You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November, 2007.
Today was so much fun! I had to work today, but even though it was crazy busy, Sergio kept his cool when some annoying customers called in (just for me!) and then my closest friends stopped by the restaurant to celebrate my birthday. Which included Jennifer, Sebastian, Dan, and Jahrome (whom I haven’t seen since…3 years ago? Maybe 2) How sweet of them. They didn’t have a cake or anything, but Jennifer brought these sparkling candles for me to blow out and she put them in these napkin roses that were placed in two beer bottles. It was really nice. Then Sergio put some donuts in the middle so I would have a “cake.” It still is considered cake, it’s just fried. =]
Dan gave me Mario Party 8 for the Wii (yay) and Sebastian and Jennifer gave me a baking book (super cool). Both presents were really thoughtful and I’m very grateful for them making this one of my best birthdays. Thanks again to everybody that took time out of their day to wish me a happy birthday, you all really made this day fun and memorable.
I guess I should change my birthday (which is tomorrow) to today because today was one of the best “birthdays” ever. I went to work not expecting anything and around 3:00, I see about 12 people all come together singing “happy birthday” to me holding a tray of mini cupcakes (half chocholate and half orange <–yum!). I guess 20 is a marking point for how old I’m getting because I couldn’t blow out all the candles. =\ Then I got this super cute leather bag from Geren Ford from everyone there. They’re so nice! I’m really going to miss them a lot.
Here it is in all its glory with over a million pockets and secret places to stash my valuables. It really is that amazing. And it’s like butta’
Then, when I got home, I went to Sergio’s house because he had prepared (with the help of his mom) a nice turkey dinner for us. (no, it’s not a late Thanksgiving meal, but it was equally nice!) The turkey was so juicy and flavorful! It’s the first time I actually wanted seconds on turkey! We watched Romi and Michele’s High School Reunion and after, we were called outside and I was greeted by this HUGE Tres Leches Cake. Well, it was really tall. Must have been about 4.5 inches high. His family sang “happy birthday” to me and then we just kind of hung out and talked for a while.
I wonder if my real birthday will be anything in comparison. Probably not since I have to work the whole day at the restaurant.
Urban art often has that negative, dirty conotation. “It’s all graffiti–which is vandalism, and that is illegal. Don’t get into it!” But I believe it really goes beyond that. Yes, some don’t look like they required much thought but others well, you would have to be blind not to see the beauty in its shape, form, and color. Let’s celebrate the urban artists this winter and give them gifts they’ll love.
Perfect For: The Artist always looking for new and fresh inspiration.
Why It’s Great: Lots of stickers! And they’re good quality too! This magazine is full of great ideas and it may want you to start up your elementary school sticker collection again.
Price Range: $25 for 4 Magazines
Street World: Urban Culture and Art from Five Continents
Perfect For: Artists and Admirers.
Why It’s Great: This book is a complete collection of the best street art on Earth. It is full of color, beautifully crafted images, political statements, and short summaries of urban culture around the world.
Price Range: $25-$35 (depending on where you buy it)
Perfect For: The Artist on the Run
Why It’s Great: It’s mini. What’s there not to like? It’s super cute and super permanent.
It is 1:04 a.m. and I feel accomplished. Today, the 29th, is my last day at my internship (yay!) but I am going to feel sad leaving them all. They’ve all been so nice to me, so I decided to print them some personalized woodenrobot stationary. (I’ll be writing them all little thank you notes) So since it’s a fashion showroom, I chose hot pink and at the top, I wrote: to: and a blank space to put their email address in since all they do there is email each other. My dad says it’s an office thing. I guess it’s more organized that way. Plus we don’t waste paper!
(Sorry the picture’s a little fuzzy. It’s late and I couldn’t tell the quality of the picture.) Gosh, it was so easy making these notecards this time around being that I already had an image of my wooden robot on the computer and I just enlarged it. And I got to use my brand new handy dandy paper cutter! Yay!
After spending about 40 hours a week with these people, your co-workers become a major part of your life. Around this time of year, I always like to at least consider giving them small gifts just to show how much I appreciate them. Here are a few fun little gifts you may want to consider giving your office friends.
