an interview! could it be? i was interviewed last week for funky utopia and it is now up on the funky utopia blog. it was so much fun to do, and it offers a bit more insight into why i do what i do...

i received the livesays' cds last friday in the mail. friends, their cds are phenomenal. i just wish you all lived in southern california so you could see them live! but maybe just buying them will be enough...

friday also marked the arrival of my very own copy of 'goodbye lenin', an interesting look into the last months of the ddr in germany (aka "east germany".) it is both funny and sentimental, and being that i am desperately trying to learn german, it is a nice change from my only other german movie, the previously mentioned and dearly loved 'run, lola, run'.

and yesterday, sweet antje sent me a BOX of KINDEREGGS! not only that, they are Polar Express Kindereggs with toys from the movie inside. could life be any better?
now i must be good and savor these...hehe

the magical uses of candy canes

i have many memories of eating tiny candy canes during the christmas season. they're just so delicious! so in honor of those days, i submit to you some ideas of candy canes uses...feel free to add yours to the list in the comment section!

--the simple candy cane ornament--
no matter what the size, a candy cane makes the perfect ornament.

--the snazzy reindeer ornament--
remember these? all you need is teeny googly eyes, a tiny red pompom for a nose, a bit of brown pipecleaner to twist to form antlers, and good, old-fashioned elmer's glue to assemble your masterpiece.

--the gift tag accessory--
add a tiny candy cane to a gift tag and you'll be instantly crowned your family's martha stewart.

--(and my favorite) candy cane icecream--
take a box of your favorite chocolate chip icecream (or soycream in my case), and sit it in the frig to soften. meanwhile, throw your leftover candy canes in a ziploc bag and use the nearest hard object to pound them into fine pieces. scoop soft icecream into a large bowl and mix in the candy cane pieces. now, dump it all back into the original icecream container and refreeze for a yummy treat! oh, how i love icecream! yum...

merry (almost) christmas everyone!

happy nikolaustag, everyone!

in germany, today (december 6) is st. nicholas' day or nikolaustag. the night before, the children put out their shoes in front of their bedroom doors and in the morning, they are filled with treats (similar to what we would put in stockings). i'm not german, but my sister and i still celebrated this year. :) whahoo! she received scottish shortbread and little german chocolates shaped like euros and i received russian chocolate and a package of japanese pocki sticks (which are incredibly addictive.) everyone should celebrate nikolaustag! :)

in creative news, the new loobylu month of softies is up. i'm going to post my little cat ornaments i've been making this winter. soo cute. i'm still determined to post them here as well so this site will have lovely pictures to spice it up a bit...it has been slow going, but i think the kinks are almost worked out.

the weekend was spent finishing up two scarves for gifts that have won my heart (does anyone else fall in love with their creations and want to keep them?) and sewing up some of the aforementioned kitty ornaments. maybe next year i'll make a ton of them and sell them on the site. hmmm... we did a few other things as well like eat at the french bakery, mr. baguette. (if you're EVER in rosemead, ca, you MUST go there...yum yum) and disneyland...(the mattahorn is open again. wonders of wonders!) it was really rainy, though, so we also spent an exhorbitant amount of time drinking coffee and watching old bbc sherlock holmes and josh groban's new dvd.

can you believe christmas is only 19 days away?...wow.

oh, i love lola! i can't help it! i honestly haven't watched that movie since last year (or spring) but it is just so great. of course, this is pathetic. but oh well. this is my contribution to the cause.