casapinka

Broiling a Birthday Cake

A very sweet friend arrived with a birhtday cake the other day. Our oven is on the fritz (despite telling my landlord close to a month ago.) Try that one...preheating oven, 2 cannabilistic kids frothing at the mouth for pizza...and the oven doesn't preheat. I throw matches inside it, hoping something will hit a gas source like a pilot light (or we'll have a third fire and have to go out for food) - to no avail. That was not fun. The whining.  The whinging. Hungry children dead set on pizza. Thank you Nutella, you've saved my life more than once. I'm glad there's an alternative to Spam these days. The can is so unpalatable. 

I forgot to tell Husband about the oven problem and assumed it was fixed because the landlord was messing around with it. Apparently, on my birthday Husband and posse mixed batter for a cake and made frosting. they put the cake in the oven and after 30 minutes the cake was still batter. The oven, however, does have the fairly useless ability to still broil everything, so Husband just figured he could broil the birthday cake. Now, I don't know if this is a commonality in Ireland - failure to understand that broiling is exposing food to direct, intense high heat, or if this is a Husband thing (please chime in Irish readers.). He'd actually never heard of "broil," probably because it has nothing to do with sausages or bacon. Anyway, broiling the cake didn't work so well. I'll leave the image for you to chuckle over, along with Husband's confused look ("Heat is heat", he claimed.)

I did love the effort Husband made, and the Y chromosome which has a gene that says, "Pshaw, if I can get Junior to a sushi restaurant without his Superman cape, I can broil a birthday cake." Thanks Mo, for this glorious birthday cake. She told them to make it blue with huge pink flowers. We loved it! Junior clandestinely drank a bunch of batter from the burned/liquified  birthday cake and ran up and down hallway for about 30 minutes, like our cat at 3am, but he has since recovered. Next year the ante is upped, Husband. Pink ombre cake - directions at Glorious Treats.

Mo Shawl

This is a shawl I made for my friend Mo for Christmas. I call her Mo because she is Margaret Owen, the artist of Permanent Magenta. I have that habit of giving everyone a nickname. I was making her the Swingy Poncho in bright pink but the yarn wasn't working out so I designed this for her instead. The really cool thing for me is that I looked on Ravelry and it's at #2 for popularity this morning under "Patterns." Holy Cow! This is a first for me - to make it to the top twenty. So, if you're on Ravelry, please give it a "fave" and queue it.

This weekend we had a fresh snowfall and Husband took the kiddoodles sledding while I took these pictures. I then got an emergency phonecall to draw a hot bath because he had two small icicles who needed reheating by bath and hot chocolate. The shawl is made from lovely MadelineTosh Vintage in Iris, and is extra long so she can wrap it around herself a couple of times while contemplating art in her studio. 

Pink Walls

Junior tried to fake it again today. His sister busted him before I got involved. I heard the conversation from down the hall.

Junior: murmur murmur murmur

J'ette: You're NOT sick. You just ate M and Ms!!! You're going to school today, MISTER.

(and me, thinking, "he also ate leftover pizza for breakfast. I am not a sucker."

Poor Junior didn't get very far in the Faking It Department today. Have a good weekend, all of you. I'll have some new knitting designs out next week while I continue to think of nice colors for the walls of our eventual house. I think this pink is particularly beguiling, don't you? From Beautiful Portals.

Mindfulness and Sick Little Chaps

What the heck - I'm going to indulge in more fantasies of color for my new home even though I still don't know what we're going to do. We're just contemplating it, wondering if renovating a basement is something we want to undertake. One of my projects for the new year has been to learn to really live in the present rather than in my head. It's pretty tough! This print is called "The Colorful Decay of Plants by Carla Broekhuizen and is available at Society 6. 

 I've been following the Wild Elephant Project where each week for 52 weeks you incorporate a "mindfulness task" into your daily routine. It's based on the book "How to Train an Elephant and Other Adventures in Mindfulness" by Jan Chozen. Photo from Addison's Wonderland. 

This week is "leave no trace." You choose a room and attempt to leave no trace of yourself after leaving. The idea is to train your brain to be less unconscious when doing the mundane. I wimped out and chose the bathroom. Easy.  That said, I'm finding that it's rubbing off into other areas. I see Junior's shoes and put them in the shoe bin in the entry, rather than step over them. I just quietly pick up extra things here and there (and flush the toilet, haha.) Photo from Jacklyn Paige Tumblr.

I'm feeling inspired by saturated color today. I have Junior home with me. He failed the Casapinka Chocolate Test (not unlike the Hamburger Sign in appendicitis) but managed to convince Daddy that he was sick. You see, Daddy is a sucker. For my birthday which is coming up, Husband took the kids to school today letting me laze in bed with breakfast. Before leaving, Junior said his tummy hurt and Husband brought him to me. "Oh, poor chappy. Would some chocolate make it better?" Photo from green home store Viva Terra. 

