clearly i haven't been on this blog in a long time. and something has happened to a bunch of my old posts and flickr photos are not showing up. not sure what's going on with that but i am pretty sure i am too lazy to figure it out.
why haven't i been around? no particular reason really. i was never a great blogger to begin with. i think with ravelry, my need to document my projects has diminished. i would like to blog more about cooking and baking. I also have 3 (yes, 3) other blogs that i contribute to now which i love and have taken up a lot of my time.
so i don't know when or if i will ever get back here to blog regularly. maybe if i start sewing more and/or knitting more (omg i haven't knit a big project in ages). perhaps i'll just try for a monthly recap of my crafting projects. we'll see how i do. for now, if you'd like to keep up with me, you can find me in a whole bunch of places.
instagram
ravelry
nite lite book reviews (adult fiction, romance, sci fi, non-fiction book reviews)
read now sleep later (ya, children's book reviews)
the painted ninja (nail polish and beauty blog)
:)
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Friday, January 04, 2013
a new year
happy new year, everyone! i hope that you all had a nice holiday. i actually had a couple of weeks off from work, which was awesome. i am actually driving back down from my parents' house tomorrow to my place. i am going to be sad to go. it's been nice just hanging out and not doing anything. we had a great first christmas with my niece, who is the cutest thing ever. don't try arguing with me because you won't win. here's a blurry picture of her.
and of course i'd like to blog more consistently. i say that all the time and i still haven't quite gotten the hang of it, but i'll keep trying. what are your new year's goals? :)
even though this is way out of focus, i think you can tell how adorable she is. :) i also saw a few movies including the hobbit (awesome!), django unchained (thought provoking and over the top), and jack reacher (tom cruise being super intense as always). the weather in norcal has been quite cold and was pretty rainy the first week i was up here. luckily my brother and sister-in-law gifted me with some really cool rain boots.
puddles fear me now. i bought a lot of nail polish which i am not going to show you. though i will show you the mani that i wore for over a week. it was seriously beautiful and wore like iron.
you can't really tell from this picture but it is seriously sparkly and shiny. it is a pink red with bits of scattered holo glitter in it. seriously one of my favorite polishes that i found this year.
and i ate. a lot. my mom is a great cook and i eat as much of her food as i can while i am at home. here are just a few of the tasty things i had over the break.
christmas dinner
beef pho
banh xeo
i will definitely miss the cooking when i am gone. that's about it. i read a couple of books but not as many as i'd hoped. i also pulled out my mom's old sewing machine to see if it worked. and it was working right up until it jammed. so now it's at the repair shop. i am hoping it just needs a good tuneup. it's a super old machine and it's not going to be worth putting a lot of money into it to fix it. if the estimate is too high i may just have to purchase a new one.
since it's a new year, i should probably think about what my crafting goals are for the year. i cleared out my ravelry queue to only be 6 pages long. that took a couple of days. i used to queue everything i liked instead of favoriting it. now i know better. i only kept the things that i would realistically make and the list is still quite long. i do hope to get a lot more knitting done this year and learn to sew.
and of course i'd like to blog more consistently. i say that all the time and i still haven't quite gotten the hang of it, but i'll keep trying. what are your new year's goals? :)
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
dreams in color
Just a wee nail polish haul from this week. My mom picked out the yellow and the lavender. I love having a rainbow at my fingertips. Off for Thanksgiving break. Hope you're all having a wonderful week!
Thursday, November 08, 2012
pumpkin coffee cake
What are some of you favorite fall recipes?
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
adapted from recipegirl.com
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 50 min
CAKE:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 50 min
CAKE:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
One (16 ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large slightly beaten egg
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
STREUSEL TOPPING:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened slightly
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
2. Prepare cake: Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl; add eggs and beat well. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients into the butter mixture half at a time, alternating with half of the sour cream. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, 1/3 cup sugar, and pie spice. Keep separate.
3. Prepare topping: Mix the topping ingredients together with fork or hands until crumbly. Set aside.
4. Spoon half of the batter mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel topping over the batter. Spread the pumpkin mixture over the streusel. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle remaining streusel on top.
