Small Pursellet

A pursellet is a coin purse and wallet combo. This is a small one, designed by me, to carry your folded bills on one side and your cards on the other with your coins in the center. The inside is lined with contrasting fabric and it closes with a zipper. I used a medium weight interfacing in back of the main fabric and lining to give this pursellet some structure. The bottom is squared off which creates a lot of room for everything you need to carry, even the miscellaneous bits of papers we all seem to collect.  

Hand washable, this pursellet can hold it all and is small enough to be carried in a jacket pocket or back pocket of your jeans - great for those times when you don’t want to carry a big bag. 

The approx. dimensions are 6” x 4” with the bottom measuring about 1" wide. 

Here are some recent ones I've made and put up for sale on  Etsy:

Harry Alexander dragon fabric - this is the front.

This is the back.

Hand dyed (by me) fabric.

Floral print.

Hawaiian themed.

Orange dots.

Inside view - empty.

Full - The pockets can hold about 15 cards on each side - the pockets were designed to keep everything separate from each other for easy access. 

I consider the small pursellet my signature piece as I designed it and have been using one for several years now. These are on sale for $15.00. 

I also designed a larger one that can hold unfolded bills - the pockets are designed so you place your cards "head" first instead of the conventional way. This one goes for $18.00:

I have other things for sale as well - bags, water bottle holders, beaded necklaces, herbal product, as well as other useful items. Visit my shop anytime, my doors are always open.

Thanks for reading!!

Comments or questions are always welcomed. I would love to hear what you think of this post or any of my other posts. Thanks!

Headache Tip

Yesterday I had a bad headache. I've been having neck and shoulder issues for a while now and I was sure my pain was related to that. I was wrong. After being in pain for a couple of hours, I remembered the wise words of my daughter Dawn, "Mom, when you get a headache - drink water. A headache is a signal to your brain that you are dehydrated". I immediately downed a glass and a half of water and waited about 30 minutes and my headache was gone. Some of my neck and shoulder pain was eased and I wasn't hearing any crinkling from those joints - the water lubricated those joints.

When a lot of people get a headache, they immediately reach for the  pill bottle - they don't think about dehydration. In today's world of being on the go and eating fast foods, a lot of us reach for sodas or energy drinks to quench our thirst and don't think about drinking water. Drinking sodas or energy drinks can contribute to headaches because of the sugar and other chemical content that's in those drinks.

I was born and raised in Hawaii, and for all of my adult life there, I drank Diet Pepsi day and night - I hated water, never drank it unless there was nothing else. I know a lot of people who just don't like water. Well I didn't know that the aspartame in the soda, coupled with the Hawaii heat was why I was sick all the time - I was constantly getting headaches. It wasn't until years after moving to Washington State that an email went around talking about diet sodas and aspartame. The email basically said, "Aspartame stored at high temperatures turns into formaldehyde". That sent an immediate signal to my brain that I needed to stop drinking diet sodas, and it was then that I realized that most my headaches I got in Hawaii were from not drinking enough water. I have since stopped drinking sodas - I only indulge in a lemon lime soda when my tummy is upset, and now, I only drink water.

Not only will drinking water keep you hydrated, it can also alleviate a lot of pain by keeping your joints lubricated and it can also curb your hunger. If you don't like water or it tastes bland to you, adding fruits, veggies and herbs can greatly enhance the flavor to make it more appealing. The best way to drink water on the go is to get a BPA free water bottle (sold at most outdoor or big box stores), and filter your water. This will eliminate plastic bottles filling up our landfills.

So the next time you get a headache, reach for a water bottle instead of the pill bottle. How much water should you drink in a day? Go here to figure out how much water you should be drinking based on your weight and answering some other questions. If after drinking water, your head still hurts and you have these symptoms, call  your doctor - you need medical attention, something that water cannot help.

Drink Water My Friends!

 Comments or questions are always welcomed. I would love to hear what you think of this post or any of my other posts. Thanks!

Homemade Sausage & Sausage and Egg Cup Recipe

Here is a yummy recipe I made the other night with just sausage, eggs and cheese, it was real easy to put together.

Sausage Recipe

1 lb. ground pork
1 tsp. fennel seeds (I grind mine to powder form for better flavor)
Herbs of choice
1/4 tsp. salt
several grinds of pepper

- In a bowl, place all ingredients and mix.
- Let sit for half hour or so to let flavors marry.
- Use as desired or make some Sausage and Egg Cups.
- To make meatballs - roll into balls and bake at 425 for 25 minutes.


Sausage and Egg Cup Recipe

- Preheat over to 425.
- Using about 3/4 pounds of  homemade or store bought sausage, place a little into a 6 cup muffin tin sprayed with cooking oil. Place muffin tin on a *foil lined rimmed cookie sheet.
- Spread evenly on the bottom and up the sides of each cup, don't make it too thick.
- Crack an egg in each cup and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
- I put a good pinch of cheese on top of each egg.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until egg is cooked as desired.
- Serve hot.

I  used just over 3/4 pounds of sausage and had a little leftover, so I made meatballs with the rest. If you use a 12 cup muffin tin, you could probably stretch 1 pound of sausage.

