Almost 2010!

How was everyone's Christmas? Ours was lovely. We spent Christmas Eve at my parents then went to the in-laws. And the girls found this pic when they got home from our trip on the 27th:


That rascally Santa! Q got her unicorn Pillow Pet from Santa. Huzzah! I also got some surprises. One big one was from my bro, SIL and niece:
Yup, that's an autographed pic of all the Glee kids. I'm filled with Gleekiness! I found that I received many gifts suitable for a 13 year old girl this Xmas, but I loved them all. My mother even bought me the Robsessed DVD (I didn't ask for it, I swear). She actually told the Target salesman that it was for her granddaughter. She is ashamed of her woman-child daughter. Ha!

Here are some super sweet gifties from Kat that I received yesterday in the mail.



I actually commissioned a super awesome print for our basement. Once it's up, I will post pics. Thanks, Kat!!! You're sweeeeet.

I have been spending my time yesterday and today recording a Dexter Season 4 DVD for two of my girlfriends to borrow. I made this lovely DVD label on Photoshop! I'm becoming comfortable on Photoshop. It's actually quite fun! Feel free to download and use as a label if you are a fellow Dexterite.

Last night, we saw An Education. It was very lovely. It takes place in 1961 England. The main character, Jenny, is played by Carey Mulligan (who's dating Shia Le Boeuf). The film follows her internal struggle between going to Oxford or marrying an older man played by the creepyriffic Peter Saarsgard.


Next, I want to see A Single Man! It looks wonderful and I didn't know it was directed by Tom Ford. Makes perfect sense because the trailer alone was beautifully styled and looked like a piece of art. I was also happy to see Nicholas Hoult in it who was the kid in one of my fave movies, About a Boy written by Nick Hornby who also wrote An Education!. My useless film trivia comes full circle!

Tonight, we're going to my cousin's house for an early kid-friendly dinner. Then the movie marathon will commence tonight after the girl's bedtime and will last through tomorrow as well. Ryan stopped at Whole Foods, Papa Joe's AND our local Holiday Market today. We have enough food and alcohol to feed an army. We won't be leaving our house or getting out of our PJ's all day tomorrow. Ahhhhhhhh...Happy New Year's!!!

3 Little Girls

3 Little Girls
Originally uploaded by Girl Land

I made these for my mom for Xmas. Bought her a generic necklace (which she got early), a very boring but completely utilitarian Snug cami (invented by a Detroiter!) and then these lovely little girls: V, Q and Cousin Sophie.

She puts little knickknacks up on her windowsill above her kitchen sink, so these will fit in nicely. I am also thinking about making her a shadowbox home too. Maybe for Mother's Day...to be continued.

Crafternoon was yesterday, and it was fun. Not a ton of people, but still a good time and I did sell a little bit. Will be posting much of the stuff in the shop even though some of it's Christmas, and it's a little late for Xmas stuff!

Today was a pajama day. Didn't get out of my pajamas. No shower either (ew, right?). But it was lovely! Painted these girlies, mixed some batches of reindeer food (oatmeal + glitter) and made some reindeer candy canes out of poms, google eyes and pipe cleaners for Q's daycare buds.

Feeling ambitious? You may be after you see this way cute project. My lovely Aunt Judy sent me a link to this felt mushroom tutorial courtesy of Pink Chalk Fabrics. I loves my toadstools!

xo!

Behold the Kitsch

My eyes! My eyes! This is extreme kitsch overload...even for me! Just finished putting this together. The wreath, Merry Christmas plaque and the pom poms are new, the deer and Santa are vintage. The larger Xmas plaques are hard to find, but I did find them on Etsy. Jennifer of Lulu's Cupcake Boutique was awesome in getting them to me tout de suite. Thanks, Jennifer!

Sorry for the massive overuse of Picnik effects as of late. My camera is crap. I can't take a good picture after sunset to save my life, and the Lomo effect especially really helps. I need to invest in a new camera, but after snooping on Flickr to see what some of my other peeps are using, it's looking like I am going to have to spend some major dough to get something good. Which I may or may not be willing to do. To be continued...

Kawaii? Because Girl Land Loves You!

So I got a little kawaii with the packaging for my stuff for Crafternoon next weekend.



Still need to come up with something for my strawberry earrings. I love how GL Bunny is popping her head up. Silently and creepily lurking in the background. Kinda reminds me of the King (I love that ad campaign something fierce-- I am not sure if I'm the only one...).

