crafty stuff by other people

Posted on January 2, 2006 by mariko

Chico Hayasaki was a Japanese foreign exchange student at our high school a bazillion years ago. The funny coincidence is that I stayed at her family’s house during a high school trip to Japan. Anyway, she is now an incredible artist, and she seems to be doing very well, exhibiting her artwork in Japan and New York City. Check out this cute little teeny bag of hers. I think she designed the fabric, too!

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The bag is 5.75″ wide and just under 6″ tall.
And I don’t know how old this nutty little rug is, but my mother brought it over the other day and asked me to bind the edges.
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We used to make these latch hook rug things when I was a kid. I wonder if this one is that old?

Posted in other crafting | 9 Comments

happy new year

Posted on December 31, 2005 by mariko

Well, another year has come and gone! I don’t think I am going to make any resolutions this year, except maybe to get healthy. Anyway, a year certainly can’t end without some sweets! A few weeks ago Melissa and I were talking about a childhood treat: pudding with a thin layer of chocolate on top. Since she is a genius, she did some research and discovered that it was Jell-O Spoon Candy! She also found a recipe. Mmmmmm.
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Read on for the recipe …

Continue reading →

Posted in candy/chocolate | 12 Comments

sock it to me

Posted on December 28, 2005 by mariko

I recently participated in a sock swap. I desperately attempted to overcome my bad sock-knitting mojo so my recipient wouldn’t get really lame socks. I tried to compensate by using yummy yarn, a cashmere-silk blend. And speaking of yummy, take a gander at the socks I received:

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These eggplant-hued Lorna’s Laces socks are from Lynette, and they fit perfectly.
I am still hacking, and I’ve polished off the bottle of Delsym. I’ve also tried Tessalon Pearls, but those only seemed to work for a few hours. This morning I was awakened by my own coughing, and I coughed so hard I kind of threw up. Tonight I’m breaking out the Nyquil!

Posted in knitting | 19 Comments

clam cleam

Posted on December 27, 2005 by mariko

You know, Lucky Magazine might be kind of eye candy trashy, but sometimes they have really good tips. For instance, the latest issue had the best tip ever: where to purchase Cram Cream products! Get thee to Juice Planning and check for yourselves. I got a few little mini trays:

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Deedle likes them, too. Juice Planning is a funny site. They don’t offer online ordering, so you have to call or fax your order. My order came relatively quickly, and it reeked of smoke. Good thing the trays were encased in plastic!

Posted in General | 4 Comments

holiday plans foiled

Posted on December 25, 2005 by mariko

I was supposed to go to California for Christmas with Peter’s family, but I got really sick and could not move! Peter had to go by himself, and Deedle and I have been hanging out here. Last night I couldn’t sleep very well because I had such a persistent cough, so imagine my delight when I discovered that a couple of national drugstore chains were open on Christmas Day (and yes, I did feel a twinge of guilt for being happy they were open). Here’s what I got:

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By the way, that’s not meant to be a pathetic photo. You know what was pathetic, though, was the number of people in the drugstore BUYING GIFTS. It was nearly noon on Christmas Day! Anyway, the pharmacist recommended that cough syrup, but it seems ineffective. Should I guzzle it?
Happy Holidays to everyone! It’s time to eat chips and read magazines now.

Posted in General | 26 Comments

not-so-angry chicken

Posted on December 21, 2005 by mariko

I finally got to meet Angry Chicken Amy and her posse! She is great, as you would expect, and a brunette, which I did not expect. She has so many ideas and is so creative and talented and motivated that it’s really very inspiring. And hey, she is an amazing cookie baker to boot. Check out the loot!

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As you can see, her ambition extends to her cookies. There are about half a dozen different varieties of cookies in that bag, and yes, I have sampled most of them. Amy was also kind enough to give me some of her notecards and other goodies.

Posted in General | 5 Comments

bootie central

Posted on December 20, 2005 by mariko

It got kind of icy around here, and Deedle was having none of it, so we had to go buy her some booties:

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Luckily, it warmed up, and the ice melted. It takes a while to get those booties strapped on!
Yesterday I had stomach ailments, and today I woke up with a cold, but seeing this made me feel better:
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Now I have a couch to nap on!

Posted in General | 7 Comments

blizzard

Posted on December 18, 2005 by mariko

Most of you are probably unfazed by snow and ice. Deedle, however, has spent her whole life in California, and I don’t know if she had ever seen the snow before today.

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It had just started snowing when I took that photo. Deedle barely made it to the bottom of the stairs before deciding she wanted to come back into the house. Smart doggie.
The snow is supposed to turn to freezing rain tonight. The timing is not very good–I am supposed to meet Angry Chicken Amy for the first time for a cookie exchange. If you have seen her cookies, you will understand how painful this is (but she is freezing the cookies, so not all is lost).

Posted in General | 9 Comments

this is the sound of my jeans button popping off

Posted on December 16, 2005 by mariko

Oy, so the holidays bring around some holiday bakin’, as you know. I’ve been chowing on the pink cookies and the kolachi, and now I’ve gots me some tasty brownies:

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What’s in the pretty box?
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Pretty brownies! I was thrilled to receive these, because they are the first offerings from Amai Bakery. The bakery was started by Kelli at foodblog Lovescool. Kelli left her job in the corporate world to pursue her love of baking and chocolate, and for that, I think she deserves a lot of applause and support. Way to follow your bliss, Kelli!
*As far as I know, it is not advisable to eat the drag

Posted in baking | 16 Comments

I’m dreaming of a pink christmas

Posted on December 15, 2005 by mariko

Last week I got an unexpected call from my friend John. He was sitting in front of the Rocket Bakery in Spokane, Washington, and wanted to know if I wanted/needed any pink cookies. Hello? Does a boat need water?

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Sigh. So grateful am I for this stockpile of pink cookies that if I were of child-bearing age, I would give John my firstborn. For those of you unfamiliar with the pink cookies, well, they are just really delicious. I have tried in vain to acquire the recipe. The icing is the magic that makes these cookies work, and we still can’t decide if there’s cream cheese in it. John also sent a loaf of homebaked kolachi. Bring on the elastic waistband pants, people!

Posted in baking | 8 Comments