Moon In My Garden

Research

2012-01-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

This semester I am taking three classes. Electronic layout and Typography. Commercial Printing Processes. And a Black and White film photography class.
Today I have been doing research for my Printing course. It's the first upcoming critique, this Wednesday. Our first assignment is to design a business card for ourselves. It is actually turning out to be a bit more difficult than I thought. I have so many fabulous interests, I'm just not sure which I'd like to emphasize. The illustrator Kristine? The vintage Kristine? The baker Kristine? The photographer Kristine?
So many options! I'm sure I will figure out something in the next three days. Here are some of my favorites that will serve to inspire my concept.

source

The Week in Instagram

2012-01-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

I'm officially in love with Instagram. I have posted a few pictures from my favorite app on the blog, but this post is a week in Instagrams!

January 8th: I took Celeste and her cousin to the new children's discovery museum that opened in Reno recently. The girls had a blast running around, playing and creating.

January 9th: We went out to Pho and I tried grass jelly drink for the first time. Bubble tea is still my favesies

January 10th: I made strawberry bundt cakes with lemon icing for a bake sale at work. One stuck to the pan, and Celeste ate the broken piece when I wasn't looking!

January 11th: Daved and a couple of is buddies hacked up my 1960's kitchen to install an over the stove microwave. A decision I've wrestled with for a while. Ultimately I came to the realization that I will not be able to afford the oven hood I really want and also my other microwave quit working and I needed the counter space this one provides.

Afterwards we went out to eat at the Blind Onion for the first time

January 12th: Celeste and I started getting crafty for Valentines

January 14th: We took a mini road trip to Ikea.

Then we went to Chipotle for Lunch and Trey B Cakes for dessert

We saw a horse mounted cop

And on January 15th: I stayed home listening to records and cleaning my studio

Until next time. -XO K.

My 12 for 2012

2012-01-15T14:51:00.000-08:00

I'm a slacker. And if you read my blog, you know this. I almost always have too much on my plate. That's not going to change anytime soon. There is just too much I want to do, and I really can't seem to organize any of it, so I just get to it when I get to it I guess. And at the same time, I think I prefer it that way. I don't think I would care for an overly structured life. I like being impulsive. I like the impromptu journey, shopping trip, dinner out, etc. I'm afraid planning certain things means a boring life. But that's not to say that I don't plan. And I do have a work and school schedule to abide by. I just don't want every little thing in my life to have to be scheduled.
And I make resolutions, late. They are little things, to help me maintain some sort of goal like structure. I was looking back at last years goals, and I managed to accomplish 6 of the eleven, although the opening and subsequent closing of my Etsy shop should probably be considered more a half. I just did not have the time to market myself and thus did not get sales. Maybe at another point in my life. But right now, about a year out from graduating college, my focus is going to be on developing my professional portfolio, so I can get a real job someday.
With out further adieu, my twelve goals for the year are....
1. Eat Healthy- again. I was so busy this past semester that I lost sight of a lot of my good eating habits. Like organic produce and dairy products and whole grains. So I want to return to those previous habits, and push them a bit further too.
2. Eat out less- along the same lines as the first goal, this past semester has also seen me turning to restaurants more and more for the sake of more time to work on projects. I think if I can learn more crock pot recipes and casseroles, I can cook at home more and also still have the time I need for school assignments.

3.Cut my hair- regularly! My last hair cut in December was my first in 18 months! Yikes. It's no wonder my hair isn't healthy. So this year I want to maintain regular hair appointments and keep my locks gorgeous.
4. Paint my nails- I do, on occasion, but I want to regularly. They break less that way too!

5. Lotion- I am terrible about this. I do shipping at work and my poor hands are always so dry. My legs too. And now my seven year old is having dry skin issues too. I need to start the good habit of taking care of my skin so that my daughter will develop it too.
6. Wear more skirts and dresses- I started my little "anti jeans adventure" on 10.10.10, and I love it! This year I want to push it further, and wear jeans even less!
7. Outfit posts- I love outfit posts. I love doing them, and I love seeing other bloggers outfit posts, so I want to be sure and include more here on the blog.
8. Blog regularly- Ahhh. On that note. Structure. Schedule. I really need to be more consistent with the blog. Even if I don't have the words, I almost always have the images, so I need to post more!
9. Carry a sketchbook- When I was in high school my sketchbook never left my side. It was open at every spare moment. I want to be that girl again. That overwhelmingly creative soul whose imagination just can't stop. I think she's still around.
10. Scrapbook- I cannot remember my last layout. It's sad. The pictures are piling up. I think part of it is my best friend moved away and now I have no one to crop with, and ask advice about. Boo hoo. Get over it. Start scrap booking again lady.
11. Decorate bedroom- the one goal I am carrying over from last year. I have added a couple things here and there. But overall, it is the most unfinished, undecorated room of the home. And I don't like that.

12. Travel- Every year I like to go somewhere for the piddly one week vacay I get. Last year I went to visit my best friend in Seattle. (that's where the lucky girl escaped too!). It was so neat to go somewhere I've never been. Shop new shops, hike new forests, eat at new places. So this year, for my vacation, I want to go somewhere else I have never been. I really hope I can pull this one off!

Baby Devin's First Photoshoot (and mine too)

2012-01-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

My first baby photo shoot. Actually my first photo shoot in general. I am a habitual picture taker. I've loved taking pictures since childhood. Although the thought of taking pictures professionally has crossed my mind, I feel way too intimidated by it. It's a hard field to break into, with so many talented people out there. Nevertheless, I still love taking my own pictures.
So when my boyfriends sister said she loved my pictures and asked if I would take some of her new baby I jumped at the offer.
I've always wanted the experience, and that's how you learn. And boy did I learn. Newborn photography isn't easy. I even read some pointers online before our session, but still, baby Devin just didn't like it. At all.
It was super fun to raid my house for cute baby props, my favorite is the vintage suitcase in the first picture. And the pictures made a lovely (and cheap) Christmas present for the family.
So here are my favorites, tell me what you think!

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T21:58:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T15:52:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone is having a fabulous day with family and friends. I had my first newborn photography session with this little man last week, can't wait to share them on the blog next week!

Presents under the tree

2011-12-20T19:52:00.001-08:00

It's Here!

2011-12-16T18:22:00.001-08:00

After 2 1/2 months of waiting the Daniel Tosh show is tonight! I've never been to a comedy show, so I am super excited. Time to go get ready...

Sad, but true

2011-12-15T16:39:00.001-08:00

Yes. It's true. These cookie jars are EMPTY. How terrible! Even worse? They sit atop my microwave that's broken. It feels a little white trash to write that. It's been broken for a couple weeks now. I'm digging myself deeper here.

A wreath for the kitchen

2011-12-13T04:08:00.001-08:00

Two-fer

2011-12-11T18:51:00.001-08:00

Missed yesterday's post. Sheesh. I'm not doing so hot on this daily December post thing!

Oopsie

2011-12-10T09:09:00.001-08:00

This is make-up for yesterday's post! These giant ornaments are suspended from the ceiling. Sometimes my dog randomly barks at them.

Believe

2011-12-08T20:35:00.001-08:00

A Pink Tree Lighting

2011-12-07T20:02:00.001-08:00

Today on the way home from the bus stop Celeste asked if I'd like to go to her "tree event". I said sure. She said "I'll put you on the list". And she did. She made a little guest list. Blew up balloons. Braided my hair and put a tiara on.
And ta-da! Her pretty little pink tree in her bedroom...

Peppermint kisses

2011-12-06T19:28:00.001-08:00

So good the jar is already half gone!

Paper chain santas

2011-12-05T21:04:00.001-08:00

Stars and lights

2011-12-04T19:58:00.001-08:00

These stars and lights are surrounding the entrance from our dining room into the kitchen

December third

2011-12-03T18:42:00.001-08:00

Well it's day three of December and I finished the advent calendar. Better late than never, right? I've always wanted to have one but have never thought of making my own. A big thank you to Pinterest for inspiring me this year! Celeste is at her dads house this weekend, so I'm leaving the past days ornaments up so she can do it when she comes home. She helped me make some of the tags too. I wanted to decorate some tags for gift wrapping too, but I ran out. Better order more soon, Christmas will creep up on me before I know it.

Flameless candles

2011-12-02T17:12:00.001-08:00

Love the soft flicker and glow of these candles without the worry of one of my crazy animals starting a fire. I had a cat that almost caused a house fire twice. Once by knocking a mask off the wall into a candle and it immediately burst into flames half way up the wall. Scary. The second time she knocked a lamp onto my bed and it melted and burned through my pillow when I finally smelled it in the other room.

Christmas cottage

2011-12-01T18:49:00.001-08:00

Dear blog readers, I am so very sorry that I didn't do practically any posts for November! I wanted to at least do a November recap, but with two weeks left in the semester it's crunch time.
So I want to try out a daily post of something for December. Not much writing, mostly pictures, so I hope I find the time to stick with this goal. Speaking of goals, any resolution planning happening out there?

Before it's Thanksgiving....

2011-11-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

Guess I had better get my Halloween post up before it's Thanksgiving. I cannot even describe how overwhelmingly busy I have been with my class projects. I feel like this years Halloween was so rushed. It's my favorite holiday and I feel like I didn't get to enjoy it as fully as I like. The cherry on top, I had class on Halloween, so I had to send Celeste to her Dad's. So, so sad.
I did take Celeste trick or treating down town, which we usually do every year. This year, though, I got dressed up too! I saw a sugar skull makeup job on Pinterest earlier this year and I just had to do it. Afterwards we went to a birthday party at the roller skating rink and I skated for the first time in over a decade. We tried to carve our pumpkins, but we ran out of time. Super lame.
We had another birthday party we attended the Sunday before Halloween, then we managed to fit in our annual tradition of Halloween sugar cookies. I frosted them with pumpkin icing. They were super yummy. I know next year I will be even busier since it's my last semester of school, but I am secretly hoping I will be able to enjoy my favorite holiday fully next year.

Supermodel vs. Zombie

2011-10-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

This is my first project from my Photoshop course this semester. We took a photo of ourself and then totally glammed it up (aka supermodel) then we made ourselves totally gross (zombie!).
Here are my pictures....

Model

Original

Zombie

Obviously for the super model one I didn't have to do much. Just kidding! I took away all my blemishes, freckles and moles. I took out my nose stud. I fixed my teeth and whitened them. I lightened my eye color and darkened my eye shadow and lips. I changed my hair color, gave my skin a glow and fixed the background.

For the Zombie I used a watermelon rind to give my skin texture via layers and blendmodes. I altered my cheekbones and jaw line. Added a maggot infested open wound to my chest, changed my eyes to green and darkened the image overall.

Pink and Black

2011-10-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

I used to not be a big fan of pink. It took me yeeears to finally bring some pink pieces into my wardrobe. I'm over that now, I am comfortable in pink now, and I love the combo of pink and black. So, I picked up this cute little vintage skirt at Junkee's a while back, and have finally decided to wear it. I really love the texture of the floral pattern. I kept everything else black so my skirt was the standout piece.
We've started work on our second project in my Illustrator course. We are to pick a state (Montana, yay!), choose two state parks and design a logo for each and a poster for one. The poster is supposed to mimick 1920's-1930's travel posters. Sounds super fun and right up my alley right? The instructor didn't like my logos. Lame. Now it's back to the drawing board. I've seen it happen, but it's never happened to me. But I guess it's a lesson learned as to how it will be out there in industry, there will be clients who don't like what you present to them and you will have to think longer and harder about your design concepts. So that's what I'm going to go do now....

Shirt- thrifted

Skirt- Junkee's

Tights- Icing

Shoes- Candies

A Little Day Trip

2011-10-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

I've talked to a few people who've made the trip to Apple Hill. It's about a couple hours away, up highway 50 through Lake Tahoe near Placerville, CA. I've always wanted to go, so we decided to make the trip this year. It is a pretty drive up, and the only part of the drive that was aggravating was the 45 minute delay due to road construction in South Lake Tahoe, on a Saturday. Who does that? Oh, let's take the busiest tourist day and close our road down to one lane. Okay?
Our first stop was the pumpkin patch! The pumpkin patch at Apple Hill was so much better than our local one, so much more variety. It was a very decent price, and lady was really knowledgeable and told me which of my picks are good for baking sweet pumpkin treats.

