meremade

my first dress

2013-05-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Well, this took much longer than I intended, but I finally completed sewing my first dress!

I used the Amelia Dress pattern from Green Bee.

There are many funny mistakes I made along the way. Puckered pockets anyone?

and let's just say if I saw it in a store, no, if I saw it in a second hand store, no, if I saw it in a 99 cent store, I would most likely walk on by (unless I thought I could turn the cute fabric into a bag of some sort.)

I'm too scared to try it on!! I will say, it was a big learning curve and I think with each project, I learn a new thing or two about sewing. In this case, how to sew a zipper on a dress, how to dart a bust line and how to make pockets.

For now, I think I'll go back to baby clothing and accessories.

sad day for crafters

2013-05-18T08:50:00.001-07:00

I was so saddened to learn yesterday that we lost an incredible member of this crafting/ blogging community to a tragic accident in Australia. I won't go into the details but you can read more here. I've been following Kathreen Ricketson on her blog Whip Up for years and I so looked forward to her monthly newsletters. She was so creative and full of life and even though I never actually knew her, I feel as though I did through interacting with her online. She and her husband leave behind two beautiful children for which a fund has been set up.

mother's day

2013-05-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Did you all have a nice, relaxing Mother's Day? I did!

I was completely exhausted after having been in two performances for Mr. P.'s school fundraiser the day (and night before.) We sang. We danced. Then partied til 1 a.m. Who am I? Haven't done that in years! And the best part was that my dad also participated in the show and the post party!

Mr. P. was also in the show, which meant 3 generations, one show! So fun! Okay, back to Mother's Day......Have I told you about my Mom? She is one amazing woman. She is kind and social and crafty and smart! Growing up she was always getting into some crafty hobby. One year is was basketry weaving another year, paper making. Then there was the calligraphy craze (she wrote out all the diplomas for my high school class). She was always super involved in my school. She even helped start the Children's Museum here in Los Angeles. She is an avid reader and traveller and an amazing cook to boot. And she had super cool outfits in the 60's!!!

We had a lovely brunch at our house (last year's attempt at taking the kids to a fancy pants restaurant ended up with me leaving mid meal with a screaming child on each hip.)

There was potato and green bean salad:

Salmon poached in white wine:

a beautiful bouquet of peonies (my favorite!!)

Homemade blood orange juice to mix with champagne for blood orange mimosas:

caviar service!!!!

And berries berries berries!!! Including homemade chocolate covered strawberries. My husband really outdid himself!!

And I didn't get a photo of the amazing tarts my sister brought!!

Being a mom is unequivocally the best thing that has ever happened to me. I feel so lucky to get so share my life with these two incredible children!! Everyone always tells me how quickly kids grow up and I know it's true so I'm just trying to savor every sweet second I have with them. As well as let go of the not-so-sweet moments (there's plenty of those as well, but it's amazing how they erase from my memory when everything is going well!!)

Doodle took some photos: Clearly I'm was excited about all this great food!

And the kids were excited about the berries!

The afternoon included a nap (the caviar service was accompanied by one too many vodkas) and an Ikea desk building extravaganza. My next post will cover the Ikea bed building debaucle....stay tuned!!!

winner of the Warner Bros. movie giveaway

2013-05-13T09:56:00.002-07:00

The winner of the Warner Bros. movie giveaway is lover of all things hot wings related....Heather!

She wrote:

"Waking up after sleeping in, I’m greeted with a breakfast of hot wings (I’m pregnant and can get away with that) .

I’m spending the morning relaxing while watching my all-time favorite musical Phantom of the Opera . I remember watching it for the first time when I was 12 years old.
Of course, I can’t watch this movie without my favorite movie
snack more hot wings! For lunch, my friends and I are taken to dine at Stoppers bar & grill.

Bouquets of Roses greet us on arrival. On our way home, our car unexpectedly hits a time warp and we’re teleported back to the set of my favorite romance film!I find myself playing the role of my favorite character Jennifer Anniston.
Suddenly, I’m Hollywood’s next big star! I’m strutting down everyred carpet and being invited to all the exclusive premieres… I’m even datingthe cutest movie star Bradley Cooper and our celebrity couple name is the Coops.Suddenly I wake up and find myself safely back in my bed.Looks like I must have dozed off and started dreaming!"

