Pumpkin Patch

Although three of us are in different recovery phases from our recent battles with the cold, we still made the trip to Half Moon Bay for our annual pumpkin patch outing last week. Sometimes, I’m amazed at how much energy resides in a little person’s body. Despite Ryan’s cough, he was running around and “collecting” pumpkins. Other kids might collect dolls, toy trucks, stickers and etc., but our little Ryan collects fruits. Our house is currently stocked with park-found pine cones, blemished apples fallen from the neighborhood trees and all sorts of unrecognized berries picked up from the streets. So you can imagine how excited Ryan became when seeing tons of pumpkins on the field waiting to be collected.….

Wow! What a mini corn! May I eat it now?


A river of pumpkins is winding through corn bushes

Spiderweb Eggs

I’m in a super crafty mood lately. I couldn’t resist the urge to make these spiderweb eggs when seeing the recipe from Martha Stewart living. Plus, it’s also a good way for Ryan to show off his significantly improved dexterity by helping peeling the eggs.

For those who are interested, here is the instruction. Enjoy!!
1 dozen large eggs
8 cups water
2 cups frozen blueberries
Freshly ground black pepper, for serving

1. Place eggs in single layer in large saucepan, and cover with water and blueberries. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 10 mins.
2. Remove eggs and place on a folded kitchen towel. Lightly crack shells on side with the handle of a whisk or a wooden spoon. Transfer eggs to a bowl; cover with cooking water. Let eggs cool completely in water in refrigerator.
3. Carefully peel shells from eggs. Serve with salt and pepper.

The eggs are soaked in blueberry water.

Ryan is helping peeling the eggs

Busy helping setting up the shots.

Got BOOed !!!

October is full of Halloween celebration and decorations. For us, the holiday is officially kicked off by me being “Booed” at work. It’s our office tradition. Each year, one of us will start the BOO game by secretly delivering nifty treats to two coworkers and the recipients have less than 48 hours to spread the tricks on. Otherwise, they are warned that “ZAP will strike the tail”…. I found the game to be a cute way to spread the holiday spirits. This year, I made several goodie boxes by using Chinese take-out boxes, florist tapes/wires, and construction papers. My only remaining challenge is to find off-hours to secretly deliver my sweet gifts…..

This one goes to Janjan!!

Hurray!! I think I just found my very first gift for my soon-to-born niece-Janjan!

I happily came across this cutie apple bunny the other night on Le Train Fantome. It is so adorable that I cannot get if off my mind. The vintage print, the fabric and handmade quality just hit my sweet spot. All of the creatures available at this UK based on-line store are designed and handmade by a French artist Fanja Ralison. These handmade dolls are too cute to resist...





Images from Le Train Fantome

Grape Jello

This is Ryan's new love - Grape Jello. I didn't introduce him to Jello for a long time, thinking it's empty calories loaded with artificial colorings. But after he tasted the Jello at Satura Cake weeks ago, he is hooked. So I'm trying to do a more healthy version by using fresh fruit, juice and less sugar. Jello is by far the easiest dessert to make. If you know how to boil water, you can make it. Here is the recipe:

1 cup of apple juice
1 tablespoon of sugar
1.5 teaspoons of gelatin
A dozens of peeled grapes

Combine juice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Sprinkle gelatin powder over the water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Whisk gelatin into juice. Place peeled grapes into the molds and pour the juice mixture. Keep in the refrigerator until firm, about three hours or overnight.

The Blue Angel

Thanks to Tracy and Kenny for inviting us to United’s annual Blue Angels event. Not only did we get into the usually restricted hangers to see where the plane maintenance often takes place, but we were also able to see the legendary good-looking Blue Angels pilots up close and their handsome takeoff for the air show. If you ask me whether they’re as good-looking as rumor says, in my opinion, they look just like any of the ground crew in the pictue below. You be the judge…..

Go Explore!

It was another busy weekend, packed with series of adult and children activities. Like what my father usually says "What good does it do by sitting around the house; go explore!" Growing up, I never thought myself as a compliant child and I think my parents would agree with me on this. But as I grow older, I found myself practicing my parents’ preach quite a bit.

The moral of the story is that parental nagging does have its long-lasting and effective impact on children, at least for me.

Paper Paper on the Wall

It seems that lately from design magazines, newspaper to blogsphere, you cannot help but notice wallpaper has been making a huge comeback. When I think of wallpapers, I get the mental picture of the 1960-70s raised, embellished and dated patterns. I think that image has to do with the yellow-greenish wallpaper we once had at my parents' house. But what you will find today is a much wider range of designs from classic, modern to Avant Garde.

However, knowing myself, I’ll never commit a wall to any hard-to-reverse design ideas. Perphaps, just perhaps I can frame Lizzie Allen’s whimsical “changing guards at buckingham palace” or Hanna Werning’s “kastanjetrast” and hang them on our desperately empty walls. Warren is already complaining that my project list is getting longer and longer because he realized long ago that he is actually the person to execute them. Well, didn’t he notice the word–perhaps?

Images from Hanna Werning & Lizzie Allen

Orange Pumpkin, Black Spider or Else???

As summer gave its way to autumn, Halloween is upon us again. It’s one of my favorite holidays in the US. Since I was not lucky enough to participate as a child, now I have the luxury of dressing Ryan, which to me is equally fun. However, the older he gets, the harder the costume shopping becomes. He has been a blue octopus and a yellow duckling for the previous Halloweens. What is he going to be this year then?

While browsing through the catalog for ideas, I asked Ryan for his opinion. After a glance of a page of costumes, he quickly picked an orange pumpkin outfit. Of course, I should have known better---a food-related costume. If you know Ryan well, you know that he has a thing for food. Although a pumpkin outfit is cute, it’s not exactly what I had in mind. I was hoping that he would pick the cool black spider. I have a feeling that this is the beginning of our future endless conflicts on clothing choices.....

We have a few more weeks to dwell on the decision. Orange pumpkin, black spider or else?