Celeste adores her little baby pumpkin. The dogs already tried to eat it.

This pumpkin above is called "one too many". When the lady pointed at it and said one too many, Celeste says, "Aww, man. I really wanted that one." I thought it was so adorable!

View of the patch.

After the pumpkin patch we stopped at one of the orchards. We were hoping it was a pick your own orchard, but it wasn't. We were hungry, so we ate lunch at their burger stand and shopped their farmers market for some produce. I brought home a giant jug of their apple juice. It so unbelievably good. I should have got more. We also picked up honey, apple sauce, apples, plums, and grapes. The grapes are so sweet. I haven't had grapes that good in years. And Celeste tried her first ever caramel apple.

After the orchards we decided to visit a winery and we had our first ever wine tasting. It felt a little weird at first, but it was pretty fun. They had a little kids table set up so Celeste colored pictures with other children while parents sampled the wines. They were running a special on their Sangiovese, buy one get a second for a $1, so I picked up a couple bottles.

All in all it was a really fun getaway day, and a great kick off to the Fall season. Which is after all, my favorite!

It's about Time!

2011-09-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

I am probably the slowest blogger ever! I just realized it is almost October and I have forgotten to post the rest of Celeste's birthday party pictures. In typical Kristine fashion, I forgot to take pictures most of the party, and only have one very blurry picture of the cake! Oh well, it was very fun, and it was Celeste's first slumber party, so she had a blast.

Our guess how many game, and we also played a guess the snack food (Celeste's idea) where we blind folded the girls and fed them goldfish crackers, oreos and twinkies. No, these are not our typical snacks, but I wanted to make sure they were foods little kids could easily recognize by taste!

Party bags filled with goodies like candy dots, lemon heads, lemon suckers, pink rock candy and pencils and erasers. (pink and yellow of course!)

For food we had a "make your own sub sandwich" bar, but I forgot to take a picture! I also made zucchini muffins, lemon iced sugar cookies, raspberry lemon tartlets and my grandmas awesome lemon berry jello mold (not pictured).

The only shot of the cake (thanks to Daved!). It was pink batter inside...

Present time!

This is the fabulous fluffy bed we made for the girls...

but this is how we found them! Apparently they thought they saw a spider.

Purple Sweater Dress

2011-09-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

While I wait to hear back from my instructor on my second critique, I thought I'd take a moment to share an outfit post from first critique. For awhile now I have been trying to dress up the jeans, and when I can avoid them all together. But I most definitely make it a point on critique days. I believe how you represent yourself carries over into how you represent your artwork. Even if this is just college, it is a good practice for the real deal.
So I have this lovely sweater dress I picked up while thrifting with my BFF in Seattle this summer. Honestly, I just liked it. I had no idea about the whole "Missoni" thing until the Target hoopla. It just happens to be ultra convenient that this is hip right now. More than one girl at work was like *gasp* is that a Missoni? And I can grin and say, "nope, six bucks and thrifted". I have been waiting for it to be cooler so I could wear it, and luckily last week it was. This week we're in the 90's. Lovely Fall!

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Since I've been a lazy poster all summer long, or at least it seems to me, I think it's abut time I play a little catch up on some of the things I've done. So today I wanted to share some photos I took on a hike Daved and I did earlier this summer.
We initially set out on the trail with our destination being Dardanelles Lake, but when we reached the trails fork, there was another group of hikers, and we got a bit lost in conversation. You see, our dog Penny, and their dog, were both German Shephard and Chow Chow mixes. They could have been sisters (maybe they were?), and they just had to have a picture of the two together. Ever try to get two dogs who've never met each other to stand close and hold still for a picture? Yeah...
After all that hoopla we went to head toward Dardanelles, but first asked the other group which way they recommended. They said they had been both ways (far more motivated than us, that would equal about 9 miles I think), but the direction we were about to head, through the meadows, had a lot of bugs. So we went the other way, which we thought, they made it sound like both paths ultimately had the same destination. They did not. The trail we took brought us to Scott's Lake.
So this is our Scott's Lake Hike:

It was the beginning of July in Tahoe, and there was still a number of snow patches along the trail, although we were perfectly content in our tanks and shorts. Penny did really well, a lot better than she does on walks. She actually kept a good steady pace and stayed on the trail. She was good when we passed other dogs too. She is not that good when we pass other dogs on neighborhood walks! This was her first hike, and we didn't have our new dog, Lycan, yet.
When we reached the lake we rested and let Penny off her leash. She splashed around in the water a bit and ran around smelling stuff. I thought I heard a waterfall, so we walked towards it and found it. It was a very pretty fall, cascading over rocks along the side of the mountain and down into Scott's Lake. We were able to walk up pretty far next to it, and even across it in some spots. This scared me half to death since I almost fell in the Mill Creek Falls in Montana a couple years ago.
But I didn't fall in, and we made it back safe and sound. It was approximately a 7 mile trip, round trip. That's about all I can handle so far. I am so tuckered out, I couldn't imagine hiking another 100 feet!
Happy Labor Day!
-XO

We have a Winner....

2011-09-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

Announcing the winner of our first ever giveaway.....

Yay! It's McKim!

McKim, please send me an email accepting your prize. Everyone else, thank you so much for playing along. I really appreciate everyone's participation. This was my first giveaway, and I was so incredibly nervous about it. Thank you to everyone again!
And don't forget, if you'd like to purchase My Memories Suite v2, use this coupon code. Simply enter

STMMMS7861

at check out to receive $10 off the My Memories Suite V2 software and $10 off additional products. Please feel free to share the code with friends and family!

Have a fabulous rest of your Labor day weekend!
-XO

My Memories Software Giveaway

2011-08-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Recently I was given a wonderful opportunity to review some digital scrapbooking software as well as host a give away on my blog. This is so exciting for me, I have always wanted to try out digital scrapbooking, but, admittedly, was a little intimidated. I know it seems silly, I'm studying Graphic Design and I'm a Photoshop user, so how hard could it be? It isn't difficult at all, in fact, the most difficult thing for me has been not over-doing it because it is so easy to keep adding to a page!
My first page was pretty simple, I really was just trying to learn where everything was located in the scrapbooking software. I got the hang of it with the first page, and then I went back to MyMemories.com to download some extras. The software did come with a lot of papers and embellishments preloaded, but MyMemories.com also offers a lot of free downloads. There are also sample "Quick Pages" of certain kits that you can down load for free. Most of the kits I like were only between $2.99-$4.99, so purchasing kits is also very affordable.


First Digital Page

All embellishments and papers used on this first page were available in the software. After downloading some freebies, and purchasing some extras I created these pages:

The Right Match

1st Time Camping

For these two pages I have used some elements from the purchased kit Fish Out of Water, Simple Sherbet and Art Brush Vol 1.
All other page elements are available as part of the My Memories Suite v2 software, or as a free download on MyMemories.com . There is also a Dollar Store on the site, where elements can be purchased for one dollar. This is a good option if you do not want all elements in a kit, but just one or two.
I find it really fun, quick and simple to put together these layouts. Plus, when I'm finished creating, I just shut down my computer with no mess to clean up. Am I done paper scrapping? No. I love paper scrapping, and it has always been a goal of mine to do some hybrid layouts, as well as digital. There are some great effects that can be created digitally that you either cannot get by paper scrapping, or it is too difficult to produce. I am happy with what I can do in this software, and I think it is going to bring my scrap pages in a wonderful direction, whether they're digital, paper or a hybrid. So now I want my lovely blog readers to have a try.

If you'd like to purchase My Memories Suite v2, I have a fabulous coupon code for you. Simply enter

STMMMS7861

at check out to receive $10 off the My Memories Suite V2 software and $10 off additional products. Please feel free to share the code with friends and family!
Or try your hand at the give away.
To enter the give away:
1. Go to MyMemories.com and leave a comment telling me which kit is your favorite.
2. Become a fan of MyMemories on Facebook, leave me a comment.
3. Follow @mymemories on Twitter, leave me a comment.
4. Follow the MyMemories blog, leave a comment telling me your a follower.
5. Become a follower of Mooninmygarden, leave me a comment telling me so.
6. Become a follower on Twitter (@miss__kristine), I don't tweet much, but hey it's another entry in the give away! Be sure to leave a comment.
7. Become my friend on Facebook, leave me a comment
8. Become a fan of Mooninmygarden on Facebook, leave me a comment

So that's eight ways to enter the give away, just be sure to leave a comment to make sure all your entries count!

This give away will close Friday September 2nd and the winner will be announced over the weekend. Thanks for playing and good luck!

Birthday Night Out

2011-08-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

I've never taken Celeste to a restaurant for her birthday, so this year, her seventh birthday, I thought it would be fun to take her to a nice dinner. I also wanted to see the look on her face when they sang happy birthday to her. So I asked her what her favorite restaurant is, and she replied "the mac and cheese grill". I thought this would be really fun, since I have been in the restaurant when they sang happy birthday to other patrons, it was like an opera! Well, there must not have been a singer there that night, because no happy birthday song was to be had. She still felt ultra special, being wished happy birthday by the staff, and there was a little boy turning eight who was there for his birthday too.
Since her birthday fell on Monday, but her party wasn't until Friday, I decided to let her open all her presents from Nana and I on Monday. She was back from her dad's house over the weekend, and ultra cranky, she actually threw a fit about it. So we went to eat, her mood lightened, and we returned home to open presents.

Pouty Face

Eww, the cake had chocolate liqueur, why would they pick that as the free cake?

She loved all her outfits from Nana

Lemonade Stand- Before an After

2011-08-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Celeste's lemonade party all started with a lemonade stand. She wanted to have a lemonade stand and sell glasses of lemonade for $5. Such a little entrepreneur. Well, I thought it would be cute to build it for her birthday party. Ta da, here is what we came up with....

We had been holding onto some of these extra wine crates from our kitchen shelving project, and I also picked up a couple broken ones from work that were going to be thrown away. Daved put it all together, and I painted it with some home interior paint, flat, of course, my favorite! Then, I had Celeste paint the letters and the price, she also added her own touch with little hearts.

I will be sharing some pictures from her birthday soon, but I don't have many, I spaced taking pictures pretty much the entire party. Darn being a hostess!

Project Monday- Paint your Nails a Favorite Color

2011-08-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I visited Pinterest for some Lemonade inspiration for Celeste upcoming birthday party. And I ran across this pretty photo of a nail-painting DIY technique.

Source: sweettalkonthespot.com via Kristine on Pinterest

I really like how this looks like a foggy sky. Since project Monday this week was to paint your nails your favorite colors, I decided to translate this technique into my colors, purple and turquoise.

Lemonade Party

2011-08-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

So, this year we have decided to have a lemonade party for Celeste's birthday. Earlier in the summer my little entrepreneur decided she wanted to have a lemonade stand. She wanted to sell glasses of lemonade for $5. Silly little girl. So, a couple weeks later I thought we could build a lemonade stand for her birthday. When I told her about it, her response was "but, who are we going to sell it to?". The people at your party of course! Daved just knew she would say that too. Oh well, I think it will be cute, and I think the kids will have a lot of fun with it.
It is also going to be her first ever slumber party. I cannot believe my little bug is going to be seven in a little more than a week! Eep. I feel kind of old. My life, my pace, right? Too bad my pace has been more like molasses lately. I am totally blaming the heat. No really. I have been suffering horrible headaches on nearly a daily basis, so I really haven't been my normal self this past month. Usually I have Celeste's birthday party planned to the T a month in advance. Not so this year. I am taking a crash course in procrastination 101 with this party. Hope I pull it off. Let the list making begin!

For the invitations, I made a "cup" of lemonade by gluing to pieces of scrapbook paper back to back, with a slit cut at the top for the "lemonade" invite to slip in and out of. Simply pull up on the straw to reveal your invitation!