* I did have spillage from the eggs and did not line my cookie sheet - the baked on egg was very hard to remove.

 Printable Recipe

Happy Baking!!

Comments or questions are always welcomed. I would love to hear what you think of this post or any of my other posts. Thanks!

How to Make Coconut Carmel Sauce

Here is another awesome recipe you can make from a can of full fat coconut milk. In case you missed the previous coconut milk recipe, you can read it here.  This recipe is very simple to make and the taste is rich and not too sweet as I cut down the sugar amount - can't really tell that it's from coconut cream, it tastes like dulce de leche. Even tho the recipe says to cook at a low boil for 35-45 minutes, it goes by fast and seeing the cream turn a golden color is really cool. My recipe has been adapted from this one.

Like the other recipe, you chill a can of organic coconut milk to get the cream to separate from the water. You scoop out the cream and place it in a small sauce pan. Over medium high heat, add in the other ingredients while whisking and bring to a boil. You want to whisk every couple of minutes until it has reduced by half. Do not get distracted and walk away, there is a tendency for the cream to boil over and it could make a mess. Right about 30 minutes, the color should turn a nice caramely color and get real thick. Cool slightly and use immediately or transfer to an air tight storage container. The original recipe says it keeps for about 2 weeks, but I have never had mine last that long. The original recipe also calls for using two cans, but I only use one, two cans would be too much for me to make at one time.

Printable recipe

It turns from this . . .

to this!

The uses for this yummy sauce is endless. Pour it over ice cream, dip apples in it or you can make something like this:

I used this cookie recipe. I placed it in an 8 x 8 pan, spread the caramel over the cookie, let it cool slightly, then spread on a 1/2 cup of melted semi sweet chocolate chips over the top. I set in the frig to cool then cut it into squares. So yummy and when you bite into it, the chocolate and caramel coating is a little crisp.

So, not only can you cook with coconut milk, but you can bake with it and create lot's of delicious recipes. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you make with it.

What do you like to put caramel sauce on?

Comments or questions are always welcomed. I would love to hear what you think of this post or any of my other posts. Thanks!

How to Make Coconut Whipped Cream

There are a lot of people, me included, who cannot tolerate dairy products. Dairy can cause a lot of digestive issues and bathroom problems for most people, it can also cause that proverbial runny nose that some of us have, and  avoiding it can be difficult.

Did you know that the cream from a can of FULL FAT coconut milk can be used to make whipped cream? It's really not difficult to do - the hardest part in
this process is waiting for the cream to solidify enough to whip.

Here are the steps to making your own non dairy whipped cream:

Take an organic can of full fat coconut milk, right side up (do not shake the can to mix contents), and place it in your frig - you want the cream to separate from the water, this could take several hours or leave it overnight. Don't make the mistake of thinking that freezing it will speed up the process - I put mine in the freezer and forgot about it. After thawing and trying to make whipped cream, it came out gritty from being frozen - you won't like it, trust me.

With your can properly chilled, turn it upside down. By turning it upside down, you get to the liquid first and that makes getting to the cream easier - I've tried both ways and this one is the best.

Give your new top a good rinse. You should make it a habit to rinse ALL your canned goods before opening them. Do you know where it's been before you got it? or What's been crawling on top of it?

Open the can and you'll see some liquid on the top. Pour that liquid in a storage container - you can use it in smoothies or curry recipes. It freezes wonderfully for when you need it - it's ok to have a little of the cream mixed in, you just don't want the two to totally mix together.

This is what the cream will look like in the can.

Using a spatula, take out all the cream from the can (you can see it's a little gritty from being frozen).

Squeeze out about 2 tablespoons of honey - you can measure it if you need too.

Then add about 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract - you could add any flavor you like.

Now, get out your hand held mixer and start mixing. If you're brave, you could do it by hand, but I'm not brave. You could also do this in a Kitchen Aid stand mixer - just put the cream in your mixer bowl and follow the rest of the steps.

Whip to your desired consistency. I have a little ways to go here.

Here it is all done - rich and thick like whipped cream should be. t'll last a couple of weeks in the frig - either place some plastic wrap over the top of your bowl, or spoon into a storage container, then use as desired.

Printable Recipe


Here are some ideas of what you can do with the whipped cream other than using it as just a topping:

I took some of the whipped cream and put them in a mini chopper with some frozen strawberries. I then froze the whole thing. It got pretty solid and was hard to eat - I had to chip away at it, but it was still tasty. I have eaten it at this stage - so yummy!

Here, I chopped some frozen strawberries and put them on the whipped cream. I then chopped some crystallized ginger and topped off my dessert with it, you can even add nuts - just like eating a rich dessert.  

See, making non dairy whipped cream is that easy, and you can do so much with it. I can eat a good amount of this with no problems.  I have another recipe you can make with the cream from canned coconut milk - be sure to come back next week to see another sweet treat.

What foods do you like to put whipped cream on?

Comments or questions are always welcomed. I would love to hear what you think of this post or any of my other posts. Thanks!