Finn Hat Pattern

Hello Ladies and Gents.
We are switching things up this week. Today I will be giving you a crafting blog and tomorrow with be your lit related blog. I am finishing up a short horror piece that I would like to share with you for Halloween.

This is a super cute, last minute idea for a costume for anyone. I made this one for a coworker's baby daughter. I used the Adventuretime Finn Hat Pattern found Here.

To get the correct size for the pattern I printed out the picture, and used the diameter of the person's head I was trying to make the pattern for, divided that by 2, and then blew up the pattern so the side pieces were that length.

I used fleece from Joann Fabrics, and white quilting thread with with a quilting needle since the fleece was thick and I knew in some spots would be four layers thick. I picked up a big snap, since I knew it would be on a baby and her mom would appreciate not having to fiddle with small buttons, or the like.

I cut out doubles of all the pieces (4 of the side pieces.) Then I pinned them together to create the 5 main pieces of the hat. (Sides, top, ears). Once those were sewn inside out and turned around and finished stitching, I pinned the 3 big pieces together and sewed those inside out. Then I added the ears. Then went the snap on the bottom, to snap the two sides together.
Voila!

A special thanks to the Jaramillo family for this excellent photo of "Finn" in her hat.

Low Carb Scotch Eggs

Also known as the best quick breakfast ever. It's really easy to do.
Ingredients
5-6 Hardboiled Eggs (Go here for a fool proof egg timer for your hardboiled egg. Mike always come out just right, though you do have to look at the colors from time to time.
1 package of Jimmy Dean's sausage, we liked the hot kind (Thawed if it was frozen)
1/4 c parmesan cheese
Thyme, salt and pepper
Optional: Worcester sauce (I put it all over my egg when it was done because it's one of my go to condiments.
Glass casserole dish

Set the oven to 375
While the oven is warming peel your eggs (if you haven't).
Crack open your Jimmy Dean sausage, take out a handful of sausage goop and flatten it in your palms, until you have a circle about 4 inches wide, 1/3 inch thick. Wrap this around the egg, rolling it around in your hand like you would dough, until it covers the entire surface.
Repeat with the rest of the eggs.
Shake thyme, salt and pepper and parmesan cheese over your eggs, rolling them around in the excess to cover them.
Pop them all in your dish (foil lined if you want to keep cleanup simple) and toss into your warmed oven.
Depending on the size of you eggs they will be done anywhere between 30-35 minutes. (If you poke them they shouldn't be red in the middle anymore.)
Pair it with whatever other items you want, but 1 of these was enough for each of us for breakfast.
Bon apetit!

Halloween Happenings

It's getting close to Halloween again! My favorite holiday! (Though this year I am more psyched for the other two ones left, on account of getting to see family this year.) But I am interested in sharing with you guys some neat events going on.

Tomorrow night (Friday. Oct. 26th) Bootlegger's Brewery in Fullerton will be hosting their third Halloween party. Bootlegger's Brewery Website They have really great beer, so don't forget to come by and enjoy a pint and wear your costume!

On Saturday Long Beach will be hosting Long Beach Zombie Walk for those of you not yet bored with Zombies. (I do like Shoreline village, so it might be worth checking out.

The Porticos Theater in Pasadena is doing one of my favorite plays Sweeney Todd If you have never seen it, or have only seen the Johnny Depp version, do yourself a favor and check it out. Goldstar has some tickets left for the Friday and Saturday performances.

See you at the aftermath! Peace!

Random

Long day today. Not much to share. Been enjoying the Mercedes Lackey book from the Humble Bundle I got recently. I have to download the rest before I forget.

Dinner tonight was a modified Octoberfest. Beer brats in mustard, red cabbage and apple in balsamic and coconut brown sugar, mushrooms cooked in garlic and butter (Or in my case garlic, and garlic butter!) Made up for the kind of sad pork chops, kale and cauliflower I made last night. (Though the cauliflower was roasted and not half bad.)

I am finding myself constantly frustrated since moving close to an hour from work. It's nearly impossible to feel I fit in everything I need to fit into a day. And I don't even have kids! I need to find a good life hack that will give me more time. For example:

Today I woke up at 6:55, was in the car at 7:05, drove an hour, worked 8 1/2, grocery shopped, drove an hour, did yoga, made dinner, ate dinner, now it's already 10 pm and I still need a shower. No time for reading, crafting, or getting more than 7 hours of sleep.
Help!

Egyptian Celebration

The Egyptian Anniversary Event was amazing. The food was great, the orchestra was fabulous, the dancing fun, even with my graceless feet. We taught the guy running the roulette table how to play roulette! He was giving us some big payments, we didn't tell him it was too much, though! (Only fake money anyway.)

The drinks were quite strong, a little too sweet for my tastes, but luckily they had really good gin and tonics to the rescue.

Here are some photos of the outfit I put together. I forgot the earrings but you couldn't see my ears anyway! Josh looked fabulous in his tux. We even got to make little movie flip books.

Story, Update, Thoughts

It's been a crazy week. Not the most spectacular one, but a learning experience. I am digging my low carb diet, but I am not a fan of cat litter in my toothbrush. (Kitty revenge for Josh leaving for a week, along with some nasty surprises.)

That's taken a lot of my attention. I have also been digging on Rings of Orbis The Neato RPG based on a book series I downloaded on my kindle a year ago and haven't had a chance to read. (Guess what I just started reading?) I admit I tried it because Nathan Fillion endorsed it and I do value Whedonite opinions on nerd things.

Tomorrow is the Egyptian Ball. Got almost all my costume pieces ready. Need a few more items. Like a clutch.

I do want to provide you with another quick recipe as an apology. Josh brought me back garlic form Gilroy (Yay!) So I of course immediately roasted a good chunk of it using This Site!. Mine needed an extra 1/2 hour btw, it all depends on the type of garlic.

Then when I whipped up some spaghetti squash I also tossed together some low carb meatballs! I used 1 head of the roasted garlic, 1 lb. ground angus, 1/2 c parmesan (from the plastic can), 2 eggs, 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning. Squish it all together, roll into balls, bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Ridiculously good, you won't miss the breadcrumbs and the roasted garlic makes them indescribably good. I will definitely make a double batch next time and freeze some.

Bon Apetit!

Low Carb Stuffed Peppers

Honey pie came home Monday so I was too busy to update. I do have a belated recipe for you I made last night. I don't have a pic unfortunately.

I have started a ketogenic diet to help with my fatty liver issue so most of my recipes from now on will focus on low carb, low sugar alternatives as I delve into this realm. Do there is trial and error to follow, but hopefully success in the long run.

Ingredients (Serves 2)
Pack of hot italian sausage
2 Decent sized peppers, sweet or green
1 medium sized onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 c shredded asiago
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. While doing that preheat a non stick skillet on the stove.
Once the skillet is preheated I added the olive oil, peeped the skin form the sausage, added that, added the garlic and onions.
I let that cook till the sausage was brown and the onions translucent, then added in the tomatoes and spices, letting it simmer for 5 minutes.
Arrange the peppers in a loaf pan (or a bigger pan if doubling) then add the filling. Cover with the asiago.
Seal it with foil and cook for about 30 minutes, until the peppers look nice and soft.
Take off the foil and let the cheese brown for about 5 minutes.
LEt sit about 5 minutes to cool, then serve.