Thursday, August 30, 2007

Makaio - King of My Heart

Guess who called me today to tell me he saw an airplane, "nyeeeeeeerrrrrr" (the sound of it flying overhead) and that he was going to the gym?

My little Makai-kai.



And so he takes the crown as king of my heart... (I am SO easy)

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Miss Malia - Queen of my Heart

Yesterday was Malia's first day of 1st grade.

Do you know what she wore?
She wore the dress I made her.

Do you know why?
"Because Auntie Sara would be so happy if I wore this on the first day of school."

This is why she is the Queen of my Heart.

(photo to come - Monica's computer is in the shop)

Monday, August 27, 2007

Ay, Chihuahua! "Messican" Brownies!

Here, try one...



Take one box of (not low-fat) brownie mix (or make your own) and add:
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or 1/8 if you're of the non-adventurous type)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds

Voila! "Messican" Brownies

Serve atop a tablecloth made from this Dia de los Muertos Fabric:



(trust me, it won't taste the same without it...ok, just looking for an excuse to display my stash)

Friday, August 24, 2007

BIg Girls

Here's the video for Big Girls:


Click here if you can't see video:





Kinda makes you want to dance down the street in your fringed & sequined baton leo.

My New Favorite Song

Those of you who know me well realize that it's not unusual for me to have one CD in the player for months...listening to it over and over again and never get sick of it. The only reason it ever comes out is because I've found another CD to play for months.

Well, here's my new favorite song, from my new favorite album, introduced to me by D.

Enjoy (over and over and over again) Grace Kelly by Mika:



Isn't he so foxy?? Also try Big Girls and Lollipop.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Miss Malia's Dress

D and I spent the weekend at our Nacimiento Lake house with my family (photos to come). We had so much fun eating, hanging out, swimming, and going out in the boat. Except for the dead bat in my bedroom, it was a perfect weekend.

Anyhow, the dress... Malia had this cutest dress on from Old Navy. Poor thing didn't have it on but 10 minutes before I asked her to take it off so I could duplicate it. She graciously agreed. Here's the original dress (a bit wrinkled):



And here's the duplicated dress.



I used some Denyse Schmidt fabric I bought at Beverly's for $1.99/yard (Shhh...I don't think they know what's up with Denyse. I felt a little like I stole it... I should have "stole" more!) for an unknown project... I did it without a pattern (yay!), but I did have to redo the bodice twice.

Anyhow, I'm pleased with it... just don't look on the inside :) Soon I'll have a serger (birthday idea!!).

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Love at First Bite

Let's pretend for a minute that I DIDN'T go straight from Chez Panisse and have and incredible meal (WITH dessert) to a cupcake shop around the corner...and buy a cupcake....and eat it.

OK, I'm a glutton! *hands up* I admit it. But can you blame me?? Look at this!



Love at First Bite was so cute - it was this quaint little place with cake/candy-related gifts, cake plates, and a cupcake case in the front, and a few ladies (including the owner) in the back baking and frosting the cupcakes right there. And there was this massive kitchenaid mixer... I was a little in love with the whole place.

I did practice a little self control by only getting one mini cupcake - a strawberry one. It tasted like fresh strawberry jam, and had the perfect proportion of cake to frosting. It was simply ridiculicious.



Next time, I'm trying the red velvet... which is really just chocolate cake with a lot of red food coloring, right? I hear it's (along with the strawberry) a best-seller.



Um, I have a lot of unfinished business in Berkeley.... good thing I work in Oakland.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Chez Panisse

Guess where I ate lunch yesterday??



Thank you to my great friend Kat who time-activated this culinary adventure. It was rumored that Alice was lunching in the house. (wait a second...who cooked my meal??? Just kidding.)

I forgot to snap a shot of the appetizer, which was a tomato & eggplant soup with a swirl of yogurt. There probably wasn't time to take a photo, I devoured it so quickly. Trust me, it was as beautiful as it was delicious. (The photos aren't so great, because I was trying not to be a TOTAL nerd by turning the flash off - I was only a partial nerd for taking the photos in the first place)

Here's the California sea bass with morels and parsley served with turnips, carrots, and potatoes - heavenly!



And for dessert - peaches with creme anglaise and toased almonds



Mmmmmmmm..... time to take a nap.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

More Show-And Tell

Did I show you the pillows I made for the living room? (This was before I knew I was moving)





...it was time for a change.

Mmmm - Tastes Local Harvesty

Remember when I quoted, "If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week." ?




Well, there you have it (from my Two Small Farms delivery). I did my part. And I do believe the air felt cleaner that day.

Rejuvinated

Ok, while I'm still very preoccupied with finding a place to live, I felt the proverbial fire lit under my booty to blog again with Kate's shout-out. Kate has a larger audience, so now I might have more than 6 readers (thank you to those 6 - I do love you so!) And chickety check her photography out - it's SO FUN!!

So, here's my latest creation - ta-da!!



This was the kit that Emily and I bought together at the Stichin' Post in Sisters, OR. It was a really easy quilt pattern (it helped to have a photo of what the finished product should look like). The hardest part was cutting out the fabric - I always get so scared of cutting something wrong (but I didn't!). I just laid the pieces out on the floor, and stitched them 2 pieces at a time, so I wouldn't have to keep clipping my thread (cheating? probably.) Kept on doing that until it was done!



I would (and will) definitely make this again, however, next time I will modify the length a little so that I don't have to sew 2 long strips together, just to get them 1 inch longer... hard to explain, check out what I mean. Sometimes I was good about matching up the patterns....



And sometimes not so much...



I think this is my favorite part...the little Russian nesting dolls print by Heather Ross.



I backed the whole thing with a light yellow Heather Ross floral, because her fabrics are just so stinkin soft! I wasn't supposed to bind it, but I thought it would look nicer - and I was right - ha!

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Apology

I know I have been a flake lately...

I've been a little preoccupied. I am moving out of my house, and am stressing about finding a new one. I have, however, been keeping my hands busy sewing. So soon I'll have something lovely to blog about....to make it up to you.

Veggie Delivery - Weeks 3 & 4

To remain consistent in my flakiness, I'm posting weeks 3 & 4 of our deliveries:


This week:
Tomatillos, leeks, little white onions (which I traded for more leeks - still had leftover onions from weeks past), serrano peppers, romaine lettuce, poblano peppers, romanesco, artichokes, squash, and basil.


Last week:
Salad mix, potatoes, rosemary, fennel, green onions (lots of them!!) red onion, and strawberries.

I'd better get cracking on some soup - all these veggies are overwhelming me! Plus, it's freezing outside right now. Soup would be appropriate.