tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69435223416671307022024-03-14T01:59:33.304-04:00the toki cafeyoungmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.comBlogger302125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-421796038604360962014-11-11T13:43:00.000-05:002014-11-11T13:43:00.509-05:00Spotlight * My Favorite Things<br />
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1. <a href="http://www.hm.com/us/product/23941?article=23941-C#article=23941-A">H&M sweater</a> - I have this in beige and it's so comfy and flattering with skinny jeans.</div>
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2. <a href="http://www.sephora.com/moisture-surge-intense-for-very-dry-to-dry-combination-skin-P302901?skuId=1390079">Clinique Moisture Surge Intense</a> - Winter is coming and usually by now, my skin is dry and irritated. But since I've started using Clinique Moisture Surge, my skin has been very happy indeed!</div>
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3. Angie's Kettle Corn - I turn into a monster when this finds its way into my greedy hands. It's popcorn crack I tell you. Doesn't help that I get the jumbo bag from CostCo.</div>
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4. <a href="https://www.fitbit.com/zip">Fitbit Zip</a> - I was hesitant to get a Fitbit. Do I really want to know how alarmingly inactive I am? I find myself taking the stairs more often when I wear it and I feel darn proud when I hit my daily goal.</div>
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5. <a href="http://www.coach.com/online/handbags/Product-court_bag-10551-10051-9870-en">Coach Court Bag</a> - I got mine used on ebay and it's my baby. The perfect size, timeless design. </div>
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6. <a href="http://www.hm.com/us/product/27753?article=27753-A">H&M rings</a> - H&M has a ton of stylish rings that are sold in sets at prices that make me do a happy dance. And I love that they make them in S/M sizes so that they actually fit me!</div>
youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-92092190925789475442014-11-08T10:25:00.000-05:002014-11-08T10:25:00.429-05:00Scrappy * Project Life - July Part 3/August Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Finishing up July and heading into August. Nothing too special here... more food and bunnies. ^_^</div>
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30 some years later, I finally cut my hair short. And I love it.youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-42866140834574210182014-10-29T12:30:00.000-04:002014-10-29T12:30:00.745-04:00Scrappy * PersistenceStill diligently working on finishing up my 2011 album. It's not my favorite and I'm trying to finish it just so that I can get it off my desk for good and shove it into a closet. I know, I know. Life is short and I shouldn't be scrapping things that I don't really want to scrap but I'm just too darn stubborn and anal to let it sit around unfinished. Since I'm not all that wild about it, it's been a good place to experiment. Some experiments turn out good, others make me want to bang my head on my desk. This layout falls in the later category.<br />
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I really loved this <a href="http://www.shimelle.com/paper/1995/making-your-own-patterned-paper-a-scrapbook-tutorial-by-ashli-oliver/">layout </a>by <a href="http://www.purplemailbox.com/">Ashli Oliver</a> for <a href="http://www.shimelle.com/">Shimelle.com</a>. So different from what I normally do and a good opportunity to really put my stamps to use. Ashli makes it looks so easy! Look at those pretty soft watercolors! This layout will come together in no time, right? Wrong.<br />
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First attempt. Ehhh... too dark. I was using black ink and it's just too jarring and bold against the white background.</div>
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Second attempt. Tried it with grey ink. Much better but still not really loving it. Stamping twice before re-inking gave it a much softer look but it still was too much. Too many different designs jumbled together. </div>
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Third attempt. Oh now this is just ridiculous. I didn't realize that I still had the safety pin stamp stuck to the same side of the block as the heart. Starting over!</div>
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Fourth attempt!! I reduced the number of designs and liked it much better. Enough to add the watercolor and then my photo and proceeded to write the story. And then mess it up royally. Now, I have such rubbish handwriting that almost all my pages have at least one or two words scratched out. But this was too much. GAHHHH! Definitely hating myself by this time. Why oh why did I ever try this??</div>
