Strawberry Kiwi Orange Juice

Ok. I'm obsessed.

The Boy and I walked to Stan's Market, a couple blocks from our apartment, to pick up some produce. We got 1lb of strawberries for $1.50, 5 kiwis for $2, 8lbs of oranges for $6 and 2 mangos for $1.50. It was awesome.

My newest juice concoction?


1lb Strawberries
3 Kiwi, peeled
2 Oranges, peeled

~700 mL juice

This would probably taste really good blended with a banana, but I don't have a blender.

I've added a blender to my wishlist of appliances. :)

Carrot Orange Mango Juice

I. Love. My. Juicer.

The only fruits and veggies I had on hand were carrots, a mango, and oranges, so I tried juicing all of those together and the combination is so yummy!

8 carrots
2 navel oranges
1 mango

Makes ~800mL juice. 

Cut out seed of mango and cut the flesh into 8 long slices (3 for each half, 2 sides of seed).

I peeled the carrots, mango, and orange, but you don't have to.

I do this for a two reasons:
1. I want to keep my machine for as long as possible and keep the blades sharp.
2. Prep work is like meditation for me and I find a lot of fun in using my awesome kitchen knives. :)

New Juicer

I'm tired of reading labels at the grocery store, so I'm starting to make things myself so I can control what goes into our food. And really, I just like to make things from scratch and experiment with food, so this is just another gadget for the kitchen. :)

A bread maker is second on my list - but I think I'll just use the oven for now. But if I get a little lazy with all the kneading and waiting, I'll cave and buy one.

My new juicer came in today (yes, I do order online a lot) and I couldn't wait to set it up next to my favorite set of utensils.

Know any yummy concoctions I should try first?

Very Volatile

I've been looking for some comfy black boots made of synthetic material that have a good amount of rubber tread on the sole so I can run through the snow and ice in the dog park without slipping.  Really, a pair of stylish rain boots would suffice.

I have a pair of brown boots that that I love - I run in 12" of snow with Hubert and I have no problems with water-logged material, but they have NO treads - which means lots of slipping and sliding when taking Hubert to the park.

These boots just arrived today and are a perfect fit.  I got them 1/2 size smaller because they run a little big.

$35 and free shipping (arrived in 3 days!)?

Couldn't pass this up.

Deep Wisteria

I've had a lot of requests for purples over the past few months and it's been a long process looking for the perfect hide. I finally found one and it's lovely. Squishy yet sturdy and has a very soft and smooth hand. It's premium upholstery leather so it will wear very well.

This Baby is ready to ship Made to Order in the shop.

Custom order requests are also welcome for other bag styles in this leather color. Just ask!

Pittsburgh's goin to the Super Bowl

I'm not sure if you know this, but I love football -- I'm from Texas.  It's assumed.

This was the best time to move to Pittsburgh and become a Steelers fan. And live in the same building as Hines Ward. And wear his jersey every Steelers game day. And have my team go to Super Bowl XLV!

Congrats, Steelers! AFC Champions!

And in honor of this special event, I got Hubert a Steelers jersey.

Yes, I'll take pictures. :)

Meet Mini

This is Baby and Brief's teenage daughter, Mini.

The Mini Ruche Bag is the bag that ties all my designs together into a more cohesive collection -- inheriting characteristics from Baby Ruche, The Briefcase and The Clutch.

Mini is larger than The Clutch and smaller than Baby Ruche. The perfect size for all the essentials and a little more. Easily carries an iPad.  :)

She's got a removable and adjustable strap, so if you need to do some hands-free shopping damage, lengthen the strap and sling it across your chest like a messenger. Remove the straps and use the handles for a nice tote. She's so versatile!

Find The Mini Ruche in Port Royale in the shop.  Dreaming of a different color? Available in most of the leather colors currently in the shop, just ask!

What do you think?

Think she'll get along with the popular kids?

Make a Statement

 Briefcase in Two-Tone Red Leather

Briefcase in Grunge Gold Leather

These were two custom orders that were just too awesome to not offer in my shop. 

While these make great statement pieces, they are just neutral enough to wear every day.

Nice, huh?

Vietnam's Pho - Bun Bo Hue

I'm kind of spoiled. I live walking distance from two Vietnamese restaurants and three Asian grocery stores. I love living in Strip District because it's filled with wholesale markets, art venues, historical sites (including our apartment building) and lots of international cuisine.

Such proximity has made me really lazy to cook my own Vietnamese food when I can get really great stuff by just walking down the street.

The Boy and I have made it a weekly habit of visiting our favorite spot, Vietnam's Pho to get my favorite dish, Bun Bo Hue. He loves the Pho Ga (it's not on the menu, but they have it!).

It makes me cry and sniffle every time. Literally. Because of the spices. The first time we went, I ordered it in English and it was pretty mild. Ever since I've ordered it in Vietnamese and all of a sudden the spiciness level increased. Maybe I should go back to ordering in English and it will be mild again. :)

This week I ordered it for pick-up so I could enjoy it at home during my lunch break.  I ate half of it yesterday and finished the other half today for my lunch break.

Mmm, warm soup belly.

If you want to know how to prepare this yourself at home, I posted my recipe here.

Noisy Day Off

The Boy had a day off today.  Even though he worked the first half of the day from home, and I actually have to work today, it's nice that he's home, sitting behind me, serenading me with his guitar playing and drumming.

