I Apparently Can't Get Enough Jane Austen

I am a sucker for period piece movies.  Pride and Prejudice is certainly a favorite...whether it be the BBC version or the Keira Knightly version (though the latter had to fit into regular movie length so at times it seemed a bit rushed).  Jane Eyre is probably the only book I have ever read twice, and once I knew that the Michael Fassbender version had been released, I had to see it.  Last night I found on Netflix streaming a BBC 4-episode mini-series of Emma.  I never read Emma, but I remembered enjoying the Gwenyth Paltrow version back in the day.  (It's hard to believe that was over a decade ago.)  I started at about 11pm and thought I would just watch the first episode and go to bed.  Of course I could not help it and ended up watching all 3 hours and 20 minutes in a row and went to bed at 2:30am.  Ouch.  I thought it was well paced and Jonny Lee Miller was quite good as the gentle and handsome Mr. Knightly.  The only thing that bothers me about the story is the act that Frank Churchill had put on.  It doesn't quite make sense to me, and and seemed like simply a forced device Ms. Austen to make Emma look foolish.  There didn't really seem to be a need for him to go so far in his antics.  I wonder whether reading the book would shed any light on this or whether it was more subtle when written.  Regardless, you still feel giddy at the end even though you can tell what is coming from a mile away, as you should...that's why we love these stories after all.

Chunky Pineapple Note Cards

I recently printed these Chunky Pineapple note cards using our logo and sunny yellow ink.  Pineapples are a cute accent and they are a sign of hospitality. 

Don't forget, we're having a flash sale on our site today only - everything will be 40% off if you enter xoxoSFETSY at checkout.

Modern Thank You Cards

I designed these modern thank you cards for Baby CP's first birthday.  The pineapple signature was included on his cards because the theme of his parties was, of course, pineapples.  I just got around to photographing them. 

I changed the colorway for the cards just posted on our site.

SFEtsy Flash Sale - February 4, 2013!

Happy new year everyone!  I've been a little MIA, but I promise to design and print more this year.  That was my new year's resolution.  To inspire myself (and to make a little more room for new creations), ChunkyPineapple will be participating in the SFEtsy Valentine's Day Flash Sale on Monday, February 4.  For one day only, all items in the store will be a whopping 40% off.   Just enter the code XOXOSFETSY at checkout.  Take a peek at the site today!

Happy 4th of July!

This July 4th, we're celebrating with just a few friends and our little guy.  Of course grilled meats are on the menu, but to pay tribute to the colorful festivities, I broke out the ice cream maker and experimented with some cheesecake ice cream with strawberries and blueberries on top.

Cheesecake Ice Cream

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup whole milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch sea salt

Directions
Place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Pour into a container, seal it tightly, and refrigerate the base until well chilled.  I left mine in the fridge for a few hours.

After the ice cream base is fully chilled, pour it into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions. We have the Cuisinart ICE-20 and it took about 20 minutes to sufficiently chill our batch.  Place the finished ice cream in a freezer-safe container with a tight-fitting lid and freeze immediately.  You'll probably want to wait about 3 hours before serving.

I sprinkled some blueberries and sliced strawberries on top and added a graham cracker for garnish.  Sorry - no pictures!  I'd like to try to make this again with bits of red velvet cake mixed into the base sometime soon.

Decisions Decisions

So we've decided to make the remodel our upstairs bathroom our 2012 project.  I decided that it would be a good idea to start small.  Our bathroom is only about 30 or so square feet, and with the bathtub, there are only about 25 square feet of floor space. 

The original plaster walls are kind of beat up and the tile combination is a little odd...or at least very outdated.  Mr. CP and I visited a few stores to check out what is available in the world of tile.  We had an idea of what we wanted, but after visiting about 3 stores in SF and two in Berkeley we were a little frustrated.  Since we live in San Francisco, we had also been sucked into the Heath Ceramics hype, but after a little research on their website, I discovered that their least expensive tiles start at $16.50 per sq ft and only come in 6 shades and 2 shapes.  Their patterns line, which would look great on small bathroom floor like ours starts at $41 per sq ft. That comes out to over $1000 just for our floor! 

One example from the Heath Ceramics Pattern Tile line

Finally, I stumbled upon the Ann Sacks website and thought they might have tiles that we would like.  Lucky for us, they had tiles that we liked for both wall and floor and they are all in stock, so we don't have to wait for a special order.

I'm not sure where the tiles from this photo are from, but the Ann Sacks Context tile that we chose looks like the elongated subway tile that they use on the walls here.  We plan to tile all the way up the wall.  I like that mirror idea...maybe we should try something like that.

For the floors, we saw a porcelain tile in a tile store, but the colors were all just a little bit off for me.  One gray was too warm and the other too dark.   The Ann Sacks Evolution tile in Tatanio looks the same in terms of texture, but comes in a middle gray which is what I had been seeking.  It has a slightly ribbed texture, which will be great for preventing slip and falls in the bathroom after stepping out of the bathtub.

The ribbing is very subtle and you can barely see it when the tile is on the floor.

One thing we have found is that a lot of floor tile options are only available in a very large size of 12x24.  Apparently, the trend is to get large tiles to reduce the amount of grout that needs to be used, and later on, cleaned.

On our way to Ann Sacks, we happened to park in front of Waterworks.  I had never been inside of one, but I knew that by reputation they carry very expensive bathroom fixtures.  They had a beautiful selection of ceramic, glass and stone tiles, but most of the options were not within our budget.

Next, we need to think about lighting options.  Recesssed lighting would be the cleanest, but the tiles might look nicer he we have something brighter that drops down from the ceiling.

So cute!

This crafty little project is so cute!  I love the use of the chevron pattern.

Check it out at How About Orange