Chomping happily on a piece of my secret chocolate stash he headed off to school. By the time they arrived, Husband, traveling in a chocolate-free car, was faced with Junior who swore up and down that he was about to throw up. So, he was delivered back home to me (I told you Husband was a sucker - he should have been in his classroom faster than you can say Lady Godiva.) The Chocolate Test, to every parent out there, is great: Failed = Nailed. Since arriving back home, he's managed to help me block a new shawl, eat two breakfasts, watch a Power Rangers Movie, cover the cat with pieces of knitwear, and is now opening his Mystery Machine lunchbox to eat his school lunch. Sick, indeed.  Photo from Holier than Thou's Tumblr.

Luckily, he doesn't do this often and it's actually lovely to have a snuggly little boy who still thinks his mommy is the duck's quack. This is one fallout from the fires - Junior has become a bit of a mama's boy. Sorry y'all but, ironically, I have to go play School. Ttonight it's Bed Pizza Slumber Party while Husband is on call - I'll just bet the poor sick boy manages to scarf half a pizza in his frail state before beating us all at Uno. We really need to send Husband for a Sucker School Refresher Course.  Bitchin' pink Nikes from Air Max On Line. 

Text from Husband after he read this: "I feel so suckered. But at least it put a smile on my face." 

Potential Casapinka 2 Again

Oh boy, Husband and I are talking a lot about this latest house, the Downton Abbey Dollhouse. We're letting it settle in (well, I'm letting him let it settle in) and we'll see where it takes us. Right now, since we are in blustery cold New England, one aspect of this home that just makes me weak in the knees is the idea of outdoor living. It has two large side porches, both dark, dark, dark. It's not on the national historical register so I can do what I want to it. I could brighten it up like this porch From Mimou via Lanalou Style.

There are beautiful tress scattered about just waiting for someone to admire and love them. 

 I went into the arched stables yesterday as we did a second look. There are a bunch of old, arched French doors in there waiting to be reattached (if we were to win the lottery, I suppose.) Both photos from stylist Paul Hopper. I could stand outside and sweep in my polka dot silk robe on occasion, but my broom bristles are pink, not yellow. Perhaps I'd get a special broom for the arched stables. 

And although Husband won't understand, I would love to read in an an outdoor bed, not to mention an outdoor bathtub. All the "grounds" (although not huge, it's just not a "yard") are surrounded by stone walls and since the gardens are in "ruin" there are only a couple of grassy areas to mow. A roofless stone greenhouse with ivy climbing up the facade could house a little herbal tea garden if I should like to dabble in the green arts. Photo from Dying of Cute.

It's just not something you see in the United States very often. When we lived in Albuquerque, our house extended into our backyard for much of the year. I miss that a lot. The photos on the website aren't terribly good, which in my opinion is why it hasn't sold. You really have to "vet" houses to look at in Rhode Island as both the buyer and the seller agents have to be there, so it's four schedules to coordinate. Talk about a PAIN. Anyway, the pictures on the website focus on the grounds and miss the lovely interior (with ugly paint job) of the actual house. The tall ceilings and the redone bathrooms. The staircase to nowhere.  we've passed over the house for 6 months or so, but saw it it an open house last weekend just for something to do.

I get excited thinking about it but not too excited as I know I'll be very disappointed if we finally decide that it's not the one for us. It needs a little bit of work, which is why it's in our price range - not a colossal amount  - but if Husband sticks with his "turnkey" idea of a house, which I do understand, then we'll pass it up. But ooooh, will that man get beaten with my pink broom.

 

A Potential Casapinka

Not to be a pessimist but we saw a rather wonderful house yesterday. I'm sure since I'm posting this that an offer is being placed as I type. And mindful as I am in 2012, that's OK. Husband thought that I didn't like the house because after 10 minutes I left to sit in the heated car. He was being all adult and responsible and asking questions. Me, I saw what I needed to see. Such as? Well, let's see: The rather rudimentary kitchen that could stand some slapped up shelves to show off all my colorful dishes! No granite and cherry in there, baby. From Rice.

The unfinished basement that actually had windows and whitewashed walls. Not a trace of musty odor. Potential studio space complete w/ mommy pied a terre and day bed for reading. So much room for yarn that I could lay a yarn floor. Maybe I'll just do that, honey!  Pip Studio wallpaper from Daisy Park.

The dining room is large and seems like wasted space to me. I wonder how we could multipurpose a dining room since we would eat in the kitchen most of the time. Perhaps place the table under the window and put a kiddie pool in front of the fireplace, to be drained when company comes? Any ideas? Yvestown did a nice job of making space for books. Perhaps we could think along those lines.

There's a little white lavatory off the dining room begging for some bordello-like wallpaper. Via Retro Villa.

