Monday Mumblings

Here I am again, mumbling on Monday morning (well, I guess it's technically Monday afternoon as of 6 minutes ago, but who's counting, right?) This past weekend was quite eventful for me. We decided to have an impromptu party at our house to celebrate our child-free status. It started out as a small dinner party... only 7 of us, very quaint, but it ended up lasting ALL NIGHT... and I mean... we finally went to bed as the sun was rising... eeek! It was awesome, though. We hadn't partied like that since, well, 1999... LOL!!! Seriously, that was the year before we got married and started having kids and became... old. ;)

Showing off our "Travel Toes" (Clockwise from top: Briana, Danielle, Patty & Caty)

As an appetizer, I made ceviche (which was a HUGE hit!), guacamole and shrimp cocktail and served them with some awesome lime-flavored tortilla chips from Whole Foods Market. We also planned to grill chicken breasts and serve them with rice, salad & French bread, but the chicks all got so full from pigging out on the appetizers that we decided not to partake in dinner... so the guys decided to grill beef franks for themselves instead. Fine with us.

The party was also a way to debut Jon's newest beer brew... a Belgian-style Witte. It was awesome! His best batch yet, IMO. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I made my Key Lime Pie for dessert but this time I poured the mixture into individual size graham cracker crusts... so cute! A great time was had by all!

I spent the rest of the weekend recovering from this and cleaning and by the time I got back to my email I had an inbox full of Cook It. Blog It! requests... which, by the way, if you guys are reading this, all new requests have been added. I don't even know how many members we have now... over 40, I'm sure. I'm too lazy to count right now, but I am thrilled nonetheless that you guys all love it so much. Most of the newer members are avid cooks, judging by the looks of your blogs, so I am so excited to have ya.

I was also thrilled to find out -- through your hilarious comments -- that there are lots of you out there who also have a "water-drinking-issue", as I like to call it. Read my last blog entry to know what I mean by this. Not that I wish this on anyone out there, but you know what I mean, it's always comforting to know that you are not the only weirdo out there. ;)

I also had a couple of new sales on my Etsy store over the weekend... WOOHOO! It's always great to come back to unexpected money in your Paypal account. This motivated me to get my butt in gear and list the 2 travel items I made for my mom (which she LOVED, by the way) on my Etsy store this morning.

I listed this super-cute sleep eye mask that reverses out to a solid navy blue in case the man in your life wants to use it too and he's to embarrased to sport Marimekko flowers on his face. ;)
Find it here.


I also listed my travel pillow design. I used it on the way down to Florida last week (shhhh... don't tell my mom!) and it was HEAVEN! Get yourself one here.


And finally, since this was such an awesome gift for my mom, I decided that some of you may want to give these as gifts too, so I listed it as a COMBO Pack with a discount... check it out here.


And as I was listing all these goodies, I remembered that I had forgotten to tell you guys about my mom's newest awesome purses! OMG, these are soooo cute. I already have my favorite in sight, but I will let you guys decide before I taint your decision.
She has created a new version of my favorite Amy Butler purse in a different colorway (which. by the way, I still get tons of compliments on every time I wear it out)... I'm not sure which I like better.


Plus added a couple of new designs to her collection. These are ready-made & ready to ship, so get yours here!

I think that is it for my Monday "Morning" Mumblings. This week I will be sewing a couple of orders from my Etsy sales, getting my packages ready for the two winners of my Anniversary Contest (sorry for the delay, girls! they will be on their way to you very soon, I promise!!!) and hopefully, hopefully (fingers & toes crossed) proofing my first round of Andalucia strike-offs. Yup, they are not here yet, but Kathy assures me they will arrive before Sophie & Sydney get back... let's hope so. I am dying to share with the world!

Happy Monday, Everyone!!!

