Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival - Holiday Show

I love Christmas shopping. Just really love it. Do you? If so, then plan to attend one of the upcoming Patchwork Holiday Craft Shows. Preferably the one this Sunday, November 6th from 11am-5pm at Marine Stadium in Long Beach, CA. Sweet Funky Vintage will have a booth their with our fun, fresh, funky children's clothing and accessories!
Come out and support the local artists, crafters, and small business people who will be participating in the Patchwork shows. You will see beautiful, fun, and unique items - great for giving to that "hard to shop for" person on your list!

What's Cookin' Wednesday - Chicken Pan Pie

When I was growing up in the South, I was lucky enough to have lunch one summer afternoon with my Mom and my Great Aunt Edith at the New Perry Hotel in Perry, Georgia. I don't remember what I had for lunch that day, but I do remember it was delicious and it was served with a tall, icy glass of Sweet Tea (of course).
A few years after I got married, my Mom gave me a copy of the New Perry Hotel cookbook. By that time, I was married to my military husband and was in the midst of many moves around the country. I missed the South, I still do. And, flipping through the pages of that cookbook made me close my eyes and remember that lunch. I was a teenager, and probably not thrilled to be sitting at a table with my Mom and Aunt Edith.

Oh, I wish I could go back in time and tell the teenage me to sit up straight, enjoy the moment, and soak in every word that my Mom and Aunt Edith said. I am lucky to enjoy a very close relationship with my Mom, but Aunt Edith passed away before my first daughter was born. Oh, how she hoped and prayed that our prayers to have a child would be answered (they were - three times!) and I really wish she had lived to meet Georgia Grace Marie, who was named after Aunt Edith. Grace was her middle name. Really, could I saddle the child with the name Edith? ;)
So, I am rambling on, and to be honest, the memories make me a little teary-eyed, but in a good way.
That cookbook is a very special book, and in it is a recipe that is a favorite of our family (and probably many other Southern families) - Chicken Pan Pie.
It is delicious, and very, very simple.


3 heaping cups of cooked chicken
1/2 cup butter (I don't use nearly that much!)
3 hard boiled eggs

Arrange chicken in bottom of 2 quart baking dish, and cover with sliced boiled eggs. Dot with butter. Cover with sauce.

Sauce:
1 c. flour
1 c. water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
5 cups chicken stock
pastry

In a measuring cup, I mix up the water, and the 1 cup flour, stir it really well with a fork. Throw in the salt and pepper and add it to a boiling pot of the chicken stock. Stir like crazy. It thickens right up!

Pour the sauce over the chicken and eggs. Top with pastry. I use a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust. But, you can make your crust from scratch - it is easier than you think!
Bake at 375 until the pastry is well browned.

My girls really love this dish. Be prepared for it to be a little runny. It is delicious left-over too.


If you are ever driving through Georgia, consider taking a little detour to Perry, Georgia, and visit the New Perry Hotel for a meal. You won't regret it!


Tell me, have you ever eaten there?

Meet Jen!

Meet Jen - Jen and Allison work together to keep things running behind the scenes, they do alot of our receiving and shipping and are pretty much "girl Friday"s around here!


1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am 37 years old and grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have 3 daughters aged 8, 6 and 4. I am a stay-at-home mom, but in my previous life I taught kindergarten in Connecticut and a second grade in both Texas and California. We have lived in Escondido, CA for the past ten years.

2. What do you do when you aren?t working at Sweet Funky Vintage?
When I am not working at SFV, I am either substitute teaching at my daughter's school, volunteering to teach art lessons to both of my daughter's classes, planning ideas for two Girl Scout troops, running errands or cleaning my house!

3. If you were stranded on a desert island and were allowed one luxury item, what would it be and why?
Deoderant!!!! I can't stand when I am stinky!!!!

4. Do you have any phobias?
Spiders and creepy insects

5. Who inspires you and why?
People who are good parents…people who are genuinely kind, caring and non-judgemental. People like this help me get through the tough times of parenting and remind me that there is no manual full of solutions or easy button to press!

6. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
Blink and everything would be as I wish it to be….. Blink and my house is clean, blink and dinner is ready, blink and I am young, skinny and beautiful!

