Oh My: Boobs

Here's a story about my boobies. My sister-in-law made us appointments to get fitted for new bras at the world famous, and family run Intimacy in San Diego. I was excited and so curious to find out how off my bra size was. I was pleasantly surprised to find out this establishment did not use a measuring tape to figure out my bust size. They use a Holistic approach, a look and see kind of approach. So first thing, my personal consultant, came in with a 32 DDD. OMG, was that ever the wrong size. It was tight and my boobies were up to my chin and all the loose skin on me was sticking out all over the bra. Alas, she started bringing in some other sizes and a less granny style, I was finally comfortable.
Things I learned: 1) I went from a 36 c to a 34 D. 2) the back strap on my cheap Target bras ride up my back way too high. A back strap should be equal to or lower then the wire in the front. This will eliminate back fat. 3) You really need to wiggle yourself into your bra cups. Pull your boobs up and over to the center of the bra. On a lace bra your nipples should align along the front seam. 4) You should be able to always see the underwire part of the bra. Your boobs are not supported correctly if you can't see the wire on the bottom. I have worn my bras way too loose. Now, my tatas are high and happy. 5) these fancy bras are frickin' expensive. I chose 2 bra's, a sport bra and a pretty lace one. The consultant informed me next time I come in I will be a 32 EEE. Say What? I couldn't stand the tightness of the 32 size, but she thinks by my next visit I'll be used to the feeling of the correct bra size. I kinda think this whole new holistic approach is a scam to make you buy way over priced bras in funny sizes, but I'll keep and open mind.

Oh My: a day at the beach

We spent a marvelous day at our secret beach on Veteran's Day. It's a called "thousand steps" in Laguna Beach. We almost had the whole beach to ourselves. The tide pools were amazing and we saw a giant starfish. My honey and and I got a nice painful reflexology treatment walking on the extremely sharp rocks. Everything went smoothly until our son was attacked by a group of seagulls trying to steal his lunch. Thankfully he forgot about the trauma and went body surfing with his big sis and had a blast. A perfect day!

Oh My: date at the bolsa chica

Lately, life has been kind to us. We are sneaking it all in and wearing a smile on our faces the whole time. As our date nights have slipped away, we have found other ways to spend time together. Being in nature is very spiritual for us. Luckily, we live less then 2 miles from the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. During the fall it's all brown and some might say ugly. However, if you pay attention, beauty is at every turn.

Harvest to Home

Wow, what a great idea! This local company, helps you grow your own organic vegetable garden at home. They provide a service that comes to you and maintains their easy to use garden system. Check out Harvest to Home if you are in Orange County area and don't have space for a typical in ground garden.

The hibiscus are blooming!

I took my camera on my daily walk around the hood and got all mesmerized by the beautiful flowers. The Hibiscus were especially beautiful. I love the range of colors and varieties. I hope you have a great weekend!

Oh My: Edward Cullan

I whipped this up as a gag for my dear friend. It's a photo frame of her boyfriend, Edward Cullan. I took a plain wood frame and applied a piece of wall paper remnant with some Mod Podge. Then, I added some gold dots with the end of a pencil eraser. I can't wait to see New Moon.

Anthropologie Wish List

I rarely head to a mall these days, and was fortunate to go shopping sans the kiddies last weekend. I spied some super cute things at Anthropologie. I'd love to hang this cute little owl on our tree. And I'd sure rock this Michael Star silver tank. These bright towels would look beautiful in our guest bathroom. Mom---here you go!

ClusterArt

I met this lovely artist at a boutique last weekend and had to share her work with you. She's designed an art studio online that creates your own personalized works of art with your family photos and mementos. I loved all the combination's you can create. Please check out Cluster and her unique ways to capture your families memories.

Family Traditions:Tablecloth

We have a large family all over the place, thanks to Facebook, I feel so much more connected to them. I put out a request for the family to share their craftiness and the family came through. I really wanted to share this family tradition, I think is so cool. Here's the story of how the tablecloth all got started. This craftiness comes from my sister in law from La Mesa: "I started it in 1994 and we have continued on the same one all these years. ( I saw something similar in the Sunset magazine that month and sent Mark to Sears on Christmas Eve to get a table cloth. ) Whoever is at our house on Christmas eve writes something that summarizes their year or something special about the year. We use a fine tip washable marker (crayola-type). I embroider it with either red, green or yellow (everything that year is the same color...yellow doesn't work so well) and then wash it. It has been a lot of fun. Everyone knows it is coming so they tend to think about it ahead of time. If our house were on fire it would be the first thing I would grab." I now have 2 sister-in-laws doing this and it's such a special way to keep a family history. Last year, our family got to participate in this tablecloth tradition while visiting our family in Washington. Our handiwork is on the last picture. As of the date of the photo, our doodles from last year still had to be embroidered. This project is a commitment for sure, but well worth it! Thanks to both L and M for coming through for me!

