Growing celery

So I seen a post on Pinterest about growing celery from an old stalk. A few days ago I used the last of it and decided to try what the pinner had suggested.

I cut off those lil bitty center pieces of celery. Does anyone eats those? I had a nifty lil coca cola glass that I added water to and put the celery inside.

After 1 day I saw a small root pop out. After three days I have a bunch more roots and I think I see some greenage trying to make its way out of the top of the root.

In a few days I'll likely plant this sucker outside in my garden. If the plant grows just as well outside as it does inside I think I'll have my first harvest in a month.

Tortellini with Edamame and Smoked Sausage

I found this recipe on Family Fun's website a few weeks back. They posted it under the budget meals recipe category. Who can resist making something that only costs 89 cents per serving.

I jotted down all the ingredients last week. Most of the items in the recipe are frozen items so I can buy them when on sale and save them for a future meal that I have to throw together.

I picked up everything on the list and thought "89 cents per serving, I don't think so".  The store brand tortellini was $2.69 a pound, edamame was $2.89 for an 8 oz frozen package and the smoked sausage was on sale for $2.50. Geez now I have to buy a red bell pepper?! Well I never did buy that pepper. I ended up using a large yellow onion that I had on hand.  After all was said and done, this meal ended up costing $1.34 per serving (6 servings).  This wasn't too bad for a meal. The three of us ate and was full and I still had two more servings for lunch during the week.

Well here's the recipe. Let me know if you can make it for 89 cents per serving.

What ya need:
1 pound frozen cheese tortellini
1 cup shelled edamame
1 cup diced red pepper
1 pound smoked sausage
1/2 cup Italian dressing

What ya do:
Set 6 quarts of salted water to boil in a large pot.
Meanwhile, chop red pepper and slice the smoked sausage into 1/4 inch-thick rounds.
Stir-fry red pepper and sausage together until heated through -- about 5 minutes.
Add tortellini to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
Add edamame to water and boil for another 2 minutes. Drain tortellini and edamame well.
Toss everything together with the Italian dressing and heat through one final time.

michaela desiree

Made:: Pillows

I love big, bold prints, but stay usually stay away from them because they don't transfer great on a small purse or accessory. After seeing some great prints over the past 2 months, I've decided to pick some up and create pillows covers. I created a few for home and for the Glitter Lifestyle Boutique.  Some more will be created soon when I receive some additional zippers in the mail this week.

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Weekend wrap up (photos only)

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Made :: Scarves

The weather here in Charleston has been very strange. Last week was full of ups and downs. Some days it was in the mid 80's over the weekend it started to rain so it was back in the low 60's.  Some of my family that are in still up North would not complain about the 60 degree weather.

I've been seeing scarves on everyone and I figured it was about time I started wearing them.  I bought some beautiful voile fabric over Thanksgiving break and decided it was time to use it. Its a cotton fabric that is very light and has a silky feel. Here are some of the scarves I made. I made both loopy, infinity scarves and long scarfs. Each measures approximately 70 inches long and 12 inches wide.

Scarves are available for purchase in 4 colors online here

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Watermelon

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Oh my gosh.. I am having the worst craving for watermelon. I don't even think it's close to watermelon season, is it? I think the best watermelons are harvested between June and beginning of August. Maybe that's because that is when it's warmest here in the South and nothing is more refreshing than a slice of ice cold watermelon.

Watermelon Salsa

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{Watermelon cut Tourmaline Ring on Etsy}

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Almost free body wash

What ya need:

• 8 ounces bar of soap (I used some soap I had from Trader Joe's, 2 bars = 8 oz)
• 2 tbsp glycerin ( bottle at Wal-Mart was $3.69)
• 16 cups of water = 1 gallon
• Cheese grater 
• Stock pot
• Hand mixer
• Gallon jug or containers to store your finished product

What ya do:

• Grate your soap like cheese. I started to do this step by hand and it took way to long for my liking. I pulled out my trusty Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and the slicing/grating attachment. Took 2 minutes to hook it up and to grate both bars of soap :)

• Put your grated soap, the gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of glycerin in the stock pot. Heat on medium heat until all the soap is dissolved. It will look like cloudy soupy water at this point.
• Take off the heat and let cool. The recipe I found said let it cool for 10 -12 hours, but mine was pretty cool after 4 hours. 

