Erika Jean

Friday!

2013-05-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Cinco De Mayo

2013-05-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

I made this little pinata donkey dishtowel for a friend a few weeks ago. Cinco de Mayo also happens to be her son's birthday. I think this towel works well for Cinco de Mayo and birthdays... so hopefully she will be able to whip it out on a couple other days of the year! The towel has another holiday on the back, which I will show you later!

I was really tempted to write "Hit me baby, one more time" on it.... but it was an afterthought and there wasn't enough space at the bottom. :-(

Garden Update

2013-05-04T17:54:00.001-07:00

It's official, I've picked my first tomato. I just couldn't wait any longer!

May 4th

As for the beans, man... they grow so fast!

April 26th

April 30th

May 4th

I'm not sure if the beans will make it into any kind of meal because I love them raw and I didn't plant a whole lot... but we will see...

Buds have appeared on the eggplant(pictured below) and the pepper plant(too small to get a picture of)

Last weekend I added a sun shade over the plants. It was 95f/35c today and we were swimmin' in the pool!

Arizona sun is just a tad to harsh for these plants. They get straight sun only in the eventing, like pictured above, but the cover does allow enough sun to come though the rest of the day.

Z is for Zero

2013-04-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

Zero, zilch, zip. That's what I cam up for "Z". What a crappy way to end the A-Z challenge. Next year I'll have to visit the Zoo to see a Zebra or something!

It was a fun challenge. I do think I will do it next year... but I'm glad it is OVER!

Y is for YUM!

2013-04-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

Since Y is for YUM, I will share my most recent and favorite recipe:

Roasted Cauliflower

This roasted cauliflower is a great way to enjoy fresh cauliflower. The cauliflower is tossed with a savory mixture of garlic and Parmesan cheese then roasted to perfection. Serve this easy roasted cauliflower as a side dish to an everyday meal or a holiday dinner.

Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:
• 1 small to medium head cauliflower, cut into florets, about 6 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
Line a large baking pan with foil; spray lightly with cooking spray. Heat oven to 425°.
In a large bowl or food storage bag toss the cauliflower florets with the olive oil, garlic, seasonings, and Parmesan cheese.
Spread the cauliflower out on the prepared baking pan.
Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.

Erika's Tips:

If you have a salad spinner, use the inside colander bowel to wash/drain cauliflower florets, and then give them a spin in the spinner to get all the excess water out.

I interpret crushed garlic as two finely chopped cloves.

Combine garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper into a large bowl. MIX. Add half the cauliflower and mix again.... add the rest of the coliflower and then mix again.... THEN add the Parmesan cheese and mix. I use a spatula to mix with, and it is more folding process than mixing.

This recipe comes from my mom... she got it online somewhere?

X is for Xavier

2013-04-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

I have nothing for X, so I will direct you to these TWO wonderful posts I've previously writtend ;-)

W is for Wind Farm

2013-04-26T23:26:00.001-07:00

I've done many across country road trips and I never get sick of seeing wind farms. I love them. They are some what memorizing... sitting out there, spinning in the wind. Round and round they go, when they stop, nobody knows.

I remember the first time I stopped near a turbine. It was for geocache, of course. I was surprised just how big they really were.

V is for Vitamin

2013-04-25T23:33:00.000-07:00

Seriously.

These are the BEST.

What kind of vitamins do you take?

U is for Up

2013-04-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

Looking up.

Sometimes things look better from a different perspective.

T is for Tombstone in Tombstone

2013-04-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

I visited Boothill Graveard in 2011, you can see the post here. It has more pictures ;-)

S is for Seahorse

2013-04-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure that my Cheeto perfectly resembles this seahorse.

R is for Rescue

2013-04-20T16:02:00.003-07:00

I've rescued a couple cacti from the yard. They seem to pop up every once and a while near the base of the house or under the shade of a bush. Now they are in my pots! Not really sure if that is rescuing or imprisoning them, but they'll lead a good life with lots of water(but not too much) and attention.

Q is for Quail

2013-04-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

I used to work at a park. We had a Red Tailed Hawk and a Screech Owl that we used for live animal programs. Yes, I used to be that girl giving speeches about the animals while holding the live ones in my hands (snakes, birds, turtles & toads) not real glamorous animals or anything, but native to the area.

Anyway. Since we had all those animals we also had to take care of those animals... and feed those animals. Earlier in the day we would take out a frozen treat for the birds. Most of the time they were frozen mice but occasionally they would get a quail. I remember not really knowing what a quail was (other than a bird).... and I had no idea what it looked like or anything, because I always stuck to the mice.

