FILL IN THE BLANK FRIDAY

1. I am looking forward to:  May 7th-- my payday!!!

2. Something kind of embarassing that I still love anyway is: Twilight.  The books, not the movies.

3. My favorite car is: A Camry-- I'm on my third.

4. If I could pick one type of weather to live with for the rest of my life it would be:  I'm kind of happy with the weather in Hawaii -- nothing too extreme.

5. My favorite thing to do after a bad/stressful day is:  Go for a walk with Em,  or watch Criminal Minds reruns, while reading magazines.

6. This weekend I will be: Hopefully spending some time cleaning!  My to-do list is super long.

7. If I were a color, I'd be:  (According to an online quiz) Blue ...because:

BLUE

You give your love and friendship unconditionally. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

 link-up at the little things we do

FRIDAY'S FANCIES #22

fun with friday's fancies...

ROYAL WEDDING by jo_annie808 featuring an embroidered dress

Oscar de la Renta embroidered dress, 3,010 GBP
L K Bennett collarless jacket, 225 GBP
Sandal heels, $495
KOTUR lace handbag, $550
Rhinestone crystal earring, 93 GBP
Ribbon hat, $35

WHAT I'M PLAYING THURSDAY

80's Edition:

ADVENTURES IN POTTY TRAINING

We've been potty training Em for a couple of months now.  She starts preschool in August.  For the first month or so it was frustrating.  There were many accidents, hours of time on the potty with nothing happening, and days when I'd be thinking..."I'll be perfectly alright with changing her diaper for her whole life."  Then about three weeks ago, something clicked.  I guess she was just ready at her own time.  So far so good.

This totally worked-- she loved getting "stars":

The next obstacle was the public restroom, which we conquered this past weekend with this:

Em Jay is terrified of the public restroom.  The first time she tried, it flushed while she was sitting and she almost flew off.  She grabbed my legs for dear life.  I had to normalize it by telling her to say "bye noisy toilet, see you next time!".  I've learned my lesson, and now cover the sensor with toilet paper. 

Any mommies out there have any tips or suggestions for public restroom anxiety?  Everytime we go to one, the poor girl looks so stressed out.  What about the loud hand-dryer-- she won't even stand near one?  Help!  (And to the non-mommies-- sorry for TMI.) 

STAR WARS CRAFTS

I came across this craft book the other day on amazon...

Then I browsed flickr for some star wars craft inspiration...super cute!

1. Chewbacca Sock Puppet, 2. Star Wars Glitter Globe Craft, 3. Star Wars Pet Rocks, 4. Star Wars Easter Eggs, 5. princess leia cupcake, 6. Yoda Cookies, 7. Star Wars TIE Fighter Printers Block, 8. Star Wars Napkin Rings Craft, 9. AT-AT Planter

MONDAY LOVE

Hope you had a Happy Easter!!

Today, I am loving these random things from etsy...

cute ice cream stamp set...

from memi the rainbow

pretty printed locket...

from verabel

sunburst cuff bracelet...

from laurel hill

gorgeous studded bracelet...

from thief and bandit

adorable ghostbusters cross stitch pattern...

from pixel people

upcycled summer lights...

from boots n gus

That was fun.  Being low in the money department means that these (wish)lists have to satisfy my shopping dreams...

EASTER! and a eco-kids egg dye review

This year Em Jay loved dyeing eggs.  She had so much fun-- and sat for over an hour coloring her eggs.

Who's having more fun...Em, or Daddy?

Em discovered that if you paint eggs with tempera paint, then dip them in the dye it makes a very pretty marbled look.



This year, along with our regular old dudley egg dye.  I decided to try natural egg dyes from eco-kids  -- eco-eggs. 

The dye powders come in cute little containers.  Just pour the powder in a cup, add water, and mix.  I absolutely LOVED these dyes.  The colors are beautiful, and they are really easy to use.

Also see the first photo in this post (all the way at the top) for an example of the blue.  The entire two left-side columns of eggs in the photo were made with the eco-kids dyes.

These were my prized ones.  I loved the monochromatic look.

Although they were a bit pricey for egg dye...I will definitely be purchasing the natural dyes again next year.  I ordered mine from imagine childhood for about $15.99. 

OUR SF 2011 TRIP

I never did get a chance to post our photos from our January San Francisco trip.  It was so much fun, and great to spend time away-- just us three.  This was our 5th time in SF, and our first during January.  This is what SF is like in January...cold.  Especially for us Hawaii people.

