How To: Entertain a Baby.

My Auntie Val uploaded these photos to facebook last night and I just had to share them with you because Lana's face is priceless. My Aunt & Uncle like to call themselves Grauntie Val and Grunkle Ed since they're Lana's Great Aunt and Uncle, which I think is so cute.

Frozen Fruit.

In addition to canning and making fruit jams, one thing I like to do to preserve delicious summer fruits is to freeze them. It works really well for berries and grapes. I purchase or pick fruit when it's ripe and on sale, wash it all very well, lay it on a baking sheet in the freezer and once it's frozen I transfer it to a mason jar and return it to the freezer. It's so easy and I get to enjoy yummy fruit all winter long. Have you ever had a frozen grape? They're my favorite. Also, the berries are great to thaw and use in a pie.

They also make great and fun ice cubes for your iced tea. 

What I Returned With: Part Three.

My Uncle Cool (that's not his name, just what we call him) grew these from one he had taken from my Aunties' house and then gave one to everyone at the family reunion. My mom says they're called hen-and-chicks because one (the hen) will produce many more (chicks). I really want to transfer them to the ground but I'm having trouble deciding exactly where I should place them. That's the hard thing about renting, I never know where to plant anything. Also, when we move again I'll have to dig everything back up. I've wanted to get some succulents for quite awhile now so I'm really excited about these.

Last night was Jam Night at the local bar so I took yarn and my hooks and worked on some dishrags I've been making. I also made a headband for one of the bartenders, by request. He has long, poufy, curly hair and wanted something to hold it back. All of the guys tease me about my crocheting at the bar but it doesn't phase me. One of the guys who plays his guitar at jam night is a farmer and he brought everyone sweet corn. I always get excited about free food, especially if it is fresh and locally grown. I can't wait to have corn on the cob tomorrow.

For Sale.

I don't know if you noticed but I have added a button at the top of my blog that says, "For Sale." If you click on it you'll see I've listed some Stampin' Up! stamp sets that I'm wanting to sell. My sister recently gave me some stamp sets and I ended up with duplicates and I did a little purging of my own collection as well. They're all listed for 5 dollars each so if you see anything you'd like to call your own, just shoot me a quick email and I'll mark it yours. If you know of anybody who loves Stampin' Up! or just stamps in general, if you'd pass this along to them I would be very grateful. Thanks so much!

Trying Projects Seen on Pinterest.

I generally use Pinterest for inspiration. I've never purchased anything I've seen there but I have tried several recipes, craft projects, and various odds and ends. For instance, the other day I pinned some adorable crocheted necklaces. They were really cute and as a general rule, I don't buy something I can make myself. Since she's selling them on etsy she doesn't have a pattern listed for them so I just made up my own pattern from my prior crocheting knowledge. Are they exactly like the original? No, but I like them just the same. If you don't know how to crochet, you can purchase them from Maya's shop.

I found a homemade mosquito spray on Pinterest that works amazingly well. At the beginning of summer, I went outside one night to lay with Jake in the hammock and the next day I woke up with 30-40 mosquito bites covering my entire body but mostly my back, you know, right in the middle, where my arms have a tough time reaching. I immediately bought the ingredients for the spray and have been living relatively bite free ever since. I still get the occasional nibble but very rarely. I mixed one bottle of witch hazel with 15 drops citronella essential oil and 15 drops lemongrass essential oil. Simple life saver in a bottle.

Now for some attempts that didn't go quite so well.

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Homemade toothpaste. I found this recipe and was excited to try it, although, I couldn't figure out why I would be putting essential oil in toothpaste. I guess it would be so my breath smells good because essential oil doesn't impart flavor. I ended up skipping the essential oil. The toothpaste tasted awful and I didn't like that I had to dip my toothbrush in the jar everyday to get toothpaste. It didn't seem very sanitary to me. One thing I will say for it though is that, if you can get past the taste of baking soda, your teeth feel really nice when you wake up in the morning, no slimy feeling, and my morning mouth didn't taste so bad. I would use it but Jake was over it after 2 days.

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Scrapbook paper and tile coasters. I thought this was an ingenious idea and went straight to work making them. It was easy enough but I found that the corners of the paper didn't want to stay attached to the tile, which led me to worry that the paper could easily be torn off. I didn't like the streaks left by the mod podge either. I have an idea to try this again but this time with fabric, which is more pliable than cardstock, and adhesive spray. I'll let you know how it turns out because it truly is a cute idea.

