Throw Pillows

Throw pillows are a fabulous way to add a bit of color and fun to living room decor. We certainly needed a bit more color in our living room, but I could not for the life of me find throw pillows in stores that had navy as their dominant color. So I decided to make some.

You all know by know how much I love all things nautical. J isn't a huge fan and tries to keep me from going over-board. (hehehe) So I passed on the fabric with a navy nautical rope pattern.

I saw these 2 decorator fabrics on sale at Joann and immediately knew they were my new throw pillows. Plus 18"x18" pillow forms were on sale for 50% off.

So I came home and got some cheap muslin from my scrap pile and made a pattern prior to using my new fabric.

I ended up cuttitng the fabric into strips 22" wide x 40" long. For an 18"x18" form, this gave me 2 inches of room for error on each side of the pillow.

Fold the fabric in half "hamburger-style", right sides together, and stich a seam ~ 1" from the edge on 3 sides, leaving one side open. (I chose to use the folded side as my "bottom" and left the seam across from it open as my "top".)

Place a pillow form into the pillowcase you have created and test the fit. Too big? Stitch the side seams in a bit tighter. Do this until you have the fit that you like. (Note here that not all pillowform are exactly the same size... you will have to adjust your seams for each pillowcase that you create.) If you would like, now is the time to cut off any excess fabric from your seams to reduce bulk.

Remove the pillow form and return the case to inside-out (right-sides together), and using your sewing machine, run a stitch across your top opening from each corner/side toward the center, leaving a gap about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the case open in the middle.

Turn the case right-side out and stuff the pillow form into the case.

Thread a needle and stitch the gap across the top shut.

And you now have a custom throw pillow.

Fabric, thread, and 4 pillow forms cost me a total of $34.

Red Wine + Chocolate 2010

Romantic Valentine's weekend away from home? Yes, please! With other people? ummm.... sure! Actually, we had a fantastic time. With each other and 45 other people!

Wine Yakima Valley is a large conglomeration of wineries and vineyards in the eastern side of Washington State. Every year for Valentine's / President's Day weekend, they host Red Wine + Chocolate, an extraordinary wine tasting experience. This year over 52 wineries participated. For $30, you get a wine glass, a wrist band, and entry into the wineries for all the chocolate and wine tasting you can handle.

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law and big wine fans, so they co-coordinate this trip each year. This year our group was 47 strong. We all met up in Tri-Cities, WA and climbed aboard 2 stretch Hummer limos (our tour bus broke down as we were about to load, so we improvised) to tour some of the wineries. (If you go wine tasting, please be safe. Arrange to a designated driver. You won't be sorry!)

Our first stop was Goose Ridge Winery. We picked up our passes, glasses, and began the consumption of goodies!

Lots of yummy chocolate! They had a dark chocolate fudge that was to-die-for!

Our next stop was Kiona. Last year the group spent over $2,000 at this winery alone. We LOVE Kiona! J and I are white wine drinkers and Kiona has many whites and reds to choose from. Lots of the wineries in the area do mostly reds, so it's nice to find a winery that has a large white selection, and at reasonable per-bottle-prices. We bought bottles of Kiona's Vivacious Vicky-White and Late Harvest Riesling (which is a dessert wine).

 

J in front of the winery.

View of Kiona's vineyards. I bet they're gorgeous in the late spring!

Kiona's award-winning wines.

Is this not the coolest wine label? Jill Haney-Neal is the incredible local artist who created this label. Check out her amazing work!

Our next stop was a doozie. The Port of Benton: Prosser Wine & Food Park houses multiple tasting rooms. Most of the actual vineyards are off-site. Our favorites here were Hogue (which is fairly main stream), Kestrel, and newcomer Heaven's Cave.

We fell in love with Heaven's Cave's Nobility Riesling and bought 3 bottles. However, proceeds go to charity. From their website:

"Heaven's Cave Cellars is a for-benefit winery that chooses to donate a portion of its profits from wine sales to cover 100% of the operating expenses of the Make the Dash Count Foundation...dedicated to developing the next generation of community leaders and benefitting at-risk youth."

We also had the opportunity to tour the barrel room at Kestrel with their vitner, Dirk. He tapped some of the 2009 barrels for us to taste. I think I prefer the finished product!