There is room in the master for a knitting corner with a floor light and perhaps a few baskets of yarn. "No yarn in the bedroom!"  I can hear Husband from the other side of Providence as I type this. Via Small Space Style.

The knitting corner would overlook the crumbling stables. Very Grey Gardens.

Dare I mention the large kiddo bedrooms with the tall ceilings? From Skeppsholmen.

 

The gypsy caravan will fit right in. The neighbors would hardly notice. From the wonderful Paris Hotel Boutique.  Talk about adventures outside for the kidoodles! It's a 17 minute drive to their school. The unfinished basement has 3 large rooms and windows! Room for a studio, Husband's snooker room and a playroom. I don't know how difficult or costly it is to finish a basement, though. There are no exposed pipes - just lacks heat and has a cement floor. So much to think about (this is me being kind to Husband...I think we should just buy it already, or perhaps I already mentioned that.)

Did I mention the six (non-working) fireplaces? 

 

Being Bossed Around

While you guys are here looking at this Avoca Coffee cup, I'm off at a yoga retreat at Kripalu, which means staring at the lake while knitting, eating their amaaaaaazing vegetarian food and soaking in the enormous hot tub.  Husband gave me the retreat for Christmas, bless him. He is such a sweetheart.

Anyway, If you're ever in Ireland, you must go and visit the happy and colorful store, Avoca. I'm plugging them despite getting busted for taking a photo of a pink Smeg fridge there. But I have a Design Blog, sure I do. Wanna get a blank look in Ireland? Either say "Top o' the mornin" or BLOG. So, deciding some other person must have snapped the pink Smeg back in 2007 when I got told off,  I decided to search Google Images to see if I could find it. Turns out, it leads back to a 2007 post of Casapinka. Apparently I didn't heed their warnings and took the picture anyway. Bad with authority. You're not the boss of me! Anyway, I have to say that the winner of the prettiest take out coffee cups must go to Avoca, even if they are bossy (Anthropologie welcomes photos, by the way.) The coffee cup photograph was taken by Meagan of Row House Nest who undoubtedly realizes that she took her picture. I'll see you back next Monday when I hope to return and remember Husband's name (Husband) and that my windshield leaks when I take it through a carwash. Both important in the scheme of Things.

Vintage Eyeglasses

 

Pink: Hey hon, thanks so much for my birthday present.

Husband: Pauses. Crinkles eyes. "Is this a trick?"

Pink: No, I really appreciate it - they're freaking COOL.

Husband: Ohhhh... "I" got you a birthday present that you're going to love - is that it?

Pink: That's it, Buddy Boy!

Boy, do I hope they fit and that he likes them better than my cat-eyes that I bought at Anthropologie as sunglasses and had them fit with clear prescription lenses. "Well, they wouldn't have been my first choice" was his diplomatic observation.

Check out the  mannequin view. For those of you who have read Casapinka for a few years now, I think it's fairly apparent that Iris Apfel is a total girl crush for me. At 90 she's launching a line for MAC! Husband is lucky I'm not doing a total Iris on him in light of the conversation in yesterday's post (see final paragraph.) My birthday glasses are tame in comparison to Iris' owl bionicals, one must admit.

My Fridge is Immortalized

 

A Christmas parcel arrived all the way from Ireland last month. And in it amidst Irish tea and chocolate, shirts for Husband and Irish fairy tales for the kidoodles, was this one book that I have wanted for AGES. It was sold out everywhere for quite a while, then I couldn't justify the expense, etc. Well, here it is and allow me to share some of its golden moments with you.

In case you couldn't guess from the patterns, this is the book:

Just staring at the pages makes me happy.  The colors and shapes, never mind all the clothes which I would wear in a heartbeat. 

Perhaps, if you were a Casapinka reader back in 2009, you remember how much kvetching Husband did when I ordered Orla Kiely wallpaper from the UK, primed our rusted rental fridge and then coerced him into helping me wallpaper it. He just can't wait to move so we can leave it behind (well, that's his plan.)

Well, when your very own in-laws send you this book with aforementioned much complained about refrigerator published on page 283 (bottom right should you miss it), and they don't even realize that aforementioned fridge is in the book, well...that earns a big hug and sheepish "I'm proud of you, honey." from Husband. To which he gets the typical (when I do something outrageous to his rather conservative persona)..."You could have married some BORING girl who would have bought a BORING fridge and had a BORING bread box and your life would have been so... BORING." So, thanks Michéal, Kevin, Eileen and Niamh for this most appreciated book! I just love it. 

Crocheted Baby Blanket

I'm  happy with myself because I finally got this pattern written up. It's a crocheted baby blanket, available on Ravelry or Etsy (left sidebar.) I think there are so many interesting color combinations for it, be it for a girl or boy. 

And a coordinating bedroom lest you prefer bedrooms to baby blankets. Thanks for tolerating my shameless self promotion and have a lovely weekend, all. From Creamy Life.