Craft lab: Owl Painting

I recently have been painting and really love it. Here's an owl I painted the other day. I'm still learning, and having fun. I used a Zingo piece to draw the owl. BTW- Zingo is a great game for little kids, it comes highly recommended from ME~

Craft Lab: yarn wreath

I've been wanting to make a yarn wrapped wreath since last year. I just can't bring myself to spend the cash on a Styrofoam form, so I did a bit of recycling and cut up a card board box. I took a bowl and traced out a 14" circle. Then, I did the same thing in the center with a smaller bowl. I used a knife to cut the small circle first, then the larger one. Next, I took the yarn and wrapped it around the cardboard form all the way around. I had some left over glittery embellishments hanging around and added them to the front. I even bent a silver pipe cleaner into a butterfly and attached it. This project was wiped up in about an hour and a half.

oh My- a beautiful Moth

I spied this little moth in our backyard. I can't believe I had time to run and get my camera and take all these shots.

Craft Lab- Fingerprint Butterfly Collage

We're doing a few classroom art projects around here for an auction coming up. This one is for the preppy K class. I used a die cut machine and punched out 19 2" butterfly out of black scrap- book paper. Next, I had the kiddies place their little finger prints on the wings of the butterflies with white acyclic paint. Then I took pipe cleaners and cut them into 1 1/2 "strips and twisted them 1/3 of the way down to make the antenna and body of the butterfly. Next, I bent the butterfly in half and hot glued the silver pipe cleaner bodies down the center of the die cut. I found a nice wallpaper sample from a discontinued book, and wrapped and hot glued it to the backing of a shadow box frame. I arranged and hot glued the butterflies into a swarm pattern onto the wallpaper. I cleaned up the glass and was done. Super easy, inexpensive, and quick. I would totally hang this up in our home!

Oh My- Local Etsy Boutique

ScuddleBaby Designs- Beautiful wood jewerly

Kait Emerson Designs-adorable children's clothing

sugar cookie couture - I love her Butterfly cookies and these cookie are delicious too!

Romance Cat and Whimsey- great vintage finds

Feet on the Floor- I loved this vintage stuff, my daughter's getting a retro jewelry box for Christmas.

B's Bags-Next time I need bag, I'm buying these!

Pup and Pony-wow, these letter press cards were fabulous, I loved the Peas on Earth

Here's my stuff! It was fun to see all my creations out on display. Meeting the other local Etsians was great too. Great people and homemade goodness.

Tagging our Monarchs

Norma Gibbs Park is a flutter with Monarch Butterflies right now. We tagged and freed over 50 Monarch Butterflies recently. Hopefully, they will lay lots of eggs all over our park's milkweed. It's so exciting to see the Monarchs fly all over. I'm so thankful to my friend Leslie, whom single handily turned this overgrown and mostly dead park around. Now, it's a safe place to bring our children, so they can explore the beauty of the Monarchs. We tag the butterflies to track their migration. Last year, one of our tagged beauties flew to Camp Pendleton.

Craft Lab: Glittered Doll Chair

I'm getting ready for a boutique this Friday night and have been busy crafting. I picked these small doll chairs at a yard sale across the street forever ago. I added a nice shade of Martha Stewart Glitter to each chair. I think this would be nice hanging on a wall to make nice vignette in a little girls room.

I'm ordering this: Whitewall & Co - Patterns

I love wallpaper! However, I do not have a wallpaper budget. I stumbled across this fabulous design resource and think I might have solved my design problem. These over sized stencils would give me the look I want for an affordable price. Now, I just need to start looking for paint colors. The bedding is white and grey. I love metalics and could easily paint the walls a light shimmery shade, then stencil a darker color over. I'm super excited! Check out the other offerings from Whitewall & Co - Patterns.

Craft Lab- Painting Party

We had a painting party the other night in the Craft Lab. Our good friend was in visiting from out of town for a conference. After we put the kiddies to bed, we poured some wine, put on some music and started to paint on some canvas' I had recently acquired. This was a great way to spend the evening. I'd like to plan a couples craft nite around this idea.

