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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Basic Earflap beanie

Aah! How long it has been. I have been gathering content for my blog, so now I am slowly and steadily going to unleash it all! Brace yourselves!

I go through long periods during which I have clear thinking, a to do list and an ability to accomplish things. Then are are phases when I am preoccupied, taking forever to do simple things and creating a huge mess (literally) in the process. Does this happen to any of you? Well, thankfully I am experiencing a creative, getting things done phase.

So here is a hat I crocheted up a few weeks ago that I am finally writing about.
I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes which I had leftover from a sweater I had made for my daughter. The colors I used were: Rouge, Blossom heather and Avocado. I like this yarn because although it is wool it is not itchy. My pet peeve when using wool based yarns is the scratch factor. Plus, it is reasonably priced, cheaper than a lot of acrylics out there. I really do like to use natural yarns whenever possible.


Where did the superb pattern come from you ask? I wish I could take credit, but it is by one of my favorite designer Scotti Oxford a.ka. Inner Hooker. You can visit her blog at oxfordfam.blogspot.com where you can find more of her amazing work and musings. She is currently hosting an Afghan Sampler crochet along, which I am participating in and a blog post on that to follow. 

So I started out using the pattern size for toddler, But since I hate gauge swatches and perhaps the Wool of the Andes is thicker or may be it's my hooking skills, this ended up being quite large! It fits me pretty snugly. But I think may be a big kid or teenager is a better end user of this hat. Here is the hat again
I love the stripe detail, which was not in the pattern but I did not have enough of the Rouge yarn! "Necessity is the mother of invention" or substitution in this case. So I simply added two rows of Avocado double crochet and two of blossom heather double crochet.


I would have like the braids on the earflaps to be a bit chunkier but I really wanted to work with the yrn I had and not purchase more.

All in all very happy with how this hat turned out!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Blackened chicken with "not so dirty rice" and spinach



Hello! It's been a week since my last blog post. I will attribute the silence to a sick toddler, a sick husband and now I'm sick too! This has been a great excuse for recovering hubby and almost recovered toddler to go to her art class together as I finally get some much needed quite time to write this post.

Firstly, I am super excited about the overwhelming response to my Spring flower hat. This hat was such a huge hit that it earned me two new followers and earned me my first time being featured. So, please head on over to Kadie's at Seven Alive to see all the wonderful crafters, cooks and DIYers that she has so kindly featured.

Now, some of you may or may not remember my grill pan chicken post from last week. Well, we had a lot of leftover Kasha from that night. So, I actually ended up upcycling (can you upcycle food?) the kasha for another meal late last week.  I followed another Cooking light recipe for the blackened chicken. Now they served it with Dirty rice which I substituted with Kasha. The reason I call mine not so dirty kasha is because, I swapped the rice out for the kasha and I omitted the chicken livers. I didn't have any and I wasn't motivated enough to go out and buy livers, something that I have never cooked with. Anyhow, my not so dirty version was yummy and super flavorful.

The blackened chicken recipe was fantastic and I would totally make this again to use in wraps, salads or sandwiches. Plus, it is lightened up from a more traditional blackened chicken recipe so it's guilt free too. We've been getting our chicken breast thinly sliced so it helps with the portion control a little more.

I served this with a side of organic spinach sauteed with fresh garlic.
Here is the big reveal, theirs vs. mine.

I am loving this theirs vs. mine theme so much that I think I'm going to make it a weekly feature! What do you think?

Friday, April 6, 2012

Spring hat


I have been knitting and crocheting for a while. Or at least it seems so. It started when I was may be 8 or 9 and my grandmother gave me a ball of thick, chunky, turquoise yarn and some needles and taught me to cast on and knit. Then we had to learn it in school for a year or two. I picked it back up again in design school and really got into it when I was pregnant with my one and only Miss M. She is the end user of all my yarn endeavors and a perfect model of course. She is 2 1/2 years old, which means she is always on the go and super clumsy. She has already lost a wonderful hat I had crocheted for her this winter.

