Chicken Noodle Soup

The winter months always mean colds and other sickness for my family. One of my kids is usually the first to present with the symptoms. And then the cycle of sharing germs with the rest of the family begins. Nothing tastes better during sickness than some good old homemade chicken noodle soup. While I can never really get mine to taste as good as my mom's soup (mama always makes the best soup!), I figured out a recipe that we all like. Even my picky children will eat it!

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large chicken breast

Salt and pepper

Half a small onion diced

1 rib celery chopped

1 large carrot peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

8 cups chicken broth

Fresh poultry herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme) bundled with kitchen twine

8 oz pasta or egg noodles

Salt to taste

Directions

Heat olive oil over medium heat in Dutch oven or large pot. Slice chicken breast in half to make thinner fillets. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Brown in pot until lightly browned on both sides, about 3 minutes each side (adjust time if fillets are thicker or thinner). Remove and set aside.

Add onion, celery, and carrots to oil and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add broth and bundle of herbs. Raise heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until carrots are tender. Add noodles and cook until tender. Add more broth if needed. Remove herb bundle. Add chopped chicken and cook until heated/cooked through. Finish with salt to taste. Wishing you a tasty and healthy year! ~Sarah Liz

A Budding Photographer

My firstborn is now 5 years old. He is the reason I took up knitting and crocheting. He is also the reason I invested in a good camera. And by good camera, I mean one that is better than the tiny digital camera I used for vacation photos in 2006. I use my camera to take product photos, and to take photos of him and his sisters who model my creations. Recently, I have caught him playing with a toy camera. He was pretending to be a photographer. On one of those occasions, I had my camera in my hands so I snapped a few photos of him trying to take a "picture" of me. He is really interested in my camera. On occasion, I even let him press the button on my camera to capture a photo.

I never thought I would enjoy photography so much. Beyond the typical tourist photos on vacations, I did not really feel the call to take photos. Even with the invention of the camera phone, I did not use it very often. Maybe it is when I had children, or maybe it was the development of my product photography. Whatever it was, I have really jumped into photography. From setting up a shot, to editing the final look, I can see my own development even from just a few weeks ago. My photography journey is still in its infancy, and it appears I will have a buddy to join me. 

I would love to hear your favorite photography story! Tell me in the comments!

~Sarah Liz

My Personal Cheerleader

I highly doubt I would be where I am today with my crafting were it not for the praise and encouragement from my husband. We have been married for 8 1/2 years and have 3 children. He makes me laugh, and is such a source of comfort and encouragement. He even lets me use his pretty face to take photos of my menswear. Having said all that, he has only asked me to make him a few things in all my years of knitting and crocheting. Here are some of the things I have made at his request.


-Minion hats for the family-

This was a fun one. It is something of a family tradition now to see any Despicable Me movies as a family in the theaters. He requested that I make minion hats for all of us when the Minions movie came out. Naturally we had to capture the moment for posterity.


-Baby Groot-

We love Guardians of the Galaxy, so after we saw Volume 2 he requested a Baby Groot for his desk at work. Hubby wants a Baby Groot, hubby gets a Baby Groot. Our son wants one now that he saw his daddy get one so there may be more Baby Groots in the near future.


-USC Trojans Hat-

With the previous projects, he was pretty open with the designs, and I didn't have to worry too much about it. Then came the USC hat. He was VERY specific with what he wanted. After lots of research, presenting color options, and reworking the letters to get them just so, this hat is what I produced for him.


Since these are all items that have copyrights, I won't be able to sell any of these items, but it was fun making them for personal use. And it made the hubby happy. And a happy hubby makes the best kind of cheerleader for a Mom Boss / Entrepreneur like me. I wonder what his next request will be...

Much Love,
Sarah Liz

An 8 Year Project

Some projects are nice and small, and can be completed in less than an hour. Some, over the course of a few days. And then there are some that end up taking years before they are done. The story of my 8-year project includes Winnie the Pooh, tears, and orange juice. What a weird combination. Who knew this "little" cross stitch kit my mom bought for me would end up taking the better part of my young adult life to complete?

My affinity for crafting started in middle school when my mom gave me one of my first cross stitch projects. It was a small "Count Your Blessings" bookmark. I was so proud of it, and to this day I still keep it with my books. It is full of mistakes, but I kind of like that. It shows me where I started, and how far I have developed my crafting skills.

I was hungry to do more, so I started making small baby shower gifts for friends. Then, when I was 16, mom bought me a huge Winnie the Pooh cross stitch kit. I started working on it, but life, school, work, a trip to the British Isles, and meeting my future husband shortly thereafter distracted me. I didn't pick it up again until my husband and I decided to start trying for a baby.

