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It was a very busy day today but luckily I was able to eeek out some chocolaty bird nests just in time for Easter. After a little trial & error, I think a little peanut butter was just what these babies needed. Keeping with the coconut tradition, here’s what you’ll  need:

1 1/2 C Flaked Sweetened Coconut
1 C Chocolate Chips
1/2 C Peanut Butter
1/4 tsp Vanilla (optional)

Melt the chocolate, stir in the peanut  butter until combined, add the vanilla and then add the coconut until it’s covered in the chocolate mixture. Spoon onto wax paper set on a baking sheet. Use a smaller spoon to make an indent for the jelly beans. Allow to cool in the refrigerator until set. Add jelly beans. Makes approx. 8-10 nests. This is a great activity for little ones too if they are feeling adventurous and want to help out in the kitchen. They make up quite fast, in about 7 or 8 minutes. Enjoy!

Tonight we had a wonderful dinner out on this patio:

To celebrate a certain someones 30th birthday

(subject on the right…aren’t they adorable?)

On the agenda for Saturday:
Looking forward to Henry’s very first Easter Egg Hunt!
Not looking forward to getting our taxes done (bah humbug)
Looking
forward to going to the OC to see Jason, one of our very best peeps who
is in town from Boston (Kim, we are crying in our nachos that you
aren’t here too!)

And of course, getting ready for Easter. We
are having dinner with friends and I’m preparing Henry’s 1st Easter
basket, which now includes an Ernie doll
who happened to be happily perched atop the beefstake tomato’s in the
produce section at the market today. Henry & Ernie locked eyes and
well, there was absolutly no ripping that thing from his grasp when
it came time to leave. Besides, Henry thinks that Ernie’s little black
hair is so funny. And I think it’s funny that he thinks it’s funny.

Happy Easter, Darlings!!

xoxo

Hi there! I know I said these would be in the shop today, but some unfortunate weather made for a miserable day of trying to photograph the aforementioned oversized wrist pin-cushions. No ammount of photoshopping helped, which means they will be in the Polka-Dot Parlour on Friday around  1 o’clock PST.  SOLD OUT! Thank You! 

Very much looking forward to tonights Office Episode. Oh the drama. Oh yeah, and I’ve got some fun Easter treat how-to’s I’ll try to post tomorrow as well!

xoxo

Gads. Has it really been 2 weeks? Sheesh. We are
pretty much in the exact same situation we were in 2 weeks ago. Still
no place to live. Fun. Really. This kind of fun should be out-lawed.

What was fun was going to last weeks taping of "Dancing with the
Stars." (Cheesy intro, I know) I have to say, I never used to watch that show before. But now
that Chris is working it, we have a vested interest. They send
you a letter of  information prior to the taping, like where you should
park, what time you should arrive, what you should wear. It said, and I
quote "This is a glamourous show, and a beautiful looking audience
is a crucial part of the overall atmosphere, with that being said we
ask the ladies come dressed in fancy cocktail attire and gentleman wear
a jacket & tie." I am not making this up. Since a ‘fancy
cocktail dress’ is not currently part of my wardrobe, nor has it ever
been or will be in the future, I just tried to make up for it with
gigantic earrings and heavy make-up. It worked. I was let into the
show. Phew. That was close.

I did get to see Robbie Williams in the audience on the special "friends & family" side. I think he was there in support of Joey Fatone. Strange. Everytime I think of Robbie Willimas, I think of the great re-make of "Somethin’ Stupid" that he sang with Nicole Kidman. I love that version. It was facsinating to see what it takes to
produce that type of show. I think I am going to go again in a few weeks. There was all this hilarious stuff behind
the scenes like "Survivor" signs and gameshow-garb. American Idol, The
Price is Right and Dancing with the Stars are all filmed right next to
eachother on the CBS lot. Chris saw Bob Barker yesterday driving by
in his white Mercedes and Bob gave Chris a little wave. Soo funny. When I drop Chris off at work in the mornings, there are
usually a bunch of people roaming around outside of the lot wearing homemade
shirts saying things like "Bob, I’m ready to RETIRE!" (I saw that one this morning.)

