sad day for crafters

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!)