kimberly ah

Nov 05 2012

celebrations, crafty adventures, Election Party

The Weekend Was Spent With Glitter

It took all weekend, but these guys are ready for their Election Party debut tomorrow night. Okay, it didn’t really take all weekend, but I worked on them throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, and I even added a little more glue and a few more dashes of glitter this morning, so it feels like it took all weekend. (And for the record, glittering these guys is pretty much all I did this weekend as far as Election Party prep goes.)

I used this Martha Stewart tutorial for the idea. I used bookbinding glue (because it is my “craft glue”) and Martha’s “red corundum” and “azurite” glitter (from a 24 pack). And. in spite of the fact that the elephant and the donkey are pretty big, I feel like my vials of glitter are still full. It’s like magic…but it’s also a little annoying because now I feel like I’m never going to use up all this glitter!

Last winter, I glittered a family of tiny deer. By the time I finished two of the three, I was over the project. And, to be honest, that’s how I felt about these guys…I just wanted them to be done. I think waiting for the glue to dry and going back to fill in the bald spots kills my momentum and crafty spirit. But, as always, I’m glad I suffered through in the name of our 2012 Election Party. I think they look fun and flashy.

And I’m even sitting here right now thinking about all of the plastic toy turkeys that could be glittered for Thanksgiving…

Tagged celebrations, crafts, election

Nov 04 2012

9 Comments

celebrations, crafty adventures, Election Party, little red toolbox

My Little Red Toolbox | Sakura Quickie Glue Pen

The Little Red Toolbox is back! And, with another pen (not on purpose)! But this one is not full of ink, it’s full of glue. Glue that streams out in a nice fine line. Glue that can be covered in glitter to add little more *sparkle* to your projects. Glue that can be used to stick the teeeeniest bits of paper to other bits of paper.

Sakura’s Quickie Glue Pen writes like a smooth ballpoint pen making it easy to add small glittery details to paper projects. I used it to add some subtle sparkle to some decorations (the Stars & Stripes Garland from Paper Source) for the Election Party. The Quickie Glue Pen writes with a 0.7mm point and is really easy to control. I traced the outline of the stars inside the circles and I had no problem staying along the edge, even though I am often careless, impatient and messy when I craft. When I first started, I traced small sections of the stars and added glitter to each section before “writing” more glue.

By the time I was on the last color, I was tracing the entire star and glittering all at once. (For the record, I only glittered six of these…see what I mean about being impatient?) The good news is, the glue stays tacky long enough to hold the glitter well.

I strung them up (with the included tiny clothespins and twine) and stuck them on the TV stand. I still have eight more circles and eight more stars that I can play with someplace else, if I don’t run out of time (or interest).

It’s hard to see the glitter in the picture, but it adds just enough sparkle to make things festive around here. As soon as the donkey and the elephant are glittered, they will join the garland near the TV for a little sparkle party.

But back to the glue pen. When the glue is still blue, it is a permanent adhesive. While I wouldn’t use a thin glue pen to glue large areas or heavy papers together, I do use it to adhere tiny bits of paper to other paper or to stick down that pesky corner that the glue stick always seems to miss. But for the most part, I use the glue pen just as I used it today–to add some glitter to decorations or cards. Because a little sparkle goes a long way around here. (And even a little sparkle creates a glittery mess that lasts for weeks…but it’s worth it!)

Tagged celebrations, crafts, decorating, election, little red toolbox

Nov 02 2012

3 Comments

celebrations, crafty adventures, Election Party, thoughts

These Guys Won’t Even Know What Hit ‘Em

Election Party prep is in full swing around here. On Thursday I packed up all of the Halloween stuff and the weekend ahead promises to be full of cleaning and craft projects of the red, white and blue persuasion. Those guys up above (a plastic elephant and donkey from the toy animal bins at Michaels) are going to get a glitter treatment. We are still deciding on food and I’m trying to motivate myself to get the cleaning and decorating and shopping out of the way so I’m not rushing around on Tuesday while I’m trying to vote and obsessively watch the election coverage on television.

And, while everyday life goes on here, everyday life has virtually stopped out East. My heart is breaking over the devastation there. Cecelia, my longest-running pen pal lives in Manhattan and I am anxiously awaiting a letter from her so I can hear how she fared in the storm. Of course, I understand that it might take awhile as she focuses on adjusting to the new normal there, but in this age of instant communication, it’s weird for impatient me to have to wait for news in the mail…like we’ve turned back the clock 100 years. Cecelia and I have never exchanged email addresses or phone numbers, so I’m relying on John-the-Mailman to bring me news.

In the meantime, I will be hoping for the best for Cecelia and everyone who is affected…

Tagged celebrations, crafts, decorating, diy, election

Nov 01 2012

3 Comments

homemaking, what's for dinner, Wine

The Maiden Voyage of the Yellow Dutch Oven

We finally broke the new yellow Dutch oven out of the box this week and made French onion soup for dinner Monday night. As hurricane Sandy pounded the East and the residual winds battered Chicagoland, it felt like the perfect night to slow cook some onions into caramelized, salty goodness. And, I’m proud to say, I did all of the prep work of the soup by myself. (But once you see how little effort goes into making French Onion Soup, this fact is not impressive at all.)

