Poppin' Cookin' Afternoon

We've had a lot going on lately and haven't been doing a lot of projects at home.  This afternoon the girls and I took a timeout and sat down to do some DIY candy kits.

Poppin' Cookin' Takoyaki - This is a savory kit.  Takoyaki are round balls the consistency of a pancake with octopus tentacles baked in, coated in a sweet soy sauce and mayo. This kit is one of the new ones by Kracie and we were a bit hesitant but it was actually fine.  In general, a little octopus never scared us... in fact we like it.

 

The kit comes with a tray (I've cut it up into the 5 parts including a water cup), a mayo powder, takoyaki sauce powder, batter powder, octopus powder, a spoon for mixing, and a toothpick for turning over takoyaki balls.

 

First, you mix up the octopus powder with one cup of water.  You use the mold to make 8 tentacles. 

 

 

Next, you mix the batter powder with 2 cups of water and evenly distribute the batter into the takoyaki mold.  Add the tentacles to the top of the batter.  Microwave the takoyaki for approximately 30 seconds.  I closely watched these so they wouldn't burn.  They puffed up a lot.



 

 

Once they are done, you make the takoyaki sauce and mayo.  Takoyaki sauce powder is mixed with 1 cup of water until fully incorporated.  The mayo sauce powder is mixed within the mayo packet itself and also needs 1 cup of water.  Once the mayo is mixed, you fold the top down 3 times.  You are ready to flip the takoyaki over using the toothpick.  After you've flipped them over (tentacles are on the bottom) you are ready to add the takoyaki sauce and mayo.  Spread the takoyaki sauce using the spoon and cut a corner of the mayo packet to the squeeze the mayo onto the top. 

 

 

Overall, these aren't bad.  People have compared the taste to a hotdog with a creamy, sweet sauce.  I'd agree.  This kit took about half an hour and was one of the more entertaining kits to do.

Labor Day

 



While recovering from another round of the crud ( double ear infections + throat infection woo-hoo) I rented the film Labor Day staring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin (you know the older brother, Brand, from The Goonies).  I had wanted to see this film while it was in theaters but my husband doesn't have quite the enthusiasm for depressed yet romantic movies.  Labor Day is based on the novel by Joyce Maynard.  I've read a couple of Maynard's books and really enjoy her writing.  The fact that she had an affair with JD Salinger decades ago makes her even more interesting to me( I have a serious love for JD Salinger).

Labor Day feels like something exotic that you discover in your own home.  Those days when you are at home, deliberately, trying a new recipe, starting a new book that has been on your shelves for years, sitting in your sunny backyard, listening the trees rustle and watching the sunlight flicker through the limbs.  It feels like your on vacation but in your own home.  Frank is an escaped convict who hides out for Labor Day weekend in Adele's home. Adele and her son are living a depressed life full of the mundane or less.  Frank awakens their lives by showing them how to live again, within their own lives over the holiday weekend. There is a love story that develops between Adele and Frank but the biggest love story is how this family started to fall in love with living again.  Fixing things with their own hands, making a pie from scratch, learning to play baseball in the backyard. It sounds so simple but to those who only live in a shell of their lives, it was fresh and new.

To some degree, I could relate to these feelings that Adele had.  She, depressed from a broken marriage, lived with the confines of a few small places -- a monthly trip to the store, the permanent spot on the couch, within her own head.  She was merely existing, a prisoner in her own life.  Isn't that how life becomes when you allow yourself to get caught up in the ego, commercialism, Corporate America, keeping up with the Joneses.  It has for me several times in my life.  This was a good reminder to live.

Labor Day is slow.  Deliberate.  Fantastic.

Birthday Haul

My birthday was a few days ago and I celebrated it with my husband, daughters, and mom.  We went to Bonefish Grill and I got my fill of bang-bang shrimp. I wish I could say it was a great day but work managed to crap all over it earlier in the day so I tried to make the best of things.  That's another post for another day. Suffice to say, my job craps over my life quite a bit these days.

I've been meaning to share my birthday surprises from my husband and daughters.  My family is supportive of my kawaii addiction and bought me several kawaii gifts. 

