Guess who's back.. Back again lol

It's been a looong and crazy 6 months, but my personal life has settled down enough for me to be able to focus again on one of my true loves - knitting :)


I'm back in my lil workshop (really, I actually have one - you should see all the yarn in my garage!) and knitting away like a happy little.. what knits? Hmm... Happy little spider maybe? They weave technically, but I digress (I just got off of a 10 hour shift at work, and I'm known to ramble on the best of days) 


Anywaayy...




I've gone in  bit of a different direction this summer; Less costly, in stock items - I'm on a Gypsy Scarf kick right now - with the option for my custom pieces too. Here's a Gypsy scarf style available for purchase in stock:  

BOGO SALE Natural Hair Accessories Headband: Gypsy Scarf - Delicate Fringed Hair Band & Neck Scarf (White)

And another:

BOGO SALE Natural Hair Accessories: Gypsy Scarf for Hair or Neck (Green Blue Gold)

There's more stuff too, of course. My main concern of course is finding cute ways to wear my hair with out having to do too much styling (who has the time???) 

I love to coordinate my outfits with pops of color and texture, and of course, I KNOW I'm not the only one out here who feels that way. The main issue being of course, that it's hard to find things that are unique enough for me to want to wear them. I HATE doing just the "same ol' thing", U know?

If you feel like I do, and I'm sure plenty of you do, stop by the shop, see if anything catches your eye, and if not, just drop me a line. A custom order is always more fun anyway... ;~)

K, gotta go beddy bye now see ya'll next time

Healthy Living During The Holidays - Turkey & Cabbage soup recipe

So like everyone nowadays, I do what I can to stay fit and trim... I do a little exercise. Well, I'll be honest here, my exercise usually consists of walking my son to and from the bus stop 3x a week, but still - that's 1/2 a mile each way!! So if you add it all up - that's 2 miles a day, 6 miles of walking a week! I'm just saying. I try to eat right. The only thing is, I have this SEROUS sweet tooth. And the fact that my beautiful lady love decided to buy THREE sweet potato pies for thanksgiving did not help. Granted, I'm not the only one who lives here, we have 2 kids at home still. BUT - my work schedule allows me to have 3 days off each week. Alone. Just me and those sweet creamy pies.... *sigh*


SO - I put a few pounds on.. lol Not anything ridiculous, but enough for me to put my foot down (at myself) and say "LOOK HERE DAMMIT!" that's enough!" I got my attention pretty quickly once I started cussin *wide eyed* 


So now, no cakes and pies - Klump Fest '11 is officially over. Which is of course a good thing, because I still gotta eat right? I love to eat and in these cozy Winter months, I LOVE to cook! Soo.. using some of my leftover turkey drumsticks and thighs that I froze after Thanksgiving, I am making a DELICIOUS Cabbage and Turkey soup (my own recipe) in my crockpot right now!! Yummy!

TURKEY AND CABBAGE SOUP


1 crockpot




2 Roasted Turkey Drumsticks
1/2 pack of Smoked Turkey Bacon, cooked
1 head of cabbage (quartered)
3 large carrots (sliced)
1/4 cup Sofrito (SEE THIS RECIPE)
1 Red onion (chopped)
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups water




Add all ingredients into your crock pot, set for 8 hours, and enjoy!!!




To enhance the natural flavors, about 20 minutes prior to serving, add:


1 tbsp natural sugar or Stevia
Sea Salt (To taste)
Crushed Red Pepper (To taste)




This makes a great leftover too - just freeze the rest, and pull out on a cold evening!!

A Puerto Rican Turkey Recipe from Me To YOU!

Hi Everyone! Happy Holidays!! How are you all doing? It's been a minute, right? *smile*


I hope everyone of you and all of your loved ones are having a blessed holiday season :) I LOVE the holidays - this is truly the BEST time of year. How have you all been preparing for it? This is what I've been doing:


1. Usually, we buy a fried turkey for Thanksgiving, but unfortunately (or fortunately, as it turns out), that fell through at the last minute this year. So I finally (after six years of us being together) got the chance to prove my (substantial) skills with the big bird! My dad gave me this recipe YEARS ago when I was a teenager, and visiting him at his place in the Bronx. It was so flavorful and JUICY! If you want to jazz up your next turkey, OR try it out first on a roast chicken, here's the recipe:

PUERTO RICAN STUFFED TURKEY


1 turkey (we bought a free range bird from Whole Foods for like $20)
Sea Salt (to soak and clean your bird beforehand - sea salt bring out all the impurities really well)


A Food Processor or blender
Sandwich sized freezer bags
2 Turkey sized oven bags
1 large bowl


1 1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup water
4 large green Bell Peppers (chopped in 1 inch sections)
3 large Red Onions (chopped in 1 inch sections)
3 Bunches of Cilantro, chopped
1 lemon, halved and seeds removed
3 large tablespoons of minced garlic
Season Salt (I prefer Lawry's)


Okay, we're going to make 2 things here, the 1st is a marinade/sauce that your bird will soak in, and the other is the vegetable stuffing that will also sit in the bird overnight.


the sauce is called SOFRITO - it's a Puerto Rican sauce that is used in EVERYTHING we cook, from beans to soups to well... Turkey! lol


My Sofrito Recipe


In your food processor, blend 1/2 cup Olive oil, 2 bunches of Cilantro, 3 green bell peppers, 2 red onions, & 2 tablespoons of the minced garlic. Add about 1/2 cup of the water to loosen the consistency if it gets too thick(if you need to, add more). Once it is well blended, squeeze the juice from 1 of the lemon halves into the mixture and blend again (this will preserve the pretty, bright green color, kinda like the color of this text). Voila! You have a lot of sofrito there, so set aside 2 cups of the sofrito, and then portion it off into servings in those sandwich bags for freezing! (try about 1/2 cup per bag)




Vegetable Stuffing


In a large bowl, mix the remaining peppers, onions, garlic & cilantro with 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1 cup of sofrito, squeeze the juice from the other lemon half over it, and mix again, sprinkle with some sea salt to taste. Set aside.


