Ella Sweetie

Father's Day present...

2010-06-21T18:17:00.000-04:00

This was Ben's Father's day present...
I got this shoes for Ella Maria when she turned 6 months...she is Daddy's little girl, so the shoes were just perfect. The other day, going through some of her old clothes looking for things that baby could wear...nothing that is for sure too pink, I found them again. And I had this shadow box just hanging around. And it just seemed like a good thing to put together for fathers day...and of course a silouette of a picture of both of them (I have been wanting to do this for a while).
So this is the final product...

Finally met Eben!!!

2010-06-21T02:45:00.001-04:00

We finally met Eben...he is sooo cute! Eben is the new addition to my favorite little family, Jackie & Hesper...two of my favorite people! I am so happy for you guys, you deserve such a sweet little bundle of joy!
They came down from Maine, we got together for dinner at Ben's restaurant. It was a great evening...fabulous food and superb company! We should do this more often...not the having dinner, the getting together more often part!!!
They got Ella Maria & baby some fabulous presents...thank you very much! We are very excited to have baby get something that Eben really enjoys...
I made little Eben a "book"...well, just some fabric that I was able to turn into a book with some numbers and shapes...not to bad for being the first one I make.
So I will call it the "Eben Book".
This is it:

"e" for Eben

1 star

2 hearts

3 circles

4 squares

5 triangles

Ella Maria liked it too...well, she actually thought it was for her!

she is so cute!!!

It was great to see you guys...I wish we lived closer, and could see each other more often! But lets try to from now on!

hugs and kisses for the 3 of you, from the 4 (almost) of us!

I will be taking order for books too...send me a message! :)

For Bella!!!

2010-06-21T02:14:00.000-04:00

Bella (Isabella) just turned 1...time goes by way tooooo fast!
This past Saturday was her Birthday party...Strawberry Short cake theme, very cute. So, for a birthday present I decided to make her a 1 year old banner...and of course following with the birthday party theme.
I was able to finish it just in time to ship it to SF so Bella would have it on time.
All that is left to say is Happy Birthday Bella...hope you had a wonderful time!
This is the banner...

Bella with her Birthday banner...toooo CUTE!

I'm taking orders...custom made banners. Just post a comment on the blog! :)

Daddy's Birthday!

2010-06-21T01:50:00.000-04:00

So Daddy just turned thirty...something! and he doesn't feel older than 25! well, some days...
for his birthday cake he wanted "my famous" chocolate cake!!! The night before the big day, after Ella Maria had gone to bed, I baked the cake...out of the oven by midnight, I thought I might have time to frost it and have it ready, but of course by the time the cake came out of the oven I was done, ready to go to bed. Who is able to make frosting and frost a cake when you are walking like a zombie...
So I decided that the frosting would be done in the morning...and I would have a very eager helper. When I told Ella Maria that she was going to help me finish Daddy's Birthday cake, well...she was jumping up and down, the same way I would have reacted to someone telling me that I won the new HGTV Green Home (that I enter the sweepstakes every single day for over a month...still waiting for the call. So if you have any influence with the big man up in the sky, I would appreciate a good word or two on my behalf.)
OK...back to the cake. I was up at 5:00 am (not because I was concerned about finishing the cake, is just that the bigger I get the less I sleep!) And of course at that time I was ready for breakfast (lets face it...I just wanted cake). But I could not finish the cake cause I still needed to make the frosting...turn the mixer on, make noise that might not have been appreciated by the rest of the house (specially the birthday boy!)...so I waited.
Finally everyone was up, and I got the frosting made...and my trusted helper was more than eager to start. So we did...she did a fabulous job, I think she is a natural. Maybe by the age of 3 she will be making her own Birthday cake. LOL
This are the pictures to prove what a great job she did...and if you don't end up with frosting everywhere...you did not enjoyed it!

you always have to lick the bowl clean...spatula in this case!

just 2 candles...we did not wanted to turn our fire alarm on, is too sensitive!

I guess the frosting was good!!!

The finished cake...

daddy's Birthday present...I made him a T shirt that says "I am kind of a big deal", now with being on TV it just seemed a good saying for it...

Ella Maria invited Daddy to a tea party for his Birthday...check out all the friends that came! very sweet!

Birthday kiss after singing Happy Birthday ...

blow the candles...

serve...

enjoy!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy! we love you so very much!

Blackberry & Strawberry tarts...

