the turtle and the hare

... slow and steady wins the race... right?

One of the children in my friend's class brought in his new pet turtles for show&tell
how appropriate right?!

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I feel like I'm tip-toeing on the edge of the deep end- I'm ready to take the plunge but I'm waiting for the official "whistle" so that I may start. I just hope this will turn out to be a graceful dive and not a belly flop!

a Sunday stroll in Napa Valley

I've been really busy lately with big-girl life decisions! If everything falls into place, then I will be able to share some big news! Cross your fingers & toes for me as I take a leap of faith.

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wonderful.wednesdays - napa valley

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I spent a sunny Sunday with some new and old friends at Napa Valley- enjoying gourmet lunch [Bouchon] & dinner [Bottega] while wine tasting at different wineries.  It was pastrypixels and my first time and we are determined to go back!

crepe temptations

On a whim, my sister decided to seek out crepes for dessert.  She asked me what I wanted and I told her to surprise me.

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yum.mondays - Crepe Temptations

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She came home with this delicious surprise- cheesecake with vanilla ice cream and fresh whip.  The shop offers TONS of filling varieties and even crepe bases: plain, chocolate and green tea.  I was so happy with my cheesecake crepe that David and I went back a few nights later to eat a savory crepe (just as amazing!) and hopped out with an "oreo madness" crepe with mint-chip ice cream... mmm this post is making me crave for another crepe outing!

Crepe Temptations

2575 Judah Street

San Francisco

415.379.4892

my family

A lot of the classrooms at my school are currently studying "All about ME" for their fall project.  Because of move-ups, the older children have left, either on vacation or to transitional classes to ready them for kindergarten.  This of course means that we have tons of barely-threes running around! So the children have been learning and sharing information about themselves.
Here are some drawings about their families:

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Kids' drawings always crack me up and well and warm my heart! I love how Katie drew the birds! ... I should also ask the child why the family is all sad in the last drawing...

happy 100

wowie wowie! 100 followers! It took a bit of time and a few mysterious dropped followers
(after giveaways...)- but I'm so happy and elated that this blog has reached this mini-milestone!

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have a wonderful Wednesday!

hand washing

My older sister paid a classroom visit the other day to teach the kids about hand washing and general health.  It was really fun watching her interact with the children and they of course got a kick that "Ms. Annie has a big sister!?"

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toot.tuesday - how to wash your hands

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A different tutorial today... hehe. But all kidding aside (hah! pun totally intended!), it is very important to wash your hands thoroughly. So a trick is to sing "Twinkle little star" and of course, scrub and "make bubbles" with the soap to "wash the germs away!"
Other Hand Washing Songs

boardwalk bites

I know this is uber late, but better late than never!

David and I drove down to Santa Cruz and Monterey for July 4th and here's a photo recap of our mini-vacay:

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yum.mondays - Boardwalk Bites

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mmmmm... I'm still dreaming of that combo tray of fried zuchinni, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts! It's always a delight to eat fair foods and boardwalk bites- just being there shakes away all the excuses and diet regimens  that you keep telling yourself to keep & follow. 

Have you been to any county fairs lately? If so, what are some things you look forward to doing/eating there?

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

400 Beach Street

Santa Cruz, CA

let's cupcake SF

I went on a dinner date with pastrypixels and as we were driving home, we noticed a new cupcakery (cupcake bakery) in the neighborhood.  Naturally, we made a couple of U-turns and parked the darn car.  

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yum.mondays- Let's Cupcake S.F.

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Did you check out that deal?!?!? Each cuppycake was $3 individualy, but 5 for $10? um yes please!

Sadly, all of the cupcakes with the exception of SunsetSin was UNyum.mondays.  pastrypixels and I were trying to think of the reasons why:

• We went on a Wednesday night- were they day(s) old baked goods?
• They were HEAVY (like literally)- was it the style of the baker?
• It was a new cupcakery (open for only a few weeks), baker is tweaking the recipe?
• It was all buttercream frosting- which I'm not a fan of...

either way, I don't think we will be returning anytime soon.  The reviews on Yelp weren't too kind as well- maybe another try when the cupcakery establishes itself. 

SunsetSin- was good though... so there is definitely potential!

Let's Cupcake SF

2255 Judah St

San Francisco, CA 94122

415. 702.9649

cleanse my palette

Tired of just staring at my pile of felt/materials and turning cock-eyed from color-combo confusion, I made a quick & ugly palette board for easy reference and inspiration.

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My little sister actually helped me a lot with this project- she has a keen eye for color matching- and then I stumbled on Color Trends which was amazing! Too bad I don't have all the colors of felt in the world, but it's just so nice to be able to browse and get inspired by color. Let's see if I can come up with more combinations...

david's dude salon

Last polish post! I created a new page Polish Picks so that I won't jam this blog with too much nail polish antics.  As mentioned, David's been showing some interest & say in my nail polish selection- and he decided to give me a MANicure:

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Gotta love the man for trying! It was actually truly HORRENDOUS and ugly. I literally closed my eyes and turned the other way to save myself from a heart attack with how he glopped it all over the place.  The pinky shot was the "best" one. I'm pretty impressed that he stuck it through and had an inkling of what a french manicure was though!

Urban Outfitters
Crowded & Taxi

boardwalk brights

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Sinful Colors- pink & neon melon

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inspired and anxious for my small road trip to sunny Santa Cruz and Monterey, I changed my manicure from the green monstrous color to something quite blinding.  My bf has recently taken a liking for my polish picks- and he called the shots on this one! We were perusing the aisles and he asked if I would wear any color he picked and I said 'yes'. 

And so, he picked the two brightest colors on the display: pink & neon melon by Sinful Colors.  The pink is super bright like that in the bottle but the photo was taken at night w/o flash- so it looks more muted. The formula is really watered down so many coats are needed. Neon melon was a pain to work with, and it took about 4-5 coats to make it opaque.  I also whipped out my old konad plates and used the stars on m3 for something festive in lieu of July 4th.

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Sinful Colors

pink (871) & neon melon (56)

Neon Collection

headband holder

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toot.tuesdays- Headband Holder

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I wanted to make a few of these for display purposes for my booth.  At the first Flea, I just hung them on a rack, but they kept slipping and people just stuck them randomly while browsing- can't have that now can we?! So I wanted to make something neat and organized and more polished for the upcoming flea.

The original plan was to stuff the "pillows" with poly-fill stuffing- but it wasn't cost effective (about  $15-20 bucks a bag) so my eyes immediately darted to the yarn aisle and VOILA! At just $8 bucks for a humongous skein of yarn- my cheat-sheet short-cut idea was born.

I think they turned out pretty okay- my only worry now is that people will over stretch/extend the headbands and they might snap when they put the headbands back..

... you break it you buy it?

feelin' foamy

notw - OPI Gargantuan Green Grape

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Sea Foam green anyone?  I'm feeling a bit iffy about this color- I can foresee some of children calling me a dinosaur or monster with this manicure! But I wanted to try a color other than coral so I borrowed this from my sister in law.  The formula is very, super duper creamy and awfully streaky- so I needed all the patience in the world and 3 coats. 

David and I are off to Santa Cruz and Monterey for this long weekend.  Afterwards, I need to glue my bottom to the chair and get cranking for the next T.I. show.  I've also recently mustered all of my strength and will power to go to the gym too. It's been 3 years (hmmm... 3 years since being with David... coincidence much!?) since I can even consider myself "active" and it's long overdue! I went from being a gym rat to a hibernating bear... literally.

anyway- have a wonderful Fourth of July!
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OPI
Gargantuan Green Grape NL B44
Brights Collection