We spent our first day at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market, then headed to The Mission District (my favorite!)  I shopped (I love Paxton Gate, and Candy Store Collective, and Retro Fit Vintage, and Aldea Ninos -- the best kids store ever) and we ate-- a lot.  Stopped at Anthony's Cookies, and Bi-Rite Creamery for Salted Caramel Ice Cream.  Yum!

Of course we ate dinner at Dojima Ann on O'Farrell Street (we love).  The next day we went to Molinari Delicatessen, and ate North Beach Special Sandwiches.  Then headed over to Haight Street.  And here's Em at Amoeba saying "Aaaahhh, so many records!"

We had time that evening to walk around Union Square near our hotel, pick up cupcakes at Cako, stop in at Game Stop for a super good selection of DS games (I bought 5).  And take photos on the Cable Car.

On our last day we went for a quick stop in Chinatown to pick up a few things, then we went to meet some friends at California Academy of Sciences

Our last stop was Japan Town.  Great selection of Japanese Craft Books at Kinokuniya.  And this place is a MUST everytime we visit.

It really was such a nice vacation for us.  Hopefully we'll be back to SF soon. 

WAIT! BEFORE YOU THROW AWAY THOSE ENVELOPES...

Why don't you make some D.I.Y. photo corners...

You'll need: junk mail envelopes, a ruler, scissors, pencil, assorted rubber stamps, ink

I measured about 3/4 of an inch in, and marked with a pencil

Then I snipped off the corners along the pencil mark, stamped away...

And Voila!  Your very own recycled photo corner.

HAPPY EARTH DAY, EVERYONE!



FRIDAY'S FANCIES

I've never dressed up for Easter before, but if I had to (and had an unlimited budget) I'd dream of wearing this.  My Friday's Fancies link-up.

EASTER by jo_annie808 featuring gold sandals

Short sleeve dress, $75

Moschino Cheap Chic gold sandal, $383

Lizard handbag, $2,560

Eyes - Women's Makeup - CHANEL - CHANEL Cosmetics and Fragrance |...

Chanel - Aqualumiere Gloss (High Shine Sheer Concentrate) - # 73..., $38

LE VERNIS Nail Colour - CHANEL - Nails - Makeup - CHANEL - Luxury -..., 17 GBP

Chocolate Eggs Naturel | Easter | Dean & DeLuca, $20

FILL IN THE BLANK FRIDAY

@ The Little Things We Do

1. Fridays are: My most favorite day of the week.

2. magazines, a whole weekend of nothing, and take out from panda express make me terribly happy.

3. Something that inspires me:  random acts of kindness

4. If I had the day off today: I would take Emily to the park for a picnic

5. If I had to put a label on my home decor style, I would say my style is: simple, modern, comfortable

6. Concerning politics I would say: I believe in whomever makes me believe in them

7. I'd like to go to: Sedona again so I could: be surrounded by beautiful canyons, lakes, and nature.

WHAT I'M PLAYING THURSDAY

Link up with We're Just Like You Only Prettier

Just the other day I came across a box of cds packed away from when we moved out of our apartment.  It was like a time capsule.  I found a bunch of cds I forgot I owned.  It was like buying new music.  Here's some of what I've been listening to.

INSPIRATION THURSDAY

Jonathan Adler

I always make it a point to browse around the Jonathan Adler store in San Francisco.  And drool over things I may never be able to afford.



ANOTHER CRAFT BOOK

With Earth Day just around the corner, I thought I'd share with you another one of my favorite Japanese Crafting Books.  This one focuses on paper projects using mainly recycled materials (newspapers, magazines, bubble wrap, etc.) and found paper scraps.

ISBN978-4-8163-4772-6

PREPPING FOR DISNEYLAND

We've decided to take Em Jay to Disneyland this year.  Well, actually my Dad promised her that he would take her for her 3rd birthday.  Marc's thinking is that it's ridiculous to take a child to Disneyland when they are not old enough to hold their memory of it.  I say, it's the experience in the moment that counts...and we'll remember it.  So my Dad is literally taking Em, meaning he is paying for her trip while we pay for ours.

I've been trying to prep, and desensitize (I believe systematic desensitization is the proper term) her to her fear of rides.  And loud moving things.  I think it's working.

First we tried the Train Ride at Windward Mall.  My parents take her during the week.  Here she is with random kids that she says are her friends.

This past weekend was the Iolani School Family Fair.  I think it's safe to say that she is over her fear.  All she wanted to do was go on rides.  Here she is with her pals (these really are her pals).

Now I can't wait for Disneyland.  I am slowly getting over the fact that we aren't stopping in San Francisco this time.  And it will be nice to see Em Jay enjoy the Happiest Place on Earth.