Some Strides and Front Page

 

So the lovely Jessica of Ivy and Mae kindly alerted me to the fact that I had made the front page and I caught it before they changed it woohoo. But even cooler than that is that there have been some interesting developments with the CPSIA nonsense. Here's the article from Etsy. Basically it seems that the things have been postponed for a year. We really want a full amendment so we don't have to go through all of this next year but this is a good start.

Freezer Tell All

 
(click on the image for a larger view)

One of my friends was once shocked we she saw my freezer for the first time claiming that it looked more like the freezer of a family of four then (at that time) a single person. Well what can I say, I do dream of the day I can have a deep freeze haha. Come on Costco has great prices and it's just silly buying meat in small portions. Plus we don't eat leaf overs so we've got portioned out soup (for my lunchese) and I always throw half or 2/3 of the cookie dough in the freezer, it just makes more sense.

Top left, pre(home)made cookie dough and cheeses (brie, moz, ricotta and feta, and velveta for dip).
Top right, leftover stuff like soup, whipping cream, coconut milk, etc.
Bottom left, mostly meats (chicken, fish, shrimp, beef, pork, sausage you name it)
Bottom right, store bought stuff (packaged potstickers, mini quiches, beans) and of course ice cream everywhere (the musicmaker likes to try any new flavor he sees)
Bottom door, stuff I can grab and eat fast, spaghetti sauce, bagelfulls, meatballs, popsicles, sauces, etc.
Top door, frozen veggies mostly, I chop up onion and celery also and keep what I don't use in the freezer.

CPSIA Blog In

A bunch of us are making a joint attempt to spread the word and get more people to contact their congress people to get this stupid law amended. I've written about this here.

Written by Gretchen aka Chichiboulie
As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react. (and now this is me again). Please send this email to your congress people it's very easy for this second round I'm deleting the text in that's editable and changing the subject line to "Please amend CPSIA to Save Handmade". It automatically finds your congress people. If anyone else knows of petitions for easy form letters please paste them in the comments. It seems like the others I knew of have expired.

Tokens of Love from Etsy

We'll Valentine's day is coming up and I always leave it until things are too late but not this time. Hopefully my digging can spare you the last minute freak out too. We usually do something little like a card or my favorite -a black rubber ducky. So these are the kinds of things that say Valentine's to me. This first one is a cool notebook with a gocco printed cover. My love for notebooks and my hubby's love for vintage feeling art made us both go ooooh when I found this goody by jeffmartin.

If you and your special one were just made for each other maybe this peanut butter and jelly card from the cupcakery would be perfect. Come on, googly eyes, Awesome.

If you haven't already discovered craftpudding you are totally missing out. She's one of the nicest people to work with (got me some raegun goodies from her) and she's got freaking cute designs like this adorable little angel stamp.

How about an picking out (or special ordering) an adorable plini from magicbeanbuyer for him to place in his car or desk to constantly remind him of how much you love him?

RaeGun Finds

Cafe Rio Barbacoa Chipotle Yummy Pork Recipe

 

Whatever your favorite cafeteria line style Mexican joint is you may have been sucked into their delicious slightly sweet slight spicy shredded pork. Well there's no need to spend so much money on fast food and consume those gigantor portions. This is one of my go to dinners because one batch makes TONS of pork which I just throw into the freezer and thaw in parts.

We like em in tacos. The fat girl in me of course loves the fried shells and the music maker does the soft shell thing. But really, it's a nice meal (that can be made into a salad if you prefer) which is super easy after the first time. The meat is so flavorful a little goes a long way.

Sweet Mexican Pork
4 lb pork roast
1 20 oz. coke (don't do diet, this is the personal bottle size)
1 cup sugar
1 (7 oz) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2-1 tsp ground dry mustard
1 tsp garlic minced

Remove the peppers from the can of adobo sauce. Rinse peppers over the blender/food processor, with the coke, to get all yummy the sauce. Add 2 peppers if you want it spicy otherwise throw away the peppers (the sauce itself will still have kick). Rinse the can, over the blender/food processor, with the coke to get all the remaining sauce. Pour the rest of the coke in the blender/food processor. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend (make sure you have enough room, I had to do it in batches, it will bubble). Pour over roast in crock pot. After cooking 7-9 hours on low, remove and shred pork. Return to crock pot to simmer in sauce for one more hour.

