new eyes

Fixed a couple of eye problems this week. The monkey was puppy-chewed and the cat was baby-sucked (yes, Enzo actually sucked the eyes off this little stuffed cat when he was a babe--I just recently re-found it). They are both sentimental to me so I splurged for the costly eye surgery.

(P.S. The cat is sitting atop a soy sauce bottle--that's how small it is! She was given to me when I was leetle and somehow I've managed not to loose her, for long anyway.)

cookin' machine

Since having Enzo I've realized how much of life is cyclical. Nothing provides such a poignant example as having a kid. Just when you think you've reached a point that you've got something figured out (or maybe you cannot seem to figure something out), things inevitability change. And from the looks of it that's just the way it is.
Which brings me to my cooking. And I'm sure everyone is like this--sometimes you are really into cooking and sometimes, not so much. Well, apparently this week I really was. Last night we tried the recipe I got out of a Gourmet Magazine my mom gave me. I am always a sucker for anything with a Thai flavor and have been looking for an excuse to use the metal skewers we got last year, so when I saw this recipe I was in. And the dip to go with it. I really loved the chicken while Tony thought the dip was the very best. While we were all outside hanging out by Tony and the grill, Enzo said, "Let's have a picnic!". And since he is the boss of us, we did.



And later on, I baked the cookies Enzo and I had made earlier in the day. They're called "pesto coins" and contain butter, flour, parm, garlic, basil, and pine nuts. I had such high hopes for these, but they were just mediocre. I was so exited since Enz is always requesting to make cookies (but no one in our household really likes cookies) and I finally thought I'd found a "cookie" that we'd love as it's savory, not sweet. They were just OK, but we did have a fun time making them. Anybody know any good savory cookie recipes?

That's Good. That's Bad.

This is the second part of the gift for my friend Ana's (still unborn at this moment)baby. Initially, I was going to color copy this image and frame it in a double matted frame. A former picture-framer, I knew it would cost a fortune to have one made so I looked for a ready-made. Not finding one I liked and impatient with the search, I realized that as a painter I could more quickly paint it myself. And so I did.

It's from an out-of-print children's book called, "That's Good, That's Bad" illustrated by Aliki. I would have linked, but I couldn't find anything worth linking to. Basically the plot is as such: the tiger wants to eat the boy but the boy tells him he's already being chased by a mean rhinoceroses. The boy goes on to tell the tiger all the run-ins he's been having with the rhino,
" I got down and picked up a stone and threw it at Rhino".
"Good, " said Tiger. "Good for you."
"It didn't hit him, " said Boy.
"That's Bad, " said Tiger.

And on and on.

aquarium

Enzo and I hitched a ride to the aquarium with my family. We had a great time, even on the 2-hour-long rides there and back. My most favorite part was how everyone (in my fam) seemed to scoop up Enzo at different points and enthusiastically bring him to their favorite displays, explaining all the different things they were seeing. His favorite part: the shark tank, obviously.

a good day

This past week has been a pretty rough one as we all adjust to Clementine and her to us. It reached a distressing crescendo when on Tuesday, Enzo and I returned home to a diarrhea mess that took forever to clean and which I had an unrelenting audience to. The dog was running around wildly and barking while poor Enz unhappily watched his mommy as he was continuously told to "Stay back!" The electricity went out shortly after (still cleaning...) and was off for the next 3 hours.

But as we all know, it takes days like that to make us really appreciate all the rest. And so yesterday I declared it would be a good day for us. With Tony off from work, we all hung out and relaxed. Towards dinnertime, I reached near-euphoria even, as Tony grilled our dinner while Enzo and Clemmie splashed around in the blow-up pool and I sat back and embroidered little "L"s into some newly thrifted cotton napkins. And with a semi-cool breeze in the air, it just couldn't have gotten much better.

And so it was at least after dinnertime that I walked back into the dining room to clear the table and discovered Clementine STANDING ON the table, licking out of the sour cream container. Good stuff.

Clementine

This week we became the proud parents of a Beautiful girl we named Clementine ( I just love that name-my friend Karla suggested it when we were discussing names). She is super sweet and lovey. As reality sets in and I realize how much work is in it I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. It seems a puppy and a 3-year-old aren't the easiest combination (but luckily they are one of the cutest). Over the past 5 days I've felt a spectrum of emotions about the entire situation, from complete despair to just mild despair mixed in with some contentedness. Actually there have been some truly happy moments and she is really cute and sweet.

oh just about that picture over there

This is the first thing I've done (art-wise) in a while that I've been really happy with. I've been struggling for months on this big oil painting and it's really been driving me crazy and causing me to question my skills. It seems every time I work on it the progress is as such: procrastinate for 20 minutes, start painting..some successful things are happening (20 minutes)...last 20 minutes:mess up successful things, feel aggravated. And so yesterday when I sat down and painted the above self portrait in about 40 minutes, I felt accomplished! I know it's nothing too great, but for me I realized I need to just slap it down, not worry so much and get back to my roots in small format. Because for me, small-ish is the way to go.
Now if only I can m-er f-ing finish that big painting...

Another Frankly

Two years back, for Enzo's first birthday, I made him a stuffed bear as big as Enzo himself. As usual, I didn't have a pattern just an idea. As my friends and family know, I am a self-taught, awful sewer with a decent sense of dimension. And although my sewing projects usually turn out pretty decent looking, I always picture a good sewer looking over my shoulder, completely appalled by my lack of knowledge and patience. Just shocked.
Back to the bear: Enzo named him "Frankly". Last year, one of my best girlfriends got pregnant so I made her a miniature Frankly. Enzo like that one so much, he got one too. Well, this year another bestest girlfriend got pregnant so she is getting one too (I just finished). Hers is the little guy on the left whose massive deformities are well hidden by big Frankley's paw. Thanks big Frankley's paw!

i like it

This is another (now about 2 months old) before & after project that I really loved the outcome of. It took about 89 coats of white paint to get it lookin' so sharp (and some hardware changing-out) but I think it was well worth it. It stemmed from my extreme need (not want) to display my cool mid-century-ish stuff.

Before & After

This was a blog I posted on myspace a month or so back. I just realized all I had to do was cut & paste the blog into a new posting here and there we go! So, because of how easy it was, I'll probably be re-posting a couple more.

This is a Before & Afters as it seems like that is my life lately. Lots going on 'round here, what with the nesting and all.. As much as I really love being someone who is always tweaking things to make them more my (our) style, it can be a bit much sometimes (lately). It's still fun and the outcomes are always the best part.



We found the dresser a few weeks back at Habitat for 9 bucks. You can tell why..it really did look bad. So, some sanding, painting, hardware buying ($8) and vee-oh-la.



Next up, a old-lady-style Sears purse and some vision (maybe? depends on your style). Straps off, buttons on, new purse. As I was telling Sam, I am just plain sick of the floppy purse trend. My stuff winds up being a big pile of junk. I prefer my junk separated into neater junk sections.
Oh! And those cat prints in the last picture are a clue into the latest and greatest and BIGGEST Before and After. Whoa. It's cool.