Have you tried any fun projects you've seen on pinterest?

Monogrammed Apron.

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I've been infatuated with monograms lately. They're everywhere, go to Pinterest and do a quick search and you'll come up with lots and lots of photos. I wanted something a little less crisp & preppy, and a little more Laverne & Shirley. I grew up watching classic t.v. shows with my dad on TV Land and Laverne's monogrammed sweaters have always stuck with me. When I saw this lovely apron pattern from Goodknits I knew it was the perfect thing for me to monogram.

I wanted the J to not be perfectly up and down but it's leaning more than I meant it to. Oops.

First, I slowly made the apron. It's not difficult to make at all, I just worked on it here and there in between other projects. I made it exactly like the pattern except that I changed the belt part of it. I didn't like doing the herringbone stitch so I just did something else. I like the look of the herringbone stitch she used, I just didn't like doing the stitch. Once I finished the apron, I used a sharp darning needle to embroider the J. I used the chain stitch, as seen here.

Being my first attempt, the J looks a little like a g but that's okay.

I am absolutely smitten with this apron. I love the colors, I love the scallops (another obsession of mine), I love the monogram. The whole thing is just adorable.

I bought this skein the other day and I'm trying to decide what to make with it. I'm leaning toward either a scarf for autumn or buying more and making a retro 70s looking blanket. 

I've linked up at Lollipops.

Spicy Dilly Beans.

Green Beans were really inexpensive at the grocery store the other day so I bought a few. Now I am wishing I had purchased more. I decided to make Dilly Beans but I only had enough for two jars. That's okay though, I was excited to use some of the jars my Aunties gave me.

For the most part I followed this recipe from Food in Jars, but at the last minute I decided to make them extra spicy so I added more cayenne pepper.

I don't generally go for spicy foods but I'm really excited to try these when they're ready. I have a feeling Jake will love them. Hopefully I'll see another deal on green beans soon so I can make some that are less spicy as well. It's kind of a waste for me to just make two jars of something like this because I know they'll go so quickly once we decide to eat them.

I've linked up for Tasty Tuesday.

What I Returned With: Part Two.

I just wanted to take a second to thank you guys for all of your votes in For The Love of Blogs' Best in Category poll. I won my category, which was crafts. Although I'm pretty sure I was the only one in my category, I'm still super stoked about it. So thank you, very very much. You guys are awesome!

Speaking of crafts, while in California, my sister gave me this box of stamps. I need to go through it because I'm pretty sure I have a lot of the sets already but it's always nice to get free stamps. I think once I go through them I will try and sell duplicate sets in a tab at the top of my blog. I probably won't get around to that for awhile though since our house is a disaster, our dog is in heat so I'm constantly cleaning up after her, and I have projects coming out of my ears. Being busy is nice though.

My mom gifted me with these 3 boxes of ribbon. I have so many ribbon related ideas. My mom also gave me a new stamp set of the cutest hot air balloons. I can't wait to experiment with them on some little cards.

Shabby Apple.

I received an email last week from Shabby Apple inviting me to do something pretty cool. Basically what happens is, if you click on that button in my right column and decide to purchase something from Shabby Apple, I get a little commission. It's not a whole lot, but since I'm pretty broke and it's a company that actually produces things that I like, I'm all for it. I've featured some Shabby Apple dresses before in my What I Love Wednesday posts but I thought I'd share some of my favorites again.

I love everything about this dress. It reminds me of a vintage skirt suit my Auntie handed down to me a few years ago but with a more modern twist.

I love the peter pan collar and the fun green apple color of this dress. I kind of want to put a peter pan collar on everything I own.

The bow in the front of this skirt is beyond adorable.

They also have bridesmaid dresses, shoes and other accessories, children's clothing, fitness outfits and swimsuits.

Garden Update.

My garden has been progressing at what feels to me to be a snail's pace but really it isn't quite so bad. I have lots of little carrots and have planted a second crop for fall harvest.

Sorry my chili pepper picture is so blurry. I had to hold the camera at a really strange angle and I couldn't keep my hand steady. I can't wait for more of these to turn red so I can pickle them and dry some. I have 4 or 5 varieties of peppers total and my anaheims are coming in too.

