Rebecca's Cafe

Rebecca's Cafe
Originally uploaded by marcailgaelyn
Via Flickr:
My boss (one of 'em) who's on vacation just emailed me this pic he took from his cell phone. Awesome! :) Now I just need to figure out WHERE it is and show up saying..."I'm Here!" ;-)

1st Quilt Block with an 1889 Treadle machine

1st Quilt Block with an 1889 Treadle machine
Originally uploaded by marcailgaelyn

No, this is not one of MY creations, but something my Aunt is making for me. Isn't it FANTASTIC? :) She sent me this pic last night to show me the first block of my new reproduction Civil War Quilt that she has in the works for me. And yes, this quilt will make an appearance with me at events. :)

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Via Flickr:
My Aunt Sue has graciously offered to make me a Civil War Reproduction Quilt...on her 1889 Treadle Singer Machine. How Cool is that?!? Of course I shall be reimbursing her for costs, etc. So I finally settled on a Antique Star pattern and a theme of browns & reds (possibly with blue accents :) and the project is finally in "GO mode". YAY! Here's a pic she sent me of the first block (of 124) with her 1889 Treadle machine. Isn't it GREAT!! I'm so excited to see the final Quilt. YAY!!! :)
If you would like to find out more about my Aunt's Embroidery business, Creative Threadwork, you can visit her website here: www.creativethreadwork.com

Counting Down to Maui!

Starting to feel Real! #Maui #HawaiiVacation :)
Originally uploaded by marcailgaelyn

Well, I've kept this Upcoming Hawaii Vacation semi-close to the vest as for a while the planned the Family Vacation was kinda up in the air for a time, but as of Monday (4/4/2010), its Officially On! (Reason for possible Postponement of Trip was due to fact that my sister is pregnant, on modified bed rest, and had to get her Doctor's Ok...which she did on Monday! YAY!! :)

So now its really Real! We're going to Maui! I've never been to Maui before. Oahu, yes (twice in fact - once with my grandparents to celebrate their anniversary - my youngest bro was still a baby/young toddler, so must have been around 1986-1987? - and once with my immediate family around Christmas time a number of years ago. Probably early 2000s.). So, I've enjoyed seeing North Shore (& Sunset Beach), hiking Diamond Head, visiting the Arizona Memorial & Battleship Missouri Memorial (where the Japanese signed surrender papers in WWII), the Pacific Aviation Museum, the Queen Emma Summer Palace (which I *LOVED*), the Dole Plantation Maze, learning to surf in Waikīkī Beach, etc. Can you tell I tend to visit Museums? Hey, I happen to LIKE museums! :)

I also got my first taste of Shaved Ice in Oahu. My folks liked it so much that later on, they got their own Shaved Ice machine (yes, from Hawaii). And those of you that have had one of their Shaved Iced (at a High School Football game or Church event :) now know where they got their machine came from. :)

Hmm...I've obviously digressed from the point. Sorry. :) Back to this UPCOMING vacation...to Maui! Since I've never been to Maui, I have no idea what to expect there or see there (except pretty scenery, which is a given). Hence I picked up AAA's Tour Book & Map (which I like to get whenever I plan a vacation somewhere that I'm not familiar with) as a start.

And NOW is your chance to chime in. Have you been to Maui? Do you have any suggestions to where I should go, what I should see? Comment & Advise away! I welcome your suggestions! :)

Yes, my camera will be coming with me, so expect to see a lot of photos uploaded to Flickr after this trip. :)

Oh, and in case you're wondering who exactly I'm traveling with, I'm going with my folks, my youngest bro, my sister, my bro-in-law (her hubby), and my 16 month old niece. FUN FUN! :) It's going to be a blast playing in the water & sand with my niece Chloe! Looking forward to that! :)

Let the Vacation Countdown Begin!:)
(Flying out on 4/13/2011---early early AM...before the sun has the decency to show its head, most likely. ;-)

Too bad you can't SMELL this rub, cause it smells AMAZING! :)

Too bad you can't SMELL this rub, cause it smells AMAZING! :)
Originally uploaded by marcailgaelyn

Just had to share this. (I know I've not been very good at posting blog updates lately, so here's a food related one at least :).

Via Flickr:
Nothing like early morning food prep! This Spice Rub was made to go on a pork tenderloin (4 lbs) that I am slow-cooking in a crock pot while I'm at work, and will finish in the oven when I get home. :)

Now, let's see if I can remember ALL the stuff I dumped into this rub. (I like to play with spices :).

4(+) Tablespoon Olive Oil
8 fresh Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
2-3 Tablespoons dried Minced Onion (accidentally dumped this in instead of measuring, so I'm totally guessing here ;-)
1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper (+ some extra grinds from my Pepper Mill :)
1 Teaspoon dried Thyme
1 Teaspoon dried Basil
1 Teaspoon dried rubbed Sage
1 Teaspoon dried Rosemary
1 Teaspoon dried Mustard
1(+) Teaspoon dried Parsley
1/4 Teaspoon Paprika

And I was doing so good...until today :)

And I was doing so good...until today :)
Originally uploaded by marcailgaelyn

Its Birthday Cake Time! (One of my bosses bday today, so I HAD to have a slice, right?
Right?!?
:)

YUM.
Chocolate-y Goodness. With Raspberries. So Nice...especially since I've cut down on how much sugar I'm consuming lately, this is definitely a Nice Treat. :)

Colors, colors, ah, so many choices :)

Colors, colors, ah, so many choices :)
Originally uploaded by marcailgaelyn

But which to choose for my 1920s dress? I went to JoAnns 'cause I decided (rightly so) that I couldn't wait any longer to pick fabric for this 1920s dress and Ordering Online was no longer an option. I needed my fabric NOW. So I'll just have to find something at my local JoAnn's mega-store. Here's the 3 colors I finally settled on to pick between. Now realize that the colors appearing on your monitor look WAY different than what they looked like in person (to me) when I was browsing the fabric selection, so here are the colors:
Navy Blue Crepe Back Satin on Right. Teal ("Legion Blue") Crepe Back Satin on Bottom. Pink ("Carmine") Crepe Back Satin on Left.

And just what did I end up picking for my dress you are probably asking? Well...
.
.
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I picked the Teal! :)