I am going to get a little personal here. It took over a year to conceive due to a medical condition that can make getting pregnant difficult. I tried to be positive, and kept working on Winnie the Pooh. Then there was the orange juice incident. I just know fellow fiber artists are cringing. Yes, I spilled orange juice all over Winnie the Pooh. There were tears, lots of tears. I immediately put it in the washing machine, but I could not help the feelings that were manifesting. I was convinced it was a sign that I was not going to be able to have a baby. I know, I was so melodramatic. My sweet husband calmed me down, and once I pulled the project out of the wash with no traces of orange juice left, I started at it again.

2012 started off with quite a bang. I took an at-home pregnancy test on New Year's Day, and I expected it to be negative again for what seemed like the billionth time. But it was positive! I really started working on Winnie the Pooh in earnest now that we were expecting. I finished it a month before my due date, and my friend and knitting mentor Manuella framed it for me.

It was ready for when my son Kenny was born. The Winnie the Pooh cross stitch now hangs in the nursery where his little sisters sleep. As I write this, he is watching The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. His favorite character is Tigger (not so shocking considering his energetic, wild personality), but his favorite thing to say is "Oh bother", just like Pooh. It took 8 years, some tears, and some blood (I really need to stop pricking my fingers) to complete the project. But I am very happy that I stuck it out and finished it.

I still have lots of projects beyond my Etsy shop that I want to do for myself. Maybe the next personal project won't take quite so long to complete. Or maybe life will get in the way again, not that it would be a bad thing if it did. I think that is what is so great about crafting. It doesn't matter how long it has been since you have done anything, you can always pick it back up at any time when you need to. It will be there waiting, ready for you when you need it the most .

~Sarah Liz

The Face Behind the Posts

It is now the month of May. As it is my birthday month, I thought I would share a bit of a personal post with you so you can see that there is indeed a person behind these posts.

A little bit about me:

 I am a nerd. Here are some shocking nerdy confessions: I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. Yes, I am a Trekkie. That upbringing brought about a love for all things nerdy from Star Wars, to Harry Potter, to The Lord of the Rings, I love it all. I have even played Dungeons and Dragons. Eek! I can't believe I just admitted that! Alright, moving on. Before 2015 I worked as an administrative assistant for a franchise of Taco Bell. So every once in a while I get an insane craving for it. Cheesy Gordita Crunches, to be exact. When I'm not having a fast food craving, I love to cook. I learned how to cook from my mom. My favorites are soups. But as often as I try, my soups never turn out as good as my mom's.

A little bit about my family:

I have been married to my awesome, encouraging, and loving husband for eight years now. We have three beautiful children. Our son is the oldest. He is now 4 1/2 years old. He is growing up so much this year. He is such a big help to me with his little sisters. He also loves helping me in the kitchen, and with my chores. Our middle child is a little firecracker. She is now 2 and is the funniest little person I know. Her comedic timing is already fantastic. Her favorite things are books and her baby sister. My favorite thing right now is when she comes up to me and asks for "nuggles". Our youngest is 6 months now. She is a little redhead with the brightest blue eyes you have ever seen. She loves squealing at her big brother and sister and rolling and crawling around.

A little bit about my business:

I was taught the basic knitting stitch in 2010. I expanded on that, and in 2012 I taught myself how to crochet. I am a yarn addict, and just a little bit of a yarn hoarder. That addiction led me to open my Etsy shop in 2013. I have learned so much in the years since opening shop. I still have a lot to learn, and I don't think I will ever stop developing my shop. I look back at where I started and I am amazed at how it has progressed. I look forward to reminiscing again in a few years to see how far my shop has come.

A little note to you:

I am not in this business by myself. I have the most amazing support system around me. That support system includes you wonderful people. You who have ordered products from my shop. You who have read and shared my posts. You who have tried my patterns or recipes. None of my success could be done without your support. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

-Sarah Liz

Breakfast Hash Recipe

Some of my favorite recipes have happened as a result of poor planning. I had a fridge semi-stocked, but not a whole lot of meat to work with. At least, not thawed meat. Most of it was in my freezer, and I had yet again forgotten to take something out to thaw for that evening. So, what did I do? Breakfast for dinner of course! This recipe is great because you only dirty one frying pan! Hooray for fewer dishes to wash!

We begin with bacon. I am going to warn you ahead of time, I start a lot of my recipes with bacon. In the words of my father, "Bacon don't need no reason". I will probably needlepoint those words on a pillow some time in my life. But that is a project for another day. Back to the recipe.

Get those bacon slices crackling in the pan. I had the thick cut bacon on hand so I only used a couple of slices. Besides, it's the bacon grease you want. Once the bacon is cooked up, remove the slices to let them cool. You can chop them up for bacon bits to add at the end.