2010-06-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

Blackberry & strawberry tarts...yum, yum, DOUBLE YUM if I may say so myself!
I had this hazelnut sugar dough that I did not know what I wanted to do with it. So, the other day my lovely hubby brought me 3 pints of blackberries...well, it was 4 but after I stopped myself we only had 3 left. They were a bit to tart, just like I like them...reminds me of my childhood, we use to get them all the time back home many blue moons ago, in those days you could get a field of blackberries for the price of 3 pints of blackberries in the US these days. Blackberries on a warm summer day, we use to have blackberry smoothies...yum! Blackberries are one of those things that can instantly take you back in time to those happy childhood days!
OK back to present day...
As I said they were a bit to tart to just eat out of the pint, Ella Maria did not like them like that. So I decided to finally use that hazelnut sugar dough...lets make some blackberry tarts! Plus I had some frozen strawberries that I was eager to use...and finally used at least some of them. I can not share this recipe with you...not because is a family secret, is just that I did not use one. My approach was more like...a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a bit more of that, and of course some lemon zest.
I made 6 individual tarts, by the time they were out of the oven we shared one between the 3 of us...and then of course I had most of them. I shared with Ella Maria every time...but lets face it, I always had most of it. And now they are all gone...so in their memory I dedicate this post!

all that is left of them are the memories and photos...

Plum Island, MA

2010-06-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday we went for yet another road trip...
and we always end up at the north shore, Newburyport was having a Memorial Day parade...and it was a great day to go to the beach. So that is what we did...walked around town, dance to the music of the Beatles...that is what the band at the waterfront was playing, had a slice of pizza, ice cream, and right after that it was time to look for a beach and go cool down (and if you have been to MA beaches you know what I mean...the water is always cold!)
After a short drive, we ended up at Plum Island...we had been there before years ago, but until now I finally payed attention and realized that every time I read of beaches to go and encounter Plum Island...well, now I know I have known for a while about it.
For being Memorial Day weekend the beach was not packed...we found a spot for all of us, and specially for Ella Maria to use her beach tools...and she went right to work! And as usual she spend the entire afternoon moving sand from one spot to the other...
She had lots of fun...and that is all that matters! It was hot but with a nice breeze to cool the hormonal mama down every so often! It was a great afternoon!
We will see were our next road trip takes us to...or what our next adventure will be...we have one promise pending...boat ride! We offered Ella Maria a boat ride if by the summer she was done with dippers and using princess underwear...and she is done with diapers and wearing princess underwear!!! Now we need to keep our promise and take her for a boat ride...
Next adventure...here we come!

and now some pictures...

to the cold water!!!

and then to the sand to build a princess castle...

Rock Star...ready to go back home!

by popular demand...update of update of update!

2010-06-02T10:33:00.000-04:00

Ella Maria & Belly

May 30th, 2010

29 weeks

so...by the way the belly looks, what do you think we are having?

that day I got told by a lady that called herself a "Gipsy" that we are having a boy...

do you agree?

Para Papi!!!

2010-06-01T11:37:00.000-04:00

Feliz Cumplea-nos Papi!!!
Hoy Papi cumple 7tenta y pico a-nos...y desde lejos le queremos manda todo nuestro amor, muchos abrazos y besos! Quisieramos que pudiera estar aqui y asi celebrar como se de debe...con globos, pi-nata, y por supuesto pastelito!

Pero como no podemos...Ella Maria decidio cortar su cosecha de fresas hoy...asi que en honor por el cumplea-nos de Papi, hoy tenemos nuestra primera cosecha de fresas del mes de Junio.

lo amamos mucho, y esperamos que pase un super dia!

Fresas para Papi!!!

fresas y una sonrisa...

sera que me estan viendo?

me tengo que comer una...todavia le dejo una a Papi!

Estan muuy ricas Papi!!!
Feliz Cumplea-nos!

bag...

2010-05-25T19:16:00.000-04:00

in my experimentation with bags...this is my latest creation. Big, fits a lot of things, I was able to put a couple of pockets inside for small things to stay in one place...after all I'm pretty happy with it! I love the fabric, and the colors.

inside pocket on one side...

inside pocket on the other side...

and of course we needed to see a picture of Ella Maria with the bag...now you can tell how big the bag really is.

creations...

2010-05-25T16:59:00.001-04:00

little chicken...

dresses...

2010-05-25T16:53:00.000-04:00

#4
I just can't stop myself...too many cute dresses out there, and I want to make them all!
I found this cute fabric that was on sale...50% off plus a 40% more with the store coupon, how can you resist that...so I got it.
I got 1 yard, and had enough to make 1 dress for Ella Maria...and a little extra left that I want to use to make a little bag...but that will be my next adventure, I need to learn to attach a zipper.
There was this dress, called the "pillow case dress", as the name says it...you use an orphan pillow case that you might have hanging around. But, in this case...I have no extra pillow cases, I actually need to get some (maybe I can make them, yes i know what you might be thinking...but why not!) So I measure a pillow case, "made" one, cut some sleeves, and from there I got a dress for Ella Maria. I was so ambitious this time around that I even made a lining for it.
I really like the end result...and Ella Maria looks absolutely adorable.
I'm getting more confident with my sewing...the sky is the limit!

more strawberries!!!

