What Did you do this weekend?

I went to a baby shower on Saturday! Drew cute animals on onesies.

Sunday off to the County Fair!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Goat Cheese Stuffed Squash blossoms
First you mix up the goat cheese with herbs, toasted pine nuts, salt and pepper. Then you clean your squash blossoms and cut out the stamens. And then, you stuff them with tasty goat cheese mixture. And then, you steam them gently for a few minutes.
We ate them over soba noodles and sauteed veges.
Yum.

I should’ve taken a picture, but we gobbled it all up to quickly for that to happen.

Blue Heart

ugly in brooklyn

I thought to comment on the idea of always searching for pretty. why? is pretty good and ugly bad? why do we like to make things either/ or. if it’s not pretty, then it must be ugly. so i went in search of finding ugly in my neighborhood. well, I live in Brooklyn. and then too it depends on your definitions. everything can be seen as beautiful. even the most beautiful can reveal ugly.

(Notice the red mcd’s box among the purple coneflowers?) Here’s another angle.

Now here’s some “graffiti” on the wall between two stores on Flatbush.

I quite like it.

and this last one is just amusing.

New Favorites

All of these pieces are from a Raku and Gas kiln firing this past weekend at our wonderfully generous friend’s place up in the Catskills.

King Louis XIV’s advice

I’m reading the best book right now — A Little History of The World by E. H. Gombrich. It really is the best little book on history that I can ever remember reading. It’s under 300 pages and it starts with the Neanderthals and spans all the way to the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. Wow. It’s giving me an amazing perspective on how everything in the world fits together from human beings to religion to politics. Here’s a nice little quote from page 205.

King Louis XIV of France to his grandson:

“Never favour those who flatter you most, but hold rather to those who risk your displeasure for your own good. Never neglect business for pleasure, organise your life so that there is time in it for relaxation and entertainment. Give the business of government your full attention. Inform yourself as much as you can before taking any decision. Make every effort to get to know men of distinction, so that you may call on them when you need them. Be courteous to all, speak hurtfully to no man.”

A Quick Bag

I was invited to a wedding this past weekend. I’d found a lovely dress, already had nice shoes, looked through my shawls and found one to match. But oh no! What am I going to use for a handbag? Nothing matched. I quickly thought, ‘I must have some fabric somewhere that’ll work.’ And thanks to a good friend, who’d recently given me some really cool fabric pieces, including this black, crinkly, shiny, rubbery stuff and a small piece of double face satin ribbon, I created this quick, perfectly understated, but fancy bag.

Plastic plastic Bag

Take some old plastic bags, iron them together, cut, sew, add handles…. Done — a new plastic bag made from old plastic bags. These bags are from the Park Slope Food Coop, which is where I shop. You can still see the yellow bulk stickers — a little silly, but I like. I’ve posted this bag on my etsy shop too.

bag measures 12″ tall x 6.5″ wide x 4″ deep and the handles are 16.5″ long so they fit nicely over the shoulder.

I made Don a note

As it happens more days than not, I leave the apartment minutes before Don gets home. We don’t get to see each other in the daylight for sometimes days and days. I should be running out the door, but I take a few quick minutes to cut this little note for him. I place it in his favorite spot on our little love seat. That way he won’t see it right away, not until he’s ready to sit and relax.
Why use paper when you have bits of fabric laying around?

Baby Bag

I created this bag for my cousin. He’s having his first baby! He asked for something homemade and from the heart.