Monday, May 15, 2017

A Weekend Wrap-Up and a Few Gluten Free Finds

My weekend started on Friday morning. You see it was the first time in such a very long time that I had no obligations outside the home or for anyone else. I had cleaned the home enough that I could live with myself if I played in my sewing room all day!!!

I worked on a bathing suit coverup. Not that I really needed it for me, but I had this fabric and pattern and really wanted to try it out. I have another darker piece that I think would be great for Lindsay, but I needed a trial run for the pattern. I am glad I did this one, so I could see the things I would need to alter for her. Of course, hers will be much smaller, but I would like to do more of a bell sleeve. The sleeves were so long on this pattern, that I will shorten them to keep the bell. I basically had to cut off the whole sleeve for me. I had already altered the pattern for length as I am so short. I still had to cut off 2 inches, so I think that the alterations I made will be perfect for her. I will do some fringe for her on the sleeves and the hem. I couldn't find any to match this color, but hers will be an easy match.



I basically puttered around all day just doing the things I wanted.

Saturday morning, Jeff and the kids went fishing in the gulf. I DON'T fish in the gulf. Nope, not for me, so I took Mama grocery shopping and to Target. We got her some curtains for her bedroom.

Jeff cooked for me on Saturday evening. I should have taken a picture for y'all. It was simple, but so good. He sautéed some shrimp in ghee, California style garlic salt, and Tony's Chachere's Creole seasoning. (I have written before about this particular creole seasoning. It is so good.) Then he put it over my latest gluten free find noodles. It was delicious. Easy and mmmm good. I will make again and take a picture.

The gluten free noodles is the reason I decided to mention the dish, because I have found a two new gluten free things that are very tasty. I love pasta so much that I would say it is my favorite food. That  has been one of the hardest things about going gluten free, but I found a new brand that have improved them immensely.

Barilla is the brand. Much better than the many others I have tried.

My other tasty find is Krusteaz blueberry muffin mix. I have tried some Krusteaz products and thought them just fair, but the blueberry muffin mix is great. Some things that are baked that are gluten free are good right out of the oven, but not -the next day.  These were delicious all the way to the end. I baked them and put them away and pulled one out a day for a while.



We all went out to eat after church yesterday. I loved being with my family. They were all enjoying themselves and that makes a mama happy. I just sat back and soaked it up. I did get a present even though I told them I wanted nothing. Lindsay picked up two bracelets.



As you can see, they are going to match my summer church preschool area t-shirt.
Jeff took this as we first got to church of Mama and me. The bracelets will go great with my t-shirt.




I sat in my orange chair for a good while yesterday and just relaxed. Nothing else. I did sweep off my back decks later and stitched. I finished up my Freedom piece.



I am going to give myself a couple of days to figure out how I will finish it. Just not sure yet. I like how it turned out as I did a few color changes to make it bit more patriotic. I guess that means it lost some of its colonial colors, but I like it so that is what counts. The word freedom and the stars were supposed to be brown, but I did the blue and I liked it very much.

I had such a great weekend. I had time to do some things I wanted to do, so that was a treat in and of itself.

Off to get busy on my chores,
Sandy

15 comments:

  1. Sandy you are so talented in the sewing department. I love that coverup. And Freedom looks great. I like the change of colors. Those bracelets do go well with your pretty church shirt. I love that color....and no having to decide what to wear to church on Sunday!! Just having your family together is the best Mother's Day Gift...so glad you were treated royally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I plan to make Lindsay a cuter one in a darker blue. I have had practice so hopefully hers will be really good. No doubt about having the kids around.

      Delete
  2. It must be a pain in the neck to eat gluten free, but lately, I've seen more and more options out there. Glad you are making the effort for good health! And a happy mother's day as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eating GF has gotten easier with time. Like you said there are more options now and even some places to go out to eat as well. It has been worth it though.

      Delete
  3. Love the photo of you and your Mother...you are both so beautiful and look a lot alike! Love the bracelets too...just the kind I wear all the time. I have to look for sugar free without the artificial sweeteners so I eat fruit for something sweet most of the time. I could relate to your list in the last post too...the one you wrote back in 2003! Enjoy your week sweet lady!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind comments. I don't many sweets anymore either. They are few and far between...like you I eat fruit.

      Delete
  4. Good Morning, That photo of you and your Mother is lovely! I try to stay away from the foods that raise the blood sugar level. Still expermenting with all sorts of baking flours. I think its all the grains that are hard on me. I love the fact you take time to enjoy the simple things that bring you pleasure. I also think that swimsuit cover is perfect!
    Roxy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Roxy, I found one GF flour that I ordered from Williams Sonoma..of course, all of them are pricey. One of my commenters just posted about French flour. I am learning after a good many years to slow down and smell the roses.

      Delete
  5. What a fun post, Sandy, and what a wonderful weekend you had!! Mine was hectic, very hectic. Just many, many things going on. But God gave us grace. We ended up going out to eat Monday night instead because the weekend was just not conducive to it.

    I like the Ronzoni Gluten Free pasta -- have not tried the Barilla. Not sure I have even seen it in the gluten free. The Ronzoni is a lot less expensive than some of the other gluten free pastas. My go-to site for gluten free recipes is Faithfully Gluten Free. There are many great muffin and coffeecake recipes on her site, as well as loads of other great recipes.

    Your Freedom piece is gorgeous. Have fun deciding how to finish it! Can't wait to see what you come up with. Your sewing project is nifty also. I used to sew a lot, and now I can't imagine how I found the time. It's little, easy sewing projects for me these days, when I can even find time for those.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will check that site. Most GF foods are pricey, but I am seeing more options so maybe the price will go down. It is rare that I have as much free time as I had this weekend, so I took full advantage of it.

      Delete
  6. Sandy, thank you for the gluten-free recommendations. Pasta was my favorite food until last year! Nothing better than a plate of hot buttered spaghetti after a rough day at school. But....not anymore. I will look for the Barilla or Ronzoni. I have two flours I use for baking. Outrageous Baking Co. in Boulder has a very good flour. They have recipes that are good. Shipping is high but it's good. Also, my functional medicine doctor told me about French flour with gluten that is not harmful to the gut because it's not GMO or otherwise ruined. It's available on Amazon. I use it for baking and making white sauce for vegetables.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the flour ideas. That would make total sense about the French flour since they have banned GMO's over there. I will look into it.

      Delete
  7. Love that beautiful photo of you and your mom.
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Amalia. She is 82 and been through a lot: a fall, a death of her husband (my dad died early in my life), moving here to be near me, but she is bouncing back finally.

      Delete
  8. I am glad to read your post and I love the photo of you and your mama. Let's try to cheerisch all precious moments with our mom or dad. You with your mama and I with my papa. I shall also share the Dutch Glutten Free products, if you like that. Lieve groet / warm greetings from here in Holland.

    ReplyDelete

I am so glad you stopped by my little blog. Drop in again anytime.
Sincerely,
Sandy