• Add some water and beat this mixture with the hand held mixer. You may have to add more water as necessary if your soap was very thick like mine.  

• Since my pot was too deep for my mixer, I had to transfer half the soap to a large mixing bowl.
• When you get it to your desired consistency, you can add some perfume (I didn't). 
• Funnel your new body wash into your gallon jug or containers (remember to label it)
• My mixture actually made 1 gallon + 28 ounces of wash :)

michaela desiree

New beginning?

I have been working full time for a company for the past year and a half. I knew that as a contractor my job would come to an end.  Well yesterday, I found out that my job has. It's kind of sad in a way because I enjoyed my work and I enjoyed the people I worked with. Now I have to (maybe) find a new job and start all over. I have been searching for jobs for the past month. I have called a few staffing agencies who say they have positions for me, but I haven't gone on one interview yet. Well, I was sad, but figured this is a time for me to start over. Really get back into marketing my business, doing more for me and my family.  I will continue to actively looking for jobs, but until I find one I am going to work on Myla's Bags and m.desiree.

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Mango Salsa

Happy 3 days after Valentine's Day!! Ha ha ha… I actually wanted to post on Valentine's day but work was/is super busy and I left early so that I could go to the grocery store before all the late, last minute, flower and card purchasers (yes, they were out @ 4 pm on Valentine's day).  I always prepare dinner and dessert for everyone on Valentine's day.

This years menu :
Jamaican Jerk Cajun Salmon with Mango salsa, wild rice and strawberry cheesecake.

I found the recipe for Salmon/Mango salsa on Epicurious (my new fav. iPhone app).  Since I am trying to eat healthier I decided to try this salsa with my salmon and I have been eating the mango salsa every day since I made it. The first day it was good, but after it sat in the refrigerator over night the flavors really blended and that onion wasn't so strong.

I took this to work the next day and enjoyed some leftover salmon and the salsa on a wheat tortilla.  It was almost the best fish taco I've had. 

What you need:

2 mangoes, peeled and diced

1/2 pineapple, cored and diced

1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans

3/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

What you do:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and enjoy!

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Free Friday! - Lemongrass Spa Giveaway!

Hey! This has been a very busy week for me. I haven't had much of a chance to work on this blog or my other blog and anything else as I'd like.  I was emailed a few days ago by an online friend that sells natural body products. She asked that I let my fans, friends, family know about this giveaway she is having on her site.

If you are like me, then you appreciate those who love to create natural body products.  Lemongrass Spa offers a wide range of healthy products that are 97-100% chemical free using either pure essential oils, phthalate-free fragrances or unscented options.

Anyhow, you can enter the giveaway using the link below. The giveaway ends tomorrow evening (Sorry for the short notice)

Lemongrass Spa Giveaway!

 

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For me

Since I am trying to regain all my creativity back one day at a time, I decided that it's best for me to start creating for me again. For the past 3 years I have dedicated my time to sewing for Myla's Bags. Now it's time to take a few days for me.

Here are some of the pieces I found online that I would love to create for myself.


Bright high waisted pants -  I love these and guess what? They make my waist look just a tab bit smaller :)

Very casual, yet still very cute

This is the perfect outfit for the hot, muggy, Charleston summers

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michaela desiree

Just starting...

I have been in business for over 4 years now. I have been creating items for my company Myla's Bags and feel it's time to spread my wings and finally start branching out. I am a creative spirit, but some times I feel that making one thing can be a bit boring and stunts my growth as a designer. I love designing and sewing bags and accessories, but I also love creating other things as well. I hope to start creating more for you all. I'll defiantly keep you all posted and prayerfully in 1 year, I will be out on my own and no longer working this 8-5 for someone else.

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