Month: January 2023

kawaii snacks.

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I took a kawaii snacks gouache workshop with Yay! It’s Vica! I love painting with gouache, but I’ve not been so great at including it as an everyday life activity. So I signed myself up for a gouache workshop to get some designated gouache time on the calendar. And I convinced my God-sister to join, too, so we could spend some creative fun times together. Vica, designer of some of the cutest illustrations ever, walked us through gouache techniques and step-by-step tutorials of how to create her style of kawaii snacks. This was a nice review of gouache but I also wish we spent more time painting snacks because, OMG, look how cute! I felt so successful at this workshop because my paintings resembled Vica’s samples. We learned how to paint different bread snacks with animal features like toast cat and burger bear. Something new to me was the addition of colored pencil – in brown! I’m obsessed! What cute snacks should I attempt next? Share below. You can paint cute snacks, too! Supply list*: …

birthday parfait.

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For Bebe’s actual birthday we celebrated at home with a “Birthday Parfait” (keke) and a balloon arch photoshoot! Here’s how you can throw a birthday parfait of your own. Birthday Parfait For our birthday parfait I gathered: For funsies we also crumbled chocolate scones (leftover from our Outside Party!) on top. Sprinkles would be fun to add, too; it is a birthday parfait after all! Balloon Arch After learning about balloon arch strips*, I was hooked on making balloon arches! They make the balloon arch creation process so easy. And now there are so many balloon arch kits *, too; you don’t even have to think of a color scheme. For the balloon arch I used*: How to: Use a balloon pump to fill 100+ balloons. I recommend choosing multiple sizes of balloons to get a varied look across your arch. For more variation, fill some balloons ‘all the way’ and others ‘not all the way.’ I like to keep the balloons in more of a round shape; to achieve this look avoid overfilling your …

outside party!

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Bebe is two! For birthmonth we celebrated with an outside party, which is just a fun way to say a party at the park, because Bebe absolutely loves the outside and often exclaims ‘Outside!’ when he needs some fresh air and room to run. The sun sets so early, so we opted for an AM celebration and served breakfast snacks. I splurged and gave in to my dream of having utensil sets (IKEA for the win!) and (uniform) cloth napkins* for the occasion. We set up a mini pancake bar, breakfast burrito tower (catered by Cafe 9ine!), fruits, chocolate scones, and a kale and cabbage slaw (a la Trader Joe’s). We had Third Culture mochi muffins delivered to create a muffin tower in lieu of a cake. Friends also brought treats to share – donut and cronut holes, mochi donuts! For after snacks, I prepared some nature-inspired activities (a scavenger hunt and a decorate-your-name-with-nature art station), set up coloring pages, and had my Instax camera for folks to snap hard-copy memories. Favors were filled with …

munching thru martinez.

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Someone was chosen for jury duty and the same someone ate her way through downtown Martinez. Here are a few munchies and places to hang while fulfilling your civic duty. States Coffee x Bread I can never get enough States. I previously featured them here and I am still a big fan (PS They’ve got a few more locations throughout the East Bay now, too). Their Martinez space has expanded since my last visit so there is lots of room to spread out. I am currently obsessed with their Earl Grey Lattes, both hot and iced. Their savory toasts are always a yes, too. I definitely came here more than once during my jury duty service. Taco Daddy’s Get on over here for tacos, burritos, bowls, … and get here quick. The lunch crowd keeps this place busy. I later learned you can place your order online, so protip: do that instead! There is indoor and outdoor dining, but I took my lunch to the park a short walk away. Ginger Thai I could have …

highlights and sneak peeks.

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Happy New Year! I’m kicking off this year’s posts with a Top 4 highlights from 2022 + sneak peeks to some 2023 posts! You ready? In no particular order… 1. Reinstated (low key) birthmonth activities. If you’ve been following along you know I enjoy multiple smaller celebrations throughout the month to accommodate schedules and to do new things with friends. Last year I threw a pastry picnic and a park pizza hang with a birthday white elephant gift exchange. Will definitely share more on both of these activities to jumpstart picnic season! 2. Attended online crafty workshops. I miss in-person workshops, but I also like taking virtual workshops in my loungewear. Here’s a snap of my kit for a mushroom embroidery workshop. I’m looking forward to more creative projects for 2023! 3. Reinstated plane travel – with a toddler in tow! I flew to Colorado for a work conference and brought the family along for the adventure. It was my first flight since 2019. I actually felt prepared to travel with Bebe, but I was …