KK's Princess Party Plans!!!

So KK is turning 3 this year!! Yeah! And true to the princess she already is, she is going ultra girlicious. Here's some inspirations:

I figure the boys would like this, and the girls will have red lips! from Classic-Play.com

I have to say I love this ombre cake. Yum! Found at Honey Kennedy.

Spring Organizing

I've gotten the bug to organize. Or at least buy some furniture to hide all of our junk..

image credits (top to bottom): Martha Stewart & Better Homes and Garden

Up: Real World

I love that people's curiosity can get the better of themselves, as National Geography experimented with lots of colorful weather balloons and a couple of balloon pilots to create this UP inspired house..Now if they only gave parties inside, that'd be SO awesome!!

The lunchbox episode...

M, my first son has a habit, as I assume some kinderfolk do, of forgetting his lunch box, which I painstakingly get up each morning specifically to prepare a hot meal to pack into his thermos tin. He personally requests hot meals.
So missing after two weeks, I get back this stinky lunch bag with his thermos tin leaking it's half eaten contents all over the bag and onto his backpack. The lunchbag was on it's last legs and was super cheap, so after removing the hand sewn tag (yeah, I made that) with his name on it. I tossed the lunchbag, washed his backpack and gagged while I emptied his thermos tin and took gigantic amounts of detergent and hot water to make sure was clean. His tin was metal and expensive, I'm not going to toss that! I find a new lunch bag (with his favorite characters on it), sharpie his name on it. And pack another lunch and send him off. I assumed he learned his lesson, plus he wouldn't lose a cool looking lunchbox...Nope. Missing once more..
After another two weeks, this time no leaking, BUT still gagging on the noxious fumes to clean the tin.
For a few days he school lunched it. I'm not against school lunches, but he's been so picky (from day one) that I want to make sure he eats something. He asked me why I wasn't packing him a lunch. I said he wouldn't, cause I'm afraid he'd lose his lunch box yet another time. He claims "Next time, I'll go straight to the class and return it." So let's hope third times the charm, right??

What I'm reading: Fiesty Stitcher

I think the best gift my husband gave me was my sewing machine. Super basic sewing machine, not ultra fancy. I constantly say I'm not a professional. And I will never learn to sew by pattern. (Well maybe once in a while I'll try it, if I'm totally desperate) I've made tons of little purses for friends and family members. I've even attempted a dress for my little girl twice, one of which I was proud to let her wear in public... (No patterns). I really like the idea of this book which I found at the library. It follows my line of thinking. And encourages you to not be afraid to try fabrics I've never worked with. I think I'll try a few of the ideas inside. My favorite idea inside this book is the tailored t-shirt. Unconventional at it's best.

In the garden - March 2011

This past week we had a "few" sunny breaks in the weather and we got a chance to fix up our garden boxes! I really was itching to fix up the boxes because I wanted to do well with our garden this year. Unlike past years where I hadn't (and didn't know) I was supposed to prep the soil with amendments, this year we added chicken manure and compost to our soil. I was happy to see SO many happy worms in our soil a few days after. Crossing my fingers for a bumper crop!! I tried planting directly some beans and spinach, again hoping for the best.
I also was extremely pleased to see the shoots from the peony my co-worker gave me (which I thought died on me, due to my lack of transferring it on time) coming out!!
While I'm at best a lackluster weekend gardener I would really love to see better results for this years sore shoulders and arms!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I love squash and yesturday night we had some roasted butternut squash for dinner. I converted it to a lovely thick soup. Perfect for the stormy weather here. Add a little side of chicken strips and I had the idea meal..

4 c Cubed Butternut Squash (about half a squash)
Olive Oil
1/4 c Heavy Cream
1 tea Curry Powder (yellow) or to taste
Salt to taste

Toss squash with oil and add salt to taste. Roast in oven on low broiler til tender. In a 4 qt pot with approx. 3 c of water add squash. Add curry powder and boil. Puree with stick blender. Add heavy cream at end and stir til well blended.

