Chalk on the cover of O

I spied this February issue of Oprah Magazine at my doctor's waiting room this morning. Check out that cover! I love just about everything about it. There's an article on Oprah's website about the Making Of and the chalk artist who created the lettering, Dana Tanamachi. Check out her portfolio of custom chalk lettering. So lovely!

French for lunch

I signed up for an online French class at CCSF this semester. Online, as in "you can study whereever you want to", but not so much "when you want to"—every week there is a list of assignments you have to complete: reading, writing, listening, quizzes, voice recordings, and so forth. Ergo, procrastination isn't really an option here, and that makes it the best combo of old school and new school for me. A few times a week I grab my iPad and sit down at the conference table during lunch, eat the sandwich I brought from home, and learn the most beautiful language there is. Bon appétit!

1. Honeymoon in Paris, October 2006

2. DIY oilcloth lunch bags from Martha Stewart
3. iPad cover with Paris street map on Etsy

I'll have a slice and a puppy, please.

We walked into our favorite pizza spot yesterday to discover that it had been taken over by the longest and most amazing parade of stuffed animals. Cats, squirrels, pigs, and mostly dogs (dozens and dozens of them!) were lining the walls. All of them were handmade by a couple of local gals, and are made almost entirely of recycled and found fabric: "Old shirts, brocade from the couch, clothes too nice to toss, the bits left after cutting out a dress pattern."

Now, I was already going cuckoo over so much crafty cuteness (I mean, do you see the red one with the polka dots??), but imagine my excitement when I found out that they were up for adoption! For a mere $30, 100% of which will proceed Greyhound Friends for Life, one of these babies could be yours. Clearly a fantastic deal, and consequently only two doggies were left: Stilton and Feta.

Oh wait, did I mention that the dogs were named after cheeses? Yes. You see Brie and Raclette engaged in some canine PDA below.

Anyway: we get to pick up Feta next week when all the puppies (and cats, squirrels, and pigs) are going home with their new owners. And: I had a slice of leftover pizza for lunch today. Oh, the joy!

Holiday party in the park

This weekend we're having our annual Second Thanksgiving/First Christmas celebration. It's how we celebrate the holiday season in my circle of friends—right in between the two big holidays, since it's the best chance to get everyone together one last time before the year is over, and after/before folks leave town and travel to see their families. We usually share a festive meal at someone's house, potluck-style, so it doesn't get too overwhelming for anybody, and keep things pretty low-key.

Last year, we mixed things up and celebrated outdoors at a nearby park. We grabbed one of the picnic spots with a large table and a barbecue, grilled up some sausages and brought hot soup and mulled wine in thermoses. After it got dark, we headed over to the old Merry-Go-Round that's housed in the park, because nothing says "Festive" like a ride on a shellacked pony.

Sure, or you could put a candle in there.

We finally made that pumpkin. You know, the One Stuffed With Everything Good? Yes, exactly, that one. One year later, and we finally tried it. And boy-oh-boy was it good.

The hardest part about this recipe was to find the right pumpkin. Not so much the right kind: apparently you can eat any ol' pumpkin, although not all of them may taste very good or have a nice texture. No, size was the real issue here. See, while you may be inclined to eat yourself silly on this delicious stuffed gourd, it will still need to fit in your oven (important!), and you really want it chock-full with stuffing. So, you will need to find a pumpkin with a cavity in line with the amount of goodness you want to stuff in there.

We found a couple of darling pumpkins at the produce store, 8 inches or so in diameter. Aren't they cute? All innocent, thinking they're going to be Jack O' Lanterns when they grow up? Nope, not them. These were stuffed with cheese, bacon, bread cubes, fresh thyme and cream, and baked into the most delicious stuffed vegetable that has ever hit our table. Cut in wedges, and you are being served with a tender, moist, aromatic piece of pumpkin alongside a savory, fluffy, cheesy dream of a filling.

Well, what did you think unicorns are made of?

Fashioned a unicorn costume from the contents of my craft drawer? Check. Gone trick-or-treating for the first time in my life at the advanced age of thirty-something? Check.

Next week, I'll solve the debt crisis.

This is my little buddy M.—he shed his costume as soon as the sugar rush kicked in.

