HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG DADDY!!!

for your late evening enjoyment... ruggy's opening night cocktail:

1 oz gin

1 oz carpano antica vermouth

stir over ice

add a lemon peel, twisted over glass.

drink repeatedly.

no man left behind

yep, that would be me. for many and varied reasons. let me count the ways:

1. i did not pick a winner for my last toolin' around series yet.

2. i therefore did not mail out any of the previously won packages before we headed out of town for a long weekend.

3. indeed, i was in the air when the glorious joanne of stitch and witter interviewed me for her wonderful handmade style series. LOVE this series!!! i was crazy honored to be asked, had a blast doing it, and waited for the reveal like it was christmas.  mais, did i set up a timely thank-you-and-linky-dink post? non. have i responded to joanne's blush inducing introduction, to any of the awesome comments left there, to any of the comments left here for that matter? non. have i instead been silently and happily lurking the sewing web in the early morning hours before all other human beings arise? oui oui. actually that's like four reasons i'm a loser in this paragraph.

4. finally, and most horrifically, the glass of wine pictured above is mine. it was abandoned at our very late bedtime, accusatory "good morning" note left for me by Hollow Leg Dad (husband of Hot Mama). but in that, i actually win (read: kept the ability to wake up early, lurk your blogs, and hold my own with The Child(ren).

i'll be back in the mix soon, but for now if you'd like to know a little more about the insides of my brain, hop on over to stitch and witter! and have a glorious weekend... spring has well and truly arrived where we are, and today i plan on drinking EVERYTHING.

bourbon baking bling

hello all.  i'm about to hop on a plane for the holidays, after spending several days tromping around the city, trying to buy thoughtful gifts and be nice to everyone i see.  at the moment it's feeling right to be NICE. so i'd like to be nice to you and share a recipe i first posted about at sarah's sparkly joint, rhinestones and telephones. i hope you enjoy it, and if you do cook it up, share it with someone you love!   

did you know i bake?  or, much to ruggy's dismay, i used to bake before sewing took over in the extra curricular activities department.  i made key lime pies with eight inch high meringues, flourless chocolate tortes with glass ganaches, triple layer guinness cakes that could knock a horse over.  now i've got one standby that meets three important requirements:

1. it can be made quickly.
2. it makes the house smell delicious.
3. it has alcohol.

i adapted this recipe from emeril's chocolate bread pudding, and the ingredients (down to the brand name) are important for its success.  don't sleep on the thai kitchen full fat coconut milk!   i will allow room for alcoholic improvisation, as the inclusion of alchohol on hand is more important than the exclusion of alcohol.  you're welcome.

the brand names are also important if you are, like moi, apprehensive of the hormone wrecker that is soy.  me no likey the soy. and chocolate, bread, even eggs have gone the path of Soy World Domination in the form of lecithin and stabilizers and fillers... i tell you what, i downright loathe that crap.  long and tested story short, bumpy hormones make bumpy holidays. so the ingredients below have been checked and approved, but you can bet your ass i read that label every time i buy even a trusted brand.

that is your public service announcement for the day.

1 tsp unsalted butter (president)
4 large eggs (pete & gerry's heirloom bleu are wonderful)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (sunspire)
1/2 cup bourbon (knob creek.  lightweights can use grand marnier.)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (thai kitchen)
8 slices organic white bread (the supremely healthy kind that looks like it would be cardboard in your mouth. trust me.)

so, you've got your nasty looking organic hippy crunchy white bread. take eight slices out and leave them on the counter while you do the rest of the prepping.  that ever-so-wholesome perservative free bread will be stale in a matter of minutes!  huzzah for the hippies!  if your bread is nice and fluffy and edible right out of the package, you lose, and you must leave it out to sit on the counter for a couple hours to a whole day.  EEK.

next, melt ONE cup of the chocolate chips with 1/2 cup of the coconut milk over low heat, stirring constantly, and set aside to cool while you measure out the next ingredients.  listen you, don't go telling me that'll take too long. step away from the microwave, yo, it takes all of sixty seconds to melt this on the stove.  I SAID BACK OFF.

