let's die friends

Chipper's Rainy Day Adventure!

2012-01-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

I have some big news! I've illustrated a children's iPad app! It's called Chipper's Rainy Day Adventure.

My friend Mel loves reading books with her 2 kids. She tries to make the stories more interactive and engaging. She likes to read a little bit, pause, and ask her kids what they thought the character was going to do next. This usually leads to some really imaginative explanations. And this is what gave her the idea to start her company Invent-a-Tale.

Invent-a-Tale is a digital platform, aimed at children 18 months to 5 years old. It allows them to navigate through an adventure by interacting with the main character. It's kind of like really basic "choose your own adventure" books, perfect for younger children. Each time a parent reads the story with their child, the child can change the outcome of each circumstance. And there are little surprises in between. In each scene your child can click around and make things happen. Bugs will dance, Chipper might take a dunk under the water, and so on.

When Mel approached me to bring her character to life, I was excited. I don't usually take on much freelance work now that I have a toddler. My free time is much too valuable, so the jobs I do take either have to be worth it, or I have to feel really good about them. And Mel's project was both! This was the best freelance experience I've ever had.

And who really REALLY brought the story to life was a company called Curious Brain. Once I handed over the illustrations, they did all the animation and programming, and boy did they do a great job.

So if you have an iPad, and you have kids, check out Chipper's Rainy Day Adventure app in the iTunes store. I think you will really like it!

60s Peruvian rock

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Los Yorks

Los Saicos

Los Jaguars

Miss Van

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Miss Van

Some things I like right now

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

These adorable polkadot Chie Mihara shoes.

Tea towels in a perfect color palette from Studio Patro.

Rhys Ottoman from Anthropologie.

Kartell gnome table/stool. I would definitely put this in Xanadu.

I've been eating super ridiculously healthy. Like chicken and salad all day every day. If I were going to splurge right this second, I'd want some sort of caramelized onion tart or flatbread, like this one from Simply Recipes.

And maybe some pine nut cookies. I love pine nut cookies. These ones are from Shockingly Delicious.

Fun with camera phone

2012-01-23T09:06:00.000-08:00

Not this past Christmas, but the Christmas before (2010), Kyle surprised me with a set of Orla Kiely towels. I love them. In fact, I loved them so much that they went straight to the linen closet, still wrapped in plastic, to save for some imaginary special day that I planned on using them. I decided that's dumb, and I am making it a point to start using all my nice things. I have no idea what I'm saving them for, and if someone's going to use them it should be me.

Had lunch at the famous Pizzeria Mozza. Foodies everywhere will shun me when I say *shrug* I wasn't that impressed.

I love Saturday nights, but for all the wrong reasons.

There's a cute little shop at The Camp called Viva Eclectico. I bought these paper straws there.

Perhaps you remember my post about organizing my life and getting rid of clutter? I've been sticking to my guns! I have a ridiculous collection of cook books that I don't even use. A lot of them were purchased at the book store that was going out of business, or from the bargain section. These are the ones I actually use.

My friend Paul always has a good shoe/sock combo going on. I appreciate his attention to detail. He also always matches his coffee mug to his outfit.

Mikal Cronin

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

ferm living spring/summer 2012 catalog

2012-01-18T13:10:00.000-08:00

Images from the ferm living Spring/Summer 2012 catalog.

Doodles

2012-01-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

Experimenting with distorting my unicorns and giving them eyes reminiscent of 60s big-eye illustrations.

Big Troubles

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Super Mini Universe by Michelle Romo (Crowded Teeth)

2012-01-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

I've been a fan of Michelle Romo's illustrations (not to mention her wedding with a giant burrito cake and robocop ice sculpture) for a long time, and her new project is super exciting to me! It's a year long project where she alternates months of illustrating and then building real life 3D versions of her illustrations to populate a little world that will become a gallery installation. I hope it's in LA so I can see it. Check out this video of her explaining the project and, if you'd like, you can donate to the project through the Kickstarter website. You can keep track of her progress via this special tumblr site she has set up just for this project.

All images via Crowded Teeth.

Delphis... You learn something new every day

2012-01-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Juanita just opened her etsy shop. She makes things out of vintage fabrics, and makes candles out vintage pottery and glassware. When I saw this in her shop, I fell in love and bought it immediately. When I saw it in person, I loved it even more. I turned it over and the bottom is marked "POOLE England 72". I thought surely there must be more treasures like this, so I did some investigating via the Google machine.

Poole Pottery was originally "Carter's Industrial Tile Manufactory" in the 1920s. They have manufactured a lot of pottery – most of it not my style – but this particular piece I got from Juanita is from the "Delphis" range, launched in 1963. "Delphis is easily recognised: it is psychedelic, with vibrant colours and designs inspired by artists such as Mondrian, Warhol, Matisse and Pollock. (wikipedia)." Each piece is unique, having been hand painted. The number on the bottom (72 in this instance) refers to the shape of the pottery. So 72 is a small pot. If you search for "Poole Delphis 72" you find a lot of similar pieces in this shape.

Here are some other pieces from the Delphis range. I can totally see one of these vases as an accessory in a "modern meets earthy eclectic" room styled by Emily Henderson.

Doodles and color

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Stay Golden

2012-01-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

1. Gold flatware set, West Elm, $25/5 piece set.

2. Diane von Furstenburg bowl, Bloomingdales, $60.

3. Looking Glass Decanter in copper, Anthropologie, $48.

4. Midas glassware collection, Design Within Reach, prices vary.

5. Gold Ribbons drinking glass, Dwell Studio, $68.

6. DIY gold striped plate via A Daily Something.

7. Gold chevron drawer liners, Hammocks & High Tea, $25/set of 6.

I am super into gold lately. Especially how it looks with wood or glass or all together.

Fun with camera phone

2012-01-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

Veronica Falls

2012-01-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

Resolving to simplify

2012-01-02T10:42:00.000-08:00

I normally don't make New Years resolutions. They always seem to set people up for failure. Maybe it's because people make overly ambitious resolutions, like "lose 50 pounds!", and then when they don't see changes happening right away (like they do on infomercials), they give up. A better resolution would be "eat healthier food", you know, to ease into it, and then change will naturally come. This year, I've decided to make a resolution to simplify our lives. I speak mostly of our home here at Xanadu. We have too much stuff. Tooooo much. And as time goes on we only acquire more things. And having a toddler only makes it worse because toddlers come with a lot of accessories.

It does seem a little ambitious, but it's really not that hard when you break it down into smaller tasks. I got a head start last week, since I've been off work for the holidays. I've already accomplished 3 tasks that are each kind of small, but put them together and they add up. I have a 2-part plan.

Part 1 is to get rid of as much stuff as I can.

The first thing I did was finally clean out Zoey's toy baskets and get rid of all the infant toys. The things she no longer plays with like taggie blankets, rattles, teethers, etc. And stuffed animals. I was able to fill an extra large leftover gift bag from Christmas. Luckily I know someone who is pregnant and can use them. We still have a ton of toys around (pictured above is just 1 basket of keepers), but that's just the way it has to be for now. When Zoey gets older, we can put things upstairs in her room and she can go up and down the stairs, and in and out of her room as she pleases to fetch items. And then when she's done, she can put them away! But for now, she is little and her toys stay downstairs where we can watch her play.

The next task was a bit bigger and took a few hours. Back in October, my sister gave me a coupon for my birthday that was good for helping me organize my closet. So I invited her over and we got to work. I have been meaning to do this for so long. I still had the Pack 'N' Play that Zoey used to sleep in next to the bed, only it had become the place where I just toss clothes. So many clothes, it seemed like the pile would never end. But we went through them all, then moved on to the closet. Most of the clothes in my closet were from before I was pregnant and a lot of them don't fit me quite right. But even if they did magically one day fit me again, would I even want them anymore? They'd be outdated and from a different era of my life. So out they went, along with shoes and bags and belts and 5 (FIVE!) trash bags later, we were done. My sister took the bags with her and is donating them to a shelter. And besides the fact that my closet is now organized, I came across clothes I had forgotten about, so it's kind of like I got a whole new wardrobe in the process! I didn't include a photo here because I wouldn't call the closet organized just yet. It has been purged of all unnecessary items and is now ready to be organized.