Bottle labeling equiment

J "tapping" the barrels

Using a wine thief to taste from the barrels

Our final stop was also to another grouping of wineries, but this grouping doesn't have a conglomerate name. The main winery that we visited here was Airfield Estates Winery. We did some tasting and posing here before visiting Thurston Wolfe to try out some port wines (and eat red velvet cupcakes). After this stop, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R. 

  

The Airfield barrel plane. So cute!

Our entire group in front of a Hummer.

We are so excited for next year! 

Are you a red or white wine fan? Favorites? Ever been wine tasting? 

My champion breakfast

Working night shift, breakfast is a really important meal for me. (Yes, I eat breakfast when I come home from work, and eat dinner when I wake up in the evening.) I need something light enough to allow me to sleep, something hearty to keep me asleep, and something yummy enough to make me happy.

Enter my champion concoction (I wish I had invented it...)

Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt
Post Selects Cranberry Almond Crunch
Ocean Spray Craisins

By my calculations a big bowl is about 300 calories, which I think is pretty good for a hearty meal that is low-fat, with whole grains, and some complex carbs. I think it's heart-healthy!

My other fall back is oatmeal made from Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats

What's your favorite breakfast?

PS--our landlord installed black granite counter tops...HATE THEM! If you're considering them run far, far, away. They are impossible to keep clean! (but, do look good with our light maple cabinets and stainless appliances for the hour per month that I manage to keep them looking good. Ha!)

Go Red for Women.

(photo from http://www.goredforwomen.org/)

Go Red for Women is a national movement sponsored by Macy's, Merck, and The American Heart Association to make women aware of Heart Disease. Heart Disease is the No. 1 killer of women. Did you know that?

Today, is National Wear Red Day. Raise awareness about heart health today: wear some red!

Is your heart healthy? Take an online heart check-up!

How can I keep my heart healthy? Eating healthy and exercise. Check out the American Heart Association's BetterU 12-week program to a heart-healthy you!

Watch the awareness video here.

Cookies

Sugar Cookies are some of my favorites. I have cookie cutters for almost every season/holiday. Yesterday I made cookies for Valentine's Day. Yum! My husband helped me to decorate some of them.

Notice the "I Love My Wife" cookie above? See the one next to it? Um, yeah, my husband loves my cooking.

Erica's Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe:
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 Cup (2 sticks) softened butter
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

~4 Cups all-purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs, vanilla. Sift salt, baking powder, and flour together. Slowly add in. If dough is too sticky to roll out, slowly add more flour to right consistency.

Roll out flat on floured surface, cut out shapes. Bake approx. 8-12 minutes at 375* until edges are turning golden brown.

Wait until completely cool to frost/decorate. Yields ~ 2 dozen medium-sized cookies.

(I made a 2x batch= LOTS of cookies)

Reading List

I am an avid reader. I devour books...quickly. Thank goodness that I am a card-carrying member of both the City Library and the County Library systems.

I see that many of you have created a 2010 reading goal list. I am not going to be doing that, because I don't know how many I will plow through. But, I will try to at least keep an up-to-date list. Maybe I'll even throw in a few reviews.

Real Simple's No-Obligation Book Club from the February 2010 issue listed 7 reader favorite love stories. I've read a few of them, but I will be reading the rest by the end of the month:

The History of Love Nicole Krauss

The Blue Castle L.M. Montgomery

Crossing to Safety Wallace Stegner

I finished The Blue Castle a few days ago. LOVE her writing. (She wrote Anne of Green Gables.) The book was short and sweet. The story took me away with Valancy through her dull, obedient life. Once she decided to take charge, life took off toward happiness with a few twists and turns along the way. Definately a good read.

I have started Crossing to Safety, but am having a very hard time getting past the first chapter...it's very vague and slow. Shall I continue?

As an aside, I just finished a couple of Debbie Macomber books. Great 'beach reads'. Plus her Cedar Cove series is set in the Pacific North West. Love that!

On my floor in the to read pile currently sit:

The Help Kathryn Stockett

Going Rogue Sarah Palin

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson

Labor of Love Cara Muhlhahn

Water for Elephants Sara Gruen

Bed of Roses Nora Roberts

Say You're One of Them Uwem Akpan

Captivating John & Stasi Eldredge

What should be on my list for March?