whisk together your eggs, sugar, spices, vanilla, and bourbon in a large bowl.  try to mimic the excellent wrist work of sarah jessica parker in The Family Stone (a most wonderful holiday movie, we watch it every year, sometimes twice).  pretend for a moment that you are SJP, wearing a foofy tutu and skyscraper stilettos. it makes the kitchen time go by ever so much more quickly. (having a good slug of that knob creek doesn't hurt either.)  next, add the rest of the coconut milk (1 cup) and the melted chocolate, mixing till it's looking smooth and happy.  then take your magically stale organic bread and cut it into 1/2 inch cubes, removing the crusts. and the bread cubes to the wet mixture and let it sit for 30 minutes.

during this li'l bit of marinating time, i like to clean up the area while sipping on a bit more of that knob creek, contemplating the gorgeous teeny all clad saucepan ruggy got me years ago.  it's my favorite part of a whole set, he had the bottoms etched with the maze at chartres!  ah, ruggy.

if you don't happen to have such a pan to ponder, you can preheat the oven to 350, and get the loaf pan ready, greasing it with that exquisite president butter.  now, and this is very important: at this point you need something to soak up the bourbon you've been sampling. throw a slab of that butter on a piece of that discarded crust. MERDE THEM FRENCH COWS MAKE GOOD BUTTER!

it's time to finish that puddin'.  pour half of your mixture into the buttered loaf pan, and sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of chocolate chips over the top.  eat a few if you must, then pour the rest of the bread mixture over the top. later, when you serve this, you are going to have a molten chocolate center in that baby.  oh yes. yes, my friends.

now bake for one hour.  did i say one hour?  HELLZ YEAH I DID.  YOU HAVE A WHOLE HOUR TO SEW.  GOOD LORD GET CRACKING. THAT EVENING GOWN WILL NOT MAKE ITSELF.

and that's about it.  let it cool for a mo before cutting, or you can premake and reheat for 15 minutes at 300 degrees.  best to keep it in the fridge, if you don't finish it all in one night.  extra points for dressing up in your evening gown while devouring.

double header

i've got two posts for you today, it being a double header sunday and all.  for you sewists: scroll on down and have a look at a new revealing dress and a lovely vintage pattern giveaway.  for you drinkists and dad-ists.....

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!  

to big daddy,  the man who taught me to belly up to the bar and order a black satin (half guinness, half champagne), i give you the stout float, courtesy of bon appetit's happy hour series, found through the lovely lexi.

have one for me tonight, and save one for me in september...

with a cherry on top

virtual technicolor flowers for mommaballoona du kalkatroona...

(that's SOOC, mom.  ask big daddy.)

virtual technicolor pie for mama ruggy...

(please make this again.)

virtual technicolor drinks for EVERYONE!

(image source and sweet cherry gin & tonic drink recipe here.  more libations here, courtesy of my constant stalking of mickle's amazing pins.  you're welcome.)

HAPPY HAPPY DAY, MUTHAS!

OWOP DAY EIGHT, DRINKLOG: STICK A CORK IN ME, I'M DONE!

here's my seventh and final OWOP to make up for that rainy sunday: my favorite version i've made (so far) of pattern runway's gathered sundress.

it's also the most careful thing i've made to date.  it took me three weeks to finish this, and it traveled from NY to LA for the final bias trim touches.

a wee bit of serger porn.  personally, i love a machine overlocked edge.  

but there's handstitching in there for you needle enthusiasts as well. 

oh, let me season that bragging with a dash of MEH.   here's the HORRIBLE rear view, with the disclaimer that the exposed zipper was indeed carefully inserted.  it's pulling now because someone's been eating a lot of barbecue. 

did i say barbeque?  i took these last night amidst the glorious aroma of ruggy's lemon pepper sauce.  that's me sniffitty sniffing.  he makes turkey taste like pork.  BECAUSE HE'S AMAZING.