5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
1 cup sour cream
One (16 ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large slightly beaten egg
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
STREUSEL TOPPING:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened slightly
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
2. Prepare cake: Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl; add eggs and beat well. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients into the butter mixture half at a time, alternating with half of the sour cream. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, 1/3 cup sugar, and pie spice. Keep separate.
3. Prepare topping: Mix the topping ingredients together with fork or hands until crumbly. Set aside.
4. Spoon half of the batter mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel topping over the batter. Spread the pumpkin mixture over the streusel. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle remaining streusel on top.
5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Friday, November 02, 2012
weekend update: trick or treat
 |
| we had 3x this much candy and gave it all away |
I can't believe that Halloween is over already. I feel like I look forward to it so much each year and then it goes by so fast. I had a really fun timing hanging with my friends and their baby while handing out candy. Then we watched Shaun of the Dead and Halloween while eating copious amounts of candy. I really can't think of a better way to spend the evening.
 |
| iris as a gnome |
 |
| she is walking now so always in motion |
I also went to a taping of Ellen this week, which was a lot of fun. They don't make you wait too long and the show goes by quickly. Ellen is always so positive and funny as well. I don't have any huge plans this week except for a knit night on Friday and a book signing on Saturday. The signing is for Jon Klassen at Gallery Nuceleus and that's on Saturday evening. I am a big fan of his so it should be really fun.
I am hoping to start a new book this weekend, too. I haven't decided which book just yet. I love it when I can start a new book though. There are always so many possibilities. I hope you all had a great Halloween. Does anyone else have any good plans this weekend?
I'll leave you with the book trailer for Jon Klassen's newest book, This Is Not My Hat. Happy weekend!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
happy halloween
Happy Halloween, everyone! This is my favorite holiday. I don't have a costume really this year but plan on wearing my Minnie Mouse ears to work. In the evening I am going trick or treating with my friend and her baby before settling in for junk food and horror movies. I hope everyone has a safe holiday. Sending positive thoughts out to everyone on the east coast. I have lots of friends and colleagues over there and we're thinking good thoughts for them.
*my nails are the sally hansen nail strips. i bought this design last year on sale after halloween. they were kinda tricky to put on but they are super cute.
Monday, October 29, 2012
disneyland adventure
Hello! I hope everyone is having a good week. A couple of weeks ago I went to Disneyland for the first time in maybe 25 years. I went once when I was a kid and I have the pictures to prove it, but almost no memory of it. One of my lovely friends works for Disney and was able to get us in for free. So I took a day off of work (which I never do for fun stuff) to go.
We started off with a delicious pancake breakfast at The Original Pancake House. Almost every entree comes with side of pancakes and there's nothing wrong with that. I got pumpkin pancakes as my sides and they were quite delish.
Our first stop at Disneyland was the new Cars Land. I have to say that Cars Land looked awesome. It looked just like the movie and the Radiator Springs ride looked just like Arizona or some other desert town. It was really cool. The wait for Radiator Springs was the longest of all the rides we went one (1.5 hours) but it was a really fun ride and I am glad we waited for it.
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| doesn't this look awesome? |
Next up was The Haunted Mansion, which was done up with The Nightmare Before Christmas. The house looked fantastic! OMG it was my favorite and we went on it twice. I think it should be like this all year long and not just at Halloween.
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| i want this wreath |
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| it's jack! |
We did a bunch of other rides, including Pirates, Monsters Inc., Roger Rabbit, Toy Story and the river rafting ride whose name I can't remember right now.
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| day of the dead decorations |
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| still pretty magical looking |
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| i love roger rabbit and toon town looked great. |
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| really cool pumpkin tree |
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| YUM |
We finished off the long day with ice cream sundaes from Ghiradelli and the World of Color water show. We were actually behind the water show but it was still good. Next time we want to get fast passes for it so we can see it from a front row seat.
Needless to say, I had a great time. There were lots of lines and it was crowded but it was a decent trade off. Not to mention that I went with some pretty awesome people. The day was a big win and I can't wait to go back. Anyone else out there like Disneyland? Do you go often or only once in awhile? It's so expensive that I doubt I could go more than once every few years. But I want to go more. :)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
weekend update
Hi, everyone. I can't believe the weekend is practically over. I don't know where it went but it really flew by. I spent most of the weekend wedding dress shopping with a friend (her wedding, not mine). Shopping for wedding dresses is a very interesting experience. That took up a lot of my time so I didn't get to do much for myself. I did pick up an old knitting project again, which I hope to be able to finish soon. I'll post an update on it in the next week or so.