Tuesdays are crazy, because they are also filming American Idol. I keep
telling Chris he needs to start his own celebrity sightings blog. He
see’s them all. Randy, Paula, Ryan, Simon and said he often hears the
contestants outside of his bungalow practicing their songs. (Bungalow =
glorified trailor) Isnt that funny? I am humored by it all.
Occasionally I’ll see the dancers/stars when I drop Chris off. They
have their own little parking spots. Actually it’s just their names
printed on a piece of DWTS paper and taped to a gigantic orange
construction cone. I really should get a picture. It’s classy.

Yesterday was Opening Day for baseball. In general, I am not a big sports-person/fan. But I love watching the Red Sox. When we lived in Boston, we used to watch nearly every single game. Dare I say that there was a Red Sox game on when I was in the hospital waiting for Henry to be born?  True Story. Fenway Park was only about a block or two away from the hospital. Anyway- I love baseball season. I love the Red Sox (Johnny Damon- you are still not forgiven.) It’s such an all-American game. Makes me want to BBQ and eat corn on the cobb. I miss you, Boston. I was watching yesterdays game on TiVo while sewing up these little pin-cushions. They are going to be wearable-wrist pin-cushions and will be up in my  little shop tomorrow or Thursday.

Happy Tuesday!
xoxo

It’s officially here. The first day of Spring. What a lovely time of year. I’ve been singing "Popcorn popping on the Apricot Tree" to Henry for weeks now:

"I looked out the window & what did I see?
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!
Spring has brought me such a nice surprise
Blossoms popping right before my eyes
I could take an armful and make a treat
A popcorn ball that would be so sweet
It wasn’t really so, but it seemed to be
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!"

At night when we are laying in bed, he looks at me and says "pacorn", makes circles with his fingers and puts them over his eyes like he’s "looking out the window". I must say he’s getting pretty good at shaking his little finger during "It wasn’t really so…." I’m realizing I’ve been singing the song wrong. I’ve been singing "but it seemed to me" (Henry loves pointing to himself during this part)….but I love watching, so I think my screwed up way is going to have to stay!

That song always reminds me of this apricot tree we used to have in our backyard here in Southern California when I was a kid. I passed a street the other day called "Apricot Lane" and I started waxing nostalgic. We had 2 big avocado trees too, and this giant avocado picker that looked like a really long broom handle with a little bag on the end & some clippers so when you cut them off the tree, they’d fall gently into the bag. We used to cut the avocados in half and sprinkle them with salt and eat them with a spoon right out of the skin. But you won’t catch me waxing nostalgic when I eat guacamole or anything. Just when I think of apricots, since it’s been years since I’ve actually eaten one and I don’t know why.

Onto the Spring rolls. People. I am not kidding. These are a keeper (I can say that because I did not invent these little bundles of goodness.) There is this wonderful Vietnamese place in Boston called Pho Pasteur that we used to go to all the time. They’d make these Spring Rolls and serve them with this yummy peanut sauce. I always wished I knew how to make them (mostly the peanut sauce) and don’t know why I didn’t try sooner. We’ve been eating them for the past 2 months served with the Cherry Chicken Lettuce Wraps & Coconut Rice. They are quite simple and I think I’ve even mastered the peanut sauce. Find a local Asian market and you really just need the first 2  ingredients from there. I found mine at a Japanese market (on Sawtelle for you friends & neighbors!) and everything was so reasonably priced.  I think I paid around $4 total for the vermicelli & spring roll wrappers. And that is for a LOT of spring rolls. Everything else, you can find at a regular market. These have an incredible fresh and simple way about them, perfect for a spring or summer day.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

• 1 package Spring Roll Skin, also known as ‘BANH TRANG’ 
• 1 package of Vermicelli Rice Noodles
• 3/4 C Carrots, julienned or shredded
• 1/2 cucumber, julienned
• Fresh Basil (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)
• Fresh: Mint, Cilantro, Parsley or Green Onions (optional)
• Shrimp, Chicken or other meat (optional)