I’ve been wanting to make French Onion Soup for a long time now, and I suppose I could have made it in our old metal soup pot, but I bet it wouldn’t have tasted as good…there was something so perfect about making it in that sunny pot. And, although the soup takes time, the rest of the work couldn’t be any easier. You seriously just have to slice a few onions–thin slices are important, but imperfect slices are fine!–and roughly measure out the rest of the ingredients. That, and a few stirs of the pot, and you’re done!

Here are the onions in the beginning:

And after almost an hour of cooking & caramelizing:

Delicious, yes?

We used this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen. We halved the ingredients, which made about three small bowls of soup for us. It was the perfect amount (one bowl for me, two for Naoto) with a light, herby salad.

Now that we know this soup will be a part of our regular repertoire, we are adding oven proof soup bowls to our Christmas list. The only thing I would change about our first attempt is that Naoto bought this weird, domestic-made “Gruyere” cheese…to get heavenly results, a good cheese is crucial to this soup…especially if the soup is secondary to the cheese, as it is for me! And, we need a little bit more practice using our broiler before I feel confident that we won’t burn the apartment down…little details…

Tagged food, homemaking

Oct 31 2012

3 Comments

crafty adventures, Halloween, holidays

My Edgar Allan Poe Paper Playset

Happy Halloween! It is definitely going to be a scary one! The winds this week, courtesy of Hurricane Sandy, are whipping all of the leaves off the tress, leaving behind creepy bare branches. And the full moon has been shining through mists of clouds, and the filtered light is sifting through the branches painting spooky shadows on our walls. Between the shadows and the crazy flying leaves, Presley is going a little crazy around here.

So far to get into the Halloween spirit, I read some Poe (“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” for book group and “Ligeia” upon Cath’s recommendation), Naoto & I made dinner in our new dutch oven (I’ll blog about it soon!) and drank a bottle of Darkhorse wine, I watched a round of Roseanne‘s Halloween episodes (best TV ever!), we watched The Shining (It’s so scary to me…and to Naoto, too!) and I built my Edgar Allan Poe Play set (pictured above)…oh, and I also painted my nails with glow-in-the-dark polish. They are really not fun unless I’m in a very dark room…

But back to the Poe paper doll. A few years ago Naoto bought me this Edgar Allan Poe paper play set from Lisa Perrin. On Tuesday (proof that it takes me awhile to get around to things around here) I cut out the figures (using my favorite Kai scissors!) and assembled the play set. Isn’t it great?! I love that Poe is wearing bunny slippers! I’m looking forward to breaking this out again in January, for Poe’s birthday (January 19th).

What are your plans for Halloween? Any spooky movies or stories in your day? Are you dressing up? (I’m not…)

Tagged celebrations, crafts, Edgar Allan Poe, Halloween, holidays

Oct 30 2012

4 Comments

celebrations, crafty adventures, snail mail

Smart Women Vote

When I was a college freshman, I voted for the first time by absentee ballot. I remember being so excited when the ballot arrived, punching my choices with the little stylus, and dropping the completed ballot in the blue mailbox near my dorm. It was really exciting, but I was so disappointed that I didn’t get to vote in the real voting booth and I didn’t get one of those I VOTED stickers. Upon hearing my disappointment, my grandfather (who always wrote me the most charming letters) sent me his voting sticker. I’d forgotten all about this kind gesture until a few years ago when I was sifting through all of my college mail and I found it folded in a letter written in my grandfather’s beautiful script. Just thinking about it makes me all weepy.

Since then, I’ve voted at the polls in every election–and I’ve always proudly sported my I VOTED sticker. And, for the past few Presidential Elections, I’ve sported these Smart Women Vote buttons. This year, I did a mass mailing and sent a bunch out to my friends and pen pals. It’s a “safe” political outreach, because it’s non-partisan…I’m a firm believer in agree-to-disagree…I know I’m not going to change anyone’s mind about their political leanings, just like they are certainly not going to change my mind. (I am very stubborn.) But I do think it’s important to vote–so, no matter which side you are on, or whether you live in a red state, a blue state or a swing state…as they say in Chicago–vote early and vote often!*

*Kidding…just vote once.

Tagged celebrations, crafts, election, mail art, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Oct 29 2012

1 Comment

coffee talk

Coffee Talk | A Dunkin Donuts Marathon

I was introduced to Dunkin Donuts coffee my freshman year of college. I had been there as a kid for the donuts, but I didn’t know about their delicious coffee until my boyfriend-at-the-time, Kevin, took me and some friends there for a late night snack. It was love at first sip, and I’m happy to say, my love for Dunkin Donuts long outlasted my love for Kevin (who cheated on me that summer).

