Month: August 2015

AFOL.

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We went to Brick Fest for my nephew’s 12th birthday. He taught me some new lingo – “AFOL.”  It means “adult fan of Lego.” There really is no age limit to being a Lego fan though. I had been hoarding a box of Lego bricks since college, and, yes, I did buy them while in college. Talk about AFOLs. I just couldn’t get rid of them. And then, a few days before Brick Fest it dawned on me: I should make Lego shoes! Because when going to Brick Fest, you must walk around in Lego-dazzled shoes. Am I right? My Dad dug up my box of Lego bricks from the garage, I grabbed a pair of wedges from Payless, and then I got to hot glueing! An hour later: Lego shoes! Hoarder schmoarder. I have a pair of Lego wedges now! These were the perfect accessory for the occasion. My feet have never been photographed as much as at Brick Fest. Ha! Happy birthday Nephew! AFOLs!!

beautiful bowls.

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I love soup. Even if it’s warm out, I’m game for a hot bowl of comforting pho, chicken noodle, curry, hot & sour, egg drop, sinigang, soon do boo…Mmm. Feast your eyes on these beautiful bowls of comforting broths, tender meats, and fresh greens. Beef Noodle Soup While waiting out an oil change, the fiancé and I found ourselves having lunch at Taiwan Bento in Uptown Oakland. I had the beef noodle soup which was especially delightful on this day because I hadn’t had it in at least seven months. The pickled greens, melt-in-your-mouth beef, and the sweet carrots provided a nice balance to a rich, savory broth. Recommendation: pair with the house-made soy bean milk. Korean Noodle Soup Ah, Spoon, one of my favorite East Bay eats for two big reasons. (1) They have delicious spicy tofu soup. I can’t get enough! And (2) they open at 10a so I can get a Korean soup fix for weekend brunch! On this visit, I had symptoms of an oncoming migraine and I was feeling dehydrated. …

sj made.

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Last week I hung out with my crafty friend Angel of Todos Organics at the SJ Made Summer Series event at Whole Foods, San Jose. She had a booth and I was her assistant for the day. I met some super fun people and thought you should meet them, too! My friend set up her booth with her botanically infused coconut oils. Behold, her signature collection (Calm, Heal, Love, and Warm) and limited edition scents (Lift and Mind). I enjoyed being a helper coconut lady for the day. Mostly, I liked bragging about her products because they are super great. I swear by the Heal coconut oil on all bug bites and dry, itchy skin. Our neighbor was Laura Johnston of Le Animalé. She makes the cutest polymer clay creations, a line of totems she calls “fat-fats.” I spotted hummingbirds and I picked the fattest/cutest one. Throughout the day I spent a lot of time admiring all of her little creatures. Fun fact: Lauren is also a painter! Sarah White of Suite Sailing Soaps is …

coastal life.

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Front yard pool parties, bonfires, and no pants — A typical weekend day in surf city, or perhaps a typical day in general? I recently visited Huntington Beach for a friend’s wedding. Along with wedding festivities I had to squeeze in some getaway time, too. My fiancé and my first stop: our favorite poke place. Ok, maybe it’s the only poke place we know but we do know our tuna and this place has got the good stuff. Behold, his and hers poke bowls from North Shore Poke Co. I picked the spiciest sauce on the menu (Kalihi-kine) and paired my poke with avocado and thinly sliced cucumber. He got his with a shoyu based sauce (Pipeline) and added fresh mango. Both are served over steamed white rice. The tuna is tender and melts in your mouth. Afterwards, we walked along the beach to rest and digest and get some sand between our toes. I love strolling on beaches and feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin. For a moment, I had no …

craftmaster part two. 

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In my last post I took a stroll down craftmaster memory lane and shared some snaps from the July Sunday Crafternoon at Modern Mouse. Now let’s take a look at August’s event: Bubble Art! As usual, fans got to vote for their favorite DIY. It was between bubble art, framed pin cushions, and jewelry dishes. Watercolor bubbles won! We set everyone up in “testing” stations so that bubbles wouldn’t float from one art piece to the other. I had blue, red, yellow and white paint and crafters got to mixing! Look at all these vibrant colors. Pop the bubbles when they are floating and get splatter. Let the bubbles sit and get circles. The longer the bubbles sit, the darker the color. Here is some work from our awesome artists! Halfway through we got extra fancy and started using stencils. I made this piece for Modern Mouse! I might be a wee bit obsessed with bubble art now. And that’s a wrap with our guest Craftmaster duties. Next month, Resident Craftmaster Niki Baker of Foreignspell …

craftmaster part one.