Directions:
Start with the vermicelli noodles. You won’t need an entire package, I think we only use about 1/3 of a package at a time. You can cut them apart with kitchen shears or a sharp knife and then soak them in a large bowl of warm/hot water (they do not need to be boiled.)  While they are soaking,  cut your carrots & cucumber and set aside. As far as the fresh herbs go, you can use any combination you like. We use basil and then normally throw in some cilantro & green onion. Some people like it with mint, whatever tickles your fancy. Definitely don’t skip out on the basil though. In my humble opinion it’s the best thing about these rolls. You’ll need about 1 cup of herb mixture (make sure it’s been cut.) 
Fill a large saute pan with warm water & set aside. When everything has been prepared or mise en place as the French say, (soaked, julienned, etc.,) you are ready to assemble! Take 1 Spring Roll skin and place it in the saute pan to soak for about 20-30 seconds. Let excess water drip off and lay on a cutting board or counter. Place a handful of vermicelli noodles on the bottom center of the Spring Roll skin, as shown in the above photo and layer on some of the herb mixture, cucumbers & carrots. If you decide to use cooked shrimp or meat, add it here. Starting from the bottom, roll the bottom of the spring roll over the ingredients and pull down slightly (similar to rolling sushi), pull the two sides into the center & continue to roll (like egg roll). Continue with as many wrappers as you want to make and Voila, you have your Spring rolls!

It is best to make these just prior to eating them as they do not store well. I know there is a bit of preparation, but, trust me, they are worth it!

Peanut Dipping Sauce

• 1 small bottle of Hoisin Sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 C Peanut Butter

Directions:
Add all ingredients together and warm (either on a stove top or microwave) until the peanut butter melts into the mixture. Allow to cool before serving with the rolls. Enjoy!

   
Things here are crazy as usual so I need a bit of a blogging break. Now that Chris is officially done with school (Hooray!! His last class was a few weeks ago) we need to move and are looking for a new place.  It’s no fun at all. Keep your fingers crossed that we’ll find something soon. It’s been a bit of a nightmare. Lots of changes. Lots of stress. Lots to do. No time for blogging. No time for crafting. Wah.

But there is always time for swinging and I’ll be sure to get lots of that in.

Be back soon.

xoxo

My darling friend Lindsey sent me this recipe last Fall and I just recently got around to making it this week. She sent it to me knowing that 1) I love the Amish & 2)when it comes to bread, well, we don’t always work out. I need something that’s simple. And to be completely honest, it is very simple. For some reason I always run into the problem with my bread not rising. On the jar of my yeast, it recommended checking 2 things: first, make sure you bring the yeast to room temperature before adding it and secondly, you can test to see if the yeast is still good by adding it to water & then adding sugar (check your labels). I decided to mix it up a little by adding some parmesan cheese & dried rosemary to the top and it ended up needing to be cooked about 5 minutes longer (could have to do with altitude, I’m not sure.) We’ve been eating this bread paired with Oliviers yummy tuscan olive & rosemary oil Mom brought us last time she was in town. It is a killer combination. Oh yeah, and the goblet of icy Diet Coke helped to make it complete!

Amish Country Bread

4 Tbsps Sugar
2 Tbsps Butter (melted)
3 tsps Salt
1 1/2 C hot water
2 Tbsps of rapid rise yeast*
5 Cups of flour (+ or -)*

Directions
Put all ingredients but the flour into the mixer (KitchenAid) and let sit for a few minutes so, as Lindsey likes to say, "the yeast can do it’s thing". Add the flour in small batches & mix with a dough hook for 8-10 minutes. Remove & place in a bowl that has been greased & let dough rise until double in size (about 30 min). Punch down & divide in half into 2 rounds and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cut decorative slits on top. Let dough rise again. Rub an egg white wash (1 egg white + 1 tbsp water) over the top and sprinkle with kosher salt. I added the dried rosemary & parmesan here. Bake at 400 degrees for 17-20 minutes (for me it took about 25 minutes).

*I used regular (non-rapid rise) yeast and so it took longer for the dough to rise- a few hours.
**You can also use wheat flour or do half & half.

I want to do a public service announcement on Kosher Salt, but I’ll do that later. I feel very strongly about Kosher salt so I’ll elaborate on that another time.

We went & bought some new trainers for Henry last night. His old ones were starting to get grungy so we got these but now he won’t wear them. He keeps saying "old". He just wants to wear his old shoes. I don’t blame him. They were pretty cool, too. I so wanted to get him these but was trying to be practical as he usually just has 1 pair of shoes at a time. I’ll probably get these for the summer, though. A little guy most definitely needs sandals for the summer. Agreed?

You guys are so funny about the bowls! I bought them at some rinky dink discount store for like $4 a few months back. Think Big Lots, but not. It wasn’t a chain or anything. All 3 of the bowls have the etching inside and then they also have a little pattern on the outside, too. Wish I could be of more help.

