Tennis

I bet you didn't know that I have sports trophy.  I especially bet you didn't know that if you know me in person.  I'm not exactly atheletic these days.  But one summer, a very long time ago, I played tennis everyday.  I wanted to be the next Tracy Austin.  And I did come in first place in the Upland Recreation's Department Spring Tennis clinic in 1985.  Obviously, I didn't want to be a tennis player too badly as I allowed a bunch of teenage diversions to get in my way and I eventually layed down my racket.

Now that the US Open is going on, I'm feeling all nostalgic for it.  So I went into my garage, dug out that old trophy and dusted it off.  I think it just might be tacky enough for me to put up on a shelf somewhere in the name of a conversation piece.  What do you think?

And speaking of tennis...did you ever see the movie Match Point?  It has very little to do with tennis except from a philosophical viewpoint, but it's a great movie!  (Yes, it's Woody Allen, but it's not a typical Woody Allen movie.  Try it, you'll like it.)

Zucchini Recipes

It's that time of year!  Everyone is harvesting their zucchini.  And harvesting it, and harvesting it.

When I was a little girl, my dad had a fairly large garden in the backyard, and I remember lots of zucchini bread in the late summer.  My little sister used to call it "Bikini Bread". 

I don't have a yard large enough for a garden, but a friend of mine dropped off some zucchini for us the other day.  Feeling inspired, I searched around for some new recipes to use it.  Here's what I found:

Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I got this recipe from one of my favorite books about homesteading, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver.  I have to admit, I wasn't sure if they would come out.  When I tasted the raw batter, I wasn't very impressed, and I can usually tell if a recipe will be delicious by the raw batter.  But once they baked up, they came out delicious!  Really, it's a unique treat, and I actually feel guilt free allowing my daughter to eat these!

Next on my list was a recipe recommended by The Pioneer Woman.  She's one of my favorite bloggers.  (Did you know she has a TV show on Food Network now?  I'm so excited!)  She extolled the virtues of a Pineapple Zucchini Cake, so I baked it up.  I had high hopes.  It's definitely good, but not very sweet or like a cake.  I would say, it's more of very moist tasting zucchini bread with some cream cheese frosting on it.  Maybe I read the recipe wrong?  Maybe my pineapple wasn't sweet enough?  I may have to give it another try, because I usually trust Ree's recommendations.  If you try it, will you email me and let me know what you think?  You can find the recipe here.

And yes, I made both of these desserts on the same day.  And yes, we are sick of eating zucchini despite the fact that these recipes are sweet goodness.  But, when a girl is shredding zucchini, sometimes she doesn't want to stop.  What are your favorite zucchini recipes?

Spumoni Quilt

I'm slowly but surely trying to make a quilt for everyone in my family.  I was planning on making my daughter a quilt out the clothes she's outgrown, but when she saw me working on this quilt, she begged for it.  And I can't refuse her.  Of course, she'll probably end up getting many from me over the years.

The pattern for this quilt is called Spumoni and it's from one of my favorite sewing books, Sew Darn Cute: 30 Sweet & Simple Projects to Sew & Embellish by Jenny Ryan. 

It's colors are inspired by one of my favorite flavors of ice cream, Spumoni.  Yum!  Pistachio, Cherry and Chocolate!  I get a craving every time I like at the quilt.  I was thinking a cute spin on the theme would be a Neapolitan quilt.

I love getting inspired by sweet treats for sewing and craft projects.  Don't you?

Books and Movies

This is what we've been up to at my house lately, besides being crafty, of course!

Watching movies.  TV stinks right now, so we are using our Netflix auto streaming like crazy. 


My husband and I watched Exit Through the Gift Shop the other night.  An interesting documentary that makes you wonder, what is "art"?  We talked about it for hours afterwards.  Adding to our discussion was the rumor that it's not even really a documentary, it's a "prankumentary". 






Reading. I'm reading A Householder's Guide to the Universe: A Calendar of Basics for the Home and Beyond. 


I love to read books about the sociological aspects of housekeeping.  The author of this one is pretty radical, but makes some interesting points about how broken our current economy is and how becoming more self-sufficient might be the answer to world change.






Of course, it's not all cerebral around here.  I just finished reading Room: A Novel.  Told from the point of view of a five year old, it's a unique read.  I love the beginning.  I don't want to give too much away, but suffice to say that the boy and his mom are living in one small room (never leaving it).  Could you imagine?  I'm challenged to keep my six year old busy and I've got the whole wide world at my doorstep.  She's a hero as far as I'm concerned!




