oh christmas tree

over a week after thanksgiving, and i still haven't fully recovered from all the fooding.  oddly, i was more conservative in my pigging out than usual, but i still feel as if i've accumulated an extra layer of fat that i'm not entirely sure i'll be able to shed!

we hosted thanksgiving this year, and it began days earlier with a beautiful brine and ended with a heavy chocolate peanut butter tart.  

because we were a bit too eager to get the christmas season started, we jumped the gun this year and wound up decorating for christmas the weekend before thanksgiving... even though i've previously sworn i'd never do that.  judge me if you will.

we found this fun little pop up tree from target that took less than five minutes to assemble.

whimsical and fun, it fits nicely in our living room next to the fireplace that we've chosen to block with a tv.  i dislike fireplaces. like a lot. judge me if you will (again).

with the addition of a poinsettia and white lights bordering the room,  it may be slightly untraditional but still quite festive!

how are you planning on decorating for christmas this year?

christmas tree lighting at the old globe

this past weekend we embraced the holiday season by attending the christmas tree lighting at balboa park. i discovered this yearly event by accident while purchasing tickets for the grinch later this season. since tickets were free, there seemed little reason not to go.

i had heard that balboa park is quite beautiful at night, and it really is.  i have previously only visited during the day, and at most twice.

the line to pick up our tickets was amazingly long, but we still got in a good twenty minutes before the program began.  we wandered around before the program began taking a few pictures, and taking advantage of the free popcorn.

the event itself was pretty short, a little cheesy, but still festive and fun. the performance included christmas songs by members of the grinch cast, and fake snow accompanying the tree lighting.  it was definitely catered more to children, and it is likely that we were the only adults there that didn't have any in tow.  



it was a refreshing way to kick off the holidays, and made me all the more excited for the rest of the season!   what kind of holiday festivities are you participating in this year?

dritz plier kit review

i frequently find myself attaching snaps to my craft projects.  even with practice, i found the old fashioned method of using a hammer and a spool a thread a little too unreliable results wise.  so then i turned to this plastic contraption, which i quickly realized wasn't better at all... and in fact was possibly worse.

one day i was at joann's clutching a 50% off coupon with nothing to buy until i stumbled upon this plier kit.  at half off,  i decided it would be interesting to give it a try.  the tool also can double as an eyelet attacher, and it came with a handful of eyelets and snaps.

that was over a year ago.  

the other day i decided it'd be wise to get a head start on christmas gifts, so i made a couple baby bibs and tested out the plier applicator... jaw... thing. 

doesn't it look like some sort of robot dinosaur? 

the directions from dritz are on the back of the package, and as usual i found the instructions rather lack luster.   i figured out that the rubber pieces included in the kit were supposed to go over the metal pieces  as you see above.  the idea is simple enough-- each snap is comprised of 4 pieces, and the tool is used to clamp together each half of the snap (so 2 + 2).  

i immediately liked how the rubber kept the pieces from moving around, so they'd be perfectly aligned. this can be a little trickier when done the most basic way with a spool of thread and hammer.

however, when i squeezed the clamp together, i realized the fundamental flaw with the applicator--the pressure is difficult to make even on all sides, so you run the risk of one side of the pieces not being fully attached to each other.  i wound up doing some extra hammering to secure them tightly.  i tested a handful of these snaps, and the results were unimpressive- about half were ruined.  

overall, i was pretty unimpressed. i may give it a couple more tries in the future or just go back to the most basic method.

gala chicken, zion market

mmm... fried chicken.  

oddly located inside the new zion market (here in san diego) by the produce section-- and i do mean INSIDE the market, and not in the food court -- are a few unassuming looking food stands, one which is called gala chicken.  

the chicken is fried to order and comes in three flavors: sweet soy, crispy, gala spicy.  it takes about fifteen minutes, but boy... totally worth it.

customers can sit in chairs lined up at the bar while they wait.

bffbf and i have only tried the spicy chicken, and it's fantastic.  the sauce is quite spicy with a well-balanced sweetness to it, and the chicken is fried to perfection.  i believe the order below was 8 or 9 dollars, and comes with a little container of pickled daikon.  while the price may seem a bit steep, especially considering your back is facing the produce section while you eat, i promise you, IT'S WORTH IT.   

i realize that i already said that in the previous paragraph.  i get repetitive when i'm excited.  also, my stomach is growling like crazy right now just thinking about this.  

gala chicken (inside zion market)
7655 clairemont mesa blvd
san diego, ca 92111
open 11:30am - 3:30pm

kiwi bird magnets

as part of my transition back into the crafting world, i recently ordered a bunch of cover button supplies for some fun and easy projects.  a few years ago, i made quite a killing at craft fairs making button  badge ids and magnets. they also made/make great gifts.

as i went through my boxes of fabric, i realized the graphics on my kiwi bird parade fabric were the ideal size to fit over two button sizes.  i decided to start with magnets, as the number of baby announcements keep growing on our fridge ,and i've had to be very strategic with magnet placement.

i'm hoping that i'll find the time to make some more soon, since i expect the fridge to be littered with christmas cards in a month's plus time!

tj's pumpkin

no matter where i have lived, fall has always been my favorite season.  i love the crisp scent of autumn, which i firmly believe i can smell even in the virtually season-less region of socal.   it marks the beginning of the holiday season, and the appearance of bin after bin of numerous squash varieties makes me dizzy with excitement.    

the other day i found myself in trader joe's, on the hunt for their pumpkin icecream.  by the time i made it to the check-out counter, i was clutching a couple cans of pumpkin, pumpkin chai latte mix, and pumpkin icecream.  i give the cashier a lot of credit for not making fun of me.   

promptly after i got home, i was shoving spoonfuls of pumpkin icecream into my mouth, and tried the pumpkin chai latte the following morning.  while i highly recommend tj's pumpkin icecream, i found the pumpkin chai latte mix a huge disappointment.  even overly diluted, we both found the drink coyingly sweet. within two days, i also made pumpkin bars, and bffbf made pumpkin pull apart bread, recipe courtesy of kirbiecravings. and then.. i made a pumpkin pasta bake.

today, bffbf requested that we move on to other seasonal squash for a while.   i guess that's fair. butternut? acorn? kabocha?
do you have a favorite squash?      

getting back into it?

over the last few years, i've noticed that my craft productivity is directly correlated with my stress level.   the more stressed out i am, the less creative i am.  for the first time in months and months, i felt the urge to sew and to complete some pending household projects.   i finally unpacked my serger, plugged in my sewing machine, and sewed a throw pillow for the couch.

it's a strange feeling to do an activity so familiar after such a long stretch a time.  i half expected to completely botch up my very basic project.  but aside from the usual issues with threading my serger, turns out sewing is sort of like riding a bicycle.