paper source

yesterday, kevin and i took a little trip up to bellevue just to get out of the house. this gave me a chance to go to paper source; an amazing paper and craft store. they have stores all over the mainland, but not in hawaii, so it's a treat to go.

[source: google images]

i love it! so many pretty papers, cute stamps, and awesome craft kits.

i found some rub on transfers and these great diamond shape stamps for half price!

i'll probably be going there for all of my paper-craft needs.

p.s. i talked to emily jay on our webcam today! i got to watch her dance and sing to her favorite yo gabba gabba song. *sigh

ira glass

in my last post i mentioned the show this american life, which kevin and i have been watching on netflix. the show is basically about different people across america. each week they pick a theme and share stories about that theme. this program has really shown me that everyone has a story to tell and that even the smallest things can be so significant.

this post is dedicated to radio personality and host/producer of this american life, ira glass.

i just adore him. he seems like such a smart and real person. he's an amazing interviewer and pretty easy on the eyes... . . .

yay.

chocolate chips

today was a chocolate chip cookie and netflix day. kevin and i have been watching SO many movies since we have instant streaming on his ps3. plus, i haven't baked in a while, so it was time to bake some good ol' chocolate chip cookies.

kevin loves 'em!

thanks to netflix, we've been watching this american life with ira glass. SO GOOD! can't wait to watch more.

back to seattle

well, i'm back home in seattle after an awesome week back home in hawaii. it's so strange how "back home" can have more than one meaning for a person. i definitely miss my family, but i'm happy to see kevin and the apartment again. i pretty much did (and ate) everything that i wanted to; from shopping at ala moana to eating 7-11's lil' smokies snack pack.

and i got to eat curry house twice!

mild takoyaki with cheese. YUMMY!

it was a little easier to leave this time; i suppose it's because i've begun to establish my life in seattle. it's a sad, but happy feeling.

speaking of happy feelings, when i came back kevin and i took a little trip down to stitches, an amazing sewing, knitting and embroidery shop in capitol hill.

they have so many funky fabrics, yarns, buttons and pretty much anything you would ever need to do some stitching. i picked up a few things to send to my sister, joanne.

all in all, things are good. i love you all and miss you!

last day at home

well, today is my last day being back home. i'm sad to leave, but at the same time, i'm excited to go back too. i miss kevin and it feels kind of weird to be away.

i'll miss emjay and hopefully i'll be able to visit again soon.

i can't stay away from that face.

funny face!

i'll be home soon, seattle!

"welcome home" & "happy father's day!"

it's so good to be home. i have to admit, though, it did feel a little weird at first. i think i'm getting used to seattle life, so being back home took a little bit of adjustment. i do miss kevin; can't wait to see him in a few days.

yay, emily jay! i missed her so much. it took a few seconds for her to register that it was me, but then she smiled a big smile; "aunty jen!"

today is father's day, so "happy father's day!" all you dads out there. my dad and i went to the mckinley high school book fair today. it was HUGE and a little overwhelming, but we found some mystery paperbacks and a japanese cross-stitching book.

[source: google images]

then we went to curry house for lunch. so good!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DADDY!

home! and bicycle atc

i'm flying home for the weekend tomorrow and i'm very excited! i can't wait to play with emily jay; i miss her so much. and, of course, i'm excited to see the rest of my family too. :)

here's another swap-bot atc swap i completed. this time it was a bicycle atc swap.

here's mine:

i used cardstock, a magazine clipping, thread, and sequins.

here's what my partner sent:

i love swapping!

my first vinyl

on sunday, kevin and i also went back to the fremont street market. we didn't spend a long time there, only about 45 minutes, but that was enough time to stumble across this:

the little shop of horrors movie soundtrack on vinyl! and it was only $4.

brings back so many memories.

food sunday

yesterday was definitely a good food day. it was phil's family's last night here in seattle, so we went to i love sushi by lake union. it was the best sushi i've had in a long time. yum! oh, and speaking of sushi, kevin and i stumbled across a genki sushi here! we were ecstatic and decided to go there once a month.

after dinner we went to get some ice cream at molly moon's. there's always a long line there, even when it's cold because it's so AMAZING. their flavors are so inventive and interesting; salted caramel, balsamic strawberry, honey lavender, and so much more.

[source: google images]

i tried a half scoop each of the salted caramel and balsamic strawberry. delicious.

jenine and i enjoying our dessert.

hope everyone had a good weekend. love you!

beautiful? atc swap

joanne and i participate on a swapping site called swap-bot, where members login and join different crafting swaps. when the sign up date for each swap closes, everyone is assigned a partner to send their packages to. it's good fun!

the most recent one i've finished was an atc (artist trading card) swap called "beautiful? atc". for this swap each person creates an atc of something they think is beautiful that others may not.

here's my creation:

i love realistic hearts. "el corazon" is "the heart" in spanish. mexican art uses hearts often.

and here's what my partner sent to me:

beautiful butterfly.

love, love, love swapping in the mail. can't wait to get my next one!