Also decided to make some appliques, but I couldn't decide if I should put them on a tote, shirt or what, SOOOOO I came up with G.L.I.Y. or Girl Land It Yourself! More cute packaging and peeking GL Bunny in a festive snow cap courtesy of one of my fave time-wasters ever, Picnik!


Hope you had a fabulous weekend. Mine in a nutshell: crafting, Xmas cards, ballet, birthday dinner, lotsa wine, late-night buzzed Xmas shopping, crock pot chili, Jungle Java (bleh), baby book filling-out, photo printing, crafty packaging, annnnnnd scene.

Have a great week! xo

1982 Radness

I feel like I'm in a time warp. Q has decided that she no longer likes pink (well, she never really did) and that purple is the best color ever. She also is fixated on unicorns. She has asked Santa for a unicorn Pillow Pet and she sleeps with a purple unicorn named Unique (?) which was a birthday gift from Ryan's secretary. The only thing left is for her to buy and hoard Mrs. Grossman rainbow/unicorn stickers for 27 years (yes, I have mine and no, my kid is not geting them).

So I have been scouring Etsy for some unicorn finds. Here are some adorbs highlights:


Row 1 (left to right):
Tote by Serena con Jersey
Pen by Retro Na Na
Kool Kids Legwarmers by Mama Runs with Scissors (bought her these)

Row 2
Raglan Toddler Shirt by Happy Family (bought her this too)
Necklace by Ratgirl
Switchplate by Nowvember

Row 3
Vintage Latch Hook Kit by Club Vintage (I want this bad, but have no place for it...)
Fabric by Fabric Bar
Greeting Card by Sparklepaw (bought these as a gift)

Hope you all have a RAD weekend! Christmas decorating mania is ON!

P.S. There are so many of you that I read every week, but I just don't have a chance to comment like I used to. Please know that I am following you and that you all still inspire me daily!!! Thank you <3

Fantastic Part II

What timing! Q's daycare lady's daughter works for Border's who gave Q some leftover promotional items from The Fantastic Mr. Fox! I think I was more excited about it than Q. Here she is in her super cute fox tail necktie (and her favorite nightgown-- Beatles Magical Mystery Tour tee). She also gave Q the cutest sticker book ever! A couple times Q had to tell me, "Mom, I can do it myself". I was having so much fun with it that I kinda got carried away. Sorry, Q!

A couple more things-- my girlfriend just introduced me to the wonderment that is Regretsy. Ahhhhh. I could look at it all day. I was trying not to bust out laughing in my cubicle this morning. Although, while perusing the Twilight section of goods, someone commented that, "What does suck is this movement of desperate housewives/'oops' mommies who dream of having sex with a barely pubescent vampire instead of enjoying their actual lives." Zing!!!! Damn Twi-loather. Whatev...go download some more Nickelback onto your ipod and leave us alooooone (I'm not bitter, heh). :)

And last but not least, Taylor Lautner is hosting SNL next weekend (post edit: December 12). It's not Rob, but my Tivo will be set.

Off to watch SYTYCD and Glee! Happy Hump Day.

The Fantastic Felicity Fox Brooch

We took Q to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox over the weekend. Ryan and I both adore Wes Anderson, but we weren't sure if Q would like it. Apparently the singing and dancing animals more than made up for the fact that much of the dialogue went over her head. Plus, buttered popcorn and Sprite smack dab in the middle of the day didn't hurt either.

photo courtesy of totalfilm.com

Needless to say, I-- we-- loved the film. My favorite character was Ash who was played by Jason Schwartzman. I mean, how could I not love anything with anthropomorphic animals in it? Especially ones who live in a hollowed out tree trunk house?

I am sure all you crafty gals out there who have seen it noticed Mrs. Felicity Fox's wonderful fox silhouette brooch. Well, I set out to recreate it with Shrinky Dinks! Now you can make your own.


1. Save this image to your computer. I took my Girl Land logo and modified it to look relatively similar to Mrs. Fox's cute cameo. Be sure to click on it to enlarge it all the way before you save it.


2. I always paste my image into an MS Word doc so I can move it to the outer edge and not waste my Shrinky Dink paper. Print image at 100% on inkjet Shrinky Dinks paper. I found my Shrinky Dink paper at Hobby Lobby, but apparently other brands of the same type product can be found at Michael's and Joann's.

