Zoe's Day Out!

Our first little child model for our shop is Miss Zoe. She is five years old and ready to have some fun. Zoe and I first met at Story Time in the Marina Library where she impressed me with her dance moves and I impressed her with my funny voices. We've been admiring each other ever since.

Audrey got right to work taking the pictures of Zoe in two different leopard print skirt sets with tiny matching arm warmers. Audrey has a knack for taking pictures and seems to enjoy it most of the time. This was a trial run for us to see how Zoe did with Audrey, and figure out what works or doesn't work before we go someplace besides the front yard for photos.

 Zoe followed instructions perfectly, even putting on the sunglasses and striking a pose. She was just so adorable.

Zoe was even cry-free while I brushed her hair up into a ponytail. I have had the urge for two weeks now to call her mom up and ask if she wants to come over to watch Hello Kitty DVD's and let me brush her hair some more into fun styles. I miss fixing a little girls hair every morning.

Zoe next modeled her adorable tiny hands in some of the fingerless gloves, arm warmers or as the younger set calls them "fashion sleeves".

 Isn't that grin precious? I think she thought the little light stands were Walkers from Star Wars at first, but she laughed at them. Zoe did such a great job making this pair look cute that it was the first one that sold in our Etsy shop! All from sock scraps. I love Up-cycling into something fun.

 Barrett helped Aud get the lights set up and took the photos of the girls together for the sister sets.

 Some of the shots were with Audrey for Big and Little Sister Arm warmers.
I think Zoe enjoyed that as she confessed to me later that she thought Audrey was "beautiful".

 Zoe picked this outfit to keep for her "pay". I had to make the skirt smaller for her around the waist though, she is a tiny little thing. I love her grin in these glasses, kind of like a Cheshire Cat.

Speaking of cats...here is what Lizzy thought of the day. He was on top of the ironing board. Bored.

For those looking at the photos and wondering about what Aud is wearing for this photo shoot,  Audrey's "photographer" outfit in black and white is from Goodwill in Marina. I found the top and skirt, both on Sale days and she put them together for a super cute outfit.

 

Zoe's Mom and brother Ian joined us. Ian was not feeling his best but managed to model a few boy items for the shop. I paid Zoe and Ian in products from the shop. Now Zoe wears the stuff to school, thus blatantly advertising for me by looking so cute all the time!

 These little gloves have been featured on Etsylush.com now, and they are really picky about what they choose to list. I just know it was because her little hands look so sweet. I love lace gloves on little girls.

Some of the finished products turned out really well for the photos and we can't wait to have Zoe back again for more pictures.

Audrey's Reccomendations Part ONE~!

Hey there everybody! Today's a special treat from me, the daughter! My mother is too busy cooking for my brother's birthday to blog, so I decided to take it upon myself to post today~ If all goes well, I just might start doing this more regularly.

I like to wander around the internet in my free time, and while doing so I happened to come across Meredith Dillman's artwork.  She uses a lot of watercolours (my favourite medium) and has fantasy and Asian settings. Imagine my excitement when I found she has an etsy shop! She has a lot of great stuff featuring her artwork including prints, cards, pendants, pins, and even pocket mirrors! Here are a few of my favourites:

Feel free to check out her other online shop, blog, and deviantART gallery as well, found here, here, and here.

Cooking with Teens: Mexican Fudge Recipe

I know many of you enjoyed the Peanut Butter Fudge so next up is the super easy chocolate version with a few twists created by Audrey.
Ingredients:
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 package (or 2 cups)Chocolate Chips (the better the quality, the better it turns out)
2 tbsp Butter
1 tsp Vanilla ( we used Mexican Vanilla,found at local Hispanic markets)
**Optional** for Audrey's favorite version:
1 pinch chili powder ( we like the fresh stuff from the Farmer's Market,but bottled is also ok)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves

Tools needed:
Large glass or microwave safe mixing bowl
Rubber spatula
Can Opener
Measuring spoons and cups
Microwave oven

Step One:
Line your pan with either tin foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking spray or grease with butter. Always have the pan ready before starting on your fudge. If you wait until the fudge batter is warm, it will cool off too much while you are lining the pan.

Step two:
Cut off the two tablespoons of butter and add to the bowl.
Open the can of milk and scrape contents into the bowl.
Add the entire package of chocolate chips. Use scissors and not a knife!

Step 3: Cooking!
The contents will not be mixed yet! This is normal. It should look like the last photo. Just leave it like this and place in microwave oven.
Set timer for 1 minute and 30 seconds on high.

Now you have to wait. I realize this is very boring but Audrey felt it was the worst part. Waiting for chocolate is painful for her. ( She can be a bit silly)

After the timer goes off, check your contents. It should look similar to this photo with the butter completely melted.

If it is not melted, add another 30 seconds and keep adding at 10 second intervals until the butter is melted.
Step 4:
Mix it! Take it out carefully from the microwave and using your rubber spatula, mix it vigorously for 2-3 minutes until the mixture becomes very smooth and all the chocolate is melted into the mixture. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR A CREAMY TEXTURE!
It is worth the few minutes to make this fudge super fantastic.

Step 5:
Adding Audrey's secret ingredients: the cinnamon, cloves, vanilla and chili powder.
Just measure them all and toss them into the mixture and stir in for about one minute. You will barely taste the chili powder but it adds a little extra punch to make this fudge spectacular instead of just good.

Your fudge will be very warm still and ready to pour into the prepared pan.
Use your rubber spatula to get every drop and spread evenly into the pan.

Now you are ready to put this into the fridge for a few hours to set. You will end up with about one pound plus a little more of delicious fudge. This fudge won the Blue Ribbon Award for five years running at the Monterey County Fair for Audrey's older Brother Carl. It was also a big hit at Boy Scout Auctions. It is so chocolatey that it was re-named "Industrial Strength Fudge" by its fans.

Cut it up carefully and try not to eat all of it before anyone else gets to try it. This was a huge hit at the last teen party along with the peanut butter fudge.

Teen Party 101

How to have a successful teen party?? That is a really good question. What parent wants to watch their teenager cry because no one showed up to their party. And one bad party can mean no one ever comes again in their entire high school career. I've seen it too many times. (Have you seen "Mean Girls"? they really do exist!)

My first rule is to let your child do the inviting and STAY OUT of it. Audrey's preference now is to use the Facebook "Event" application and send out invitations via Facebook. I miss the days when we made cute little party invites and gave them to the mom's but they are past. I try to tell myself I have saved a tree by doing it all electronically.

Next, have lots of food and make it fun!

Audrey had an Anti Valentine's day or Single Awareness Day Party.
The menu included:
Mom's homemade pizza with any crazy toppings imaginable.
Chocolate Fondue with dippables like marshmallows, gingersnaps, apples, strawberries,vanilla wafers, oreos,and more junk.
Fudge: both chocolate and peanut butter (we have blogged this recipe)
Crackers, salami and cheese platter
Lots of soda and water!

Activities like MUSIC, GAMING and MOVIES are great. Rockband or Guitar Hero are always popular. And everyone can bring their ipods to plug in and play their playlists. We have a "Garage Band" so usually they will jam a bit and the kids like that too. The drums are pretty loud but its worth it and we always stop before 10pm.

Most of all, be around just in case but kind of stay invisible. You get to hear the most interesting conversations because the teens forget your are there and keep an eye on things without intruding. Trust your child and their friends to hold to the values you gave them growing up.
Having a craft or other diversion is important in case the kids get bored. Our Anti Valentine Pins and Necklaces were a big hit even with the boys.