knitted cupcakes

knitted (and edible!) cupcakes by vegan yum yum. so cute... the details are amazing!

so long, farewell

i'm sad to announce that the toki cafe shop is closing. it's been fun but i do believe that it's time to move on. maybe someday i'll be back with exciting new things to share but for now it's goodbye. the shop will remain open through mid-september or until everything is sold, whichever comes first. to help clear out the shop, i'm offering a "goodbye for now" discount to everyone! enter the coupon code "BYE4NOW" during checkout to receive 25% off your entire purchase before shipping. this is my first time using etsy's fancy new coupon code feature so i hope i did it right! there are only a few items in there so snatch them up while you can!

i've enjoyed being an etsy seller and maybe i'll be back someday. any updates or news will be posted here on my blog which i'll continue to update with life, things that make me happy, and craftiness.

thank you so much for your support of the toki cafe these past couple of years!

30 day photo challenge

i found this via wild olive and i loved the idea so much that i wanted to share it :) sherry over at oh so lovely created this fun little photo challenge that i thought would be a perfect project for me and my instanx mini. i love that they capture little everyday things and encourage a bit of creativity too. i started a bit late so i'm behind but here are a few of my photos so far.

since starting this project, i've noticed that my instax mini is a bit off. what i see through the viewfinder is not what i get in the photo (thus some of my photos have to be taken with my trusty canon powershot). it's extremely frustrating since they're essentially a dollar per photo. i'm also frustrated that i can get a lovely photo on my camera, but the color dulls when i import it into my computer, and then drains some more when i upload it to blogger! there has to be a setting somewhere that can fix that...

happy weekend!

little snail

a little snail made from ana paula's amigurumi two! she's an optimistic little snail and how could she not be with all the good news that's been flying around :)

comfy hooks

crocheting for extended periods of time can be rough on your hands. i found a cute way to make my hooks more hand-friendly.

these squishy pen grips are from my last trip to kinokuniya in new york but you can find similar ones at most office supply stores. wrap enough medical tape around the handle of your hook to ensure that the pen grips fit snuggly and won't move while you work. slip your grips over the tape and you're done! i use two grips per hook and the placement of your grips will be determined by how you hold your hooks. here's to many more happy hours of crocheting!

*edit - replaced the photos with brighter ones... the first ones were taken on a stormy day. hello sunshine!

summer food... black bean + corn salsa

black bean + corn salsa. here's what i used... roughly... i didn't measure anything :P

1 tomato, diced

1/4 c red onion, diced

half a 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

2/3 c frozen corn, thawed

1 garlic clove, minced

juice of half a lime

cilantro, chopped or torn

salt + pepper

tumble it all together and adjust everything to your liking! a minced jalepeno would be nice too if you'd like to add some heat. RT and i love corn so i added lots of it. it's even better if you let it hang out in the fridge for awhile so that the flavors can all sink in and it's nice and cold. we had this with fajitas last night. such a yummy, easy summer dinner!