Stow away Caterplier

This little guy was a found amongst our milkweed a few weeks ago. He was really small and would require a lot of milk weed to turn into a chrysalis. I got desperate and started feeding him the milkweed I'd grown from seeds all summer. The little bugger ate all of it. Now he's transforming into a butterfly. I can't wait to meet him or her.

Happy Birthday MOM!

Happy Birthday Mom! We love YOU!

Oh My: I'm a Troll Doll People

When I saw these girls dressed up like trolls on the Internet, I knew my destiny! I ordered my bodysuit on Amazon, and started doing research on the hair. I did purchase a wig, but some of my friends were not too keen on it, so I had to figure out how to DIY it. My research led me to using egg white and gel craft glue. Both of these sounded a little crazy. So, I Facebooked an old friend who owns the Den Barber Salon. She had her Mohawk specialist give me the scoop. It worked out perfectly, here were my instructions:

OKAY... Blow dry your hair completely dry. Flat iron it out... LET IT GO WILD WHILE DOING THIS. The more volume and wild the better. THEN, Spray hairspray in while shaking your head upside down (headbanging action). Then, brush out the hairspray so it doesn't freeze funny (Depending on how fine your hair is add even more and brush again). Then, start ratting (... Read Moreback combing) ALL the way to the ends of your hair in the upward motion (like a troll). Add a last thick layer of hairspray on the finished product. I suggest a colored hairspray (blue / green) that you can get at Sally's Beauty Supply.

We went to a really fun party and had a blast. I hate to say this but no one knew what I was. Is it just me or is something wrong with people? Oh well!

Happy Halloween

Craftiness runs in the family around here! My dad made this awesome skeleton with pvc pipe and some recycled materials. We love it! I really like the Converse shoes. Have a safe day !everyone!

The Dish: Chicken and Dumplings (the healthy version)

This is one of my go to recipes when I have lots of carrots and celery on hand. I've been making this since I was a kid, it's my favorite meal. I'm going to share my newest version, which is a bit healthier than my old one.

Crock pot chicken and dumplings

1- small medium onion, chopped however you'd like
3-carrots cut into coins
3- stalks of celery chopped
3- sprigs of rosemary
4- cups chicken broth or 1 can Cambell's cream of celery soup
6- pieces of uncooked chicken, any cuts will do, bone in or out
Garlic to taste
salt and pepper to taste

1 batch of dumplings from mix, Bisquick is my favorite----not healthy

Put all of the above ingredients in crock pot. If using soup can, add 2 cups of water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 45 minutes before you are ready to eat, drop dumplings into crock pot.

I've been known to add an assortment of other veggies, like turnips, mushrooms, peas, or green beans. This is great for cleaning out the frig!

Craft Lab: Mini paint chip Banner

My daughter was very sick this weekend. I was trying to pick her up and totally threw out my back. Let me just say, it was a challenge taking care of her with my limited mobility. I laid flat on my back for most of the day. By the next day, I needed to do something creative. So here's what I made. I had everything on hand. Super easy!

You'll need paint chips, glue, scissors, and string.

I cut square paint chip in half, then folded this piece in half and cut folded piece into a triangle. After I cut out enough triangles, I placed the string between the folded paper and glued together. Since, the paint chips are stiff, I used clothes pins to hold the two pieces together until the glue was set. After it dries, hang up and smile!

The Dish: Chicken Potpie

This is from Everyday Foods October 2009

4 TBSP unsalted butter
1 medium onion, cut into medium dice
1 large carrot, cut into medium dice
1/2 all purpose flour, plus more for work surface
course salt and ground pepper
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas ( used fresh green beans)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thymes leaves
1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed
1 large egg yolk

1. In medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and cook until onion softens, about 6 minutes. Add flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; cook stirring frequently, until mixture is pale golden, has a slightly nutty aroma, and is the texture of cooked oatmeal, about 5 minutes.
2. Whisking constantly, add broth. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens, about 8 minutes. Reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes. Sir in chicken, peas (or green beans) and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Pour into 2 quart casserole dish. Refrigerate until room temperature, about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat over to 375. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pastry into 1/8 inch thickness. Place pastry on pie. Cut vent holes. Lightly beat one egg yolk and brush on top of pastry. Bake for an hour. Pastry should be golden brown and juices should be bubbling.


I've always wanted to make a pot pie. This was delish! It did take some time, but was totally worth it.