Sushi Trucks

Check out these super cute sushi trucks!

Quotes from Nancy Drew Books

One of the first books I remember reading (outside of school books) was a Hardy Boys book. I liked it, but it didn't quite click with me. So I read The Secret of the Old Clock, the first book of many in the Nancy Drew series. I loved it. At the time, I thought it was a real mystery novel. It wasn't, of course, but I read every Nancy Drew book I could get my hands on. When I was twelve I read Sherlock Holmes for the first time and I realized that Nancy Drew books didn't even have a plot. Thankfully, it doesn't stop me from enjoying (even now) the quaint little stories. And I love Nancy Drew quotes. Mara Unni gave Qix, Exie and I a Nancy Drew Guide to Life booklet, from which all of the quotes below are taken.

If you are afraid of being followed when you leave your house, buy a new car and have it brought around to the back of the house for a sneaky escape.

          - Password to Larkspur Lane

If a guy's hunch results in a dead-end, don't flaunt your better judgment and intuition in front of him. Smirk secretly to yourself.

          -The Phantom of Pine Hill

When searching for important clues, anything labeled "Top Secret" might be a good place to start.

          -The Crooked Banister

Spend time at the gym to build upper body strength. Detective work may require fending off a vicious hair pulling.

          -The Thirteenth Pearl

Summer Dresses

Here's a taste of some of my favorite summer dresses from Polyvore.

(p.s. click on photos for link)

At the Park (with a kite!)

A couple days ago Ian took us girls and Seth to spend an afternoon at the park with Millie. We flew kites for awhile but the wind died down so we went for a walk.

Watch Rings part 3

These mod watch rings are my favorite style. The first time I ever saw a watch ring was at a Charming Charlie store and I fell instantly in love. I remember thinking, "It's a watch! I love watches! No wait-it's a ring! What does that make it? Ohhhhhhhh, a watch ring." I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the box. :D

If you pull back the Hello Kitty cover you find;

(p.s. click on photos to go to source :D)

Watch Rings part 2

These two watch rings are very unique and look vintage. The second one is my favorite.

(p.s. click on photos to go to source)

Watch Rings part 1

Lately I have been very fascinated with watch rings, so I thought I'd post some of the different styles I like. :D

(these are from qacreate's etsy shop)

Spring Blossoms

Everything looks so pretty outside.

When I was little, I was deathly afraid of the dark. Part of the problem was that I had a vivid imagination. In my mind, darkness was not the absence of light. It was a house full of deformed creatures whose sole purpose was to harm me. 
When I was about 2 until I was 4 or 5, I slept on a trundle bed. Mara (who is 11 years older than I) slept a foot about me on a twin-sized bed. Although I was close to her, I couldn't sleep unless 1) she held my hand, and 2) I was covered neck to toe in a blanket, even if it was summer.
In my young mind, a blanket could somehow ward off the monsters that resided in the dark. Sometimes I'd need two blankets for extra protection.
As I got older, my fears diminished, but they were never completely gone. Then one day, when I was about 9 or 10, I somehow managed to convince Mom to let me read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The book was abridged, but it wasn't abridged enough! I read the book during the day but when night came I was a nervous wreck. The hideous creatures that lurked in the dark recesses of my bedroom were gone and in their place Mr. Hyde wandered, master of the shadows. The night after I finished the book I could not sleep. By now Mara had her own room and she was no longer there to hold my hand (even if she was there, I doubt I would have asked her to hold my hand because I was quite aware that other girls my age didn't hold their sister's hand before going to sleep). It was the middle of summer and quite humid, but I piled on the blankets, covering even my head.
I sweated a lot that night, partly from fear and partly from the heat emanating from the blankets I had covering me. I survived, but it took me about a year to subdue my fear of Mr. Hyde. I told myself I would never read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde again and I continued sleeping with a blanket every night, even during the summer.
Fast forward a couple years. I am taking a class, and guess what book I am required to read? That's right, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Not the abridged version, the whole thing. I was dreading it and I feared the return of nightmares. I was no longer afraid of the dark (okay, that is not entirely true. I can get squeamish when I'm downstairs alone at night). Surprisingly, I really enjoyed reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But what I was very happy about was the fact that my fear did not increase, and that I didn't see Mr. Hyde lurking in the shadows at night. 
I discovered something else. I realized that sleeping with a blanket every night has become a habit. I still do it, even on the hottest summer nights. I also realized that my fear has changed. I am afraid that someone will grab my feet and drag me out of my bed. When my fear changed, I don't know. I think it must have been gradual, because I didn't notice it until it was upon me.  But guess what protects me and keeps it from happening? My blanket.

Our piano was tuned last week and I've had so much fun playing it. :D

(p.s. click on photo for source)

The Elf and the Dormouse

It rained today, so I thought of this poem.

Under a toadstool crept a wee Elf,
Out of the rain, to shelter himself.

Under the toadstool sound asleep,
Sat a big Dormouse all in a heap.

Trembled the wee Elf, frightened, and yet
Fearing to fly away lest he get wet.

To the next shelter-maybe a mile!
Sudden the wee Elf smiled a wee smile,

Tugged till the toadstool toppled in two.
Holding it over him, gayly he flew.

Soon he was safe home, dry as could be.
Soon woke the Dormouse-"Good gracious me!"

