Embroidery Hoop Art

Happy almost March! I don't know about you, but I'm very much looking forward to some warmer weather and less snow. It's absolutely gorgeous in Albany today... we hit 54 degrees! Andrew and I went for a walk through the snow and it seemed like everyone was out enjoying the unseasonably high temps. Unfortunately, it's not going to last long as we'll be dipping back into the 20's this week. In other news, I apologize for the long hiatus. Over the past month, I've been putting in close to 80 hours a week at the hospital on the pediatrics floor. It's been incredibly rewarding and affirming that pediatrics is absolutely the career for me!

Anyway, on to the project!

Over the summer, my grandma gave me some embroidery hoops that she isn't planning on using. I don't do cross stitch, but I figured I could come up with something creative.

I decided to browse the internet for a retro camera image and settled on this one. 

I converted it to black and white, added "smile," printed it out, and taped it to the back of some cross stitch fabric that I had placed in my hoop.

Holding the hoop up to the window, I traced the camera image onto the fabric.

Next, I used double thick black sewing thread to stitch over the pattern. As you can tell, it's definitely not perfect.



(As I said, I don't really do embroidery... and I was in a bit of a hurry since this project was really me procrastinating on some major med school work that needed to get done.)

Even with the imperfections, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I hung it on the wall with the other embroidery hoops Grandma had given me. I placed a photo from a family snow adventure in the larger of the three hoops, and left the tiny one blank. I'm still thinking about what to do with that one, but seeing a blank canvas on the wall reminds me to keep the creative juices flowing regardless of how busy life can get sometimes.

Also, I know that spring doesn't officially start for about a month, but I'm really longing for it now, hence the Mark Twain spring quote. If you're looking for another easy project, this is how I made the tiny burlap print.

Hope you find this simple project inspiring!

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Perfect Study Break Salad

Hello Friends!

Time for an update! Since my last post, I finished my surgery rotation, studied and took 2 more national board exams, and started packing for a 3 week trip to the west coast! It has definitely been a busy month... This post was actually supposed to be published a few weeks back, but I never actually go around to finishing it (something about studying for 12 hours a day...) Anyway, hope you enjoy it! I should have some more time for crafting and blogging over the next couple of weeks.

Okay. It's noon, I've been studying since 6am, and I'm hungry. Sure, I had a piece of toast with peanut butter on it around 7am, but my brain needs extra fuel these days. The problem is, I've only got a couple of minutes for a lunch break, and I don't have time to make something fancy. So, I open the fridge and let what's left of my creative brain juices go to work...

That's what happened, and it was amazingly delicious. I'm calling it "Spicy shrimp and black bean salad with avocado and sesame oil dressing"

Here's the recipe so you can enjoy this little bit of heaven, too! (Makes one serving).

Ingredients:

6 large shrimp, cooked, and cut in half
Trader Joe's Organic Broccoli Slaw (or lettuce of your choice)
A couple large spoon fulls of black beans (I used Fresh Market's sodium free black beans)
1/2 avocado
3 large basil leaves, chopped (or torn, in my case)
2 teaspoons of sesame oil (more if you desire)
Sriracha to taste
Dash of garlic salt
Dash of onion powder

Steps:
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mash/mix until you are satisfied with the texture and you feel like the slaw is appropriately coated in avocado-sesame oil goodness. That's it!



Obviously you could do any number of things to improve upon this recipe based on what you've got in your refrigerator, but this is a good and easy start!

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Med School Formal (aka med school prom)

Hello! I apologize for the long absence. I've had a great month on my pediatrics rotation... so many incredible kids! Unfortunately, I also got a couple of nasty colds. No matter how hygienic I am with hand washing, you really can't predict when a kid will cough or sneeze in your face during your physical exam. Anyway, over the weekend, we had our annual medical school formal. Here are some pictures from the event!

 A few ladies from the Keytones - our a cappella group!

We had a great time and are looking forward to next year - our last one!

Autumn in New York - Nature

About a month ago, my sister-in-law came to visit us in Albany. Betsy is amazing and I am so blessed to have her as a sister and friend! We had a great time traveling to Vermont and spending time in Saratoga, NY. Here are some photos documenting our adventures!

Brother and sister!

Cute!

Andrew... always making me laugh!

Playing in the leaves! 

Best homemade ice cream!

Beautiful fall colors

Homemade chili for dinner

Isn't she a beauty? Too bad her sweet hubby couldn't come visit this time!

We loved having Betsy visit, and we can't wait until both she and her husband Brock can come visit together! Very much looking forward to seeing them at Christmas time in Seattle!