Even though I am sad the weekend is over, I am very excited for Halloween this week. I'll definitely take some pics of my baby friend all dolled up for her first trick or treating outing. I am going to leave you now with a few pics from the weekend. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
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| ryan gosling greeted us at a bridal shop |
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| pretty paper decor |
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| creepy cute animal display at a gift shop |
 |
| loved this masked doll |
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
total eclipse
I know I always come here saying that I need to post more and then disappear for months. Looks like this time is no exception. I actually found this post while trying to clean up some of my tags. It looks like I might never have posted it. Since the pics were already here, I figured I would finally put it up.
This is a hat I made awhile back. It's called Wurm (cute name) and I made this with a skein of Sunshine Yarns sport in the Vampire colorway. This is probably one of my favorite Sunshine colorways and I loved working with it. Not much to say about this except that I like it and I liked the hemmed brim I got to make. Also had some nails that matched it one day. I don't remember the color name but it was from the Goth polish set that Ulta had a couple of years back.
If you're interested, the project details are here on my Rav page.
I have been doing some crafting lately, including some sewing and pattern stashing that I want to share. Hopefully I will find some time to update again soon. Bye for now!
Monday, August 20, 2012
beat the heat
It is stupid hot here in Southern California. It's been going on for about a week now. If it lasts much longer I think I really am going to go crazy. Fortunately I think it's supposed to get better by next week. Until then though, I am hiding out in spaces with really strong AC.
Last weekend my parents came for a visit. It was a bit last minute and they haven't been down here to visit in a long time. Of course they always choose the hottest weekend of the year to come. In order not to kill them with the weather, I decided to take them up to Santa Barbara last Saturday. Here are a few pics from our day. Enjoy!
Last weekend my parents came for a visit. It was a bit last minute and they haven't been down here to visit in a long time. Of course they always choose the hottest weekend of the year to come. In order not to kill them with the weather, I decided to take them up to Santa Barbara last Saturday. Here are a few pics from our day. Enjoy!
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| at the sb botanic garden - look at the mountains! |
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| not sure what this is but it looks cool. |
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| i love the way cactus looks. |
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| my favorite part - the redwoods |
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| mission santa barbara |
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| cool chalk drawing on the ground by the mission |
Friday, July 20, 2012
weekend update
This is what my weekend looks like so far. Yup, couch potato island. Actually I do have plans with people that include a steak dinner and possibly seeing The Dark Knight. But I got some fun, romantic flicks to keep me busy in the meantime. I plan on doing lots of reading and knitting and hopefully a lot of sleeping as well. I was sick yesterday and I still don't feel 100%. My friend is also letting me borrow her sewing machine for a bit and I hope to play with that this week as well. Maybe I'll get to use some of those fabrics that I bought a few weeks ago.
What are your weekend plans?
Monday, July 16, 2012
what i did on my summer vacation - part 1
Hello again! I know the stats on this blog are totally off because it says that 8 people read my last post and I am pretty sure only two people might read this blog regularly. And I don't blame anyone because I update so rarely and randomly. Anyway, I am back again in the same month (woo!) with some fun stuffs. I am on vacation right now though it's almost over. I've just been hanging out with my family doing way too much shopping and eating and visiting with my new niece.
Last weekend I took a little trip with my parents up to Santa Cruz. Love that place and it always reminds me of when I used to go as a kid. This time I did a little Yelp-ing beforehand to see if there were any fun crafting or yarn stores in the area. I found Hart's Fabrics, which had excellent reviews. We drove up on found the shop easily. It's a little ways away from downtown to parking was plentiful. And the store = AWESOME. Tons of really new, hip fabrics as well as tons of notions, books, patterns, and buttons, lots of lovely buttons. They sell a wee bit of yarn, though not a lot. They do carry Madelinetosh though if you like that (and who doesn't?). Check out the pics below!
Hart's has a really great selection of new and hip fabrics. I wanted buy pretty much everything in the store! I managed to come away with a good selection of fat quarters as well as some buttons for a baby sweater. I haven't yet managed to take a pic of my fabric haul but I'll try to do it soon and post it for you all. In the meantime, definitely check out Hart's if you are in the area.