Sources- DCWV, Basic Grey, Colorbok, Studio G, Sharpie

Keeping it Cool

2011-07-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? Wish I could say somewhere fantastic. But no, just being me, at home, out with family, just living life. And its left me in an incredibly lazy state. I really need to get back on track to being my organized energetic self, but shes lost right now. It's like riding a bike, right? I hope so, because I have a little soon to be seven year olds birthday to plan!
This weeks project Monday is "keeping it cool," the hot weather is everywhere right now. I don't know about you, but I step foot into the heat and I just want to go back inside and take a nap. Wake me when the sun dips down. But there are a few things I've been doing to try and beat the heat. Cool beverages to start. A glass of raspberry lemonade, or some malibu and pineapple, and of course my favorite, bubble tea. I also change into shorts or a dress after work. Wearing my hair up rather than down also seems to help me keep it cool. How about you, what are you doing to beat the heat?

Project Monday-Magic Hour

2011-07-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

This weeks prompt was to take some photos of your favorite time in a summer day. I actually have two. The twilight hours. Those hours in the day when we are still teetering between light and dark, the gorgeous glowing hours where the sun is rising or setting. I love those times in the day. And in the summer, the twilight hours seem to stretch on and on. There is something truly magical about that time. Almost like the world pauses.
Yesterday was my "holiday" for the Fourth of July. So I had a rare opportunity to enjoy the morning hours. I usually sleep in on the weekends, there is no rousing me out of bed before 9 a.m. on a Saturday or Sunday! So it was nice to sit out in my backyard, enjoy a warm cup of coffee, water my garden, and watch the sun come up. And then of course retreat back into my air conditioned home as it heats up.

We adopted a new doggy last week. So he's kept me pretty busy. He was a stray. He is a Siberian Husky and we named him Lycan. He is a sweetheart, very inquisitive and playful. They think he may have been stray for a bit, he is pretty skinny for a husky. Since he is very smart and an escape artist (as most huskies are) I have to be outside with him almost always! Hopefully he will feel more at home with us shortly and won't feel the itch to escape. We took him and Penny on a walk together and it was tough! He's a good walker, but Penny is so hyper, and she is constantly pulling and wants to run up and bark at other dogs in the neighborhood (and there are A LOT).
Maybe he will teach her by example. He has already taught her to chew a bone. Before Penny would just take the bone and bury it in the yard, but when she saw Lycan chewing his bone, she gave it a try too.

Seattle Days Five and Six

2011-07-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

I've been unplugged this week. I haven't even turned on my computer since my last post. I didn't want to be. I had so many good intentions, so many plans. But every day I have been plagued by these miserable afternoon headaches that have me curled up on my couch until bed time. I'm baffled. I think maybe it's a combination of the heat and not drinking enough water. I have been making an effort to drink more water these past couple days, and the headaches seem less severe. So I guess I need to be on a hydration mission!

So the last two days of the Seattle vacation are here. Sad. Even though I'm long since gone away, it has been fun reliving it here on the blog.

On the fifth day we went into Tacoma. On purpose this time. I wanted to visit this thrifty vintage boutique I had read reviews online about, called Urban Exchange. Turns out they're closed on Saturdays. Boo. So we decided to walk around and check out what else was in the neighborhood, and lo and behold, we came across another cupcake shop! This one was called Hello Cupcake. I've decided cupcake shops are like the best places evah! They are so cute, they smell absolutely decadent and the people are always happy. With cupcakes, how could you not be?

After our cupcakes and boutique browsing we walked back to the car to discover Tacoma had left me a lovely parking ticket. I guess they have these parking box things, new to me, that are hidden behind trees, and you find one, pay, and put a sticker in your window. I'm so used to meters, that when I didn't see one, only a two hour limit sign, I thought it was free to park for two hours. Life in a big city I guess! We drove around to visit some more shops. And this time when I went to park a guy on the street said that on one side of the street you have to back your car into the space or you get a ticket. Weird! Glad he was there though, or I could have left Tacoma with two parking tickets that day!
After Tacoma Crystal showed me around the gigantic mall they have there. I had her try some bubble tea, but she wasn't to sure. I was hooked the first time I ever tried bubble tea, so I don't think she'll be having it again. Chewing a beverage is just too much for some people!

On Day six, our last day, we visited a couple thrift stores in Crystal's area, and we also drove to another Scrapbook store. We ate lunch at a place called Panera, which we don't have here, but I gather a lot of places do! It was really good, and I love how they had a plastic, trash, and compost section at every disposal place in the restaurant. Later Crystal made homemade lasagna and I made a berry cobbler for desert. We said our goodbyes and have been missing each other since. Can't wait until we can get together again, it was so much fun to just hang out and do things with my BFF again.

I'm a Mess Maker

2011-07-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

But I enjoy it! It's the aftermath that's not so fun. I don't know why, but all the table top surfaces of my house end up looking like this after a week. That's right every Sunday, I tackle that madness that is my own clutter, collected atop all flat surfaces of my home. So I am at the end of the 1 hour internet time limit I gave myself, ready to get to work and putting all this randomness back in it's place. So I can take it all back out again over the course of the week.

Seattle Day Four

2011-07-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention, at the end of the Day Three post, what was happening with my whole GPS fiasco. Earlier in Day Three before we headed into downtown Seattle I actually called the rental car place and explained that the plug wasn't charging my GPS. We plugged the GPS into Crystal's computer and it powered on just fine, that's how we came to the conclusion. They said they didn't have a replacement vehicle, but it was probably a fuse and I could come in to have it fixed. I had too much to do to be spending time doing that, so we just went about our day, it was charged for now.
Well, we ended up discovering a second vehicle power adapter outlet in the back seat. So we ran the GPS cord from the back seat to the front windshield. It just made it! Hey, whatever I had to do to get the most out of my vacation and not spend any more time with the GPS mess, right? It wasn't over yet. After we left the Space needle, we hopped on the freeway and headed towards Crystal's house for dinner. We were talkin' and talkin' when Crystal looked out the window and said "we're almost to Tacoma!" The GPS never spoke a word. It never told me to exit or turn. It took us thirty minutes out of the way. Needless to say, I packed that Tom Tom back in it's box, and stuck with my trusty Garmin for the rest of the trip!
On day four we went on a little hike. It was a bright and sunny day, perfect to go walking through the shady forests. Crystal was a sweetie and packed us a picnic lunch, and we stopped at a roadside produce stand to pick up some fruit on the way. I'm a destination hiker all the way. I like hikes that take me somewhere cool, give me something to work towards. This hike was to a water fall called Twin Falls. It was a very well traveled trail, easy enough for the little ones to do, and had hand rails and bridges in the places where the earth was really soggy. The forest was so dreamy and magical, I felt like any moment I'd spot a fairy in the dense a pretty greenery that surrounded us.

For dinner that evening Crystal and her family took us to a place called Ivar's. Crystal seemed shocked I had never heard of it, but it's true! We grabbed some fish and chips and sat at our dock side tables watching the sunset over Lake Washington.

Skunkboy's Summer Hair Idea

2011-06-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

As usual, whenever I get on the computer I find myself blog hopping and checking out Pinterest rather than doing what I logged on to do. And more often than not, as soon as the screen lights up, I actually forget what I logged on to do. Eh. But last week, during one of those moments, I ran across this super cuter summer hair how-to on the Skunkboy Creatures blog. I've tried it twice now, it's so adorable, and so so easy too. An added bonus, I get a ton of compliments and people think I spent a lot of time on my hair.
Instead of lace or ribbon, I decided to use a leather strap in my braid. I didn't think it would blend in so well, but it's barely noticeable. It's definitely something fun you can experiment with, different colors, materials and different sized braids too.

Outfit:

Dress- H&M

Poncho- thrifted

Earrings- Fuego

I still have three days to record from my Seattle vacation. Check back soon to share the rest of my journey!

-XO

Seattle Day Three {part two}

2011-06-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

Last I left off with our fabulous Seattle vacation we had finished up our lunch at the pub. Now it was time to venture off towards the Space Needle, after paying a whopping $24 to park for 4 hours. Ouch.

My List:

~~Scrapbook Store~~

~~IKEA~~

~~Pikes Place Market~~

Space Needle

~~Kell's Irish Pub~~

A Cupcake Shop

A Hike

Tacoma

Thrifting

Before leaving Crystal's place that morning I had mapped out various cupcake shops in Seattle, hoping to find one along the way. I have never been to a legit cupcake shop, we don't have such things in little 'ol Reno. I wanted to take Celeste to a bakery for a treat her first day of kindergarten a couple years age, and I had a heck of a time finding that! So as we were driving to the Space Needle, Crystal spotted The Yellow Leaf cupcake shop. Screech, we're there!

Cupcakes are made fresh daily, and there's always some pretty unique ones to choose from too. Celeste and I both went with the orange cream. Crystal had a red velvet whoopie pie, and her son Cavan had chocolate, Chloe had Raspberry Lemonade. We thought they were so delicious we took some to go too. I chose salted caramel and Celeste went for chocolate. Crystal took home coconut, pancakes and bacon, espresso and margarita (with tequila).

Bellies full, we headed back to the car and continued to our destination. Spent another $9 to park. My wallet is crying now. I hate spending money with nothing to show. We walk over to the Space Needle and start snapping pictures from the park below. Celeste begs to go up.

"I thought you were afraid of heights" I say.

"Not anymore, since I went on an airplane," she says.

Oh. Okay. So after to trying to convince Crystal to go up too, Celeste and I headed up just the two of us. Daved is going to be so jealous now, I thought. I told him I wasn't going up, I just wanted to see it. But it was pretty cool, and I recommend everyone does it at least once. How often do you get such an amazing view of such a beautiful city?

On Saturday

2011-06-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

This weeks project Monday challenge was to document a day. Similar to last weeks, just takes as many or as little photos to document a day in your week. I decided to do Saturday. Saturday was an impulse. I think it was Thursday I mentioned to Daved that we should pack a picnic basket and spend the day lounging on the beach at Tahoe. Considering there is still snow atop Mt. Rose, we decided it might be too cold to swim in Tahoe's icy waters. So I suggested Pyramid lake, then we could bring our dog, Penny, and she could swim too.
When I was visiting my BFF Crystal in Washington she asked if we had taken Penny swimming yet. She said she loves to swim. Crystal's family was unable to keep Penny when they moved so we took her in. She is totally part of the family, and Chloe, Crystal's little girl, loves that we are taking care of her doggy.
So at the last minute, as I whined about yet another year might be going by without camping, we just decided to do it. We dropped down the moolah and just got our butts in gear. I've always loved camping, and used to go all the time. Every summer as a kid, every summer as a teenager, pretty much up until I had Celeste. Then I was too apprehensive about camping with a little one, and I have a hard time leaving her with anyone, so now that she is old enough, we took her on her first camping trip. (This is funny, because as I write this I am having flashes of my baby brother crawling through the campsite because he was too little to walk.)

I picked up a lot of trash when I was out there. I always do. I feel so sad that some people are like this. I love this place. It is so beautiful, and I have been coming here since I was a kid. And I never remember garbage being everywhere. Celeste helped me pick up some trash too. Hopefully we counter acted something!

Seattle Day Three {part one}

2011-06-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Our third day in Seattle was an exciting one. I had made a list of things I wanted to do and see while there, and on day three we did most of it.

My List:

~~Scrapbook Store~~

~~IKEA~~

Pikes Place Market

Space Needle

Kell's Irish Pub

A Cupcake Shop

A Hike

Tacoma

Thrifting

We started out by heading to the Pikes Place Market, a popular tourist destination as well as a local favorite. We walked through Post Alley and put our gum on the famous bubble gum wall. Celeste isn't allowed to chew gum, but I let her do this. It took a great deal of coaxing, and maybe a threat, to get her to be rid of the gum and put it on the wall after she chewed it. We sampled smoked salmon at the Pike Place Fish Co. (where they throw the humongous fish), we smelled fresh peonies at the floral vendors, sampled peaches and tea. We bought some dark chocolate covered Rainer cherries from Chukars Cherries to bring home for Daved. We saw the first evah Starbuck's. It's also the longest line we have ever seen at a Starbuck's, so we didn't go in.

