Too much

I've been too busy and now I have too much to share and not enough time. I had my crafts and Halloween party yesterday and the glass etching was fantastic! I plan on doing lots more in the next month or two for gifts. One friend brought supplies to make fall wreaths so we did that as well. This morning I finished my witch hat, and this afternoon Greg and I went for a gorgeous hike in the San Pedro Valley Park right here in Pacifica, and then came home to carve our pumpkins.

You can see my Halloween 2005 (so far) photos here for now, with a few hightlights below.

Halloween Prep

Lots of prepping for Halloween going on around here. Besides the dog costume I've been working on, I decided to make myself a fancy witch hat (inspired by some I saw at a shop down in Half Moon Bay for the Pumpkin Festival), and also throw a Halloween & Crafts party for my girlfriends. So lots and lots to do. . .

Here's the hat in Phase One; the supplies which will transform the hat; starting the shiny orange slipcover; spraypainting the fake flowers and berries black; adorable witchy woman cocktail plates and napkins; party prep for Saturday.







The main party craft is going to be glass etching(!) and so I also have been running around searching for cool glass items and buying stencils and Armour Etch and printing ideas and samples from craftser. Tomorrow night I have to start the baking (just grabbed some of those new chocolate and peanut butter swirl chips at Target - yum!) and bar set-up (maybe a few drinks while setting up will help me get more done?).

Lastly are there any Firefly fans out there? Greg and I recently borrowed the one season of dvds from a friend and after the first episode I thought it was silly and stupid (and not in a good way), but by the end of the second I was in love with every character and dreaming about the show at night. Now we only have the last episode left and I seriously want to cry just thinking about it ending and there being no more to watch, ever. Well, except the movie which I am dying to see, but still, it really sucks. And if Mal and Inara don't get together in the last episode or in the movie I am going to scream! Ok, so I usually don't get emotional over tv. I don't want any spoilers, I just wanted to see if anyone even knows what the hell I'm talking about.

(Lastly, lastly - what the hell is up with comment spam? I am so not tech savy but there has to be a way to prevent all the bogus comments on blogger that have suddenly started cropping up on all of my posts? This never used to happen at all, and now I can't even find most of them but I know they're somewhere on my blog and it's pissing me off! Any tips to stop it would be greatly appreciated.)

Squawk

This might be a stuffed parrot that I stayed up till 1am last night sewing, which is supposed to go with the pirate costume I made for a coworker's poodle for Halloween. A toy variety of the breed, one that is maybe/barely twice the size of the damn bird, making my feathered friend seem unbelievably and freakishly too large in comparison to the dog. You know, that's just one possible explanation for this photo.



Here are two $1.99 thrift finds from over the weekend. An adorable little white dove and pink heart enamel pendant, and white and turquoise 80's/costume jewelry-ish earrings.




I'm still promising photos of the new goodies I've been making, as inspired by the cool boutique I visited recently. And I'm thinking I may post more about how to craft with gourds as I have another unfinished one I want to work on, so maybe I'll take photos of the various steps. And if I ever get over my embarrassment I may post a full photo of the stupid parrot. Why would I ever get the notion I could craft a parrot out of thin air in the middle of the night?

SPT and a gourd

SPT - Digging through my garage over the weekend I found two wigs. . .



Also over the weekend I worked on one of the many unfinished gourds I have been carting around for two years from my gourd-crafting frenzy a while back. Wanted to make it reddish/brownish to use for a fall container after the Halloween stuff gets put away.

Bucky

Every year my mom requests painted pumpkin characters; this year she specifically wanted another little fellow with buck teeth like I did last Halloween. Here are a few from past years.



Kelly posted about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) recently, and I too am a big fan. She has some great links in her post too if you're interested in knowing more. Talk about a holiday with some great craft possibilities! Last year I had friends over to decorate skulls to represent various loved ones. We ate this pumpkin pie that I made (and would kill to have sitting in my kitchen right about now).

Last week I went to a little boutique in the Mission and it turned out to be one of those stores where you absolutely love every single item, but think that you can make it all yourself for a third of the cost. I hate that thought but it just comes naturally. So all week I've been working away trying to recreate some of the things I liked. Starting with the simple sashes/belts made from cool fabrics. Here's my first - a cherry one. Tomorrow I'll take better photos of the others I made, and also some felt covered barrettes.