Hart's Fabrics
1620 Seabright Avenue
Santa Cruz, California
831-423-5434.
http://www.hartsfabric.com/
Last weekend I took a little trip with my parents up to Santa Cruz. Love that place and it always reminds me of when I used to go as a kid. This time I did a little Yelp-ing beforehand to see if there were any fun crafting or yarn stores in the area. I found Hart's Fabrics, which had excellent reviews. We drove up on found the shop easily. It's a little ways away from downtown to parking was plentiful. And the store = AWESOME. Tons of really new, hip fabrics as well as tons of notions, books, patterns, and buttons, lots of lovely buttons. They sell a wee bit of yarn, though not a lot. They do carry Madelinetosh though if you like that (and who doesn't?). Check out the pics below!
 |
| omg look at all the buttons! |
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| gobs of oilcloth |
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| i really want this chair in my house |
 |
| this was only about 1/3 of the ribbon |
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| some madtosh for the knitters |
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| one of the fabric aisles |
 |
| <3 |
Hart's has a really great selection of new and hip fabrics. I wanted buy pretty much everything in the store! I managed to come away with a good selection of fat quarters as well as some buttons for a baby sweater. I haven't yet managed to take a pic of my fabric haul but I'll try to do it soon and post it for you all. In the meantime, definitely check out Hart's if you are in the area.
Hart's Fabrics
1620 Seabright Avenue
Santa Cruz, California
831-423-5434.
http://www.hartsfabric.com/
Friday, July 06, 2012
a little vacation
Happy Independence Day, everyone. I know it was technically yesterday but hey, I'll take what I can get. Right now I am on a little vacation up at my parents's place. My brother just had the most adorable baby girl a couple of weeks ago and I took the whole week off to just chill out and visit with my niece a lot. I've visited a lot of crafty stores since I've been back. There are some really great yarn and fabric stores not too far from where we are and I am hoping to post about them soon.
Life's been a bit of a whirlwind lately. Last month I went to a ton of book events (for those that don't know, I am a big reader). After my July 4th vacation I will head back home for 2 days and promptly take off again for San Diego Comic Con. I am super excited about Comic Con! It's one of the events I really look forward to every year. I'll try to be good and update again soon. I am leaving you with a picture of my adorable new niece. Have a wonderful weekend!
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| i like to call this her zoolander face. |
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
susie cakes
This was the hand pie that I got. It was a strawberry, blueberry flavor and it's cute as heck. Unfortunately I didn't love this as much as I was hoping. It was still tasty but I felt like the filling was a bit bland. The crust was flaky but wasn't as buttery as I like my pie crust. Also, the price point on this was way more than I want to pay for a handheld pie. I can't remember the exact cost right now but I think it was $5-$6. At that price I want more than just a few bites of pie. So even though this was freakin' adorable, I don't think I'll be getting it again.
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| filling was pretty |
The other item I got was one of their red velvet cupcakes. I kind of have a love/hate thing going on with red velvet. On the one hand, I don't love the red velvet cake flavor. I mean, it's fine, but I am really getting it because I know that red velvet always comes with cream cheese frosting and I LOVE cream cheese frosting. Sure, sometimes I can get it on a different flavor cupcakes but you'd be surprised by the lack of cream cheese frosting in bakeries.
Susie's red velvet is pretty tasty with a moist cake with great red color. Their cream cheese frosting is delicious which makes this a winner in my book.
I am a fan of Susie Cakes and definitely recommend it. There are several locations in SoCal along with one in Northern California (which I am going to the next time I visit my parents). You can see their menu along with all of their locations on their website. The location that I went to was their Manhattan Beach store and their address is below.