Then we headed to Kell's Irish Pub for lunch. I just thought it would be cool since it's haunted, and I love that sort of thing. Crystal and I felt like we had a celebrity siting after seeing the owner that was interviewed on Ghost Adventures. The food was pretty delicious though, and, keeping with pub style we had some beers and the kids had root beers!

Seattle, Days One and Two

2011-06-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

Day One: This was my six year old daughters, Celeste, first time flying. She was excited to go on a plane, but scared of being up so high. I admit I was nervous too, because I hadn't flown in over a decade. It's just not that affordable. For me.
So after we took off and were looking out the window the flight attendant told us we were flying over Pyramid Lake. She looks down and says with a quiver in her voice "mommy, we're really high up. Lets go back down." So cute. I just hugged her and told her it was too late for that now. We were really lucky to have great flight attendants who told us all the sights we flew over and gave us extra cookies.
Once we touched down in Seattle and stepped out onto the tarmac I could feel the moisture in the air immediately, for a desert dweller like myself, it was awesome!

Is it a car, SUV, or mini van?

We collected our luggage and headed to the rental car booth. Once inside my rental car, which felt like it was a mile into the parking lot, I had a heck of a time just figuring out how to open the trunk! After like 10 minutes, and almost going to ask for help, I got it. I brought my GPS along with me, plugged it in, grabbed the room address out of my luggage and started the engine. But my GPS wouldn't turn on. Great, I thought, the airport xrays killed my GPS. I went back to the booth and asked how much to rent one. $13 a day. No thanks, I'll buy a new one. But I still needed to find my way to my hotel in a city I've never been to.
I don't have a good data plan, 'cuz I'm poor, so I used my phones GPS to map out the route, wrote it down on a piece of paper, and finally left the airport. Geez, so much for smooth sailing. We checked into the room. Unloaded our luggage, and I checked the phones GPS again to find my way to a store to buy a new GPS. Let me tell you, cell phone GPS takes you some strange ways, but I managed to navigate my way through Seattle with my written directions only.
Once I had a new GPS I used it to find somewhere for us to get a bite to eat. One of the closest places was call Hideaway Cafe. I chose the "family" option on the GPS. We walked in and it was like a gambling hall, with a full bar, poker tables, and maybe a couple dining tables. Celeste and I looked at each other, tired, hungry, and probably lost, and left. We finally found a place called Shari's, it was like a Marie Calendars style place, no biggie. After that we called it a night!
Day Two: Today we do what we came to do, see my best friend. It was so nice to see her, it's been almost a year since she moved to the Seattle area. Her daughter Chloe is only a few months younger than Celeste, so they're good buddies too. Crystal and I met in our freshmen year of high school, truely awesome friends are so hard to come by, and even though the miles separate us, we are determined to not let our friendship dwindle. But it's totally her turn to come and visit!

Their doggy Bone

I plugged her cars address into the GPS, and left. She lives about 30 minutes away from where Celeste and I were staying. I was at a very confusing junction where the freeway separates into three different freeways when the GPS died. What?! So I exited and pulled over. I fumbled with it, but couldn't get it to turn on. Finally I used my phone again, took some crazy, but very beautiful back roads to Crystal's house. It is so pretty there, a far cry from the sea of brown I see everyday. I can definitely see why some people choose to trade in sunshine for such amazing growth. I could deal, for sure, I just love growing things, and I love green landscapes, so to be like I am in a permanent camp ground would be amazing.
First thing we did after hugs and hellos was check out her local scrapbooking stores . I buy most of my supplies on line, because stores here just don't carry what I want, and while I have asked, they claim people just don't demand the brands I like. Lame. So I was very excited to get my hands on some goodies with out the added charge of shipping. Plus, scrapbooking is one of those things that Crystal and I did together, and now we do it all by our lonesomes. She also showed me all of the pages she has done since moving there, I wish I could have shown her mine!
After this we headed to another place we don't have in Reno, but we should, IKEA! I first went to IKEA few years back when visiting my little sis in southern Cali. I told Crystal of it's amazingness and even tried to convince her to drive over the hill to Sacramento with me to go. You would laugh at how I strategically crammed a cube shelf into my car because it is like triple the price in Reno. Well Crystal is addicted now too! I picked up a few little things I could fit in my bags (paper holder, curtains, and their super yummy lignon berry preserves), we also picked up the makings for swedish meatballs and headed back to her place and made dinner. After dinner we played a lovely game of Pretty Princess.

Can you see why I'm breaking this down into multiple posts? I do tend to ramble a bit, but I really thought my poor GPS fiasco was a relevant and entertaining portion of my trip....oh and it continues

Day three Pikes Place Market and Space Needle, check back soon!

Little Braids

2011-06-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Today I am going to work on my Seattle post, but I may break it down into a couple because my ramblings my get a little of track and therefore lead to a ridiculously long post! But in the meantime, I have a scrapbook layout to share. This is based off the sketch on the Cosmo Cricket blog last week.

As you can tell by my fabulous pictures, my daughter adores it when I do her hair. (That was sarcasm) It never lasts longer than 10 minutes and shes undoing what I've done, so a lot of the times I snap pictures. Picture her throwing a fit, me getting camera, coaxing her to let me just take a good picture, then you can take down your hair. *sigh* Someday she will keep it in, right?

Sources:
patterned papers: bazzill, cosmo cricket
borders: cosmo cricket, sassafras, doodle bug designs
label/journal tags: scenic route paper co, sassfras
letters: american crafts, cosmo cricket
brad: my mind's eye
flair: american crafts

Hello there.

2011-06-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

Oh my. I arrived back home from Seattle on this past Monday. I had grand illusions of editing and posting my photos right away. But then I went to work. And it was a disaster. Quite literally. My manager had planned to cover my vacation, but then she was called away out of town on other business. The department had coverage for two half days, then four days of nothing, so I came in to a pretty big mess. Sweeet. Just what everyone wants to come back to after a vacation. Icky. Needless to say, I have been busting my ass to try and catch up, on top of normal duties, and after work, I am all tuckered out. Even though I have wanted to stop in and post, it has been hard to do anything but put my feet up after a long day!
So I have so much to share with you about my fabulous time visiting my best friend in Seattle, but, I am going to save that post for the weekend, when I have more time. Today I'd like to share this week's project Monday. Which was actually for Tuesday, June 21, the first day of summer. The summer solstice. The longest day of the year. If I hadn't been so freakin' tired after that first day back at work, I would have crammed in a lot more. The project was to document how much you did on the longest day of the year.
so:
woke up at 3am, at work by 4. yippee. what a mess.
leave on my lunch break at 8:20ish to pick up Celeste and take her to Boys & Girls Club.
Find out they don't have her in the system, wait to talk to lady.
Back at work 9:20ish. Yay, now I get to stay even later!
1:20ish off work. Pick up a few groceries, home by 2:30
Head back out to another grocery store

Stocked up on plenty of fruits for healthy snacking, I was a bad girl on vacation.
Picked up Celeste at 4
Head home and put away the rest of the groceries.
We watch some ghost stories.
We fall asleep. (oops!)
We go pick up Daved from work at 6
Come home
Make me a Malibu and OJ
Make some shrimp skewers with sweet thai chili sauce and cilantro and throw them on the grill, serve with coconut rice

Make oven smores for dessert

In bed by 9:30
Phew!
Isn't it crazy how little things can just suck a day away? How about you, how did you rock the longest day of the year?

What's in my Bag for the Airport

2011-06-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

I've never done a "what's in my bag" post before, but I have seen them on other blogs and think it's a super fun idea. I'm not as resourceful as others, but I think it's fun to peek at what other ladies deem necessary to carry with them everywhere they go. For the airport, I have a very light haul. I haven't flown in over a decade, so I wanted to make sure everything went okay at the security check point.

1. Hobo International bag- I've had this bag for yeeeaars. Whenever I travel I love this bag because it is so roomy. I can hold everything I need with ease.
2. Wallet from Rue 21- love these wallets because they are only 2 for $10, so I can have a wallet to match every bag!
3. Handmade Marketplace- a book to read on the plane. Have you read this one?
4. Burt's Bees Lip Balm
5. My phone
6. Sunglasses- I always go for the cheep ones, no biggie when I sit on them! These ones are from Forever 21
7. A book for Celeste to read on the plane
8. My sketchbook
9. My luggage keys

I Made a Mix Tape

2011-06-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, well, it's a cd. But I made it as a fun and quirky gesture for my best friend. Celeste and I are visiting her in Seattle this week. Crystal and I have known each other since our freshman year in high school. That's about twelve years now we've been friends. When we were younger we used to write notes to each other and make mix tapes! So this cd is my version of our old school mix tapes. I put together some songs I have been enjoying lately. If you have a chance, check out some of these artists, you never know what you can find from a friend...
1. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros- Home
2. Metric-Help, I'm Alive
3. Shiny Toy Guns-Major Tom
4. Broken Bells- The High Road
5. Florence and the Machine- Rabbit Heart
6. Civil Twilight- Soldier
7. Snow Patrol- Shut Your Eyes
8. The Black Keys- Tighten Up
9. Civil Twilight- Letters from the Sky
10. Laroux- Colourless Colour
11. Metric- Gold Guns Girls
12.Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros- Come in Please
13.Florence and the Machine-Cosmic Love
14. Laroux- Growing Pains
15. The Black Keys- Howlin' for You

Vintage Recipe-Stewed Chicken with Raisin Dumplings

2011-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

I bought a dutch oven a while back. In my vintage cookbooks, I see a lot of recipes calling for a dutch oven. After I got it, I didn't run across one recipe that called for a dutch oven! So I took out my 1968 Casserole Cookbook and searched for one. At last, I found this recipe that I could put together quickly, and let cook while I went about other things. Now I'm in love. I like that I don't have to do as much planning ahead as I do with the crock pot.

Ingredients
1 5-6 pound stewing chicken (I used 3 large breasts. I'm don't really eat any other part of the chicken, just the breast)
2 sprigs parsley (I use a couple teaspoons dry instead)
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 small onion, cut up
2 tea salt
1/4 tea pepper

For the Dumplings
1 cup flour
3 tea baking powder
1 tea salt
1 tb shortening
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup bread crumbs
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
2 tea grated onion

place chicken in dutch oven with enough water to cover. add remaining ingredients (not the dumpling ingredients!) Cover. Bring to boil and cook over low heat 2 1/2 hours or until tender. For dumplings, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening. Add raisins and bread crumbs. Combine the egg, milk and onion. Add to raisin mixture and mix to moisten. Drop from a tablespoon atop the stew. Cover tightly, simmer 20 minutes. Remove chicken dumplings, thicken broth if needed.

At first I was a little weary of the raisins, but these dumplings were delicious! I use italian breadcrumbs, which are seasoned, to give an extra flavor boost. Overall I am really happy with the flavors, and ease, of this dish. Happy cooking! XO

Celeste's Purple Room

2011-06-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a page about Celeste's purple room. She had told us that it was "all she ever wanted in her whole life." I thought it would be cute to preserve that little memory. She's getting older, and I bet a purple room isn't all she wants now, and I bet her room won't always be purple, or filled with dolls and fairy's and flowers. So why not scrap the everyday moments, like what a little girls bedroom looks like.

Sources:
Sketch- Creative Scrappers #160
Papers- Sassafras, Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, Making Memories
Journal Card and rub on- K & Co.
Sticker- Sassafras
Sticker and Tiny Alphas- Studio Calico
Letters and Flair- American Crafts
Bling- Basic Grey
Brads- Queen & Co., My Mind's Eye
Other- Fabric from one of Celeste's old shirts

Uniquely Spring

2011-06-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

This weeks photo prompt at Bubble Gum Life is "uniquely spring." Spring here in Reno is nothing short of unique, and often nothing like Spring anywhere else. It's mostly an unwanted extension of winter, with a couple teases of sunshine. Last week it was in the 50's, this week 80's. There is no predictability. So I could probably post a picture of the snow on Peavine and it would be uniquely spring for us! But this weekend was spent cleaning, doing yard work, and playing in the sprinklers. Celeste has a water hopscotch that we hooked up to the garden hose and let her run through. I used it as an opportunity to try and capture some water droplets frozen in time.

