$76 Champagne Punch

The past few years, my friends Rich and Alice brought a delicious champagne punch to my birthday party. It was lemony, electric blue, and made everyone's teeth and tongue match the punch. Potent is an understatement.

This year, I told them to not worry about the punch. After all, they have a new baby and deserve a break. Their little guy is awesome, he ended up at the party and being one of the last people there!



Since it was time for a new punch, I found a new one from Gourmet Magazine's July 1992 issue on Epicurious. It's refreshing and lighter than the bright blue one. At first, we weren't sure if we liked it. However, the first batch was quickly gone and I had several requests to refill it.

I will warn you, unless you have a stocked bar, this punch is rather expensive. I'm not a huge drinker, so I didn't pay attention to the multiple liquors needed for the recipe. I figured it was an opportunity to add to our tiny bar, and forced myself to get over the price. There's also something in just letting go so that you can get everything done in time and not have to look up a new recipe! Plus, it got rave reviews on Epicurious.com.

The punch is made with champagne, Chambord, Triple Sec, Brandy, pineapple juice and ginger ale. Make sure to follow the directions on the above link and prep the first step of the ingredients the night before your event. This would be perfect for a holiday party or a New Year's Eve bash.

Enjoy!

Fried Chicken Ornaments

Last year, Mike and I started an annual tradition of creating handmade ornaments for each other for Christmas. This year, I started early by ordering a sixty color mini bundle of felt from Lupin Handmade.



We started off normally. Mike made a Christmas tree ornament for our Christmas tree. I made something that I fondly remember. My yellow Popple stuffed animal from 1985. Andrew and I both had one, and they were the best toy. The Popple ornament has a seam on the back (for it's head to pop out), and a miniature pom-pom that I made with tufts of yarn in my stash. Though small, it was a mighty effort! Ha.



Then things just got silly. The big stash of felt started to beckon us. "What is ridiculous that needs to be made out of felt? I have your perfect color right here!"

Uh, obviously a pink Snuggie ornament had to be made. Mike bought one for me as a joke for my birthday. It is not perfect for an outdoor sporting event, by the way, because my butt would freeze! That is why I will be developing the "Snoncho" in 2010. That's right, it will be a poncho with sleeves, and perhaps a beer cozy. I cannot wait to act in my own infomercial.



Mike crafted a Frankenstein-looking fried chicken leg. I love it.



We've also decided to make up for the past 8 Christmases where we did not partake in this tradition. Hilarity to surely ensue... Our new fake tree loves us.

Impromptu Flowers

My new space makes it so easy to decide to create spur of the moment hand carved stamps.



I carved a quick flower, printed shades of reds and oranges, and used the oil based ink I have, since I don't have any stamping inks. I covered an old attempt at goccoing, that had way too much negative space. It was fun to create and send and write lots of thank you cards and notes to friends.



If you have never carved a stamp, Geninne Zlatkis has an amazing and fun to watch video tutorial here.

She is quite prolific, and uses such vibrant colors in her work. I have purchased two of her prints in her Etsy shop, and will surely purchase more in the future.

Stamp Carving from Geninne D. Zlatkis on Vimeo.

A Studio of My Own!

Mike had his studio in the back of our apartment for the past three years. His friend Meghan asked him to share a studio with her, which has a great view of downtown, and is quite affordable. This means that we moved all of his supplies out of the studio in our apartment, and my things right in!



The room has windows facing south and west, so it gets amazing light at the end of the day. We relocated a small sofa into the room, which creates a cozy little reading nook. (This also improves the layout in our living room drastically!)



My bike fits right underneath the mountain of books. This meant that we could get rid of the wall rack that was getting to be an eyesore, and the kitchen is less crowded.



There huge graphite drawing is Mike's, which is a view from the opposite side of the room. The pretty Florida scarf is from Shona, and has certainly inspired our wedding palette and Save the Date cards. (I'll show them soon).



This wall was a mess from the start, so it's practically a bulletin board by now. We will fix it up quite nicely when it's time to move out. It is so wonderful to have an actual room for myself. I can listen to music or podcasts and work on whatever my heart desires!

If you were thinking of carving out a space for yourself, I highly recommend it. Whether it's an entire room or a desk in your kitchen, it's great to have a place that inspires you to create.

I'll have lots of things to show you soon!

White Nest

When I was in school for interior design, we had grueling schedules.  One semester consisted of four all-nighters per week.  Needless to say, us students truly bonded.  

One of my closest friends in the program was Meg.  Completely talented, dedicated, detail oriented, and humble and fun as heck.  She's an uber-successful designer these days in Chicago, but also keeps up with her crafting.    

