Amazing Commercial

I wanted to share this amazing commercial I found on youtube with music from Stina Nordenstam. I absolutely LOVE how realistically the clothing imitates sea life!

S'more Marshmallows Please!

Finally I have marshmallow-making pictures for you! I'm so excited to share these because the process was so much fun. I can't recommend trying these enough - I got the recipe from Martha Stewart, and it was a surprisingly simple process. The most difficult part is making sure you get the sugar and syrup to the correct temperature (basically entails watching the thermometer - not exactly brain surgery), and pouring all that hot sugary goodness into the gelatin without spilling. A wee bit scary! Once you get that done, you start whipping it into a beautiful white, billowy cloud.


I made that big bowl in my senior year ceramics class at school. I've only used it one other time to make monster cookies (more on those later), because it already feels like an heirloom bowl that I REALLY don't want to break. I wanted to use it on this though because the marshmallows are an anniversary gift, and I like to use my most special stuff for anniversaries :)


Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

It was SO much fun to pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan - so magical how soft and white it was! I let it sit in the fridge overnight, then my plan was to cut it up before going to work the next morning. It was slightly LESS fun trying to get it out. heh. I was nearly panicked when it refused to come out, but I finally coaxed it out, got it cut up and coated in powdered sugar. The cutting was more time consuming that I thought, but still fun. Had I not been trying to get to work, it would have been great :)


The finished result is the stuff of angels!

And here was the official anniversary s'more! It was enough sugar to kill a person (not that I was aiming for that, mind you). The verdict was to leave the chocolate out altogether, and substitute a thin layer of peanut butter. I have to admit, the peanut butter tastes wonderful with the marshmallow - you should definitely try it! If you must have chocolate though, try dark chocolate that is less sweet that milk chocolate. The marshmallows more than make up for any lost sweetness from the chocolate.

Coming soon...photos of the completed puff-sleave jacket!

Penny Playlist - I love you!

I am absolutely psyched! A couple of days ago I received my penny playlist from Blaze with the most amazing mix of music, and it's all I've been listening to. I can't tell you how much I love this music - it's so COOL! I can only dream of being so cool :) Thank you Blaze for such an awesome compilation! Perhaps I have a cool mix cd in me somewhere...

In other news, here is a pathetic "before" picture of my jacket I'm ripping apart (mentioned in the previous post). I, uh, forgot to take a proper before picture so you could appreciate the boxiness of the fit. This is after I've ripped the seams of the arms, but I've placed it so you can have an idea of the sleave shape. My favorite part of this jacket is the turquoise piping on the lining - I'm going to do my best to preserve that in all the adjusting.


And now the best for last! Here is the delectible candy my dear sweet hubby gave me on Tuesday. Most of this sugar is now coursing it's way through me, creating a delightful buzz I haven't experienced in a long time. It's nice to have a good candy binge once in a while :)

Gummy sharks, how I love thee! But I'm tellin' ya, the giant sweetarts were the show-stealer this time. Omigosh they are SO good. And if you try them, don't bother smacking them on a counter to break it up as the wrapper suggests (horrors!). The are best enjoyed in a giant tablet of delicious sugar totally filling up your mouth. I have only one left - the holy grail of flavors - grape!

Butt Needing to be in Gear

Ok. I am ashamed of self. I've been lazy about blogging my latest projects and adventures. My pictures are at home, but every time I go home I start watching What Not to Wear and eating from the massive bag of candy my sweet hubby gave me for our 6th anniversary :) Every year we give each other the traditional anniversary gifts - this year was either iron or candy. I made him a batch of homemade marshmallows (pictures coming!), and he got me a big ole bag of my favorite candy from Dylan's Candy Bar (Ralph Lauren's daughter runs this cool place). YUMMERS!