Finally some Sunshine

2011-06-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Did I tell you that it snowed on June 4th? It snowed last year in June too. Two years in a row and we've seen snow in June. Crazy. So my tomatoes. Fried. Who thought it would snow in the middle of a June day!? Well, we are finally seeing some nice weather. Time for my pale skin to see the sunlight. Two people told me my legs were white in this outfit. Uh, yeah, I know. They are always white. Get used to it. I am. Plus, I always wear sunscreen, because I am so white. Just a couple weeks ago, I was pulling weeds for three or four hours and I got the worst sunburn of my life. In a strip across my lower back, where apparently my t shirt crept up. Sunscreen everywhere else though! Year round too. Guess I'm overly cautious, because I am so pale!

Confession. I did not wear those shoes to work. I generally only wear flats to work, and they must be close toe. But I thought they suited the outfit, so I put 'em on for the pictures. I love the bright happy yellow of the stripes on this dress. It makes me feel like sunshine to run around all day in this. I paired it with turquoise necklace and bracelet, as well as a scarf with turquoise flowers. I love turquoise and yellow together. What makes you feel like sunshine? -XO

Dress- Ross
Shirt - gift
Scarf- Kohls
Necklace- thrifted
Bracelet- Bitterroot Trading in Montana (my souvenir from last years vacation)
Shoes- Charlotte Russe

Shoshanna turns One and Relay for Life

2011-06-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hello friends. How has you week been? For some strange reason I have been really tired this week. I think I'm stressing myself out about my upcoming vacation. I always want things to be perfect, so then I put way too much time and energy into playing scenarios in my head. Maybe it's one of those Pisces daydreaming sort of things.
A couple really neat things happened this past weekend. My littlest niecey poo turned the big ONE. Yay! And I also attended my first Relay for Life, a fund raising event for the American Cancer Society.

The birthday girl.

Here is Shoshanna diving into her birthday cake. She is so teeny and cute.

Momma put a crown on her. I don't think she likes it.

And she sees the presents...

This was my first year volunteering at the Relay for Life, though my coworkers have been doing it for at least a couple years now. Sometimes I think people don't "get it" until it hits home. For me it was an impulse thing, but I'm glad I did it.

The theme this year was Pajama Party.

The football field lined with tents. It rained all through the night. Poor campers. We didn't stay over night, but the awesome woman at work that organizes all this was there. With her family. In the pouring rain. How amazing is she?

A view of the track and all the people toughing it out through the cold and rain to raise money for the cause.

The manliest men there.

I know a lot of people don't like to think about it, but really, cancer is going to touch us at some point in our lives. Whether it's yourself, or someone you know, there really is no escaping it. It's devastating. But life continues on, and we gain strength as we move through it. Those that have gone before us, and those that continue their fight are a tremendous inspiration to the power of humanity.
When my grandmother was diagnosed with Melanoma in her eye I was really a wreck. She is like mommy #2 for me, I couldn't possibly bear the thought of losing her. Luckily the cancer had not spread, and she lost her eye, but is healthy. Which is wonderful for our family, because we love her so much.
Her sister recently lost her battle. She was mommy #2 for my mom and my aunt. I decided to make a luminary to commemorate her at the Relay for Life. I painted one side with a hummingbird, because Linda loved hummingbirds. On the other side I placed her picture (her graduation picture, which I adore). These luminaries line the track and are lit at sundown. Given the unfortunate circumstances of rain, I do not have a picture. But many people at the relay stop to look at them, to read them, and for a moment, even the strangers remember.

Pleats and Pearls

2011-06-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

I downloaded this lovely little weather application to my phone, so I can tell what is okay to wear. When your getting ready for work at 3 am you can't just look outside and decide what you will wear. So I get up in the morning, check my weather ap, and plan my outfit while waiting for my coffee. Problem is, everything in our forecast keeps getting shoved back a day. So that one sunny day of the week keeps eluding me. Damn them! Why can't they just forecast it's going to be crappy. For like ever.
So I decided to wear this lovely vintage pleated number to work on Friday, with a purple cardigan since it wasn't really ever sunny. And it worked out quite nicely, since Daved decided to take me to dinner and a movie for a little impromptu date night. So I threw my things into my little vintage beaded evening bag and headed out for a fun time.
I love this little beaded evening bag, I love it even better when I have an occasion to use it. It is so pretty, I think I might hang it on my wall when I am not using it, I love it that much. It also matches my thrifted pearl necklace quite wonderfully. I kept it in flats, since I had been at work all day! I really wasn't feeling up for heels. Can you tell how cold I am? Just to try and get some cute shots?

Dress, hand bag and necklace: thrifted
Shoes: Target

Socks: Vera Wang @ Kohls

My New Red Hair

2011-06-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Well, one of my "Eleven in 2011" was to dye my hair red. And this weekend I finally did it. Not just any red either, I wanted a thoroughly bright, vivid, completely unnatural red! Last August I dyed my hair for the first time in seven years. I went subtle, choosing a darker brown than my own. I loved that too! I'm pretty pale, so I like dark colors with my pale skin tones, I really don't feel a lighter color would "fit" me. The remaining dark brown in the lower portion of my hair caused the red to tint a lot dark, so it creates this sort of faded almost dip-dyed effect. I used a dye made for dark hair, but I guess the lighter red still couldn't handle covering the darker brown. I am really happy with it. I love how refreshing it is to have a new look almost instantly.
These pictures are of me on a typical day. While I love my dresses and skirts, most days you will find me in jeans and converse with a t shirt or sweater. I've been trying to mix it up with some prettier shirts and scarves and such, but I have a dirty job, and don't want to ruin any of my cute clothes. I only wear cute clothes to work on the days I know will be "light duty". So I thought it my be fun to give you a picture of the everyday me. How about you? Whats your everyday outfit look like? What would you rather be wearing? I would rather be wearing a fabulous vintage dress any day!

Project Monday- Out for a Walk

2011-05-31T13:56:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? I didn't turn on my computer once this weekend. And I wasn't out of town camping, I was home, prepping and planting my vegetable garden. On Saturday I spent pretty much the entire day with my butt in the dirt hand digging the weeds out by the roots from our rock hard Nevada soil. This also helped loosen the soil. Then I turned in some chicken manure, just in time for it to rain. The next day I got together a few more things for the yard, but it was still raining off and on, so we stayed inside. Then, we planted yesterday. After all our hard work, we decided some play was in order, so Celeste and I walked to the park! After a minor detour to get a slurpee of course.

Today I wore...

2011-05-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

Something fun and feminine, but cozy too, because its cold! I am going to go to the nursery to pick out some veggies for our garden. Last year I started seeds indoors, which they did well, but once they went into the planter box, they either died or were eaten by aphids. So this year I am buying them already growing for two reasons; first, the saying 'round here goes "never plant tomatoes 'til the snows off Peavine mountain". Peavine got snow last week. Maybe this week too for all I know, I haven't looked, even though it's out my front door. It's pretty much June. And it's cold. So I am afraid the growing season has been cut too short to try seeds. Second, last season was our first season planting in a yard that was barren before we came along. The soil is just not fertile. Too many years of nothing but weeds and rocks has our dirt seriously lacking. So seedlings have a hard time getting up and going I guess. I did plant them in a planter box filled with miracle grow garden soil. It's frustrating. I've never had a problem growing anything until here. More on that later, onto my outfit!

Dress- Thrifted
Sweater- JC Penny
Leggings- Kohl's
Earrings- Mudd
Wellies- Chinese Laundry
Dog- Mine

Blueberry Pie

2011-05-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Blueberry Pie was the first pie I ever made, with my Grandma Oma when I was about ten. We made a lattice crust, and it was perfect. I've tried lattice crusts since, but I am usually too impatient! This recipe is from my 1960's Betty Crocker cookbook, but I can't imagine that blueberry pie recipes change much over the years. While the recipe does call for a tablespoon of lemon juice, I also added lemon zest to give an extra lemony punch. It was delicious!

Two crust pie-crust(9in):
2/3 cup plus 2 TB shortening
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tea salt
4-5 TB cold water

Cut shortening into flour and salt until particles are pea sized. Sprinkle in water, a tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork, until all the flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans the sides of the bowl. Gather pastry into a ball; divide in two; shape into flattened round on floured surface. Roll 2 inches larger than pie plate. Ease into pie plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

Blueberry Pie(9in):

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tea cinnamon (opt)
4 cups fresh blueberries (I use frozen)
1 TB lemon juice
Zest (opt)
2 TB butter

Heat oven to 425. Mix sugar flour and cinnamon. Stir in blueberries. Turn into pastry lined pie plate; sprinkle with lemon juice and zest. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust, cut slits, seal edges. Wrap edges in foil to prevent burning. Remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.

Bake until crust is browned and juices begin to bubble through slits, 35-45 minutes.

This crust was one of the best crusts I've made, even though I forgot the slits. It was perfectly browned, light and flaky. The combination of blueberries and lemon was so refreshing, a perfect end to a springtime day. Served warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream. Enjoy. XO

Project Monday- Vanishing Point

2011-05-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

These photos of our walk in Montana during last year's vacation immediately came to mind when I read this weeks Project Monday post over at Bubble Gum Life. When I think of a vanishing point, I think of a viewers eye being drawn in to the photograph by a line that disappears at a point in the image. I think these photos accomplish that effect. I also created a layout using one of my favorite photos from these shots. It's my favorite because the look on my daughters face is so totally her. She is such a dramatic little girl, with everything being so very intense, even picking flowers!

We Love Art

2011-05-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, how about one more? I came across a sketch site at http://creativescrappers.blogspot.com/ and decided I could fit one more layout in for today, then off to make some dinner. Stuffed bell peppers. Yummy!

Sources: Paper Cosmo cricket and KI Memories Stickers: Sassafras Letters and pin: American Crafts Ticket: Jenni Bowlin Flower: Making Memories Brad: My Mind's Eye Other: Clothing tag

Cool Waters

2011-05-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for summertime to come! One of the things I miss most about summer is our little day trips up to Tahoe. It's one of the most beautiful places I've seen, and with it being right in my backyard, I can't explain what took me so long to go there! Our parents never took us as children, so it wasn't something that came to mind whenever I thought about going to the lake.
My best friend moved to Seattle last year and she said the she would really miss going to Tahoe, so I decided to go. And fell in love. Every opportunity I got, we drove up to Tahoe to spend the day lounging on the warm sandy beaches and swimming in the cool clear water. They are very restrictive and environmental, so the water is gorgeous!
After our trip to Montana last year, I also fell in love with hiking. I had done a couple hikes, but when my cousin showed us around on a couple hikes in Montana, I realized what I was doing was glorified walking in the desert. So I picked up a book detailing some trails around Tahoe, and we tried a couple, and it was amazing.
I always pick hikes that are about 3 miles (6 round trip) and to some sort of a destination, like a waterfall or small mountain lake. And every time, during the last half mile, I'm wondering if we're going the right way, this seems like it's taking forever, etc! So I probably will keep it at that length this summer too!

After spending a few hours pulling weeds I decided to do a scrap book layout about our day trips to Tahoe. I chose the background paper because the yellow-orange flowers contrasted well with the blue in my photograph, which is of my daughter Celeste wading into the cool waters of Lake Tahoe.

Sources: Paper, journal tags, photo corner, border strip: Sassafras Blue border strip and scallop circle punched paper: K&Co Paint: Adirondack Adhesive pearls: Making Memories Brad: My Mind's Eye Stickers and chipboard button: KI Memories Plastic Embellishment: Heidi Grace Label sticker: October afternoon Chipboard letters and tag: Cosmo Cricket Other: Saftey pin, lace

Project Monday-Comfort Food

2011-05-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yay, it's back. I really love the Project Monday photo prompts from Carrie and Gloria over at Bubblegum Life. And the prompts have never stopped coming, if you want to head on over to their blog to check it out. I just couldn't keep up with it towards the end of the semester. My workload became too tremendous, and my Project Monday posts suffered. But I hope to get back into the bloggy swing of things for the summer at least, I am making no promises about next semester!
Comfort food is this weeks topic. I could probably say all food is comfort food for me, I just love food. Especially sweet foods. Hence the almost constant supply of cupcake recipes here on the blog. My Grandma Oma worked at a bakery when I was little, and my favorite thing to pick out of the big shiny cases was eclairs. All the ladies found it pretty funny that this little girl wanted such a particular pastry, but I loved them. Granted, I tried those alluring iced cookies, and had a cupcake or too, but I knew I could always count on the delishness of the eclair. My favorite part, the whipped cream inside. I don't like custard filled eclairs, the whipped ones are the best.

