Mother's Day Fun

Yes, I know everything is very late on my blog, sorry!

Instead of doing the usual go out to brunch, wait a long time, end up paying too much for not great food for mother's day we just hosted our own brunch.  The bf made all the food, although I did find some of the amazing recipes for him (like this french toast recipe from The Kitchn).  I made the mimosas and mock mimosas (with sparkling tangerine juice from Whole Foods).  The food and drinks were a hit! It was a little bit too much food for the average person, but it was all so delicious we ate almost all of it!

I made a gift for my mom, which I haven't done since I was a small child.  I was very proud of myself for being crafty and getting in touch with my creative side.  I got the idea from here (which I saw on here) and was inspired from here.  I didn't go for the exact straight lines or perfect measurements, but went for a more handmade look :)

I got a little overwhelmed when I walked into Michael's with a plan of what I needed to buy to complete my project.  When I saw that the canvases came is two packs I decided that if the first one came out the way I wanted, I would make a second (for myself)!  The other decision I had to make were the colors I wanted to use (I probably should've done this before I went since my default is always maize and blue and I'm trying to branch out).  So I spent quite a bit of time in the paint aisle deciding what kind/size of paint (I went for something cheap) and a good color (I ended up with a blueish periwinkle).  Then I walked to the fancy thick paper/cardstock and tried to decide on a complementary color, I ended up with dark brown.  I also needed Mod Podge (which had too many options so I went with matte) an exacto knife, paint brushes, and a paint holder thing (for all of these I just went with the cheapest option).

With all my supplies in hand I started by making evenly spaced lines on the canvas for the stripes, but of course I couldn't find a ruler so I just ended up using binder paper and made each stripe 3 lines long.  This left an oddly large final stripe so I fudged the lines a bit to make it look more even.  I then painted every other line and let it dry.

Next came the California shape.  I found a random simple outline of California online and printed it out.  Then I taped it to my fancy dark brown cardstock and using my exacto knife, followed the outline.  I then Mod Podged it into place (I had no clue what this meant, nor did I investigate it, I basically used it as glue and then as a finish, maybe I should've checked out this website first).  Lastly I cut out a little red heart and glued it where Lake Tahoe is.  End result: my mom loved it and here it is hanging in her bathroom!

Super blurry pic from my Mom, I think my sister's photography talents must be form the other side of the family

I also received a mother's day present since I am a mother to this adorable pupperz. 

Aww

I got the Memphis CD, and I'm pretty sure he had some help from the bf.  We just went to see the Broadway on screen version of Memphis and both loved it (although I think the bf loved it more, which makes me question the motives for the gift ;) Btw, the music form Memphis is great, and if you're into Broadway shows/music you should definitely check it out!

Bike to Work Day x 2!

Last Thursday was Bike to Work Day for the San Francisco Bay Area.  This gave me a good reason to put air in my front tire (it had been acting funny) and ride my bike the long distance of 1.9 miles to work!

The only other time I rode to work (last fall) I was a little discouraged because the last 6 blocks of my ride were very frustrating.  There wasn't a real bike lane and lots of stupid stoplights, for these reasons I rode on the sidewalk part of the way, which really slowed me down and I think meant I hit more red lights.  This time I just rode on the road where a bike lane should be and made the cars go around me.  It's really not a very busy road so it wasn't a big deal and the ride was way better and faster!


I am awesome

Since it was a great ride on Thursday I decided to ride again on Friday.  Which was actually better because there was traffic due to construction and I got to speed past all of it!  I felt very cool and environmentally friendly :)

The bf says my goal should be to ride my bike to work at least twice a week, and I think I will take him up on this challenge!  Planning this week for Thursday and Friday again since there is rain in the forecast for the beginning of the week.

Killer Fruit Salad

This is probably as close as you will get to a recipe from me, since the bf does most of the cooking. I'm usually just the eater/dishwasher.  There have been a reappearance of berries at the farmer's markets, especially strawberries! I decided I wanted to do something besides just eat them plain (which is also good and I do often).  Here is the impossibly hard recipe for my awesome fruit salad:

1 basket Strawberries
2 Clementines
1/2 basket of blackberries
1/4 cup of chopped (ok who am I kidding, I just shred it with my hands) mint
squirt of lemon juice
dash of sugar

Most important thing is that its all very fresh and in season fruit.  You can basically sub in any kind of fruit you have, but the strawberries really pair well with the mint so I'd keep those in there.

Cut up the fruit into bite size pieces (I like to cut slices of clementines in half so you get some juice, and I left the blackberries whole)
Put into a bowl and top with mint, lemon juice and sugar.
Mix it all together.
Taste to see if it needs more sugar or juice and adjust if necessary.

I've been putting this in a big bowl in the fridge to snack on all week, but it seems to go quickly so I'm not sure how long it will keep.  It is nice to let it sit for at least a few hours before serving so it can soak up all the juices and mint flavor.

In a tupperware, on my desk, half eaten

Enjoy!