Happy Weekend!

xoxo

I love daylight savings time. This week has been so great. I love that
it’s just starting to get dark around 7. It’s given me this sense of
renewed energy & well-being. It’s been gorgeous here. Spring is in the air, can’t
you feel it? It’s not officially spring until next week, but I just
love this time of year. Spring.  Easter. Pastel colors. The smell of
freshly cut grass. Roasted Asparagus. A new Easter Sunday outfit for
the little one. He’s feeling much better now, which means we are all feeling
better.

He’s gone down for a nap and the house is quiet & still. I’ve got some Amish Country bread in the works ( I’ll be sure to share the recipe & pics tomorrow) and I think my Egg Tree will be making an appearance this weekend.

I am sharing this picture because I know you are laughing with me not at me (you are laughing with me, right?) Prime example why you shouldn’t come up with the brilliant idea to sew a bunny at 10:30 at night. I tried to pass this off as some stroke of genius…’it’s just his hind feet leaping through the air’. I can see it, can’t you?  What was meant to be a big fluffy tail…well just looks like…um, you know…don’t make me say it.  So tonight, will be the second attempt at said bunny who this time needs a much rounder bum and a fluffy tail about 3 times the size.

Last June, my dear friend Jill taught me how to make button flowers. She learned from her Sister Chris who learned from a friend of hers like 10 years ago.  These flowers. They got history. When I originally posted about these flowers I had a few of you ask how to make them and well, I’m just getting around to it now. I decided to add some felt leaves this time, which I really like. I think that it helps to fill out the bouquet a bit more.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A bowl of buttons. Since you’ll be stacking the buttons on top of
eachother, it’s a good idea to have a variety of sizes and colors.

24 Gauge 1/4 lb Green Wire

Felt in different colors and sizes

Needle & Embroidery Floss/Thread

Scissors

 

Start out by cutting off a piece of the wire, approx 16" long (you can make these any size, just double the size you want the end result to be). Fold it in half, so each side is 8" and bend towards each other. Cut varying lenghts for different sizes of flower stems. I think my original bouquet had around a dozen or so stems.

Starting with the smallest button, thread the two
open ends of the wire through 2 of the button holes. Repeat with the
remaining buttons. Push towards the closed end of the wire as shown in
the 2nd photo. Twist the ends of the wire to secure the buttons in
place. Continue to twist the wire to the end. There is a device I have
from Wild Wire that you attach to the wire, crank & it twists it up
all nice & tight for you. I can’t find it online, and don’t know if
it’s been discontinued or not, but either method will work.

 

Next, cut out 2 leaves from small pieces of felt, making sure one is larger than the other. Place the smaller one on top of the larger leaf and stitch through the center to hold in place. Once you have the leaf completed, pierce a hole in the end of the leaf with the bottom of the button flower wire. Slowly move the leaf up the wire to where the button flower is. Place a small dab of glue on the felt to adhere it to the button. And there you have it. A little flower button bouquet. Perfect for Spring!

Have a lovely week everyone. It’s been a crazy one here.  Let’s just say, the newest word in Henry’s vocabulary is "puke" and he’s done just that about 8 times in the last 12 hours. We are looking forward to a very low key week. Oh, did I tell you? Chris is starting work tomorrow on "Dancing with the Stars!" ha ha ha. I can’t wait to hear all the juicy details.  

You know that feeling, that post-Thanksgiving feeling, when you realize you’ve probably had one too many pieces of turkey and you feel like you might just explode into a million little pieces? Well, that’s how I’m feeling, and not because I ate too many brownie cupcakes (I promise, I only ate 1!) It’s the love, people! I’m bursting at the seams. Really, you are too much!  THANK YOU!! It was like Niagara falls over here. And the e-mails! Don’t even get me started. Soo many sweet ones. You were so generous in your words and thoughts. I hope that anyone else dealing with the same type of thing will draw comfort from all your kind words.

So, have you been to Target lately?
I had not, but boy was I lucky when I went this past weekend. Have you seen these bowls? 2 for $2.50?? In the $1 section at the front of the store? They had lots of springy colors, and I am such a sucker for bowls. Bowls & cakestands. I have no self restraint. Who could resist these? Obviously I couldn’t.

I just wanted to share some goodness and thanks. Thank you! You are the best peeps a gal could ask for!