Task number 3 was to start the process of decluttering our bookshelves. We have wall-to-wall bookshelves that are crammed with stuff. So last night, I pulled out 31 books that I just don't really care about. Mostly design books, some are from college, and a lot of them were just bargain section purchases that I probably bought just because they were cheap. These books will be donated to our local library. My goal for my book shelves is to keep it quality over quantity. The top photo has some of my favorite books that I am keeping, and the bottom photo is just a bunch of bargain book nonsense that can go.

Unfortunately half of the wall-to-wall bookshelves house Kyle's books and he is unwilling to part with any of them. I am hoping when he sees how nice things start looking he will be inspired to purge. This isn't even half of them. At least with me thinning my books out, he can spread his out a little more, because I hate the stacking of the books on top.

I think the thing I am least looking forward to is editing down my decorative items. I just love "tchotchkes" - vases, figures, and other random decorative items. Since these are things I actually care about, I will probably get rid of some and store the rest, that way I can change them out when I get bored.

Part 2 of my simplifying project is to upgrade - replacing worn out items with better versions. For example, instead of having 20 crappy Ikea plates with chips and cracks in them, replace them with 6-8 good quality plates that will last a long time. Do you ever find that you buy something cheap, and when it gets worn out you buy more of something cheap? Sometimes things are more expensive for a reason. Having a large amount of cheap stuff is not better than having a small amount of the slightly more expensive, better quality version. In fact, it probably all evens out in the end, so there is no point.

It will be a long road, but the few little things I've done already make me feel really good. It's very freeing.

Magical

2011-12-28T21:34:00.000-08:00

source

I aim to please, so if you know of sources not mentioned, or source corrections, it's da email da email whatwhat da email.

Christmas recap!

2011-12-26T09:39:00.000-08:00

On Friday the 23rd, Rachael and I hosted our annual holiday party with our girlfriends. Maybe I should call it more of a "get-together" because it's just a few of us getting together for dinner and drinks and exchanging gifts. We've been doing this for about 12 years now. It started out small, and eventually grew into a big deal with a lot of guests, but we ended up going back to just our little inner circle (4-5 girls).

We had the best dinner - cheese! Rachael made cranberry jam and onion thyme jam (on the platter), and I made rosemary almonds.

Some homemade food gifts from Rachael. Marinated goat cheese, orange-fennel olives, simple syrups, jams, and herbs from her garden. All my friends made homemade gifts this year, and it was the best and most exciting gift exchange we've ever had.

Our friend Kristine made these little mason jar wall planters for planting herbs or succulents. She added a strip of chalkboard paint, so if we decide to plant herbs we can label them! I love this.

Our friend Janelle made this pear chai vodka and added this cute pear fabric to the jars! I think I will break these bad boys out on New Years Eve.

I made fawn terarriums for everyone. I found some animal figurines on Pinterest that were painted white and gold, and now I want to paint everything white and gold. I got the little fawn at Michael's near the kids stuff. I also made big bottles of rosemary lime syrup (shown in the top photo). It can be added to vodka or gin with a splash of limeade and soda. Or it can be made into a virgin cocktail with different juices.

On Christmas Eve we went to Nixon Library because they have a holiday trains exhibit, and kids dig trains. As you can see, Zoey found them very interesting!

Some cool wallpaper in one of the museum rooms at Nixon Library.

Christmas Eve night, we watched "Elf", and Kyle and I continued our yearly tradition of ordering Italian food. Kyle picked it up from one of our favorite places, Tutto Fresco in Rancho Santa Margarita, while I put Zoey to bed. When he got home, we feasted and then put Zoey's tent and easel together so they would be waiting for her in the morning.

She thought her tent was really cool. It was hard to convince her to come out and open the rest of her presents.

Playing with new toys! The Brobee shoes were a big hit.

Santa left a little message for Zoey. Santa's writing looks a lot like mine. Weird.

After Christmas morning at home, we headed to my parents house for my mom's biscuits and gravy breakfast and more presents. My dad and his neighbor exchange Santa duties. My dad puts on a Santa suit and goes over to their house to visit their grandkids, and then the neighbor does the same for our kids. Zoey didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, but she said "hiiii 'Ta! Ha ha hooooo!" from a safe distance. My dad's side of the family is from the south, and my grandpa just got back from a trip to Arkansas. He brought back some fresh molasses from his sister, and it was yummy on my mom's biscuits.

After we stuffed ourselves silly, we drove an hour out to Redlands for Christmas with Kyle's family. More presents! More food! Zoey scored a stroller with not one, but two babies. She is obsessed with babies and I'm not sure why other than that she's a girl? Anyhoo, we watched "Home Alone", which I not-so-secretly love. By the time we got home, we were so pooped, we went to bed at 8:30!

Photos from the last half of the day omitted because I don't know who would or would not like having their photo published on the internet.

Christmas is way more awesome with a kid. This year was better than last year, and next year will be even better. I don't suffer from the stress of the holidays like a lot of other people do. I love the gift buying, the making things, the decorating, the baking. I love it all. Christmas: I salute you with a running and jumping high five.

2012 desk calendar by Studio On Fire

2011-12-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

Studio On Fire

The Woodland Sophisticate

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

- Biotroph cookie jar, Anthropologie, $98.

- Little Helpers Container from imm living.

- Mushroom tea towel by Skinny Laminx, $17.70

- Screen printed pillow cases from Fine Little Day, €35.00
- Martha Stewart Collection Wood Serving Tray, Macy's, on sale for $39.99
- Vintage collection of brass deer from Something Shiny Shop, $135

Chevron meets shag

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Dreamy. I would go for that orange guy but, here at Xanadu, it would just end up with cracker crumbs deeply embedded in it. Chevron stripe shag rug, available from Shades of Light in 4 different colors.

Real Estate

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Girl prints by Ashley Goldberg

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

I think these prints by Ashley Goldberg are so adorable. I can't choose my favorite, so I want to collect them all! She works alongside her partner in crime, Drew Bell, in Portland. Visit their etsy shop here, their website here, and Ashley's blog here.

Gifts for dudes, part 1: Brought to you by the letter "B"

2011-12-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

Every year I watch the women around me struggle trying to figure out the perfect gift for their guy. The number one mistake I think girls make when buying gifts for dudes is buying things that they wish their dudes wanted. A hand screened hankerchief, a vintage briefcase… All nice things, but it takes a very specific kind of guy to appreciate a gift like that. If that's your guy, you're pretty lucky. Christmas shopping must be really fun for you!

The number two mistake I think girls make when buying gifts for dudes is overthinking it. Elaborate plans or themed gifts that will be appreciated for the effort, but they are risky. You don't have to torture yourself trying to come up with a clever idea to make your fella happy.

My rule of thumb when buying gifts for dudes is to stick with the letter "B".

Whether we are talking about your dad who loves WW2 documentaries, your brother who's obsessed with Star Wars, or the first season of your husband's favorite TV show, a box set makes a great gift.

Buy him some new movies, or replace some of his old DVDs with the newer, better blu-ray version. They have a better picture quality and come with tons of extras, including digital copies.

Dudes love burgers. How about a gift card to a gourmet burger joint? The kind with all sorts of wacky toppings, like Slaters 50/50 – home of the PB&J burger! Or perhaps a gift card to whatever place is closest to his job so he can grab a much appreciated burger on his lunch break.

This includes comic books and graphic novels.

There are actually some guys out there who don't like sports. But the chances are likely that the guy you are buying for likes some form of ball, whether that's baseball, basketball, football, or soccer. Or heck, even bowling! Maybe he'd appreciate tickets to a game, or some gear from his favorite team.

Guys love drinking things out of bottles. It's true. For a beer lover, how about one of those "beers from around the world" sampler packs. My husband doesn't like alcohol, but he loves fancy root beer. BevMo has a great selection of fancy sodas! They also have tons of cool looking beers. You could get a couple bottles of his favorites, and a couple of new ones to try. There are so many funny names and labels.