hello again, gap nude slip, so nice to hardly see you (no trice, i did not make this undergarment.  i don't do undergarments.  don't you dare challenge me.  STEP AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD I SAID NO).  never have i ever had a slip so perfectly match my skin tone.  i decided not to underline the lace, though now i could see doing it in a fuschia silk!  that would be fabulous... 

maybe next time.  there's no way i'm taking this apart.  i changed threads on just about every seam, so there would be no chance of navy bobbin thread on chartruese, or vice versa.  the chocolate zipper got its own treatment as well.  in total, three colors of thread used.

and needles! four types! universal, jersey, topstitching, and microtex.

the pockets, however, they got an underlining treatment.  and a little lengthening for my extra large digits.  big hands, big... feet.

yes, i'm bending the rules of OWOP, as i didn't wear this today.  silk does not go with economy class seating.  but pearls go with everything.

in fact, i'm typing this up in jeans and sweater, mid air.  crazy, baby.  (typing, not publishing.  that must wait for the ground.  like i said, economy class.  maybe if i had worn my pearls i would have been upgraded?)  no matter, i'm in my seat, the movie is "the muppets", and i've got the best row on this jampacked flight (three polite ladies we, one is a knitter, one is a sleeper, and i have a power port!) so it's all good.  

though a complimentary cocktail wouldn't hurt...

outfit:  PR's gathered sundress, as per instructions, pockets lengthened

jewelry: pearls, vintage grandmothers from all sides

shoes: aerosoles

drink:

i'll let you know when i get there, but let's say champagne.  sound just right.

OWOP DAY SEVEN: DRINKLOG, MANHATTAN REDUX

hiya.

though today should mark the completion of OWOP, i missed one day in the beginning, so you'll be getting what i consider to be the piece de resistance tomorrow.  of course, i'll be on a plane, and a plane is no place for a silk sundress in my opinion (oh yes!  c'est silk!) but it will give me something nice to do while i'm at the airport.  you'll excuse me, yes?  'kaythanksyou'retheBEST!

however!  aujourd'hui, it's my only restyle for the week, and it is MOST DEFINITELY polyester.  as it was first worn as a skirt on my day one OWOP, my right brain pondered saving it for tomorrow to close out the circle... how neat and tidy that would be...  but i wore this today in my quest for some black (or at least something in the vicinity of  black), figuring these colors would keep me happy.  so, truth in advertising, and all.

i kind of look like i'm wearing a wig.  people actually ask me that, you know.  "i love your hair."  "oh thank you."  "is it yours?"  then sometimes, as an added bonus, they pull it.  i guess i can't blame them.  quite a mop, there.

le maxi skirt becomes le strapless dress.  this spandexy stuff is quite forgiving, so it doesn't give you muffintop round the bustage when pulled up.  hooray for man made stretch!

here's some more innards porn for you.  i miss my maniacal serger!

good god almighty get that girl some hand cream.  do you beat the hell out of your hands?   how do you sewists with a fascination for polish do it?

outfit:

dress:  pr's gathered sundress, bottom portion only, modified

belt:  vintage ruggian poppa
earrings:  marshall's
necklace:  the MOMA store (thanks sis!)
shoes: aerosoles (but i'd rather the yellow clarks meg has up today.)


drink:
tequila manhattan (a riff on day one's OWOP drink.  tequila is an upper!)
tequila,  2 oz
sweeth vermouth,  1 oz
bitters,  1 dash
lime wedge
in a shaker, stir with ice (do not shake) and strain into glass.  garnish with lime wedge.


ps: thanks again for the thoughts. been too busy to get back to you, but y'all rock.