2010-05-24T20:33:00.000-04:00

... more strawberries from our little "City Garden." We really are seeing the "fruit of Ella Maria's hard work." And this time she even shared with us...one for daddy, one for mommy, 4 for Ella Maria.

SIX that is how many strawberries we got!

by popular demand...update of update!

2010-05-21T23:59:00.000-04:00

Ella Maria & Belly...

May 21 2010

Our first strawberry!

2010-05-21T23:54:00.000-04:00

We got our first strawberry...Ella Maria has been taking great care of her little City Garden, and we finally got to see the "fruit of her hard work"!
and we got the pictures to prove it!

I guess it was a very good strawberry...she did not share, but after all is HER garden!

one of the books I want...

2010-05-18T23:51:00.000-04:00

I saw this book the other day...and I really want it! I will love to make every single project in it.

Specially now that the due date is just around the corner...about 14 more weeks. Enough time to get a few projects done...ideally!
With that said I will have to go get me a couple of lotto tickets...and hopefully the wining ones!

by popular demand...update!

2010-05-16T01:00:00.000-04:00

Ella Maria & belly

28 weeks

To the circus...

2010-05-15T23:33:00.000-04:00

Thursday we went to the Circus...
The Big Apple Circus is in town...and Ella Maria had actually been asking to go to the circus. Don't ask me how she knew that the circus was in town...I think we have read a book or two about the circus, but I'm not sure how she really knew about it. I guess she is just a very bright child. So, after asking for...well I can't even tell you, we got tickets. I found a coupon code online that will give you 50% off each ticket, and it was only good for Thursday, 6:00 pm shows. I guess it was meant to be...Ben was off Thursday (which is not something that happens often), and I got the discount code (which by the way had a 69% chance of working).
The stars were all aligned...and we were on our way to the circus! Ella Maria was literally jumping up and down. We took the T into town around 4:00...that will give us time to get something quick for dinner, and get to the circus on time. We got off at the Haymarket station, walked to the North End, had a slice of pizza, and some gelato. Finally we were in front of the Circus tent...went in, found our seats, and we were ready for the show to start.
And the show started!
Ella Maria did not take her eyes off the stage the whole time...she was great. Her favorite was "Grandma" the clown...when ever "she" was not on stage Ella Maria will ask "were did Grandma go?"
The dogs, the horses, the acrobats, everything was great...and she was all smiles and applause's for all!

Pizza at the North End

finally at the Circus!

the opening act...

"Grandma" the clown

Horse and as Ella Maria said..."the Princess"

Horses and " the Prince"

"The Russian"

Bello is back...he is a multi-talented guy...he is awesome!

a lot of the pictures did not come out...the Circus light is not the best for pictures. But you get the idea...it was great...Ella Maria is still talking about it, and she can spot "Bello" in every single poster in town. We will have to do this again!
Next adventure please...

Today Five years ago...

2010-05-15T10:55:00.000-04:00

Today five years ago we were in Maui, Hawaii...take me back!!!
We had been there for 3 days already...and this day, May 15th, 2005 we were getting married.
The wedding took place at "The Cove" Beach, this little beach was hidden behind a brick wall...we had looked for it the day before without luck! When we finally found it, it took our breath away...you will never expect what was behind that brick wall.
The weather was perfect...well, is Hawaii after all!
It was the perfect weather, the perfect place!
Everything was great...we were so happy to be lucky enough to had found all this over the internet, and not had encounter a problem at all. Yes, we did everything on line...everything! I got my dress online too! I had people freaking out for me...but I was very calm, sure that things were going to work out! What can I tell you...that is how I am, calm, cool and collected! LOL
A week before the wedding I got my dress...I had order a size smaller on the regulars, cause at that time they did not have my size on petites. They send this one and it was a bit big, but the other one had already been shipped. I got it 3 days before we were leaving, and it fit like a glove. As we were walking out the door to run some last minute errands, the Fedex man was getting out of the truck...he said "good thing you are here...cause you need to sign for it!". That was luck!
Well, my dress had arrived...I just needed to finish sewing the small pearls I got for the orange ribbon I was going to attach to the waist of the dress. Those pearls were done in the airplane on our way to Hawaii (when you were still aloud to bring a needle, thread, and scissors into the plane).
I got my shoes on line too!
We got the shirts (Guayaberas) that Ben, our fathers, and my "Man of Honor" were going to use...on line! My dad's shirt was to big when we got it...so it ended up being shipped to Hawaii.
We were so laid back about everything...and all was beyond our expectations.
When I watch those TV shows with the brides going bonkers, screaming, crying, and pulling their hair out...well, I fell lucky, and of course very COOL!
We had a wonderful photographer...and had a sunset photo shoot. Ben got a Harley Davidson for our drive away "car"...the pictures of that are amazing!
We had a wonderful time! And I wish we were there right now. In my defense...on our trip back five years ago, I said to Ben...lets just stay in Hawaii, I don't want to go back. But he gave me a few good reasons why we needed to get back. But as soon as we landed in Boston and looked out the window, rainy, gray, cold day...I turn to Ben and said "see, I told you he should have stayed!"
And we are here now...with a beautiful daughter, and one more little one on the way. We will be back one day...and bring the little ones to see the place Mommy and Daddy got married. Maybe in 10 more years...I will start saving NOW!
Well, all there is left to say is: Love you Boo! Happy Anniversary!