Nobody believed in my green onions except for me. They kept saying that it would be too hot for them in the greenhouse but the soil here is really bad so I went with the greenhouse anyway, and look, there they are. They smell delicious and taste even better.

I'm still waiting on the tomatoes and squash. Both have blossomed but there are no veggies yet. We've also had a lot of yellow wax beans but I always eat them all before I can get a picture. They're so good!

Whole Fish.

Every time we go to Davis for a family reunion we end up going to a restaurant called Ding How. We sit in the back room at a bunch of big tables. My Auntie always goes through their menu in advance and chooses our menu for the evening. Then she calls it in so everything is ready when we arrive, we don't have to wait long and everyone gets a nice selection of delicious food. One thing she always orders is the whole fish. It comes out fried and with the eyeballs intact. The first time we went there and she ordered it I was freaked out and caught off guard by the giant plate of fish coming out toward us. Now it's a family tradition and the whole fish is quite popular.

Here is my little brother digging meat out of the fish skull. So glad I'm a vegetarian.

My Girl Crushes.

I may be into guys but I have some serious girl crushes on a few celebrity women. I admire them not only for their beauty but for their talent, brains and abilities. I mean, can I have them as best friends? Pretty please?

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The beautiful Felicia Day has been on Dr. Horrible and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, her most notable role has been playing Sid Sherman aka Codex on The Guild. The Guild is a web series written by, starring, and produced by Felicia Day. She wrote the script, got some actor friends together, and then shot the first few episodes in her living room before fans started donating and she eventually got funding. The series follows a group of misfit gamers who play a game very similar to World of Warcraft. Sid convinces them that they should meet in real life, rather than just online. This leads to hilariously awkward encounters. When I originally watched the first season I laughed so hard I fell off the couch. Dead serious. 

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Next up, Zooey Deschanel. She's my favorite half of She & Him, don't get me wrong, M. Ward is pretty awesome too. Not only does she make killer music but she's a fantastic actress as well, not to mention one of my style icons. She always wears the most adorable quirky outfits. She has acted in many movies such as Almost Famous, Elf, Yes Man and (500) Days of Summer which is one of my favorites. She's married to Ben Gibbard, the frontman of Death Cab for Cutie. She recently worked on the new Winnie the Pooh movie and is set to star in a new t.v. show, New Girl, in the fall. I love Zooey's quirkiness, her originality and her immense talent. All of that talent in one person just isn't fair.

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Queen Rania is not only a stunning woman who dresses impeccably, she is the Queen of Jordan. So cool. I admire her because of her humanitarian work. Not only does she champion women's rights and education in her own country, she does it around the world. In Jordan, she works hard to make sure all children have access to education of a high caliber and has worked with Universities around the world to aid Jordanian students with scholarships abroad. She also works to end child abuse.

Who is your girl crush?

Our Family Cookbook.

My paupau is on the left with her two sisters on the right.

In my family, cooking Chinese food is something really special. My great aunt carries around a book of all of her handwritten family recipes from the restaurant our family used to have and recipes handed down through the family. She recently let us photo copy them and we put them in binders. My mom added some recipes from other family members that she had and now we have a giant book full of family recipes, both Chinese and not. It seems like half of the book is desserts, I guess we love our sweets.

Aren't those hairdos amazing? I'm in love.

In the top left is my great-grandma and below her with the birthday cake is my grandma.

In addition to the recipes we added a couple pages of old family photos. This is a book I'll cherish and if for some reason I ever decide to have children, this will be passed down to them, after adding my own recipes of course. I can't wait to try out some of the traditional Chinese recipes.

Along with the cha siu bao, soy steamed chicken, and sui mai, there are some killer more recent creations, like a casserole my sister made up in Girl Scout camp and the snickerdoodles we made in kindergarten.

One of my favorite recipes in the book is the famous recipe for Elephant Stew:

1 African Elephant
10 lbs. salt
38 bushels of potatoes
Wine to cover
2 rabbits (optional)

Cut elephant into bite-sized pieces (allow 2 months).
Marinate in wine one month.
Add salt, any pepper, and potatoes.
Simmer over kerosene fire 4 weeks.
Serves 3,000.
If more are expected - add rabbits, but do this only if necessary as most do not like to find hare in their stew.