He is not a guitar player. He's still learning. It's all scales and the same chords over and over that I hear. He is, however, a drummer and a very good one. But that isn't nearly as appealing for me because all I hear are drum sticks hitting rubber pads - playing out of the amp will cause the neighbors to file a noise complaint.

All the while, Hubert is snuggled in his bed snoring his lungs out.

...and then there's my sewing machine and hammering.

I'm surprised we haven't been evicted from the apartment from all the racket. :)

What did you do on your day off?

See OhHelloFriend for a Special Something

The lovely Danni of OhHelloFriend is hosting her weekly giveaway starting today. You can win a little something from my shop. :)

See her blog for more details!

Wedding Inspiration: Part 1

Photo credits: Mendhi Cupcakes, Cake Topper, Laterns , Tea Tin Center Piece

Our wedding will be a fusion of our cultures, mine being Vietnamese and The Boy's being Indian - the two just mesh together so perfectly with all the reds, golds, and silks.

I'm getting super giddy about wedding planning now. The Boy is not as giddy --I'm not even sure he's feeling a smidgen of giddiness. This is probably a good time for me to start making more female friends...

It's OK though, I have YOU to share all my excitement and ideas with, right?? :)

Stuck.

It has been snowing quite a bit here. It's beautiful and serene and I love it. Though it is kind of a bummer if you park outside and fail to scrape off the snow from your car after the first round of snow like I did.


Day 1 (Yesterday): Not bad, just a nice layer of snow on my car.

Today, I thought I would borrow the ice scraper from The Boy so I could clean off my car today to go grocery shopping. 


Day 2 (Today): The snow plow piled all the snow ONTO the back of my car, reaching all the way to the back windshield. What I get when parking between a car and the driveway to the loading dock. I scraped off most of it, but the rest is a little tough with the dinky scraper I have. I think I had about 6 inches of snow on my car.



At least I'm forced to be really productive and finish all these pending orders faster than I planned. :)

Banana Coconut Walnut Muffins

This morning, everything came together perfectly.

I drove 25 miles through snow with no windshield washer fluid and made it home alive with my windshield in all a haze from the snow and salt.

Went to Tiffany and picked up my newly-resized ring which fits perfectly! I'm a size 5.25 in case you plan on proposing to me, too.

Did a bit (understatement) of damage at Banana Republic after feeling good about my engagement ring.

The bolts of lining fabric I've been waiting for arrived exactly when I returned from my errands after successfully parallel parking between two cars.

Obviously, I'm experiencing lots of new things since moving to Pittsburgh:
1. Driving in snow, or seeing snow for that matter.
2. Being engaged.
3. Parallel parking (perks of living in the city and not wanting to pay for a garage)

To celebrate my accomplishments for today, I made a batch of muffins. Here is the original recipe.  I eliminated the butter/oil and replaced it with an extra banana and then I added the coconut, walnuts, vanilla, and soy milk.

Gotta watch my figure. :)

Banana Coconut Walnut Muffins

Makes 12 Cupcake-sized Muffins

Ingredients
1.5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
0.5 teaspoon salt
0.75 cup white sugar
4 large bananas
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Handful of broken walnuts
Handful of unsweetened shredded coconut
Splash of very vanilla Silk

Mix it all up, pour it into non-stick cupcake baking pan, and bake for 20-25 mins at 350 F.

Yum.

Happy Weekend! :)

In the Studio

It's peaceful today in the studio. Just the gentle purr of the sewing machine...

...and the obnoxious snoring of Hubert. Goodness gracious how can such a small animal generate such a high-decibel groan? It's really breaking my concentration here.  I feel like he's going to swallow his own nose.

Yet, in the picture, he looks so peaceful and quiet.

Running Out Fast

Brown and Grunge Gold are becoming quite the popular colors lately.  If you've had one of these bags in mind for the future, might want to pick it up now before it sells out!


Will I have more BROWN in the shop soon?

Yes, it's a slightly-distressed medium brown with a soft matte finish.  It is similar in color to the Coffee Bean except with a slight red tinge. It is soft like the Aztec II Brown.  It will be available in the Baby Ruche, Briefcase, and Clutch styles. If you'd like to order yours in early, message me on Etsy for details!

**  Update!!  **

Baby Ruche in Aztec II Brown Leather -  SOLD OUT
Clutch in Coffee Bean Leather - SOLD OUT
Clutch in Grunge Gold Leather - SOLD OUT

Hello, World.

Since it's the beginning of a new year, and I have some new readership, I thought I would take this time to re-introduce the main characters of my blog. :)

I'm Jenny.  I design and hand make bags full-time in a renovated warehouse loft in Pittsburgh, PA.  We just moved to Pittsburgh mid-November 2010. Before then I lived in Austin, TX where I started my business from scratch.  Best decision ever.

The Boy is the love of my life.  His name is Akshay, but his friends call him Shay.  On my blog, he's "The Boy". 

Hubert is our pug. He's a goof ball. We also call him a Cat-Bear-Pig, for the obvious reasons that he acts and looks like them.  He keeps us entertained and is completely spoiled.

The Boy and I got engaged on December 23, 2010.  Read about the proposal here!

What's next? 

Planning a wedding.

I'll share all the details here! But we haven't picked a date yet. Or a season. Or a year. I have really no idea how to start planning a wedding.

Suggestions?

Happy New Year!

My fiance (EEEK!) and I celebrated New Years this year with his brother and sister-in-law.

Yes, I set up a photo booth.

See our pictures here!

p.s. Sorry no pictures of the ring. It's getting re-sized and I won't have it back until the end of this week.