enjoy the pictures...

laugh make nurture organise play » Blog Archive » Popular Popbar

2010-05-13T09:52:00.000-04:00

A trip to New York is in order. We love going down to the "City"...we have not gone down for a while now. I think the last time we went was for my birthday in 2006...that was pre-Ella Maria. That was the last year we were able to afford driving down, staying at a hotel, and eating at all the places we wanted to eat. Our trips down to NY have always been culinary oriented...and I would love to go back and go to all this other places on my list. And as the years go by, the list grows bigger!
That brings me to this next article...this has just made it to the list...that and a tapping of the Martha Stewart show (laugh if you like!).
Well, enjoy some light reading...hope you are not craving something sweet right now.

laugh make nurture organise play » Blog Archive » Popular Popbar

City Garden...update

2010-05-13T09:20:00.000-04:00

Well, since we have not done anything else...that is super exciting, worth writing about, I decided to show you how are little garden is doing. Ella Maria gets up every morning, has her orange "juicy", and says hi to her plants. Then a little later in the morning we go out to water them...except on the rainy days (and we had had a lot of those). She takes very good care of her "planties" I'm very proud of her.

The oregano is doing great...well the tastiest weed out there has taken over the pot. If one can't keep oregano alive...well, one should not have a garden.
The flowers are just beautiful...we have had blooms since day one.
The strawberries are our pride and joy! We are going to have such good "crop" (12-16 strawberries). If the weather would cooperate...and be a little bit warmer, and not so wet, I think the strawberries would be doing so much better. But, we are happy just to see how pretty they look out on our terrace.
Last but not least...the leeks and scallion, they are growing...we will be eating them soon. I might use them today for the chicken soup I will make Ben...he is off from work and feeling like *#*$&%. Lets just say he is a bit under the weather. Hope that chicken soup lives up to it's reputation!

OK... I'll stop the babbling and go straight to the pictures.
enjoy!

and of course you all want to see a picture of Ella Maria with her "planties"...so here is one of her being goofy.

dresses...

2010-05-11T19:10:00.000-04:00

#3

This is the other dress I was going to make for Ella Maria...I finally got around to it, and since I was already hard at work with a dress I decided to adventure in the making of a head band. Which I had never made before...but how hard could it be? Well, let me tell you that as usual...things look much easier than they really are. My brain loves to play this tricks on me, and make everything look SOOO simple. In my head everything makes sense...but getting my hands to agree with it, not so much!
Ok...I might be complaining a little, it was not as bad. Except for the fact that the elastic was a bit small the first time, but after finally fixing it she will have some room to grow.
Just as the first dress I made her for this "summer" (still waiting for the real warm weather), it is a simple tube dress made with a smocked fabric I got. White with red & pink strawberries...very summery and cute! With the first dress I used some ribbon for the shoulder straps...not this time. I made my own bias tape out of the extra fabric I had. Not to blow my own horn, but not bad at all. It looks like a professional made it. I even had enough fabric to make an extra dress & head band...we gave it to Annabelle for her Birthday. (We need some pictures of Annabelle).
And as usual...the pictures is what we all want to see!
enjoy...

Ella Maria got a present!!!

2010-05-11T18:48:00.000-04:00

One of Ben's coworkers got Ella Maria a dress (thank you so much). She went to Mass Art for an exposition, and the students were having a sale of products made by them. So a student made this dress, out of a old t-shirt and some pretty white eyelet fabric. The dress is called "Mini Rock Star"...of course, with a Weezer T-shirt we could not call it anything else.

Here are the pictures...we needed the "Mini Rock Star" to have some attitude for the photo shoot, and what can I say...the model delivered!

She is so much FUN!

my little ROCK STAR!!!

I will be using this idea...A WHOLE LOT!

by popular demand...

2010-05-03T23:12:00.000-04:00

Ella Maria & belly...

First day at the beach 2010!!

