What's for Dinner tonight??

with fall in the air it is time for roasting vegetables! My sister and I headed to the local public market yesterday to scoop up some of falls best bounty...



I picked out some yummy delicata squash and sweet potatoes for roasted veggies for dinner.... this is how I prepared it!



cut off ends of squash, slice in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and slice into 1/2" thick slices





slice the sweet potato into thick sticks ... keep skin on for added nutritional value!



toss in a bowl with onion slices and season to taste with olive oil, salt, ground cumin and curry powder



place in pan - try to keep it to 1-2 layers high... roast at 350 degrees until tender - about 45 minutes



enjoy!!!

Happy First (Week) Anniversary!!!

... to my brother & new sister-in-law! Last saturday was their wedding in Buffalo NY ... held in a vacant lot owned by the non-profit PUSH Buffalo that my brother works for. The day was rainy & gray which added to the fun & excitement in the air.

Very non-traditional ... no wedding dress, or organ music, no minister or priest ... but the most magical wedding I have ever been to - I was so glad my children had a chance to experience a wedding outside the box!

presenting Clarke & Melissa Gocker Kondrak



the nieces & nephews



with great grandma gocker



getting ready for the rain



the look of love





*insert squeal* ... I think they are about to kiss!



of course I had to make something for Eily to wear



our advice to the bride & groom... remember to always have fun!

How about a Sneak Peek??? .... and a little giveaway????

Last week on my birthday an extra special package arrived on my doorstep....



a box of goodies from Patty Young of ModKid Designs! Patty's new line of fabric, Flora & Fauna is set to debut in a couple of weeks at the Fall Quilt Market in Houston and she was looking for a but of help getting her samples ready for the show....so I was lucky enough to get to see this gorgeous fabric up close and make a new Frida for her booth!






These fabrics are simply gorgeous... wonderful prints and rich colors.... 44 new designs in all!

I'd love for you to post your favorite colorway and prints from her new collection.... give me some inspiration for prints to order for Betty's Closet on etsy

I will pick one lucky winner from the comments received to win a stack of 8 fat quarters from Patty's Mezzanine line... you get to pick your favorite 8!

Eily in the size 4/5.... not too happy to model!

We've got a winner!!!!!!!



this was the winning comment.....

CurlyGirlD said...

OK, ther are just too many sweet choices on etsy! But I think my favorite "Fall `09" piece is the "Isobel" yoga-waist skirt. It's so pretty, yet looks so comfy. It would be just darling on my DD!

Thanks for the great giveaway! Fingers crossed...

so.....CurlyGirlD...leave me your your email or contact information so I can get your prize sent out! Thanks all for joining the fun .....

What's Cooking??

I asked this question yesterday as I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner...I posted it to Twitter and Facebook and got some great ideas! Lynn a fellow teammate from etsy posted vegetarian stuffed pepper casserole!

I thought as my thanks for the delicious suggestions yesterday I would share a family favorite from our house...

Tempeh Fajitas with Cucumber Salsa
from Jeanne Lemlin's Main Course Vegetarian Pleasures



Ingredients
FOR THE MARINADE

* 3 tb Tamari soy sauce
* Juice of 1/2 lime
* 1 ts Brown sugar
* 2 tb Vegetable oil
* 3 cl Garlic; minced
* 1/4 ts Crushed red pepper flakes

FOR THE FILLING

* 3 Bell peppers; cut into 1/2"
* 1 md Red onion; halved vertically

FOR THE SAUCE

* 2/3 c Low-fat yogurt
* 1/2 sm Cucumber; peeled, seeded,
* And finely diced (1/3c)
* 1/4 ts Ground cumin
* 1 tb Minced fresh parsley

TO SERVE

* 8 8" flour tortillas


Preparation

Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the tempeh, bell peppers and onion. Marinate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Preheat oven to 450 F.

In a small bowl combine the salsa ingredients. Cover and chill until ready to use.

Sprinkle a little water on each tortilla and rub it into each tortilla with your fingers. Stack the tortillas, then wrap in foil. Set aside.

Spread the marinated tempeh and vegetables on a baking sheet in one layer. Bake 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and tempeh begins to brown. Do not toss while cooking.

Place the tortilla packet in the oven for about 7 minutes. This will heat the tortillas with a little steam to soften them.

To serve, place a tortilla on each plate. Spoon some of the tempeh mixture along the center, cover with a little cucumber salsa, then fold and roll to enclose the filling.

DIY desk Organizers....

With back to school in full swing I thought I would share one of our ideas for organizing the kids desk drawers. We have older, second hand desks that sport deep drawers...easy to fill up with junk and hard to find anything in! After seeing what was available to buy in the stores I decided we could fashion our own that would be just as nice & personalized to match each kid.

for this project you will need:

1. empty boxes such as cereal, tissue, cracker boxes
2. tape (we used duct tape but packing or scotch would work too)
3. decorative paper - or if you want to be really eco-friendly, use the sunday funnies when you are done with them
4. pencil
5. scissors



Step One: select a height that you would like the organizer to be - probably a couple of inches...but if it is going into a shallow drawer you might want to measure the height of the drawer to be sure it will fit.



