A Dream

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During the most recent holiday season, I revealed my long-time dream of owning a porcelain, ruffled cake stand. My darling husband told me after Christmas that he had looked high and low for a vintage one, to no avail.

Fast forward to last week.

A box arrived from UPS, Marsh had warned me "a little treat" would be coming for me.


This, by the way, NOT a little treat. No.
This is one of life's dreams coming true!


Peach pie = "little treat"

In case you're wondering, this is my second peach pie in a row (baked by Whole Foods, pas moi.) I bought myself one right after I got my big news. I finished the first one, and went right out and bought another one. I have a slice every night with whatever amount of whipped cream I see fit at the moment.


I love this peach pie, it suits me just fine!

Blue Skies

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This is the kind of whimsical drawing that I couldn't wait to receive when Jaden was a baby and first learning to grab a crayon at all. I knew these drawings would be in my future and I just couldn't wait for them to arrive with the cute writing that I emulated with kid fonts on the computer before I could possibly know what Jaden's handwriting would look like.

I really love Jaden's use of color in this drawing. How he repeated the blue sky color around the window and in his writing. And of course the coordination of color between the sun, door and banana.

That is a banana there, by the way, a yellow-green and magenta banana that exists perfectly normally in my boy's imagination. His drawing has changed a lot so far in 2009 -- he is doing way more representational art now and the use of multiple colors is actually very new for him. And I heart it all. Oh how I heart it all.

Pardon me while I go hang out in my little house and eat a giant banana in the front yard. Better grab my sunscreen...

Dramatic Lighting

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Betty had some new lights installed in her kitchen this week.

Also this week, Betty saw a painting of Jaden's and she loved the colors in it. So I told her to enjoy it because I am running out of display space out here in the studio.

Being Betty, she displayed it in the most amazing way with some of the tulips we received after Jaden's surgery.




Being Jess, I had to use her new dramatic kitchen lighting and take a photo. This is actually not my favorite of the photos I took, click here to see it.

And Then She Made a Tote Bag

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Here is the tote bag I made for Marsh for her Christmas gift:



We had a handmade/vintage/reused holiday in our family. I gave it to her partially finished to open that day but I only finished it this past weekend. Mostly I needed to sew the straps together.

The tutorial* I chose to follow was much harder than I thought it would be. Being a newbie seamstress, I do not know how to evaluate a pattern.

Note to other newbie seamspeople:

Tote bags with linings?
Anything with linings?
Not for us. :)



The vintage glass button is definitely the best part of the whole bag.

Too bad I sewed the loop too far in so the button is in the most awkward position! This is AFTER I sewed the loop in upside down. You don't even want to know about the lopsided interior pocket, trust me. I won't even mention the actual stitches, machine or hand! All crooked all the time!

Yeah I may not sew again for awhile, LOL.


*TinyHappy is a rad blog btw.

Kirigami

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Trying to rest and get over a cold as quickly as possible means quiet activities on the bed this afternoon. I finally opened this craft kit that's been enticing me for months, and you know I actually do not remember how my family came to possess this treat!


Without moving much, I tried to vary the photo ops.
Here are the accoutrements of my first attempt.


I never pass up a chance to put a favored color combo together.
This is my unopened cut.


My display model actually fell on to my pillow when it was unfolded. I was quite pleased myself! Eventually he was able to stand up so I could take the photo.



This is my second papercut.

In case you're wondering, I've been interested in papercutting for awhile. I'm already interested in going beyond kirigami flower & snowflake patterns as soon as possible. For example, Amy's level of skill or Jennifer's -- two blogs I read regularly and with glee.


In between we had some Italian cookies from my childhood (Stella Doro Margherites) and Jaden tried his hand at kirigami too. Two attempts on two different patterns didn't go very well because certain people expect themselves to be experts at everything right away even when their mothers have never done said activity before now and messed up a few times herself (um not cutting on the fold? not a good idea).

Sheesh. Not that I'm naming names or anything.

Now we've moved on to chinese checkers. I'm proud of how I have delayed tv time so far today.

Tilden Park

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First, thank you for voting in my poll. It will be open until Friday and while you vote, I am diligently thinking of new names.

This weekend we ended up enjoying some long overdue family time in nature at Tilden Park, after reading specific kid-friendly things on GoCityKids.

The ridiculous view of the entire Bay Area.



A cool, crumbling water fountain at the Little Farm.


My cute city slicker who hogged almost the entire bag of celery.


One side...


...then the other = A Very Thorough Cow.


Jeff & I walked on this alone.
(Jaden strolled with Marsh and Bob on a parallel path out of sight.)


It felt really, really good to be outdoors with my boys.
I needed it.

Bob & Marsh were great company too!

Got Juice?

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I've been going to acupuncture for about two months I'd guess. Right away, Dr. Kuchi Kuchi (my nickname for him) told me to start juicing. I juiced when I was originally diagnosed with NHL (non-Hodgkins lymphoma) in 2000. But then I stopped. And now I've started again...

Thank you Costco.


Thank you Pink Lady.


Thank you Pulp Collector.



Thank you Jack LaLanne.
Breville I may earn my way to you someday.



Fountain of youth?


Now that is fresh-pressed AJ!



Got Juice?

Conversations with Jaden

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I picked up Jaden from school this afternoon and was chatting with another mom while lots of kids were playing after school. After awhile, I did my standard transition announcement; today's was "Two more times across the monkey bars and then we're leaving."

I proceeded to get knee-deep in conversation about spirited kids with the other mom, and I heard Jaden say, "okay bye Mama!" So I looked up and said, "one more time ok?"

Okay so I was actually waist-deep in the conversation and so we repeated that scenario one more time. I wrapped it up at that point and as we walked to the car, I thanked him for trying so hard to stick to the agreement as I had originally asked.

"Yeah Mama, looks like you really spit out your bubble gum this time, " he said to me.

"Oh yeah? What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means it looks like you really 'unstuck the agreement'," he explained (with air quotes no less.)


How much bubble gum have you spit out lately? ;)

Promises Promises

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Here is "Ribbons 101," the post I promised to deliver!

I love ribbons but you sure wouldn't know it by the way I treated them: shoving them all into one, too-small, plastic bin with no room to breathe or mingle with friends or have a family reunion.

Exhibit A: too-small, crammed plastic bin


Now I know exactly what ribbons are "in stock."
From left to right, there are your:

1. curling variety A; 2. curling variety B; 3. chiffons
4. raffias; 5. skinny minnies; 6. baker's twines
7. double-faced satins (dfs); 8. prized Paper Source dfs; 9. rejects


Exhibit B: how to treat ribbons well.
Remnants in one glass candy jar and curling ribbons in another.

Exhibit C: two ribbon dispensers filled to their brims.


The best part?

All year when I have to wrap a gift, there will be no stressful, chaotic search through the "ribbon bin." Because ironically, after all this, I don't really like how they look in the dispenser! LOL, that is so Jess.

And another promise: a new banner for the new year sometime this week for me and a friend.

(One of my resolutions is to make realistic goals, ha ha).


How To Start Off a New Year

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(or how I spent January 1, 2009):

1. Wake at 7 as usual but actually manage to fall BACK to sleep until 10.

2. Go to your two favorite stores all by yourself.
(Container Store and Paper Source)

3. Get organizational goodies at said stores.
(Pictures of the goodies are coming soon to a blog near you!)

4. Take yourself out to lunch at The Counter.
Get a kid's meal by smiling real pretty at the manager.

5. Go to the spa for two hours.
(courtesy of your son's birthday gift months ago)