I just found out that she opened White Nest on Etsy.  Meg  combiness her attention to detail, excellent craftsmanship and refined taste to create these gorgeous and understated pillows.  

I really love the geometric design in the top one, and the subtle colors.  (I know that Marissa and "subtle colors" don't tend to go together, but my tastes are changing slowly).  

The flock of birds is cute. I like how it is a looser graphic of the birds, rather than so detailed.  It can read as a pattern or be a literal interpretation.

And lastly, stripes with a slight pop of her signature color, hot pink.  This is a classy lady who included a monochromatic candy bar at her wedding, complete with jars of hot pink sweets.

So go check her out, and tell her I sent you!  I realize that my opinion is completely biased, but trust me, she's truly that amazing!


P.S. Meg, you need a blog.  Get on it, girl.

Do Gigantic Alligators and Toddlers Mix?

Something about being Aunt Merce to the cutest two year old boy in existence just makes me want to give him outlandish things to play with. Toys like the giant fabric snake my Grandma Craine got me when I was 11. Impractical, but awesome and completely memorable.

Enter a huge scrap of bright green soft corduroy that was not used for Axl Rose stenciled tote bags for two friends. What can one do with 35 square feet of green fabric?

Originally, I thought that a giant stuffed alligator (with a non-scary grill of course) would be a wonderful present. But that would be extremely cumbersome and could possibly frighten the cutest boy in the world. Perhaps giant toys will wait until he's four.

After all, I don't want to be the well meaning lady who gives her granddaughter a clown shaped hamper with pointy diamond eyes which needed to be stuffed in the closet each night before said granddaughter could go to sleep. And lets face it...I still knew that clown was in there, plotting to kill me if any of the barriers of pillows fell off the bed!

I loved that my Grandma Huber bought it for me though. She was pretty amazing.

So, the 35 square feet of green fabric will turn into a Christmas tree skirt. Mike is using his crazy math skills that relate to art to create a perfect circle. Thank goodness that man is creative and handy and can destash some fabric for me!

I think we can settle on an eighteen inch tiny and happy baby gator instead.

P.S. When I say 18 inches, I do not mean 18 feet, which would be the exact opposite of the miniature Stonehenge in one of my favorite movies, Spinal Tap.

P.P.S. Merce is my nickname with high school friends. It's the way my name sounds when said lazily by a good friend with a thick Puerto Rican accent. It's my favorite nickname.

Treinta y Uno!

"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around" - Woody Nelson.

I saw that quote today from Danielle LaPorte. That really resonated with me. Why do we find ourselves looking so far into the future of all the things we have not accomplished yet? Things to cross of the list, things to do before we can move onto the fun stuff. I think it's good to stop for a second, and realize how far we've come as well.

What better time to do that than after my 31st birthday?! I feel like I've been focusing on career and life goals so much, I've forgotten to do like Woody said. Though I won't be taking any of his herbal remedies, I'm a good girl! Instead, I partake in cupcakes with lots of frosting and sprinkles and a glass of milk. I made my own. Sometimes, you have to create your own happiness.

So yes, I've turned 31. Treinta y uno. I wanted to take a few minutes and think of all the highlights from my last year. It's been a good one Maybe one of the best yet! That's good, since the last few were kind of tough, but they make you stronger and make you realize what is important. For me, that is my loved ones. And pursuing your dreams now, not later. (This is unapologetically all about me today, if you couldn't tell).

Accomplishments and Highlights for my thirtieth year:

1. Carved and created my first linoleum print.

2. Finished my damn Pi-Shawl!

3. Watched my best friend marry the love of her life, with the best seat in the house.

4. Took my cousin Cara to Key West after promising a trip for seven years. The Reggae Catamaran counts as our open water portion.

5. Was fortunate to create illustrations for a Manos del Uruguay catalog.

6. First loaf of bread that required kneading!

7. Won a contest for Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing book.

8. Dyed Easter eggs with my sweetie. And was asked to marry said sweetie!

9. Becoming more involved in interior design and architecture happenings in Philadelphia.

10. Biked to work consistently for a whole year (and counting).

11. Studied madly and become a LEED AP.

12. After getting shot down to volunteer with 2 organizations due to lack of need on their part, and a skill set that didn't match up, I finally found someone who I can help!

13. Went out of my comfort zone and took Holly Becker's online course.

14. Cooked Beef Bourguignon with Olivia.

15. Finally updated my blog header!

16. Bought a real life, grown up, not free from a summer home I lived in 10 years ago, bed!

I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. Life is a journey. But don't forget, you can't do everything on your own. Sometimes you need to ask for help. Which is why Mike and Zach decorated these cupcakes for my birthday, and got creative with the remaining sugar letters.

I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with you, Mr. Treinta y Uno.