Huntington Library and Botanical gardens

Here are some gorgous pictures taken today at the Huntington. Enjoy!

States I've Visited...

So, because I went across the country twice in less than a year, I've started tracking the states I've visited and not visited, with hopes of eventually making it to them all. I also found a nifty online map that lets you click where you've been to keep track of it:

http://douweosinga.com/projects/visited?region=usa


visited 27 states (54%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or Best time to visit Minato

The states I've already visited include:

Alabama
Ohio
Oklahoma
Arizona
Oregon
Arkansas
California
Kentucky
Rhode Island
Colorado
Minnesota
South Carolina
Missouri
Tennessee
Florida
Texas
Georgia
Nebraska
Utah
Hawaii
Nevada
Illinois
Indiana
New Mexico
Iowa
Wisconsin
North Carolina

The states I have yet to visit and hope to visit by the time I turn 50 include:

Alaska
Louisiana
Idaho
Kansas
Wyoming
New Jersey
Washington
New York
Vermont
New Hampshire
Virginia
Maine
West Virginia
Massachusetts
Pennsylvania
Montana
Michigan
Connecticut
Mississippi
North Dakota
South Dakota
Delaware
Maryland
Washington

Happy 32nd Birthday to me!

So, for my 32'nd birthday this year, I had a very mellow day. I got up and hit some neighborhood yard sales (hadn't been in forever, and several neighborhoods in Irvine were sponsoring 50+ family sales), which was very fun. I found some rubber stamps, some picture frames, a couple cute antique green vases...and the find of the day was a brand new in-the-box Williams-Sonoma creme brulee torch with a new can of butane which I got for $5 for the set--retail value of both of those is $48, so this was a steal!

For the my birthday dinner, Tri took me to Lulu's Creperie Cafe in Lake Forest. The interesting thing is that this restaurant has been many things over the years, and previously it was an Italian restaurant called 20/20. Exactly 10 years ago, the MacKinnons took me there for my birthday, which Tri did not know. So, this time around in the same place, we ate French food. I had peach champagne (which was very tastey), french onion soup, and chicken cordon bleu. It was all very delicious! We were so full that we were not able to have crepes for dessert, but that was OK--gives us a reason to go back!

After dinner, Tri went with me to pick up my birthday sewing machine! I used giftcards that I received to be able to purchase a cool sewing machine that I've wanted for a long time (and otherwise would not get for myself). I've already used it to sew 4 decorative pillows (with cording!), and I hemmed a skirt and altered a blouse to make them both fit. I LOVE my new little sewing machine! More pictures of my crafty sewing items will appear soon!

All in all, I had a great 32nd birthday! Thanks to everyone for all my nice birthday wishes!

Urban Herb Garden

As most of you know, I really enjoy cooking. Part of what I love is using fresh herbs--in a pinch, I use dried herbs, but fresh tastes SO much better. However, most of you have probably noticed that the fresh herbs that come in tiny pouches in the grocery store are not very cost-effective. It is a small amount for anywhere between $.99 and $2.99, and they usually expire pretty quickly if you do not use all of it up ASAP. So, this spring I have decided to plant my own herb garden, in order to have my own fresh herbs readily available for my using as I need them.

Even though I am not very good at remembering to water plants, I used some pots that we already had on our stoop (which were empty because I killed the geraniums which I planted last spring). For the amount that I would pay for one sprig of fresh herbs at the grocery store, I got a whole plant of that type of herb. So, I now have basil, parsley, dill, oregano, and chives. I also planted seeds for rosemary and another variety of basil in the larger flower pot, because there were no rosemary plants, and I use so much basil I wanted to try my hand at growing another later crop in case the original plant dies.

Much to my surprise, it has been 3 weeks, and my herbs are actually thriving! I have found that watering them about every 3 days is working really well, and none of the plants seem to be responding poorly to the amount of light or water that they are receiving. In fact, the dill has about doubled in size, everything else is growing, and even the baby seeds I planted have the first sprouts pushing up through the soil. SUPER exciting because I never can get seeds to grow.

So...stay tuned for later pictures of my Urban Herb Garden. I will let you know how it progresses through the summer and if it has worked out to be cost-effective like I hope. I have already used each of the herbs (small amounts) in my cooking and it was so nice to just pinch off and wash what I needed and know that there would still be plenty more that was still fresh the next time.

I think later this week there will be caprese salad on the menu with the basil! Deeee-licious!

New Treasure from Old...

After my move back to California, I have done a few things to get "settled in" including getting my old bedroom set up since I am now back in the same place I used to live. One of my favorite things about my "new" space is this cute little vanity that I re-purposed. I picked this little table up, which is actually a very small secretary's desk, at a thrift store for only $9.99. The stool I also purchased at the same thrift store for $5.99. I repainted the secretary's desk, added one crystal knob from home depot, and re-covered the stool, and voila! My secretary's desk is now a make-up vanity in the small corner of my room which is hard to fill. The lamp and the mirror were inexpensive and are from Ikea and completed my ensemble for under $30 total. Not bad!

National Scrapbook Day!!!

This past Saturday, May 2nd, was National Scrapbook Day. Why is this important, you ask? Because for the last 6 years, since National Scrapbook Day 2003, I have been an avid fan of scrapbooking. This is for several reasons. First, I have always had a love of photos and learning about family history, etc. Secondly, I have a fettish for all things paper-related. Thirdly, what adult isn't still looking for a good reason to be able to use STICKERS? Lastly, I enjoy the process of being creative and find it to be theraputic and relaxing. When you add this combination to a day of chatting with some of your closest friends, having someone else cook food, and being in a setting when a chocolate break is a planned occasion, how can you go wrong?

Seriously though, I get a great deal of enjoyment from scrapbooking. SOMEDAY I will have a family and children to whom I hope all of my hours of effort will be important or special in some way. This is the grand hope at least. I enjoy reflecting back on events over the last year or special occasions or trips as I pick out what background paper and stickers match best with the pictures from Catalina Island or my sister Kate's wedding. I think it's a wonderful way to think about how I've grown over the last year, and where I want to be next year.

I spent Saturday at my friend Carmen's house with two great friends, Jeanne and Sharon, and all of us had a very productive and fun day. It has been about a year since I have scrapbooked (my items were being stored here in CA while I lived in Kentucky) and boy was it rejuvienating! I almost finished up an album that I started last year at Carmen's spring retreat. I'm almost ready to start thinking about my next project!

Thank you to Carmen who hosted a FABULOUS scrapbooking day :-). And to Jeanne and Sharon who kept me company during the day :-).