busy buzzy

Posted on August 2, 2007 by mariko

Things have been pretty busy around here. In the midst of our remodeling chaos, superbuzzy moved into a warehouse space! It was getting to the point where we had to drive boxes of fabric around town because we had no more room in the house for it.
We had a great crew of friends who were generous enough to devote a Sunday morning to helping us move. The warehouse is quite large, but can you believe it is already full? Here it is at the beginning of the move:

warehouse moving in 1.JPG

Here are the Melissas standing in front of a mountain of inventory!
warehouse the melissas.JPG
There are a few more move photos over at my flickr site.
We’re still working at getting things organized, but the space has already made our lives much easier. It’s hard to believe, but we’re coming up on our one-year anniversary later this month. Superbuzzy has grown tremendously over the past year, and Kelly and I are very grateful for all your support! We’ve got even more new product coming in, and we’re gearing up for a big update and our first sale. I think it’s safe to say I’m not going to have a ton of time for personal sewing projects in the next few months!

Posted in zip | 19 Comments

Well?

Posted on August 1, 2007 by mariko

My mom made me fix the blog but is my sister even paying attention?

Posted in General | 18 Comments

sweetness goodness

Posted on July 14, 2007 by mariko

Man, where have I been! It’s been crazy busy around here, and it seems like more and more of the house is falling into chaos. I keep telling myself it’s all part of the adventure! There’s some big stuff happening on the superbuzzy front, too, including a big shop update in a couple days.
But you know what helps get me through all the craziness? Sugar. I can’t really go a day without having a sweet treat, and I know I should have a bit more self control, since my metabolism is slowing down, but I really, really love sweets.

sweetness treats.JPG
I got these treats from a new bakery the other day. Sweetness Bakery and Cafe is located in SE Portland on 52nd Avenue, between Powell and Foster. It’s a funny little location, but it’s worth seeking out. Owned by a mother-and-daughter (I love that) team, the bakery cranks out tasty little pastries. Daughter Kay is a knitter as well as a baker! The blueberry-peach danishes in the photo? Melissa declared that it was one of the best things she had ever eaten. Sugar up, people.

Posted in food | 24 Comments

milkshake shakes

Posted on July 8, 2007 by mariko

Last weekend I had half a coffee milkshake at dinner, and it got me so wired that I stayed up too late and made a dress.

apron style dress.JPG
The fabric is from my stash (it’s pretty old), and the pattern is from the Japanese craft book Camisoles and One-pieces. Here’s the cover:
camisole book.jpg
The ISBN is 4579110439.
The pattern is pretty cute. I don’t know if you can really tell, but the front and back are gathered and held together by a fabric rope, if you will. It’s loose and comfy and has a cute pocket. Check out the detail here:
apron dress pocket.JPG
I have a ton of projects just sitting in a pile, so maybe I should have coffee milkshakes more often?

Posted in sewing | 22 Comments

Fruithead

Posted on July 3, 2007 by mariko

There’s something about animals, people, or objects disguised as fruit that just gets to me.

thuy bear.JPG
When I saw this pattern in this amigurumi book, I knew I had to make it. I crocheted this little guy for Thuy‘s birthday. She hasn’t said much about it, which makes me think it may have horrified her in some manner. Or maybe, just maybe, the disguise was so cleverly crocheted that she thought I sent her some fruit!
thuy bear berry.JPG

Posted in other crafting | 8 Comments

give me cupcakes

Posted on June 27, 2007 by mariko

I think I have a warped sense of appropriate sweets consumption. I have been craving cupcakes for a couple weeks now but haven’t succumbed (the truth is I’ve been too lazy to go buy some), so I pat myself on the back like I’m being good, but hello, today I had French silk pie, yesterday I had ice cream, and before that I ate a box full of pastries and pie from Grand Central. This is my normal dessert diet.
Anyway, I got to meet a little baby today. I don’t have much experience with these wee creatures, so I was a little freaked out when it came time to hold her, but you know, she is so good and sweet and cute. Who knew babies could be so fascinating! And mom says she is tired, but she looks really great.
In superbuzzy news, we got in some all-cotton woven terry cloth and some knit pointelle. I am going a little crazy over the strawberry pointelle:

strawberry knit.JPG

Here’s a gander at a couple of the terries:
apple terry.JPGhedgehog terry.JPG
The intrepid Mrs. H is heading over here right now to pick up some terry cloth. She is going to fashion a little outfit for one of her granddaughters (from a pattern from the 1960s or something). You can be sure I will get a photo of it!
The basement is literally full of boxes of fabric, so there’s lots of new inventory coming! Happy sewing, everyone.

