Another Busy Weekend!

No sitting around and relaxing for me this weekend. I knew going into it that it would be quite action-packed. Hmm...maybe "action" isn't the right word, but I knew that my plate was pretty full. First, I went to a birthday party for a friend at a local bar where she was collecting new toys or donations for a newly opened hospital. But, I couldn't stay out late b/c I had to go to a jewelry/gift show for wholesale buyers with a friend who also makes jewelry Saturday morning. I was disappointed to see that there was pretty much only wholesale goods for resellers b/c I was there to get wholesale jewelry supplies. I ended up still spending a pretty penny on new bead strands as there was one booth with a relatively good selection, so I'll have lots to work on in the next few weeks (if not longer). It was probably a good thing that there were only a couple vendors with beads, b/c I had something special lined up at 11:30am Saturday. Something I've been dying to try for what seems like the longest time - a fused glass class (to make pendants). Here are some photos:


The instructor uses a special cutter to score the top of a sheet of glass



Then, the black clamp tool is used to completely break off the scored section into two pieces



I quickly picked out my colors - the turquoise was an obvious choice for me



Here are some of the pendants I designed in raw form. These still need to be fused together in a special kiln at a mere 1400 degrees farenheit. Hmmm...I made a bit of a mess, no?



I'd show the finished product, but the pendants go in the cool kiln, which is then heated up in a slow process. Overall, it takes a few hours to completely heat up, fuse and cool back down. I won't be able to pick my pendants up for a couple days since the instructor needs to bring me some bails so I can make these babies into wearable art.



The instructor said we could take a peek at the pendants about an hour or so after she put the first batch in. To kill time, I grabbed a quick bite to eat at a local market - very funky...I should have taken pictures, but was too timid to ask and didn't want to offend anyone by just whipping my camera out. Anywho, see that Famous Pumpkin Roll? It was quite tasty...I knew when it said famous, it'd be worth trying...they were right.



As you can see, the sandwich was quite yummy, too. I had chicken salad on marbled rye. After lunch, it was back to the bead store to peak at my new creation...which is beautiful (I suppose nearly all artists say that of their own work when they're super proud). Can't wait to pick it up...even if it will take a couple days.

No problem for me as I had lots more to do Saturday. Next, I made a quick trip to Salvation Army to do some thrifting

I found this vintage-y floral bowl - quite used - but that makes it easier to actually use it, an interesting plate, a gravy bowl (maybe?), some yellow gingham fabric, and a couple baskets.

Then, it was back to the house to clean before we went to a charity BBQ dinner for a friend who passed away a couple years ago. They had a golf tournament, the dinner, and a silent auction to raise money for scholarships that have been set up in her name. I donated a necklace/earring set with Swarovski crystals for the silent auction. The event was at a golf course, and all around were signs of fall.



Then, it was to the bar to hang out with some of my SO's friends to watch some games. Then, a tennis lesson Sunday morning. Phew! I'm exhausted! Can't wait to see my pendants, though...yay!

Giada's Chocolate-Hazelnut Ravioli

I made Emeril's wonton soup a week or so ago (which I haven't posted yet), and had so many leftover wonton wrappers and no desire to eat any more wonton soup. It was a good thing I remembered drooling over Giada DeLaurentis' chocolate-hazelnut ravioli (click for recipe). I quickly dug out the recipe and got to work. With few ingrediants and little prep or cook time, I had these delicious goodies in no time:



A must-try, chic-sweet for you dessert lovers out there!

On an unrelated note, so sorry for my lack of posts lately. I feel like I'm stuck in that situation that most of you probably have felt before where you have so much going on that you become completely useless. It's amazing that I make it to work, am able to provide food for me and my SO, ship my jewelry orders in a timely manner, and post anything over on SA, but somehow it gets done. Then, there are my other "tasks" that seem to get swept under the rug...or lost on my to-do list...or forgotten in an unusual moment of free time that really isn't free, it's just not being used b/c my head is spinning so fast I can't remember exactly what it is I'm supposed to be doing at the time...I just have that icky feeling that there's something else I should be doing - how's that for a run-on sentence? Perhaps the run-on sentence is an extra description of how chaotic it seems things are right now. I'm in that place where you have so much to do, that you do a little of this and a little of that and none of it is good enough or enough at all to be acceptable. Whoof! I feel better just blogging about it, especially knowing that so many of you out there are in the same situations (or similar enough) and actually understand me, when so many of my normal, non-type-a friends don't. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. :)