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This summer I was a guest Craftmaster at Modern Mouse’s Sunday Crafternoon series. What an honor! Modern Mouse is a gift shop on the island of Alameda and is a super fun place to purchase locally made awesomeness for friends, family, or for yourself! They carry some of my felt creations in store and every time I drop goods off I spend a lot of time browsing their newest products and admiring all of the talent housed in their space. For the Sunday Crafternoon sessions Modern Mouse fans get to vote on what project they want to work on. In July we made rock cacti with coordinating pots, and in August watercolor bubble art. I love showing samples of a craft and then seeing other people’s renditions. In part one of this two-part post we’ll  take a look back at those rock cacti creations. Every station was set up with all the necessary craft supplies including a fan to (1) help dry paint and (2) inform you of upcoming Feed the Fish co events! I …

go bears!

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Family friends came into town so we gallivanted on my old stomping grounds – UC Berkeley. Go bears! Our tour started at Sather gate. It’s a must see and just so happens to be a registered California historical landmark (#946 to be exact!). I was reminded of the beautiful structures on campus – Just take a look at the detail on this gate. Our next stop was where I spent a number of hours in biology lecture and lab – Valley Life Sciences Building. It was also my library of choice. Visitors big and small love it because there are dinosaurs! Here’s the T-rex plus one of my lovely bridesladies with her niece. The other fun thing to do on campus is to visit the Campanile, the campus’ bell tower. I remember hearing the bell tower as a student; even when I lived a mile off campus, I could hear the bells chime on a clear night. You can ride up to the top of the tower and look out for miles. This time we …

tuesday market.

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I love me some farmers markets. I finally visited the Tuesday market in Berkeley put on by the Ecology Center. I was very pleased. Lots of people walk to/from the market, and street parking is easy, too. My first stop was flowers. I only like flowers that don’t have that ‘flower smell’ and there just so happened to be dahlias – they just smell like plants. (That should go on a shirt.) Aren’t they gorgeous? Heck, I might just come back the Tuesday before my wedding next year and use these as my bouquet. Just put a ribbon on it! Onto the food. There are a few booths with ready-made foods including gluten- and soy-free baked goods by Triple Heart Bakery, Andy and Cindy’s Thai food, and vegetarian Mexican cuisine by Flacos. The star of the market is definitely the fresh produce, though. I mean, look at these veggies! Long okra, the cutest and chubbiest bitter melon I’ve ever seen, and beautifully vibrant red tomatoes. The selection is amazing. What is your favorite farmers market? …

fun with flags.

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I love working with Feed the Fish co customers on custom celebration decor. Here’s a peek at some pennants I’ve been recently asked to make. A couple of weekends ago I vended at Stockmarket in Stockton, a handmade & vintage show. There were all sorts of wonderfully curated items. I of course had to make some pennants to represent the area and show some city love. My Stockton pennants got a lot of ‘awww’ and ‘that’s awesome’. One show-goer ordered a custom GIANT pennant. Ok, technically these pennants are regular sized, but compared to my usual sized pennants on a stick, these are gigante. She’s going to hang this up in a school office. What a nice way to sport city and school pride. This trio of pennants was for a lovely young lady named Paloma who recently turned 13 and had a bowling party! This was a super fun way to decorate the night. Talk about Kodak moment; these make the perfect accessory for a colorful photoshoot with your bestest friends. Shops dig my pennants, too. Gather in …

piñata party.

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Did someone say fuñata? Ok, so I’m a little obsessed with piñatas right now but only because I now know you can make them without the mess of paper mâché. My Daddy’s birthday was coming up so I decided to experiment with a new skill and make him a piñata to fill with all kinds of birthday goodies. All you need is some cardboard, crepe paper (streamer form will be easiest to work with), glue stick, packing tape, scissors, black and white paper (for the eyes) and string (optional, for hanging). First, draw and cut out your shape. Then, trace your shape and cut out a second piece. I made a donkey! For a donkey you will need two donkey shapes, rectangular pieces to link the two main parts together, and triangles for the ears. The rectangular shapes will attach the two sides of the donkey together. Cut your cardboard so the corrugation runs crosswise. This will allow the cardboard to curve easily along your piñata shape. Decide where you want your flap (for placing …