Food, Projects, and Toys

COOKING

Tried some new recipes this weekend.  Turkey Kebobs from The Chew.  I don't have access to kabab masala, so I used a Syrian spice blend.  I substituted jalapeno peppers for the seranos so that the kebobs weren't quite so spicy.

From reading the reviews, the chutney is very spicy so I opted for a tzatziki sauce.  I'd never made it before... it was okay.  They kebobs are made from ground turkey and were good, but difficult to grill because meat mixture is soft.  It might work better in the oven as patties.  I also made zucchini noodles ("zoodles") with the Paderno Spiralizer.  The spiralizer is awesome!  For sauce to go over the zoodles, I made a creamy red pepper sauce.  I thought it turned out really good.

WORK
I've completed the first week at the new job.  There's a big learning curve for me since I'm not familiar with the industry, acronyms, etc.  On Friday, my project manager told me he thought my progress was good for the first week.  Yay!  At the end of this next week, I'll be driving to the suburbs of the windy city in order to do more training.

STITCHING
I finished my Halloween mailart which I'll be mailing out next Saturday, so no finished pics until after it reaches its destination.  However, I'm going to show a sneak peek:

I'll be starting the July Monthly SAL next.  Hope to have a finish to show in my next blog update.

DIY PROJECT

I also did a DIY project this weekend.  I made myself a portable pressing (i.e. ironing) board for small projects such as quilt squares, smalls, etc.

While it's not as light as an Omnigrid Foldaway Cutting Station or a Tailor Cut-N-Press, it was a lot less expensive and I could have it in a size I wanted.  I made mine 17x19".  I still need to add a handle to one of the edges for easier movement and/or transport.

Now, rather than getting out my ironing board each time I need to press small seams, I can just get out the pressing board.  I used it while assembling the mailart and it worked really well.

BIG GIRL TOYS

JoAnn Fabrics had a sale going on this weekend as well as several great coupons.  I intended to use the 60% off coupon (good on any regular priced item, lots exclusions apply) on the fabric cover for my pressing board since it wasn't on sale.  While at JoAnn Fabrics, a new toy made it's way into my cart:  Petite Press Portable Iron.  Since coupons say irons are excluded, I was pleasantly surprised when the coupon was applied to the Petite Press.  Normally $39.99, I ended up paying $16.32 with tax!  That's better than the online sale going on right now which would be $28+ with shipping and tax.  Had I known, I would've had the BF pay for the fabric and had him use another coupon, LOL.

Granted the Petite Press does not perform like my Shark Iron, the portable iron does well getting fold marks out of my fat quarters and aida as well as pressing seams.  It offers ironing control in small areas where my Shark is more cumbersome -- like around the decorative buttons on my mailart.

The iron's pressing surface is small (1" x 2 1/4") so it can't be expected do large projects.  Nor does it have a steam option.  Overall, the iron is lightweight and measures 8x2-1/2x2in.

It's UL approved and has a digital control with four heat settings.  The Petite Press heats up within a few minutes and beeps to tell when it's ready to use.  There is no auto shut off which means it holds the temperature setting:  1- approx 176-248F, 2- approx 230-302F, 3- 284-356F, 4-338-410F (according to the product guide).  One review I read said the iron doesn't get any hotter than a mug warmer.  Ask me how I know this is not true.  The iron gets VERY hot!

The iron head is adjustable to four different positions and the handle is made for ergonomic comfort. There's also a flip down stand to rest the hot iron when not in use.  

In conclusion, I'm happy with it.  It works well for its intended use.

LITTLE GIRL TOYS

Not too long ago, it was my youngest niece's birthday.  She love-love-loves Barbie!  I got her Barbie Fashion Design Maker.  Basically, it's a 3-D version of paper dolls.

It comes with a full size Barbie and eight sheets of "clothing paper."  The girl (with the assistance of an adult) logs onto the Barbie fashion designer website and chooses various options to create outfits to be printed out.  My niece had fun picking what her Barbie clothes would look like.  She even had fun putting the paper in the printer, LOL.  Once printed, the fabric pieces are peeled off the sheet and stuck onto the doll.  Just like paper dolls, the pieces can be taken off and be re-used.

That's all for this week.
Until next time...