Alas, after my elaborate eclair story, I do not have a picture to share with you of an eclair. But my mouth is watering now. My other comfort foods are cinnamon toast and tea. And thats what I had today. I am a wee bit under the weather, so a nice hot cup of tea was soothing to my sore throat. I remember grandma Oma making me cinnamon toast when I was a little girl staying at her house. I was one of those kids that always wanted "dessert" and that might be why she started giving it to me. But it really is a comfort now. I still sometimes make myself cinnamon toast before bed. Must be great for the metabolism.

Digital Portfolio

2011-05-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

So here it is, my final assignment for my Print Media course. Since this was an assignment, every assignment and exercise we completed in the course was required to be in this PDF. So there are a couple things in here that are, well, meh. If I had my way, I would have only included my awesome work, but I had to include the cheeseball "wedding collage" and "melonhead". Please keep in mind these were exercises to teach us how to use tools in Photoshop, they are not a true reflection of my fabulous skills elsewhere.
Norma, my cute little waitress on the front cover and the fifties style signs on the index page, were created in Adobe Illustrator specifically for this PDF. All other works were part of assignments. Hope you enjoy! By the way, while my instructor did say it was beautiful, I was critized for the abundance of hyphenated text in my justified text boxes and my extreme leading on some pages. If I had the program to fix it, I would have, but school's out so it is what it is.
Portfolio Kt

I used some free fonts in some assignments and part of the liscensing restrictions is the inability to be embedded into a PDF. So here are the way those are supposed to look:

And here's a better picture of Norma for you, the PDF appears pretty pixelated.

What I Wore

2011-05-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday were my final classes for the semester. It feels a little weird to have no obligations. I'm feeling a little aimless at the moment, but I think I am going to put together a list of goals to complete during my time off from school.
I always dress pretty for my critiques. I feel like it's good to represent yourself well alongside your artwork, even if it is just a college class, this is practice for when I will be playing the real part someday. I picked up this little halter dress at the thrift store a while back and it was finally warm enough to wear it. I love the fun polka dot pattern and is retro inspired design. I really didn't have shoes that matched to well, but eh, it works. I also wore my vintage earrings and clipped up a side of my hair with a little bow.
I feel super awkward showing skin because I am so darn pale. I asked Daved if it looked weird for me to be wearing a cream dress, he said yes. But then he said he was kidding. I'm not sure I believe him. Oh well. I still felt fun and girly and summery.
I don't get my grades back from these two classes until monday, but I received an A- in illustration and rendering. I was 4 points shy of an A. That kinda made me upset. But in my Print media course my instructor said my digital portfolio was "beautiful" which feels so awesome. And I get a double gold star for my Adobe Illustrator designs. I will be posting these shortly, it's just a matter of having some more free time to read up on how to embed the PDF here on le blog.

Dress and earrings- thrifted Shoes- Old Navy

Quick Butter Cake and Seven Minute Frosting- Vintage Recipe

2011-05-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to use my Fireside cookbook from 1949 more often. It is difficult to do since I have been so pressed for time in the later half of this semester. But I have great news, tomorrow is the last day of classes. Yay! I can't wait to start getting out of the house, gardening, baking, painting my finger nails, going to the park, oh my head swirls with excitement to think of all the things I normally take for granted! I can't wait to start exercising again too. These past few months I've been eating horribly. This I write as I post yet another cupcake recipe. I can't help myself with the sweets! Doesn't mean I can't eat healthy inspite of my sweet tooth. But lately my survival consists of coffee, tea, chips, bread and sweets. Anything grab and go that doesn't grow!
On to today's recipe. Celeste wanted cupcakes, I wanted quickness. So that is when I decided to try this combination. I actually doubled the Quick butter cake, and yielded twelve cupcakes. The seven minute frosting uses egg whites, so it consistency is like a meringue, but it piped beautifully and held its shape. It hardened slightly on the outside, and remained soft on the inside.

Quick Butter Cake
1 heaping tablespoon butter
6 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 heaping tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
cinnamon
pinch of salt

Cream butter with 2 tb sugar. Add 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk. Stir until creamy. Add flour, sifted with baking powder and a pinch of salt, alternately with milk. Spread in a well buttered tin. (I used sprayed muffin tin). Brush with a lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with butter, sugar and cinnamon (I did not do this, but I did put cinnamon in the batter). Bake at 350 for 18-20 or until golden brown.

Seven Minute Frosting
2 unbeaten egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons corn syrup
Flavoring (I used almond extract)

Combine egg whites with sugar, water and corn syrup. Place over boiling water and beat vigorously. Cook approximately seven minutes, or until mixture peaks. Remove from heat, add flavor, and beat until of spreading consistency.

What I Wore

2011-05-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, it's official, next week is the last week of the semester. Let's see, I have to draw a 15x20 room interior in 2 point perspective with stairs, two incline planes, 2 objects in 1 point perspective and 2 objects rotated to a secondary 2 point perspective. Then I have to create a digital portfolio of this semesters work in InDesign and bring it into Acrobat to make an interactive PDF. And lastly I have to create a Flash animation in which two opposite words of type "attract", it has to be between 40-45 seconds long. Whew! Guess you know what I'm doing this weekend!
It's been warming up subtly, and today we tipped over 80. It's nice, but man is our yard full of weeds. I'm planning on going full force with the veggie garden this year. Last year I gave up after an aphid infestation. A friend at work told me about some organic spray she uses to keep the aphids away, so it's on! I'm expanding my plot size this year and have all sorts of goodies planned for my garden.
I haven't kept up with posting my assignments either, so I have a bunch of those to start sharing soon, I'm looking forward to this much needed break. Get back to family, friends and being home. It makes me so happy just to think about it. On to the outfit post already....

Shirt & shoes- vintage, thrifted Jeans- Lucky, thrifted Belt- Kohl's Sunglasses- Charlotte Russe

I was a little unsure of this blouse. I fell in love with the gorgeous embroidery, but I still don't know how I feel about having such a large piece of fabric draping off my chest. It's very feminine and flowing, and nice and light for a warm day. The shoes are Mushrooms. SO comfy! Why can't they make shoes this comfy now? A little heel and a little peep toe, easy to walk in but super cute.
Well, hope to be back soon to share some of my art work from the semester and a fantastic cupcake!

Strawberry Shortcake- Vintage recipe

2011-04-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

I love love love fresh strawberries. When Spring rolls around and I start seeing these crimson beauties on the store shelves my mouth waters with the possibilities. Add in some fresh homemade whipped cream, and I'm in heaven. *sigh*
Needless to say strawberry shortcake is one of my absolute favorite desserts.. I've always made the shortcake from the bisquik recipe on the box. I figured it's about time I try it from scratch. It turned out delicious, a good balance to the sweet strawberries and cream. And it was super easy to prepare.
Recipe from Fireside Cookbook 1949

Ingredients

2 cups sifted flour
2 1/2 tea baking powder
3/4 tea salt
2 TB sugar
5 TB shortening
3/4 cup milk

Directions

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until it looks like course meal. Add milk and stir until you have a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 30 seconds. Divide dough into two parts, 2/3 for bottom, 1/3 for top. Pat or roll larger section onto floured surface and shape evenly. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Dot well with butter or brush heavily with melted butter. Bake 450 12 to 15 minutes. Remove top section and place strawberries on the bottom crust and cover with top. Garnish with homemade whipped cream.

I do mix a tablespoon of sugar into my strawberries as well, to help release the juices. I found the directions a little vague as how to bake, so I baked the top and bottom apart from one another, I think next time I will bake them atop one another.

Project Monday- yes, I know its Tuesday

2011-04-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

So, this weeks photo prompt was "other cameras need love too". Agreed! I have an old school Canon T50 which may be older than I am. It was my first SLR. It is a truly beautiful piece of machinery, and it still takes gorgeous pictures. I ruined one of lenses at Craters of the Moon, Idaho when I was younger. Like a dummy I switched lenses in the lava park and little granules of lava sand got inside and completely stuck the moving parts. So all I have is the portrait lens. Which is fine because that is what I prefer to shoot. Oh, then there was the time my niece pulled it off the table (she was 3, I'm a dummy) and broke the external flash (it has no internal). Like I said, my first SLR. Abused, but works! As long as your well lit and close. My other non-digital camera is a Yashica Electro 35, I need to replace the light seals and modify it slightly to take a present day battery (they took mercury batteries), but I haven't found the time.
So all this was just a really elaborate excuse as to why I can't really take a picture and give my other cameras some love. But, I did use a Polaroid for a recent assignment, so I thought this a good opportunity to share. Lucky for me one of my class mates had one of these bad boys, and with film, so I could see my project to completion. We actually used Polaroid at work up until a couple years ago, but it was still awkward and foreign to operate, and the picture I took came out crappy. Maybe because I took it inside a fluorescent lit classroom?

Tattoos

2011-04-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to pop in for a moment to let you know I'm alive. These past few weeks have been some crazy times. It's hard to believe that in just three short weeks this semester will be over. I have some more work to share with you shortly, but for today I thought I'd share tattoos. Daved and I both decided to use some of our bonus money to get new tattoos. Really Daved just got jealous that I got a new tattoo (my fifth) and he didn't (he has, like, thirty?). Guess that's why they call them addictive. I prefer a balance between skin and ink, I want more, but I definitely do not want to be ink head to toe, Daved does.

This was the next day. By day three my arm swelled up so big! I was freaking out, the swelling carried all the way down into my forearm. I don't have a picture, because I was so freaked out. A friend recommended benadryl and that helped significantly. But it also knocked me on my ass.
And here is Daved's new tattoo (s). He hopes to get a full sleeve one day, so he started out on his forearm. They are video game characters (which totally suits him), I believe the names are 'Freya' and 'Diablo'. I love the low lit shots of the artists at work. Really captures the focus of the artist.

Well, I hope to be back shortly for my Project Monday post. I haven't been able to keep up these past two weeks, but I aim to pick back up again where I left off. But it's time to go help the little bug with her homework!

Little Boxes...

2011-04-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

Source

At the Studio

2011-04-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

I'm at the tattoo studio right now, my boyfriend is starting his sleeve. His artist said "you can use the computer, that is, if you know how to use a Mac. You don't look like you know how to use a mac."
What?!
Damn. That hurts.

A different sort-of sugar cookie- Vintage Recipe

2011-04-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah, a sugar cookie recipe is a sugar cookie recipe. They are all pretty much about the same, at least in my slightly limited experience. I do love trying different ones though, in hopes of finding the perfect one. I like when a little lemon or orange zest is added, that's super yummy. I like when they bake up nice and fluffy too. I decided to give this vintage sugar cookie recipe a try because it doesn't use granulated sugar, it uses powdered. Interesting. They are halfway between being a fluffy or crisp cookie, so pretty good texture. And the almond extract is a great flavor. I didn't want to mask the almond extract, so we just sprinkled a little bit of sugar crystal on the top. Enjoy ;)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, soft
1 egg
1 tea vanilla
1/2 tea almond extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose/ whole wheat flour
1 tea baking soda
1 tea cream of tartar

Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Heat oven to 375. Divide dough into halves. Roll each half 3/16 inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut into shapes. Sprinkle with sugar crystals, place on a lightly greased sheet. Bake until edges are a light brown, 7-8 minutes.

