soup!

well, i was over @ anna maria horner's blog & saw that she's having a little contest! you enter your favorite soup recipe for the chance to win one of her new aprons & matching dish towels! if you don't know about anna maria, you should definitely browse her blog - AMAZING! she has such great tips, ideas, fabric, pictures... ahhhhh. AND she has 5 kiddos & one on the way! pretty amazing woman, if you ask me.
anyway, in honor of that, i'm posting one of my favorite soup recipes. it's mexican chicken corn chowder & it's YUM-O, not to mention fast, easy, & only one pot to clean afterwards! perfection, no??!

mexican chicken corn chowder

1.5 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized chunks
1/2 c. chopped onion (i just use one whole onion b/c we love onion!)
1 clove garlic, minced (again, ++ we love garlic!)
3T of butter
2 small cubes/1 lg cube chicken bouillon
1 c. hot water
3/4 t. ground cumin
2c. half&half (sometimes i use whole milk, which works fine - just thinner)
2c. shredded monterey jack cheese w/ jalapeno flakes inside (you can always add more cheese!)
2 cans cream style corn
2 cans regular corn
1 can blk beans, drained
1 small can (4 oz) diced green chilis
1 dash tabasco (we like more!)
2 tomatos (or more)
fresh cilantro to garnish, if ya want
crushed corn chips are great on top (we love the multigrain tostitoes)

1. in large dutch oven , brown chicken, onion, & garlic in butter (if you have a nonstick pan, you don't have to do the butter) until chicken is cooked through.
2. dissolve bouillon in hot water. pour into dutch oven, & season w/ cumin. bring to boil. reduce heat to low, cover, & simmer for 5 mins.
3. stir in half&half, cheese, corns, chilis, beans, tabasco. cook; stirring frequently until cheese is melted. stir in tomato & garnish w/ cilantro & crushed corn chips!

enjoy your super fast, fairly healthy, easy clean up meal!

roses

did you know tyler is the rose capital of the world?

this time of year you can buy them by the dozens off most street corners in town. they come wrapped in newspapers, & you do have to watch the thorns. the best part is that they have THE most amazing smell. i'm talking about the kind of scent you catch just walking by. and the dreamy colors...

this is the stuff of childhood memories for me.

2 tyler roses themselves came into town tuesday and brought these to me! thanks margaret & mere :)

**if you haven't read about the trunk show in the rose capital yet, scroll down to see my good news!

news!

okay, i have THE most exciting news to share! it's soooo exciting, it makes my heart flitter & those stomach butterflies start their fluttering dance!

okay, breathe in & breathe out...

i'm having a TRUNK SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes!!! i'm so thrilled to tell you! it's going to be @ Snug as a Bug in Tyler the first week of december. oh my gosh! can you believe it??!

my mind is TOTALLY racing a million miles an hour with so many thoughts & ideas - aaahhhhhhh! last night i had a hard time sleeping because i was just thinking of all of the possiblities!

oh my, oh my, oh my! i'm so excited i can hardly stand it! i'll keep you filled in on all of the details & please DO plan to come if you can at all swing it :)

i'm off to dream...!!!

(*picture courtesy of www.snugasabugtyler.com)

organization 101

today i spent hours washing & nicely folding all of my new fabric. ahhhh. what a beautiful stack. it makes me so happy just to look @ this picture :)

the only problem is that THIS is what the rest of my fabric looks like...

and...

and these lovelies are in a basket on the floor...

ahhh! so i've spent this evening refolding & organizing & trying to make some sort of sense out of my studio. it's not finished, but i'm already feeling so much better. nothing like spring cleaning in october!

welcome!

welcome to my new blog.
i've wanted to start a blog just for all of my alacrity designs "news & notes" & so here i am :)
i hope to update at least once a week, to keep things interesting! i just love "getting to know" fellow designers/crafters through their blogs, so this is my little contribution...
oh, & i love comments, so do feel free to leave one!