Sweetness Overloaded

At last, my marshmallow making went well this time. It was so much fun. I mean last time was fun too but the outcome was a bit disappointing. If you like homemade sweets, I totally recommend you to try it out. I've tried two Martha's receipes and I like this one better for now. It was simply because the other one uses much more vanilla extract and it was a bit too strong for us. It probably takes a few more tries to finalize our own version. Here are some thoughts and tips which kind of combined the two receipes.
I've used a 8 x 8 inch glass dish and coated it with a generous layer of powdered sugar instead of cooking spray. It would be better to sift the powdered sugar because the crumbs will leave an impression on the marshmallow. Also make sure all the gelatin is mixed with water before it starts to soften because the little amount of water is kind of just enough to soften the whole thing. I've also cut the salt to 1/8 teaspoon simply because I don't like the salty taste.

The great news is it seems very messy and sticky but the marshmallow mixture is super easy to clean off with water.

It was easy to cut too.Since I'm not doing the fudge part, I've used powdered sugar instead of corn starch to coat the marshmallow. (I've also tried a few pieces with corn starch, it is less sweet that way. It's actually pretty good too, I might try the non-stick spray method next time. )

By the way, a little note on the candy thermometer. There were many choices but some places only carry the gigantic ones. I was happy to find a decent one at Sur La Table.

Happy Marshmallow!

A Slow Day

Today, I've decided to take it slow. I took a short walk to grab a bite at Starbucks down the street . My favourite simple lunch is a cheese bagel toasted with cream cheese and a Grande Mocha with whipped cream. It's a fatty one but I just love it. =)And today, I've added a little wedge of San Joaquin Gold from Fiscalini. It was delicious!I was trying to do some baking past couple weeks. It was my first time to try these new receipes. Some went great and some didn't go so well. But for sure, I had great fun enjoying the process. =)

Happy Thursday!

Cat Elfie

Cat Elfie is one of the rarest kind in elf family.
Their little cat noses are the most significant feature to distinguish them from regular elves.

Juicy Dumplings

Recently, we have been doing a lot of waiting at restaurants. Like Phillipe's has became our regular, so as the Shabu House at Little Tokyo. Thanks to the ridiculous traffic, we decided to detour to Ding Tai Fung for dinner over the weekend. As usual, there was a crowd waiting at the entrance when we arrived. It is always interesting to watch the six seven kitchen staff making their famous dumplings behind the window. It always makes me wonder what is the big secret inside those stacks of steamers. Besides dumplings, their other dishes like sauteed veggies and fried rice is very delish too. Overall, it is always worth the wait once start digging into the dishes. =)We found this huge Uglydoll in a toy store at Pasadena. Opps... with only one eye.

New drawing

Here's my new work.
Girl with PresentHappy Thursday!

Drawing from Aliou

I'd like to share this little drawing with you. Received it a few weeks ago from my little sponsor child, Aliou.

Two little coasters I've made yesterday. They made drinking water so much happier. =)

Vintage Love

Happy Tuesday! I've almost forgot that we have a short week this week. We had a lovely weekend with some local adventure and great foods. We visited a neat antique shop, Fong's, in Chinatown. They don't only sell Chinese antiques, they have many exotic and unique accessories and a miniature section which is perfect if you are building a doll house.

We also did some serious grocery shopping. Thanks to The Black Apple and Martha's inspiration on so many delicious bakings. Therefore, we decided to do some ourselves too. =)

This is the little book we found a few weeks ago at the Orange Circle. "Love Is a Special Way of Feeling" by Joan Walsh Anglund, was published in 1960. Both words and illustrations were done by Mrs. Anglund.

We've also found this adorable vintage Valentine's Day card.

Cotton Candy

This is how I used to enjoy cotton candy when I was little. Stuff it to my face and got it all over my nose and eyelashes. I haven't done that for a long time. It seems like they only sell them in bags now.

Have a Happy Wednesday! =)

A Gift for You

Thank you so much for your support.
Hope you and your love ones had a wonderful and sweet Valentine's Day. =)

Happy Valentine's Week!
It's time to send some lovely notes to your love ones. Here's my little gift for you. It is a lovely note card with an adorable girl with a cart of love.Each template measures 8" x 10" and includes two 4" x 5" cards. And of course, if you happens to only have 8.5" x 11" paper, you just need to trim the edges. It is available to download throughout this week.
Please keep it for personal use only.
Have fun! =)

Best Beef Sandwiches

I can't wait to share with you this historic restaurant, Philippe, opened since 1908. The founder claimed to be the creator of French Dipped Sandwich.