And when all else fails...

I don't know one meat-eating guy who doesn't love these meat and cheese sets you see every year. Some of them come with a little mini cleaver to slice the sausage. It doesn't get more manly than that.

And of course, there are other things that start with the letter "B" that guys like. Babes, butts, boobs… No pictures necessary. Use your imagination.

Meeting Lisa Frank

2011-12-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

Lisa Frank

Today I met one of my childhood heroes. That hero is Lisa Frank. She was awesome. Nice, funny, talkative.

She asked me things about my job and our design process and if I liked using Illustrator CS5. She asked me! I was happy to hear that she is still very hands on in the design process. She started out as an airbrush artist, and she still has all those early drawings stored safely in a flat file. I asked her if she had seen the UCB mockumentary about her. She thought it was hilarious, but the teddy bear in the top hat they used wasn't hers! Before she left, she told us about this video that uses a lot of Lisa Frank product. And we all watched it together. She was still very enthusiastic about her brand, and this made me happy.

I took a picture with her, but she asked me not to post it online. I told her I wouldn't, and nobody lies to Lisa Frank! But she is totally cute and stylish, in case you were wondering. She should be flaunting it. :)

I am a very lucky girl!

Doodles

2011-12-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

Some things I like right now...

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

This perfectly green purse from Urban Outfitters, $58.

Plaid dress by Dear Creatures.

Fairisle beanie from Topshop. If you put those 3 things together, it would appear that I am super into looking like a hobo right now. This is not far from true.

At work, we were talking about how passionate people are about Christmas music. They either really really love it, or they just really can't stand it. I love it, and this is my favorite Christmas album.

My favorite song from that album.

Haha you can't unsee that! How bummed are you right now? Above is a picture of my hand in 2009. They call these "flappers" and you get them from doing a lot of pull ups. I almost always had at least one of these. They suck, but strangely, I missed them. So I rejoined my CrossFit gym. Okay, maybe I don't miss the flappers. But I do miss getting my ass handed to me at the gym, and CrossFit is definitely the place for that. Last night was my first night back in over a year. It was brutal and now I have t-rex arms. Meaning I can't stretch them out. Also I was wheezing for hours after it was over, which is a sign that a) I was pushed outside of my comfort zone, which is exactly what I needed, and b) homegirl needs to get a new inhaler.

Eating out: Brü Grill & Market in Lake Forest

2011-12-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

I am very excited about this place! Lemme set you up with a story. It begins with puke and ends with delicious cheese.

On Saturday, around lunch time, Kyle and Zoey and I left Xanadu to go to Target and grab a bite to eat before heading up to Redlands for the annual Christmas Parade. We were almost to Target when I heard a squirty sound. I looked in the back seat, and Zoey had puke all down her chest. Crap! Was she sick? Did she just gag herself? She is teething somethin' fierce right now and her fingers are always in her mouth. She's a toddler, so when she hoiks, it's not like baby spit up. It's nasty and it smells like vomit. I wiped up all that I could while Kyle was driving, but the smell was too much. Luckily, my mom lives right by Target, and she has everything you could possibly need for taking care o' babies. So we turned right instead of left, figuring we could get her a change of clothes and be on our way.

When we got to my mom's house, I gave Zoey a bath and put some new clothes on her. Then I expressed my concern that she might be sick and we should cancel our plans to go out to lunch, because man that would suck if she hoiked in a restaurant. My mom, being the saint that she is, suggested that she feed Zoey lunch and Kyle and I can still go out to lunch and then come back for her. Great!

But then there's the dilemma of what to eat. We have our usual list of toddler-friendly places, but we have no toddler with us! We can go ANYWHERE WE WANT! It's exciting and stressful because we have to pick the BEST PLACE EVARRRR. We found ourselves on El Toro Road, because there is a lot of stuff down there. On a whim, I said "Hey let's go see if they put anything in that old Carino's building yet." (Carino's was an Italian restaurant that did not survive.)

And then all the stars aligned. It was meant to be. We pulled up to the restaurant and saw that it has turned into something new! Something called Bru. And from the car we could see people inside unlocking the doors because they were just opening. What timing! We decided to go in and check out the market section and look at a menu. The menu looked so good, we ended up staying and eating lunch there. The dude who seated us was the owner and he told us it was their 4th day open. He seemed excited and nervous, told us about his "farm to table" concept, and referred to Bru as his baby. Even better. It was perfect and awesome.

We started with the cheese plate, and I must sing the praises of their cheese plate. Every time I order a cheese plate to share with someone (usually Rachael), we each end up getting like 1-2 bites of each cheese. It's kind of disappointing, but we try to act all refined, like "one bite is all we really wanted anyway, soooo…" Lies. LIES, I tell you! I want cheese for days. Bru is very generous with their cheese. We didn't even finish it all. And, they have an entirely separate cheese menu with descriptions of each cheese, which makes it easy to choose which 3 you want.

That big white dollop oozing out of my burger? Goat cheese.

Kyle ordered the sausage hoagie (comes on a pretzel bun!) and was in hoagie heaven. I couldn't decide between the Autumn salad or the Hippie Burger, but opted for the burger. The hippie burger came with red onion, sauteed mushrooms, and goat cheese, with a veggie patty that tasted so good I inspected it to make sure they didn't accidentally give me meat. After we were thoroughly stuffed, we asked to see a dessert menu for next time. I've got 2 words for you: donut pops. Next time. And there will be plenty of next times because this is the perfect date night spot.

I am so happy to have Bru open just 2 miles from home. Usually we have to drive out to Orange or Newport Beach to get a similar experience. I am thrilled they chose Lake Forest as their location. We really need something like this down here.

Oh and in case you were wondering – Zoey was fine. Must have been a gag. We went on to enjoy the Christmas parade and it ended up being a great day.

Brü Grill & Market
23730 El Toro Rd, Lake Forest
(949) 305-5757

OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

2011-12-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

Cloud Nothings

2011-12-01T11:23:00.001-08:00

Holiday shopping: 5 local Etsy sellers

2011-11-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

Cuore - Etsy shop - Blog

My Little Fisheye - Etsy shop - Blog

Caposhi - Etsy shop - Website/Blog

Misfit Menagerie - Etsy shop

Let's Die Friends - Etsy shop

Fun with camera phone - Thanksgiving weekend edition

2011-11-28T09:38:00.000-08:00

Zoey learned about turkey. "Dat my turkey, mama! Dat my gobble! Mmmm turkey!" (She wouldn't eat any though)

Made these "sparkling cranberry brie bites" I saw on Pinterest, via yummymummykitchen. They were a big hit! I will make them again before the holiday season is over.

Fall leaves and tree, on a pre-Thanksgiving feast walk.

Brobee goes for a swim in some maple syrup. Then goes for a swim in the washing machine.

Zoey got to pick veggies from Rachael's garden. Carrot, yummy. Beet, not so much. But the beet drool that dribbled down her chin afterward made her look like a vampire.

Went to the eye doctor because I keep seeing a blurry spot when I stare at the computer. The good news is, the doctor said I have the closest to perfect vision he's seen in his office. The okay news is it appears to be just a floater. The dumb news is, sometimes people have floaters in their field of vision for the rest of their lives.

Went to a really cute birthday party for twin girls, and Zoey had a blast playing in their backyard and eating watermelon slices. She was exhausted at bed time.

Did some Christmas shopping at the Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Fair in Santa Ana. I was a vendor at the one in Long Beach, but didn't have much of a chance to shop. This is my favorite purchase by a group of ladies called Sewn Clever. When I looked at their website later, I found out they are all moms, which made me love it even more.

Cranberry sauce recipe

2011-11-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

For some reason when I was growing up, my mom never made cranberry sauce. She always served it from the can. This is very strange because Thanksgiving is my mom's holiday – her time to shine. She makes everything from scratch. Her cornbread stuffing is a legend among my closest friends. But never cranberry sauce. She says it's because my (extremely stubborn) dad likes the canned stuff. So I spent my entire life thinking I hated cranberry sauce.

