Month: March 2015

garden frolics.

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What to do when work flies you home for the weekend, it’s sunny out, and your parents are big fans of the outdoors? Frolic to the nearest botanical garden! My Dad packed his fancy camera, we donned our big hats, and we were off to the Los Angeles Arboretum in Arcadia. It was my first visit to the garden, which is surprising because I grew up less than ten miles away. You can easily spend a whole day wandering around. We only stayed for a couple of hours and saw a little more than half of the garden, but we discovered so many unusual and beautiful plants, and took so many pictures. The garden is sprinkled with various sculptures and decor, but we also happened to go while they were setting up for an Art in the Garden exhibit so there were whimsical pieces throughout. My Mom had fun modeling and I enjoyed impromptu garden lessons. The wildlife were fun to spot, too. Until the next family mini-vacay! How do you like to spend your family afternoons? Share below!

erin’s errands.

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I got off work a little early today so I was able to run a few errands. These errands were far from being chores though. They were more like crafty adventures. My first stop was Urban Ore Ecopark which sells eco-friendly salvaged goods. From doors to dishes and books to baskets, you can come in for one thing and leave with much more. Make sure to look in nooks and crannies for something unexpected. I came in today for some craft supplies. I’m planning a dreamcatcher workshop and got a tip from a crafty friend that she saw a box of metal hoops here. She gave me specifics on how to find them in the store. And, just as she described, I found them in a box tucked away at the bottom of a shelf that you had to carefully navigate to so furniture wouldn’t stab you. The things we do for crafts. There must have been over 200 hoops in there. I selected 42 and paid just $3 plus tax! A steal if you ask …

green things.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! To get into the festive spirit I thought I’d share photos of all things green and little stories from my life. Wear your greens. My name, Erin, means “peace” and is the poetic name for Ireland. This is easily a top reason for why St.Patrick’s day is a fun holiday for me. In preparation I like to take out my green clothing items and make sure I put together a pinch-proof outfit. I’m still relatively new at my job so I doubt anyone would actually pinch me if I wasn’t wearing green; plus, that’s got to be a violation of sorts, but you never know… Eat your greens. Kabocha squash is one of my favorite foods. Ok, so technically it’s orange, but it’s green on the outside! I love it in pinakbet and pumpkin curry, but I never think it’s a high enough ratio of pumpkin to the rest of the dish. When I make pinakbet it probably ends up being half kabocha. Yum. Look at all the green. The Bay …

t-shirt dress.

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T-shirts – I’m not a big fan because I have sweaty armpits. No really, I sweat pretty easily. Sleeveless numbers and cardigans are my preference – my arms stay warm but my pits can air out should it get a little hot. Now, loose t-shirts I can get into, mostly for pajama wearing, but also for DIY-ing. Here’s a shirt I found while at Sticky Art Lab one afternoon. It was the last XL shirt and as soon as I saw it I said “This can be a dress.” My friend, an avid sewer, looked at me and said “It CAN be” and we gave each other another look like we were thinking the same thing. We were. We scheduled a time to meet up for a craft night — t-shirt dress edition. Now, I’m a bit hesitant to have people in my bubble. In this case, for body measurements. It’s just a weird feeling for me, much like disrobing for your lady doctor (Do it, Ladies! It saves lives!) or masseuse (Also do this because massages are …

a pot of gold.

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It’s almost St. Patrick’s day, and whether you’re throwing a celebration or not, here is a super simple snack you can feel good about sharing with company or eating all by yourself. — Popcorn with homemade flavor dust. First up: Nutritional Yeast Popcorn None of that weird powdered cheese business, just that weird flakey yeast business. Nutritional yeast is all natural, great for the lactose intolerant, and tastes like cheese with a slight nuttiness. Pop your popcorn on the stove or with a popcorn machine. Toss with melted butter and sprinkle with nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. It’s that easy. As a general rule of thumb use: 1/2 c popcorn kernels 4 tbsp unsweetened butter, melted 1/2 c nutritional yeast s & p to taste If nutritional yeast isn’t your style, go through your spice rack and pull out some of your favorite flavors. I mixed up some taco seasoning. Use the same recipe as above, but replace the nutritional yeast with 1/2 c taco spice. Taco seasoning: 1 tbsp chili powder, 1/4 tspn garlic powder, 1/4 …

fabric fieldtrip.