Add your cubed potatoes to the bacon grease. Add a little salt and pepper, and fry until golden brown. Remove the taters from the pan.

Add a swirl of olive oil (about a tablespoon) to the pan. Add your diced onion and bell pepper and a little salt and pepper to taste. Saute those veggies until they get nice and soft.

Add your sliced green onions and some minced garlic. While your green onions and garlic get cozy with the onions and peppers, time to get those eggs ready.

This is my son's favorite part. Crack those eggs into a bowl. Add some milk and salt and pepper. Get a fork, and scramble them up.

Add the eggs to the veggies and stir while cooking them to a delicious scramble.

When your eggs are ALMOST done, add those taters back in to heat through.

Add some cheese and those bacon bits from earlier, and voila! Breakfast for Dinner!

This is how our dinner turned out. K had to have his airplane be a part of the photo. He got blueberries with his dinner. You can also add your favorite salsa or hot sauce for an extra little kick. The hubby likes sriracha on his hash.

You can switch up the veggies, or add some sausage too! I would love to hear how your Breakfast for Dinner turns out!

Happy Cooking!
-Sarah Liz

*******************************************
Recipe
*******************************************
-Ingredients

2 slices of bacon
1 large potato diced into cubes
Olive Oil
1 bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 eggs
1 Tbsp milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
Shredded Cheese





-Instructions

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon slices. Once they are cooked, remove bacon slices. Add your cubed potatoes to the bacon grease. Add a little salt and pepper, and fry until golden brown. Remove the potatoes from the pan. Add a swirl of olive oil (about a tablespoon) to the pan. Add your diced onion and bell pepper and a little salt and pepper to taste. Saute until they get nice and soft. Add your sliced green onions and minced garlic to the pan.

In medium sized bowl, combine eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Add to veggie mixture in pan. When scramble is almost done cooking, add potatoes to the pan. Cook until potatoes are heated through. Chop up the bacon from earlier, and put it on top of the hash along with some shredded cheese.

Homegrown Models

My children have greatly inspired my product lines. To me, nothing is cuter than seeing babies in one of my creations. Naturally, I engage the services of my children to model my adorable creations. I may be biased, okay definitely biased, but I think that they are just the cutest little models that you ever did see.

My first model was my son. I like to call him the One-Shot-Wonder. He is so photogenic that I often get a great photo on the first click. Just look at those eyes! He is such a sweetheart, and he loves getting his photo taken. When I am taking photos of his sisters, he usually asks to have some taken as well. Who could say no to photographing this happy child? Now that he is a little older he likes to hold my camera (with my hand ready to catch the potentially falling camera) and he likes to be the photographer!

I thought I took a lot of photos of my son. But then I had a daughter. I went overboard. Way, way overboard. She was, and is, more of a challenge to photograph than my son. I often have to shoot using the sports mode because she rarely sits still (read: never ever stops moving). But she is a little charmer, and she knows it. I just love her curious nature, and my favorite way to photograph her is to follow her around the yard with my camera. The photo above of her modeling my Earhart Aviator Hat perfectly captures her fabulous personality.

My youngest is not quite as fond of the camera as my older two. She is simply stunning when I can get a good photo of her, but she has her own ideas of when and where that should be (read: fed, rested, and fresh diaper). I have to work a little harder to get her to smile for me. But when she does, it lights up the whole room.

I adore my little homegrown models. I love capturing their personalities through the lens. I love scrolling through photos on my computer and watching them grow up right before my eyes. Best of all, I love having these memories captured to enjoy forever.

What are some of your favorite things about photography? Do you have your own homegrown models to work with?

Happy Photographing!
-SarahLiz

Angel Ian Hospital Hats

Ian Dominic Schlegel. My little nephew was born January 21st, 2012. He lived for 13 minutes. Yet with such a short life, he changed mine forever.

For some time, I have wanted to do something in honor of Ian. I think that this, his 4th birthday, is an appropriate time. I would like to present to you Angel Ian Hospital Hats. I really loved using this pattern for my daughter's hospital hat. It's super stretchy, and it retains its shape really well, so it fits head sizes from preemie, all the way to 3 months old! It makes a great pattern for donating hats to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Here is how it works: when you purchase a hat for your baby, I will also donate one hat in your name to our local NICU for a baby in need. Or, if you prefer to make a straight donation, there is an option for the same price to donate 2 hats.

Click HERE to purchase or donate an Angel Ian hat.

I know it seems such a small thing. But maybe these parents who have such tiny premature babies could use a hat made especially for their little one. Maybe they need to know that they are not alone. And maybe Ian can touch more lives than he already has. If 13 minutes of life can touch so many people, if 780 seconds can have such a profound impact on hundreds of lives and even the lives of people we don't even know, shouldn't we be able to do so much more with the years we have? It seems so small, making these tiny hats to donate. But maybe, just maybe, the parents of a tiny baby who is struggling to live will see this little token of love and support, and maybe it will bring them some comfort during their hard times. And maybe Ian will live so much longer in our hearts, in your hearts, and in the hearts of these parents who receive these little tokens of love in memory of Ian.