7. Can you tell us one thing about yourself that would surprise people who know you?
I was a competitive figure skater since I was 6 years old. I spent almost every day after school at the skating rink and I trained about 25-30 hours a week during my summer vacations. When I was 10, I lived away from home to train in Lake Placid, NY during my summer vacation. I also spent a summer away from home training in Cape Cod, MA when I was 12. I used to miss A LOT of school to train up in Boston and go to competitions all over New England. While I was a good student and a hard working skater, I also had a devilish side…. In high school I loved to sneak the keys and take my parent's car out, sneak out at night to meet friends and even skip school to spend the day with my boyfriend (at least we ended up married!)…. Don't tell my daughters about this!

fun facts include??

-(what you spend most of your time doing)
I spend most of my time planning, organizing and worrying that I have forgotten something!
-Ferocious reader, when it includes ________.
Inspiring advice, fantastic organizing suggestions or celebrity gossip;)

-________ makes her weak in the knees.
Anticipation of the next Twilight movie

Sunday Words of Wisdom

The future depends on what we do in the present. - Mahatma Gandhi

Favorite Things Friday - Halloween Sweets and Treats

The Sweet Funky Vintage girls have been snacking on Halloween candy for a few days (okay, weeks) now. Which has made me start thinking about yummy halloween treats. I usually throw a Halloween party, since my Olivia's birthday is the week before Halloween. But, this year, we decided to take her to Disneyland for her birthday instead. The Disneyland trip wont happen for a couple of months yet, so I am starting to feel sentimental for our Halloween party tradition.
I love making fun party food, so I thought I would share some of my favorite ideas with you. Some I have tried, and some I would like to try!
Owl cupcakes - these cupcakes were on the One Charming Party blog. We did them for Georgia's class party last year and they were A-dorable!

The blog post is part of a series they shared of an entire Halloween class party - excellent ideas!

These Owl Smores were shared on the Living Locurto blog. We made these last year for Olivia's party - totally cute.

I haven't made these Witch Hat Cookies yet, but how easy are they? Keebler fudge stripe cookes turned upside down with Hershey's kisses stuck on with orange icing. Maybe I'll make a batch up, just for research sake, you know?!

And, these Strawberry Ghosts! Don't they make you want to giggle?!
Mummy Dogs are always a hit - and so easy! These are shared by Our Best Bites.

Our Best Bites also shared these Nutty Ghosts!

Meet Allison!

Recently, we were fortunate enough to add Allison to our Sweet Funky Vintage crew! She keeps things running smoothly and does a lot of order receiving and shipping of our customer orders.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself? I have been married for 8 years to an amazing man who still gives me butterflies. I am the lucky mom to Reagan, who is 5, and Sam who is 2. I was a teacher for 8 years, but recently took a leave of absence to be home with my kids. Being home is a lot harder than working, but I love every second of it!


2. What do you do when you aren’t working at Sweet Funky Vintage? I'm walking the Breast Cancer 3 Day (my 6th time!) so training for that takes up a lot of time! I love to spend time with my husband, as we don't get that much time together due to his crazy work schedule. I volunteer in Reagan's class as well as teach a class of 2 and 3 year olds at church. My son, Sam, get weekly therapy, so that takes up a lot of my time as well!


3. If you were stranded on a desert island and were allowed one luxury item, what would it be and why? My iPad...I could keep connected, read, play....as long as I could get 3G out there!!!

4. Do you have any phobias? I'm deathly afraid of spiders and snakes.....please, don't even show me a picture...


5. Who inspires you and why? My dad inspires me....he was a single father of 3 for many years, worked his hardest to make us comfortable, encouraged and pushed me when I needed it, and is still my biggest fan. He's honestly the best!!!

6. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why? Hmmmmm.....so many......perhaps I'd time travel....in the past and to the future!