2010-05-03T22:57:00.000-04:00

Sunday was warm, a bit sunny, a great day to take a road trip. So it was decided we would spend it at the beach. After some research...we were on our way to Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA. Stopped for lunch at the Clam House, after a bowl of clam chowder, a clam roll, and a hot dog for Ella Maria...we were on our way to the beach.
As soon as we got there, Ella Maria could not wait to get in the water. She was so happy to see the beach...like she had not seen it in years (OK, with New England winters, it might as well had been years!)
We spend the afternoon there. Ella Maria played in the water, on the sand, in the water with the sand, build a castle out of sand, covered herself with sand, wash the sand off, and finally got covered with some more sand. She was sticky, sweaty, and covered with...SAND. We will be finding sand on her for the next few days. It was finally time to leave to our next adventure...and that was not easy, she was not ready to go (we would still be there if it was up to her). Finally we left, and before we could make it to our next adventure she was asleep...it was like she had gone into battle and back. The sun, the water, and lets face it...the sand took a lot out of her.
It was a great day! Summer is finally here! We can't wait for out next adventure!
As usual the pictures are the best part of the story...

Welcome Charlie!

2010-04-26T18:36:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Alicia, James & Annabelle! Charlie is finally here...(Charlotte Mary Elizabeth), born April 23, 2010 at 1:35 pm.
And I just remembered I had not posted pictures of her baby shower present.

So in honor of Charlie's birth I decided to post some pictures of the little onesies, hat, and bear friend I made for her...

Congratulations to the proud family!!!

OH BARCELONA...

2010-04-20T22:02:00.000-04:00

Great article in the New York times...
The food is just beautiful.
A tapas place...what I would love to own a place like this!
I propose moving to Barcelona...
language                  CHECK
desire to move         CHECK
food                         CHECK
all I need is the cash...a job...a place to leave...and to convince my husband!
check out the article...
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/travel/18Barcelona.html

dresses...

2010-04-20T12:26:00.001-04:00

# 2
I finally got around making her other dress. This one I made out of one of Daddy's Polo Shirt that he had stained with hot sauce a while ago (he still thinks it was not really stained...that he is now one shirt down.)
I had some ribbon with a design of little cupcakes in pink and red...so I used it for the border. Is a little long for right now...with a couple of washes it will shrink, and with how fast she grows it will be short very soon. She wore it yesterday with a pair of pink tights underneath, she looked very cute.
This is the dress...drum roll

Sunday night dinner!!!

2010-04-20T12:16:00.000-04:00

Is always great to have someone else cook for you...specially after trying to cook for Ella Maria and me every day. So to have Ben (with Ella Maria's help) cook dinner...well, lets say I could get use to this.
Panko crusted Sole (fish)...roasted mushrooms...broccoli...rice pilaf...lemon butter sauce. It was all delicious! We were all so hungry that I forgot to take pictures..so you will have to use your imagination on this one...
And for the "grand finale" we had Chocolate cake for dessert. I had made chocolate cake earlier in the afternoon, at nap time. Well, what can I say...we were all craving it (we ALL were). Ella Maria had the idea of chocolate cake a few days ago and we never got around to it. Yesterday when we came back from grocery shopping I decided to get my hand dirty and get it done. When I told Ben that I was going to make it he said: "great...I was craving some Chocolate cake and a cup of tea". So it was something that had to be done.

It was perfect...just what we all wanted!

This is Ella Maria saying Mommy is Number 1!!!

And this is what was left over of the cake...it wont last long!

This is the recipe I used:
cake:
2 ea Eggs
2 cups Sugar
beat until pale and foamy
add bit by bit
1/2 cup Oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cause that is what I have home)
2 tsp Vanilla
in a mixing bowl mix all dry ingredients
1 3/4 cup AP. Flour
3/4 cup Cocoa Powder (use Dutch Process for a darker yummier cake)
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Then add dry ingredients to egg mixture, alternating with the
1 cup Milk
when all well mixed add
1 cup Boiling Water
the batter will be very loose, but that is good.
Put in a well grease mold, and bake in 350 degree oven. Until done.
(I made two 9x5 pan loafs)

For the frosting:
melt 1 stick of Butter
stir in 2/3 cup Cocoa Powder
when well incorporated alternating add
2 cups Powder sugar and 1/3 cup Milk
stir in 1 tsp Vanilla
beat till has spreadable consistency.
(the original recipe calls for 3 cups powder sugar...I though this was too much, with the 2 cups I added it was sweet enough. But, if you like hurt on your teeth sweet add that extra cup of powder sugar.)

ENJOY!

scramble eggs...

2010-04-17T12:15:00.000-04:00

Today Ella Maria was very excited to have eggs for breakfast...not because she absolutely loves eggs for breakfast, because this time she got to cook them with Daddy. If this means that she will clean her plate the way she did this morning...I'm willing to let her cook every meal. Things seem to taste better when she gets a chance to help you out, she loves getting dirty in the kitchen. Maybe we will make some cupcakes or a cake today...I promise she is the one asking for it, I have gained enough weight in this past 5 months.
Time to cook...
first she needs her stool...checked
then is time to start cracking eggs...mix...get the toast in the oven...get the pan hot...put eggs in the pan...scramble...salt & pepper...serve. Time to eat everyone!
She did a great job, she was very proud of herself...and we are very surprised to see how quickly time passes by. She is growing too fast, just yesterday she was just learning how to get up on her feet...oh, my little monkey is a big girl now!