Monday Mumblings

It's Monday and guess what? I'm in a mumbling/rambling mood... who knew, eh? VACATION TIME IS FINALLY HERE!!! So, I don't even know how I am finding time to blog or blogsurf because I am crazy busy right now. We leave for St. Louis this afternoon, right after Jon gets home from work (around 5:30 pm or so) and I haven't even started packing. We are only going to be there a couple of days visiting Caty, Asja & Jason and then we head to FL for a week... YAY!

When we return next week, Jon and I will be kidless. And again I have mixed feelings about that. Sometimes I get excited thinking about all the projects that I will be able to complete without the endless interruptions, but then I find myself staring at the girls and getting teary eyed. The longest we've been apart from them is 4 days and now we are making a huge leap to 2 weeks! Will I survive? I know I will be hurting more than they will. They'll be going to the beach, the pool, the park, Disney, etc. Mami & Papi will spoil them rotten. I'll be cooped up at home cleaning, organizing, panting and working. Although I do plan to have some much-needed adult fun (maybe a girls' night out with my buddies and a few date nights with Jon?) :)

Anyway, that's what we're up to but other than that, I have officially started designing my next line of fabric and I am beyond thrilled! Yes, I know, I haven't even received my first strike-offs for Andalucia (although I hope to get them next week!) and I'm already working on my next one. LOL! It's a madness, I tell ya. I seriously cannot be happy unless I have a HUGE project hovering over my head. I tried relaxing the past couple of weeks. Going to the park. Sleeping. But I felt empty. Sad, even. As soon as I decided to start my new collection my mood improved and I felt healthier... I know it's all psychosomatic but hey, it sure beats moping around the house, and I'd say as far as vices are concerned this has got to be one of the healthiest. ;)

I am going completely out of my comfort zone for this line... trying some new things. I am always up for a challenge and this is definitely one. But I am still equally as excited about Andalucia and I even have some smaller side projects in the works to really showcase the designs and give you guys some options for owning coordinating pieces. I can't divulge much right now as it is still in the estimating part of the process but I think you will like them. I am leveraging my graphic designs skills and taking advantage of some special vendors I have gotten to know through the years while I worked as a Creative Director back in Orlando. Exciting stuff! :)






So, what's going on in the Cook It. Blog It! front? Oooooh, lots of yummy stuff, my dears! I perused the blogroll (20 & growing!) this morning and found a few new recipes to share.

Kristen has been making super yummy salads (picture on the left) with her produce delivery from her CSA share. I have to get into that CSA action! Just looking at those pictures of all her fresh veggies & herbs is making me salivate. Check her out!!

ChezMish has been at it again with her awesome Asian recipes. This time she shares with us her mixed tempura dish using seafood and veggies. YUM!

Amii made some hot potatoes on the grill. Her pictures rock! Check her out.


And last, but certainly not least, is this awesome "Cupcakes for Dinner" idea from Andre'a. This one is a definite MUST for me. So creative and fun... and whatever will make the kids actually eat, I'm game for! Thanks for sharing with us, Andre'a!

You girls have been busy out there! And I'll bet your families are lovin' ya! I hope to share a couple simple things of my own on Wednesday before we head down to FL, but only if time permits.

Have a great week, everyone!!!

PS... thanks so much for all the comforting comments regarding Sydney's new do. It's so crazy to see how common this occurrence is! WHOA! We took her to Cookie Cutters and they sorta fixed her up but not really. They were scared to cut off her bangs as short as the shortest ones cause it would have been like 1/2" from her scalp so they just cut the rest about 1" shorter than they were so it will catch up faster... she still looks pretty crazy but not as bad. LOL!

They also cut 5 inches off the back... WHOA! I do like the new length much better and I think she does too. I'll share new pics soon!

Monday Mumblings

I didn't think this would be a regular feature on my blog, but it seems like every Monday I am in a rambling/mumbling mode, so let's see how long we can keep this going. And, yes, I know the word 'ramblings' would be more appropriate, but since I have a silly obsession with alliteration, I am keeping it as Monday Mumblings. ;)

First off, I'd like to thank all of you who commented on my new blog look. I think I'm pretty much done with the makeover now. I needed a new face for the Summer... something more cheery, bright & fun. :) Hope it brightens your day.

