there are many many things i LOVE about pinterest.  i love that i can organize all the recipes to all the creatives to all the yummy sweets to cleaning.

kitchen stove burner.  i gets dirty and sticky.  i have no idea how to clean it.  and scrubbing it with a scrubber and soap obviously doesn't work.  and i just assumed without toxic fumes, it's impossible to clean it.

 

before

the other day, i saw a pin on cleaning the burner with ammonia. i figured, it can't be that bad if i just pour a little into a ziploc bag and close it.  it stunk up my kitchen and it leaked all over the floor.

then i remember seeing this pin.  

luckily, i had both on hand.

                                             before                                                   after

it took some scrubbing but it worked.  

considering i haven't cleaned the burners since we moved into this apt two years ago, i think it's worth the effort!

one of the recipes i saw on pinterest was pumpking nutella bread and my son loved it! 

almost everyday he's been asking for pumpking nutella bread.  

i did make few adjustments to the recipe

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup apple sauce (instead of 1/2 cup canola oil)
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) (instead of 1 cup)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 heaping spoons swirled into 1 loaf pan of pumpkin bread.


and it was delicious!!!

ever since i got hooked on pinterest, i've had about a gazillion ideas.  and been wanting to do all of them.  but obviously, no one has that much time.

here are some that i've done...

 

double rod for the shower curtain so that we can hang our towel...

i went and bought a tension rod and hung it right next to the existing shower curtain rod

this past weekend, i wanted to cook meal for my family.  this isn't anything unusual.  every dish i wanted to cook, i was missing an ingredient.  not just any... i was missing garlic and onions.  this was unusual for my fridge.  and who doesn't have these in their fridge.  feeling frustrated, i went to the market and bought garlic, onions, green onions, cilantro, red peppers and ginger.  all but onions, i washed and chopped and ziploc bagged and put it in the freezer.  thanks to pinterest, i will have my essentials in my freezer :) 

i bought this frame at ikea after seeing at a friend's place.  i had it over a month and finally figured out what to put in this frame!

i'm still working on our entry way.  it's always cluttered... and i just want it prettier...hmph....

last friday, we had friends over for last minute dinner.  i had marinated tri tip from costco.  i wanted to make salsa to go with the tri tip and eat tacos.  well, with limited ingredients, i made corn salsa.  and to my surprise, it was delicious!

 ingredients:
2 cans of whole corn kernels
1 can of black beans
1 medium onions chopped,
1/2 container of grape tomatoes cut into quarters
cilantro
1 heaping spoon of minced garlic
juice of lemon
1 tablespoon of vinegar
salt
peppers
cayenne pepper

i combined all the ingredients and let it sit in room temperature for 1/2 hour. after tasting, i added more salt, pepper and vinegar.

my husband loved it so much that i made another batch....a very large batch and gone within two days!

******

i am horrible about starting a project and not finishing it.  mainly because i can't focus on one project until it's done.  one thing i wanted to start was a sweater.  BUT i didn't want to start this project just to have it sit in my closet.

after reading my friend's blog, i was determined.  i wanted to make that sweater.  so i started doing my research.  i thought of ways to do this without reading an instruction manual.  (i hate reading instruction manuals.  i'm a total 100% visual learner.  i learned to knit just by watching someone knit once).  i googled for easy instructions. i spent days doing this.  and then i realized something.  this is exactly like making a pattern for a top.  i need to have the correct measurements in width and length.  i need to have the correct shape for the sleeves, front and back panels.  so, instead of having a real instruction, i'm knitting this sweater based on what i know from pattern making. 

i decided to make a oversized cardigan.  it'll be perfect for the cold weather in a few months.  i decided to knit this because making oversized tops are relatively simple and easy.

i chose 100% acrylic yarn from joanns.  i chose the cheapest at the store because this is my first project. 

typically, when knitting a sweater, you're supposed to start with the body.  i started with the sleeve.  well... i didn't read the instruction manual.  haha.

i'll post up more pics as it progresses. 

*****

i love watermelons but i hate cutting it.  i make such a mess.  so, i cleaned the sink, rinsed, placed the cutting board then started cutting away.  clean up was so easy! 

so, this posting isn't about what i made or cooked.

i've been feeling guilty for not calling my parents often enough.  after a full week of work, and spending the weekend running errands, and spending time with my son and husband, and cooking food for the week, all i want to do is sleep! 

i talked to my mom today.  i told her how crazy work has been.  she told me how fast my dad is aging. i got teary eyed and wanted her to stop telling me how old he looks now.  and i really wished we could move.  be closer to them.  yes, they will drive me crazy.  but they're my parents.  and i love them. 

they supported me 100% when i moved to NYC 7 years ago while everyone else thought i was crazy.  and they've been my biggest supporters my whole life. 

my mom is coming in september for my son's birthday.  i'm so excited to have her here for a whole week.  but not looking forward to see how much she's aged.

seeing my parents 2-3 times a year... just not enough.  and each time i see them, i hate seeing how much they've aged.

i need to pray for them.... i need to pray for their health.
they need to be healthy when we move back.  :)

may be our move will happen in a year or two.  hopefully sooner than later. 

i saw this  "headboard" on pinterest.com a while back and i've been wanting to replicate it for our boring bedroom wall.  and i finally did it!  

supplies

i had 2' x 4' cut into 12" x 12" at home depot

 coordinating scrap booking paper from michael's

 acrylic paint, sponge brush, mod podge, and spray glue from michael's

(both mod podge and spray glue can be used to glue the paper to the wood.  i just wasn't sure which would work better)

picture frame hanger

getting to work!

 i painted the edge in the acrylic paint

then i nailed in the picture hanger.  

this was bit frustrating.  the nails were just to small.  for this project, nailing in the picture  hanger took the longest!

i forgot to take pictures but this is how

placed the frames

voila!  it's done!

i came across pinterest.com few weeks ago.  Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web.  i've been spending SO much time on this fabulous site lately.   and it's been so fun being able to organize all my creativity on this one site.  and been inspired to be even more creative.  one thing i saw on site is bacon and egg cups.  unfortunately, there was no recipe listed.    and so i went to ask my friend google :) .  and found the recipe here

 

and it was so easy and so good!

it seems like every week, i'm trying to find a new way to organize our apt. especially my little one's endless amounts of art work he brings home everyday.

