Unlike last year, I've been quiet about my industrious advent calendar-making this year. Thanks to a world-class babysitter (what would we do without moms?), I had the luxury of working on this year's calendar at a leisurely pace, and though I'm not sure it packs quite the visual punch of last year's, I'm so so pleased with these itty bitty houses. There's a lot of love poured into them. Yes, I made 24 balsa wood houses from scratch. Did you know you could cut balsa wood with scissors? Such ... Read more
Monday Outfit: Redux
Good morning! It was a busy weekend that didn't leave a whole lot of sewing time, but I managed to stitch up this long-sleeved top and pants knowing that K needs more of these. It feels like she's going through a major growth spurt so I decided to start cutting out the 130cm size, which roughly corresponds to an American size 8. Alas, she's swimming in the clothes and it was one of those projects that refused to cooperate. I was also in the mood to use up some fabric that I've had on my ... Read more
Sewing for Me: Turkey Day Tunic
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating this very food-centric holiday! When I lived in Japan for a couple of years, a bunch of ex-pats and I would gather together to re-create Thanksgiving with the works: turkey, yams, pumpkin pie. We had to special order all the ingredients and we doused ourselves in nostalgia as we gorged on astronomically expensive Western food - good times. With my mom here this year, we're going Japanese style all the way and noshing on sushi. K isn't the biggest fan of ... Read more
DIY Magnets + Giveaway!
I had half-heartedly tossed out the idea of doing some simple DIY projects and here I am, actually following through! I also have a giveaway and a story at the bottom of the post if you're interested. Anyway, many moons ago, I got this idea to make magnets and in my enthusiasm, I ordered a bunch of supplies. I probably don't need to elaborate that my magnet-making scheme didn't pan out so well, and now I have quite the surplus taking up room in my basement. So, just in time for the ... Read more
Pumpkin Banana Bread with Vanilla Bean Glaze
I keep forgetting that this is Thanksgiving week. Maybe it's because I lost a week due to the flu, but I feel like my holiday circadian rhythm is all off. To rectify this, I figured baking with pumpkin puree would get me back on track. But plain old pumpkin bread struck me as a little mundane, and pumpkin pie was more commitment than I was willing to pony up. Then I spotted the over-ripe bananas on the counter and immediately Googled "pumpkin banana bread". This recipe sounded promising, ... Read more