First, were 2 mini putty erasers, Tuxedo Sam (lemon scented) and Hello Kitty (peach scented).  These things smell like my childhood.  They were silly little add-ins that my girls picked out but the moment I opened them, I went back in time when Santa stuffed my stocking full of Sanrio surprises; mini pencils, erasers, and clips.  My stocking was my favorite part of opening presents each year!

My oldest got m a Hello Kitty Ugly Doll plush.  I also have a love of ugly dolls.  I only have one that sits on my bookshelf so now he's got a neighbor. 

My youngest got me a Hello Kitty Nanoblock kit.  I recently discovered these at Imagine That Toys and I can't wait to assemble it. 

My big present was from my husband, a Hello Kitty Fuji Instax camera with 3 boxes of film (Twin Little Stars, my fav!, Rilakkuma, and Hello Kitty).  I'm sure I'll fly through the film but I can't wait to take some pics.  It's funny as I am still considering opening a Kawaii store, Instax cameras were recently added to my list of items I'd want to sell.  Now I have one all for myself!  Of course, I'm sure my girls will try to steal it at the first opportunity. 

Adore

Grandma came over to visit tonight and hang out with the girls and watch Frozen.  It gave me some free time to draw and watch a movie on my own.  I did a little drawing but was pretty entranced with my movie selection for the evening. 

Adore is an indie film directed by Anne Fontaine and based on the novel by Doris Lessing. Two neighbor best friends, played by Robin Wright and Naomi Watts, live in remote location in Australia surrounded by stunning turquoise beaches. The women  do most things in life together including having two sons who are the same age and are quite good friends as well.  As the boys get older, they become attractive young men that the women describe in one scene as "like young gods." As the story unfolds, it becomes evident that the men have started to desire the other's mother and those feelings are reciprocated by the women.  There is a taboo relationship that begins to form between the four as each woman has been a mother figure to the other's son and the age difference is at least twenty years between the men and women.  The women, surrounded by the Utopian scenery, make smile lines and beach hair even seem attractive. The complex, provocative relationships and excellent acting had me completely wrapped up in the story; I never wanted it to end.  There is also something about cinematography that use subdued colors with a breezy, soft linen feel that I just can't get enough of.

The film isn't for everyone.  I would recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed films such as Laurel Canyon, The Good Girl, or American Beauty.

Hello Kitty Cafe

Hello Kitty Café - Yes, please.

Character Cafe

Character Cafes in Tokyo:

I need these in my life.

A few new books and italian ice

As I mentioned in my previous post, my creative energy is working overtime these days.  As spring has arrived in the Midwest, I find myself wanting to draw the delicate petals of daffodils, pear tree blossoms, and happy plotted succulents.  Saturday was a beautiful day for being outside and I was hoping to get to sit on our deck and draw but it never worked out.  Mostly, our deck is a wreck since winter ands needs to be cleaned and spruced up.  I'd love to get some new furniture and to fill my empty pots as well. Perhaps another day. Sounds like a good excuse for a vacation day!

I did manage to get some great new books this weekend that I thought I would share:

 

I have done Lisa Congdon's line drawing series over at Creative Bug the last few weeks and when I found out she authored one of the 20 Ways to Draw books, I knew I would have to get it.  This 20 Ways to Draw a Tulip book is full of interesting ways to draw flowers and plants using very simple lines.  I love the simplicity in her work.  Maybe I just love simplicity.

 

I'd been wanting a Zentangle book as I tend to do a lot of doodling while on conference calls at work.  Zen Doodle is a great compilation of the different tangled designs that you could make.  There is a lot of good information about how to start a tangle, plotting out the shape, different patterns that can be used.  I've not looked at this one as much but am excited to get started.

 

Our weekend was capped off by a trip to Rita's Italian Ice.  Over a decade ago, I lived in Jacksonville, FL for several years.  Rita's was a stand on the beach that you could walk up to and get Italian ice's and custard; perfect after a day swimming in the hot sun.  My favorite has always been the gelati; a gelati is Italian ice in the bottom and custard on the top.  When I learned that Wichita was getting a Rita's and right around the corner from my house, I couldn't help but be excited.  Rita's is just as a good as I remembered and I'm sure they will come to know the faces of my family in the coming summer.