My Husband is a Terrific Cook & Baker

Yesterday, before I started making my Red Velvet Cake (see posting below on this), my hubbie made ScOneS from ScrAtcH...yes, he's as crazy as I am. My husband likes to experiment with food and try new things, more so than me. After eating some Apricot scones from our local neighborhood bakery, Liliha Bakery, (which has not only delicious pastries but a super vintage still running diner with great & simple diner food) which were scrumptious and flaky---the way we like them. he decided to try his hand at some of his own homemade scones.

I don't know which recipe he used but I believed it was from his Bread Bible book. Anyhoo, he added dried blueberries that he got from Sam's Club in those killer massive bags. They were delish! He made a whole batch for his office as they were having a morning meeting. So, he took along some honey, butter, and some jam to go with the warm scones. He told me that the men in his office didn't take any of the scones prior to the meeting...it just sat there. But once the meeting was over, "boom" all the scones were Gone! How's that?

I ate my hubbie's scone---it was hot and ever so yummy. Ohhhh, I poured some local honey over them and put a dab of butter...heaven. Here's a photo of his scones. I hope he makes them again.

LoVE Red VelVeT CaKe!!!

It was my BFF's birthday today so I got up super early and made her Red Velvet cupcakes from, yessirreee, ScrAtCh. YOu heard that right...sCraTch. This is my all time fav cake and my fav recipe.

I always remember eating red velvet cake when I was younger and remembering loving it. Don't know if it was the "redness" or the cream cheese frosting or both. While it has cocoa in it, can't really say it taste like chocolate cake. If you've never tried it, run to your nearest local bakery and buy some.

Anyhoo, I swear I smelled like some sugary bakery person when I was done frosting the cupcakes with the super delish cream cheese frosting (which I mistakenly added 2x the required butter...oh well, no one knows and it tasted super!). If you've ever made red velvet cake, you know that the one big problem is all the redness from the red food dye gets all over...your fingers, the table, etc. It's called washing your hands a lot so you don't turn your kitchen into an absolute red fest!

I decided to decorate the cupcakes with little paper parasols. By the way, these parasols had tiny tiny rubberbands around the parasol to keep them closed. Ok, some unfortunate person in China is sitting there all day putting these stupid rubberbands around these paper things and wondering why these crazy Americans buy these things. Akkk!

Besides the parasols, I sprinkled my favorite sprinkles on the top. Hey, you can't have real cupcakes without the sprinkles!

Needless to say, my BFF and my fellow co-workers LoVeD the cupcakes...I knew they would. Who can resist HOMEMADE SCRATCH Red Velvet Cupcakes???? Yummmmmmmy.

When I was first searching for the perfect red velvet cake recipe because I wanted to have this as my wedding cake, I researched on the internet and my old cookbooks. I compared the differences in the recipes. I read about other Red Velvet Cake ("RVC") fanatics who swore by one thing or another. I tried several different recipes but was unsuccessful at getting the "perfect" RVC. Until one day, when I was talking about my quest and my husband's niece said that she had the perfect recipe. She gave it to me. I tried it. My quest was over. I found the Holy Grail.

If you're interested in getting your hands on this all time favorite recipe of mine---it is a Winner!, then leave a Comment and include your email and I'll be happy to shoot it over to you. Check out some of the photos of the RVC process from beginning to end.

Going International Baby!

Within the last week or so, I've had 4, count them 4, purchases of my jewelry by folks living outside of the USA or wanting their jewelry to be sent as a gift outside the USA. I think this is so mind blowing. I'm an international seller. I feel like when I was a kid and had pen pals outside of Hawaii. That was big time for me when I was a little kid. I remember one of my pen pals...she was a fellow Bay City Rollers fan with the tartan accessories and everything. Okay, I digress again. Now, as an adult this selling international is So exciting.

My first international sale was from a gal in Canada. The other was from London UK. Saturday, I had a very nice male customer who wanted his jewelry to be sent to his friend in Columbia as a gift. So, I even included a card with the gift with his sentiments on them---like what florists do when they send a gift of flowers and a card. Too Cute! Sunday, I had a special request from a super nice gal whose daughter is going to have her 1st Holy Communion next month and will wear my jewelry on her special day. I feel so honored. She purchased a custom order of my matching "Simply" necklace and earrings set. She's from Ireland. As another digression, I'm finishing up Maeve Binchy's book "Whitehorn Woods" which is another winner for her and is set in Ireland---read it, you'll love it. Love her little vignettes of her character's lives.