It was so packed when we got there. We stood in one of the many lines and took our time to study the menu. To be honest, it was our first time to try French dipped sandwiches. We got two double-dipped. I requested mine with blue cheese and added some of their hot French mustard. It was sooo good!!We've also tried the potato salad and baked apple. They were both pretty good. The baked apple tasted like an apple pie without crust. I like it because it wasn't too sweet.In fact, we wanted more sandwiches but don't want to stand back in line. So, we'll wait for next time!

new set

Here comes the new set. It's polka dots again. =P They are just too cute to resist! The little chocolate milk dots blouse is so elegant. Match it with the toddler's treasures skirt to show the adorable side. Or, mix with the distressed jeans to show some attitude. A simple black shirt and a pearl necklace speaks a lot for itself. And of course, they are the must have in the wardrobe.

Happy Wednesday!

Valentine's painting

I've finally finished two paintings for this special time of the year.

The Love Desperado
brings love to people secretly like Santa Claus.
The Love Guardian
delivers love from the sky like a little angel.Have a happy Thursday!

Old Town Adventure

What a nice weekend it was! I hope you had a wonderful one too. We drove out to the Old Town in Orange. It was our first time. We had sandwiches at Watson's, a soda fountain pharmacy since 1899. Food was so so but it was a fun experience tho.After lunch, we wandered around the Orange Circle. Many many antique shoppes and Valentine's theme was everywhere. There were two selling country style treasures which we like most. We bought a little love booklet which I am not supposed to open it until Valentine's Day. So I will share with you later. =)

We had dinner at Felix's, a Cuban and Spanish restaurant. It wasn't the most appealing restaurant. But it was packed the whole time and the food was Great! The roast chicken was sooo delish and juicy. Yum!!
And we saw Revolutionary Road. It was GOOD! It was so beautifully filmed and the performance was super awesome. Heavy tho.

Have a happy week! =)

little video

A little one minute video assembled from the clips of a road trip along California coast a while ago. Featuring Miss lovely Katie, please excuse her shinny face and some reflection of my arm. =P

trip across the globe

Happy New Year!

We flew across the globe to the southern part of Japan. Many volcanoes and of course, hot springs there. It was nice that we tried a lot of traditional Japanese meal like Kaiseki, which contains many many small dishes. There were cold appetizers, hot dishes, seafood hot pot, mini teriyaki, soup, dessert, etc. As a big fan of Japanese rice, I have to say that the rice in Japan is sooooo good. Ummmm. =)
Happy Thursday!

Happy Holidays

Wish you all have a wonderful holiday season!
See you in the new year! =)

the little mushroom dolls

Hi there!
Introducing the new batch of the little mushroom dolls, Miss Little Dottie and Miss Generous Snow. They are both so sweeeet! Miss Little Dottie is on the sweet and cute side while Miss Generous Snow is more shy and quiet. They are crafted with 100% cotton and 100% wool felt, detailed with lace, mini buttons and faux fur. They are stuffed with ployfil and rice.

They are available in the shop now.

Happy Thursday! =)

Kewpie love

It has been a crazy month with a lot of traveling. We finally get a little break at HOME before our next trip. I've got some nice craft supplies on the trip up to Vancouver. It was nice to visit and enjoy the great food there.
I don't remember since when I fell in love with Kewpie dolls. They are just so adorable.

Gotta get back to work. Have a happy week! =)

Pumpkin Patch

We made a visit to a pumpkin patch a few days ago. The field was filled with big and small colorful pumpkin. It was so beautiful there. I can't resist and kept my camera shooting.It was very generous of the farm to offer a free corn maze.

One more day to go and our lantern is on already! Happy Thursday!

Buddy and Girlfriend

Buddy and Girlfriend are two handmade dolls. Girlfriend is a prototype of my handmade dolls collection. Buddy is a custom made for the little bear. He is very homey and his red and white stripes tee is so cute.