A lovely treasury

I just wanted to share this beautiful treasury made by Earmark who makes some really fun stationary. I'm such of fan of the color combo and happy to have been chosen to be a part of the collection. See it up close here. Click and leave a comment to help with the hotness of the list.

Wow, just wow

I am totally overwhelmed by the response to my shop update this past week. My huge list of sales makes me feel like the Black Apple but without the luxury of prints and the regularity of pages and pages of sales daily haha. Anyways I've got a whole lot of sewing to do now. It is totally exciting. I just wanted to say thank you for all your support.

In addition to the guys pictured above I've added the option to convert all of my dresses into a tunic for girls ages 4-11 years old or a dress for girls ages 4-7 years old. Now the big sisters or bigger girls can wear my stuff too. I think this will be fun for family pictures and just for moms who have in the past wanted my stuff but have girls older than 3. Well that's all for now.

Split Pea Soup...finally happy

The shop update continues, if I don't finish getting them all listed today it'll continue through the weekend but there's tons of new stuff and fun new options for larger sizes. In the mean time enjoy some food talk.

I've been looking for a split pea soup recipe that is close to what they serve at Blue Plate diner here in Salt Lake. What I like about this recipe (and the diner soup) is that the peas aren't a blended, dissolved mush. While I've been know to enjoy the smooth kind I like the texture of the the split peas in this soup. Many of them break apart but there's some good texture from the mix of the broken down peas and the whole ones. And of course here's another no knead shot.

1 1/2 C dried split peas -soaked overnight
1/4 lb bacon fried in a big pot and set aside, keep the oil in the pot

1/2 onion diced
1 celery stalk diced
sautee these in the bacon grease, mmm yummy bacon grease
4 C chicken broth
1 potato diced
bay leaf
2/3 C diced ham
add the broth potato, split peas and bay leaf to the pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes or until you get the your desired texture. Season with salt and pepper.

eat it.

First Update of 2009 is Here

So I'll be adding new goodies all day today and Friday. But some exciting things are already up like the new ability to order dresses for bigger girls! Woohoo, I know I've gotten a good number of requests for this. As soon as I wake up I'll take a bunch of pictures and add more of the new stuff. They're hanging all over my living room now and I've got to say I really like them. Well go peek go peek.

A Sneak Peek

I'm finishing up the goodies that will be a part of this week's (15th and 16th) shop update. There are a couple cuties that would be perfect for Valentine's day some that would be really fun for Easter, plenty any day wear and some special new options that I've been thinking about for a while. I think this is the only pair of bloomers I've got a bunch of new dresses and jumpers so check in at the end of the week.

Save Handmade Baby Goods and the American Dream

If you haven't already heard there is an incredibly STUPID law that was passed pretending to protect children from lead. Unfortunately out of what I believe is probably ignorance and laziness on the part of lawmakers the way the law is worded extends so broadly that it will mean most handmade artisans will either be functioning illegally or be forced to close. Luckily there has been such an outcry from the crafting community that lawmakers are making amendments. Two of the etsy teams I'm apart of (etsybaby and etsykids) are working together to try and spread the word and get more petitions out. Some are even offering sales find out participating shops here (note that there are pages if you look on the bottom)

Basically the law says that all products must be tested by a third party for lead, the dumb part is that the components have already been tested. This means hundreds to thousands of dollars per product (even if you use the same components!). And really how on earth am I going to be able to put lead into and outfit just buy sewing it up! Yeah. Plus this pretty much means that no company that is not already HUGE would be able to afford to stay in business, so that means no more unique, handmade, companies, lots of wasted merchandise will go to landfills and so many other awful implications. So much for the American dream right?