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FIFTH ATTEMPT! Complete! I de-cluttered even more by using only five stamp designs. The simple circles got it to that easygoing place I was looking for. And I liked that it looked like bubbles (I may have been a bit delirious by this time). I didn't have a simple circle stamp so I had to take a stamp that had a circle with a word in it and put a tiny bit of tape over the word. Ink it up, remove the tape and stamp a neat empty circle. Now repeat that 12 times.</div>
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While I don't love the fact that it took me so many tries to get this right, I do realize that I learned something with each attempt. Every page showed me something that I could change to improve the design. But goodness, there must be an easier way. </div>
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Thank you <a href="http://purplemailbox.blogspot.com/">Ashli</a> and <a href="http://www.shimelle.com/">Shimelle</a> for the inspiration!</div>
<br />youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-35835484454247918662014-10-26T12:30:00.001-04:002014-10-26T12:30:01.027-04:00Scrappy * Project Life - July Part 2Woo it's been a busy couple of months. Weddings galore but now they're done and I can catch up on life before the holidays come charging in. Speaking of life, here's part 2 of my July Project Life.<br />
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Bunnies and food... yup. </div>
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<br />youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-57726598537431467872014-09-30T10:30:00.000-04:002014-09-30T10:30:00.415-04:00Eats * Posto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Posto is a warm, welcoming pizzeria in Somerville. I had heard good things about this place so my Mr. and I called up our Cambridge buddies C + A for a Friday night dinner. It getting chillier here in Boston but Friday was a perfect day so we sat outside to take advantage of the late summer night. Scroll through the photos to watch the sun set on our meal!<br />
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First off, burrata with wood roasted peaches, prosciutto and rosemary honey. I thought peaches and burrata would be an unusual combination but it's so good! So many textures and flavors! The sweet, juicy peaches were delicious with the cool, creamy burrata which was sprinkled with a tiny bit of sea salt. <br />
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Arancini with spinach, mushrooms and spicy sweet and sour tomato sauce. I will always say yes to arancini. Served piping hot and wonderfully crisp, there was one for each of us which was excellent because I don't think any of us were up for sharing.<br />
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Our first pizza! Wait, what? We didn't order this but it came to us by mistake. Our super friendly server cheerfully apologized and told us to go ahead and enjoy it while they whipped up our order. This was the fiorentina, a white pizza with shiitake, white trumpet, crimini, fontina and spinach. Don't mind if we do!</div>
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Here we go. The soppressata with spicy pork salumi, mozzarella, Tuscan pepper, oregano, arugula, and parmesan. <br />
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And the margherita with mozzarella, olive oil, basil, and sea salt. So simple but oh so good. All the pizzas were really delicious. I'm a huge fan of their dough. So fluffy and full of flavor. A fitting base for all the yummy toppings. I loved it so much that I stole my Mr's crusts. A good pizza dough can make such a huge difference. My only wish was that the margherita had just a few more basil leaves on it. We divided each pizza into fours and one piece just had a corner of basil on it.<br />
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Grilled ribeye with rosemary gold potatoes and Tuscan kale. I'm not a steak eater but even I thought this was a beautiful piece of steak. Juicy and cooked perfectly medium rare.<br />
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Cavatelli with ricotta, baby heirloom tomatoes, arugula, garlic and evoo. I was surprised at how hearty and filling this pasta was. The cavatelli had a gnocchi-like texture that went well with the lightness of the rest of the dish.<br />
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I would definitely come back. The service is great and we felt so comfortable and happy. I'm so glad that we went with friends so that we could try more dishes. Without the extra, unplanned pizza, we had ordered the perfect amount of food for our group. We saw a good number of larger parties in the dining room. Big tables, warm wood interior and low, cozy lighting. It just feels so homey. <br />
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Posto<br />
187 Elm St (Davis Square)<br />
