All posts filed under: This is Life

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 …

bebe nook.

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Small space living means lil Bebe gets a nook in the walk-in closet instead of a full room (seriously though if we had an extra room, it would be a craft room and Bebe would still get a nook). The nook is basically a fancy closet for diaper changing and baby item storage. To cute-ify Bebe’s nook, we ordered tree decals from Kenna Sato Designs. They were so easy to attach and I love how it turned out! The hardest part was deciding where to place each decal, but you really can’t go wrong with these! So satisfying. We didn’t do much else to the nook other than decorate with a tennis ball mobile and my pom pom wall art. We added drawers to one of our Ikea bookshelves for clothes, diaper goods, other baby accoutrement, and postpartum necessities. We also were gifted a diaper pail so that lives in the nook, too. The rest of the nook is baby thing storage for items we were gifted but don’t need for a few more months. …

matcha.

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Earlier in the summer I attended a virtual spa night with Yelp Indy and Saidah of Shea Body Works. Saidah taught us how to create body scrubs and face masks out of common kitchen basics. As you can see from the screenshot, I didn’t participate live, but I was fully excited to learn all the things! Sharing my face mask experience today… All you need for a quick spa is: 1 tsp matcha (get the good stuff!) 1/2 tsp honey 1/2 tbs hot water a mug or small bowl cotton round/ball or mask brush spoon or small whisk Mix all of the ingredients. It will look a little soupy. Apply to face (and neck!) with cotton round/ball or mask brush, rub it in, and allow to sit for ten minutes. Rinse off with lukewarm water and allow to air dry or pat dry with a facecloth. Not so fun fact: The neck ages faster than the face. Protip: Anything you do to care for your face, you should also do to your neck! Saidah recommends …

plant friends.

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Happy Spring! I completed my first full week of working from home, and it’s Day 5 of the mandatory shelter in place in the Bay Area. Luckily, I do have some company – my Hubby (who is off from work at least through the end of the month) and my plant bebes! Here’s a little plant update from my indoor plant friends. There are 18 total; 23 if you count the ones that I’m trying to revive/propagate. One. Sansevieria laurentii (snake plant). This one came from my parents’ backyard. I named him Green Mamba. He’s fairly tall now; showing off some of the lil sprouts. Two-Ten. In the kitchen/living area I have Calethea roseopicta, Zamioculcas zamiifolia (ZZ plant), Calethea lancifolia (rattlesnake plant), Calethea ornata, bamboo, sweet potato leaves (rooting them!), marimo (moss balls), Peperomia obtusifolia, and Hoya carnosa variegata. Eleven. Next to the TV I have a Ficus lyrata (fiddle leaf fig). I recently gave him a trim because I wanted to propagate him, but I’m not sure if I did it correctly. Also, his …

meet the maker.

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For the last East Bay Yelp Elite event of 2019, we visited Melissa Joy Manning‘s jewelry shop and studio in Berkeley. In true Yelp Elite style there were of course treats (both to enjoy at the event and to take home!) and merriment! I invited my friend Connie to be my +1. It was her first Yelp Elite event! The evening started with jewelry perusing and shopping. The staff knows everything about everything and they were so happy to be able to share the Melissa Joy Manning process and code of ethics with us. There were many everyday pieces as well as more extravagant pieces, each carefully made in the back studio. I loved the look of the shop, too. There were vintage jewelry cases and inspirational design elements like ceramic hangings and geode wall art throughout the shop. Then, a behind the scenes look in the studio where their team of jewelry makers create each piece of jewelry sold in shop and online. Our studio guide Lisa shared the brand history, showed us around …

the bow room.