Pumpkins growing on trees

SPT thanks to Pepper

Caught Pepper in the act of ripping one of my lovely (I mean creepy) paper mice from the floorboard and "attacking" it. I was wondering if something like this would happen with a cat and paper mice stuck up all over the house. In trying to snap a pic of him (too late naturally) I ended up with these.

Then while I was on the floor I had the notion to take a SPT since I missed last week and was going to skip this week too, but thought I could get a nice shot from the floor perspective. This is my favorite, and then the best accidental one (another time I used a self-timer screw-up shot as my actual SPT, I usually like how these ones turn out).







Other SPT photos and information here.

I have to mention that Greg did something tonight he hasn't been able to do in over a year, and he's thrilled about it. He watched a hockey game. A real one! Isn't it about damn time for an actual hockey season? We think so! Now if only there were real fans out here. . .

Weekend recap

First fire of the season - so nice!



Made a quick little apron for fall with this cute scarecrow fabric I found.



Discovered how to make fabric covered buttons.


Fabric swatches from sweet Hillary - can't wait to use these!


Found a frame at Ikea for some of my Nara postcards.


Found this in the garage from when I was in my gourd-crafting frenzy a few years ago. Perfect for fall.

Batty

Newest Halloween door hanger. This one is headed off to South Carolina actually!




So now for the weekend. Do you think it'd be worth it to sit on Highway 1 forever and ever and then a bit longer, just to go to the Half Moon Bay Harvest and Pumpkin Fest? The fest that is talked about all year long and suppossed to be so wonderful? I am so torn. Either way though, tomorrow Greg and I are taking a friend who just moved to SF to Ikea to do some shopping so that'll be fun. And tonight around midnight we'll be visiting the grand opening of the newly remodeled deYoung museum in Golden Gate Park. To celebrate (and draw attention) it's open from today at noon straight through tomorrow at 5pm, and there are all sorts of things happening at every hour, including various DJ and dance parties throughout the night. When will I ever get to explore a famous museum in the middle of the night again?

UPDATE: If you're in the area you just have to go to the Half Moon Bay pumpkin fest thing. We went and by some miracle there was no traffic on Hwy 1! It was one of the best street fairs I've ever been to. I shopped, ate pumpkin pie, drank yummy seasonal beer, and saw the coolest carved pumpkins ever; we walked nonstop for over 3 hours just to get up and down Main Street - that's how much there is to see. And the weather was beauuuuuutiful. You gotta go if you can.

Creepy mice

Saw this on Martha online. Used her templates to cut out paper mice from black construction paper and tape them all over the house along the baseboards (or stairs would be great if I had some). I am so in love with them and think I may leave them up all year!





A few other photos are in Flickr. Link to templates here.

Pirate Family

My SPT and our blurry pirate family.

Actually this is a sneak preview (true meaning: blurry photos so I'll take better ones another time) of the Halloween dog costume I made last night for a coworker. Poor Pepper had to be the size model since it's for a little toy poodle and Bella is obviously a little too big.

A child's book

Ok, here are all of the children's books I got at the big sale last weekend. I started a Flickr group for books, so when you get there just start about halfway through to see the new books. I commented on almost all of them. I don't know the first thing about kid's books, so I'm not like some of you who hunt and collect special ones. I just have always had a thing for cool illustrations and usually you find them in children's books. I tend to like old hardcovers with imprinted cover designs, good colors and unique layouts, and my favorite is when the inside cover (is it a bookplate?) has a design on it too.





(Inside cover design - acorns!)

Ha-ha

You're at work (probably) and I'm at home. Ha-ha! I love being one of the lucky bastards who work at a place that gets all the holidays most people don't anymore. If you get to stay at home everyday though then you win and are the biggest bastard. I'm still filling up on Halloween and Fall from the weekend. The weather has been glorious. Really living up to San Francisco fame that fall is the best time of year here.

Here is a crappy photo of more Halloween door hangers I made last night.


My favorite


I'm working on pumpkin photos, and also a re-cap of all those children's books I got (per a few requests). Also trying to sew a pirate dog costume and Halloween/Fall apron. And of course as I mentioned yesterday I'll be pumpkin hunting again this afternoon for monster carvers.