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Fieldtrip! So, I’ve been sort of planning a wedding. The only thing I’ve really decided on is a color scheme. I figured a trip to the fabric store for swatches could inspire potential wedding crafts so I spent Saturday  afternoon working my way through a couple of Berkeley’s finest. I was on the hunt for rose golds, blushes, ivories, pops of gold, and black accents. My first visit was Stone Mountain & Daughter. I’ve been here on many occasions, and every time I visit I wish I was a lot o’ bit better at machine sewing. There are so many beautiful cotton prints, and they even have a great selection of scrap fabric. I often times forget my reason for coming in and get distracted by all the colors, textures (particularly the faux fur), and sample projects. My second and last stop was Discount Fabrics. So. Much. Fabric. In bulk! I imagine if I was a fashion designer or an upholstery enthusiast, this would be my playground. Again, completely distracted from my main goal, but I came across …

selfie stick.

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Before the selfie stick there were pictures I took of myself with my arm extended. I was good at it. Observe. Enter the selfie stick. I’m still a little embarrassed to admit I own one (they were giveaways at an event I went to), but I will admit they are great for taking full body photos of yourself when you are trying on clothes and for some group photos, of course. I’ve only used it on these two occasions so far. The first occasion: trying on a dress. I bought a cape dress and I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. I snapped some photos and sent them to my fashion forward friends. Selfie stick = helpful! Oh, and I kept the dress. The second time I used it was during my Craft Lady Collective meeting. I really don’t like when the stick shows in pictures so I did my very best to keep it hidden. I’m going to have to work on this. Meet my maker friends: Angel of Todos Organics and Erin of Tables & Spoons.  …

the other ‘w’ word.

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SF Etsy put together a meet-up event at Weebly (Am I allowed to say that on WordPress?) headquarters for an informative session on creating a unique website for our crafty businesses. My crafty side hustle is hosted on Weebly so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to learn about new-to-me features and ways to possibly upgrade my site. The head of PR pulled out her crafty skillz (with a ‘z’ because she’s hardcore) and decorated the meeting space with the cutest DIYs. Local Weebly customer Rocko’s Ice Cream Tacos was even serving up tasty treats. The evening was super informative and super fun. I met some local crafters and saw some old friends. Oh, and I won the raffle for an Amazon gift card. Sweet! Even sweeter, there was so much dessert we each took home a box of treats. When I got home I got ready for bed and sat down to update my site. Make sure to swing on over to Feed the Fish co and tell me what you think. The newest features are my online shop and craft …

gallery art.

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I was recently asked to contribute to an art installation collaboration for a local art gallery. What?! I know, so official. I only had one night to think about my contribution so I decided to just show up and let art happen when I got to the studio to create my piece. The installation was to be a collaboration of Bay Area artists to showcase “Oakland.” Eighteen artists were invited to design foam boards to be installed on a metal structure that rotated the boards. Artists Nick Dong and Corrie Messinger were the masterminds behind the piece and we were invited to Nick’s Oakland studio to create. Walking into a legit art studio was the cheese balls (and I love cheese balls!). Lots of space and natural light, all the art supplies and tools you could ever need…amazing. The piece I created is called Fly. It started with a sketch. I was inspired by a butterfly and wanted to incorporate the whimsy of their wings. I went back and forth with colors and feelings. After all, people were going to have …

nailed it.

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It’s the Lenten season and I decided to give up one of my favorite activities: mani-pedis! Of course, I didn’t think about it until the day after Ash Wednesday, so I didn’t run out and book a last minute appointment on Fat Tuesday. Thus, my nails are, for lack of better phrase, toe up. My nails have grown out since my last appointment and all the beautiful gel pink #14 is starting to peel off. Also, look at that middle nail. Actually, no, don’t look! Scroll down. I’m thinking this cleanse will be good for my nail health. It’ll let them breathe and get more sunlight. Also, for the last eight months I’ve been addicted to shellac manicures which make my nails more brittle. Letting them grow out without paint will be a good thing. This is what I’m going to keep telling myself to resist heading to the salon. I get my nails done so much that I am officially out of cutting practice. My mani/pedicurist can tell when I’ve cut my own nails. …