XO

I laugh at myself

2011-04-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

I really kind of have too. I do a blog post about being back from a blogging hiatus, then disappear again! Oh, I crack me up. All kidding aside, is it weird that I feel super remorseful that I have failed my blog, Epically? Is that even a word? Well, I did it none the less. Once upon a time I had delusions of grandeur and dreamt of someday having an awesome blog with tons of reader worthy content. But then I get so enveloped in my scholastic studies and, well, life in general. And my poor blog goes by the wayside. I feel like I've said this before. Maybe I've just thought about it a lot. I need to jot my ideas down more often, they are way too fleeting. Then maybe I'd have some reader worthy content. I even tried "scheduling" my blog time. But sometimes I just can't fit it in.
I do feel especially bad for missing the past two Project Monday posts, but I have them here today. The topic from last Monday was spring flowers. 'Not fair' is what I thought when I read that over at the Bubblegum Life blog. It was still blustery and threatening snow. And it still is, in between days of 70-75. The next day the fates opened a beautiful bright yellow daffodil in my front yard. So that's what that plant that always dies from the snow looks like. It's come up a couple times since we moved in, and I had an inkling it was a daffodil, but then it never bloomed, or was killed by a freeze. They are quite lovely, and a most definite sign of the season.

Yesterdays project Monday topic was "sharing happy thoughts". I was inspired by Carrie's photograph, and decided to take a picture of a card Celeste made for me. She draws me pictures and makes me things all the time. It makes me feel so special. I love that she creates wonderful and precious things for me. Lately she has been putting "MPU" on her works of art.
"what's M-P-U?" I ask her
"Muh-wah" she makes a kissing sound that we always make at each other.
How cute, she totally spelled a kissing sound for her mommy. I love it!

And lastly, for my wonderful little catch up and say sorry about my lame forgetting to blog-ness.... I really can't remember my last outfit post. I love sharing my outfit posts. At first I felt like a big fat dork, Same as when I first shared pictures of my home. But then I realized those are my two favorite things from other blogs I read, I love to see how they dress and how they decorate their homes. I first embarked on my little "anti-jeans adventure this past fall. The whole idea was to replace my average jeans and tee shirt get up with something cuter, something a with more style, something not jeans. Well, some of the time. I have been making it a point to dress nicely to all my critiques in class. Yet again, epic fail here, haven't taken any pictures. It's usually cold, windy, poor light... I know, excuses! Anyway, this Spring will be an interesting transition. While I usually pair my skirts and dresses with cardi's, I will have to find a short sleeved substitute as warm weather approaches. It will be a whole new sort of adventure now! I hope I can transition flawlessly, or at least with some grace - XO.

Cardigan-Old Navy (one of my faves!) Skirt- Forever 21 Shoes and Earrings- thrifted vintage

Show and Tell

2011-03-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to share some of my class work from this semester so far. I figure since I haven't been able to add to my Etsy shop, I might as well show what I have been doing! Needless to say I am learning some fun techniques and I enjoy playing around with the software as well as solving these design "problems".

First up here is my ducky. This assignment is designed to teach us how to use the pen tool in Illustrator. Using the tool, I drew each shape of the image above. Every color is a different shape. I did cheat and use the circle tool to create the background bubbles though!

Next up is my Metro Salon Logo. The challenge here was to create a logo for a local business. The second image is my rough marker comp, which I then drew in the same process as the ducky.

This is my typographic self portrait. The challenge here was to use letterforms to create a self portrait. It is a lot harder than you think! I am pretty happy with the way it turned out, and yes, those are all letters. :)

Vintage Recipe-Best Chocolate Cake

2011-03-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

With a name like best chocolate cake, how could I resist this recipe? Actually, I was just craving some cupcakes and I wanted them fast! So I gave this recipe a try, cut some corners, and my cupcakes stuck to my silcone cupcake liners. So I used the rest of the batter in one of my mini bundt pans, and perfection! So don't be like me, grease and flour your pan! I guess I figured it wouldn't stick to the silicone because I never grease them and I've never had an issue, so maybe this isn't a cake recipe that converts to cupcakes well...

Best Chocolate Cake
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tea baking soda
1/2 tea salt
1/4 tea baking powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tb water
1/4 cup plus 2 tb buttermilk
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 tea vanilla
2 oz melted unsweetened chocolate (cooled)

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour pan. Beat all ingredients in a large mixer bowl on low speed, scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds. Beat on high speed, scraping occasionally, 3 minutes. Pour into pan.
Bake until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes; cool. Frost.

We frosted ours with whipped cream mixed with some powdered sugar and a splash of maraschino cherry juice. Delish!

Back From a Blogging Hiatus...

2011-03-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

I started out the week of my spring break break thinking I would do all sorts of blogging and even finish a new painting for my Etsy shop. But all fell by the wayside when my six year old commented "Your always on the computer mom". To be fair, I am a graphic design student, so while I do spend a great deal of time on the computer, it is working on school work mostly. In fact, I was really looking forward to putting more time into my blog and my poor poor neglected Etsy shop. Instead, I put down the computer for the whole week of spring break. *gasp* I did FB and Tweet from my phone on occasion, as well as check my email. But no blog writing or reading, no etsy browsing or treasurey making. No vintage recipe post or little things post.
And we did have fun. We received a bonus at work, and I have a new tattoo scheduled for this Friday that will probably be a good chunk of it. I've wanted to get a couple new tattoos for awhile but I'm always so broke. We also went out for some sushi and I took Celeste bowling for her first time ever. It was nice to do things "normal" people can do. It's just sad that it takes a once a year bonus to be able to afford it.

And since I wasn't in class, I was able to go to a couple of Celeste's school functions last week. On Tuesday she had a music show. It was themed dreamland, so all the kiddos wore their pj's. It is so cute to see her little face scan the crowd and when she sees you are there her eyes light up and she grins from ear to ear. And on Thursday she was awarded the silver honor roll award for being an exceptional student. Yay! This is her second one, she also made silver honor roll last year. And on Saturday we got dressed up and headed out for some shopping. We stopped and shared a bubble tea first though! And last night we had my little brother and his girlfriend over for a homemade manicotti dinner and a game of Parcheesi.

Time for Project Monday!
This Monday the photo prompt is look up:

4 Days in a Row...

2011-03-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

Man, I really dropped the ball on this one. I didn't check out Bubblegum Life's photo prompt until Sunday, so I don't have a "Four Days in a Row" post compiled of photos over this weekend. I did take photos over the weekend, but I've already shared them! So these are from March 2-5...

On March 2nd I wore a pretty scarf I picked up at the Salvation Army. Purple is my favorite color, and the lovely greens are delightfully spring.

On the third we started to demolish a wall in our bathroom. Fun stuff. Remodeling your only bathroom with a shower is always awesome.

This one I took on the fourth. I was going to do an outfit post because I haven't done one in forever, but I didn't like how my pictures turned out. Oh well, her it is!

And the fifth was my birthday, and Daved got me my favorite. Baskin Robbins ice cream cake!

little things that make me happy

2011-03-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

I really love to go to thrift stores, antiques shops, and when the weather is warm, flea markets. Garage sales are cool too sometimes, but here in Reno they can be mostly lame. I might try Estate sales soon though, seems that a lot of people in the blogosphere have tremendous luck there.

It is a kind of peaceful thing for me. I love to wander the aisles and bins of items cast aside, seeking out my own personal treasures. It is also wonderfully fulfilling when you rescue an item, or return it to it's former glory. The cost is quite alluring as well. I am by no means a wealthy person, I work a retail job and am a mother and college student. So I am always looking for a good buy. And anyone who knows me personally knows I am inherently cheap. I know what I am willing to pay for some things, and little sways me. There will always be another opportunity later.

That being said, this post is inspired by an antique couch I recently found at the thrift store. These are almost always in need of a good reupholstery, and often cushion replacement and a good sand and stain of the legs. And they usually are upwards of $200 in our area. Here in Reno we peddle junk at high prices. For the most part. Like you can never find a vintage typewriter for less than $50. What! People back east get 'em for $5.

Okay off on a tangent, this couch I found started at $140, but nobody bit, so it was down to $70. I wanted it, so I showed it to Daved. He looked disgusted. I told him we would pay someone to redo it and it would be like new, but it was a no go. I am sad for this. But alas, there will be another opportuntiy to put a beautiful antique couch into my home on another day.

Thrifting is one of my favorite activities, so I thought I'd share a couple of my recent "saves"....

The Bird art above is painted on glass with a colored piece of cardboard behind it. I got it for $1. The frame was beat up, and I forgot to take a before picture, so I included this one of its backside below. I gave it a sanding and I painted it blue. It accents the artwork beautifully, and will be a wonderful contrast in my living room, which is tones of orange, yellow and brown.

This Borg scale is quite a find. It's older than my house! Awesome. I started to tear off the contact paper someone put over the top before taking my before picture, but you get the idea. This bad boy was $6, and i cleaned it up and put it in my bathroom. Now I can become weight obsessed on this piece of 1950's beauty. It's totally accurate.

This 1950's TV tray has been moving around my house, I haven't quite found it's permanent home, but at $1 I wasn't passing it up.

Crocheted afghans are something I always look for, they make any room cozy and homey. This one's bright fun colors are a great contrast to my living rooms mostly earthy tones, and it was only $4.

Framed artwork is one of my favorite things to look for in the thrift stores, with the exception of my "I heart Parfaits" painting (in a thrifted frame) all of these pieces were less than $3. That excludes the mirror, which was a gift.

I am well one my way to putting together a cozy warm home full of vintage and second hand treasures. But the journey to this is such fun, and a bit addicting. I'm actually trying to calm myself, because even though it's cheap, I need to start putting my money towards bigger repairs. Bath remodel and a new roof are in my near future!

XO

Recently Thrifted

2011-03-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

I love old books. I guess it goes along with a passion for reading that I've had since I was young. My daughter loves to read too, and that makes me happy. There is so much knowledge to be gained, so many wonderful things have resulted from the printed word. The other day Celeste told me how she went to the library at school and discovered a new (to her) book by Eric Carle called A House for Hermit Crab. She says "I want that book next mom, okay? I love Eric Carle's books, he's a good illustrator."
Too cute, I love it! Old books are one of the things I love to look for at thrift stores, and I've begun a small collection. I'm not just amassing them because they look cool, I actually only buy them if I know I enjoy the topics and will read them one day. When I'm not super duper busy with everything else I do!

I've picked up a couple neat old books recently. The first one is called "Classic Myths in English Literature" by Charles Mills Gayley ©1893. The binding has been replaced, but the illustrations are amazing! I have always been fascinated by mythology and have a couple modern books on the topic, so I was over the moon to find such an old text on the subject.

The second book I picked up recently is call "My Bookhouse in the Nursery" from 1920. It is a fantastic collection of childhood stories, with amazing color illustration. I am so happy to be adding these gorgeous treasures to my collection. What do you like to collect?

XO.

Vintage Recipe- Crisp Waffles

2011-03-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

Celeste wanted to make waffles for my birthday breakfast this past saturday. I've never made waffles from scratch before, so I figured I'd have a little fun and give it a try. They were delicious, and just as easy as making them from a box! Since it was my birthday we put some sprinkles in the batter, as well as a dash of vanilla extract for extra flavor. I think the sprinkles disintegrated in the batter, so next time I will just sprinkle on top of the batter while on the waffle iron.
We finished by topping with super sweet agave nectar and homemade whipped cream, enjoy ;)

Crisp Waffles
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

heat waffle iron. beat eggs with hand beater until fluffy. beat in remaining ingredients. pour batter onto hot iron, bake until steaming stops, remove waffle. Top and serve!

project monday- silhouette

2011-03-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

This weeks project Monday photo prompt is silhouette. Silhouettes are so lovely and understated. The lack of definition of the subject makes them so intriguing, lending an air of emotional depth to a photograph almost accidentally. The top photo is my kitten, last year after we first brought him home. I just love his cute little shape in the big bright window. For me, this photo evokes the feeling of excitement and discovery new pets feel when first brought home.

This one is of Daved last year when we were remodeling our Laundry space. I love how everything is visible in the photo, and only he is the silhouette.

This is my sister and her baby last year. It's really such a sweet picture that to me captures those first moments of falling totally and completely in love.

