Baking, Cleaning, and Waiting for Thanksgiving

I'm really loving watching the back yard evolve in color and appearance. We have been enjoying all the fruits that the yard is giving us, and have played around with a couple of persimmon recipes to attempt to use the gargantuan amount that is out there. I think I'll leave the rest of them for the animals. I saw those ravens snacking down on them the other day when I snapped those photos.  Lucky for me, the gardeners have been picking up the dropped over ripe ones, so it doesn't become too messy out there! I have a question for you gardeners. Why are some of the citrus trees and bushes blooming right now in November? Are they confused with all the warmer weather we have had, or do they bloom more than once in the year? The plus side to all these blooms, are all the cute little humming birds enjoying the nectar out of them. I love seeing them buzzing around the lemon tree by my window.
The house is all spit shined and ready for our guests tomorrow. I feel like I have everything done and now all I need to finish up are the desserts, and my floral arrangement. I'm excited to play florist today, because I found some really beautiful flowers and I have some fun ideas.
I took out the new toy yesterday to make some pastry and it was a joy to use! It will be in heavy use, later today as I prep for tomorrows feast. I feel the splurge on this food processor was totally worth it.
 
I wish everyone a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your day and live in the moment, try and put down all those devices, and enjoy your guests.  Ok, maybe one or two IG pictures, but seriously, please try and detox from the devices on such a wonderful holiday!

Work Space Finally Straightened Out!

Last weekend I purged my work space and reshuffled some things around. We gave our daybed away to a deserving college student, and in turn it made way for the Ikea cast away chairs from the living room. I'm hanging on to these for Caitlin when she has her own place, but for now, if you would like to stop by and hang out with me in my studio, I have some comfy chairs you can sit in.  My sweet husband bought me this cool canvas bin with caster wheels. I love it! We bought it from here . This company, named Steele, have been manufacturing these since 1921. I love the look of them, and how effortlessly it rolls around. Now all my fabric scraps have a classy place to hang out in.

 Next on the cutting table, after my skirt that is, will be some baby items out of these soft cotton lawn prints. The aqua colored fabric is eco friendly bamboo linen. In person this fabric is really beautiful and soft.

 The other aqua one is of course dotted swiss.  I have some cute ideas for all of them, so you will have to check back to see what they become. Now I'm off to cut my skirt and top out.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Look what came in the mail!

I saw this tray a while back, and have been really wanting it since then. There was a shop in Oakland that had it, and when I went over there with my Christmas money in hand, it was sold! I was so sad, since the shopkeeper told me they were not sure they could ever get it again.

My husband found a website in England called "An Angel At My Table," and they were having a winter clearance. My little birdie tray was one of the items! Oh joy!! The tray is from the company called iBride. It arrived yesterday, and now I have to find a spot for him. If you go on the web link of the place we got it from, you can see how cool they look on a wall.

Now I'm off to start transferring my other cute bird on to some cloth. I finally got around to getting all the right color of threads for it, so I have no more excuses to get my rear in gear to start on it!

I'll show you some progress hopefully in a few days.

Those of you that are crafty, what are you working on these days?

Winter lace

I've always loved winter. Perhaps it is because I live in California, and the winters are very mild, because I'm sure I would have a different outlook if I were having to deal with snow and more severe temperatures. Naked trees always reminds me of lace, and when they have snow or frost on them, it is extra beautiful lace.
This moss only shows up in the winter, and it reminds me of green velvet, and I sure wish it would stick around longer.

This is a total random post, but these are things that I notice outside my door everyday, and remind me that it is winter time.

Winter, especially January, reminds me of when my parents brought home my baby sister. It was a foggy misty morning on January 15th 1970. I remember I could not take my eyes off of her the whole way home. Back in 1970 there were no car seats, or parents not making sure you had your seatbelt on, so I remember leaning over the front seat staring at my baby sister in my mom's arms. Today that is unheard of, can you imagine anyone today sitting in the passenger seat holding a newborn baby? Anyway........... I think because of this special event in my life, I love January because it brought my best little buddy in the whole wide world, into my life. Next week we will celebrate her birthday.

I received the "I love your blog award," from Cindy over at Quaint handmade, where I must share 10 revelations about me.

Here goes:

1. Why did you create this blog?

It started out to be an online journal of sorts, to document my family and things I made and cooked. I think that it still is, pretty much true to that. It may evolve if I open an Etsy shop, something that I have been thinking about for a while. Stay tuned for that.

2. What kinds of blogs do you follow?

I love, of course cooking and sewing ones, but also cute young families just starting out in their life adventures, and design blogs, like Design Sponge. Pretty much anything that has lots of eye candy!

3. Favorite makeup brand?

I guess I really don't have one per se, good old drug store brands like L'Oreal. My daughters on the other hand, have the most amazing collection of makeup. I love when Caitlin does my makeup. She even has a You Tube channel for tutorials!

4. Favorite clothing brand?

I would have to say Anthropologie for whimsical pieces, and Gap/Banana Republic for more practical items.

5. Your indispensable makeup product?

My Burt"s Bee's lip gloss in the color "Fig."

6. Your favorite color?

I can't say that I have a favorite, but I do notice that I gravitate towards red, and some purples.

7. Your perfume?

Annick Goutal "Eau de Charlotte."

8. Your favorite film?

That would have to be "Babette's Feast."