Apparently when we were kids this was my cousin Emma's favorite and it was almost enough to feed my little brother, Cory. I laughed when I read that but my mom assured me that one night at dinner Cory ate almost the entire dish himself. 8 chicken breasts, really kid?

This particular page is really special to me because of the little note written at the bottom. Mr. Bowman passed away a few years ago so I'm really happy to have this. There is also a recipe written by my Pau Pau (grandma) who passed away before I was born. I've marked these special recipes with the little scalloped circles I made. 

This is my Auntie Alice. She always wears the most fantastic clothing. The reason we all got together last week was to celebrate her 95th birthday.

I wish I had that dress. Amazing!

This is my other Auntie, Daisy or (Dae-dae as we call her). Dae-dae is a busy bee and hilarious. Auntie and Dae-dae are my grandma's sisters. Every year growing up my brother and I would go live with them for a month or so in California and drive them completely insane. They are the closest thing I've ever had to a grandparent and although I couldn't say, because I've never actually had a grandparent, I feel like in many ways, they are better than grandparents. I am so thankful to have these two amazing women in my life.

I've linked up here and here.

WILW: Nautical Edition.

I've been craving the sand and the sea the past few days. It's weird having it be summer and not going to the beach. I grew up in a coastal town and now that I'm in a landlocked state it seems a little odd to not have my toes in the sand. Luckily for me, there are a lot of rivers nearby and I'm going to spend some quality time with them later this week.

Since I'm missing the ocean, my picks for this week follow a nautical theme.

1. Double Natural Sugar Starfish Headband by dreamsbythesea.
2. Water Resistant Pleated Diaper Bag by ikabags.
3. Vintage 1950s Tomato Red Sun Kiss Bombshell Swimsuit simplicityisbliss.
4. Pretty Poppies Stud Fabric Button Earrings by Sweet Sulka.
5. Hey Sailor Ladies Tee by emandsprout.
6. Smiley Face Whale Necklace by CreationsbyJuliann.
7. Ahoy Sailor Mini Keepsake Bag by Zibagz.
8. Seahorse Art by eastwitching.
9. Grain Sack Pillow by lesliejanson.

I really love the vintage swimsuit and the t-shirt in the middle is so fun.

I'm linked up at lollipops.

What I Returned With: Part One.

Every time one of us goes to visit the Aunties, we inevitably return home with a car packed full of things they have saved for us. They have paper bags all over their house with our names written in thick black marker on the side, where they sort things that they want to give to us. One thing I always return home with is peanut butter. I'm not sure why, really, but they always give me peanut butter. It's fine by me, I like making peanut butter cookies.

They wouldn't all fit on one counter.

Sometimes we return home with things that are just a bit cooler than peanut butter though. For instance, this trip I was gifted just over 100 canning jars, many of them have been used by my Aunties to put up all kinds of yummy goodness in the past. It's no secret that I love canning and pickling so I was really ecstatic when my Aunt Dae-Dae (Daisy) offered me the jars. Now to wash, sort, and store them. Peaches and nectarines will be ready for u-pick in a couple of weeks and I'm so excited to use some of my new jars.  

There was an unopened box of these beauties from 1989. They are gorgeous and I can't wait to make something really special to put inside them.

The sides have fruit all over them. These are so much cooler than the jam and jelly jars you can purchase now-a-days. I think I will probably keep these for personal use because I just love them so much and I don't know if I could give them away without a promise of having the pretty jar returned. 

We're Home!!

Our drive was really long and we're so happy to be home. I think Weiser missed us too, look at that beautiful sunset we were treated to on our way into town. We unloaded the car (which was completely stuffed) and then I basically collapsed on the couch. Our landlords had a brand spanking new air conditioning unit installed while we were gone. It was so nice opening the door to a house that wasn't sweltering.

I have so many things I want to show you guys from our trip and a couple fun projects we did but I am so tired I can barely form a complete sentence and tomorrow is jam packed with doctor appointments and bill paying so for now I'm just going to post these goofy photos of us stopping at Sonic for a cherry limeade last night. Sonic's cherry limeades are my very very favorite and I don't get them very often because there isn't a Sonic nearby. 

I think this last one needs to be framed and prominently displayed in our home.