OWOP DAY SIX: DRINKLOG, JUST POUR ME SOME WINE

(a little updated pre-script, my family thanks you for the warm and fuzzies.  i know i often confuse the issue by writing about stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with the dress i'm showing off.  i wasn't super close with my nana, but i'm hella close with my kalkatroonaans, and the miles of exorbitantly priced separation fueled my typing [see; face in shot below]. but we're all good, and happy we'll be together.  okay bye.)

i woke up one morning finding myself wanting to work with this felty black lace from my last visit to the mood remnant box.  i tried to blame it on the poly dye fumes,  on Tigress' chic eyelet mini, on the alcohol.  but really, i just thought it was cool in all its blackness.

as i was stitching, i mused: this is the kind of rift in the fabric of reality that provokes a funeral. 

so, not that i control the universe or anything, but my maternal grandmother is gone this morning at the age of 94.

we spent a maddening morning on phones and computers, operators telling ruggy the special emergency discounted bereavement fare would be $1200, online searches dangling inexpensive fares just out of my grasp. (they've got these great little dinky smarmy toolbars that'll show you the low fares other people got just the day before YOU started hopelessly searching! because it's helpful!)  i was enraged that we couldn't make some attainable airfare appear, because after all, I CAN DO ANYTHING I SET MY MIND TO.   even when i don't mean to! doesn't the universe know this?  see: rift in fabric, black dress.

(i swear to god i'm wearing a slip under this.  mount crackatoa isn't imploding, so you know i'm not lying.  but it sure as hell looks like i'm nekkid.  perhaps a colored slip next time?)

i joke, but really.  i wanted to be with my family.  not surprising.

which prompts the question: what the hell is wrong with the world?  at one point, an airline told ruggy they could have me there one day after the funeral, and oh, BONUS, after the scant five hours of daylight they'd give me at my destination, i'd need to get back on a plane, sleep in a frigging airport, and catch another plane home.  for only $700, ONE WAY.  and i lost count of how many agents told us to "have a nice day" after they were unable to help us with tickets.  to a FUNERAL.

it's not the operator's fault, but it is not the computer's fault either.  ultimately, some fellow human sets these rules.  the fact that we don't do the right thing for each other, in so many circumstances, is some human being's fault.  

you can see i started down a slippery slope.  so i stopped.  and got dressed up. 

and then felt absolutely stupid stomping around in this getup, considering the situation.  but i needed a break.  it was always my intention to look model-irritated in these, but now i just look... pissed.  

shoot over, rage still high, brother beast called, and his confidence in my persuasive abilities got me to try one more avenue.   eureka, american airlines frequent flyer program came through and released a couple of seats for me.  i told the operator i wanted to jump through the phone and hug her.  she was happy.

i think she had a good day at work.

this is my "look at my pretty hem and don't think about airlines" picture.  but really, i just look inebriated.

you wanna know about the dress?  okay.

i didn't finish the neck and armhole edges (you can see the shoulder edge flipping out say hello to the world above) because i'm not sure how i want to finish them yet.  maybe flesh toned organza?  maybe just leave it raw?

for the hemline, i cut around the design to create scallops.  when the hem refused to lie flat, i backed it with another line of scallops.  worked like a charm.

there wasn't much of this material, it said half a yard, and it meant it.  if by "meaning it" you mean "eyeballing it while intoxicated".  but the bolt had been wide, the half yard was long and skinny, and fancy cutting prevailed.  i have about a four inch square left.  lots of strips joined forces to make the gathered square skirt.

of course, there was no black zipper to be found in the west coast kalkatroonan residence. in my kaleidescope of coils, this shiny silver separating zipper was the winner.  i inserted it upside down so that the zipper head hangs down at le booty.  i thought that was fun.   the lace being quite... holy... i turned it under 1/4 inch, sandwiched a thin strip of interfacing into the ironed fold, and topstitched it onto the zipper.




yes, that's purply midnight blue thread.  WHAT.  my only spool of black thread resides in east coast digs.   it shall not have any californian mates.

OWOPS are documented and drinks ready, after all, i'm going to the land of parental kalkatroonans.  much will be imbibed.  as mama kalkatroona said, ninety-four is a big damn number, that's a lot of toasts.

