pinkcherrymama

{first post of 2012!}

well, it's already february and i have yet to write my first new year post...old habits die hard? yes, they do!!!

*just a note: this is more of a personal update post for today...crafty, shop talk and creativity will follow shortly...

Christmas was quiet around here...anyone who has a split/mixed family can probably feel me when i say that the holidays can be...difficult, sometimes. the girls {"his and mine", for lack of a better term} were all with the "other" parents this year, which made it a very low key holiday, but we were totally ok with low key! little buddy {"ours"} wanted to write just one thing to santa this year...

made me laugh :)

 

to the side you can see my super-rad lamp that i found at the thirft store! little buddy accidentally dropped it on the floor while we were decorating the tree and instead of breaking it, like i thought he did, he actually made it work...see the spiffy built in night light? didn't even know it was there until it was dropped - cool.

my annual Chirstmas morning breakfast got postponed until the girls got home the next day...

yummy vanilla, banana waffles with whipped cream.

not long after Christmas, i got my "annual" haircut. it was a pretty substantial cut!

ok, so, i am SOOOOOO SUPER excited for this next part! for new years, we went to the bay area and spent a few days with my family. i gave my daddy, my hubby and one of our daughters tickets for the raiders/ chargers game for Christmas, so we all went along for the ride. i went to THE most AWESOME super market, EVER! it is called Mi Pueblo and it is in San Jose. i have never in my life seen a cleaner, more organized store, EVER.

the bakery was amazing...no simple icing roses here. the cakes and tarts were perfect...

 

don't laugh...it's the little things that excite me in life :)

while i was freaking out about super markets, the dads were at the raider game with my little diva. i guess she made quite an impression on the "regulars" and was being asked if she would mind taking photos with other fans! they nick-named her "the raider angel"...oh boy...

apparently, they thought her bow was wings...

also on this joyous day, i got to go to santana row....*sigh, so rad! i got to shop at some of my favorite stores, maido and paper source,  but since it was new years day, everything closed early - boo!

oh paper and office supplies, how i love you so :) eh, now i'm sounding like a weirdo....oh well.

early in january, i was asked by a new dear friend to make a star wars cake for her son...i had never made one before, but thought, what the heck, so here's what i came up with...

horrible photo :/ everything, including the plaque is edible. i thought it came out quite nicely :)

been busy baking other things as well..such as...

best ever choclate chip cookies from HERE

came out perfect, no?

usually, i get the fever for baking all winter long, but with this awefully dry, warm winter, it has been different. i feel like spring has been knocking for months! this was one of the only snows we had all year...so sad :(

and last, but not least....my baby girl is grduating this year, so we decided to take out an ad in the year book with a photo of her and her longest friend...

THEN... {on the right}

and NOW... {on the left}

how time gets away from us...

*sniffle, sniffle...

and that's all for now folks! thakns for stopping by and getting through such a LONG post!

i'll be posting a crochet pattern and maybe some other fun stuff tomorrow :)

have a wonderful evening!

~r

{christmas baking}

well, i managed to get some baking and candy made... late as always, but i did it (with the help of little buddy and b! here are the recipes for 3 of our favorites :)

 

{double chocolate cookies}

slightly adapted from martha stewarts cookie book

makes 9 dozen!

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 pounds semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter

4 1/2 cups granulated sugar

6 large eggs

5 teaspoons pure vanilla (i LOVE vanilla)

1. Preheat oven to 325˚. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baing soda and salt to combine. melt chocolate and butter in a glass or metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. transfer to a seperate bowl and add granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla. beat with an electric mixer on medium until combined. slowly add in flour mixture on low speed.

 

2. using a 1 1/2" scoop, place balls of dough on parchment lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. bake until cookies are flat and surface begins to crack (about 15 minutes).

we also always make a huge  batch of fudge for the holidays...

 

{chocolate fudge}

adapted from a hershey's fudge recipe i found in a magazine

this recipe makes a TON of fudge so beware!

8 tblsp. butter

2 2/3 cups evaporated milk

16 oz. mini marshmallows

7 cups chocolate chips

(i substitute peanut butter chips, mint chocolate chips, butterscotch and milk chocolate for different variations)

6 cups sugar

1 tsp. salt

6 tsp. vanilla

*2 cups chopped nuts optional

combine butter, evaporated milk, sugar and salt in a heavy saucepan. bring to boil over meduim heat, stirring constantly. boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. remove from heat.

stir in marshmallows, chips and vanilla. stir until marshmallows are melted. pour into foil lined 12x12 square or 13x9 pan.

*sprinkle colored sugars, nuts, crushed candies, etc.

 

 and lastly...Christmas would not be Christmas without grama rosie's mexican sugar cookies. this recipe was passed down to my mother from either my grandmother lidia or my aunt d. she is having trouble remembering who!