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I didn't quite get my act together this year to plan something fun for Halloween at the office, but here are a few pictures from last year's morning gathering—scary mimosas, a ghoulish quiche, and coffin-clad treat bags.

Pumpkin patch psychology 101

We took a lovely trip to Smith Family Farm this past weekend. It's about an hour east of San Francisco, and while this time of year is obviously all about pumpkins, they also have a variety of farm animals to look at (fluffy chickens or bouffant ducks, anyone?), fruits to harvest, and barn shows to enjoy. The admission does not only buy you a hayride, but also includes your pick of any pumpkin in the field. Which inevitably compels everybody to maximize their Jack-O'-Lantern ROI by hunting for the absolute largest pumpkin they can find. Luckily, said hayride drops you and your pumpkin off at the parking lot, so you can stow that orange monster in your car before you return to the farm to conquer the corn maze.

Felt foliage on display

I love shuffling through fallen leaves on a fall afternoon walk, and much enjoy the colors and shapes of foliage year-round. Unfortunately, the beauty of a fresh leaf is rather fleeting, and any foliage display will inevitably fade.

A solution? Leaves cut from felt. Not only do they last forever, they're also quick and easy to make, so they can be swapped out or updated based on any mood or season.

I sketched my leaf silhouttes freehand, and with the exception of the gingko leaf they're completely made up. If you like it more realistic, look to nature for a plethora of templates (of course the internet will do as well).

The thicker the felt, the more substantial the leaves will feel, but the harder they'll be to cut out. I had white felt sheets sitting around that were about 4mm thick, and they were great to work with.

Here's the How To:

1. Sketch a leaf silhoutte onto paper (or xerox, print out, etc.).
2. Cut out and affix to felt with straight pins.
3. Transfer the outline using tailor's chalk or pencil.
4. Cut out (the sharper your scissors, the better).

Frame them as you see fit — I used picture frames from Ikea and corrugated cardboard covered with fabric.

Seasonally induced baking craze

I don't know if it's the arrival of fall or our return from a lengthy vacation, but I've been feeling all sorts of cozy and domestic lately. Consequently, I've been all into baking.

I made a blueberry pie on Sunday (the lazy efficient kind: using frozen berries and a store-bought crust), and in search for a savory breakfast treat I tried this recipe for Cheese and Scallion Scones yesterday. They came out great, despite some substitutions on the ingredient list (I didn't have feta or scallions on hand, but grated cheddar, chives, and sundried tomatoes made for lovely stand-ins).

If room wasn't such an issue in our tiny kitchen, I would splurge on some nice baking supplies right now. But for the time being, I'm afraid we'll keep serving the pie straight out of the aluminum dish that the crust came in...

1. Scallop-edged pastry wheel
2. Reversible birch pastry board
3. Porcelain cake stand
4. Ruffled pie dish

Happy Sunday

Sidewalk beauties

We went for a drive along the beautiful Northern California Coast last Sunday, and stretched our legs in Point Reyes Station.

I've been trying to carry my camera with me more often again, and take pictures of random things that I find inspiring for whatever reason — cute ideas, colors, textures.

Today we're off to Napa to sample some olive oil. I love summer!

Lunchtime sketch: a Russian cardboard romance

I was inspired by a Google Doodle the other week — it was a really pretty illustration of St. Basil's Cathedral for its 450th anniversary. So, I spent my lunchtime sketching that wondrous building on a cardboard mailer that I fished out of the recycling bin, using a marker I retrieved from a box of free office supplies in the hallway a while back. Yes, I felt real thrifty that day (also, I just didn't have any proper supplies on hand).

Sketching and I have a teenage crush on each other. We're really awkward hanging out together, and wouldn't ever admit being fond of one another. But if you walked in on us, you knew there was chemistry. Maybe we'll grow up one day and come to terms with our affections, who knows.

Later at home I ended up playing with watercolors to add some of the building's amazing colors to my little sketch. Worse things have been had for lunch.

Every day should start like this

We're celebrating a birthday at the office, and party committee is at the top of my ToDo list.

Favorite color today...