(but i can't promise you i'll be wearing said outfit in public.  i sure as hell won't be wearing this to the funeral, i'll tell you that much.  Not.  Appropriate.)

outfit:

dress:  PR's gathered sundress, modified skirt
glasses: etsy
hoops: vintage
shoes: zara

drink:
wine, godammit.

OWOP DAY FIVE: DRINKLOG, BELLY UP

i used to wear crop tops all the time.

so much so, i had a friend who would greet me with "belly" instead of "hello".

i must have him on the brain, because this midrifforama was not my intended result.

though i'm not horrified...

... i'm also not sold.

outfit

top: pr's gathered sundress, top portion only

jeans:  forever 21 (Six.  DOLLARS.)

shoes:  zara

scarf:  thrifted, LA (two days ago, actually.)

earrings:  vintage, mother ruggy

drink:

take one crop top

add one bar

belly up and "ask" for a beer

it's 5 o'clock YOUR where

happy anniversary, mr and mrs kalkatroona.  thanks for hooking up.  we'll be toasting you in a few hours...

ruggy's moodmaker

2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz amaretto

2 cherries (not maraschino!)

1 T cherry juice

stir please, don't shake.  it bruises le alcohol.  

but don't wait for us west coasters.  BOTTOMS UP!

(edit: i haz confused the issue.  by mr and mrs kalkatroona, i mean my folks.  tee hee, tra la.  happy anniversary, mom 'n dad!)

for angie a

snake bite juice (oona's knock you down margarita recipe)

2 parts tequila (herradura or cabo wabo.  not patron.  definitely not cuervo.)
1 part cointreau
1 part grand marnier
juice of 1/2 lime
shake and pour over ice in a salt rimmed glass.   serve with the snake tamer of your choosing.

FOILED.

my plans for sewing this weekend have been completely and utterly thwarted.  i'm currently sitting on a picnic bench outside of a noisy shop full of boys using massive power tools.  i like the boys, so that's okay.  so, what does a kalkatroonan do when she can't sew?  fondly remember drinking adventures, mais oui!

ruggy spied a write-your-own-label contest from fat tire ale, and thought i should enter.  it's called joyride, and you can win the sweetest bike ever.  thirty enjoyable minutes just whizzed by as i wrote up my label (it's not on the site yet, but if you have something to holla about fat tire, go!  scribe!).  it so happens i've had my first fat tire just this past week, during my very first floating trip.  which is not actually floating.  it's canoeing.  and rapids. with nice relaxing stretches of floating.  i was told i'd need sunscreen, a hat, and sturdy shoes.  then, the night before the float, i was informed that there would absolutely be snakes.  water moccasins, to be exact.  that would not only be present in the water; no ma'am, they could very well drop from low hanging trees as well.

awesome.

obviously on the day, a little liquid courage was in order.  but horror of horrors... no wine to be had in the cooler. only beer.  i do not drink beer.  until i drank two fat tires.  they were delicious, and the ride was unforgettable.  it was NOT the dark tree covered scene from deliverance.  just look at those cliffs!  or maybe they're called bluffs! and yes, we saw two snakes!  one FIVE FEET from where we had just been swimming!

come to think of it, it's been a dangerous couple of weeks...

when irish eyes are sewing, they prolly ought to be sober.

a favorite, because i am a leo. and i like to drink. 

this irish lioness is having a girl's sewing night in, so please have a guinness for me. in fact, make it a black gold: equal parts guinness and champagne. that's right, champagne. when the bartender looks at you sideways, just tell him: you're classy like that. you DESERVE champagne. 

(classiness brought to you by big daddy balloona. the man knows a good drink when he sees one.) 

but first, i pause before i put an eye out

i absolutely cannot wait to finish this and put it up on ye olde blog. hopefully ye olde camera will be excited as well, it's been very temperamental lately. but as it's 9pm, and my dinner so far has consisted of a glass of red wine*, and i've managed to barely miss losing an eye over a flying leather machine needle head, i'm closing up shop for the night.