 

 

i really hope you will have time to try one of these recipes for Christmas Eve!

in the midst of having a shoulder injury, baking and wrapping presents, i am also finishing up a bunch of crochet projects for gifts...

i still have 3 more to finish by tonight! better get hooking, huh?

have a wonderful day!

~r

{a year to the day...}

yes, it has been 1 year, to the day, since my last post....

so for anyone out there in blogland... friends, family or the occasional happened-by-accident visitor... i am happy to say, I AM STILL ALIVE! i am so embarrassed for having neglected my blog... i have made it through some major bumps in the road this year and i am  finally ready to come back to blogging. i have missed sharing creative things, ideas and experiences of everyday life so much. just as i was starting to get the hang of it, i gave up. BUT, like i said, i am ready and excited to be back and share what i have been up to and some of the little things that make me happy - or, sometimes, not so happy - in life.

SO much has happened this past year! so for today and tomorrow, i'm going to try to sum it up as short and sweet as possible...

late december 2010:

new additions to our family! louie dog...

and shelby girl...but i can't seem to find any photos of her :(

february 2011:

another day in s.f. nothing really different than any other day...BUT this time, my girls decided to try a new way of taking photos...hang mom's iphone out the window and snap... i LOVED how they came out!

{by the way, HIPSTAMATIC is my MOST FAVORITE APP EVER!}

my oldest decided to compete in dance this year and her team did awesome! i have to admit, i am glad it is over though...lots of travel and fun, but very expensive...

{she's the one on the left}

little buddy began his obsession with boba fete {spelling?} and has not gotten over it yet...

 

March 2011

little buddy turned 5 and had his first trip to disneyland...that he actully remembers!

"sissy b" got a chance to do some modeling for a very good, VERY talented friend of mine... he makes the most wonderful metal art. he lives in a beautiful old mansion in the middle of alfalfa fields where the photo shoot took place...she was a trooper! she stayed in the kimono for 4 hours without a potty break! there were about 5 or 6 layers to the costume and it took about an hour and a half to get dressed. if you have a chance, please check out his work HERE 

little buddy also started playing t-ball this year... what an experience that was (for both parent and child)!

april 2011

grama and grampa had their 50th wedding anniversary! we had to rent a tent last minute because it started to sprinkle. it was FREEZING, but it turned out great...even having to pack everyone into the tent.

(i made an almost exact replica of their original wedding cake and restored their cake top...)

 

June 2011

My baby girl (oldest child really) graduated! oh my goodness, this was a big one for me this year...

AND....she turned 18!

...so we had a carnival :)

August 2011

AND THEN... she went to her very first dance audition at THE EDGE in hollywood. she ddn't get into their dance program, but it was an awesome experience...

the following week, we were back in L.A. for another audition, this time for disney... another no, but no regrets for the experience! i decided to take my baby girl for a "secret" trip to disneyland while we were in socal. it was such a blast...i haven't ever really spent time with her alone since she was a baby...

{photos to come tomorrow :)}

i really want to finish up telling about my year and feeling like i have a new start :) i am exhausted for now, but i will finish up tomorrow.

So for now, i am going to say good night.... sleep well and "see" you tomorrow!

~r

princess cake and lots of new, old looking stuff :)

today's activities...

this was for a friend's daughter, susej, for her 7th b-day...i hope she liked it!

i got a ton of new tags done for etsy as well:

i am hoping to get everything listed in my shop by sometime tomorrow.

well, that's all for today...i had a completely creative day and i am sleepy!

hope you have a super-rad weekend and "see" you soon!

~r

so thankful for the opportunity to have a day like this...

my friend ian ~amazingly, talented photographer and kind soul~ posted a blog recently that i just had to share... please read both of these posts and you will understand what i mean later in my post.

ian ruhter-downtown l.a. project #9

ian ruhter-downtown l.a. project #11

it really makes me thankful for having the opportunity to have such a busy life, to have clothes to wash, dinner to cook, television to turn on for my sick child to watch while he rests, an oven to bake my friends cake in, books to read, a HOUSE to feel safe and comfortable in, a husband to make lunches for because he has a job to go to, a computer to write this blog from and to promote my business, bathrooms to clean, beds to make, a car to drive my kids to dance class in, a kitchen to cook dinner in,  beds to tuck my kids into at night

that being said, i am sooo thankful for my busy, busy life...this is what my day looked like...

bake princess cake for friend's daughter...

decorate tomorrow...

time out for a "mr. frog" break...

look at those eyes!

sick boy...

he'll be better tomorow..i hope...

got about 500 tags and bags dyed and dried, ready to finish...

should have most of them finished by tomorrow evening...

laundry, laundry, laundry...

did i say laundry?