3. Cut out the image. Around the scallops are hardest, but even if your cuts aren't perfect, no one will notice.

4. Follow the instructions on your paper package. Your image should shrink from original size to about 1.5" wide by 2.5" tall. This shape domed nicely in the oven! I pulled it out before it could flatten all the way-- I thought it looked nifty.

5. Spray with an acrylic sealer or clear nail polish. Hot glue a pin back onto your brooch, and voila! All you need is a yellow red apple dress, and you'll be a foxy mama too.




If you want something a little more Kristofferson, I think that Enna's wooden picture frame brooch is adorable. Happy Shrinky Dinking, all! xo

Being Thankful for Babies

My mom told me about a trailer she saw last week for a movie called Babies, A Documentary, so I thought I'd share.

Makes me almost want another baby. I said ALMOST, people. No, we're done. Like DONE done. Although, my backup plan was to always to adopt an Asian baby girl. And now that we're done, I do feel a tiny bit of wistfulness that that will never happen. I am so very happy for Lisa over at Little Acorn! She and her husband and adopting a super sweet little girl, and I want to eat her up.

Believe me, I thank the powers that be every single day about how lucky we are and how much I love my family. And especially today! So Happy Thanksgiving all! Happy turkey/tofurkey/ham (?) eating day!!! Gobble gobble.

And I also am thankful for all of you. xo

Holiday Crafternoon

Come see Girl Land at the December Crafternoon for some last minute Xmas shoppin' action!

New Moon Hangover CAUTION SPOILERS!!!

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo I've been. Twice now. Probably will see it at least a few more times in the theater. If you have NOT seen the movie yet, you may not want to read any further. But if you have, I am curious to see what you thought.

Here are my thoughts:

*I absolutely love the soundtrack, and I was happy with all the song placement. A couple of my friends and I even predicted where songs would go, and I got a few right. That sounded wayyy less pathetic in my head.

*Loved the opening scene with Bella's "grandmother".

*Loved Jasper's reaction to the paper cut and how he just kept busting through everyone to get to her. Sometimes, you forget that they are vamps and that they are bloodthirsty.

*Something little that I loved-- when Carlisle was stitching Bella's arm up, and she was resting her hand on his waist. I don't know why I liked it, just thought it was endearing and kind of showed a closeness between the two. Is that weird?

*I thought both Edward and Bella looked absolutely beautiful in the movie. Loved the kissing scene outside her truck and the desperation of it and a little bit of moaning never hurts (sigh).

*Love Movie Jacob way better than Book Jacob. In fact, when I re-read New Moon before seeing it, I actually liked Book Jacob better because I was picturing Taylor.

*Kristen really didn't annoy me at all (no sputtering!) in New Moon which is funny because she's totally getting ripped apart in reviews and Taylor's reaping the accolades. Because, and don't hate me...

*I thought Taylor's acting was pretttttttttttty bad. Still liked Movie Jacob, still like Taylor, but there were some lines that made me cringe. There was one really bad one when Jacob is yelling at Alice, and now I can't remember, but it was realllly lame.

*Where were the damn tears?????? Like seriously, can't these damn actors cry on cue? Or couldn't they have stopped the cameras and given them some eye drops or something? Bella didn't REALLY cry once and neither did Jacob. Or Edward for that matter. Fishy.

*My favorite scene may very well have been the one in the forest when the wolves were chasing Victoria. The Thom Yorke song in the back may be one of my faves now. I am going to miss Rachelle LeFevre in Eclipse. :(

*Wishing they played the music in the trailer for the running through the palazzo scene at the end (played here around 1:33). Way more dramatic!



*Of course, and it seems most people would agree, Alice's flash forward of Bella and Edward hunting in the forest was so dreadful. Yeesh. Whuuuut was up with Edward's clothing? Or hers for that matter?

*And did anyone else notice that it seemed Edward had on the SAME clothing that he did when he left Bella? Like 4 or 5 months later? Well, sans the suit jacket, but that was a little grody. Until my friend reminded me vampires probably have body odor that smells like lilac and honey. HA.

*One of my favorite scenes from the book was when Bella finally realized that Edward still loved her. It didn't work for me in the movie-- too rushed and it was supposed to be AFTER they left the Volturi lair. Felt kind of cheated just as I felt cheated with the meadow scene in Twilight!

*Bummed they cut out any good shots of the cake!!! And a whole couple lines about the cake in general. It was the piece de resistance at my Twilight party. Oh well. It was still a good schtick I suppose.