So while I get the old fanny in gear, I want to share with you a mighty goal which I will soon aim for. Alrighty now - this little number above is the result I would like to get after refashioning a J Crew jacket I have and hardly ever wear. I tried to find a picture of it online, but sadly it is out of fashion already - boxy, 3/4 length sleeves with a single button closure. My plan is to adjust the fit of the body so it's cute and tailored (me being the tailor, I don't know if that's a good thing or not), then completely remove the sleeves, cut them into puff sleeves, and sew back on. Mmmm. This is a hefty project, but I think I'll be able to do it. I can feel the obsession starting....t'won't be long now before I'm lost in the furvor that is (dum-dum-duuuum...) the puff-sleeve jacket!

Papercutting and Decoupage Unite!

I have lately been head over heels in love with papercutting. I first saw Angry Chicken's gorgeous designs, then came across Elsa Mora's phenomenal work. After googling it and finding more and more beautiful designs, I just HAD to try it. Not only that, but I had the uncontrollable urge to decoupage it onto a box. My sisters and I have always been very close, so I wanted to include the three of us holding hands - this was particularly inspired by one of Amy's three sister's papercut. I also wanted to include things that reminded me of my eldest sister. We always used to suck the nectar from honeysuckles (that's what those weird flower thingies are if you didn't know), and of course I had to include Icelandic horses since my dear sister makes her livelihood with them.



This image is made up of very sentimental stuff. My favorite thing about it is the sense of calm. It makes me imagine a little world where it's just the three of us out on an adventure.



I also decided to add some honeysuckles to the sides to break up all that green.


Honestly, I have no idea what this box is for. Someone at work was throwing it out because they didn't need it, but it was in perfect working order. I guess it's an index card sorter? Maybe? Anyway it locks, and I have always had a big thing for lock boxes - just ask my sisters :) I thought this would be particularly useful for miss horsey sister since she is always around her little students who might mess with her office stuff. This way if she has something really important and confidential, she can lock it up in a super cute container.


So what do you think of combining papercutting and decoupage? So far I really love it. It seems like such a logical extension of the craft, though I haven't seen anything quite like it online yet. If you want to try it, I recommend getting something more substantial than copy paper. First of all, copy paper is NOT the best thing to cut with an xacto knife, and secondly it is NOT the best thing to withstand coats of mod podge. I went with a slightly off-white stationary paper. Not too much heavier than copy paper, but a great deal more durable and pretty. I just used tissue paper on the background. I wish I had used something a bit more exciting for the background now - maybe dark purple or blue. But green works. It's very earthy, and the image has a lot of grass, flowers and mushrooms - and heck there are even horses grazing.

What Not to Wear (with exceptions)

I've been completely obsessed with that show on TLC, What Not to Wear. I love that show! It's truly amazing how big a difference clothes can make (and hair/makeup). I'm starting to consider looking for new & different things once I get money enough to do some shopping. It's difficult for me to admit that outward appearance matters enough to at least partially control how you feel. It certainly affects how others interact with you, even those who know you best. My worse fear with style and fashion is to become shallow and overly concerned with how I look - not to mention hyper-critical of how others look. I guess the best way to look at it would be presenting yourself nicely as a favor to everyone who sees you. Like making sure your home looks nice on the outside is a favor to anyone walking by. I like that attitude - I think I will try to remember that, especially on those lazy days when I'm tempted to go out looking like a bum :)

The main rule I completely disagree with on that show is that anyone over 35 shouldn't wear a mini-skirt. ABSURD! If you look hot, wear a mini-skirt. Look at Tina Turner for crying out loud. Look at my MOM for crying out loud. I fully intend to wear mini-skirts well into old age as long as my legs hold out. Wish 'em luck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO POOKY!

It is my dear sister's birthday today, and I wanted to give her a shout out. YO!

Note to pooky: I think you're NUTS for not eating cake today, but whatever floats your boat. Perhaps you could help yourself to some corn like this here horse. Golden and deelishus. I hope a ton of fun stuff happens today - and go see Iron Man!! It's freakin' awesome. I love you!