Family & Friends

Last week was a week for family and friends. During the week, my mom and I visited my cousin, Sandy, her baby, Lorenzo, and my aunt Concha and Mateo's friend, Malachi, had dinner with us the other night. Over the weekend, we celebrated baby Carolina's baptism and first birthday. Carolina is Horacio's sister, Norahazel's baby. My brother, Armando came up to visit and we celebrated my dad's 67th birthday.

I sometimes complain that we have too many things to do, especially on the weekends and it is nice when we have an occasional free Saturday or Sunday but I know that we are truly blessed. I do enjoy spending time with our loved ones and I don't take it for granted that we are very lucky to have such a large and loving family. I give thanks to God for each and every person in our lives. I would not change our busy lives for anything in the world.

Dinner with Malachi

I love the new Food Network from Canada (new to us). In this channel, you actually get to see chefs practice their craft rather than judge contests which seems to be the way for the old cable food network these days. One of my favorites is chef Roger Mooking from Everyday Exotic. Just as the title of his show implies, he teaches how to cook everyday foods with an exotic twist. The other day he made these egg crepes that looked delicious. Inspired by that show, I made my very own. I used his recipe for the crepes which you can get here. Except I did not use the ginger because I was not sure that the boys would like it. The sesame oil added a flavor of nuttiness to the crepes that was so yummy. I think that I am going to use sesame oil for all of my omelets and egg crepes from now on. I made several fillings so that the boys can have some variety which included asparagus, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed zucchini, turkey, and fresh mozzarella cheese.


I think they liked it!

Of course, Horacio has to have Tapatio salsa on everything so it's a staple at our house.

Visit with Sandy and Aunt Concha

My aunt has a lovely house in Anaheim. It is a 1930's cottage style house and it is absolutely beautiful. My aunt and uncle have created a treasure in each nook and cranny of the house. See for yourself:

The front yard has a beautiful lawn with a seating area that is perfect for an evening cup of coffee and good conversation.

There is a little gate that my uncle built coming up to the front porch of the house.

The chicken that guards the mailbox.




This is a patio right outside of the kitchen. With the early morning sun streaming through the bugambilia, it is just right for breakfast or coffee.

The rooster that greets you in the morning as you take a stroll through the side yard where various veggies are planted.

This lion knocker adorns the side gate that my uncle built.

and Juan, the security guard takes a break from his job of guarding the side gate.


This is one of my favorite original features of the house. It is a little niche where the milkman would leave milk, butter, or eggs. It opens up on the inside from the kitchen where you would have retrieved the items.

This is the dial on the other side of the little door that you would have used to order your items. How cute!

We also went to my cousin Sandy's apartment to visit with her and her 3 month old, Lorenzo. This is his beautiful room. It is so dreamy. What baby would not love to spend hours in such a peaceful and beautiful room?

This is the little blanket that I made for Sandy for her baby shower. It came with a matching stuffed dinosaur (not pictured).



Carolina's Baptism and First Birthday Party

Here is Norahazel, Carolina and Alex. Carolina looks like a princess in her white dress!



Who is that?
Her first taste of frosting. She's hooked.


I made Carolina a little dress with a crocheted collar.





I hope it fits her.

Blessings!
SC
xoxo

Viva Mexico!

As you may know, September 16th is the anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spain. This year, the celebration is even more special as it is the 200th year anniversary. This is a big deal and Mexicans all over the world have and will be celebrating. We, of course, are no exception. So we headed off to my aunt's house on Saturday night for a night of mariachi, pozole (a type of soup that I don't know how to make but I know how to eat!), tequila, dancing, and of course, The Grito. We love our parties and our costumes!

It was one of the funnest evenings I've had in a while.

A tub of beer. What can be grander?

Pozole. Yum.

I made this flan and I wanted it to look Mexican-y
but I think it looks more Christmas-y.

Sewing Month Update: One project done!

As promised, I completed one of my unfinished sewing projects. This army dude for Mateo. I started him about a year ago and really all that he needed was for me to attach his limbs. But I think that should count toward my commitment, don't you?

Master Chief may not look so mean, but you don't want to get him on a bad day.

He was inspired by the doll in Alicia Paulson's book, Stitched in Time. I made a couple of those dolls too, which I gave away as presents.

"Alright, night-light thingies from IKEA, drop down and give me 20!"