Last year, I decided to try making cranberry sauce just to see if I would like it. I had no cranberry sauce frame of reference because I'd avoided it for so many years, so I just searched "best cranberry sauce recipe" on the Google machine and hoped for the best. I came across this post on Chowhound. It seemed simple, so I decided that would be the recipe I tried.

Holy razzledazzle. Turns out I love cranberry sauce! Couldn't get enough of the stuff! I would like to share this recipe with you. Now, in a perfect world, I would make a batch of it and photograph it for this post, but I ain't be havin' time for those kinds of shenanigans. You know what cranberry sauce looks like. And there's no sense in waiting until I make it and posting it after Thanksgiving. I have to post it NOW, in case someone is like me last year, searching for that recipe.

1 12oz. bag of cranberries
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. finely grated tangerine zest
3" cinnamon stick

Cook, stirring, and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and discard the cinnamon stick. Serve warm or cool.

Do you have any tried and true totally epic Thanksgiving recipes?

Skinny Laminx... On my wishlist

2011-11-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

This year, my side of the family will be doing a "Secret Santa" gift exchange. We decided to spend our money on the kids and then buy a gift for one other person. The great thing is we won't end up dropping $1000 on Christmas, and (with a $100 limit) you can buy someone one really great gift.

Part of this exchange is making a list of some things your Secret Santa can give you. The first thing on my list was a small food processor (hate dragging out the big one for small jobs), and just when I was about to add new cookware, I stopped and thought, "What the heck am I doing?" I can totally justify buying myself those things. I need to ask for the things I always admire but can't bring myself to spend money on. Like fancy hand screened linens and $30 soy candles, right?

The first thing I thought of was the Skinny Laminx shop I am always browsing and pinning items from. I have admired Heather Moore's work for so long, it's about time some of it ended up in my home. So I scratched out the food processor, and now the first thing on my list is napkins or tea towels from Skinny Laminx!

Rosie Posie Baby in Anaheim

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Rosie Posie Baby is another adorable store in the outdoor retail environment called Community (I posted about another Community shop called Nest here). Rosie Posie Baby is like a dream store for expecting mothers, and if I had visited while I was pregnant, I would have walked out of this place with more than one shopping bag! They not only have a lot of cute clothes and toys, but also a lot of the "necessities", with an environmentally friendly and design conscious twist. I loved their selection of cute baby carriers with cute prints. You can visit their online shop through Big Cartel.

Rosie Posie Baby at Community

423 Brookhurst St., Anaheim
(714) 817-0998

Our dining room on Design*Sponge!

2011-11-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

I am so stoked! Our dining room is a “before and after” on design*sponge today.

I am having so much fun redecorating lately. My next project is a creative space/play and learn area for Zoey and I can’t wait to share it when it’s finished! But... I have only just begun :)

Atlas Sound

2011-11-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Doodles

2011-11-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

Fun with camera phone

2011-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Spooky...

New beanie - giant pom pom!

Fancy cheese plate Rachael made!

Claw machine.

Tortilla pizza is kind of a weeknight staple here. It takes less than 15 minutes to put together and bake, and some carbs are cut by swapping out pizza dough and using whole wheat tortillas. This one has goat cheese, and caramelized onions and roasted tomatoes that I made on Sunday and froze.

Purple & red for the holidays

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

1. Belina dress, Kate Spade, $375. 2. Purple glitter flats, Urban Outfitters, $29. 3. With All My Heart tote, ModCloth, $49.99. 4. ban.do hearts, $15 each. 5. Purple crystal flower studs, Betsey Johnson, $30. 6. Pom pom beanie, Forever 21, $7.80.

Bottom photo: Primark Autumn/Winter 2011 (via ejstyle)

Rad!

2011-11-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

I am lucky enough to be included in the Random Nicole (of Random Nicole and Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Show) blog's weekly interview series called Maker Weekly! Check it out here!

Clean!

2011-11-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

nailed it.

See here for before photos.

FOR SHAME!

2011-11-11T15:36:00.000-08:00

Xanadu has been a MESS for pretty much the last 2 months, in preparation for last week’s Patchwork. Particularly the dining area, where I had been working. My table was full of sewing supplies, fabric, sewing machine, iron, wood hearts, brooch backings, glue, and so on. For the past month at least, after Zoey went to bed I just worked until it was time for me to go to bed.

So after last weekend was over, I let out a sigh of relief and did absolutely NOTHING all week long. I didn’t even cook dinner, y’all. I ate cheese and crackers every night and poor Kyle lived off of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. I went to bed at 9pm and watched tv. It was delightful. But now the honeymoon’s over and it’s time to put things away and CLEAN. THIS. MESS. Step 1 was to buy a couple of storage bins – one to hold all the things I made and want to sell, and 1 to hold all things related to craft fairs (display things, cash box, etc).

Stay tuned for the “after” of my shweet cleaning and organizing job!

Clownin' Around

2011-11-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

1. Jepetto necklace, Old Gold Boutique, $52. 2. Pom pom bag, Hansel From Basel, $32. 3. Girly chiffon bow, ban.do, $25. 4. Circus tent brooch, Candy Bandits etsy shop, $30. 5. Clown pin (vintage), Metals In Time etsy shop, $16.50. Chiffon pom pom hair pin set, ban.do, $25.

On a side note, a gal named Kaitlyn who runs the isavirtue etsy shop and blog contacted me to be a part of her e-course called “Make Art (A Part of Your Life)”. I have a little project in there that shows you how to use markers like watercolors. If you are interested, she is offering 26% off this week in honor of her 26th birthday. Happy birthday!

We did it!!

2011-11-07T11:22:00.000-08:00

We did it, we did it! We got through our first Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Fair. My sales were just okay, but Jsong who shared a tent with me? Her stuff blew out! I was proud of the way our tables looked, and even though it was our first time, I felt like it didn’t look like it. A lot of people looked at my stuff and took my business card!

It was pouring rain during set up so there was the challenge of getting the tent up, trying to put our table linens on without them getting wet (impossible), getting everything set up and unpacked, but also keeping our merchandise dry. I think it was one of the worst possible scenarios for a craft fair, however I also think that setting up for a craft fair will be so easy next time in comparison. Glass half full, baby. Luckily my friend Kristine and Jsong’s husband found the nearest Target and went and bought a bunch fo $2 shower curtains, so we had clear plastic all around or tent. When the rain stopped, we just opened and tied it back like curtains. It’s a good thing they give you 3 hours to set up or else we would not have had time to do that.

I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot of things for next time. One thing we both agreed on is that a 10x10 tent was too small for both of us because we both had so much stuff. Next time we are going to do our own tents and hopefully we will end up near each other. Still, we are glad we got this first one out of the way together because it was way less intimidating knowing that we had a partner. I also need to learn to sell myself a little more. I get so afraid of being overbearing and annoying that I maybe just don’t say enough at all. I will work on that for next time.

I look forward to trying this again in May!

It's finally Patchwork weekend!

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's Patchwork weekend! Here is a sampling of what I will be selling. Pictured above: zipper pouches, laser cut wood brooches, and hand painted wood heart brooches. The hearts are my favorite!

Hand-sewn plushies and pretties to hang on your wall! I have a few more plushies besides these. And more big ones.

Tote bags with custom prints designed by me! I only have 12 of these because they are kind of expensive to make, and since I'm not sure how they will sell (since it's my first time trying to sell anything), I didn't want to go overboard. I am hoping they do well because I have SO many ideas for prints floating around in my head, and so many ideas for little added touches I would like to do for them next time.

And in case you need a reminder:

I would also love to share what my friends are making! I will be sharing a booth with "Jsong" (Jennifer Song), who will be selling lots of cute creations with her My Buddles characters.

And below, a few things created by my friend Juanita, who sells under the name Mea Makamae. Juanita repurposes vintage fabric and makes bags, pillow cases, wall art, and more. She also collects vintage glassware and uses it to make candles. Her space is not shared with ours (you can only share 2 to a space), but it is near ours!

Weeeeeee! Wish us luck!

Feel Alright

2011-11-03T11:41:00.001-07:00

Some things I like...

2011-11-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

This tour of Lisa Congdon's studio, featured on sfgirlbybay (click through for more eye candy!)

