For the moms, moms-to-be, and wanna-be-moms: Check out Makie Clothier!
I love these looks for children (and adults too!) – neutral tones, simple, sophisticated with cute little details and trimmings.
For little men:
For little women:
For adult women (yes!):
A little side note: This was my first attempt at sewing a pair of baby bloomers from a Japanese Makie pattern book a few years back. If you are interested in sewing your own, I purchased my copy here.
While in SF, husband and I went to Japantown and made a short stop to the Kinokuniya stationery store. I couldn’t leave without these socks! So cute….I love how the big toe is separated from the little toes.
You can find more styles here. And read more information about tabi socks here.
Autumn is here! I cut open a kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) yesterday to celebrate the beginning of my favorite season. Wow – that was a bit of a chore!
I made kabocha muffins using this recipe. There were a couple of minor things I changed…. like replacing the canned pumpkin with kabocha. To prepare the kabocha, I peeled, cubed, and then microwaved for four minutes or until it is easy to mash with a fork. Then I added a little more cinnamon (always more cinnamon than what is called for – yum!). Also, the recipe made a total of fifteen muffins rather than twelve. That works for me. *grin*
I might have mentioned this in an earlier post, but there is an excellent bakery/café in Seattle called Fresh Flours. You can order a kabocha muffin. And they have a good lunch too. Take a look at their menu.
Antipast socks! It has been one of my favorite searches on Ebay for several years. Every now and then, I get very excited and surprised to “win” something like this:
Yes…I get excited about socks (just like the gift bags!). Especially very cute ones + made in Japan. You can purchase Antipast socks and accessories at other online stores such as Ped and A Mano, but I like to find a bargain from time to time and Ebay seems like a good place to do just that.
No crafting again. However, I am starting on the dress pattern I bought when I was in Sacramento (see last post). It is a sleeveless summer dress. I know cooler weather is coming, but I needed a pattern for starters (easy in other words) and most of all….sleeveless. Arm sleeves seem to be a little difficult for me so I’m working up to it. I decided on a striped fabric for the outside and charcoal cotton fabric for the lining. Have I mentioned that I love stripes? I am drawn to them! This goes beyond clothing, but wallpaper, upholstery, window awnings, gift wrap, and the list can go on and on, but I will spare you.
I am having visions of a circus dress. Oh dear.
I love Superbuzzy. With every purchase, they throw in a couple pieces of Japanese candy. Very sweet. Literally.
So on a completely different note….I finally made our mini garden pizzas. Yum! I brushed some olive oil on the pizza dough, topped it with goat cheese, zucchini and cherry tomatoes from our garden, and then more goat cheese and olive oil, sprinkled salt, pepper and and a little garlic powder. That’s it. Simple, but yummy.
My husband and I are both back from our trips, the holiday is over and we are easing into our first day of the same old stuff. However, we spent the holiday in our garden – harvesting potatoes and picking some cherry tomatoes – took a drive out to the ocean and (the best part) stopped for a little ice cream at Screamin’ Mimi’s before going home. I am a big chocolate freak…. so I go for Mimi’s Mud everytime.
Peruvian purple potatoes (and others) from the garden:
So…not much crafting lately, but I caught a great sale at Joann’s in Sacramento. They are moving to a new location and most of their items were 50 to 70 percent off. I picked up some fabric, a dress pattern, zippers, ribbon and twill tape. They were even selling their fabric samples – perfect size for a gift bag! You’ll notice in the photo that I was really thinking about the holiday season coming upon us. Well, at least the two pieces of fabric on top.
The last stop before heading back home was Sakura Gifts – a Japanese gift store with more holiday thoughts.
