Found myself walking around Utrecht the other day with gift card in hand and happened upon some Sculpey. It brought back memories of the 5th grade, when we were making mini replicas of Native American homes. I decided to grab some in the Pearl color and make something fun.
I just molded the top and bottom of each mushroom. Then attached the two pieces together using an Xacto knife and then baked them in the oven according to the directions on the package. These babies are going in the garden.
A couple weekends ago, we took a forty minute trip out to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon. It was absolutely gorgeous. It reminded me that I seriously need to plan a trip to Holland soon.
The weather was perfect. It was so nice to feel the sun on my face after weeks of rain.
On Saturday, we had some people over for a delicious spring brunch and got to reuse a bunch of our wedding decorations.
For drinks, we served mimosas and a crisp shandy (beer, ginger ale, ginger beer, lemon and lime juice). So refreshing!
The Food:
1. Julia Child’s Quiche Lorraine and Mushroom Quiche
2. Strawberry Balsamic Spinach and Arugula Salad (greens were fresh from the farmer’s market the morning of).
3. Fruit & Oat Muesli (I usually add a couple pinches of cinnamon and toasted coconut to this recipe).
4. Rainbow Fruit
The in-laws got me a generous Utrecht Art Supplies gift card for Christmas and it has given me a reason to try new types of art and old types that I haven’t done since I was little.
One of my first purchases was this white chalk drawing pencil that I’ve been wanting for a while, but haven’t been able to find until I stepped into that art store.
Here is the result of my first go with the pencil:
The hard part is getting myself to erase it so I can do another one.
This new pencil is making me want to buy some of these other chalkboard goodies, so I can use it some more.
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It’s spring and we officially have a garden AND it actually looks healthy! I am one of the worst at gardening and I did not think the plants would survive for more than two days. But it has been almost two weeks and they look beautiful.
We’re growing kale, arugula, parsley, chives and lettuce. I can’t wait until they are big enough to eat.
We also grew some collards from seeds indoors and they seem to be growing well, but then again I wouldn’t really know. They look really, really tall…I should probably look into it.
I was inspired to make something plant related to decorate the garden and decided on some garden markers.
Here are some other awesome gardening accessories and decorations I found on Etsy.
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After nineteen long years, I’ll be returning to Thailand! My family visited a couple times when I was younger and I’m so excited to finally return and explore the country - except this time I’ll actually remember the adventures.
These photos are from a trip in the mid ’80s of my sister, dad and mom (I was growing in her belly). My mom looks so beautiful and I love her dress.
Here are some photos from a later trip in the early ’90s when I was a bit older:
My sister and I in our awesome matching outfits that I know you’re super jealous of. The adults are our family friends. (Carol is on the left and I’m on the right).
I made some cake toppers for an Etsy customer earlier this month.
If anyone is interested in cake topper dolls, I’ll be renewing the Etsy listing in the middle of March (I’ve only been doing one a month because they take so much of my time). You can message me on Etsy if you want to secure a spot.
Have an amazing weekend!
It snowed everyday while we were in Alaska this winter. While I did love it, the constant snowfall made for some challenging driving conditions on our trip to Fairbanks, a city six hours north of Anchorage. Thankfully we all made it there and back in one piece, and with a bunch of great stories and photos to share.
Our main reason for going to Fairbanks was to see the northern lights. They didn’t feel like showing themselves while we were there, but we still had an awesome time.
Upon arriving in Fairbanks we checked into our hotel, Wedgewood Resorts (which was more of an apartment than a hotel) and my mom cooked up some delicious Korean BBQ. As soon as we finished eating, we drove another one and a half hours to Chena Hot Springs Resort and headed to the Ice Museum.
Absolutely everything in the building was made of ice - the floor, the walls, stairs, entire hotel rooms, chandeliers and more. They had incredible ice sculptures and an ice chapel, where dozens of couples get married every year. Ian and I pretended to get married again and my sister officiated it :).
We drank $15 appletinis in ice martini glasses while sitting on ice stools at the ice bar - definitely worth it.
We then headed to the infamous natural hot springs. After changing into our swimsuits in the less-than-glamorous locker room, we followed the signs to the hot springs. We passed the indoor swimming pool and discovered a nearly-frozen door to the outside - to the hot springs. We had to walk in the -30ºF weather (I kid you not) wearing nothing but our swimsuits through a dark tunnel of an unknown length to reach the springs. After only about thirty feet, we stepped into glorious 105ºF water - it was absolutely amazing.
After a couple hours of relaxing in the hot springs, we got out and drove on the icy roads back to Fairbanks. The next morning, we made a quick detour to North Pole, AK, “where the spirit of Christmas lives year ‘round”, to see the decor and the gigantic Santa Claus. It was not worth it, but at least I can say I’ve been to “the” North Pole.
Our trip to Alaska ended with a sweet Lez Zeppelin (all-female Led Zeppelin cover band) concert at the Alyeska Resort.
We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I was still super ecstatic when I got this in the mail from my mom. She is so sweet and romantic!
Ian and I spent Valentine’s Day getting cheap, delicious and unhealthy burgers from Brunch Box.
(The burger on the right is my favorite burger ever and it’s called the YouCanHasCheeseburger - a cheeseburger between two texas-toast grilled cheese sandwiches.)
It was a good day for my belly.
Ian and I made pie last week. It was amazing. Try this recipe. You won’t regret it.
I substituted tapioca for the cornstarch and topped off the pie with some homemade Cardamom-Vanilla Whipped Cream. Delish!