I will contact you today and I must receive your US mailing address by the end of the day in order to receive your prize. Everyone else, thanks so much for playing!!!

mother's day roundup

2013-05-09T03:30:00.000-07:00

Looking for a gift for Mom? Look no further as I've rounded up some of the craftiest creations!

Turn kids' art into tea towels at setting for four:

Paint your own vase from the inside out at Design tjejen:

Home made peppermint sugar scrub mix at Delia Creates...good enough to eat!

I know I've shared this one before but I love theses Japanese soaps from Martha!

DIY instagram magnets from See Kate Sew

Photo pillows from Lil Blue Boo:

and two oldies but goodies from my blog....wine box herb gardens:

and DIY photo coasters (these were a huge hit with my mom last year):

Happy crafting!

project fail

2013-05-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

Well, my attempt at making churros for Cinco de Mayo left everyone a little queasy as they turned out looking a bit more like dog turds then a delectable dessert. But there's one family member who didn't seem to mind:

Get the recipe here. I'm sure yours will look much nicer!

cinco de mayo

2013-05-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

Cherry Muddler anyone? Inspired by this recipe at Sprouted Kitchen:

I added blueberries and peaches as well.

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! We're off to make these Mango Margaritas from Love and Lemons:

and make these decorations from DIY Studio:

how does your garden grow?

2013-05-01T03:30:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share these great gardening apps brought to you by apartment therapy. Some require a small membership fee, but most are free!

I'm headed to our local nursery tomorrow to get more green to grow and eat. And we're still waiting on buds to sprout from our recent planting project!

free giveaway: mother's day movies - CLOSED

2013-04-29T11:01:00.003-07:00

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED......

And you were worried you were going to underwhelm Mom with your gift this year.....

How about 100 movies? Yup, you read that right! I'm giving away 100 movies including all 22 of Warner Bros. Library’s Best Picture™ winners on 55 discs presented in book style premium packaging. Plus two all-new documentaries: Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot and The Warner Bros. Lot Tour. With hours of commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes and more on select films. Also includes a limited edition 27” x 40” poster, plus a postcard series of Warner Bros. movie posters designed by legendary Bill Gold.

Read more about the movies here.

Retail value = $597.92

To enter: One entry per person. Winner must have a U.S. mailing address. No P.O. boxes please.

1. You must become a follower of my blog (I will check and verify the winner to see that they've done this)

2. Fill out the Perfect Mother's Day Fill-in-the-Blank Sheet and submit it into your comments section.

You must complete steps one and two to be eligible for the prize. This contest will close on May 12th at 11:59 PM ET and I will announce a winner on May 13th. I MUST receive the winner's address by the end of May 14th to win.

Here is the Perfect Mother's Day Fill in the Blank Sheet. Simply click on the sheet below to download, fill out your own and then copy and paste to my comments sections!

And while you're at it, check out the Mother's Day Blog App!! The Guess the Scene game is so fun!

A special shout out to Warner Bros. for supplying the winning materials!

green thumbs

2013-04-26T03:30:00.000-07:00

Doodle wanted to do some gardening the other day so I whipped out my drawer full of long forgotten seeds.

He had fun eating a sample of each seed before planting it.

He wondered how long it would take for the pumpkin pie to sprout. Wouldn't a garden full of pie be nice!

now, we wait...

Les Miz Birthday

2013-04-24T11:37:00.002-07:00

Last month we celebrated Doodle's 4th birthday. I already shared our Carnival-themed birthday party, but what I failed to share was the Les Miserables extravaganza that took place on his actual birthday eve.

To read about my kids' obsession with this musical, click here.

I made a French flag cake:

There was pizza and pasta galore (more Italian than French, but that's what the kid wanted.)

Kale and cabbage salad for non pizza goers:

Those of you familiar with the musical might remember that Jean Val Jean's prison number is 24601. Doodle got it right away.

He was a happy boy!

The kids hopped up on the table waving paper flags for their rendition of "Do You Hear the People Sing?"

He received the 1200+ page Victor Hugo novel which will make a very good doorstop:

Grandma came in from Las Vegas!

Doodle was vehement about us NOT singing the traditional "Happy Birthday" song to him. Instead, he asked for a Les Miz medley of all his favorite songs.