Anyhoo, check out the photo of the newest custom listing which I'll mail out to my Ireland customer tomorrow, Monday April 21st. I have a similar pair of the "Simple" earrings in my Etsy shop.

Miss Batch--Adorn Magazines Editor in Chief "Hearted" My Etsy Shop

A little while ago, Adorn Magazine's Editor-in-Chief "Hearted" my Etsy shop as one of her Favorites. I'm so honored and excited! That's something that someone of Miss Batch's caliber has picked me as one of her favorite Etsy shops.

Just wanted to crow about this one b/c I'm so proud.

Here's what the Adorn Magazine looks like. I tried to buy one from our Barnes & Noble at Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu but they were all out. I have to check back in with them in a bit to see if the new magazine came in. (Oops...sorry, the pic is NO longer available as of 7/09)

Etsy Artist---Hadley Hutton

I just purchased this lovely print from Etsy artist Hadley Hutton. It's entitled "I think my Hair Ornaments are Flying Away". It's absolutely gorgeous. So victorian looking and yet so whimsical. I bought it as part of my sister-in-law Sarah's 40th Birthday goodies. Today, Sarah picked it up from my house and she LOVED it. They just repainted their staircase area a lovely green and she plans to frame this and put it in the perfect spot.

Check out Hadley Hutton at her Etsy shop---hadleyhutton.etsy.com
You'll love her artwork. Her use of color and natural elements like plants, flowers, birds, people are just amazing. Everything is so beautiful. Her photos of her artwork are very accurate. Love it!

Flowers In My Garden

Again, on my quest to save things vintage, I spotted this cute barrel (which turned out to be plastic---but you can't tell) with "fake" water spout on my neighbor's grass waiting to be taken to the garbage dump. I decided it would make a cute planter with a little TLC.

So I took over to my yard where it sat for a bit. When I had the energy to tackle this project, I took out my trusty spray paints---white and black---and sprayed the areas to cover up the old paint which was a green yucky color. My husband drilled some holes on the bottom, placed some rocks on the bottom, and filled it with the big big bag of soil he bought from Home Depot. I planted some pansies (which I love), thyme, mint, and tried some Manoa Lettuce and mixed lettuce. Here's some photos of my pansies and the cute planter barrel. The lettuce isn't doing so well, kinda wilting---think it's too hot and it needs a lot of water.

In our garden, we aren't able to grow the beautiful bulbs like you gals on the continent. Here's some photos of the orchids that are blooming and the cute clover flowers in a pot. Our garden is so cute and green...I love it. Here are some photos of the other plants growing in our garden.

My Etsy Funk is Over...for now

I only started adding to my blog yesterday. Why? I've been MIA because I was in an Etsy funk. Nothing was selling in my shop and I was thinking "why?" and driving myself crazy like a loony person thinking all sort of crazy thoughts spinning in my head.

I kept putting new creations in my shop. And at times I felt like I was "chasing" a sale---making things that "others" might like but not necessarily my normal "style" that I sell. Like my Understated Beauty line. Which while I never really made "simple and understated" pieces to sell to my friends and customers in Hawaii, I actually did create "simple" pieces for myself to wear on a daily basis. You know, that "throw it on and wear it with anything" kind of pretty yet uncomplicated jewelry. I just never thought that my customers in Hawaii who normally buy from me would want something like this.

Then I realized that you can either have a whole bunch of the same look in your store or you can change it up and try to attract different markets. It's not necessarily "chasing", it's running a business. But, after couple weeks, I didn't think that my Understated Beauty line was striking a cord in anyone b/c nothing was moving at all.

Until this Saturday and then boom, boom--2 sales both outside USA---one from Canada, the other from England. Wow! Had to learn how to fill out those International forms and then stand in line at the post office to mail them to foreign lands. The 2 gals bought necklaces from my Understated Beauty line. So, I decided to forge on and create more simple but elegant, wear everyday and any occasion jewelry.

Here's some of my newest creations that I made using my fav pearls---Keshi pearls. I love these pearls that I picked up at the Tucson trade show this year b/c they have such a beautiful nacre and luster to them---love the color...creamy rosey color. Keshi pearls cost me a pretty penny (vs. the cost of your standard fresh water pearls) but totally worth it. They remind me of dainty rose petals. No two are alike which makes them all that more special. Check out my Etsy Shop for all my creations---I've made quite a few newbies.