My friend Jackie & I frequented that same Dunkin Donuts several times a week throughout our four years of college. We didn’t go in the morning like “normal” people. We went at night, a few times a week to chat, to do homework, to procrastinate, to make important college life decisions, for friend counseling sessions…

Our Dunkin Donuts was the old-style: with the stools and the counter and a couple of booths along the side. We always sat in the same booth. (And if you were there in our booth, we would be secretly angry at you and the minute you left, we would reclaim our spot.) We always had the same lady serving our coffee. I can’t remember a single night she wasn’t there mixing up our medium coffees with the perfectly magical amount of cream and sugar. Occasionally, other customers–particularly men too old to be trying to mix it up with young college women–would talk to us, and our lady would come over to make sure they weren’t trying any funny business.

By our senior year, we had clocked hundreds of hours at “our Dunk”. We decided it was only fitting to end our Dunkin Donuts era with a Dunkin Donuts Marathon–and no, not the running kind of marathon. On the last week of classes, we would go to Dunkin Donuts in the afternoon, sit down in “our” booth and stay for twelve hours.

We arrived just before noon and ordered 2 medium coffees with cream and sugar, and settled into our booth. Our lady wasn’t there yet, so I’m sure the daytime crew was wondering what was going on when, several hours later, we were still sitting there, drinking yet another coffee. Most of our friends laughed at our plan, but then came to visit us during our endeavor. We had forty-four visitors that day (I know this because we kept a guest book, which I still have.) We drank a TON of coffee, and ate donuts and breakfast sandwiches for our meals & snacks. We shared our Dunkin Donuts memories, chatted about our futures after college (neither of us had secured a job at that point), crafted and studied for our final exams.

The Dunkin Donuts Marathon is still one of my favorite memories from college. I moved away from that Dunkin Donuts when I got my job & my first apartment, but I found a new one near my office and I became a regular there. Not in the same way…but the familiarity of Dunkin Donuts still takes me back to the carefree days of college.

You can find previous posts from the Coffee Talk series here.

Tagged coffee, memories

Oct 28 2012

3 Comments

celebrations

Happy 40th Anniversary

Happy anniversary to my parents who are celebrating forty years of marriage today! Here’s to many more years of happiness!

Tagged 1972, Anniversary, parents, wedding

Oct 26 2012

5 Comments

Halloween, Trader Joe's, Wine

Hallow-wine

Halloween is almost here, and other than making some spooky mail art and decorating my desk, we aren’t really celebrating. I always have intentions of renting scary movies or going out to a bar in costume, but that hasn’t happened in years. I do have a good habit of reading something spooky, mostly thanks to the fact that my book group has a tradition of reading macabre novels and short stories during our October meetings.

But just because we aren’t hosting a party doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some spine-chilling wine with dinner next week. The bottle above–Darkhorse Cabernet Sauvignon–is my absolute favorite. (I’ve mentioned it before in this post.) They were sampling it at Trader Joe’s one afternoon and I immediately bought three bottles. Then, it was out of stock and I was devastated…so much so, that when it came back, Naoto bought a case for me. (You can’t help but love someone who buys you a case of wine.) And, it’s only $6.99 a bottle–a great price for big, juicy deliciousness.

The other bottle of “Halloween wine” in our cabinet is Bogle’s Phantom. The eerie label would be perfect for Halloween night, right? Phantom is a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Mourvedre. It’s definitely more complicated than the Darkhorse and more expensive at $16.99 a bottle.

My plan is to enjoy both of these wines next week while finally cooking up something tasty in our new pot….and maybe even reading a ghoulish Poe story to Naoto along the way…because if I’m being honest, he will be doing most of the work in the kitchen.

What are your plans for Halloween?

Tagged cocktails, Halloween, Trader Joe's, wine

Oct 25 2012

3 Comments

Honor Flight Chicago

Digging Out

This week has been all about reclaiming my home and my time from Mail Call–eventually I promise to stop talking about it…at least for a few months.

Above is a picture of what my dining room looked like on Monday night while I was packing up the Veterans’ mail packs. I was using the buffet, a side table from the living room and the dining table to spread all of the personal, general and student mail so I could build each veteran’s Mail Call and pack them all up in the backpacks. At one point, I was working on the floor because I didn’t have any table space left, but as I made my way through the alphabet, I graduated to a chair and the dining table.

On Tuesday, after my morning volunteer shift and a nap, I sorted through all of the mail call stuff and packed it up to take it to the airport office for winter storage. This is what it looked like (not counting the 18 backpacks that were on the flight). I had ten empty banker’s boxes (used for sorting mail), five boxes of leftover general & student mail, two boxes of stuff and eight empty boxes for recycling and eight USPS bins that I’ve accidentally been hoarding. (Don’t worry, I’ve already given them back to my trusty letter carrier.) It took three cart trips to take it all downstairs to my car, and a handful of wonderful volunteers to help me carry it all into the office.