THE BIRD


 Okay, here's the best part! Place your bird inside one of the oven bags, Take the other cup of Sofrito that you had set aside, and Rub that bird down! This is going to marinate overnight, so definitely apply the sauce liberally! Get under the skin, inside, everywhere! Then get your bowl of vegetable stuffing, and pack it tightly inside your turkey. These veggies are going to marinate right inside of your turkey, adding to the flavor and juiciness (MAN I'm Getting hungry here!!), so make sure you stuff as much as you can!


Now pour a little more of the olive oil, about 1/4 cup over the turkey, rub it down with the marinade some moe, sprinkle it with some Lawry's (my preference), close up the bag and tie the end closed. Let it sit in the fridge overnight. 


The next day, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, get out the unused oven bag, and follow the directions on the box - it will tell you how long to cook your bird based on its size! ENJOY!!!!

I LOVE sharing recipes, so let me know how it turns out when you try it!

Customer Pics!

Hi Everyone! How are you all doing? Today is my 2nd out of 3 days off (I work four 10 hour days and have 3 off), and am in the midst of many mini projects... I think I'm a little A.D.D.ish today, because I can't seem to commit to any one thing... do you ever get those days where you FEEL really busy as you're mentally running through the list of all the things you have to do, but in actuality, you really aren't DOING any of them?? That's me today. For example:

• I am in the "PROCESS" (in theory) of moving. Cleaning, sorting, etc. What I've actually accomplished today: I bought a new Dyson vacuum on QVC (5 easy pays!!) Got some cleaning done (Who else HATES bathrooms??), and am going to tackle laundry tomorrow
• In order to develop my line of in stock, ready to ship Head Wraps, I need SPEED (The average Wrap takes about 3 days of serious knitting to make) I bought a knitting loom to make the process go faster... unfortunately, I have to teach myself how to use it first! It's a process... gave myself about 1 hour of practice time today.
• I JUST (like 5 minutes ago) received the materials for my latest Bohemian Head Wrap order , so I need to get started on it - it's gonna be GORGEOUS! But then again... aren't they ALL? ;~D 

Okay, Off to work I go... Oh  by the way, here are some 
Knitti Gritti Bohemian Head Wrap Customer Pics:

And a Customer Video Review ! Can you feel the love??? *grin*

Halloween Party Time!!!

Hi everybody! :)


So I know I've been gone for a minute, but let me tell you, these last couple of weeks have been craazy! First, my laptop died on me with no warning... Well make that ALMOST no warning - the fact that it would shut off if I didn't have it plugged in to the wall may have been a teensy bit of a hint...


Anyhoo, it turned out great, cuz NOW I am the proud owner of a Mac laptop! *yaaay* I'm still adjusting to the Pc to Mac lifestyle change.. but so far I'm lovin my new baby! It needs a name.. any suggestions??


Aside from my technical issues, things are going awesome, my Bohemian Head Wraps are selling like butter soaked, caramel drizzled hotcakes! *grin* With all these custom orders I've been busy designing and creating, I haven't had a chance to make any more In Stock items! More will be coming soon though, I promise :~)


While super busy, I DID manage to take a day off to create something special - just for lil ol' me! I knit myself a pair of GORGEOUS leg warmers to go with the Tinkerbell Halloween costume I'm wearing for our office dress up contest! My interpretation for Tink has more of an edge (naturally! *wink*), with the standard costume, I'm wearing my super sexy thigh high leg warmers, metallic silver pumps, and an olive green fitted military style jacket - Watch Out There Now!! Pics will be coming to share with you all soon! :~)

I'm SO EXCITED!! *Pointer Sisters Style*

I just finished and shipped an order this morning, and I swear, it's ALWAYS such a rush! I can't wait for my client to get her hat and scarf set an FALL IN LOVE! I'm gonna post the pics here so you all can Ooooh and Ahhh along with me!


My Step daughter was sweet enough to model them for me before she had to go to work today - doesn't she look adorable?

CUSTOM LISTING: Reserved for Debbie. Made To Order - 80"l Plush Ribbon-Laced Scarves - Have YOURS Made In Your Favorite Colors.

Yup, that's hand beading on the scarf and hat - the beads are strung on satin ribbon, which is then woven right into the body, so they are super secure!

CUSTOM LISTING: Reserved for Debbie. Made To Order Over-Sized Hat Snuggly Soft Mohair and Wool Hat Customize YOURS Today

STEP AWWAAAAYYY FROM THAT DETERGENT!!

~*~ K.G. QUICK TIPS ~*~

~*~ NATURAL LIVING ADVICE FOR NATURAL DIVAS ~*~

Good Evening, Beautiful Ones!



We are all aware by now of the benefits of using sulfate-


free cleansing methods on our HAIR & SKIN, but what about 


our CLOTHES???



To keep the colors in my Knitti Gritti scarves bright and 


fresh, I use BORAX, an all natural mineral cleansing powder 


(think - baking soda, but stronger). It's really gentle, gets 


your clothes CLEAN & FRESH & best of all, is really 


INEXPEN$IVE - a big box of Borax is under $3.00 - try 


getting a teeny bottle of Woolite for that low a price! 


*smile*

Find out more here: http://www.20muleteamlaundry.com/