Cake + Cloth Napkins = Impromptu Tea Time!

I finally went grocery shopping after trying to bleed out my fridge/freezer/pantry.
I have butter, oil and eggs again.

Yay!

I can finally make a chocolate cake

Which prompted me to finally sew cloth napkins that have been on my to-sew list for years now.

YEARS, I tell you, to sew up two squares together

The fabric was even all cut up and ready to go...

Sometimes, I don't understand myself.

Napkin tutorial: Purl Bee's Spring Napkins (mine turned out more fiesta-ish than spring, which needs to be rectified)

Cake recipe: Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cake (note from the wise -- if using a springform/cheesecake pan, cover the outside of the pan with aluminum foil to prevent the water from seeping in while baking - else you'll end up like me, with a soggy cake that needs to be dried out  --- it was fine after microwaving slices for about 30 seconds prior to eating, but still...soggy cake is gross)

Lets Go Picking!

Welcome to my little square foot garden!

(LOVE my little harvest basket)

Tomatoes are doing well -- I was under the impression that tomatoes should be in abundance in the middle of summer...If that is the case, my tomatoes (and eggplants, for that matter) are late bloomers

My Japanese (Ichiban) eggplants are doing well -- it has yielded quite an abundance (to me, at least) of fruit.
Whereas the regular eggplant has had 2...one of which is still in the mid-stages of growing.

It currently has about 4-5 that should be ready for picking in the next week of so, with some tiny little babies still growing (looks like a little Christmas light bulb!)

A regular harvest for me

Sometimes in the span of a few days, a week, or longer than that -- it really depends on the plants - I do not treat it with fertilizer. I don't do much other than water them occasionally, to be honest.

Seems pitiful in comparison to serious gardeners. But it is sufficient for this household of 1 1/2.

Even with these meager pickings, I am at a loss of what to do with them sometimes, as there are only so many eggplant/tomato/basil cravings I get.

For today, it shall be a simple omelet type mash



In other parts of the garden, my lavender in the side garden is going into second bloom...love my lavender!

 

And a random picture of Isabel as she went to school this morning --

She looks like a skater girl/tomboy.

Rarely does she ever dress like this - it's the baggy jeans that gives that impression. Again, another outfit courtesy of her dad. 

They aren't really my style, but whatever floats her boat. She is still cute as a button 

(with a little hooligan hiding within that cuteness)

Little Gifts

For the girl, a book, a simple skirt and a reversible top:

With little washi tape tags to indicate the size

And for her big brother, just some random little things, so that he has something too:

I am quite enamored  with these little bags -- I think it would be perfect to put Christmas (4 more months!) gifts in.

I couldn't find a tutorial for making an unlined drawstring bag when I was settling down to make them for the 2 kids, so I winged my way through, using a buttonhole to weave the drawstrings through

I even had half a mind to post a tutorial for this, but then I had a light bulb moment....

Wrong search words in Google.
 "Not lined" does not give you much in terms of results. "Unlined" was the correct search term.
Doi!

I made another for one of Isabel's preschool teachers, this time using the "correct" method.

I don't know...I think I prefer using a buttonhole. Except I would alter it to include interfacing in order to strengthen the area, since it is unlined.

5 Random, Mundane Things #1

1) Obsessed with this song:

The church I have been attending have had a turnover of their choir/singing group (with a fantastic new lead/guitar player) and they have been introducing a lot more contemporary songs -- this one was played with a strong drum beat (like the march of an army) and is sing-at-the-top-of-your-voice FANTASTIC

 2) Still awed by the fact that I am actually GROWING food. It is a humbling and amazing experience. And quite fool proof as I have basically been ignoring my plot, except for random watering and weeding.

3) Books I recently finished and loved

The One and Only Ivan

Tears fell, my heart ached, I wondered about the cruelty of humans and I don't want to go to a circus ever, EVER again

 It is a children's book, which I have a soft spot for. 

Edenbrooke

A historical romance, my favorite kind. I read a lot of these, but this is definitely one of my favorites, along with She Walks in Beauty  by Siri Mitchell.

I borrow my books from the library because if I bought all the books I wanted to read, I would go broke and will live in a cardboard box under a bridge.

But this is one I will be purchasing for my own library 

(that sends a thrill down my spine---"my OWN library")

 Some of my old friends and I are trying to form a book club where we will read and talk about books. We all live on different continents, with probably very different tastes in reading materials (I prefer to read those with a hopeful air, happy endings and basically something, that at the end of it, will make me have a new perspective on life and hope for the future. One of my friends prefer sad books -- She loves Wuthering Heights..I wanted to smack Heathcliff, and shake Catherine)...so it shall be interesting.

I am excited.

4) Since I love historical fiction, it is probably a given that I like period movies and shows as well. I don't watch much TV, but PBS has made available fantastic shows

Call the Midwife

via

Set after the war in the 1950s, it follows the life of midwives in London's East End.

The second season is still up for viewing here

Downton Abbey

via

Also made available via PBS, it is about lives of aristocrats (the Earl of Grantham and his family) in the post-Edwardian era

I have recently signed up for a trial of Amazon Prime and to my delight, they have made this series available for free (All THREE seasons)

Whereas Netflix has taken down Season 1 (the one and only season offered on streaming) from their online selections. 