Anyway, already getting some ideas for my inevitable New Moon partay. It's going to be tough to top the first, but I'm up for a challenge. Definitely making some wolf pack tats and probably a dream catcher or two!!!

So I'm curious to see what any of you think. My husband is glad this is all over. For now anyway...he just rolled his eyes when I told him the opening of Eclipse was just over 7 months away. Yippee! xo

Christmas? Really?

Look at my newest Target Xmas purchase! They're like matryoshka dolls, but Xmas characters. It has paid for itself already. The girls have been hypnotized.

This guy's my fave:

Also bought this Alexander Henry. Will be making some appliques for the shop (gasp, I know). I thought they'd look cute on a stocking. The top right angel reminds me of V and the bottom right of Quinn. Might make some packaging with "GLIY" on it as in "Girl Land It Yourself". heh.


Only 2 days, 10 hours!!!! Eek. V & Q have just gotten over the flu, and I'm PRAYING I'm not next. Bad timing!!! Send some healthy wishes my way, would you? xo

Party Time...is Over

So the birthday festivities have now ended. Here are some highlights...



And the one that made it all worthwhile...

5 More Days...

Do you have your soundtrack downloaded yet? If not, it's realllllllly good. Way better than the first soundtrack. I already loved Death Cab for Cutie, St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear and Thom Yorke before, now I love them even more!

And once you download it, buy some CD labels and slap this baby on it...enjoy!


Click image to enlarge, right click to save to your computer. Open in CD labeling software (such as Memorex exPressIt Label Design Studio), choose "use your own background", then voila!

Happy Birthday, Quinnifer

Are you four already? Really? I can't believe it. I look at you and I listen to your words, and I know it's true. Your baby curls have turned into lovely waves, and those chubby roly tree trunk legs are now long and lean. You use words like "available" and you are the best in your ballet class at somersaulting. In the morning when I'm brushing your hair, you'll thank me for something like a book that I bought you 2 months ago or for giving you my Snuffles. And you should know how close I came to blubbering like a fool tonight when we celebrated your birthday with Grandma Janet's and your wish was to always be Mommy's best friend.

I'm so proud of you, and I can't wait to see what's to come for you because I know it will be amazing. xoxoxoxoxo

And now Quinn has a message for YOU!


(we attached these tags to the treat bags for her daycare buds).

Autumn Sweater

Halloween has come and gone. I'm hoping snow holds off for awhile. Fall is my favorite season, and we get far too little of it.

These pics are from our anniversary mini-getaway. Thanks, by the way, to everyone who sent us congratulatory anni wishes! We had a wonderful time sans kids, and they in turn had a wonderful time with their grandparents.

Now we just wait for Thanksgiving and then Christmas which will also be here and gone before we know it. In the meantime, my husband has put together a nice little cozy warm playlist and called it "Autumn Sweater", and I thought I'd share. I must admit that I added the last three songs because they are my current new faves. I'm sure many of you may guess why.

Here to Fall - Yo La Tengo
Cheated Hearts - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Time to Pretend - MGMT
Fake Empire - The National
Postcards from Italy - Beirut (Alli, this one's for you, how appropos! hee hee)
1901 - Phoenix
Autumn Sweater - Yo La Tengo
Favorite Song - KaiserCartel
Alone Again Or - Calexico
Possibility - Lykke Li
Friends - Band of Skulls
Violet Hour - Sea Wolf

If you give it a listen, let me know what you think.

Ryan has a good ear for music. He creates pretty good playlists and gives them awesome names like Dirty on Purpose or Mullet Proof Fence (we have a bizarre sense of humor). It's funny to me, but he doesn't remember liking music much until college when he discovered The Beatles.

For me, I can remember being 7 years old and going with my brother to a record shop and stocking up on Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Pat Benetar and Stray Cats pin back buttons. He would buy the albums, and seeing certain covers like Clash's London Calling, Synchronicity by The Police and Culture Club's Kissing to be Clever certainly takes me back. Although it would be the Flashdance soundtrack that was my first ever album purchased. What are your first memories of music? What was the first album you ever bought?

Quatre: A Party in the Making

The big FOUR is coming up for Q. It was a running joke in my family that we always had birthdays like Polish weddings-- they last for a week. This year, Q will be celebrating the day before, the day of, and the Saturday afterwards.