Secondly, I finally got around to picking the winner of the MODKID 2nd Anniversary Contest. Thank you so much to all who commented and told me of your Summer plans. I had a blast reading through all your comments... and thanks also for all the great wishes. You all are so sweet! So, since I haven't reached my 100th sale on Etsy yet (although it's only 3 purchases away) I've decided to draw 2 winners here on my blog. So here it goes...

I used the trusty old randomizer to draw numbers for me and the first number it drew was...


Comment #39, Jess, who said:

Happy Aniversay & Congrats on your new line with MMF. I can't wait to see it in the fall!

The second number it drew was:


Comment #2, Annie, who said:

Congratulations on your anniversary! I'll be checking out your store shortly. I plan to spend a quiet Summer at home with the kids... if you can call that quiet! hahaha

CONGRATULATIONS, Jess and Annie! Please email me at info@modkidboutique.com at your earliest convienience to claim your prize. Please include your mailing address and your choice of prize: a MODKID item or a sewing/crafting care package. Oh, and please keep in mind that I am leaving on vacation in 10 days, so if I don't hear from you before then, it will have to wait until I return from Florida. :)

OK... more ramblings...


So, what have I been occupying my time with these past couple of weeks?? Gymnastics Camp. It's loads of fun and I know I mentioned before that I was gonna be sketching for my new line of fabric during the 3 hours I have to sit on the bleachers and wait, but that's not working out as well as I planned it.

First of all, how can I bury my face into a sketchbook while I have all this excitement right in front of me? This is truly captivating! Secondly, the girls are not in the same class. Sydney goes from 9:30 am to 10:30 am and Sophie goes from 10:45 am to noon. So I have 1 child with me at all times nagging me about being bored, tired, sleepy, hungry, etc. the whole time. And yes, I do come prepared with plenty of snacks and entertainment (books, music, movies) but somehow it's never enough. I'd be satisfied just sitting there watching my girls tumble. Oh well.

Here's a few more pics... sorry about the crappy picture quality. The lighting in there is terrible and I guess I should start bringing in my regular camera instead of always relying on my iPhone...

Inserting a quick ramble right here...

I mentioned a few weeks back that I was going to get some bloodwork done to determine if I had iron deficiency or a thyroid hormone imbalance because I was feeling so fatigued all the time and was experiencing a few other symptoms of those conditions. Well, I am happy to report that my bloodwork came back totally normal. They also checked all the usual stuff... blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. and I am in perfect health (on paper at least). So as of now we are assuming that my tiredness was either due to prolonged lack of sleep or old age... or I guess maybe both! ;)

Ramble, ramble, ramble...

I was delighted the other day when one of my blog readers emailed to tell me that she tried out my ceviche recipe and loved it... and blogged about it! WHOA! You have no idea how much I was smiling when I read that! Thanks for making my day, Amy! I am just giddy to know that I actually wrote a recipe that works (for other people)! WOOHOO! Oh, and she has beautiful pictures of her ceviche too! Go check out Amy's blog... it's a fun read to boot!

Hmmmm... more ramblings...

After the warm reception of my ceviche recipe I have been thinking of starting a Blog Cooking Club. But first I wanted to see if you all would be interested in something like that.

The rules would be very simple:

1. make something
2. take pictures
3. tell us how you made it

Maybe we could call it: Cook It. Blog It. or something simple like that. Ya know I'm all about simplicity. So what do you think? Would you be into that? Would you participate? I am thinking we could blog once a week and I could have a link right here to a page I would create on my website that would include links to all the blogs that are participating in this. Don't have all the details ironed out yet... just came to me a few minutes ago. If there is already a club like this that I am not aware of, please let me know... there's no need for duplication! :)

OK, I think that's enough mumbling for today. Have a great week, you guys!