Somerville, MA 02144youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-34729933139330226912014-09-25T08:36:00.000-04:002014-09-25T08:36:00.588-04:00Notes * 3 Years Ago Today...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I married my best friend, the love of my life, my artiechokie.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="http://www.gntphoto.com/">Gina & Tony Photographers</a>, the sweetest, most genuine, happiest photographers on earth. </span>youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-20766332548469432202014-09-16T10:00:00.000-04:002014-09-17T19:59:25.673-04:00Scrappy * One Design, Two Layouts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Still working through my 2011 photos. I'm a lazy scrapper so I reuse designs a lot. Once in awhile, I'll work in batches, making a couple of layouts using the same design but with different supplies. I don't mind having repeats in my album and it speeds up the process! Keep it simple folks, keep it simple.<br />
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Studio Calico Atlantic papers and stickers, Heidi Swapp polaroid frame, American Crafts gold embossing powder (Ooo I love this stuff).<br />
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Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm papers, Lily Bee Design letter stickersyoungmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-25422418098154639772014-09-09T10:34:00.000-04:002014-10-25T19:08:24.742-04:00Scrappy * An Unintentional Two Page Spread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So close to finishing up my 2011 albums! These photos are from our trip to SF. The photos are darker and have an urban feel to them so I paired them with some Crate Paper Storyteller paper from the 6x6 pad. I also pulled in some My Minds Eye enamel dots, Crate Paper The Pier stickers, and a couple of journaling tags from Basic Grey Hello. This wasn't meant to be a two page spread but using different papers from the same collection definitely created a coordinated feel and a shared personality. Love when that happens!</div>
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I love the giant black ink splatters. I used black acrylic paint thinned with a tiny bit of water which made the black really nice and opaque. It looks as if it had dripped out of an inkwell which is exactly what I wanted.</div>
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youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-8363827196603770242014-09-04T12:50:00.000-04:002014-09-04T16:04:39.140-04:00Makes * Bridal KitMy best friend got married in June and had the prettiest wedding I've ever seen. I felt like I was standing in a Style Me Pretty post. I'm one of those "be prepared for everything" kind of person so I made her a little day-of kit. I found a floral make up bag at <a href="http://www.forever21.com/">Forever 21</a> and crammed in as much as I could. It ended up holding a lot! Here's what I included:<br />
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Tissues<br />
Cotton swabs<br />
Deoderant<br />
Hand wipes<br />
Make remover wipes<br />
Mints<br />
Pantyliners<br />
Tampons<br />
Nail file<br />
Fashion tape<br />
Stain remover pen<br />
Chapstick<br />
Dental floss <br />
Oil blotting sheets<br />
Super glue<br />
First-aid kit<br />
Sewing kit<br />
Hair pins<br />
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Making the first-aid kit saved a lot of space in the bag and allowed me to decide what to include. Allergy medicine is a must for outdoor farm weddings. And of course Band-Aids for strappy shoe abused feet.<br />
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I also made the sewing kit. I had originally purchased one but realized that I could make one that didn't include tons of unnecessary stuff. Plus, I learned the hard way that the thread in those little pre-made sewing kits are awful. I cut a little card, made notches along the side and then wound good quality thread around the card. The needles slipped into the little slits in the card and the buttons (Don't we all have a million of these rolling around our house?) are held in place with a little double sided tape. Don't forget a handful of safety pins in a variety of sizes! These are all things I had on hand in my sewing supplies. Easy! And it all fit nicely into this tiny envelope. <br />
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Other suggestions that didn't make it into this kit were scissors, nail clippers, eye drops, hairspray and a small mirror. Take a stroll through the travel aisle at the drugstore or visit the make up section at Forever 21 for ideas. Is there anything else that you'd include in a day-of kit? </div>
youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-830356602914409192014-09-01T10:22:00.000-04:002014-09-01T10:22:14.576-04:00Scrappy * Project Life - July Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Closing out a long weekend spent with family in New Jersey. I love quality family time. I hope you had a relaxing and long weekend too :) And now, a July Project Life spread. </div>