You guys. I mean seriously, you guys!  From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thanks for de-lurking, a lot of you for the very first time. I know it’s strange to comment on a blog for someone that you don’t know. I sometimes feel strange, too. But thank you for doing it. I always try to respond to every comment on my blog because I think if this was ‘real life’ and we passed each other on the street and you said the same kind words to me, I wouldn’t just keep on walking. I would stop and throw my arms around you and give you a big smooch and many, many thanks. I want you to feel welcome here and not like a stranger. So I hope you do. It was great learning more about all of you. You guys really are a fascinating bunch!

Onto "Sir Heinrich Von Cutemeister." So excited to choose one very lucky
winner! Actually he couldn’t stop grabbing names out of the bowl. So we have more than one winner.

The Grand Prize goes to:

Libby from Central Washington State!

And since he pulled an additional 2 names out, these two gals will get a little cupcake gift set, complete with liners & sprinkles. And they are:

Julieta from So. Cal

Ellie from Lexington, VA

Gals, I’ll get in touch with you so I can mail of your gifts this week.

On a side-note, Chris called Henry "Heinrich" once at his Dr’s
apt and she turned and said, "Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize his name
was Heinrich!" Well,
um…that’s because his name isn’t technically Heinrich. We’ve just
been calling him  ‘Heinrich Von Cutemeister’ since he was born.

I’m going to share something that I normally would never choose to
share on my blog. It’s quite personal, but here goes. Right after I
posted my 100th post on Wednesday, I started to miscarry. This was my
second miscarriage in a row. I was pregnant in the Fall, and due on
June 17th, 2007 but I miscarried around 12 weeks.  But the first time
was a fluke, right? I mean, 1 in 4 women miscarry, so it shouldn’t have
been a total surprise. And it wasn’t. I knew there was a small chance.
I was just hoping that it wouldn’t be us. And well, it was. And it was
tough, but it was okay. I did have Heinrich after all to put a big
smile on my face. We got pregnant relatively soon after and well, it was kind of hard to get too excited. And now you know the rest. It was a really bummer of a day. And if you are family you are probably hearing about this for the first time. I’m sorry.
You didn’t even know we were pregnant. No one did.  After the first
miscarriage, we realized it wasn’t a good idea to let any potential
baby news out of the bag so early. So we didn’t. And this is why. So
the point is, during the royal bummer of a day, and the royal bummer of
days that followed, I felt so blessed to get sweet and kind words from
all of you. And you didn’t even know. You didn’t even know how much
deeper and meaningful it all was. How lucky for me to decide to post on
a random Wednesday, and how lucky for me that so many of you came out
of the woodwork to show support in ways that you had no way of knowing.
So thank you, thank you. It all means so much.

Phew- so that’s
over. I think someone needs to make some brownie cupcakes in her new
cupcake liners. Brownies. They always have a way of making a gal feel better
about things (as did that giant spoon of chocolate frosting eaten straight
out of the jar while standing in front of the refrigerator tends to
do).

xoxo
Happy Monday!

Hello Dear Friends! Well, the time has come. It’s officially the 100th
post. I was thinking about doing something for the 1 year blog
anniversary, but the beginning of my blog started out kind of rocky
(ur…ugh… is this thing on??) and that’s not happening until April
anyway, so we are celebrating the 100th post instead!

I’ve been thinking about what I could give away to one lucky reader,
and well, since I’ve kind of been on an apron kick, I decided to make a
ruffle apron. I also wanted to include some of my favorite things, so
included are 2 sizes of these adorable tulip cupcake paper liners.

The yellow are for mini-cupcakes, and the green are for the standard
size. I’m also including some of my most favorite sprinkles, which by
the way would look adorable on some spring-time cupcakes! So here’s
where you come in. Seeing as you all get to know me through the blog,
I’m really interested in
knowing who you are. I know there are a lot of lurkers out there, so
de-lurk! Even if it’s only for today. I promise I won’t ask you again.
In the comment section, I’d like you to post something about yourself.
Are you a sewer, crafter, scrapper, wonder woman, are you being paid by
me to read my little blog? What do you like doing? That’s what I want
to know. And I want to know where you are from. So, do those 2 things
and I’ll have my little darling pick a name on Sunday and I’ll announce
the lucky duck on Monday. Good luck!!