Day 2

So I continued to crochet today. After yesterday's success with the granny square, I thought, "How much harder can a ball be?" Well, as it turns out, circles are a cinch, but for some reason, I can't wrap my head around the construction of a ball. Joining the 3D world is proving to be more difficult than I expected. Once again, I don't have the examples to show...I know, I'm horrible. But hey, if I showed you some pictures, I'm sure you'd be less than inspired to pick up some yarn and a crochet hook and start turning out balls and dolls.

On the bright side, I haven't given up hope yet. I'm still working on making that stupid ball and once I get there, I'll feel much much better. Aside from that good news, I also figured out how to make scallops. Very, very easy... I'm thinking about sewing it to the bottom of a tshirt or tank top...or using it as a border for a pillow! Oh the possibilities! I'm so excited.

(Excuse my appearance, I'm in the middle of doing laundry, and it's 11:00 pm...)

What to do...

I have no idea where my life is going. Well other than fabulously crafty and delicious, how will I make my living? I'll be 20 in about 7 months and still no clue on what to do. Sure I love baking, but what about all the other things I love to do so much? I have no idea where my life is leading at this point, but for now, I guess I'll just have to keep brainstorming! I suppose something will come up.

Anyway, yesterday, my boyfriend's aunt taught me a few things about crochet. I had no idea I COMPLETELY forgot how to crochet! She retaught it to me and gave me a little project to do. I don't have a picture of them. =( But I made a granny square and I'm darn proud of it. Next week I should be making circles already. At least I hope. Once I can make a hacky sack for my boyfriend, I'll feel really accomplished because that'll mean I can start making toys! Amigurumi to be more exact. (It's a Japanese craft where they crochet or knit really awesome toys.) Lol.

By the way, once I've got the crochet thing down, I'd definetly like to take my hand at carving fruits and vegetables. It is my responsibility as a 1/2 Thai person.

New Adventure

I've taken a four hour class on crochet, but I feel that now is the time that I should try to take it seriously. For some reason, I didn't think that I could make my favorite thing to make: plush food. *Sigh* All the possibilities. Anyway, I've already purchased a Crochet book from the Teach Yourself Visually series. We'll see how this goes. =)

If you need some inspiration, check out craftster.org. I'm sure you'll find a new exciting project to indulge yourself in.

BBQ Results

Today was the BBQ and I have to say, I'm pretty proud of it if I do say so myself. My boyfriend cooked some delicious carne asada, guacamole, and salsa. My friend Sebastian made some hamburgers, and my new friend Dan made some outback steak. (He's half Australian...) What a delicious day. I myself, well, what else would I do but bake? I made some Cheesecake the night before.


Left over chocolate glaze drizzled on the plate to decorate on half and the other half were topped with blueberries

Today, I made some chocolate cake (I made half into cupcakes and the other half got poured into my cool new donut molds!), Cheese Straws, Apple Turnovers, and Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Yummy! I must recommend that if you're planning on spoiling your guests with baked goods, buy some puff pastry sheets and have fun with different fillings, shapes and sizes, your guests will ask you how long you spent slaving over their feast and you'll know it was only a matter of about 2 hours!


Apple Turnovers!


Me enjoying on and my grandpa in the background enjoying chess

If my friends weren't lying, then they all loved my baked goods and I'm definitely not lying when I say that I loved all the grilled goods. We spent the night playing some Wii and Cranium. Unfortuantely, we didn't have much time to fit Risk or the end of Cranium in, but I still had a lot of fun.

I was a bit too lazy to whip out the pastry bag and tips for the cake, so I made a simple, but delicious, chocolate glaze to dip my cupcakes and cake donuts into and we topped it off with some colorful sprinkles.

I didn't have time (or money!) to buy one of those cool cupcake towers so I ended up making my own super cheap two tier cupcake and donut display using a loaf pan and some tissue paper. Sure, a bit on the cheap low budget side, but I was short on time too!

Here's my boyfriend enjoying a mini donut! (by the way, he cut his hair...he has beanie hair in this pic, I like it when he styles it a little.)

I planned on making some Strawberry Napoleons, but I got a little lazy and with the left over chocolate, we decided not to waste, and make some chocolate covered strawberries. Chocolate covered strawberries are impressive on their own, but with some skewers, the little plastic box the strawberries came in, some styrofoam, tissue paper, and decorative ribbon, my boyfriend and I created a nice and simple center piece that was devoured into about 10 minutes once people got over their fear of taking it apart.

Quick Instructions for a Quick Center Piece:
What you'll need:
Strawberries or the fruits of your choice to be dipped in the chocolate
Skewers
Chocolate for Dipping
A Box, Shallow Vase, or bowl
Styrofoam (or some kind of material that can secure the skewers you'll poke into it) to fit your box
Decorative Ribbon
Tissue Paper (optional)

What you'll need to do:
Find a box or some kind of container (preferrably on the heavy side, we found that the strawberries were having a difficult time balancing in such a light base).

Cut the Styrofoam into a shape that will fit snug in your box/container

Cover the styrofoam with the tissue paper if you're unhappy about how it looks uncovered.

If you like, tie your decorative ribbon around the container so it looks a little more polished.

Stick the pointy end of the skewer into the top of the strawberry (where the leaves are) and dip it in your chocolate glaze about 1/2 to 3/4 deep.

Stick the dull side of the skewer into your styrofoam so that the strawberries are pointing out. Repeat working your way from the middle of the styrofoam to the outer sides of the box.

Voila! A perfect centerpiece. Your guests will never know that it only took you about 15 minutes and the best part about it is that it's not only decorative but also functional! You can experiment with some different combinatons like fruit kabobs and the like. I know I will next time!

Six Pains Magic Mountain

Boy do I feel old. I went to Magic Mountain last week, and after a ride on the eight loops on Viper, I felt so nauseous, I probably shouldn't have gone on the rest of the rides after that. I've never come so close to throwing up on a ride.

Then today, in honor of my friend that couldn't make it this week, my boyfriend and I posed for the camera as we went through the second drop on the self explainatory Goliath. He grabbed my head and licked my cheek. The G force on that ride is pretty strong, so we had a hard time getting back to our normal position in the seat I ended up hurting my neck. I'm fine though, I just can't turn to the right. Well, I can, I just look like I have a neck brace on or something. I have to turn my whole torso. Haha. It's kindda funny...

But I can't laugh too hard since my throat hurts! I woke up in the morning with a SLIGHT sore throat and the huge drops, loops, and corkscrews on the rides didn't help at all. I'm having a hard time talking right now and it's the reason why I must end this entry because I need to sleep to get my mind off the pain.

All in all, even the pain, I had a lot of fun. I hope we do it again, just not anytime soon. I'm still recovering from everything...

Domestic Fun

Today, I bought Cooking Mama, a game for the Nintendo Wii. I was a little disappointed that it only allows 2 out of the 4 people to play, but when we began playing I saw why... It's almost as much fun watching everyone try to cut, peel, dice, boil, season, etc. while beating each other and the clock.

If you haven't already picked up on the craze, you really should invest in buying the Wii. It's really a fun system for everyone and it provides some exercise too! (I'm still sore from a boxing match with my cousin a few days ago.) And while you're at it, get Cooking Mama. The next time you're in a restaurant, you'll appreciate your food a little more seeing all the time and energy to make it. My arm is pretty sore.... But I can't wait to attempt making the cream puffs next time!

Baking School

I'm going to a Chinese Baking School! It's a five week program, I'm so excited!