Cute flats from ModCloth.

Hair accessories from ban.do's holiday collection. Makes me want to start putting giant things in my hair.

Prints by Marcus Walters.

More preppin' for Patchwork

2011-11-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

Pardon my photos, I took them at night, inside, and then tried to make them look not as bad by instagramming them. Earlier this week I mentioned how I had been looking up photos from craft fairs to see how people set up their tables, and how some people had so much stuff to sell. I got worried that I wouldn’t have enough. Not like I think I will sell a lot, I just don’t want my tables to look sparse. But I laid out a few things and took a photo. The top photo isn’t even a quarter of my stuff and it still looks full and okay. So I feel much better! The bottom picture is what will become hang tags. I think once I reach the point where I am putting hang tags on things, that will mean I am prepared. Important things I still need to do are price everything, get a stamp made (if I have time), and make an inventory list. I am feeling good! If I have time tomorrow, I will take better photos of some of the items I will be selling.

Greetings from The Falconer

2011-10-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

I almost didn't dress up this year because craft fair stuff has got me so busy. But when I got this idea, I figured it wouldn't be that hard or that expensive. I was right. I borrowed the Toddland flannel from my friend Kristine. The vest is my dad's. It's what he wears when he's being fancy. And my "falconry glove" was made from a pair of $3 gardening gloves and a couple pieces of felt. I drew myself some super thick hairy eyebrows, because a wilderness woman and rare bird enthusiast doesn't bother with facial hair manicuring. I also created this smile just for my costume - it's called "modest pride". I washed my hair last night, slept on it wet and then didn't fix it in the morning. Weird lighting and iPhone picture are making me look all ghostly, but that's ok because it's Halloween...

In other news... it's the last week before Patchwork and I am half excited and half scared. I made the mistake of doing a flickr search for craft fair table and booth set ups and displays, and some of them are so good. And some of the people have so much stuff to sell. That's the part that really freaks me out. But I just remind myself that some of the crazier set ups are by people who have done lots of shows, and maybe even some people make a living out of what they make, therefore have a large stock. And then I feel better. I am going to keep it pretty simple this first time.

Happy Halloweenies

2011-10-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

Halloween isn't until Monday, but let's be honest, this weekend it's PARTY TIME, EXCELLENT. My mom is kind enough to come over and stay with Zoey on Saturday night while Kyle and I go to my friend Ben's party. On Sunday we are celebrating our nephew's 4th birthday and taking Z to the pumpkin patch. There's a cool one where my in-laws live, with a big corn maze and other fun stuff. Of course, on actual Halloween day we all have to work, but we will pretend it's still party time by watching a scary movie that night after Z goes to bed. We live in condos so we get little to no trick-or-treaters, but we are always fully stocked and prepared with candy... that we will end up eating ourselves! Vut you are doing?

Dear Creatures Spring 2012 sneak peek

2011-10-27T15:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Creatures at Gen Art's Fresh Faces In Fashion, Los Angeles from Dear Creatures on Vimeo.

It seems like I just posted about their Fall 2011 collection! They just released this video from their fashion show. I like it - I don't know if they can put out anything out I don't like - but the Fall 2011 collection was more exciting to me. The cute little dress with the anchor on it is adorable.

Spiritualized covering Daniel Johnston

2011-10-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

None of your beeswax...

2011-10-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

Last week I posted about these wood pieces and how I didn't like them stained, and I asked for help. People commented and had some great ideas. My favorite idea was Erin's idea to polish them with beeswax for a more finished look. So I tried it, and the wood itself looks lovely, but you lose all the detail in the design. It only shows from certain angles.

So after a little experimenting (staining, polishing), I have come full circle and decided that I actually like them best the way they were to begin with, with no finish. And that's cool. Sometimes you have to try out a bunch of stuff to find the thing you like. If you love something, set it free, and if it comes back... no wait. It's wood.

Now that that's settled, I can start attaching the backings on to these.

Masquerade

2011-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Some things I like right now...

2011-10-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love this gold leafed Eames side chair by Okay Art. The last few times I’ve been to the Orange Circle Antique Mall, one of the spaces had a stack of like 10 fiberglass shell chairs that weren’t in the best condition. A perfect situation for experimenting. If I had room in Xanadu for one more chair, I would attempt to do this! But alas, we are all chaired out.

Animal masks. I wish it were socially acceptable to wear these every day for no reason.

Romance Novelist Coat, via ModCloth ($94.99)

Print and color from Charlotte Taylor's Spring/Summer 2012 line. I especially love the Kelly green and olive green combo. (via seesaw)

The past few weeks I've been making this whole wheat apple muffin recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and they are SO SOOO good. Moist, fluffy, quick and easy to make. I cut the apples up a bit smaller since Zoey eats them. I love them, Kyle loves them, Zoey loves them. And, you know... if you're into muffins and apples and stuff, you will probably like them too.

Preppin' for Patchwork continues

2011-10-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I enlisted my friend Kristine to help me make buttons while I painted my wood hearts. We made a nice little Friday night of it, with burgers and a movie in my living room. She was a huge help. Now I just need to add the pin backs to these and BAM they are wearable!

Nest Vintage & Handmade in Anaheim

2011-10-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

If Etsy were high school, all the popular kids would be the ones whose products show up time and time again on design blogs, and Nest would be where they all hang out after school. The Max, if you will. Nest is part of a bigger shopping center called Community. What a dream of a store! I was in heaven. This store not only has a well-curated selection of handmade items, but homeboy working there was super friendly. I found out later that his name is Jon and he is one of the owners, and part of the duo Whimsy & Ink. So what we have here is a rad store with nice people, and it doesn't get much better than that.

New prints

2011-10-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have been creating a bunch of new art for prints to sell at Patchwork! This morning, I packaged some of them.

Let's talk about stains, bay-bee...

2011-10-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

Wood stains.

I got these designs cut and etched and they turned out awesome. I will be turning them into brooches and selling them at Patchwork, and eventually on etsy. My original plan was to stain them, but looking at the stain, I think I like them plain better. Maybe it's the wood - it seems to be taking the stain unevenly. I like the look of wood grain, so it's okay to me that grain is showing through, but it looks a little blotchy to me. Or maybe it's just that the stain is too dark and I need to go buy a lighter stain. The fangs turned out better with the stain than the ice cream guy.

Here's another thing - at work, I have a really rad boss who is super supportive of my outside-of-work artistic endeavors. He mentioned that the wood as it is, with no stain or painting, is kind of plain and unfinished-looking. I value his opinion a lot, but he's also not exactly my target market. So I'm not sure if I agree.

What do you think? Comments welcome!

The Beets

2011-10-18T15:35:00.001-07:00

Plushie pillow pals

2011-10-18T08:42:00.001-07:00

I've been sewing up these little fellas the past few nights. They are too difficult for me, the amateur sewer, to sew with a machine, so I have been hand stitching them. With, like, love and junk. No, really, it kind of makes them more special, right? I will be selling these at Patchwork! I think they make a cute decoration (little pillow) or a fun friend. I have some other new items that I can't wait to share...

Mama needs to paint her nails.

Oh hai

2011-10-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've been on a little hiatus this week because as a little post birthday gift to myself, I took this week off from work. I've been hanging out with Z a lot, so as you can imagine, I haven't been able to get a thing done :) There's been a lot of playing, coloring, hiding the crayons when she starts heading toward the wall with them, going to the park, watching episodes of "Olivia", and running errands. But part of the reason I took the week off was not only to spend time with Z, but to get some work done for the upcoming Patchwork show. So my mom was kind enough to entertain her for a little bit today while I got some things done. And I got a pretty good amount done, including the bags in the top picture. My mom is going to take her again for a bit on Friday so I can get some more things done. What a gal.

I always joke about how productive I am now that I have a kid. It makes you value your time so much more. I may not be able to get much done while she's around, but when I get a moment to myself I'm like Wonder Woman up in this bitch. Yesterday, Kyle came home from work and decided to take Zoey to Target. I was home for an hour by myself and in that hour, I stained a bunch of wood hearts, unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, made a batch of fresh ricotta cheese, and prepped some tomatoes for making oven dried tomatoes!