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A lot of the memories that I want to record don't have photos (I actually don't take many photos these days) so I've been adding in doodles. I don't do anything fancy with my photos and I'm sticking with the Dear Lizzy core kit. I'm all about going as fast as possible so no time for embellishment! I like that the pretty designs of the cards keep things from looking too plain. youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-14471569081184533512014-07-31T11:18:00.000-04:002014-08-02T11:07:07.105-04:00Scrappy * Waukegan's Hideout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our bunny loves her hideouts. We had several around the living room and often we wouldn't know where she was until we heard a rustling from one of her boxes. This one was under one of the end tables. I used to keep a box of my stuff under there but gave up when she claimed the spot as her own. The lighting in the photo is terrible... it's so orange. I wanted to balance it out with cool colors so I pulled out all my aqua and blue papers from my scrap basket. Super fast and easy layout. I love working with a limited number of colors because my pages get done in no time and I use up my scraps!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AJOwlPzlzVY/U9m0Y_0Rv4I/AAAAAAAAB_8/GefUdNwgpJY/s1600/wauk+hideout+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AJOwlPzlzVY/U9m0Y_0Rv4I/AAAAAAAAB_8/GefUdNwgpJY/s1600/wauk+hideout+2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a>youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-4681253228650132432014-07-28T01:00:00.000-04:002014-07-28T01:00:08.777-04:00Eats * Area FourI need garlic knots. I found out about the garlic knots at Area Four and I couldn't think of anything else for a week. Somehow, I ended up skipping lunch this day (that never happens... I would keel over) so really, I was hallucinating garlic knots by the end of the work day. My Mr. and I raced over at 5:00PM and ordered garlic knots as fast as possible. I think we ordered pizza too. Gorgeous day for some al fresco garlic knots!<br />
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I mean, just look at these beautiful things! Giant, fluffy balls of sourdough bread topped with all kinds of dreaminess. I totally filled up on these and didn't regret it. I managed to eat a slice of their margherita pizza which was also super delicious. GARLIC KNOTS!</div>
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Area Four<br />
<span class="blurb">500 Technology Square <br />
Cambridge, MA 02139</span><br />
<br />youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-22047180765709926322014-07-24T13:37:00.000-04:002014-07-24T13:37:00.021-04:00Scrappy * Project Life - JuneFor my birthday, my sister got me the Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic Project Life kit. It is <i>such a pretty kit</i>! I love how the new kits have so many more designs than the original kits. It takes me about five minutes to choose a card! I love all the soft, sweet colors and designs. Lots of florals, birds, hearts, home, and library icons. <br />
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For this year, I decided to change from a weekly format to monthly. The weekly thing just wasn't working for me. I would stress out over having enough to fill a two page spread and frequently had to go down to a one page spread but then would have to leave out some things because really what I needed was a one and half page spread. This also meant that I didn't start documenting a week until it was over because I never knew how much stuff I would have for that week. I was losing the "now" in my Project Life. A monthly format makes so much more sense for me. I don't feel confined to one or two page spreads. And I now have the freedom to doodle and write up cards as I feel the urge to so and I don't have to worry about where they'll go.<br />
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youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-28165924663650369132014-07-21T10:29:00.000-04:002014-07-21T10:29:00.693-04:00Reads * Daughter of Smoke and Bone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I'm loving this unique and thankfully non-sappy story about angels and chimera. Reading as fast as I can! </div>
youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-85428563470112578652014-07-14T11:51:00.000-04:002014-07-15T20:01:15.809-04:00Scrappy * She's Here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I love this layout for so many reasons. These photos are from the day my niece was born. It was a long, and at times, difficult road getting her here so it was a really important day for our family. My sister texted me when she went into labor and we kept texting up until the moment my little niece was born. As soon as I got the text "She's here!!!!" I flopped on to my bed and started to sob. My Mr. thought it was hilarious and snapped a photo to send to my sister. I couldn't be there for her birth so the texts that my sister and I sent each other mean a lot to me and I wanted a way to preserve such a huge sister moment.<br />
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I took several screenshots and arranged them in rows in a Word document. I
made sure to leave a tiny space between each screenshot so that there
was room for a fold.