This weekend, we're taking the kids to see a local high school production of Les Miz. Sure, Javert might be going through puberty, but I'm sure it will be entertaining, to say the least.

what I ate #14

2013-04-22T10:47:00.001-07:00

There been a lot of good eats happening over here! Just wanted to share my two favorite form the last week!

The first is a beluga lentil and asparagus dish in a basil and mint pistou. This recipe came from The Sprouted Kitchen. Easy and delicious!

And the second one comes from The Kitchn - a roasted fennel and citrus salad over cous cous. But it was originally inspired by and was originally inspired by the beautiful cookbook, Jerusalem, by Yotam Since I'm not eating cous cous these days, I replaced it with protein packed quinoa. Look how gorgeous it is when you throw a bunch of fresh parsley down!

Happy Monday and wishing you a week of good eats!

birthday t-shirt

2013-04-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

We're past birthday season over here, but I purchased this Batman fabric a few months ago and I knew the boys would love it. I surprised them over the weekend and made them some simple t-shirts with their age on the front. I told them I'd add a .5 when they hit the halfway mark.

Birthday t-shirt

materials needed:
plain t-shirt
fabric

Simply cut out the number of the age of your child. I did this freehand, but if you're a stickler or unsure of your freehand cutting skills, you could use a stencil.

Then I simply sewed the number to the shirt using a zigzag stitch.

Aren't you glad, as adults, we don't have to wear t-shirts with our age plastered all over the front?

homemade doughnuts

2013-04-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

Doodle wanted to bake something over the weekend so I let him look through my Pinterest Baking page and he chose doughnuts!

I got the recipe for these baked, low fat, glazed doughnuts here at LaaLoosh.

These were really easy to make and they tasted so good! Both of my kids loved them!

We only had green sprinkles in the house, so they were more like belated St. Patrick's Day Doughnuts.

And they looked oh so pretty on this dessert tray (Christmas gift from Mom! Thanks, Mom!)

my heart hurts

2013-04-16T11:35:00.002-07:00

I wanted this to be a place to celebrate crafting and cooking – a lighthearted space where I could share things I love to do. But this Boston Marathon bombing is weighing too heavily on my heart to not address it.

Besides being a horrific and tragic news story, it resonates with me and my relationships to marathons. I completed the L.A. marathon 10 years ago. But more importantly, I’ve cheered on my mom at 4 (maybe 5 or more?) marathons. And just a few weeks ago, the kids hopped on bikes and we went down a few blocks to cheer on a friend who was running the L.A. marathon. When you cheer someone on in a marathon, you don’t just cheer that one person on, you cheer for everyone. It feels more like a team sport than a race.

Yes it is a race, but more importantly, the marathon is a celebration of life and of the human spirit. People from all over the world gather together in this apolitical event that brings out the best. To take away the joy and beauty of this event is evil.

My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy. I am left wondering how I am supposed to parent in this crazy, mad world? Once again, I will squeeze my children a little tighter these days.

train travel with kids

2013-04-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

So I recently posted about our train trek to Santa Fe with the kids, but today, I wanted to focus on exactly what 18 hours of train travel means!

We hadn't done any travel by train as a family and while the days of my kids being obsessed with Thomas the Train are gone, they were still pretty excited about this adventure.

The Union Station in Downtown L.A. is really awesome! I loved all the tile work.

Our train was aptly named the Southwest Chief!

We departed at 6pm but arrived early to the station (it's not like an airport; you don't need to get there early) so we had some time to goof off in the atrium.

Then it was time to find our platform! We felt like we were Harry Potter.

We became close with this porter by the end of the journey!

We booked a family sleeper car for the ride, which included 4 beds. We did a lot of window gazing.

Lots of drawing and card games.

Lots of reading. Even though there was a snack car, I'm glad we brought tons of snacks.

We went up to the dining car for dinner and breakfast (by lunch the next day we were tired of the dining car food, so we skipped it.)

They seat everyone 4 to a table, so if you're not a party of 4, you sit with strangers. I had a blast eavesdropping on the various conversations happening around me.

Then back to the room to get ready for bed. The kids couldn't decide which bed to sleep on. I somehow ended up scrunched on a kid's bed for the night.

And they eventually fell asleep on the biggest bed.

The next morning we awoke to new scenery!

More snacks, more people watching, more games, more reading. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

We got out at Albuquerque to stretch our legs.

