This and That

WILDER RANCH

Now that I'm on a weight loss kick (have I mentioned I've lost 6lbs since the beginning of the year - 2lbs in the past 2 weeks alone) I'm dragging the whole dang family out to hike at least once a week.  Last week we went to Wilder Ranch State Park.  It's a fantastic walk.  There was only one trail open (the Coastal Trail) which is 3.5 miles each way.  We didn't go that far, but would have hiked a good 2.5 miles at least.  It's a very easy walk with breathtaking views, lots of birds and wildflowers.  A lot of cyclists seem to use the trail with the main path winding around the cliffs and there are little paths going down to secluded beaches too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find more information about Wilder Ranch State Park at Trekaroo and California State Parks

NATURAL BRIDGES

Natural Bridges State Beach is a beautiful little area just north of Santa Cruz.  It is the winter home of the Monarch Butterflies, there is a fabulous picnic area and a small beach with tidepools at low tide.  We took a picnic lunch there and although it was a little chilly the kids had a great time building sand castles and playing in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find more information on both Trekaroo and California State Parks

OPTRIXX

I purchased this for Flynn a couple of years ago.  He loves to carry it around and pretend to take photos.  Whilst he was busy building sand castles at the beach I borrowed it.

It's like looking into a kaleidoscope.  I think I may have to borrow it more often to play with. 

Check out more Optrixx shots in the Optrixx Flickr group. 

You can purchase an Optrixx here, they are super cheap.

JACKS PEAK

Jacks Peak is the highest point on the Monterey Peninsula.  The park encompasses about 525 acres including 8.5 miles of hiking and riding trails.  After the recent rains the trails were littered with pine needles and pine cones, there were fallen trees and a lot of others that seemed to be balancing quite precariously on the small cliffs running alongside the paths.  It was green and lush though and the kids did great on the 2+ miles of trails we hiked.

 

 

 

 

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

Marisol at the halfway point: "I don't like Jack because I can't like his peak".  

Information about Jacks Peak can be found here and a map complete with hiking trails is here.

SAY I LOVE YOU WITH TOAST

Breakfast on a Saturday.

Perfect for Valentine's Day.

Even better for every day.

 

 

 

"I heart you" toast stamper - Amazon $39.95 - unfortunately it has been discontinued according to a lot of gift shops I normally purchases quirky gifts from, so of course the price has been hiked up since I purchased it.  If this is too expensive Fred Flare have a "LOVE" stamp for $6

VALENTINE'S DAY FRAMES

The twins made these earlier in the week to give to their teachers at school. 

Michael's currently sell the unfinished wood frames in a couple of different sizes for $1 each.  They come with a peg to put into the back so the frames stand up. The kids used our own supplies from home to decorate them.

 

Once they had finished painting, attaching hearts and the frames had dried I used a wet cloth to remove excess paint from the hearts, then sprayed an acrylic varnish over the top.

One thing these frames don't come with is glass or perspex to protect the photos.  But honestly, what do you expect for only $1.  With this in mind I headed to Beverly's where you can purchase clear vinyl in a variety of thicknesses - much more child friendly and cost effective than having glass or perspex cut to a heart shape.  The vinyl is on a roll in the fabric department so I had a 1/4 yard cut and still have plenty left over for more projects in the future.

My tip:  Remove the cardboard heart from the center before decorating commences.  I didn't and of course it was decorated too.  Which wasn't a big deal, except I had to cut a new back to put behind the photographs.  you can use a cereal box etc for this, I used a turkish delight container because one side was plain white.

AFTER THE RAIN ...

BUNDLED UP IN TAWNY ROSE TWISTS

A scarf, legwarmers and matching headband.

YARN:

Bernat Softee Chunky Twists: Tawny Rose Twist

Bernat Softee Chunky: Soft Taupe

LEGWARMERS:

The pattern for these can be found in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.  Such a fantastic book.  It's a basic knit purl in the round pattern using double pointed needles.

SCARF:

I used the same knit purl pattern for the scarf and just kept on knitting until it was long enough to double over and tie around her neck.

I accessorized it with cream felt flowers and pale pink buttons

HEADBAND:

I have a pile of very basic headbands that I've picked up over time in the $1 section at various stores.  I used one of these inside the knitted headband.  Instructions below:

Using size US.5 straight needles cast on 2 stitches. 

Knit 20 rows.

Increase 2 stitches into the next row (1 at each end)

Knit 2 rows.

Increase 2 stitches into the next row (1 at each end)

Use the headband from this point as your guide and knit until you come to the point where you need to start decreasing to match the increased side.

Decrease 1 stitch at each end of row

Knit 2 rows.

Decrease 1 stitch at each end of row.

Knit 20 rows.

I made 2 of these exactly the same.  1 with the Tawny Rose Twist and 1 with the Soft Taupe. 

Stitch all the way along one side joining the two pieces together.  Insert the headband and stitch up the other seam.

Cut out 3 felt flowers in assorted sizes and stitch them together in the center with a button.  Stitch your completed flower on to the headband.

THE MARTHA STEWART BLOG SHOW

I flew, I tweeted from airports and I flipped through 8 magazines over 12 hours and 3 flights.

And that was just to get to New York City.

Why?

To attend the taping of the Martha Stewart Blog Show last week.

My beautiful friend Jen (Just Ask A Woman) came too - she and her wonderful husband put me up and had wine waiting for me when I arrived the evening before the show.  Have I mentioned how much I love them.

At the show I met up with some fabulous bloggers: Dawn and Elizabeth (Partybluprints), Jennifer (Savor The Thyme) - who I had met at BlogHer last year, Jennifer Perrillo (In Jennie's Kitchen) and Niri (Mommy Niri) - who got prime position front and center.  So jealous.  One amazing person I met, ever so briefly, is Kamran.  He's 17 and the most inspiring chef and photographer.  Check out his site The Sophisticated Gourmet. 

The Guests:

There was Andrew Ritchie of Martha Moments. And he's not a scary stalker.  Martha refers to him as "very well informed".  He did a great job on his segment doing a fabulous yarn card craft with Martha.

Pim Techamuanvivit  of Chez Pim made Pad Thai (here's the recipe).  It smelled delicious.  We were all salivating in the bleachers.  Everyone in the audience received a copy of Pim's book The Foodie Handbook.   I read it on my flight home.  It's fabulous and I can't wait to try some of the recipes in it.

Martha taught blogger Jeff Blumenkrantz of Jeff and Martha: My Year of Cooking Fabulously how to frost a cake.  It was an Orange Almond cake with Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting {pausing to mop up drool}. 

The opinionated and rather snarky Alexis Stewart (Martha's daughter) and hilariously funny and real Jennifer Koppleman-Hutt of Whatever and Whatever Martha were also guests. 

You also need to check out the story of Brianna Campbell.

The Links:

Subscribe to Martha's blog

Follow Martha Stewart on twitter @MarthaStewart and @TheMarthaShow

Follow the twitter conversation from the #blogshow

Check out my Whrrl story for a few photographs ... including one of Martha throwing her leg up on the table to show us her sexy YSL shoes - that she found on sale. 

You can watch the Blog Show here

And last, but not least, here is a complete list of bloggers who attended the Blog Show.  Be sure to check them out.  There are quite a few who blog about food, entertaining and design. 

The disappointments:

Not meeting Martha

Not trying any of that delicious food.

RAINY DAY FUN

It doesn't rain often in California, but when it does, the kids love to make the most of it.  You may remember this post and this one.

There's nothing quite like the sound of laughter that comes with mud and rain.  It can almost make me forget that they had just showered and washed their hair after swim lessons.