Busy December Weekend!

What a crazy, busy weekend! It always seems like the December weekends go so fast and always so much to do. Saturday started with NB school renting out the Seattle Center Ice Skating Rink. It was nice to have an ice skating time with your school. She did really well.



Some Dad and daughter bonding time! After ice skating we went to see her ballet company, Dance Fremont!, production of the Steadfast Tin Soldier. Very well done production and kid friendly. No pictures of that.



On Sunday, we had tea at the Queen Mary with Shelley and Eva. It was a wonderful time and the girls had the Children's Afternoon tea with tiaras and all!





How cute are they? Two princesses.



They started off with hot chocolate in beautiful vintage teacups and then three petit scoops of sorbet and a cookie.




Then the two tiered dish with peanut butter and jelly, crustless of course, fruit and a shortbread crown shaped cookie!




A close up of the beautiful fruit! They have the best presentation.




Me trying to wrangle the two princesses for a picture.




Look at this adorable mug with knitting cables from my friend Amy! Thanks Amy. I had my Harrods tea in it this morning. Amy had a wonderful holiday party and of course everything was perfectly decorated and a lot of treats to eat and drink.




Chai laying by my knocked over Bunnies by the Bay Ice Skating Christmas bunny! He was looking a bit on the guilty side.





Then I noticed the tell-tale sign of glitter on his nose...hmmmm. You can't get yourself out of that one.

Love a Gingerbread House!

We made a very cute Gingerbread House. The kit was from Target and included everything and the frosting comes in a bag already mixed! You can't ask for more than that. The tricky part was keeping Colin away from the cookies and candy. There was one casualty--one headless Christmas tree. Oh well..



Really, does anything bring a smile on your face more than a sock monkey....shhh it's one of Colin's Christmas presents. A sneak peek.

Plenty of Art

I just finished the layout of another poetry book! It's a wonderful book and would make a great Christmas present! I have worked with David on five books now. You can go to Rose Alley Press for more information. It really is a beautiful book inside and out. Plus there are two Misha poems!



Art from my little Picasso! Is it me or is she talented?! She draws, paints and colors more than any kid I have ever seen.



Chai was looking pretty cute sleeping in NB drawer. Cats just love a nice, warm drawer. Why is it that I spent money on a cat bed when a drawer is the preferred sleeping space?

Many pictures of Chai! He is saying, "please STOP and that flash is really annoying me!".

Party Day

We had the party for my girl's birthday! A little late because of the stomach flu. Check out these SUPER cute pom-pom flowers from the Martha Stewart line at Walmart...yes Walmart. Only Martha could get me to go to Walmart!! There are cute craft puppets to make with the kids, too.



During my childhood we made a lot of trips to Solvang, California, the cutest Danish-European like town. I loved it there and I loved eating Ebelskivers. I used to go to the walk-up bakery and have the Ebelskivers hot out of the pan! They are round little pancakes that have jam in the center. You can put many other ingredients in, but traditionally jam is used. You can now get your own pan at William Sonoma and other kitchen stores. I have to say there wasn't one left, all the kids loved them!



I am not usually a cake baker, but this year I gave it a try, mainly because someone wanted a heart and my bakery doesn't do special requests. The cake turned out great, but I could use some of my Mother's great cake decorating skills!. The recipe is Martha's Strawberry Cupcakes And I used the strawberry swiss meringue as a filling and the frosting is white chocolate buttercream.



Look at the heart in the middle of the cake. The pan really confused me on how exactly I would get a heart, but it worked great. Really an easy pan to work with! Everyone was amazed that there was a heart in the middle and I have to admit I was too!



Look at these cute Heelys NB got from her Aunties'! So cute. Heely where are the adult sizes in these?? I so want a pair, but may have to wait until I can walk without a walking boot.



I am in love with the pink bow on the skull and crossbones!

Birthday Cupcakes

How cute are these birthday cupcakes? Hmmm...which one do you think is for the pink ballerina girl? They are from Trophy cupcakes and they are as yummy as they look. The flavors are lemon, chocolate pink snowball and chocolate graham cracker. The last one is on the cover of Seattle Magazine this month.





The beanbags keep growing in our house! The birthday request this year was a pink beanbag! Now the kids are set with a beanbag each.



Speaking of ballerinas here is a picture of my girl at her ballet observation day. She just loves her ballet and you can see it in her everyday movements. I think this will be a good year for the Nutcracker.



There seems to be a Siamese kitty vs. boy competition over the chair. I believe Chai won round one!!




I do have some knitting content and because they are Christmas gifts I won't be able to share right away.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! The kids had a great Halloween and plenty of treats tonight.



He was a cute cowboy! Not the most cooperative in wearing the rest of his costume, which was a horse.



Princess Belle on the candy run!



My cute boys.



Eva joined us for tricks and treats!



It is also Dia de Los Muertos (day of the dead). I made pan de muertos (bread of the dead) for their party at school. The kids told stories of loved ones that have passed. Of course, NB was one of the first to raise her hand. Her story was someone who was sometimes mean and scratched her... One parent asked about that and I said it was my Siamese cat! Poor Misha. Not sure that story was altogether true!

Eva's Birthday Party

We went to Eva's Birthday this weekend! The kids were so cute and it was a wonderful party. Just four kids which made it nice and mellow. Eva was adorable and in awe of her cake and presents.



The two sugar girls waiting for the cake.



I know I may be biased, but is he not the cutest boy? Oh, he knows it, the big flirt. One smile and he can get away with the world.



I love this picture!



We had our little visitor this weekend--Monty the Corgi! The kids love it when Monty comes over and boy does he get a lot of attention. Poor Colin was crying "Moooonnnttteeyyy" when it was time for the dog to go home. Poor boy. His being upset was quickly resolved with a piece of Halloween candy.