There were a number of Amish passengers aboard.

By the end of the journey, they had found even more things to do in our family room that we didn't know existed, like climb the walls.

All in all, it was a great way for us to travel! Unlike a plane or car, there's tons of room to move around and I can't express how thrilling it was to be riding the rails through uninhabited areas. I would definitely recommend a sleeper car for longer travels and bring things to keep your kids busy! (we also brought a DVD player with headphones). Bring snacks and water. And next time I would give the kids a camera to document the journey on their own. Personally, I wouldn't opt for a trip tht exceeded 18 hours, but because we left at night, we had 4 hours up with the kids, 9 sleeping hours and then 5 hours the next day - so that really broke the trip up. I'm already researching our next adventure by train....I'm thinking Grand Canyon???

Roasted and Raw Salad

2013-04-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

I took my inspiration for this salad from this recipe by Sprouted Kitchen.

Roasted and Raw Salad

1 bunch broccolini, chopped

1 chopped leek

6 kale leaves, chopped

1/2 avocado

fresh parsley

olive oil

vinegar

juice from 1/2 lemon

red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Cover the broccolini and leek with olive oil and salt and pepper and roast for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.

Chop the kale and place in bowl with the sliced avocado and parsley.

When broccolini and leeks are done, mix with the kale bowl.

Add oil, vinegar, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste.

Santa Fe Kids Guide

2013-04-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing two weeks off with the kids! We spent the second week in San Diego and the first week in Santa Fe, which turned out to be a very kid friendly vacation!

I wanted to share some of the things we did in case you were curious about visiting Santa Fe!

We decided to travel there by train and fly home. More on the train in another post, but it was definitely an adventure! And 18 hour adventure!

The train dropped us off in Lamy and we took a shuttle to the heart of Santa Fe and had one of these:

We awaited another shuttle to our hotel, Bishop's Lodge. This place is great and super kid friendly! There is a huge pool, horses to ride and feed, a kids playground, hiking trails and free morning pilates and yoga classes for the grownups.

The next day our adventure began with brunch at Pasquals. Right at the heart of town, this place was amazing! Such an interesting, organic and lively menu.

I ordered this crazy belnd of homemade tortillas, eggs, cilantro, peas and plantains smothered in a hot sauce. It was sooooo good!

Across the street is Doodlets...at sort of kitchy shop full of things to looks at. Next up the Santa Fe Children's Museum. This is a must do with kids! We spent hours here in mirrored tunnels:

Using a pulley to lift themselves up in chairs:

exploring the outside tire yard:

configuring waterways at the water table:

Using the sun dial to tell time:

Playing an oversized xylophone:

And playing with what Mr. P. referred to as the "disco worm" in the worm habitat:

After the museum, we walked about 30 yards to the Bataan Memorial Museum. This museum traces New Mexico's involvement in various wars overs the past two hundred years.

They had an amazing collection of historic memorabilia that the boys loved looking at.

On the way back to our hotel we drive by this sign:

Any sign that involves the words "chocolate house" is a must see in my book! Kakawa is full of handmade chocolate items, drinks, bars and bite sized.

The boys sat at their own little table and enjoyed a hot chocolate and a piece of homemade chocolate, while I had a salted caramel.

The next day we went and explored the Railway Yard. This reminded me of the Embarcadero in San Francisco - lots of stores and a huge farmer's market. We ate breakfast at the Flying Star Cafe. The burritos come big in Santa Fe!

And I found a quinoa, egg and veggie dish that hit the spot:

Then we explored the Railyard Park. It was clean and new and so empty! I wondered where all the kids were! Later in the trip I read that the median age in Santa Fe is 50 and it's quite common for the parks to be void of children.

It was right about this time that Mr. P. started complaining about his tooth hurting. Upon further inspection, we noticed his cheek was kind of puffy. This kid needed a dentist and he needed one quickly! Lucky for us we found Hero Dental of Santa Fe, complete with an indoor play area. It turned out Mr. P. had an access on his back molar and needed the tooth pulled! Poor guy!

So it was back to the hotel for some R and R.

But the next day we were on our feet again! We visited the Georgia O'Keefe museum (I ran in first and purchased some postcards of various O'Keefe works featured in the museum. This way the kids could do a little treasure hunt).