...the unexpected green of fresh growth on an orchid I nursed along for months. Yes, it's just roots, but healthy, fresh roots!

Weekly self portrait

Pretty much since I bought my current laptop with the built-in webcam, I have been taking a portrait of myself at work every Friday. Well, most Fridays. I upload them to a Flickr set, and while it admittedly seems a bit self-centered, it's actually quite fun to see yourself in review like that. I can point out my birthday, Halloween, bad hair days, and the day that we declared to be "PJs at the Office Day."

Inspiration wall

Whenever I work on a wedding, I begin by gathering images, paper samples, ribbon, embellishments and other pretty things in the couple's wedding colors. I tack everything to a large piece of foamcore board next to my desk, and this becomes my playground for a while. Right now, I live in a pretty world of plums and pinks.

Made with love (and assorted findings)

These are the Valentines I made for the Valentines swap that fabulous Aunt Peaches threw earlier this month. Have you seen her stuff? This lady is the bomb, seriously. There is not one post of hers that doesn't make me laugh, feel inspired, or want to go out and have cocktails with her. Wearing these, of course.

I made these cards using vintage keyhole fittings I found at the flea market the other week. They're made from bone, and I knew I wanted them the second I saw them. I figured I'd find some creative use for them somehow, and so I ended up designing my Valentines around them. I added some of the mini heart garlands I made and used cardstock from my stash of Craft Supplies That Will Eventually Come in Handy.

Hearts aplenty: Super simple sewn paper garlands

I was in such a festive and productive mood coming up on Valentine's Day this year that I ended up crafting several dozen feet of heart garlands. Which is great, because with certain things, more is more. Garlands for example. There's got to be several feet of it, or you can't call it a garland. And if you can double-strand them, all the better.

I made these with two different size hearts. The larger hearts are about 1" and I like them a lot, but the miniature heart garlands are so darling I could eat them. Those little hearts are barely 1/2", and there's just something irresistible about seeing so many tiny tokens of love strung side by side and ready to decorate just about anything.

I put together a little tutorial below on a nifty way to churn these out. You'll need a sewing machine, but trust me — it's as easy as it gets. You could make them using different shapes, and in different color schemes. These would be so great as decoration for a party or a playful wedding! They also do a fine job adorning frames and felines.

Okay, let's have at it:

Tutorial: Super simple sewn paper garlands

You can make these from paper scraps, cardstock, photographs, gift wrap, junk mail... if you're anything like me, the question isn't what to use, but what not to. This really is a great project for all those bits of pretty paper scraps that were left over from other projects years ago. (In that alone it is an immensely gratifying project, as it rewards hoarding mentality!) Just don't use anything too delicate, or it will shred in the sewing machine. When in doubt, run a small piece of it through the machine just like fabric and see if it holds up to the stitches.

1. Use a craft punch to cut out as many hearts (or other shapes) as you fancy.

2. Find yourself a strip of cardstock of a decent length, and tape a piece of low-tack(!) tape (e.g., artist's tape) along its long side, so that the tape extends just a little bit over the cardstock.

3. Stick the hearts to the tape, leaving as much space in between them as you like. Give them a gentle push against the tape so that they stick, but keep in mind that you want to be able to pull them off again later. Make sure that the hearts extend over the tape by about the same amount, roughly 1/3 or 1/2 of their height.

4. Get your sewing machine ready to go. Use the thinnest needle and the prettiest thread you have.

5. Put a second strip of cardstock on top of the hearts so that they're sandwiched in between. The point here is to cover the sticky side of the tape, so that it doesn't cause trouble in your sewing machine. Only the top of the hearts is supposed to poke out.

6. Using a short straight stitch, sew right through the top of the hearts, feeding the cardboard strip through your machine at a nice and even pace. When you've reached the end of the strip, grab the next one and feed it in right after the first one, thereby connecting several strips to one long, growing garland.

7. This is what it should look like. Don't worry if your stitches aren't even, it really doesn't matter.

8. When you're reached the desired length, or run out of hearts, stop sewing. Cut the thread, leaving a bit of extra thread at the end for hanging. Carefully remove the hearts from the tape.

9. Wind the garland around a piece of cardboard to keep it from tangling. Happy decorating!