I first discovered Etsy two Christmases ago, when hubby showed me this really neat Hylian shield thumb drive that he found while trying to give me suggestions for presents. I ended up purchasing one for him, which he was pretty excited about. After that, I forgot about Etsy and didn't log on for a while after that.
Then, one of my girlfriends posted a link to a beautiful otter necklace that she found on Etsy. I decided to get back into it, and boy did I ever get HOOKED. There were quite a few days last summer where I was spending a good chunk of the day just browsing the various wares available. The creativity and artistry that people have is just amazing! For Christmas, I ended up ordering this fantastic Game of Thrones/Zelda mash up shirt for hubby from Designs by Perdita (and ordered her adorable Sherlock/Watson shirt for myself) and a Lannister sigil business card holder from Sublime Images. In the meantime, I was favoriting items and shops left right and center! So much fun stuff! I ended up using the Christmas money that my mom gave us towards a few treasures that I had been eyeing: an adorable little penguin necklace from Two Little Doves, some lovely peg stamps from Nora Jane, a tissue holder from Not Without Annette, a GORGEOUS dress from Make it Good (Which just arrived yesterday! So, SO much love!), and finally, my dragon graphic for my stand-mixer.
As you can see, I had the chance last weekend (with help from hubby) to install my beautiful dragon on my stand-mixer. He is from the Flip Flop Graphics shop on Etsy, which I happened upon a few months ago when searching for all things dragon-related. Actually, come to think of it, I happened upon it when I was searching for all things Legend of Zelda related...I think I was starting to build up some possibilities for presents for hubby. He's a BIG fan of all things Legend of Zelda, in case you haven't figured it out. ;)
ANYWHO, the thought did not occur to me until then that my stand-mixer does not have to remain the plain white that it is. I was a bit leery at first when I realized how complex the graphic is, but Christy, the owner of Flip Flop Graphics, provides a YouTube video that shows how to install the dragon. To make sure I wouldn't mess up (and because I'm paranoid that way), I ended up watching the thing three times. Once before I even decided that I wanted to buy him, once after I bought him, and once with hubby (so that he knew what his role in helping me would be).
Installing him turned out to be a breeze; the tail doesn't quite wrap around in the same way, but I kinda like how it looks like he's anchored onto the stand with his tail. :) It makes me very happy to look over at my mixer in the kitchen and see my dragon. I'm now slowly investigating the possibility of getting a stand-mixer cover off Etsy; yes, it means I can't see my dragon all the time, but it will protect him better (as well as the mixer, of course).
Here's the meal plan for the week, lots of oldies but goodies. I'm trying the one new recipe from Food Network to try and use up the leftover cabbage from making pansit. I've also uploaded the recipes for both pansit and egg rolls, so you can try them for yourselves. Enjoy the weekend and happy cooking all!
January 27-Feb 1st
Sunday: Sweet n' sour meatballs with rice
Monday: Corned beef and cabbage soup (new recipe)
Tuesday: Tuna cheese melts
Wednesday: Lemon-pepper fettuccine with chicken
Thursday: Sweet n' sour pork with rice
Friday: Taco pie