Mama Day

I just finished reading this book for my African American Women Writers seminar, and it has just entered my top five favorite books ever list. I'm not actually sure what else is on that list other than Gone With the Wind, but this is truly one of the best books I've ever read. It's witty, heartbreaking, magical, real, poetic -- I love adjectives only slightly less than I love chocolate, so I'll stop there, but simply put, it's beautiful. After reading this masterpiece by Gloria Naylor I feel that anything I write will pale in comparison, so I'll just leave it at: read this book. As soon as possible.

Picnic

I am a notoriously picky eater (yes, another understatement). However, this means that picnics are perfect for me. So this past weekend I headed to Lake Anza in Tilden Park on a sunny, albeit chilly, day.

The perfect picnic fare, as far as I'm concerned, centers around cheese -- preferably Brie, although I've fallen hard for Irish Dubliner cheese lately as well. When you only eat about five things, it's important to be truly passionate about those categories.

I probably could and would eat this whole wheel if given half a chance.

Pair the cheese with some delicious, flaky, buttery crackers like Trader Joe's Social Snackers. They are possibly one of the most addictive snack foods ever. Add some grapes, focaccia bread, chocolate to top it off, and a refreshing beverage, and you have a recipe for the perfect summer meal.

The perfect picnic beverage.

Mother's Day

{materials}

I am not usually very crafty (understatement? Perhaps). But the one thing I do pride myself on is my homemade cards. To a person who actually does artsy things, they don't look like much, but to me, and anyone who knows me, they are a triumph. So since I'm not going home for Mother's Day, I decided to at least surprise my amazing mom with a handmade card (which apparently most people stopped doing around the 3rd grade. Who knew?).

I went to a craft store downtown and got bright yellow paper with embossed flowers, light green vellum, and a green ribbed ribbon (which sounds funny now that I write it).

{inside}

I proceeded to use fabric tape to secure the green paper inside the card (having discovered I was out of glue sticks after getting home) and cut out hearts to stick inside as well.

{outside}

Then I tied a ribbon around the outside (harder than it looks. Don't laugh) and pasted another contrasting heart on the back. Looking at it now (after it's sealed in the envelope, of course), it occurs to me I should have actually put something on it referring to Mother's Day. Well, she'll just have to figure it out. Luckily, she doesn't read this blog (like most of the rest of the world. But I sure do appreciate Kenda and Kyle!), so this won't ruin the (very small) surprise. 

On a side note, any kind of crafting always reminds me of big little week, which I now remember as only a blur of puffy paint and rhinestones. 

{baskets}

But I won't lie, I was pretty proud of how her baskets turned out. Mainly because I included lots of baked goods (in puffy painted tupperware, obviously), which is where I really shine. If only I could have mailed my mom a homemade chocolate cake with Cool Whip.