Here is my little one in her colorful crochet hat
 Fortunately, our neck of the woods saw a very mild winter this year and we made do with a store bought fleece atrocity.

The procrastinating mamma that I am, it has taken me until spring time to make her a new one. I was sidelined in between by other projects and the lack of inspiration. The latter finally arrived in the form of "The Little Sister Hat". I loved the pattern for it's dainty shell stitch as well as good coverage.

I used one off white skein of Bernat Satin yarn. I was surprised by how much yarn this hat used! Here is the end result! I love the print for the flower, It's cheery and very spring- appropriate. Plus I really wanted something with yellow in it. So here it is!
Oh, and how cute is the flower button? I found it at Jo-Ann fabrics.







That's it from me for this week! I am hoping to feel especially inspired over the weekend. I hope everyone has a lovely holiday!

Linking up to Debbie-Doo's newbie link party every monday!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Grill pan chicken with mushroom sauce & garlicky asparagus My entry into Wow Me Wednesday sponsored by Appliances Online and Bosch Washing Machines






Every now and again, I get bored of the same old kitchen concoctions and seek out new ideas and recipes. Recently, we scored a free subscription to Cooking Light magazine and I am just so thrilled about it. Clearly, they can think of so many ways to jazz up chicken.

This particular recipe is for grill pan chicken with a mushroom sauce and garlicky asparagus.

This is what mine looked like versus theirs.
My version of Grill pan chicken with mushroom sauce 
 To save myself from washing couple of extra pans, I pan steamed the asparagus. To shave a few more calories from the sauce recipe, I substituted Smart Balance for the butter. I served this with a side of Kasha which is made out of whole grain buckwheat. This was an easy way to get in our whole grains for the day!
















This is what was cooking in our kitchen! What's cooking in yours? I'd love to know!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Crochet Capelet

Procrastination surely is the thief of time. But, no greater motivator than a blog post in need to finish up a project.

Usually I stick to baby projects for knitting or crocheting. For one simple reason- (fairly) instant gratification. But , one fall day I was simply ready for more. I went through my Ravelry list of favorites and found this lovely shell stitch capelet. My big criteria, for choosing projects is the cost of the pattern. Trust me, I love to support a fellow crafter but often there are many great free patterns to choose from.

This capelet pattern can be found on the Lion Brand Website by clicking here. The yarn I used was Vanna's Choice, the recommended yarn for the project as well as something that was easily available in my neighborhood Michael's store. The pattern was easy, instructions clear and I was able to get it done, start to finish in 5 days! What took me longer was finding the correct clasp for it and then it took me 3 more months to sew it on. Terrible I know.
Here are the pictures of me modelling it. I wish I had made it a tad bit smaller as I feel that it is quite loose especially down the front. Although I wonder if it just seems so because I am not used to wearing  capelet type garment which is pretty open in the front.


Does anyone else have a similar project to share? Or a suggestion for my next project? I'd love to hear from you!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Starting over

It is spring time! Which means it is two years since I first started my blog and then never kept up with it. My baby who quickly became a toddler and now is almost a preschooler has kept me on my toes! While, prioritizing and reprioritizing the mundane, everyday things; "me time" or any time for creativity has fallen to the bottom of the list.

In the meantime however, this frugalista has evolved! I have sneaked in some time to pick up and hone my knitting skills, I have bettered myself as a cook and definitely evolved as a frugalista. I have realized that style extends beyond a wardrobe. It is a part of everything we do. In this self search I have found a number of lovely blogs that inspire and motivate me everyday.

I would love to pick up where I left off and evolve frugalistastyle into a blog that explores all the things that interest, inspire and intrigue me. Because after all, only change is constant.

Oh, and I have also found a fresh, new look! Thanks to www.thecutestblogontheblock.com that has some fun and chic blog backgrounds.
And last but not the least, this is my first entry as a newbie on Debbiedoo's newbie link party!