Then I printed the document onto white cardstock and cut the rows into strips. I taped the
strips together so that they formed one long strip then folded it
like an accordion. Depending on how many screen shots you have, you may
need to fold it differently. I had a lot and didn't want a two inch stack on
my page so I created a fold after every other screenshot. I also had an
odd number so since I was folding in twos, I had the backside of one
of the screenshots on display. But that actually worked out well and it
became the perfect spot for embellishment. I hope that makes sense.<br />
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I hope I get to share this page with my niece some day and that it will show her how much we've loved her since before she was even born. </div>
youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-75081469990993222062014-07-10T12:23:00.000-04:002014-07-15T20:01:32.545-04:00Eats * Catalyst<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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My Mr. and I usually hang out in Boston so we admittedly we don't know much about the food scene on the other side of the river. But my Mr. recently started a new job in Kendall Square and we're learning that Cambridge has some really great food. Feeling adventurous, we hopped on our bikes and had a dinner date at Catalyst.<br />
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We were really impressed. Love the modern but comfortable style of the dining room. There's also a beautiful bar and a fireplace which would be nice and cozy for cold New England winters. The food was delicious, inventive but not in a frightening way (you know what I mean right?). And the staff was so friendly and welcoming. It was way warmer than we thought it would be so when we entered, we were kind of gross, sweaty and out of breath. They still greeted us with a smile and patiently waited for us to settle in and take off our helmets.<br />
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Fried green tomatoes with pickled jalepenos, arugula and buttermilk-dill dressing.<br />
I was all set to order potato puffs but then our waitress said that the fried green tomatoes were her favorite and well... I'm easily swayed. The breading was perfectly crisp and the jalapenos nice and hot. But the best part... the buttermilk-dill dressing. The cool dressing went really nicely with the tartness of the tomatoes.<br />
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Grilled polenta with baby artichokes, king oyster mushrooms, roasted red pepper Sicillian pesto.<br />
My Mr. took this photo and he wanted his drink into the photo. He usually a pretty solid meat eater but this dish grew on him. He loved the mushrooms. The pesto was really flavorful and the grilled polenta was a good base for it. <br />
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Corn ravioli with swiss chard, roasted peppers, basil, ricotta salata.<br />
This is one of those dishes that changes your life a little. I've never had anything like it. I'm a midwest girl. I love my corn. I know good corn. This is good corn. The ravioli filling has a creamy filling with crisp, fresh off the cob, sweet corn kernels. The roasted peppers, swiss chard and seasonings bring in the savory and keep the overall dish from being too sweet. So much flavor! They were little bundles of tasty joy. <br />
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Catalyst's menu changes based on the seasons so everything tastes very fresh and real. I'll be back a few more times before summer ends to get my hands on some more corn ravioli but I can't wait to see what they have planned for fall and winter.<br />
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<a href="http://www.catalystrestaurant.com/">Catalyst</a><br />
Kendall Square <br />
300 Technology Square<br />
Cambridge, MA 02139 <br />
<br />youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-49114718130705551062014-07-07T11:12:00.000-04:002014-07-15T20:01:39.291-04:00Scrappy * Nail ArtThis is an older page and it's up in my Two Peas gallery but since that will be going away soon, I thought I'd share it here. I followed Shimelle's 4x6 photo love sketch for <a href="http://www.shimelle.com/paper/1130/4x6-photo-love-july-2011/">July</a>. It's such a fun subject, I wanted to use really bright, whimsical colors and patterns. And yes, those are tiny robot and tiny tuxedos on our nails. If you want to read more about our girly nail art day with local nail art celebrity, <a href="http://instagram.com/ninanailedit">Nina Nailed It</a>, you can view this <a href="http://thetokicafe.blogspot.com/2012/07/nail-art.html">older post</a>.<br />
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youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-20176851589439105202014-07-03T10:50:00.000-04:002014-07-03T17:00:09.577-04:00A love letter to Two Peas in a Bucket<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Last week, scrapbookers received some very sad news. Two Peas in a Bucket, an online scrapbooking store, will be closing their doors. To me, the news was unexpected and made me so sad. I know it may sound a bit silly being so down about a shop closing but Two Peas is so much more than just a scrapbooking store.<br />
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I started scrapbooking in high school many, many years ago. My cousin was a Creative Memories consultant and I learned to scrapbook from her. Over the years, my scrapbooking style remained the same. I didn't know any other way of scrapping other than the Creative Memories way. Which wasn't a bad thing at all. I love those scrapbooks. But it was a very specific way to scrapbook. After graduating from college, I poked around the internet for scrapping inspiration but nothing really caught my eye so I went back into my bubble and kept on scrapping the only way I knew how. I didn't see the internet as a good source of scrapping inspiration because I just couldn't find anything that really called out to me </div>