Farmer John

Went to Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch in Half Moon Bay today for the first round of pumpkin hunting. Yes, I buy pumpkins in rounds because I can't get enough of them. Today's pumpkins (which I'll photograph better later in all their glory) were for decoration and some for painting. Tomorrow for round two we'll be scouting out the big guys to be used for carving.

Flowering tea

I discovered flowering teas! Tea leaves and flowers are handsewn into little dried bundles that you drop into a glass teapot, fill with hot water, and watch them slowly unfold and blossom into the most beautiful sight! This picture from my tea this morning on my desk in no way does either the flowering tea or the teapot justice.

The teas can be found at Numi, but I've heard since that they can be found in various natural foodstores and herbal shops as well for much cheaper. I have the sampler box and there are white, green and black tea varieties. So far the white tea with jasmine is my favorite. They're imported from China so if you happen to have a connection there you're in luck. The teapot is from this amazing German glass company Jenaer where they have a whole line of glass teapots and tea accessories, as well as other gorgeous glass items.

Happy Friday, go drink some tea. At work here no one much feels like actually working and so we're anxiously awaiting the Thai food we ordered for lunch which should arrive any minute. And we have a doggy visitor (pet Fridays, which is the best office policy I've ever heard of) who is so adorable that we're going to forgive her for having just pissed all over the new carpet in front of the attorney's office!

My girl

I think I have the pet-to-blog day correct this week - it's Thursdays, not Fridays, right?

Well either way, here is the gorgeous golden color of Bella's fur, and the sweet graying of her muzzle.

Just hanging around

I've discovered a great thing to make. Door hangers! They're simple and fun and can be adapted to fit people or holidays or events and people love them.

Here's my first attempt. A little felt monkey with yellow felt backing and sisal rope for a hanger.


Then I had to make a Halloween one with different front and back.


I brought these to work and the Halloween one was instantly claimed by my friend and coworker Tania. The monkey one though - he's up for grabs. Let me know if anyone wants him.

For the person who wanted that sweet and sour stir fry recipe, here it is (I'm going to be so nice as to type out the whole thing since I can't find it online):

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry - Cooking Light
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (a must!)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 lb. chicken/tofu/pork, etc.
1/4 cup sliced onion
1 cup sliced red bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced green bell pepper
1/2 cup zucchini
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple

Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Cut meat/tofu into pieces. Heat oil in wok or skillet and add meat/tofu - cook 3 minutes. Add onion - cook 1 minute. Add bell peppers and zucchini - cook 3 more minutes or until all veggies are crisp-tender. Stir in sauce and pineapple - cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly. Serve over rice.

My notes: Quick and easy and tasty. It was kind of stew-like, in a good way. Perfect over rice to soak up the sauce. I'd definitely double the sauce though, and be sure to get fresh cilantro. And we didn't add the fresh pineapple, but did of course use lots of tasty pineapple juice.

More bits

Books Greg and I bought at the big SF Library sale this weekend. The ones on the chair are all children's books! And no, you didn't miss anything, we have no kids in the house besides our pets and as smart as they are I don't think they spend much time reading or even looking at picture books.


Getting ready to leave the nest and go to new homes. . .


Gizmo is very obviously shedding right now. Wish I knew how to use all the damn rabbit fur we have in this house to make something!

Weekend bits

Spontaneous office margarita party yesterday afternoon to celebrate the end of our fiscal year (and that it was a nice, sunny, Friday in which we got paid).


Some of the most amazing and unique carved pumpkins (and photography of said pumpkins) I've ever seen - here! I'm so ready for Halloween. I stuck up tons of plastic bats on one of my walls the other day and am pulling out other decorations tomorrow.

Last week when I got my October Martha kids mag in the mail I also got a duplicate copy of last month's which I have no need for. I'd be happy to mail it if anyone is interested, just leave a comment.


If you are anywhere within driving distance of the Bay Area and you like to read (or look at children's books) you should come into the city tomorrow for the last day of the San Francisco Public Library's annual book sale - it's the biggest book sale on the west coast and is unbelievable! I went today and my arms still hurt from carrying all the books I bought to the car, and best of all I'm going tomorrow when EVERY SINGLE BOOK IS ONLY $1. Yes, that's right. A couple hundred thousand books for one dollar each.