5 spot lunch and phil's family

phil's family is visiting from alabama this weekend for his graduation, so we went to 5 spot in queen anne for lunch/breakfast. it was one of the best breakfasts i've had in a long time. their pancakes are so AMAZING.

and you can tell it was a beautiful day. the sky was so blue.

phil with his momma and sister. they are the two sweetest things.

kind of a busy weekend, so hopefully i'll have a lot of interesting things to share!

archie, short for archebald

meet archie, our new addition to the apartment. kevin found him online. he's completely made out of cardboard pieces that you assemble yourself!

look at him in all his majesty.

and congratulations to our friend, phil! we went to a showing for the seattle central film graduates tonight and phil was one of them. so proud!

walkie walk

here are some pictures from our walk around the neighborhood today.

walking towards the lake

lake union. it would be so awesome to live in one of those lake houses.

i really enjoy living in eastlake. it's a quiet, pretty neighborhood. we'll be taking more walks, i'm sure!

package from home!

yesterday i received an AWESOME package from home. it seriously made my week.

the package came complete with korean ramen, li hing mui, cards for my atc's, a photo album of me and emily, and the cutest owl painting by my sister, joanne.

and, of course, pictures of my favorite girl:

these make it easier (and a little harder) to be away. keep 'em comin' guys! love and miss you!

last night with the fujiis

tonight we had our last dinner at the crab pot (as seen on travel channel's man vs. food) during the fujiis' visit. the food and company was fantastic!

we ordered the seafeast; crab, shrimp, mussels, clams, potatoes, corn and sausage cooked together and dumped right on the table. boards, mallets and bibs are provided!

i forgot to take a picture when the waitress first dumped out our feast, but i did get the aftermath.

the crab pot was definitely worth going to. it was fun to throw caution to the wind and just eat like crazy! thank you so much to the fujiis for visiting and spending their vacation time with us.

golden girls mania!

i've been on such a golden girls binge lately. rue mcclanahan, who played blanche, just recently passed away and i thought i'd do a golden girls post. joanne and i have been watching the show since we were younger and it always feels like home when it's on tv.

i even started hosting a golden girls themed artist trading card swap on swap-bot. for this swap the participants will make an ATC (artist trading card) with a golden girls theme and send it to their partner.

i just bought seasons 3 and 4; they were on sale at target.

even the check-out person was like, "ooh, golden girls!" and i told kevin, "see? who doesn't love the golden girls?" :)

pike place market

today was pike place market day with the fujiis. lots of shops and food to look at. i caved and bought a bag of chocolate covered washington cherries from the chukar cherries booth. so delicious, i can't stop!

almost to the market.

the flowers are my favorite thing to look at there. so beautiful and so inexpensive. the biggest bouquet (which is huge) is only $15! my plan is to buy new flowers every 2 weeks or so to keep in the apartment; it brightens up the place.

didn't take too many pictures today, but we had a super nice time!

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my cousin, raini, who is 11 today! love and miss you!

woodland park zoo

more fun with the fujiis today! the woodland park zoo was pretty amazing. most of the animals were out today, so we saw so many creatures we've never seen before.

[source: google images]
this is a pudu. the smallest deer in the world and also the cutest animal in the world. the baby we saw was about a foot tall and looked just like this little guy. seriously, this picture does absolutely no justice to the cuteness.

[source: google images]
and this is a tapir. its closest relatives are the horse and rhinoceros. he was pretty huge and strange looking.

those were my two favorite animals we saw today. i wasn't fast enough to get pictures of them, but i did get these:

eagles,

and an orangutan.

the girls even kept a list of all the animals they saw, which was a lot!

the fujiis arrive! and the ballard locks.

our family friends, the fujiis, arrived in seattle yesterday for a vacation, so i got a chance to hang out with them today. it was so good to see some familiar faces from home.

we went to the ballard locks, which is where salmon swim upstream to spawn and where boats transition to the different water levels of the harbor and the sea.

walking along the locks.

lauren, lindsey, and me.

we got to see a boat go out, pulled by the cutest tugboat. :)

then we went to eat at ray's boathouse, where i had the crab cakes. yum! more fun tomorrow.

art inspiration: camille rose garcia

i saw some of camille rose garcia's work in a juxtapoz magazine and just loved her work. she's an orange county based artist and her paintings are whimsy-inspired with a dark twist. and anyone who knows me well knows i love dark twists.

check out more of her work here.

i love the colors and drippy effect. have a good week, everyone! take care!