Perfect For: Lover of All Things Cute
Why It’s Great: Who knew staples were so bad for the environment. This stapler isn’t an eye sore and is a creative and fun twist on such a practical item. Staples 2-5 pages and its plain counterpart staples up to 10! (Also available as a dog)
Price Range: $5 – $10
Storm Trooper 1 GB Flash Drive
Perfect For: The Ultimate Geek
Why It’s Great: What better combination than the marriage of sci-fi’s greatest epic adventure and today’s technology than 1 GB of space your friend can save their work on. It’s a bit of a splurge, but the look on their faces will be priceless. (Also available: R2D2 and Chewbacca)
Price Range: $50 – $75
La Dolce Vita Cookies by Ulljas
Perfect For: Just About Anyone
Why It’s Great: These cookies look like ice cream scoops! And who doesn’t like food? You can never go wrong with giving food to people because well, it’s food. Besides, this looks a lot better than that fruit cake sitting in the corner of your fridge. Plus, I found this on etsy, so we should support our fellow crafters/bakers.
Price Range: $10-$15
I was so happy when Sergio picked me up from the Metro station today (other than the fact that I got to see him). He made me take a look at what was in the trunk, and there it was, the paper cutter that I’ve been dreaming about forever. He told me that it took him the entire day to find it and there it was, the in trunk of our car. Thanks Sergio! *huggy supreme*
At work today, my co-worker was stressing over the idea of giving her boyfriend a gift. At home, we did a Secret Santa type exchange and now I’m wondering exactly what I should give to my recipient. I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could do a little bit of the work for you. Covering everything from a $5 to $200 budget and of course with the amount of time left until Christmas in mind. (Which is why I’m starting today and not on December 1. Let’s try to get our shopping done just a little bit early this year.) So here it is, the kick off to what I think are some of the best gifts out this year.
Day 1
For the Pop Culture King/Queen
I Love Lucy: The Complete Series
Perfect For: The television fanatic (male or female)
Why It’s Great: This is a classic television show that everyone knows about and makes references to. If you love comedy, then you Love Lucy too. This box has all six seasons cleverly packaged in a “chocolate box.” Remember that episode?
Price Range: $150 – $200 (And well worth it.)
Perfect For: The Resident Movie Buff
Why It’s Great: Classic movies that we’ve all at least seen clips from. If you can’t find someone to give this one to, then you should treat yourself to it!
Price Range: $50 – $75
Alfred Hitchcock: The Master of Suspense: A Pop-Up Book
Perfect For: The Sitting Thrill Seeker
Why It’s Great: What could be better than a book that originally appealed to children spiced up by featuring Hitchcocks most popular movies into 3D with a 2D medium?
Price Range: $15 – $25
I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Aforementioned Thoughts, yesterday which is written by one of my friends, Meredith. One of her latest entries was a response to an online competition for Just Make Money Online which asked what she would do with $25 for her website. Meredith wrote about how she would invest in business cards and one of the places she would get them from is Moo.com. Moo.com? Yes, I was wondering the same. So I clicked on the link and found that they have these really cute mini business cards for $19.99 for 100 cards. And they can really be used for anything like invitations to clothes tags. I thought they were really cute and I’m definitely thinking of buying some…
I just wanted to wish my very good friend, and partner in crime, Daisy a very happy birthday! I’ve known her now for what I think is about five years and she’s really the reason why our friendship has lasted. (She’s very good at keeping in touch. I give her all the credit for that.) I hope that you get all the things you want in life–not so that you’re spoiled, but so that you won’t have to work too hard too! But don’t worry, once you become Vice Dictator, you’ll get whatever you want! (Inside joke. We’re planning our campaign to take over the world. She’s Britney. I’m Paris. America’s role models.)
Dear domestic goddess,
A co-worker of mine made pecan pie for the first time ever this past Thanksgiving. She said that it came out perfect, but the top was burnt. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks!
I’m glad you see me as something of a “Domestic Goddess.” I do try. I had this dilemma many times when I first began baking. I would put cookies in the oven and before the suggested time for baking was over, my cookies were burnt to a crisp (and not the good kind). Or cakes would come out overcooked and dry in some areas and not in others. This is a very frustrating situation and I think the best solution I can give you is to get an oven thermometer.
Often times, ovens have uneven temperature or the temperature you put on the dial does not match the one in the oven. This is the case for me. Our oven is about 25 degrees off! It seems like such a drastic problem, but the solution is so simple and it lies in an oven thermometer. You can find these at your local super market, online, or restaurant supply store if they’re open to the public. The price range is about $5-$20 and all you need is a simple one that gets the job done. If you’re like me and feel hesitant to spend $10 here and there for some kitchen supplies, this is one that you definitely will not regret. It will save you all the time and money when you conside how many baked goods will actually turn out well, good with the right temperature in there.
-Jane