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One day, in 2012-ish, I stumbled upon Two Peas in a Bucket. I don't remember how I found it but the moment I entered the site, I knew it was the place for me. I had found my scrappy home. So many pretty products! Endless videos! The Garden Girls! The Garden Girls completely changed how I scrapbook. I was learning about techniques, patterned papers, paint and mist, design principles... so much to learn!! The Garden Girls all have different styles but they all called out to me. Two Peas had a great eye and brought the very best talent out there together in their Garden Girls team. And all that top notch inspiration was free and open to all. It boggled my mind. I wasn't very active in the gallery because I'm pretty shy about my scrapping but I did post a few things here and there and the support and feedback I received from fellow peas made my heart swell. I don't have any friends who scrapbook and I've never socialized in scrappy ways (never even been to a scrap) so to have that kind of interaction was so meaningful to me. I participated in the NSD and CHA celebrations which was so much fun I couldn't believe I had been missing out for so many years. Until Two Peas, scrapbooking had been a very solitary and private hobby. Two Peas really opened up the world of scrapbooking to me. </div>
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I loved shopping there not only because they had such a wonderfully curated shop but because I loved knowing that I was supporting this amazing company. For two years, I purchased nearly all my scrapbooking supplies from Two Peas because it was a way for me to support them and thank them for all the free videos, workshops, forums, everything. On top of all that, their customer service was so great I often wished I could hug someone through a support ticket. Really, this company makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.</div>
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I can't imagine how difficult this must be for the owners and staff of Two Peas and the Garden Girls. I doubt they'll ever read this but I just wanted to say thank you. I love to scrapbook and Two Peas has had such a huge influence on me. It breathed new life into my scrapbooks and introduced me to some amazing scrappers. It really opened my eyes and has completely changed scrapbooking for me. The day of the announcement, I filled my bucket with a few things I didn't really need and made my last purchase just for the sake of making one last purchase at Two Peas.<br />
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Thank you Two Peas... I'll miss you! </div>
<br />youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-53007906079484210682014-06-25T13:32:00.000-04:002014-07-15T20:01:47.996-04:00Eats * San Francisco<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Last September, my Mr. and I took a trip to SF for a wedding. We took a few extra days off to enjoy SF with some of our friends. And by enjoy, I mean eat the entire city. I am always amazed at how good the food in SF is. Everything is so fresh! I don't think I've ever had a bad meal here and we were averaging about six meals a day.</div>
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Ike's Place</div>
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3489 16th Street</div>
San Francisco CA <br />
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Sandwiches galore! Our friend took us to this place right after he picked us up from the airport and it was the perfect meal. Their menu is massive! I wish I worked by this place so that I could try a new sandwich a day. The sandwiches are generously packed with fresh ingredients and there's something for everyone.</div>
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Hard Knox Cafe</div>
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2526 3rd Street<br />
San Francisco, CA 94107 </div>
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I had a random craving for chicken and waffles and lo and behold, our friends live right around the corner from an awesome southern comfort food place! Their chicken and waffles were lovely. The waffles were fluffy, the chicken crisp and juicy. And their sides... so tasty. I accidentally filled up on their cornbread before my chicken and waffles came out but I didn't even regret it. It was that good. </div>
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Bi-Rite Creamery</div>
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2526 3rd Street<br />
San Francisco, CA 94107 </div>
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Salted caramel. Lives up to the hype.</div>
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Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot</div>
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215 S. Ellsworth Ave</div>
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San Mateo, CA 94401 </div>
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I'm pretty sure that their broth is made of crack. Usually when you eat hot pot, you have a little sauce on the side to dip whatever you fish out of the broth into before popping it into your mouth. No sauce necessary at this place. The broth is so flavorful and anything you put into the pot just soaks up all that deliciousness. It's a must eat for us when we visit SF. My favorite add-ins are a-tsai and dduk (rice cakes) and my Mr.'s is fish tofu.</div>
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MissionPie</div>
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2901 Mission St</div>
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San Francisco, CA 94110</div>