We all also very much enjoyed this one:


Beauty and the Beaks: A Turkey's Cautionary Tale. It's a very funny story-you may want to get it in time for the Thanksgiving season. My daughter enjoyed the story and the puns.  I enjoyed the artistry that went into the chickens for the illustrations. 






What are you watching and reading these days?

Fall Decor: Button Tree Pillow

I'm over at the Buttons Galore and More blog today, with a tutorial to make this cute pillow.  No sew if that's the way you want to go!

A Peaceful Walk

My husband and I try to go on a "date" at least twice a month.  Sure, it's expensive to pay for a babysitter, but we figured out a long time ago that a divorce would cost a lot more, so off we go to reconnect a couple of times a month.

I've lived in South Orange County, California (aka the O.C.) for about 12 years now.  I heard about a Hindu monastery in the foothills nearby, but never visited.  One of our date days was the perfect chance to finally find some time to explore.  The grounds of the monastery are absolutely beautiful.  It's amazing to me that we were only 10 minutes away from tract homes and a sprawling suburbia.  We tried to take the Shrine Trail, but got turned around.  We were on a path, but not the right one. (Well, that could certainly mean something, couldn't it?) It was still a great adventure and a peaceful way to spend the afternoon. 

Don't you love to find tiny pocket "vacation spots" right in your own backyard?

Sketchbook Pages & A Winner

I'm happy to announce that Lindy of Veni Vidi Scrappy won the Plaid Extreme Glitter prize package!  Email me with your address so that I can send it to our friends at Plaid.

I just finished taking Alisa Burke's wonderful ecourse, Sketchbook Delight.  I love her style, and I learned so much from her.  I kind of pride myself on being "self-taught" but as I take more classes and get more advice from traditionally-trained artists and crafters, I am realizing that there really is something to be said for learning how to do things the "right way" before I go off and start experimenting.

Here's what one of my sketchbook pages looked like before I took the course. 

I was pretty happy with it, but it lacked depth and movement.  The page below and at the top of the post are pages I've sketched since taking the online course. 

See the difference?  Well, I do!  I'm super proud of them, and can't quite believe I am capable of sketching like that! 

So how about you?  Do you learn the "rules" before you break them?  Or do you go right to renegade?

Artbar Outing

This Sunday my little sister, Jenny (yes!  even at our ages, she's still my little sister), and I went to The Artbar for their studio hours.  It was a sweet outing.  One that reminds me of how very different we are (just look at our journal pages!) yet, our shared history brings us closer together than anyone else. 

My sister's journal

My journal

It's always fascinated me to think that my sibling and I are more biologically similiar to one another than anyone else.  We are more closely related in blood than we are to our either of our parents.  Moving beyond the physical, we had the same childhood experiences, and although we have all translated those experiences differently, it's nice to know there was someone else there, who understands the ups and downs.  Yes, a relaxing day filled with art and a sisterly bond.  Nothing else can quite refresh the soul in this way.

FolkArt Extreme Glitter Giveaway!

I'll admit it.  I have a love-hate relationship with glitter.  I love the way it looks on my craft projects.  I love how it glams up anything.  But I hate that it gets EVERYWHERE.  Seriously, me, my husband, and my daughter always end up with glitter bits all over us whenever I do a simple little project.  Heck,  even my late dog sparkled when I was doing a glitter project.  Did I mention I also almost always get in my eyes?  I've taken to wearing safety googles when I craft with it.

When I first heard about Plaid's Extreme Glitter paint, I thought it was a paint with glitter in it.  But it's more like a translucent base with bits of glitter floating in it.  You paint it on and when it dries you have a perfectly glittered piece without the mess of glitter.  And the glitter stays put.  No flecking off and continually making a mess.  To try it out, I painted a craft paper mache with some FolkArt Metallic paint and then coated it with the Silver Extreme Glitter paint.  I think these close-up shots really show you the glitter effect you can get from the product (and also my messy painted flowers!).  I think my little show pony is perfectly glittered nonetheless and I know a little girl who can't wait to get her hands on it.  And my eyes?  Safe and glitter free!

I'm please to announce that Plaid is offering my blog and newsletter subscribers a chance to win their FolkArt Extreme Glitter paint! The prize package is a five pack of one of each of their new colors in: Aqua, Confetti, Champagne, Fuchsia and Royal Blue!

To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this post. I'll draw one winner on August 17, 2011 and announce it here on my blog. Super simple!