Manhattan Village
3500 N Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 150
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
tel 310 303 3780
fax 310 546 4561
Mon-Sat 10am-7pm
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
an update
clearly i haven't been on this blog in a long time. and something has happened to a bunch of my old posts and flickr photos are not showing up. not sure what's going on with that but i am pretty sure i am too lazy to figure it out.
why haven't i been around? no particular reason really. i was never a great blogger to begin with. i think with ravelry, my need to document my projects has diminished. i would like to blog more about cooking and baking. I also have 3 (yes, 3) other blogs that i contribute to now which i love and have taken up a lot of my time.
so i don't know when or if i will ever get back here to blog regularly. maybe if i start sewing more and/or knitting more (omg i haven't knit a big project in ages). perhaps i'll just try for a monthly recap of my crafting projects. we'll see how i do. for now, if you'd like to keep up with me, you can find me in a whole bunch of places.
instagram
ravelry
nite lite book reviews (adult fiction, romance, sci fi, non-fiction book reviews)
read now sleep later (ya, children's book reviews)
the painted ninja (nail polish and beauty blog)
:)
Read More
why haven't i been around? no particular reason really. i was never a great blogger to begin with. i think with ravelry, my need to document my projects has diminished. i would like to blog more about cooking and baking. I also have 3 (yes, 3) other blogs that i contribute to now which i love and have taken up a lot of my time.
so i don't know when or if i will ever get back here to blog regularly. maybe if i start sewing more and/or knitting more (omg i haven't knit a big project in ages). perhaps i'll just try for a monthly recap of my crafting projects. we'll see how i do. for now, if you'd like to keep up with me, you can find me in a whole bunch of places.
ravelry
nite lite book reviews (adult fiction, romance, sci fi, non-fiction book reviews)
read now sleep later (ya, children's book reviews)
the painted ninja (nail polish and beauty blog)
:)
Friday, January 04, 2013
a new year
happy new year, everyone! i hope that you all had a nice holiday. i actually had a couple of weeks off from work, which was awesome. i am actually driving back down from my parents' house tomorrow to my place. i am going to be sad to go. it's been nice just hanging out and not doing anything. we had a great first christmas with my niece, who is the cutest thing ever. don't try arguing with me because you won't win. here's a blurry picture of her.
and of course i'd like to blog more consistently. i say that all the time and i still haven't quite gotten the hang of it, but i'll keep trying. what are your new year's goals? :)
Read More
even though this is way out of focus, i think you can tell how adorable she is. :) i also saw a few movies including the hobbit (awesome!), django unchained (thought provoking and over the top), and jack reacher (tom cruise being super intense as always). the weather in norcal has been quite cold and was pretty rainy the first week i was up here. luckily my brother and sister-in-law gifted me with some really cool rain boots.
puddles fear me now. i bought a lot of nail polish which i am not going to show you. though i will show you the mani that i wore for over a week. it was seriously beautiful and wore like iron.
you can't really tell from this picture but it is seriously sparkly and shiny. it is a pink red with bits of scattered holo glitter in it. seriously one of my favorite polishes that i found this year.
and i ate. a lot. my mom is a great cook and i eat as much of her food as i can while i am at home. here are just a few of the tasty things i had over the break.
christmas dinner
beef pho
banh xeo
i will definitely miss the cooking when i am gone. that's about it. i read a couple of books but not as many as i'd hoped. i also pulled out my mom's old sewing machine to see if it worked. and it was working right up until it jammed. so now it's at the repair shop. i am hoping it just needs a good tuneup. it's a super old machine and it's not going to be worth putting a lot of money into it to fix it. if the estimate is too high i may just have to purchase a new one.
since it's a new year, i should probably think about what my crafting goals are for the year. i cleared out my ravelry queue to only be 6 pages long. that took a couple of days. i used to queue everything i liked instead of favoriting it. now i know better. i only kept the things that i would realistically make and the list is still quite long. i do hope to get a lot more knitting done this year and learn to sew.
and of course i'd like to blog more consistently. i say that all the time and i still haven't quite gotten the hang of it, but i'll keep trying. what are your new year's goals? :)
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
dreams in color
Just a wee nail polish haul from this week. My mom picked out the yellow and the lavender. I love having a rainbow at my fingertips. Off for Thanksgiving break. Hope you're all having a wonderful week!
Thursday, November 08, 2012
pumpkin coffee cake
What are some of you favorite fall recipes?
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
adapted from recipegirl.com
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 50 min
CAKE:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 50 min
CAKE:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
One (16 ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large slightly beaten egg
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
STREUSEL TOPPING:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened slightly
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
2. Prepare cake: Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl; add eggs and beat well. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients into the butter mixture half at a time, alternating with half of the sour cream. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, 1/3 cup sugar, and pie spice. Keep separate.