~mac and cheese break~

back to creating...

still to go before bed:

1. k to dance class

2. dinner

3. laundry

4. give e a bath

5. dishes

6. bedtime stories with e (one of my favorite times of the day!)

7. Bible time with jimmie

8. sleep....

i think today was a pretty productive day!

i thank God for all of the comforts and "stuff" that we have, that so many here in our own country do not... i am trying hard not to take anything for granted...

 have an extra sparkly and happy evening!

~r

batman has an obsession with moon boots!

WARNING: IF YOU'RE JUST HERE FOR THE CREATIVE STUFF, SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OR YOU WILL BE BORED TO TEARS!

yes, it's true...batman/spiderman/peter parker, has an obsession with moon boots. he has been wearing them for 3 days straight and i am scared that this may continue for awhile.

today is the first day of school for my girls! my baby girl brittany is at her very first day of high school, yikes! i couldn't help myself and subjected my poor teenage daughters to the grueling task of "1st day of school" pictures...

 

and then, just to prove i have a serious problem, i had to snap this one undercover from the truck after i dropped them off at the bus stop...

and, i can't forget, my youngest daughter got baptised yesterday in lake tahoe...

ok, enough of my kids...or maybe not...

the girls and i drove to L.A. last week and, of course, half the fun is getting there...we encountered 2 herds of elk on our journey... if you look closely, you can see a big buck leaping over the fence...

i then conveniently got us lost in the barrio, somewhere near hollywood...

...and ended up at the "great wall of los angeles", for real, i am not joking....

...but the girls wouldn't let me get out to take pictures...totally bummed :(...

before finally making it back to camarillo where we stayed with my awesome friend, nicole and her family.

 our beach day at carpinteria was a bit chilly, but i was at the ocean and that makes me HAPPY! 

we did the tourist thing and walked down hollywood blvd. something i probably will NEVER do again, but i am glad i did it once. we got to look at the ground at the stars and foot prints, while walking forever in excruciatingly hot and humid weather, all the while toting our cranky boys and better- behaved- than- i- expected girls around and dodging rude tourists and even ruder tour hustlers shoving pamphlets in our face.  seriously, i really did have fun though!

my girls in front of marilyn and janes foot and hand prints from gentlemen prefer blondes...

brittany was content after being able to see MJ's star...

and mr. E.J.O. representing la raza...

and then we were off to simi valley for my sister-in-laws wedding...

i did the flowers and helped decorate. britt helped decorate the tables and kalie had elijah duty for the weekend...

the kids were all in the wedding as well, but i failed to get any good pictures of elijah in his tux...he was too busy having tantrums to allow for it...

after we got back, i was so excited to have my friend come and visit from seattle. we went to russia together as teenagers and have been friends ever since...

here is us then... (she is in the front and i am on the right, 1990)

and now...

now for my creative endeavor for the month; just before i left to L.A., i did a really fun wedding cake. i posted pics of the prep for it, but here is the final product...

the "sand" is made of super-fine sugar, everything else is gum-paste or royal icing...

i decided to write their names in the "sand" at the last minute...

well, that's about it for now. i've got some projects started, as usual, and i'll be posting what i get done this week. i also will be adding more to etsy, so check it out when you get a chance.

have a great day!

~r

me slow down? psh, ya, right! i've got carnivals to go to and cakes to make!

edit: quick note. i just found this awesome website that makes photo books and they are awesome! look to the right of this post at this link . i got to see one first-hand a couple of weeks ago and they are super high quality and look very professional. i can't wait to order one! anyway, just thought i'd share for any of you picture happy people out there!

i have come to the conclusion that the elusive day when i might have some down-time, to catch up on all of the projects that have found themselves becoming dusty on the shelves, may in fact, never come. this conclusion has actually made me feel a bit more free in the sense that now i just won't worry about it coming...if it does actually happen to come, what a surprise i will get!!! that being said, here is a look at what's been going on this past week...

 

my super-duper helpers, made my life a whole lot easier by mixing and kneading the sugar-paste i am going to use for a wedding cake this weekend. the "client" for the cake is actually one of their old youth leaders who has moved to orange county. it 's awesome that they got to have a hand (literally!) in making something for such a special day.

after they finished mixing the sugar-paste, i made molds using real sea shells...

once the mold was dry, i brushed powdered sugar into each mold and pressed sugar-paste into each. i then pulled each cast out and laid it onto a 3x thick piece of batting to dry.

the next step will be to spray everything with an edible pearl paint. 

 i think i mentioned before that big daddy j had the past week off. we filled everyday with something! i was able to take my "small group" girls (which is actually a big group) from church to sushi and the carnival on saturday AND we had a sleepover...can you believe i stayed up past most of them..wimps!

seriously, automatic weapons on a kiddie ride? what the heck?!?!?

gotta love the small-town carnivals! such cheezy, sparkly, awesomely rad fun!

ttfn!

~r