Happy Anniversary!

For our anniversary this year, #38, we decided to take a little trip to Hawaii.  Robert's brother and his wife are there for a couple of months and we thought it would be fun to spend some time with them in our favorite place.  We also got to spend some time with Brad and Emy.  All in all we had a great time!

Fat Tie Makeover

Have you ever wondered how to make a tie that you really love just a bit skinnier?  

I have !

So when one of my missionaries asked me if I could make his fat tie skinnier, I agreed to do it just so I could learn.  I had so much fun turning those fat ugly ties into something that really looked great!

So here we go... a tutorial on how to make a fat tie skinny

the first thing you are going to do is take the stitching out, starting at the bottom of the tie and trying not to cut the thread if you are able to.  You will use this thread later to stitch it back together. Take it out just about half way, until you get to the point where it is a little smaller than the width that you want it to be.  

 You will also need to clip the thread on any tags or loops that might be on the underside of the tie.

Your tie will look something like this...

Next, you will gently pull out the felt piece that shapes the tie.  

Using another skinny tie as a pattern, use a pencil and draw a line on the felt to match the dimensions that you would like.  If you don't have another skinny tie, mark the felt at the bottom in the width you would like and gradually draw a line up to the middle of the tie where you stopped taking out the thread.  

Cut along this line so that the felt is the new shape of your tie

Use a ruler and determine how much skinnier your tie will be by measuring the distance between the edge of the felt and the old fold line.  Double this amount. In this situation my new tie is a half inch smaller on both sides, so I will use 1" as my measurement.

Next, you will turn the tie inside out at the bottom where the lining is.  

Stitch a new seam on the sides of the tie in the same amount that you measured and doubled.  Just stitch as far as the lining goes. I will be sewing my new seam 1" from the old stitching.  Be sure to fold the tie along the same fold at the bottom of the tie so that the lining will pull to the inside.

After you stitch the new seam, cut off both sides of the existing tie starting at the fold along the bottom of the tie.  You will start cutting the same amount that you doubled and eventually taper the amount until you get up to the middle of the tie.  In this case I started with 1" and tapered to nothing at the top.

if you are worried that you will cut too much off, you can start with a lesser amount and cut more off after you have measured.  It would be better to cut less than more!

turn your tie right side out, tuck the felt under the lining and press the new seam flat

on the right side of the tie you will press the seam, then flatten the edge.  On the left side press the edge under about 1/4"-1/2".  This should have been the way it was pressed when you took out the stitching. 

the left side is pressed under 1/2"

Next, you will turn and press the right side of the tie up against the edge of the felt and trim the edge if necessary so that it is not quite to the left side of the felt.  It should be more than half way across the tie

Fold and press the left side of the tie on top of the right side.  If it is too wide, you can measure and cut more off in order to make the seam go down the center of the tie.  Pay special attention to the point at the bottom.  The corners should be even.

Use the thread that you pulled out at the beginning to sew a loose running stitch to join the two sides.  Sew on the tags that you took off and press one last time.

You now have a beautiful skinny tie that looks great!

Some other ties I have altered

From this...

...to this!

This is a fairly easy project, but it may take some practice with measuring and cutting.  Needless to say, once I did this for one missionary, I had more ties to alter than I knew what to do with!  But at least now my missionaries are looking very dashing in their new, skinny ties!  If you are nervous about ruining a good tie, practice on one that you don't care about.  Happy sewing!

We recently visited Hawaii and were staying at the KoOlina Resort on Oahu.  We were there with several of our children and every day they would post pictures on Instagram and Facebook of all the beautiful places we saw and the activities we did.  I didn't feel the need to take a lot of pictures, but one day while I was sitting at the pool, waiting for everyone to come BBQ, I decided to snap a quick picture and post it.  I really didn't hardly try at all, but it came out so beautiful, I wanted to share it here...

It's hard to take a bad picture when you're in such a beautiful place...

A little twist...

We have been trying to eat a little more healthy lately, so I was trying to make one of our favorite meals a little more healthy.  One of the casseroles that I have made for years is Hamburger Casserole or Shepherd's Pie.  Usually it is made with hamburger meat and green beans.  Last night I made it with the usual hamburger meat, but instead of green beans, I used red and green bell peppers and some yellow crook neck squash.  I also used some sweet potato instead of all regular potatoes.  It turned out pretty good and the colors really made it look much more appetizing.

So here's the recipe I used...

2 lbs. hamburger meat, cooked and drained
¼ onion, diced
4-5 bell peppers or more if you like more, sliced and the seeds discarded
1-2 yellow crook neck squash, quartered then sliced
2 cans condensed tomato soup
4-5 potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed
1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed
milk, butter and Ranch dressing for the potatoes
½ tsp. garlic salt
½ tsp. garlic and parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Shredded Cheese

Directions...
Brown hamburger in a large frying pan and add onions.  Break apart the meat as it cooks.  Cook till done and drain grease.  You can start the potatoes cooking at this point so they are done when the meat is ready for the oven.

Prepare the bell peppers and squash by cutting.  

Set aside until meat is done cooking, then add to the meat, squash first, then peppers. 

Cook till barely done. They should still be a bit crisp.

  

Next, add the tomato soup and seasonings.  Cook until just heated up.

Pour mixture into a baking dish, then sprinkle with shredded cheese if you like. 

I like them cheesy, so I added a little bit here...

I put both potatoes together and mashed them using half a stick of butter, some milk and just a spoon or two of Ranch dressing.  You can make the potatoes any way you like them.

Place potatoes in mounds on top of the meat, then sprinkle with more cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  This serves 8-10 people

Enjoy!

Always Hawaii

We have been lovers of Hawaii ever since the first time we visited way back in 1977.  We recently returned from a trip with several of our children and I wanted to share some of our pictures.  All of these pictures are from our hike of the Diamond Head Crater on the island of Oahu.  We have never hiked the crater before so it was a new experience for us.  It was a little bit hard, but if you pace yourself, you can make it! And the view makes it totally worth the effort!

This is a panoramic view from the top, from one side of the volcano to the other

this is the right side of the volcano...

...and this is the left side.  You can see the parking lot and part of the trail we came up.

this is a view of Waikiki

proof that we made it!

 a cute lighthouse that we saw from the top.  

I would recommend this hike to anyone visiting Oahu.  

how cute is this?

This is something that I saw on Pinterest that I wanted to share with you all.  I thought it was really cute and it looks super easy to make.  You can use any bottle with a lid that you like and have cleaned out really well.  If you have some old drawer knobs lying around, you can use those, but if not, buy some that you like.  Spray the knobs and the lids the same color and attach the knob to the lid.  You now have some really great candy or apothecary jars!

You can see it on Pinterest here...