We had gluten free cupcakes and coffee down the street and Momo and Co. Not only is the food great here, but they have a whole corner set up for kids with toys and a fake kitchen.

We strolled through town taking in the sites:

Onward to Dinosaurs and More a gem and fossil store in the center of town. Mr. P. used his tooth fairy money to buy a crystal and Doodle got himself a prehistoric shark tooth. We marveled at a lot of gems!

Next was a quick trip up to camel rock!

We were hot and tired after all this running around, but we drove by the Shidoni Sculpture Garden on the way home and we had to check it out!

Santa Fe is such a kid friendly city! We did end up flying home one day early because Mr. P's mouth was so sore, so we didn't get to do everything on my list. However, I've put together the list below and included things we did and the things we did not get to do.

Bishops Lodge www.bishopslodge.com

Santa Fe Children's Museum www.santafechildrensmuseum.org

Pasual's Restaurant www.pasquals.com

Camel Rock Just northwest of US Hwy 84/285 exit 175.

Flying Star Cafe www.flyingstarcafe.com

Mom and Co. www.momoandcompany.com

Dinosaurs and More www.meteoritefossilgallery.com

Railyard Park www.railyardpark.orghttp

Georgia O'Keefe Museum www.okeeffemuseum.org

doodlets http://www.yelp.com/biz/doodlets-shop-santa-fe

Shidoni www.shidoni.com

Kakawa Chocolatier www.kakawachocolates.com

Bataan Museum www.bataanmuseum.com

Things we didn't get to do:

Jackalope www.jackalope.com

Chavez Center (indoor public pool and ice skating rink) http://www.chavezcenter.com

Ten Thousand Waves Spa (you can get a family hot tub) http://www.tenthousandwaves.com

Bandelier National Park http://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm

kidney beans

2013-04-10T09:06:00.002-07:00

I meant to return to posting much sooner, but I've been struggling with a kidney infection. Tomorrow people....I promise a more substantial post tomorrow!!

Hobbit Winner

2013-04-07T11:20:00.002-07:00

Hello! I am back from spring break! Oddly well rested. We took two trips over the past two weeks, one to Santa Fe and the other to San Diego. We did a lot of site seeing and relaxing. We're happy to be home though and even happier that our new goldfish survived our absence. And between the Mad Men premiere and Game of Thrones tonight, I can't think of a better way to end these two weeks!

The winner of the Hobbit DVD giveaway is Mel who wrote, "I follow on GFC. I scored 71% and my favorite character is Baggins. Bilbo Baggins that is. LOL"

Congrats and I will email you today to get your mailing address!

Spring Break

2013-04-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a few more days off to spend time with the kiddos! Be back on Sunday!!

more things to do with eggs

2013-03-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

Because, you just can't have enough:

Thanks Apartment Therapy!

Easter round up

2013-03-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some more inspiring egg dying ideas from Huffington Post!

And don't forget about these sock bunnies I made last year! The tutorial is can be found over at Little Blue Boo. They're still hanging in there (minus a button eye)

best banana bread!

2013-03-27T03:30:00.000-07:00

I signed up to take a bunch of bananas to Doodle's school for fruit salad day, but of course I forgot to take them and ended up stopping at the market on the way to school to get a bunch more bananas. Point being I ended up with a lot more bananas than I meant to have so I tried my hand at some gluten free banana bread. The goal: to make it taste like regular banana bread.

While I love most recipes in Babycake, when I tried their banana bread recipe it ended up dry and not so yummy. Instead, I made this version using almond flour, brown rice flour and goat milk yogurt, keeping it moist and delicious!

you'll need:

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey

4 eggs
4 bananas
1/2 cup plain goat milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup coconut oil
dark chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

I placed all ingredients in my vitamix and mixed well until blended. If you're doing it by hand, mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls, then place wet into dry and mix through.

Coat your bread pan with coconut oil or olive oil so it doesn't stick. Pour batter into pan.

Bake for 50 minutes or until baked through (I use a wooden skewer stick to test)

Let cool and then enjoy!

we have a winner!

2013-03-25T13:26:00.001-07:00

The winner of Return to Nim's Island is Brianna who said,

"I got Edmund."

I will email you to get your mailing address in the next few minutes!

Check out the new Hobbit Giveaway!