Oh, I keep forgetting to share the Baptism Poem my cousin, Elizabeth, wrote for Lorenzo on his baptism day. Here it is:

Precious Lorenzo Noah

You are a miracle, and a dream come true.
It will be my honor to grow in faith with you.
I welcome this invitation extended with love.
I will be your angel sharing words from above.
Tenderly hold you and look at your sweet face,
I say a little prayer, to be touched by grace.
So much of life ahead; dream of all you'll be.
Times we'll spend together, my Godson and me.
I will hold your hand, and stay by your side.
I will be your model, teacher, and guide.
I will give you time; think of you each day.
Keep you in my prayers, as you find your way.
I look forward to the years ahead,
And being a Godparent to you.
May our treasured bond grow strong,
And in faith our hearts be true.

by Elizabeth Olivar


Happy sewing,
SC
xoxo

Crocheting Obsession!

Happy Friday!

I think I owe you a progress report on my sewing month objective: No Progress. Period.
I promise, (and how many times have you heard that before?) that I will get something done this weekend.

Love, Sweet Love

Now on to more exciting stuff and the real reason why I haven't been doing so good on my sewing month pledge, I am having a love affair... with my crochet hook! I have been obsessed with crocheting. I spend every free and waking moment crocheting. As soon as I open my eyes in the morning, my hands assume the crochet position. I quickly run through my chores just to have time to crochet. My husband and child come and go and find me in the same spot, crocheting. I stay up until the wee hours of the night (or morning), crocheting. I think Horacio is getting a little jealous of Mr. Hook. It's sad, I know, but I cannot help it. Ever since I found the creativeyarn blog, I have not stopped. Of course, I also dedicate the obligatory time to my job search. If I am to keep up these obsessions of mine, I must have a way to finance them, right?

So anyway so, this obsession has sparked an even more exciting happening. I am planning on hosting a boutique party to raise funds for cancer research. I will be selling the items inspired by creativeyarn and some of my own designs along with other vendors at the boutique. As you know, October is breast cancer awareness month. It also marks the one year anniversary of my sister-in-law's diagnosis. So the boutique will be in her honor. Here is a sneak peak of my crochet items. They are very simple, casual, and unique fall/winter accessories.

Indigo Cuff

Lime & Sparkle Cuff

Various Earrings

Aren't they cute? I would totally wear these. In fact, it is really hard for me to part with them. For each thing that I make, I want to make another one just for myself. I hope we raise some good money for cancer research.

Organizing

I did manage to tear away from my crochet hook for just a couple of hours the other night to work on another project. Jeanette had given me an old bulletin board for my studio since I didn't have one. I totally forgot to take a picture of it before I re-did it, so that you can see the before and after, but as you can imagine, it was old. Metal frame and faded cork. But here is the after picture:

I painted the frame red and taped scrapbooking paper on the cork to give it a patchwork design. I'm quite happy with the results. But there is a problem. I don't want to put anything on it now! I'm sure, eventually, I will fill it.

So this little project inspired a whole studio re-do. I cannot afford new and functional furniture so I de-cluttered and moved my existing furniture around. Keep in mind that the space is only a 10x10 room (formerly Horacio's office - until my stuff started to creep in and take over), so I don't have room for a craft table, which I would love, but it is a nice room. It is in the front of the house and has french doors that open up to the front yard. Eventually, when we put in the landscaping, I will look out to beautiful plants and flowers. Anyway, here are some pictures of it:

I still have to re-upholster this chair. The dolls sitting on the chair, were made for me by my abuelita (grandmother) and the little turquoise cabinet that holds my sewing thread was hers and hung in her house for as long as I could remember. This is the other thing that I love about this room, it has reminders of her. My paternal grandmother. She was an artist and a crafter in her own right. I am doubly blessed with the love for creating from both sides of my family. So you see, I have very little say, I am genetically wired to love crafting! I used to spend summers in Mexico with my grandmother and she used to visit us here for months at a time (I'm sure my mom was really happy about that), and she taught me so much about God, love, and creating. Every stitch of clothes she owned, she sewed herself. She had a sewing machine but she preferred to hand sew most of it. Every time I think of her, I see her with a crochet hook, or a colored pencil, or a needle in her hand and a love song or praise song on her lips. She was a sweet, sweet angel and I miss her very much.

Someone else is honoring National Sewing Month...My mom.

My mom came to visit yesterday. It was so nice to spend the day with her. She sewed. I crocheted. Here are the dresses that she has been working on. One of them is for Viviana and the other one she will sell at the boutique. I hope she can make more. The bodice is crocheted in cotton yarn and one the dress' bottom is made from linen while the other one in light weight velvet. They are sweet.

This is the one with the linen bottom:

This one has the velvety bottom:

I love them!

Happy weekend!

SC
xoxo