*not to be taken into consideration when pondering the flying machine needle. kalkatroonaans are very good at holding their liquor.

luckily, i covered the machine.

so, yeah, i had a little unexpected trip to the hospital. well, it was expected, just not expected to be, shall we say, as in depth as it turned out to be. bit of a shock. luckily i got the sewing machine cover done before all hell broke loose. i mean, thank god.

at the moment, i'm relaxing in bed, about the one thing an oona hates most in the world (there are so many things to DO! clean! sew! organize! RE-ORGANIZE!).

actually, i was too in-shock & out-of it to be bored for the first few days. now i'm antsy and wanting very much to boogie. (don't worry, parental balloonas. i won't shimmy anytime soon.)

(oona reclines in her room at the hospital, suspiciously considering the latest offering of sustenance before her. suddenly, a knock at the door.)


big daddy: is there a balloona here?


eg: we brought you balloons!


big daddy: yes, but we couldn't find anything good to weigh them down, so we used a bottle of champagne.


(r enters, and looks to the bottle hopefully.)


r: how soon can she drink that?


(oona grins mischievously. the beige mass of pasta and meat balls have lost all luster.)

they know me pretty well. like balloona, like balloona.

wow. get me. links and scenes and everything. i must have more energy than i thought. for the past few days, all i could do was point & click-- in fact, i've spent MANY hours enjoying everyone's blogs and finding new ones through your favorites...so a very big thank you blogger peeps, you've helped keep me entertained and sane. we will raise many glasses when we pop that champagne open, and one will be to y'all.

what we drank, day 7... the final tally:

 

balloonas cannot exist on alcohol alone! err, yes, i did skip day 6... we had the awesome rombauer zinfandel, this wine is deeply insane, but i failed to get a good picture. probably should take the photo before uncorking. you don't mind the week of drink ending with a chocolate banana shake, do you? i didn't. happy birthday week, mom & dad!

what we drank, day five

please to bend down to the one called the green wine. i'm not talking about organically produced ecologically sound alcohol here, though i'm sure there is some green-green wine out there. this is vinho verde, portugese green wine, a favorite summer drink of my parents for many years. i wasn't actually into it till this visit. it may be because my first taste was from an old bottle. green wine is meant to be drunk within a year of bottling, i think, and my first bottle was probably past its prime.

speaking of which, dudes, i think this whole "what we drank" thing is past its prime. not that we're going to stop drinking, i did after all set a goal, but i find it hard to blog about drinking without feeling like i'm sounding really pretentious, or really alcoholic. but i will stay the course! two to go!

what we drank, day four

 

the gin and tonic. served in a glass which, according to both eg & big daddy, was not appropriate, but i wanted it anyway. it seemed perfect for a classic drink. the recipe calls for equal parts gin and tonic (though i am positive big daddy has leadfoot with the gin), a slice of lime, and crushed ice. parental balloonas' g&t has fresh squeezed lime in it as well, and must only be made with canada dry's tonic water. very refreshing! very summery! one day, r & i would like to have a vintage bar cart stocked with only the classiest bottles. and i would like to refer to them as classy. the bombay sapphire bottle would definitely be one of them. tanqueray also. jack daniels. they wouldn't even need to be brands we would enjoy-- sailor jerry spiced rum is in, far as i'm concerned-- they just have to be of a certain style. we have talked about this at length while wandering around the liquor store. i swear we do other things, too. three drinks to go...

what we drank, day three

CHEAP SANGRIA.

eg: "this is what happens when you mix cheap wine with good fruit."


oona: "what happens?"


eg: "you throw out the wine and eat the fruit."

what we drank, day two

just a bottle of red and a bottle of white. how mundane.

i think wine is my favorite beverage. the riesling was fruity yet not overly sweet. as for the zinfandel (seven deadly zins):

eg: "sexy."


oona: "like drinking a stick of butter."


big daddy: "a ribald bawdy whore."

i'm not sure there's much more to say than that.