A New Hobby???

I'll start this post off with a picture from the weekend. Andi and I had breakfast with her friend in South Pasadena and then we met up with the guys in Old Town Pasadena. It is a really cute area with lots of little stores and restaurants.

I am in the middle of making dinner....minestrone soup! This is my first attempt at minestrone soup, but it is looking pretty good! I am serving it with garlic flat bread from Fresh and Easy. If you have a Fresh and Easy near you, the flat bread is delicious!! It is tasty with pasta, soup, and just by itself.

I came across these two blog posts last week (http://savedbylovecreations.com/2011/08/quatrefoil-stenciled-corkboard-new-martha-stewart-decorative-art-paints.html and http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2011/09/40-martha-stewart-paint-projects-and.html) and they inspired me to try stenciling. So, I went to Michael's and picked up some paint, brushes, and stencils. Here is what I've made so far:

The supplies! (I love the brown and light turquoise together) 

And here is my work in progress...I am stenciling a corkboard that I have had laying around for awhile (I think I used to have it hanging in my dorm)

Definitely not as perfect as the two other blogs, but I'm learning. I think I need to be more gentle with the paint application. If you know me, that is much easier said than done. I am more of a get-it-done and figure it out later kind of person :)

I also made this tote bag with the stencils (the turquoise didn't show up as well on this one)

Real quick! I wanted to say congrats to my sister Emily (http://eswarren.blogspot.com/) on her spiffy new job. I just realized that I have no idea the name of the company, but what I do know is that it is a consulting firm (owned by a Las Sendas resident) and she will be doing their event planning among other things. It sounds like it is a perfect fit for her background and her skill set. CONGRATS EMILY!!!  

Now back to slaving over the stove!