2. we taped our box together along the upper edges as it came open after we cut it...adds a little strength too....

3. trace the outline of the bottom of the box on a piece of decorative paper - cut slightly inside the lines and place paper in bottom of box



4. trace each side of box on decorative paper and tape to each side of box - we wrapped tape over the top edge to reinforce it





5. place in drawer and fill with goodies!



there are lots of ways to personalize these boxes...add your child's name, label the box with what will be put in it, for younger children they could cut photos out of magazines of what they will place inside....the options are endless!

Hope you have fun with this idea...if you make some yourself I would love to see your photos!

Halloween Giveaway from gock's frocks!

I thought it would be fun to do a little giveaway on my blog for halloween....

"Why Not ? " replied my daughter eily....so...this is what I am giving away...your choice of one of the following...

1. Halloween Skirt from my etsy shop
2. applique halloween tee to match a skirt in my shop
3. surprise handmade Halloween home decor item - I realize that not all of my followers have kids so I thought I would offer something for everyone!



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So...how can you win???? Easy...there are lots of ways to get an entry - for each leave a comment below letting me know that you have done this as I will use the random # generator to pick the winner :)
1. become a fan of gock's frocks on facebook
2. subscribe to my blog
3. join my mailing list (on my blog)
4. follow me on twitter
5. blog or tweet about the giveaway (leave me a link here to check it out!)
6. check out my etsy shop and let me know your favorite from my new fall '09 collection

whew....lots of chances to win some Halloween goodies from gock's frocks! remember to leave a comment for each entry !





Have fun!

Back to School...
.......or more aptly titled "Mama's got the baby blues!"....the kids headed back this week and to my surprise I found myself feeling very sad to see summer end.

Granted we had our fair share of squabbles and spats but as Monday drew to a close I realized the carefree days of summer were behind us ... our adventures at an end.

I met the buses with mixed emotions as I waved my kids off to another year at school... time marches on and each day they gain a bit more knowledge, independence, and stretch their wings away from me.

I only hope I can continue to influence them to be the best that they can be, treat others as they want to be treated and be a great citizen of this world....




my 7th grader...where has time gone?



4th grade...peace!



2nd grade...not so sure he wanted to go! mama's baby! look what he asked for in his lunch!



salami, mustard, and nicoise olives on a baguette! gotta love it...my little gourmet!

Fall Fun!

This summer I had the good fortune of being contacted by the talented Suymey Benson of Blossom Portraiture Art asking if I would be interested in working with her... I loved her photographs and jumped at the chance to send her some of my designs...Eily wasn't too sure she liked someone else modeling gock's frocks but she has gotten over it!

I am thrilled with the photos I received from Suymey and promptly got all of the pieces listed in my etsy shop yesterday...

I hope you like them as much as I do - and if you are in the Dallas area be sure to contact Suymey if you are looking for a fantastic photographer!

Introducing my new 3 way dress....features a removeable, reversible apron












a couple of new skirts.... and a new crazy daisy tee









and a fun new peasant style bubble top!




check them out now in my etsy shop!

Calling All Vera Bradley Fans....

do you like this



or this




and would you like to get them at about 50% off??? Then follow this link to Rue La La..but don't wait, the sale ends in less than 12 hours!

Dear Mr. President....

I recently sent 2 skirts to Sasha & Malia Obama in an effort to raise the President's awareness about the absurdity of the CPSIA. I am offering these new designs in womens sizes in my etsy shop!






made with the fabulous new fabric collection Mezzanine from Patty Young at Michael Miller and featuring my comfy yoga waistband. If you feel like making your own pick up some mezzanine fabric in my other etsy shop Betty's Closet

I think I am going to cry...sniff... sniff...

that would be tears of happiness! I just signed in to etsy and found the nicest feedback ever! I recently completed a special order for a customer for one of my womens yoga waist skirts (example shown in photo - not actual skirt)



she really took time to leave me thoughtful, positive feedback that has made my week!

"Is this a Lily Pulitzer? Why no, its a Gock's Frocks! Wear one of her pieces and you are sure to garner much attention. I ordered the skirt for myself and it is by far the most comfortable skirt that I own. The waistband is incredibly soft and is not constricting at all. I never want to take it off, as it is that easy to wear. I wear it with a white tank top and a pink cardigan and I look like I am ready for a stroll in Palm Beach. Her workmanship is phenomenal- it looks like a very expensive piece you would find in a high end boutique, as the photos cannot even compare to the real thing. She customized everything for me and really understood what I was looking for. Thank you very much!! I absolutely LOVE my Gock's Frocks skirt!"

thanks so much!

:)Kristen