City Garden...

2010-04-12T21:13:00.000-04:00

We promised Ella Maria a garden for the summer. She was so excited, she would talk about it everyday. She got a garden tool set as a present...and she was eager to put them to good use. Sunday after breakfast we went to the garden store and got all we needed. Flowers, strawberries, oregano, scallions and leeks. This are all things we though we would like to have...enough for our limited space out in the terrace. Strawberries for the summer are a must have (Ella Maria loves them), flowers always make everything pretty, oregano is kind of our multipurpose herb, leeks to have them as "baby leeks", and scallions...well I just like them. We are happy with the selection.
So this morning we got up to get our garden planted...it was sunny with a cool breeze. Beautiful spring morning. We got everything planted, and we all had lots of fun! Ella Maria got to use all her garden tools, play with dirt, water the plants, and had a little plant dance...she was so cute!
The best part of this story are the pictures...

Sunday morning breakfast...

2010-04-12T20:46:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning use to be "pancake day"...well, not anymore. Ella Maria decided she doesn't like pancakes anymore!!! (so, I will be craving pancakes for a while...cause I'm the only one in this house that really LOVES pancakes, :( tears rolling down right about now!).
OK, so I woke up early in the morning and made some currant, cranberry scones. I put the currants, and cranberries to soak the night before (got them drunk) in some rum and water. Get them nice and plum, it will keep the scones moist. They were in the oven in no time, and it wasn't long before the smell of the scones had invaded every single room in the apartment. All that is left to say is that they were delicious! Fresh, warm scones right out of the oven for breakfast...yum!

dresses...

2010-04-10T10:58:00.000-04:00

#1
I'm eager for summer to finally be here!!! I just want it to be a bit warm, be able to go out without a jacket, have a picnic or two, and get Ella Maria to splash in the pool. I'm ready, ready, ready...
So I decided to make Ella Maria a sun dress, maybe that will bring the warmer weather faster.
I got this pretty smock fabric...green with lots of pink, yellow, orange, purple flowers. Lets say is very colorful, and she looks great in bright colors.
Is a very simple tube dress with some ribbon for the shoulder straps...not bad for a begginer.
She could not wait for me to be done..."is my dress ready mommy?" I got that question at least 20 times during the 45 minutes it took me to get it done. So, as soon as I was done she had to put it on...here are some pictures for you to see:

I had some fabric left over, so I made myself a skirt...don't worry you will not see Ella Maria and I all matchy-matchy any time soon, or ever!
Now I'm ready to make dress #2

for the sweet tooth...

2010-04-09T11:51:00.000-04:00

I have the biggest sweet tooth anyone can have...and now is even worst! This is why a Marble Pound Cake was on order.
I tried this recipe from the Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. It calls for buttermilk...but I don't keep buttermilk on hand, and going out to the grocery store just for that was out of the question. So it was time to improvise...one thing I have in the fridge for Ella Maria's bagels is cream cheese, so cream cheese was to be used. Instead of the buttermilk I used 2% milk (always in the fridge) and added 50 grams of cream cheese...and well, it worked great.

Ella Maria could not wait for it to cool down..."lets have cake mommy!!!"
When the cake was out of the oven I glaze it with some syrup just to keep it moist...we had it later in the day when it had finally cooled down. It was moist, sweet, chocolaty, and all I had craved for!
And now we are going to have it for mid morning snack...cause just writing about it made me want to have another piece!
Recipe:
1 stick      Butter
1 3/4 cup Flour
2 tsp    Baking powder
1/2 tsp     Salt
1 cup        Sugar
3 ea          Eggs
1 tsp         Vanilla
2/3 cup Buttermilk (or 50 gr Cream Cheese)
1/4 cup     Cocoa Powder (dutch process if you have it)
1/4 cup     Boiling water
Cream butter, cream cheese (if using it), and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs one by one, when all incorporated start adding in thirds the dry ingredients alternated with the buttermilk (or milk if using cream cheese). Mix until all well incorporated...boil the water, in a separate bowl mix the cocoa powder and the boiling water...let it cool slightly. Separate one third of the cake batter and mix into the cocoa mixture. In a well greased pan (9x5) arrange the batters in a mixed pattern.
Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 20 to 25 minutes...(for how long chef? Chef: Until is done!!!)
Enjoy!

for the monkeys room!!!