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Pie! It's the new cupcake. Super charming place and friendly staff that are happy to point you to their favorites. We bought a mixed berry to share with our friends and a turkey pot pie for a snack. Delicious!</div>
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This was only a handful of the places we ate at during our trip. Can't wait to go back and discover more tasty things to eat! </div>
youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-85294275088062476472014-05-30T13:15:00.000-04:002014-07-15T20:01:57.310-04:00Reads * Graceling<br />
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I cannot get enough of this series. The last time I read this fast and sacrificed this much sleep to read was when I was reading Harry Potter for the first time. Strong but real women, imaginative fantasy worlds, sweet but not too sweet love stories. <a href="http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/">Kristin Cashore</a> is my new hero. I read these when I was feeling blue and stressed and these books provided the most perfect and complete escape from reality. As soon as I finished Graceling, I wanted to flip to page one and start all over again.youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-38306512298925765292014-05-20T13:30:00.000-04:002014-07-15T20:02:05.096-04:00Makes * A quilt for Henry<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.stitchedincolor.com/2013/10/penny-patch-beginners-quilt-along.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Penny Patch Quilt-Along"><img alt="Penny Patch Quilt-Along" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5501/10314486784_3bea827dc5_o.jpg" style="border: medium none;" /></a>So while I was away from this blog, my sister and brother-in-law made me a new nephew! And he is CUTE. I just want to cuddle him all day long. For christmas, I decided to make him a quilt but I wanted to kick it up a notch. Lucky me, Rachel over at <a href="http://www.stitchedincolor.com/">Stitched in Color</a> was running a <a href="http://www.stitchedincolor.com/2013/10/penny-patch-beginners-quilt-along.html">penny patch quilt-a-long</a>. Perfect! This totally looks doable and fancier than my usual quilts. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to give quilting a try. Rachel does a fantastic job of breaking down the process and walking you gently through it all. I don't really have work in progress photos because I whipped this baby up in record time but I'll share the few photos that I did take.<br />
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My fabric choices were all based on a super cute woodland animal print. Using the colors found in that print, I selected a bunch of fabrics with smaller patterns. I had to add in a handful of solids when I realized that I didn't have enough different fabrics to make this design work. I would have liked to go easier on all the darker colors but I'm a practical sort of gal and this quilt will have all kinds of things spilled onto it in its lifetime so I figured darker fabrics will hide stains better.<br />
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Lots
of arranging and rearranging. It's easier for my eyes to catch patterns
in photos rather than in real life. I'd arrange, take a photo, then
rearrange. It helps me to more evenly space out colors and patterns. I
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This is my "I rolled out of bed and straight to my sewing machine look. This is the step that makes my arms sore. I learned that rolling up the quilt helps with the "Where do I put the $%*^ the parts of the quilt that I'm not sewing??" dilemma. But the quilt does get heavy and even with a walking foot, my hands are super tense as I feed the quilt through the machine.</div>
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Finished! I spent Christmas Eve frantically finishing up the hand sewn binding - my fave part of quilting!</div>
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I must have ripped miles of stitching because I couldn't get the quilting straight. My mismatched corners didn't help!</div>
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Look at the gummy smile! Eemo loves you!</div>
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youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-14686053910932201052014-05-15T13:00:00.000-04:002014-06-21T00:06:55.973-04:00Let's try this againhello? is anyone there? it's been awhile dear neglected blog o' mine. this poor thing has changed so many times over the years. i give up. i'm just going to share everything i like! let's think of it as a smorgasbord of happiness. onward!<br />
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youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-29653061250688187682013-01-28T11:03:00.000-05:002014-05-29T23:00:00.432-04:00project life: updatei started project life on my 29th birthday and i thought the half year mark would be a good time to share some thoughts on this new (to me!) style of scrapbooking. i talked a little about it back in <a href="http://thetokicafe.blogspot.com/2012/05/project-life-win.html">this post</a> but basically, project life is a scrapbooking method developed by <a href="http://www.beckyhiggins.com/">becky higgins</a>. it's meant to encourage the documentation of everyday life and to simplify scrapbooking. the best part is that it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.<br />
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<b>getting started</b><br />
i started off with a <a href="http://amzn.com/B00161U8YK">three ring binder</a> by we r memory keepers, a <a href="http://amzn.com/B006VOUJUU">big variety pack of page protectors</a> and the <a href="http://amzn.com/B008KE1I40">amber core kit</a> which i had won from a giveaway hosted by <a href="http://paisleepress.com/">paislee press</a>. my plan was to keep it simple and stick to the kit...<br />
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<b>where it all went wrong...</b><br />