One fun thing we've done this week while I've been off work was go to Bruxie in Old Town Orange for dinner. On normal week nights, I get home from work too late for us to go out and do anything as a family, and we are all about routine in the evening, so it was a nice change of pace. Zoey even got to stay up a little later than usual.

Soooo yeah... I'll be back!

2011-10-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

You guys! This weekend is my birthday, and what better way to kick off a birthday weekend than finding out I’ve been accepted into the Patchwork Indie Arts & Craft Festival! The one I will be at is happening November 6th in Long Beach. I am so excited, but also kind of crapping my pants. I have questions swirling around in my head, like “will I have enough to sell?” and “will anyone even buy anything?!”, or “what if they all laugh at me...laugh at me...laugh at me..” (that was supposed to be echoes). But I think those are normal thoughts to have before something like this, so I’m just rollin’ with the punches. I have been to Patchwork as a customer and it is super fun. Especially since this one is on November 6th, which is perfect timing for holiday shopping. So... Wish me luck and come say hello if you are there!

Get Off of My Cloud

2011-10-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

Dwell Studio

2011-10-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Ba-dop-ba-ba-baaah I'm lovin' it.

All images via Dwell Studio.

I can haz cape?

2011-10-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

via ModCloth

Male Bonding

2011-10-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Male Bonding - Franklin

Male Bonding - Weird Feelings

Male Bonding - Bones

I'm testing out SoundCloud. It uses a flash-based player so I might decide against it because you won't be able to see it on your iPhone or iPad, and I know a lot of people look at blogs on those contraptions. Plus WHY WON'T THEY CENTER? I could never be a web designer.

photo via rcrdlbl

Fun with camera phone

2011-09-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

Cute apple cookies at Susie Cakes.

This bird head was outside near my car at work. I first spotted it on Wednesday. Today is Friday and it's still there. Where is it's body?

New shoes!

Homemade kale chips: toss kale leaves with olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay flat on baking sheet and bake until crispy.

New rug! Finally!

A picture my pal Kristine took last Saturday. We were heading to lunch at El Ranchito. Kyle is somewhere back there too. This picture is also what we will call a "hair reality check"... yikes.

Z had to try on my shoes before me, you know, to make sure they were safe. She's so thoughtful!

Pussybow? PUSSYBOW!

2011-09-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have always called these ascots and only within the past few weeks have started hearing them referred to as "pussybows". Hahaaa! (Side note: I am immature and find this funny. Along with all poop and fart jokes. Send them my way.) So you bet I will be calling these pussybows from now on.

via asos

via dear creatures

collars via top shop

clip ons via sunshine and carousels etsy shop

oh, hello friend: pop up shop

2011-09-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning, Kristine (one of my greatest pals) and I drove to La Habra for a pop up shop hosted by Danni of the adorable blog and etsy shop Oh, Hello Friend. It was really neat. Homegirl must have a little bit of hoarder in her because she has a lot of stuff! But it’s not junk, it’s good stuff! Kristine scored a really neat vintage lamp, rug, globe, and metal wall shelf thingy, all for 45 bucks. I bought some cool vintage gold clips to hang on my wall as a way to display prints, a metal letter “H”, and a cute little notebook. Danni told us that there will be a bigger version of this with a lot of other sellers in L.A. sometime in November. I really love that things are happening here in Orange County – it was a quick drive there and back, and we didn’t have to make a day of it. Bonus points: Danni’s husband was wearing a tee I designed for Toddland! That was awesome!

Want list

2011-09-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

1. Swan flat in taupe, Free People, $120. 2. Polka Rounds Clutch, Anthropologie, $148. 3. Bone grip bracelet, Old Gold Boutique, $75. 4. Vintage owl brooch, eBay. 5. Feminine bow shirt, romwe, $48.99. 6. Ballerina glitter flats, Zara, $69.90. 7. Evening Class Jacket, ModCloth, $62.99

Doodle

2011-09-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

Print junkie

2011-09-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

I am kind of a print junkie. Top selection is by wolfum, and bottom selection is from ferm living.

2011-09-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

A much younger me was all about The Smiths and Morrissey. Still a fan, just not one of those über fans. Morrissey popped up in my iTunes mix just now. It’s kind of a gray day today, so a really good day for it.

New fabric designs

2011-09-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

Eating out: East/Borough in Costa Mesa

2011-09-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

East/Borough is a cool little Vietnamese eatery serving up fresh salads, sammies, and spring rolls. It's literally just an outdoor patio at The Camp in Costa Mesa, right across from Native Foods. Order at the counter and try to snag one of the few tables, or get it to go. It's a perfect lunch place... if you can find a parking spot!

East/Borough at The Camp

2937 Bristol St
Ste D102
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 641-5010

Missoni for Target

2011-09-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

Target designer collections are an awesome thing. When they did the Orla Kiely collection, I went all over, to every Target in a 15-mile radius, to score the goods. And I lucked out! I’m an Orla Kiely fan, and I got a lot of good stuff that is still on display at Xanadu. We eat off our Orla Kiely plates and drink out of our Orla Kiely cups every day still. But do you ever get the feeling that some people just want designer stuff for the sake of having it? That’s the feeling I got yesterday as I read through all my friends’ Facebook statuses and scrolled through Twitter seeing how excited people were to go to Target and score themselves anything Missoni.

I had seen some sneak previews of the stuff, and it seemed okay. Nothing great, although I did like a blanket, and thought a pair of flats would be a nice pop with a jeans and t-shirt kind of outfit. To be honest, I wasn’t really hip to Missoni before I heard of this collection, so I had no reason to be excited. But everyone else was, so I decided I needed to get in there and check this stuff out! And what I found was... disappointing, really. All these stories of women duking it out at Target, and people spending $1000+ on a mediocre zig zag print? Really? So I decided to dissect this stuff, just to amuse myself. Warning: you may read some stuff you don't like. Read something else and pretend to still like me. :)

By “The good(-ish)” I mean that these are the things I like enough from the collection. In most cases, not enough to buy, but I see them and think “Okay, I can see how someone would want these things”. That psychedelic print on the makeup bag is cute in a small dose. There were a couple of other makeup/travel bags that could have been in this mix. The baby stuff is kind of cute, and there was a baby blanket I kind of liked too. Of the home stuff (plates, etc) I really only like the tray above. The plates are a weird shape that I do not like at all (square with 2 rounded off sides).

The whatever: these are just a great big snoozefest. Not particularly cute, but not particularly ugly. Just... whatever. Had I not known about the Missoni collection and I saw these things at Target, I would have probably walked right past them without giving them a second glance. Okay, maybe I would have looked twice at the rain boots. But I love rain boots.

The fug. This is where you may want to avert your eyes. My co-worker went to Target yesterday morning and got a couple of things, and she said the entire clothes section was wiped out. And I ask you: WHY? Look at this stuff! Look at that flappy purple sweater – no sorry, TURTLENECK – that looks like it would get all stretched out after an hour of wearing it. Most of these sweaters look like some crap you would have found at Mervyn’s in 1997. I can totally picture some random girl in high school wearing the “polo sweater” with ill-fitting too-bright-of-blue jeans. Are you picturing it with me? I even just Googled “90s jeans” and found you this picture so we can all see it together. The print and colors on the ottoman/pouf thing looks like the interior of an airplane or something.

So... That’s my honest take on the whole Missoni thing. How do you feel about it? Do you love it? Do you not understand it? Do you despise it?

Bright and whimsical: Donna Wilson

2011-09-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

I did a Donna Wilson post last year, but I thought I'd share some of her newer pillows/cushions. I still love her stuff.

New fall wreath

2011-09-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, Rachael and I got together for a cocktail and some craftiness. We made fall wreaths. It was fun and relaxing. I now love making felt rosettes and yarn pom poms. I see many nights in my future hanging out on the couch making pom poms while I watch tv. Just to have them for future projects.

Here is a tutorial for making fabric and felt rosettes.

Here is a tutorial for making yarn pom poms.