 

and i was able to do it by placing a box with all of his art work and supplies :)

next project is...find something to put in the lovely frame from ikea. 

 

loving the romper.... but i wonder how i'll like it in green.   i think i might look like gumby

i recently upgraded my sewing machine.  previous machine was good enough but not to sew knit fabric.  this new machine... i love it! to test it out, i decided to make myself a convertible dress.  and it worked fabulously!

  

 my new baby... :)

 my convertible dress

since i wasn't sure of how the machine would sew this fabric, i bought what was available at the store.  well, now that i know that it sews beautifully, i can buy myself fabric i actually love.  :)

i've been wanting to make granola bars for tyler.  i finally got around to it.  i found the recipe for the granola bar at allrecipes.com.  to make it bit healthier, i used 1/2 cup white flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.  also used 1/2 cup of brown sugar.  rest of the ingredients, i kept it same as the recipe. 

in addition to the ingredients, i also added sliced almonds, blueberries and chocolate chips.  next time i'll add more variety of nuts and dried fruits. 

after i mixed all the ingredients, i had tyler help me flatten out the granola before it goes in the oven.  this is easy enough to have my little 2 year old (almost 3 year old) to help me. 

i took it to tyler's class.  but because some of the kids have peanut allergies.... so the teachers ate them.  i even got a thank you card from his teacher

i've been shopping around for a romper for a while now.  i've tried on a few but none i liked.  especially that it's an actual one piece and going to the bathroom will be an ordeal.

i tried making it by adding snap buttons at the inseam.  it didn't work.
so i thought... may be what if i fake it.

i made an one shoulder top and paper bag waist shorts.
of all the clothes i've made, this has to be my favorite!  i love that i have options on how to wear this. 
i plan on making it in a solid color for jumpsuit.  

i can wear it together as a "romper"

 paper bag waist shorts with a sash

or separately!

i've been loving the paper bag waist skirt trend.  so of course, i've been on the search to look for a way to make it.  and i came across this....

win a trip for two to paris

and the crazy thing is, i had a dream last night that the three of us went to paris. i dreamt that i was so busy packing a bag for tony and tyler, i didn't pack a single thing for myself.  

it would be amazing to win this!

few weeks ago, a friend asked me to design a banner for our friend's baby shower.  she didn't give any specifics other than that it be parisian theme

 

this isn't a very good photo, but this is the only pic i have. 

two days off (for jewish holiday shavuot), both son and husband out of the house... peace and quiet :)

since i had my son over 2 1/2 years ago, i don't think i've ever been home by myself.  i love both my husband and my son and can't imagine my life without them.  but it was so nice to just have the day to myself... well, until my husband came home and we had a lunch date :)  that was nice too! 

after dropping my son off at school, i made my way home and started sewing.  it was supposed to be an easy project but it took longer than i thought. 

when i started making the skirt, i debated between zipper closure or elastic waistband.  i went with elastic waistband, especially because i just don't like sewing zippers onto garments.

 

fabric is bit stiff due to the ground color, but i hoping that the fabric will soften up with each wash. 

this past week, i've been so inspired to just be creative.  as my friend put it "crave to be creative!"  and recently, i've been just wanting to sew.  i haven't made any patterns or sew anything for myself or anyone else since i moved to NYC 7 years ago.  main reasons are that all my sewing tools are at my parents house and lack of space.

here are few projects i've been working on.

for a friend's baby shower, i decided to do a personalized gifts.

 sketched the shapes i wanted for the onesies.

since it was only to trace onto fabric, i just used scrap paper. 

 used wonder under... can get this in any fabric store.

this is the thing that will glue my fabric to the onesies

 figure out the placement for the "print"

traced the images onto the fabric

 press...

 final product - i loved how cute it came out.  :)

ok... after i finished these, i decided to make a maxi dress with fabric i bought weeks ago. 

 i even made a sewing pattern using a dress i had bought at urban outfitter few weeks ago. 

didn't really take pics of the process but here's the final product :)  and i love my dress.

 since fabric is 100% polyester (not the most breathable fabric), i decided to make a loose fitting dress.  yes, it will get hot when i wear it during the summer, but it won't be so horrible since it's not fitted dress. 

my son is starting nursery school on june 1.  slowly i've been buying the supplies he'll be needing, like labels for his shoes, his lunch container, for his bag and clothes. i can't believe my little one is starting school already.

i'm looking forward to having my morning and afternoon commute with him each day.  and so much more i'm looking forward to, including parent teacher conference (happens twice a year!) 

 

here are the labels from oliver's labels for his shoes, clothes and lunch container.

  love how his labels turned out

 i created this alphabet design and tried printing it from work on 11" x 17".  but i wasn't happy with how it turned out.  fortunately, i was able to find a poster website that would print my artwork on any size paper.  it came in the mail this week and i'm so happy with how it turned out!