9. What country would you like to visit and why?

I think I would have to say Greece. I fell in love with it when I took a Greek art history class in college. Plus I love the food!

10. Make up the question and answer it yourself. What do you think your gift is?

Creating handmade pretty things :)

The rules are that I have to bestow this love to 10 others, so if you read this and want to play consider yourself awarded. Leanne, Rebekka, Christine, Dawn, Bonnie, Caitlin, Nicole, Tricia ,Carolina, and Georgia.

On a different note, the bottom photo is the first dish Caitlin and Cyrous made for their new cooking blog, which is called, "C&C cooking adventures." They will have another dish up after this weekend, so stay tuned.

Chili con carne over a baked potato. The chili was very yummy!

Housekeeping tip for the day

Does your stainless steel iron look like this? It usually builds up before I know it, and when you start to iron something, usually white, it gets all over your clothing. Well, here is my tip for the day.
Buy this stuff. Bar Keepers Friend really is a friend indeed! I have cleaned even my Simplex tea kettle with this stuff, and it looks as shinny as the one in the link after 10 years. All you need to do is sprinkle a little bit of this on a damp paper towel to make a paste of sorts, then rub away.......
and voila! This took me all of one minute to do. I then give it a quick rinse with another damp paper towel. To make sure nothing is lurking, I turn it on, and iron a scrap cloth. I love this stuff!
On another note, I have been able to get into the sewing room these past couple of days, and I'm hard at work on this Tracy Reese pattern. So far, I am loving how the fabric is working with this pattern. When I read the reviews on "Pattern Review.com," many ladies did not like the low neckline and decided to raise it. I decided it didn't look right, after seeing some of the photos, so I chose not to alter it. I will most likely wear a lacy camisole with it instead. There are a lot of nice finishes in this pattern, like French seams and invisible zippers, but they all take some time to do. As you can see from the above, there are 61 steps to this pattern. I am on #18!
This is how far I am today. Hopefully I will be able to join the top to the bottom and be closer to finishing it up by the end of the week. I'm a pretty quick sewer, but like I said, 61 steps people.......If you want it to look right, you have to really take the time, and have patience with this one.

This dress will most likely be my last summer sewing project, since here in northern California, it never really got hot this year. I'm feeling more inspired to start on fall/winter stuff now.

I have been having fun recently putting my fall wardrobe together, and did a little shopping. I'll share some of my finds in another post. Now, I have to get back in that room and start on step 19!

Things that are making me happy

This is a total random post for lack of doing anything creative at the moment. I thought I'd share two things that are making me happy. First, this new "Bissell Steam" mop. Since my surgery, I haven't gotten my helpers to mop the floor. Things have been kept tidy and swept, but it hasn't been given a nice clean mopping. I happened to see a commercial for this steam mop, then I did some research on them, to see if they were any good. A lot of customers liked this model, rather than the "Shark" steam mop. We made the plunge and gave it a try. Can I just say, why haven't they invented this a long time ago? No chemicals, just distilled water, and hot steam.
My floors are nice and clean, and I don't have any major bending or dealing with dirty mops etc. Love it, and anyone contemplating one, should give it a try. I even cleaned my tile bathroom floors.
Second, is my brand new Mac lap top!! My husband and I both got one, and now we are having fun with our new toys. What is it about that cute little apple logo?!
I get now, why people are so loyal to their Macs, I kinda fell in love with it when I was using my husbands work lap top. It was time to take another plunge and get one. I'm excited to play with all the picture options. I managed to upload my photos from my Nikon, so easily that I couldn't believe my eyes. I had been having a hard time with our new desk top PC. It just didn't like the Nikon download, and would do all kinds of strange things. My daughter has a Mac, and when I saw how simple it was to up load pictures on it, I was sold!

On the hip front, things are getting much better. I went to my first appointment after the operation, and the x-ray looked good. I'm having a bit of Sciatic nerve pain though, and I'm working with that now. My doctor gave me a prescription for more physical therapy (out patient), and I really wasn't looking forward to it. My first one was yesterday, and as I looked at all the torture tables and machines, I cringed at the thought of what I might have to endure. Well, let me just say, I was so wrong!! They did all kinds of massage on the incision area, and various exercises that really helped. I felt a thousand times better leaving the office. I get to go for up to two times a week for 6 weeks. I may not have to go for the full six weeks, if I already felt that good after one session. Yesterday was the first day that I thought I could be pain free eventually. My next appointment is tomorrow, I can't wait!

I've also been a bit busy helping my oldest daughter with her senior collection. She will graduate from CCA, with a degree in fashion design. I'm doing some of the hand work, on some of the pieces. I did some embroidery, and a marathon session yesterday of hemming a full circle skirt and dress. Full circle garments are so time consuming to hem! I had to take several breaks, so I wouldn't undo all good that the physical therapist did to make me feel better. They were pressed and then rushed to San Francisco by my husband later in the evening.

The fashion show, which will be very professional, will be on May 7th. I'll try and take many photos.

For anyone who loves watching "Project Runway," there have been two alumni from CCA on the show. The latest one was Amy Sarabi. We all wished that she had made it to the final four, but at least she was able to show a collection at Bryant Park. We found pictures of her collection, and it was stunning! I think she would have won.

OK, this post is really getting on the rambling side, so I'll close for today, and maybe next post I'll have a bit more creativity to show.