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In celebration of Christmas and finally visiting the Bow Room at the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe in Irvine, I got my nails done Hello Kitty Christmas style! (My nail artist Masako is amaze!) Ready for all the holding cute Hello Kitty things photos! The Bow Room serves tea during the day and fancy adult beverages at night. To get there you first pass through the Grand Cafe area which serves treats like donuts and cakes and sells Hello Kitty merchandise. If the host isn’t at the entrance, you can knock on the golden bow door knocker to enter. And once inside… Pink and gold bows er’where. So. Cute. Tea time! For the afternoon tea, you get strawberries and cocoa cream, a selection of savory and sweet treats, your choice of tea (or other beverage for an extra fee), and jellies to complete the meal. I ordered the lychee peach tea; everyone enjoyed their tea selection! It’s all in the details. Hello Kitty face plates, tea cups, sugar ‘cubes,’ butter stamp, cocoa face, three-tiered plate stand, …

year in review.

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If toes gross you out, look away. This is my pedicure year in review! These feet have traveled to crafty events all over, and in between adventures I pamper myself with monthly pedicures at Bisou Nail Lounge. My nail lady (aka toe surgeon) works at Bisou so I’m there every 3-5 weeks for my toe check up. I usually get the chocolate spa pedicure (comes with a chocolate sugar scrub, chocolate mask, and chocolate lotion massage!), and on occasion get the red wine pedicure. They also have green tea and CBD pedicure options, and I always get nail art! January January highlights: Hubby and I renewed our passports! Palm Springs adventures continue Weaving new shapes February February highlights: Helped decorate a retirement party Popped up shop at Bella Vita in Oakland Learned how to make macrame feathers March March highlights: Gwen in Vegas International Women’s Day at Zynga – my first company pop-up! Designed a window display for Mischief Launched my weaving loom tools! April April highlights: Took the whole month off from work! Taught …

ID week in DC.

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The actual reason I was in DC: an infectious disease conference! And a photoshoot apparently! This is my new professional photo. I took photos with all the cardboard cutouts and signs, too. The conference (ID Week) was held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and supposedly had over 10,000 attendees. I attended lectures and one of the socials featuring the ID Week band (made up of 15 infectious disease professionals!). Around the convention center – lots of art pieces, cold brew on tap, and bathroom signage with briefcases. There was also an exhibition hall featuring vendors and professional organizations. Our favorite booth: Biofire. They had machine demos, a giant bug, and freebie surprise balls with disease figurines. My ID Week haul! I hosted DC trivia at one of our staff meetings so I could share with my work crew. Conferences are exhausting, but they are inspiring and get me motivated to do more good things in public health! PSA Wash your hands well!

craft beer and craft crafts.

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This quarter’s Crafty Lady Night was at a brewery! We enjoyed craft beers and craft crafts! This time we made yarn wrapped plant hangers and keychains. This is a great project for on the go, and you don’t need that many materials. Plus, it’s a fun gift idea. Try it out and let me know what you think! Here’s the how-to for the plant holders: Materials: cotton cord, ring, assorted yarn, scissors Cut at least 4 strands of cord, 5 feet in length. Fold all cords in half and place a ring at the midpoint (or tie an overhand knot). Start with a foot of yarn. Fold yarn so there is a U with one short and one long end. Hold the strands securely on the cord and begin wrapping the cords with the long end of yarn. Wrap starting from the loose yarn end and ‘up’ towards the bottom of the U. Place the long end through the bottom of the U. Hold the long end securely as you pull on the short end …

head west part 2.

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I participated in my first Head West Marketplace; this time as a vendor! The market is largely vintage and second-hand. There were also jewelry merchants, painters, plant people, homewares shops, and then there was me! I’m pretty sure I had the cutest shoppers. And the best booth neighbors! Say hello to Ruth Tillman Designs, S for Sparkle, and Akshu and Ing! It was a beautiful day for an outdoor shop! Thank you to the Berkeley community for coming out to support small businesses and to Jimmy of Head West for inviting me to join the event! Join me at all my Feed the Fish co pop up shops. Follow along at http://www.feedthefishco.com. Post cover photo credit: @eboniewj