Fast forward a few years later. Now I'm in Arizona and there are quail everywhere. I put two and two together. I LOVE the little quails and am happy I never fed the hawk one ;-)

P is for Propagate

2013-04-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'm really having fun with the whole gardening thing this year. My mom has a Christmas Cactus that she's had for about 3 years...

.... Its really beautiful so I did some reading up on how to propagate a Christmas Cacti and decided I could grow another one with cuttings from hers...

So, cross your fingers form me! I hope it works (I'll late you know around Christmas time ;-)

O is for Observation

2013-04-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

N is for Neon

2013-04-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

M is for Marigold

2013-04-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

Day Off

2013-04-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Sundays are days off for the A-Z Challenge so I thought I'd update you on a couple things. A few lady bugs have stuck around... Go watch my VIDEO if you haven't already.

And I finished one of my mushroom towels...

...And that is about it. I'm liking the A-Z challenge... but have NO idea what I'm going to do for m, n, o, p, q and r this upcoming week! I think next year will be much easier. I will be able to plan months ahead!

L is for Lots of Ladybugs

2013-04-13T14:17:00.001-07:00

If you are a regular reader you will remember I planted some beans in March. Since then I have added tomatoes, cilantro, bell peppers and an eggplant. There is some rosemary going from last year to complete our mini garden. Really, only the tomatoes and beans belong to me... but I take care of all of them ;-)

Over the last few weeks I've noticed whiteflies on the plants. Lots of them. I tried soapy water, sprays and sticky traps and none of them seemed to work. I read online that ladybugs help get rid of these pests, so I found a place in town to purchase some. Arbico Organics also does online sales so check them out...

Anyway for 8 bucks I got 1500 ladybugs. Way too many for my little garden, but I figure most of them will fly away. Who am I kidding, I'll probably go out tomorrow and they will ALL be gone..... But the whole buying a releasing was quite the experience...

Check out the video and don't mind me freaking out a little when they get on me ;-)

K is for Kit

2013-04-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

There are a ton of cute mason jar sewing kits on pinterest.... and I've been wanting to make one. So I did what any logical crafter would do... I found the perfect excuse to make one!

One of my friends expressed an interest in trying her hand at stitching after I sent her a hand embroidered towel I had made. I told her I was going to put a little kit together for her so she'd have everything she needed. I'm not sure if she believed me... but I got right to it!

Embroidery needles, DMC Floss, water soluble pen, needle threaders, scissors, pins (not really needed for embroidery but they kind of pull it all together!).

I also included a hoop and a pre-washed & pre-patterened towel.


You can find the pattern here: Mac n' Cheese!

In addition to the kit, I emailed her some tips along with links to videos with stitch tutorials. If anyone is interested in that part, let me know in the comments and I can forward the e-mail you as well ;-)

I don't know if the kit will ever get used, but I had a lot of fun making it and sharing it with you!

J is for Jump!

2013-04-11T21:28:00.002-07:00

How about JUMPING over to the A-Z participation list and visiting some new blogs?

I is for Inn

2013-04-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

H is for Hanging

2013-04-09T20:20:00.006-07:00

So I forgot about my "H" post. Technically I remembered just in time. I didn't plan anything today so I thought I'd dig through the archives and find pictures of things hanging... enjoy!

G is for Glow

2013-04-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever I babysit, I try to bring a craft of something fun for the kids to do. So this weekend, I brought some glow in the dark bubbles with me. $2.99 at Walgreen's.

While the whole glowing part was neat, the actual BUBBLES do not glow. Just the bottle glows.... along with everything you spill the solution on or wherever the bubbles pop (hands, arms, legs, hair, clothes, patio furniture, grass...)

So...save your $2.99. They sound like a lot more fun than they actually are. When it comes to bubble blowing the kiddos seem to have a lot more fun with the bubble snake.

F is for Fungi

2013-04-06T17:46:00.001-07:00

I'm working on my 80's swap sewing project.... and it just happens to be a pretty notable fungi.

This shroom is from Mario Brothers. It's being stitched on to a dish towel and underneath it will say "Get a Life". For those of you that don't know the wonderful world of Mario Bothers(really?), the green mushroom gives you an extra life.

If time permits, I'm also going make a red version with the words "Grow Up" underneath it..... because the red mushroom in Mario Bros makes you bigger! Fun Fun Fungi!!

Here is some of the REAL stuff. Pictures by me of course!

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This post is part of the April A-Z Challenge. One letter a day, Monday - Saturday in the month of April. Read more about the challenge here.

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