And here's a tutorial for making an entire wreath out of pom poms! I love this, maybe I will attempt it for the holidays.

Some things I like right now...

2011-09-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

Things were kind of slow for me this week, but that’s okay. I think I will ring in the weekend by sharing some things I like right now. Do you have anything fun you always do on weekends? Kyle and I always eat burgers on Friday nights. Usually on Saturday mornings, I clean. That part is not fun :)

I love the clothes (top shirt especially), hair and photography in this photoshoot by Sessun (via Where the Lovely Things Are):

I love beanies with pompoms and these ones from ASOS happen to have giant ones! Come on, Fall.

This vintage whale planter from etsy shop domestikate. Too bad it was already sold when I found it.

I know it's a little early, but I can't help myself. This "Autumn" scented candle by Slatkin & Co. at Bath & Body Works has been making Xanadu smell reeeeal cozy. When they have a sale, I think I will buy one or two more.

I'v been enjoying this cook book called Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson who does the blog 101 Cookbooks. After eating from this for 2 weeks I dropped 4 lbs without even trying. Just making and eating her recipes. They are all really simple, and all vegetarian. It's kind of cool because I love meat. Carne asada, burgers, sushi: yes please. But I kind of hate cooking meat at home. I hate handling flappy slimey chicken breasts, and it always smells funny to me. So this book is great for me because there are some pretty hearty recipes that fill even Kyle. I’ve been saving my meat-eating for Friday night burgers!

If you go to the website for the book, there is a preview with some recipes. Out of these we’ve made the “mostly not potato salad” and the “little quinoa patties”. Both yummy. A lot of the recipes make pretty big batches, so I've been making things like the potato salad on Sundays and taking it to work for lunches for the week.

And finally... My copy of the new Design Sponge at Home book by Grace Bonney arrived in the mail yesterday! I didn't even open it yet because I wanted to wait until I had time to really get in there. And I kind of want to wait until my friend Kristine gets her copy so we can dork out on it together. I hope her copy comes today! If you want to check it out and can't wait, it's also available as an e-book.

Happy weekend!

Islands

2011-09-07T11:30:00.001-07:00

A good weekend... + recipe for wee ones!

2011-09-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

I did some sewing!

It was me-n-Kyle’s anniversary and we ditched the kid and went to Disneyland. Just kidding, actually it was kind of traumatic because Zoey spent the night at my mom’s house and it was her first night away from us. We missed her so hard. When we were at Disneyland, it seemed like we were constantly saying things like “I wonder if Zoey will like classic Mickey”, “Wouldn’t that be neat if Zoey pulled the sword out of the stone?”, “What’s a good age to bring her for the first time? 4? 5?” and so on. We’re so obnoxious, I know. We went on the new Star Tours for the first time. I never go on that ride because those kinds of rides give me motion sickness. I can do roller coasters with no problem, but anything that has video or spins, no way. But I just had to see what it was like all revamped! Bad gravy, man. About 30 seconds into it I had to find a focal point and stare at it. By the time the Yoda hologram came on, I had to close my eyes and keep them closed for the rest of the ride and I got all sweaty. Luckily, I snapped out of pretty quick and enjoyed Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Indiana Jones, and It’s a Small World. After Disneyland we went out for a nice, quiet dinner at Houston’s. The whole point of having Zoey spend the night at my mom’s was so we could stay out as late as we want and sleep in as late as we want. We ended up in bed by 11 and neither of us could sleep past 8!

After we were reunited with our child on Sunday morning, we headed out to the Orange International Street Fair. Kyle especially looks forward to this every year. They block off the Orange Circle and surrounding streets and there are vendors selling different kinds of food depending on what street you are on. Mexican street has tacos and churros, American street has BBQ and funnel cakes, Ginza Street has sushi, Denmark Street has ebelskivers, and so on. I like Greek Street and my favorite thing to get is loukoumades (deep fried balls of dough soaked in honey).

You know when you eat like crap for a couple days, all you want to eat is veggies? After a day at Disneyland and the street fair, I was there! I made this yummy open faced sammie for dinner Sunday night. It had avocado, thinly sliced apple, cucumber, and radish, micro greens, some goat cheese crumbles, and a drizzle of olive oil. It was so tasty, I made it for lunch the next day too! I got the idea for it from Oh Joy’s “Oh Joy eats lunch with” feature.

And speaking of making lunch, I made Zo the best pasta! I would call it mac and cheese, but Trader Joe’s didn’t have macaroni, so I used a different pasta and pulsed it in the food processor to chop it up a litlte smaller. And just in case you have a little one and would like to sneak some more veggies into their diet, I thought I would share this recipe. I didn’t take pictures as I made it because I didn’t plan on sharing the recipe until I saw how she devoured it! I also didn’t really measure anything, so do everything depending on your tastes. Ready? Here we go!

Pasta:

Cook the pasta of your choice (I didn’t measure, but I used about 2/3 of the bag) according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, shred, dice, or slice whatever veggies you want to add in. I shredded zucchini and sweet potato. Set those aside. I set aside some fresh spinach for later.

Sauce:

Make a roux by melting 1-2 tbsp of butter and 1-2 tbsp of flour in a medium-sized sauce pan. Let that cook for a couple minutes while stirring it.

Gradually add in milk. I used about a cup and a half, maybe 2 cups. When I am making sauces like this, I like to add a little bit of milk, then stir, then a little bit more, then stir, and so on, to make sure it stays creamy and smooth and not lumpy.

Cook the milk for several minutes until it starts to thicken. Once it’s thick enough to coat a wooden spatula, add in your choice of shredded cheese. I used about half a cup of a swiss & gruyere mix, but any cheese would be yummy. Stir that and let the cheese melt, then take it off the heat.

Next, put a couple of big handfuls of fresh spinach into the food processor, and add about 1/3 of the sauce. The liquid helps. I pulverized the bejesus out of the spinach. Zoey still doesn’t have back teeth (they are starting to come in now), so eating leafy things is hard for her and sometimes she ends up choking. So you can be the judge of what baby can handle. To be safe, I processed this mixture until the spinach was practically disintegrated. It looked like pesto. (side note: I had baked some kale chips earlier, and I tossed a handful of those into the food processor too)

Add this spinach/sauce mixture back to the rest of the sauce, using a rubber spatula to scrape the inside of the food processor bowl so you get every last bit.

Stir the veggies you prepped earlier into the sauce.

Toss the pasta and sauce together.

Bake:

Pour the pasta and sauce mixture into a baking dish.

At this point you can top with some more cheese, or bread crumbs or whatever you want. Zoey loves goat cheese, so I sprinkled goat cheese on top. I thought she’d be able to taste it better that way (instead of putting it in the cheese sauce).

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, just until the cheese on top melts.

This recipe made a medium-sized baking dish full of pasta. Zoey can eat it for lunch during the week, and there’s enough for my niece to have some too.

Snoozer Loser

2011-09-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

I like the styles and unique prints offered by Snoozer Loser. That top dress is just perfect.

Doodle

2011-09-02T15:53:00.001-07:00

X-Girl, Sonic Youth, my youth...

2011-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Unless you live under a rock, you know that the 90s are back in a big way. Baby doll dresses with mini floral prints, Doc Martins, long skirts, etc. I guess part of getting “older” is seeing fashions from your youth make their way back into the mainstream. Even though I’m not really into it, it’s got me all kinds of nostalgic. Do you remember “House of Style” on MTV? Hosted by Cindy Crawford. I watched that show religiously. I remember there were a lot of stories about Todd Oldham, Anna Sui, and Cynthia Rowley. I remember a big story about Anna Sui’s collection that was inspired by mod and they showed the runway show and a scooter came out at the end!

I really liked Sonic Youth back then (and still do) and I remember being so excited to see this story about Kim Gordon and X-Girl. Sofia Coppola helped them put on the fashion show, Mike Mills designed the logo and created all of the graphics up until 1998, and Daisy Von Furth co-designed alongside Kim Gordon.

