sweets for your sweet

Posted on February 2, 2006 by mariko

It’s February and time to start thinking about sweet treats for Valentine’s Day, and do I have a recommendation for you!

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Champagne Wishes Brownies! I ordered some of these around the holidays, and they were incredible–very dense with intense chocolate flavor. They are made by Kelli through her newly opened bakery. It’s really not hard to support her efforts, since the brownies are so tasty and such a good value ($12.95 per box, and the shipping is only $5 for a box). Be quick about ordering, though, because you can only order until February 10th.

Posted in candy/chocolate | 8 Comments

in dreams

Posted on January 31, 2006 by mariko

I ordered this great fabric from Reprodepot, and it arrived today!

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I have grand, grand plans for this fabric. These plans have kept me awake at night and have also woken me up in the middle of the night. I’m guessing the finished product (it’s going to be a bag) won’t live up to the dreams, but I am going to give it the old college try.
I didn’t mean to be cryptic regarding the KnitPicks yarn. I’m planning to knit a simple fair isle vest. It will be my very first fair isle project!

Posted in sewing | 9 Comments

psychedelia

Posted on January 30, 2006 by mariko

Look what came in the mail!

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It’s my Knitpicks order. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get swatching!

Posted in knitting | 11 Comments

Beach fun

Posted on January 29, 2006 by mariko

I went to the beach for the weekend with a group of fun crafty gals. It was great to get away, and my throat now hurts from talking and laughing so much. We only went for one night, but we took enough stuff to last us several weeks. Here’s the back of the rig loaded up (and this represents only half of the group’s stuff):

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There was plenty of beading, knitting, crocheting (several members started crochet kitties), and crafting going on:
4 beach tracy beading.JPG5 beach knitters.JPG
8 beach crafting at table.JPG10 beach wendy and cloche.JPG
Yes, that’s the chocolate cake on the table. It was crazy rich and sweet but pretty tasty. And yeah, that’s a breast pump in one of those photos!
When we arrived at the beach, we were lucky enough to have some sun. The following day, however, it was storming like crazy! Here’s the view from the cabin. Can you see the ocean?
beach stormy view.JPG

Posted in other crafting | 9 Comments

cake

Posted on January 27, 2006 by mariko

Today I baked a triple layer chocolate cake with Hershey Bar frosting (and I didn’t even lick the frosting. I’m kind of off my restricted diet but kind of not):

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I only had two 9″ cake pans, so the top layer is a little smaller than the bottom two. The layers also came out lopsided. I hope it tastes good. I suspect my oven runs hot, so I may have overbaked the cakes. This is a new cake recipe, but the frosting I have made before. It is super fudgy and thick and rich.
Read on for the recipe …

Continue reading →

Posted in baking | 9 Comments

tools of the trade

Posted on January 26, 2006 by mariko

Sometimes I’ll buy a little gadget or appliance, not knowing how it will completely impact and transform my life. Our Solis coffee bean grinder is on that list, and so are my Silpat silicone baking sheets. I think I found something else for that list, too:

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Oh, little cookie scoop, how did I ever live without you? No longer will I have to employ the double spoon method! I know, maybe I am a tad late to the game, but I just didn’t think it’d make such a difference. So, for the greater good, please share–what’s on your must-have list?
By the way, I am still off of sugar, so I did NOT eat any of these chocolate chip cookies. I just have one more day of this restricted diet, though, so this weekend you can bet I’m going to have my cake and eat it, too!

Posted in baking | 21 Comments

peas be my podner

Posted on January 25, 2006 by mariko

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Are you ready? I will be soon, since I ordered a set of these yummy cards from my gal Kelly.

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She is selling a boatload of other Valentine goodies that she has handcrafted, so please go check out her shop (and no, I’m not getting a commission).

Posted in other crafting | 2 Comments

eggplantmobile

Posted on January 24, 2006 by mariko

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FrancesFlorence in Singapore was kind enough to send me this great little toy–an eggplant on tomato wheels! Now THAT is a super eggplant!

Posted in General | 9 Comments

cork

Posted on January 22, 2006 by mariko

Dudes! Can you believe it? I finished another sweater!

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I’m really bad at keeping track of information, so I don’t know how many balls of Rowan Cork I used for this. Maybe 8? I developed the pattern with Knitscape software. I was inspired by some sweaters in the Boden catalog (they are no longer on the web site). I have not yet blocked the sweater, so there are some bumps and such, but overall it is very comfy and warm. Cork is really sproingy and lightweight. Don’t know why those Rowanites discontinued it!

Posted in knitting | 27 Comments

dawgs, redux

Posted on January 21, 2006 by mariko

Action Hero Melissa and I got up bright and early today to head to the Rose City Classic Dog Show. We had to get there at 8am to see the basenjis, of course! Here are just a couple of them milling about before their turn in the ring:

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And a few in the ring:
dog show bs showing.JPG

The brindles are really cool looking:
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Does this greyhound have the blind stares, or is he uber focused?
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We spent the bulk of our time watching the agility dogs. They had to run through an obstacle course that included jumps, tubes, teeter totters, etc. As expected, the Border Collies and Australian Shepherds totally ruled, but there were some very amusing moments with poodles and other breeds. It was a great time!

Posted in General | 5 Comments