3. Prepare topping: Mix the topping ingredients together with fork or hands until crumbly. Set aside.
4. Spoon half of the batter mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel topping over the batter. Spread the pumpkin mixture over the streusel. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle remaining streusel on top.
5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
1 cup sour cream
One (16 ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large slightly beaten egg
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
STREUSEL TOPPING:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened slightly
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
2. Prepare cake: Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl; add eggs and beat well. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients into the butter mixture half at a time, alternating with half of the sour cream. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, 1/3 cup sugar, and pie spice. Keep separate.
3. Prepare topping: Mix the topping ingredients together with fork or hands until crumbly. Set aside.
4. Spoon half of the batter mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel topping over the batter. Spread the pumpkin mixture over the streusel. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle remaining streusel on top.
5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Friday, November 02, 2012
weekend update: trick or treat
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| we had 3x this much candy and gave it all away |
I can't believe that Halloween is over already. I feel like I look forward to it so much each year and then it goes by so fast. I had a really fun timing hanging with my friends and their baby while handing out candy. Then we watched Shaun of the Dead and Halloween while eating copious amounts of candy. I really can't think of a better way to spend the evening.
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| iris as a gnome |
|
| she is walking now so always in motion |
I also went to a taping of Ellen this week, which was a lot of fun. They don't make you wait too long and the show goes by quickly. Ellen is always so positive and funny as well. I don't have any huge plans this week except for a knit night on Friday and a book signing on Saturday. The signing is for Jon Klassen at Gallery Nuceleus and that's on Saturday evening. I am a big fan of his so it should be really fun.
I am hoping to start a new book this weekend, too. I haven't decided which book just yet. I love it when I can start a new book though. There are always so many possibilities. I hope you all had a great Halloween. Does anyone else have any good plans this weekend?
I'll leave you with the book trailer for Jon Klassen's newest book, This Is Not My Hat. Happy weekend!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
happy halloween
Happy Halloween, everyone! This is my favorite holiday. I don't have a costume really this year but plan on wearing my Minnie Mouse ears to work. In the evening I am going trick or treating with my friend and her baby before settling in for junk food and horror movies. I hope everyone has a safe holiday. Sending positive thoughts out to everyone on the east coast. I have lots of friends and colleagues over there and we're thinking good thoughts for them.
*my nails are the sally hansen nail strips. i bought this design last year on sale after halloween. they were kinda tricky to put on but they are super cute.
Monday, October 29, 2012
disneyland adventure
Hello! I hope everyone is having a good week. A couple of weeks ago I went to Disneyland for the first time in maybe 25 years. I went once when I was a kid and I have the pictures to prove it, but almost no memory of it. One of my lovely friends works for Disney and was able to get us in for free. So I took a day off of work (which I never do for fun stuff) to go.
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We started off with a delicious pancake breakfast at The Original Pancake House. Almost every entree comes with side of pancakes and there's nothing wrong with that. I got pumpkin pancakes as my sides and they were quite delish.
Our first stop at Disneyland was the new Cars Land. I have to say that Cars Land looked awesome. It looked just like the movie and the Radiator Springs ride looked just like Arizona or some other desert town. It was really cool. The wait for Radiator Springs was the longest of all the rides we went one (1.5 hours) but it was a really fun ride and I am glad we waited for it.
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| doesn't this look awesome? |
Next up was The Haunted Mansion, which was done up with The Nightmare Before Christmas. The house looked fantastic! OMG it was my favorite and we went on it twice. I think it should be like this all year long and not just at Halloween.
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| i want this wreath |
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| it's jack! |
We did a bunch of other rides, including Pirates, Monsters Inc., Roger Rabbit, Toy Story and the river rafting ride whose name I can't remember right now.
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| day of the dead decorations |
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| still pretty magical looking |
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| i love roger rabbit and toon town looked great. |
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| really cool pumpkin tree |
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| YUM |
We finished off the long day with ice cream sundaes from Ghiradelli and the World of Color water show. We were actually behind the water show but it was still good. Next time we want to get fast passes for it so we can see it from a front row seat.