You can get project inspiration on Plaid's website.  (They have lots of Halloween inspiration over there, so be sure to check it out!)

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. 

The winner was announced here.

Embroidery Sampler

I know I haven't been very good about keeping-up with my blogging lately.  I've been really busy working on projects while trying to keep my six year old entertained over the summer.  I'm sure most of you can relate!  To top off everything, my knee has been bothering me for about a week now.  I don't think I injured it, it's probably more of a reminder of my age & weight than anything else.  I need to give it some rest and that's much easier said than done.  Yesterday, I tried very hard to keep off of it, and that was all the excuse I needed to pull out an embroidery sampler I started working on about six months ago.  I forgot how much I love to work on samplers made up of little squares.  I sift through my tin of odds and ends and beads, I sketch little pictures, and then I practice different stitches.  And somehow the whole little mess ends up being a fun, cohesive project when it's all over.  I'm thinking of using the finished panel on a pillow or something. 

What are you working on these days? 

A Tooth Story

Remember my post about the tooth fairy pillow I made?  How much my daughter wanted to lose her first tooth?  Well, it happened last night over dinner!  My daughter started to tear up and I asked her if it hurt and she said she crying because she was so happy.  She then handed me the tooth and I started to freak-out (inside of course-I stayed cool in front of her) because it didn't look like what I was expecting it to look like.  It's been a long time since I saw a baby tooth (my own) and I don't know what I expected it to look like, but what I was holding in my hand wasn't it.  Did you experience that? 

So, I called my sister, who has a ten year old, and she said it was okay.  She's handy to have around because she's recently been through it all, so I can always run things by her.  Plus, she already knows I'm a Nervous Nelly and doesn't judge or roll her eyes. (Or maybe she does, but we're on the phone so I can't see her do it.)

Once I was calmed down, the tooth went into the pillow and we awaited the morning.  My daughter was very excited to find a note from her personal tooth fairy, 50 cents (we got off cheap, she's not in school right now so she doesn't know the going price) and a tooth fairy bracelet. 

I had a friend of mine make this bracelet for me when I was pregnant with my daughter.  It's a charm bracelet with a fairy charm on it.  It comes with pearl charms that can be attached to represent each tooth.  The first pearl was delivered by the tooth fairy last night.  I love the whole idea of the bracelet and dream about my daughter, all grown-up and wearing it.  And when someone comments on it she can tell them what it means and maybe, just maybe, she'll remember the magic of her childhood.  A time when fairies came to your room at night and left tokens of love in exchange for the slow loss of your baby years-one tooth at a time.

Tuesday is Ironing Day

I iron every Tuesday.  I don't have much to do, just a few of my husband's shirts, but I do try to get it done once a week so it doesn't build up.  Last week, as I was ironing in my bedroom and watching TV, my daughter came in, sat down on the bed and said, "I love it when you iron.  It smells good and makes the room warm and cozy."  Suddenly, the boring task of ironing took on new meaning for me.  A simple household chore, done on the same day, in the same way, wasn't just work anymore.  It was a little memory for my daughter.  It felt good to look at that way.

And it reminded me of when I was little.  My mom would iron in our basement.  There was a TV involved then too.  I had a small, orange, blow-up kitty couch that I would sit on as she would iron and we would watch All My Children (circa 1972) together.  I haven't thought about that in a long time.

I wonder, how long will this tradition continue?  I know I'm in the minority because I still iron.  Clothes and clothes dryers are slowly pushing out the dreaded chore of ironing.  Will tomorrow's children have any memories of their mothers (or fathers!) doing household chores like ironing or cooking? Or will they think back on happy memories of watching TV while their parents surf Facebook?

All I know is my daughter has asked for a play ironing board and iron and I'm happy to fill that request.  In the name of nostalgia if nothing else.

Sea Glass Quilt

I created this picnic quilt to donate to Taller San Jose, for the silent auction for their Light Up A Life event.  I love the colors in it and can just imagine someone going to a concert in the park for picnic with it.  I even made some matching napkins & both the napkins and quilt are reversible! 

The quilt pattern was from the book, Material Obsession: Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots,  it's called "Avalon".  The name makes me want to take a trip to Catalina with the quilt in tow!  But alas, it will go to a lucky winner.  The good news is, it will also benefit the wonderful work Taller San Jose does, so I guess I can't complain about letting it go too much.  If you want to attend a GREAT event, and get a chance to bid on my quilt, click here to get tickets to Light Up A Life.

Are you quilting these days?  What are you creating?

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