by the time i hit the six month mark, i just wasn't feeling it. i wanted project life to be a big journal but it was becoming a lot of work and more of a "i have to do it" than a "i want to do it". i missed my old <a href="http://www.thetokicafe.blogspot.com/2012/03/journaling.html">journal</a>. then i saw <a href="http://documentlifeworkshop.com/why-i-failed-at-project-life/">this blog post</a> by <a href="http://documentlifeworkshop.com/">document life workshop</a> on why she "failed" at project life 2012 and suddenly, everything became crystal clear.<br />
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the amber core kit is great but there were a few problems for me. i like softer colors, blues, neutrals and simple designs so the amber kit just didn't feel quite right. there also weren't any horizontal 3x4 cards or vertical 4x6 cards so when i need these (or was looking for my fave colors), i tried to make my own or print freebies. this led to stress and a jumbled hodge podge look to my album which led to more stress.<br />
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there are so many <a href="http://www.thetokicafe.blogspot.com/2012/02/maybe-project-life.html">great project lifers</a> out there. it's easy to get distracted by what they create and think, "ohhh i should totally do that too!" some people can design layouts for every 4x6 and 3x4 pocket and it looks incredible. but that's just not for me. this is meant to be my journal where i save photos, hoard bits and pieces, doodle and write about "dear diary" moments. it takes me AGES create one 12x12 layout and trying to make a layout for 16 little boxes a week will destroy me and make me forget about my doodles and "dear diaries".<br />
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<b>how i'll make it right again</b><br />
for christmas, my sister got me the <a href="http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2012/08/introducing-the-seafoam-edition/">seafoam core kit</a>. she didn't know that i had decided to stop with project life but that's okay because this kit changed my mind in an instant. it's everything i've wanted in project life and more. i love the colors (really, these are my favorite colors) and the design feels so right. all the cards are reversible so that they can be use vertically or horizontally, as a journaling card or a filler card. woohoo!!<br />
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front and backs of the cards. pretty! lighting. not so pretty!</div>
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the matching vertical version is on the reverse side</div>
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i still would recommend project life to anyone whose looking for a way to document their life. it's a simple concept that can be adapted to whatever you want and need it to be.<br />
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i'm determined to use up the rest of my amber kit on the remainder of this year. why waste a good kit? then in june when i turn 30, i'll bust out the seafoam and start fresh. go project life!</div>
<br />youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6943522341667130702.post-24305507631719552672013-01-09T10:56:00.000-05:002013-01-09T10:56:00.151-05:00a quilt for little lottie<div style="text-align: center;">
hello and happy new year! my, i was gone for awhile wasn't i? it's been a busy year. i took on a second part time job and then the holidays hit and the next thing you know, bam! it's 2013. i haven't been too crafty lately but there was a big project that i took me about ten months to complete and i wanted to share it with you.</div>
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last winter, i threw my sister a baby shower and one of the activities was to design a quilt square. i pre-cut several cotton
squares (and sealed the edges with a fray check) and provided permanent
fabric markers for guests to doodle on or write messages to my growing neice. </div>
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once they were done, it was time to take the squares home and sew them together, cut the batting and backing, and bind it all together. </div>
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and that's where it usually goes downhill
for me. bindings are my weakness, my achilles heel. but this time i was determined
to do it well. so i did a lot of research on youtube and discovered that there are a
million ways to bind a quilt. i found this video by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/HeirloomCreations?feature=watch">HeirloomCreations</a> to be incredibly helpful in learning how to make your own binding, mitered corners and pockets. </div>
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i was so proud of my first mitered corner! they're so tidy and satisfying and surprising easy to make. i used a premade binding since i'm lazy but in the future i think i'll make my own.</div>
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then came the time for some hand stitching to secure the binding to the backing of the quilt. more youtube research led me to the ladder stitch. this little stitch is amazing. it's so easy (almost therapeutic) and results in a beautifully finished binding! hand stitching the binding is now easily my favorite part of quilt making.</div>
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and here is the finished quilt! it took about eight months longer than i had hoped (sewing a quilt in a steamy hot summer apartment is not my idea of a fun time) but it's done! i'm quite proud of the results and am a lot more confident of my sewing/quilting skills now. i hope little lottie likes it too <3 br="br"><!--3--></3></div>
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youngmihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08995792522167929719noreply@blogger.com2