7. Can you tell us one thing about yourself that would surprise people who know you? Really, do people want to know the answer to this? ;o) Actually...I didn't plan on going to college, I wanted to get out of high school, go to beauty school, and move on with my life. A friend in high school, and my dad, encouraged me to do otherwise. I am the first and only woman in my entire family with a college degree, and the third person from my entire family who has a college degree. So glad I listened to those smart people!

fun facts include……
-(fact about your family)~
I met my husband when we were 16....we dated for about three seconds, but he told his mom that he'd marry me some day....ten years later, we were married!
Neither one of my kids had names until we were pulling into the hospital parking lot...Sam, my 2 year old son, got his name when he was born. They were both early, so we just weren't ready! My 5 year old daughter, Reagan....yes, she's named after the president. Sam got his name from his dad (who's name is Shannon), but his nickname is Sam. Due to the fact that when he was little, he used to run around yelling "Sam I am!!"

-(what you spend most of your time doing)
Ummm...is that "free time?" When I do have that, I love to read, and peruse The Pioneer Woman's website!

-Ferocious reader, when it includes books about Asian culture (such as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan) and books with Kings and Queens...love Philippa Gregory!)


Red wine and chocolate makes her weak in the knees....if I said my man, that would be way too cheesy!!!

What's Cookin' Wednesday - Garlic Spaghetti Cups

You may have seen this on other blogs. I know that I have seen it several places. But, in case you haven't, I am going to share it with you here.
It is so incredibly tasty, pretty easy, and the kids LOVE it!

Flaky Garlic Toasted Spaghetti Cups

Garlic Toast Cups

1 refrigerated pie dough (NOT the frozen pie crusts)
1/4 cup olive oil for brushing
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rollout pie dough and cut into 5 inch rounds - you will have to roll out dough scraps to finish up and get 6 circles. Lightly brush each side of the dough rounds with olive oil and sprinkle on garlic salt. Turn a muffin tin upside down and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Carefully press one circle onto each of the upturned muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack.

Spaghetti

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic salt
26 oz of favorite pasta sauce (homemade or store bought)



Place oil into a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, saute onion and bell pepper until slightly softened, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in beef, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Cook until browned and crumbled. Stir in past sauce and reduce heat to low to simmer sauce.


Cook spaghetti noodles according to package instructions.

To assemble - place a toasted up on your plate and use tongs to place a small amount of noodles into the bottom of the crusts. Top with heaping spoonful of pasta sauce. Top with freshly grated Parmesan and basil leaves if desired.

Meet Sydney!

Today I would like to introduce you to Sydney, our Sweet Funky Vintage Trunk Show Coordinator. She handles the scheduling of our trunk shows and contacting potential hostesses and reps and answers all of their questions. She has been with us for about a year and a half and is a HUGE assett to Sweet Funky Vintage. She is always ready with a kind word, a smile, and possibly even some sweet tea. I love having another Southern girl around!

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Sydney Walker and I am originally from Pensacola, Florida. I went to college at the University of South Carolina and graduated with a bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education. I am married to a Marine and have two beautiful girls named Grace (7) and Caroline (5). Other than my husband, the only boy in our life is our Labrador Retriever named Maverick (10). We live a crazy life with the Marine Corps, but we wouldn't have it any other way. My girls social calendars far out weigh my own and most of my time is spent encouraging, loving, and raising these two wonderful little girls to be amazing christian women!


2. What do you do when you aren’t working at Sweet Funky Vintage?
I love to run, it's good for the soul and I enjoy working out. I am a Sunday school teacher in my local church and I volunteer in my girl's classrooms.


3. If you were stranded on a desert island and were allowed one luxury item, what would it be and why?
I love Coca-Cola, not Pepsi, but Coke. To me it is a little piece of heaven and most of my friends know that I would rather miss a meal to have it than to drink a diet one!


4. Do you have any phobias?
I totally do not like lizards especially the racing ones with long tails and stripes down their backs. They are too quick for my comfort and I know snakes are close by when they are around. Eww!


5. Who inspires you and why?
My mama is the person that inspires me most. She is a good christian, southern, woman that is not afraid to show people her roots. She was always amazing at balancing her work load while caring for my brother and I. She takes care of those in need and is a kind friend. She has always been encouraging and my number one fan. And for anyone that has ever eaten my mama's food, knows her cooking is hands down the best!!!

6. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
Honestly, having a super power is overrated. I think I would prefer to be and have just what God gave me and let him take care of the rest!