Boo Netflix.

5) Trying to be super fantastic mom and make inspired lunches for Isabel as she starts her new school. Japanese containers rock.

Sunflower butter sandwich, hard-boiled egg, fish nuggets and a tomato FROM MY GARDEN

And I don't know how American kids can survive (and actually LIKE) having some form of a sandwich day after day after day for their lunch. 

And So, A New Chapter Begins

Her bag was packed, and she has new shoes to boot, courtesy of daddy (Actually, her whole outfit is almost all courtesy of daddy)

Her new adventure was about to begin.

We woke up early and had breakfast

(That's not really Snapple -- it's orange juice in a Snapple bottle)

I packed her lunch...

We snapped some pictures...

And it was off to school!

We got there a tad early (a rare occurrence, and will probably never be repeated again...we are never early. We are never on time either), so we snapped more pictures

I am usually not in pictures with Isabel, so this is a field day for me!

And the teacher came up, called her students and whisked them away.

John and I were like, "Is that it?!" and stood around at loose ends for awhile.
It was very anti-climatic.

I don't think that Isabel even had a chance to say goodbye before going off into the classroom.

A few hours later, I came back to make sure she got on the bus (and really, it was to familiarize myself with her new routine)

 

And it is goodbye again.

I can just gobble her up, she is so stinking cute (and yes, I am probably overly biased here)

Her verdict?

She loves her kindergarten

But dislikes the afterschool place.

The bus ride was apparently "HORRIBLE", as she loudly exclaimed.
In public. Strangers were amused.

All in all, she had a good day because:

And So, A Chapter Ends...

Summer is over. 

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new school year.

This time of year has never affected me before. but this year... TOMORROW (!!!), Isabel will embark on the next chapter of her life as a kindergartener.

She has grown so much

She is starting to go on monkey bars by herself now.  

 

She is a bit of a monkey herself too

She can do a cartwheel! We practiced for a whole week in the evenings.

Yes.

We.

 

And she is still a pretty dismal singer

 

Her reaction after watching herself on the video: "I didn't sing like that! That wasn't me!!"

Uh-huh...

I am sad that she will be leaving all the kids that she has grown up with since she was 2 months old. 

Her best friend at school is feeling quite sad too...

And the boy Isabel intends to marry gave her a stuffed puppy to remember him by

(sweetest thing, EVER. My heart melts. I think I am more affected by this gesture than she is)

We went to each of the rooms at her daycare today to give out little tokens of appreciation to the teachers and caretakers who have looked after her and nurtured her and kissed away her boo-boos when I was unable to because I had to work.

These people have been with her almost as long as I have, and I don't know how they do this, year after year of saying goodbye to kids who will most definitely not remember them or remember all that they did for them.



Heart-wrenching.

It has been 4 and a half years of joy and worry, contentment and  frustration, guilt of feeling like I can never do enough and pride that she has turned out the way she did (Though there are more that some parts of her personality that just makes me want to throw up my hands and give up)

And the journey has barely even started. 

Momma loves you, my not-so-baby girl.

Things To Do

If only my weekend to do list was that simple, I'll be set.

Whilst waiting 10,000 years for my junk of a work computer to finish running a (VERY SIMPLE) query,  I sew to distract myself from tearing out my hair.

A part of the "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!" present, made a simple skirt that I think will fit a 12/18 month child....I hope.

It's been awhile since Isabel was that young, and the skirt looked impossibly tiny to me. Was Isabel really that little once upon a time?

The kite applique is a complete rip-off from Homemade by Jill when she posted one in she made in her Instagram.

I never quite liked cutesy detail on children's clothes, but this one appealed to me because the song "Let's Go Fly a Kite!" from Mary Poppins played in my mind throughout. 

I love that song. 

Isabel and I sing it together

It took perhaps an hour to get this done. Simple, quick and fulfilling. 

Meanwhile, that computer still isn't done yet.

Evolutions of a Study/Library/Office

One of my dreams was always to have a room that is to be deemed a "study". Just one of those quirks of mine.

When we bought the house all those years ago, there was an extra room that was designated as such.

This room was where I would pay the bills. That was the extent of its use for a long time. Eventually, it became the place I sewed, and now, craft with Isabel.

The first time the room was painted, circa 2008 thereabouts, I went with a darker green for a masculine, serious feel...

Looking back, I cringe. It looks dreary, and boring and empty.
I don't even LIKE green.

Then I went through my white phase, picture circa 2011:

 

Room is still equally empty - I've never been good with accessorizing

But the room feels lighter, more airy, more girly.

And here she is now:

With actual bookcases...filled with books, books and more books. I think that was what was missing all those years ago...

Books are an important part of my life. Always have been. And I am glad to be reunited with them.

A glitzy chandelier is also an obsession.
This room is by far the most "colorful" room in the house, with the exception of Isabel's bedroom.

The walls have something beyond paint on them

The room is done (for now -- just need two more parson chairs to complete the seating)

I came across lots of old pictures of Isabel while looking for the original study pictures -- my darling, my love (although she really hates it when I call her my love...that term of endearment is apparently reserved for her future boyfriend to call her)