An absolutely wonderful capture of Celeste's profile.

This one was just playing around.

Celeste reading a book in bed with a flashlight.

And another profile picture of Celeste.

2011-03-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to announce that I am accepting my second stylish blogger award. *gasp* I feel so loved! I know I have been neglecting my blog of late due to my scholastic studies, but I'm doing it stylishly, (is that a word?). This award was graciously bestowed upon me by Marlene over at My Spot of Sunshine.
Pay her a visit, she is so creative, I love all her wonderful scrapbook pages and mini albums. Truly an inspiration!
To accept this award I need to pass the award onto another 8 Stylish blogs and list 8 things about myself! Here are eight other stylish bloggers who I find inspiring in a variety of ways. Please be sure to check them out!

The Littlest Polly

April Two Eighty

Bouffe e Bambini

I Just Might Explode

Much Love Illy

Creativity Unmasked

Delightfully Tacky

Sunshine and Carousels

And eight things about me....

1. I like red wine.
2. I love to bake.
3. I love to shop at thrift stores.
4. I collect vintage books.
5. My house is 50 years old, full of old house troubles, but I dream of someday owning an older one.
6. I want to learn how to tile so I can do my kitchen and bathroom.
7. I hide messes, usually in closets, until I get an organizational burst of energy and sort through it all.
8. I think of all sorts of things to say, blog, wear or create, but when it comes time to actually do it, I draw a blank. So, I'm a list maker.

little things that make me happy

2011-03-06T17:31:00.000-08:00

Pencils

I've been spending a lot of time sketching and drawing lately. It's all for my class assignments, nothing will be going up in the shop anytime soon, I'm too overwhelmed. But all the drawing really makes me think about how much I love this. It is my favorite thing in the world to draw or paint or otherwise create something beautiful. So this weeks picks are inspired by my love of drawing.

Lighting is a must. I love my clip on desk lamp. It's adjustable so I can point it down on my work, up at the ceiling for some bounce lighting, or sideways to illuminate my easel. I picked mine up at Ikea a couple years ago for $5 and it clamps to the side of my desk similar to the one I've picked out here.

Since doing the sketchbook project I have really fallen in love with having a sketch book of my own to keep handy where ever I go. You really never know when you will be inspired, so it's best to be prepared! I also love having a variety of pencils, to create different depths of colors, to accentuate different shading techniques.

I have an artist's box similar to this one. It was once my Nana's, then her daughters (my aunt) and now it is mine. It is one of my favorite heirlooms and I use it to this day. It was given to me about fifteen years ago, and it has always held art supplies for me.

Some day I dream of having an awesome drafting table. Until then I make do with the large worktop my 1960's school teacher desk affords me.

Vintage Recipe- One-Step Tamale Pie

2011-03-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe in the "Meals in Minutes" cookbook ca.1968. The idea of a quick meal in the late sixties was far different from our own. I was looking for a quick dinner one night, and as is often the case with me, didn't read all the way through to realize the 45 minute bake time! Definitely not quick in my book. I'm an overly scheduled working mother/ college student. Quick for me is like twenty minutes. Oh yeah, I can throw down some dinner in twenty minutes. In spite of the deceiving title, I tried it. And it is yummy. And it is easy to prepare. And I love that I don't have to stand in the kitchen for awhile. I can throw it in the oven and work on something else. Love that.

Tamale Pie

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 8 oz cans seasoned tomato sauce
1 cup milk
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 12 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup sliced olives
few dashes hot pepper sauce
3/4 cup corn meal
2-2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt

In a large skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic till meat is browned and onions are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Place in a 12x7 1/2x 2 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until knife in center comes out clean. Cut and serve!

I only had whole olives on hand and was in too much of a pinch to slice. I also garnished by melting cheese on top and a little dollop of sour cream. It was pretty easy dinner that I didn't have to put a lot of effort into, and some nights that's just what you need!

2011-02-28T16:58:00.000-08:00

This weeks project monday photo prompt was framing. Use the surroundings to frame your subject in the photograph. This can be really interesting and fun. I love prompts that help you look at things with a different perspective. Ideas that make you think about things differently. It's always good to challenge your perspective.
With my lovely thoughts on the subject in mind, I totally cheated. I spent all weekend working on assignments, and all this afternoon studying for a quiz tomorrow. So I went back through some of my past photographs and found some examples of how I like to use framing in photography....

Door ways and stair banisters present wonderful opportunities to frame a subject. I also love how looking through a door way can lend a good sense of perspective and little mystery to a photograph. What's through that doorway? I always find myself wondering.

Buildings and walls that flank your subject on either side can give the effect of framing. This technique also gives great perspective, driving your eye right towards your subject.

I absolutely love using mirrors to frame myself within my surroundings in my photographs. As the photographer, I am rarely seen in my photos, so this is a wonderful way to capture me, and remember what I was doing at a particular moment.

I love how the tree limb in the upper portion of this photo frames the photograph.

And these I took last semester down at Oxbow Printing Press. I love how the wheel of the press creates an interesting frame for my daughter as my subject.

Happy Monday! XO.

little things that make me happy

2011-02-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

So sorry my lovely readers that I missed this Wednesdays Vintage Recipe post. I have been a teensy weensy bit swamped as we are now in the full swing of all my classes. And while I'm doing a ton of work, my blog and Etsy shop are suffering. *sigh* but I am learning valuable skills that will benefit me greatly, and it is a lot of fun in the process. I will be sharing some of my projects shortly!
So we have had snow, snow and well, more snow here lately. It is so ridiculous cold, I don't even want to leave under my blanket on the couch! My computer is in my studio, which is the farthest room away from the furnace, thus the coldest. Super cold. Like more than hour and my fingers and toes go numb. So it's been difficult to do more than my assignments lately. I have been deluding myself with thoughts of Spring, but I know here in Reno, it's pretty far away still. Last year it snowed in June. Yup. June.
But a girl can still dream. I'm dreaming of rain and stomping around in my wellies. Of pretty spring dresses in wonderful hues. Of delicate handbags, and tea on the terrace. Of bright and floral jewelery.

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I just adore these Slugs. They're so fun, and functional!

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With the combination of my two favorite colors, how could I resist? I love the chain woven through the flower, it's a fun and textural design.

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Simple, delicate, light and airy.

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I would have so much fun baking some pretty spring time cupcakes in this lovely spring floral apron.

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I love having a warm cup of tea and watching the rain fall outside my window.

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A lovely, relaxed dress, perfect for a springtime afternoon.

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And of course a gorgeous handbag to compliment.

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And don't forget your hat when those March winds start blowing!

XO.

Project Monday- On a Tuesday

2011-02-22T18:16:00.000-08:00

Is this the first time I've been late on a project Monday post? I think it might be so. My auntie and cousins from Montana have made an unexpected trip into town, so things ran a bit late for me last night. And then, after picking up my boyfriend from work we learned that his father had to go to the hospital. Sad. I hate that sort of thing. Anyway, I think all will be okay for now, though I am not entirely knowledgeable on the subject.

Moving on. This weeks photo prompt was to take a picture of someone you love. Just one? I wish I had remembered my camera when visiting with my aunt, but I've been rather terrible lately. I tried snapping some pictures of Celeste, but shes a squirmy little mover, and that's apparent in my pictures. But I still think there neat. It portrays who she is right now. A vibrant little girl so full of light and energy. And a ton of emotion. Before I run off to play a game of Parcheesi (Celeste's new fave) I just wanted to give a quick sorry for the lack of posts lately. Things are really picking up at school so I haven't had as much time for my blog or Etsy shop as I'd like. But fear not friends, I'm still here. XO

project Monday delay...

2011-02-21T19:46:00.001-08:00

Hello my friends. Just a quick post from my phone. Today is full of unexpected circumstances, so I will be back tomorrow with my project Monday post for this week. Have a lovely Monday. XO

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little things that make me happy

2011-02-20T21:15:00.000-08:00

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I am reminded by this happiness everyday. But lately, it seems to be challenging me! Our family's pets bring such joy into our life, such hilarity, and yes, much upset. Yet, inspite of all that has been ruined, I still love these little monsters. It so nice to be home alone in an empty house and have a kitty come and curl up on my lap just to say hello. Or to come home to an often overly excited puppy dog nearly every day.
We started with our kitties. I've always wanted cats. When I was little I couldn't, so began my obsession. I used to collect all sorts of cat things. My first two vintage items were cat salt and pepper shakers as well as a cat jewelry holder. So when we moved into the house last year it was a short couple of months later and I couldn't take it any more. I wasn't in an apartment anymore, so I headed down to the Humane Society and adopted Leo and Luna.

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We had also planned to have a dog someday, but we just simply couldn't afford. We still can't really, but we sacrificed. Penny was my best friends dog. But their family made the decision to move out of state and could not find an apartment that would accept her due to weight restrictions. It was actually a wonderful opportunity for both of us. We got a dog we couldn't have gotten on our own, and they know she is in a loving home.

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She is such a part of the family, but she is not without her challenges. I put new sod in the backyard last summer, and it is the only place she will go to the bathroom. There are holes dug in every other place in the backyard, including the repeated digging up of a plum tree I planted. She has chewed up numerous plastic items left in her vicinity. Yesterday she chewed up a new pair of vintage leather oxfords I thrifted. And to think I was being nice by not leaving her out in the snow while I was out of the house! And as I write there is stuffing from another chewed up toy being strewn about my living room. Yay.

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But we love her, and it's hard to stay mad at that girl! I just learn my lessons. Don't leave her in the house. Don't turn your back on your food. Don't plant anything in the backyard. You know, etc., etc.

Vintage Cooking- Burnt Sugar Cake

2011-02-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

My Mom's birthday was this past Sunday and I like to make her a cake. I think everyone should have a cake for their birthday, and homemade ones are the best! I saw this Burnt Sugar Cake recipe and my interest was immediately sparked. How could burnt anything be delicious? Well, it's not really burnt, it's quite flavorful and moist and not too heavy. I decided to try the frosting the recipe suggested, caramel frosting. I'm not sure if it was my fault, but the frosting came out in a consistency that made it virtually unspreadable. It just balled up and stuck to my spatula and not the cake! Needless to say, I am omitting the frosting recipe from this post because I would hate for a reader to try it and end up with a difficult frosting as I did. The flavor of the cake would combine well with almost any flavor of frosting, and every one is sure to love this delicious dessert.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Heat 1/2 cup of the sugar in heavy 8 in. skillet, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and golden brown. Meanwhile bring water to boil. Remove sugar from heat and slowly stir in boiling water (careful, I steamed my finger!). Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar lumps are dissolved. Add enough water to syrup, if necessary, to measure 1/2 cup; cool.
Heat oven to 375. Grease and flour to 9in pans. Beat egg whites in small mixer bowl until foamy. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar on high speed, one tablespoon at a time, until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat.
Beat butter, 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in large mixer bowl, on low 30 sec. Scrape sides, beat on high 5 min. Beat in syrup. Beat in flour, baking powder, and salt alternately with milk. Fold in meringue. Pour into pans.
Bake until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20-25 min. Cool 10 min. Remove from pans. Cool completely. Frost.

Recipe from Betty Crocker's Cookbook, circa 1970.

Happy Valentines! Project Monday- In the Shape of a Heart

2011-02-14T17:44:00.000-08:00

This one was tough! I looked around all weekend, everywhere I went (which isn't a lot of places!) and I didn't find the shape of a heart anywhere! So I made my own... by drawing a heart with my finger in the spilled flour from my Mom's birthday cake. I made her a Burnt Sugar cake with Caramel Frosting. I will share the cake recipe later, but the frosting was a weird consistency, so I'll save you the time of trying that recipe. It still tasted good, it was just incredibly difficult to spread on the cake.

For Valentine's my sweetie and I don't really go all out. In fact, I told him not to get me anything, and he said the same. But we both didn't listen and got each other a little something and went out to eat last night. He got me an amethyst heart necklace and I got him a CD (I'm so lovingly awesome, right?) But miss Celeste made out, we got her some hair clips (hearts!) and tights and knee highs, and a nightgown with a matching mini one for her doll. She loved it!

XO.