Creativa Craft Show

  • March 19, 2009 3:18 PM

Last weekend, I went to the Creativa Craft Show at the Brussels Expo Center with Sarah and Ali.  This is them – Sarah is posing with the superhero and Ali is marveling over the Liberty fabrics. :)

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We were really hoping for some quilting exhibits, and maybe even some fabric sales, but there were only a couple quilting booths.  Quilting just doesn’t seem to be too popular here – instead it was mostly scrap-booking and decoupage.  However, this was my favorite quilt that I saw – it’s just a simple design made with men’s dress pants.

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This was one of my favorite exhibits showing how silk is made. I really didn’t understand much because it wasn’t in English, but it was still neat to see the silkworms and the tiny threads.

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My other favorite exhibit was this one showing how lace is made. Handmade lace is supposedly one of Belgium’s specialties.  Lace makers weave the intricate patterns by hand with a ton of little bobbins.

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Afterward, we checked out the other halls at the Expo with model-making hobbies (trains, cars, games) and pop Asian culture (DDR, anime, and manga) – not really our thing, but still fun to look around.  So, the Open European Quilt Championships are coming the The Netherlands in May – anyone want to go?

You can see more photos on Flickr and on Sarah’s site.

Sew Connected 3 – March #2

  • March 18, 2009 11:07 AM

We have two quilts going for the month of March in SewConnected 3.  This block is for Rocklilly in Australia.  I love the fabrics she chose, and I was excited that I got to work with the mermaid fabric.  I actually recieve the fabric for me and Sarah since we live so close, but one of our packages didn’t have mermaids.  Luckily, Sarah seemed cool with me taking the package with it. 

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Rocklilly sent us some photos to use as inspiration – squares within squares but not precise and exact lines.  She also said we could add in our own fabric.  I added in the darker turquoise flowers.  The black and red fabrics were interesting – they had a texture like seersucker fabric, but they were easy to work with.  

My biggest challenge with this block is that I peeked at the blocks others created before doing mine, and I think I was influenced by them.  I loved another one that outlined some of the fabrics in blue, so I did that too.  Hopefully it’s not too similar.  You can check out the other blocks at the SC3 link above.

Hallway and Bedroom

  • March 16, 2009 11:05 PM

We’re finally all moved into our little apartment.

This is the entry hall as seen from the kitchen.  The collage over the chair is photos from our first year together.  The framed prints are some of our nature photos – though we really need to switch out some for some of our newer favorites.

We chose the smaller of the two bedrooms for our bedroom.  It’s a tight squeeze, but the big bedroom went to our computers and crafts – where we spend most of our time, awake at least.  This is looking down the hall from the computer/craft room toward our bedroom.  The other door is the bathroom with the shower/tub.

Things need to be kept cleaner here.  I’m learning how easily the dust collects on the hardwood and tile floors.  And I now make the bed everyday – I’ve never done that before in my life.   The wardrobe at the end of our bed is a bit bulky, but it’s not even half the size of our old walk-in closets.

This is the view from our bedroom.  I watch the birds in the trees – mostly magpies and doves – but we’ve seen a few others too.  And I love hearing the church bells from a couple streets over ring every morning at 8AM as the sun rises.  They also ring at noon and 7PM. 

Quite a change from our old house and our old bedroom…

Scavenger Hunt (photo-heavy post)

  • March 15, 2009 12:36 AM

NicoleB (in Hungary) is hosting a photo scavenger hunt contest on her blog. Participants from 9 countires had a couple weeks to tour their neighborhoods and capture photos of 25 items that tell a little bit about the areas they live in.  I was really inspired by the list to be able to show more about the new place I’m living. You can see other participants and even vote for your favorite at Nicole’s website. I’m sorry for cramming these all into one post, but here goes…this is Brussels, Belgium.

1. Local Currency

Currency

Euro Coins

2. Local Flag

Flag

Red, Yellow, and Black

3. Local Food

Food

Loaf of Bread

 

4. Something Rusty

Something Rusty

Fence Down the Street

 

5. Local Wildlife

Wildlife

Great Blue Heron

6.  Local Nature

Nature

Blooming Tree

7. Local Stamp

Stamp

Stamp for Postcard to the US

8. A Part of My Neighborhood

In My Neighborhood

Building with Golden Eagle on Top

9. Local Houses

Typical Home

Apartments Down the Street

10. Local People

Local Persons

Kids Waiting for the Train

11. Local Weather

Weather

Gorgeous Spring Day at the Park

12. Local Transportation

Transportation

The 25 Tram

13. Local Clothing

Local Clothing

Trendy Fashions at Cassis Store

14. Night Sky

Night Sky

Night View from My Front Balcony

15. Sunrise

Sunrise

Sunrise from My Bedroom Window

16. Local Non-food Product

Non-food Product

Lace Curtains

17. Something Furry

Something Furry

Woman Walking a Dog

18. Something Feathery

Something Feathery

Swan at the Lake

19. Sign of the Season

Sign of the Season

Soon-to-be Flowers

20. Part of Me

Part of Me

My Hand on the Keyboard

21. My Hobbies

My Hobbies

My Corner - Birding Scope, Travel Books, Computer, and Sewing Machine

22. Local Shop

Nearby Store

Wine and Cigar Shop

23. Local Restaurant

Restaurant

Quick Burger - Belgian-style Fast Food

24. Street Sign

Street Sign

Sign in French and Dutch

25. Mailbox

Mailbox

Mailbox to Mail Letters

Olive Pesto Pasta

  • March 12, 2009 2:15 PM

Olive Pesto Spaghetti

I know this doesn’t look that appetizing, but trust me, it was really good. It’s the leftover Olive Pesto Pasta that I reheated for lunch today. I made it for dinner last night, and it was delish.

I think the original recipe was from Real Simple (I cut it out a long time ago, so I’m not certain). But, it was really easy – I don’t think it took even 30 minutes to prepare.  I will definitely try it again, so I thought I’d share (my version of) the recipe. Sorry, I don’t have amounts – I just worked with what looked good.

  1. Boil the spaghetti al dente.
  2. Remove pits from green and black olives. (I used the second method here to do this.)
  3. Toss olives in food processor with garlic, parsley, basil, pine nuts, and olive oil.
  4. Process the pesto.
  5. Breifly heat pesto on stove.
  6. Add drained spaghetti, and a little of the spaghetti water to pesto.
  7. Continue cooking until water is gone.
  8. Sprinkle with feta cheese.
  9. Eat and enjoy.

P.S.  Ahh, I found the actual recipe online. – here you go. The main differences are to skip the nuts and feta. Use only green olives in the pesto and sprinkle sliced black olives on top. The final dish will be more green than black like mine.  Enjoy!

P.P.S.  Anyone have any good recommendations on cooking blogs?  I’m looking for some that have normal, everyday recipes with nice photos – not fancy gourmet.  I’m just a beginner cook. :)