2010-04-08T12:51:00.000-04:00

I spend a lot of time looking for great things in Etsy...I love, love, love that site. Not that I ever buy anything. But, this is something I would love to have for the kids room...It will depend on what the little one in the oven is.
I love all of the designs he has...the trees with the flowers, the tree with the monkey, the monkey on the swing, well one too many to choose from. Decisions...decisions...decisions...
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=44370925

We still have some time before we find out...August 15 is the due date, so I guess we will find out then.
And that will give me some time to figure out what to do with the room they will be sharing.
For a while we will have to divide the room and figure out a way that we can fit Ella Maria's daybed and the crib...or maybe we can just get the bunk bed that we like from IKEA and try to set it up for them. This are all just ideas.
This is the bunk bed...I will like it all white, or natural wood (I don't think they make it, but it will be nice.)

I have it "all figured out"...yeah right!!!

others...

2010-04-07T00:19:00.001-04:00

I been experimenting with bags...I got this great fabrics from "home", OK from Guatemala the country I'm originally from. Home is the US now!

The fabrics are just so beautiful...and I have many ways of combining the colors so the bags can be reversible. This is the last bag I made as a birthday present for Alison...Ella Maria's Fairy God Mother.

It has a purple stripe pattern fabric and a solid almost orange color, I think they work great together.

Is a reversible wrist bag, and this is the final product...
Maybe I can start getting some orders...they will make great presents for Mother's Day! Just let me know...

It's been a while....

2010-04-06T12:53:00.002-04:00

So, I know that it has been quite a long time since I post something...(not that I have ~~any~~ "followers" that would be upset). But it is always on the back of my mind...and it bugs me just to think that I started this and I have been procrastinating for so long and not sat in front of the computer long enough to post something. Just for my piece of mind...(if that is possible!)

Ok...enough of the bla-bla-bla!

And here we go...

For Ella Maria's 2nd Birthday (Nov.5th) I decided to make her at least part of her birthday outfit. I made this really simple skirt...I got the "pattern" from what has become one of my favorite website for kids clothing patterns. I want to be able to make every single piece of clothing that they have a pattern for...and one day I will. I just need to get some extra income to be able to buy all those patterns. Or maybe I could become one of their "boutique sewers"...I will need some cash for that too... OK, I know I'm rambling again...
The website is: http://www.oliverands.com
So I got some brown corduroy fabric for the skirt...I had just got her some "tall" brown boots, and in my mind I had the outfit all figured out. I wish I would have been confident enough to attempt making her a shirt to match the skirt.
The skirt is called "Lazy days skirt" very simple to make...join ends of panel, fold and press top edge, edge-stitch the waist band leaving 2" un-sewn to feed the elastic through the waist band. Sew the elastic ends together, and finish edge-stitching the casing's opening to close it. Sew a ribbon hem to finish the skirt.
Because it was simple enough to make I decided to add a friend to keep Ella Maria company all through the birthday celebration. I made a small pocket for the front left side of the skirt, made a little owl from some leftover fabric I had from other projects...and attached inside the pocket with some ribbon (so she can get him out and play with it without the risk of leaving him lost somewhere.)
This is how the skirt looks like:

And here is Ella Maria wearing the skirt...we went to the Aquarium and have lunch at Daddy's place. We had loads of fun...it was a good day!
Right, I forgot to tell you that we started the day opening presents...and I made a banner to commemorate the day...and to keep with the owl theme. This is how it looked like (it's still hanging from her closet door, I wonder what is going to happen to it when she turns 3!?!)

To end the celebration we came back home to sing Happy Birthday and eat home made chocolate cupcakes!
Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!

music & fun!

2009-12-10T00:05:00.003-05:00

Like every toddler Ella Maria loves music, dancing, and "singing"...is just great to see her have so much fun. So my goal was to find a place to take her and just let her have fun. When we lived in VT my sister always told me to take her to Kindermusik, for so many reasons I never did. Now back in Boston and being a full time mom I have the time to do as much as we have energy to. In all my research I got some information from this place in Medford licensed by Kindermusik, and we got an invitation to attend one of their demo classes.

This is the break down to the different classes that Kindermusik offers:

http://www.kindermusik.com/Classes/Classes.aspx

We attended "Family Time"...fun for all!

At the beginning Ella Maria was not to sure about what was going on. The teacher starts with a Hello song and has everyone clap, stomp their feet, rub their belly, well you get the idea. And Ella Maria just sat on my lap watching and taking it all in. If we would have been at home most likely she would had been dancing her little heart out...but not here. I thought to myself this is not good, but we gave it a try.

The song was over, and the musical instrument came out. Guess who jumped out and ran to the center of the room to get hers. And that was all she needed to come out of her shell. I guess she was just scouting her surroundings.

She found the Cymbals...you can see in her face how
happy she was!

Some singing, dancing, and a lot of bing, bang, bung...and the instruments had to be put away. And being as good as she is...she was helping out get everything in order. (Do not come to visit us without prior notice, all of her stuff will be all over the place...there is no helping Mommy put things away.)