Her theme colors are yellow and aqua. She decided she wanted a doll cake with a yellow dress. I'm hoping Brooke can make it look something like this:
Her invites designed by moi, digital backgrounds and button images purchased from Love, Liette's Etsy shop:

This wonderful custom garland from Jennifer's Sugar Etsy shop (isn't her shop adorable???):


Favor bags:Containing fun things from Amanda K's Bake It Pretty:
And from Amanda G's Hey Yo Yo Etsy Shop:



I still can't believe Q is so old and getting so big. The girl is so tall, she is taller than every girl in her ballet class. She's wearing girl's size XS and 5Ts are fitting her perfectly. Sigh.

Happy Hallowe'en!

Hope everyone has a fabulous day full of tricks or treats! Take a look at these cool pics from Steve Chasmar's Flickr page. Above is just one example.

Reminds me of a scene from a really good Halloween movie we watched last night called Trick R Treat. I would highly recommend it. It was apparently made 3 years ago, and it was just released straight to DVD. Don't let that deter you, however, because this horror buff was very entertained. Plus, Anna Paquin is in it, and I adore her.


In other Halloweenie topics, did anyone else watch The Office Thursday? I was digging on Michael's dick in a box costume and Ryan the temp as Edward Cullen. No comparison, sir, no comparison!

I'll leave you with a pic of the dumplings as they were headed out to Zoo Boo last weekend. I give you........Pocahontas and Sacajawea!


xo and much candy to yas!

It's Almost Here!!!!

Eek!! Halloween is almost here!!!! This will be a short and sweet post. We are doing laid back this year and are taking the kids trick or treating with my cousin, BUT we are doing some major theme food. I have to tell you that allllllll these things are super easy. Just wanted to share. I've never made the Mummy Dogs before, so I'll have to report back.

More later, but without further ado:

Mold & Mildew Dip (via Cooking Light & tweaked)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup lowfat sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese, divided
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can water-packed artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
Tortilla Chips or crackers

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers (I like Triscuits).

Cider Cheese Fondue (via allrecipes.com)

3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, cubed

In a large saucepan, bring cider to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Toss the cheeses with cornstarch and pepper; stir into cider. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Transfer to a small ceramic fondue pot or slow cooker; keep warm. Serve with bread cubes.Devil Eyes

Use your fave deviled egg recipe, but after boiling eggs, crack shell (without peeling) and place into separate bowl filled with 3.5 cups boiling water, 2 T red food coloring and 1 T vinegar. If not enough water, fill with just enough to cover eggs. This will make the eggs look like bloodshot eyes. After filling the boiled whites with your egg filling, top with a sliced black olive (the iris).

Mummy Dogs (found on Pillsbury.com)

Cupcakes

Use boxed mix but it is a MUST to frost with homemade buttercream frosting!!!

Vampire Kiss Martini (via Food Network)

1 part vodka, chilled

1 part Champagne

1 part Chambord

Pour vodka in a martini glass, top with Champagne and pour a little of the Chambord over the back of a spoon to make it float. Serve in dripping blood martini glasses.

Blood Drip Martini Glasses (via hostessblog.com)

1 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Karo Syrup
1/2 c. Water
Red Food Coloring

Combine sugar, syrup and water. Cook without stirring to hard crack stage – which is 300 degrees F. Add food coloring. Turn off heat. While the mixture is still hot, dunk the top of the cocktail glass into the mixture to create the red rim. If you need to do several glasses, keep the mixture hot so it lasts longer (instead of turning heat off, just reduce slightly).You can go anywhere from just along the very tip of the rim to part way down the glass – whichever you prefer. Flip the glass right side up to cool. The thick consistency of the mixture will cause “drips” as it hardens on the glass!

Bloody Popcorn (from Craft Magazine Blog & tweaked)

2 Bags Microwave Popcorn

1/2 Bag Wilton Red Candy Melts

Salt

Pop Popcorn, remove all unpopped kernels. Spread on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Melt candy melts in microwaveable bowl per instructions. Pour over popcorn, toss a bit with your hands or spoon and put in fridge for 20 minutes. I like to sprinkle a little salt before the candy melts harden.

Happy Halloweening all!!!!!!

Happy Adversity

...as my mother always says.

To my hubby: thanks for putting up with me for these 8 lonnnnnnnnnnnng years! I am quite certain that if I married ANYONE else, he'd have divorced me already. Thanks for never holding a grudge, for getting my humor, for being a total hands-on dad, and for keeping me up on the latest technology (I want a netbook now!). I loves you!!! Can't wait for our anniversary mini-vaca this weekend! xoxoxoxo