late to the camera strap cover party

So, last week I stitched my very first camera strap cover. I know, I know... what took me so long to try it?
I wanted to send a little thank you gift to the very wonderful Megan who photographed Zach's senior portraits. She spent oh so much time with him & did such a marvelous job!

I had a desire to stitch something that could look professional with somewhat of a girly kick to it. I decided that black & white would be perfect.

While the machine was stitching out the wording, I covered two buttons with a tiny check pattern for flower centers.

Sometimes if a piece might get some wear & tear or need to be washed, it is a good idea to seal the bobbin threads so the lettering doesn't unravel.

Toile side got the three flowers.

The ruffle is a coordinating Laura Ashley black vine print.

Close-ups of the flowers:

The one out of toile was wrapped tightly & fringed. Three black beads became the perfect center!

that's how we roll...

Or, “This is the Way we Prefer to Cook our Corned Beef.”

Boiled vegetables (namely cabbage & onions) have never really been a favorite of mine.  I must’ve trained the hubs & sons correctly, because they’re polite to eat them when served that way; but would much rather have them grilled, roasted or sautéed. This does present a bit of a problem when fixing a “traditional” St. Patrick’s Day dinner.

Many years ago (like almost 20?) I came across a recipe on a corned beef wrapper that suggested roasting the meat in ginger ale and then glazing it with mustard & brown sugar. Unfortunately, I did not save that wrapper, so I do not have the exact recipe/proportions.  This was hands-down the very best corned beef I’d ever eaten! With the mustard/brown sugar glaze, it tasted so similar to a honey-baked ham. The meat was fork tender.

Since then, we have tried this many ways (even once with an orange-flavored soda… not good!) with various cooking methods. We’ve crock-potted, baked, and even boiled-in-soda-then-threw-on-grill.  (Here I came across the recommendation to use Dr. Pepper in the braising liquid.) Every time we’ve been so pleased with the flavor and tenderness of the meat. (…and every time I’ve cooked it differently my boys say, “Sure wish you would have used some ginger ale with this. Don’t we have ginger ale? Next time try the ginger ale way.”)

At Costco we found a nice-sized package of corned beef.

(ummmm, yeah -- that does say 11.69 lb)

I stuck it fat-side-up in the roaster and covered it with the ginger syrup leftover from this process, and added a whole can of ginger ale to the liquid. 

Covered the roaster and stuck it in the oven pre-heated to 350°. Left it there for about 4½ hours.

(If I would’ve uncovered the roaster the last half hour, the liquid would’ve cooked down & the fat would be nice & browned.)

We did have to sample it, though…

…and yes! It was sooooooooo tender!