I must have been about 13 or 14. I wrote them a letter to have a catalog sent to me and I studied it so hard. Corduroy pants! A-line dresses! Baby tees! Ringer tees! So cool! I remember we had relatives visiting from Indiana and we were going to take them to Universal Studios and I talked my parents into stopping by the X-Girl store in LA on our way. I’m surprised they actually did. I remember going in and feeling like such a dork because my mom was with me. I remember being really disappointed because I was expecting this X-Girl wonderland. You know, like when you walk into a Sanrio store and it’s like an explosion of Sanrio? Instead what I got was my first experience at a boutique. I remember it being a large, empty room with a rack of clothes along the right wall. I made out with 2 t-shirts. One was a navy and red ringer with an “X-Girl” label on the sleeve I think? And the other was a white baby tee with a silver and hot pink X-Girl logo. Now the brand is Japanese-owned and I haven't kept up with it, although I did visit their store in New York about 6 years ago.

Then I went to Lollapalooza and got to SEE Sonic Youth. That year they were headlining and Hole played right before them. Hole was huge at the time, so almost everyone left after Hole and Sonic Youth played to half-empty amphitheater. But I used it to my advantage and asked someone leaving the pit area after Hole if I could have their ticket stub. I nabbed a spot right in the very front, right in front of Thurston Moore! Unfortunately about 2 songs in, things started to get a little rowdy down there and I was getting smashed against the guard rail and a security guy had to lift me out. I watched the rest of the show from the back.

I don't really have a point It’s just that I get a really good feeling inside when I think of like 1992-1995. They were important years in my life, I was becoming a teenager and getting into music. And those were the quintessential 90s years. The ones they brought back.

In this Sonic Youth video, Kim Gordon and Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill) both sport X-girl shirts. I like the whole baseball tee/football tee/ringer tee style.

sources: catalog scans, catalog/zine scan, chloe sevigny photo via vice

Vintage graphic design

2011-08-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Fun with camera phone

2011-08-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

Scenes from around Xanadu (we call our home Xanadu). Top picture: I bought that deer head to go in our dining room and I decided it looked better in our living room. Middle picture: My friend Todd scored me this cardboard unicorn head and I put it together on Friday night. I’m still deciding where it will live. Bottom picture: I bought this Fee Harding print also for our dining room and decided the fireplace mantle needed something epic, so I put it there instead. I’m happy with the way it looks there.

My Little Fisheye friendship bracelets

2011-08-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Aren’t these friendship bracelets rad? They were made by Lauren, who has an etsy shop called “My Little Fisheye”, and a blog by the same name where she shares her photos, most of which were taken with her fisheye lens camera. Lauren and I used to work together. Now I admire her handiwork from afar. She makes other types of jewelry and accessories in addition to these friendship bracelets, and she also sells vintage jewelry and accessories in her shop. These would make such great gifts for your friends too!

Funny

2011-08-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

Happy weekend, please enjoy this funny video (if you haven't already, I know it's been making it's rounds on the internetz-masheen).

Bunny masquerade

2011-08-25T13:13:00.001-07:00

More from SonnySkyes

2011-08-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Visit SonnySkyes here.

Palm Springs day

2011-08-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend my friend Rachael and I took my mom and sister to Palm Springs for the day. My mom watches Zoey (and asks for nothing in return) when Kyle and I are at work. Plus, homegirl doesn't get out much. So sometimes we do little things here and there like take her out for brunch or take her to antique shops, which she loves. But she has been wanting to go to Palm Springs, and no offense to my dad, but I thought she'd have a lot more fun with the girls. And boy did she! Both my sister and mom asked not to be pictured on the internet. But there's still fun stuff to share.

Our first stop was the the Palm Springs visitors center, where I bought a map that shows all the mid-century architectural landmarks. We ended up not using this map, so I suppose another trip is in order. Then we headed up the mountain behind the visitors center to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. This is a rotating tram that is suspended from a cable. In just 10 minutes it takes you 8500 feet to the top. When you get to the top, it’s about 20 degrees cooler. You can go hiking or eat at the restaurant up there. We just took in some of the views and came back down about half an hour later.

Then we went to the Ace Hotel, where we ate lunch at their cute diner, King's Highway.

Our next stop was the amazing Parker Hotel. I stayed here 4 years ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it since, so I was excited to show it off to my mom, sister, and Rachael. We got there at about 2:30 and roamed the grounds just soaking up all the Jonathan Adler goodness. And as luck would have it, the mini bar in the lobby opened right at 3! My cute mom had her first mojito. Of course, she was a wusslord and nursed it for 2 hours. Our original intent was to do a little shopping at some of the antique and vintage shops in the area. We ended up sitting in that bar for 2 hours cracking each other up and not doing any shopping at all, but we had so much fun we didn’t even mind. After that we decided it was time to head home.

On our way home we stopped at the dinosaurs in Cabazon.

Then my sister wanted to stop at Casino Morongo, so why the hell not? We were only there for about 45 minutes. But I did spot the most magical of slot machines. By the way, Casino Morongo? Not like the commercials.

By this time we were pooped. We got home right on time for me to crawl into bed (after showering casino smoke off of me) and watch “Celebrity Ghost Stories” (my current favorite Saturday night activity). And Kyle said Zoey was a dream baby for him all day. It was a good day!

Pandora's Parlor in San Juan Capistrano

2011-08-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hidden in the back of The Old Barn Antique Mall in San Juan Capistrano, you will find this amazing gem of a place called Pandora's Parlor. Pandora's Parlor (see Facebook page here) specializes in "Macabre antiques, Victorian mourning items, haunted house decor, and everything for the darkly inclined." The Old Barn Antique Mall isn't my favorite antique mall, because they don't have a very big selection of what I am usually looking for, which is more in the range of 50s-70s mid century type stuff. But it is worth a special trip just to visit Pandora's Parlor.

Pandora's Parlor has a blog and it gets updated from time to time when new items arrive. Plus there are tons more pictures of creepy things. AHLUVIT!

The Old Barn Antique Mall

31792 Camino Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

(949) 493-9144

Mini & Maximus, Fall/Winter 2011

2011-08-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Things I love about Mini & Maximus: Super cool tee graphics for kids that even I would wear, artist collaborations with people like Mike Perry and Fee Harding, they feature art by kids (this is important to me), artsy yet laid back vibe, overall awesomeness. Plus, this paragraph from their website that describes their current collection, is just perfect to me as a mom. Which is funny, because the collection is called “Imperfectly Perfect”:

For those days, when they pull one sock up but get happily distracted before they can pull up the other. When they start stomping their feet about who knows what, and all evidence of sanity seems to have runaway. “Imperfectly Perfect” celebrates the slightly “off” moments where you decide you’ll watch them go to the beat of their own drum because sometimes they just wake up like that.

Cece L'amour

2011-08-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

After designing shoes for the likes of Betsey Johnson and LAMB, my friend Celine has started her own shoe line called CeCe L’Amour and yesterday she shared with me that she named one of the shoes in her debut collection after me! In fact, all the shoes are named after girls she knows, and Rachael got one named after her too! I feel so cool. Celine said she named the flat “Kelly” because she knows I love flats. This is true. Furthermore, this is a super cute vintage-inspired flat with a big pom pom on it! I love pom poms. I will wear the heck out of these.

Besides the Kelly flat, my favorite shoe in her line is the Nicole, pictured below. I love the polkadots, the taupe, cream and black color combo, and I like the way it looks like it was inspired by the 1940s. I will be picking this one up for sure. To see more CeCe L’Amour shoes, visit Celine’s blog The Shoe Girl. If you poke around some recent posts, you will see some cool inspiration boards, and she talks a lot of about the process of designing shoes.

Vintage graphic design

2011-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Lotus Plaza

2011-08-17T14:37:00.001-07:00

80s inspired

2011-08-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

1. Neivz “Rad” ring from Moxsie, $29. 2. Lightning bolt clutch from ASOS, $43.10. 3. Vivienne Westwood “Anglomania + Melissa Lady Dragon VI” heels from Zappos, $162. 4. Betsey Johnson crystal tiger studs, $25. 5. Essie nail polish in “licorice” and “sexy divide.”

Doodles

2011-08-16T09:22:00.000-07:00