Needless to say, I had a great time. There were lots of lines and it was crowded but it was a decent trade off. Not to mention that I went with some pretty awesome people. The day was a big win and I can't wait to go back. Anyone else out there like Disneyland? Do you go often or only once in awhile? It's so expensive that I doubt I could go more than once every few years. But I want to go more. :)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
weekend update
Hi, everyone. I can't believe the weekend is practically over. I don't know where it went but it really flew by. I spent most of the weekend wedding dress shopping with a friend (her wedding, not mine). Shopping for wedding dresses is a very interesting experience. That took up a lot of my time so I didn't get to do much for myself. I did pick up an old knitting project again, which I hope to be able to finish soon. I'll post an update on it in the next week or so.
Even though I am sad the weekend is over, I am very excited for Halloween this week. I'll definitely take some pics of my baby friend all dolled up for her first trick or treating outing. I am going to leave you now with a few pics from the weekend. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
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| ryan gosling greeted us at a bridal shop |
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| pretty paper decor |
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| creepy cute animal display at a gift shop |
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| loved this masked doll |
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
total eclipse
I know I always come here saying that I need to post more and then disappear for months. Looks like this time is no exception. I actually found this post while trying to clean up some of my tags. It looks like I might never have posted it. Since the pics were already here, I figured I would finally put it up.
This is a hat I made awhile back. It's called Wurm (cute name) and I made this with a skein of Sunshine Yarns sport in the Vampire colorway. This is probably one of my favorite Sunshine colorways and I loved working with it. Not much to say about this except that I like it and I liked the hemmed brim I got to make. Also had some nails that matched it one day. I don't remember the color name but it was from the Goth polish set that Ulta had a couple of years back.
If you're interested, the project details are here on my Rav page.
I have been doing some crafting lately, including some sewing and pattern stashing that I want to share. Hopefully I will find some time to update again soon. Bye for now!
Monday, August 20, 2012
beat the heat
It is stupid hot here in Southern California. It's been going on for about a week now. If it lasts much longer I think I really am going to go crazy. Fortunately I think it's supposed to get better by next week. Until then though, I am hiding out in spaces with really strong AC.
Last weekend my parents came for a visit. It was a bit last minute and they haven't been down here to visit in a long time. Of course they always choose the hottest weekend of the year to come. In order not to kill them with the weather, I decided to take them up to Santa Barbara last Saturday. Here are a few pics from our day. Enjoy!
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Last weekend my parents came for a visit. It was a bit last minute and they haven't been down here to visit in a long time. Of course they always choose the hottest weekend of the year to come. In order not to kill them with the weather, I decided to take them up to Santa Barbara last Saturday. Here are a few pics from our day. Enjoy!
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| at the sb botanic garden - look at the mountains! |
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| not sure what this is but it looks cool. |
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| i love the way cactus looks. |
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| my favorite part - the redwoods |
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| mission santa barbara |
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| cool chalk drawing on the ground by the mission |
Friday, July 20, 2012
weekend update
This is what my weekend looks like so far. Yup, couch potato island. Actually I do have plans with people that include a steak dinner and possibly seeing The Dark Knight. But I got some fun, romantic flicks to keep me busy in the meantime. I plan on doing lots of reading and knitting and hopefully a lot of sleeping as well. I was sick yesterday and I still don't feel 100%. My friend is also letting me borrow her sewing machine for a bit and I hope to play with that this week as well. Maybe I'll get to use some of those fabrics that I bought a few weeks ago.
What are your weekend plans?
Monday, July 16, 2012
what i did on my summer vacation - part 1
Hello again! I know the stats on this blog are totally off because it says that 8 people read my last post and I am pretty sure only two people might read this blog regularly. And I don't blame anyone because I update so rarely and randomly. Anyway, I am back again in the same month (woo!) with some fun stuffs. I am on vacation right now though it's almost over. I've just been hanging out with my family doing way too much shopping and eating and visiting with my new niece.
Last weekend I took a little trip with my parents up to Santa Cruz. Love that place and it always reminds me of when I used to go as a kid. This time I did a little Yelp-ing beforehand to see if there were any fun crafting or yarn stores in the area. I found Hart's Fabrics, which had excellent reviews. We drove up on found the shop easily. It's a little ways away from downtown to parking was plentiful. And the store = AWESOME. Tons of really new, hip fabrics as well as tons of notions, books, patterns, and buttons, lots of lovely buttons. They sell a wee bit of yarn, though not a lot. They do carry Madelinetosh though if you like that (and who doesn't?). Check out the pics below!
