Sweet Pickle

This week I made a pickle plush. This pickle is made from grass green colored fleece and it is the softest pickle ever!


The eyes are beady and black and I embroidered the happy smile. I hope to make some more pickles soon.

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Cinco de Cocoa

Four years ago on CINCO DE MAYO, Missy and I officially moved into the house we had just bought here in Athens, Georgia. We christened the house RANCHO COCOA, and set about turning the ranch-style house into OUR HOME. We're learning the hard way what it means to be homeowners and we're learning that, in our case, it's totally worth it. In the four short years we've been at the Ranch (it feels much longer) we've done a lot to improve it inside and out - sometimes out of sheer necessity, most of the time just to satisfy a whim, but always with the goal of putting our unique mark on the place. It is our sanctuary, our club house, our headquarters, our never-ending project, our little corner of the world...RANCHO COCOA POR LA VIDA!

Old shingle roof:


New tin roof:


View of our back patio from inside:


View of our back patio from the outside:


Pink woodgrain curtain in our mudroom:


Matching pink woodgrain fabric on the mudroom switchplate:


Built-in shelving was a huge selling point when we purchased the house:


For just the two of us, we have an awful lot of chairs:


Home is where the hearth is:


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Spring Roll Yummy

I made us some yummy spring rolls as a fast lunch one day. They are so good and very easy to make. Here is how I made our spring rolls.

What you need:
rice paper wrappers
a pan of warm water to dip the wrapper in to make it soft
shredded carrots
baby rainbow chard cut into small strips
snap peas cut into small pieces
cilantro
sesame seeds
hummus

First I got everything ready in little stations - the chard was in one bowl with the snap peas and carrots, the hummus was in another bowl, and so on. I made an assembly line. Next I softened the rice paper wrapper in a pan of warm water for a few seconds. Be careful! Some of mine tore open. Put the wrapper on a plate, then add some of the hummus, veggies, cilantro, and top off with some sesame seeds. Finally wrap up the spring roll as you would a burrito. Repeat this for however many spring rolls you would like. Place finished rolls on a plate and place in the fridge to set. After about 20 minutes, the spring rolls are ready to enjoy!

You can try soy sauce to dip the roll in, or try some hot sauce! Yum!

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Clothes Horse: Mod Monday

My friend Jean and I decided to have a theme day for what we wore on Monday. Today's theme is Mod Monday. Jean writes Don't Mix the Colors blog, and is one snappy dresser! Here is what I wore yesterday.


My dress is from the flea market in Paris, my bright pink tights are from Macy's, my shoes are Fluevog Fellowship Kathy.


I really love the print on this dress, and it is a fabulous polyester material. I mean, who does not love polyester? I love the navy color with my pink tights, too.


Here is a close up of my bunny charm. It is by artist Sarah McNeil. I really like her work, and I know it is not totally mod, but I was going for size and shape, and I really like bunnies, so there.


Lastly, here is my butterfly ring. Raoul gave me this ring when we visited Pittsburgh once. I think it came from a shop called Sugar. It is vintage bakelite. I wear this all the time.

So, you might ask where my pictures were taken - well, last night we went to see the Decemberists last night in Atlanta. It was a great show and we could have a seat and watch everything from our balcony seats! Here is some of the show. It was really good!







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Sketchbook Sunday: Bicycle

Last week's word for Illustration Friday was bicycle. I totally got busy with the usual weekly stuff and projects that I did not get to officially submit and post this until now. Here is my bicycle that I drew and made into a one inch pin back button!


It is fitting that I post it this weekend, cos this is the weekend for the Twilight Criterium bicycle races here in Athens. It is a fun event - we like to watch the cyclists round town, and it is always very busy! I would also like to give a shout out to my mom's place of employment, Aero Tech Designs, where she makes and sews gear for cyclists! She is a great seamstress! Very cool!

Since I can't find any of my Twilight bike race photos, I will just post some of my favorite photos that I took of bicycles!


These are bikes in Shanghai, China. This is near the big walking street, I think it is called Nanjing Road. It is nice there because it is just made for walking, so everyone goes there to shop and walk. You do not have to worry about cars!


This is the bike hitch in Seattle, Washington. I thought it was cute design!


Here is the yummiest bicycle by far! This is a bread bike from ARené-Gérard de St-Ouen, a very cute bakery in Paris, France. All of the breads are made into adorable shapes! I had a bunny when I went.

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