Now they where ready for the next activity...

Scarfs of many colors come out of a basket to be used in many different ways...let your imagination guide you. And this is how she looked...

Being a fashionista...she immediately turns her yellow scarf into a skirt (I promise I had nothing to do with it.) Then she needed a scarf, they are so in style now. Last but not least she turns her scarf into a hat. If we would have been allowed to have shoes, she would have been wearing mid-calf boots.

She had all the accessories needed for this season.

I need to get a new wardrobe to look half as cool as she looks all the time!!!

Scarf time came to an end and it was time for a little bit of quiet time...they could sit, lay down, do anything as long as we were all quiet.

And of course she decides to do the thing that whenever I ask her she refuses to do: lay down.

Next activity was story time...about a little kid that misplaces her tambourine. She loves books, and she was very interested in this new story!

After story time it was time to start wrapping things up, it was time to sing the good bye song.

We had a very good time. A bit of an uncertain start but a very successful end!

I think this will be a good thing for us to do. Is once a week for 10 weeks, the new class will start in January. So don't look for us Mondays at 10:15 am, we will be busy singing and dancing our hearts out!

Friday night out!

2009-12-05T03:35:00.004-05:00

Don't get all out of shape thinking that you might be reading about me getting dressed up in my trendiest outfit, picked up by a limousine, getting in at the most exclusive club in the city, and dancing the night away. No, that is not the case. So far from it, I don't think I own a trendy outfit anymore, the most exclusive club I attend is any club that allows a 2 year old, and the only time that I might dance the night away is in my living room with Ella Maria.
So, this Friday night I decided to spend it at the Children's Museum. Every Friday from 5 to 9 pm you can get into the museum for $1.00...great isn't it. They have this special thanks to Target.
We were able to have dinner, get ready, and be there by 7:00 pm...I know what you are thinking, this is bed time! What is she thinking!?!? Well, we are not to good at this routine thing...things change, things happen, or we are just having to much fun. Having a set time for every activity in the day is harder than pulling teeth! We have a general idea of what nap or bed time is, so Ella Maria is in bed "around" the same time everyday.
Anyway...today is Friday night! We went out to have some fun!
As soon as we got there Ella Maria spotted the humongous Hood container of milk at the entrance and decided that she wanted chocolate milk. But play time was first, so decided to run in conquer every activity in the museum and finish the night with that well deserved chocolate milk.
Our first adventure was the "Arthur" exposition...and I have some pictures!

A women there was impressed on how Ella Maria knew of the importance of good seasoning (what can I say, it might be in her blood with parents that are chefs)...she shacked that container until everything on the table was seasoned to her pleasing! After that she decided to call Daddy and let him know how happy she was.
"Hello Daddy, Ella Happy!"

Then we played some more, some more, and then a bit more...

Then we danced a bit....and suddenly it was announced that they would be closing in 15 minutes. Oh no, we ran downstairs got a chocolate milk, sat down and enjoyed!

It was a great night out...we had loads of fun. On our drive home Ella Maria asked if she could go night night. That is big! Her asking me to got to bed, no fight for more time...this was priceless!

Can't wait for our next adventure!

Stars to hide the Street lights...

2009-12-03T20:42:00.000-05:00

I have been working in many projects. Well, mostly in my mind! So many things I want to do and so little time to do so...in one word "toddler". There is so much I can do without feeling guilty that I'm not playing with her. While she was sleeping last night I started this. She needed curtains in her room. Not just to cover some light but mostly to avoid some of that breeze to come in. I don't know if is just me being paranoid but every time I go into her room I feel like a window is open. We just moved to this apartment in August, is a pretty new construction and they take care of it...(which I can't say the same about many other apartments in the Boston area). I won't talk about how much I dislike Landlords! Back to the apartment...So the fact that is pretty new makes it hard to believe that the windows are so bad. But I won't complain, I love this place and hope to be able to stay here until we get our own place (5 to 100 years from now). I had this fabric for the longest time and had no clue what to do with it. Well, now I'm proud to say I got curtains out of it. this is what I started with:

I got Ella Maria a new duvet cover at Ikea (love Ikea), and it has some stars. I decided to keep the "star" theme in the curtains. Made a stamp with a potato and got some golden glittery fabric paint.

It took me about 45 minutes to have both panels of fabric done. I used the sponge brush to spread the paint evenly on the stamp. And to add more paint to the fabric once I had removed the stamp, it was not a perfect print most of the time.
This is how the fabric looked once I was done:

I let it dry for about 4 hours. To finish them I sew a seam, and I was done. Not a fancy project but we are happy with the end result. Ella Maria expressed her approval with a "I like Mommy". I put them up tonight, this is how they look like:

One of this days I will invest in curtain rods...that will be when I know that we will be here for more than one year. In the meanwhile thumb tags will do the trick.