We are hoping that even more exemptions will be made. And while there are rumors that the law may not be strictly enforced on crafters, why keep a law that makes people have to chose to technically break it you know? Plus it opens the door for people to decide to pass out fines, etc. down the road, it's just so dumb. And while most of the news reports just mention toys many people worry that the language is broad enough to apply to clothing, bibs, blankets, etc. And even if we find out that it doesn't apply to me please do it for all the people that it will impact

Please take a couple minutes (seriously it's fast)and make your voice know that you want handmade products (where components already undergo testing) to be exempt. Here are a few very quick ways to do it. I swear it's fast and I have yet to receive any spam from any of these places. Thanks so much for considering helping in this effort. Please pass on the word to any one who may take the couple of minutes to help. (even just one helps!)

Just click quickly create a log in (it's just so you can only vote once, I've gotten no spam) and vote.

and here's an petition equally as easy it asks for a donation at the
end but if you close the window it still takes your signature
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html

And these will send a letter to your congress people (just enter your address and it'll find the appropriate people) and this one I've seen no spam either.
http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12274476

Some changes

I was tired of the black (background). I'll probably change the header but I've got to think of what to do (which will probably involve getting more work by Ashley at Isabell's Umbrella first) so we're left with the not quite fitting banner. I'm still keeping the design she did for me this summer to myself because I just can't decide on colors, so it may be a while. Yup I do like the gray a lot better though mmm hmmm.

Not Done with Giving?

If you're still in the mood to give a little something or you want a happy for a friend or maybe a little treat for yourself here are some of my favorite, not to pricey favorites. I often find myself sprawling to get a pen and paper before as I see a delicious recipe dectated on the tube. Keep one of these recipe jotters by smbrines by the couch so that recipes can always be caught.


For the person that needs to hold up that shopping list, picture of you, or the latest piece of art from their favorite little one, these cute magnets are just too fun. Find them at agentmermaid.

Who wouldn't love an adorable little creature to remind them how much you love them. Find lots of cuties at bubbletime.



I love my own pocket mirror and I'm convince most any gal would be happy to receive this cute one by KungFuFowgirl.

raegunfinds

My New Favorite Bread Technique

(just click on the picture to see things closer)

So this is what I made for Christmas and it was one of the best easiest bread so far. This was a potato and roasted garlic bread. The crumb was so big and open. Yum yum. The recipe is from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It is even easier than the No Kneed Bread. Get this you mix up the dough i.e. dump dump stir, stick it in the fridge and can use it after a 40 minute rise for up to 2 weeks.

The way they write the recipes the dough is enough for four 1 lb loaves. I halved the recipe. Oh and get this you can just pull hunks out and make whatever sized roll or loaf you want.

So here is what I did
This is the master recipe... (for two 1 l lb loaves)
1.5 C lukewarm water (I used the water I had boiled the potato in)
2 1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
3 1/4 C all purpose flour
and I added this to make it potato roasted garlic
1/2 roasted garlic
1/2 of a boiled potato mashed
(I throw the other half of each in a ziploc bag and froze it and ended up making more dough later that week)

Mix it all together in a container with a lid (if it's air tight make sure to leave it cracked). And the flavor just gets better with time. I'd recommend waiting until day 3 (it's a pretty wet dough when you first make it), I tried it on day 5 and day 8. When you're ready to used it pull out the amount you want trying to handle it as little as possible. I flour the counter and my hands and use a dough scraper and scoop out a hunch pat pat pat it into a ball, let it rest for a second, then shape it. I've found that it's best to let it rest and not force it. You want to keep as much of the good air bubbles in there. I let the dough rest 40 minutes (according the the recipe) but on Christmas I let it rest closer to 75 minutes (made it shaped it before church) and that made it wonderfully airy. Preheat oven preferably with baking stone at 450 F. And bake it with steam for 25 ish minutes. To know if it's done tap it on the bottom to see if it sounds hallow.

Oh and the authors of the book have all kinds of variations and they've got their own blog where they answer questions really quickly and provide wonder recipes. And there's a great explanation of how to get the shape of this Pain d'Epi.

Eat it.