Well you can almost garnish with about anything that sounds good. But I throw in leftover rice or try popped popcorn.

And to make this go full circle, I saved the seeds and hope to grow more squash in the fall..If the slugs don't gobble them up first..

What I'm reading on my Kindle: Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo (Signet Classics)
My husband got a Kindle from his friends for his 40th birthday. But I tend to love classics so most of my books are free. I'm trying to get into all the classics I've heard of to enrich my reading understanding. Sort of like home schooling myself on why some books turn into classics and some are just popular for the moment. Right now I'm reading Count of Monte Cristo..While I have any idea of what the story is about, I like reading the details that are missed in most movies..I read so much, I caught my husband telling me to not leave "my" Kindle around..Hee Hee

Confetti Garland!

My office at work is fairly nondescript and we are supposed to be creative! So I decided to add a little kinetic garland..It reminds me of confetti. So I'm calling it my confetti streamers! The garland moves ever so slightly with the lightest breeze..So calming..

Now THIS is quilling!

My co-workers and I were so floored by a Neiman Marcus holiday catalog that featured quilling on the cover. It was simple but supremely beautiful. After a bit of looking around we discovered the artist. Yulia Brodskaya. With a whole list of accolades and clients from big brands I couldn't help but want to share her incredible work. I'm sure you'll agree too. Photo by Yulia Brodskaya at artjulia

Valentine's Pins! Part 2

Well I had lot's of fun making these pins. I had some felt and batting and embroidery floss, plus pins. And a whole list of taste description words. I realized early on I could get a maximum of 5 letters to decently fit onto my heart. So I stuck to that and freehanded my words in embroidery. I decided to make it a luck of the draw and have a good laugh at the blushes my co-workers wore as they drew their flavor words..But I let them off the hook and permitted trading..They all faithfully wore their hearts. My husband I hope will sport his "stud" and my son M (who's 6) already wants to wear his "hunk" around school, my daughter K, loves to smile with her "sweet".

Valentine's Pins!

I love Valentine's Day and I try to give my co-workers and friends a little something to celebrate the day with me. With a lot of people it's hard to come up with some budget friendly items to give away. Luckily I browsed purlbee.com and found these cute Valentine's Heart pins. I'll be doing a version of this. I'm already trying to decide which heart to give to who..Image via: purl bee

Sushirrito - I want one!

Deep in the heart of San Francisco, blending Latin and Japanese flavors comes...Duh duh Da! Sushirrito! It looks like a Sushi + Burrito met and fell in love..I hear it tastes great! Plus it's eco friendly..(Not sure what makes it eco friendly...). I wish they'd come to Seattle and check out our food scene!! Someone tell me they're coming up here!! Check them out in San Francisco here: Sushirrito

Cool window!

We were driving by Chinatown getting our lunchbox (filled with Roast pork or sweet & sour pork with rice and sauteed cabbage) when we passed by this window. What a lovely presentation, just for selling a space! I asked my husband to pass by while I could only take a snap with my phone. This first time we were holding up traffic in front of the police. So rather than risk a ticket, we swooped back and captured this before the rain could pour into the car windows..The window sure caught my eye and I'm sure the space is already taken..

Good Food Awards

So being an Etsian, I've paid some attention to their blog, whenever it suits my fancy. This time around I stumbled upon a poster competition announcement. The Good Food Awards is a competition based in San Francisco (?) and it promotes basically good food. Or food done the old school ways, specifically sausages (or as I learned Charcuterie) and pickles; coffee and chocolate; and lastly cheese and preserves.. My workplace is filled with foodies and we appreciate that slower process of food done right. Here's my submissions. Sadly I didn't win the baskets filled with delicious foods and a few tickets to see (and perhaps sample) the good foods, indeed I am crushed by the loss...From flickergroup: seedlingproject

I can't believe this is paper!

INFLATABLE MABONA ORIGAMI FUGU from MABONA ORIGAMI on Vimeo.

I love paper and I didn't even know this existed!
The fish actually inflates and deflates..This is from origami artist Sipho Mabona. Wow!