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Walking Buildings!
I want to say “We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming” but there is nothing regular about the scheduled programming on this blog so here we have a post on building costumes smack in the middle of Japan posts because guess what?! They’re up on Alphamom! You have to click over because they turned out really cool with special glow-in-the-dark features!
The behind-the-scenes story on theses costumes is that I procrastinated for a full week straight before getting them done. I was completely paralyzed by the largeness of recreating an architectural building somewhat accurately. How accurate should I be? I tried drawing all the columns and windows…I wasted days on that. Drawing circles and swipes for under the sea creatures is a lot easier.
Finally, I broke down and made the buildings on the computer. Duplicating boxes is a thousand times easier with a program like Adobe Illustrator. I sent the file off to mettaprints and they cut the file for me. (which was also about a thousand times easier than cutting it by hand.) It felt like cheating but Isabel assured me that other parents would want to cheat too. So if you want building costumes email me and I’ll hook you up with mettaprints!
Check out the post on alphamom! So far I’ve got The Empire State Building and The Chrysler Building and I think when I get back from Japan I might make the TransAm building and the Space Needle. What do you think? Any special requests?
Aren’t my little generic small buildings cute too?! I have the best models.
Also, I miss my white wall. I might have to convince Payam to move into a studio loft. Heh.
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Easy Summer Peach Scones
I love summer! Especially the beginning of summer before it gets super hot and humid and everything is sweaty like dog’s breath all the time. I love the longer days. I love the cool mornings. I love tank tops and flip flops and hours spent by the pool. I love it all!
But most of all, I love summer fruit!
Peaches have been showing up at Trader Joe’s lately and I strongly suggest you pick yourself up a box. They are so yummy. Perfect, really.
Also? The boxes also make perfect cat beds so all around it’s a great deal.
You know what you can do when you have peaches (or any fruit for that matter) in abundance? You can make peach scones!
I remember a long time ago (and I know I’ve told this story before) I was instant messaging with Bethany and she said something like, Just a minute, I need to go whip up some scones like she was taking minute away from messaging to blow her nose or something. It cracked me up because in my mind scones were something fancy that you buy in a coffee shop. I never realized that they are quite easy to make at home and you can make so many variations of them. She gave me her recipe for lemon scones and I’ve made them many times. Then I started manipulating the recipe to accommodate fruit and sometimes even pumpkin and chocolate (not together, yet).
So here is my quick easy recipe for Easy Summer Peach Scones:
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups of flour
- 1/4 cup of granulated white sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 stick of butter (not melted but right out of the fridge!) (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup of sour milk (which I never have but create by putting 1 1/4 tsp of white vinegar in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and fill the rest with regular milk)
- 2 peaches cut into small bites (I left the skins on)
- 1 tbs sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)
First I preheated my oven to 350. Then I added all the dry ingredients together and cut in the butter. Then I added my sour milk and let it mix. Then I added my peaches and mixed it gently.
I plopped my sticky gooey dough into a pie dish (I greased mine but I don’t think it’s necessary) and formed it into a mound. Then I sprinkled sugar on top and baked it in the oven for 20 minutes. My oven always burns everything so I bake for shorter times than most recipes call for. You might need more time than that.
Then I poured myself a cup of french press coffee, cut myself a slice and sat down at my computer to work. Is this how you eat breakfast? At your computer, clicking away and sipping coffee dangerously close to your keyboard? Bad, I know. But I am savoring these mornings of work time before Bug wakes up. She is enjoying sleeping in like a true pre-tweenager. Must be growing.