7. Can you tell us one thing about yourself that would surprise people who know you?
Some surprising facts about me is I have been trained in American Sign Language, I received a softball scholarship out of high school, just to later turn it in for a bigger diamond, given to me by husband ;-) and one day I am going to write a children's book. I love children's literature and I love to write.

Fun Facts:

-Ferocious reader, when it includes ________. I would not consider myself a huge reader, but what I do read is the Bible and children's literature.

-________ makes her weak in the knees.
The thing that makes me most weak in the knees is my husband's smile. He has two large dimples that would knock any girls socks off! Love him!

Favorite Things Friday - Get your craft on with free Halloween printables!

I love decorating and I love printables - so bring on the free Halloween printables!

These "Treat" letter printables are awesome! Print on glossy photo paper and create something cool like the picture below, or just punch holes and thread with ribbon and make a banner to hang from your mantle!


If you are really feeling crafty, create this beautiful banner! She includes a whole tutorial!


I love, love, love this Halloween version of the keep calm images! Perfecly simple!


If you are going to be throwing a Halloween bash of any kind - your bash will be better with these printable drink labels!


If your neighborhood hasn't caught onto the Boo-ing craze, then what are you waiting for? It is a ton of fun to ding-dong-ditch your neighbors and have them find a special Halloween treat on their doorstep!


These printable gift tags are awesome!

Los Angeles, California

I know, I know, our blog has been a little quieter lately. Sorry about that. I will try to do better!
We just got back from a whirlwind adventure in Los Angeles at the LA Textile show at the California Market Center. It is our third trip to LA for the textile show. We also did a quick zip through the garment district for some great new knits and some trims that you are going to die for! We cannot wait to show them to you!

(just one corner of one of our favorite fabric haunts - it is a HUGE building filled with fabric)
We finished up the last few purchases for our Spring 2012 line and will be giving you a sneak peek of that very soon. We also purchased some of our Fall 2012 collection and are super excited about the gorgeous fall colors!
We arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday, and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a big bicycle event, and our hotel was right in the middle of the blocked off and re-routed streets. So, what is a girl to do? Why, go shopping, of course!

(Also around the corner from our hotel, there was a film crew filming something. I wonder what it was!)
So, we went to Beverly Hills and hung out at The Grove shopping center. And, who did we spot walking around? Harry Connick, Jr and his daughter, Kate! Sadly I didn't snatch up my iPhone and snap a picture. I was too busy drooling! Jess and I hit the American Girl store and Pottery Barn Kids, Nordstrom, and had a fabulous lunch at The Farm.


I had to take a picture of this. We saw it as we were leaving an underground parking garage. I am famous for using completely accurate and technical terms like "doohickey" and "domaflickey" and "dodah" and "thingamajig". So, I laughed when I saw the ticket taker thingee calling itself a "gobbler"!

We finally made it to our hotel, and naturally, saw another one of those signs we seem to see everywhere in California - telling you that everything in the entire state is known to cause Cancer. Seriously, people?

Typical girls. Do we really need this much stuff for a 2 day trip?

LA Textile is a show at the California Market Center for things related to the Garment industry. It is a lot of fabric and trim manufacturers, but there are color forecasters and all sorts of other companies that serve the Garment industry. We do most of our fabric and trim buying there.



I always laugh at this sign out in front of the Market center. Because, really, what more do you need?

One of our favorite parts of our trips to LA Textile is eating at the little cafe across the street. The food is terrific. However, this time, the service was really slow. We ordered and then about 30 minutes later, we still hadn't received any food. I was so hungry, I was just about to start chewing on my arm! Then, a server stopped by and asked what we had ordered. Turns out, our server never turned in our order! Ugh! But, they very quickly got our food to us, and as usual, it was worth waiting for!

I love this decoration in the restaurant - a lucite divider filled with wire whisks.
We started with fried macaroni and cheese balls (have you tried these from Trader Joe's? They rock!) and chickpea fritters and the very best sweet potato fries ever! We ended with pizettes - small, freshly baked pizzas. Terrific!

chickpea fritter - no longer plural fritters because we ate them before I could snap a picture!

Macaroni and Cheese Balls

Sweet Potato Fries with a Remoulade dipping sauce.

We ended up leaving the city after a very long day right in the middle of rush-hour traffic and there was a full moon! Kind of neat looking!