2011 Father's Day Cards Are Here!

Father's Day is just a few weeks away and quickly approaching! 

This year, I decided to print our Happy Father's Day card in red ink on a few different colors of cardstock.  My favorite is the red ink on heavyweight cappuccino gold leaf coverstock, but I think the red ink on blue has a very fun retro look.  This is a limited run of 15 cards.

ChunkyPineapple on Etsy

 

Last year, I printed the design with blue ink on a variety of colors of cardstock.  If you prefer the blue, we only have two 2010 cards left in stock in our etsy store.

The Backyard - Phase II

Phase II of our garden makeover was completed a couple months ago.  The back of the yard was sheet mulched and all of the trees were pruned, including the lemon tree, which of course means another few dozen lemons were harvested, but there are still so many more.

New mulch

Our cleaned up lemon tree and butterfly bush

Pruned persimmon tree and herbs planted in the corner

Two cherry tomato plants planted in the back section

Afterwards, my brother and I installed the scarecrow sprinkler.  It seems to be working, because I haven't seen any cats in the yard since.

Lemon Curd Favors

Mr.CP and I decided to throw a pre-baby party after all.  The get-together was co-ed, we didn't call it a baby shower and we did not play any weird baby shower games.  I was able to reserve a couple picnic tables at Presidio Heights Playground and guests each brought something tasty for a potluck style lunch.

As baby party favors, I decided to make good use of my lemons and made little jars of lemon curd for our guests.

Lemon Curd
(yields 3 cups)

Ingredients
9 Tbs unsalted butter, softened at room temperature 
1 1/4 cup sugar 
3 large eggs 
3 large egg yolks 
1 cup fresh lemon juice 
2 Tsp grated lemon zest 


Directions
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about  2 minutes.

Slowly add the eggs and yolks and beat for 1 minute total. Mix in the lemon juice - the mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.


In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring  constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15-20 minutes. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Do not let the mixture boil.

Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest and pour into a bowl or the jars and refrigerate.   I used 4 oz canning jars to make the favors.

Friday Wishlist - Floral cuteness

Today's drizzly San Francisco morning has put me in the mood for something cheerful and fun.  How cute are these etsy finds?

Vintage Flower Cupcake Liners from SweetEstelle

Fabric Pushpins by PaperPumpkin

Set of 4 Pinwheel Chairs by EnRoute Studio

Homemade Applesauce

A couple weekends ago, after making the apple pie, I used a few apples to make some homemade applesauce.  Below is a super easy recipe and the results are delicious.  Mr. CP doesn't like his applesauce too sweet, so I might cut down on the sugar a little next time.  I suppose not too long from now, our little one will also be eating applesauce, so this is a good recipe to file away.

Ingredients
4-5 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I used granny smith this time)
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup minus 1 teaspoon brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions
Put all ingredients into a medium to large saucepan, cover and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes (until the apples are soft).  Allow the apples to cool.  Then mash them up with a fork (or a potato masher if you have one of those).

Last Day of Work!

I am excited to announce that today will be my last day of work before starting pre-baby leave and maternity leave.  Although I'm sure life will be tiring and challenging in the weeks and months to come, this will be an interesting change of pace.  Today, I'll be busy clearing off my desk and handing projects off to others.  Tomorrow, I'll be preparing for the little one...I have so much left to do that the first thing on the list is to prepare a To-Do list!  Wish me luck!

Father's Day Cards

Now that Mother's Day has passed, it's time to start thinking about pops.  Last year our Father's Day cards, printed in blue ink, were pretty popular and we only have 2 left.

Father's Day Cards available in our Etsy shop

 This year, we'll be printing a limited batch again, but in a different colorway.  Details to follow...

Are You Prepared?

Last year, I asked a few friends whether they had an emergency kit prepared in case they Bay Area is hit with an earthquake.  4 out of 5 of the people I asked said they did not.  After the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, I've asked again and although many people are still not prepared, they are all feeling more compelled to get their acts together.  Mr. CP and I decided to tackle this task this weekend. 

I found that the Red Cross and http://72hours.org/build_kit.html provided good lists for building our kit.  We tackled and water, food and batteries portion of the kit with a trip to Costco.  In addition to a kit of freeze dried food to which you just add hot water, we are including items like canned tuna, beef jerky, dried fruit and peanut butter which don't require water.  I also ordered a first aid kit from drugstore.com.  After it arrives, I'll assess what other first aid items and medicines I will want to get from a local Walgreen's to supplement the kit.

First Aid Only - 200 piece hard kit

Next week we'll gather the clothes, blankets, tools, flashlight, radio, and documentation that should also be included.

It's recommended that you put the kit into a large waterproof container with wheels so that it's easy to move around.  Mr. CP and I haven't yet decide the best for us to keep the kit together in a safe and convenient place.

We will also prepare a smaller kit to keep in the car, in case our larger emergency kit is somehow rendered inaccessible by a disaster or if we aren't near home.  This one from REI is expensive, but looks pretty complete and self-contained, which would be good for keeping in the trunk with a few additional granola or energy bars.

Friday Wishlist

Now that's pretty sweet...

This whale tissue holder comes in a variety of colors. 

Or how about this?  Your very own rooftop garden.  Well...it made me chuckle.

You can get these cuties on etsy here.

Nice DIY Shelf?

I'm not sure whether the owners of this shelf made it themselves, but it looks like a relatively easy, yet super stylish DIY project if you can find a couple beautiful pieces of wood like that.

{via Apartment Therapy}

Day 3 (Part 1) - La Tourette

On our third day in Paris, S and I tagged along with Mr. CP's architecture classmates and toured a few of Le Corbusier's projects.  For those who don't know, Le Corbusier is a pioneer of modern architecture.  His five points of architecture -
(1) pilotis elevating the mass off the building off of the ground,
(2) the free plan - separating the load bearing columns from the walls that subdivide the space,
(3) the free facade,
(4) the long horizontal sliding window,
(5) the roof garden.

can be seen their implementation in many of his works.

La Tourette houses a church and 100 dorm-like rooms for students and teachers.