Posted in zip | 5 Comments

A dream come true

Posted on June 24, 2007 by mariko

GCB pie.JPG

One of my lifelong dreams came true on Saturday–I won a cake walk. I remember cake walks from school fairs in elementary school. How I longed to win a fluffy, beautiful cake. I think I worked up the nerve to participate just once, and alas, I did not win a cake. The desire to win a cake walk had been dormant for several decades, because really, there just aren’t that many cake walks.
On Saturday, though, a local bakery, Grand Central Bakery, celebrated the opening of a new location with a bakery fair that included tours, cookie decorating, baking seminars, and yes, a cake walk. I could not stop thinking about the cake walk! My friend the Hedster and I visited the grand opening. As we waited in line for treats and sandwiches, we chatted with the people behind us, who had just won the cake walk. They advised us to hoop and holler and show much excitement, as that would increase our chances of winning this utterly noncompetitive event.
When we got to the cake walk ourselves, we tried to show a lot of enthusiasm. I have to confess that it was just us and a bunch of little kids. When the emcee called my number, the Hedster and I jumped up and down and screamed with glee. The kids just stared at us. I got to choose from four different selections: two pies and two cakes. The cakes looked a little sad, so I opted for the strawberry rhubarb pie (yeah, so technically maybe it was a pie walk).
The pie was delicious, and one of my dreams came true! If you think good thoughts and visualize success, it’s bound to happen. Dream big!

Posted in baking | 20 Comments

This and That

Posted on June 20, 2007 by mariko

ramen pack.JPG

– Beware of cheap printer toner cartridges. I purchased one from a place that will go unnamed, and I swear it destroyed my printer! The funny thing is I believe I have used non-brand name toner cartridges before and had no problem. Anyway, be careful.
– I haven’t used shampoo in almost three weeks. I was inspired by Kathy to give it a try. I have really dry hair. In fact, I think it kind of grosses out my hairdresser. Anyway, shunning shampoo is supposed to make your hair healthier and shinier and more manageable and all that. I’m not sure if my hair is behaving better, but a friend did say it looked more lustrous (and no, I don’t think it was grease that was causing that effect). I’m going to stick with it, even though Peter seems to find the giant jar of apple cider vinegar in the shower slightly disturbing.
– Have your eyes been itchy lately? Mine sure have. If you suffer from allergies and have itchy eyes, you probably already know about Patanol eye drops. They are prescription only but work really well. My optometrist just told me about Zaditor, a similar kind of eye drop that used to be prescription only but is now available over the counter! Woohoo! My eyes still itch, but the drops are pretty soothing.
That’s all for now. Over and out.

Posted in General | 22 Comments

FOUND: One frozen yogurt photo

Posted on June 19, 2007 by mariko

I found the missing frozen yogurt photo! I’m afraid it is not all that impressive, so this is rather anti-climactic, isn’t it?

frozen yogurt.JPG
If you like the tart, sharp flavor of plain yogurt, then you would like this frozen yogurt. This stuff is tangy and flavorful, and the texture is amazingly creamy. The recipe is from David Lebovitz’s book Perfect Scoop. Unfortunately, I do not yet own that book, but I want it! The frozen yogurt recipe is making its rounds among food bloggers. Here‘s a nice copy at Heidi’s blog, 101 Cookbooks.
For the yogurt I used 2 cups of Total Face Greek yogurt (that stuff is spendy, as we say here in Oregon) and 4 cups of, I don’t know, Mountain High yogurt, I think. I used full-fat plain yogurt. I dumped the 6 cups in a sieve lined with cheesecloth and refrigerated it overnight. Yogurt with the liquid drained out of it is just so pretty and soft-looking that I want to smush my face into it (but I didn’t, okay?). Other than that, I just followed the recipe. Super yum. It would be especially delicious with some nice summer fruit.

Posted in food | 15 Comments

I was going to talk about frozen yogurt

Posted on June 18, 2007 by mariko

but some of my photos disappeared from my camera. How does that happen? Anyway, if the photos of frozen yogurt don’t resurface, I guess I’ll just have to make more.
On Saturday Peter coerced five of his students to come and demolish our kitchen. Deedle and I left. When we got home the kitchen was completely obliterated. I took photos, but those disappeared, too. The only ones that survived are this one of the linoleum flooring that was underneath the ugly vinyl:

linoleum floor.JPG

And this one of the ceiling:
kitchen ceiling.JPG
Check out all that knob and tube (is that the correct spelling? I’ve only heard the term). I realized today that I know so little about construction that I have absolutely no clue how this kitchen remodel is actually going to happen. It’s like magic to me. Peter has been doing all the scheduling and planning, and I just have blind faith that it will all work out.
Oh, I keep forgetting to mention that Yarnie Yarn Monkey tagged me for the 7 random things meme. I have to say that I am a bit stumped. I really can’t think of any random things about me, and really, do y’all care? I guess I can think of two: I hate onions to the point that they make me gag (but I can eat them if they are cooked way down like in stew), and I have never been drunk or otherwise altered by illicit drugs.

Posted in house | 18 Comments