip hooray

i felt so nervous while getting ready. it was like my first day of kindergarden again

there are 4 of us in the class and everyone is really nice. i got permission to take pictures next class for my blog.

today we learned how to measure properly. (im pretty sure my problem was that i was not measuring right when picking my patterns). we also placed the pattern pieces on the fabric then double checked they fit well before cutting
(this is the pattern i chose)

today my measurements in inches were as follows:

bust 32.5

high bust 30.5

waist 25.5 (my real waist, not where i were my low riding pants haha)

hips 37 (whoa! almost 12" bigger than my waist... genetics)

arms 27.5 (from spine to shoulder, shoulder to elbox, elbow to wrist)

shoulders 16

back 15.5

inseam 15.5

leg 36

crotch 9.5 (sitting on a flat surface, from true waist to surface)

since i will be missing next week's class (i have to take that CPR class for my college requirements) the teacher hung out with me today to keep me caught up for when i return in 2 weeks.

I had 3 yards of the fabric but (as a result of poor measuring prior to today) i needed a bit more. i was super bummed when i saw i could not fit all i needed to cut on my material. my teacher came over to help and suggested i make the lower part of the bodice a solid color.

GENIUS!

why had i not thought of that before?!?!

i decided a bright yellow would make the flowers on the dress pop even more

now i am even more stoked for this to come together

as is customary in any class, we were assigned homework:

1) read the instructionson how to assemble your piece

2) begin constructing another article of clothing using what we have learned

miss Rachel suggested i make something with a pocket or a collar so i can come across questions for her.

i decided to make McCall's M6328 in view E on this fun, colorful print

the challenge will be the zipper and pockets

i finished cutting some of my pattern pieces at home and i had some help =P

i think Theodora wants to learn to sew as well

xoxoxo

Lily Bean

mini pillbox hats and fuschia lipstick love

Howdy! I have been a bit overwhelmed with school and life these days. I have 2 placement tests scheduled this coming Thursday and a CPR class scheduled next Saturday. After those I should be ready to start my degree plan classes this Fall and have a bit more time freed up for a few weeks at least.

My sewing class was pushed back 2 weeks so tomorrow is my actual first day. I am super stoked about that!

I have not taken the pictures yet to make a tutorial for you for the mini pillbox hats but I wanted to show your the 2 that i have made.

 this one is blue nautical themed surrounded by anchors, ships, and "bon voyage" signs:

This one i made is pink with fuschia flowers:

These are super fun, easy, and addicting!

I will do my best to get you a tutorial ASAP!

While i was getting ready for my pillbox photoshoot i discovered my LOVE for pink lipstick

I don't know why i was terrified for years. i never thought my coloring could pull it off. and now i don't want to take it off! it feels just like the first time when i wore red lipstick <3

problem is, i was playing in my aunt's make-up when i found this color. i have NO idea where she got it, what brand it may be (probably dollar store though), or even how old it is... and now when it is gone, i won't know where to get a replacement =(

what do you think of the pink lips? any suggestions for similar lipstick colors to buy? i'm a drugstore/avon kind of girl but would be willing to spend more if i feel this cute

xoxoxox

*Lily Bean *