If you want to read more about his journey, you can visit my sister-in-law's blog posts about Ian here, here, here, and here.

Much love to you all,
~Sarah Liz

Cooking - A Lifelong Adventure

My mom is a huge inspiration for me. When I got married in 2009, I already knew how to cook. I don't mean pull out a recipe and make it. I mean, look in the refrigerator and pull something out and cook it. How did I learn how to cook? My mom.

Growing up, I remember her just going into the kitchen and cooking. For baking or other complicated meals, she would use a recipe. For most meals, however, she would just go in and cook. Since I was home schooled, I learned by watching. I didn't realize it then, but she was teaching me so much.

My dear husband is not much of a cook. He's getting better though, and his breakfasts are pretty fantastic. He still asks some questions when helping me out in the kitchen that have me giggling to myself. Then I realized that for someone who NEVER cooked at home as a child, this is all a huge mystery to them. He has 5 younger sisters, so the kitchen was a war-zone. He never ventured in there unless absolutely necessary. As a result, techniques that I consider basic are completely new to him.

Our son K is almost 3 now, and I already have him helping me in the kitchen. His favorite job is scrambling eggs. A chef friend suggested french toast next. K loves to stand on the stool next to me and cook. He will stir just about anything in those scrambled eggs if I don't watch him closely enough. I sometimes struggle to find the time to really engage him with helping in the kitchen (especially now that he has a little sister), but I am working to make this time together cooking more regular. Maybe K will grow up with a better working knowledge of the kitchen than my husband. At least, I hope that when he gets married, he can navigate the kitchen enough to make himself a meal and avoid relying on fast food and canned soups.

Since a lot of what I do in the kitchen doesn't use a recipe, I thought I should start writing it down and sharing it. I hope to share some of my favorite recipes with you soon.

Thanks for joining me on this long, often-times messy adventure.

~Sarah Liz

Close to the Heart

My project this past week has been very close to my heart. On Sunday we celebrated my husband's Grammy's birthday. I have been blessed with awesome in-laws so I love his family like I do my own. 3 years ago we were celebrating Grammy's birthday, and little did we know that it would be the last time we would see Great Grandma Nan (Grammy's mother). She passed away shortly after that.

(Hubby with Nan --- Photo Credit: Catherine Mijs)

Nan was a knitter and crocheter, and I was given her yarn. This year I wanted to do something special for Grammy so I pulled out her cotton yarn and made some dishcloths.

I used the patterns below for the knitted dishcloths, but wanted to crochet one of them. I didn't have a lot of yarn left, so I made up my own. So I wrote it down and wanted to share it with you.

Hearts Knitted Dishcloth

Cookie Jar Knitted Dishcloth

My Pattern - Striped Crochet Dishcloth

Some projects I do for my business, some for family or friends, some just to relax. But sometimes, a project hits really close to the heart. These dishcloths were made with double the love. The yarn belonged to Nan, and somehow, that made this project so much more a labor of love.

~Sarah Liz

Learning to Crochet - One of 2 New Obsessions

    This is the story of how I went stir crazy. It was September 2012. I had just gone on Maternity Leave from my full-time office job. I was in full-on nesting mode. The nursery was ready, tiny baby clothes were folded, my freezer was stocked with meals. I was ready. And I still had 2 weeks to go until my due date!

   Enter the crochet hook. I already knew how to knit (you can see the post of how that started here: Knitting - So Much More Than a Hobby). But I had already knitted my baby boy quite a few baby hats. I needed to do something. So I went to the craft store, bought a set of crochet hooks and crochet book (this one here: A to Z of Crochet), and jumped right in.

   It's a good thing I started this new craft obsession, because my due date came and went with ZERO indication from my son that he was ready to meet us. I decided to make a blanket I saw my friend making at our weekly knitting/crocheting nights. I didn't finish it before having to go to the hospital to be induced, so I actually took it with me and worked on it while in early labor. I finished it shortly after he was born.

(In the hospital. --- Photo Credit: Cheryl Schlegel)

(Just a few days old. --- Photo Credit: Cheryl Schlegel)

   Thus was born my 2 new obsessions. My son and crochet. 

   My knitting background helped immensely in learning to crochet, and I often combine the 2 in my products.

(You can buy these headbands here: Off White Headband, Lavender Baby Headband)

   My crochet journey has taken off. There is no going back. I look forward to continuing to develop and create, and share my journey and creations with you.

~Sarah Liz