"Where is my toadstool?" loud he lamented.
-And that's how umbrellas first were invented.
                                              -Oliver Herford

Summer Outfit

I've been thinking summer lately. Can you tell? I fell in love with this outfit the moment I saw it. Some of the things this lovely outfit is comprised of;

(P.S. click on photos to go to source :D)

Summer List

I've been very busy these past two weeks. There have been music recitals, a play (the Pirates of Penzance, which is very witty), a goodbye party (sadly, a friend is moving to Tennessee), lots of open houses for graduates, and then all the things we do normally. I am very much looking forward to summer. School is over, and right now all I think of when I hear the word summer is endless rest. There are multiple things I would like to do though. Here is a list;

• Picnic
• Hiking at a state park
• Flying a kite
• Berry picking
• Biking on the Monon (we used to walk but now Havalah can ride her bike so I'm looking forward to this)
• Swimming
• Reading Les Miserables
• Making homemade ice cream
• Antique shopping
• Canoeing 

P.S. some lazy summer news

Dad made 10 Cup Cookies today. I'm very proud of him :D

(photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26412869@N03/)

A Few things From Around the Web

• When I was little, I would often sleep with a book under my pillow (I don't do it anymore because it can be damaging to the book). I love to read and I'm sure I would have been ecstatic if I'd had a book bed. 
• A little water-colored owlet
• Fish n Chips 
• Wouldn't it be amazing to have an embroidered book cover?
• Have you ever taken a look at this blog? I always find it very interesting (and often amusing :D).
• Close-ups of Mercury 
• A bookseller
• Manga Plates
• An ice cube tray 
• Unique kitchens

A Visit from Jane Austen

 I remember that when Aunt Jane came to us at Godmersham she used to bring the manuscript of whatever novel she was writing with her, and would shut herself up with my elder sisters in one of the bedrooms to read them aloud. I and the younger ones used to hear peals of laughter through the door, and thought it very hard that we should be shut out from what was so delightful . . . I also remember how Aunt Jane would sit quietly sewing beside the fire in the library, saying nothing for a good while, and then would suddenly burst out laughing, jump up and run across the room to a table where pens and paper were lying, write something down, and then come back across to the fire and go on quietly working as before. 

-Marianne Knight

Peanut Butter Frosting

Saturday I made this amazing peanut butter frosting. I know, it sounds slightly strange (try peanut butter and jelly cupcakes for a little bit of different) but it tastes good. I made the peanut butter frosting because Mom bought rice cakes and I was going to eat one with Nutella on it when I realized we were all out of Nutella. I promptly sat on the floor and cried. But then! I remembered this peanut butter frosting and I knew it would taste fantastic on a rice cake. So I searched the internet until I found the recipe and then I made it.
Then I slathered waaay too much on a rice cake and gobbled it down. It was gooooooood. So here's the recipe (taken from marthastewart.com):

Ingredients

• 6 ounces cream cheese
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add salt, then peanut butter, then vanilla. Whisk cream until soft peaks form, and then fold into peanut butter mixture. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)

War Whistle

Once when I was little, Dad watched an old war movie and I happened to see parts of it. There is a scene in the movie where some British prisoners are marching along and whistling. The whistle stuck in my head, and for years, I would hum or sing it. I didn't know the name of the movie or what it was about, I didn't know the actors who played in it, and I didn't know anything about the scene from which the whistle was taken from. But I liked the tune and so I would sing it quite often because I can't whistle (it's sad, I know). I called it the War Whistle (to this day I still call it the War Whistle). I really wanted to know what the song was really called and what movie it came from. I searched and searched, but I never found out.
One night, Dad popped an old war movie into our dvd player. It was The Bridge on the Kwai, a movie about a British colonel in a Japanese PoW camp who cooperates with the Japanese commander to build a railway bridge (for the Japanese) whilst oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.
I sat on the couch and watched the beginning with Dad. It seemed strangely familiar, but I couldn't place it. Then, we got to the part in the movie where the British prisoners are marching and whistling my War Whistle. I was elated. This was the movie! I finally knew where the song I had been humming for years came from!
I was reminded of this yesterday, when I started humming my War Whistle. Qixi got it stuck in her head and has been singing it today. Guess what? We've listened to the song three times already. I have been subtly (at least I think) sneaking in some Scott Joplin so maybe a ragtime will get stuck in her head, but Qix wants to listen to it a fourth time.
Maybe I never should have started humming the War Whistle yesterday. On the soundtrack to the movie, my War Whistle is called Bridge on the River Kwai Theme (how appropriate). However, it is actually titled Colonel Bogey March.



This clip shows the actual whistle and then some. The whistle ends at minute 3.

Pumpkin Gelatin Chiffon Pie

The last chiffon pie I made was a flop (because I failed to notice the importance of several ingredients and inadvertently left them out). This past evening, I attempted to redeem myself and erase a bad experience from my memory (as well as an awful taste). The pie turned out wonderfully, so I thought I'd share the recipe from you (taken from the queen of all cookbooks, Joy of Cooking).
Pumpkin Gelatin Chiffon Pie (makes a 9-inch single-crust pie)
Prepare:
A baked pie shell or graham cracker crust
Soak:
1 tablespoon gelatin
in:
1/4 cup cold water
Beat slightly:
3 egg yolks
Add:
1/2 cup white or brown sugar
1 1/4 cups canned or cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup milk, soy milk, or rice milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger
Cook and stir these ingredients over - not in - boiling water until thick. Stir in the soaked gelatin until dissolved. Chill until mixture begins to set.
Whip until stiff, but not dry:
3 egg whites
Stir in gradually:
1/2 cup sugar
and fold into the pumpkin mixture. Fill the pie shell. Chill several hours to set.

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.

-Ralf Waldo Emerson