Hart's has a really great selection of new and hip fabrics. I wanted buy pretty much everything in the store! I managed to come away with a good selection of fat quarters as well as some buttons for a baby sweater. I haven't yet managed to take a pic of my fabric haul but I'll try to do it soon and post it for you all. In the meantime, definitely check out Hart's if you are in the area.
Hart's Fabrics
1620 Seabright Avenue
Santa Cruz, California
831-423-5434.
http://www.hartsfabric.com/
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Last weekend I took a little trip with my parents up to Santa Cruz. Love that place and it always reminds me of when I used to go as a kid. This time I did a little Yelp-ing beforehand to see if there were any fun crafting or yarn stores in the area. I found Hart's Fabrics, which had excellent reviews. We drove up on found the shop easily. It's a little ways away from downtown to parking was plentiful. And the store = AWESOME. Tons of really new, hip fabrics as well as tons of notions, books, patterns, and buttons, lots of lovely buttons. They sell a wee bit of yarn, though not a lot. They do carry Madelinetosh though if you like that (and who doesn't?). Check out the pics below!
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| omg look at all the buttons! |
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| gobs of oilcloth |
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| i really want this chair in my house |
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| this was only about 1/3 of the ribbon |
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| some madtosh for the knitters |
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| one of the fabric aisles |
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| <3 |
Hart's has a really great selection of new and hip fabrics. I wanted buy pretty much everything in the store! I managed to come away with a good selection of fat quarters as well as some buttons for a baby sweater. I haven't yet managed to take a pic of my fabric haul but I'll try to do it soon and post it for you all. In the meantime, definitely check out Hart's if you are in the area.
Hart's Fabrics
1620 Seabright Avenue
Santa Cruz, California
831-423-5434.
http://www.hartsfabric.com/
Friday, July 06, 2012
a little vacation
Happy Independence Day, everyone. I know it was technically yesterday but hey, I'll take what I can get. Right now I am on a little vacation up at my parents's place. My brother just had the most adorable baby girl a couple of weeks ago and I took the whole week off to just chill out and visit with my niece a lot. I've visited a lot of crafty stores since I've been back. There are some really great yarn and fabric stores not too far from where we are and I am hoping to post about them soon.
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Life's been a bit of a whirlwind lately. Last month I went to a ton of book events (for those that don't know, I am a big reader). After my July 4th vacation I will head back home for 2 days and promptly take off again for San Diego Comic Con. I am super excited about Comic Con! It's one of the events I really look forward to every year. I'll try to be good and update again soon. I am leaving you with a picture of my adorable new niece. Have a wonderful weekend!
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| i like to call this her zoolander face. |
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
susie cakes
This was the hand pie that I got. It was a strawberry, blueberry flavor and it's cute as heck. Unfortunately I didn't love this as much as I was hoping. It was still tasty but I felt like the filling was a bit bland. The crust was flaky but wasn't as buttery as I like my pie crust. Also, the price point on this was way more than I want to pay for a handheld pie. I can't remember the exact cost right now but I think it was $5-$6. At that price I want more than just a few bites of pie. So even though this was freakin' adorable, I don't think I'll be getting it again.
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| filling was pretty |
The other item I got was one of their red velvet cupcakes. I kind of have a love/hate thing going on with red velvet. On the one hand, I don't love the red velvet cake flavor. I mean, it's fine, but I am really getting it because I know that red velvet always comes with cream cheese frosting and I LOVE cream cheese frosting. Sure, sometimes I can get it on a different flavor cupcakes but you'd be surprised by the lack of cream cheese frosting in bakeries.
Susie's red velvet is pretty tasty with a moist cake with great red color. Their cream cheese frosting is delicious which makes this a winner in my book.
I am a fan of Susie Cakes and definitely recommend it. There are several locations in SoCal along with one in Northern California (which I am going to the next time I visit my parents). You can see their menu along with all of their locations on their website. The location that I went to was their Manhattan Beach store and their address is below.
Manhattan Village
3500 N Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 150
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
tel 310 303 3780
fax 310 546 4561
Mon-Sat 10am-7pm
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