RECIPES UNDER CONTROL: check!

I enjoy cooking--really enjoy it. I love cooking for friends and fam and I even love cooking for myself when alone. I just like good food! One of my personal aims for this new year was to continue roping in all those recipes--you know, the bits of paper, the clippings, the email, the on-line printouts, etc., etc. After poking around online for expert advice last year, I came to one conclusion: no one, not even Emeril himself, has this under control. It's a very individual thing, not a one-size-fits-all solution. Then, without constant diligence it can easily get out of control again. Add to the mix the challenge of having two home bases on either side of the world...well, something had to be done. So, here in UB I did the following: I bought notebooks and plastic sleeves. I can pull the sleeves out and put on a clipboard while I cook. Fantastic. I still have my card index, but have purged it a few times in the last few years--cooking styles and tastes change a lot over the course of 30 years!
Now for the other side of the world. Hmm. Some on the computer. Duplicate favorite cookbooks? I'll think about it....tomorrow :)

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Much Needed New Winter Robe - Vogue 9232

Last spring I chucked my 20-year-old bathrobe, giving me no choice but to replace it come winter. Granted, I never took it to Mongolia, so it only got worn when I was home in the US. But still. For summer I made several light weight robes, but I knew I liked the style of my old RTW one. When I saw reviews for Vogue 9232--on PR (all 3 of them), I knew I'd found my pattern. Interestingly enough, the pattern is actually for a caftan-type dress; but all 3 reviews were done up as a robe. Sham's review in particular had great tips. On a trip to Colorado Fabrics in early summer I spotted a beeeuuutiful pink sweatshirt type fabric. The outside is more like a thick knit and inside is dreamy soft. And it's baby pink! Which is hard to tell in the pics as we in Colorado have had lots of rain and no sunshine. And OK, I'm no photographer. But seriously, this is like stepping into a pink cloud. ...

Travel Duds

As I've probably whined/stated before, the trip to and from Mongolia involves about 30 hours of travel spread over 3 flights, Incheon Airport, South Korea the long leg being 11-13 hours. For almost 10 years I've resisted wearing anything closely resembling sweats. I know, I know. Call it an anti Ugly American thing. About 5 years on, I had to ditch jeans with any kind of buttons on the back. Finally, the knobby seam joint of the back yoke got to me. Never mind having to unbutton midway through. Sigh. I finally caved into wearing comfy pants (hereafter referred to as Happy Pants) on the long leg of my international flights last September. These were made up in my favorite yoga pants pattern, Laura Lounge Trousers (I'd made 3 pair for Pilates already :) by Maria of Denmark (her Kimono Tee pattern is another one of my go to's!). In purple stretch velour. Still, I couldn't bring myself to hang out in the airpo...

A Stitch Sisters Kimono for Dubai

My husband had meetings come up quick in Dubai and of course I tagged along! We were going to be there a week and I wanted a lightweight kimono-type pullover for the pool and getting out of the shower. I had snagged a gorgeous white linen/cotton (guessing on this) here in UB that was perfect. My inspiration came from Lisa's over at Lisa's Carolina | Handmade . I'm not good at pattern drafting and this was a quick FREE measure and cut tutorial of Stitch Sisters--find their Patternless Pattern Link here . I'm so happy with this! It basically took me an afternoon. The directions are great--and they include 5/8" seam allowances--yay!--as I wanted to turn under and top stitch them since I don't have a serger here. I left off the ties. Shapeless worked for this. I also raised the neckline by about 1.5" The neckline was a little trickier as I didn't have any bias on hand and there is no "running out" anywhe...

Scenic Route

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